Some thoughts in an emotional time

[ILBillsfan]

6 minutes ago, Mark Vader said:

But when they got to the Texans 30 yard line, look at all the time they wasted by letting the clock run, and with 2 time outs.

 

They had a chance to run more plays and having a better shot at the end zone than from what they attempted.

McDermott over thinking so much on this drive horribly managed and looked to be settling for a FG only the whole time.  Need to have score a TD mentality there cause If they went up 17 i think the game was over.  The run play to gore was when I screamed because that confirmed they were playing for the FG and not the TD 

 

 

ughhh I hate rethinking this specific point in the game

[Warren Zevon]

6 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

When the game mattered most, he was beyond terrible.

 

 

 

Disagree. He wasn't good but he made enough plays to get Buffalo the FG at the end of the 4th quarter. As much heat as he is getting he deserves some credit for that.

Edited January 5, 2020 by Gary Busey

[Freak-O]

They play gutsy until they've got something to lose, then they start playing scared/conservatively. Today's TD was glorious and I'd wish they'd to stuff like that when leading with 13-0 as well.

[Mark Vader]

2 minutes ago, ILBillsfan said:

McDermott over thinking so much on this drive horribly managed and looked to be settling for a FG only the whole time.  Need to have score a TD mentality there cause If they went up 17 i think the game was over.  The run play to gore was when I screamed because that confirmed they were playing for the FG and not the TD 

 

 

ughhh I hate rethinking this specific point in the game

That's how I felt.

 

They had the Texans on the ropes. A 96 yard touchdown drive right before halftime would have been a real demoralizing moment for Houston.

 

Even if the Texans defense would have stepped up and held them to a field goal, you have to at least try to get to the end zone. Instead of trying a low-to-mid percentage pass to Duke Williams.

 

They should have called time out at 1:08 on the clock and come up with more plays to get into the end zone.

[Happy]

15 minutes ago, cgg716 said:

I tend to think that falls on Mcd, not Daboll, it’s likely a directive from the top. Good play designs by Daboll, baffling timing which likely only partially falls on him

 

I agree, and going conservative with even a small lead is typical for McD.  I'm not sure why he hasn't learned this yet, or more importantly, when he will.  We can forget about "Championship Caliber" until McD keeps his foot on the gas pedal.

[Livinginthepast]

10 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

What does that even mean in actual football terms?

 

What we need is more talent and better execution, most crucially at the quarterback position.

 

If Allen had the talent to put points on the board or lead us to a TD scoring drive in OT, no one here would be talking about "learning how to win" and all this other crap floating around here tonight.

 

When the game mattered most, he was beyond terrible.

 

 

That's true ,Allen blew it at crucial times but Daboll was just not aggressive or daring enough with plays to kill the Texans off. If Allen called his own plays I would agree 100% but he doesn't and some of Daboll's calls were just awful in key situations.

[DRA3196]

I said a half dozen times today, the team needed to execute in all 3 phases of the game and the team needed to play fearless the entire game. Obviously that didn't happen.

 

I don't know if McDermott didn't have confidence in the offense or was over confident in his defense. But having the offense Settle for FG's instead of being more aggressive at obtaining TD's. And I am not exactly sure what caused our defense to give up a 16pt lead. It is mind boggling. 

[Johnnycage46]

1 hour ago, cgg716 said:

Everybody knows how tough this was, how it will stick with us fans. I for one hope this sticks with the coaches and players. I see people giving Allen an F grade for the 2nd half and such, while I don’t want to absolve his performance, to me, what I take from this, is I hope this is McDermotts lightbulb moment, the game he looks back on every time he needs to decide to try and win or try not to lose.

I said it at the end of the first half, when he inexplicably settled for 3, it wouldn’t be good enough, it almost never is. Like quite a few other times this season, Allen was tasked with managing a lead, instead of trying to increase it. And it’s incredibly hard to judge a player in those instances.

Worse yet, not even that feels uniform, settle for 3 to end the half, then turn down a long FG to go for it on 4th and 26?, Even considering Hauschs lack of success from 50+, he had to have better odds. Call 3 passes after the first down in OT, when all you needed was 6-7 yds for a chance? It all just feels so random. And it’s why Allen tried dumb things like the lateral, that coaching style puts more pressure on the players. All we can hope is they learn from it. Go Bills!

Sad truth is these games stick with us fans waaayyyy longer than the players and coaches.  They are young multimillionaires....yes, I am sure they love winning...but it is we the fans that suffer the most after these games. Truth. 

Edited January 5, 2020 by Johnnycage46

[BeastMaster]

Just now, DRA3196 said:

I said a half dozen times today, the team needed to execute in all 3 phases of the game and the team needed to play fearless the entire game. Obviously that didn't happen.

 

I don't know if McDermott didn't have confidence in the offense or was over confident in his defense. But having the offense Settle for FG's instead of being more aggressive at obtaining TD's. And I am not exactly sure what caused our defense to give up a 16pt lead. It is mind boggling. 

You can't hold QB's like Watson down forever. Another reason why when you have the opportunity to step on a teams throat, you gotta go for it.

 

All it takes is one play...fooled in coverage, missed tackle, penalty, etc.

 

Watson eventually broke through and made plays. Less than 20 points isn't gonna cut it against a playmaker like Watson...it's just not.

[RobbRiddick]

Knowing Allen's work ethic I think he will study and work like crazy this off season to get himself into that franchise QB bracket 

[BobbyC81]

45 minutes ago, Happy Gilmore said:

 

I agree, and going conservative with even a small lead is typical for McD.  I'm not sure why he hasn't learned this yet, or more importantly, when he will.  We can forget about "Championship Caliber" until McD keeps his foot on the gas pedal.

Yeah, he has often mentioned that as a head coach he’s taken some from Reid and some from Rivera.  Unfortunately the being conservative comes from Rivera.  Rivera’s “Riverboat Ron” nickname is a joke on his reluctance to gamble.

[DRA3196]

2 minutes ago, BeastMaster said:

You can't hold QB's like Watson down forever. Another reason why when you have the opportunity to step on a teams throat, you gotta go for it.

 

All it takes is one play...fooled in coverage, missed tackle, penalty, etc.

 

Watson eventually broke through and made plays. Less than 20 points isn't gonna cut it against a playmaker like Watson...it's just not.

I get it. But we had 5 sacks in the first half and their offense wasn't moving the ball at all. In the 2nd half  we only had 2 sacks and Watson had all kinds of time to throw. Why? Did the Texans o-line suddenly get better? or Did McDermott determine he needed to change the defensive philosophy in the 2nd half? How can we score a TD on the opening drive the first 3 minutes of the game and not another one the entire game? 

[Happy]

6 minutes ago, ColeB said:

Yeah, he has often mentioned that as a head coach he’s taken some from Reid and some from Rivera.  Unfortunately the being conservative comes from Rivera.  Rivera’s “Riverboat Ron” nickname is a joke on his reluctance to gamble.

 

Don't underestimate Andy Reid's influence on McD.  Reid is a conservative coach who can't make it past the Championship round, other than one occasion in Philly.  He won't do it this year, either.