Morse not starting was a "football decision" per McD

[ghostwriter]

Just now, John from Riverside said:

I think Bates is hugely under rated......it honestly puzzles me that he doesnt get more burn as we did trade for him

Absolutely.. I guess strength was a concern coming out of college.. I can’t find anything wrong with him other than he went undrafted.. He looked pretty darn good to me.. looked like he belonged out there!

[Ethan in Cleveland]

4 hours ago, GETTOTHE50 said:

winters is good for atleast one drive killing holding per game. he should be a second stringer on every roster in the nfl.

He is a second string on this team too.  He should be behind Ford and Feliciano but they were both hurt.  

[Green Lightning]

4 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

I watched the press conference. I believe they are protecting him for the stretch run and thought they had some momentum with the other group enough to get to the bye. That was the football decision.  He was dressed in case of injury to mongo. 

+1. Morse is needed for whatever stretch run we got. Wish he played 1 Technique.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

2 hours ago, John from Riverside said:

I totally get why Morse did not play this game

How many concussions is it so far:?

Perhaps McD's thinking......"if I sit him this week then this week and the bye week gives him extra time to heal from a concussion"

 

It almost worked

 

FWIW, in Daboll's presser he said "they've played a couple of games together and that's the direction we decided to go with for this game.  That doesn't mean anything for this week or the week after that".  He said it was a decision to maintain continuity on the OL: "just have some continuity going with those guys, they've done a good job, and we'll see where we go from that". 🤷‍♂️

 

 

[Agent 91]

5 hours ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

Such a high level that it wouldn't be better to start Morse at center and Feliciano at guard? This is an indictment on Morse.

Morse to me has been weak at the point but very good in the pull game. Feliciano has been playing very nicely but I want him at either guard as you said. Its just a better fit.

[Royale with Cheese]

6 hours ago, Back2Buff said:

 

His defense is awful and we beat awful teams.  If you think being average is ok, then yes, he is not an issue.  He ain't winning anything in this league.

We are tied for the lead in most wins against teams with winning records.  You didn’t think before this post did you?

[RyanC883]

6 hours ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

Per McD, Morse was healthy and ready to go but his not playing was a "football decision," not a health issue. When asked, McD did not commit to Morse as the starter going forward. Said they felt the current group had "momentum" and that's why Morse didn't play.

 

No way to read this except they are disappointed in Morse. Pretty shocking development here.

 

if true, that is a terrible coaching decision, IMO.  Even if John is playing better at center cant Morse play Guard better than what we have now??

[YoloinOhio]

4 minutes ago, RyanC883 said:

 

if true, that is a terrible coaching decision, IMO.  Even if John is playing better at center cant Morse play Guard better than what we have now??

He’s never even played the Guard position. 

[Not at the table Karlos]

10 hours ago, DCbillsfan said:

Maybe McD is being extra cautious with Morse given his concussion history.  They played an NFC team before a bye week.  A perfect place in the schedule to give him extra time to heal.  

Why not just say we want to make sure he’s fully healthy before putting him on the field? They’ve said it before and it would end all discussion. He seemed to go out of his way to say it wasn’t injury related.

 

I really wanted Morse when we signed him but after going back and watching all-22 from last year I would be fine with moving on from him and getting someone that’s more physical. He’s a solid pass blocker but meh in run game

[colin]

13 hours ago, GETTOTHE50 said:

winters is good for atleast one drive killing holding per game. he should be a second stringer on every roster in the nfl.

 

how could he be on every roster in the nfl?!?!??!!?  is this a league for ants!?!

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

14 hours ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

Per McD, Morse was healthy and ready to go but his not playing was a "football decision," not a health issue. When asked, McD did not commit to Morse as the starter going forward. Said they felt the current group had "momentum" and that's why Morse didn't play.

 

No way to read this except they are disappointed in Morse. Pretty shocking development here.

 

I can see a reason for sitting him.  It's not like Feliciano was doing a really bad job.  

 

Via the eye test against the Cardinals, the Bills offensive line… wasn’t great. They never really are better than an average unit, but despite not being sacked, quarterback Josh Allen was certainly on the run a bit more in Week 10. The run game, as usual, was just never established.

 

Sacks typically are  not the fault of the center.  

[Boxcar]

15 hours ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

Per McD, Morse was healthy and ready to go but his not playing was a "football decision," not a health issue. When asked, McD did not commit to Morse as the starter going forward. Said they felt the current group had "momentum" and that's why Morse didn't play.

 

No way to read this except they are disappointed in Morse. Pretty shocking development here.

I read it like they are concerned with his health. I agree with the decision to sit Morse last game and give him an extra two weeks to recover. There's absolutely zero chance that McD thinks Morse isn't a critical player on the O-Line, and how much momentum could the "current group" have when it's a different set of guys almost every down, it seems? I have no idea why he chose to answer this way but Morse makes a lot of money and he's one of the most critical components of that line, plus he was obviously playing very well.

[MAJBobby]

15 hours ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

Ahh! McDermott said he was healthy and that was not a factor. Goodness

Yeah Coaches ALWAYS tell the truth lol

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

38 minutes ago, MAJBobby said:

Yeah Coaches ALWAYS tell the truth lol

Lying here puts him in a tougher situation, so it makes no sense. Thad Brown agrees

[Doc]

2 hours ago, Not at the table Karlos said:

Why not just say we want to make sure he’s fully healthy before putting him on the field? They’ve said it before and it would end all discussion. He seemed to go out of his way to say it wasn’t injury related.

 

I really wanted Morse when we signed him but after going back and watching all-22 from last year I would be fine with moving on from him and getting someone that’s more physical. He’s a solid pass blocker but meh in run game

 

I think that if he said that, it would lead to a lot more questions from the reporters.

[nucci]

well, it's a football team and football game so I guess it makes sense it was a football decision

[MAJBobby]

37 minutes ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

Lying here puts him in a tougher situation, so it makes no sense. Thad Brown agrees

Football decision = didn't clear protocol fast enough to practice fully felt more comfortable with Feliciano in this spot.  After Bye Morse will be starting Center again.

[Royale with Cheese]

1 minute ago, MAJBobby said:

Football decision = didn't clear protocol fast enough to practice fully felt more comfortable with Feliciano in this spot.  After Bye Morse will be starting Center again.

 

It will be nuts if Morse doesn't start after the bye.

[GunnerBill]

14 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

The question might be even if they believe Feliciano is slightly better at center than Morse, an OL of Dawkins-Ford-Morse-Feliciano-Williams may be better than an OL of Dawkins-Ford-Feliciano-Winters-Williams

 

Think that is where I am Hap. I do think when McDermott talked yesterday what he meant about a football decision was be sensible, take your time and think about the final 7 games not just the one we played Sunday. However, that question absolutely looms large. I have felt since the middle of last season there was an argument that Feliciano is our best center and that he his pass protection issues show up less at center than when he plays at guard. But the guard situation is such that at this moment I think Morse at C and Feliciano at G is probably the best combo we have in those two spots.

 

Worth saying in all this McDermott and Beane come from a "center is king" culture in Carolina. It is a position that the guys they learned from have always really valued. It wouldn't be a complete shock if they keep the guy they think is the best center they have at center and if that is Feliciano could they even try Morse at guard?

 

Whatever they do I do think they need to try and settle on a 5. The chopping and changing inside is part of the run game struggle IMO. No cohesion or continuity in there.

[JohnNord]

16 hours ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

Per McD, Morse was healthy and ready to go but his not playing was a "football decision," not a health issue. When asked, McD did not commit to Morse as the starter going forward. Said they felt the current group had "momentum" and that's why Morse didn't play.

 

No way to read this except they are disappointed in Morse. Pretty shocking development here.

I like McDermott and am a lot higher on him as a HC than most.  I think he’s done a fantastic job turning the Bills around who were an absolute dumpster fire when he took over.  
 

But this situation is just bizarre.  I’m hoping there’s more to the story and that Morse was available on an emergency basis to be extra careful of his concussion situation.  There’s can’t be any way that they benched him based on his play.  He’s been easily their first or second best lineman