Morse not starting was a "football decision" per McD

[Peter]

13 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I don't think it had to do with Morse's play at all and McDermott was very specific saying that Morse was not "benched".

 

Morse had been out two weeks and only back for 3 practices.  I think they were hoping that some continuity built the last 2 weeks in games and practice would help them run on O-line this week.

 

Not sure it worked out as they wanted, but the line played well enough the last 2 weeks that I understand why the Bills would want to give that continuity thing a try.

 

 

Morse is good enough to start.  He started the first 8 games for a 5-2 team that was right up at the top of the league in passing.

 

I guess that is why McCoach sat him.  Hmmm.

 

P.S. I hope you are correct . . . but the news is not reassuring given the reported comments of McD especially after the contract they gave him.  His injury history (both before and after he became a Buffalo Bill) is not good.

Edited November 17, 2020 by Peter

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Agreed. Especially when the other side of the game was another fortnight that they could give to a guy who has a history of concussions to recover from this latest one.

 

I could just be naive, but I tend to think McDermott and Daboll are both fairly straight shooters and when they say something, it's typically what they mean.  You can kind of tell when McDermott is prevaricating, he gets this look in his eyes. 

 

That's not to say that Morse getting extra time to heal and Feliciano getting an extra week at a position he says is "easier" on his pec didn't factor into it, but I believe "we think this line is our best line for this game" took primacy.

2 minutes ago, Peter said:

 

I guess that is why McCoach sat him.  Hmmm.

 

It's what Daboll said pretty explicitly in his presser and McDermott a slightly vaguer variation

[Don Otreply]

Being MM has a concussion history an extended break from shots to the head, would be, by most, thought of as a good thing, again by most... 

 

People gotta find some use for their tin foil hats I guess...

 

Go Bills!!!

[Peter]

6 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I could just be naive, but I tend to think McDermott and Daboll are both fairly straight shooters and when they say something, it's typically what they mean.  You can kind of tell when McDermott is prevaricating, he gets this look in his eyes. 

 

That's not to say that Morse getting extra time to heal and Feliciano getting an extra week at a position he says is "easier" on his pec didn't factor into it, but I believe "we think this line is our best line for this game" took primacy.

 

It's what Daboll said pretty explicitly in his presser and McDermott a slightly vaguer variation

 

As Fairburn states, "Sean McDermott’s vague comments on Mitch Morse do a disservice to Morse and to the fans."

 

 

 

[Buffalo03]

19 hours ago, Back2Buff said:

How could anyone watch the Seattle game and think that O line played well?  McDermott has changed since he first got here and it's concerning. 

Did you watch the Cardinals game? Allen had plenty of time to throw consistently 

[Not at the table Karlos]

1 hour ago, Doc said:

 

Well it didn't lead to more reporters questions.

Actually it did. They asked three times about Morse wanting more clarification. It’s also getting a lot of discussion on the radio shows.

Edited November 17, 2020 by Not at the table Karlos

[jlgarsh]

19 hours ago, BarleyNY said:

That’s a very good point.  I was thinking along the lines of others that it’d make more sense to have Morse at center and Feliciano at OG.  But getting Morse completely healthy makes more sense.  My daughter got a concussion playing soccer 12 days ago and still is having headaches and light sensitivity.  The longer you can give concussion to heal, the better.  Glad they’re taking extra time with Morse. 

Hope she feels better soon! I got one in 9th grade gym class and was loopy for a couple weeks

[JGMcD2]

19 hours ago, JGMcD2 said:

I was typing this before your last response LOL. 

 

I highly, HIGHLY encourage you to actually watch the press conference with McDermott. 
 

There were 3 questions posed when it came to Morse and McDermott spent about 15 seconds total answering those questions. They were asked at the beginning, middle and end of the interview. 
 

I’m paraphrasing but here’s how it went 

 

First question was that he was active but didn’t
play, was he not healthy? This is around the 1:20 mark. 

McDermott responses by saying he was healthy, but it was a coach’s decision to not have him play this week, Mitch is a great player but they felt that they had momentum with the group from last week and wanted to see how they played together this week. Said they played well when Mitch went down and wanted to take a look at it one more week. 

 

Second question was someone clarifying the Morse question from earlier... they specifically asked if Morse was benched... this is around the 8:30 mark 

 

McDermott said he was NOT BENCHED. 
 

Quick follow up asked if Morse was still the starter. 
 

McDermott said the lineup is determined week to week... literally something McDermott says about every position group because he likes the idea of competition and maybe even the illusion of it. 
 

Final question around the 13:30 mark. Reporter asks if it was a disciplinary decision for something he did/did not do off-field or strictly a football decision. 
 

McDermott replied in 6 words and used the verbiage from the reporter.. “It was strictly a football decision.”

 

I think this is being read into... I mean really he spent like 30 seconds answering these 3 questions and they’re such vague answers and really aren’t answers outside of McDermott answers and we’re creating a controversy here. 

EDIT:

 

Look at all 3 comments.... he said the following 

 

A) Mitch is a good player 

B) We wanted to take one more week to look at this combination 

C) He was not benched 

D) We determine the lineup week to week

E) This relates to comment B about looking at the combination from last week... it wasn’t disciplinary it was a football decision

For everyone that’s not going to read the entire thread... this is a brief synopsis of the McDermott presser. 
 

The order the questions were asked, when they were asked and how McDermott responded. The OP and the folks on Twitter have been mixing and matching statements from McDermott out of order in order to create a story. 
 

There really is not a whole lot here. 

[Wayne Cubed]

30 minutes ago, Peter said:

 

As Fairburn states, "Sean McDermott’s vague comments on Mitch Morse do a disservice to Morse and to the fans."

 

 

 

Man they would really hate doing Belichick interviews then... he’s vague and purposefully obtuse.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

2 hours ago, BillsFan130 said:

For anyone who follows and understands o line play, was benching Morse justified based on his play?

 

To me it seemed like he was doing descent, but I’m not an o line expert by any means.

 

In the big picture - it was better to sit him until after the BYE week. 

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, Peter said:

As Fairburn states, "Sean McDermott’s vague comments on Mitch Morse do a disservice to Morse and to the fans."

 

That's his opinion and he's entitled to it, of course.

My perception, which may be worth the powder to blow it to hell, is that Fairburn asked questions that sounded like trying to confirm a narrative rather than clarify

 

When McDermott scents a narrative, he curls up behind an impenetrable armadillo shell of coach speak and there's no cracking it

 

I didn't think McDermott and Daboll's answers were that vague

 

This is a really good summary:

 

This is basically what McDermott said:

A) Mitch is a good player 

B) We wanted to take one more week to look at this combination 

C) He was not benched 

D) We determine the lineup week to week

E) It wasn’t disciplinary it was a football decision

 

That seems pretty clear-cut to me.  The guy who thought they were "vague answers", Fairburn, is the one who came in with "Let me be sure I'm clear on this...are you saying Morse was benched?" and so forth.

 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Mitch had to do an emergency Sub for Toby on This Is Us.

 

[TheyCallMeAndy]

It may have been said in the 8 pages, but here is what I think:

 

After his 5th concussion, I think Morse plans to retire. That’s why they gave Mongo an extended look and Morse and extra week. 

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

I gave up trying to read through an 8 page thread to see if this was mentioned, but in Fairburns column in the Athletic he commented:

 

It also wouldn’t be a surprise if McDermott would rather insinuate Morse had been benched than delve into the concussion situation. McDermott routinely defers to the protocol and declines an answer whenever asked about a player who is dealing with a concussion.

 

Sounds like this is McD's standard reply with anything related to concussions.

 

Also in todays BN it mentioned:

 

With Ford inactive because of an ankle injury, that left the Bills with just eight offensive linemen, including Morse.

 

That would have meant if they had sat out Morse, they couldn't have activated anyone else as the new rule this year requires you to have a minimum of  8 O-lineman active.  Let than that you lose the extra active spot.  Guess figured dress him in an emergency he could play, but only in an emergency. Think this may have been the only game this season where no lineman got hurt?

[3rdand12]

9 hours ago, Don Otreply said:

Being MM has a concussion history an extended break from shots to the head, would be, by most, thought of as a good thing, again by most... 

 

People gotta find some use for their tin foil hats I guess...

 

Go Bills!!!

McD can frame this anyways he wishes, such as "best for the Team" it still rings true if he is protecting Mitch .
I truly respect this Coach and what he has built. He looks out. and still strives for competition to build upon.
so it it could be all the above and still be true

 Best five and health concerns.

 Go  Bills

[Bob in STL]

On 11/16/2020 at 3:50 PM, 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.

This team was terrible for 17 years.  McDermott turned it around during a rebuild, not after one.  
 

I don’t get the criticism.  The “we beat awful teams” comment is ridiculous.  We play  the schedule we are given like every other team.  We deal with injuries like every other team.  

[without a drought]

Definitely more of a football decision than a hockey decision. 

[machine gun kelly]

My interpretation is they want him down the stretch and I believe since college and high school, he’s had 8 concussions.  An extra couple of weeks could mean a healthier center down the road.

[RyanC883]

On 11/16/2020 at 11:22 PM, YoloinOhio said:

He’s never even played the Guard position. 

 

still, could be better than what we have?   It had to be to give Morse another week off. The line was bad Sunday in the 2nd half. 

[billsfan89]

I think they were saving Mitch from himself. Give Mitch an extra week to heal up and go into the Chargers game with 3 weeks of rest after a concussion. Mitch might have been medically cleared but that doesn't mean a coach shouldn't exercise caution when he has a group playing well. Slide Mitch back in at center and move Mongo to RG.