Criticism of McD and coaching has reached insanity level…

[mjt328]

On 11/26/2022 at 6:51 AM, eball said:

I know, I know, it’s a message board and not everyone has to agree about everything.  Debate and discussion are good.  It just seems to me that the coaching of this team is being questioned at an insane level.  The Bills are 8-3 and within 11 points of being undefeated.  Every starter on defense has missed time; they have not played ONE game with their presumed starting secondary intact.  Allen has a bum elbow.  They got a total of TWO full practices in over the past two weeks and yet won two games in five days.

 

They beat the Rams on the road (before we knew the Rams would stink).  They crushed the Titans.  They won at Baltimore in a gritty way.  They won at KC.

 

What the hell do people think McD should have been doing that he has not?  I still hear “well, he’s not a good gameday coach.”  Really?  He is ranked as one of the best 4th down decision makers in the league.  His time management has been stellar, saving timeouts for use at the ends of halves where the Bills have been excellent.

 

Should he be calling plays?  Is it Dorsey everyone is really upset about?  Well, Dorse is also learning on the job, and maybe I’m naive but I think it has been hard to gameplan the past two weeks with only two practices.  And yet, the offense is still putting up yards and points at very high levels.  The last couple of weeks the running game has showed up as well.

 

Summing up — I don’t get it.  At all.  And as far as I know, not one of you is in the locker room or on the practice field with this team.  My conclusion is that there are a lot of keyboard warriors with way too much time on their hands who expect 14-point wins weekly.  I would love to hear, specifically, what decisions some believe McD has made or not made that are responsible for the “predicament” we find ourselves in (tied for 1st).

 

I’m going to continue to enjoy this ride, knowing my team is one of the best in the league and still has every opportunity to bring home the ultimate prize.  I’m thrilled McD is our HC and Beane is our GM.

 

Go Bills!  17 and 3, BABY!!!!

 

 

Fair or not... the expectations for the 2022 Buffalo Bills were probably higher than any other point in franchise history.  Coming into this season, Vegas had us as hands-down Super Bowl favorites.  Most of the media personalities also picked us to win it.  I don't recall that even happening during the 90s (when teams like the 49ers and Cowboys were considered better).  Fans who have been waiting 30, 40, 50+ years for a championship, spent the entire offseason building themselves up and saying "THIS IS OUR YEAR."

 

At this point, the team simply has not lived up to those high expectations.  Since the blowout in Tennessee, the team has been on a clear and obvious decline:  

 

-  First the offense started looking streaky and sloppy, leading to the Week 3 loss in Miami.  Although they are still putting decent points on the board, the fact remains:  The Bills haven't had 4 quarters of strong offense since the Titans game.  Even against the Steelers, the Bills only scored once in the second half.

 

-  Since the bye, the defense has struggled terribly.  They went from a strength to a liability.  It started with run defense, and has bled over to us getting torched in the secondary.  We almost let the Packers back into the game.  Lost two straight to the Jets and Vikings.  And then barely scraped out wins against the Browns and Lions.

 

Maybe the problem is injuries.  Maybe it's player talent.  Maybe it's coaching.

The fact remains, this team needs to turn things around ASAP.  The next three games will likely determine our season.

If we get the Bills from Weeks 8-12, our best bet will be a Wild Card spot.

 

[Beck Water]

On 11/27/2022 at 1:40 PM, EasternOHBillsFan said:

 

YUP, 1,000%

 

 

 

Er...we do know that players don't appear on the injury report, unless they can't go, or they seek diagnosis and specific treatment for an injury and it limits them in practice?  Josh Allen said something to the effect of, at this time of year, everyone is pretty much playing through injury and if they tell you they aren't, they're probably lying."  Allen probably gets some form of training room treatment after every game for a bruise or for soreness in his legs, shoulder, and throwing arm.  And players aren't healed when they disappear off the injury report, they're just healed enough to practice and play and are still getting treatment.

 

And players don't like to publicize injuries.  Football is not a nice sport.  If a guy is known to have an injury, the other team will target it, You Betcha.

---------------

I thought it was interesting to hear Carson Palmer talk about his own UCL, which sounds more severe

https://www.the33rdteam.com/category/analysis/carson-palmer-talks-josh-allens-ucl-injury-reflects-on-own-experience/

 

He said it didn't hurt, he finished the game, it wasn't something he reported or sought treatment for.  But in practice next week, he had balls just not go where he wanted - they would die and hit the dirt.  And not every ball - maybe 2 or 3 good balls then a dirter.  After watching that, the docs did a scan and found a serious tear that shut him down.

 

Anyway give it a listen. 

--------------

It was notable to me that in the 2nd half of the GB game, the ball stopped obeying Allen's commands as usual.  Allen was 8/11 with 2 TD in the first half.  He was 5/14 with 0 TD and 2 INT in the 2nd half. 

 

And of course, in the Jets game. Allen was "off" before the injury, 18 of 34.  And it wasn't just fantastic pass defense, either.  Balls were overthrown, or hitting the ground in front of receivers, or thrown behind the receiver.

 

Clearly, that's not all that's going on, there is clearly bad judgement or not reading coverage the same way as the receiver etc., perhaps poor play design that doesn't scheme guys open,   But a previous time we saw a sudden plunge in Allen's completion percentage was in 2020 when Allen injured his shoulder during the Raiders game, so it had me going "hmmmm".

 

[EasternOHBillsFan]

25 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

 

Er...we do know that players don't appear on the injury report, unless they can't go, or they seek diagnosis and specific treatment for an injury and it limits them in practice?  Josh Allen said something to the effect of, at this time of year, everyone is pretty much playing through injury and if they tell you they aren't, they're probably lying."  Allen probably gets some form of training room treatment after every game for a bruise or for soreness in his legs, shoulder, and throwing arm.  And players aren't healed when they disappear off the injury report, they're just healed enough to practice and play and are still getting treatment.

 

And players don't like to publicize injuries.  Football is not a nice sport.  If a guy is known to have an injury, the other team will target it, You Betcha.

---------------

I thought it was interesting to hear Carson Palmer talk about his own UCL, which sounds more severe

https://www.the33rdteam.com/category/analysis/carson-palmer-talks-josh-allens-ucl-injury-reflects-on-own-experience/

 

He said it didn't hurt, he finished the game, it wasn't something he reported or sought treatment for.  But in practice next week, he had balls just not go where he wanted - they would die and hit the dirt.  And not every ball - maybe 2 or 3 good balls then a dirter.  After watching that, the docs did a scan and found a serious tear that shut him down.

 

Anyway give it a listen. 

--------------

It was notable to me that in the 2nd half of the GB game, the ball stopped obeying Allen's commands as usual.  Allen was 8/11 with 2 TD in the first half.  He was 5/14 with 0 TD and 2 INT in the 2nd half. 

 

And of course, in the Jets game. Allen was "off" before the injury, 18 of 34.  And it wasn't just fantastic pass defense, either.  Balls were overthrown, or hitting the ground in front of receivers, or thrown behind the receiver.

 

Clearly, that's not all that's going on, there is clearly bad judgement or not reading coverage the same way as the receiver etc., perhaps poor play design that doesn't scheme guys open,   But a previous time we saw a sudden plunge in Allen's completion percentage was in 2020 when Allen injured his shoulder during the Raiders game, so it had me going "hmmmm".

 

 

I had already discussed this above and saw the point you were trying to make and I now appreciate the response you gave. It's just bizarre that a guy who is a franchise QB and Son of Buffalo would hide the injury and shrug it off, particularly since he had elbow issues before. 

[Beck Water]

5 minutes ago, EasternOHBillsFan said:

 

I had already discussed this above and saw the point you were trying to make and I now appreciate the response you gave. It's just bizarre that a guy who is a franchise QB and Son of Buffalo would hide the injury and shrug it off, particularly since he had elbow issues before. 

 

Oh, sorry, I missed that.

 

I don't think it was hiding the injury, so much as I imagine it's a matter of degree. Allen is probably sore and hurting in various joints after every game.  Imagine his arm after throwing 63 times vs. Miami in that heat!  And remember Carson said his sprain didn't hurt, like at all!!!!  and it wasn't every ball.  Allen probably had 3-4 bruises in different areas that hurt worse.

 

So in my completely circumstantial theory, Allen would probably attribute problems with sending the ball where he wanted, consistently, in the 2nd half of the Packers game to improper technique maybe after getting hit hard a few times, and resolve to refocus on technique.  I don't think he was hiding anything.

 

Then in the Jets game, I think the injury may have zinged a nerve (not to mention showing up on national TV), which would alert the Bills medical Brain Trust to shove the Golden Arm into the Tappy Tube and devise a treatment and recovery plan for it.