Criticism of McD and coaching has reached insanity level…

[ArtVandalay]

Just now, Einstein said:

I don’t think it’s even debatable that he has a below average Gameday coach

 

but I do agree that he is an excellent leader and pretty good Monday to Saturday coach

With their decisions to not leave town before the storm and not stay in Detroit to gain practice days,  I'm starting to question Monday to Saturday too.

 

[HankBulloughMellencamp]

4 hours ago, The Red King said:

 

Davis had the ball hit him.  He didn't catch it.  The ball was free.  So...that did happen.   It was a (coaching) mistake to put him out there.

 

You also ducked the question.  Let me make it easier.  Do you think McD made a mistake putting a guy that regularly drops the ball out on his hands-team.  Yes or no.  You even get the benefit of hindsight on this one.

 

So with the benefit of hindsight, Gabe dropped a catchable ball earlier, so therefore you believe that McDermott made a coaching blunder by not yanking Davis off of the hands team mid-game, which Gabe has presumably been on all season... got it.  Just throw someone in there who hasn't even practiced it as much.  Good plan.

Who exactly do you suggest we put on our hands team?  It's usually your WRs and TEs and others with good hands, right?  So in your mind, if anyone drops a ball in the game, the HC is supposed to go tell the ST Coordinator to pull him immediately from the hands team?  That's idiotic, and that's why McDermott didn't do that.  

 

Now in the case of an Isaiah McKenzie, who messed up enough returning punts to fritter away all confidence in his reliability as a returner... he hasn't been back there since.  So McDermott does do the right thing when it is warranted.  Go Bills!

[BADOLBILZ]

9 minutes ago, eball said:

 

Not.  What.  Happened.

 

But I know facts don’t concern you.

 

 

 

That was exactly the story as you over-shared it here on TSW thru 2020 (when you were lamenting your inability to get playoff tickets for the Baltimore game).  

 

Since I bring it up periodically when you go on one of your fan-shaming LAMP-rants now you want to re-frame it?    Of course you do. 

 

 

[Billsfan1972]

Well done eball, better then I predicted, 65 positive responses.  Now I understand why anything at all critical of the Bills is met with such vitriol.

 

And never question McD.🤣

[eball]

13 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

That was exactly the story as you over-shared it here on TSW thru 2020 (when you were lamenting your inability to get playoff tickets for the Baltimore game).  

 

 

 

 

Nope, it wasn’t.  If you care about facts, I had already made my decision to give up season tickets when Rex was the coach.  I had held them for 27 years, 24+ of them in North Carolina.  Through the entire drought.  There were many reasons why keeping the tickets made no sense, and watching the s-h-i-t-s-h-o-w with Rex Ryan was the proverbial last straw.  I did more than most of you knuckleheads…I actually wrote a letter to the Pegulas telling them I was dropping my tickets and why.  This was before Rex was fired.

 

I didn’t “protest” the McD hiring or anything of the sort.  But you go on blustering.

 

 

[Coach Tuesday]

6 minutes ago, eball said:

 

Nope, it wasn’t.  If you care about facts, I had already made my decision to give up season tickets when Rex was the coach.  I had held them for 27 years, 24+ of them in North Carolina.  Through the entire drought.  There were many reasons why keeping the tickets made no sense, and watching the s-h-i-t-s-h-o-w with Rex Ryan was the proverbial last straw.  I did more than most of you knuckleheads…I actually wrote a letter to the Pegulas telling them I was dropping my tickets and why.  This was before Rex was fired.

 

I didn’t “protest” the McD hiring or anything of the sort.  But you go on blustering.

 

 

Please post the letter - I can’t be the only one who wants to see it.

[eball]

4 minutes ago, Coach Tuesday said:

Please post the letter - I can’t be the only one who wants to see it.

 

Pretty sure I did.

[HankBulloughMellencamp]

49 minutes ago, ArtVandalay said:

Josh Allen is so good the team should win multiple super bowls with him and the fact is McD single handedly cost us 1 last year with the worst coaching choke job in the history of the league -- worse than Pete Carroll not running at the goal line. 

 

Nice try, but "13 seconds" isn't even close to Seattle's goal line pick IN THE SUPER BOWL or even Atlanta being up 28-3 on Brady IN THE SUPERBOWL. Our poor tackling on defense & Scotty's 47 yard miss with the laces facing holder Frank Reich IN THE SUPERBOWL also qualify.  

[Starr Almighty]

 

I remember the drought and I am grateful for McDermott.

[Einstein]

55 minutes ago, HankBulloughMellencamp said:

 

So with the benefit of hindsight, Gabe dropped a catchable ball earlier, so therefore you believe that McDermott made a coaching blunder by not yanking Davis off of the hands team mid-game, which Gabe has presumably been on all season... got it.  Just throw someone in there who hasn't even practiced it as much.  Good plan.

Who exactly do you suggest we put on our hands team?  It's usually your WRs and TEs and others with good hands, right?  So in your mind, if anyone drops a ball in the game, the HC is supposed to go tell the ST Coordinator to pull him immediately from the hands team?  That's idiotic, and that's why McDermott didn't do that.  

 

Now in the case of an Isaiah McKenzie, who messed up enough returning punts to fritter away all confidence in his reliability as a returner... he hasn't been back there since.  So McDermott does do the right thing when it is warranted.  Go Bills!

 

Gabe has dropped so many balls this year that it is now the EXPECTATION that he drop the ball, in my mind.

[todd]

6 hours ago, Boatdrinks said:

Exactly. Without Allen this team is struggling to stay around .500

which is exactly why Beane sucks and McDermott sucks. They obviously rely on an amazing QB too much and Beane doesn’t have a pro-bowl qb as backup. Clearly a bad GM. Nor do they have a pro-bowl edge rusher to back up Miller, nor can they scheme around injuries so McDermott obviously sucks. All bad GM and bad coaching. It sucks mcdermott can’t scheme around the heat in Miami, and didn’t have enough staff t give every player an iv between possessions. Fire them both. Now.

6 hours ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

 

And Allen’s arm was fine when he threw 4 interceptions including two red zone INTs just prior to his elbow injury. And his arm has looked lively as ever post injury so I have a hard time putting his recent struggles all on the elbow injury. .

 

Do you watch the games? Even the most ignorant of fans can see his elbow is an issue. 

[HankBulloughMellencamp]

18 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

Gabe has dropped so many balls this year that it is now the EXPECTATION that he drop the ball, in my mind.

 

Yep, after being clutch & barely ever dropping a ball in his first two years, and his playoff performance against KC last year, I have no idea why Davis even still sees the field! 🙄  He dropped maybe 3 or 4 this year by unofficial count... what is McDermott even doing? 🙄

 

By that logic, we'd have absolutely zero at tight end, because Dawson Knox would have long ago been jettisoned.  And I don't know if you've ever coached anything before, but believe it or not, players tend to respond very well when their coach actually has their back and believes in them a little. 

[The Red King]

5 hours ago, Epstein's Mother said:

 

His #2 WR should be on the field.  If you're arguing that Davis should not be #2 that's fine.  Should he also bench his quarterback that's thrown more interceptions than anyone?

 

You really answer like a politician, don't you.  Asked you a yes or no question.  You give a three-sentence answer, where neither the word "yes" or the word "no" appear even once.  The fact that you ducked my question twice is an answer in and of itself.  You know I'm right, otherwise you would have actually answered the question.

[Einstein]

9 minutes ago, HankBulloughMellencamp said:

 

🙄He dropped maybe 3 or 4 this year by unofficial count... 

He has 3 in the last two games.

 

 

[The Red King]

1 hour ago, HankBulloughMellencamp said:

 

So with the benefit of hindsight, Gabe dropped a catchable ball earlier, so therefore you believe that McDermott made a coaching blunder by not yanking Davis off of the hands team mid-game, which Gabe has presumably been on all season... got it.  Just throw someone in there who hasn't even practiced it as much.  Good plan.

Who exactly do you suggest we put on our hands team?  It's usually your WRs and TEs and others with good hands, right?  So in your mind, if anyone drops a ball in the game, the HC is supposed to go tell the ST Coordinator to pull him immediately from the hands team?  That's idiotic, and that's why McDermott didn't do that.  

 

Now in the case of an Isaiah McKenzie, who messed up enough returning punts to fritter away all confidence in his reliability as a returner... he hasn't been back there since.  So McDermott does do the right thing when it is warranted.  Go Bills!

 

A ball?  I'm not saying Davis shouldn't be on the field because he dropped A ball.  He has dropped a lot, several in key situations (re: end of Jets and Vikings games).  Josh slipped at the end of the Titans game last year.  Doesn't mean he shouldn't sneak, because it was an isolated incident.  Davis having greased hands is not an isolated incident.  It's happened too many times, many in key situations.  A guy that does not have good hands should not be on the hands team.  Should a guy that repeatedly fumbles be given the ball on 4th and 1?  Because it sounds like you'd approve of that, too.

[The Red King]

Just checked.  Gabe has been targeted 60 times this season, and has 6 drops, so that is a 10% drop rate.  Yeah, that's the kind of guy you want on the hands team, right? 🙄

[MarlinTheMagician]

Could not possibly agree with EBall more.  McDermott and Beane are the indispensable keys to the Bills resurgence and strong current performance, more important than any one player (and have such great respect for Allen it takes a lot for me to say that).  Best GM/coach combo in the league for my money.  They both need to be appreciated, and God forbid we ever lose either.  I want them here a decade plus!   

[Epstein's Mother]

1 hour ago, The Red King said:

 

You really answer like a politician, don't you.  Asked you a yes or no question.  You give a three-sentence answer, where neither the word "yes" or the word "no" appear even once.  The fact that you ducked my question twice is an answer in and of itself.  You know I'm right, otherwise you would have actually answered the question.

 

I absolutely answered yes.  I said the #2 WR should be out there.  Is Gabe Davis the #2 or not?  Maybe you don't want him to be but he is.  I'm picking up this vibe that you don't like him.

[The Red King]

4 minutes ago, Epstein's Mother said:

 

I absolutely answered yes.  I said the #2 WR should be out there.  Is Gabe Davis the #2 or not?  Maybe you don't want him to be but he is.  I'm picking up this vibe that you don't like him.

 

He makes a good #3 WR.  As a #2 he is too hot and cold.  The great plays he makes are great, the bad plays are costly.  Where I don't like him is on the hands team.  As I noted above, Davis has a 10% drop rate!  That is not a guy you want on your hands team.  I would think that would be even more obvious given the fact that he muffed that onside kick, and it would have been Detroit ball had not one of his teammates bailed him out and punched the ball out of bounds.  His handling of that onside kick actually vindicates my view.  A guy that drops one in ten passes dropped an onside kick.  It's pattern recognition.  Davis has strengths, but sure hands is not one of them.

 

As I noted before, I am not one of the people clamoring for anyone to be fired.  Have not said that, here or anywhere else on the board.  I do, however, believe there are valid criticisms that can be leveled against the coaching staff.  Deciding to put a guy with a 10% drop rate on the hands-team was a mistake by McD that nearly cost us.  I disagree with the people calling to fire this staff, but I also disagree with people here that are acting like McD is one of the greatest coaches in the NFL.

[jethro_tull]

12 hours ago, 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!!!!

 

Young fans from the Twitterverse are very impatient.  

I personally say that McD has the keys to the castle and should live here for quite a while- he'll get it sorted out.   Not quite a marathon but far from a sprint.