ROCKPILE REVIEW - Bengals and 2022 Wrap-Up

[Billsfan1972]

19 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

The difference in these situations is they didn't have Josh Allen at QB. That's why I'm growing impatient with this regime. We have an elite QB and haven't even sniffed a Super Bowl appearance yet. I mean last year Josh Allen arguably had the greatest postseason run of any QB in history and we didn't even make it out of the divisional round. Why? Because our defensive head coach's defense fell apart yet again, and a huge coaching mistake cost us in the final 13 seconds of the game. I can't look at that outcome and what happened this year and compare it to Kyle Shanahan leading a who's who of mediocre QBs to a Super Bowl and conference championship. The Chiefs have now made it to 3 Super Bowls and always the conference championship since Mahomes took over. Mahomes may be better than Allen but he isn't that much better. The difference is coaching on both sides of the ball and at the top.

 

So McDermott gets another year to prove he can finally adapt to playoff football. But I won't have any great expectations regardless of how the team looks in the regular season. We have seen them falter when it counts too many times and I have to start thinking that maybe that's just who this team is under McDermott. A team that wins a lot of games because of elite QB play but never gets over the hump.

 

As usual your posts are much appreciated.

Couldn't be more bang on.  

 

Last year many asked why the Bills lost every close game and this year, his "defenders" said "Look the Bills did win close games".

 

Shaw brought up the 3rd play as a key moment, but didn't mention going down 14-0 essentially playing the same defense they did 3 weeks earlier when Cincy was doing the same thing.  He must have signed off on that?   

 

I will ask a stoopid questions.  Does the HC not go over what the coaches are going to do game day?

 

Somehow it was only 17-7 and the Bills had the ball with a chance to put points on the board to end the half and the second half kickoff.  They were at Cincy's 39 yard line too.  Here is exactly where proper coaching with Allen gets you minimum a first down and a FG before half. 

 

First & goal to start the second half at the 8 and again 3 lousy calls.   Where was that one play we waited for all year that wasn't an Allen improvisation but a well conceived play?

 

Is that not coaching?

Edited February 1, 2023 by Billsfan1972

[RangerDave]

Good write-up as usual, Shaw. 

 

I think the difference in how we are all feeling is that the last game of the 2021 season against the Chiefs was such a great game and we could have (should have) won.  People then make the leap that we would have beaten the Bengals in the AFCCG and then beaten the Rams in the SB.  Those are big leaps, not because the Bills weren't a great team playing very well, but because winning each playoff game is distinctly difficult.  But, that tough loss gave us all a lot of hope for the future.  The national media bought into it as well.  It wasn't unreasonable hope, especially after signing Von Miller.

 

The last game of the 2022 season ended with a drubbing of out team.  This does not lead to great hopes for the next year, especially after the high hopes for this year.

 

I still have high hopes that we can rebound and improve enough in the areas where we were not strong so that the 2023 season is just as much fun as the early 2022 season was.

 

Go Bills!

[Shaw66]

53 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

The difference in these situations is they didn't have Josh Allen at QB. That's why I'm growing impatient with this regime. We have an elite QB and haven't even sniffed a Super Bowl appearance yet. I mean last year Josh Allen arguably had the greatest postseason run of any QB in history and we didn't even make it out of the divisional round. Why? Because our defensive head coach's defense fell apart yet again, and a huge coaching mistake cost us in the final 13 seconds of the game. I can't look at that outcome and what happened this year and compare it to Kyle Shanahan leading a who's who of mediocre QBs to a Super Bowl and conference championship. The Chiefs have now made it to 3 Super Bowls and always the conference championship since Mahomes took over. Mahomes may be better than Allen but he isn't that much better. The difference is coaching on both sides of the ball and at the top.

 

So McDermott gets another year to prove he can finally adapt to playoff football. But I won't have any great expectations regardless of how the team looks in the regular season. We have seen them falter when it counts too many times and I have to start thinking that maybe that's just who this team is under McDermott. A team that wins a lot of games because of elite QB play but never gets over the hump.

 

As usual your posts are much appreciated.

Good stuff.   I can't really argue with it, but it's not the conclusion I'd reach.  In part not because the chances are very good that if you replace McDermott, you won't get someone as good.  I wouldn't trade him for McVay or for Payton.  Don't know about Siriano or Zac Taylor.  But none of them is available.  The only guys available are big, big crapshoots.   

 

I think there's a much better chance that McDermott, who's shown that he can create a very good team, can succeed in going the rest of the way than starting over with a new coach and/or a new GM, because you're probably not getting someone as good.   

 

Reid had a QB in Philadelphia whom I wasn't a fan of but who was good enough to win a Super Bowl.  Reid couldn't do it.  It's really hard, and it takes a combination of a lot of things to get there.  This season, as it turned out, McDermott had more adversity than almost any coach with a good team ever has faced.   I have to give him a pass for 2022, and I'm not making 2023 a make-or-break season.  It's a work in process. 

 

 

3 minutes ago, RangerDave said:

 

 

The last game of the 2022 season ended with a drubbing of out team.  This does not lead to great hopes for the next year, especially after the high hopes for this year.

 

 

Fans overreacted to the near-miss against the Chiefs (I, for example, didn't become a believer in Davis as receiver 1A), and they're overreacting to the loss to the Bengals.   The Bills were a mess by the end of this season.   It just kind of fell apart, for a lot of good reasons.  

 

I'm not worried about next season.  McDermott will not stand pat, and Beane won't either.   The Bills we better in 2023, and that's over a very good 2022.

[Dubie54]

2 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

The problem is by the end there were multiple "one things."  DC's scheme.  Pass rush.  Pass protection.  Ferociousness.  

 

Maybe intensity was the biggest problem.  And maybe that's what Saffold meant when he said they were "exhausted."  In neither playoff game did they hit like they need to in the playoffs.  

 

It wasn't their year. 

I enjoyed your write up and felt you covered all of the key points to our season very well.

 

Maybe it's just me, but it seems there are plenty out there who are very frustrated with what we have seen out of this defense. And for me, it all goes back to the 13 seconds and the fact that the Bills org seemed to dodge the whole accountability question.

 

We continued to see very similar "soft" schemes this past year and plenty of instances in the Bengals game. When you look at the 4 teams that played this past weekend, I would argue they all looked and played much more aggressively on defense than what we saw from the Bills at the end of the season, and all use the blitz very effectively. I would argue that we have the personnel but we're not putting them in positions to be as successful as they could be and that goes for the offensive side of the ball with players like Hines and Shakir, and not being able to effectively run screens. 

 

The Damar Hamlin injury had to be a distraction for the Bills and probably did take some of the energy out of the locker room. But I also don't put a lot of stock in what Saffold says because he hasn't shown much energy the entire season.

 

   

[Billsfan1972]

34 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Good stuff.   I can't really argue with it, but it's not the conclusion I'd reach.  In part not because the chances are very good that if you replace McDermott, you won't get someone as good.  I wouldn't trade him for McVay or for Payton.  Don't know about Siriano or Zac Taylor.  But none of them is available.  The only guys available are big, big crapshoots.   

 

I think there's a much better chance that McDermott, who's shown that he can create a very good team, can succeed in going the rest of the way than starting over with a new coach and/or a new GM, because you're probably not getting someone as good.   

 

Reid had a QB in Philadelphia whom I wasn't a fan of but who was good enough to win a Super Bowl.  Reid couldn't do it.  It's really hard, and it takes a combination of a lot of things to get there.  This season, as it turned out, McDermott had more adversity than almost any coach with a good team ever has faced.   I have to give him a pass for 2022, and I'm not making 2023 a make-or-break season.  It's a work in process. 

 

 

Fans overreacted to the near-miss against the Chiefs (I, for example, didn't become a believer in Davis as receiver 1A), and they're overreacting to the loss to the Bengals.   The Bills were a mess by the end of this season.   It just kind of fell apart, for a lot of good reasons.  

 

I'm not worried about next season.  McDermott will not stand pat, and Beane won't either.   The Bills we better in 2023, and that's over a very good 2022.

And there it is Shaw.  I really do respect you and you write great and thoughtful posts, however I think you are way too enamored with McD.

 

I think any coach with Josh Allen as his quarterback would be at  the minimum be at the same spot if not better.

Edited February 1, 2023 by Billsfan1972

[HappyDays]

23 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

In part not because the chances are very good that if you replace McDermott, you won't get someone as good.  I wouldn't trade him for McVay or for Payton.  Don't know about Siriano or Zac Taylor.  But none of them is available.  The only guys available are big, big crapshoots.   

 

Personally I would go the route that has been successful for most of the recent contending teams - hire an up and coming offensive coach. Nick Sirianni, Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Zac Taylor. Throw in Andy Reid and you have most of the last two years' conference championship and Super Bowl contenders. That's the group I'd like to be in.

 

The best part is we should be able to easily attract any offensive coach we want. "You want to get your head coaching career started on the right foot? Here's Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs and cash-rich owners. Have fun." My personal preference is the Lions OC Ben Johnson. He's about the same age as Sean McVay and he looks like a true innovator with a knack for maximizing his talent. I saw what his offense did to our defense despite being ostensibly less talented than us and with a limited QB. Give him the keys to our offense, let him hire an experienced DC, and see what happens. You're right there is no guarantee he is better than McDermott. But one more year with a disappointing early exit from the playoffs and I'm done playing it safe.

[Billsfan1972]

2 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

Personally I would go the route that has been successful for most of the recent contending teams - hire an up and coming offensive coach. Nick Sirianni, Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Zac Taylor. Throw in Andy Reid and you have most of the last two years' conference championship and Super Bowl contenders. That's the group I'd like to be in.

 

The best part is we should be able to easily attract any offensive coach we want. "You want to get your head coaching career started on the right foot? Here's Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs and cash-rich owners. Have fun." My personal preference is the Lions OC Ben Johnson. He's about the same age as Sean McVay and he looks like a true innovator with a knack for maximizing his talent. I saw what his offense did to our defense despite being ostensibly less talented than us and with a limited QB. Give him the keys to our offense, let him hire an experienced DC, and see what happens. You're right there is no guarantee he is better than McDermott. But one more year with a disappointing early exit from the playoffs and I'm done playing it safe.

And you know, I hope we're both wrong.  I don't want to wait until the 2025 Super Bowl. Please Allen win next year in spite of McD. 

Edited February 1, 2023 by Billsfan1972

[Shaw66]

5 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

Personally I would go the route that has been successful for most of the recent contending teams - hire an up and coming offensive coach. Nick Sirianni, Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Zac Taylor. Throw in Andy Reid and you have most of the last two years' conference championship and Super Bowl contenders. That's the group I'd like to be in.

 

The best part is we should be able to easily attract any offensive coach we want. "You want to get your head coaching career started on the right foot? Here's Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs and cash-rich owners. Have fun." My personal preference is the Lions OC Ben Johnson. He's about the same age as Sean McVay and he looks like a true innovator with a knack for maximizing his talent. I saw what his offense did to our defense despite being ostensibly less talented than us and with a limited QB. Give him the keys to our offense, let him hire an experienced DC, and see what happens. You're right there is no guarantee he is better than McDermott. But one more year with a disappointing early exit from the playoffs and I'm done playing it safe.

That's a good plan. And that guy would have his pick of D coordinators, because who want that job on this team?

[Beck Water]

3 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

Chiefs were outstanding.  

 

And for those people complaining about Davis not being a good enough #2 and not drafting a Tee Higgins or whatever, Chiefs lost Tyreek Hill and no wideouts left from when they won the Super Bowl.  Didn't matter.  Great coaching and tenacious defense wins. 

 

"no wideouts left from when they won the Superbowl" 

factually, Mecole Hardman

He isn't a star, but as their #3, he has contributed a steady 3-4 receptions/40 ypg (this year he was injured and missed 9 games though)

 

But

 

The Chiefs top receiver the year they won the Superbowl, 2020, and this year has been their TE Travis Kelce (in 2021, 2nd to Hill by 100 yds)

As we know, he is a job and a half to cover.

 

So their top receiver and their #3 haven't gone anywhere

 

When you say "great coaching and tenacious defense wins", it seems to ignore the continued presence of the Chiefs actual top (or close to top) receiver.

 

[LABILLBACKER]

Shaw, you're like a fine wine. You get better with age. Another excellent and accurate end of season commentary.  We start out 2-0 outscoring two playoff teams 72-17. Then Micah gets hurt. Then half the team gets heat exhaustion in 120° Miami.  And all of a sudden our swagger was gone. I'm not going to go into everything that happened after the heat game bur clearly this was not meant to be our year.  Maybe like you said we don't have the answers.  With Josh we'll always be competitive every season.  This team needs to take a deep breathe, reset and with some new players comes new hope. Hopefully the coaching can improve enough for better playoff performances. 

Edited February 1, 2023 by LABILLBACKER

[Nephilim17]

4 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

I have developed a healthy respect for all of the things I don’t know about football, and I no longer can pretend that I see that one thing the Bills need to fix to get over the top. 

Shaw, I appreciate your eloquent write-ups and thoughtful observations and agree with much of what you write but here — I think you're wrong. In fact, later in your same post you said if you had to point to one thing it would be pass rush; Joe had time to throw and Josh didn't.

Bingo. That's the one thing the Bills need to fix: protect Josh and get the other guy's QB. To do the former requires an investment, likely in free agency and the draft. To accomplish the later, we have to hope for the continued development of Rousseau and some kind of return to form for Miller; we won't have much capital to draft high or spend in free agency on pass rushers. 

I think it's doable. Another receiving threat is needed to but priority one is stop the opposition's pass rush. 

[Beck Water]

33 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

Personally I would go the route that has been successful for most of the recent contending teams - hire an up and coming offensive coach. Nick Sirianni, Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Zac Taylor. Throw in Andy Reid and you have most of the last two years' conference championship and Super Bowl contenders. That's the group I'd like to be in.

 

OK, but in the last 2-3 years we have not so top notch results from these offensive HC:

Kliff Kingsbury

Arthur Smith

Matt Rhule

Matt Nagy

Kevin Stefanski

Nathaniel Hackett (I know, but he was regarded as an up and coming offensive coach)

Matt LaFleur

Adam Gase

Josh McDaniel

Mike McDaniel

Dan Campbell

 

(you might argue if a couple should be included, I might argue if Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay should be included as an up and coming offensive coach after 6 years each, anyway....I also omitted older offensive coaches getting their first shot after decades like Frank Reich, Darrel Bevell and David Culley )

 

My point is, for 4 highly successful offensive minded coaches, you have 11 who have not been successful as yet or who have flat-out flamed out.  And that's just going back 3 years not the 6 that Shanahan  and McVay have been coaching.

 

So 4 out of 15, a bit better than 1 in 4 odds of finding the "right" up and coming offensive coach as your next HC, perhaps?

 

I'm sure all of the guys on the above list had people passionately arguing for them as the Next Big Thing

 

 

 

 

Edited February 1, 2023 by Beck Water

[gjv]

Perhaps I'm giving the Bills a pass on a very poor performance against Cincinnati. That being said, I don't think it was the same Bills team after the Hamlin cardiac arrest. I say this based on their poor performance against Miami a week earlier. Looking back, some interviews after the Hamlin incident, especially Tre White's, concerned me. I imagine some of the players internalized Hamlin's situation to a degree that it affected their focus. I might add that Hamlin's event could have also affected some coaches. 

[CincyBillsFan]

4 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

Chiefs were outstanding.  

 

And for those people complaining about Davis not being a good enough #2 and not drafting a Tee Higgins or whatever, Chiefs lost Tyreek Hill and no wideouts left from when they won the Super Bowl.  Didn't matter.  Great coaching and tenacious defense wins. 

They did add a couple of solid WR's to help fill the hole left by Hill's departure.  The key was that the KC organization tried to fix the issue and I suspect they will be active in the FA market and on draft day to further lesson the blow of losing Hill.

 

 

 

 

[Shaw66]

1 hour ago, Nephilim17 said:

Shaw, I appreciate your eloquent write-ups and thoughtful observations and agree with much of what you write but here — I think you're wrong. In fact, later in your same post you said if you had to point to one thing it would be pass rush; Joe had time to throw and Josh didn't.

Bingo. That's the one thing the Bills need to fix: protect Josh and get the other guy's QB. To do the former requires an investment, likely in free agency and the draft. To accomplish the later, we have to hope for the continued development of Rousseau and some kind of return to form for Miller; we won't have much capital to draft high or spend in free agency on pass rushers. 

I think it's doable. Another receiving threat is needed to but priority one is stop the opposition's pass rush. 

I think it's a much more complicated puzzle than that.   It's like a an old tire innertube; every time you patch one part another part springs a leak.  The task of winning a Super Bowl is to get a whole lot of different things enough right AND have it all come together in an efficiently operating machine AND be able to keep it all working as you turn up the aggressiveness in the playoffs AND not have a key guy like Von Miller go down at the wrong time.  Yes, I think they need a better offensive line and someone other than Miller who can be a regular threat to get at the other quarterback, but I think a lot more than that has to happen for the Bills to win a Super Bowl. 

2 hours ago, Beck Water said:

 

"no wideouts left from when they won the Superbowl" 

factually, Mecole Hardman

He isn't a star, but as their #3, he has contributed a steady 3-4 receptions/40 ypg (this year he was injured and missed 9 games though)

 

But

 

The Chiefs top receiver the year they won the Superbowl, 2020, and this year has been their TE Travis Kelce (in 2021, 2nd to Hill by 100 yds)

As we know, he is a job and a half to cover.

 

So their top receiver and their #3 haven't gone anywhere

 

When you say "great coaching and tenacious defense wins", it seems to ignore the continued presence of the Chiefs actual top (or close to top) receiver.

 

But the point is that if you have a stud - Kelce for them and Diggs for the Bills, other pieces can change.   It's not like you have to have the three Cincy has in order to win.  It's nice if things can fall together so you can have Kelce and Hill for a Super Bowl run, but it isn't necessary.   You don't have copy some other team's roster to be successful.   In fact, if you try to do that, you'll fail.   

 

The task of winning a Super Bowl is that you have to build a supremely effective offensive and defensive machine and have it as well tuned as it can be when the playoffs hit.  Everyone's machine is different.  Chasing after the style of last year's winner is a losing game. 

Edited February 2, 2023 by Shaw66

[Shaw66]

2 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

That's a good plan. And that guy would have his pick of D coordinators, because who want that job on this team?

Happy - the problem with your plan, although I like it, is that it likely would require dismantling the roster.   It would mean a rebuild - not a full rebuild, but as the style changes to suit the coordinators, the players necessarily must change.  So you have to weigh that against letting McDermott continue to build on his scheme.  

 

Ultimately, the thing that gives me confidence in McDermott is his lifelong learner philosophy.   He is not afraid of throwing out what he's doing if he sees a better way.   So, I don't think we're going to see a defense that falls further behind state-0f-the-art defense in the NFL, and I don't think he's going to tolerate substandard offense from Dorsey.  

 

Still, what you say makes sense. 

[WideNine]

6 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

 

As the Bills lost to the Bengals in the AFC Divisional Round, I wasn’t ready to step off the ledge.  I hoped they’d win, but I expected they wouldn’t.  I hoped a truly competitive playoff team would emerge in January, but I hadn’t seen much evidence of that kind of dominance in December.  It wasn’t their year.

 

I guess I’ve mellowed.  Worst case, I’m losing interest, but I don’t think that’s the case.  I had tickets and a hotel in Atlanta, and I had a hotel and a rental car in Arizona.  I was interested.

 

For now, however, I think less than I used to about what went wrong and what needs to be fixed than in past years.  I have developed a healthy respect for all of the things I don’t know about football, and I no longer can pretend that I see that one thing the Bills need to fix to get over the top.  If it were easy enough for a guy sitting in his family room to figure that out, someone in Orchard Park would have done it already. 

 

What it takes to win a Super Bowl is a complex, almost unknowable combination of factors, many of which are completely or largely outside the control the General Manager and the coaches.  The extreme example was the COVID pandemic season, when the rules that governed practice, travel, and schedule all changed and kept changing throughout the season.  Teams had to figure out on the fly how to accomplish the training and preparation necessary to play the game at a high level under circumstances they’d never seen before.  Even short of that extreme, the variables are constantly changing, and each team is challenged to respond.  Coaches keep experimenting with approaches to offense, trying to find ways to move the ball consistently and score, and as they do, defensive coaches adjust their approach to defense.  What works changes from year to year, even from month to month.  Players come and go, with a quarter to a third of the players on the roster changing annually, and as the players change, the things the team can do effectively on the field change.  The process, from April through February, is like 75 people trying to complete a giant jigsaw puzzle while the picture being built is changing before their eyes. 

 

In that kind of environment, just getting to the point where your team is one of the half dozen that have gotten good enough to compete in the playoffs is a major accomplishment.  The winner will be the team that can keep growing and building a team that can play at increasing levels of physicality. 

 

The winners also invariably talk about how the team is a family, how much they care for each other.  Some people think it’s a cliché, but it’s said so regularly that I’m sure it’s true.  The winners must come together, not just physically and technically, but emotionally, as well. 

 

It is amazingly difficult and unpredictable, and every year the winning players and coaches are justifiably proud of what they’ve accomplished.  And there’s no shame in falling short.

 

The Bills fell short.  I think the emotional roller coaster of the Bills’ 2022 season was too much to overcome.  That is, it simply couldn’t be expected that they could accomplish all of the technical things – the training, the study, the learning, the teamwork, the offense and defense growth and development, the insertion of inexperienced players, like Hamlin, Jaquon Johnson, and others into the lineup – all of that and more, while struggling with the extraordinary events of the 2022 season.  The Bills were central to or lived through three national news stories:  the Topps murders, the blizzard, and Damar Hamlin.  Those events were, at the least, big distractions, and more likely difficult and draining once-in-a-lifetime emotional challenges.  And they lived through Kim Pegula’s health issues and the death of Dawson Knox’s brother. 

 

On field, what went wrong?  Plenty, I’m sure.  Josh Allen didn’t have an MVP season.  Teams figured out how to slow down the Bills’ offense and how to attack their defense, and the coaches didn’t implement strategies and tactics to counter what opponents were doing.  Losing Micah Hyde for almost the entire season was a major blow; he more than anyone else is key to the Bills’ defensive scheme.  Losing Von Miller for the late-season and playoff run hurt the pass rush, as did the failure of Greg Rousseau, Ed Oliver, and others to develop as defensive threats on their own.  The offensive line was not nearly effective enough. 

 

If I had to point to one factor in the Bills’ playoff loss to the Bengals, I’d say “pass rush.”  The real difference in the game was that Joe Burrows regularly had time to throw, and Josh Allen didn’t.  One play stands out for me: I believe it was Allen’s incomplete pass deep to Diggs up the left side on third and four, the Bills’ first possession of the game.   Allen was flushed out of the pocket to the right, found Diggs, and threw.  Diggs was open, but Allen threw the flat deep ball that we saw a lot from him in his early years.  He had plenty of room to throw to open space toward the middle of the field, and Diggs could easily have adjusted to get there.  The right throw would have been completed for a big gain or possibly a touchdown.  Allen didn’t have time, and when QBs don’t have time they rush their throws. 

 

Under Sean McDermott, the Bills are enjoying great success.  There is no reason to complain about him or his abilities, not yet.  Ten, thirteen, eleven, and thirteen wins in the past four seasons, four and five in the playoffs.  Andy Reid won his first conference championship game in his sixth year and didn’t win another one until more than ten years later.  Zac Taylor has already lost a Super Bowl and a Conference Championship game.  Sean McVay is looking more lucky than good.  Kyle Shanahan doesn’t have a Lombardi.  

 

The sports news media, particularly one Associated Press article after the Bengals game, made a big deal about the Bills going “all in” to win the Super Bowl this season.  That’s simply wrong.  Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott have always been very clear that their objective is sustained, long-term success.  The Rams went went “all in” last season, trading for Von Miller in his free agent season, signing Odell Beckham, and it paid off for them.  Then they collapsed.  The Bills signed Miller to a six-year deal, with the likelihood that he’ll play at least three.  The Bills made no short-term plays to win it all this season. 

 

The Bills have become a dominant team in the NFL, a team that should be in the mix to win the Super Bowl for years to come.  It didn’t happen in the 2022 season, and that’s disappointing, but it’s easy to see that things simply didn’t fall together the right way this season.  Now, they’re in the process of building for next season.

 

And that's a wrap.

 

Thanks Shaw.

 

 

 

[Inigo Montoya]

@Shaw66

 

Great write up.

 

The biggest thing is to just keep making it into the playoffs and then it's anyone's ballgame.  You can't account for the odd bounces that occur during a playoff run.  It takes a talented team and a lot of luck to win a Super Bowl.

 

If the Bills can keep making it into the tournament they will eventually have luck break their way and they will win one.  It's Beane and McDermott's job to keep that roster competitive so they keep making it into the final eight.  If they can do that eventually lightning will strike.

 

 

Edited February 2, 2023 by Inigo Montoya

[Nephilim17]

20 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I think it's a much more complicated puzzle than that.... Yes, I think they need a better offensive line and someone other than Miller who can be a regular threat to get at the other quarterback, but I think a lot more than that has to happen for the Bills to win a Super Bowl

I'll disagree here. Does "a lot more" have to happen than a vastly upgraded O-line and good pass rush? I don't think so. 

Upgrading WR2 will help and maybe a north-south running back who can get the short and tough yards but beyond that a better O-line makes Josh throw better, makes Josh stay healthy (who knows how much his elbow injury was a factor this year), makes the running game better, makes Knox look better, makes Cook a consistent weapon.

And on D, if we have a pass rush, the corners look better, we don't need two veteran safeties, we don't need two upper-level linebackers...

All the other stuff help but I'm going old school and say the lines will be the key and make everything else work better. I don't think the puzzle is as complicated as you do. We shall see...

[Let's Go Buffalo]

Great job as always. Thanks for your time and effort on these Reviews.....Go Bills!