Joe Buscaglia’s Early Thoughts on the Bills Needs Going Into 2023

[Buffalo_Stampede]

3 hours ago, Big Blitz said:

All this talk about explosive plays and YAC - fine. 
 

But the reality is we have sucked in the Red Zone - that’s where defenses have figured us out.  And that’s because we don’t have anyone underneath that turns a pass at the 10 yard line to a TD.  
 

Those are the YAC plays I want.  

 

Or a RB that breaks a run inside the 15 and turns it into a TD or at least makes defenses worry about it.  
 

Outside of improving the Oline and adding a WR maybe a RB - Red zone work needs to be Dorsey’s focus this off season.  Needs to watch those tapes 24/7.

They figured out redzone. They remembered about Knox. They were back to being a top redzone offense.

Basically the same talking points as the last 2 offseasons for me. 
 

DL needs to be more stout. They were with Jones healthy. Need another like Jones.

 

DL needs more finishers in the pass rush. Von never got to show it in the playoffs. He’s all we got and he’s old and injured.

 

DBs need more man talent. We need DBs that can matchup physically and put pressure on WRs.

 

WRs need speed and players that can make a play for Josh besides Diggs.

 

OL needs better interior OL play. Brown is a problem but talented. Coach him up.

 

Edited February 7, 2023 by Buffalo_Stampede

[John from Riverside]

7 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Let's go ahead and combine #4 & #10.  Josh shouldn't believe in his OL anymore. Brown & Saffold were awful.  Dawkins seemed to regress some. Bates & Morse are decent but hardly great. You shouldn't be surprised if your run game is weak or your elite qb is constantly running for his life. That's the result of a 27th ranked OL.  And McB are to blame for that. They've had 5 years to do better. Half this draft better be OL/ WR.

 

Points 1-3 just validate how status qou this organization runs. I'd love to see the "playoff" DVOA of our defense these last 4 years.  Dorsey enables Josh so of course he's going to want to keep him. And McDermott enables Leslie to run a failed playoff defensive scheme.  I guarantee you both Dorsey & Frazier will be gone next January if the Bills exit early again. This is the only way Sean keeps his job.

 

As for the rest I agree there will be no big fa signings. Maybe one lower tier olineman.  I only sign Edmunds if he agrees to 12M. Anything more and I let him walk.  I'm letting Devin go and trying to sign Perine cheap as a power back. The last power back was Gore who was old as rust. Spencer goes permanently to backup status. Bernard & Spector were just bad picks.  

 

If this organization is serious about going to the next level, it's going to have to look in the mirror and be prepared to make big adjustments. 

We also need a wide receiver, preferably a veteran that pushes Gabe Davis to the third wide receiver role

 

Should be Diggs

Player to be named

Gabe Davis

Khalil, Shakir

[Niagara Dude]

16 hours ago, 78thealltimegreat said:

Joe B is usually really good in his breakdown of the team.

I agree with him about the Bernard pick he was drafted to be a starter on this D and they need him to be a starter eventually.

Also I would add Hynes has to be more heavily involved in this offense or we are paying 5 mill a year for a kick returner. 

He is another bust,  just like Ford.  Slow and undersized this guy will never make it and these are the kind of picks that have held the team back

16 hours ago, stevestojan said:

So sick of hearing how we “overcame so much.” The Hamlin situation, got it. Awful, and kudos to all involved; not referring to that in this post. But the team was in a downward spiral well before that. 
 

Snow storms, injuries, and having to sleep in a hotel a on Christmas all suck. But my god could you imagine if we heard Chiefs fans using these excuses if they lost? We would be laughing, and laughing. 
 

Allowing Frazier to destroy this defense for another year is criminal. Allowing him these lame ass excuses is worse. 

 Our DC does not put our players in position to succeed and our playoff game was a prime example. Frazier did nothing against the Bengals to take advantage of 3 starters on their line missing , KC's DC used schemes to engineer mismatches and sacks. They got to Borrows all night long.

An example was the first sack on the 2nd drive. They walk up Bolton up over the center, which forces Karras to make a 5-0 call (fist in the air) which means man blocking the 5 most dangerous. In this case that means Karras has to account for Bolton as a threat in the A-gap - can't leave him unblocked, while leaving Gay unblocked. 

This prevents the line from going to a half-slide right where they could get Karras on Jones, Scharping on Clark, and leave Adeniji free for Gay if he blitzes off the edge.

This instead makes Cincy adjust AFTER the snap, once they've seen Bolton drop. You can see after the snap, Karras pauses to react to Bolton and Adeniji is initially focused on Clark. By then it's too late and Adeniji is too slow to get back and pick up Gay's speed off the edge. I am telling everyone that Frazier's defences may put up stats in the regular season but how many games are we playing against top QB'S? If the Bills expect to ever make it to the Super Bowl they will need to get past elite QB'S

[NastyNateSoldiers]

16 hours ago, Success said:

I think Benford will move into the safety role, and be good there.  Does Bernard see a lot of time on special teams?  It's too bad they can't find a role for him.

 

I do think Brown will be better next year, and at minimum provide quality depth.  But he could be the starter we all hoped he'd be.  The injury set him back last year.

 

Signing Edmunds would be a magic trick, but Beane has worked some magic in the past.  Who knows. Would be great to keep him.  I'd be surprised if we didn't pick at least 2 O linemen in the draft, and probably 3.  

 

It’s it really magic or is it an illusion? lol

4 hours ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

They figured out redzone. They remembered about Knox. They were back to being a top redzone offense.

Basically the same talking points as the last 2 offseasons for me. 
 

DL needs to be more stout. They were with Jones healthy. Need another like Jones.

 

DL needs more finishers in the pass rush. Von never got to show it in the playoffs. He’s all we got and he’s old and injured.

 

DBs need more man talent. We need DBs that can matchup physically and put pressure on WRs.

 

WRs need speed and players that can make a play for Josh besides Diggs.

 

OL needs better interior OL play. Brown is a problem but talented. Coach him up.

 

Sounds like huge problems and yes we’ve been hearing about these issues for years and there still not fixed! 

[GreggTX]

Clearly the OL is the top priority with WR as #2. Safety is a priority as well, but I think Benford mitigates our need. Look for an affordable veteran S signing to compete.

 

[hondo in seattle]

It's hard to disagree with Joe.

 

I'm surprised he's reporting that the Bills still believe in Spencer Brown.  I'm not sure how.

Dorsey is an interesting case.  After early dominance, the offense faltered down the stretch until it finally laid an egg against Cinci.   Dorsey definitely doesn't have the creativity of an Andy Reid or Sean Payton.  But who's available that's better?  Do you gamble Dorsey will improve?  Or gamble with a guy from another organization?  

 

But, yeah, I'm not sure how long Josh will be an elite QB and you don't want to waste any of that time with a non-SB quality OC.  

[blitzboy54]

17 hours ago, frostbitmic said:

Dorsey or Daboll ? ... The same criticisms heaped on Dorsey are the same ones that were being heaped on Daboll in 2020 and 2021. Poor red zone play calls, RB's a second or third thought.

 

Dorsey had some problems but for long stretches, the only ones slowing down the Bills offense was the Bills offense. Dorsey didn't throw any INT's, or put the ball on the carpet drop passes or get flagged for penalties.

 

Not by me. Daboll used plays to setup other plays down the road. Cover 1 and others that break down film would routinely highlight what the plan was and where maybe there was a failure to execute, but here was always a plan. 

 

Dorsey had multiple professionals throughout the year (Kurt Warner, Orlovsky, Barnwell, Joe, Cover 1 etc) say they didn't understand his route schemes. He constantly had receivers together in the same area. The oline struggles were real but then why wouldn't you use the pass catching running backs you took in the 2nd round and TRADED FOR in season. The offence ran out of gas because the offense ran out of ideas. Josh's QB rating is through the roof when moving to his right. Where were the designed play action roll outs? Why not put everyone on the move and help out a bad oline? Dorsey's only plan by the end of the season was to put Josh is a shotgun 5 step drop and get him killed. He used him like a fullback. He should have been fired mid season.

 

I don't care if Josh trusts him. Someone needs to protect him from himself. 

[BigAl2526]

I'm still unsure on Terrell Bernard.  Otherwise, I think Joe is preaching to the choir.  Most of what he says seems pretty self-evident.  Not saying he's wrong about Bernard.  I just want to see another training camp before I write him off.

[John from Riverside]

7 hours ago, Niagara Dude said:

He is another bust,  just like Ford.  Slow and undersized this guy will never make it and these are the kind of picks that have held the team back

 Our DC does not put our players in position to succeed and our playoff game was a prime example. Frazier did nothing against the Bengals to take advantage of 3 starters on their line missing , KC's DC used schemes to engineer mismatches and sacks. They got to Borrows all night long.

An example was the first sack on the 2nd drive. They walk up Bolton up over the center, which forces Karras to make a 5-0 call (fist in the air) which means man blocking the 5 most dangerous. In this case that means Karras has to account for Bolton as a threat in the A-gap - can't leave him unblocked, while leaving Gay unblocked. 

This prevents the line from going to a half-slide right where they could get Karras on Jones, Scharping on Clark, and leave Adeniji free for Gay if he blitzes off the edge.

This instead makes Cincy adjust AFTER the snap, once they've seen Bolton drop. You can see after the snap, Karras pauses to react to Bolton and Adeniji is initially focused on Clark. By then it's too late and Adeniji is too slow to get back and pick up Gay's speed off the edge. I am telling everyone that Frazier's defences may put up stats in the regular season but how many games are we playing against top QB'S? If the Bills expect to ever make it to the Super Bowl they will need to get past elite QB'S

13 and three

[SCBills]

11 hours ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

They figured out redzone. They remembered about Knox. They were back to being a top redzone offense.

Basically the same talking points as the last 2 offseasons for me. 
 

DL needs to be more stout. They were with Jones healthy. Need another like Jones.

 

DL needs more finishers in the pass rush. Von never got to show it in the playoffs. He’s all we got and he’s old and injured.

 

DBs need more man talent. We need DBs that can matchup physically and put pressure on WRs.

 

WRs need speed and players that can make a play for Josh besides Diggs.

 

OL needs better interior OL play. Brown is a problem but talented. Coach him up.

 

 

DL needs to be more stout. They were with Jones healthy. Need another like Jones.

 

Couldn't agree more.  I want Oliver out of here.  Trade him for a conditional 7th, do not care.  He's too small and his cap hit is way too big.  

 

DL needs more finishers in the pass rush. Von never got to show it in the playoffs. He’s all we got and he’s old and injured.

 

Eh.. Von is a freak.  I still think he could give us a strong 2 years until we reach the outs in his contract.  Rousseau hasn't made the jump to elite EDGE, but with Von back in the mix, they are a strong 1-2 combo.  

 

DBs need more man talent. We need DBs that can matchup physically and put pressure on WRs.

 

Elam is that guy.  No idea what the problem was with McD/Frazier and Kaiir, but he's our most talented DB.  Other than that, we have to hope White returns to Pro-Bowl caliber play.  If it's going to happen, it will happen this year (following DB ACL recovery timelines)

 

WRs need speed and players that can make a play for Josh besides Diggs.

 

Yup.  Need an overhaul.  I'd let Edmunds walk, use his money on someone like Meyers, then also draft a WR1 traits guy in RD1...but I highly doubt our staff would do that.

 

OL needs better interior OL play. Brown is a problem but talented. Coach him up.

 

Agreed.  Not ready to give up on Brown, but we need competition/contingency for him.  Otherwise, sign/draft a legit Guard and then double dip for a C to develop behind Morse this year. 

[dave mcbride]

23 minutes ago, BigAl2526 said:

I'm still unsure on Terrell Bernard.  Otherwise, I think Joe is preaching to the choir.  Most of what he says seems pretty self-evident.  Not saying he's wrong about Bernard.  I just want to see another training camp before I write him off.

Bernard was a Cotton Bowl MVP with 20 tackles vs Ole Miss and I wonder if the Bills overestimated him because of "the tape" given that he certainly doesn't have the build you'd expect for an NFL linebacker. Reminds me of Keith Ellison. Here's a scouting report of him. Note the "elite intangibles" - that's catnip to McDermott. So far, though, he looks like a  special teamer. I don't think this is going to have a happy ending. 

 

"Undersized sub-package nickel linebacker with special-teams value on the next level. Bernard possesses elite intangibles and teams will be drawn to him because of it. He's resilient, productive and showed a willingness to play through pain. However, Bernard lacks the desired frame and play strength and will face scrutiny surrounding his injury history. He needs space to operate and has the speed for man-cover duties as a pro. If the medicals check out, he should be a Day 3 pick with sub-package value." 

Edited February 7, 2023 by dave mcbride

[Lofton80]

I think Bernard was drafted to develop behind Matt Milano as he missed games the prior 2 seasons with hamstring issues. Bernard had good speed, was a captain and academic all american. He likely checked a few "process guy" boxes. My concern with Bernard and a few others is they are too light and get exposed against the run. I am pretty sure he sticks a couple more seasons as he develops. 

[Success]

2 minutes ago, Lofton80 said:

I think Bernard was drafted to develop behind Matt Milano as he missed games the prior 2 seasons with hamstring issues. Bernard had good speed, was a captain and academic all american. He likely checked a few "process guy" boxes. My concern with Bernard and a few others is they are too light and get exposed against the run. I am pretty sure he sticks a couple more seasons as he develops. 

 

Some guys need time.  He wasn't drafted to be a day 1 starter.  I still have hope that he'll grow into a big role on the team.

 

I think in general, the current regime takes their time w/ young players.  Elam probably would have started just about every snap for many teams in the league, and I think he will here next year (and be excellent).  While a lot of RB's contribute more in their 1st season, they brought Cook along very slowly, and we could see in the last quarter of the season how capable he is.  Same w/ Shakir to an extent.

 

If some of the young players can take that next step, we'll be in much better shape next year (obviously).  

[Airseven]

1 minute ago, Lofton80 said:

I think Bernard was drafted to develop behind Matt Milano as he missed games the prior 2 seasons with hamstring issues. Bernard had good speed, was a captain and academic all american. He likely checked a few "process guy" boxes. My concern with Bernard and a few others is they are too light and get exposed against the run. I am pretty sure he sticks a couple more seasons as he develops. 

 

That's all fine, but they reached in the third round with several quality OL prospects still on the board. Bernard would have likely been available in the fourth/fifth round, and if not, there must've been other LB prospects who fit your criteria. It was a baffling choice.

[Negan]

1 hour ago, Airseven said:

 

That's all fine, but they reached in the third round with several quality OL prospects still on the board. Bernard would have likely been available in the fourth/fifth round, and if not, there must've been other LB prospects who fit your criteria. It was a baffling choice.

It screams McDermott draft pick all over it.

[JohnNord]

4 hours ago, blitzboy54 said:

 

Not by me. Daboll used plays to setup other plays down the road. Cover 1 and others that break down film would routinely highlight what the plan was and where maybe there was a failure to execute, but here was always a plan. 

 

Dorsey had multiple professionals throughout the year (Kurt Warner, Orlovsky, Barnwell, Joe, Cover 1 etc) say they didn't understand his route schemes. He constantly had receivers together in the same area. The oline struggles were real but then why wouldn't you use the pass catching running backs you took in the 2nd round and TRADED FOR in season. The offence ran out of gas because the offense ran out of ideas. Josh's QB rating is through the roof when moving to his right. Where were the designed play action roll outs? Why not put everyone on the move and help out a bad oline? Dorsey's only plan by the end of the season was to put Josh is a shotgun 5 step drop and get him killed. He used him like a fullback. He should have been fired mid season.

 

I don't care if Josh trusts him. Someone needs to protect him from himself. 

TBH this is why I’m much more concerned about Dorsey as OC than Frazier.  I’m hoping that a better OL fixes a lot of the issues.  I can’t figure out why the Bills can’t a RB involved in the passing game.  It kind of was the same last seasons, so my guess is that Josh bears some responsibility 

[Don Otreply]

On 2/6/2023 at 2:15 PM, Billl said:

Incompletions don't kill drives.  Sacks do.  The Eagles had the most sacks.  Chiefs had the second most.  The Bears had the fewest.

I would say that  any ill conceived low percentage play call, such as, a mid to long distance pass on third and short into double coverage that is not caught or intercepted just killed a drive…, now i would also say that having your QB sacked on third and what ever is a bit more demoralizing/embarrassing for the O-line,,,. But they all kill drives equally, 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Nauseating 

[AlfaBill]

On 2/6/2023 at 11:43 AM, uninja said:

 

There is soooo much more to playing LB than rushing the QB. Good linebackers like Edmunds and Milano take away huge chunks of the field and force QBs to have to make much more difficult throws into much tighter windows. In the modern game an incompletion is almost as good as a sack, it's a play for no yards and a loss of down.

Ya but he doesn’t rush the passer so he sucks

[OldTimer1960]

20 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

It's hard to disagree with Joe.

 

I'm surprised he's reporting that the Bills still believe in Spencer Brown.  I'm not sure how.

Brown really had no strength training all last offseason due to a back problem.  He missed basically all of training camp, too.  He is young and really didn’t have a lot of experience coming out of college - he played all of one season and his school canceled the season before the draft because of COVID.

 

There is certainly no guarantee that he is the answer, but I would wait and see how he does next year after hopefully a full offseason of training before giving up on him.

 

That doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t consider taking an OT early in the draft - especially one that can also play G.