Colin Cowherd's Take

[uticaclub]

2 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Beane is out to prove the doubters wrong on both Brown and Davis… he was heavily criticized in his postseason press or on both….as of now, he is doubling down on both. 

So we are without a RT or WR2 because of Beanes stubborness? 

[billsfan89]

Cowherd is a blowhard who is immensely unlikable. His point was true the past two off-seasons in 2021 and 2022. Von and the DT's on the interior along with Elam being the first-round pick were where heavy resources went to the defense when in reality the Bills likely could have invested more in the offense. 2021 had a similar focus with both of the first two draft picks being defensive linemen and most of the cap dollars being spread toward the defense easily could have balanced things out more to help Josh and the offense.

 

But in 2023 the priority resource-wise has been shifted more towards the offense. The Bills biggest external free agent contract was McGovern and the first two draft picks were spent on the offensive side of the ball. Also, a lot of the smaller signings like Hardy, Harris, Sheffield, and Edwards were on the offensive side of the ball. Outside of resigning Ed Oliver, there wasn't really much action or resources spent on the defense. 

 

A third-round pick and some late-round picks were tossed into the defense, so draft wise there wasn't really much. AJ Klein, Jordan Phillips, and Shaq were resigned to minimum or close to minimum deals. Poyer was resigned to a mid-level contract and Poona Ford signed to a deal that was lower mid-level at best. The only significant defensive signing was Floyd whose deal is not exactly a massive one and was done late in free agency and was a huge discount for a player of his value. 

 

The Bills are also still in on D-Hop by all accounts and have some cap flexibility (they can restructure Dawkins and extend D.Jones to free up some space and if they are more inclined to take on risk Tre White can also be restructured) so I wouldn't rule out one or two more offensive late stage free agency acquisitions. 

[newcam2012]

2 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

No, not too high.  And I agree with what you say.   

 

Acknowledging it's difficult doesn't automatically translate into an excuse.  There's a difference between an explanation as to why something happened and making an excuse.   

 

For any team, the answer to the question "why didn't you win the Super Bowl" is "we weren't good enough."   There are a lot of explanations for why one team or another wasn't good enough.  There are explanations for the Bills, too.  

 

What people mean when they say that an explanation is an excuse is that they think the team is using the explanation to make it okay that they didn't win.  One thing we know for sure is that the Bills - the owner, the GM, the coaches, and the players, do not think it's okay.  They aren't making excuses for themselves.   They're trying to do something that is very difficult, and they're going to keep trying.  

 

Fans can complain if they want, but I'm not complaining.  Yes, the Rams won a Super Bowl, and almost immediately they weren't competitive.  The Bills are competitive every season, and they intend to stay there.  I can support that. 

That's a solid response. One thing that I slightly disagree with is that excuses were made. Perhaps legit or maybe not. 

 

Listen to Beane's end of season presser. He talked about Cinci and their cap situation. Burrow being on his rookie contract. I would have asked him what happened when Allen was on his rookie contract? The Buffalo media is soft as Charmin toilet paper. How in the world does it allow Beane to get away with using that as an excuse when years before he was under the same situation. Crazy...

 

Coach McD talked about his team after the Cinci loss. He specifically talked about how they didn't have anything left in the tank. Really? Did anyone ask him isn't it his job to have the team ready? What was the gameplan? Didn't he learn anything from playing Cinci weeks before? 

 

Let's not even begin to talk 13 seconds. He never took ownership as far as I'm concerned. A man known as a high character guy skirted responsibility. Fired the special teams coach. Lol

 

It was a home playoff game and Hamlin was present. He was obviously getting better. We were all relieved as fans. Religious or not it was a miracle. Prayers were answered. 

 

Prior to the game, we didn't hear any rumblings about how the team was gased, mentality unfit, unfocused unprepared, preoccupied, traumatized, etc...

 

After the Cinci embarrassment all the above surfaced. How convenient. Did anyone see the Miami game the week before? The Bills out coached by an inferior team. Lucky to advance to be honest. Takes me back to the home Indy game with Philip Rivers. 

 

Anyone see a pattern here? In The big game the Bilks haven't gotten it done. Are they soft? Lack physicality, toughness, leadership, or just not good enough?

 

Does the coaching staff put the team in the best position to win? Dorsey? Frazier? McD? 

Edited June 7, 2023 by newcam2012

[billsfan89]

6 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Beane is out to prove the doubters wrong on both Brown and Davis… he was heavily criticized in his postseason press or on both….as of now, he is doubling down on both. 

 

I doubt Beane cares about proving doubters wrong. The staff probably felt like Spencer Brown healthy with a full off-season to work on his game would make a good RT but still brought back Queese a decent vet backup and Shell an experience RT as competition. Would I have liked better competition for Brown? Yeah but it isn't like there isn't options on the roster if Brown struggles. 

 

In regards to Davis the team did spend a 1st round pick on a pass catcher that will likely allow them to be less reliant on Davis and signed Hardy to help alleviate pressure on Davis. The team also seems to be in on D-Hop so clearly not shying away from trying to find more WR help. The Bills being up against the cap and missing out on top WR talent in round 1 simply had to make a choice on how to invest resources and went with a more prudent approach. Had they had a better chance to upgrade from Davis I think they would have. Who knows maybe D-Hop is still in the mix?  

[Nextmanup]

12 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

Cowherd is a blowhard who is immensely unlikable

You may not like him, but to dismiss him as a blowhard is ridiculous.

 

He's one of the better guys in the country doing that type of work.

Can you possibly imagine anyone at WGR-550 investing that level of research and preparation into on air segments?  The Gr-55 guys, Sal C. at the top of the list, are blowhards.

 

There is a reason why Cowherd went from a regional talent in the Pacific NW to a huge national name.

 

You don't have to like him tough!

 

 

[billsfan89]

2 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Yea don’t disagree, but that is way down the totem pole of reasons they lost to Cincy IMO…. Still, I think some fans have these wild expectations with the running game seemingly every year… they were 7th in the league in yard per game and 2nd in the league in yards per carry in 2022….Singletary averaged 4.7 YPC and Cook 5.7…. How much better can we really expect? 
 

Offensively they need someone to step up in the passing game and be a better 2nd option for Josh than Gabe(unless he emerges after 3 inconsistent seasons)… that’s where the real opportunity for improvement is on offense IMO.

 

The issue with the Bills offense was more so being more effective in the red zone and moving the ball "easier" against better teams and in certain situations. The Bills put up a lot of points and moved the ball well but in the red zone where teams could double Diggs easier and force others to beat you the Bills at times struggled. The Bills also lacked a conventional running game at times and supplemental weapons when Diggs was doubled or even tripled at times. Hoping the improved interior O-line and the addition of Kincaid the Bills can be more consistent in the redzone and make things easier for Josh against better defenses. 

[billsfan89]

14 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

You may not like him, but to dismiss him as a blowhard is ridiculous.

 

He's one of the better guys in the country doing that type of work.

Can you possibly imagine anyone at WGR-550 investing that level of research and preparation into on air segments?  The Gr-55 guys, Sal C. at the top of the list, are blowhards.

 

There is a reason why Cowherd went from a regional talent in the Pacific NW to a huge national name.

 

You don't have to like him tough!

 

 

 

Even in this segment he completely ignored the past off-season where the team spent draft resources and free agency dollars more on the offensive side of the ball. He cites Poona Ford as a big-time addition whose contract was a low-level deal. I never find any of Cowherd's takes to be all that well-researched or all that good either. His takes are either obvious sports stuff or just ***** he goes off the cuff about. I think several times he had done NFL season predictions and he had the entire NFL 60 games over .500 or majorly over .500. I don't listen to much local sports talk radio (I get more sports punditry from Youtube and podcasts) but even in that context, Cowherd's analysis is mid-level at best in my opinion. 

 

Also, someone becoming popular does not necessarily mean they are that great. Mcdonald's is the world's most popular restaurant doesn't mean they are the best restaurant in the world. 

[Augie]

Win 4 straight and look good doing it, and we are back in Cowherd’s top 3 teams in the NFL.   🤷‍♂️

[BigAl2526]

I think there are some pundits who believe if you don't throw a boatload of money at a player or players to fix an area of the team, you didn't do anything.    Buffalo was restricted in what they could do this off season.  I think they did more than most of us thought they could.  They didn't throw out big contracts on the offensive line, but they did sign some players who are pretty well respected and have lots of starting experience.  I think the offensive line will be better than last season.  With improvements at running back and a new weapon at tight end, that might be enough to reduce pressure on Josh Allen.

[Shaw66]

1 hour ago, Logic said:

The only thing it "says" to me is that OTHER teams have franchise QBs and good rosters, too.

You say the best way to punch your ticket to the SB is to have a franchise QB. That's true. But sometimes all seven teams in the AFC playoff field have franchise QBs. So what's the "deeper meaning" for the six that don't win? Is it always a larger systemic failure?  Or is it just a system where, in each game, two teams face off and only one can win?

If two teams face off in an exciting duel and one barely outlasts the other, is it always a complete referendum on the losing team? Or did one of the two teams just happen to have the ball last?

Your hypothesis of "they have a franchise QB and yet they haven't won it all, so something must be wrong in the bigger picture" just seems overly simplistic to me, that's all. Only one team out of 32 gets to win the championship. 

Can improvements to coaching, scheme, personnel, and execution be made? Of course! But that doesn't necessarily mean there's some larger, deeper thing that is structurally wrong with the team. 

It's hard to win the Super Bowl. 

I agree.

 

And I want to add something to discussion that has been nagging at me when I first saw it a few weeks ago.  I don't recall the thread where this discussion took place, but someone dug out passer rating and other performance data splits on Burrow and Allen in 2022.  I think Mahomes' data was there, too.  Among other things, the data showed that Burrow's passer rating rose incrementally from the first quarter to the fourth quarter.   Allen's dropped off in the fourth quarter fairly significantly.  Mahomes was better than Allen, too.

 

There are multiple things of significance in that information.  First, of course, is that there could be a lot of different reasons why Allen's performance tailed off in the fourth quarter - it's a team game, and any number of things could contribute to Allen's decline.  

 

Second, whatever the reason for Allen's decline, there simply is no question that you'd rather have a QB with a passer rating of 105 in the fourth quarter than 89, which is in the ballpark of what the difference was.   There's simply no question that your team is likely to have greater success if your team has a quarterback who's very efficient in the fourth quarter.  

 

Third, this kind of information really undermines the argument that you've properly challenged here - that is, if the team has an elite quarterback, the coaches should be winning Super Bowls.  Who's to say that the problem isn't simply with #17.  Maybe the coaches are doing it all right, and #17 just isn't getting the job done?   Now, I know there are all kinds of rebuttals to that, some of which I agree with, particularly it's Dorsey, it's clock management, it's the offensive line, but none of that is the point.  The point is that there's elite and there's elite, and to blindly lay the problem at the feet of the GM and coaches isn't looking nearly closely enough at what might be causing the team to fall short. 

 

Maybe the only reason the Chiefs are winning Super Bowls and the Bills aren't is that Mahomes is simply better than Allen.   I suppose that thought will cause some people to say, "Well, then that's reason enough to put McDermott on the hot seat, because he's the one who decided he didn't want Mahomes."  Those people will flame away.   They're the people who, when the Bills win the Super Bowl, will complain that they didn't beat the spread.  

[billsfan89]

30 minutes ago, BigAl2526 said:

I think there are some pundits who believe if you don't throw a boatload of money at a player or players to fix an area of the team, you didn't do anything.    Buffalo was restricted in what they could do this off season.  I think they did more than most of us thought they could.  They didn't throw out big contracts on the offensive line, but they did sign some players who are pretty well respected and have lots of starting experience.  I think the offensive line will be better than last season.  With improvements at running back and a new weapon at tight end, that might be enough to reduce pressure on Josh Allen.

 

The Bills signed one of the better pass-blocking guards in the league who is also a decent run blocker, they drafted the best guard and tight end in the draft. They also signed a power running back and kept Hines as a good gadget/third-down back. In addition to that they signed Hardy as a burner and Sheffield who was the Fins third leading receiver to supplement the WR corps depth. The Bills also further addressed depth along the interior O-line by signing Edwards a former solid starting guard for a Super Bowl winner to go off the bench and they brought back Queese as a decent backup and signed Snell an experienced RT to challenge Brown in camp. The Bills are also still in on trying to sign Hopkins so clearly they are still trying to find some players on offense still.

 

The Bills had limited resources this off-season and they spent those resources more so on the offensive side of the ball. The criticism of over-investment in defense was extremely valid in 2021 and 2022. But in 2023 they have focused more so on offense both in terms of higher draft picks and cap dollars. 

[L Ron Burgundy]

20 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Still don't understand the Davis hate on this board. Yes he was a bit inconsistent last year but his YPC is elite. He makes difficult catches look routine.  He makes a ton of plays. I can forgive some miscues from time to time if he makes up for it with TDs and big catches. 

If the offense is to play better, it starts with the OL which should be better and then it falls on Allen. People don't want to admit it but he was careless with the ball last year and he missed open guys underneath. Kincaid and another year with Dorsey should help. Run game should be more consistent as well.

I think Beane did enough to improve the offense even without Hopkins.

He makes easy catches hit the turf.   He was terrible last year.  I wanted him to be a be a 1b reciever but that did not happen. 

[ProcessTruster]

21 hours ago, RichRiderBills said:

What the hell is he talking about ? We brought in like 5 new OL including a top Guard in the draft. Bills have had a crazy good off-season. They've nailed all their needs. 

 

Ridiculous take. 

 

DL was a bigger problem in that Cinci game. 

pay no attention to the Cowturd.   I'm just an idiot homer fan and even I could see McBeanes killed it this offseason.  

[Royale with Cheese]

2 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

You may not like him, but to dismiss him as a blowhard is ridiculous.

 

He's one of the better guys in the country doing that type of work.

Can you possibly imagine anyone at WGR-550 investing that level of research and preparation into on air segments?  The Gr-55 guys, Sal C. at the top of the list, are blowhards.

 

There is a reason why Cowherd went from a regional talent in the Pacific NW to a huge national name.

 

You don't have to like him tough!

 

 

 

It's because of his on air personality.  There are a lot of guys that work hard but they don't build up a big following for various reasons.

 

The WGR guys know more about the Bills and Sabres than other talk show hosts by a mile.  WGR guys specialize in just two teams.

 

Cowherd's and Dan Patrick's and others talk about any big sports topic....much broader audience and broader subjects.  They aren't experts in any specific team unless it's their team.

 

I like Cowherd and listen to him a lot.

[Aussie Joe]

2 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

Beane is out to prove the doubters wrong on both Brown and Davis… he was heavily criticized in his postseason press or on both….as of now, he is doubling down on both. 

He doesn’t seem to show the same loyalty with his DE picks…

[Beast]

21 hours ago, teef said:

Without watching a single second, I’m going to guess it made you tingle down there.  Am I right?

Yep. It’s a regular who’s who in this thread.

[phypon]

He's not completely wrong.  This D has been a sieve at stopping the run during the wrong games, so the D line has required attention.  As other's have stated, they've been trying to improve the O line.  As long as they are addressing both lines, I'm good that they are aware of the need.  If the D line is improved this year and the O line needs more help, maybe they go heavy next year for the O line.  As much as we don't want to see Allen hit the dirt, he does mask O line issues.  I'd love to have a great O line.  Hopefully, this year's line is better and they can throw more resources at it next year and the year after if need be.

[John from Riverside]

2 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

Yea don’t disagree, but that is way down the totem pole of reasons they lost to Cincy IMO…. Still, I think some fans have these wild expectations with the running game seemingly every year… they were 7th in the league in yard per game and 2nd in the league in yards per carry in 2022….Singletary averaged 4.7 YPC and Cook 5.7…. How much better can we really expect? 
 

Offensively they need someone to step up in the passing game and be a better 2nd option for Josh than Gabe(unless he emerges after 3 inconsistent seasons)… that’s where the real opportunity for improvement is on offense IMO.

A reliable over the middle target would open things up for the outside receivers
 

Enter Dalton Kincaid

[Aussie Joe]

8 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Not really the same thing. The Bills rotate their DLine, so AJE/Basham will get plenty of reps. 

 
or one of them might be gone come Week 1

[Beck Water]

22 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

2 of the biggest hits JA took last year was from RT.  Neither Brown or Quessenberry have the foot quickness to keep Josh from being "out for the season". Yes we upgraded the IOL.  But it's the outside speed rushers who are the threat.

 

The canonical wisdom is that the "blind side" is the L side, the IOL needs to maintain a pocket, and the RT can be given help from a TE, WR or RB to chip - or, in Josh's case, that he can see and evade.

 

42 minutes ago, Aussie Joe said:

 
or one of them might be gone come Week 1

 

At this point, we certainly have too many bodies signed at both DT and DE