What the Bills need to do to take the next step

[Chaos]

We need the coaching staff to extend their comfort zone.  

http://www.sportpsychologytoday.com/youth-sports-psychology/playing-beyond-your-comfort-zone/#:~:text=A comfort zone based on how you expect,to avoid making mistakes and protect your lead.

[billybrew1]

12 hours ago, HaldimandBills said:

So I was listening to the Ringer NFL Podcast as they were discussing whether the Bills or Bengals are a bigger threat to the Chiefs in the AFC? 

 

Both hosts thought Bengals but believe the Bills are right there with some adjustments.

 

They brought up some basic points we all know such as Beane hasn't really had any homerun draft picks outside Allen in the first few rounds since he arrived. There isn't much recieving depth behind Diggs and our oline and RB's leave a lot to be desired.

 

Both hosts believe the upgrades made this offseason will be significant, and that Josh Allen is too good to fail. They both believe in Ken Dorsey as he had the second highest scoring offense in the league and that Dorsey shouldn't be crucified for have a horrible oline and Josh Allen tearing his UCL.

 

His playcalling options were significantly reduced in the 2nd half of the season. The oline couldn't block and Allen couldn't consistently make the short throws with any accuracy. It's a miracle they still did as well as they did. 

 

They agreed that the Bills defense is too blame for the Bills inability to take the next step. For a coaching Unit full of defensive minds they were unimpressed with how mundane the Bills defense has been. 

 

Their reasoning was the Bills have more defensive talent than either the Chiefs or Bengals and that this has worked against them. The claim is the Chiefs and Bengals are constantly mixing it up scheme wise during the regular season putting their defense in awkward situations. This would seem counter intuitive but it pays off come playoff time. 

 

Whats the big deal in giving up an extra td to the Raiders, Browns, and Texans of the world when you know you'll blow them out regardless with your offense? The Bills on the other hand run one defense and they run it well. Their talent allows them to play this way and get away with it during the regular season. This defense embarrasses poor/average/and above avg. QB's but not elite ones.

 

The Mahomes and Burrows of the world's are not intimidated by the Bills two deep zone and designed coverage scheme. They simply tear it apart. This defense is the Bills only pitch and once the batter figures it out the Bills don't have a curve ball to go to. They live and die with this defense.

 

They think Beane got arrogant and that he thought Miller was the only solution the Bills needed to their defense. 

 

Their argument is the Bills need to work on being uncomfortable on defense during the regular season so that come playoff time they throw Mahomes and Burrow off balance. It isnt about being a top 5 regular season defense but a productive playoff defense. By doing this the Bills will have multiple looks they can use in the playoffs and will be much more capable at adjusting to playoff  offensive schemes. 

 

In short the defenses only goal for the season should be providing three to four stops against Mahomes and Burrow in the playoffs and nothing else. This is what the Bills require to take the next step. 

 

Thoughts.

We have great receiving depth but may lack an elite #2.

The offense failed BECAUSE KD kept calling long developing down field plays. It was all KD’s fault. I don’t buy for a second that Josh was too hurt to throw short or medium passes but could throw deep. That’s nonesense. The offense has two major questions this year. Can KD coach?  And, Do we need an elite #2 WR. We will find out in week one. No excuses. Daboll left KD with the best football player in the world and KD couldn’t keep him there.

The changed their defense in the playoffs a lot, calling more blitzes. This will be the first time in the McD era that we have an elite DL and that’s going to make a huge difference for us. Having two good 1-techs and two good pass rushers will make all of defenses look better. The big question on defense is can Hyde & Poyer make it through the year? Second to that would be do we have a second good enough LB? If Hyde and Poyer make through the season at a high level the Bills D will be good enough to win a Super Bowl. If KD can get Josh back to where Daboll left him we will win it.

Those are the two big questions. The OL should be good enough. The offense will be pretty remarkable even without the another add at WR if KD can coach.  We have great talent at RB. The only problem is how to keep or protect Murray in case Cook or Harris goes down or beat up…. Hines is not the answer at #3 RB….imho….

Yeah, we have to hope Beane got better at drafting over the last two years with Elam, Cook and Kincaid, Torrence and I Billieve he did….

I also think the Bills have done poorly developing AJ and Basham. It is not just the picks, imho… I wouldn’t be surprised if they both do better on another team.

 

Go Bills!

 

 

[97bills]

9 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

This is obviously the key… the Bills have invested heavily in defense and need Miller, Hyde, Poyer and White healthy and performing for a playoff run…. If not, I suspect it will be more of the same…. Which is why many here want more of a “load up on offense at the expense of defense” approach.

I think the difference this year(at least on paper) is you have at least a few teams in the conference who can beat anyone. Between the Bengals, Chiefs, Bills, Jags, Ravens, and even Dolphins(if Tua healthy), Jets, and Browns. 
 

Last year there were 3 top teams in the AFC entering the season and entering the playoffs.(Bills, Chiefs, Bengals)

 

I’d be shocked if Bills end up with #1 seed. Much tougher schedule with a tougher division. 

Everyone in the AFC has a tough schedule…

[Don Otreply]

13 hours ago, HaldimandBills said:

So I was listening to the Ringer NFL Podcast as they were discussing whether the Bills or Bengals are a bigger threat to the Chiefs in the AFC? 

 

Both hosts thought Bengals but believe the Bills are right there with some adjustments.

 

They brought up some basic points we all know such as Beane hasn't really had any homerun draft picks outside Allen in the first few rounds since he arrived. There isn't much recieving depth behind Diggs and our oline and RB's leave a lot to be desired.

 

Both hosts believe the upgrades made this offseason will be significant, and that Josh Allen is too good to fail. They both believe in Ken Dorsey as he had the second highest scoring offense in the league and that Dorsey shouldn't be crucified for have a horrible oline and Josh Allen tearing his UCL.

 

His playcalling options were significantly reduced in the 2nd half of the season. The oline couldn't block and Allen couldn't consistently make the short throws with any accuracy. It's a miracle they still did as well as they did. 

 

They agreed that the Bills defense is too blame for the Bills inability to take the next step. For a coaching Unit full of defensive minds they were unimpressed with how mundane the Bills defense has been. 

 

Their reasoning was the Bills have more defensive talent than either the Chiefs or Bengals and that this has worked against them. The claim is the Chiefs and Bengals are constantly mixing it up scheme wise during the regular season putting their defense in awkward situations. This would seem counter intuitive but it pays off come playoff time. 

 

Whats the big deal in giving up an extra td to the Raiders, Browns, and Texans of the world when you know you'll blow them out regardless with your offense? The Bills on the other hand run one defense and they run it well. Their talent allows them to play this way and get away with it during the regular season. This defense embarrasses poor/average/and above avg. QB's but not elite ones.

 

The Mahomes and Burrows of the world's are not intimidated by the Bills two deep zone and designed coverage scheme. They simply tear it apart. This defense is the Bills only pitch and once the batter figures it out the Bills don't have a curve ball to go to. They live and die with this defense.

 

They think Beane got arrogant and that he thought Miller was the only solution the Bills needed to their defense. 

 

Their argument is the Bills need to work on being uncomfortable on defense during the regular season so that come playoff time they throw Mahomes and Burrow off balance. It isnt about being a top 5 regular season defense but a productive playoff defense. By doing this the Bills will have multiple looks they can use in the playoffs and will be much more capable at adjusting to playoff  offensive schemes. 

 

In short the defenses only goal for the season should be providing three to four stops against Mahomes and Burrow in the playoffs and nothing else. This is what the Bills require to take the next step. 

 

Thoughts.

They pretty much hit the nail on the head with this summation, all these points have been made here on this forum repeatedly, even by homers like me.

[LABILLBACKER]

6 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Stay healthy for the playoffs and hope McD doesn't prevent Allen from taking us all the way.

 

Allen needs to throw 3 less INTs

Knox needs 20 more receptions

Davis needs 6 less drops

Find a suitable RT and establish O'Cyrus a day 1 starter in training camp.  

 

Bills D needs to play a deep shell most of the year.  Keep everything in front of them and force the opponent to dink and dunk.  Save the pass rush for the playoffs. Keep Von Miller and Leonard Floyd fresh for January.  Let Epenesa and Basham burn calories chasing the QBs in Sept and Oct. 

 

I agree with everything except we will have important high leverage reg. season games like KC, Cincy & Mia. that determines seeding.  Von & Floyd will be required.  No NBA load management for those games.  But yes keeping Von & Floyd healthy and fresh for a playoff run is vital.

[Mark Vader]

13 hours ago, Billl said:

Hard disagree here.  The Bills are sorely lacking in defensive players who are young, talented, and healthy.  At this point, only Milano and Rousseau have really proven to be all of those three.  You’ve got guys like Elam, Epenesa, and Basham who are young and healthy but haven’t proven themselves to be talented.  White is young and talented, but he isn’t healthy.  Hyde, Poyer, and Miller are talented but are neither young nor healthy.  

 

The Bills could still have a very solid defense, but the Chiefs and Bengals both have far more players who check all of those boxes.  Frazier caught a lot of grief for things that were caused by Beane’s underwhelming drafting.  He should have received more credit for taking guys like Hyde and Poyer who were considered mediocre players prior to coming to Buffalo and turning them into top performers.

Agree with you on Epenesa & Basham, although Epenesa has shown more. Disagree with you on Elam, because he's only been with us for one year and did not play as much.

[BreezeMafia]

How about the team just running out of gas.  2022 had more than normal emotional ups and downs.  The players are human beings and there is only so much a human being can handle.

Regardless of the schedule, I am bullish on the Bills in 2023.

[bmur66]

Playoff football is different. Refs look the other way on alot. The Bills D hasn't appeared ready for it. The O-line needs to improve also. 

Edited June 19, 2023 by bmur66

[BananaB]

10 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Oh hell yes they have wasted money. But you didn't post about waste. You posted about not spending and investing resources on impact players.  Because it did not work out is not the same as they did not try. 

I 100% agree on OT and firmly believe if White had not gotten injured they would have drafted WR or OT in 2022. 

For the millionth time, Kincaid is not a TE.  He is a slot WR the same as Aaron Hernandez was for New England.   He will never ever line up where Knox lines up.  And when he comes up for a contract extension/tag he will argue it should be as a hybrid WR/TE as others have argued based on percentage of plays he is flexed out in a two point stance. 

We’ll see what happens when he gets on the field. There was alot of hype in Cook last year and how he’d be used in this offense and how’d that turn out. 
 

What did you think I was talking about when I said spending too much money on depth. They sign average players that have shown little and hope they make a big impact when they get to our team. That’s really not trying to land big impact players, it’s hoping you get lucky and save a couple bucks

[TheyCallMeAndy]

They need to keep focused, stay healthy, and have the right amount of luck on their side. 

[jethro_tull]

22 hours ago, HaldimandBills said:

So I was listening to the Ringer NFL Podcast as they were discussing whether the Bills or Bengals are a bigger threat to the Chiefs in the AFC? 

 

Both hosts thought Bengals but believe the Bills are right there with some adjustments.

 

They brought up some basic points we all know such as Beane hasn't really had any homerun draft picks outside Allen in the first few rounds since he arrived. There isn't much recieving depth behind Diggs and our oline and RB's leave a lot to be desired.

 

Both hosts believe the upgrades made this offseason will be significant, and that Josh Allen is too good to fail. They both believe in Ken Dorsey as he had the second highest scoring offense in the league and that Dorsey shouldn't be crucified for have a horrible oline and Josh Allen tearing his UCL.

 

His playcalling options were significantly reduced in the 2nd half of the season. The oline couldn't block and Allen couldn't consistently make the short throws with any accuracy. It's a miracle they still did as well as they did. 

 

They agreed that the Bills defense is too blame for the Bills inability to take the next step. For a coaching Unit full of defensive minds they were unimpressed with how mundane the Bills defense has been. 

 

Their reasoning was the Bills have more defensive talent than either the Chiefs or Bengals and that this has worked against them. The claim is the Chiefs and Bengals are constantly mixing it up scheme wise during the regular season putting their defense in awkward situations. This would seem counter intuitive but it pays off come playoff time. 

 

Whats the big deal in giving up an extra td to the Raiders, Browns, and Texans of the world when you know you'll blow them out regardless with your offense? The Bills on the other hand run one defense and they run it well. Their talent allows them to play this way and get away with it during the regular season. This defense embarrasses poor/average/and above avg. QB's but not elite ones.

 

The Mahomes and Burrows of the world's are not intimidated by the Bills two deep zone and designed coverage scheme. They simply tear it apart. This defense is the Bills only pitch and once the batter figures it out the Bills don't have a curve ball to go to. They live and die with this defense.

 

They think Beane got arrogant and that he thought Miller was the only solution the Bills needed to their defense. 

 

Their argument is the Bills need to work on being uncomfortable on defense during the regular season so that come playoff time they throw Mahomes and Burrow off balance. It isnt about being a top 5 regular season defense but a productive playoff defense. By doing this the Bills will have multiple looks they can use in the playoffs and will be much more capable at adjusting to playoff  offensive schemes. 

 

In short the defenses only goal for the season should be providing three to four stops against Mahomes and Burrow in the playoffs and nothing else. This is what the Bills require to take the next step. 

 

Thoughts.

Kind of a basic yet incomplete summary of last season's issues without any specific recommended changes.  Other than the Bills need to "work on being uncomfortable on defense".  Whatever that means- presumably more pressure on the passer and more "look" options to confuse Burrow and Mahomes.  

OK, pretty generic, no offense.  

IMHO the hobbled defensive backfield had more to do with last season's defensive struggles more than anything. 

I would also argue that our offense needed to be much better keeping the ball- keeping drives alive, avoiding dumb play calls and poor execution.

For example, the Bills were no. 1 in Time of Possession in 2021- keeping the ball for almost 539 minutes on the season.  Last year they dropped to third at 478 minutes.  

This is where an elite TE will come into play- just like Kelce, Goedert and Smith if Kincaid develops as I think he will he will be a legitimate receiving threat as well as a highly productive safety valve.  The Bills TOP will improve and we will keep the ball out of the opposition's hands.  

[SoCal Deek]

When you stop and think about it everything is pretty much set now until January. The roster isn’t going to change much, if at all, until then. Neither is the coaching staff or the players’ skill sets. Now we just wait and see if they can win enough games to make the playoffs (which they should based on talent and experience) and then pray they have enough gas left in the tank both mentally and physically. I’m completely over the old home field advantage chase. If you expend all your energy trying to get it, and leave nothing left for the postseason tournament, what was the point? 

[The Firebaugh Kid]

Stay healthy, take the underneath stuff, better oline play, mix it up on defense. 
Daquon Jones is the best player on the defense next to Von. The Bengals game was the only game he missed all year. What a huge difference it made.

[Florida Bills Fanatic]

People are disregarding the impact that injuries had on the team.  The obvious ones were the players that missed games.  The less obvious ones were the guys that played through injuries but were significantly less than 100% (Dawkins, Davis, Poyer, Oliver, Jones, Morse, Phillips, and Brown).  White at less than 100% impacted everything that they wanted to do on defense.

The analysis of the team was a vast over simplification of what the Bills do on defense.  If you really watch them closely, they vary spacing on the d-line and alignment of the front 7 in general.  They really try to give a similar presnap look on every play but break into different coverages at the snap. 

People recently have accepted the analysis of Lombardi as being factual.  This guy has been a failure and is desperate to hang onto some relevance in the NFL.  His take is an opinion with nothing to back it up.  Everybody needs to chill out because the Bills still have a great roster, a front office that continues to develop people, and a coaching staff that wins a lot of games.

[HaldimandBills]

11 hours ago, billybrew1 said:

We have great receiving depth but may lack an elite #2.

The offense failed BECAUSE KD kept calling long developing down field plays. It was all KD’s fault. I don’t buy for a second that Josh was too hurt to throw short or medium passes but could throw deep. That’s nonesense. The offense has two major questions this year. Can KD coach?  And, Do we need an elite #2 WR. We will find out in week one. No excuses. Daboll left KD with the best football player in the world and KD couldn’t keep him there.

The changed their defense in the playoffs a lot, calling more blitzes. This will be the first time in the McD era that we have an elite DL and that’s going to make a huge difference for us. Having two good 1-techs and two good pass rushers will make all of defenses look better. The big question on defense is can Hyde & Poyer make it through the year? Second to that would be do we have a second good enough LB? If Hyde and Poyer make through the season at a high level the Bills D will be good enough to win a Super Bowl. If KD can get Josh back to where Daboll left him we will win it.

Those are the two big questions. The OL should be good enough. The offense will be pretty remarkable even without the another add at WR if KD can coach.  We have great talent at RB. The only problem is how to keep or protect Murray in case Cook or Harris goes down or beat up…. Hines is not the answer at #3 RB….imho….

Yeah, we have to hope Beane got better at drafting over the last two years with Elam, Cook and Kincaid, Torrence and I Billieve he did….

I also think the Bills have done poorly developing AJ and Basham. It is not just the picks, imho… I wouldn’t be surprised if they both do better on another team.

 

Go Bills!

 

 

You might be right but why did the Bills all of the sudden stop with the short stuff as soon as Josh became injured? From what I have read Josh could still muscle the ball deep but his finesse and touch was lost on the short passes due to the injury.

 

We did blitz in the playoffs but it was too little and too late. The point was that the Bills never blitzed during the regular season and weren't prepared to change their play style once the playoffs came around. They're saying blitz and do stunts and more man in the regular season.  That way when you have to adjust in the playoffs your defense isn't shell shocked from running the same scheme the entire season.

[ALLinALLEN]

14 hours ago, John from Riverside said:

Play makers need to make plays at the crucial times
 

What will help? This is a solid offense of line

"Offense of line"

[Gregg]

Better play at LOS on both sides of the ball. Last year in the Super Bowl both the Eagles and Chiefs had the #1 and #2 OL's in the league. The Bills were ranked #26. On defense they need to do a better job getting after the QB as well as stopping the run. 

[HaldimandBills]

1 hour ago, jethro_tull said:

Kind of a basic yet incomplete summary of last season's issues without any specific recommended changes.  Other than the Bills need to "work on being uncomfortable on defense".  Whatever that means- presumably more pressure on the passer and more "look" options to confuse Burrow and Mahomes.  

OK, pretty generic, no offense.  

IMHO the hobbled defensive backfield had more to do with last season's defensive struggles more than anything. 

I would also argue that our offense needed to be much better keeping the ball- keeping drives alive, avoiding dumb play calls and poor execution.

For example, the Bills were no. 1 in Time of Possession in 2021- keeping the ball for almost 539 minutes on the season.  Last year they dropped to third at 478 minutes.  

This is where an elite TE will come into play- just like Kelce, Goedert and Smith if Kincaid develops as I think he will he will be a legitimate receiving threat as well as a highly productive safety valve.  The Bills TOP will improve and we will keep the ball out of the opposition's hands.  

 

Well I mean it's a chat board and I gave a surface level analysis. Sorry I couldn't add more to the McDermott sucks chat form. 

 

I dont think the premise is poor at all. The Bills defense for four seasons in a row have sat back and allowed the QB to pick them apart in the playoffs. 

 

They allowed DeShawn Watson to get in a groove and pick them apart. 

Philip Rivers moved the ball far too easy on the defense in 2021. 

Mahomes is Mahomes and the Bills seem better at stopping him in the regular season and are torn apart in the playoffs. 

Miami's 3rd string qb had a good game against the defense. (granted turns over by the Bills offense didn't help) 

Burrow lite the Bills up.

 

So in four years the Bills only shut down Mac Jones and Lamar Jackson.

 

I dont understand how anyone can honestly analyze this team and not wonder how our top 5 defensive Unit becomes a pumpkin in the playoffs? 

 

I'm not worried about the offense. I am worried about defense that can't get off the field and always seem to give up 3rd and longs.

 

 

[Dopey]

51 minutes ago, HaldimandBills said:

 

Well I mean it's a chat board and I gave a surface level analysis. Sorry I couldn't add more to the McDermott sucks chat form. 

 

I dont think the premise is poor at all. The Bills defense for four seasons in a row have sat back and allowed the QB to pick them apart in the playoffs. 

 

They allowed DeShawn Watson to get in a groove and pick them apart. 

Philip Rivers moved the ball far too easy on the defense in 2021. 

Mahomes is Mahomes and the Bills seem better at stopping him in the regular season and are torn apart in the playoffs. 

Miami's 3rd string qb had a good game against the defense. (granted turns over by the Bills offense didn't help) 

Burrow lite the Bills up.

 

So in four years the Bills only shut down Mac Jones and Lamar Jackson.

 

I dont understand how anyone can honestly analyze this team and not wonder how our top 5 defensive Unit becomes a pumpkin in the playoffs? 

 

I'm not worried about the offense. I am worried about defense that can't get off the field and always seem to give up 3rd and longs.

 

 

18/45 for 220 yds 1 td and 2 ints sacked 4 times. That is not even close to a good game and the offense had a hand in Miami even keeping it close. 
There’s a lot of this “Miami’s 3rd string qb had a good game against us.” . 
Stop it. Watch the game again, not even close to a good game. Again, you’re not the only one spewing this  💩,but if you’re going to complain…

 

One more thing…why complain about playoff victories? Why? Not sure where this feeling of entitlement comes from. It’s the playoffs. They’re supposed to be competitive games. 

[ganesh]

13 hours ago, billybrew1 said:

.

Yeah, we have to hope Beane got better at drafting over the last two years with Elam, Cook and Kincaid, Torrence and I Billieve he did….

I also think the Bills have done poorly developing AJ and Basham. It is not just the picks, imho… I wouldn’t be surprised if they both do better on another team.

 

Go Bills!

 

 

I have lot of doubts about the DL Coach, Washington. He has been very underwhelming