Problems w/ the Two Kings of Buffalo

[Thrivefourfive]

I know.. so dramatic. But here’s a completely useless take, with no proof or science to back it up.

 

Since WE KNOW the coaching staff has relied on Josh more than they should, have we ever considered that the players do exactly the same thing? JA17 is such an athletic freak, I suggest that the offensive line is constantly in a state of confusion when pass blocking. And the receivers are timid.
 

Example, when Gabe Davis isn’t making one of the greatest long ball catches of all time vs the Steelers 2022, he looks practically afraid to catch the football from Allen. I’m seriously hoping Sherfield, Hardy, Shorter.. ‘take it to the opponent’ and don’t just run routes to catch the ball and drop to the turf. So sick of the lack of RAC over the past.. 20 years. I just have this illusion of the Bills receivers thinking Look ma, I caught the ball from Josh Allen, and they don’t really want to play football after that catch. 
 

The OLine blocks like ***** for Allen. Why? They are too into Josh Allen’s game, than their own. Is Josh going to throw it quick? Is Josh going to run around? Is Josh going to throw it 70 yards? Is Josh going run me over on his way to running over the guy I’m supposed to be blocking. JA17 isn’t an easy guy to play with for OLine. I get that. The offense looked its best in 2020 when things were scripted and timed and executed. The OLine room has to dig deep and figure this out, because the moment Josh pulls a Josh, they get my sidetracked and confused on what just happened.

 

Allen is an animal. I think he needs to sort out some things. He’s like Michael Jordan in 1988 who went ballistic. Then Jordan was convinced to play some team ball, and it was game over. Allen needs that switch flipped. His athletic ability is awe-inspiring, but the boy needs to realize toning it down some is better for the ten other teammates on the field. Is isn’t optional. He NEEDS to do this. 
 

King McD. I see what McDermott is doing here. He’s making every defensive guy accountable to one entity: HIM. That’s his move. He is absolutely cemented as King1B in Buffalo. This is not going to be a thing too much longer.. he’ll get HIS guy to call the plays soon, probably next year, but this is an all-in move to put up or shut up for his players. He will get rid of players that don’t respond to this, either physically, emotionally, mentally, whatever. He’s not a nice guy. He won’t let guys hang around. The Bills don’t keep players that they don’t think improve the field product. 
 

I think this is a problem because I don’t think it will work. Just my 50/50 opinion. Of course I’ll be rooting like hell for McDermott to have his statue erected OUTSIDE the entrance to the new stadium for winning the Super Bowl as OC and DC. But it’s a tall task on him personally. However, he has no other distractions to deal with, like being a loser, or not having a contract, or bickering with management/ownership. So he is primed career wise to do something like this. After all, he wouldn’t do anything this stupid if it were stupid. 
 

All of this should be an interesting season. Oh, Kincaid is a difference maker. He plays football just fine.
 

And Poyer is toast. An injury or a collection of, will sideline him. It would’ve been wise to fully commit to Benford as a free safety all off season, if they think he can play that position. 

[Augie]

28 minutes ago, Thrivefourfive said:

I know.. so dramatic. But here’s a completely useless take, with no proof or science to back it up.

 

Since WE KNOW the coaching staff has relied on Josh more than they should, have we ever considered that the players do exactly the same thing? JA17 is such an athletic freak, I suggest that the offensive line is constantly in a state of confusion when pass blocking. And the receivers are timid.
 

Example, when Gabe Davis isn’t making one of the greatest long ball catches of all time vs the Steelers 2022, he looks practically afraid to catch the football from Allen. I’m seriously hoping Sherfield, Hardy, Shorter.. ‘take it to the opponent’ and don’t just run routes to catch the ball and drop to the turf. So sick of the lack of RAC over the past.. 20 years. I just have this illusion of the Bills receivers thinking Look ma, I caught the ball from Josh Allen, and they don’t really want to play football after that catch. 
 

The OLine blocks like ***** for Allen. Why? They are too into Josh Allen’s game, than their own. Is Josh going to throw it quick? Is Josh going to run around? Is Josh going to throw it 70 yards? Is Josh going run me over on his way to running over the guy I’m supposed to be blocking. JA17 isn’t an easy guy to play with for OLine. I get that. The offense looked its best in 2020 when things were scripted and timed and executed. The OLine room has to dig deep and figure this out, because the moment Josh pulls a Josh, they get my sidetracked and confused on what just happened.

 

Allen is an animal. I think he needs to sort out some things. He’s like Michael Jordan in 1988 who went ballistic. Then Jordan was convinced to play some team ball, and it was game over. Allen needs that switch flipped. His athletic ability is awe-inspiring, but the boy needs to realize toning it down some is better for the ten other teammates on the field. Is isn’t optional. He NEEDS to do this. 
 

King McD. I see what McDermott is doing here. He’s making every defensive guy accountable to one entity: HIM. That’s his move. He is absolutely cemented as King1B in Buffalo. This is not going to be a thing too much longer.. he’ll get HIS guy to call the plays soon, probably next year, but this is an all-in move to put up or shut up for his players. He will get rid of players that don’t respond to this, either physically, emotionally, mentally, whatever. He’s not a nice guy. He won’t let guys hang around. The Bills don’t keep players that they don’t think improve the field product. 
 

I think this is a problem because I don’t think it will work. Just my 50/50 opinion. Of course I’ll be rooting like hell for McDermott to have his statue erected OUTSIDE the entrance to the new stadium for winning the Super Bowl as OC and DC. But it’s a tall task on him personally. However, he has no other distractions to deal with, like being a loser, or not having a contract, or bickering with management/ownership. So he is primed career wise to do something like this. After all, he wouldn’t do anything this stupid if it were stupid. 
 

All of this should be an interesting season. Oh, Kincaid is a difference maker. He plays football just fine.
 

And Poyer is toast. An injury or a collection of, will sideline him. It would’ve been wise to fully commit to Benford as a free safety all off season, if they think he can play that position. 

 

Self awareness, I like it!  😋

 

I kid, but here are a few thoughts: 

 

* I’m just now watching the game, and while it’s popular to beat up on Gabe (who I expect to have a much more focused and productive year) but Gabe looks good out there. I read this right after the beautiful sideline catch. Contract year, no high ankle sprain and I have high hopes. I hope somebody pays him a FORTUNE, because that means we did well. 

 

* The Oline. I can’t bring myself to dwell on how awful this is. I didn't think we could look WORSE than last year, but it goes to show I know nothing. Praying Torrence becomes a long term stud. 

 

*Allen is great, and we all know that, but he has to be smart. 

 

* Kincaid WILL be great, I believe that. 

 

* You don’t like McD as much as I do. He has done nothing but produce since he arrived in town. No, it’s not perfect and I hope he is grooming his DC as we speak so he can focus on being a HC. Not in love with his split duties, but I’ll wait and see. 

 

* Dorian Williams flies to the ball. I wonder how we get him out there without another player who I love get injured. He’s a football player. I don’t get the “fit”, but that’s not my job. 

 

* I can’t panic after a single preseason game, but the penalties really bothered me. It’s one thing to get beat, it’s another to beat yourself. Sloppy is sloppy, and that was sloppy. 

 

And that is my two cents for the latest state of the Bills thread. 

 

 

.

Edited August 20, 2023 by Augie

[Thrivefourfive]

19 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

Self awareness, I like it!  😋

 

I kid, but here are a few thoughts: 

 

* I’m just now watching the game, and while it’s popular to beat up on Gabe (who I expect to have a much more focused and productive year) but Gabe looks good out there. I read this right after the beautiful sideline catch. Contract year, no high ankle sprain and I have high hopes. I hope somebody pays him a FORTUNE, because that means we did well. 

 

* The Oline. I can’t bring myself to dwell on how awful this is. I didn't think we could look WORSE than last year, but it goes to show I know nothing. Praying Torrence becomes a long term stud. 

 

*Allen is great, and we all know that, but he has to be smart. 

 

* Kincaid WILL be great, I believe that. 

 

* You don’t like McD as much as I do. He has done nothing but produce since he arrived in town. No, it’s not perfect and I hope he is grooming his DC as we speak so he can focus on being a HC. Not in love with his split duties, but I’ll wait and see. 

 

* Dorian Williams flies to the ball. I wonder how we get him out there without another player who I love get injured. He’s a football player. I don’t get the “fit”, but that’s not my job. 

 

* I can’t panic after a single preseason game, but the penalties really bothered me. It’s one thing to get beat, it’s another to beat yourself. Sloppy is sloppy, and that was sloppy. 

 

And that is my two cents for the latest state of the Bills thread. 

 

 

.

To mean I don’t like McDermott as much as you @Augie, I’m just stating that given the choice between his winning the Super Bowl as DC and not, I’m doubting it. My money is on - he won’t. Whatever that betting line is, I’m going against. I’ve got McDermott’s back as our HC. In fact, McDermott deserves even more credit than he’s been given. There are very VERY few GMs in the league that would hire over McD. He’s that successful. After 20 years of pain, McDermott has control over the division and wins 10+ every year. Be crazy to even think about dissing him at this money in time. Let alone the fact that you can’t,, because he is going NOWHERE unless HE decides to. 

 

I hear you on Davis. That catch was awesome. I love when receivers get their hand out above them and catch in stride. Looks cool. But I do think he still looks slow. We’ll see. Hope he busts out (again?), but I think the other pass catchers have more potential to wreak havoc on defenses. 
 

The OLine seriously need to figure something out. Like big boys do. It’s them and Allen, and it ain’t working. This play is too poor, and for this caliber a team, it’s unacceptable. 
 

Yes on Williams! I want to see more. He’s like a Life in the Fast Lane type of player, so there’s no time to waste here. Let him fly!

[PBF81]

19 hours ago, Thrivefourfive said:

I think this is a problem because I don’t think it will work.

 

Agreed.  It's a tall task for anyone, even for those that have mastered one or the other, HC or DC.  He hasn't mastered either.  

 

Here's the thing, there's this perception out there that McD was some sort of fantastic DC in Carolina.  I'm not seeing that.  I see a DC that on his watch in 6 seasons averaged 17th in Scoring D and 13th Yardage D, which is purely average.  In Scoring D he finished 18th, 21st, 26th, and 27th in 4 of 6 seasons there, and that 26th was his last season there, not his first.  The following year Steve Wilks, who's a nothing coach that gets no particular respect, took the same 26th ranked Scoring D from McD's tenure and turned it into the 11th Scoring D, and went from 21st in Yardage D to 7th, up 15 and 14 spots, with a notably tougher schedule!!   It doesn't say much when some schlep can come in and do that with what you had.  

 

One of the two seasons that McD's D ranked well there, the Panthers had the easiest schedule that any team in the league had from 2011 - 2022.  I'll put that another way, of 384 (12 seasons x 32 teams) different schedules from 2011 - 2022, McD's Carolina had the easiest schedule of any NFL team during that 12-year period when McD's D was good.  That leaves one single season as having been great there all other things being comparable to his peers.  

 

So is he really proven to be some great DC?  I don't nor ever have seen it.  We'll find out this season, but it should be pretty clear that he's not Parcell's or Buddy Ryan.  

 

Has he even really ironed out his head-coaching yet?  "13-Seconds"?  Last season's ridiculous debacle in the playoffs.  OK, fine, we can write it off as "lots having gone down late in the season," but that doesn't give him a free-pass to Head-Coach-of-the-Year or greater, nor was he.  He's arguably the worst coach in the playoffs, indisputably, for teams that reach the Divisional Rounds.  But Carolina's playoff pattern was about the same.  Underachievement once they got to the playoffs.  Maybe it's a Rivera coaching tree thing.  LOL 

 

So in questioning whether or not he can handle it, it's marvelous that he's got the "culture" thing here worked out, and that he's what used to be called a "player's coach."  "The Process" is still some ridiculous mystery that no one on the planet can define or explain, it just gets laid out anytime anything goes off the rails, ... "Trust the Process."  Notice it hasn't been said recently.  There's a reason why not.  But otherwise, without Allen, he's nothing.  Even now everyone's saying if Allen were to go down we'd be in the basement.  Believe it.  Honestly, I don't see this team winning more than 7 games w/o Allen the way McD's got it going.  That's par for how everyone before him was, everyone that also didn't have Allen.  

 

Who knows, perhaps he'll morph into some monster HC/DC combo this season, all I'm saying is that there's not even a basis for any notion that he's even a top-10 DC, nor a top-10 HC arguably, but both?  ... at the same time?  

It takes a real reach to think that that's going to happen.  He is routinely outcoached by the better coaches in the league, even in wins for us at times.  

 

As to the "situation," if he had fired Frazier instead of pandering to him for whatever his reasons were, then perhaps a decent DC would have come here.  I'm of the opinion that much as people don't hire people better than they are for fear that they'll end up taking their jobs, that's why he didn't hire another DC.  But who knows, again, JMO based upon how I view things.  But there isn't one assistant coach on the team that is even remotely slated to get a head-coaching position, and they all owe him and are loyal to him after he brought them here and promoted them.  Is that what's best for the team right now however?   Yeah, we all get it, those are coaches that "he's familiar with and trusts," by why?  What are their above-average achievements and accomplishments?  The short answer is not much if anything significant at all.  

 

What we do know is that the NFL is a business, not some jobs program designed to keep people employed.  Taking Frazier's responsibilities without firing him raises questions.  

 

We'll see how it works out, but once again, we don't have an easy schedule here this season, and his track record as a DC with a more difficult than not schedule as a DC is 2nd, 18th, and 26th.  That's not Parcells.  But even McD's 2nd ranked Scoring D season is skewed.  The Panthers played a lot of low-end scoring teams that season.  30th (twice), 29th, 28th, 26th, 22nd, 21st, 20th (twice), the 17th, and 15th for 11 of their 16 games.  That's also a third of their schedule solidly against 5 of the 7 worst offensive teams.  Of course the defense ranked well.   But we have the polar opposite here this season.  Should be interesting to be sure.  

 

More proof?  The Saints had the 4th ranked Scoring and Yardage D that season, wedged in between 31st/32nd & 28th/31st seasons.  The Bucs defense was also ranked somewhat higher at 21st/17th, wedged in between 23rd/29th and 25th/25th seasons, up by 10 on average in Yardage D.  Atlanta, a team perennially bereft of defense remained about the same.  

 

And funny, isn't it, that was Rob Ryan's only "good" year as a DC (New Orleans) too.  Pure coincidence?   

 

If we discount that season, on paper, from McD's dossier, to put it mildly, he was not good as a DC there ranking 20th in Scoring and 15th in Yardage on average, with the former lagging the latter, which is also not a positive indicator.  My opinion is that's about what we're going to see here this season.  

 

And once again, as the 2nd seed in the playoffs in that 2nd-ranked season, against the Niners' 11th ranked Scoring team, 24th ranked Yardage Offense, and 30th ranked Passing Offense led by Kaepernick, McD's D allowed 23 Points and 315 Net Yards, along with scoring drives of 80 (TD), 77 (TD), 73 (FG), 49 (FG), and 31 (FG), and losing embarrasingly to the 5th seeded Niners in the Divisional Round as their only playoff game.  That's 310 net yards of scoring drives.  In short, another below-average playoff performance defensively speaking, against a very average offense when he had the 2nd-ranked D, both Scoring and Yardage on the season.  

 

So where is it that this narrative that he's some great Defensive mind comes from.  It's not from that.  

 

 

Edited August 21, 2023 by PBF81

[Thrivefourfive]

26 minutes ago, PBF81 said:

 

Agreed.  It's a tall task for anyone, even for those that have mastered one or the other, HC or DC.  He hasn't mastered either.  

 

Here's the thing, there's this perception out there that McD was some sort of fantastic DC in Carolina.  I'm not seeing that.  I see a DC that on his watch in 6 seasons averaged 17th in Scoring D and 13th Yardage D, which is purely average.  In Scoring D he finished 18th, 21st, 26th, and 27th in 4 of 6 seasons there, and that 26th was his last season there, not his first.  The following year Steve Wilks, who's a nothing coach that gets no particular respect, took the same 26th ranked Scoring D from McD's tenure and turned it into the 11th Scoring D, and went from 21st in Yardage D to 7th, up 15 and 14 spots, with a notably tougher schedule!!   It doesn't say much when some schlep can come in and do that with what you had.  

 

One of the two seasons that McD's D ranked well there, the Panthers had the easiest schedule that any team in the league had from 2011 - 2022.  I'll put that another way, of 384 (12 seasons x 32 teams) different schedules from 2011 - 2022, McD's Carolina had the easiest schedule of any NFL team during that 12-year period when McD's D was good.  That leaves one single season as having been great there all other things being comparable to his peers.  

 

So is he really proven to be some great DC?  I don't nor ever have seen it.  We'll find out this season, but it should be pretty clear that he's not Parcell's or Buddy Ryan.  

 

Has he even really ironed out his head-coaching yet?  "13-Seconds"?  Last season's ridiculous debacle in the playoffs.  OK, fine, we can write it off as "lots having gone down late in the season," but that doesn't give him a free-pass to Head-Coach-of-the-Year or greater, nor was he.  He's arguably the worst coach in the playoffs, indisputably, for teams that reach the Divisional Rounds.  But Carolina's playoff pattern was about the same.  Underachievement once they got to the playoffs.  

 

So in questioning whether or not he can handle it, it's marvelous that he's got the "culture" thing here worked out, and that he's what used to be called a "player's coach."  "The Process" is still some ridiculous mystery that no one on the planet can define or explain, it just gets laid out anytime anything goes off the rails, ... "Trust the Process."  Notice it hasn't been said recently.  There's a reason why not.  But otherwise, without Allen, he's nothing.  Even now everyone's saying if Allen were to go down we'd be in the basement.  Believe it.  Honestly, I don't see this team winning more than 7 games w/o Allen the way McD's got it going.  That's par for how everyone before him was, everyone that also didn't have Allen.  

 

Who knows, perhaps he'll morph into some monster HC/DC combo this season, all I'm saying is that there's not even a basis for any notion that he's even a top-10 DC, nor a top-10 HC arguably, but both?  

It takes a real reach to think that that's going to happen.  He is routinely outcoached by the better coaches in the league, even in wins for us at times.  

 

As to the "situation," if he had fired Frazier instead of pandering to him for whatever his reasons were, then perhaps a decent DC would have come here.  I'm of the opinion that much as people don't hire people better than they are for fear that they'll end up taking their jobs, that's why he didn't hire another DC.  But who knows, again, JMO based upon how I view things.  

 

What we do know is that the NFL is a business, not some jobs program designed to keep people employed.  Taking Frazier's responsibilities without firing him raises questions.  

 

We'll see how it works out, but once again, we don't have an easy schedule here this season, and his track record as a DC with a more difficult than not schedule as a DC is 2nd, 18th, and 26th.  That's not Parcells.  But even McD's 2nd ranked Scoring D season is skewed.  The Panthers played a lot of low-end scoring teams that season.  30th (twice), 29th, 28th, 26th, 22nd, 21st, 20th (twice), the 17th, and 15th for 11 of their games.  And once again, in the playoffs, against the Niners' 11th ranked Scoring team, 24th ranked Yardage Offense, and 30th ranked Passing Offense led by Kaepernick, McD's D allowed 23 Points and 315 Net Yards, along with scoring drives of 80 (TD), 77 (TD), 73 (FG), 49 (FG), and 31 (FG).  That's 310 net yards of scoring drives.  In short, another below-average playoff performance defensively speaking, against a very average offense when he had the 2nd-ranked D, both Scoring and Yardage on the season.  

 

So where is it that this narrative that he's some great Defensive mind comes from.  

 

 

The narrative came after the success in that first season as HC! Funny to think now, but McDermott was just another hire in a long line of hires for the Bills. Rex Ryan got people thinking Bills again, and McDermott was a pretty big step backwards from that excitement. But damn if he hasn’t been a greater success than anyone in Buffalo could’ve dreamed of at the time. 
 

I agree with you a hundred percent. I never thought Carolina’s defense was some great thing that set the league on fire. THANK YOU for breaking down so much stats-eses!! 👍 I didn’t even like watching that defense.. to me it was too passive, bend but don’t breaky, with one great player in the middle and a flash in pan elite corner, and a bunch of NFL bodies who didn’t screw up too badly. They had a stuff big guy in the middle too.. can’t remember his name. Oh, and another very good linebacker. So pretty good players. 

 

But that’s okay.. great DCs have made terrible HCs, and visa versa. 
 

I buy this move to HC/DC as a “culture” thing. That mysterious thing that just means “We care about being good people who play football. Look at us - We try!”

 

It can’t be an X&Os thing. He’s been out of that game for so long, he can’t believe that his brilliant play calling is the missing link. 
 

So yes, I think it’s a power move to keep accountability, and it may or may not work, but it reinforces his dominance inside and outside the building. It’s like the rich not paying taxes,, once you get to that level you just play money ping pong with like-walleted individuals <— and when there’s no one else to play with, you play with your toys alone. 

Edited August 20, 2023 by Thrivefourfive

[PBF81]

1 hour ago, Thrivefourfive said:

The narrative came after the success in that first season as HC! Funny to think now, but McDermott was just another hire in a long line of hires for the Bills. Rex Ryan got people thinking Bills again, and McDermott was a pretty big step backwards from that excitement. But damn if he hasn’t been a greater success than anyone in Buffalo could’ve dreamed of at the time.
 

I agree with you a hundred percent. I never thought Carolina’s defense was some great thing that set the league on fire. THANK YOU for breaking down so much stats-eses!! 👍 I didn’t even like watching that defense.. to me it was too passive, bend but don’t breaky, with one great player in the middle and a flash in pan elite corner, and a bunch of NFL bodies who didn’t screw up too badly. They had a stuff big guy in the middle too.. can’t remember his name. Oh, and another very good linebacker. So pretty good players. 

 

But that’s okay.. great DCs have made terrible HCs, and visa versa. 
 

I buy this move to HC/DC as a “culture” thing. That mysterious thing that just means “We care about being good people who play football. Look at us - We try!”

 

It can’t be an X&Os thing. He’s been out of that game for so long, he can’t believe that his brilliant play calling is the missing link. 
 

So yes, I think it’s a power move to keep accountability, and it may or may not work, but it reinforces his dominance inside and outside the building. It’s like the rich not paying taxes,, once you get to that level you just play money ping pong with like-walleted individuals <— and when there’s no one else to play with, you play with your toys alone. 

 

None of the other coaches had Allen however.  Give Allen to Marrone's offense and he does what we've done.  Gunner even stated to me in discussion that had Marrone started Orton instead of Manuel we likely would have made the playoffs that season, .... with Orton, whom he argued was a solid if not average NFL QB, which I do not argue with.  But put Orton on this team and anyone really think that McD makes the playoffs?  Conversely, put Allen on that team, IMO we do better than we've done here with him under McD.  

 

As to talent he had there, it was actually quite decent.  Davis at LB, Kuechly as you mention.  Charles Johnson was a very good DE.  Lotulolei played much better than he ever played here, which appeared to be a vacation stint for him.  Addison as well, who was back-9 by the time McD dragged him here.  Josh Norman was there too when he was good and before he fell off for who knows what reason.  They had a very good D roster.  

 

 

[HappyCat]

4 hours ago, Augie said:

 

Self awareness, I like it!  😋

 

I kid, but here are a few thoughts: 

 

* I’m just now watching the game, and while it’s popular to beat up on Gabe (who I expect to have a much more focused and productive year) but Gabe looks good out there. I read this right after the beautiful sideline catch. Contract year, no high ankle sprain and I have high hopes. I hope somebody pays him a FORTUNE, because that means we did well. 

 

* The Oline. I can’t bring myself to dwell on how awful this is. I didn't think we could look WORSE than last year, but it goes to show I know nothing. Praying Torrence becomes a long term stud. 

 

*Allen is great, and we all know that, but he has to be smart. 

 

* Kincaid WILL be great, I believe that. 

 

* You don’t like McD as much as I do. He has done nothing but produce since he arrived in town. No, it’s not perfect and I hope he is grooming his DC as we speak so he can focus on being a HC. Not in love with his split duties, but I’ll wait and see. 

 

* Dorian Williams flies to the ball. I wonder how we get him out there without another player who I love get injured. He’s a football player. I don’t get the “fit”, but that’s not my job. 

 

* I can’t panic after a single preseason game, but the penalties really bothered me. It’s one thing to get beat, it’s another to beat yourself. Sloppy is sloppy, and that was sloppy. 

 

And that is my two cents for the latest state of the Bills thread. 

 

 

.

 

4 hours ago, Augie said:

 

Self awareness, I like it!  😋

 

I kid, but here are a few thoughts: 

 

* I’m just now watching the game, and while it’s popular to beat up on Gabe (who I expect to have a much more focused and productive year) but Gabe looks good out there. I read this right after the beautiful sideline catch. Contract year, no high ankle sprain and I have high hopes. I hope somebody pays him a FORTUNE, because that means we did well. 

 

* The Oline. I can’t bring myself to dwell on how awful this is. I didn't think we could look WORSE than last year, but it goes to show I know nothing. Praying Torrence becomes a long term stud. 

 

*Allen is great, and we all know that, but he has to be smart. 

 

* Kincaid WILL be great, I believe that. 

 

* You don’t like McD as much as I do. He has done nothing but produce since he arrived in town. No, it’s not perfect and I hope he is grooming his DC as we speak so he can focus on being a HC. Not in love with his split duties, but I’ll wait and see. 

 

* Dorian Williams flies to the ball. I wonder how we get him out there without another player who I love get injured. He’s a football player. I don’t get the “fit”, but that’s not my job. 

 

* I can’t panic after a single preseason game, but the penalties really bothered me. It’s one thing to get beat, it’s another to beat yourself. Sloppy is sloppy, and that was sloppy. 

 

And that is my two cents for the latest state of the Bills thread. 

 

 

.

I like your two cents - especially about Williams

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

Who were Frank A. Sedita and Jimmy Griffin?

[ToGoGo]

3 hours ago, Thrivefourfive said:

The narrative came after the success in that first season as HC! Funny to think now, but McDermott was just another hire in a long line of hires for the Bills. Rex Ryan got people thinking Bills again, and McDermott was a pretty big step backwards from that excitement. But damn if he hasn’t been a greater success than anyone in Buffalo could’ve dreamed of at the time. 
 

I agree with you a hundred percent. I never thought Carolina’s defense was some great thing that set the league on fire. THANK YOU for breaking down so much stats-eses!! 👍 I didn’t even like watching that defense.. to me it was too passive, bend but don’t breaky, with one great player in the middle and a flash in pan elite corner, and a bunch of NFL bodies who didn’t screw up too badly. They had a stuff big guy in the middle too.. can’t remember his name. Oh, and another very good linebacker. So pretty good players. 

 

But that’s okay.. great DCs have made terrible HCs, and visa versa. 
 

I buy this move to HC/DC as a “culture” thing. That mysterious thing that just means “We care about being good people who play football. Look at us - We try!”

 

It can’t be an X&Os thing. He’s been out of that game for so long, he can’t believe that his brilliant play calling is the missing link. 
 

So yes, I think it’s a power move to keep accountability, and it may or may not work, but it reinforces his dominance inside and outside the building. It’s like the rich not paying taxes,, once you get to that level you just play money ping pong with like-walleted individuals <— and when there’s no one else to play with, you play with your toys alone. 

It is a culture move. I think Frazier was too soft and passive and McDermott got sick of it. “I’ll show you how to run this damn ship, I used to be a DC once”. It’s ballsy, confident, and he’s leading by example. “Even I do whatever it takes, so you better too.” Lead from the front. 
 

The concern is that it’s impossible to be a HC/CEO at a high level when you’re busy running multiple departments. Being a DC will take away from being a sharp HC. The better his DC assistants are this year, the smoother 2023 will go. But I full anticipate, and McDermott likely does too, that this is a one year thing. We get a good DC next year. 
 

Allen is 100% Jordan in 88. It’s not about him. It’s about the supporting cast. 
 

You see, Allen has IT. You take away Zay Jones and given him Stefan Diggs and he gives you the #1 receiver in the league. What that means is that if you give him a great Oline, you will see the best pocket passer since Rodgers. You give him an elite TE and elite WR2 and elite RB and you will get the greatest show on turf. 
 

Allen will adjust his game based on whatever you give him. His mind is tuned to one goal, and that is winning. And like Tom Hanks stranded on an island, he will use whatever he has to win. 
 

Hot take. If Von returns to form and stays healthy all year, we win the SB. Reason? We need 1 guy on defense to have the championship mindset of Diggs and Allen. 

[CSBill]

There are way too many words in these posts for my 7th-grade reading and paying-attention level.

[PBF81]

4 hours ago, CSBill said:

There are way too many words in these posts for my 7th-grade reading and paying-attention level.

 

Granted, they're not for everyone, but there is a subset of fans that does enjoy good well-articulated back-n-forth, agree or not.     

 

Thanks for at least being honest that they're your cup-o'-tea so to speak.  LOL