The "McDermott Handicap" and hopefully a solution

[Brand J]

1 hour ago, BillsFan130 said:

I want McDermott gone at the end of the year but he deserves credit for this win.

 

Bills got a break by the refs which helped them for sure.

But How many times have the bills been on the wrong side of a bad call Which resulted in a loss?

Has to go both ways here

Bills weren’t on the wrong side of a bad call in this one, nor did they get a break. The much maligned call was the correct one, no matter how much complaining the Chiefs are doing. 

[Don Otreply]

22 minutes ago, section122 said:

 

Watching the replay and toney commits serious opi.  He ran straight into 2 defenders and that's what caused Kelce to be so open.

 

 

I know that Toney committed a penalty.  Are you suggesting there is another reason?  My post was meant to convey that McD cant even catch a break even when he wins.

It’s as if you didn’t read my post? I acknowledged that the D closed out the game with the second chance they got, which was all within the rules of the game, some here seem to pretend that the penalty on KC had zero bearing on the outcome. Likely just a misunderstanding between our posts intent, it’s all good, we won, that’s what counts. 
 

GO BILLS!!!

[mrags]

2 hours ago, peterpan said:

The McDermott Handicap - thats what I call it now.  Its the number of points McDermott will cost the team with about 4 mins left at half and the end of the game.  I really think its -5.5 or-6.5 points!!!!  Its becoming ridiculous how awkward this team plays in those situations.  We tend to leave points on the board before every half, or gift the other team an opportunity to score!  We blow two minute drills constantly, cant ever get a stop etc.

 

If you were an odds maker what would your McDermott Handicap be?

 

Against the Eagles we played so conservative, using 2 TOs on defense, then taking a knee with 20 seconds and one (but could have been 3) timeouts left.  All you need is a FG but you chose overtime?!?!?!

 

Then against the chiefs - completely different situation.  We get a 1st down due to penalty, with 2:13 left in the game on the 25ish yard line.  RUN THE BALL is the obvious choice......  No, 3 straight pass!!  Huh!?!  We have this defensive coach who lost the game being too conservative last week.  He should be wetting his pants for the opportunity to run it 3 times and kick the FG.  But then its all passes!?!?!  And before you say the swing pass is like a long handoff blah blah blah - the chiefs blew that play up 3-4 times that game.  It didn't work once.  and was super awkward, our staff has no feel for the game.  No inclination of whats working, whats not, and no situational awareness of any kind..  

 

On defense, again no feel.  Its either full out prevent defense, or all out blitz.  Over and over and over again.  Dude, find a happy medium.  Maybe, i don't know, don't call the same all out blitz ON EVERY SINGLE PLAY?!?!?  The show all out bitz and then all out blitz.  Eventually these teams beat the all out blitz and score - We lost the Broncos game with that one.  We could try, maybe, disguising a blitz?  Or Blitzing every other play??  

 

Which leads me to....

 

McDermott has no feel for these situations.  He is like that super socially awkward guy, who never knows what to say in a group.  Everyone knows someone like that....and that's the football equivalent to McDermott.  Post game McD said he watched every single 2 minute drill in every nfl game in the last 6 years, trying to find tendencies.  Wow man, love the dedication, but that's sad.  Thats like an awkward guy watching every episode of Friends trying to get less socially awkward.  Just sad.

 

 

Watching Michigan this year gave me an idea.  Harbaugh is their head coach, but was suspended for a number of games.  Harbaugh was allowed to coach during the week, but couldnt be on the sidelines for gameday.  So one of their assistants was "Acting" head coach for those games.  Thats what we need - we need to hire a "Game Day" coach who would relive McD of Head Coach decisions on gameday.  Someone who has a feel for the game, situational football and what's working that day at that moment.   Someone who wont abandon the run for 2-3 quarters at a time.  Someone who knows when to play conservative and when to be aggressive.  I think McDermott would benefit A LOT from a guy like that. 

You hit it with bad situational awareness. Like you said he should have been creaming in his pants to run it and didn’t. Maybe it was Brady. Maybe it was McD. Either way it’s on McD to make sure that’s what the call is there. I get that it was a high % play to Diggs that didn’t go well. But then you’re in a hole and need to pass. Should have been a run on first down. Or at least an RPO where Allen can diagnose what’s best based on the defensive looks. 
 

I said it in an other thread. We won and I give him credit for it. It felt really good and we were the better team all game. But man it kinda felt lucky too with how things played out at the end of the game. 
 

I’ve been saying it for a while now. This season will all come down to Allen. Can he rise up and win despite the defense and his HC stealing away games. Sucks that it has to be all on him. But it does. 

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

When you’re saying things like ‘run the ball is the obvious choice’ you don’t think the defense is thinking the same thing as you? lol

 

You need a td at any cost there…running the ball for a 1 yard gain does nothing good.  There was no situation where we could’ve iced the clock and kicked a fg 

 

you can criticize McDermott for plenty of other games but I really think y’all are reaching here 

7 minutes ago, Don Otreply said:

It’s as if you didn’t read my post? I acknowledged that the D closed out the game with the second chance they got, which was all within the rules of the game, some here seem to pretend that the penalty on KC had zero bearing on the outcome. Likely just a misunderstanding between our posts intent, it’s all good, we won, that’s what counts. 
 

GO BILLS!!!

It’s probably a philosophical thing…to me that’s essentially a presnap penalty so this cool lateral td play never even happened.  I wouldn’t refer to the stop we got as a ‘second chance’ at all personally 

Edited December 11, 2023 by Generic_Bills_Fan

[BillsFan130]

15 minutes ago, JayBaller10 said:

Bills weren’t on the wrong side of a bad call in this one, nor did they get a break. The much maligned call was the correct one, no matter how much complaining the Chiefs are doing. 

For sure I agree 

[harmonkillebrew]

He got lucky last night. Tried to piss the game away again, but got bailed out.

 

Not kicking a FG before the end of the 1st half.

Horrible clock management and play calls to close out the game. 

We were set up to salvage defeat from the jaws of victory again.

I have no confidence in this coaching staff or team to win close games. 

[Teddy KGB]

23 minutes ago, JerseyBills said:

We could win the sb and ppl will still complain and want McD fired.. 

 

What’s the point of this comment ?   Have you not watched Mcclappy blow the chiefs playoff game, the bengals backup OL game, and the 10 games where Josh Allen saved his ass on some hero ball moment.   
 

if he ever won a SB, he wouldn’t have this 💩💩💩stigma around him 

 

Non Bills fans all over think he should be toast before Allen’s whole career is wasted 

[entropyrules]

35 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

Actually they have worked a lot...how can you have watched Bills games and not seen them picking up a bunch of first downs using them or gaining 7-8 yards on first downs or even moving the chains with like a 12-15 yard gain? It's the "free access" part of the ARPO plays they run.

sorry i totally disagree.....since you seem to know more than I can you provide a % of plays that were greater than 3 yards using that same swing/screen pass they used against KC versus the same number used overall for this season...it could simply be confirmation bias on my part where I only recall the failed plays. Note that i am not talking about swing passes to  single back (mainly Cook) out in the flat. I am referring to those where they have at least two and sometime three blockers set up at the line of scrimmage where Diggs or say Harty are getting the ball.

[Big Turk]

3 minutes ago, entropyrules said:

sorry i totally disagree.....since you seem to know more than I can you provide a % of plays that were greater than 3 yards using that same swing/screen pass they used against KC versus the same number used overall for this season...it could simply be confirmation bias on my part where I only recall the failed plays. Note that i am not talking about swing passes to  single back (mainly Cook) out in the flat. I am referring to those where they have at least two and sometime three blockers set up at the line of scrimmage where Diggs or say Harty are getting the ball.

 

No I can't because I am not going to go back and watch every game where they run that play because you can't remember what you have watched during the season.  That's your work to do if you want to correct that false narrative you have in your mind.

[Draconator]

There is some really nice comedy gold here

[peterpan]

17 minutes ago, Generic_Bills_Fan said:

When you’re saying things like ‘run the ball is the obvious choice’ you don’t think the defense is thinking the same thing as you? lol

 

You need a td at any cost there…running the ball for a 1 yard gain does nothing good.  There was no situation where we could’ve iced the clock and kicked a fg 

 

Obviously the Defense is expecting a run.  You still can run the ball.  That's what 99% of teams would do and there is a reason for it. 

 

No you don't NEED a TD - what you need is a First Down, because there WAS a situation where we could eat the entire clock.  With ONE first down.  Then you kick the FG from inside the 20 as time expires.  Never give the Chiefs the ball back. 

 

Not to mention, our run game was great last night.  Our passing game was lacking.  Going with our strength at that moment would have been going to the run.  Especially when you have Josh Allen who can do a QB lead or Draw or Sweep. I'm not against passing it there at some point, but 3 pass is ridiculous in that specific situation and with how the game played out all night. 

 

Again no awareness from this staff. 

[Big Turk]

2 hours ago, peterpan said:

Why so serious?  Im not even being hard on McD.  Im just saying he costs us points repeatedly and a solution might be to hire a game day coach to help him out. 

 

I think every fanbase in the NFL has a similar opinion of their coach.  It's always easier when you get 24 hours to sleep on it to come up with "all the things you would have done different in the moment" but far harder when you are actually in the moment. Fans also don't even know what they don't know when it comes to what goes into those decisions many times.

Edited December 11, 2023 by Big Turk

[Nextmanup]

Funny this topic comes up.  Sean McDermott, simply by being the HC of this team, will cost us 1.5 to 3 losses per season. 

 

Other coaches are worth WINS.

 

He is good for a few losses you wouldn't have had.

 

I truly believe that.

 

 

[peterpan]

56 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

Actually they have worked a lot...how can you have watched Bills games and not seen them picking up a bunch of first downs using them or gaining 7-8 yards on first downs or even moving the chains with like a 12-15 yard gain? It's the "free access" part of the ARPO plays they run.

Im speaking specifically to how well they [didnt] work in this game.  Not how well they may have worked in other games.  

 

Thats kinda my point.  McD needs to get a feel for the game, each game is different.  Sometimes Diggs is unstoppable.  Sometimes he is a ghost.  Sometimes we cant run the ball, other times our running game is the best option.  

 

McD/the staff should have known the screens were blown up a few times earlier in the game, and not tried the square peg round hole thing.

5 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

I think every fanbase in the NFL has a similar opinion of their coach.  It's always easier when you get 24 hours to sleep on it to come up with "all the things you would have done different in the moment" but far harder when you are actually in the moment. Fans also don't even know what they don't know when it comes to what goes into those decisions many times.

Maybe in some tough decisions.  But 1st and 10 at the 25 with 2:13 left and to not call a single running play?  Thats like pop warner leveling DUH!!!

 

 

MCD is so awkward, he seemingly cant differentiate between different in game scenarios.  "Last week vrs Philly i wasn't aggressive and we lost.  this week I be aggressive and win!!"  when the situations dont call for the same football. 

Edited December 11, 2023 by peterpan

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

3 hours ago, Teddy KGB said:

Mcchoker gotta go 

 

Toney ain’t gonna save his ass every week 

I am sour on McDermott too, but he had a solid defensive game plan and held the Chiefs to 17 points. You gotta give credit where it’s due. 

Edited December 11, 2023 by ChronicAndKnuckles

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

3 minutes ago, peterpan said:

Obviously the Defense is expecting a run.  You still can run the ball.  That's what 99% of teams would do and there is a reason for it. 

 

No you don't NEED a TD - what you need is a First Down, because there WAS a situation where we could eat the entire clock.  With ONE first down.  Then you kick the FG from inside the 20 as time expires.  Never give the Chiefs the ball back. 

 

Not to mention, our run game was great last night.  Our passing game was lacking.  Going with our strength at that moment would have been going to the run.  Especially when you have Josh Allen who can do a QB lead or Draw or Sweep. I'm not against passing it there at some point, but 3 pass is ridiculous in that specific situation and with how the game played out all night. 

 

Again no awareness from this staff. 

99% is a MASSIVE exaggeration.  Not to mention the chiefs had two timeouts to call on the other side of the two minute warning.  Then what do you do run twice?  Great you went obvious run when the defense was expecting it, obvious run when the defense was expecting it, obvious pass on third down. And then all the armchair OCs complain anyway because you did a predictable run run pass series 

 

first down…touchdown…same argument…you call your best plays to get the first.  A run or two that get stuffed do absolutely nothing for you with kc having two timeouts and the two minute warning 

 

if we ran once or twice and got stuffed there y’all would’ve complained McDermott tried to game the clock to leave kc no time rather than score because he didn’t trust his defense.  

[schoolhouserock]

34 minutes ago, harmonkillebrew said:

He got lucky last night. Tried to piss the game away again, but got bailed out.

 

Not kicking a FG before the end of the 1st half.

Horrible clock management and play calls to close out the game. 

We were set up to salvage defeat from the jaws of victory again.

I have no confidence in this coaching staff or team to win close games. 

Are you referring to the offensive play calls on the Bills’ final drive?

[NI Bills Fan]

3 hours ago, peterpan said:

 

 

 

Watching Michigan this year gave me an idea.  Harbaugh is their head coach, but was suspended for a number of games.  Harbaugh was allowed to coach during the week, but couldnt be on the sidelines for gameday.  So one of their assistants was "Acting" head coach for those games.  Thats what we need - we need to hire a "Game Day" coach who would relive McD of Head Coach decisions on gameday.  Someone who has a feel for the game, situational football and what's working that day at that moment.   Someone who wont abandon the run for 2-3 quarters at a time.  Someone who knows when to play conservative and when to be aggressive.  I think McDermott would benefit A LOT from a guy like that. 

 

I think we already did this:

 

https://buffalobills.com/team/coaches-roster/marc-lubick

 

He doesn't appear to be offering much in the way of help to McDermott in key situations/decision making.

Edited December 11, 2023 by NI Bills Fan

[Low Positive]

Some of you people need to buy some of this. Just head on down to your local Hills

 

[JerseyBills]

This is AWESOME