McDermott - Excuses, Valid but concerning

[TheBrownBear]

1 hour ago, racketmaster said:

It really is difficult to make any definitive judgements with such a small sample size. Eagles fans ran Reid out of town and he was unable to get over the hump with the Chiefs until he got Mahomes. Now he is considered one of the greatest coaches ever.

 

I hear a lot of people who are certain that McDermott can’t win the SB. Does this rationale also apply to Allen? I mean he has been unable to beat Mahomes in the playoffs so does that mean he cannot be a SB winning qb? There are a myriad of reasons this team has failed to get over the hump, but I don’t think our HC or QB are in anyway holding this team back. 

It took John Wooden 16 years to win his first national championship at UCLA.  He ended with 10.  So there's still hope for McDermott, but it might not happen until Josh Allen's son is quarterbacking our team.

[CircleTheWagons99]

2 hours ago, Augie said:

 

Would you like to expand on this? What about him? Are you pointing out that he had a .518 career winning percentage? Significantly lower than McD at .640. Do you want to point out that Lewis was 0-7 in the playoffs? I wish McD had a few more playoff wins, but he is 5-6, which says he belongs while it appears Lewis did not. 

 

You made me guess what your point is. That’s what I see regarding Marvin Lewis. I don’t see how that helps your case in any way. 

Sean is Lewis 2.0. Great coach during the season, sucks in palyoffs. The only REAL QB his team has beaten in the playoffs is Jackson.  

[newcam2012]

2 hours ago, racketmaster said:

It really is difficult to make any definitive judgements with such a small sample size. Eagles fans ran Reid out of town and he was unable to get over the hump with the Chiefs until he got Mahomes. Now he is considered one of the greatest coaches ever.

 

I hear a lot of people who are certain that McDermott can’t win the SB. Does this rationale also apply to Allen? I mean he has been unable to beat Mahomes in the playoffs so does that mean he cannot be a SB winning qb? There are a myriad of reasons this team has failed to get over the hump, but I don’t think our HC or QB are in anyway holding this team back. 

How can you say that after 13 seconds? The Cinci thrashing where the team wasn't prepared, terrible game plan, and out coached? There are probably at least 10 significant reasons why would could reasonable conclude McD isn't the guy. I'm talking about post season and an eventually SB.

 

Besides optimism I don't know what McD supporters could point to for evidence to support their thinking? 

 

I'm having trouble understanding your perspective. 

3 hours ago, Ga boy said:

I agree that our DL didn’t step up, but stopping run requires more than 4 guys.  KC loaded the box to stop our run in 2nd half.  Those 7 for KC, and the other 4, were healthy.  You can call it an excuse but the D we put out there on game day would’ve lost us the games with Fish and Stillers.  

Does it take more than 4 to rush the passer? Mahomes didn't even get a scratch on him. 

Edited January 24 by newcam2012

[Bill from NYC]

2 hours ago, Augie said:

 

Making valid points will get you nowhere with this crowd. Sorry. It has been decided. 🤷‍♂️

Augie, none of this is personal.

 

I make the case that McDermott has too much power and that Beane is his hand selected puppet.  I also think that McDermott has botched most of his drafts and even contract signings by being too defense oriented for today's passing, offense dominated NFL. When I post these things, some folks like it. Others choose the vomit icon and that's OK too.

 

Imo, McDermott is a decent game coach with WAY too much authority. I also am skeptical of him being able to be in charge of the entire organization and also run the defense. Would I like to see him replaced? I sure would, but this should not and hopefully does not put me at odds with other Bills Fans. It's simply jmo. 

 

Anyway, I hope that all is well.

 

GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Augie]

2 minutes ago, Bill from NYC said:

Augie, none of this is personal.

 

I make the case that McDermott has too much power and that Beane is his hand selected puppet.  I also think that McDermott has botched most of his drafts and even contract signings by being too defense oriented for today's passing, offense dominated NFL. When I post these things, some folks like it. Others choose the vomit icon and that's OK too.

 

Imo, McDermott is a decent game coach with WAY too much authority. I also am skeptical of him being able to be in charge of the entire organization and also run the defense. Would I like to see him replaced? I sure would, but this should not and hopefully does not put me at odds with other Bills Fans. It's simply jmo. 

 

Anyway, I hope that all is well.

 

GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I can respect that. I really don’t know how much power he really has because I’m not on the inside. I have expressed concerns over him calling the defense and playing the HC roll. I know it’s not unheard of, but I worry that it stretches him thin. A little more veteran brain power sounds nice, but it’s hard to say without knowing what the facts are regarding how things work behind the curtain. 

 

But for now he is safe, as I think he should be. Hopefully one season the stars will align for us and we can all celebrate together. 

[newcam2012]

8 minutes ago, Bill from NYC said:

Augie, none of this is personal.

 

I make the case that McDermott has too much power and that Beane is his hand selected puppet.  I also think that McDermott has botched most of his drafts and even contract signings by being too defense oriented for today's passing, offense dominated NFL. When I post these things, some folks like it. Others choose the vomit icon and that's OK too.

 

Imo, McDermott is a decent game coach with WAY too much authority. I also am skeptical of him being able to be in charge of the entire organization and also run the defense. Would I like to see him replaced? I sure would, but this should not and hopefully does not put me at odds with other Bills Fans. It's simply jmo. 

 

Anyway, I hope that all is well.

 

GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh it will put you on lots of Bills fans poop list. I've been advocating cutting ties with McD long before many have. It's just recently people are seeing what I already saw. 

 

Not that I'm smarter than anyone. Sometimes the blind squirrel finds the nut. 

53 minutes ago, TheBrownBear said:

It took John Wooden 16 years to win his first national championship at UCLA.  He ended with 10.  So there's still hope for McDermott, but it might not happen until Josh Allen's son is quarterbacking our team.

OMG that is very witty. Thanks for the laugh.

[Ga boy]

49 minutes ago, newcam2012 said:

How can you say that after 13 seconds? The Cinci thrashing where the team wasn't prepared, terrible game plan, and out coached? There are probably at least 10 significant reasons why would could reasonable conclude McD isn't the guy. I'm talking about post season and an eventually SB.

 

Besides optimism I don't know what McD supporters could point to for evidence to support their thinking? 

 

I'm having trouble understanding your perspective. 

Does it take more than 4 to rush the passer? Mahomes didn't even get a scratch on 

Just now, Ga boy said:

52 minutes ago, newcam2012 said:

How can you say that after 13 seconds? The Cinci thrashing where the team wasn't prepared, terrible game plan, and out coached? There are probably at least 10 significant reasons why would could reasonable conclude McD isn't the guy. I'm talking about post season and an eventually SB.

 

Besides optimism I don't know what McD supporters could point to for evidence to support their thinking? 

 

I'm having trouble understanding your perspective. 

Does it take more than 4 to rush the passer? Mahomes didn't even get a scratch on 

Expand  

Cmon Newcam you gotta agree that we had good game plan.  Btw, Chiefs didn’t sack our guy either, and we had good run game too.  Throw the coach a bone!

[HomeskillitMoorman]

2 hours ago, racketmaster said:

His job as a HC has been to prepare the entire team, not just the defense. In the 13 seconds game he was not the defensive coordinator but ultimately responsible for how we defended the field in the last 13 seconds. That was not great coaching but also excellent play by 3 Hall of Fame players in Mahomes, Kelce and Hill. I mean, they get paid on the other side as well and there was some generational talent there. Does not stopping a high powered offense make Reid or Spags a bad coach, because they could not stop us either in that game. 
 

in this last game, I struggle to really pick anything that McDermott did wrong. His defense was decimated by injuries and the Chiefs offense played its best ball. There players caught the ball out players dropped too many. That was probably the difference in the game right there. That is more a player issue rather than a coaching concern. We literally had a mlb who had basically retired come in off the street running the defense and many other injuries and hobbling players. That said it was a 3 point game and we missed a fg to tie it. The margins in this games are slim as it has been in the regular season games between us. 

 

Sure, but his proficiency is the defense, and he hasn't held up his end of the bargain. He's also not a strong in-game coach to stay the least. 

 

I know you keep mentioning the "duo" of McDermott and Allen and say it's good enough because we've taken close losses...but that's primarily been because of Allen playing out of his mind. It's crazy that we lost those 2 games to KC that he played outstanding in. What is McD contributing to in terms of the duo? His defenses can't stop anybody in these games and he doesn't know how to manage a game. And 5-6 in the playoffs considering he's had Allen for 10 of those games and he's mostly played great is really terrible. This isn't like early-to-mid Peyton Manning who was individually struggling in playoff games. Our QB for the most part has actually at times played even better in the playoffs than the regular season. 

 

Look at the fake punt in this game. There was confusion and then Hamlin lines up directly behind the center...EVERYONE know what was coming there. And he just let it happen. Good coaches don't do that. He knew the play design, he was watching what all of us were. I hate using 2nd half timeouts but you have to burn one there if you have no way to communicate to audible out or just take the 5 yard delay of game instead of just giving them the ball right there. He was incredibly fortunate with the fumble touchback because that pretty much would have ended the game right there. 

 

This is 7 years in and he's still completely clueless. It's really Allen vs Reid and Mahomes and we have to pray that McD won't be a massive liability in addition to his defenses never coming through in these games, and we can't even get that. 

[newcam2012]

1 hour ago, Ga boy said:

Cmon Newcam you gotta agree that we had good game plan.  Btw, Chiefs didn’t sack our guy either, and we had good run game too.  Throw the coach a bone!

That's fair. I do think the offensive game plan was solid. I'm not in agreement with the criticism I've heard with regards to Brady. Overall, the game plan was solid. The oline was great in the first half pushing around their Dline. 

 

Adjustments were made by Spags. He added another guy on the box and did some run blitzing. It definitely hurt the Bills run game. 

 

The Bills offense didn't punish the Chiefs enough for committing to stop the run. The Bills receivers couldn't separate enough on their talented secondary. Brady took some deep shots and the Bills WRs missed very catchable balls. Probably, the difference in the game.

 

Didn't finish out the final drive. I hated the first down run. I thought they should have rolled out Allen and used him as a duel threat. Either run it or pass it. I think Josh would have been unstoppable. 

 

Wondering if the Bills thought they were in 4 down territory? Because the playing calling didn't seem to bare that out. I would have tried to at least get to a 4th and 2 or 3. Didn't seem like they were in 4 down mode. Maybe I'm wrong. Ideally, another first down was needed. Take the clock down to less than 13 seconds (just kidding). Burn it as much as possible and get that TD. A first down would have done that I believe. I know easier said then done. 

 

The offensive game plan was fine. The combo of the Bills lack of WRs talent and the elite secondary of the Chiefs proved detrimental. 

 

On defense, I'm not sure what McD was doing? They had a difficult time stopping the Chiefs. They didn't punt for an awful long time. To their credit they made a huge stop to get the Bills the ball. 

 

All in all, the Bills coaching wasn't bad at all. However, it just felt like the Bills players and coaching were a dollar short sort of speak. Like it was unlikely the Bills could pull it out. Perhaps, it's me and my mindset. Just feels like this regime always falls short. Really sucks. 

 

I think about the Kelly days in the 90s. I know different team, different era, and different players. But I remember when Kelly had that ball for the final drive it was money. Same with Brady, Burrow, and Mahomes. With Allen, I'm less confident. More hopeful than I should be. I ask myself why? It's not because of the lack of talent from Allen. It's because of the lack of talent around him with includes coaching. The belief isn't there for me. I think that's where McD falls woefully short. I'm not so sure he believes. His presser sure gives indications of doubt. He has fallen far too short too many times come playoff time. Absolutely, why I'm advocating change. Others, like yourself haven't seen enough I suppose. 

Edited January 24 by newcam2012

[Ga boy]

1 hour ago, newcam2012 said:

That's fair. I do think the offensive game plan was solid. I'm not in agreement with the criticism I've heard with regards to Brady. Overall, the game plan was solid. The oline was great in the first half pushing around their Dline. 

 

Adjustments were made by Spags. He added another guy on the box and did some run blitzing. It definitely hurt the Bills run game. 

 

The Bills offense didn't punish the Chiefs enough for committing to stop the run. The Bills receivers couldn't separate enough on their talented secondary. Brady took some deep shots and the Bills WRs missed very catchable balls. Probably, the difference in the game.

 

Didn't finish out the final drive. I hated the first down run. I thought they should have rolled out Allen and used him as a duel threat. Either run it or pass it. I think Josh would have been unstoppable. 

 

Wondering if the Bills thought they were in 4 down territory? Because the playing calling didn't seem to bare that out. I would have tried to at least get to a 4th and 2 or 3. Didn't seem like they were in 4 down mode. Maybe I'm wrong. Ideally, another first down was needed. Take the clock down to less than 13 seconds (just kidding). Burn it as much as possible and get that TD. A first down would have done that I believe. I know easier said then done. 

 

The offensive game plan was fine. The combo of the Bills lack of WRs talent and the elite secondary of the Chiefs proved detrimental. 

 

On defense, I'm not sure what McD was doing? They had a difficult time stopping the Chiefs. They didn't punt for an awful long time. To their credit they made a huge stop to get the Bills the ball. 

 

All in all, the Bills coaching wasn't bad at all. However, it just felt like the Bills players and coaching were a dollar short sort of speak. Like it was unlikely the Bills could pull it out. Perhaps, it's me and my mindset. Just feels like this regime always falls short. Really sucks. 

 

I think about the Kelly days in the 90s. I know different team, different era, and different players. But I remember when Kelly had that ball for the final drive it was money. Same with Brady, Burrow, and Mahomes. With Allen, I'm less confident. More hopeful than I should be. I ask myself why? It's not because of the lack of talent from Allen. It's because of the lack of talent around him with includes coaching. The belief isn't there for me. I think that's where McD falls woefully short. I'm not so sure he believes. His presser sure gives indications of doubt. He has fallen far too short too many times come playoff time. Absolutely, why I'm advocating change. Others, like yourself haven't seen enough I suppose. 

Good thoughts.  We’re all frustrated but I’m proud we got the AFCE after being 6-6.  Sure they never should’ve been 6-6 but they played for the coach so his message must still be relevant.  If we would’ve finish 8-9 or 9-8 I would be right with you, even with an injury riddled season.  Focusing on that last drive, I do wonder if JA17 has too much autonomy.  He wouldn’t do that to the GOAT coach.   Brady wouldn’t have done that.  He had more situational awareness. A TD with 1:30 left is not good strategy.  It seems that JA17 has rope to free lance.  It works 60% of the time, but that throw at that time is inexcusable.

[ShakAttack]

I don't necessarily believe McDermott is the problem, and I don't believe firing him is a solution.

 

That is because:

 

A)  With the Buffalo Bills it will always be one thing or another

 

B)  You can do a lot worse than McDermott.  In fact, odds are, you probably will.

 

That's what happens to your brain when you have followed this team since "Wide Right".

 

Is that insanity? 

 

Technically, if we are just talking about this year's Chiefs-Bills game, the Bills were in position to win, and the throw to Diggs on 2nd and 9 was there to be made (and yes that would have been a much better choice than the TD shot to Shakir that would have left Mahomes with too much time on the clock, etc).  The play that was drawn up in OT was also there to be made against Philly.  Fortunately, it did not end up costing us the season, but talk about being on thin ice.  Somehow in games like this against good teams the offense is always humming until it's put up or shut up time, and then something goes wrong, and it usually seems like execution issues more-so than play calling to me.  But are we about to blame Josh Allen for it?  Of course not.  We can't.  And I'm not.  But why didn't he take the easy underneath throw to Diggs on 2nd and 9, when he was essentially making correct decisions like that all game long???????   What happened in that moment??  Why did we flip the script?  That wasn't Mcdermott... that wasn't Joe Brady... that was - unfortunately - execution.  It just drives me absolutely crazy (Speaking of insanity).

[LarryMadman]

5 minutes ago, BobBelcher said:

I don't necessarily believe McDermott is the problem, and I don't believe firing him is a solution.

 

That is because:

 

A)  With the Buffalo Bills it will always be one thing or another

 

B)  You can do a lot worse than McDermott.  In fact, odds are, you probably will.

 

That's what happens to your brain when you have followed this team since "Wide Right".

 

Is that insanity? 

 

Technically, if we are just talking about this year's Chiefs-Bills game, the Bills were in position to win, and the throw to Diggs on 2nd and 9 was there to be made (and yes that would have been a much better choice than the TD shot to Shakir that would have left Mahomes with too much time on the clock, etc).  The play that was drawn up in OT was also there to be made against Philly.  Fortunately, it did not end up costing us the season, but talk about being on thin ice.  Somehow in games like this against good teams the offense is always humming until it's put up or shut up time, and then something goes wrong, and it usually seems like execution issues more-so than play calling to me.  But are we about to blame Josh Allen for it?  Of course not.  We can't.  And I'm not.  But why didn't he take the easy underneath throw to Diggs on 2nd and 9, when he was essentially making correct decisions like that all game long???????   What happened in that moment??  Why did we flip the script?  That wasn't Mcdermott... that wasn't Joe Brady... that was - unfortunately - execution.  It just drives me absolutely crazy (Speaking of insanity).

Absolutely insane to blame the offense when the defense utterly ***** the bed in the playoffs.

[ShakAttack]

3 minutes ago, LarryMadman said:

Absolutely insane to blame the offense when the defense utterly ***** the bed in the playoffs.

 

Yes they did.  I am just saying, technically, the game was there to be won at the end.  And we lost it over something so stupid.  Something that we were doing correctly all game long.  It just seems so Bills to me.

 

And if we make that play I am referring to on offense, then maybe it is KC fans talking about how their defense let them down.  And nobody is even talking about it here.

Edited January 25 by BobBelcher

[TFBillsfan]

At the end of the day McDermott has his flaws and he needs to improve. For whatever reason, he struggles to make the right decision in crucial moments or fails to understand the situation. For example after the two minute warning as the HC, his OC and QB should know what they are looking to achieve. It was a very similar situation in the 13 second game. You are the HC, take control and I fully expect you’ve prepared and thought thru the various situations.

 

The bigger issue for me is impactful talent. Outside of Josh, we severely lack thru playmakers on O and D.  Von, Oliver, Diggs and the entire secondary are solid but not game impacting players at this point. We have a solid roster but in crucial moments the ONLY one that has stepped up is Josh. To get to the SB, you have to have more. We don’t have a shutdown corner, a disruptive DE or impactful playmakers on O. 
 

We need WEAPONS on offense. Cook, Shakir, Kincaid, Knox and now Diggs are solid but not game changing that can takeover a game or the D cant mitigate. Look around the league and it’s embarrassing what Beane and McD have given Josh on offense. To make it worse we’ve whiffed on some premium picks that have set us back. (Ford, Boogie, Elam, Moss) While Groot and AJE have been okay but just not that consistent gamewrecker.

 

This is a HUGE draft for Beane. We TRULY need a playmaker at WR, a disruptive DE and a ballhawk at S.  
 

This also feeds into the national criticism of Josh. He gets so much scrutiny when he’s not perfect but we don’t have anyone else on the team that consistently rises to the occasion and that includes the coaching staff. Take Josh out of our offense for a couple games and we’d be in a world of hurt. That HAS TO CHANGE this offseason!

[Mikie2times]

Will an elite offensive coordinator want to work with him? Would an elite defensive coordinator want to work with him? 

 

The answer is an emphatic no on both accounts. The best leaders empower the people who directly manage to be the best so they can keep a 20,000 foot view everything else. McD is living at 500 feet. While some say he pays attention to the details I say he's blinded by them. That Dunne article was on point about several things it was just garbage that distracted from what those were. 

[Herb]

With our stacked roster and Josh as the franchise quarterback, there can only be limited excuses.

[Italian Bills]

After few days since another “Chiefs elimination”, my only thought is that unfortunately we will be stuck with McClapping. 
 

I wanna be clear: overall he’s not a bad coach, but as many here stated tons of times, he’s not elite, he’s not a coach that can take his team to a Lombardi and win it. 
 

I don’t know what is it, but he lacks something here and there, maybe is something about tactical skills, or maybe something about leadership and character, but he’s not a top dog, now is 6 years with Josh at QB ? With one of the top 3 QB in this League ? 
 

So my view is that until he’ll be the coach, nothing could change about our chances to finally get there. 
 

Honestly i envy the Chargers for the Harbaugh hire… i would like to have someone like BB… i don’t care about his past, we need a “bad man” at the helm, not some humble one. 

 

 

[HIT BY SPIKES]

Yup

[<bills4life>]

32 minutes ago, Italian Bills said:

After few days since another “Chiefs elimination”, my only thought is that unfortunately we will be stuck with McClapping. 
 

I wanna be clear: overall he’s not a bad coach, but as many here stated tons of times, he’s not elite, he’s not a coach that can take his team to a Lombardi and win it. 
 

I don’t know what is it, but he lacks something here and there, maybe is something about tactical skills, or maybe something about leadership and character, but he’s not a top dog, now is 6 years with Josh at QB ? With one of the top 3 QB in this League ? 
 

So my view is that until he’ll be the coach, nothing could change about our chances to finally get there. 
 

Honestly i envy the Chargers for the Harbaugh hire… i would like to have someone like BB… i don’t care about his past, we need a “bad man” at the helm, not some humble one. 

 

 

And the worst part about it is that we will be having these very same discussions next season, while at the same time wasting another year of josh allen in his prime with no recourse.

[Man with No Name]

spot on. people are going to see what harbaugh does with the chargers over the next 5 years, and it isn't gonna make the people here very happy. we are settling. josh might be able to will us to one or two before he's done. it will be despite the coach though. 

 

ill reiterate. mcdermott is good. not great. not the right coach for allen.