How much better is Joe Brady?

[Malazan]

5 hours ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

Lol...come on.  You are talking about a team helmed by Teddy Bridgewater, and you want to draw conclusions about that in regards to an offense led by Josh Allen?  Like you really think its going to be the same offense?  You think Brady just copy and pasted the same playbook and just said here Allen, this is what we are running, same as I ran with Bridgewater?  

 

The season can't start soon enough.  

 

It helps if you ignore the trolls.

[Alphadawg7]

11 minutes ago, Malazan said:

 

It helps if you ignore the trolls.

That’s not as fun though ha

[hondo in seattle]

5 hours ago, GoBills808 said:

i would encourage you folks to go and watch some panthers 2020 offense before you get too excited

 

it wasn't just laughably bad and predictable, it was boring af

 

Daboll failed in his first three stints as a OC and then succeeded with us.   

 

In Sean Peyton's first gig as a NFL OC, he ended up having his playcalling duties stripped because his offense was stagnant, averaging a mere 12 points per game after the first seven games of 2002.  The offense improved massively when the HC, Jim Fassel, made himself the de facto OC and playcaller.  Yet a few years later, people started hailing Payton as an offensive mastermind.  

 

Sometimes people do better in better circumstances. 

 

And sometimes people learn and grow.  

 

 

[GoBills808]

Just now, hondo in seattle said:

 

Daboll failed in his first three stints as a OC and then succeeded with us.   

 

In Sean Peyton's first gig as a NFL OC, he ended up having his playcalling duties stripped because his offense was stagnant, averaging a mere 12 points per game after the first seven games of 2002.  The offense improved massively when the HC, Jim Fassel, made himself the de facto OC and playcaller.  Yet a few years later, people started hailing Payton as an offensive mastermind.  

 

Sometimes people do better in better circumstances. 

 

And sometimes people learn and grow.  

 

 

I'm all for learning and growing. I think Brady could do very well w some more seasoning and blossom into a great NFL OC. I just don't like the fact that he's going to be doing the learning and growing here while we're in the middle of Allen's career.

[BananaB]

I wasn’t impressed when they resigned him but that’s a typical McD move. The O didn’t always look great last year but it did enough. A change in season likely handcuffed him a bit. Curious to see what he brings to the table after a full off-season though. Hopefully he has improved since his time in Carolina

[SoTier]

8 hours ago, strive_for_five_guy said:

I mentioned this in another thread.  Ran into an ex-Bills player a few weeks back and asked him what he thought about the state of the Bills.  His response was the best thing that happened for the team last year was the firing of Dorsey and promotion of Joe Brady to OC.  Said Brady operates a much more functional running game which will bode better for the team.  Seeing that this guy actually played in the NFL, I’m hopeful he knows what he is seeing and talking about.

 

I hope this is true.  IMO, if the Bills can run at will when they need or want to, it makes them a much more dangerous team, especially in the playoffs.

[BigAl2526]

I think Brady is good at running a ball control offense.  What we didn't see a lot of after Brady took over last season were big pass plays.  Part of that may have been due to Stefon Diggs' late season funk.  In any case, I think big plays are part of what makes Josh Allen a potential MVP type QB.  I'm hoping to see some big plays early on in the season.  I want other teams to fear the Bills.  They don't fear teams that try to nickel and dime you to death.  What will make me happy is Buffalo having an offense that makes big plays, but can also run ball control if the circumstances indicate that's what's needed.

 

[Thurman#1]

15 hours ago, msw2112 said:

The only statistic I care about is the Win-Loss record.  If I'm correct, they were 5-5 with Dorsey and 5-1 with Brady, and the schedule was arguably more difficult with Brady (and the season was on the line).  The running game looked the best it has looked in many years (again, I don't know what the stats say, but I don't really care).  I'm on board with the OP in being curious about how it's all going to play out.  I'm optimistic that it will play out well, as I believe the offense is more diverse and thus much less predictable for opposing defenses.  Although they may not have a WR as good as Diggs, assuming everyone is healthy, there are lot of options among the run game, the RB passing game, Kincaid and Knox at TE, Shakir, Samuel, Coleman, and the other guys (Hollins, MVS, etc.)  There is also more pre-snap motion, which further disguises the plays before the ball is snapped.  I believe that the Dorsey offense was far too focused on Diggs and became stale and predictable.

 

 

Win-loss record isn't an offensive stat, it's a team stat. 

 

Brady isn't responsible for the D or the STs, and pretending he is just doesn't make sense. 

 

The offense did perform better under Brady. That is something he can hang his hat on, but he still has a lot to prove. As would anyone after 10 games.

[machine gun kelly]

To the OP these stats are misleading and several people dissected the SOS etc.  The other part is the injuries creeping up later in the year and yet the record was better.

 

The variability of this year’s team given the roster changes makes it very difficult to predict what are the outcomes this year.  I have hope like I always do in September, and it’s plausible we will better than predicted by many of the talking heads.  I personally would guess anywhere from 10-12 wins as we still have Allen.

[Thurman#1]

12 hours ago, GoBills808 said:

i understand you live in an internet where it's reasonable to ask people questions about things you imagine they said but actually didnt

 

ill ask some actual ones- like why an offense featuring christian mccaffrey and dj moore fails to produce...and you obviously forget bridgewater was a 3/$63M signing at the time, they went out and got him because they were excited about the offense after he went 5-0 for the Saints after Brees got hurt

 

 

 

 

"Why did an offense featuring Christian McCaffrey and DJ Moore fail to produce," you ask?  Lemme fill you in on the biggest part of it ... because that offense featured Christian McCaffrey for a grand total of three games. 

 

The other huge part of it was that Teddy Bridgewater was the QB throwing to DJ Moore, except for the five games when PJ Walker was instead.

 

The third part was that the OL just was not good. Maybe if Okung had stayed healthy or if Paradis had played in Carolina like he did in Denver, but neither of those things happened.

 

Paying that much for Bridgewater was a mistake. You can't say that he's good because a team paid a lot for him, that simply doesn't make sense.

 

They paid a lot for him because they hoped he'd be a lot better than he was. He wasn't.

 

Oh, and Bridgewater didn't go 5-1 the year before in New Orleans. That was a team, the New Orleans Saints. Wins and losses are a team stat. Bridgewater was the QB at that point, but he didn't win the games, the Saints did. Bridgewater played quarterback. He did it pretty well. But pretending that Teddy's play was the major factor in the 12-10 win over the Cowboys or the 13-6 win over Jax is just silly, nor did the offense look very good in the 27-9 loss to the Rams.

 

The three games where the offense performed well were Tampa, Seattle and Chicago, and the Bears were a pretty good defense that year at #8, but Tampa was average at #15 and Seattle was #26.

 

Bridgewater seemed a decent bet at that time, but it was a bet that did not pan out, and it wasn't like the offense was dragging Bridgewater down and when he went elsewhere he started dominating.

 

Does Brady get some of the blame? Absolutely. As does Daboll get some of the blame for the times he was awful with bad QBs before surprisingly turning out to be damn good when he got a good one.

 

The OL absolutely gets some of the blame. But expecting great offensive production from a team without a good QB isn't going to get you much of anywhere.

 

 

16 minutes ago, machine gun kelly said:

To the OP these stats are misleading and several people dissected the SOS etc.  The other part is the injuries creeping up later in the year and yet the record was better.

 

The variability of this year’s team given the roster changes makes it very difficult to predict what are the outcomes this year.  I have hope like I always do in September, and it’s plausible we will better than predicted by many of the talking heads.  I personally would guess anywhere from 10-12 wins as we still have Allen.

 

 

10-12 is precisely my guess as well. 

 

But I agree that there's far more uncertainty this year than in the recent past for this team.

[Thurman#1]

 

 

 

9 hours ago, FireChans said:

Who did the Chiefs hire outside of echo chambers?

 

Spags? That was 5 years ago.

 

Since then, they kept EB as their OC and when he left, they brought back Matt Nagy who started there. 

 

The Niners have again promoted internally on the defensive side since 2017. They didn’t last year and they fired the dude immediately and replaced him with a guy internally.

 

The Eagles built an entire new staff in 2021 because they fired everyone. When Steichen and Gannon got poached, they promoted internally at OC. They hired an outside DC and basically fired him midseason. 
 

The Ravens promoted Roman to OC internally. He spent 17-18 as an offensive assistant until he got the OC job. Wink Martindale was the LB coach there for 5 years before he got the DC job which he held for years. After they fired him, they went external. McDonald got poached and they replaced him with their inside LB coach, again, promoting internally.

 

So yeah, most good teams mostly promote internally, just like the Bills.

 

 

Good post. I was about to look it up. Nice job.

 

 

Edited September 4 by Thurman#1

[GunnerBill]

I'm still pretty optimistic on Brady. I think he is a really smart guy, I think he has a sharp mind and he is much closer to the cutting edge than Dorsey in terms of the concepts he incorporated when he took over last year. He has to go and prove it, sure, but I think he has the potential to be really good. 

 

But I still worry that even if he is good this year the Bills offensive potential remains capped by the weapons. We are hoping Kincaid goes from a top ten tight end to a top 3 or 4 guy capable of being in the 900-1,000 yards territory. We are hoping Shakir continues to be a really efficient producer as a featured piece of the offense rather than as a complimentary piece. We are hoping that Curtis Samuel overcomes his turf toe and recreates his 2020 career year reunited with Joe Brady. We are hoping that Keon Coleman can contribute meaningfully as a rookie. That's a lot of things to be hoping on. 

 

The two "knowns" that we have, aside from Josh obviously, are:

1. James Cook is going to get yards if you give him the opportunities running the ball; and

2. Dawson Knox if healthy is a redzone weapon. 

 

Everything else, from Brady to Kincaid to the receivers we are having to make a projection. 

 

 

[Mister Defense]

The Bills were dead in the water before Brady, so your post does not make sense, ignores almost all of the big picture things from last year and tells us to not believe what our own eyes and  what the dramatic positive changes after he took over meant for this team.

 

The Bills, in one game after another, could not score anything, or almost anything, in much of the first half, and in one game after another.  They looked unprepared, both at the outset of games and in games, and increasingly so, as the season 'progressed'.  They then had to crawl their way back into games and sometimes did so, but only because of players, like Allen, overcoming the mess that the lazy and  incompetent dorsey created. The running game was an afterthought, and so no one needed to respect the run, making things much much more difficult for Allen.  They had no rhythm in games until it was too late, and no identity. Players looked defeated soon after the games started and the offense ooked inept again--and then, again and again...

 

And they were not getting better, but worse, more consistent in their awful inconsistency.

 

Their OC had them unprepared for games, going into the game, and then was clearly unprepared in the game.  He did nothing to make things easier, but, as Chris Brown said over and over, it looked increasingly like a "heavy lift" for the offense. Analysts like MROB and Dan O. were saying things that indicated they believed dorsey was not just bad, but grossly incompetent for the his role of OC of an NFL team.  MROB was the first major network analyst to have the courage to call for a change, saying the Bills needed to re evaluate the relationship between allen and dorsey (in other words, fire dorsey).

 

Enter Brady.

 

The Bills immediately looked like an almost completely different offense under Brady--they looked prepared to start the game and during the game.

 

Their running game became a real running game, though with limited resources, and their offense started to move the ball consistently again.  Ridiculous to say Allen's numbers declined under Brady as if that was an indication of an offense not working as well.   Allen no longer had to play hero ball, game after game, and no longer had to try to lead his team back after falling behind again and again and again...

 

They went 6-1 under Brady, the only loss coming to the Eagles on their home turf, in OT, with only a 59 yard field goal in horrible conditions, overcoming the Bills on a day in which their offense scored 34 points and ran up 505 yards.

 

So, not sure what the question is you are posing above--there is zero gray area that the Bills were a dramatically better offense under Brady, a team almost certainly on their way to missing the playoffs, where the players' shocked and altered faces, early in game after game, told one everything to know about how much confidence they had in their 'leader', a man who will likely never again call plays in the NFL. Though I would of course welcome that, as it would mean one less team the Bills had to be concerned about.

 

The Bills went from dead in the water to one of the best teams, and one of the best offenses, in the NFL overnight after Brady took over.  As Josh Allen said after the firing, "It had to be done." Then, after the first game under Brady, the first one!, he said, "I'm fuc*ing back."

 

If last year was an indication, then Brady will be an excellent OC for the Bills this year, while dorsey will be lucky if Cleveland trusts  him to squeeze gatorade into players' mouths during the game.

 

Did you leave the country last fall and not get the chance to actually watch most of the games and see the dramatically improved offense after Brady took over, clear to what should be everyone? If not, go back and watch it--your eyes will not deceive you the way the comically meaningless stats you share have.

 

 

 

Edited September 4 by Mister Defense

[ToGoGo]

17 hours ago, julian said:

I’m starting to think “ statistics are for nerds “ might have some validity, Allen seems to have the ability to lock in and raise his level of play when all the chips are on the line, evidenced by his Nov and Dec win/loss record. Hopefully these narratives of being overrated and not having weapons and Diggs made him are the perfect storm of doubt Allen needs to lock in raise his level of play right off the rip.

 

 

Perfect storm is a good word to describe the uncanny level of doubt thrown his way. 
 

The thing about it is that deep down everyone knows how great he is. Including the media and casual fans. 
 

Either an MVP year or a Super Bowl will change the narrative. 

[ToGoGo]

2 hours ago, Mister Defense said:

The Bills were dead in the water before Brady, so your post does not make sense, ignores almost all of the big picture things from last year and tells us to not believe what our own eyes and  what the dramatic positive changes after he took over meant for this team.

 

The Bills, in one game after another, could not score anything, or almost anything, in much of the first half, and in one game after another.  They looked unprepared, both at the outset of games and in games, and increasingly so, as the season 'progressed'.  They then had to crawl their way back into games and sometimes did so, but only because of players, like Allen, overcoming the mess that the lazy and  incompetent dorsey created. The running game was an afterthought, and so no one needed to respect the run, making things much much more difficult for Allen.  They had no rhythm in games until it was too late, and no identity. Players looked defeated soon after the games started and the offense ooked inept again--and then, again and again...

 

And they were not getting better, but worse, more consistent in their awful inconsistency.

 

Their OC had them unprepared for games, going into the game, and then was clearly unprepared in the game.  He did nothing to make things easier, but, as Chris Brown said over and over, it looked increasingly like a "heavy lift" for the offense. Analysts like MROB and Dan O. were saying things that indicated they believed dorsey was not just bad, but grossly incompetent for the his role of OC of an NFL team.  MROB was the first major network analyst to have the courage to call for a change, saying the Bills needed to re evaluate the relationship between allen and dorsey (in other words, fire dorsey).

 

Enter Brady.

 

The Bills immediately looked like an almost completely different offense under Brady--they looked prepared to start the game and during the game.

 

Their running game became a real running game, though with limited resources, and their offense started to move the ball consistently again.  Ridiculous to say Allen's numbers declined under Brady as if that was an indication of an offense not working as well.   Allen no longer had to play hero ball, game after game, and no longer had to try to lead his team back after falling behind again and again and again...

 

They went 6-1 under Brady, the only loss coming to the Eagles on their home turf, in OT, with only a 59 yard field goal in horrible conditions, overcoming the Bills on a day in which their offense scored 34 points and ran up 505 yards.

 

So, not sure what the question is you are posing above--there is zero gray area that the Bills were a dramatically better offense under Brady, a team almost certainly on their way to missing the playoffs, where the players' shocked and altered faces, early in game after game, told one everything to know about how much confidence they had in their 'leader', a man who will likely never again call plays in the NFL. Though I would of course welcome that, as it would mean one less team the Bills had to be concerned about.

 

The Bills went from dead in the water to one of the best teams, and one of the best offenses, in the NFL overnight after Brady took over.  As Josh Allen said after the firing, "It had to be done." Then, after the first game under Brady, the first one!, he said, "I'm fuc*ing back."

 

If last year was an indication, then Brady will be an excellent OC for the Bills this year, while dorsey will be lucky if Cleveland trusts  him to squeeze gatorade into players' mouths during the game.

 

Did you leave the country last fall and not get the chance to actually watch most of the games and see the dramatically improved offense after Brady took over, clear to what should be everyone? If not, go back and watch it--your eyes will not deceive you the way the comically meaningless stats you share have.

 

 

 

Makes me wonder if the OP even watched the games. 

[HappyDays]

4 hours ago, Mister Defense said:

The Bills were dead in the water before Brady, so your post does not make sense, ignores almost all of the big picture things from last year and tells us to not believe what our own eyes and  what the dramatic positive changes after he took over meant for this team.

 

The Bills, in one game after another, could not score anything, or almost anything, in much of the first half, and in one game after another.  They looked unprepared, both at the outset of games and in games, and increasingly so, as the season 'progressed'.  They then had to crawl their way back into games and sometimes did so, but only because of players, like Allen, overcoming the mess that the lazy and  incompetent dorsey created. The running game was an afterthought, and so no one needed to respect the run, making things much much more difficult for Allen.  They had no rhythm in games until it was too late, and no identity. Players looked defeated soon after the games started and the offense ooked inept again--and then, again and again...

 

And they were not getting better, but worse, more consistent in their awful inconsistency.

 

Their OC had them unprepared for games, going into the game, and then was clearly unprepared in the game.  He did nothing to make things easier, but, as Chris Brown said over and over, it looked increasingly like a "heavy lift" for the offense. Analysts like MROB and Dan O. were saying things that indicated they believed dorsey was not just bad, but grossly incompetent for the his role of OC of an NFL team.  MROB was the first major network analyst to have the courage to call for a change, saying the Bills needed to re evaluate the relationship between allen and dorsey (in other words, fire dorsey).

 

Enter Brady.

 

The Bills immediately looked like an almost completely different offense under Brady--they looked prepared to start the game and during the game.

 

Their running game became a real running game, though with limited resources, and their offense started to move the ball consistently again.  Ridiculous to say Allen's numbers declined under Brady as if that was an indication of an offense not working as well.   Allen no longer had to play hero ball, game after game, and no longer had to try to lead his team back after falling behind again and again and again...

 

They went 6-1 under Brady, the only loss coming to the Eagles on their home turf, in OT, with only a 59 yard field goal in horrible conditions, overcoming the Bills on a day in which their offense scored 34 points and ran up 505 yards.

 

So, not sure what the question is you are posing above--there is zero gray area that the Bills were a dramatically better offense under Brady, a team almost certainly on their way to missing the playoffs, where the players' shocked and altered faces, early in game after game, told one everything to know about how much confidence they had in their 'leader', a man who will likely never again call plays in the NFL. Though I would of course welcome that, as it would mean one less team the Bills had to be concerned about.

 

The Bills went from dead in the water to one of the best teams, and one of the best offenses, in the NFL overnight after Brady took over.  As Josh Allen said after the firing, "It had to be done." Then, after the first game under Brady, the first one!, he said, "I'm fuc*ing back."

 

If last year was an indication, then Brady will be an excellent OC for the Bills this year, while dorsey will be lucky if Cleveland trusts  him to squeeze gatorade into players' mouths during the game.

 

Did you leave the country last fall and not get the chance to actually watch most of the games and see the dramatically improved offense after Brady took over, clear to what should be everyone? If not, go back and watch it--your eyes will not deceive you the way the comically meaningless stats you share have.

 

 

 

 

This is overstated. The first two games Brady took over - Jets and Eagles - were terrific offensive performances. After that it was pretty middling overall other than the Cowboys who we punched in the mouth. Only 20 points against the Chiefs, 24 points against the lame duck Chargers, 20 points against the Pats, 14 points against the Dolphins. In the divisional round our offense fell off a cliff in the 4th quarter (not blaming them for the loss, it's just the reality).

 

I do think Brady brought a different energy to the offense that was badly needed. But to use last year as an indication that Brady will be an "excellent OC" is a major exaggeration IMO. I'm giving Brady a clean slate to prove what he can do with a full offseason.

[Mister Defense]

On 9/4/2024 at 10:02 AM, HappyDays said:

 

This is overstated. The first two games Brady took over - Jets and Eagles - were terrific offensive performances. After that it was pretty middling overall other than the Cowboys who we punched in the mouth. Only 20 points against the Chiefs, 24 points against the lame duck Chargers, 20 points against the Pats, 14 points against the Dolphins. In the divisional round our offense fell off a cliff in the 4th quarter (not blaming them for the loss, it's just the reality).

 

I do think Brady brought a different energy to the offense that was badly needed. But to use last year as an indication that Brady will be an "excellent OC" is a major exaggeration IMO. I'm giving Brady a clean slate to prove what he can do with a full offseason.

 

I am not saying I have complete confidence in Brady, only that what he was able to do overnight to a moribund offense and team, an offense in disarray, and three games past the middle of the season, gives me significant hope for what he could do this year, now fully in control of the offense. In your post, misleading use of stats, just like in the OP. 

 

For example, the Bills scored 20 and 24 points against the Chiefs, the 2nd game one in which the Bills' defense was decimated.  The Chiefs were a great defense last year and the Bills' 24 points against them were the 2nd best against the Chiefs all year, the only exception being the Packers' 27.  And the Bills scored 24 against the Chargers and 21 against the dolphins. (Defensive scores, is that why you cite the points as you do?)

 

Not a major exaggeration for me to point to the dramatic turn around in the failing offense Brady took over, often 'out' of games by the end of the first half, and immediately making it into a offense that could beat any team.  And the players understanding and reacting to that dramatic positive change accordingly.  Yup, to me that indicates he could be an excellent OP.  We will see.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 20 by Mister Defense

[msw2112]

6 hours ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

Win-loss record isn't an offensive stat, it's a team stat. 

 

Brady isn't responsible for the D or the STs, and pretending he is just doesn't make sense. 

 

The offense did perform better under Brady. That is something he can hang his hat on, but he still has a lot to prove. As would anyone after 10 games.

 

You are correct, Win-Loss is a team stat.  That was exactly my point.  I don't care what the offensive statistics are, as long as the team is winning.  All the parts of a team interconnect.  If Brady's offense gets the ball into FG range and Bass makes the kick, then offense and special teams compliment each other.  If the Bills' offense goes on a time consuming drive, the defense is rested and fresh and may be more effective when they come on the field.  Even if the offense doesn't score, if they get the ball from inside the 10 out to midfield before punting, they've "flipped the field" making it easier for the defense.  If the offense gets a big lead and the other team is forced to pass the ball, the defense can take more chances rushing the passer, as there's little threat of the run.  Conversely, if the offense turns the ball over, or sputters and punts from their own end zone, they make it more difficult for the defense and special teams.

 

Finally, there's the mental aspect of the game.  If the offense is effective and pushing the other team around and/or putting a lot of points on the board, it creates positive energy on the sidelines which helps the defense and special teams.  If you've ever played football (or really any team sport), you'll know what I'm talking about.

 

I fully agree with you that 10 games is a small sample size.  Other teams will watch film and adjust to what Brady is trying to do.  Time will tell if he can continue to be successful.  As I said above, I like the philosophy of spreading the ball and using a lot of pre-snap motion, as it keeps the defense guessing, giving an advantage to the offense.  The Dorsey approach of making one WR (Diggs) the focal point of the offense had grown stale and was not working effectively by the end of Dorsey's tenure.

[JP51]

 Love the speculation on the precipice of a season... wonder how things and opinions will change week to week. As with everything 2024 Bills so many if's involved. as far as how will he do... 

 

I like his focus on a bit more of a balanced attack. Not 50/50 run pass but enough to make the D honor the run and effective enough to close out games and chew clock. I like him letting Josh be Josh. I liked his 2 TE involvement.  I like he is involving his players in the play choice focus... as long as he is retaining control and focused on individual opponents. 

 

I wonder if he allows 17 more latitude at the LOS to make adjustments and audibles based on the defense. I wonder if defenses were caught a bit off guard with his change in focus to the benefit of the Bills. I wonder how he will adjust to predictability  I wonder if he will reign in the big play for sake of the consistent gain (I hope not).... I wonder if the dink and dunk is more of a strategy to be employed against the defenses we typically have issues with (Jets Jags to start) 

 

Lots of ifs and unknowns, in the end I expect my opinion and others will change a few times over the course of the season... I expect some ups and downs and learning curves. For that reason, I like enough of his small body of results and focus to hold optimistic that he will do well... but retain judgement until these questions and answers become more clear...  and I am not gonna lie, when emotion of wins and losses become involved in opinion, I am gonna be prone to some extremes as this plays out, no matter how hard I try to be reasonable LOL... admitting this right now...  

Edited September 4 by JP51

[hondo in seattle]

13 hours ago, BigAl2526 said:

I think Brady is good at running a ball control offense.  What we didn't see a lot of after Brady took over last season were big pass plays.  Part of that may have been due to Stefon Diggs' late season funk.  In any case, I think big plays are part of what makes Josh Allen a potential MVP type QB.  I'm hoping to see some big plays early on in the season.  I want other teams to fear the Bills.  They don't fear teams that try to nickel and dime you to death.  What will make me happy is Buffalo having an offense that makes big plays, but can also run ball control if the circumstances indicate that's what's needed.

 

 

I wasn't impressed with Brady at all last season except for the simple fact that we started winning more.  Josh's production went down under Brady and Brady only had one good (albeit very good) running game as I recall.  

 

But he's supposedly revamped the offense during the offseason so I cling to hope.  

 

I disagree a bit about what you said about nickel-and-diming.  Josh, Mahomes, and other big-armed QBs are seeing more and more two-high shells and other defenses designed to stop the long ball.  We need to be able to nickel-and-dime these teams.  A good offense will efficiently and brutally attack whatever weakness the defense presents.   They'll fear us as the stand by helplessly as we drive the ball down the field again and again.