Is this the best coaching we have seen in the JA era?

[Nephilim17]

Looking good so far but I'd like to see us beat a couple teams with top QBs.

[amprov56]

29 minutes ago, MJS said:

I think the coaching has always been a strong suit. At times, some in-game decisions have been questionable. At other times there have been execution issues, which I put on the players. Player development, which is a coaching thing, has always been really strong.

 

Scheme and playcalling, which is offensive and defensive coordinator specific coaching, does seem stronger this year. I think we have a good couple of coordinators.

 

However, there will inevitably be challenges in the season. Every team goes through them. Will fans think that the team is poorly coached and ill prepared if we lose a game? The other team's players and coaches get paid the big bucks, too. Sometimes you just get beaten. The Bills always make it close in their losses, which is evidence of good coaching, preparation, and resilience.

You said it all, wait until we lose one! Great post as always!

[Marcus Aurelius]

I'll weigh in with an opinion in 3 weeks.

Right now, I am cautiously optimistic.

Edited September 24 by Marcus Aurelius

[dorquemada]

I think in terms of overall philosophy on both sides of the ball, this the best plan and the best match between plan and personnel that we've had in modern memory.

 

I'm just loving how they spread the ball around on O, because there's always going to be someone covered by a LB in a bad mismatch.  On D, I love that we have a D line that gets pressure consistently without a blitz and I dont pretend to know enough about the Xs and Os to understand but whatever the scheme is in the secondary is doing a great job of taking WRs and anything deep out of the game entirely

[BullBuchanan]

I have been a McDermott hater since he interviewed. He and his staff are doing a marvelous job this year. Everything is clicking. Our offense has people running routes where they can be hit in stride, and when something works we keep doing it for the first time I can remember in 30 years. We have completely outschemed our last two opponents and made great adjustments against the Cardinals. They look incredibly prepared.

Josh Allen is playing the best football of his career and while he certainly deserves a huge amount of the credit, I can't help but notice that one of the biggest reasons for it is because he's actually going through reads and hitting the open man consistently, which he's only done sporadically thus far. He did miss the read to cook for a TD yesterday when they took that offsetting penalty in the redzone, but he was otherwise flawless. To me, when all of your guys are playing to their max level, that's a tip of the cap to the coaches.

Edited September 24 by BullBuchanan

[Boatdrinks]

So far, I’d say yes it is. 

[Gregg]

So far so good. The real test will come in Jan and hopefully Feb.

[947]

Coaching has been great on both sides of the ball.

 

The only issue I see is the ultra-conservative approach once we get a lead. I understand milking the clock, but McD has been known to do it earlier in the game & with less of a lead than other coaches. Running into a wall for an obvious no gain on 3rd down & playing Prevent-D on the first drive of the 2nd half is too extreme for me. It worked in the Jags game, but tried to bite us in the rear vs the Cardinals. If we get conservative with a lead against teams like the Chiefs/Texans/Ravens, we could regret it. I'd love to see McD really close out games.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

 

[Alphadawg7]

2 hours ago, Success said:

For starters, McDermott has done a great job this year as a whole. We lost a lot of big names, and the consensus nationally was that we were going to take a step back.  We weren't sure what our identity would be.  In pretty short order, this team looks like the best in the league.

 

McD has gotten a lot of criticism in the past, but has everyone been watching the other games? There is a LOT of bad coaching in the league right now.  

 

Then there is the defense. Losing Milano, Bernard & Johnson right out of the gate - and still looking like a top 5 D. They're playing fast, they're hitting hard, I'm not seeing any missed assignments or blown coverages.  This is a swarming, smothering defense.

 

The offense also looks as good as we've seen.  For starters, we have a run game.  In the pass game, 10 different guys caught passes from Allen yesterday.  I mean, who do you cover if you're an opposing defense?  Brady is mixing it up beautifully, and getting everyone involved.

 

I have a lot of faith in our current staff.  It feels like we finally have the coaching we need to get that elusive title.

 

 

Yes and honestly I think the evidence is there to suggest that the issue we have had the most problems with have been the coordinators.  McD seems to have the right coordinators in place now and its made all the difference early so far.  

Edited September 24 by Alphadawg7

[DrDawkinstein]

The only thing we have going for us is that he seems far away from being ready for a true HC position. So we might get him for another year or two.

[scuba guy]

Well put hand cuffs on him and he well have to stay.

[NewEra]

Thought about that last night.  Might still be a year or two away.  Not sure if he’s Hc material atm. 

 

Dunno if Ronald Curry will be OC/play caller material if we lose him.  

[JJGauna]

Hopefully Joe realizes that if he leaves he will be taking an immediate downgrade at the QB position. See Brian Daboll for reference.

[Sweats]

Basically, all he has shown is that he can hybrid college schemes with the NFL.......Carolina got rid of him for a reason.

I'm okay if we have him for a couple more years while he proves himself to the rest of the league......i just don't believe that NFL teams are sold on him right now until he has proved his worth, which he hasn't really done so far.

 

Don't get me wrong, the guy is exactly what we need for this team right now, but how will his O schemes play out when teams have caught on.......don't think it could happen? Miami was rolling along pretty good a couple of years ago until the rest of the league figured them out and the Fins O was new, it was fresh, it was innovative, but teams figured it out and set the template on how to stop them.......some successfully, some not.

 

IMO

[Logic]

It will irritate me if he gets immediately poached. 

Guys like Ben Johnson and Bobby Slowik are in their second or third seasons with their respective teams. It would be nice if the same could happen for Brady. I'd love it if we could get a few seasons out of him.

The thing with Brady is that he not only seems to have a good playbook and a good feel for calling games, he ALSO seems to be a good listener, a good speaker, and a good leader. He has "future head coach" written all over him. Lest everyone forget, he was the "it" guy just a few years ago coming off the LSU season. It was only the Panthers QB-less tire fire that knocked the shine off him and allowed him to become a Bills coach.

At any rate, seeing Brian Daboll and Joe Brady's career re-births (and even Dorsey got immediately hired to coordinate the Browns), one thing has become clear: calling plays for Josh Allen is just about the best thing that can happen to any young offensive coordinator. So hopefully, if the unthinkable (and highly irritating) happens and Brady gets poached, there will be no shortage of quality play callers lining up for a chance to work for the Bills.

[Cray51]

Daboll will be a reference.  Going to ANY HC role is a risk.  Brady has a long long career ahead of him in the NFL.  Be the OC of a potential Super Bowl winning team for the next 2-3 years, and then go to your pick of the litter.

[boyst]

sometimes i wonder why these guys do not decide to really hone their skills as a coordinator.

 

if this guy can be a coordinator for Buffalo 6-8 years total and really, really learn the league, perfect his craft, learn from others etc.... he could be one of the greatest head coaches if they ever chose.

[LABILLBACKER]

There are plenty of coordinators who have been with their team for years. If the Bills want to discourage Brady & Babich from leaving,  they better be prepared to pay them top $.

[LEBills]

It depends on the other coordinators. Ben Johnson and Bobby Slowick will probably be first in line since they resurrected a has been and developed a rookie QB, respectively. Wes Phillips and Brian Flores will likely get looks of the Vikings keep up this tear.

 

Id guess we probably will have another year with Brady even if the team keeps this up. His time as OC in Carolina was considered a failure and Daboll struggling in NYC without Josh will probably make teams pause about whether Brady can do it without the best QB in the league.