McDermott among the most aggressive 4th down coaches in the NFL(2nd to Campbell)

[Nephilim17]

He's learned not to go up 5 on the Chiefs late in the game — and that Josh has a better chance of converting fourth and short than the Buffalo D has of stopped the Chiefs get a TD with a couple minutes left. I applaud him for that.

Aggressive, as it's been pointed out, counts for more than just 4th down offensive decisions. The Bills upped their man coverage % against the Chiefs so that's another "aggressive" decision that doesn't get a lot of talk. I hope, where it makes sense, we play aggressive D. Especially in the playoffs.

So far, this season, so good...

[ganesh]

The Bills have never been conservative on Offense because they have Josh Allen.   In fact, that aggression cost them the Houston game. The Bills have been conservative in the plays on DEFENSE, especially in the playoffs.    Their inability to get off the field on 3rd and long in the playoffs has cost them a chance to get to the SuperBowl.   That has to be fixed this year.

[Saxum]

4 hours ago, Bimmer323i said:

I believe it although sometimes it doesn’t feel that way cause he has chickened out on occasion punting when we prolly should have gone for it

 

Chickening out because he does not agree with the squab with one leg.

4 hours ago, Kelly to Allen said:

 

Every well thought critic of McDermott is about McDermott getting tight in critical situations and especially in the playoffs with elimination creating even more pressure. His brain literally shuts off....

 

 

 

Completely brain dead comment.

4 hours ago, Kelly to Allen said:

 

Go look at the defensive formation vs the jets on the hail Mary. I literally thought I was on acid looking at it. It made zero sense 

 

 

Does not surprise me.

[BigAl2526]

When the Bills are in 4th and short (a yard or less) going for it is not a huge risk.    It's almost impossible to stop Josh Allen on a QB sneak.  The 4th and 2 at the end of the Kansas City game was a bit different.  I think that happened because of the history Mahomes has of being able to move the ball in critical situations at the end of games.  I don't think McDermott is a conservative coach though.  I would like to see Joe Brady mix up his play calling on first down though.

[ToGoGo]

One more narrative falls apart at closer glance. 
 

“McDermott tightens up and can’t win big games” is up next. 

[C.Biscuit97]

I think having Josh Allen makes you way less conservative. Like how aggressive should the Giants have been with Daniel Jones. 
 

but kudos to Sean for getting wild like staying up past 7:30 on a school night!

[gonzo1105]

I would love to see data that compares his aggressiveness in the regular season to the postseason. I agree he is an aggressive head coach in the regular season but I always feel he tightens up in the postseason. 
 

Id love to see if that’s wrong or not 

[Don Otreply]

Is this another example of fans not knowing their aszes from their elbows? 
 

😂😁😆🤣

 

GO BILLS!!!

[SoTier]

8 hours ago, peterpan said:

We have Josh Allen.  Who do the Steelers have?  That has to factor in.

 

that chart is confusing.  I have no idea what WP stands for. But I’m surprised to see the Chiefs on the far left.

 

Looking at the second chart, it seems to me that the quality of the QB,  the quality of the kicker, and the quality of the defense are three big factors in determining how conservative or aggressive a team tends to be.   There are other factors as well, probably opponent and game situation being most important.

 

KC has a great QB not playing his best, a great kicker (with Butker at least), and an excellent defense.   They can afford to be conservative. 

Pittsburgh has mediocre at best QB(s), an excellent kicker, and a great defense.  They have to be conservative.

The Bills have a great QB, a pretty good kicker, and a pretty good defense.  They can afford to be aggressive.

The Lions have a great QB (at least this year), a pretty good kicker, and a pretty good defense.  They can afford to be aggressive.

[Doc Brown]

5 hours ago, gonzo1105 said:

I would love to see data that compares his aggressiveness in the regular season to the postseason. I agree he is an aggressive head coach in the regular season but I always feel he tightens up in the postseason. 
 

Id love to see if that’s wrong or not 

I don't have an answer for you but I do remember being livid in the 2020 AFC Championship game with his conservatism on offense.  There were three and four obvious go for it moments where he settled or field goals while playing the NFL's version of the Harlem Globetrotters on the other side.  I really can't think of a situation after that in the playoffs where he wasn't aggressive on 4th and short in the playoffs so he obviously did some self scouting.  Heck, he even tried a fake punt in his own territory in the 4th quarter last year which was kind of funny because it failed so miserably but at least he tried it.  Pry should've kept it in Allen's hands though.  LOL.

 

I think going for it on 4th and 3 against the Chiefs showed that transformation even though it was only a regular season game.  You do everything you can to prevent Mahomes from having the ball last with a chance to beat you with a field goal or touchdown.

[JP51]

23 hours ago, Big Turk said:

Can we please put to bed that McD is way too conservative/ultra conservative/some version of reality that isn't true?

 

 

Just a thought... I find it interesting  that last years SB teams are the most conservative respectively.

[Herb]

If coach McDermott keeps going for it on crucial 4th downs, I might start believing in him longer term. As long as he's not holding Josh back from being Josh, I think we'll break through this year and win it all.

[Buffalo716]

10 minutes ago, Herb said:

If coach McDermott keeps going for it on crucial 4th downs, I might start believing in him longer term. As long as he's not holding Josh back from being Josh, I think we'll break through this year and win it all.

We've been going for fourth down at a higher clip than just about 90% the league for three plus years now

[US Egg]

It’s a league wide trend uptick. Would think Allen makes it easier to decide to go for it.

[Herb]

21 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

We've been going for fourth down at a higher clip than just about 90% the league for three plus years now

We're 4-2 against the Chiefs in the regular season. We're 0-3 in the playoffs. The difference in our last battle was going for 4th and short against this most recent incarnation, and it ultimately ended up being the difference in the game. In our playoff battles, there were multiple times where McDermott attempted field goals when he should have just trusted Josh. There was a marked difference in our last game between what we ultimately ended up doing in our past meetings (and losing),  and what McDermott chose to allow.

[Buffalo716]

6 minutes ago, Herb said:

We're 4-2 against the Chiefs in the regular season. We're 0-3 in the playoffs. The difference in our last battle was going for 4th and short against this most recent incarnation, and it ultimately ended up being the difference in the game. In our playoff battles, there were multiple times where McDermott attempted field goals when he should have just trusted Josh. There was a marked difference in our last game between what we ultimately ended up doing in our past meetings (and losing),  and what McDermott chose to allow.

Last year in the playoff game the Chiefs went for it on 4th down zero times 

 

We went for it three times 

 

In the 13 second playoff game 

 

The Chiefs attempted one 4th down conversion 

 

The bills were four for four 

 

The bills are certainly super super aggressive

 

Edited December 1 by Buffalo716

[Herb]

Perhaps Bass's inconsistency has somewhat influenced McDermott's recent change of heart. I continue to hope that coach will realize that we're not going to beat the elite teams unless we always have the peddle to the metal.

[Malazan]

40 minutes ago, Herb said:

Perhaps Bass's inconsistency has somewhat influenced McDermott's recent change of heart. I continue to hope that coach will realize that we're not going to beat the elite teams unless we always have the peddle to the metal.

 

It's annoying that you can't even be bothered to look up the stats.

[GunnerBill]

4 hours ago, Herb said:

If coach McDermott keeps going for it on crucial 4th downs, I might start believing in him longer term. As long as he's not holding Josh back from being Josh, I think we'll break through this year and win it all.

 

He has always been one of the most aggresive coaches in the NFL on 4th down since Josh broke out in 2020.

3 hours ago, Herb said:

We're 4-2 against the Chiefs in the regular season. We're 0-3 in the playoffs. The difference in our last battle was going for 4th and short against this most recent incarnation, and it ultimately ended up being the difference in the game. In our playoff battles, there were multiple times where McDermott attempted field goals when he should have just trusted Josh. There was a marked difference in our last game between what we ultimately ended up doing in our past meetings (and losing),  and what McDermott chose to allow.

 

We are actually 5-1 against the Chiefs in the regular season, but you know..... stats...

 

In the 2020 Conference Championship game McDermott kicked FGs instead of going for it. He hasn't made that mistake again.

[ganesh]

The biggest thing we need from this team is to have a playoff defense that wins games in January.  That has been the difference for this team except for the Divisional game against Baltimore.  

 

If the defense can keep its end of the bargain,  Josh is definitely winning the Lombardi for this city.  Go Bills !!!