Will He Reinvent Himself: Coach Sean McDermott

[Beck Water]

9 minutes ago, waterglass said:

I wrote an article about McDermott is in need to reinvent himself with respect to who he is drafting via Beane on the D line so I looked at the size of his D line which has been losing playoff games in similar fashion since they played the Texans in January 4, 2020 in OT when Allen once again had them in the lead. Our D just could not stop them. It’s a recurring annually Bills feature. Even Nick Wright has a video about it.  Then last week all Bills fans were lectured by some guy on radio named Mike Soap to say to use this historical comparison data is foolish. Sorry Soap as I am not NFL Woke nor am I in it for gambling. I didn’t count the 2018 playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. I compared his D line to Kansas City D line. KC comes in at an average of 6' 3 1/4" in height for the front four starters @ 277.25 pounds. 

 

The Bills front four starters are respectively 6' 4 1/4" @ 283.25 pounds So on average the Bills are larger. The numbers are skewed higher by one very large player on both teams but overall on average the Bills are larger.

 

So if KC can do it why can’t we stop the run and get a pass rush? [A] It appears that both teams play with similar gaps between the D linemen. [b] It appears that the Bills use the same D scheme as all other potential playoff teams. [c] What the Bills lack is at least one premier D lineman as the Chiefs have Chris Jones? So on the D line is it we need at least one D line beast aka Josh Allen to our Offense? 

 

Based on the size of other premier D linemen I would assume that a "Beast" would be a younger man at least 6' 6" and weigh 290 pounds. The Bills don’t have that person. 

This week I watched this week that many very good NFL teams D lines were gashed by the running game. Same as the Bills. That includes Pittsburgh, Houston, Denver and a couple of NFC teams who also lost. They all play the same D. 

 

So is it time that since the NFL went to a tighter D line spread to tighten the gaps between the D lineman to plug the interior of the line and force runs to the outside linebackers as a stop gap measure against the run like it was back in the day? Times change with the physical attributes of the players. So is it time for a change in D line philosophy? So could McDermott become a crusader among NFL head coaches?. Possibly he will have a Divine intervention moment?  

 

So for your entertainment I attached this article as Bill Belichick aka Mr. Defense who makes a statement. 
 

 

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/nfl/news/bill-belichick-makes-grim-prediction-for-buffalo-bills-over-poor-defense/articleshow/116717042.cms

 

 

Times of India, seriously?  quoting a podcast?  C'mon Man

Of course the Bills don't feel good about giving up 40+ points in back to back weeks.  They also don't feel good about having their entire back 7 banged up or MIA

 

I don't think Pittsburgh, Houston, Denver and "a couple of NFC teams who also lost" all play the same D

Edited Friday at 03:13 PM by Beck Water

[Gregg]

4 minutes ago, DaVinci said:

2020. "We will learn from this"

2021.  "We will learn from this"

2022   "We will learn from this "

2023.  "We will learn from this "

2024.  " We will learn from this "

 

I truly hope this is the year we do the learning.

 

You mean Terry Pegula as his opinion is the only one who can change things.

Edited Friday at 03:12 PM by Gregg

[Beck Water]

On 12/23/2024 at 9:14 PM, thenorthremembers said:

 

Just depends on who your whipping boy is.   The defense may have been to blame in 2020, and 2021 yes.  But, 2019 was on the Hall of Fame QB, in 2022 the offense scored 10 points, and last year they missed a field goal.   Its not an annual defensive debacle, thats revisionist history.    The Super Bowl is hard to win.   Especially when your hall of fame QB is playing in the time and conference of a better hall of fame QB.    I will never justify 13 seconds, but to constantly bang the McDermott sucks drum is asinine.    There is more to the teams failures than just McDermott.   Just like there is more to this teams triumphs than just Josh Allen. 

 

I would just like to point out that in 2019 where you pin it on the "hall of fame QB", the Bills were leading 16-0 halfway through the 3rd Q.

The Bills D then allowed 2 TD and a FG to allow the Texans to take the lead.  There was an offensive fumble involved in the 2nd TD, but  3 successive scores, and then a score in OT?  I don't think you can put that entirely on the QB.

[JP51]

I think a lot of us have been saying this too small on the DL, no really consistent playmakers, LB too small get over powered by lineman that our DL cant hold up... injuries to our LB and DBs as a result every year... something that I hope they can scheme in the playoffs... but ultimately going to need to be addressed in the offseason. I think we are one of the only contenders that do not have a dominant DL and we get almost zero consistent pass rush out of our 4 man. 

[Mikie2times]

On 12/25/2024 at 11:22 AM, Kelly to Allen said:

You can't have Josh Allen and not go to and win multiple Superbowls. It's a sign something is seriously wrong. 

 

Again, this is not hard. 

 

All the other great QBs in their first 5-8 yrs were going to multiple super bowls 

 

Staubach, Kelly, Bradshaw, Marino, burrow, mahomes, big Ben, aikman, young, Montana, Brady, Manning, tarkenton, frickin Neil O'Donnell.... Enough is enough 

 

It's unacceptable. It's also not mutually exclusive. We are enjoying this Allen era and simultaneously want what every other fan base got with a generational QB. Multiple super bowl appearances and wins. 

 

Allen is going to be entering his prime here in the next year or two. I fully expect 3-5 super bowl appearances by the time he retires and 2 world championships. 

 

I like McDermott, good coach, good man and I want him here for a long time. But it's time to start going to super bowls. It's honestly kind of embarrassing and ridiculous at this point. Even ppl in the media and KC fans are waiting for McDermott to hold his end of the bargain and to stop the silliness in the playoffs. The media is literally begging McDermott to stop screwing it up so Allen can play in some super bowls. 

 

We've already flushed one ring down the toilet. At a certain point enough is enough 

 

Matt Stafford has got to and won a ring before Allen. Burrow has been, hurts has been. Again this is embarrassing and I'm frankly getting very tired of it.

 

I expect the bills to at minimum get to the super bowl. I'm picking them to win it. There's no reason they shouldn't. Unless McDermott and his defense can't force a single punt in the playoffs 

 

6 forced punts in the past 4 elimination games is utterly ridiculous and atrocious. 

 

Get it done, no excuses 

 

 

 

I like this look on you. 

 

 

[bmur66]

Another defensive collapse in the playoffs should lead to some major changes. Ownership needs to see to it. This is your last chance McD. Get it done or take your weak defense somewhere else. 😆Yea right!

[Einstein]

21 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

 

Times of India, seriously?  quoting a podcast?  C'mon Man

 

That’s a terrible spin job Beck.

 

The article publisher is irrelevant. The point is that one of the greatest coaches in football history… the man with more SB rings than we have playoff wins in the past two decades… made a comment that was fairly unflattering.

 

Trying to spin it as a joke because a rando website quoted it is poor form.

[JP51]

On 12/23/2024 at 12:23 PM, Patrick Duffy said:

 

Seems to me the main issue with the D is run defense. Other than the Rams game, when the DL gets some pressure on the QB they haven't been all that bad. This defense succeeds often when the DL gets pressure as with most defenses.

Run game D is bottom of the league, pass rush with 4 is a huge problem with Pass D giving up 3rd and longs and not getting off the field, I also think our safeties are less than all world. 

[dave mcbride]

1 minute ago, Einstein said:

 

That’s a terrible spin job Beck.

 

The article publisher is irrelevant. The point is that one of the greatest coaches in football history… the man with more SB rings than we have playoff wins in the past two decades… made a comment that was fairly unflattering.

 

Trying to spin it as a joke because a rando website quoted it is poor form.

"The Times of India (TOI) has a circulation of over 4.4 million newspapers and a reader base of 13 million. It is the largest English newspaper in India and has the largest circulation of any English-language newspaper in the world."

 

Just sayin'.

[BillsVet]

On 12/25/2024 at 11:15 AM, stuvian said:

to get back to the topic of the thread, I think McDermott has been reinventing himself every year. Look at the offensive philosophy change this year from pass first to run first. We have cut out turnovers in half as a result. That is a huge improvement due to coaching and scheme completely independent of bringing in better players. 

 

The NFL has engineered the rules so much that the bully defenses of the 1985 Bears and 2000 Ravens are no longer possible. As we don't have a Maxx Crosby, Bosa brother, TJ Watt or Micah Parsons the best we can do in engineer pressure. We have beaten the best teams in the league this season. I don't much care how we win only that we win. The main risk I see on D is that our offense scores so much so quickly that our D gets gassed.

 

I am confident that Clappy will call the right plays at the right time to engineer a coverage sack and turnover when we need one. SO I expect him to continue to evolve as a coach like he has every year with the changes in coordinator and philosophy we have already seen.

 

Buffalo's philosophy under McD needs to have greater flexibility when things go wrong.  As in, when the defense isn't working how does the offense overcome it?  

 

The KC game was an example of when things go right.  Defense limited KC's possessions, forced some turnovers, and kept them from putting a big number on the board.  Bills offense was better, although it needed Josh to carry it 12 times and made plays in the 4th quarter.  

 

No matter how well you plan, can't expect 4 straight playoff games to happen this way.  And it's why having the ability to just out-score an opponent is something a team needs in their back pocket.  OC needs to be creative to achieve that, but it's the personnel decisions in the off-season which facilitate that more.  

 

I wouldn't say McD has changed philosophically.  Maybe the playoffs demonstrate he has, but it's a TBD right now.

[Beck Water]

On 12/24/2024 at 10:02 PM, RunTheBall said:

The scheme is fine, our D-line isn’t good enough. It’s been that way for years.

 

I don't disagree with you, but I think it calls for more depth.

 

On DL, the Bills have invested:

2 1st round picks (Oliver, Rousseau)

2 2nd round picks (Basham, Epenesa)

3 3rd round picks (Carter, Phillips)

 

This is in 6 years

 

I think that's the biggest draft investment at one position on the team. 

In addition, the DL saw the flashiest FA acquisition in Von Miller, and typically the largest % of salary cap tied up - 16% in 2024, QB is only 13% and OL only 11%.

 

So DL, year after year, is receiving a disproportionate share of the team's draft and salary cap investment, for typically a sub-par ROI

 

I think when that's true year after year, one has to ask what the scheme is requiring of the DL and whether that's something that somehow requires a "unicorn" as far as physical and mental ability, (or a rotation of 8 uniconrs)

 

It's not like the guys we draft or sign can't play football - 'Horrible Harry" Phillips has started every game for Minnesota the last 3 years, and they've gone from the 28th to the 13th to the 3rd ranked D,  Tim Settle could barely see the field in Buffalo and didn't look good when he did, he's played every game and started 10 games for Houston and has looked like he could play.  Jerry Hughes went from 2 sacks to 9 sacks and 1 QB hit to 10 QB hits in Houston.

 

[Beck Water]

 

9 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

That’s a terrible spin job Beck.

 

The article publisher is irrelevant. The point is that one of the greatest coaches in football history… the man with more SB rings than we have playoff wins in the past two decades… made a comment that was fairly unflattering.

 

Trying to spin it as a joke because a rando website quoted it is poor form.

 

I'm not trying to spin it as a "joke"  The point stands - what is their football expertise?

 

The quote is a single line from a podcast Belichick appeared on, and totally lacks any context. 

It's also inane and lacking in insight as quoted.  No one would disagree with it, including Sean McDermott and Bobby Babich.

Now maybe the greatest coach in football history has some additional insight as to why the Bills D had two abysmal showings, but that wasn't offered.

[Beck Water]

On 12/23/2024 at 9:31 AM, waterglass said:

I love what he has done but I dont love his Defensive coaching scheme as it doesnt blend with his defensive line players that he wanted and they drafted. In my opinion all are great people but for D lineman they are all undersized as in simply too small. Thats my opinion having watched pro ball for over 50 years.

 

47 minutes ago, waterglass said:

I compared his D line to Kansas City D line. KC comes in at an average of 6' 3 1/4" in height for the front four starters @ 277.25 pounds. 

 

The Bills front four starters are respectively 6' 4 1/4" @ 283.25 pounds So on average the Bills are larger. The numbers are skewed higher by one very large player on both teams but overall on average the Bills are larger.

 

I'm so confused.  In one post you're complaining that the Bills DLmen are all undersized and simply too small.  In the next, you're pointing out that on average, the Bills DL is the same size as KC's excellent DL.  So which is it, undersize DLmen or how they're used?

I'd like to point out one of the "too small" DLmen (Phillips) has started every game for the Vikes for the last 3 years and they currently have one of the best defenses in football, including one of the best run defenses in Y/A given up (3rd, tied for 2nd)

[Einstein]

4 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

I'm not trying to spin it as a "joke"  The point stands - what is their football expertise?

 

The article writer wasn’t giving any expertise. They were simply quoting the greatest coaches to ever do it. 

 

4 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

The quote is a single line from a podcast Belichick appeared on, and totally lacks any context. 

 

Lacks context? How much more clear could Belichick be? What more context would you need? 

 

 “I don’t know how you can be comfortable giving up 40 points every week and feeling good about where your future is… regardless of what their record is going forward. If Buffalo can’t play better defense than they’ve played recently against good teams. I don’t think their season will last much longer.”

 

Belichicks quote has all the context you need wrapped right up into it. He is directly stating that our defense is not playing well and it will lead to our seasons demise.

[Augie]

47 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

 

Times of India, seriously?  quoting a podcast?  C'mon Man

Of course the Bills don't feel good about giving up 40+ points in back to back weeks.  They also don't feel good about having their entire back 7 banged up or MIA

 

I don't think Pittsburgh, Houston, Denver and "a couple of NFC teams who also lost" all play the same D

 

I give you credit for reading that far. 

[Einstein]

19 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

"The Times of India (TOI) has a circulation of over 4.4 million newspapers and a reader base of 13 million. It is the largest English newspaper in India and has the largest circulation of any English-language newspaper in the world."

 

Just sayin'.

 

Sounds like they’re pretty big. But I don’t really care if they only had a circulation of 3 people.

 

They were simply quoting a legendary coach. The publication that quotes that coach is irrelevant. To try to bring relevance into it as a variable that is meant to mean anything is just spin.

[thenorthremembers]

Holy hell how many times can you guys beat the same dead horse.

[Since1981]

another serious 2 min coach mistake in playoffs and the pressure mounts as the players (17) turns quietly to Pegs re: Brady HC

[BlazinBill]

Pedal down and score 50 every game in the playoffs and the defense will likely get the job done- just make sure your up by 14 with 2 minutes left is all

[Gregg]

Just now, BlazinBill said:

Pedal down and score 50 every game in the playoffs and the defense will likely get the job done- just make sure your up by 14 with 2 minutes left is all

 

2 minutes? That is still way too much time. They couldn't defend a 3-point lead with 13 seconds left and the Chiefs starting on the own 25. You have to take into account the "McDermott factor" so make it a 14-point lead with 20 seconds left and the Bills probably hold on and win the game.