A 3rd consecutive Divisional Round home loss? No chance

[hondo in seattle]

1 hour ago, jaybeezee said:

Take Josh off of this team and see where McDermott gets us! Take McDermott off of this team and replace him with 10 other current head coaches and I think we are in the same, if not better position. With McVay, Shannahn and Reid and I will guarantee at least 1, if not 2 superbowls for sure.

 

Let's agree to disagree.

 

I think the folks who think poorly of McD tend to overrate our roster.  I don't think we've ever had the best roster in the league, or even close to it when you considered the actual roster we fielded considering injuries.  So I'm convinced we wouldn't have won multiple Lombardis with other coaches.  But it's okay that you believe that.

 

I think people underestimate McD's regimen and process in preparing the team, the teamwork, unity, camaraderie he builds, the effort he inspires, and the strength of his defensive schemes.  His one glaring weakness has been finding the right OC but he seems to have solved that.  

[colin]

looking at the game logs, to beat the ravens you basically have to stop henry from breaking a long scoring run.  if lamar attempts 30 passes the ravens chances of winning fall off of a cliff.

 

the d is going to have to really sell out to stop the run while not getting sliced up over the top.  if babich and mcd go into their bag and pull out a way to make money without being in nickel, i'll give them all kinds of flowers.

 

now, the best way to keep henry from breaking one is to score touchdowns and possess the ball a lot.  this could be a 30+ total rushes game from josh and cook.

 

baltimore's aggressive d is monster vs the run, so it will take some real trickery to get it done.  the other low(ish) hanging fruit is they don't defend the deep stuff well at all.  i think cooper and coleman will have to have a game, and i could see the tight ends being used how the pats uses to use them to just stress the heck out of the second level.

[jaybeezee]

Just now, hondo in seattle said:

 

Let's agree to disagree.

 

I think the folks who think poorly of McD tend to overrate our roster.  I don't think we've ever had the best roster in the league, or even close to it when you considered the actual roster we fielded considering injuries.  So I'm convinced we wouldn't have won multiple Lombardis with other coaches.  But it's okay that you believe that.

 

I think people underestimate McD's regimen and process in preparing the team, the teamwork, unity, camaraderie he builds, the effort he inspires, and the strength of his defensive schemes.  His one glaring weakness has been finding the right OC but he seems to have solved that.  

His glaring weakness has been in-game management, as well as timeclock management. We continuously have these blunders like 10 players on the filed, timeouts being called at exactly the worst time, the list can go on. 

 

Hes been great at building team chemistry. I will give him pros where he deserves them, but i will not just look past the major issues that he has at the worst possible times. 

[DrBob806]

5 hours ago, zow2 said:

There is no way in hell that our Bills are losing a 3rd consecutive Divisional playoff game in Orchard Park in OUR weather and in front of OUR great fans.  Not this team, with this QB.  No way.  I'm willing this to happen and putting it in writing.

 

January 19, 2025   Baltimore at Buffalo??????

January 21, 2024   Kansas City 27 at Buffalo 24

January 22, 2023  Cincinnati 27 at Buffalo 10

Well I like the optimism. This place is going to completely lose it if the opposite occurs....

[jaybeezee]

1 minute ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

Let's agree to disagree.

 

I think the folks who think poorly of McD tend to overrate our roster.  I don't think we've ever had the best roster in the league, or even close to it when you considered the actual roster we fielded considering injuries.  So I'm convinced we wouldn't have won multiple Lombardis with other coaches.  But it's okay that you believe that.

 

I think people underestimate McD's regimen and process in preparing the team, the teamwork, unity, camaraderie he builds, the effort he inspires, and the strength of his defensive schemes.  His one glaring weakness has been finding the right OC but he seems to have solved that.  

Thats fair, but put Josh on SF, or KC, or Philly with the rosters that they had when they went to the SB and can you honestly still say that they dont win?

[zow2]

26 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

I think people underestimate McD's regimen and process in preparing the team, the teamwork, unity, camaraderie he builds, the effort he inspires, and the strength of his defensive schemes.  His one glaring weakness has been finding the right OC but he seems to have solved that.  

 

One thing I've seen from McDermott is that he is very good in revenge games.  Along with a bolstered roster (from the first Ravens game), McD, Babich and Brady will make the necessary corrections to win this game.  My dream path to the SB,  revenge over Baltimore, revenge over Houston, revenge over the LA Rams.  Boom, done.

[Boatdrinks]

2 hours ago, jaybeezee said:

Take Josh off of this team and see where McDermott gets us! Take McDermott off of this team and replace him with 10 other current head coaches and I think we are in the same, if not better position. With McVay, Shannahn and Reid and I will guarantee at least 1, if not 2 superbowls for sure.

lol so Reid, McVay and Shanahan are available ? Thats the problem with this pie-in-the sky type thinking. Its pure fantasy. 

[Dr. K]

5 hours ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

The one pet peeve of mine is when Buffalo is running a 2 minute drill on offense before the half w/ 3 time outs in their pocket and McDermott only starts using them with 50 seconds left. I hate it with a passion. 

Teams (not just the Bills) do that so that, if the drive fails, they don't leave enough time on the clock for the opponent to drive the length of the field and score. 

[folz]

9 minutes ago, jaybeezee said:

Jordan Pyer - "To be honest it might not have even been good enough to beat one of the top college teams at that time."

Read More: Jordan Poyer Makes Strong New Statement About "13 Seconds Game" | https://wyrk.com/jordan-poyer-13-seconds-game/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

 

You kind of made it sound like many players said, McD's defense (overall) "wasn't good enough to beat one of the top college teams at the time."

 

Jordan was very specifically talking about just the very end of that game against KC (the 13 seconds). And about how that all played out (the decisions made, the coverage used, the players on the field). He wasn't talking about the defense alone, or McD's defense as a whole over the years, he was talking about the end-of-game operation at the end of that one specific game. The end-of-operation at the end of that game wouldn't have been good enough to beat a TOP college team at that time. Look, we all know what happened with 13 seconds. It has been talked about on this board ad nauseam for 3 years. But, you seem to be extrapolating that quote out to view McD's whole career in someway.

 

Here is the full quote from Jordan. And mind you, the interviewer asked if the fault was Leslie Frazier's for playing a soft zone:

 

"Yeah, I mean you can point fingers here and there and elsewhere man...it was honestly that entire operation. There's really not one finger that you can point at all...because it was just the entire end of operation that was not...that wasn't good enough. To be honest, it might not have been good enough to beat one of the top college teams in the country at that time...just the way that happened. I mean that just shouldn't happen. We all made mistakes in that moment and again, shouldn't be one person to blame or the other. Like, I take ownership in making mistakes in those moments and everybody made mistakes in those moments."

 

People really need to just let 13 seconds go (I hate even typing 13 seconds anymore). It was three years ago. We are a better team. McDermott is a better coach for it. Growth mindset: Learn from your mistakes, get better, and move on. All of the anti-McD sentiment still really just stems from that one game. There is almost nothing else that anyone can point to (except maybe the Bengals playoff game, but that's a pretty bad argument imo, people just like to ignore all of the crazy circumstances of that season).

[Sojourner]

46 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

Let's agree to disagree.

 

I think the folks who think poorly of McD tend to overrate our roster.  I don't think we've ever had the best roster in the league, or even close to it when you considered the actual roster we fielded considering injuries.  So I'm convinced we wouldn't have won multiple Lombardis with other coaches.  But it's okay that you believe that.

 

I think people underestimate McD's regimen and process in preparing the team, the teamwork, unity, camaraderie he builds, the effort he inspires, and the strength of his defensive schemes.  His one glaring weakness has been finding the right OC but he seems to have solved that.  

Well said man. 
 

Does he have room to be criticized, absolutely and this is something I’ve said a couple times in his defense, he’s a true leader of me. That has value. Also, the majority of people who’ve played sports collegiately, pro-am or even pro will tell you that a coach is as important to the team at the people playing it. 
 

Do I want us to move on from him? Absolutely not. But if he falls short of the Super Bowl it has to be at the shortest of margins otherwise you have to strongly considering something at the end of next year if it’s not a Super Bowl appearance or Lombardi. Not saying it should even then but it has to be entertained. 
 

To this week, I think and even have faith we win but it wouldn’t surprise me if we are on the unfortunate end of the result. Baltimore are a great team and you have to respect what they’ve got going on over there. 

[Dr. K]

3 minutes ago, folz said:

 

People really need to just let 13 seconds go (I hate even typing 13 seconds anymore). It was three years ago. We are a better team. McDermott is a better coach for it. Growth mindset: Learn from your mistakes, get better, and move on. All of the anti-McD sentiment still really just stems from that one game. There is almost nothing else that anyone can point to (except maybe the Bengals playoff game, but that's a pretty bad argument imo, people just like to ignore all of the crazy circumstances of that season).

Well said.

 

That KC loss hurts whenever I think of it, but there's not a team in the league that doesn't have losses that keep their fans awake at night twenty years after the fact. People who obsess about such moments (I've been one) can never move forward, and cannot see clearly the dozens of other choices and chances that go into every victory or loss. 

 

McDermott is a better coach than such people are capable of seeing. And the hypothetical coach they want to replace him will always be somebody who has never made, and will never make, any of the crucial mistakes that real coaches do.

 

 

[Rew]

4 hours ago, zow2 said:

There is no way in hell that our Bills are losing a 3rd consecutive Divisional playoff game in Orchard Park in OUR weather and in front of OUR great fans.  Not this team, with this QB.  No way.  I'm willing this to happen and putting it in writing.

 

January 19, 2025   Baltimore at Buffalo??????

January 21, 2024   Kansas City 27 at Buffalo 24

January 22, 2023  Cincinnati 27 at Buffalo 10

I'll play.  The trend indicates that the score should be Baltimore 27 at Buffalo 38

[nosejob]

5 hours ago, GoBills808 said:

probably because the texans are 8.5pt dogs

I just have a gut feeling that Texans Dline is gonna give patty a bad day. When the Texans pull off the upset, it'll be a sign that we were meant to win it all with it the AFCG going through OP.

 

(Texans take a 27-20 lead in the 4th and the Chiefs don't get the usual break.)

Edited January 15 by nosejob

[ChrisWatson#21]

7 hours ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

When was the last time a team lost in the playoffs at home 3 straight years? I'm sure it's happened before but don't remember when. If anything it's very rare. 

 

I've always been a McDermott supporter. But losing a third straight time in the Divisional round at home...even I would acknowledge it's time for new leadership.

If that were to happen we better hope Joe Brady stays another season I think he has what it takes because they won't fire Sean just yet.  They will give him another year. 

[Buffalo Ballin]

We're here to reverse jinx the OP.

 

Why so cocky? We CAN be beaten. "Any Given Sunday" any team can be beat and doesn't matter the field the game takes place on.

 

Yes, we have home field advantage. That's great. And that's huge.

 

Again, we've been beaten at home before. Remember the 1 loss Patriots with Tom Brady? They were so cocky before the Super Bowl.

 

What happened? Eli Manning and the Giants beat them.

[hondo in seattle]

9 hours ago, jaybeezee said:

Thats fair, but put Josh on SF, or KC, or Philly with the rosters that they had when they went to the SB and can you honestly still say that they dont win?

 

I absolutely believe Josh is a SB level QB and if you surround him with the right talent and give him a superior coaching staff, he wins multiple Lombardis.  

 

On the roster side, I don't think Beane has yet surrounded Josh with elite talent.  In the playoffs, I worry about the receiving corps, defensive line, defensive secondary, and kicker.  I don't think they're good enough.  We'll see.   

On the coaching side, I think McD is one of the better coaches in the league but not the very best.  I think one area where he's struggled with is coordinators.  On the defensive side, something happened with Frazier - whatever that was - and then McD tried to wear two hats which was probably a mistake.  On the offensive side, Rick Dennison wasn't good.  Daboll wasn't the best at the run game.  Ken Dorsey had issues.  It's taken a while for McD to hit gold with Brady.  Going forward, the only coaching I somewhat worry about is ST.   

[zow2]

There has been 2 other Teams/QBs who have lost in the same playoff round four consecutive seasons.   Josh will not be the 3rd,  we are getting it done in the Divisional round at home.

 

2011-2014  Andy Dalton, Bengals  Wild Card round

 

1990-1993  Jim Kelly, Bills  Super Bowl

[rajinka]

21 hours ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

When was the last time a team lost in the playoffs at home 3 straight years? I'm sure it's happened before but don't remember when. If anything it's very rare. 

 

I've always been a McDermott supporter. But losing a third straight time in the Divisional round at home...even I would acknowledge it's time for new leadership.

Well I was pretty optimistic but now we're on the cusp of being a first to do something it's inevitable we never win at home in divisional round again

[BillsShredder83]

21 hours ago, jaybeezee said:

Never adjusts the defensive scheme when needing too! It is possible to do, as many DC's that win SB's do in games. If he only knows a Nickel Defense and thats all he will play then that tells you all you need to know.

 

Plus his defense always seems to be unprepared. Look at the top offenses we played this year and tell me how our defense faired? Rams, Detroit, Baltimore, Houston  (at the time)?

 

 

I was pretty pumped hearing Douglas talk about "you have a bad 2 minutes, did you have a bad day" comment after the Broncos game.  I like the new swagger this team has

[GerstAusGosheim]

On 1/15/2025 at 3:24 PM, MJS said:

Bull crap. Everyone was behind the Dorsey move. And the Bills won a majority of their games with Dorsey. The offense has not been a problem in the playoffs.

 

And those are not in-game blunders.

You’re 100% right, it’s not an in-game blunder—it’s a decision-making blunder, something that has plagued Sean throughout his tenure. Whether anyone else was on board is completely irrelevant — it was Sean’s decision to make, and he clearly made the wrong one given that he eventually fired Dorsey – albeit a half season too late. Scoring 10 points in a playoff game is absolutely a problem.