billsfan89

You don't really need a lot of data to see that the Bills just don't have a consistently good outside WR who can break coverages consistently and that's causing limitations to the offense. Right now the Bills have a very good TE and a very good slot WR (Kincaid and Shakir). The rest of the offense in terms of pass catchers are mostly role players. Good role players but still role players. Samuel and Moore gadget guys, Knox quality TE2, Hawes blocking TE, Ty Johnson pass catching back, and Keon is more of a big slot WR3/4 at this point. Palmer is the one WR that could maybe break outside coverage but he's hurt and not super consistent either. Largely I would say that the Bills simply need a WR on the boundary that teams respect. Put that trade in place and everything is fine offensively. Getting Olave for example would largely make teams think twice about stacking boxes with 8 and putting the safety over the middle single high and blitzing to Josh's right (the formula that seems to work to stop Cook and Josh at the moment). The data isn't needed when the eye test is very obvious...

Line could move if KC loses tonight, but I think the Chiefs being slight favorites makes sense although I think the Bills will win.

I think they are getting Hancock up to speed slowly while Po anchors it for now. I’m in agreement that they should just put the rookie in and get the snaps now

Offer next years first swapped for a 4th and Samuel or whatever other outgoing salary is needed…

3-4 vets on marginal practice squad spots vs. marginal undrafted players aren’t the difference in this teams fortunes. Tre is the only reunion player not on a marginal PS slot and there’s legit criticism that he’s not good enough to be counted on as a starter. The rest I am not worrying too much about because PS squad guys on call ups rarely play well and aren’t changing much.

I think this team is gonna make a trade in the secondary. The talent is just far too depleted. I'm fine with Cole taking his lumps at one safety position Cole has talent he just needs a better feel for the game (and experience can help with that) but they need to find a competent vet next to him.

Away game against a decent team coming off a bye and some injuries on the Bills side. I understand the excuses, but the offense looked fundamentally bad (like the need for a boundary WR is glaring) and the defense was horrendous in the first half. I liked that the defense gutted out a stronger second half performance despite being banged up. That's actually a type of moral victory that helps a unit longer term. But I'm very worried that the offense just doesn't have the boundary WR needed to shake up teams defenses.

Bills 31 Panthers 21 and it won't be that close. The Bills go up 14-7 at the half with the ball. They cash in on a score in the first possession of the second half and then the Panthers make a turnover and the Bills cash in again and go up 28-7. Panthers go on a long scoring drive to cut it to 28-14 with 5ish minutes left in Q3. The Bills end Q3 grinding out the clock and hitting a field goal to go up 31-14. Bills make a stop early in the 4th and the grind the clock down to about 10 minutes left. Panthers go on a long scoring drive to get the score down to 31-21 but there's only 6 minutes left. Bills get a couple of first downs to eat the Panthers timeouts and take a couple of minutes off the clock. Panthers get the ball back with 3-4 minutes left but no timeouts. Bills defense forces a turnover on downs and the game ends.

Bye came at a good time. I usually don't like an early bye week but I think mentally and physically they needed a bye to settle things down a bit after back to back losses. PED Twins get back from suspension and there's a lot of week to week type injuries that needed a rest. Overall I think the Bills got the bye at the best time for them.

My issue with Frazier was that the defense in Frazier's era was inconsistent despite the defense being usually top 5 in terms of cap spending and a lot of picks being thrown onto that side (the teams first draft pick from 2019-2022 were all spent on the defensive side of the ball). For all that was done on the defense the team ranked outside of the top 5 on defense 2 out of 4 years from 2019-2022. Then there was the lackluster 2021 and 2022 playoff performances and I think Frazier despite being a good coach was just done. I think it was the right call for McD to move on at that point.

Hoecht is 28 that's not old, he's also only in year 5. Larry Ogunjobi he's older and while he's not missed a lot of games in 8 seasons (played 14 or more games every season) he does get banged up. But Larry Ogunjobi does play through his injuries most of the time. Both guys should be durable but football is a violent sport.

I don't think Bills need a guy that's going to demand/command 10-12 targets a game at minimum. They need someone that can consistently win 1v1 man to man matchups on the boundary so that teams don't stack the box and overload the middle zones. Right now the Bills offense can be stopped by teams just "giving" the offense boundary matchups 1v1 then just stack the box by playing 3 LB's and a safety jammed in with a single safety over the top. I kind of agree that the offense doesn't need a 2020 Diggs type but getting someone that can consistently burn you in 1v1 on the outside would open things up for everyone on the offense.

Positive sign, I don't think this means much in terms of playing this week. Probably will want him to at least get the full 21 days of practice outside shot he plays against KC but even then do you want to throw him in the fire on a big stage when you can give him another week?

I think a corner via trade (doesn't have to be a major addition but can the team find a 2023 Rasul Douglas solid starter type) is needed getting a competent vet in there and getting Mad Max back I think is the best this team could hope to do on defense I don't see them doing much else.

4 drives and all ATL got was a pair of field goal attempts. If the offense on those 3 punt drives prior to the final drive scored a field goal they could have had the ball one last time with a chance to tie. Hell the offense did have the ball with the chance to tie on back to back to back possessions and they got zero points...

Six weeks in and the PED Twins are coming back off suspension after the bye week. The Defense needs a shot in the arm. Ed, Milano, Daquon, and several others have been banged up with fairly "normal" week to week injuries (every team has injuries). The bye should help with those. But the team is getting two vet D-line players back from suspension in Larry O and Hoecht. While these guys aren't JAGS they aren't super stars either. What type of impact will these two have? How much of a "shot in the arm" do these guys actually represent? Larry Ogunjobi- He's 31 old but not ancient for a DT (usually they play near a prime level until around age 32/33) but for this season he's not someone whose age should be a concern. He was viewed as a good player by Steelers fans not elite but a quality starter. Known as a good but a bit inconsistent run defender in recent years with the Steelers. His return to the active roster comes at a needed time. With Sanders hurt and the team needing some bodies at DT a decent vet here will help. How much it will help I don't know. Walker and Ed should be the primary DT duo but having Larry Ogunjobi as a solid capable vet rotating in will help them it should also take some snaps away from Daquon who could be in a more early down role. Michael Hoecht- Just turned 28 so a younger in his prime addition to the D-line. Really showed a lot in pre-season and camp. Known to be a super versatile defender who can line up a lot of different places on the defensive front. Known to set the edge well as a former DT in college. But has some pass rush upside with 13.5 sacks his last 3 with the Rams. Rams fans liked him as a high end rotational player who added some wrinkles to the defense. Overall I think he's going to add some needed depth and versatility. What I think he helps most with is getting Bosa less snaps. With Landon Jackson and Solomon being not that great so far the Bills only have 3 really viable DE's with a 4th viable DE to the mix that should allow the Bills to play Bosa less and keep him fresh. Overall I would say that these two represent a chance to help improve the defense not by a massive margin but not by an insignificant one either...

Week 6 was terrible but if I had to pick it. Up 1- Walker - Dude was needed a lot and he got his baptism by fire and performed well. 2- Special Teams - Big kick block kept the game a one score game late and the unit seemed to mostly be crisp. 3- Ed Oliver - Not a lot to choose from but Ed played a lot of snaps in a return from injury and he was decent. The context of the game coming back from injury and to play a heavy level of snaps and be decent impressed me. Lots of heart from the defense in the second half. Honorable Mention - Palmer - Dude looked like he was going to have a big breakout (and he is the best 1v1 man WR on the boundary) but got hurt after the 2 for 60 in Q1. Down 1- Josh - Hate to say it because it wasn't all his fault but not his best game. 2- Keon and the pass catchers - The Bills need to make a trade for a WR to save the season this game cemented it. 3- Joe Brady - Bad play calling esp after that very strong first drive in both halves. All they needed was a score on one of two drives to put pressure on Atlanta and they couldn't even get into field goal range. The defense and offense both had bad games. Defense displayed heart in the second half despite being depleted but after a good first drive in the second half the offense couldn't get it going.

They actually turned it around in 2023 by running the ball more with the RB's from what I remember. When Joe Brady took over that year he was relying on Josh less than Dorsey was. So while Josh always has the break glass in case if needed thing going I think that turn around in 2023 was largely the Bills leaning on him less.

McD is less loyal to coordinators than he used to be. He fired Dorsey mid-season most notably. He also finally fired Frazier after 2022 and then moved on from the ST coordinator after two seasons. He should take over or be "heavily involved" in play calling on defense this team invested far too much in the off-season to have a defense this Mediocre.

I think McD has to fire Bobby B if this defense continues its poor performance. Call the defense yourself it looked much better against ATL in the second half.

I’m hoping he can turn in a better season this year. He’s clearly at best on his last leg I was hoping he was going to be like Po in 2023 still good but lost half a step. Glad the team drafted three DB’s in the draft because this team is older at corner. Hoping a bye helps him out and he can regain some form

Zack Ertz number will finally be called!

Aren't you challenging the spot?

This is another dumb rule, like if the ball was spotted wrong but it still doesn't get you a first down you had the wrong call and it was overturned why do you still lose a challenge?

Running works a lot less when teams don't respect the WR's you have on the boundary.