starrymessenger

In a team sport, even individual honours are inevitably partly determined by contributions other players are able to make (or not make). So I don't have a problem with PM being MVP. He's absolutely a worthy winner. But in comparison to Allen to me he does benefit from having a better O-line, better skill players schooled in an offensive system that has a purpose to it and, most importantly, unlike Josh, Mahomes has top shelf coaches, Reid and Bieniemy.

I don't think, and have not thought for quite some time, that the Ravens would be the ones overpaying him. Eric DaCosta is a very smart man.

Yeah puts me in mind of when Jauron insisted in playing Anthony Thomas ahead of one Fred Jackson that all the fans were screaming for. You can call it loyalty I guess, the A train was with Dick in Chicago, but I believe it to be more risk aversion consistent with a conservative outlook.

If the OP finds that the board is toxic and is thinking of leaving he might want to drop into the Eagles message board.

James Cook, as you know, didn't see much action at Alabama until 2022. His first three years there he had fewer than 50 attempts per. Not a serious comparable to the use a normal service college back gets. If you compare Pacheco with say Bijan Robinson, he has as many carries in four years as Bijan has in three. Regardless, though he does benefit from a better run blocking line than our guys do, Pacheco seems to me to follow his blocking well, shows patience and vision and has plenty of burst. He is better than the guy they picked in the first round a couple of years ago and has supplanted him. He's also better than either of our third round selections for the position. Id much rather have used a 7th on him than the two threes we did. So I'd say he's a flat out steal in the 7th round. I agree that you can find serviceable plug and play RBs in the later rounds who can help give you a ground game. I don't think that makes all RBs interchangeable though.

To me 5'11 215 4.37 combine 40 and tough as nails means he was a steal in the 7th round. He wasn't really featured at Rutgers and was used a lot as a blocker. Even having to project his transition to the next level on the basis of incomplete info one might have seen him go in the fourth or fifth rounds. He's a stud.

Surprised that O'Cyrus Torrence, considered by some to really stand out in an otherwise ordinary IOL draft, and who has been mocked to the Bills, is not considered a first round talent. I thought he could anchor well in pass pro against even good defenders. If they take him they better make sure he can play out of a three point stance. I had Boutte to the Bills in round 2, in spite of his injury, because in a draft with what appears to be an abundance of slot guys he seems big and fast enuf to also play outside. I thought Vorhees might work in the third, but only if they feel he has the versatility to also play tackle. I see you have him close but I would put J. Gibbs in the first. He's 20 pounds lighter than Bijan but can add weight if his team wants and he's as talented imo. Maybe Dallas (if they don't resign Pollard and Bijan is off the board. I would also not be surprised if Richardson winds up a first round QB. He's a lot like Josh. Uber talented and "inaccurate" with poor mechanics but lots of tape of him making great throws, just like Josh at WYO.

He drafted T. Davis, a HOF RB. Bijan anyone? Point is that's not the kind of pick that McD would ever be onside with.

Personally I think we've seen enough to know better than to expect a meaningful change in direction. But given the apparent decision to run it back I think your approach is 100% correct. After the last two years disappointments McD and his coordinators need to be in a make or break situation. In case things don't work out, 2023 should also be used to identify promising contingent replacement candidates for each of these positions. Having a deliberative process for this is much better than knee jerk firings and improves the chances of getting it right. Not sure where Pegs would go for his advice though and the mere existence of the process would risk creating an in-season distraction. I think McD was the right choice for the job when hired given what was required at the time. I think he and his assistants did a really good job. But to take the next step means McD having to fundamentally change his philosophical approach to the game and really that means becoming a different person (given how entrenched his approach seems to be). And of course it would mean acquiring a skill set in designing an offence he currently does not have. Alternatively the Bills could fire Dorsey and hire a young, more experienced and creative coordinator but given what I suspect to be McD's suffocating control of pretty much all operations it would only be a matter of time before a clash of opposing mindsets occurred. Not sure what the Bills were thinking when they hired Dorsey (other than hiring someone who McD would not perceive as a threat). I don't think a rookie OC has ever gone to a championship. Dorsey's shortcomings were painfully apparent throughout the year. People get criticized for comparing Putin to Hitler, but the truth is that there are strong and compelling similarities between them. To me, even if not the same guy, McD reminds me of Jauron. Before flaming away consider that Dick did not have a supportive owner, had therefore less talent to work with and certainly did not have a generational talent at the all important position.

Well I hear you but Bijan is probably a lot better than just good and 5 years is a large enough window within which to seriously challenge for a championship. If he's done after 4- 5 (though I don't think this is written in stone) you've had a great back for cheap. And while it's true that the Bills are primarily a passing team I think we can all agree that we need a more balanced offence with a lot more scope for the run game over what we had this past year.

To me the priorities in this off season should be O-line and WR. We probably need to add 2 of each. But if BR is there at 27 I think you have to take him if you believe he is a genuine franchise back, which looks very much to be the case. Not an expert by any means but I think Jamyr Gibbs may be as talented as Robinson (although 20 LBs lighter). I think Gibbs may prove better than Cook (they are similar backs) but I also think that Cook should be very good with the Bills. I'm pretty sure he can run between the tackles effectively even at 190 pounds and certainly if he adds weight (though no one would mistake him for a bell cow power back). Bijan could add that to the mix together with game breaking ability. It will be fascinating to see exactly how the Bills now approach the draft and FA. My impression is that McD has had a lot of influence in picking players. Now the emphasis has got to be on the offence and I look forward to seeing a change in the mindset with which the Bills have previously managed personnel.

I think its pretty clear that Brady could not thrive in any offensive system but I don't think he's overrated. Nothing wrong with being a pocket passer especially when you're that good at it.

What could go wrong?

In order for this coaching staff to do the things that would be necessary for the team to take another step forward they would have to become completely different people. In my experience people don't fundamentally change their psychological make up very often. McD and Frazier are senior members in the coaching confraternity. They are unquestionably fully qualified football professionals but they are who they are and the particular needs of this team do not put them in a position to be successful here given their conservative, risk averse philosophy and McD's apparent blind spot when it comes to offence in the 21st century. McD was definitely a good choice when he was hired but today's Bills are a very different team than they were then with different needs. If you were picking your staff today I don't think there would be much support for hiring any of these guys in their current roles. Of course change for no other purpose than change is a guaranteed bad idea and I have no idea if the kinds of coaching prospects you might want to look at are out there. My concern is that the longer we wait to make changes the longer we will be in the same position we are in now and possibly even worse.

I dont attribute the late season/playoff drop off to scheme or to players having a bad day (though there was clearly enuf of that). Fully healthy this D can and has played well even if some prefer a more physical style. What I question is defensive playcalls and the apparent inability of the players to tackle (a basic requirement). All of that relates to coaching imo. On O it doesn’t look to me that Dorsey has what it takes to turn things around. And while it’s appropriate to scrutinize the coordinators, I suspect that McD’s suffocating control of this team’s operations, including drafting, are ultimately the main reason for the shortcomings. And I dont see things getting much better, though I hope I’m mistaken. I just cannot imagine the Bills fielding an imaginative offence under a young and aggressive OC all under McD, who might fear and resent having someone like that on staff. I think sooner or later Pegs is going to have to channel his inner Jerry, pull on his big boy pants and clean house.

While I'd not be looking at a RB with my first pick, I think it would be hard to pass on Robinson who is pretty much a guaranteed franchise player. You have to take him. He could still be on the board in the mid to late first round. He is possibly the # 1 player in this years draft overall. If he's gone before 27 you might then have to consider J. Gibbs who very well could still be available.

Or O'Cyrus Torrence, who has been mocked to us and is acknowledged to be the top prospect at the position.

Thanks for this. I think Cover 1 was saying they went from 5 to like maybe 15 checks. They seemed to think that a perfectionist and micromanaging DC was putting too much on their plates. I have, I think, a better idea of where you stand. With respect I’m not sure I would chalk up another late season debacle which appears to be part of a worrisome trend to the guys just having a bad day. I suppose much the same can be said regarding the O. I guess that in due course we will find out whether this is a “one of” or part of an ongoing saga requiring change.

Given especially that it has been something of a trend since the bye, it's really not enuf to say that we were out-physicalled or that we failed to execute. There are reasons for everything, and probably more than one reason why the Bills season progressed the way it did. Until you know what the reasons are it's hard to know what direction you should take.

Thanks for this. Yes I (thought I) summarized the Cover 1 position. Unlike me you obviously are schooled in the game (I played and was coached in other sports growing up) and so I wanted to challenge your comments more for the purpose of getting your reaction and learning something than for questioning your conclusions. I may be wrong but I don't think I (completely) misunderstood the Cover 1 argument. I believe they did say that the number of post snap keys to read increased in the playoffs and that this caused players to be confused as to their assignments on the given down resulting in blown coverages. They said that this showed that Frazier did not trust his players to just play. They were critical of him. You have also pointed out, no doubt correctly, that other teams run the same basic defence as McD and Frazier. I was inquiring of you whether this was or was not a meaningful comment. In other words do differences in implementation, modification or execution account for differences in result. Or were we just down too many important players on D either absent or limited through injury to play as well as they had earlier albeit against less talented opposition. The reason why these questions are important is because Frazier's contract is up and a decision on him has now got to be made. So where do you stand on our DC?

Well maybe the blown coverages stem from the players having to overthink their assignments. Bills basically line up defensively the same way all the time with actual coverage assumed post snap with players responsibilities determined by reading keys. The number of keys they are asked to process increases in important games against good offenses in order to scheme up the perfect defence to counter the O's playcalls. That is why you see more blown coverages in the playoffs than in the regular season. Frazier does not trust his players to just let them play. The blown coverages are sourced to mental rather than physical errors and so it's necessary to know what exactly is causing that, but the answer seems to be coaching. Other teams may employ the same general defensive strategy but this means not very much given the differences in the ways the scheme may be implemented or modified. If the Eagles meet the Bengals in the championship do you really think Gannon will give Chase a 12 yard cushion on third and three?

Daboll had Josh on a short leash in order to make the best use of his extraordinary physical ability. Take what the D is giving you to set up the game breaking shots. Dorsey only knows how to throw fuel on the fire. Josh is a 26 year old kid who trusts in his ability and whose competitive blood is up. He's the total package but he does need coaching/direction. Daboll was tough on Josh. Doesn't look to me like Dorsey can do that.

As a receiving TE I've liked what I've seen from Morris. Would have liked to see more of him. And Shakir. Hines, etc...I'll say this for McD, he was right to sit Bernard (outside of a few ST assignments). I think Bernard was 100% a McD pick and is a good illustration of how limited this HC is and how things will continue to suffer under the mantra of the process. No doubt intangibles are important but only when in connection with some kind of actual talent.

Sure maybe Dorsey still gets promoted. Idk. Imo there is absolutely no way that Daboll would have tolerated Dorsey's (and Josh's) style of offence. He would have taken over or drop kicked Dorsey so hard that he would have flown back to Florida without a plane.

Team would have been better because the O would have been better. To me Dorsey is completely and hopelessly incompetent. I don't think Daboll would have encouraged Josh's worst impulses. To the contrary, as he did before he left he would have disciplined him and gotten him back on the right track. He would have revisited his mechanics, had game plans and playcalls that got the ball out of Josh's hands more quickly or given him more time in the pocket with the opportunity to step up. Coaches need to be tough even with star players. Dorsey can't do that.