BADOLBILZ

One of the big issues they have is that they line up their 3T on the heavy side of the formation mostly..........and their 3T is an undersized guy who isn't built to handle double teams. So really, what they need to function best is a bigger, stronger 3T if they want to keep aligning this way on the DL. I wouldn't be surprised to see them try to trade Ed Oliver this offseason. He IS their best DL but he is limited by the system and the 5th year option decision is due in spring. The Bills really need him to finish strong both for their own current need but also to possibly stir up some trade interest. Unless they make some fundamental changes I can't see them ever getting much bang for the buck out of Oliver. I haven't been watching Akiem Hicks of Chicago much this year, but he would be an ideal 3T if they want to stay with the "over" front because he can take on the double but also push the pocket from the traditionally pass rusher friendly 3T position.

I don't think the Chargers are a lock........they are a very flawed team that has to play balls-to-wall aggressive to cover for their terrible defense. And the Bills have a significant schedule advantage over those AFC North teams. The combination of opponents and divisional familiarity is such that it wouldn't even be a shock if 9-8 won that division.

Well that's obviously wrong. What happened was he got carried away with his power and alienated the people he needed to make it work. As I'm sure Sean McDermott would attest.......one man with no rings can't make an organization of 100 other people trust his process. HC's need people in their corner. And then some of the things that made him so successful became more commonplace in the league and his team got easier to play. His system and style lost some edge. But he wasn't just a tactics guy either. We watched him put together a game plan to bait Shady into going outside of Greg Roman's system........by the time they subbed McCoy out and gashed the Eagles inside it was too late..........a very costly defeat for Buffalo and probably the greatest regret of McCoy's career was not backing up his talk about Kelly. Kelly also made Nick Foles. Outside of running that RPO he's never been any good. He even won with totally finished Mark Sanchez. His one season with Sam Bradford was the only season in his career where Bradford started a significant portion of his team's games and even had a .500 record. Kelly had a shelf life.........but so did guys who lead teams to SB's like Mike Martz and Sam Wyche. Not everybody is cut out to be Bill Belichick or Andy Reid..........but Kelly was cut out to replace the latter when he'd worn out his welcome in Philly........and improve the team's record by 6 wins.

It is when the narrative on TSW was that Kelly had left the roster bereft and set the team back 5 years.........and then after one season of developing a rookie QB later they were dominating the NFC in the 2017 season. Much of that was homers jumping to LeSean McCoy's defense.........but McCoy just wouldn't take the inside yards in Philly(or in his first year in Buffalo) so Chip had to dump him and his fat salary. The mistake was overpaying for the other RB's. Combined they actually produced a better running game than McCoy had the year prior.......he actually lead the NFL in fewest yards per touch in his last season in Philly............ but Kelly vastly overpaid Murray and Matthews. As for all of the talent "preceding" him.........he took over a 4-12 team so you doth protest too much. He whipped them into shape.......often too their dislike........and won 10 games in both of his seasons with Philly. Again...........please be more thorough with the reading comprehension..........the straw man arguments created by not doing so are tiresome and pollute threads.

I didn't say "acquired". I've noticed that misreading and subsequently misrepresenting a point is a running theme with you over the years...........this then leads to other people assuming what you misrepresented was an actual point of contention etc.. The majority of the very top players on that 2017 Eagles roster had also played for....and trained under Chip Kelly. Foles was just the latter of those two things........but the RPO stuff he learned in his 28 TD 2 INT season under Kelly was crucial to them actually upsetting NE in the SB. Not that finding 2 All Pro's in 2 seasons is a particularly bad haul though.

1) I've seen numerous cases where players get knocked cold and arms go straight out and tremble etc.. Used to see them mostly on special teams though. 2) Parham is an extremely awkward player. Very big, decent ball skills but a really clumsy athlete.......... it doesn't surprise me that he would get hurt badly on a seemingly routine play because every time I watch him I expect him to get smashed or flipped onto his head. I'm surprised that he's turned into a solid NFL player.

Yeah.........block it up and Singletary will go back to being a 5.0 ypc back. IMO he was as good of a prospect as any of the guys coming out this year. OP is wrong thinking this is a good RB draft. It ain't.

Actually it was a lot more about Chip Kelly really bringing the RPO into prominence in the league, training Nick Foles to be very good at running it.......... and of course whipping the Eagles roster into great physical shape and leaving more talent behind than people acknowledge. His fingerprints are on that trophy more than those of Schwartz and Reich. Pederson was the "player's coach" following the disciplinarian. That's generally a good combo but like Wade Phillips following Bills Parcells........it can look great for a short time........but when you aren't an attention to detail coach......when it starts going bad it goes bad fast.

I think he's talking as if college teams hire more than one coach. They don't hire an OC too, do they? Get back to your nap, bro.

I don't think it's his fault that they are underachieving..........they should have stomped teams like Pittsburgh and Jacksonville. But the one score thing has really underscored his bad "feels" on kicking decisions this year.

How does that differ from what you always post? I mean other than this thread being about HC decision making while you are always talking about your dislike of Bills fans.

They caught the league off-guard last year. Reminiscent of the 1988 Bengals, IMO. More than the sum of their parts in the moment........but difficult to sustain once their flaws were exposed(and not addressed). But yeah they are ultimately a reflection of their wicky-wacky OC on that side of the ball.......who for 3 downs is basically their offensive head coach. Then 4th down comes and McDermott has to decide between serving the identity of the offense he's allowed into existence.........and the defense which plays best in defense of leads that force opponents to throw the ball..........or his own tendency for conservative "feels".

I've never really regarded great performance in close games as a McDermott hallmark. They've always been a mistake prone offense and a very penalty-prone team in general. It's hard to be both of those things and be consistent in close games, IMO. That's not their identity. What they've done best over the past 2 years is probably get out to early leads and then hold them. That's their identity and it's a significant part of opposing game plans to get a lead on the Bills because they are a much different and more vulnerable team playing from behind.

1. Having a 4th chance is inherently/statistically much more valuable than having just 3. You are going off the rails with these down numbers. Try to remember that all any possession promises is a 1 down. The objective is to get a TD on every drive (with the exception of some end of half/game drives). The numbers favor the bold. 2. You aren't going to beat the red-hot Chiefs with field goals and bad defense. The world where playing aggressive, 4 down offense produced 4 TD's and several other red zone trips doesn't even exist if the Chargers play not to lose. The Chargers dictated the game to KC. But this time the better team still won. And to illustrate my point about the Chargers not being a team that can afford to play conservative..........exhibit A was their last drive. When they needed to just get into field goal range........they weren't good enough at executing to get it done. That last drive should look familiar to Bills fans. Some teams are dynamic but not efficient. Those teams can't play "not to lose". Staley basically said as much post game. That's the team they have and he's coaching to their strengths. McDermott has a much better team than LAC. But they are still the same style of team. Dynamic but inefficient. By not coaching to their style McDermott is too often coaching them down to their competition or flat out coaching to the other teams style.

Above was one of the more nonsensical takes I've seen. Converting a 4th down instead of punting is literally the same as stealing an extra possession. But also, still not the equivalent of a turnover. Sorry. I literally just watched a pretty woeful Chargers defense nearly beat the hottest team in the NFL because they dictated the pace of the game with aggression and put TD's on the board instead of FG's. But will hear about "9 points left on the board" from the geriatric thinking crowd(who will ignore that the Chiefs points left on the board + impact of keeping the Chiefs backed up against their end zone most of the game ALONE equated to 10 points). Great football game instead of another blowout for the Chiefs and nearly a 3rd straight win for them over the Chiefs.

There was a time when people thought he was a better and younger HC than Saban. I'm sure it pains him to know that he's not even considered in his class anymore.

Your assumption that not settling for field goals wouldn't have altered the outcome of the AFCCG is all about your own personal feels. That's been McDermott's explanation as well. So one of you is wrong despite your agreement. Win probability favors the extra points. Emotion and intensity is undeniably gained from trusting your players. But, of course fortune favors the conservative........right? And unconverted 4th downs are the unfiltered equivalent of turnovers in the same way that 4th down extended drives are likewise extra possessions gained or the equivalent of turnovers by the opposition. You are so busy worrying about a 4th down conversion possibly not turning into points (or 4-5 extra points) that you've forgotten that not all changes of possession result in points for the opposition either. That's part of the "play not to lose" mentality.

Well, Staley is the top rated coach on the list you chose to illustrate your point. I'm well aware that for most of the game........McDermott let's Daboll and Allen play an aggressive brand of football. He's not been conservative. His 4th down coaching isn't by any means the reason that they've lost 5 games...........they just aren't an assignment sound football team this year on offense and they have been vulnerable to teams that are allowed to pound them on the ground. But the problem is you can't change your team's stripes on 4th down and in the red zone just because you don't trust your offense and the OC. They are what they are.........you ride the wave or you set yourself up to get beaten by the other teams style. McD has too often done the latter this season.

No, it doesn't prove that it just indicates where he ranks relative to his peers.

There are a lot of people like yourself who think that most games are inevitably decided by close scores because there is just so little talent difference between teams. I've never believed that..........in fact, more often than not teams coach themselves into close games. Some teams are built to play that way. The Bills (and Chargers) simply are NOT. It's pretty self evident at this point but it's lost on people who think that there is one way to coach and play because........well that's just how it is.......I guess. As Josh Allen was told by his father "You bloom where you're planted"...........and these Bills were selected to play aggressive offensively and defend leads against teams that are then forced to throw dozens of short passes. Teams like NE and TN and Baltimore and Indianapolis were built much differently and need to be coached differently. Your take on the preposterous punt in Tampa is as accurate as saying that McDermott made the right decision to kick those field goals in KC last January. It's never right if that's not playing to your team's strength. Punting there.........as if you were in control of Tampa's offense when they were on their way to a 500 yard afternoon.......was ill-conceived. To me this is as uncomplicated and obvious as adjusting your systems to suit your personnel rather than forcing into schemes that do not...........but 20 years ago this also was not accepted as the axiom that it is now. As for Staley hurting his team's chances........from what I've seen he's mostly propelled them forward. His #1 ranking on 4th down decisions certainly passes the eyeball test. Not just because of overall analytics.........but also because of the team he has.

Yeah I heard Sal and Joe talking about this on WGR this am. 14th in 4th down decisions.......coaching a team that isn't built to succeed by being cautious.......has had a significantly large game day impact since his sphincter tightened up in that AFCCG. A good comparison might be Staley versus McDermott on 4th downs. They have very comparable superstar QB talents in Allen and Herbert.........but Staley coaches to win on 4th down and McD has been coaching "not to lose" while having the more talented (but also mistake prone) roster. Belichick ranks 30th in 4th down decision making..........but despite CCI claiming to take a ton of things into account........what it fails to show is that Belichick's team is built to play and win by being conservative. They are conservative because they aren't dynamic but instead are just excellent in execution on both sides of the ball. The Bills are dynamic but not consistent in execution on either side of the ball. So over the 10-12 possessions they get per game they are best served trying to separate rather than keep the score close. Two distinctly different types of teams but McDermott plays it too much like he has the team that is built to win close games, which he does not.

Shinola Twain's pants don't impress me much.

Isn't Shinia that drug for adults living with shin splints?

The NFL didn't destroy his legacy. Plenty of excellent college HC's have failed in the NFL.........including the greatest ever........Nick Saban. The manner of his firing is irrelevant in the big picture. Nobody remembers Lou Holtz brief tenure as NY Jets HC.