BADOLBILZ

This stat makes it sound like he's been stellar............but the kind of pressure the Bills OL is allowing is IMMEDIATE. In reality all this stat tells you is that he's not been the guy letting players into the pocket untouched (except of course on a play like the holding penalty against Granderson last night........which technically I don't believe counts as a pressure either). Somewhat deceiving stat, IMO. Also........didn't they put Spencer Brown at LT for a play versus the Jets and put Dion Dawkins at LG? Dawkins immediately committed a penalty as I recall. Moving Brown to LT was floated as a rumor in the week leading up to the Jets game.

Not having White doesn't change the basic objective of the defense, which is to encourage the offense to take small gains and hope they can't execute. And they can still run man........Jackson can cover.........but from what we've seen there will be chances for teams to create some bigger plays in the pass game. They most likely won't be as efficient with regard to not giving up chunk plays in the pass game but that doesn't necessarily mean they will be scorched now. And perhaps not having White back there lights a fire under this pass rush. Sometimes losing a star player can help a unit find another level of effort and focus. That really has been the biggest issue with the team this year........being focused on the task at hand. And also..........the real weakness of the defense has been their want-to and technique in run defense. With White out.........maybe teams will be more inclined to try to throw the ball a bit more. I still prefer the Bills chances defending the pass.......so more throws is better, IMO. But ultimately it's on the offense to stop being so erratic. Allen is a huge game-changing weapon who can keep 2-3 otherwise stalled drives alive with his athleticism every game..........so if they are executing they should be nearly unstoppable. That's clearly been the most discouraging part of the season to this point.......they get stopped by their own often-inexplicable mistakes far more than they get well-defensed. They need to be focused and start being better than the sum of their parts. That's what championship teams do down the stretch.

Hate losing White but the greatest advantage of being a zone coverage defense is that you can get by with less natural ability at the corner positions. They could still win a SB with this secondary. Worse have done so. But they need the DL to improve........better pass rush and more consistent run D. And more importantly they need the offense to start executing with precision. That first half was again very sloppy. And the OL is still letting a free rusher come thru far too often.

Never heard of susceptibility to chilblains being a temporary condition.......so maybe having to avoid getting his feet cold will be a permanent part of Aaron Rodgers existence now.

Yeah they need to proceed in the offseason like Davis is just a guy fighting for a roster spot. If he figures it out......great.......but he's not risen to the occasion this year. Finding a better successor to the John Brown/Sanders position.......a true 1B option to Diggs.........might end up being their 1st round pick.

Hopefully Star and Brown avoid this cuz at their positions and size they can't tip-toe around like Rodgers.

Well to actually be fair.........I didn't say it was exactly like the Packers approach I said that it looked "too much" like it. Important distinction. And keep in mind.......Allen wasn't a star QB until last season. The Packers have always had top QB play in the 17 years that Rodgers has been in the league. The Bills felt they had to prop Allen up with the Diggs trade because they hadn't been able to draft a WR1 of their own. The Pack got Davante Adams with about the same value of selection in 2014 that the Bills used on bust Zay Jones in 2017........passing Cooper Kupp among others. And Beane himself passed on Metcalf and AJ Brown in favor of Cody Ford. They were playing organizational catch-up trading for Diggs.

I think what has been concerning is that you want a HC who specializes in one side of the ball to be able to invest a little less on that side and get results. Instead.........4 of 6 first rounders expended on defense and a very expensive DL and a back 7 with 5 guys under relatively big dollar contracts and 1 of the two who is not is Edmunds who has a massive 5th year cap it coming. That investment seems reasonable when the defense is forcing 3 and outs and getting turnovers...........but recent history has proven that it's very difficult to maintain a top defense from year to year. It's something of a black hole investment-wise. We saw that last year when the defense was middling at best after a strong finish the season prior. To me.........the Bills plan has looked a little too much like the Green Bay Packers blueprint.........stock the defense with 1st rounders and let the all-world QB figure the rest out. But the problem is that the Packers don't have a team like New England in their division. In a season where Rodgers doesn't get hurt and miss time they usually take that division by default.

I think they've lost juice at 4 of the 5 OL positions and Beasley in the slot. That's regression from nearly half of the personnel on offense. Sanders has had a good year but I think they are a little less explosive there as well so the y and z haven't been drawing enough attention for the x (Diggs). To me........this year was a prime window for the heavily invested defense. For the most part they've held up and been the more effective unit.......but when needed to step up against TN and Indy they played their worst. And I hate the spread. There are still plenty of opportunities to dink and dunk from under center and using play action.

Rule of thumb with Star........expect the worst. If he comes back at ANY POINT this season and returns to his very brief peak form.......after getting covid without being vaxed........then I will be pleasantly suprised. I've heard of people coming out of a bad flu and feeling better than ever in a few weeks...........but all the people I know who got unvaxed covid with symptoms have reported feeling off even months later.

I agree that is probably how McDermott sees it. But the reality is that more draft capital and $ has been invested into the defense under McBeane. A lot of people think this is some outrageously talented offense........it is not. Josh Allen and Stef Diggs are pro bowl players. Beasley and Sanders are vets who are well on the backside of their careers athletically. Davis is a player with decent potential but a lot of teams have that guy who may never really pan out due to injuries(bad ankles have hindered him both years) or inconsistency(has stretches of inexplicable drops). Knox is the best we've had in a while but he's not an elite TE and it remains to be seen if he ever will.........TE's like him come and go with other teams........we just aren't used to having one with talent.......and their depth at TE is maybe the worst in the NFL. Obviously, the OL has been hindered by the dropoffs from Dawkins and Williams and we knew coming in that the interior OL was going to be mediocre. Running backs are plenty good........it's not an important position to have great talent at........but they are ordinary. They aren't a naturally explosive offense.........they are an ordinary unit with a dynamic QB. What has happened is that it's turned into the Josh Allen show this season.........he's trying to carry the team to the heights they were at last season but a lot of players have regressed and he didn't have a roster full of #1 picks at his disposal on offense to begin with. He's the only one on the entire offense who was a first round draft pick. On defense.......a lot more athletic pedigree.......6 first round draft picks. The defense is basically designed to protect leads now but the offensive talent is overrated.

I've said this many times before but Daboll's OC work reminds me of Sam Wyche and Mike Mularkey. Wyche famously ran a no-huddle to a near SB win in SB XXIII. Mularkey had some very highly rated offenses in Pittsburgh. So they could have really good seasons......but both also had entire seasons where they just couldn't get out of their own way with bad game plans and play calling. NFL people would call Wyche's play calling "wicky wacky".........at times it seemed like nonsense to all but him and he wouldn't change things that weren't working. Mularkey got that rep in his last season in Buffalo as well.........that 2005 seasons was one of the more frustrating seasons of play calling in Bills memory. Cowher and the Steelers were really in a similar rock and hard place position with Mularkey when Donahoe came in and swept Mike Meathead off his feet that the Bills may be in with Daboll at the end of the season.

The standing in the lower bowl is pretty stupid.........but I knew about it before I moved down there so it is what it is. I could understand the rationale for it more though if the people standing were rabid fans cheering hard to create noise to distract the opposing offense............but yesterday from early in the game fans were just standing and not making any noise. There was a palpable "this season was supposed to be a pleasure cruise to the Super Bowl......wtf is this bullshi*t" vibe from the crowd yesterday. I think it's a product of years of losing and watching the Patriots just win every year. Fans have ignorantly assumed this was going to be easy. We don't have the best and cheating-est coached organization in the sport.........fan support in the form of noise matters for this organization.

The reason McD mentioned the Addison call was because that's a no-brain-stupid gotdamn play. PI is often a random call. But yeah.........this team is not playing "process" football..........and there has been a lot of chaos caused by decisions not to be vaxxed.

They just aren't playing good, complementary team football. That's technically on McDermott but it's possible that the roster composition..........perhaps a tendency to select players with backgrounds and personalities that looked ideal for blind process following two years ago........NOW aren't responding well to a league with two different standards for handling Covid protocol. They aren't playing like a team that trusts each other out on the field. Undisciplined and selfish. Not sure how McD is going to flip the switch..........but if I am playing this team my goal is to pull out all the stops early and watch them implode.

The difference may be that the Bills reportedly have one of the lowest vax rates in the league. If only 60-70% are vaxxed.........that's a lot of unvaccinated players. And what we are seeing is a Bills team that does not play disciplined, complementary football. The game today turned, IMO, on a ridiculously selfish play by Mario Addison where he decided to fake that he was pushed into Carson Wentz so he could take a pointless cheap shot at him. Instead of the Bills receiving a punt down by 7 points after just scoring a TD on the prior drive...........the defense stays on the field and then makes several more assignment mistakes(including another big mistake by Addison).......and gives up a score........and then McKenzie carelessly forgets to protect the ball on his return and in a flash the score reaches a point where the crowd is now out of the game and the Colts will never have to abandon the run while the Bills are in chase mode on offense. McDermott made sure to to mention the Addison play.......and clarify that he wasn't talking about the "call" by the ref.......but the play by Addison. As for the notion that they need a better game plan versus rushing teams..........run defense is not about scheme........it's about technique and want-to. Two things they have been quick to lose.....along with composure........when punched in the mouth. A lack of heart, focus on assignments and then a lot of bad personal decisions aren't what we expect from a team supposedly bonded together by the loving team environment supposedly created by the process. And then there is Josh Allen...........he's not playing complementary football.........he's trying to take games into his own hands because, IMO, he doesn't trust his teammates.

We were discussing after the game the question of if there is something in the locker room undermining the team this year. They aren't consistently playing better than sum of their parts like last season.......and that's a problem when you are "culture" based. They obviously have issues with such a disparity between vaxxed and un-vaxxed players and anyone who doesn't think either side takes any issue with the other is kidding themselves. You all gotta' be pulling the same direction and a wedge like that might be enough to contribute to a lack of focus and heart in some of these games. In his postgame interview McD was asked about Brown and Lotulelei and instead of saying he was concerned for their health and hoping they felt better........he said he "supported their decisions". Like, they got sick and missed time simply because of their decisions. Ouch. Not good.

Good gouge, Hapless. @YoloinOhio did you even watch the game??

Fall has been very good for the past 20+ years. This fall is the rainiest I can remember. The 1997 season we seemed to have rain every game day but it was mostly just raining around game day itself. This fall, seemed like every other morning when I woke up there was another 4 tenths in the rain gauge..........then we had several 4+ inch down pours. I live on a small lake and the water level has been above the highest watermark on the walls everywhere. And it's almost TG and we haven't had a real hard frost in the low 20's yet........about a month late for that. Been very unusual.

https://www.buffalochipsrestaurant.tv

Hopefully the switch is actually on now and they go on a run. There aren't 3 understandable losses left on the schedule.

I'd suggest you stay out of the investigative journalist field. As I've said.........I don't dig up my work to prove something to a random reader of my post.........there are literally thousands of people reading this forum every day. Pretty sure you just floated to the surface here when the toilet got flushed at BuffaloBills.com message board..........if you were wrong enough to be there instead of here THEN.......well you have a tendency to be really wrong, IMO. So you went half-assed looking hoping to find nothing..........and instead very quickly came away with circumstantial evidence that suggests you were wrong about my approval of White..........so you've decided you were....... right?? Mmkay. Keep in mind......... @Logic declared that I have been a critic of Tre White........anyone who reads my stuff regularly.........and now you after seeing the post declaring the pick a success..........knows that is not correct. Did you see me demanding that he provide evidence? I simply refuted it because I know he's wrong. So your problem is the perception that I didn't "bang the table" for Tre White? I rarely do that for anyone. For instance the only player I really advocated for PRIOR to the 2014 draft was Aaron Donald. I started a thread, gave my reasons. Left it at that. A lot of people thought he was more of a mid-late first rounder.....some even felt he didn't belong in round 1. Probably the least responded too thread started in my entire time on TSW. He ended up being what I said he would........an instant smash success.......and now he's easily been the best player from that draft........maybe the best defensive player picked at all since then. But I didn't bang the table 100 times then either so I guess it doesn't count. A high volume of speculation about acquiring players doesn't will it into existence. If we are going to get into repetitive discussion I prefer discussing things that are more within team control.

Well you are sorta' straw-manning here. You quote that I'm wrong about the CB draft...........but then you go on about DB's in general. Two different arguments. That 2017 draft didn't have a true superstar at the top nor a bunch of CB's with both good overall track records but also running sub 4.4's............there were a lot of question marks. Tre White wasn't a workout warrior but he was everything else. That's what I liked about him. In hindsight Lattimore and Humphrey got put in great situations and have done well(Humphrey less-so without the normal fierce Ravens pass rush support this year). But yeah.......White IS the best of the bunch.........though none of the successes have been Jalen Ramsey or Stephon Gilmore level good. Even at the time Lattimore was basically at best Gilmore but with A LOT of injury concerns........so NOT a dynamic looking group. But again........part of me watching the CB's in season was also considering who would fit well on a Bills roster desperate for safety help. As you know.........I would almost never pick any safety in round 1.........so White was intriguing to me because I thought he could do both at a high level. The Bills were loaded at CB at the time with Gilmore(franchise option) and Darby under team control.......but you can never have enough if you end up playing a lot of man. When the scheme changed and they inexplicably let Gilmore walk for nothing.......that elevated White to an asset of much greater value to the Bills. Also keep in mind........this was still around the time when you had takes like "Shaq Lawson is the 9th overall player on my board in the entire draft"...........