hondo in seattle

My choice wasn't listed: Must win in our quest to finish atop the AFCE! Beyond that, I'd like to see that our run game and defensive performance were no single-game mirages. I'd also like to see an effective downfield passing attack. If we get all that, I'll be happy Bills mafioso!

I don't think anyone is raging. I think, in a way, we're making fun of ourselves for wanting an elite receiver instead of a PS DT despite knowing the realities of the situation. My own hopeful fantasy runs something like this... Years ago, billionaire Terry Pegula hired a group of world-class scientists who secretly cloned Eric Moulds, Andre Reed, and Elbert "Golden Wheels" Dubenion. The original Moulds, Reed, and Dubenion, with the coordination of cutting-edge strength and conditioning specialists, have been training their clones to play NFL football. And any day now I'm going to see that the Bills have signed them as FAs. That dream was met today with the cold-water-in-my-face reality of Akingbesote.

I shouldn't have said it like that, and I do agree that McD and Brady want a balanced offense. And while Brady is producing less yards/game than his predecessors, he's also putting up more points and fewer TOs. I do give him some credit. Still, I believe Brady has a problem scheming a downfield passing game. Other than the 4th quarter of the Ravens game, Brady can't seem to dial one up when he needs to. I'd really love to see the Bills hire a good passing game coordinator this offseason to help Brady out.

I wonder if anyone else watched the linked vid. Great stuff. I also wonder if Brady would know what to do with Moulds.

Not the signing announcement I was hoping for.

I disagree. I don't think either McD or Brady is purposely bad at throwing downfield. My guess is what they want to do is stretch the field both vertically and horizontally. Balance. Run inside and out, throw short and deep. Force opponents to defend the entire field. But we're not good enough to do that. Our WRs don't get a lot of separation, our OL has been inconsistent at passpro, and our OC isn't adept at scheming a downfield passing game.

Greg Cosell, among others, is putting some of the blame on Brady.

What's wrong with Josh? 1. Subpar receiving corps 2. Subpar downfield passing scheme

I don't disagree with using Gabe instead of, say, Shavers. I simply don't think it's going to make much of a difference if Gabe is on the field or not. Gabe is recovering from a serious injury, runs a limited route tree, doesn't possess blazing speed even when fully healthy, isn't great at separation, and doesn't always seem to be on the same page as Josh. None of our current wideouts are making a difference. Gabe won't change that. Not the way Brady schemes and calls a downfield passing game. These are both good points I hadn't considered. So maybe Gabe, if fully recovered, will make a small difference.

The idea of a mediocre Davis running routes dialed up by a mediocre Brady doesn't excite me. I don't see the big leap forward.

This is probably not a popular opinion, but I think the Bills roster has a lot of JAGs, with one elite player (Josh) and some good players (e.g. Ed, James) elevating our play. It sucks when a JAG gets hurt but it's disastrous when it happens to one of our few good or great players.

He's averaging 2.1 ypc so far this season versus 3.9 last year. He's a complete JAG who doesn't find or hit running lanes as quickly and decisively as Cook. Looks more like a PS player than a second teamer.

I didn't come into the season with high expectations. Looking at the roster, I was unimpressed. In the preseason, I predicted another playoff appearance but not one in Santa Clara. Never once during the Beane era did I believe we had the best roster in the AFC. A SB would require McD and the team to overperform versus roster reality. This season was no different to me. While yesterday's performance was encouraging, it still isn't.

Weirdly, I agree. For some reason, Bills history is blessed with a bunch of really good RBs and a bunch of really bad QBs.

I get our receiving corps isn't the best and that Brady has some good qualities. But I don't think he's adept at scheming a downfield passing game. And I don't see things getting much better the rest of the season. So I'm hoping McD and Brady hire a hotshot passing game coordinator to help him out next year.