hondo in seattle

I think the problem is more complicated than McD. I don't think McD is having a good year. But I also think the defensive injuries have really hurt the defense. And Dorsey got stale as an OC. And Josh went through a slump. Mostly, I think Beane has not yet built a SB-caliber roster. With the clarity of hindsight, the Von Miller contract was a mistake and took money away from other position groups. And his drafting has been spotty. Overall, he's built a good roster but not a great one. We can't just blame one guy.

The offense seems to be back on track. But we need more than a 2-game Brady sample to know for sure. The defense, with all the key injuries, really struggles at times. It's still a good team, but not good enough to win out against this schedule.

I respect your point of view. When I was young, I fancied myself a wide receiver. But when I watched football, my attention was always drawn to the running backs. Maybe because back then they were the most athletic guys on the field. And OJ was an amazing athlete. Watching him weave and power through a defense was like watching an artist at work. Earl was a bruiser. Not as beautiful to watch. But, man, he was impressive. Derrick Henry is an apt comparison for Campbell. Henry is also powerful and fun to watch. But he's a poor man's Earl Campbell. And, while in my eyes, OJ was the better of the two, I think it's clear that there are no backs today as talented as either Campbell or Simpson (or Barry).

I loved Earl Campbell. And wouldn't he be great on the Bills with all the power and passion? Put guys in the box to stop Earl, and we'll throw it over the top. Play in a soft zone, and Earl will ram the ball up your gut. We'd be so hard to defend. But OJ was better.

This is good info. Thanks. I've also heard a couple of people criticize Dorsey for using motion pointlessly on some plays. I don't see how it's ever pointless. Even if it's a running play and you don't particularly care if the D is in zone or man, you still might want to put a guy in motion to influence the defensive alignment. Or simply to not telegraph that it's a running play. You never want to fall into a pattern where, for example, someone can say, "The Bills only use motion in x and y situations." Random use of motion makes the offense less readable.

Many teams, maybe most, put a spy on OJ. Fergie became a good QB in later years but when he first got to the NFL his job was to hand off. Our passing attack in 1973 wasn't anything special. Neither was our defense. So the opposing team's game plan was to slow OJ down. If they did that, they'd win. With an entire defense focused on him every week, OJ still averaged 143 yards. People forget the rules were different then. Hash marks were wider out often squeezing the offense against a sideline. Linemen couldn't block with their hands. And so on. Virtually all the rule changes since the 1970s have favored the offense gaining yards and scoring easier. Schemes and philosophies were different back then. More RBs were taken #1 overall in the draft in the 1970s than QBs. While QBs were important, many teams built their offenses around bell cow running backs. The best athletes didn't become WRs and CBs, they became RBs. The coaching mantra was: Establish the run to open the pass. Then it was all about the run. So defenses were designed to stop the run. The Nickel defense we currently run as our base would be considered a pass-prevent defense back then. LBs weren't coverage guys and blitz specialists. They were big, violent thumpers like Dick Butkus and Chuck Bednarik whose sole goal in life was to crush running backs. By 1997, Barry's best year, the league had changed. Seasons were longer, defenses were more concerned with the pass, and the rule changes made it easier for offenses to move the ball and score. Barry topped out at 2053 but a couple other guys also took advantage of the changes and finished over 1500 yards. Still, it was a very good year for Barry as he finished an impressive 17% above the next best guy. In 1973, in a 14 games season where the best athletes played running back and defenses were focused on the run, OJ got 2003 yards - a whopping 75% more yards than the next best guy. OJ wasn't just a little better than his peers. He was on a different freaking planet. His combination of speed, grace, power, elusiveness, and vision were otherworldly. I am old enough to have watched OJ in his prime. And I don't think I've ever seen an NFL player - not even Brady - play at a level that was so much ahead of what everyone else was doing. Brady's career was amazing but how much better in his best years was he than Rodgers, Brees, or Manning. Not much - if at all. On the other hand, once Lou Saban came to town, everyone in the NFL knew OJ was the best back in the game and there was little-to-no debate.

Of course, Joe is right. A guy can play a good game, do what the team asks him to do, and not be a statistical standout. Still, Joe might be trying to get ahead of Gabe's discontent and/or massage a hurt ego.

I want Josh to have all the stuff you mentioned in the bolded parts!

It's frustrating because our OL is better than last year and yet we've been struggling in recent weeks (minus the Jets game) on offense. So although I'm happy with the progress the line has made, it's not performing as well as the NFL's elite lines. I know some analytics site somewhere says it is but, watching games, I don't believe it.

This is a hard one but I'm going... Offense: Diggs Defense: Floyd And I'm calling a Bills win. Their respective W-L records make the Eagles look like a significantly better team. But the Bills have a higher offensive, defensive, and total DVOA. The Bills also have a much higher point differential. And Brady has upgraded the offense. And the Bills just need the game more than Philly. Furthermore, Philly beat their SB nemesis last week. That was their big, emotional regular season game. They won't be as high for the Bills.

I get why you feel that way. But Belichick and other defensive-minded HC's have run good offenses. McD needs to find the right OC. And Beane needs to build a better OL and find us some speed on the outside.

Imagine you're a young man at a dance a hundred years ago. At the dance, you notice a beautiful young lady. You watch her, long for her - but so do dozens of other bucks. Out of all the guys courting her, she chooses only a dozen or so to dance with. Maybe it was your charm, good looks, or dancing skills - whatever the reason, you are thrilled to be in that elite and fortunate group. She only accepts a second dance with a few of the young stalwarts and again you are overjoyed to be among the chosen. But you are crestfallen at the end of the evening when she chooses a rival less worthy than you to be her beau. Lady Luck is fickle. McD normally gets us a dance. If you dance with Lady Luck, things might turn out. They might not. You can slant the odds in your favor by doing the right things, but you can never control the outcome. McD has made us competitive. Give him enough passes, and he'll get us a ring. Unless Andy Reid becomes available, I stay with McD.

Warner said our mesh concept was pure man-beater which he saw as a problem.

Watching part of the Dallas game yesterday, I thought of this thread. If Josh was in an offense like that - with superior pass pro and receivers running open all over the field - we'd see Josh at his ceiling.

I only watched part of the game but what I did watch filled me with envy. I wish Josh had protection like that and that and worked in a scheme that got receivers wide-open like that.