hondo in seattle

Sadly, I believe every team still alive in the playoffs is more talented than the Bills. McD isn't perfect. But we just don't have SB talent.

I'm torn on this. On the one hand, I appreciate these guys are humans with human frailties and emotions. There was a lot going on this season. On the other hand, as an old soldier, I can't stand the out-of-gas mentality. If a soldier told me that, he'd be out of my unit in a hurry. When there's a battle to be fought, you fight with everything you have. You do it for a lot of reasons but mostly for the love you have for your brothers (and sisters). I wouldn't want to go to war with anyone who's going to let out-of-gas considerations enter their mind. Deal with your feelings after the battle. Before the fight - during the fight - it's full throttle. That's how warriors think and behave. Despite my efforts to be a compassionate, understanding person, I have to admit I'm disappointed to hear the out-of-gas sentiments coming from the Bills locker room.

I agree with you, and don't. I do think this Bills squad needs to be more physical, especially in the trenches. But I don't think that the McD's emphasis on culture and process precludes that. As a former soldier, I can tell you we talked a lot about culture and process (SOPs, etc.) and did not typically condone bending rules. At the same time, we could be very physical. When it was time to hit, we hit hard. That was part of the culture. In a violent profession, it needs to be. I don't think McD is on the wrong track at all. I do think he needs better linemen on both sides of the ball who can push people around and aggressively assert themselves. That's a task for Brandon Beane.

There's a lot of things contributing to our disappointments this year but, yeah, Hyde was part of it. The thing about Hyde and Poyer is that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. These two guys weren't stars before they came to Buffalo but became stars here because they played so well together. They communicate well. And they're interchangeable. Either can play deep, or cover a TE, or move up for run support. They used their interchangeability to help disguise the coverage. Opposing QBs often didn't know whether we were zone or man or 2 high or 1. We lost all that synergy when we lost Hyde.

I hope not - not those guys. We need more talent, not less. Any of those guys would be a big loss. I am a bit worried about Tre, though. I think his knee is going to be find but that's not a proven fact at this point. He didn't play much this year and when he did, he wasn't the lock-down goalie of the past. Mimic the 49ers is easier said than done. But, yep, I wish our overall roster was that strong except that we had Josh under center instead of their trio. That's a fantasy to drool over.

It makes no sense to fire Frazier. He just helps McD come up with the game plan and prepare the defense. But it's ultimately McD's D. I'm really disappointed in Dorsey. Some of his game plans and play calls were head scratchers - regardless of what the end-of-year stats tell us. And then there's Beane. You've got to give the man credit - he's built a playoff roster. But the remaining holes are maddening, especially his failure to build a good OL. I'm not hot to fire anyone.

And some deal with them better than others. Beane's doing okay - we're getting to the playoffs. I'm wondering how he can do better and build a SB quality roster. We don't have one right now.

I'm already worried about 2023. The Bills have $100m plus per year tied up in Josh, Diggs, Miller and Tre. That seems like a winning formula. The Bills brass have embraced the idea that the NFL is a passing league and so acquired a high-end QB, WR, pass-rushing DE and DB. But putting all your eggs in four baskets has its risks. Josh played hurt for part of the season. Tre missed most of the season and didn't play at his previous elite level when he did return. Miller missed most of the season to include the playoffs. And Diggs bromance with Josh seems to be fading. With all that going on, we limped through much of the schedule and got destroyed in our final playoff game. And with so much money devoted to just four players, the Bills have the third fewest off-season resources according to PFF: So how do we fix our secondary this offseason? Or our DL? Or, most importantly, our Offensive Line. We have the best QB we've had since Kelly. Maybe the best Bills QB ever. But we don't bother to protect him. It's not smart football. And I'm not sure we can fix it. Your ideas? www.pff.com/news/nfl-evaluating-which-nfl-teams-are-best-set-up-for-the-2023-offseason

McD isn't the best HC in the NFL, but he is one of the top 5 or 10. People calling for his head are like the people calling for Tony Dungy's head in Tampa. In Tampa, they didn't believe Dungy could win a Super Bowl despite his success getting his team into the playoffs. So, after Tampa canned him, Dungy won the Lombardi for Indy instead.

Disagree with some of this but not the part about the offense. In this kind of weather, our offensive game plan should have focused on the short passing and run game. Josh hasn't been the designed runner as much this year as last. This game we should have leaned heavily into his dual-threat talents. More RPO. More QB sweeps. More Singletary and short slants to Diggs and Davis. And then a pass deep down field.

All the best teams get invited to the playoffs. All but one of them end the season with a loss. But, boy, this one hurts. We were totally outclassed.

O: Singletary 😧 Tre

Missing Hyde and Miller is killer. The Hyde/Poyer duo is great than the sum of its parts. Von made the whole DLine better. And while Tre is back, he's not 100% himself. I'm happy our injury report is better than it was earlier on. But we're still not as healthy as we might have hoped.

When was the last time the Bills had an elite offensive line? We make do with JAGS because Josh has other-wordly escapability. But we ought to give him a world-class bodyguard that can also open holes in the running game and create push in 3rd/4th-and-short situations. I want a faster, better #2WR. I want some help in the secondary. Most of all, though, I want some beasts to protect my once-in-a-generation quarterback.

FWIW, I recently met a woman from the Firebaugh area who went to high school with Allen's mom. She says the entire family are "just the nicest people."

Bills win 49 to 30 in my last sim. Allen accounts for almost 500 yards: 367 passing, 129 rushing. I like it.

I wanted to believe that Josh had reached a new level in the playoffs last year. I think many of us hoped that what we saw then would be the new norm going forward.

I’m just worried about Cinci at the moment. My brain is too small to consider anything else.

We were really banged up during the middle of the season. We might be making a playoff run reasonably intact. Exciting news!

My thing is opportunity cost. There’s only so much cap money. Spend a huge chunk on WRs and there’s nothing left for other position groups. As much as I like Hopkins, I don’t think we can afford two high priced wideouts. It may not be as sexy, but I’d rather invest in an OL upgrade.

I wouldn't call Josh the 'defacto OC' but as others have said, a good percentage of our yards are gained on improvisations. And that's concerning. Sometimes the OL doesn't hold up, so Josh has to scramble and the receivers start altering their routes. Sometimes the receivers don't gain separation so Josh starts running around. While I appreciate Josh's ability to make lemonade out of lemons, I'd be happier to see a team that can call a good play and then make it work.

I don't get the lack of Hines in this offense. The guy had 60+ receptions in two different seasons (2018, 2020). Yet he only has 5 receptions on 9 targets with us despite the fact he still has speed - an attribute we don't have in excess. I'm with the OP on this one. And with anyone who has offered up the word: "screen."

Funny. I just told a friend that I'm still not sold on Dorsey as an OC though I'm hoping for future growth. Yet an NFL franchise thinks he's ready to be a HC.

What really effs up a DC is facing an offense that can attack all parts of the field. It's great that Josh can dink-n-dunk. It's great the running game is getting better. But Josh needs to be healthy and get back on his vertical game so defenses have to defend the length and breadth of the field. The Pats game looked like progress!

Frazier's scheme is fine. Just look at the defensive stats since he's been here. This season, our D was decimated by key injuries. Miller and Hyde out for of the year. White out for much of the year and just now maybe rounding into form. Milano, Poyer, and Edmunds have all missed games. It feels like when a defensive player gets hurt, it's always one of our most-impactful, most-needed defenders. Even so, PFF has us with the 4th best defensive DVOA in the league. We would have been #1 if our defensive stars could have stayed reasonably healthy. Given the injuries to Hyde and Miller and my doubts about White being fully recovered, I do worry about our D in the playoffs.