hondo in seattle

I agree with every point you make. But I do think you overstated your intro just a bit. We're #1 in yards and points allowed which is amazing. But #2 in pass yards allowed and #3 in rushing yards allowed. We're not really number 1 almost across the board but we are #1 in the most important metrics and high in others. It boggles the mind that a team that runs Nickel as much as we do can be #3 in rushing defense. I can only see using a 4-3 when facing a running team. And the Colts are a running team. When Taylor rushes for over 100 yards, they win. When he doesn't, they lose. That's been the trend. So it'll be interesting what Frazier dials up.

It's not like Motor has no skill but his good YPC stat is a result of running against defenses that are focused on the pass. Find a season where OJ ran for 5 YPC and look at the highlights. You'll see a guy juking and dodging and running thru the arm tackles of a defense that's hell-bent on just one thing: Stopping the Juice. If Singletary isn't a JAG, he's not much more.

Yeah, I remember those days. That argument is becoming obsolete. Nickel is the most common alignment in the NFL now, though there are variation of it. The Bills run it more than anybody. If I'm not mistaken, the 3-3 and the 3-4 (in that order) are the most common alignments. 4 man fronts are less common though Frazier, for one, loves the 4-2. Any good X-and-O guy out there who can break this down better with percentages?

I agree with all of this - especially the part about Fred being better. And I didn't appreciate Lynch's antics off the field or his hole move-to-Toronto thing. But I did greatly appreciate how hard he ran.

Boogie is a rookie getting limited playing time. I'm not sure how effectively any of us can evaluation him. My evaluation: He's not Bruce Smith. I don't know how good he might become but I'm confident in saying he'll never be Bruce-good.

I love the optimism. But it was very possible at one point to beat three consecutive one win teams (Fins, Jags, Jets) - but we didn't. A table-run would be awesome but, realistically, I'm not counting on it.

The NFL is a copycat league. Will more teams switch to the Nickel as their base after seeing the Bills success? Or are the Bills just blessed with unique talent that allows us to successfully utilize the Nickel against run & pass?

As I recall, we ran Nickel 91% of the time last year. Is that true again this year? I thought it was somewhat less, though still - by far - our preferred formation.

I noticed McD praised the game Daboll called against the Jets. I wondered if that meant McD wasn't happy with the game Daboll called the week before.

I think the OPs question was interesting because I hear it said on tv that the Bills employ the 4-3 as their base defense. Yet the OP suggests we try the 4-3. Why should we try 4-3 when we're already 4-3? Well, because we're actually a 4-2 defense as we all know. In the old days, the 4-2 would be called a "pass prevent" defense and it is good against the pass. An important consideration in a league where the pass is getting more and more important over the years - a trend that's likely to continue. With this lighter formation, we do seem to struggle against bigger backs. But, weirdly, the run D that McD and Frazier have created with this 4-2 is currently ranked as the 3rd best run defense in the league. Would the 4-3 provide greater blitz opportunities? Maybe. A 4-3 with a blitzing linebacker would mean, obviously, 5 guys going after the QB with 6 in coverage. But I think McD and Frazier prize coverage over pressure. They typically want 7 in coverage. And, given our rankings (#2 pass, #3 run, #1 overall), they're probably not eager to experiment with new/different ideas.

On the Breida/Moss thing... My guess is that McD and Daboll don't have a lot of confidence in the OL. While Breida is faster, he's not hard to bring down. He does best work in space and the Bills linemen don't create a lot of it. Moss is a more powerful runner who can sometimes get yardage even when the line-of-scrimmage is dirty and crowded.

The most important stat in football is W-L. In that stat, the Pats are only a half game behind us and that does make me a bit nervous. But comparing offensive production: The Bills are ranked #5 while the Pats are #15. We're significantly better on offense. On defense, we're #1 and they're #6. We give up about 54 yards/game less than them. Overall, they're a good team. We're better. But we need to prove this in our head-to-head matchups and on any given Sunday... The 4th down failure at Tennessee really sucks. But I think the focus should always be on winning the next game. That's it. Obviously players and coaches need to think this way. But even as a fan, that's how I tend to think. The Titans might go on a massive losing streak. The Pats may beat us and take over the AFCE lead. Who can predict the future in the full-of-surprises NFL? No one. So I enjoy the ride, one game at a time.

I'm not sure why you guys are beating up on Ethan. He's a fellow Bills fan, after all! He just wanted our opinion of Boogie. Bills Mafia - Brothers in Arms!

The OL will remain the weakest unit of the year - all the way until the Super Bowl ends and we're hoisting the Lombardi. What can you do? You can't sign new linemen. You can't hire a new OL coach. You can't suddenly overhaul the blocking schemes. You can hope (1) the OL gets healthy and we always have our best five on the field. (2) Daboll calls good games that make the OL look better - like he did yesterday. This offseason, though, Beane better attack the OL hard.

I wondered what Urban Meyer meant when he said we were a spread offense. Some football historians will argue that every offensive scheme in the NFL today is a variation of the spread offense. In it's simplest definition, a spread offense is one that spreads offensive players across the breadth of the field, with the intent of spreading the defense thin. It forces the defense to try defend all 53 yards of width and the entire length of the gridiron. That's it. A spread offense creates space and makes use of seams and/or advantageous match-ups. Every modern NFL team does this. But Meyer ran his own version of the Spread in college. Josh McDaniels spent a lot of time learning the Spread form Meyer and uses it with the Pats. Daboll learned it from McDaniels. So the Spread we run is a close relative of Meyer's spread.

It's hard for me to call this team "complete" when we can't run, can't block.

“You cannot lose sight of the core aspects of the game of football.” This quote is a little mysterious but I do not believe he was critiquing himself. I think he was bemoaning the lack of push by the offensive line. I believe McDermott understands that finesse is great but football is ultimately a physical game and you have to be able to impose your will on your opponent. The Bills didn't do that in the 4th and 1 at Tennessee. And failed all game against the Jags. I'm not sure how, at this point in the season, you make your OL more physical. He promises adjustments are coming. We'll see. Clearly in the offseason, we need to sign/draft different players.

When the starters are bad, the backups are usually even worse. Any injury to the starting five scares me. Finger crossed, we'll get a pleasant surprise.

Ground Branch - very cool. And I like the Ledwidge poem.

Losing 2 of the last 3, and only a half-game ahead of the Patsies, we are on the ropes. But the Jests are not delivering the knockout punch. Just. Not. Happening.

I salute Bob Kalsu and all our brothers and sisters who made the ultimate sacrifice. And offer my profound thanks to all those who served. ~ Brian US Army

I don't know about Breida. He seems like the kind of back who needs space to work with. This OL doesn't create a lot of space.

I agree with your assessment completely. In fact, as I watched it the thought that went through my head was, "The Colt back has a hole the size of Kansas." Motor had nothing.

I have no doubt whatsoever that McD is NOT just realizing this. It's simply a problem he hasn't solved yet and he's just now articulating it. McD is very cautious about badmouthing coaches or players in public. The fact that he's speaking out this week suggests that his frustration is mounting. It's not "pathetic" that "all" the expectations are on Allen. It's just a current realty of the cap and Beane's moves. When Beane came to the Bills, he knew that the NFL is evolving more and more into a passing league. So he had two things in mind: get players who can pass the ball and get players who can stop the pass. Running - doing it or stopping it - was a secondary priority. There's just enough draft picks or cap money to fix everything. So Beane got us a good QB and some good receivers. He also assembled a defense that's good against the pass. Unless he's a complete idiot - and he's not - Beane knows this is an imperfect roster. If Beane had an unlimited number of picks and unlimited cap money to spend, we'd be in a better place right now. But all GMs have to set priorities and make difficult choices. And because talent evaluation is a predictive art, not a science, all GMs make mistakes along the way. Beane has made his share. Yet here we are atop the AFCE looking for another playoff berth. I will add though that in the glory days, the Bills could both run effectively and pass effectively. When Kelly had a bad day, or the defense sold out to stop him, we hit 'em with Thurman. When Thurman had a bad day, or the defense focused on him, Kelly would fill the air with strikes. I'd love Beane and McD to put together a multidimensional attack like that.

These are two names I wasn't expecting. Interesting choices. Metzelaars wasn't as fast or athletic as Knox. But he dropped fewer balls (though Knox has been better this year). And Metzelaars was a better blocker - and we need more good blockers. Jim Richter. A forgotten Wall-of-Famer. At least, I had forgotten about him. Went to the Pro Bowl a couple times. I've always that if I was a GM, I want to build an OL with a couple of Pro Bowl caliber guys as anchors. Currently, we don't have any OLinemen who could even sniff the Pro Bowl.