hondo in seattle

I know this idea is out there but I'm not convinced. Please explain to me the different schemes used in the NFL and how Rex's scheme is more reliant on communication than the other schemes in use. As far as I know, all NFL schemes rely on good pre-snap communication. It's not the 1940s any more. The problem has been - as we've all seen and the Bills have talked about - is that the pre-snap communication hasn't always been timely and accurate.

One of the AFC playoff contenders will win 4 of their last 5. Why not the Bills? We've won 6 of our last 9 since ALynn replaced Roman. Upping our streaking win percentage from 67% to 80% doesn't seem completely unrealistic.

The vid never explains how that game began the Pats dynasty except to call it a 'giant wake up call.' Yet the Pats won the SB the year before.

I was just playing Devil's Advocate and found no takers for the NNN point of view. I do think it's a high price - in a manner of speaking - for a project TE. But Whaley and his folks moved so quickly on this it almost seems like they were just waiting for him to convert to TE. Apparently they see a lot of upside. I'm curious if the Bills will find ways to get him on the field this year, as PM suggested.

I'll play Negative Nancy on this one. We only have 53 roster spots. They're precious. And we're giving one to a long-term project? To a guy who only decided to play TE this past weekend?

The porous Raider D is dead last in the NFL in yards per play - giving up staggering 6.2 a pop. Their pass D gives up 7.9 yards per play (tied for 2nd worst in the NFL). Their run D gives up 4.6 yards per play (tied for 3rd worst in the NFL). The much maligned Bills D, on the other hand, is 11th best at yards per play, giving up only 5.4 ypp. The Raiders have a better QB but we have a better defense. http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=2&season=2016&seasonType=REG&role=OPP&d-447263-n=1&d-447263-o=2&d-447263-p=1&conference=ALL&defensiveStatisticCategory=GAME_STATS&d-447263-s=SCRIMMAGE_YDS_PLAY_AVG

The Bills have gone 6-3 since ALynn replaced Roman. The team has been playing well with Rex running the D and Lynn running the O. But, yeah, they would win even more games if the D was ranked higher than it's current ranking at #10. And, for the record, the Bills are 8th in the NFL in scoring. Not top 5 as asserted but still very good. But our offense is also 18th (about average) in yards per game and 27th (way below average) in play runs. Exaggerating a bit, this means when the Bills O isn't scoring, it's going 3 and out. Or saying it another way, we're losing the battle of field position. Those 3 and outs and that field position is adding stress on the D. The Bills D is 10th in yards per game and 11th in yards per play - both very good stats. But we're only 19th (about average) in points allowed because of field position issues. Certainly we all want the D (and O) to be better. But calling Rex "lost" or saying we have "major problems" on defense just doesn't fit the facts. http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=2&season=2016&seasonType=REG&offensiveStatisticCategory=GAME_STATS&role=TM&d-447263-n=1&d-447263-o=2&d-447263-p=1&conference=ALL&d-447263-s=TOTAL_POINTS_SCORED

All joy this year ends if we lose to the Raiders this weekend. But what's the playoff picture look like if we win?

Our D is currently ranked #10. 22 other teams are worse than the Bills at denying the opponent yards. So I don't see the argument as black or white. Rex isn't a defensive guru. Neither is he lost. To get to #10 this year with all the games missed by key players is a notable accomplishment. Still, I don't think that Rex's defensive acumen is in the same league as Bill Belichick or Pete Carroll. Jim Schwartz might be better at coaching defense as has often been argued - though their overall resumes are comparable. On the whole, I think our coaching staff is in the frustrating middle. They're good enough not to get fired. Not so good to take us to a Super Bowl.

I don't know why so many are giving a definitive yes or no answer. There's a wide spectrum between YES and NO and every QB is somewhere on that spectrum. Unfortunately, Tyrod is below the NFL average on that spectrum. Can it be helped with good coaching? Can the passing game in general be helped with good coaching? I'm not sure but I'd like the Bills to try a little harder. I think David Lee is a fine QB coach. Still, I'd like to see Rex bring in a passing game coordinator who develops an aerial strategy that plays to TT's strengths. A good coaching staff, obviously, needs to either avoid or correct TT's weaknesses. I'm not convinced the Tyrod we're seeing now is the best Tyrod we can ever see.

Good points. And I'm thrilled with the point production. That's why I like ALynn - the man generates points with a banged up cast of characters. BUT: While we're 8th in scoring we're 19th in yards per game. To oversimplify, we either score or we go 3-and-out. A more potent passing attack would (1) produce even more points, and (2) help keep drives alive - and keep our defense off the field. Rex's D is 10th in yards allowed but only 19th in points allowed, largely because of field position.

Well, if you want stats: Only three teams have passing attacks so pathetic that they're averaging less than 200 yards per game. The Bills are the worst of the three at 183 passing yards per game. QB ratings are about efficiency but I'm talking about productivity. To score you have to "matriculate" the ball down the field, as a HOF coach once said. In other words, yards matter. Our passing game isn't producing many. Of course, we're a running team. We don't pass as much as other teams. So that partially explains our low yardage output. But defenses know we're a running team and play run first. So we ought to find success when we do pass. Yet we average a paltry 6.7 yards per attempt. That's 7th worst in the NFL. Since we are a run first team, I wouldn't expect our aerial production to be top ten in the NFL. But dead last is sad.

So the older you are, the higher your football I.Q.? Since I'm older than you, is my opinion of TT more informed and accurate than yours?

This is a far complaint if true. I didn't pay close enough attention to Sammy during the game to know whether if it's true or not. But it's hard to criticize ALynn when his banged up offense without a franchise QB put up 28 points in a win.

538 has the Bills and Raiders with virtually identical ELO scores. Should be a dog fight.

I was surprised when (during the Cincy game?), the announcers started saying that Shady didn't have breakaway speed but Gillislee did. Shady's pretty darn fast as evidenced on that long run against Jax.

This season would suddenly get very interesting if the Bills knocked off the Raiders.

Bills are 6-3 since the coaching change. With ALynn as OC, the Bills are averaging 27 points per game.

I actually rooted for the Pats yesterday, as much as it pained me. It's hard for me to like a team that wins all the time - at the expense of the Bills.

Here's why: There's not doubt talent matters. Tyrod clearly has some limitations regards to talent. But there's also no doubt that coaching matters. So if we can't find a better QB, maybe we need a better coach for the passing game.

On the Bills website they only list Lee as the QB coach. But you may be right. If so, he's not showing a lot of aptitude for it.

I'm not sure about the assessment that TT would be a superstar behind the Dallas OL. But I pretty much agree with the list, especially #1 and #2.

I don't think Whaley had a lot of confidence in Mills. I think he just failed in finding a better FA. No GM ever builds the team he wants. Sometimes there are cap issues. Sometimes you just get outbid. Sometimes the team before you picks the guy you had targeted in the draft. I do hope though that DW makes this a bigger priority next year. It'd be too painful to see him in the starting lineup another year. Btw, is it my imagination or does Mills hold a lot? I'm not an All-22 guy and never rewatch games. But watching live it seems that Mills holds on an unusually high percentage of plays to compensate for his lack of skill. Mostly he doesn't get flagged and when he does, it's just the price we have to pay for having Mills in there. If you told him not to hold, he'd be even more of a turnstile.

The BIlls offense has a really good running game and a really bad passing game. Going into the Jax game, I think we were ranked #1 and #32 respectively. Clearly TT needs to shoulder some of the blame. And I'm not opposed to shopping for an upgrade. But is it all on Tyrod? We're still running Roman's playbook and Roman had a certain genius for drawing up running plays and developing a strong rushing attack. He wasn't as adept developing an aerial attack. Anthony Lynn is a former high school/college/professional RB who then became a RB coach. How likely is Lynn, given his background, to create a potent passing attack to complement our already potent running game? If we go into 2017 with TT under center again, is Lynn really going to figure out how to get the most out of him? Maybe Rex should hire a passing game coordinator to work with Lynn next year when Lynn creates his own offensive playbook.

Don't look now but after 10 games, the Bills defense is #12 in yards allowed per game. And #13 in points/game. http://www.espn.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/total/position/defense Look. There are thousands of people coaching defensive football in the U.S. and Canada. The really good ones coach at the college level. The very best of them coach in the NFL. The very, very best of them make it to DC or HC. And out of all those, only a handful are putting up better stats than Rex. I'm not saying Rex is a defensive guru. But to declare that he's "lost" just isn't reality.