Livinginthepast

Ok , good points but why doesnt McD just say that and own it?

Thats a great question! Is McD protecting his young kicker? His coaches or his own reputation by not telling the media what happened? Maybe it actually didnt occur to anyone to squib it or pop it up. Maybe it didnt occur to McD that he would be even asked this question after the game? or he could just tell the truth and be done with it.

Ive been to many games and you dont have to go to games to see that specialists are off to the side a lot practicing but Bass had just kicked a PAT, the first place he goes is to the sidelines and checks in with the coach about the upcoming KO. He simply ISNT off to the side staring at clouds getting zen at that moment. Even if that doesnt happen it doesnt change anything about what I said in the post. If Bass doesnt think it necessary to confirm what the KO call is he must be either incredibly stupid or have an almost autistic detachment from reality. If the ST coach doesnt tell Bass what he is supposed to do and assumes he knows then HE must be the same. If McD makes the same mistake then same thing. It just beggars belief that any of it is true.

I find it really hard to believe that Bass is just in his own little world on the sideline and for the most important KO of the season he doesnt think to ask, "what's the plan?" and confirm? and that the ST coach doesn't go to him and make sure he knows. Absolutely no way that happens. Maybe Bass should explain, rather than it be a mystery.

You see a lot of "Worst coaching decisions in NFL history" lists or videos . Unfortunately the Bills coaching moves in the last 13 seconds are going to be added to that all time list for the kickoff and those 2 defensive playcalls, you could even add taking two timeouts defensively during it (and then proceeding to do nothing different) to that steaming turd pile as well. I dont want McD or anyone else for fired for this. Overall these coaches through their combined efforts have brought us to a new level of competition but all through the "process" , there have been troubling signs that McD and his coaches have sometimes not been properly prepared for games or freeze in pressure situations. You can argue using analytics or common sense to coach in those situations but the Bills coaches seemed to ignore BOTH in those last 13 seconds. I hope it never happens again and they learn from this that there must be a plan or a strategy mapped out for every possible situation to improve success. In addition, McD must come clean to the players and fans on who was responsible or just take the blame himself and be done with it. Yesterday was far too wishy washy and vague.

The Overtime rule is stupid. Give each a chance of possession unless the on the first possession the defense scores a TD. Otherwise let each team have a chance, If they both score TDs then it becomes sudden death. The NFL can be so crotchety about doing the simplest rule change. Back when I started watching football in the 70s the NFL didnt have a 2 pt conversion and bizarrely resisted adopting it until 1994 for no apparent reason (even though other leagues had it). Same with instant replay the NFL resisted it then adopted it then inexplicably got rid of it in the 90s only to bring it back. I really dont get what the reasoning is for not changing the OT rules. You want unfairness? you want the game to end as quick as possible so we can rush everybody out of the stadium? Makes no sense!

I think they would have to score a TD under the current rules to end the game. If the Bills had recovered an onside kick then technically the other team would not have possessed it yet. So a FG isnt enough to get it done.

Yes they were, no doubt, but faith in a D that had played at best a mediocre game and has just let the Chiefs go 75 yards in a minute not long before that. The coaches then decided to make their tired defense's job even harder by calling the worst two defensive plays in Bill's playoff history.

#93 on the Bills Obada is lined up right near Kelce on the 2nd play. All he has to do is slightly get in his way or actually hit him within the 5 yards and either Kelce doesn't catch that ball or he does but there is no time left. Instead he takes off on a fruitless pursuit of Mahomes! All because our bozo coaches instructed the Defense to rush 4 and even if the players thought that was a bad plan, they couldnt deviate from it. So frustrating to watch how easy that was for Mahomes and Kelce. The Bills player who tackles him is at least 5 yards away from Kelce when he catches it. The Chiefs players and their fans must be laughing their asses off at our utter stupidity and caution on both those plays. Sickening!

What I would like to know is what was different in our defense Sunday compared to when we beat them earlier in the season. Is Trey White's presence the only thing? Did we play the same style of defense and just had more luck and made a couple of more plays in the previous game or did we tinker with what worked? I dont really remember enough about what we did the first time to know. If it was different on Sunday then why? If it wasnt different then why was it mostly ineffective?

Doing an onside kick at that stage would have been even more ballsy than what I suggested in OT. But yes it also might have worked as nobody in a million years would expect that. Of course had we done an onside kick in OT the one factor I did not consider is that the refs would have also not been expecting it and would probably have been in no position to properly assess if it was legit. With the quality of officiating in this league they would have just tossed a flag and either called us offside or reintroduced some little known arcane rule from the days of leather helmets that "when the kicking squad doth kicketh the pig skin in the extraneous time period, thou must informeth the team that doth defend" , and then given it to the receiving team!

I get what you're saying but the fact is in OT the Bills tried NOTHING different. They kicked off, they trotted their tired beleaguered defense on and they lost playing the same old D that WASNT WORKING. The Bills staff just succumbed to the inevitable and maybe prayed for a miracle when they could have at least done something different. As to your other point, I think having these discussions on what if scenarios actually is a form of healthy therapy for fans like me trying to wrap their heads around a crushing defeat not a head bash into the wall :).

Like I said at first glance it seems like a ludicrous idea but if you get past the untraditional nature of the idea, I think it actually makes more sense to at least try something. I literally liken the Bills defense after the coin toss to a condemned man being led to a firing squad. You might as well try something on the off chance it might work.

Yet you replied?

Yes, I know what you are thinking, this is the stupidest, most preposterous idea ever proposed and a waste of a post, but I did seriously think about this after we lost the coin toss on Sunday night to start the OT. We had just blown the game, the Bills defense was utterly gassed and more importantly mentally defeated. Kicking off to them and giving them the ball was going to inevitably result in what we had just seen in their last two drives ( a quick drive and mostly likely a TD score). I had no faith that the Bills could stop Mahomes and my worst fears came true when it ended soon after. I wish that McD had somehow summoned up all his courage and gone for Bass to do an onside kick. There is no way that the Chiefs would have expected it in that pressure situation and their special teams would have been backing up to set up a return. The chances of recovery would have been much higher than your average onside kick. And if it failed? and KC got the ball on their own 40 or 50? Well you were probably going to lose anyway and you may just have sped up the inevitable. Or maybe your defense pulls off some unlikely miracle and intercepts Mahomes or they fumble. Sean Payton did the onside kick at the start of the 2nd half in the Saints SB win over the Colts and it swung the game. Probably the ballsiest coaching move in SB history. But this?? This would be the ballsiest call of all time. Of course I very much doubt that anyone on the Bills staff even considered this possible avenue or would have had the bravery/ derring do to try it. But when I look at how the game ended in OT why not gamble? Especially with these OT rules?

How many people commenting on this post didn't even read the article because , "ooooh its bitter Jerry Sullivan" . If someone else had wrote it you would have at least read it and maybe agreed with its points but because its critical Jerry, the eternal pessimist, you skip it and criticize the messenger? I hate to tell you, he is right. Yes, its not anything stupendously original, his take is identical to what fans here said soon after the game on Sunday night. What I like about Sullivan is that he is one of the few media people who holds the franchise to account for its errors and says things that fans say. If anything we need more people like him to light a fire under these coaches and players. Our media has too many people who sugarcoat their questions to coaches and are happy for the team to get their playoff participation medal. Jerry at least sticks his neck out there and asks some tough questions. The defense after the windy Pats game debacle should have been embarrassed by their efforts and I am glad that Jerry asked that question. Strange coincidence how they responded after that in the season. On Sunday the Bills had 13 secs to force KC into the offseason and they blew it 100%. The special teams were ordered to do that stupid kickoff (if not then tell us McD , Whose decision was it?). Its simply non debatable that the defense that was called on those two plays with 13 seconds left was utterly moronic. You hadn't got to Mahomes ALL GAME but yet once again you rush 4? 4 exhausted lineman? who even at max speed at the start of the game would not get to Mahomes in time (especially not when he is forced to release the ball within 3-4 seconds). Why not rush 2 and clog up the passing lanes with more linebackers or DBs? You don't at least have double teams on Kelce and Hill? You don't bump Kelce and Hill at the line? You don't take a holding penalty to eat clock? (and BTW I dont think the refs would have the cojones to call some intentional holding cheating penalty to put time back on there). Even in the OT you don't burn your timeout on their drive? why not? Had the Bills just conceded after they lost the coin toss?. What are you going to use those time outs for after the game? All of what happened in those 13 secs and after in OT just exemplified my worst fears about McD, which are that he is an excellent coach on many levels but some of his in game decisions show a lack of being able to think on his feet. You would think that these end game scenarios are practiced over and over by NFL coaches so at least in that moment they DONT have to think under the pressure, they just know that in THIS particular situation you should do this particular defense in order to maximize your chances of success. That's what should have happened. Why didn't Frazier and McD have multiple plans worked out for these late game scenarios before the game?? Instead we get some amateurish knee jerk vanilla prevent as if we were up by 4 PTS!! There simply isnt any excuse for losing like we did. The coaches should be putting players in their best position to WIN and on Sunday the coaches in the most crucial moments of the season, put a tired and hard working defensive team in the best position to FAIL. If it takes Jerry Sullivan and other media (who dont fear hurting the coaches and players feelings) and fans to call this out and force the team to get better then I welcome this 100%!

I wanted OT changed after the Pats beat Atlanta in the SB in 2017. That OT was a joke. Same as when the Pats won in 2018 vs the Chiefs. I would have been fine if we lost on a pick or turned it over on downs last night when we got OUR chance in OT. Just needs to be one possession guaranteed for each team . After that its sudden death. I dont think that is too much to ask. The current rule is you win on the coin toss. Especially in OT in the playoffs this is unfair and stupid. Chances are both defenses at this stage are gassed (way more so than in the regular season) and the team that wins the coin toss wins the game

The Bills seemed to be unaware until the 3rd quarter last night that Mahomes was elusive and capable of scrambling for huge yardage. And I'm just being partially sarcastic.

This a really simple and well done breakdown of what we should have done. The question is that they practice this stuff all throughout the season so where was this strategy last night? Also they called a timeout right before the first and the 2nd play . You thought while watching this that this is a good sign, they must be really getting the D ready for the play call. Then inexplicably run a vanilla prevent D which accomplishes nothing of what is listed above. Its one thing to say that the Players didnt execute a plan properly (pass rush was pathetic) but when you actually examine what they did, they didnt have much of a strategy at all. Im not sure who will get the blame McD or Frazier but I have think that McD signed off on or called that terrible prevent D himself. Either way the buck stops with him and he is responsible for this and the non squib kickoff and really needs to at least fess up to what happened!

The Bills D was gassed and they gave up. They knew that they had already blown the game and they had nothing left. They were praying for the coin toss to go our way and it didnt. I have no idea if Frazier or McD got into their faces during the break before OT started and tried to motivate them but they needed something and miracles just dont happen to the Bills (only against them!).

I wonder if you asked Mahomes if he was surprised at the Bills defensive formations with 13 seconds left if he would be honest. The Bills literally made it as easy as possible for him to achieve the near impossible with these blunders and get down the field. Its like a chess master playing a game vs a 8 year old. His only tough task was to not overthrow them and because they were so wide open and he had so much time with the none existent pass rush, he could take some velocity off the ball. It never ceases to amaze me how many morons are in the coaching ranks of the NFL or people who just freeze when in a high pressure situation. Just inexplicable!

No sacks on Mahomes was the ONE glaring factor of our D besides the terrible pass defense. It wasn't like they didnt get to Mahomes either, but every time they did they whiffed in the most utterly spastic fashion. Josh was sacked a couple of times and hit repeatedly by their pass rush after throws, yet Mahomes only got smacked on his runs. Every time you hit a QB on a sack or after he throws its degrades him slightly. But Mahomes was barely caressed last night in the pocket. Why the hell didnt Frazier at least call on all out blitz on the last drive when the touchdown seemed inevitable or on any of the Chiefs late 4th quarter drives. Mahomes had all day to throw and his footwork in the pocket to buy time is probably the best in the NFL. Instead both McD and Frazier looked like deer in the headlights.

Good question . This coaching staff is just too cautious and conservative and instead of being balls out because they had everything to lose they kept being cautious on the verge of losing.

Oh he will get hired because most owners and GMs in this league are just that stupid!

It was just like the Pats getting the ball vs the Falcons in the SB OT. You knew that the Falcons D had nothing left and their coach was too stupid to do anything to stop them. Hell at that point your defensive starters are so exhausted that you might as well sub in every back up for OT and give the kids a chance. We werent that different today and as soon as the coin toss was lost, the defense takes the field knowing that they just allowed the opposing team to drive down the field and get a FG with 13 secs left (one of the most improbable drives in NFL History). Basically they let everybody else down and lost this game but instead of digging deep and manning up for the OT drive they just laid down butts up. Absolutely shameful performance when it mattered the most before OT and during. I hate to say it but Jerry Sullivan was right a few weeks ago when he called them out. They were atrocious tonight and they and their coach should be apologizing !