2003Contenders

It would also be interesting to note how many plays were as called -- and how many Josh may have audibled out of?

This is all very true. However, it is worth noting that Frazier had access to arguably the best safety tandem in the league with prime Hyde and Poyer. Not to mention a premium Tre White and T. Johnson, both of whom are now well past their prime. The team was also in good shape at LB with a healthy Milano and Edmunds. I know Edmunds had his deficiencies but he is better than the group of guys that have trotted out there the last couple of seasons. Honestly, it goes back to what a poor performance Beane has done in the draft and back-filling positions.

I will take it a step further. It is clear to me that the RECEIVERS DON'T SEEM TO KNOW WHAT TO DO when Josh DOES break contain. Even when Josh buys extra time by rolling out of the pocket and scrambling, he rarely finds an open receiver. While we all lament the lack of quality and production (re: talent) coming from our receiving corps, I truly believe that this is more of an awareness type of thing that comes with practice and chemistry rather than having some unique skill-set. Aside from speed and ability to separate, it appears that our receiving corps is missing the craftiness and nuances to play effectively. Mahomes has often talked about how often the Chiefs work on these sort of scramble drills. To my eyes, it doesn't look like the Bills do.

The funny thing about this argument is that you never know the flow of the game. In fact, there was no "double dip" Monday night as the Falcons ended the first half with the ball -- where the Bills (as we all remember) were very fortunate not to have given up a TD there. In essence, it was the Falcons who had the extra possession -- in the first half! I know Bill Bellichick always said he liked getting the ball first in the 2nd half (especially when he was on the road) because many fans are still in the bathroom or getting refreshments, so the stadium is often much quieter then.

Funny about that 2018 draft class. Josh and Lamar have been perennial studs, while up until a couple of years ago Mayfield and Darnold -- both drafted well ahead of Josh and Lamar -- were seen as busts or journeymen. Both on their 4th or 5th team. Now both are playing lights out in 2025 -- while Josh and Lamar have struggled.

So gutless. Immediately after a bad penalty, the defense almost always gives up a big play.

I think the issue heading into that draft was that Beane was most concerned about the limited number of draft picks on hand and doing whatever he could to acquire additional ones. In particular, he was dead set on re-acquiring the 3rd rounder that he parted with to acquire R. Douglas during the prior season. That desire to add picks is also what precluded him from making any kind of trade-up that many of us were clamoring for to get into the range to draft one of the top 3 WR prospects (Harrison, Nabors, Odunze) or even BTJ, who fell into a reasonable trade-up position. So, if that was his goal, then he managed to achieve it by two modest trade-downs and picking up a 3rd and 5th rounder in the process. As much as I love the many positive things that Beane has done for this team, I must admit that he has begun to sour on me a bit. Part of that is due to his seemingly inconsistent vision for building the team. At times, he seems obsessive about acquiring draft picks -- at other times he seemingly throws them away for questionable move-ups in the draft. It is interesting that he appears to have done better with late-round picks than he has with the earlier round picks. I wonder if that is indicative of perhaps the coaches and top level executives having had more say in those early-round picks (see; Elam) over the scouts who have earned their money by identifying the late-round and lesser known gems like Benford. The interesting thing is that it's looking like neither Worthy nor Coleman is a great 1st round pick, which may make Coleman's ultimate 2nd round selection easier to digest. Worthy's speed was obvious -- but there were definitely concerns about his hands, skepticism about his ability to run a full route tree and his ability to physically hold up for a full season. Meanwhile, Coleman's lack of speed and ability to separate are the reason he was not drafted in the 1st round. Those concerns about both players have already manifested themselves in the first two seasons. Obviously it is early -- and there is a chance that both players could eventually evolve. The interesting thing about Coleman is that he does possess that prototypical size and physical ability (especially given his basketball background) to emerge as a classic "West Coast" style receiver. The problem is that Brady is not utilizing him in that role. Rather than getting the ball to him quickly on slants, bubbles, etc. and relying on solid YAC, they are more often throwing jump balls to him and trying to get him the ball downfield, which does not play to his strengths, especially given his inability to separate. Perhaps Coleman is not doing what he needs to do to best understand route concepts, etc. For example, if he and Josh could develop better chemistry (especially on busted plays) that would go a long way toward improving Coleman's value to the team. Let's also remember that Coleman is young -- and given comments from the coaches, it sounds like maturity is very likely an issue. Whether he gets past that is up to him. Getting back to Beane's obsession with re-acquiring that 3rd rounder given up for Douglas... Never mind that that 3rd rounder he eventually obtained resulted in D. Carter, who now appears to be a bust!

The funny thing is that PI may have inadvertently saved the day if whatever Patriots fan who was running the clock hadn't screwed the Bills over. When that play was over there were 4 seconds on the clock. Say an incompletion there rather than the PI, the Pats would have undoubtedly kicked the FG there to end the half. Instead with the ball at the 1, they elected to try to score a quick TD. When the ball fell incomplete on that risky play that should have been the end of the half -- and the Pats would (and should) have felt deflated coming away with no points there. Instead, there was somehow 1 second left, which allowed them to kick that field goal. I am not sure I have EVER seen a play that took less than 3 seconds off the clock!

I do honestly believe that having Diggs in the house -- and watching him torch our defense -- was a contributing factor in Josh's pressing. All season long, Josh had done a great job of being smart and patient with the ball and taking what the defense gave him. He wasn't horrible Sunday night, but he certainly regressed to "hero ball" Josh on some occasions.

It also seems like it just takes so lo-o-o-o-ong for our plays to develop -- and often for minimal yardage. I would think that quick slants to Keon (given his size and basketball background, knowing how to box-out) would be a staple in this offense? And I really do hope that the offense focuses on scramble drills this week. I am tired of seeing Josh break contain, buy 5-6 seconds -- and have no one to throw the ball to.

What was it that the Cowboys gave up for G. Pickens?

From an offensive coaching standpoint, I marvel at the number of times I see opposing WRs running WIDE OPEN. I know that some of that is because of how terrible our secondary has been playing, but how much of that is due to opposing OC's calling plays that allow their receivers to get so open? Meanwhile, it is well known that we don't exactly have speed burners at the WR position. But how much of this is also due to route concepts, etc. that would best serve the qualities (or lack thereof) of each of our receivers?

I have typically been an apologist for McD because I really do believe he does A LOT of things really well. But I think he has reached the point where he may best serve in the coach-as-CEO role, rather than in the defensive strategist role, when "his" defense continues to decline as the years go by. McD is so married to "his" system -- and keeps bringing in coordinators that are like-minded or outright acolytes of his. Part of the reason for the decline is that his system seems to center around having athletes with a particular skill set to run his defense. That was great when we had one of the best safety tandems in the league with Hyde/Poyer. But that is no longer the case. And as they and others (like T. White, T. Johnson and M Milano) have regressed, so has his defense. Wouldn't it be nice if the defense weren't so "system-based" and was adaptable to best handle the opponent at hand? It may be time for McD to bring in an outside "consultant" to help identify where and how to improve. Someone who isn't married to this same sort of system -- but brings an array of different concepts to the table.

Some thoughts about Maye's Sunday night performance off the top of my head: 1. Early in the game (really, through most of the first half) the Bills did a great job pressuring him. He wasn't necessarily seeing ghosts -- but you could tell he was rattled. Collinsworth kept pointing out how he was unable to see beyond the pass rush and was keeping his eyes down. And, for as bad as the Bills offense played in the first half with 2 really bad turnovers that placed the defense in precarious situations -- Maye really only led the Pats to one scoring drive that resulted in just 3 points (and even that was gifted by the stadium's questionable timekeeper, who left a second on the clock for them to kick that field goal). For whatever reason the Bills eased up on the pressure -- not sure how much of it was good adjustments made by the Pats or how much of it was McD becoming overly conservative and backing off. Regardless, once the pressure eased you could see Maye's confidence increasingly rise -- to the point where he started making plays downfield even when he was under duress. 2. It can't be understated just how good Diggs was Sunday night. He made clutch plays and made a concerted effort to help his young QB whenever he was flushed from the pocket. Compare that to what Josh endured. I know many of us complain about the Bills' lacking a true downfield threat, someone with speed who can stretch a defense. That is true. But even more desirable is a receiver that simply has a feel for the game and is instinctively on the same page as his QB. We greatly miss what we had with Diggs (when he was motivated) and (to a lesser extent) a prime Beasley. There is no one on the team we have now who can (or appears willing to) do these things. Maybe Shakir to a certain extent -- and Kincaid has shown some real promise this year. But too many times Sunday night (and at other points this season) Josh has bought time with his legs and pocket presence -- and yet no receivers break open. I confess that I lack the insight to know whether this is something that could come with the crew we have on hand as time/chemistry improves -- or is it simply a fact that one or more massive upgrades are required at the position? For example, we joke here all the time about Coleman's lack of speed and inability to create separation -- but is it really impossible for him to a find a way to help his QB on a scramble drill? 3. Like others have said, if I were a Pats fan I would be excited. Maye has all of the physical tools. Maybe not Josh's upside (which is generational) -- but certainly in that next tier of guys like Herbert/Lawrence/Love. He's physical, nimble for such a big guy and can make all of the NFL throws.

I agree -- and I'll even take it a step farther. Those first two drives seemed so effortless for the Bills that I think Josh (and perhaps Brady) started taking the Saints defense for granted and playing in almost complacent fashion. Josh started holding the ball too long, which was not wise given the struggles our backup RT started having in the 2nd quarter. I started noticing this on the play immediately BEFORE the INT, which was a "cute" attempt by Josh to toss a lollypop "touch" pass that should have been an easy completion if he just fires the ball to a wide open Kincaid instead of allowing the rookie DB to recover and make the play. The INT itself was poorly advised, throwing into double coverage. On the very next series, no one mentions the pass that SHOULD have been intercepted but was fortunately dropped. That was set up by Josh, again, holding the ball too long and allowing the DE (I think it was Jordan) to get past RVD and interrupt Josh's delivery of the ball. It didn't seem like he felt that backside pressure (unusual for him). Not complaining about Josh, of course, as he played much better in the 2nd half after looking all world in the 1st quarter. But I am sure that there is plenty in that 2nd quarter that he and the coaching staff will want to address via film review.