mjt328

I think Joe Brady's offense (along with another divisional round loss) were the final straws for Stefon Diggs. Yes, his antics were getting worse each season. But that seemed to be the point when he was officially done as a Buffalo Bill. After watching Brady's system for the last 2 years, I'm convinced that he mostly wants to use the team's #1 WR as a decoy. The main purpose is to draw away coverage and clear space for the safer underneath stuff. When Brady took over as OC in 2023, Diggs production (targets, catches, yards, etc.) immediately went down... and Khalil Shakir's production immediately went up. The assumption was that maybe Diggs was secretly injured, on the downside of his career or even dogging it. But this year in New England is proving that wasn't the case at all. Diggs is still a superstar in this league. So what happened the final two months of that season? Without Diggs, the Bills passing offense started slow in 2024. Fans seem to forget this, because the offense finished at the top of the NFL. But in reality, the pass game was meh in Weeks 1-2 and then fell apart in Weeks 4-5 (where everybody was complaining our outside WRs couldn't get open). So Beane pulled off the trade for Amari Cooper. The passing game turned around almost immediately after acquiring Cooper, even though his stats were almost non-existent. That's because defenses had to respect his route-running ability, making him an effective decoy for Brady's short attack. In the offseason, Cooper was considered an after-thought. After all the guy only had 20 catches and under 300 yards for the Bills. Many even believed that Josh Palmer (a career #3 for the Chargers) was going to be an upgrade. But nobody realized Cooper was really the lynchpin in our passing attack. Because he was the only outside WR on our roster that teams respected. "Everybody Eats" is a good idea in principle. But it's very difficult to execute properly. It's good to spread the ball around to many different options. It's good that a QB isn't pressured to force-feed his top WR. It's good that defenses can't focus on stopping a single weapon. It's good not to have a distraction-causing diva in the locker room. But there are times when you need that top WR who can win 1-on-1 and get open. If you don't have that guy, defenses know they can dedicate less resources towards stopping the outside guys. That spirals down to the rest of the offense. And you will also have a really tough time keeping a #1 WR happy when your plan is making him a decoy.

To me, the bolded part is absolutely inexcusable and may partially explain why Samuel has been a failure in Buffalo. How can a WR come to play for this team and JUST STAND THERE when Josh Allen is extending the play outside the pocket!!!!! This should be one of the first thing our offensive coordinator and receivers coach is teaching. We have #17. Just because he finished running his route doesn't mean the play is over. Keep trying to get open. The lack of fundamentals we discover about this team on an almost weekly basis is just astounding and disappointing.

Value shouldn't be equated to how often a guy touches the ball. It should be based on: - How much they impact games - How easy it is to find an equal or lesser replacement Beane has undervalued how much a #1 WR impacts the game. Even though he wasn't getting big stats, Amari Cooper's presence was clearly a factor last season. And we are sorely missing him this year. Beane has also overvalued how easy it would be to get an equal or lesser replacement for Diggs. He keeps spending contracts and using draft picks on guys who are no better than #3 receivers in the NFL (Gabe Davis, Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins, Elijah Moore, Josh Palmer, Keon Coleman, etc.). Combine all that cap space and picks, and he could easily afford an elite #1 guy. Then he could use Day 3 picks for cheap depth.

Hard to criticize the Patriots for their weak schedule, when we are totally blowing it against an equally bad group of teams. They beat the Falcons, when we got absolutely embarrassed by them in Primetime. We just got destroyed by the Dolphins, who were auctioning off their roster only days before. The Patriots will almost certainly sweep them. And of course we lost to the Patriots themselves. I'm not sure if the Patriots are truly a Super Bowl contender. But they are absolutely a better team than Buffalo through 10 weeks, and I don't see any evidence that will be changing down the stretch.

The Bills problem was not trading away Stefon Diggs. Between the off-field distractions, cryptic social media posts, degrading relationship with Josh Allen and his total lack of production in the playoffs... his time in Buffalo had completely run its course. The problem was that our GM decided to replace a Top 5-10 WR with rookie Keon Coleman, Curtis Samuel and Mack Hollins. And then when that backfired in the first month of the 2024 season, he was forced to scramble and trade a mid-round pick for an aging Amari Cooper... almost totally negating his compensation for Diggs. Then clearly not learning the lesson, he basically swapped Hollins for career #3 receiver Josh Palmer. With Cooper leaving, there was still no urgency to add a true #1 option. Instead we went bargain-bin shopping for Elijah Moore, and did nothing in the draft. When questioned about this decision, our GM then went on an angry rant against a radio show host. And as the cherry on top, our GM was unable to add anything at the trade deadline.

The current regime was successful in stabilizing an organization that was a complete mess for almost two decades. That cannot be taken away from them. But one thing I've come to realize is that just because you can build a strong foundation, doesn't mean you have what it takes to complete the job. Sean McDermott is very organized and structured, where his predecessor was absolute chaos. He's proven to be a strong leader for the locker room, and his ability to make players feel connected like a family is rare in professional sports. Where McDermott struggles though is thinking quickly on his feet, and adapting to unexpected situations on gameday. When everything he's prepared for during the week goes out the window, and he needs to react on the fly. When he needs more than just fundamentals and execution, and he needs to outsmart the guy on the other sideline. That's when mistakes like 13 seconds happen. As the years have passed, McDermott's defensive scheme has also gradually become outdated, as NFL offenses have shifted towards heavier sets and more running the ball. His preference to promote from within is great for organizational morale, but it's clearly cost us a chance at bigger and brighter minds being able to take us to higher levels. In the same way, Brandon Beane succeeded at the one thing all the other GMs since Bill Polian failed at. Drafting a franchise QB. He hit a grand slam on the first swing, and gave us the key piece needed to become one of the NFL's top teams. But his drafting and roster management since has been subpar. And as the key veterans we had on the roster have left, retired or regressed -- he's struggled badly to replace them. I understand the fear that Terry Pegula will make a bad decision. But at some point I think we have to take a chance. Right? How many years are we going to spin our wheels with McDermott/Beane, as Josh Allen's career dwindles down to nothing?

The only games I'm somewhat confident the Bills will win are the Browns and Jets. From what I've witnessed this season, they don't stand much chance against the Bucs, Eagles or Patriots. I'll add the Bengals to that list, assuming Joe Burrow returns (and it's definitely looking that way). The Steelers and Texans are equally inconsistent with some strengths and some big flaws. I think it's fair to say we split them. So unless the Bills make a 180 degree turnaround in pretty much everything they are doing, I think this season is headed towards an epic collapse. My guess is a 9-8 finish with no playoffs.

Everyone keeps forgetting about the Ravens. That team is going to storm back into the picture over the next few weeks. Yes, I believe the Chiefs have a great shot at going to the Super Bowl again... even as a Wild Card. The Colts, Patriots and Broncos are all paper tigers at the top of their divisions. Will finish with great records, and get eliminated early. No, I don't think we make the playoffs.

I've been gradually moving in this direction for years. In many ways, football can be an addiction. You deserve a lot of credit for being able to properly put it into the backseat of your life. A few years ago, my wife pointed out that my mood with the rest of the family was being negatively impacted based on how the Bills played that week. Since that point, I've learned that if games aren't going well... I can just turn them off and do something else. I don't need to plan my Sunday around it. It's honestly been a work in progress, but I have gotten much better. Last year I skipped watching the Super Bowl, and totally ignored anything related to football until around free agency. Of course a championship would still mean a lot to me. But I've pretty much accepted the fact that it probably won't happen. And if it doesn't, I'm blessed in lots of other ways. Once Josh Allen's career is over, my plan is to call it quits on the sport altogether. Whether we ultimately reach the promised land or not. As someone who loyally supported and watched every game during the 17-year drought, I've got zero interest in going through that again.

People keep saying this. But you would be surprised how quickly things can spiral out of control. When the season started, I would say the fire McDermott/Beane crowd was less than 10-20% of Bills fans. Very much in the minority. Now after the Dolphins loss, I would say it's at least 50%, if not well above that. Pretty much everybody I know is done with them. And as I write this, the team still has a 6-3 record, is still in the driver's seat for a playoff spot, and still (mathematically at least) in contention for both the division title and top seed in the conference. There still seems to be some optimism lingering that Buffalo will turn things around. But I'm not sure we see a repeat of the 2023 season. The way this team has been playing on both sides of the ball all year long, I could easily see them dropping another 3-6 games. The Bucs, Patriots and Eagles should be heavily favored at this point. The Bengals could very likely have Joe Burrow back. The Steelers and Texans are toss-ups. I'm not sure where the idea came from that McDermott and Beane are completely untouchable. No owner was going to fire their GM or HC with the record they have amassed over the last 5-6 years. But if they miss the playoffs, 90% of the fans in Buffalo and the voices in the media will be screaming for a change in leadership. That pressure could be too hard for the Pegulas to ignore.

Too many NFL front offices and coaching staffs are too clever for their own good. Building a team around someone as talented as Josh Allen should be pretty easy. Don't overthink it. I still remember when I was younger, watching the crazy hype for Michael Vick when he came out of college. He was supposed to revolutionize the game. And he probably had the talent to do that. But instead, the Falcons spent years trying to turn him into a West Coast offense pocket passer like Steve Young. The belief at the time was that QBs couldn't possibly succeed unless you forced them into that mold. Looking at Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, etc. today, I often wonder what would have happened if Atlanta just used common sense and built around his strengths.

To me, Shakir is a hard one to judge. How can he do anything when he's not even running routes downfield? My question is how players like Terrel Bernard and Taylor Rapp became huge liabilities. Where has Greg Rousseau been all season? What happened to Christian Benford and Taron Johnson?

We don't need the next Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Ben Johnson, etc. All we need is a normal offensive coordinator with a normal system, who just understands the basics of NFL football. Someone who understands both the pass game and run game are important. Someone who understands how to design passing concepts for all levels of the field. Someone who understands how to use the skills of the players on the roster. Someone who understands how to watch game film and prepare for an opponent's tendencies. Someone who understands how to attack and adjust to simple defensive schemes during a game. It's just baffling to me that three years ago, we had an OC who didn't know how to design a simple screen pass. Now we have a guy who can't design anything but screen passes (to everyone but the running back). We used to have a guy who had every WR running deep outs and crossers on every play, never giving the QB legitimate underneath options. Now half of our passes are caught at the line of scrimmage, and converting anything 6 yards downfield seems difficult. It's just baffling to me that we sign Curtis Samuel to a big contract, and our OC basically uses him like Isaiah McKenzie. We sign an Khalil Shakir to an extension, and the OC doesn't seem to have anything in the playbook for him deeper than five yards. And for some reason, he keeps thinking end-around plays work... even though they net about 4 yards max, and go backwards more than half the time. I think we have a special end-around designed for every WR and TE on the roster. It's just baffling to me that we go into games against teams that blitz all the time, and are unprepared for the blitz. We don't seem to adjust our gameplans to the strengths and weaknesses of an opponent, and often try attacking the opposite. It doesn't even seem to matter who we are playing against. We just do what we do, and hope it works. Most of all, it's just baffling to me that we are the only team in the NFL who has Josh Allen... possibly the best QB in the NFL, and one of the most physically gifted QBs in NFL history... and our staff has decided the best plan of attack is to surround him with Tight Ends and blocking WRs, become the highest rushing percentage team in the league and make almost all of his throws check-downs.

My feeling is that Keon Coleman is not the only player giving a less than full effort this season. It's astounding to me how many vets on this team are doing nothing, and look completely disinterested in how the team is playing.

The Bills are not bi-polar. They are mediocre team with a one-dimensional offense, and undersized defense that (surprise) can't stay healthy. They had a couple fortunate turnovers in the first month, which allowed them to get some wins they didn't really deserve. Their best game of the season was against the Chiefs, and was an aberration to what we've seen the other 8 games of the year. The only people expecting them to finish significantly above .500 are basing their feelings on the last few years, and hoping this entire season has just been a very lengthy slump. It's much more likely they go on another losing streak and fall out of playoff contention. Even Josh Allen and other longtime vets on the roster look mentally checked-out on the sidelines. This thing isn't just going to suddenly turn around. Despite all the metrics and advanced stats, the eye test is still the most accurate way to judge a team. There were people screaming that something was wrong with the passing game back in mid-September, and they were pretty much ignored because the numbers still looked good on paper.