mjt328

The problem is not age. The problem absolutely is his ACL injury. To answer your question, you should probably give him another season to regain form. After this season, it should be pretty clear our coaches don't want their CBs to play much press-man coverage. That's why Elam struggled to get on the field. Because he really doesn't fit their scheme and system. White doesn't limit what they can do. Sean McDermott and Leslie Frazier do that to themselves. They aren't moving Johnson. My guess is that Poyer walks. They may add a free agent, but it's also possible they plan on Micah Hyde and Damar Hamlin being the starters. Beane also mentioned that Christian Benford may get a look there next season.

Perfect example of the strange disconnect that (suddenly) happened this offseason between front-office and coaching staff. At the time, I figured Sean McDermott was requesting versatility to the defense. Bring in another body that lets us run a more conventional 4-3 on the occasion. Either that, or he needed a future replacement for Tremaine Edmunds. But the defense ran more Nickel than ever last year. And they never took Edmunds or Matt Milano off the field, so Bernard could get some development time. There is no way he can be seen as a potential replacement for Edmunds when he hardly got any snaps. If we don't re-sign Edmunds, we will still need to bring in another veteran. Most likely, Bernard continues to sit the bench for at least another year. And possible longer, considering that Milano has 4 more years on his contract, and Edmunds would probably get a 3-5 year deal.

Because the shelf-life of most NFL players is not long. You figure that most guys are drafted between 21-23 years-old, and it takes them about 2-3 seasons to reach their potential. It varies by position, but players then start declining around age 30. That means you are talking about roughly 4-7 years that you can expect guys to be at peak performance. Every season, you will need to cycle-out older players. Due to both declining skills and salary cap reasons. The only way to keep your team competitive (even with a franchise QB) is to draft well and keep the pipeline stocked with young players. When a Day 1-2 pick fails to pan-out, and throws a massive wrench in those plans. Missing on guys like Cody Ford, Zack Moss, Spencer Brown, AJ Epenesa and Boogie Basham hurts us really bad. Taking Terrell Bernard in the 3rd Round also seems like a massive waste, because he doesn't look ready to replace Tremaine Edmunds anytime soon.

This was not how everyone felt. Lots of people have been calling out the team's issues since at least October, and were told they were overreacting. Second, things change VERY quickly in the NFL. Just a year ago, the Rams, Titans, Packers and Buccaneers were among the half-dozen teams with a legit chance to win the Super Bowl. None of them had winning records this year. Just two years ago, the Eagles and Bengals finished in last place with 4 wins each. If the Bills had simply lost, I think people would be calling for changes. But Sunday's game exposed them as frauds, and revealed how bad our roster construction has actually been over the last few seasons.

I think you are going to be very disappointed next year. The Bills are setup to take a step back in 2023, and hopefully reload for another Super Bowl in 2-3 years. With the salary cap, we have a choice to either gut the defense this year OR address the issues on offense. They probably can't keep both Tremaine Edmunds and Jordan Poyer, and even keeping one will make it very difficult to fix the O-Line and receiver room. Von Miller will be lucky to return by mid-season, and may not return to his old self. Until that point, we get the D-Line we saw on Sunday (yuck). Teams can only stay competitive for long periods of time with good drafting. Our last three draft classes have been well below average, which means we don't have players ready to step into key roles when veteran free agents leave. Yeah, we still have Josh Allen. But the surrounding team is going to be inferior to other AFC rosters. And with the possible QBs that will be available this offseason (Aaron Rodgers, Lamar Jackson, Derek Carr), it's very possible the Jets/Patriots find a way to narrow that gap in our division too.

I've been a huge defender of Brandon Beane. But much of the responsibility for this mess falls on his shoulders. This regime's early drafts (2017-2018) were excellent and set the foundation for us to be one of the NFL's best teams. But his draft classes have slowly drifted backwards from that point. 2019 was solid, but produced no real difference makers. 2020 was pretty blah, and was only saved by the trade for Stefon Diggs. 2021 got us Groot and a bunch of nothing. Everyone we got in 2022 spent most of their rookie seasons sitting the bench. Before the season, there was an assumption the Bills had an extremely deep roster. In reality, our backups just hadn't been tested outside of the few times we saw them in the preseason. Injuries forced quite a few guys into action this year, and we found out they weren't as good as originally believed.

Micah Hyde was the first domino to fall. But his loss definitely wasn't the only reason this team fell short. There were multiple nagging issues that plagued this team all-season on both sides of the ball. The fact that we kept pulling out close wins caused lots of fans to gloss over the problems. By about Week 4-5 you could already tell that: 1. The O-Line was still a big problem 2. Gabe Davis was having trouble adapting to the #2 role 3. The slot WR position was going to be a liability 4. Ken Dorsey was struggling as a first-year play caller Tre White returning a step slower, and then losing Von Miller on Thanksgiving were probably the nails in the coffin. That killed our pass rush, in addition to us having big holes in the secondary. With that said... I'm don't think a 100% healthy Bills defense would have made it to the Super Bowl either. Sunday solidified that coaching is indeed a big problem for us in the postseason. Either philosophy needs to change, or somebody needs to go, for us to ever take the next step.

The postseason is different from the regular season. It might as well be a different sport. NFL history is littered with coaches who have great career W-L records, but fail miserably once January hits. Sean McDermott is quickly heading down that same road. His defenses are built to be safe, stop big plays, bend/don't break, and force the offense to make mistakes. Great plan for the 13-14 bad/mediocre QBs he faces every season. Never works against the elite passers left over every postseason. Sadly, this is one of the most overlooked trends in all of sports. Teams have a really tough time parting with "winning" coaches (such as Mike McCarthy), and don't understand why they can't seem to get over the hump.

I saw a thread on Twitter that I agree with completely. One of the reasons the current Bills regime found success (while others failed), is because the front office/coaching staff always seemed to be on the same page. Brandon Beane always seemed to understand how talent fit into the schemes his coaches were going to use. This allowed him to grab late-round gems, and not waste draft picks on guys who would never be used. All that pretty much flew out the window this season... Beane's big offensive additions in the offseason were Jamison Crowder, James Cook and Khalil Shakir. He also threw a nice contract at Dawson Knox. At the trade deadline, he also brought in Nyheim Hines. Tons of slot options, and all moves that would theoretically build up the short passing game. Then Ken Dorsey's offense is a non-stop downfield attack, which usually ignores the short/underneath stuff. Despite him having no long-speed at the position, and his biggest downfield threat being Gabe Davis. On defense, Beane spends a 1st Round pick on Kaiir Elam. The coaching staff clearly had no use for a man-corner, first playing him behind Christian Benford and then refusing to replace a struggling Dane Jackson. His third round pick was a linebacker, on a team that only plays Nickel and the starters get 100% of the snaps.

Many people seem blindsided by Sunday's loss. One of the reasons is because they (incorrectly) assume that Josh Allen gives us some otherworldly advantage over everyone else in the NFL. They listen to Tony Romo gush over our QB and are convinced that us eventually winning a ring with him under center is an absolute certainty. The problem is... Allen is (at best) an equal to Patrick Mahomes. An argument can certainly be made that Joe Burrow has now reached that level as well. Justin Herbert has the talent to get there. If Deshaun Watson returns to form, he's right there too. And that's not even mentioning the tremendous improvement we saw from Tua Tagovailoa and Trevor Lawrence this season. When it comes to the AFC especially, Allen only puts us on an equal playing field as the other teams with elite/franchise QBs. Every single postseason is going to be a gauntlet through the names above. When we hit the playoffs, what sets apart the Buffalo Bills isn't going to be Allen, but the surrounding pieces. The coaching. The blocking. The weapons. The defense. Dan Marino never won a Super Bowl... not because he was a worse QB than Jim Kelly and John Elway... but because his TEAM wasn't good enough to get past those guys in the playoffs. You can say the same thing about Warren Moon (same era). Or Phillip Rivers, who always watched Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger from the couch.

That is not my intention. I will gladly point out all the areas I was dead-wrong in the offseason. - I was wrong that Ken Dorsey would be fine, and we wouldn't miss Brian Daboll. - I was wrong that Gabe Davis would slide into the #2 role with no problems. - I was wrong that Aaron Kromer, Roger Saffold and a second-year Spencer Brown would help improve the O-Line. - I was wrong that our young D-Line players would take a major step forward this season. - I was wrong that we had the strongest depth in the league. - I was wrong that our defensive coaching staff could learn from past years, and wouldn't be a liability in the postseason. Like many, I went into the season believing this team should be the Super Bowl favorite... and this would finally be our year. The only thing I was correct about? I realized around mid-season that this team was not really Super Bowl caliber, and all the above issues were going to kill us in the end. Believe me, I took no pleasure in coming to that conclusion. I don't think I enjoyed a single Bills victory from November on, because in my heart I realized we were just going through the motions. What happened on Sunday was the conclusion of what I expected (actually worse, because I anticipated a closer loss). And I take no pleasure in pointing it out now.

Exactly my point in another post. For his defense to work against a top-tier Quarterback, he NEEDS to get constant pressure with only 4 guys. When he does decide to blitz, the corners give a 10 yard cushion, because he's absolutely terrified of allowing a big play. Let's not even start with Kaiir Elam, who they apparently drafted in the 1st Round to sit the bench. Not because he's been bad as a rookie, but because he's not a scheme fit. He doesn't even know what to do with a corner that excels mostly in man coverage.

I've been watching this team for over 30 years. Grew up with the 90s Bills, and suffered through the drought. One thing I've realized is... none of the other stuff matters, if you aren't able to bring home a Super Bowl championship. Not long ago, younger fans were getting their first taste of success (in their lives) and that was enough. But now after three seasons of feeling close, and then falling short... they are realizing the AFC East title doesn't mean jack. I would rather this team shoots for the stars and totally misses the playoffs, than has another season like this.

Sean Payton is a good offensive mind, but I don't see him as a real improvement as a head coach. If anything, he's just more of what we already have with Sean McDermott. Knows how to win the regular season, but struggles to get over the hump in the playoffs.

It takes a very bold team to make major changes after a 13-3 season, and third straight division title. Unfortunately, I don't think the Bills are that bold. We probably have to wait another year. My guess is they will spend the next 2-3 months convincing themselves (and much of the fanbase) that we just faced too much adversity over the course of the season (injuries, weather, Damar Hamlin), and they still have enough talent to compete for a title. We will re-sign Tremaine Edmunds to a massive contract. Beane will finally toss a draft pick at the O-Line. There will be some optimism again. The real question is whether the team totally implodes next season and completely misses the playoffs (Dolphins and Jets are both coming fast), or if we are destined for another quick playoff exit.

The problem isn't Sean McDermott/Leslie Frazier's defensive scheme. The problem is their unwillingness (or possibly their inability) to make major changes when facing elite Quarterbacks and Offensive Coordinators. There are two basic ways to win in the NFL: 1. Outplay your opponent 2. Outsmart your opponent This coaching staff relies 100% on the first method. To them it's always about execution, and playing better than the opponent on gameday. Which is great when you can stay mostly healthy, and are significantly more talented than the opposition. Or when you are only playing 2-3 truly elite quarterbacks during the course of a 17 week season. But the postseason is different. It's NOT JUST ABOUT consistent execution. Once you hit the divisional round, the talent levels between teams are way too similar. The quality of coaching is way higher. They quality of quarterback play is way higher. You can't just go out, and hope YOUR BEST is better than THEIR BEST. You have to relentlessly study film and find weak points to exploit. You have to strategically develop creative game plans and wrinkles (especially on defense) that give you an advantage. So many "good" coaches in the NFL have never figured this out. It's why they win lots of games in the regular season, and then fall apart when the playoffs hit. Unfortunately, I think our staff is among that group.

I'm torn. Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott should be commended for lifting this franchise out of the gutter, and making it relevant for the first time in almost 20 years. But it was VERY clear yesterday. What they constructed is good enough to make the playoffs. It's not good enough to win a Super Bowl. And everyone involved plays a major role in that truth. Beane spent THREE YEARS of major draft resources on the D-Line. What we witnessed yesterday was absolutely unacceptable failure. With their starting O-Line in shambles, the Bengals completely rolled us in the trenches. Not a single one of Beane's high picks made a single play all day. Ed Oliver. AJ Epenesa. Greg Rousseau. Boogie Basham. Our great hope is a 34-year-old Von Miller coming back from his second ACL tear in December next year. McDermott seems to have built a close locker room, and players seem to respect him. But the guy and his staff NEVER bring it when it comes to original/creative gameplans. He always relying on the players to execute the standard playbook, which is JUST NOT ENOUGH when you are facing elite Quarterbacks in the postseason. You have to throw in wrinkles and surprises, and he just never does it. His defense has collapsed in the playoffs four years in a row.

As a front office and coaching staff, the Bills need to be painfully honest with themselves. It may not be time for a complete rebuild. But it's definitely time to rethink how this franchise was constructed and make some major changes. Unfortunately, the Super Bowl window has closed on this group of players. Free agency is probably going to take away Jordan Poyer. Possibly Tremaine Edmunds. We may never see Tre White regain his Pro Bowl form. Due to age and coming back from major injuries, we really can't count on Von Miller or Micah Hyde returning to form. The top draft selections we've made over the last 3-4 years have failed to develop into anything more than low-end starters and backups... Ed Oliver, AJ Epenesa, Greg Rousseau, Boogie Basham. The defense needs a complete overhaul. On offense, we are pretty much Josh Allen, a close-to-30 Stefon Diggs and a bunch of guys who are replaceable. Worse yet, our offensive scheme is not built for bad weather, despite playing in a city that has 4-5 awful wind/snow games every single season. The more we pile on Allen's plate and force him to carry this team alone, the bigger risk we take that he will get injured or mentally drained. The number-one priority in the offseason needs to be re-allocating our draft/cap resources into the O-Line. Build a team that can protect the QB and open holes for the RB. Second priority should be adding reliable weapons who can get open and move the chains.

The signs of this loss coming were apparent way back in October. But anyone in Bills Mafia who suggested this team wasn't Super Bowl caliber was told they were being too critical. Regardless of W-L record or what DVOA says, I've been holding this team to a "Super Bowl or bust" standard since Week 1. Time and time again, they failed the eye test. With each passing week, it became painfully clear this team wasn't as good as their record. I'm upset, but not surprised. I haven't really enjoyed this season since Minnesota in Week 10, because that was the moment in my heart that I realized it wasn't happening this season. Every week I hoped they would prove me wrong. Instead, they just confirmed we were in for a disappointing finish.

The Bills have not played their best football over the last few months (despite our 8 game win streak). It was very disappointing how close the Miami game was, due how many mistakes we made in the 2nd and early 3rd quarters. It seems like the entire sports world is VERY eager to point that out. With that said, it's remarkable how everyone is ignoring how the Bengals needed a miracle fumble return last week, in order to beat the Ravens (with a backup QB as well). They also very easily should have lost to the Patriots a few weeks back. And they haven't exactly been beating the pants off their opponents during their own win streak. Meanwhile, the "powerhouse" Chiefs had two barely wins over the 5-12 Broncos in the final month of the season. They also needed overtime to beat the 3-13-1 Texans and the Malik Willis-led Titans. Lots of close wins for them against inferior competition as well, despite a great W-L record. Bottom line. The AFC is up for grabs.

Agree with this. BUT... I'll admit the sports media is also grating my nerves this week. It's almost like being a parent or a husband. I'll have moments I get upset with my kids and wife, and express my frustrations about them. But if someone else starts ripping on my family, my protective instincts kick in I'll quickly rush to their defense. That's just not OK. So yeah, I'm not exactly happy about Josh Allen's turnovers or with how close the Bills keep making these games. And I've said so many times on this board. But when you've got these fools on ESPN saying our guys aren't even in the same class as Joe Burrow and the Bengals...

Crazy. Everyone keeps saying the Bills won't run the ball, and can't run the ball. These stats don't even count Josh Allen.

Week 2 was probably the last time we saw the Bills play at their peak, and it was amazing. That team would have smashed the Bengals. But I'm not sure we can get back to that level without Micah Hyde and Von Miller both playing. The team we've seen since the bye has been very inconsistent. - The offense either slumps for 2-3 quarters, or it puts up lots of yards/points and turns the ball over. - The defense seems to hold strong until they have a chance to put the game away, and then they let up big plays. - Even our special teams seems to be having costly mistakes at the wrong times. Can the Bills finally cutback on the mistakes? Turnovers. Easy drops. Mental errors. Can our defensive backs make some big plays, and keep this from becoming a total shoot-out? The Bills are the better team when they play clean. It's just hard to picture them putting it all together, when we haven't really seen it happen since halftime of the Packers game.

The Cover 1 guys (who I love by the way) did a full-breakdown of Josh Allen's aggressive nature, and how the Bills gameplan was to attack downfield against the Dolphins. They felt all the criticism of Allen was overblown, because if he was taking all the check-downs, then we also miss out on the numerous big throws he nailed throughout the game. Although I agree with them to an extent... I really think some people are missing the point. Nobody is asking Allen to stop being aggressive and become a check-down machine. They are not asking for Ken Dorsey to become a conservative offensive coordinator. They are only asking for a little bit more balance, and be willing to take safer throws when the risk outweighs the reward. Sometimes the gameplan needs to be altered depending on the score and clock. It's called situational football. Personally, I was great with Allen attacking downfield for almost the entire game. The only time I got frustrated was with 10-11 minutes left in the 4th Quarter. The defense (which had held strong the rest of the game), had just let up their first long TD drive. The Dolphins had just narrowed the score to only 3 points. This was a moment that I felt called for a long/sustained drive, which could give our defense a moment to rest and bleed the clock. Instead, we got two deep shots to Gabe Davis and a sack. Less than a minute off the clock and minus 3 yards.

The Bills defense usually plays very vanilla zone defense for the first 1-2 drives. Once they get a feel for how the other team is attacking, they start adjusting slightly and finding ways to disguise their coverage/rush schemes. That's when they start putting the clamps on. I saw a stat that Buffalo is 22nd in points allowed in the 1st Quarter. They are then ranked 5th in the 2nd Quarter, 3rd in the 3rd Quarter, 6th in the 4th Quarter... and 2nd overall in the NFL.