mjt328

Yes, that does explain why Philly had more success in the second half. But I think most of the frustration from Bills fans comes from the trend over the last 4-5 years, where the Bills can NEVER seem to get big stops at the end of games. Not just failing to stop them, but putting up zero resistance along the way. It was expected that we couldn't totally shut-down the Eagles offense all game. But we had the lead twice (under 2 minutes left in regulation and then in OT), only to watch the defense look totally incompetent on the final two drives. I'm not an All-22 expert. But I have been watching this sport for 30 years and I do know some things. But from what I can see from my couch, McDermott's coverage schemes get much softer during those key late drives. He's afraid of getting beat over the top with a big play. So he's willing to just let teams take the underneath stuff all the way down the field. I believe that's why Brandon Beane has dedicated so many resources towards the D-Line. He realizes this is what our coach does (and won't change), and figures our only hope in these situations is getting immediate pressure with the Front 4.

The offense was responsible for both of those losses to the Jets.

Ken Dorsey was the root of the problem on offense. Yes, we still seem to have trouble with turnovers, penalties and drops. This offense benefits tremendously by upgrading at WR2, and Josh Allen not having a weekly brain-fart throw. But even with those issues, we can still score 30+ on good defenses when the playcalling isn't so stale and predictable. However, the defense's inability to close or show-up in big games is STILL a huge problem. It was a problem with Leslie Frazier for the last several years. And it's been even worse with Sean McDermott running the show by himself. Firing Dorsey earlier could have saved the Broncos and Patriots games. We would be sitting at 8-4 and stressing about the AFC East title instead of just making the playoffs. But once the postseason rolled around, would it have really made a difference? This defense would still collapse on itself just like it always does.

If someone was to describe Sean McDermott's defense like a college prospect, I would say his system produces a very high floor. Statistically, his units consistently rank pretty well. Very good in overall points allowed. Pretty good in overall yards allowed. Excellent against the pass. Average against the run. Solid in turnovers. Solid in pass rushing. The Bills have been a Top 10 unit for the entire duration of his time as coach, and snuck into the Top 5 a couple times. The problem is, McDermott's units also have a very low ceiling. It's basically the Kirk Cousins of defenses. Every year, they beat-up on the bad and below average QBs of the NFL. Most of their sacks/turnovers come when the offense is playing well, and the opponent is trying to force the ball down the field. They also do a pretty decent job of shutting down gimmicky offensive systems like Miami and Baltimore, which rely on misdirection and confusion. But against a top QB willing to be patient and attack the holes in their zone defense, McDermott's group becomes absolutely helpless.

And if they make the playoffs... who cares. It's just setting us up for another heartbreaking postseason exit. I no longer believe a team with Sean McDermott running the defense can win the Super Bowl (which is the only real goal). The guy just doesn't get it. His reputation as a strong defensive coach is built on stat sheets. Not real-life success. His 2-minute defense has to be the absolute worst in the NFL. 0-6 in overtime. Three losses this season when leading with under 2 minutes left. The Hail Murray. The list goes on and on and on and on and on and on.... The Bills would be better off losing out, giving the Pegulas no choice but to can him and start over. Maybe they pick someone worse. But trying is better than just being satisfied with 10+ win seasons and losing in the playoffs.

Josh Allen is the opposite of Sean McDermott's defense. Yes, he makes mistakes and turnovers. He sometimes struggles early in games. His stat line may not always be pretty. But when it reaches the 4th Quarter, Allen usually makes the plays needed to tie the game or put the Bills in front. The defense looks nice on paper. They usually come out of the gate strong, and keep the score low early. But when they need to make a big stop at the end, they always fold.

It was totally gutless. Tony Romo said we could have gotten "strip-sacked" in that situation. We could also have gotten "strip-sacked" when we got the ball in overtime. With 20 seconds and a timeout, we could have easily gotten into field goal range. The Chiefs did it to us in 13 seconds without one.

It's all about the scheme. We always play good against Lamar Jackson, because he's not the kind of QB that can take advantage of the holes in our zone system. It's the same reason we always play terrible against Joe Burrow, because that's his bread and butter. Quick, fast, underneath throws. Patrick Mahomes struggled to play like this until about the mid-point of the season last year. He's gotten a lot better at it since our last game. At this point, it's pretty clear that McDermott doesn't have a curve ball. Our defense is what it is. The only way we beat teams like the Eagles is by Josh Allen playing totally out of his mind. And even then, the defense probably chokes it away.

Sean McDermott's defensive system is built to prevent big plays, confuse the QB and force offenses to gradually work the ball down field. - It usually works against young/crappy QBs, because they are easily confused and suck. That's how we build up our stats and high rankings every year. It doesn't work against the top guys in the NFL (especially in the playoffs). - It works really good when we have a big lead, because teams have no choice but try and make plays downfield. That is pretty much the only time we force turnovers, is when we are already piling it on. It doesn't work well when teams are able to be patient and mix in the run game. - It ALWAYS FAILS in big moments...especially in overtime, because the 2-minute drill is purposely constructed to beat this kind of defense. Routes are quick, underneath and to the sideline. Not pushing the ball downfield in big chunks. Over and over, Brandon Beane has poured resource after resource into building a defense that perfectly fits McDermott's desires. Draft picks and cap space. The most expensive D-Line in the entire NFL. And in these situations, we continue to get NOTHING. No pressure. Guys wide open. Over-pursuit and missed tackles. The stat (0-6 in overtime) says it all. To win in OT, you absolutely MUST have a defense that can get a stop. And McDermott's defense CANNOT. We have seen it again and again and again and again.

Kaiir Elam was drafted into a weird situation. The biggest reason Cornerback was a need in the 2022 draft was because of Tre White's injury and unknown timeline for a return, along with the idea that we could upgrade on Dane Jackson... who was a solid, but unspectacular player. Even though it was probably our biggest need that year, CB never really was a huge hole. The Bills traditionally prefer scheme-fits at Cornerback (Levi Wallace, Jackson), as opposed to project guys with elite physical traits. Elam was always going to take a little more time than other 1st Round guys to get up to speed. Especially getting drafted into a zone style system he wasn't used to playing. And especially on a Super Bowl contender who didn't have the luxury of letting him learn through mistakes on the field. Making things more complicated, Beane then hit on Christian Benford in the 6th Round. Less of an overall athlete, but certainly a better scheme fit for the Bills defense and more ready to play. He won the job Week 1 2022, and has really looked the part ever since. Benford really is a good CB. By the time Elam really started getting playing time his rookie season, White was back in the lineup and trying to regain his Pro Bowl form. Bottom line, I don't think the Bills have the patience to let a CB learn on the job. And that's what Elam really needs to grow. Rather than risk allowing big plays, they would rather just go with the safe/solid guys they can trust like Jackson and Benford. Now that Rasul Douglas is on the team, I really can't see him going anywhere on this roster.

Ken Dorsey did a horrible job at utilizing the offensive talent. The pass-catching RB situation is the most obvious example. Beane drafts James Cook and trades for Nyheim Hines. One becomes a returner and the other spends most pass plays blocking. It literally took one game out of Joe Brady for this to improve. Despite all the talk in the offseason, Dorsey also had no idea how to utilize two TE sets. It's not a coincidence that Dalton Kincaid suddenly broke out after Dawson Knox got hurt, and became a prime target in the offense. It will be interesting to see if Brady can figure out ways to make Deonte Harty effective.

The majority of snaps should be going to Leonard Floyd and AJ Epenesa right now, with Shaq Lawson/Kingsley Jonathan coming off the bench. Von Miller isn't anywhere close to back, and is making zero impact right now. Greg Rousseau should probably be sitting and getting his foot better. I don't understand having so much depth, and then making guys play at 75% percent.

Sean McDermott is a good defensive coordinator. He is an average head coach. I believe he's smart, with a strong football mind for that side of the ball. And he did a great job rebuilding the culture in this locker room, rescuing us from the drought. But he struggles in high-pressure, big-game moments. Details get missed and mistakes get made. His defense has also crumbled in the postseason against the league's better quarterbacks, and thus far he's not had an answer. To me, the real question is whether the Bills players still believe in him leading the team. If they have lost confidence, this team need a fresh start.

Yes, the QB situation for these teams is not great. BUT they ALL hold tie-breakers over the Bills, and half of them have better/equal records. There are basically 9 teams somewhat in the hunt, besides us. This is what we need to happen: - Browns lose 5/7 - Steelers, Texans lose 4/7 - Colts, Broncos, Bengals lose 3/7 - Raiders lose 2/6 - Chargers, Jets lose 2/8 If less than 7 of these 9 scenarios happens... then the Bills will need a record of 11-6 to make the playoffs. No more than one loss.

Yesterday's game was fun. And the NFL graphics still have us within a half game of the #6-7 wildcard spot. But mathematically, the Bills are still very unlikely to make the playoffs. I've been playing with the ESPN simulator. Due to their losses in the conference, the Bills lose pretty much every tie-breaker in the AFC. Bottom line, a 10-7 record probably isn't going to be good enough. To finish with 11 wins, the Bills cannot lose more than once more this season. Against a schedule that includes possibly the three best teams in the NFL: Eagles, Chiefs, Cowboys. Not to mention the 7-3 Dolphins. Otherwise, they would need the Browns to lose 5/7, the Texans to lose 4/7 or the Steelers to lose 4/7... and hope another team like the Broncos, Bengals, Colts, etc. doesn't sneak into the picture as well.

Mathematically, the Bills are obviously still in it. I actually saw that if we beat the Jets and the Cardinals beat the Texans, we could slide back into the #7 spot this Sunday. The teams above us will be playing each other a lot over the next several weeks (especially the AFC North), so many of these teams are bound to drop-off. The recent injuries to Deshaun Watson and Joe Burrow could also play a big factor on how things play out. Of course the biggest factor is the Bills own schedule, and taking care of the business in front of us. Our remaining schedule includes possibly the two best teams in the league on the road (Eagles and Chiefs), a first place team seeking revenge (Dolphins), another Top 10 team (Cowboys), an underperforming roster with a strong offense (Chargers) and two teams that have already beaten us (Jets, Patriots). Absolutely brutal. The Bills need to go at least 5-2 in the final run. And even then, it's possible the tiebreakers don't work in our favor. Very hard to see it happen, considering this team's last several weeks saw losses against the Patriots and Broncos, and us barely scraping by the Giants and Bucs. Some of the worst teams in the league here.

Not sure if I agree with this article. The Bills struggled on offense in the playoffs, in what he calls the "magical" 2020 season. Most fans feel the team actually had it's best chance in 2021, due to the team clicking on offense in playoffs. But then 13 seconds happened. And even last year, the Bills were still leaning very heavily towards the pass and still allowing Josh Allen to run the ball a ton. And here in 2023, all the metrics are showing the Bills offense works better when they are running the ball. James Cook was pretty much the only thing working on Monday night. It's very probably that Sean McDermott is trying to limit Allen's running, and I agree that it's a problem. But part of the problem with the Bills is being too one-dimensional and predictable. Teams have caught-up to the heavy passing offenses, and it's vital to keep teams off balance. If McDermott was preaching that, he's not wrong.

Ken Dorsey is very obviously the scapegoat. But that doesn't mean his firing wasn't justified. Everyone always seem obsessed with finding THE problem. Like there is a single fix needed, and suddenly everything will run smoothly and we can start planning the Super Bowl parade. In reality, it's never just a single thing. Dorsey was a terrible offensive coordinator. Horribly predictable. No planning or reasoning behind his playcalling. But Josh Allen is also a huge problem, and has been trending down for well over a year. His turnovers and stupid mistakes are killing us. The defense is good on paper, but crumbles at the worst moments almost every time and can't be counted on for a big stop. Special teams has quietly become a disaster, and also factored heavily into the Monday Night loss. Sean McDermott ties everything together. I never believed in firing the guy just for the 13 second mess. But the mistakes are now compounding, and it's becoming increasingly obvious that he's lost the locker room. Once that happens, it's only a matter of time. The Pegulas may be standing by him right now. But there are still 7 games left, and he's running out of places to point the finger. I don't see Joe Brady suddenly turning the ship around. There are too many other problems. I see this team falling flat on its face over the next month, and the Pegulas will be forced to start over with the coaching staff.

Not sure how much Joe Brady can fix in such a short amount of time. There is literally zero room for error. And even if the offense finally steps up, this defense won't have much chance against teams like the Chiefs, Eagles, Cowboys, Chargers, Dolphins, etc.. I truly believe teams aren't pressing against us, because they know the offense can't score and they just need to wait for turnovers to put them in scoring position. If the offense starts clicking, the defense will be exposed. I try to be a realist, who tries not to react too strongly to individual games. After the way 2022 ended, I was not terribly optimistic coming into the season. The Dolphins game was first time I felt some legitimately good feelings about this team. That ended pretty quickly in London, not because of the loss, but because of the players we lost.

Many fans are going to exhaust their blame on everyone else (coaches, O-Line, weapons) before they dare to point the finger at Josh Allen. And I get it. You can fix roster issues in a single offseason. You can even restart with a new coaching staff. But once your QB becomes the team's biggest problem, it's game over. A total rebuild is usually needed. It pains me to say it. But Allen is absolutely one of the biggest problems on the Bills right now. Yes, I totally agree with firing Ken Dorsey and upgrading Gabe Davis. We could do more to surround him with help. But I've seen Allen do more with less than what he's got now. His regression has been clear and obvious over the last season plus (Green Bay game last year). I don't care about leading the NFL in completion percentage. The big plays aren't there like they used to be. He's not running the ball anymore or striking fear into defenses. He's missing open receivers and telegraphing his throws. And he's good for at least one ridiculously stupid interception per game, at the bare minimum. None of us can see behind the scenes. But there are lots of hints that he's just not putting the work in like he used to. I think some fans just like the guy (who can blame them), and so they ignore all the warning signs. Over his first 3 seasons, all we heard about was Allen working on his mechanics off the field during the offseason. There is a reason that every single Bills fan knows who Jordan Palmer is, even though he's never been employed or played for the organization. Now we hear that Allen is resting/healing, playing golf, and obviously spending a bunch of time filming commercials. He's admitted in interviews to not being much of a film guy, which really explains a lot of the throws we've seen from him lately. Lots of people want to blame 13 Seconds for de-railing this franchise. But I think it was the ensuing offseason that really did it. The hype over this team was ridiculous, and people were touting Josh Allen as the NFL's next great QB. His ego swelled. His work ethic started to slack. And the organization itself decided to hire HIS choice for offensive coordinator, when they literally could have hired anyone to come and work with our quarterback. Dorsey has been a disaster as a play-caller. And instead of pushing Allen to be better, he's allowed him to lose focus and drive.

Lots of people see the Bills as a good team just needing to "wake up" from a slump. But this team hasn't been consistently good since Halloween last year. They have been complete trash for most of the 2023 season. The last two weeks, I've watched a ton of other teams. More than usual. It really opened my eyes to how far the Bills are behind the competition. If I was Vegas and judging teams on a neutral site, I would place the Bills firmly behind the Chiefs, Ravens, Bengals, Eagles, Cowboys, Lions and 49ers without even the slightest question. The only reason the Dolphins aren't on that list, is because Josh Allen seems to have their number. But Miami is absolutely the better team. The spread would be a little closer, but I would also probably put the Bills behind the Jaguars and Browns. That means I would have them ranked around 11-13, roughly in the same tier as the Seahawks and Steelers.

I watched quite a bit of football today, flipping between multiple games. It really opened my eyes to how bad the Bills really have been this season. I'm not confident in us beating anyone, honestly.

One of my frustrations with the NFL, is the refusal to recognize championships from before Super Bowl I occurred. Professional football in the NFL goes back to 1920. Not 1967. Here are some facts that not everyone may know: The Green Bay Packers have actually won more championships (13 overall) than both the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers combined. The Chicago Bears have the second-most championships (9) out of anyone in the NFL. Several teams who have never won a Super Bowl, have actually won multiple championships before that era began. They include the Cleveland Browns (4), Detroit Lions (4), Buffalo Bills (2) and Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers (2). As a fan of the Bills, I know the frustration that exists over never hoisting the Lombardi Trophy and awful feeling like they will never get it done. I often wonder if some of that could be alleviated if the NFL would just acknowledge more than 56 years of league history. The Bills last championship was in 1965. They have two overall. The New York Jets last championship was in 1969. They have one overall. The Miami Dolphins last championship was in 1974. They have two overall.

Being a good NFL coordinator is an art. There is a reason they say "getting in rhythm"... because doing it well is almost like playing music. You have to blend the talent/strengths of your offense, and match them up against the weaknesses of your opponent. You need to be able to adjust quickly to how the defense is playing against you. And more than just sending a play into the huddle for that down, you need to be setting things up for later in the drive/game/season. Ken Dorsey's playcalling is like a 5-year-old randomly smashing piano keys. No plan. No rhyme. No reason. BANG! Deep shot to Diggs. BANG! Shotgun hand-off. BANG! End around to random player. BANG! Uh, how about another deep shot to Diggs.

So almost winning a Divisional Round playoff game is enough to prove he can someday win a championship? Last time I checked, even if 13 seconds never happened...the Bills STILL would have needed to defeat the Bengals and the Rams to win the Super Bowl. I know that many Bills fans pretend this is a foregone conclusion, so they can feel better about saying the coach single-handedly cost this team the trophy. But it's just as likely the Bills would have been eliminated a week later against Cincinnati. I understand the blame directed towards Sean McDermott, Ken Dorsey and even Brandon Beane. But Josh Allen is making way too many mistakes to be absolved from the mess this team has become.