mjt328

Take a look around the NFL. Most coaches/coordinators are only as good as the players they have on the roster. Our success on offense (especially in the passing game) will most likely be determined on April 26-27, during the next NFL draft. Let's take a close look at some of the other names being thrown around: Mike McCoy was ridiculously successful as an offensive coordinator with the Broncos. It even earned him a head coaching slot with the Chargers. Many Bills fans were disappointed last offseason when he chose to return to Denver instead of joining our staff. One season with Trevor Siemian under center instead of Peyton Manning, and suddenly the guy's reputation is trash. Darrell Bevell had been a hot coaching candidate when the Seahawks were at the top of their game. He was considered an innovative offensive playcaller. Marshawn Lynch walks out of town, the running game goes to poop, and suddenly Bevell is a total idiot and the most predictable coordinator on the planet. Did he forget how to call a football game, or did his talent take a nosedive? Rob Chudzinski's coaching history looks like a roller coaster. Cam Newton has a great rookie season, and "Chud" is credited with his development. He goes to the Browns, fails to get anything from Brandon Weeden, and all of a sudden doesn't know anything about developing QBs. He navigates over to the Colts with Andrew Luck, and somehow his QB genius is restored. Luck gets hurt, and he becomes an idiot once again.

Agreed. I get so tired of these cornerbacks tackling like that. If I saw a player on my team tackling like that, I would cut him immediately.

Now that our playoff drought is over, I'm not willing to settle for a mediocre quarterback. When we were looking at 17 years with no playoffs, I was willing to stick with guys like Ryan Fitzpatrick, Kyle Orton and Tyrod Taylor -- because I believed it was important for this franchise and these fans to just finally make the postseason. Those guys had a high floor and low ceiling, and had a chance to get us to 10 wins. Guys like Dalton and Alex Smith do nothing for me. Those guys won't get us past the Wild Card Round, unless we have an elite defense to carry them. Let's do our homework and land our franchise QB in the draft.

The problem with PFF (and any kind of statistic measuring) when it comes to Tyrod Taylor, is that it doesn't account for situation. To make it simple, Taylor only likes to make safe throws. He doesn't throw it when guys aren't open. He relies mostly on check-downs. He likes to take off running when he's not confident with coverage. And when he goes deep, it's mostly sideline throws where a bad throw goes out of bounds. This means a relatively high completion percentage. It means virtually no interceptions or turnovers. In terms of PFF, it means very few negatively scored plays. The problem in REAL FOOTBALL is that an offense needs to score points. It's nice for a quaterback to be efficient and safe with the football. But at the end of the day, you can't have 5-6 games every season where scoring touchdowns is a problem. To be consistently successful as a quarterback, you sometimes need to put the ball in harms way. You need to be able to make that dangerous throw, as opposed to taking a sack, lofting the ball out of bounds or taking the check-down.

Kyle's biggest value right now is locker room leadership. On the field, I think he's become more of a rotational player.

Our pass rush is missing a few important items. 1. Jerry Hughes is our only good edge rusher, so he constantly faces double-teams. Shaq Lawson seems good at setting the edge and containing runs, but he doesn't get near enough pressure on the QB. Hopefully he improves in this area next season, or the "bust" word will start hovering around him quite a bit. If he doesn't improve, we may be able to get by with a rush specialist on passing downs (maybe shifting Lorenzo Alexander back to the D-Line). 2. Kyle Williams is our only tackle that pushes the pocket, and his play seemed to trail off as the season went along. At 34, it's fair to wonder if his best days are behind him. At the very least, we need another DT that can regularly command double-teams. In a division with Tom Brady, it would be really nice to have two guys that can push the pocket and command double-teams (like we used to have with Williams and Marcel Dareus). 3. Our linebackers are totally outmatched and a poor fit for this defense. They don't cover well, which makes it easier for QBs to get rid of the ball fast to underneath routes. They don't seem to blitz well, which hurts their ability to directly affect the pass rush. Outside of quarterback, I think that DT is our biggest need. I would like to see us make that position our #1 priority in free agency. And unless we use both picks to trade up, I'm hoping a good one falls to one of our 1st Rounders. Hopefully Kyle Williams comes back, and we can make him a rotational player with two other studs on the line. That would be a fantastic first step. We also need to address linebacker. Really bad. I'm liking Matt Milano. But I have no interest in re-signing Preston Brown or Ramon Humber. Linebacker was very important in Sean McDermott's Carolina defenses, but was our weakest position this year. Instead of drafting another defensive end high, I would probably make Alexander our pass rush specialist and hope that Lawson develops more in the offseason.

Rick Dennison forced a system on his players that didn't: a) Fit the quarterback b) Fit the offensive linemen It's not surprising in the slightest that our offense took a big step backwards. Many of us expected it the moment Dennison was hired. One of my preseason predictions was that Dennison would be the "scapegoat" after the season, when the offense held the rest of the team back. I didn't expect us to make the playoffs, but that prediction was spot on. With that said, this offseason we are almost certainly going to replace the quarterback. Signs are pointing to us trading Cordy Glenn. We need replacements at both right guard and right tackle. Our left guard will be 35 when the season starts and our center will be 32. So most of the pieces that didn't fit are on their way out the door. Success in the NFL is about matching talent to scheme. If Dennison had players that fit what he was trying to do, there is a good chance he would be more successful.

Most coaches (Rick Dennison included) are a product of the players they have on the field. Dennison is a zone blocking guy, with offensive linemen that mostly fit a power blocking scheme. His passing system is based on quick throws and anticipation, but his best quarterback holds the ball too long and likes leaving the pocket. Yes. This season would have gone MUCH better if Dennison would adapt the system to his players. But in today's NFL, almost no coaches are willing to change their scheme to fit the talent. It isn't going to happen either with Mike McCoy, Gary Kubiak, Rob Chudzinski (or any other replacement offensive coordinator) being talked about. Dennison isn't innovative or creative. He isn't a genius that will outsmart the other sideline often. But give him some zone blocking linemen and a good pocket passer, and this offense can improve dramatically.

We'll see how great Doug Marrone looks when Andrew Luck and Deshaun Watson return from injury. Next year, he also gets the schedule of a division winner (Patriots, Steelers, Chiefs) instead of the team that finished last (Jets, Browns, Chargers).

It's not about "not giving McDermott credit." Let's just look at reality. The AFC had three key QBs go down with season-ending injuries: Andrew Luck, Deshaun Watson, Ryan Tannehill Houston and Miami were both playoff teams in 2016, while the Colts finished 8-8. Those injuries realistically took three Wild Card contenders off the table. Not to mention, three of our nine wins came against those teams with backup QBs. Despite this, we still needed a 4th-12 miracle from another team to make the playoffs. Don't get me wrong. I'm absolutely thrilled we made the playoffs, and ended the drought. McDermott deserves tons of credit for getting maximum production out of a roster, who most people figured had a 7 win ceiling. The team took a really bad mid-season slide, and he got them back on track mentally. That was a huge deal. But realistically, a 9-7 record is not going to get it done most years. And realistically, you can't depend on tie-breakers to reach the postseason. And realistically, three starting QBs (all on playoff contenders) are not going to suffer season-ending injuries at the same frequency. The team MUST get better, or we can't expect this to happen again.

The Bills have won between 6-9 games every season for the last seven years. I don't believe this team was any "better" than those that came before it. I don't believe we got "special" coaching from Sean McDermott. We finally had some lucky bounces go our way in close games, and the rash of quarterback injuries in the AFC allowed us to have a chance with only 9 wins under our belt. It's highly unlikely everything falls our way like that again in 2018. If the team does not improve greatly in several areas, I highly doubt they will return to the playoffs again next year. Despite getting to the playoffs, I expect a massive overhaul in the offseason. We could easily see in the area of 10 new starters across the roster. The next few months are going to be crucial towards the overall success of Brandon Beane and McDermott. While 2017 was mostly about purging unwanted players from the roster, this will be our first true glimpse at rebuilding. They need to make the right decision on whether to keep or fire Rick Dennison. And if they move on, they need to hire the right guy this time. They need to properly address the quarterback position, both in free agency and the draft. And they need to get a nice haul from the 2018 draft class, which they have so highly invested in.

Ironically, this Jaguars team reminds me of many recent Bills teams. Especially Doug Marrone's last year here with Jim Schwartz as Defensive Coordinator. - Very good pass defense, mostly because of a great D-Line and pass rush. - Rush defense is suspect. - Very good rushing offense. - Pass offense is weak, because of an inconsistent QB. The big difference between the 2014 Bills (who finished 9-7) and this Jaguars team (who finished 10-6) is that we played in the same division as the New England Patriots, and it took a month before Marrone could replace the terrible EJ Manuel at quarterback. Talent-wise, the Jaguars clearly have a superior roster. But like the old Bills squad, their weakest point (Blake Bortles) could be the equalizer. Our defense really needs to force some interceptions this weekend. Tyrod Taylor is a mediocre QB, but he doesn't turn the ball over. And he may be able to exploit that defense with his legs.

Hard to know what the Bills and Packers will look like next year. Even with all the players we traded over the last 12 months, I would fully expect this offseason to be even crazier. Most new regimes have the greatest player turnover between their 1st and 2nd seasons. Not to mention our stockpile of draft picks. I would not be surprised to see 9-10 new starters on this team by the time 2018 Week One.

Ridiculous it actually came down to this.

This is why everyone says you "need 10 wins" to get into the playoffs. Bills can't blame anyone but themselves. They had a chance to beat Cincinnati. They didn't show up on the Thursday night game. They literally threw the San Diego game away.

12 Men on the field. The Bengals defender wasn't even trying to get off the field. They don't care.

Hope nobody is too excited here. The Bengals (and of course the refs) are handing this game to the Ravens.

Refs have helped the Ravens about 3-4 times with questionable calls within the last 10 minutes.

Some of you are thinking about this too hard. Yes. A vast, league-wide conspiracy would probably be tough to pull off. Do 32 billionaires and Roger Goodell meet in secret every spring, then decide which team to vault to the Super Bowl that season? Probably not. But is it possible that certain owners (lets' just say Robert Kraft) has some key officials in his pocket? That's certainly not a hard idea to wrap your head around. Especially now that instant replay is done by a single centralized source, rather than a crew by crew basis. Notice that all of these controversial calls in favor of the Patriots came through replay - either overturning a call that shouldn't have been, or not overturning a call that should. One guy on the take, and you can swing a half-dozen games in your favor. Is it possible that organized crime has heavy influence on the gambling side? Think about how much money is changing hands, based on the spread of a game. I would be shocked if something was not happening behind the scenes here. Then of course, you have the obvious favoring of star players - particularly the league's top quarterbacks. This may not be considered technically fixing or even cheating, but it absolutely affects the outcomes of numerous games every single season. And it only helps teams like the Patriots, Steelers, Packers, etc. Think about how many quarterbacks have gotten injured over the years. But when Tom Brady went down for the season with an ACL tear, the NFL immediately started passing rules about hitting QBs low. When Aaron Rodgers got hurt earlier this year, all of a sudden there were stories everywhere about how the NFL needs to pass more rules to protect the passers. (So don't be surprised when that happens again this offseason).

Forward progress only applies if runner reaches a certain point, and then the Defense knocks him backwards. If the ball is pulled back by the runner on his own (before he is called down), that would be the same as him reaching the first down marker, and then running backwards. It was a crap call.

I don't believe the NFL is completely "fixed" - at least not to the extend that the WWE and professional wrestling is totally scripted for a particular outcome. But that doesn't mean I believe the league is completely fair and free of outside influence. If there is a dollar to be made by swaying a play or even a game, it's highly likely that someone is trying (if not succeeding) at doing just that. The MLB turned its back on steroid abuse for over a decade, because players chasing home run records was big business. In the NBA, a referee was caught by the FBI betting on playoff games. Since being convicted, he has alleged that ALL of his colleagues do the same. This summer, he claimed the league was trying to let the Cavaliers win to extend the Finals. When the Patriots were caught cheating the first time (Spygate), the NFL responded by immediately destroying the evidence, giving the team a slap on the wrist and doing everything in their power to downplay the incident. Even if there isn't an NFL mandate that states - "Must help New England win the Super Bowl" - you better believe the refs are pushed to protect the league's marquee QBs like Tom Brady. Maybe there isn't a giant conspiracy to assist the Steelers or Packers - but you would be foolish to think these officials are not gambling or playing fantasy football. And with the money involved, organized crime is certainly entrenched behind the scenes.

I seriously doubt his faith has anything to do with his coaching decisions. I'm a Christian. And I am one of the most analytical, statistical, data-driven people you would ever meet. Early in the game (with 3 quarters ahead of him), McDermott saw nothing wrong with being aggressive. Late in the game and down 7, he panicked and just wanted to get away with some points.

Taylor's best plays come from holding the ball too long, narrowly avoiding pass rushers, then hitting a big pass downfield. Today he was unable to get away. The Patriot defenders managed to get a hold of his feet, or just keep him trapped in the pocket (which has always been the most successful strategy for beating him.)

Have you actually seen the other teams we are competing with? Ravens, Titans, Chargers... These teams are all crap too. We don't deserve to be in the playoffs. But neither do those teams. I will gladly take a first round @$$ whooping, just to get the monkey off our backs.

I usually consider Patriot games an automatic loss from the get-go. Even in games like today, I never really believed we had a true chance at winning.