Mister Defense

Josh Allen seems as shocked and irritated by what his offense has become as the rest of us. He is a smart guy and knows what the problem is. THIS is what may force McDermott's hand on Dorsey in mid season. And all of the players that have been left out in the cold by Dorsey will be silently cheering, just as Josh will be no matter his pat public statements.

I think the Bills should outlaw all commercials by the players! This team needs to focus on winning football games, not making more money. Priorities, focus.

Dorsey has created an extremely dysfunctional offense, one in which players have lost confidence, clearly, and Josh is just trying to salvage games and overcome the now multi dimensional and huge obstacles Dorsey has placed in front of the offense, again and again. While there have been games, and parts of games, where the offense has looked excellent, he is now well into year 2 of his tenure here and he is clearly undermining almost all aspects of this offense now. Unless there are dramatic changes soon, and the changes keep progressing, as the on field leader of the team Allen will continue to try to overcome the mess that he did not create.

Before this season I said that if Dorsey showed the same tendencies as last year he would be fired before Thanksgiving. It has clearly gotten worse, overall. While there have been flashes of real change, such as those seen in the Dolphin's game and even yesterday against the Pats as the game progressed, in the NFL you cannot be a contending, or even winning offense, with such shocking inconsistency. If I had to bet I would bet that he does not fire Dorsey, but does things behind the scenes, giving more of the OC responsibilities to Brady, Shula and others, and getting the players more involved.. But the Bills players seem to be lacking in confidence now, much like the fans, and if that continues he could very well be fired during the season.

Heck yeah, especially after seeing Mac Jones look like Joe Montana yesterday. He has played well into his 'old age', and the Bills need to at least bring him in. They lost an integral player in Jones and clearly need to get someone to help replace them.

Seeing the tape on Sherfield, watching him and hearing others' take on him in the preseason had me believing he would become the #2 receiver for the Bills this year, as he seemed like a much more dynamic receiver, one with a great deal of potential. At the very least I had confidence he would get substantial targets and more yards than he had last year in Miami. His stats this year--8 targets, 6 catches, and 44 yards. (Season projection? 16 catches, 109 yards.) (Shakir's stats? 8 catches for 75 yards and 182 for the season.) Shocking to me. We don't even know what we have on this offense, the potential, with such horrendous and negligent use of the players available.

Great take, nailing so many of the problems. The only reason we are now, finally, getting to see some of the players used is because Dorsey was clearly forced to do that this week--just read McDermott's words from this past week. It is, like you said, inexcusable. McDermott is now the head coach and the defensive coordinator. I think this team cannot function well, is not, if he also has to lead his poor offensive coordinator and force him to change his ways. But it seems to be the only way to make Dorsey do some of the right things. Not sustainable.

You nailed it, I think--it clearly seems to be that-- a lack of good weekly preparation. I think that is why you heard McDermott and others hit on the fact that they needed to do 'detailed' preparation to prepare for the Pats game after the problems on offense. I have started to use the word lazy to define Dorsey's approach for the reasons you state. He seems to think he doesn't need to do those things, that he just gets it, knows what to do without all of the messy, complicated detailed work that the good offensive coordinators do. He knows the answers without all of that actual work, he thinks.. You can maybe get away with that approach on a low level college team and in high school football, but in the NFL it will quickly doom your team--and your career.

You said the "offensive struggles are all around"--seems to indicate fundamental problems to me!

Yeah, I have been thinking of that, hoping for it. But I think it is just wishful thinking now unless Dorsey's hand is forced all week long and to the end of the season. He won't do it on his own, does not seem to have the ability or desire to really change it seems. It needs to be forced upon him by his head coach and GM, unfortunately. Yup, but where does the buck stop when things are falling apart in a unit? The talent on this offense clearly improved in the off season. When a unit has so many fundamental problems, and you point to several, look to the coaching, of course. The buck stops with Dorsey, and then the head coach if not fixed, no matter the usual platitudes from within the organization.

He looks slow and doesn't separate well, overall--not looking like a #2 receiver. The Bills need a faster receiver with great hands--and not next year, but now. They should see what they have on their team/practice squad of course, but also should be extremely serious and detailed in their search across the NFL before the trade deadline. If the Bills just stand pat that will be very discouraging.

Yup, but just because that is so obvious, so clear, it won't seem to matter to Dorsey. We don't know HOW good Shakir can become, and that is true for so many offensive players right now. We are approaching the middle of the season, and this has been one of the fundamental problems--we don't even know what we have on this offense because of how lacking it has been in its use of its players. Dorsey was forced to get more players more involved yesterday and as the game progressed we saw the possibilities of that. I think we may see the same next week because Dorsey is clearly now fighting for his job, despite the generic and expected vocal support of the players and leadership. Shakir could very well be the Beasley type player that helped to make the offense great, but...

You bring yet another very good point, one that should be clear to all watching this team closely. Not only are players not being utilized--Dorsey plays against their individual strengths as well. He is making Allen too often look like a much lesser player than he is. Josh is dejected now because too often is overcoming both the micro and macro aspects of this offense. Instead, EVERYTHING should be doing the opposite, giving Allen and the other players the tools needed to overcome obstacles, facilitating things. Obviously that is a fatal flaw if it is correct and it certainly looks that way! One of so many things that is wrong with the offense and Dorsey's leadership. He just doesn't seem to get it, at all.

Allen did not just regress--the offense around him did and he is trying to compensate. Crystal clear, over and over, when you watch games this season and last. Yes, Allen vocally supports Dorsey, but lately the details of his comments seem to indicate he knows Dorsey is not coordinating this offense well. Obviously he cannot just say that.

You sum it up very well. It is so predictable and poor that when they start games defensive coordinators no longer fear our once great offense, but can't wait to get going against them. They are the worst thing possible in the NFL--predictable, and in so many ways. Shoot, even poor teams and weaker defenses seem to have figured this out. Let's hope the changes we did see as the game progressed yesterday were a good sign for the future--but I have been hoping for that too often over the last season+ now. It looks like Dorsey is in way over his head.

I agree completely, but then Dorsey just keeps reverting to his comfort zone, which, if allowed to continue, will mean this talent laden team, and superb quarterback, may not even make the playoffs this year, let alone be true contender. Where does the buck stop with the Bills offense? With other NFL teams it is with the OC, and needs to be with Dorsey and the Bills too--before it's too late. Our eyes are not deceiving us. There are clear and fundamental problems with all aspects of the offense, including their weekly preparation for the game. That disastrous pre-season game showed us what we could expect this year from Dorsey. That should have done more to force him to get things right. Instead it was brushed off with many excuses.

it is not bashing for the sake of bashing, but fans who are pointing to what is blatantly clear to almost all who watch this team. I am hoping that Dorsey finds his groove, but have been thinking that would happen, hoping it would, since early last year. Unless there is dramatic change now, despite all of the vocal for support from players and McDermott this week, Dorsey will be fired after this season. Despite the extremely poor start against the Pats, there were some positive changes in the diversity of players used, the use of the running game, the involvement of the backs in the passing game, and overall rhythm of the offense. But too little too late yesterday. In the next weeks we will see of things now progress--or if Dorsey falls into the same stale, obvious, predictable patterns that he seems to always revert to, leaving defensive coordinators licking their chops...

Too little of a response too late. But they did seem to finally find something once they got going (too late). Let's hope that the diversity they showed was the beginning of something new, but I thought that earlier in the season and they then just reverted back to the same ol' crap. Intentional, as I think it is misleading. The use of Cook, overall, has not been what it needs to be. Yes, his rushing stats look pretty good, but those many horrible runs right into the heart of defenses for such a slight back have been a big part of the problem. Cook will be a great weapon next year with the new OC, but he had a very good game yesterday. They actually made him an integral part of the passing game, finally! Is Dorsey dumb or just lazy, uninspired?

Too often the poor runs by Cook early int the game, those humorously poor and now predictable shots up the middle, add up to nothing, putting the Bills into much less manageable 2nd and 3rd downs. It immediately sets the tone for the game, making it difficult for the Bills to get into a rhythm. Murray and Harris need to be used much more on early downs too, especially early in the game. It is one of the many obvious things that need to be done by Dorsey that has not been done.

Probably the best quarterback to ever play the game, just needs a new offensive coordinator to create a dynamic, creative offense. Looks like that we may need to wait until next year for that..

363, with most of the big runs coming later in games, after the Bills have a lead. He is not a starting caliber running back, does not have the size to be that. He can be an excellent weapon--if the Bills use him correctly. How many times have they thrown the ball to him on the outside, in space, giving him an opportunity to use his speed? How many screen plays?

These were the weapons the Bills and media and fans were excited about, players that would likely help the Bills to take the next steps this year and return to legitimate Super Bowl contenders again this year: Trent Sherfield: 5 receptions, 39 yards, 0 TDs Deonte Harty: 12 receptions, 103 yards, 1 TD Dalton Kincaid: 17 receptions, 118 yards, 0TDs, 6.8 Yards a carry Damien Harris: 116 yards on 24 attempts, 1 TD and O pass reception Latavius Murray: 128 yards in 31 attempts, 2 TDs and 6 receptions for 40 yards How about the young players who should be hitting their stride this year?: Dawson Knox: 14 receptions, 92 yards, 6.6 ypc, and 1 TD Kalil Shakir, 4 receptions, 40 yards, 1 TD James Cook as a receiver, 14 receptions, 140 yards Add in the new offensive guards, Torrence and McGovern, much improved over last year's, creating a much better offensive line, facilitating getting the ball to their offensive weapons. I had confidence, that if Dorsey woke up and improved, this would be an excellent offense, capable of consistently beating high caliber teams. The buck stops with Dorsey, the offensive coordinator who gets the offense ready to play each week, creates the plays, calls the plays, and likely had a hand in choosing these players. How much salary does this add up to this year? Like his formations, diversity in both run and pass plays, and play calling, his use of personnel shows an extremely one dimensional, lazy approach to offense, lacking diversity in all aspects of offense. He is undermining this offense in dramatic ways. Josh Allen is too often forced into untenable positions, where he has to put it all on his shoulders. With an average quarterback this offense would be one of the worst in the league under Dorsey. Unless Dorsey changes his approach very soon, this year's Bills team will just be an after thought, like they became last year. All of this talent, and maybe the best quarterback to ever play the game, will add up to nothing because of this incompetence. IF it is allowed to continue.

Leading up to the game last week so much of the talk nationally was about that ferocious Washington defensive line, that the Bills would face a real test after not facing one against the Raiders. Never happened; Allen hit once the entire game. I think the focus on the Great Washington Defense added fuel to the Bills' defense. This week, it's been all about the Miami offense. And It is a high level offense, showing significant signs of being a special, great one, as they started to show last year. But the Bills defense rises to the occasion again today, and Dorsey continues to diversify the offense and use of personnel, getting the ball to Sheffield, the backs, and running the ball more with Murray and/or Harris, continuing to develop the more physical diverse offense that we have been seeing. Get loud out there! Bills 38, Dolphins 20

I would rather they pursue Taylor, think they can do that even with their cap situation. There are not a lot of options out there, and Hunt is the best of the bunch. I don't think Hunt would get 300 carries, but enough to take the pressure off of Cook and let him be the player he can become--rather than get beat down as the every down back that he has never been. In addition, it seems unlikely that Harris does not miss games, maybe quite a few this year.

Yes, as Gilliam is not a running back for the Bills, do not count him as such, with an average of one carry a year for three years. Kind of humorous, the reaction, almost like the criticism of those sounding the alarm last year for the slot receiver position.