GunnerBill

We also got away with what looked like a false start, less blatant but a false start, on one of our pivotal plays. I think it was Josh's rocket to Shakir at the 1, but would need to check.

I actually think Hamlin was the better of the two on Sunday. He DEFINITELY tackled better. The touchdown run to the outside was on Rapp who was late to his assignment. And that kind of is the problem. Because Hamlin is just a limited player. I don't think it is hesitancy, it is just physical limitations to get to the spot on time. When Rapp plays pretty well, as he has for a chunk of the season, the safeties look just about passable. Once he has a poor game then you really are struggling. I will say I don't think the entire beatdown was explainable by poor safety play. I know you were not suggesting that necessarily, but just making absolutely clear for those reading this.

It's why I think it is worse than any other end of game situation the Bills have suffered through. Even 13 seconds. This wasn't just a play call mistake. It was a really basic game management mistake. Once you use a timeout there the game is basically over. It isn't like a playcall that doesn't work, but could in theory have worked if executed differently. The moment you call time out you are dead.

Now that the one seed is out of the window the Bills should be as cautious as possible with injuries. The rest of this season getting to the playoffs healthy is the most important thing IMO.

The code was cracked by Matt Patricia about 6 weeks from the end of that season when he was Detroit Head Coach. Bear front, and ignore all the pre-snap motion. Just literally pretend it doesn't exist. The Lions still got smoked because they were under talented, but Vic Fangio (then the Bears DC) saw it and ran the same scheme the next week, shut the Rams down and beat them. For about a year after that it was the way to play the Rams. It took McVay a long time to find a counter. Obviously Belichick and Flores managed it as well as anyone, but it was Patricia who worked it out. I think Patricia is really smart but not a football coach. Wouldn't surprise me if Bill gets back in as a HC if Patricia ends up in an Ernie Adams type backroom role.

They are really poorly coached, their oline still stinks and their defensive backfield is a mess.

Noteboom went down early. He was pencilled in as their LT but ended up being a dud anyway. I honestly think they were just outmatched that night by the Bills. I remember Poyer being absolutely everywhere in coverage. He was terrific. The first 6 or 7 games of that year the Bills were what the Lions have been this year. They looked unquestionably the best team in football they were monstering people. Sadly it didn't last.

I think they'd have tried a pass in there somewhere, but it would have been something relatively safe.

Doesn't play teams and can't play inside. Ingram covers boundary, 2nd string dime and 3rd string nickel as well as playing teams. Elam offers one thing - outside depth, that's it.

I mean Van Jefferson being out, whoopie do, he's crap anyway. The Bills shellacked them that night. But it was probably peak talent in terms of Bills rosters. Agree though the second half of the 2020 game did have parallels to last night.

If yesterday had been a playoff game I might have been at enough. The bungling of the series at the goalline at the end, even if the odds were still against us winning had we scored and kept our time outs, was just inexcusable. More inexcusable as a single moment than 13 seconds. Had that been on an elimination stage I might well be at it's fireable.

Who?

And I haven't seen Sean's presser but didn't he say something to the extent of "I asked for our best play from the 1 yard line"? Which the sneak definitely is.... but not in that game situation! The Head Coach owns that call, whatever Brady thought or called. If you are the HC on the headset and your OC calls a sneak there you kill the call.

I am the biggest Ed Oliver fan going. He has actually had 3 years of very high level performance 2021, 2022 and 2023. The flashy numbers in terms of sacks and TFLs only followed in 2023 but he was consistently a pocket mover for three years for the Bills and the underlying analytics in terms of beating double teams, run game penetrations and pass rush wins were pretty close to elite. However, this season he has been pretty terrible beyond a couple of games. The underlying data supports that, the bare "production" numbers support that and the eye test supports it too. I make no case for the defense for his performances this season. They have not been nearly good enough.

Yea, I am not sure that stat quite proves anything given the ST score. Lots of real reasons to be mad with yesterday beyond that stat.

Yep. I mean Smiley getting that job and still having it is a failure ultimately on McDermott. It's like they held a raffle at training camp and let a fan be STC.

No you are not. And in the past he has been a guy where the raw numbers haven't reflected how well he has played. That isn't the case this year. He has not played well enough. Full stop. They blitzed lots yesterday. Probably the most they have all year. It was a disaster.

Yea, scamper and spike would have been better than the timeout. But the real damage was the decision to sneak. Just an atrocious decision.

I vow not to defend him in any form this week. I'm not basing any long term view on last night but I thought he got the decline / accept decision wrong and I know the sneak and timeout decision making at the end was completely inexcusable. So if people want to pile on him this week, go ahead, he deserves it.

Yes I think that's fair. If the Bills were a 3 or 4 win team I'd be all for just letting the younger guy play, he has improved, but he still needs to read the game better and be more consistent.

I am not sure I agree with "Williams has earned that spot". He has been extremely inconsistent. I agree Matt does not look fully back to me.... but I am not sure they are keeping a clearly better player on the bench.

Brady was good last night. He has improved massively as the season has gone on IMO.

I think that's right. They don't. But their returner being a DB affects gameday active numbers too. Of their backup DBs Elam is the guy who does the least. He just plays boundary corner.

That to me was the most simple thing they have ever messed up under him. Most of the game management issues are judgment calls. That isn't a judgment call. Anyone who has ever watched an NFL game knows that the only way to win there is score on that drive and retain 3 time outs. If they'd called incomplete passes and he'd kicked the FG on 4th and 1 he'd have got killed but I'd have defended it. That would have been a decision with some logic even if unpopular. The one thing you can not do there is use your timeouts. It is inexcusable. They didn't first half. That would be fair. Thought we lost both trenches first half. But the oline played a great 2nd half.

If Douglas is out next week Elam will start. He is just a boundary corner whereas Ingram plays teams, and can play nickel and dime and that is why he gets a jersey on the 47. I really hope Elam kills it next week. I am over Douglas at this point. But that might be a folorn hope.