GunnerBill

I am not implying what you think I am implying. I say in the very next sentence it isn't an argument for Diggs being here and that he is diminished. I am simply stating a fact. But all the context in the world doesn't change that reality. And the Bills have not yet proved that they have got better at receiver. Quietly or otherwise.

You don't have to be an old school leader to be a leader.

It isn't about being a dictator. It is about having clear control over your team. Reid has always had that, despite being a relaxed players coach. If you think Stefanski has always had that I don't know what to tell you.

Ha. We are increasingly trending that way for sure.

Reid is an excellent leader. Yes. He isn't a disciplinarian. You don't need to be to be a great leader. He is a players coach. But you can be a great leader that way too. No I don't particularly think Stefanski or Taylor are particularly good Head Coaches. I'd hire Stefanski as an OC tomorrow though. And I would McDaniel too. I think McDaniel is a really good offensive mind. The best unique mind off the Shanhan tree IMO. But I think OC is where his skillset is best suited.

Yea I think the five DL front would have been an interesting look but it is something you generally use against outside zone. In the end the Ravens did more outside zone that you'd typically expect but I suspect that is why the Bills didn't have it in the plan. They had some 43 in there clearly which is what you'd usually go to against a up the gut type rushing attack which is what they were likely expecting more of from them, the problem is they don't have the personnel to win playing a 43 when they are down their normal entire second level. I think if we'd spent the whole game in the 43 we ran on drives 2 and 3 we might have held them to only 70 or 80 yards after that first big run.... but we'd have given up 200 yards in running back pass game. Justice Hill had a career high 78 receiving yards. I'm willing to listen to the five man DL look but just switching up to something you rarely do and likely rarely practice mid game would likely have failed. Do I think the Bills got outcoached, yes, obviously. But I think you sometimes just have to hold your hands up and say the opposition had a fantastic plan, executed brilliantly and had the superior talent and when all three are true you are going to struggle.

Yea by playing defense and running the ball. Look what he is doing with Justin Herbert (who isn't Allen but is pretty talented) - he is playing defense and running the ball. That's what he'd do with Josh Allen. It's what he'd do with anyone. 1970s dinosaur.

No it's still about leadership first and foremost. Xs and Os matter. But the ability to hold a locker room together through adversity matters more. Because it's the rare NFL season that you go through without it. Just because you can't be an old school hard ass, rah-rah leader these days doesn't mean leadership is secondary. It remains the most important quality of a head coach.

It was getting out of nickel alignment that was part of our problem on Sunday.

I provided the context that I wasn't arguing for them to have retained Diggs in the very next line that you failed to quote. There was no false sense of reality. There was actual reality. Diggs has more yards than any of our receivers. That is the actual reality. That doesn't mean "the Bills should have kept Diggs" or "Diggs is better than anyone we have" and the rest of my post was pretty clear about that. But the statistic is the statistic. What has actually happened. the very definition of reality.

Yea you are on your own there. I don't think he demonstrates any leadership skill.

Sure. If you want 1970s football hire Jim.

Err... only quoting half of my post is the epitome of missing context to be intentionally misleading.

Yea you are entitled to take a different philosophical view from them on how they approached it defensively. Personally I'd have run my normal defense, trusted that I wasn't going to be beaten in every assignment the way I was on the first play from scrimmage all day long and give my defense a chance to settle in. The changes they made were through panic and made the Ravens job easier IMO.

The big factor in the Diggs departure was his relationship with Josh had totally broken down. I'm not defending how the Bills have handled the WR position, I have been critical of it for 3 years now. They put themselves in this position by neglecting it in 2020 and 2021 when they were considered to be in a relative position of strength at the spot and then have been chasing their tail ever since. But they did show with Diggs they were willing to integrate a non-choir boy. I'm just not sure they will be at this time with a younger leadership group.

I haven't been back and looked through yet, but my guess is that it was largely that 2nd and 3rd drive. That was when they were in 43 base. They went back to nickel after that but just changed the way the linebackers were playing.

It did for three years with Stefon Diggs. At the moment with a younger, less established, leadership group I'd be surprised if they took that risk. That isn't to say I think they are right to pass. As I said above it will depend for me where the Bills are record wise coming up to the deadline.

The thing is the choice was never give them the run or the deep ball. It was give them the middle or give them the edges. When the Bills tried to play with a heavier box on drives 2 and 3 the Ravens just went to the swing passes and flares to the backs outta the backfield and attacked the edges of our defense and because the second level players are all backups they had the advantage there. In drives 2 and 3 they successfully bottled Henry up as a rusher. Maybe they should have started the game that way for the one play they didn't but even if they had it wasn't a sustainable way to play defense against them either. Because the Ravens immediately had a counter to that and marched down the field with seven passes to running backs (five to Hill, two to Henry) including two touchdown passes.

Yea the facts, uncomfortable as they are, are that a clearly diminished Stefon Diggs still has more yards and touchdowns through four games than the Bills leading receiver. That is not me saying "we should have kept Diggs." Even as one of his biggest fans from way before his Bills tenure it was clear to me by the back end of last season that it had run its course. But there was no element of losing him that made us better even though he isn't the guy now he was in his prime here. To get better they had to improve the receiver room and they didn't do that. Whether they should make a deadline move for me is very dependent on where they stand at that point. I'm just not sure this team is a contender in 2024. I wasn't before the season and I'm not now. And I don't know that a half season rental of one of these vet receivers moves the dial enough to make me think they are. If we get to the deadline and we are say 7-2 or something, sure, worth the price, make the move. If we are more in the 5-4 territory honestly I'd let it ride and keep as much of our powder dry for next offseason as possible.

That is a Jags like move. Splashy HC hire followed by suckitude. Urban. Doug. Bill.

Josh definitely has a tendency to bail early when he doesn't quite know what he is seeing. That is because he is still an athlete first and a processor second. That isn't to say he is a bad processor before anyone jumps on it. But I just think he is still more comfortable relying on his body than his mind when things get messy. The Ravens weren't actually blitzing that much. What they were doing was dropping out linemen and bringing linebackers a ton. And it was just creating a ton of chaos and confusion.

I really don't expect the Bills to be in on this one. Doesn't strike me as their type of person and the contract makes it more tricky as well. And then his age is another factor. I think Cooper and Hopkins are both more realistic moves than Adams. I'm not saying he wouldn't be a massive upgrade to the room - he would - I'd just be surprised if this is a move the Bills want to make.

The two drives after the first touchdown the Bills went base personnel and heavy boxes and Henry had 5 carries for 17 yards on the ground. Unfortunately the Ravens marched down the field twice and scored two touchdowns because the Bills in base were totally incapable of stopping them attacking the edges and the little running back flare routes. It was an overreaction. They hit you with one great play where they called it perfectly, executed perfectly and hit a long touchdown and the Bills panicked and made an adjustment that led to 14 points on the next two drives. They should have stayed in their defense and tried to settle in. Instead they ended up with a guy who doesn't belong on an NFL roster being absolutely brutalised in coverage for two straight series and 21-3 behind.

They definitely did.

I just don't think they will change two at the same time. I would. But that doesn't feel like their MO. They are more cautious.