GunnerBill

That is seriously bad news.

I don't think they can win a Superbowl, but on their day Burrow and his receivers and tight ends get hot? Yea they could knock off a top team IMO.

Yea agree with both of those. It could be recency bias holding the Lions down. And Love at his best the Packers can win the Lombardi. Agree he isn't quite as consistent as the top guys tho.

For sure. But every season is a referendum on the approach every team has taken. That's the sport. You build your roster in March and April. You find out whether it worked between September and February.

I don't think the Steelers are a top 10 team personally. They are not an easy out for anyone, sure. But I don't think they are a top 10 team. Top ten: Tier 1 1. Eagles; 2. Bills (with the tiebreaker) 3. Ravens 4. Chiefs (here until they are not) - - - - Tier 2 (these are the teams I think are a longer shot for a Lombardi but I could imagine beating one of the Tier 1 teams in a playoff game) 5. Chargers 6. Packers 7. Commanders 8. Bengals - - - - Tier 3 9. Buccaneers 10. Lions (I think they have too much talent to flatline all season though they have clearly taken a step back) 11. Vikings (if McCarthy is it this is arguably too low) 12. Broncos In fairness two of those four didn't play.... though Jackson was a healthy scratch so you can certainly consider that a fail. Most of Hawes impressiveness was in blocking though. Which is not Josh centric. He is just a v good blocker.

Yea I think the Bills will have a couple of picks Sunday. I can see it as one of those games where they give up more yards than any of us want but manage to force some turnover and keep the Jets to 20 or under and win by two scores.

Oh I'm not saying they don't need a better 1 tech. I didn't like the Daquan contract when they did that before 2024 and it has played out exactly as I'd have predicted, overpaying for a declining talent. But whatever the reasons there is no excusing performances as bad as the linebackers and safeties put out there on Sunday and they are accountable for that. They were terrible.

I think it was a pass because he called the alert and THEN signalled behind his back to Cook the direction of the run. If it was just a run switched to the other side why would he need the second signal? Cook's not an idiot he heard the alert! I mean we don't know for certain my strong suspicion on that one was that it was a pass. The screen on 3rd and 6 in the next series was obviously a pass but we don't know what kind of pass but he killed that and went to the screen (he also didn't throw that screen great Kincaid kinda had to come back to it). I think the playcalling on those two series can take some heat, but not all the plays we ran were the plays we called.

I mean, sure. Every season is in a way. There is more pressure on McDermott and Beane every year they don't win a Superbowl. Ultimately only one philosophy a year succeeds.

Yea - it's also worth saying that all three years he has been the starter Bernard has had a rough week 1. He struggled at the Jets his first start as the MLB in 2023 - missed some assignments that allowed Breece Hall to break off long ones, had a couple of big missed tackles vs the Cardinals in week one last year..... given the lack of pre-season snaps he feels like a guy who needs a game to get himself going. It is also true what @HappyDays said that even when they are at their best not sure the Ravens is a game that necessarily plays to Milano and Bernard's strengths. But man they just gotta play better than they did on Sunday. They have to read it better, react better, make better decisions and execute their assignments.

Last year was the year of the wrist. This is the year of the groin!

On both of the next two possessions Josh checked out of plays into a run up the middle and a screen. Now who knows what those calls were originally (pretty sure the first on 2nd and 1 was a pass) but wjen people are criticising conservative play calling they need to take that into account.

Not a defense of the Bills but the success rate on 2 pointers across the NFL has plummeted. It was the lowest for 15 years last year. I always said as more teams go for them the math would change on how likely you are to get them. On the Bills they need to freshen up their list of 2 plays. I feel like we have seen that little flare motion they tried on the second one with Cook multiple times and teams are alive to it now.

I disagree that the Bills were not ready to play. Indeed on the Ravens first drive I think they fitted things up pretty nicely. It was after that the wheels came off. Sure, Baltimore's cadance and quick snaps caught us in a bind in some spots - that is true. Could there have been adjustments there? Sure. But the disastrous play of the 2nd and 3rd level is on the players. They have to be accountable. I am not a big Bobby Babich fan but I cannot really put this on him. As I said before, especially first half, I think he was guilty of trying to do a bit too nuch with some of the calls and personnel packages and that is on him. But the stuff the Bills were getting wrong routinely on Sunday night is not stuff experienced players like Milano, Bernard and Rapp especially should be getting wrong. Coaches coach, but players have to play. And those three played dreadfully.

When it is already obvious at the snap that their assignment is blown? Yes. It's the equivalent of a Quarterback throwing the ball into the dirt when the screen he was hoping to throw is blown up immediately. I guarantee when they reviewed the film on Monday his coaches weren't saying "atta boy Cole you played your assignment" they were saying "you are in the pros now you have to be mentally capable of using judgment and adjusting on the fly."

I can't absolve a player for such a just basic common sense error. I'm sorry. Coaches coach. But players have to play. That are not inanimate chess pieces.... though come to think of it a pawn and a rook would be an upgrade on the Bills current safeties.

I actually disagree very strongly. The more I watch the all22 the more convinced I am that the linebackers and the safetys were the primary reason for the defensive failure. I caught Joe Marino's bit on WGR he said that same. I don't think it was primarily coaching (though I do think Babich is continually trying to "do too much" in these games.... some bear front, some base defense, too many blitzes which Lamar killed) it was primarily a more basic inability to gst basic run fits right. Bernard was dreadful, Rapp was worse. Milano was almost as bad. Williams was all over the place and Bishop still looks tentative and late on most plays. It isn't so much about tackling Henry in space. I agree that is darn hard. It is about basic gap discipline and run fits. And the linebackers and safeties sucked at it on Sunday. I don't know what he has been coached but he should not have followed through with that blitz. No way. That is just bad football. Players have to be accountable.

McD's coverage schemes on the backend are more complex than anything Rex ran. Now Rex's D was more complex up front, that is fair. They are just different styles.

I wouldn't go that far but I do think his reputation as a DB whisperer has taken a serious hit. The Bills safety play is desperate.

No, I agree with you. It was the extension I liked the least in the offseason. I'd have had him play out his final year. He was really poor on Sunday.

Yea I am not convinced on Babich either. We had definitely taken a small step back 2022 to 2023, the McDermott calling the defense experiment was a disaster until about week 11 although they ended strong. But no doubt 2024 was worse. From 2023 to 2024 they did have Douglas regress quickly, Poyer depart, DQ regressed... they had injuries to Taron, Milano and Bernard in the first half of the year. I do think the talent had bit by bit been decreasing on that side. But sure the coaching hasn't been as good either. That is not a super big surprise to me as the only Leslie Frazier truther left on planet earth 😆.

Close, but I'm not sure he did actually touch it. If he did it was a very faint brush. I think given how close the kick was would have needed to be a full hand to stop it having the legs to go through. A lot. They didn't go full prevent but they definitely backed their secondary off some and Keon in particular feasted with more room to manouvre. You mean the Bills missed two point conversion? If they tie the game up possibly Baltimore is more aggressive on its last possession, for sure. He was sensational. Jones is definitely washed. I don't know that the Bills totally don't value traditional 1Ts... they have paid DQ twice and they paid Star. Just think they believe it is a vet position so they don't really draft them. I didn't like the 2-year deal for DQ. I always feared exactly what happened. By the second year he is done but you keep him around because he costs to cut. Yep. Don't think they managed the ending well, but up two scores with 7 minutes to play every single coach in football is gonna go softer on defense and try and prevent the quick shot over the top. They lost a game that 99/100 they win. Yea I am close to our on Babich. It just feels a bit too big for him. That said, I think it was fundamentals and execution rather than scheme that was the biggest problem on defense. The Bills gap discipline, contain, pursuit angles and tackling were all sub standard. Agree. Not sure on best win in 20 years, but agree we rarely win those wild ones. We normally come out as the unlucky loser. I agree with this. I am actually with Einstein that I think this time it WOULD have been overturned. But if they have got an extremely high bar now for throwing the flag on spot calls that is a good thing.

Have we been saying it for years? Certainly in the big Chief and Bengal games in the post-season, sure. But the Bills regular season defense has been really good up until last season really. Even in games against supposed top offenses their defensive performance in the regular season was pretty solid. I think it took a bit of a step back in 2023, but then was just bad in 2024, and so far not good in 2025. I think it is mainly talent related. The defense is as untalented right now as certainly any time since 2018 and possibly even before that. And the secondary is unquestionably the worst of the McDermott era. And you took it on from @BillfromNYC didn't you from memory? Is this another torch passing? Tennis is exactly how I think of these battles with Ravens and Chiefs. I have used that analogy in my head for a few years now.

I always thought he was overdrafted. He was more an early day 3 guy to me than day 2. I thought he was a bit of a reach. And you are right he has been a terrible pro.

I think that is a good point on the FG try. He was making the Bills execution be perfrct and maximising his chance of a block because the Ravens could time their jump. I still think they should have run Lamar on 3rd down. That was the call I was fearful of. I was happy to see him chuck it short of the sticks.