Last Guy on the Bench
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Posts posted by Last Guy on the Bench
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LAMP alert!
You got me, man. I start one or two threads a year in this joint. Mr. LAMP. What a thrill it is.
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In the rush to be right we have no time for facts or actual results!!
Dude, nowhere do I say that I'm right. I may well be completely off base.
Just wanted to have some dialogue around different people's reads on the guy so far. And of course facts and results as they emerge will tell the story. But it would be a pretty boring offseason if no one shared any reactions to what's going on at OBD.
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You wanna make a determination before he coaches a game for us?
hardcore man
Not at all. Wouldn't call it a determination. Just seeing things that were hitting me wrong and actually wanted counter opinions so I could take a more balanced view. Either way, there's no knowing until we see him in action. Agreed.
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He reminds me of Gregg Williams. When Williams was hired he talked about discipline, character... blah blah blah. He was very organized and methodical in everything he did. His interviews were bland and full of "corporate speak". He's also a defensive coach who others around the league respect.
I really don't see the difference between these two guys.
Well, McD, to his credit, hasn't banished fat coaches yet.
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Really ? The season isn`t even started.
So we shouldn't discuss new players, coaches, strategy, etc.?
I agree we shouldn't have any strongly held opinions before we see what's what in September. I don't. Can't argue at all with those who say wait and see.
But I'm pretty sure this isn't the first post sharing initial judgments about a coach/player who hasn't taken the field. It's a grain of salt discussion, to be sure.
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And you got your psychology degree and leadership experience where exactly? I spent 23 years in the military and have a Masters in Leadership education. I see none of the things you mentioned when I have watched McDermott. I see a man who is confident in his abilities and has a system that he intends to implement. Whether or not this is going to lead to success remains to be seen. Being overly analytical watching someone you have no personal contact with, however, is an exercise in futility. As others have stated, he is our coach and all we can do is support him in his efforts to make this team viable again. Time will tell, but there is definitely no evidence for the claims that you have made.
Well, I did spend three years in Cub Scouts and I have a cosmetology certificate.
It's my impression. Could well be wrong. I was interested in others' impressions. Thanks for yours. We read him differently.
I agree with you that it isn't wise to put too much stock into opinions about others without personal contact. I put very little stock into internet opinions (including my own) about any public figure, no matter how many years in the military the person with the opinion might have spent.
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Ah ha! A case of knee jerk pessimism! Check my signature line. It's the only way I can still be a Bills' fan. Otherwise there would be no point.
The weird thing is, even though I am skeptical about the long-term viability of the McD era, I have still (almost) convinced myself we are going to go 11-5 this year. I am a hopeful dude. -
This is huge for me.
I was 100% behind the hiring of Rex. I was really excited, thinking that a great defensive coach who had some success vs NE in big spots, including beating them in NE in the playoffs, would take this defense to all-time great territory. I think he could have, if he actually put in the work.
One thing you'll never hear about McDermott is that he is lazy. Never. The guy is awake pumping iron 2 hours before the sun comes up.
It sounded like Rex rolled out of bed at 9, crushed a dozen donuts, rolled into the facility around 10, took a 3 hour lunch then went home at 4. I'm exaggerating a little maybe. But there was a lot of buzz that he was more into the fame that comes with being a well-known NFL coach than he was doing the work it takes to win. And he still went 8-8 and would have gone 8-8 again had he coached the last game and Tyrod played.
So the talent is there. Even with total confusion on defense and a HC who was more interested in self-promotion and being a carnival barker, the team won as much as it lost the past 3 years.
Now enter McDermott, for whom work is food, except the more he works the more hungry he gets for more work. Sleep is an annoyance because it gets in the way of more work.
That guy is inheriting a team that has been exactly .500 over a 48 game span.
I like this argument. Because I do believe that we have more talent than we've shown over the past few years. If that's true, maybe a calm and meticulously organized guy is all we need to push us to another 2 or 3 wins a year. For now.
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Looking for validation of his pessimism.
Definitely not true. I genuinely want to change my impression. I am (incorrectly) optimistic about the Bills every year. I am (incorrectly) optimistic about every new player. I am a bit of an idiot that way. I'm surprised to find myself struggling to get stoked up about McD.
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Honestly, it's a very poor measure for a coach. Who cares how interesting he is? This isn't a cocktail party.
Well, I do mean interesting about football, not movies or politics.
It might be a poor measure, but it worries me because in my experience it often betrays a lack of insight. Most of the coaches that I like do have interesting things to say about football from time to time. At least, they don't sound like organizational manuals.
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Can I ask what it is about Rex that, even at the time we hired him, had you believing in him? IMO, Rex had way more red flags than McDermott or any of our recent coaching hires. I honestly wanted to make a post like this when we hired him but there seemed to be so much optimism around him (no idea where that optimism came from) that I didn't want to come off as a negative fan.
I would say, I'm at a place where, he's our coach, there really weren't any stand out candidates who IMO were clearly better when we were interviewing, so I'm willing to give him a chance. But at the same time I'm not saying I think he's our answer and is clearly the guy to lead us to the promised land.
Not sure I understand how attention to detail wouldn't make for a good coach?
Re: attention to detail, in my opinion it can be helpful, but may not be necessary (if you are a good delegator) and is certainly not sufficient.
For Rex, we had a lot more info. He'd been a head coach after all. And I always liked the energy his Jets teams played with and the style of defense. I don't mind his personality. In fact, I thought it might serve us well. He seemed super hurt about his exit from the Jets, and I bought the idea that he wanted to plant a flag in Buffalo and redeem himself. At the time, I would actually have preferred the Hue Jackson/Schwartz scenario, but I saw things to like with Rex.
Anyway, I will definitely give McD a chance and I wish him all the best. I have no idea what's going to happen. Maybe he'll be the best coach in the league, and I'll start buying lots of leadership books.
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This is my answer.
Will he ever be one man short on the field and after a TV timeout and have neither he nor his coaching staff nor the 10 men on the field not know it?
Will his field goal unit ever attempt a kick with the ball marked ready for play with only 8 seconds on the play clock and have similar teamwide cluelessness?
Will he have a system for replay review decisions that involves anything more than someone's gut instinct?
Will players constantly be unaware of their assignments or even whether they should be on the field or not?
Would he punt on 4th and 2 with 4 minutes to go in OT of a game where a tie eliminates his team from the playoffs?
Will he make good use of time and resources to prepare his team to perform well in games?
We'll see but my guess is he will pay attention to details like this either personally or by delegating responsibilies to the players and/or assistant coaches and holding them accountable.
Fair enough. Thanks for actually answering the question. I think you're probably right about those things being strengths of his. Not sure that's enough, but it will be a refreshing change of pace in that respect.
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Have you ever listened to Bill Belichick's interviews?
Ha ha. I know what you are saying. But Belichick's, um, terseness seems to be coming from a totally different place to me. It's not corporate speak. It's FU speak. Which I do have some respect for.
Also, he says lots of interesting things in other contexts. We can see it in some secondhand reports, behind the scenes stuff on NFL films, etc. Maybe McD does too. I admit we don't have the material to judge. Here's hoping he's got half the insight into the game and player's mentalities that BB does.
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Never says anything remotely interesting?
Not that I've noticed. Happy to see some counterexamples.
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Simple, plain and costing a little
The initial typo I understand. However, if a spelling error is your agenda here. By all means wanna proof read more of my work?
Wasn't commenting on the spelling. It's not generally a pejorative term, though. I hope my convictions are frugal. In any event, I don't have "convictions" about Sean McDermott. Just impressions.
It's 4:45 AM....
McDermott is pissed. Not because he's up so early, but because today he is running late.
He walks into the gym barefoot and glove-fisted.
In one sudden movement he slams failure to the mat and applies a chokehold.
If failure taps out that's great. If failure passes out from the pain.... just good.
Ha ha. That does make me like him a little more actually.
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Here are Sean's strengths and weaknesses:
ISTJ Strengths- Honest and Direct – Integrity is the heart of the ISTJ personality type. Emotional manipulation, mind games and reassuring lies all run counter to ISTJs’ preference for managing the reality of the situations they encounter with plain and simple honesty.
- Strong-willed and Dutiful – ISTJs embody that integrity in their actions too, working hard and staying focused on their goals. Patient and determined, people with the ISTJ personality type meet their obligations, period.
- Very Responsible – ISTJs’ word is a promise, and a promise means everything. ISTJs would rather run themselves into the ground with extra days and lost sleep than fail to deliver the results they said they would. Loyalty is a strong sentiment for ISTJ personalities, and they fulfill their duties to the people and organizations they’ve committed themselves to.
- Calm and Practical – None of their promises would mean much if ISTJs lost their tempers and broke down at every sign of hardship – they keep their feet on the ground and make clear, rational decisions. Peoples’ preferences are a factor to consider in this process, and ISTJs work to make the best use of individual qualities, but these decisions are made with effectiveness in mind more so than empathy. The same applies to criticisms, for others and themselves.
- Create and Enforce Order – The primary goal of any ISTJ is to be effective in what they’ve chosen to do, and they believe that this is accomplished best when everyone involved knows exactly what is going on and why. Unclear guidelines and people who break established rules undermine this effort, and are rarely tolerated by ISTJs. Structure and rules foster dependability; chaos creates unforeseen setbacks and missed deadlines.
- Jacks-of-all-trades – Much like Analyst personalities, ISTJs are proud repositories of knowledge, though the emphasis is more on facts and statistics than concepts and underlying principles. This allows ISTJs to apply themselves to a variety of situations, picking up and applying new data and grasping the details of challenging situations as a matter of course.
- Stubborn – The facts are the facts, and ISTJs tend to resist any new idea that isn’t supported by them. This factual decision-making process also makes it difficult for people with the ISTJ personality type to accept that they were wrong about something – but anyone can miss a detail, even them.
- Insensitive – While not intentionally harsh, ISTJs often hurt more sensitive types’ feelings by the simple mantra that honesty is the best policy. ISTJ personalities may take emotions into consideration, but really only so far as to determine the most effective way to say what needs to be said.
- Always by the Book – ISTJs believe that things work best with clearly defined rules, but this makes them reluctant to bend those rules or try new things, even when the downside is minimal. Truly unstructured environments leave ISTJs all but paralyzed.
- Judgmental – Opinions are opinions and facts are facts, and ISTJs are unlikely to respect people who disagree with those facts, or especially those who remain willfully ignorant of them.
- Often Unreasonably Blame Themselves – All this can combine to make ISTJs believe they are the only ones who can see projects through reliably. As they load themselves with extra work and responsibilities, turning away good intentions and helpful ideas, ISTJs sooner or later hit a tipping point where they simply can’t deliver. Since they’ve heaped the responsibility on themselves, ISTJs then believe the responsibility for failure is theirs alone to bear.
https://www.16personalities.com/istj-strengths-and-weaknesses
Thanks. Do you know that he is an ISTJ? Seems plausible.
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i do not understand how you cannot talk yourself into liking this guy if you were optimistic with the previous head coaches
Me neither. It's a mystery.
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If someone can talk you into it, your convictions are frugle at best.
How about you formulate your own opinion and go from there?
Cause I mean if all it takes it being talked into it, how about lending me some money?
I'm not sure you know what "frugal" means, but thanks for the advice.
I'll try to do a better job of making sure my half-formed initial impressions of something that I don't know much about harden into absurdly rigid "convictions" so I can spew them on the internet with appropriate ferocity.
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Disclaimer: This is a sincere attempt to understand what others see in McDermott. Not trying to start an argument, as I don't think we have enough info for a meaningful conclusion right now either way.
But I am really struggling with this guy so far. And I am an optimist by nature and have pretty much talked myself into every single Bills coach (at least during their first preseason) over the past four decades.
Here's what worries me:
-Never says anything remotely interesting. Buttoned-down corporate speak all the way. And I know there is value in keeping your thoughts to yourself, but this kind of say-nothing style doesn't necessarily mask deep thoughts. It often means the person actually has no insight. The way he communicates publicly completely reminds me of Russ Brandon. That is not a good thing, in my opinion.
-Seems to have read a few too many leadership books. He seems like he is trying to manufacture himself into a leader through notes and aphorisms and process. I am beyond skeptical of that approach in any organizational context. He doesn't seem comfortable in his skin to me - even the way he fidgets around in press conferences. He seems like a guy who loves the idea of being a leader, but hasn't discovered his own authentic approach. Feels like he's playing dress-up. (Again, screams Russ Brandon.)
-Seems technocratic - thinks success will come primarily through control, detail, process. All well and good at times, but nowhere near enough to manage the seething, human, multi-variable complexity that is any football team.
-Role in the Whaley affair is unclear, but optics do look like a bit of a backstabbing power grab. I admit this could be TOTALLY off.
Here's what I like:
-People he's worked with seem to like the guy.
-Reportedly does a good job of connecting to and caring about players as individuals.
-I have mad respect for Andy Reid, so I like the tree.
I admit, my negatives are superficial and based on my own cursory observations, whereas the positives are substantive and based on the experience and testimony of people who have worked with him.
But right now I just have the feeling he is in over his head, but has impressed the Pegulas with his organized approach, attention to detail, and stoic wrestler manner - none of which will make him a good coach IMO.
I really hope I'm wrong, and I'm totally prepared to fall in love with the guy as things play out. But I can't remember feeling this cold about a hire. Even Marrone who came off as a total tool early on, somehow convinced me he might have something.
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Mahomes
Trubisky
Dobbs
Interesting. Thanks. I like that list too. Was not keen on Trubisky, at first, but have watched a lot more of him lately, and he's been growing on me. There's a lot to like. Still very nervous about the lack of starts and that crap game he played in the rain, though. Love me some Mahomes, despite his crazy feet. Will have to look at Dobbs more.
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One person I know had this QB board last year:
1. Carson Wentz
2. Dak Prescott
3. Jacoby Brissett
That's an impressive board. Who does he/she like this year?
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Yet he says that Kizer's accuracy flaws outweigh the footwork skills. I thought it was an excellent piece -- one of the better ones I've read lately.
Someone above (not you) takes issue with the article for comparing Newton to Leaf. What article was he reading? Newton comes off well in this piece.
People on this board can be so nasty toward the passionate amateurs who craft theses sites, regardless of the fact that those passionate amateurs are far better than most of us at breaking things down and actually have the get up and go to actually craft an article and post it.
Agreed. I read his others on Kizer and Mahomes too. They are very convincing. No one can project QB success perfectly, but he is definitely looking at some intriguing subtleties, which I, for one, would never notice on my own.
I enjoyed his takes, and learned a lot from them. Made me feel a lot more intrigued by Kizer than I otherwise would have been, and much more skeptical about Mahomes than I have been to date.
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Want - Mike Williams
Don't Want - Watson
Dark horse - OJ Howard
Think - Watson
Out of curiosity, do the people listing Mahomes really want him with our first pick? I would like to draft him as well but I was hoping we could get him In the second or third round.
Yeah - I don't think Mahomes makes it to our 2nd pick. I'm definitely in the don't-get-cute-with-QB-slotting camp. The Bills may not rate him as a potential starter, but if they do, they should snag him at 10. (And I'm pretty happy with Tyrod - I just love Mahomes. I want to watch 15 years of Favrean insanity - I'll take the bad that comes with that along with the good.)
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Want: Mahomes
Don't Want: Peppers
Dark Horse: Reddick
Think: A &%#&$! CB
Help! Please talk me into McDermott - Can't See It
in The Stadium Wall Archives
Posted · Edited by Last Guy on the Bench
This is a fantastic post. Thanks for such a thoughtful response. The stats you list do paint a picture of solid coordinator at worst. So that's a good start.
The links were very interesting. I had read some of them before, but clearly needed a refresher. I hadn't seen that interview with Coleman, and that was revelatory. Rare depth for something on the sports pages. (In fact, it made me want to hire Kurt Coleman as a coach. What a thoughtful guy.) The picture he paints of McD is very strong, and it does shift my optimism meter significantly. The hard work/grinder stuff doesn't do much for me - there are lots of those guys in the league. But the flexibility, the willingness to build both strategy and culture from the strengths and temperaments of the actual individuals on the team (vs. some slogan), the attention to individualized player development, and frankly the caring - these go a long way for me.
One thing that seems clear: whatever happened with Whaley, none of the comments about McD even hint at the kind of guy who is duplicitous or primarily out for himself - quite the opposite. So I have to assume that whatever role he had in things, it was fair and above board.
As you say, we can't really know whether he's in over his head until we see how he swims. But it seems pretty clear he's a good guy, with a solid understanding of football tactics, and potentially a strong hand at culture development. I definitely feel better about him than I did yesterday, so thanks.
(I still want to hire Kurt Coleman. Wonder if he'll retire soon?
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