BillsFan4

I'd take the Pegula's over Trump ANY DAY. Had trump bought the team theyd they'd be on their way to wherever he could make the most profit. This post is a total overreaction IMO. Both teams are in the rebuilding stage. The Bills haven't even started the building stage of their rebuild. They are still just getting rid of guys and stockpiling picks. Maybe we can wait and see what happens when they actually start adding talent with their pile of draft picks before we declare that they are forever a failure?

I am perfectly fine with them drafting a QB in the 1st if the right QB is there at their pick. They are absolutely not in any position to trade away their draft for a QB though, regardless of how important the position is. I think that even even if they do draft a QB in the 1st, they will need some type of decent bridge QB for next season. Whether that's Tyrod or not I don't know (he is under contract already), but I just don't want to see a rookie QB ruined by being forced to start too soon with too little talent around him. That's what worries me most - there is so little talent on both sides of the ball. You are putting a rookie QB in a bad position if you're asking him to start next year. Even the best QBs in the NFL need talent around them. If you put a 1st or 2nd year QB on the field with this horrid defense and horrid offense (especially the o line) you are just asking for failure IMO. So, having said all that I still want a QB in the 1st next year if the right one is there. They just need a decent bridge QB on the team so he isn't forced to start too soon (which will probably happen anyway if the losing piles up). All things considered, I guess I would understand if they decided to wait until 2019 to draft a QB, too.

Man, these Buffalo sports weekends have been brutal... 2 weeks in a row now we had the Sabres play Friday + Saturday and the Bills on Sunday. 2 weeks in a row they lost all 3 games. We have 3 more weekends in a row with 3 Buffalo games. I'm not sure how much more I can take. It's not even the losing, it's that both teams have just looked absolutely brutal doing so. It really makes you question everything - coaches, players, direction of the team etc etc. I hate it. I know we have 2 rookie coaches with rebuilding teams and have to be patient, but damn it's tough at times (like right after a brutal loss).

I agree that they can't give away their stockpile of picks for a QB. There are just WAY too many holes to do that. We need 2 (or 3) LBs, at least 1 or 2 D Line, maybe a CB, 2 to 3 O linemen, WR, RB, QB, and then depth at almost every position and that's just off the top of my head... You can't fill all the holes on this team in 1 draft. There's too many. But I don't agree that they should pass on a QB all together. If the right QB is still there with one of their picks in the 1st, they should take him.

Come on Peterman. Let's put together a good drive here.

I know at least 1 pick wasnt Peterman's fault, and a 2nd really wasn't totally his fault either as his throwing arm was hit. But Do you pull him now? Or do you give him more time? One more pick could put this game his game out of reach.

That was as much on the right side of the line as it was on Peterman.

Thanks for sharing Logic. That was a good, insightful read. I think this is a good point, and maybe is something some people don't consider when blaming Dennison for the offense's struggles - "With Taylor, you lose a lot of the designed plays, which is a problem not just because of a coach’s ego (though a portion of it is a coach’s ego), but also because your play-caller/play-designer has a strategy to exploit the defensive coordinator’s scheme and strategy. And, as we often forget when we chart individual plays, play-calls are not made in a vacuum. It’s game theory, the end result of an opponent’s tendencies and anticipating how they will react to a certain scenario, and play-calls are often built off previous play-calls. Playing out-of-structure undeniably makes the job of a play-caller more difficult (due to the fact that Taylor is not an aggressive, anticipatory thrower, your play-caller is already working with some limitations.) And, with Taylor, if you fall behind, as Saints DE Cameron Jordan pointed out last week, you’re basically done. Once the threat of the run game is out of the equation, the Bills are too easy to defend." I know McDermott claimed it was 100% his decision bench TT but I still think Dennison probably requested the change. Just last season he had success with a rookie 7th round pick starting and I'm sure he feels he can do it again with Peterman.

Damn do the Sabres suck!! Its like they they don't know how to do the most basic things in hockey. They cant transition through the neutral zone to save their lives. Can't enter or set up in the offensive zone. Don't know how to create scoring chances... Its ugly to watch. The compete level is horrendous. I watched every damn game through the tank years, when we literally had almost no NHL talent on the ice. Never lost interest. But this season is testing me. I honestly don't know how much more of this I can watch. They seem to have accepted losing. They go down by a goal and the game is all but over it seems.

Where did you see/read that McDermott went after Bill Musgrave? I hadn't seen that. I seen all the stuff about how Mike McCoy was said to be McDermott's 1st choice. I also seen that he was said to be interested in Brad Childress and Greg Olson, and that Childress possibly chose to stay in KC (they did give him a promotion to asst. head coach shortly after Dennison was hired here, maybe to keep him there?). Never heard any mention of McDermott's interest in Bill Musgrave though. All I can remember reading on him was people speculating that he'd be a candidate in Buffalo. He is currently employed as a QB coach in Denver. It'd be kind of depressing if he chose that job over being the Bills OC...

I'm very curious to see if our receivers can get more yards after the catch with Peterman. The Bills were ranked dead last - #32 - in YAC in both 2015 and 2016. I wondered how much was on Tyrod's ball placement and waiting for a receiver to come open (which can allows a DB to jump the route and in turn not allow for YAC) but I was always quick to point out Greg Roman's offenses had usually been near the bottom of the NFL in YAC. So I was reluctant to put the blame on TT and was always quick to point out Roman's historic lack of YAC in his offense. Now the Bills are once again ranked the bottom of the NFL in yards after the catch (29th). I guess this year you could put the blame on the receiving corps (although Jordan Matthews has been ranked pretty high in YAC (20-ish) in 2 of his 3&1/2 seasons. Lesean McCoy is also known for YAC and is usually ranked pretty high and Clay was pretty decent with YAC in Miami). But you have to start wondering how much blame TT deserves for it, with the Bills being on their 3rd OC with the same results... and Dennison's offenses have done ok with YAC in the past. His offenses have been ranked as high as #4 in YAC (which was not the case with Roman). I'm definitely curious to see if Peterman being able to throw the ball before a receiver breaks his route will have a positive impact on our receivers YAC. That has been something our offenses have been desperately missing.

I know McDermott said it was his decision alone and it didn't involve his other coaches. But as soon as he said that my first thought was "I wonder if he is possibly covering for Dennison (etc)."? I honestly wonder if Dennison was a big part of this change being made. I can't see McDermott making a change at QB without heavy input from his offensive coordinator. I wonder if Dennison came into his office and said his game plans weren't being taken advantage of with Tyrod.

He did it on that throw to Kelvin Benjamin, too. Ive said it already, but when you watch the breakdown of Peterman's performance on Sunday it's actually pretty impressive. Numerous anticipatory throws, reading the defense and finding the hole in coverage and delivering the ball there.

I tink it's more about what Peterman did on the field, and knowing what Tyrod is & isn't capable of than Tyrod having 1 bad game. Tyrod wasn't properly utilizing his weapons on offense. Wasn't throwing to open receivers, was checking down way too much. Too scared of making a mistake (etc etc, we've all watched Tyrod...). Peterman came in and was able to read the defense, audible at the LOS, throw the ball to open holes in coverage BEFORE the receiver even made his break. He did some good things and IMO earned this shot. They know now what they have in TT. They can always go back to him if the Chargers game is a disaster for Peterman. But you are not going to get a better chance during this remaining season to make a change to Peterman. 3-6 Chargers in a half empty stadium that will be likely to have just as many Bills fans as Chargers fans (if not more).

Wow. Quite a bold move. I am very excited to see what Peterman can do. He was making anticipatory throws before the receiver was actually open last Sunday, finding holes in the coverage and putting the ball there. When you watch the breakdown tape of Peterman's game it really shows how impressive some of his throws were. I think he earned this shot with his play Sunday. Keeping my expectations realistic though. He is a rookie in his first ever start... Boy though, if this change is permanent, what in the world are some of the posters here going to do now that they can't argue for/against Tyrod all day? lol (j/k).

They still can trade Tyrod. He signed a 2 year deal. So he is still under contract next year. Lets not jump jump the gum here anyway. Peterman hasn't even started a game yet. I hope like crazy that Peterman grabs the starting role, does great and never looks back. But Tyrod starting again is not an impossible scenario as of right now. Plus, IMO it would have been a pretty dirty move to renegotiate his contract and then immediately trade him afterwards... and I don't think anyone was trading for him when he had that 5 year $90M (or whatever it was) contract extension. It was the right move bringing Tyrod back on that renegotiated contract. Who else did the Bills have on the roster at the time? Nobody...

Carolina's defense had a bunch of injuries last season (LB (Luke Kuechly), defensive line, secondary), some at key positions. They also lost their #1CB and 3/4 of their starting secondary from the year before (when they were the #6 defense in the NFL) and were starting 2 rookies (and both were later round picks IIRC). Plus the offense struggled big time, too. It put the defense in a lot of tough situations. Cam wasn't himself late year. He was playing injured for much of the season IIRC. There's also that "Super Bowl hangover" factor... Its not like Carolina's defense wasn't successful when McDermott was there. He had a top 10 defense 4 of the last 5 years, including a #2 ranking and #6 ranking. Last year was just an unusual down year for that D. I'm not surprised that they are rebounding this year. It took McDermott until part way through year 2 to get that Carolina defense playing very well. Then in year 3 they really took a big step forward. He has very little talent on his Bills defense right now, outside of a few guys. Let's wait and see what he does once he gets some more talent to fill key roles... Belichick had full control and was both head coach and (de facto) GM from day 1 in New England. He did bring Scott Pioli with him from the Jets as his director of player personnel (I believe he was first named asst director of player personnel in 2001, and then director in 2001). Pioli never held the title of GM in NE though (nobody buy Belichick has since BB was hired) or had more power than BB. It's actually somewhat similar to what McDermott did with bringing Beane here. He brought someone he has total faith in and respect for to work with. Except Beane is the actual GM and seems to have all the power a GM has. I do think McDermott played a huge role in his hiring but that doesn't mean he is a puppet GM and I don't at all get the impression he is. He seems to be making the trades and personnel moves since he was hired. Also, just Look at the front office, personnel and scouting staff he put together. There's a lot of what I would call big names. I can't see all those guys leaving their current jobs (Gaine being a more/less lateral move) to work for a puppet GM. IMO McDermott and Beane are working hand in hand. Everything seems to be a collaboration, and (again, IMO) that's how it should be. Just because McDermott wanted to work with Beane doesn't mean Beane is his puppet. In fact, I think it's quite the opposite. I think McDermott wanted to work with Beane because he has full faith/trust in him and his ability to run a team, and really respects his opinion. I agree that McDermott seemed to initially have been given quite a bit of power for a 1st time head coach, especially while Whaley was still GM. I also know that it is more the exception than the norm for a coach to help hire his GM. But since Beane was hired, it seems like a very normal GM and coach combo to me. Both seem to be in their normal, defined roles. Coaches having more power/say seems to be a trend. Sean McVay and Les Snead both work very closely together and McVay plays a big role in decisions. Dan Quinn was given a big say in Atlanta. Kyle Shanahan is a 1st time head coach, was technically hired before Lynch and ownership made sure Kyle Shanahan like Lynch and felt he would work well with him before they would hire Lynch (I would assume Shanahan played some role in his hiring, but that is more/less speculation on my part). Both Pete Carrol and Andy Reid basically hired their own GM's (granted both were more experienced at the time). I think it's crucial that the HC and GM are working in perfect sync with each other and are on the exact same page. I think that's the way to have true sustained success. I think that is how most good organizations are run.

Does the Raiders game not count? I thought our defense was fantastic without Dareus in that game. Plus he only played 26, 30, 30 and 33 % of the defensive snaps in 4 of the 6 games he played here this year. The other 2 he played in 56 & 58 % of the defensive snaps. I agree about Tolbert. We need a better #2 RB desperately. But It's WAY too early to even think about the possibility of firing Beane. He came in and specifically said we would build through the draft. Then he went and assembled what looks on paper to be an all star front office, personnel and scouting staff, and has amassed a bunch of draft picks for them to use. How can we even discuss firing him before he's even had his first draft? He didn't even have a full free agency as Bills GM. He came in a couple months after free agency had started IIRC. IMO This year is more about getting rid of guys who aren't on board and changing the culture in the building. Next year will be more about bringing in the replacements. This is just the very beginning of the rebuild - getting rid of guys and collecting draft picks. Next year the actual rebuilding phase starts. So IMO it's just way too soon to be talking about firing the GM or head coach. They need 3-4 years bare minimum, and I want to see them get more like 5 years. Continuously firing people and changing the plan has got the Bills to where they've been the last 17 years. We need to stick to a plan for a change.

Tyrod 9/18 56 yds. through just over 3 & 1/2 quarters. Peterman 7/10 for 79 yds. in roughly 1/3 of a quarter.

Glad to have Clay back (was great to see him running out of the tunnel in that video above) and Benjamin playing. Sucks about Gaines though. We really could have used him today... Even if we do re-sign him, I think we have to address the starting CB spot still. He just doesn't seem to be reliably available.

Happy Birthday!

Well, we are officially in last place in the East, and 2nd to last place in the entire NHL. The only team with a worse record is the 2 win Coyotes. I dont understand why the Sabres keep making the same mistakes over and over again every game, and it's been happening year after year. This isn't a coaching issue IMO, it's a player issue. Is is it just all the young players, and lack of good veterans? No veteran leadership? Lack of overall talent? Is there bad apples in the room? Is it the losing culture that developed during the tank? A combination of all these things? We keep adding new players (11 new guys this year, 7 last year etc) yet we still have many of the same problems year after year. Why is it such a struggle to just stick to a game plan for 60 minutes? Or make a clean tape to tape pass? Or transition the puck? Their transition game is TERRIBLE much of the time. They have a hell of a time getting the puck out of their end and when they do they just turn the puck right back over in the neutral zone and set the other team up to go right back on the attack again. When they do actually get time in the offensive zone they have no idea how to score. They just cycle the puck along the boards and behind the net, then turn it over (with bad passes or bad shots). Nobody goes to the dirty areas, or gets in a position to take the higher percentage shots/scoring chances. The frustrating part is that Housley can usually immediately tell you exactly what the Sabres were doing wrong. He's obviously telling the team the same things during the game, and practicing these things all week. The team even tells you what they are doing wrong. They just can't seem to put it all together on the ice for an entire game, and when they finally do (put it all together) for a game they collapse the following game. Consistency is a huge issue with this team. They'll play a good period and then fall apart. Botterill and Housley sure have their work cut out for them... When Darcy Regier said we'd be in for some suffering, he wasn't kidding. Full tear down rebuilds are painful, and unfortunately they're usually painfully long (as we are experiencing now).

This is what I was worried about @Kelly the Dog Housley needs to learn to keep his mouth shut on these injuries until they know more. This has happened multiple times now. Bogosian, Nylander (who were both said to be day to day and have yet to play a game this year), now Ristolainen... I just hope Risto doesn't turn into another Bogosian/Nylander situation. http://buffalonews.com/2017/11/09/sabres-ristolainen-downgraded-to-week-to-week-with-injury/ 'The Sabres are going to be without Rasmus Ristolainen for longer than originally planned. "It's more of a week-to-week situation right now," coach Phil Housley said Thursday.'

Should be interesting. I'm going to watch for sure. Thanks.

Yeah I watched hard knocks too and remember everyone raving about what a great leader he was. I thought he was ok, but I seen him doing things that I felt could rub guys the wrong way or turn guys off to him. At least that's how I felt about some of the stuff he did. I also felt that he was maybe trying too hard at times and/or being almost overly vocal and pushy. Especially considering that he really hasn't done a whole lot on the NFL field yet. I always think back back to that quote by Jack Eichel about how you can try to be a leader but "who's going to follow you if you're not performing (on the ice/field)?". I think that is probably pretty true. I know it was that way when I played sports. I was captain of several different hockey teams I played on, and it sure was a lot easier to get guy to fall into line when I was performing well on the ice...