Logic

Yeah, it's interesting. This hadn't really occurred to me until just now, but...the personality and demeanor of the head coach seem to be fundamentally at odds with those of its best players. What I mean is that a team should take on the personality of its leader(s). In our case, our team lives and dies by Josh Allen and, to a lesser extent, Stefon Diggs. Those are fun-loving, silly, swaggy, confident guys. Sean McDermott, on the other hand? He's buttoned up, conservative, lots of cliches and coach speak, lots of "let's play smart, complementary football", "let's establish the running game", "lets get into a rhythm", etc, etc...His general personality and coaching style do not scream "fun and confidence and letting it all hang out there and leaving it all on the field". If a team takes on the personality of its leader, I fear that our team -- instead of taking on the personality of its ON-field leaders -- has taken on the personality of its OFF-field leader, Sean McDermott. And that personality, as I just mentioned, is buttoned up, conservative, etc etc. Look at the Bengals. They follow Joe Cool's lead, and it shows. Look at the Chiefs. They follow Mahomes' fearlessness, and it shows. But if I look at the Bills? I see a team who is more McDermott than Allen, and that doesn't seem like a good thing any more. I used to associate Sean McDermott with high character, discipline, and toughness. Now I associate him with conservativeness, stubbornness, and wilting in big moments. I don't know what coaching candidate would come in and re-instill a sense of fun, fearlessness, aggressiveness, and swagger in this team, but it does seem to be what's needed. That's what's so difficult: by standard measurements and analytics and point differential and all that, the Bills are a good football team! Buy going by the intangibles, the gut feel, the X factor, the extra SOMETHING that's needed to win a championship...this team just doesn't seem to have it. In truth, it was probably all over for this version of the Bills the moment 13 seconds happened, and we're all -- fans, coaches, players, everyone -- just not willing to admit it. Until we do, and until we flip the page to a fresh, new chapter, I fear we're just in a slow, prolonged decline.

I wish that I didn't agree with this post, but I do. If I look at this team and am completely honest with myself, I have to acknowledge that is just seems too flawed to win a championship this season. These Bills are simply too inconsistent from game to game. Even if they get into the playoffs, does anyone HONESTLY have faith they can string together the four good games (playoffs + Super Bowl) necessary to hoist a Lombardi? They can fight and claw their way into the playoffs, but does anyone really have any faith that the Bills team we saw last night won't rear its ugly head once there and be eliminated immediately anyway? Like you, I have felt the past few years that the Bills were legitimate Super Bowl contenders just going through midseason slumps. That they'd right the ship and make the playoffs and contend for a title. This year? I don't feel that way. I feel like they're just a pretty average football team. Capable of being the best team in the league any given week, but also capable of being confoundingly vanilla, unimaginative, uninspired, and lackluster. I, too, have begun to wonder if what plagues this team is intangible. If they have simply stopped having fun and stopped having swag and stopped believing they can win. You look at the swagger of a team like the Bengals -- or even the post-McDaniels Raiders yesterday -- and then you look at our team. When was the last time we displayed that type of confidence? When was the last time our team looked from whistle to whistle like it was having fun and playing for each other and believing in each other? Something's off, and the thing that makes me saddest of all is that I can't easily put my finger on what it is. There is no easy fix here. No "oh, just do this and all will be well" solution. I don't know how to fix these Bills. All I know is that the 2023 Buffalo Bills do not look like Super Bowl contenders, and that sucks.

This one's simple to me: Groot WAS on the trajectory toward dominance that we all expected this season until he hurt his foot. Hasn't looked the same since. Furthermore, since Von came back, Groot has been on the field less. Now, in all likelihood, Groot's reduced pass rushing effectiveness as a result of his injury is likely also to blame for his reduced snap count. BUT...if he returns to form and continues to cede snaps to Von Miller -- who does not yet look to be back to his old self -- I may become a bit concerned. I love having Floyd and Miller, but I don't want our young, blossoming stud to have his growth stunted by losing too many snaps to guys that are in the back nine of their careers. I think Groot is already a good NFL Edge with the potential and with all the needed tools to become a perennial top 10 guy. His biggest enemies right now are his own health and the veterans in front of him. Also, I know we're all sick of hearing this after the Tremaine Edmunds years, but...Groot is still just 23 years old, and this is only his fourth year playing defensive end EVER. I mean across high school, college, and the pros. Crazy to think about.

I posted this in another thread, but I thought this specific notion was worthy of its own discussion. Perhaps I'm wrong and this is just a LAMP post, I don't know. Anyway... The biggest and most frustrating issue to me this whole season is that the Bills offense is Jekyll and Hyde. If it was ONLY ever bad and ineffective, then it would be easy to say "fire the play caller". But that's not the case, and that's what makes the issue so confounding. Some weeks, they are absolute killers. They have shown that they can be lethally effective, just as they are constructed now, WITH this playbook and this playcaller. Then other weeks, they are meek little lambs. There's no rhythm, no variety, the playcalls don't build off of each other or show any semblance of creativity or logical sequencing or forethought. Some drives, they spread things out, use tempo and motion, get to the line quickly, get the short game and Josh's legs working, and attack the defense until it looks helpless to stop them. Other drives, they come out in static formations, use very little tempo or motion, get to the line too late, force the intermediate and long game, and look slow and timid and reactive, helpless against whatever the defense throws at them. Sometimes, Josh looks confident, certain, accurate, and makes quick decisions. Other times, he looks tentative, uncertain, pats the ball too long, and doesn't seem to know what to do with it. Why do they vacillate between these extremes? How can they look so different from game to game, even from drive to drive? Why can they not seem to stick with the good and throw out the bad? THIS is the key issue with this team this season -- its Jekyll and Hyde offense. Until they figure it out, their season is going nowhere fast. Can anyone explain this phenomenon? Is there something defenses are doing differently from game to game or drive to drive to cause this bizarre disparity in effectiveness? It's extremely confounding to watch, and I am at a total loss to explain it.

The issue to me is that the Bills offense is Jekyll and Hyde. Some weeks, they are absolute killers. They have shown that they can be lethally effective, just as they are constructed now, WITH this playbook and this playcaller. Then other weeks, they are meek little lambs. There's no rhythm, no variety, the playcalls don't build off of each other or show any semblance of creativity or logical sequencing or forethought. Some drives, they spread things out, use tempo and motion, get to the line quickly, get the short game and Josh's legs working, and attack the defense until it looks helpless to stop them. Other drives, they come out in static formations, use very little tempo or motion, get to the line too late, force the intermediate and long game, and look slow and timid and reactive, helpless against whatever the defense throws at them. From game to game, and from drive to drive, they vacillate between these two extremes. Why?

You sure are mouthy for a guest in enemy territory. We get all sorts of visiting fans from opposing teams. You sure are choosing to go about your business an...in interesting way. Good luck to you, and good luck to your Bengals this Sunday.

I won't dispute the fact that Fournette had poor average yards per carry last season and that his career average of 4.0 is not impressive. That said...it would only be fair to mention that Fournette had over 1,000 yards from scrimmage each of the past two seasons, whereas Murray has not had over 1,000 yards from scrimmage since 2016. And you can easily say "well, fournette has had more snaps and more opportunities", and that's true. But of course then the question of "WHY has Fournette consistently had more snaps and more opportunities than Murray?" should logically follow. Fournette is not a world beater, but neither is Murray. They both offer similar things (power running, pass catching ability, pass blocking ability). Your assertion that Fournette is no better than Murray may be true, but it's no sure thing/slam dunk either way. At the very worst, Fournette is an upgrade over Ty Johnson.

Truly. Given that we played a stinker of a game and lost anyway, I'd rather we had just forfeited the damn thing in protest of the various ridiculous circumstances. At least we'd still have Milano, Jones, and Knox, and could give a nice middle finger to the NFL. (Yes, I realize that refusing to play an NFL game and forfeiting in advance is not realistic. I'm just saying...f*ck injuries and f*ck the NFL's greed)

Beane SIGNIFICANTLY upgraded at cornerback -- I'd argue that Douglas is currently playing at a higher level than Tre White was this season. No disrespect intended to White, who's one of my favorite Bills. It's just the truth. Beane SIGNIFICANTLY upgraded at 1TDT -- Linval Joseph is vastly better than Tim Settle and Jordan Phillips. Beane SIGNIFICANTLY upgraded at RB2 or RB3 -- at the very worst, Fournette is a big upgrade over Ty Johnson. I'd argue that he's also an upgrade over Latavius Murray. Given the Bills' recent distrust of James Cook as a pass blocker, Murray's relative ineffectiveness the past few weeks, and Damien Harris's injury status, running back was an underrated need for the Bills. They were one James Cook injury away from having to start a 33-year-old running back full time and having basically no one of use behind him. Instead they now have a guy who has had over 1,000 yards from scrimmage each of the last two seasons, can both pass block and catch on 3rd down, can be a goal line and short yardage weapon, and is five years younger than Murray. Not only were all of these good additions, but two of them didn't cost any draft compensation, the third didn't cost MUCH draft compensation (given the incoming 3rd round compensatory pick and the 5th they got back in return), and none of them have prohibitive contracts. Very, very good week for Brandon Beane.

Yeah I'd be on board with that. Settle has done absolutely nothing to stand out to me this year. Let Phillips and Oliver (and Groot on passing downs) be your 3Ts and let Joseph and Ford be your 1Ts. Sign me up.

I think that the Bills will be really "up" for this one, the way they were against Miami. This Bills team sometimes plays up or down to its opponents. There are times when they demolish the bad teams, sure, but also times when they make it way harder than it needs to be (as we have seen a few times this year already). Likewise, when they have a big matchup against a quality opponent, they often come out firing. After the confidence boost against Tampa and with the defensive reinforcements added -- who I think will be active and play at least a rotation of snaps -- I think the Bills play a good game on Sunday night. I expect the team to be fired up to avenge the playoff loss and to show that they belong in the conversation for best team in the league. I think they're eager to wash the bad taste of a mid-season slump out of their mouths, and I think they know that 6-3 is worlds apart from 5-4, particularly with how tough the upcoming schedule will get. The Bengals are firing on all cylinders, too, and they're the home team, so I can't say with certainty that the Bills will win. But I think they'll be focused, effective, and play good football.

Absolutely love the signing. I wonder two things: First, which DT goes back to the inactive list each week, assuming they don't suit up five of them. Is it Ford again? If so....the Ford signing was not great. Though I suppose for them to even NEED to sign Joseph, the Ford signing ALREADY wasn't looking great. Second, is there any chance at all that Daquon Jones can come back by playoff time? An early down interior line of Joseph and Jones would be beastly to try to run against. The Bills defense got a lot better this week. Rasul Douglas and Linval Joseph will help that side of the ball IMMENSELY, and neither will break the bank. Well done, Beane.

You can't make this stuff up. Someone actually posted this. In real life. Incredible.

I hadn't realized that Dalton Kincaid's middle name started with a Z. That's pretty cool.

Sometimes the feel of the game can be seen or sensed better with the eye than with stats or analytics. Whereas last week, and in the weeks that preceded it, it felt like a struggle for the Bills to move the ball until deep into the third quarter, this week, it did not. Whereas the past few weeks, they lacked rhythm and identity, last night they did not. Josh Allen also specifically looked better. More comfortable, more decisive, and had the quickest time-to-throw of his entire career. He was fully in command. I don't think many would say that about the past few weeks. Because of the offense taking their foot off the pedal to some degree, switching to more of a ball control, bleed the clock mode, and taking a bit of air out of the football, the metrics wound up being what they wound up being. But the eye test and the gut feel watching last night's game both tell me that the offense was significantly better, more comfortable, more effective, in a better rhythm, and that I'd bet the players would all say the same thing.

Most of the players have already been mentioned. As a couple others have said: Dorsey and McDermott both deserve game balls for the offensive and defensive gameplans, respectively. The 3rd and 1 shotgun on the goal line was infuriating, but that's the only thing I can ding Dorsey for. The rest was good. McDermott's defensive gameplan was great. The chaotic movement at the line, the double a-gap stuff...we haven't seen that kind of attempt to confuse the offense, at least to that degree, this season. I thought it was a masterful defensive gameplan. I also thought he managed the game well at the end. It was not his fault that the drive that led to 8 points in the 4th quarter for the Bucs went the way it did. He didn't commit the two 4th down penalties. Even so, they drained almost the entire clock away. So yeah...the offensive and defensive coordinators did a fine job last night, and after all the kvetching (much of it justified) about them all season long, they deserve their kudos for last night.

This isn't rocket science. The Bills have five safeties on their roster. Hyde and Poyer start. Rapp plays in three-safety sets and is next man up likely at both safety positions. Cam Lewis, the fourth safety, is a standout special teams player and provides positional versatility that Hamlin doesn't offer. Hamlin is a pure free safety. He doesn't play nickel corner like Cam Lewis. He's not as good a special teamer as Lewis. Ergo, he will be inactive most of the year unless injuries hit at safety. This happens across the league. Not every player gets to be active every week. Why aren't you asking if Alec Anderson or Germain Ifehdi deserve to be on the team?

Yeah I felt it was pretty palpable that they made the decision of "hey, let's burn clock and play call control" instead of "let's keep attacking" once they built a two score lead. Didn't love that. The thing is, they can still do the tempo and "getting to the line early" stuff and ALSO bleed the clock down to 01 before they snap it. They need not be mutually exclusive. If they somehow come out against the Bengals NOT executing this same basic plan (tempo, getting to the line early, spreading things out), I'll be very discouraged. They've been looking for a clear identity on offense all season. This is it. It's clear as day. I hope they see it, too.

Yeah it was bad. It was ugly. One can only hope it's something they will work on.

Give him a minute. He's 34 and coming off a torn ACL. Let him round into form. He will. Give him a minute.

I was pleasantly surprised and, at times, almost shocked by the Bills offense last night. It was like night and day from what we've seen the past few weeks. Things that stood out: - Felt like the 2020-2021 offense again. Spread, tempo, quick decisions - Speaking of quick decisions, at one point the broadcast showed that it was Allen's fastest EVER time-to-throw in his career. Impressive. - THAT was the Khalil Shakir we all thought we would be getting on draft day. If he can be THAT guy moving forward? Huge. - The biggest surprise of all: Gabe Davis! I have NEVER seen him look like that in a game. To be moved around like that, to be featured, to be making contributions in the short and intermediate game like that. Where has THAT been his whole career? As I said with Shakir, if Gabe can be THAT guy moving forward? Huge. - Kincaid and Cook. Youngsters showing up and showing out. - Actually, the offensive production mostly belonged to younger guys last night. Cook, Kincaid, Shakir, and even Davis is only 24 years old. Youth movement on offense. Love to see it. - Well-called game by Dorsey. Didn't love that they sort of called the dogs off in the second half and got more conservative. Hopefully almost losing the game will teach them not to do that any more. - Getting Josh Allen to the line early -- like with, say, 20 seconds on the play clock -- is key. The players spoke about it throughout the week, and then sure enough, they made an effort to do it last night. I hope it's here to stay. The Bills are a different offense when this happens, and Allen is a different quarterback. He looked fully in command last night, fully confident, and fully in rhythm. I think the tempo and getting to the line early were big reasons why. All in all, returning to their offensive roots + spread formations + getting different targets involved + tempo + getting to the line early + confident Josh = very fun viewing. Oh and, by the way: When the offense is actually producing and moving the ball, the rest it gives the defense allows the defense to look MUCH better and more effective. And speaking of defense, let me just say: I really, REALLY hope that that chaotic craziness that the front seven was showing before many plays last night is here to stay. The double A-gap stuff, the simulated pressures, all of it. Awesome. Great gameplan by McDermott, too.

The Isabella thing seems like one of those situations where everyone talks all day about a surprise roster call-up, only for that player to get like 4 snaps all night. I think it's as simple as this: with the tight end depth chart suddenly so thin, the Bills are gonna lean into the spread looks tonight, and therefore want to have more healthy bodies at wide receiver. Basically, they have a roster spot open for a pass catcher due to Knox and Morris being out, and rather than call up a player like Joel Wilson and continuing to try to run 12 personnel with inferior players, they're calling up a receiver instead and going a different route in terms of how they attack defenses. Even so, I don't expect Isabella to actually play much on offense. Time will tell.

No reliable source with this. The account that posted it is a professional spaghetti thrower, nothing more. Tony Pauline, who is vastly more reliable than Random Twitter Guy X, says Ravens are the clubhouse leaders and the Cowboys are a dark horse. No mention of the Bills. It would also be absolutely bizarre for this team -- with its needs at CB, LB, DT, outside WR, and even TE now that Knox is on IR -- to trade for a RUNNING BACK. That's the LEAST of the Bills' problems.

I think it's simple: Elam was a physically gifted cover corner in college. The book on him was that he was a god man coverage corner (albeit a bit handsy), but struggled in zone coverage and with effective tackling. I believe the staff felt that they could teach him what he needed to know about zone coverage and could coach him to be a better tackler. It's easier to teach a good man coverage corner to play zone, theoretically, than to teach a physically limited zone corner to be effective in man coverage. Unfortunately, Elam never quite seemed to learn his zone responsibilities well enough to earn the trust of the coaches. Also unfortunately for him, he had a player drafted alongside him in Christian Benford who excels both in knowledge of his zone responsibilities AND as a tackler -- two of the most important aspects in McDermott's defense. Personally, I expected Benford to have the early edge, but Elam to catch up the more he learned. The only problem is he never DID quite seem to learn, leaving him as a schematic mismatch for the Bills defense. The hope in attempting to trade him would be that there's a team out there that plays more man coverage and feels he'd be a good fit for what they ask of their corners. I warn Bills fans: if they DO manage to trade Elam, it's likely to be for a frustratingly low return. Think no better than a 5th round pick, and even that might be lofty.

Beane's philosophy with 1st round picks has pretty much always been to take big swings at supremely physically gifted athletes and trust that his coaching staff will develop them into quality pros. Sometimes it works: Josh Allen, Greg Rousseau Sometimes it doesn't: Tremaine Edmunds, Kaiir Elam No team hits on 100% of their 1st round draft picks. No one. Yes, the Elam pick was a whiff. No, there's no spinning it any other way. But no, it doesn't need to be some huge indictment on the GM or the coaches. Sometimes, players bust. It happens. It's part of football. Beane and the coaching staff helped limit the pain of the Elam pick by finding, drafting, and developing Christian Benford. Yes, you'd rather that the Elam pick had hit as well, but it didn't. That's life. That's the draft. Let's not turn simple arithmetic into complex algebra. You win some, you lose some.