Logic

This comment seems a bit harsh. While he's struggled a few times in recent games, he has looked quite good at RT overall for a rookie -- particularly one drafted in the third round. I definitely don't think he should move to LT full time, but it won't surprise me if he starts there on Sunday if Dawkins is out. He's listed as the backup LT on the Bills' depth chart.

1. I hope more COVID positives aren't soon to follow for the Bills, but looking logically at how this has gone for other teams lately, I fear there will be more. 2. I read recently that the only reason the NFL didn't want to acquiesce to the NFLPA and have daily testing -- even for vaccinated players -- is because it would be too expensive. It's absolutely MIND BOGGLING to me (though sadly not surprising) that the NFL would so readily put money ahead of the safety of its players and the integrity and legitimacy of its games. Sometimes I hate that I'm so addicted to the Bills, because the NFL is an evil, negligent, greedy enterprise that cares nothing for the safety of its players. 3. It looks increasingly like the final quarter of this season and perhaps the playoffs are going to be nothing more than a war of attrition. This is largely avoidable, but because of item number 2, is NOT being avoided. Very disappointing.

If JUST Dawkins winds up on the COVID list, it would be kind of a shocker. Lately, with this variant, where one COVID positive pops up for an NFL team, others are close behind. I won't speculate too wildly, but I'll be surprised if he's the only Bills player that ends up on the COVID reserve list.

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The list says that his "EPI" ranking, which it defines as "Calls/performance in every situation", is 4th. So it actually ranks more than his 4th down decision making. In fact, at 14, his "CCI" --4th down decision making -- is only slightly above average. It is his "calls/performance in every situation" rankings that brings him up to 5th overall.

When Sal posted this on Twitter, SO MANY people replied calling it nonsense and ragging on McDermott. The only thing is, 99% of their arguments were, well....not really arguments at all. While you may not agree with Edj Sports' list or their reasoning, it's at least based on a quantifiable set of statistics that are based on how each decision affects win likelihood percentage. In other words, there is at least method to their madness. By contrast, the people who want to crap on the list and say it's nonsense don't really have anything to back up their claims other than their subjective opinion, their gut feeling, or their lingering upset over recent Bills losses. Put differently: Who is more likely to have an accurate read on this situation? The unbiased, statistical analysis based study, or the angry Bills fans that call into radio shows? I know who I'm going with.

But what everyone REALLY wants to know is....... What was Wawrow wearing?

I agree that Josh will play, but I do believe that them preparing Mitch to play is more than just gamesmanship. All it takes is one player to step on Allen's foot, or for him to come up seriously limping after a play, and I believe it's possible we'd see Trubisky come in. While they need to win the game, they surely also realize that they need to go at least 3-1 in the remaining four, and getting Josh more seriously injured won't help us achieve that goal.

Didn't see this mentioned yet in this thread, but... Panthers QB Sam Darnold has been activated from IR and will practice today. It's possible we don't see the Walker/Newton poo-poo platter on Sunday, but instead see Sam Darnold. I realize that the Panthers offense is hot garbage right now and the Bills have no excuses this Sunday, but....having to prepare for three different quarterbacks is not exactly ideal.

I'll tell ya why McDermott should be fired: He slipped on 4th down against the Titans! He dropped two passes in the end zone against the Pats! He failed to throw a flag against Carlton Davis in the Bucs game! Had he done his job better on those three instances, the Bills would be 10-3 right now and the number 1 seed in the AFC. FIRE McDERMOTT!!!!!!!!!

That's my complaint, too. If you've decided you're going for it, do you REALLY think a punt fake sweep to Breida has a better chance of getting two yards than letting Allen -- the best player on your roster -- run or throw it?

I would sure love it if the Bills could build a big lead in the first half and then sit Josh for the entire second half.

I read that Breida hasn't lined up at the position on special teams at which he lined up for that play ALL SEASON LONG. So yeah, seeing a guy who is not usually out there, on the field for the punt, at a spot on the field where defenses are on the alert for a fake anyway, would certainly be a massive tip of the hand to any opposing unit with decent intelligence. Just like putting Breida in the backfield on the fake QB sneak HB pitch in week 1 against the Steelers. If you put a dude out there that's not usually out there, it's gonna be pretty hard to fool the defense.

I can't believe that this thread has made it to 17 pages, or that anyone with a functioning brain actually wants to fire Sean McDermott. Good lord.

Novak's crew sends its thanks!

I respectfully disagree that he isn't and can't still be a very good player. The Giants' offensive line is absolutely atrocious and their scheme is dinosaur nonsense. They don't split Barkley out into the slot or out wide, match him up against linebackers, or basically put any effort into actually using him as a weapon in the passing game. The run game is INCREDIBLY uncreative. Their passing game is no threat at all, so opposing defenses can stack the box all day long and easily stymie the Giants' awful, stale running game. I maintain that he could do damage in the Bills' offense. Anyway, I'm not saying we should trade a 1st for him or anything. If the price is right, though, I'm in favor of it.

I'm personally hoping Beane gets on the horn to his old buddy Gettleman (if he's still in NJ come March) and trades for Saquon Barkley. Dude is still just 24 years old. The Giants have him stuck in an ancient offensive scheme with no creativity. Get him in here, rebuild his confidence, and move him around the field like the deadly weapon he is. Let's see if defenses still want to go two-high all game when Barkley is the short outlet in the passing game.

I'm not sure how you can look at the Bills' 2019 record or their 2021 record and conclude that the DEFENSE was the primary problem. The 2019 Bills were the 23rd ranked offense in points per game. The 2021 Bills have THREE losses where the offense's red zone failings led to a loss -- the 4th down slip in the Titans game, the two empty red zone trips against New England, and the failure to convert 3rd and 2 in regulation against the Bucs (not to mention the three and out by the offense to start overtime). Give me just a touch better red zone production in those three losses and the Bills are 10-3. Frazier's not perfect, but his defense damned sure isn't the primary reason the Bills have six losses.

To be fair, all good defenses -- save for the historic defenses like the 2000 Ravens -- sometimes have games where they give up a lot of points. The number 1 scoring defense in the NFL right now is the Patriots, at 15.4 ppg allowed. They have had games this year where they allowed 24, 28, and 35 points. I also can't help but wonder how many of the points given up in the Bills' worst defensive outings this year could have been avoided if the offense hadn't been so toothless in those games. Not the Titans game, but certainly the Colts and the first half of the Buccaneers game saw multiple 3-and-outs by the Bills offense, which gave the ball right back to the opposing offense way too quickly.

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I don't really understand this line of thinking. The Bills are one of the better coached defenses in the NFL. They were the 2nd ranked scoring defense in 2019 and are the 2nd ranked scoring defense this year. 2020 was admittedly a bad year for the Bills defense. Other than that, what's the gripe?

Diggs is still on a petty good statistical pace. At his current average of 74 receiving yards per game, he's on pace to have 1,258 yards receiving and 9 or 10 touchdowns. His targets are down and the performance of the entire Bills offense is down a bit from last year. I also think teams are paying him a lot more defensive attention this year. Part of the problem, I think, is that Diggs was just so All-World last year, that this year looks like some kind of a letdown. In reality, 1200 yards and 10 TDs is a damned good season for a WR.

I get the sense that this game will be a lot closer than Bills fans would like to think. Between Josh's injury (even if he plays, he won't be at 100%), the Panthers having a good defense with a lockdown CB1, and the cold weather, I don't see the Bills blowing out the Panthers. They should absolutely win, don't get me wrong. If they can't beat this Panthers team, they don't deserve the playoffs anyway. It just might be more of a nail biter than some might expect.

I want to add a talented receiver, too, but I don't know if the first round is necessary. We may already have a dynamic WR2 on our roster.

Personally, I think the "Bills want a running back" rumor was legitimate. We'll never know for sure, of course, but I think Etienne would have been the pick if he was on the board.