Logic

The quote, the fresh haircut, the vigorous post-TD celebrations, particularly with Shakir... It's safe to say Josh might be feeling good this week. As Josh goes, the Bills go, so...

I don't disagree that the players are largely to blame for the offensive struggles this season. However, I've said it before and I'll keep going back to it: When MULTIPLE players on offense are committing inexcusable turnovers week after week -- are looking sloppy, executing poorly, and exhibiting poor ball security -- I believe it's still an indictment on the offensive coordinator. McDermott has said that he likes to let his coordinators completely run their side of the ball. So if Ken Dorsey was the ultimate offensive boss, then it was his job to preach ball security, to emphasize attention to detail, and ultimately, to get his team ready to play on Sundays. Videos I saw online this week of Joe Brady's first practices as OC showed him running routes with the WRs, doing ball security drills with the QBs using a jousting stick type implement -- in short, he was being a hands-on coach, and he was attacking the areas in which the Bills have struggled. Now maybe Dorsey was doing these things, too, though I didn't see a single video online all season of him being hands-on in this way in practice. Furthermore, McDermott's recent comments about "doing things the right way in the margins" on offense certainly seemed to suggest that he was not happy with some of the NON-playcalling aspects of Dorsey's performance. It would be unreasonable to COMPLETELY blame an offensive coordinator for the failures of his players on Sundays. But it would be just as unreasonable, in my opinion, to completely dismiss his role in those failures, particularly when they haven't been a big issue with many of these same players in past seasons.

That's fair, Alpha, and I don't disagree that acquiring a player using a draft pick should count the same as drafting him, more or less. The only nit I would pick is that the 1st round pick used to get Stefon Diggs was ultimately used to pick Justin Jefferson, who is arguably the best WR in the league, and is still just 24 years old. So the Bills would have had arguably a better (or, at the minimum, just as good) receiver, who's 5 years younger. They would have had him on a rookie contract for four to five seasons, freeing up the big bucks during those years that were allocated to Diggs. I know, I know: Diggs has been a culture builder and team leader, and has brought out the best in Josh, and we can't be sure that Jefferson would have done any of those things, etc, etc...I understand all of that. Still, I can't help but wonder what a Josh Allen to Justin Jefferson connection could have looked like for 15 or so years. Could have been a historically great QB-WR connection. So yes, I believe it's fair to count trades that Beane made using draft picks in his favor, but only if one also considers who was picked in the spot he traded out of. And in this case, the player picked in the spot he traded out of takes a little bit of the shine off of his trade.

Well said. I forget which Bills reporter/talking head said it (Sal? Buscaglia? Bruce Nolan on Twitter?) but Brandon Beane hits lots of singles and doubles, but rarely any home runs. He doesn't strike out often either, and that's why he still keeps getting more at-bats. Kincaid and Bernard are starting to look like potential home runs. Torrence, Cook, and Benford (particularly given how late he was drafted) are starting to look like they could at least be in that conversation, as well.

Another rough look for the "Dorsey wasn't the problem" crowd. I mean...it COULD just be a coincidence that the Bills score 32 on a great Jets D and Josh shouts "I feel like I'm $@#%ing back!" the very first week without Dorsey at the helm. Or, ya know...

Sure, but the pre-snap motion that I mentioned is also a nice little added touch that the Bills' and Giants' versions did not feature.

Yep. Shanahan's version is eeeever so slightly better, due to the motion of McCaffrey several steps in the opposite direction of where he'd be running his route. Giants ran this play yesterday, too. It didn't look as pretty as when the Bills or 9ers did it, but it did score a touchdown.

Hoping for a game that goes down to the last 3 seconds of overtime, with the Eagles winning and both teams coming out exhausted. Oh and I want D'Andre Swift and Travis Kelce to have great games for....reasons.

Thanks for the nice writeup. Just wanted to say one thing in response that kind of ties these three bullet points together: If the Bills can't find their way to 10 wins and a playoff spot, then they -- just like the Jets -- will have wasted a division-winning roster of talent. From the vastly improved OL, to the young offensive playmakers stepping up, to Josh Allen having a very good year (despite all the talk over his facial expressions and the tone of his voice in interviews) to, most especially, this beast of a defensive line. Injuries or not, if the Bills can't find their way into the postseason with THIS cast of players, it will represent an absolute criminal waste of talent. I hope the Bills can do just what you say and win one of the next two (preferably the Chiefs game, for seeding reasons) and then handle business in the other games. If the Bills CAN get into the postseason? With this defensive line, potentially a Von Miller returning to effectiveness, potentially a Daquan Jones returning to the field, with the adversity they will have overcome to get there....I wouldn't want to have to face them. Lots has to happen before any of that can become a consideration. Let's see how they look in Philly and KC.

Pretty crazy that Edmunds is in his 6th year and is still just 25 years old. Unfortunately, like his "physical freak who got drafted really young" predecessor Amobi Okoye, he never quite became the player that his physical talents suggested he had the potential to become. Ya win some, ya lose some. Luckily for the Bills, Brandon Beane and his scouts were right on Terrel "too small to play linebacker, looks more like a safety, total waste of a draft pick" Bernard, and here we are.

I think that the thing that encouraged me most was the ease with which the Bills moved the ball against the Jets defense. As you say, they didn't come away with enough touchdowns early on. However, even moving the ball into field goal range repeatedly instead of having herky-jerky three-and-outs represents a marked improvement not only over recent weeks, but over the past several outings against the Jets, too. Even when the Bills offense has been firing on all cylinders in past meetings, they have usually been stymied by the Jets defense. So THIS particular performance against THIS particular opponent was encouraging to me. I read that it's the most points the Jets have given up in two years. That's impressive. Their defense is mostly healthy and was playing for its playoff life. Further, Josh Allen had 3 touchdowns and only one (forgivable, understandable, meaningless) turnover. THAT marks a huge improvement over his usual performances against the Jets, too. I listed the specifics of what I liked on offense in the post-game thread today: logical game planning to attack the Jets' few defensive weaknesses, getting the running backs involved in the passing game, targeting the middle of the field, being less predictable, getting plays into the huddle quickly so the offense got to the line with lots of time on the clock, and involving youngsters like Cook, Kincaid, Shakir, and even Ty Johnson. There was also the intangible thing of the Bills having fun and Josh Allen looking like the excitable Josh Allen of old. Like you say, time will tell whether that newfound energy is here to stay. Most of all, I came away thinking: this is the first time in a while that I was bored the whole 4th quarter, because the Bills clearly had the game well in hand. This is the first time in a while that I spent the last 10 minutes of the game clock watching Kyle Allen take snaps, rather than Josh Allen try to rally the Bills from behind. THAT felt like a huge improvement and a sigh of relief. Good game against a mediocre opponent but a great defense. Now the toughest of all possible challenges: Facing last year's Super Bowl participants on the road, first in hostile Philly, then in loud Arrowhead. No small feat. Great first outing for Brady though, I thought. Baby steps in some areas, giant leaps in others. Let's keep it rolling.

I'm sticking with my prediction, no matter how overly optimistic it may seem: Bills go into week 18 only needing to beat the Dolphins to secure the 7th seed. The Dolphins, having already secured the 2nd seed and with nothing to play for, pull the starters early and the Bills win. Bills return to Miami the following week for the Saturday night game of Wild Card Weekend.

Well that was five years ago! About damn time.

I can't remember the last Bills running back who gave me the confidence, every time he was handed the ball, that he'd pick up 4-6 yards. I can't remember the last Bills running back that -- even though we have an elite QB -- made me WANT to see the Bills hand the ball off a bunch during the game. Himbo Cook. Silky smooth. Beast. Best football is still ahead of him. Great draft pick. Not to detract from James Cook, who this thread is about, but: between Cook, Kincaid, Shakir, O'Cyrus Torrence, and even Spencer Brown, the Bills' future is looking bright on offense. These youngsters can PLAY!

I have always loved that quote, but never knew specifically who it was attributed to. Thanks.

Obviously a win going into the bye would be huge, but... Assuming the Bills need to go 5-2 the rest of the way to have a good shot at playoffs, tomorrow is one of the two games they can MOST afford to lose (the other being the Cowboys game). Put simply: winning all of their remaining games would obviously be best, but if they HAVE to lose a couple, the NFC opponents would be the least harmful ones to lose.

Cook looks to have what it takes to be the featured back in Buffalo for the foreseeable future. As others have mentioned, there's more to unlock with his passing game involvement, as well. I'd love to see the Bills find a big, thumping "thunder" to Cook's "lightning" this offseason. Essentially, a younger, fresher version of Latavius Murray, who is rather long in the tooth. Ty Johnson looks like a good RB3 to me, but probably not much more. Fournette may or may not even see snaps this year and is approaching 30 himself. Shame that Damien Harris sustained a serious injury this year. I would have been interested to see what he could do as the year progressed.

The "other teams' QB" point is real, and I am optimistic that the Bills will have a shot at a Wild Card spot going into week 18. HOWEVER... The Bills AFC conference record is abysmal. They are 3-5. So the problem is that in a hypothetical world where they finish with the same record as the teams you mentioned, they lose most tie breakers. Not only do the Bills likely need to go 5-2 down the stretch (which is no small feat), it would also really help if they won all of their remaining AFC games, specifically.

Per Joe Marino on Twitter: 32 points is the most any team has scored against the Jets in the last two years. Not a bad first outing for Mr Brady...

It seems to be the way of the world in online journalism these days, for better or worse. Modern readers have such short attention spans and will click away from something incredibly quickly if it doesn't immediately grab their attention, or so the theory goes, anyway. Gone are the days of erudite and eloquent journalism or of journalism as art, at least as it relates to sports writing. Dr Zimmerman, Sharp is not. Unfortunately, it's all about clicks and "minutes spent on website" and ad revenues these days.

Personally, I was really encouraged by what I saw from the offense yesterday. The defense continued to play really well, particularly considering all of the injuries to the unit. But obviously, given the change at offensive coordinator, the offense is what I was most interested to see. A good first outing for Joe Brady and company. Schematically: - Attacking the Jets' defense logically, i.e. they have really good corners, so we featured the running backs and tight ends instead - Featuring the running backs in the passing game. Not as checkdown options, but on plays where they're the primary read - Scheming players open. Happened on the James Cook and Ty Johnson touchdowns - Attacking the middle of the field, namely to Dalton Kincaid and Khalil Shakir - Featuring the young Bills offensive players in the gameplan. Kincaid, Shakir, Cook, and even Ty Johnson all critical to success on the day - Less predictability. I, as a viewer, had way less idea what was coming from play to play. Can only imagine it was the same for the Jets defense - Good tempo throughout. It could be me, but plays seemed to be getting in faster, and the Bills O getting to the line sooner and with more time on the playclock. - Diggs only had 27 yards and Davis had 0, but the Bills still scored 32 points. This showed diversity and creativity and an ability to produce beyond WR1 Intangibles: - Josh was fired up, and firing up teammates. Him sprinting all the way downfield to celebrate with Shakir, and then the WAY he celebrated with Shakir. Man, what a sight for sore eyes. Guys looked like they were having more fun. Didn't look so "heavy". A player or two specifically mentioned after the fact that it was a fun day, too. Things I'll be watching going forward: - Diggs was invisible. Was this simply a matter of gameplanning against a specific opponent? Will Joe Brady find good and creative ways to get Diggs involved going forward? - Will the running backs continue to be featured in the passing game? Cook and Johnson are both good pass catchers and both have the speed to outrun linebackers, so I hope this continues to be a part of the gameplan - Will Shakir continue to become the de facto WR2, and perhaps even begin to take snaps away from Gabe Davis? - Will the offense continue to look like it's having fun instead of doing heavy lifting?

No, his IR was not season-ending. No, not a single report has surfaced that it would be a season-ending injury. Yes, he can come back when the four weeks are up. And lastly...I would have been on the "his career with the Bills is finished" train, too, but IF -- and that's a big if -- the reports are true that Brandon Beane turned down a 3rd round pick (or any pick, really) for Elam because he's not ready to give up on him, well...maybe he gets one more shot next year.

I'll tell ya what. With the firing of Dorsey and the promotion of Brady, my interest in tomorrow's game went from "meh" to "!!!!!!". I am just so interested to see how the offense looks. I am so interested to see if Josh looks like he's having a bit of fun out there. I'm so interested to see if the Bills can smash the Jets, build some confidence, then go upset the Eagles and go into their much needed bye week 7-5 and with a new life about them. Make no mistake, Burrow and Watson being out for the year -- along with the rest of the backup QB led teams that make up Buffalo's Wild Card competition -- now means that making the playoffs is very doable for the Bills. 10-7 should do it, with an outside shot that 9-8 might, as well. My prediction? Bills go into Miami week 18 with the seven seed on the line and beat the Dolphins, who already have the two seed locked up and don't have much to play for, then the Bills return to Miami the following week for Wild Card weekend. But first: the Jets.

Allen is in the top five in pretty much every passing metric this season, has scored more total touchdowns than any player in football, and is on pace to set career best marks in completion percentage and touchdowns. For whatever we can all say about Josh's demeanor or the faces he makes or whatever, he's still having a very good year on the football field -- INTs or not.

I have not liked what I've been hearing from Sean McDermott lately. I'll say it again: for a guy that preaches "accountability" so loudly and so often, he sure does seem to lack it lately. For whatever may have been going wrong with the offense and the QB, guess what, Sean? YOU'RE THE HEAD COACH OF THE TEAM. THE BUCK STOPS WITH YOU. I have always been a staunch McDermott defender, but he is really testing my patience lately. His act is wearing thin to me, and I'm just a fan. I can't help but wonder how the players feel.