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I think Shady can find success into his 30s. He takes care of himself very well, he's never endured a super serious injury or needed major surgery. What he'll likely have to do is be honest with himself and his skills as he ages. If he loses half a step, he's gonna need to realize that he probably won't find as much success as he used to when he tries to reverse field or cut back a buncha times as he tries to make something out of nothing. He'll have to start taking what's there instead of always trying to find the path to a big gain. Not saying he won't be able to make those kinds of runs at all, but I think if he wants to play into his 30s, he'd have to change his style to a more straightforward approach. He could certainly go somewhere with another good, established back and split carries and be utilized in the passing game where he's still really good. Actually, I kind of expect Beane to bring in a couple of new backs in the off-season as they search for his successor. If that new back can contribute right away, I wouldn't be surprised to see McCoy be the workhorse at the beginning of the season but see his touches decrease little by little as he starts to split more time with the new kid.

I don't think so, and that's because of the losses of Wood and Incognito and the subsequent OL shuffling they've done. No offense to the current OL but it took until the 10th game (and even more shuffling of players as Ducasse was benched for Teller) for them to get Shady going. A lot of Taylor's success was predicated on the run game being successful from the start and then allowing Taylor to do play-action and take shots down the field in the right situations. His ability to improvise and escape pressure is something he's really good at and it was something that certainly helps him but with the OL struggles, he would've been bailing on the pocket much sooner than normal. That screws with a QBs internal clock and can throw off their timing and whatnot. And before everyone wants to crown Barkley, keep in mind, this is a dude on his fifth team in six seasons. The most playing time he had was 2016 in Chicago where he started 6 games and threw 8 TDs to 14 INTs. The Jets dropped two INTs last Sunday as well. He doesn't have a great arm. He can throw the ball with pretty nice touch and is fairly accurate but you're never really gonna see him zipping the ball into tight windows and while I'm sure he's a confident player, I don't think he's a "carry the team on his back" kinda guy who comes through in clutch situations. He's a decent backup, though. Much better than Peterman and hopefully his experiences with a number of different teams and coaches can be valuable information he can share with Allen.

The Pro Bowl comes down to stats and popularity, really. I wouldn't be surprised to see Hughes go as an alternate for someone who decides they don't wanna play in the game. Unfortunately, most people look at stats to determine if a player is any good or not. Hughes has 5.5 sacks but the pressures he gets cause hurried throws which lead to incompletions or turnovers. It's not always about getting the sack. The other guy that absolutely deserves to go is Tre White. A few weeks back one of the analytical numbers sites had a graphic floating around on White vs. all the receivers he's faced this year and game after game the receiver he covers the most usually ends the game with like 2 catches, 19 yards or 4 catches for 27 yards, or 3 catches on 11 targets for 31 yards, etc. etc. I think the receiver that had the most success against him has been Davante Adams and even his statline for that game wasn't special, like 4 receptions, 67 yards and one score. Can't ask for much better than that out of your #1 CB, who can work on either side of the field.

Peterman is a practice-time all-star, that's what it is... in practice and pre-season, the kid looks like he has it. But when he has to play regular season games where opponents aren't showing just a basic look on defense, he implodes. Things spiral out of control for him rather quickly after one mistake happens. Things just seem to snowball and get worse from there. I've never seen a QB with worse luck, actually. Over half his interceptions aren't really on him. Some of them weren't great throws but they were in places where the receiver should've made the catch but instead it would get deflected and picked off. And sportswriters are going to discuss whatever gets people to click their links and discuss their articles. Peterman replacing Taylor in 2017 had nothing to do with race. It had everything to do with Taylor playing very underwhelming football. And again, Peterman must have looked like the better option in practice which is why he got the shot. The game was and is still too big for him.

The kid has to start regardless of the situation. There's no replacement for live game reps. He just recently said that he felt like the game was slowing down for him when they were playing Houston, just before his injury. And that makes sense because in that game he made a couple very nice, quick, decisive throws. The play he got injured on he put a 20-yard in-route on a rope to KB. He also had a great throw to Clay over the middle earlier in the game. And if OP has questions on a quick release for Allen, watch that Sports Science clip with him on YouTube. Kid has a lightning-fast release. But I assume you're talking about the hesitance he's shown to pull the trigger from time to time. That's typical rookie stuff and the more experience he gets, the better he should become. At his ceiling, I think Allen could be a lot like Brett Favre. A guy who isn't afraid of any throw that will usually most of the time make the right decision and the right throw but will have some gambles he takes that backfire. And I'd be just fine with that after the 20+ years of "safe" quarterbacking we've seen here. I'm all in on the kid. He has the confidence, the work ethic, the intelligence, the athleticism and the natural arm talent. I realize that sounds a lot like EJ Manuel but where these two differ is the arm. EJ had this weird way of trying to aim the ball and half the time his throwing motion looked as if he was throwing a dart. Allen has a very natural quick release and the main things he'll need to work on are his processing, seeing the field and knowing when to and when not to run. I do feel better that he's now sharing the QB room with a 14-year vet who's seen a lot and a 6-year vet who has bounced around a handful of teams and while that's not necessarily good for Barkley himself, it can be good in the sense that Barkley has experience in numerous systems and can hopefully share that knowledge. I'm also glad to see that they made a clean break with Peterman. I thought they'd stick him on the practice squad but they didn't and that's probably for the best.

Nice post. This pretty much explains why it was 10 games before the kid got a shot. Even the highest rated college OL prospects face a pretty steep learning curve coming into the NFL just because college offenses rarely, if ever, require their OL to put their hand in the dirt. And things in college schemes are so simplified so teams can play at a fast pace. I know over the summer his biggest issue was reading the fronts and executing the correct protections. Only once did the interior OL look like it did earlier in the season and that was the one sack they gave up. Other than that, the OL overall has done a lot better, especially with pass pro and finally last Sunday they opened things up for Shady. It's one game but I hope the kid continues to improve. After his sophomore and junior years he was talked up as a 2nd-3rd round pick, coaching and scheme changes caused his play to drop in his senior year but the tools are clearly there so here's hoping.

He had a 9.5 sack season in 2015 or 2016 and in other seasons he's been top five in QB pressures. Had the PED suspension and then the season-ending knee injury that cancelled out 2017 for him so he's had some junk to overcome but when healthy, he can be a productive player.

Tre White posted an Instagram video of the team celebrating the win as they boarded the plane for the ride home. Milano was in it, smiling and enjoying the moment with everyone else. That's a good sign. Good time for a bye week. Edmunds missed one game with his concussion which looked a bit more severe. I'd assume that Milano will be cleared for the Jags game.

Capable backup. Would much rather have him than Peterman.

Too bad for them, I guess. Who's to say those guys didn't leak inside info they knew of? And that's why the Pegulas have told them to hit the bricks since they don't want any leaks anymore. That's just speculation but aside from that, these two clowns would constantly contradict their own viewpoints from column to column. Whatever seemed like the trendy view was, they'd run with it. And the excitement they'd show in talking about just how bad this team or that team would beat the Bills showed their inability to be unbiased and objective when covering the Bills. They'd throw around random negativity everywhere and try to hide behind their "we just tell it like it is" schtick. No you don't. You tell it how you subjectivity see it. That's why they wrote opinion pieces for TBN. The press is an important part of any large public entity but at a certain point you gotta weed the garden and these schmucks are like that super prickly weird crappy grass you don't see but step on while you're trying to have a nice barefoot stroll in the backyard on a nice day.

I don't disagree that the blowout losses are a concern. I knew going into this season that they weren't gonna win much, however I really expected them to be a bit more competitive in these losses. They over estimated their offensive talent (or maybe they knew how bad it was and left it that way anyway, who knows) and they bumbled the QB spot. Should've had a veteran in here as soon as they traded McCarron. I dunno, Peterman must really be an all pro in practice because that's the only way I can see them agreeing that a QB room of just Allen and Peterman was good enough. The numbers in the blowouts do deserve some context. That's basically what I was saying in regards to the Bears game. The Bills offense is responsible for two turnovers that the Bears defense took to the house, that's 14 points that can't be faulted on Buffalo's defense. The offense also had another turnover that set the Bears up deep in Bills territory and they scored. I believe the defense had gotten the Bears off the field without scoring on their previous two possessions. They got the ball back to their offense who gave it right back to the Bears which caused a winded defense to have to go back out there and try to stop them on a super short field and they couldn't. Against New England, the defense held them to 12 points off four field goals early into the 4th quarter. They did more than enough to give the team a chance but the offense just cannot get moving. Eventually the defense wears down, which it did in this case and led to 13 4th quarter points. But I'm probably not chewing out my defense at practice the next day because if they just got done holding Tom Brady to nothing but field goals for the majority of a game I'd consider that a job well done. And I'd be livid with my offense for not doing their part. As for the Colts game, they've since admitted that they were trying some different looks and things on defense and clearly it didn't work. I don't know what compelled them to get away from their main style of play but it cost them. And you could see in that game that by the time Indy had scored 20 points, most of the defense looked like they were mailing it in as they knew there was no way their offense would mount a comeback. Is that ok? Eh, probably not if you're a coach. But I'm not a coach so I can see how some players go into self-preservation mode when the game is out of reach. But that stuff stays on film so if those dudes that check out during a game wanna keep playing here or anywhere else then they probably shouldn't put a half-assed effort on tape but again, I can understand it. The blowouts are a problem. They can demoralize a team and get players to start questioning whether or not the leadership is on the right track. The players all know it's a lost season at this point but that's no excuse not to go out there and put in the effort. Because again, it goes on film and some of these guys are playing for jobs so you'd hope that's at least enough motivation to play well. Overall, it's a team game and while these blowouts make the defense look bad, we gotta look at the context and when we do, we see that the offense is not doing the defense any favors whatsoever. Constant three and outs, bad turnovers, poor execution, dumb mistakes, dumb penalties, you name it, they're doing it and a pretty good defense is having to pay for it.

I'll give you the Colts game but subtract 14 of those 41 points from the Bears because they scored two defensive TDs. So, in reality the defense only allowed 27 points, which isn't terrible. There was also another offensive turnover that set the Bears up just outside the red zone.

Yeah, that would be ideal. I'm surprised Rosen hasn't been injured yet as Arizona's line is about as bad as the Bills.

He did? Yeah, the Jets beat the Bills last year on Thursday night but McCown was 14 of 20 for 140 yards and 1 TD. In the opener last year, McCown was 26 of 39 for 187 yards, 0 TDs and 2 INTs, one of which was the game-ender. The Thursday night matchup was the first game after they had traded Dareus which began a horrible three-game skid where the run defense was about as strong as wet toilet paper. Jets scored three rushing TDs (McCown scrambled in for one of them) and ran for 194 total yards. The Saints then came into town and blew 'em up for 298 yards on the ground. Mark Ingram had three TDs, Alvin Kamara had one, and currently unemployed free agent RB and big brother of Tremaine Edmunds, (Trey) had a 41 yard TD run late in 4th quarter. Even Drew Brees got in on the rushing TD action, scoring on a sneak and throwing for 184 yards and zero TDs. Gah, what an ugly game that was.

The article I read about this dweeb said he has a home not far from New Era Field so... that could be old info or whatever. I'd like to figure out what this dork does for a living and see how he'd like it if a buncha random people rallied at his place of employment to get him fired. Dude's an a-hole.

What's interesting about this is that the Cardinals were all set to take Abdullah in the second round in 2015. They had gotten word that the Lions were going defense and then at the last minute, they went with Abdullah. The Cards were crushed. They were super high on the kid. They came out winners in the end, though, getting David Johnson a round later.

Was there an incident where Peterman had stuff thrown at him? There's no reason for that. He's just a dude with a unique job. If you're used car salesman that sucks at your job, nobody's gonna throw a greasy banana peel at you for it. Some people, man. And as for Taylor being conservative... I'd say "hesitant" is a better term to describe his playing style. For one, he struggles to see the entire field due to his height. Yeah, there are windows and lanes and angles to look through but they're not easy to spot all the time. On top of that, one of Taylor's drawbacks has always been his inability (or unwillingness) to throw with anticipation or throw his receivers open. He's a "see it, throw it" passer. Has to see that his target is sufficiently open before he fires it. I wonder if he still would've played like that even if the Bills had a Calvin Johnson-type receiver, one of those "open no matter what" kinda guys.

Same fanbase that funded and got a billboard to fire Dick Jauron. I agree with what others have said, I think Peterman should probably hit the bricks at this point but there's no reason to do crap like this. Waste of time, money and resources. As if Brandon Beane is gonna drive past the sign on his way to work and think, "Hey, you know what, those fans are right. I'm gonna fire Nate today!"

No doubt. I was reading an article this morning that said there really aren't any clear-cut #1 WRs in this years draft but there are a number of guys with different skill sets. The article said that the Bills may be inclined to run without a "true #1 wideout" and instead have a collection of different playmakers to which Daboll can scheme to their strengths. Something like a group of guys that can compliment each other and then compensate in areas where others fall short. For instance, get a speedy WR that can zip by defenders but might struggle shedding press coverage against bigger, stronger corners. Compliment that with a big-bodied WR who can out-muscle DBs but may not be the fastest guy out there, etc etc. I think that's the route they may have to go as they build this offense, at least for right now. Just give Allen a whole box of toys that do different things as opposed to one super shiny, super expensive toy that will be relied upon heavily. I feel like I'm not phrasing this in the best way... late afternoon brain farts, I guess. But you get the gist.

Maybe he meant "solid" as in, he played within the game plan? I mean, Peterman knows the playbook, he knows where the ball is intended to go on any given passing situation, he's a smart enough guy to call out the correct protections most of the time and he has shown the ability to throw quickly and on time. Those are all solid QB traits. Where Peterman falls short is his arm strength and his confidence once a bad play happens. That attempt to scramble to the end zone instead of throwing the Hail Mary? That's him being too afraid of having the ball picked off again and having something bad happen. But the likelihood of a defender intercepting a Hail Mary and taking it 100 yards the other way is slim, so he should've just thrown it up there and hoped for the best, but he didn't even have the confidence to try it at that point. After those two interceptions his confidence was shot. I won't fault him for the one to Pryor. It was a poorly placed ball but it was still catchable and if you're a professional WR and you get your hands on the ball, you have to make that catch. The one that bounced off Zay was a really flukey kinda play, but the ball placement didn't help. It was low and away, Zay had to stop, turn and try to get low to catch it, gets smacked by a DB at the same time, ball hits him in the arm and takes a weird bounce to Floyd who walks in for the TD. Those types of plays can knock the wind out of the sails for any player. He's honestly had some of the worst luck I've ever seen for any QB. When these things happen, it has to mess with you mentally. He has to be thinking, "What else can I do? What else DO I do?!" and when he hits that point he starts getting reckless with the ball, makes bad decisions and throws picks all by himself (meaning, no deflections or weird bounces). With a better supporting cast and an established offensive identity, sure, Nate Peterman is a decent backup quarterback. He's a fifth round pick with a definite "game manager" style of play so in a better environment he would probably be capable of coming in and holding down the fort for a couple of games. But only if the team had a good run game to lean on or some elite offensive playmakers they could scheme for. But they don't have any of that so Peterman just looks like straight caca. He's a good kid. I'm sure he works hard. I'm certain no one feels as bad as he does about all of this. But at this point, I just can't see how you can keep him on the team. Bad things happen when he's on the field. At least with Allen, if the play breaks down, the kid has the ability to try and make something happen. Nate doesn't have that luxury. For him to succeed, things need to go as planned and he needs a very strong supporting cast because he is not the type of QB to elevate the play of his teammates. If I'm McBeane, I'm looking for a more capable backup in free agency and the draft. Both. Bring in a veteran via free agency (unless Anderson decides he'd like to stay, I'm alright with him being the mentor-type for Allen, he helped Cam a lot) and grab a QB prospect in the mid-rounds. I'm all in on the process. I'm all in on Allen. I'm all in on Beane and McDermott. That's not to say they don't deserve criticism. They definitely botched the handling of the QB position this season. A 3-man QB competition is never a good idea. Going into the season without a veteran backup is also not a good idea. Trial and error, though. Gotta allow these guys room to make mistakes so they can learn from them. Hopefully what they've experienced this season will motivate them to handle the QB spot much differently in 2019... and to me, that means, Josh Allen is your unquestioned #1... Derek Anderson or another veteran that can be a solid mentor to Allen is your #2... and your #3 is maybe a mid-round rookie or Matt Barkley, he at least has some starting experience, hasn't had the crazy debacles like Peterman and could hold it down with a strong supporting cast... lastly... Nate Peterman receives his pink slip. Thanks for playing, Nate, but... if it were me, I just wouldn't be able to find any decent reason to bring him back. I'd cut him loose and wish him the best and hope maybe he can go somewhere and get a fresh start.

I'm almost certain KB won't be back. I think Croom will have to earn his roster spot again. I'm guessing you're down on him due to his fumble last Sunday but I think there's some talent there. People lament the fact that they let O'Leary go but I guess they seem to forget that O'Leary is not a very athletic guy and was almost cut prior to the 2017 season until he improved as a blocker. Croom is a former WR so he's more athletic and I think they have him in their future plans. As for Mills and Ducasse... I think Mills' deal is up after this season. I think Ducasse is signed through 2020. Mills actually hasn't been that bad this season. A lot of the issues fall on the interior. Bodine gets beat a lot, Miller doesn't seem like he's regained his 2016 form and Ducasse has had stretches where he's played well but also has had stretches where he's been pretty bad. As the season goes on, I would expect them to continue giving Wyatt Teller some playing time. Jeremiah Sirles and Conor McDermott are not an upgrade over Mills so... if they wanna do as much as they can to keep Allen from getting hurt again, probably don't play Sirles or McDermott.

I didn't know he lost his mom. Yeah, that could have had a profound impact on him. I also think his knee injury messes with him. Even though he's healthy from it, ya wonder if he plays with hesitance in order to prevent another injury. Or maybe he has some confidence issues? Carolina didn't miss a beat in 2015 when he went down and they made it to the Super Bowl without him. Maybe he thought of himself as a big important part of the offense but then saw that they just kept right on going without him. This is all me just speculating. It's just odd to see a player with such size and athletic talent play like a much smaller guy. This is where I'm at. So many times this season and last, he goes up and he's the first one to get his hands on the ball but he doesn't bring it in. It's like, is he just weak or is he not using all of his strength? Once he has his hands on that ball, he should have a vice grip on it and bring it in. Instead, he gets hit or a defender gets his arm in there and the ball ends up on the turf. I actually think he does care, at least a little... or at least when he's just had a play that makes him look bad. We've seen him look visibly frustrated after a drop... I wonder if that gets in his head, like, "Welp, there's drop number one, I'm screwed today" and he just half-***** it or starts to think he doesn't have it anymore, lacks the confidence, who knows. I just feel like a guy with his size, athleticism and ability should be out there dominating smaller DBs and providing a big target for these inexperienced QBs. He should be Josh Allen's best friend. Allen is developing his accuracy so how nice is it for him to have a 6'5" dude with a huge catch radius to go and get those off-target throws? They should be developing chemistry in that respect. Instead, it seems like Benjamin is thinking about what he's doing after the game while he's in the huddle and then when he gets to the line he has to look at Zay and go, "Where am I supposed to be?" Or he could already be in self-preservation mode, trying to ensure he doesn't get injured so he's healthy for free agency. But then on the flip-side, the effort he's putting on tape is not going to get him the type of offers he might be expecting. Bah. Just kind of a weird situation all around.

Could be. It's not like the currently healthy group of Bills QBs scream confidence. But he had these issues going back to Carolina where he was a favorite target of Cam's. So.. I dunno, I just feel like the dude acts as if he couldn't care less. They traded for him and inherited what's left of his rookie deal so it's not like they dished out a bunch of money to him in free agency. His rookie year in Carolina was really good but then he blew out his knee. I wonder if the injury lingers in his mind. Even though his knee has healed and is healthy, some guys develop a mental block about it and it can affect their play. I wonder if he just plays it safe/careful in order to prevent injury. I'm not sure that's the best way to play, though. Because you can get hurt walking back to the huddle, ya know? An injury can happen any time in any way, so. Just looks like the guy doesn't care that much and that's kind of odd considering McBeane talked him up as a good locker room guy and someone who would be good for the culture. Is he good in a "what NOT to do as a professional" type of way? Did they bring him in to say, "See, all you younger players, this is what happens when you don't combine your natural talent with a strong work ethic. Kelvin Benjamin could be a top ten receiver in this league if he wanted it but he don't, so... today's lesson, don't be like Kelvin!"

First, I've never been big on ripping on players. I've never cared for the vitriol some people spew when a player has a bad play or a bad game. These dudes are human beings with interesting jobs and we're all sitting on our couches acting like we know better, haha. But... with Kelvin Benjamin... I have to wonder... is the dude soft, or does he just lack a serious passion for the game? For a dude with his size, his catch radius and his leaping ability, he should be pulling down those contested catches most of the time. Instead, he seems to get his hands on it but so many times this season we've seen him high point a ball and as he's going to put it away, he gets hit/bumped/tackled and the ball flies out of his hands and falls incomplete. Was he known for having weak hands coming out of college? Then on top of that, we've seen him alligator-arm a few throws this season to avoid a hit and it's like, man, you're 6'5", 245 lbs, use your momentum and weight and plow over that DB. But he just doesn't seem interested in being overly physical. And then he also has the gall to blame his issues in Carolina on Cam. He's free to say what he wants but that just seemed kinda immature. Just do the generic thing and thank the team that brought you into the NFL, say you'll miss your teammates there but you're excited for a new opportunity with a new team. Instead, he threw a former MVP QB under the bus. Kind of a schmuck move. Or does he just not give a crap? He kinda strikes me as the type of player who found out at a young age that he was good at football but he never really liked the game all that much. But since he was good, he figured he'd ride that wave as far as it could take him and it's taken him to the NFL and made him millions of dollars. He's in a contract year and he's definitely not playing like a guy who's angling for a fancypants new deal. He just seems to be going through the motions. Doesn't jog back to the huddle, we often see Zay Jones redirecting him as they line up, I dunno. I mean, I'm not gonna act like I know the guy, he could have some personal things going on that we are not aware of (nor should we be). But, it's just strange to watch this guy play. He's just about the epitome of that old scouting quip that goes, "Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane." Doubt he's back for 2019. I know I wouldn't spend the money on him. Personally, I hope they replace him with Tyrell Williams from the Chargers... but with the way that kid has been playing, I wouldn't doubt if LA tries to sit down with him soon and iron out an extension. Thoughts?

In that Buffalo News interview with Beane, he stated how difficult it is to run a three-man QB competition. At the end of the day, there just aren't enough reps to go around. And I agree, they shouldn't have tinkered with it for so long. They first should've identified their #3 guy, that way they have their scout team arm and they don't have to worry much about that guy getting first team reps. And then your remaining two battle it out. A two-man competition is easier to work with as you can split reps equally if you want. Peterman is fools gold. He played well in the pre-season. He was accurate, he was quick with where he wanted to go with it and got rid of it fast. But that came against teams playing very basic defense. Once the real games start being played and teams start disguising coverages and throwing a ton of different looks, it doesn't take long for Peterman to make a mistake and then get in his own head. The Hail Mary attempt at the end of the 1st half against the Bears is a perfect example. I mean, are you kidding? You think you're gonna make it to the end zone from that far away? Toss it up. You have two 6'4"-6'5" receivers down there, who cares if it gets picked, the half was over. They should've done what Beane regrets not doing earlier and that was sign a vet backup/gap starter type QB. Or just toss the keys to Allen and let him get the experience. I understand that one of McDermott's main coaching points is "competition makes everyone better" but what he needs to get better at is deciding when to call it on a competition. The OL this season is an example of him waiting too long to name his starters. I don't think that had anything to do with a "competitive advantage" over any opponents, to keep it under wraps who your starting five OL are. But all pre-season they rotated Groy and Bodine, and then they would switch Ducasse back and forth between LG and RG, Miller competed against Teller and Boettger but I'm sure it was clear from the start that Miller would be the starter given his experience. They seem to love Conor McDermott and he took reps from Mills and from all accounts, got his behind handed to him on a regular basis in camp. Teller shows a lot of strength but his main struggles lie with the X's and O's of an NFL offensive scheme. But, McDermott can't wait until one week before the regular season to name his starting five OL. That should be wrapped up by the third pre-season game at the latest. OLs need time to form chemistry and get on the same page. The reason there were so many breakdowns in protection earlier this season likely had a lot to do with the fact that those guys just didn't have that many reps together. Believe it or not, the OL has actually improved. Their pass blocking was pretty solid against the Bears. Run blocking... eh... I mean, any time teams see Shady in the backfield they're gonna stack the box and they've all been able to shut him down. Chris Ivory's north-south style has actually been a better fit. I know Beane just said they have Shady in their plans for 2019 but if the guy never gets going this season, I wonder if he asks for a trade in the off-season. Honestly, I'm pretty sure they went into this season knowing that they weren't going to be very good. However, I'm certain they did not expect to suffer so many blowouts. That type of losing is just demoralizing for a team. You can see it happen, too. Early in the game, they keep it close but then mistakes happen and bounces go their opponents way and before you know it, things are out of hand. Then guys go into self-preservation mode, playing not to get injured because who wants to get hurt when you're not really playing for anything but pride? I think in that sense is where McDermott could "lose the team." I think this roster generally buys into what McDermott's message is and veterans on the team like Kyle and Lorax are gonna demand their teammates give 100% but inevitably, we'll see some guys out there half-assin' it *cough* Kelvin Benjamin *cough* On the bright side, you can only sink so low before you start to rise again. So, here's hoping for a big, productive off-season and a fired up team in 2019.