Rochesterfan

Totally agree - He calls McDermott conservative with no real definition, but then argues with no good reason why others are not. It is a poorly thought out premise with no basis in reality. McDermott is not overly conservative or aggressive by any measure. He goes for it on 4th down as much or more than others. He tries for TDs rather than FGs as shown by their Redzone TD percents and going for it on the goal line. His run to pass ratio does not lean overly conservative and we have had games where the team starts out with 10-15 passes right from the get go. Definitely not conservative. His defense is a zone based defense meaning he wants to flood zones, but he mixes up the defenses and attacks and blitzes in a normal way. It is not overly conservative - nor is it super aggressive. The biggest thing to me is how we completely miss the changes in his coaching and people are still basis things off his first year. McDermott started off with a weak team and was much more conservative. He had a bad QB in Taylor that he did not trust and did not instill confidence in the passing game. He kicked lots of FGs and punted on almost all 4th downs. It lead to blowouts, but he understood the team was weak and even when getting blown out he stayed conservative. Now he is a totally different coach. He trusts JA more and has been rewarded more - so he goes for more 4th downs and punts less. He passes more and has one of the better Red Zone scoring teams. He has 2 WRs that are putting up career years. Do not make up your mind on whether McDermott is conservative or not - he is evolving as his players grow and change. My guess is if the offense gets 1-2 more players this off-season and are a bit more explosive- he becomes more aggressive. Now do I believe he is going to be Doug Pederson level aggressive - Nope, but everything points to him continuing to move above the middle of the pack as the team becomes better. Now the final thing on this thread - many types of coaches win Super Bowls and sometimes they are conservative and sometimes aggressive, but the problem is that successful coaches that are conservative- do not get labeled that way. Lombardi was ultra conservative at the end of the conservative era, but it worked for his team. Marv - even with the no huddle- was super conservative. The offensive philosophy does not change his coaching style. Doug Pederson is super aggressive, but it backfires on him on several occasions, but was enough to win at the biggest time. BB - like McDermott - falls squarely in the middle and was more aggressive at times and has been more conservative at other times. There is no one right way - you need to have the proper feel of your team and push the right buttons at the right time.

I guess my real question is about your expectations in performing for him versus let’s say Zay Jones or McKenzie. All 3 guys averaged about 2 Catches or less per game. They averaged between 7 and 10 yards per catch. The biggest difference is McKenzie can play special teams and is used for running plays and Duke is not. Duke played in 3 games and after an initial good game - he had 1 catch in each of his next 2 games. It is not like they benched a guy getting 5 - 10 catches a game. He also gives them nothing else except receiver play - so you lose something from both Foster and McKenzie going to the bench. I am fine if they want to use him, but please do not act like he was some kind of playmaker they benched. His stats are not better than the guys currently playing and he gives them less flexibility when playing.

I absolutely hear what you are saying, but I will wait to pass judgement. The biggest difference between this game and the 4th preseason game is roster size. The Bills May be able to rest some starters, but remember there are very limited replacements at the moment and you figure some guys with injuries are already probably going to be out - Morse, Nsekhe. You also have guys like Hughes and Liuget with some minor injuries that you may or may not sit. That leaves very few people you can just sit. I would rather see them get some of the starters ready and then take them out - rather than be forced to play them with little prep time. I would also prefer to see the majority of starters together to best protect individual players and then get them all out. I would hope that back-ups see 1/2 to 3/4 of the game, but remember they are not regularly playing more than a few snaps - so conditioning and timing come into play.

It would be a good idea, but the refs still have to determine the exact moment the runner is down. You also have issues depending upon which way the ball is being held and where the sensors are located. It could help a small bit, but unless you have sensors all over the players and the ball - you are still going to get bad spots.

Even if he is talking about that (which he is not) - let’s be fair. 3 runs for 5 yards is partially accurate as one run was for 4 yards - a perfectly fine drive start. The other two were bad. You also need to consider that during one of these drives on first down after a conversion - we had an 11 yard run. So after taking the lead on first down we ran the ball 4 times for 16 yards is that fair to say? You can also consider the fact that on the other first down plays we threw 2 incompletions and got a 5 yard penalty. So it is not like passing on 1st and ten got you into 2nd and short.

This is total bull and completely irrelevant. This Bills and Pats team are both nearly equal, but the Pats had a better record against common opponents - so it is no surprise both games were close. This “so called” worst Pats team is the AFC #2 seed and has only lost 3 games to division champs - it is not like they are the Bengals. They boast a top defense and special teams unit. They are far from the worst Pats team during this run, but go ahead.

Actually look at the first down plays and you will see that you are totally and completely wrong, but why should that matter. For the games on first down the Bills ran 10 times and dropped back to pass 11 times (one was a sack). So they actually passed more on first down than ran. Whoops. In addition - the run mix yielded 4 runs on first down of 5 yards or more and 5 runs of 1 yard or less. I am not sure what you expect, but considering they had good balance on 1st down plays between run and pass and considering half of the 1st down runs were for over 3 yards - why should he go away. Yes it would be great if the 5 carries of 1 yard or less went away, but before the play you do not know which plays are going to work and which are not and the facts remain Daboll called a very balanced and did not fall into an unimaginative place - you are just clouded by a faulty memory of the game.

So true. The Browns I think would have been 100 x better if they had retained Williams as HC and Kitchens as OC. Now the Jets are in the same boat. Let it sink!

It is multi fold for reasons it works, but first yes the offense and defense can sub. The first thing is usually teams try to set up their best play for that situation- so you gain info about what formation and players they want in that situation- plus whether they call motion or not. The second thing is you can see how the offense reacts when you show pressure or drop off - so you know a little better what they are going to do to allow you later on to scheme a package. It has a chance to be a win/win for McDermott - if they switch personnel- they are going away from their top play for that situation- plus you get info to use for a later package when you see that set-up again. It is just a totally different perspective on coaching because of his defensive background. He has much more varied attacks coming from his defensive plans and as long as they are ahead - he likes the knowledge it provides to the staff to use timeouts in that situation.

What I do not get - with the Browns missing the playoffs this year they have now matched where we were in the number of straight years without a playoff appearance. 2002 - 2020 for Cleveland, but that is still all they ever talk about for the Bills - even now that we are going to the playoffs 2 out of 3 years - the power rankings make a dig at this being the 2nd trip in the last 2 decades. Why is that a Bills only narrative- it should move to the Browns - especially as they have the worst win percentage of the last decade and since they returned to the league and now have missed the playoffs for just as long as the Bills did. Somehow the Browns got all the hype and the media is pushing an old narrative and it really stinks. They could even focus on the Bucs or Jets as those are pushing a decade plus since their last appearance.

Looks like a pretty good tackle. He did similar things against Landry in the Cleveland game on a WR screen. For a smallish DB - he is a fine tackler. IMO - If you ask me which is better - this thread or Wallace at tackling - I give the nod to Wallace 100 times out of 100 - even with the miss on Conners.

Disagree. He may be a weak link on one of top defenses in the NFL, but tackling is not his major issue. At his size - he is a much better tackler than Johnson - his 1st round drafted partner. Where Levi has issues is with his overall athletic ability. The play is question was not a whiffed tackle because he can’t tackle - it was his lack of acceleration and a poor angle that got him to a point where Conners had already beat him and he couldn’t make a play. He has failed to wrap up running backs a few times, but Johnson also has whiffed on several tackles. In coverage - he has to back off a bit more because he does not have the top end speed or the size and therefore can not make the plays of a Tre White, but he works well in this defense working to keep guys in front and making the tackle - preventing big plays. He rarely misses his tackles on his WR and generally wraps up and gets them to the ground. Where his issue really show up is in space especially against RBs because he is a step slow to the meeting point and RBs in general are hard for DBs to bring down 1 on 1. We have seen it with White also - missing and not being in the right spot. We see it against it also with Singletary making LBs and DBs miss in the open field.

That’s 3 for Brees - hoping for 1 more and we can hold Brady down.

Just amazing - totally fearless!

Hate this (bold) - then you get even more phantom calls at the worst time. For example - the last Int - if you watch Edmunds gets his hands to the face of the Pittsburgh OL. If the NFL could review - we all would be sitting there celebrating when - whoops he comes a call to overturn the play. Mistakes happen - let it go and move on. Give me much less replay and I am happier. Especially give me less of NFL heads having any say at all - give it to a sanctioned official if you must - at the game, but keep NY and the NFL out of it. I have no issue with McDermott this game. The Bills near halftime had 3 time outs, but were at their 10 and had just gotten the ball back on a Turn-over after their turn over. Take the lead and go into the half - don’t make another mistake like the Philly game that costs you. I do not understand how the fans that do not get this. The Philly game, the NYG game, the Bills drive just before this that in Pittsburgh- etc. The Bills have had a high percentage of turn overs in that situation and it has cost them at least 1 game and without amazing defense the same could have happened in Pittsburgh or against the Giants. The end of the game was the right call - the phantom hold ruined everything. The Steelers should have gotten the ball with about 30 seconds needing 75-80 yards. Running was the right call - they just cannot hold.

That is what they were doing - they showed a run to set-up what could have been a TD. The Steelers played great defense and did not bite on our tendencies. Why was that not going for the jugular? They played to a known tendency and tried a play off from that - that against a lesser coached defense is a TD. Why is it brilliant when teams like Houston and NE try these plays, but for Buffalo - they are not going for the Jugular? I get wanting to drive it down their throat, but based upon what the Bills were running - go ahead and try it. Gore being the veteran- saw the coverage and ate it. At that point the FG was the key - so they ran a draw and made sure to tie the game. It is not like they just downed the ball in victory formation. It was a series that did not work, but at least they did not go all “duck” and have Allen try to force it for an Int. They had a plan and it didn’t work, but also did not cost them.

It was definitely a pass and the Steelers played it well with the coverage in the end zone. I have no issue with the calls because they used the first run to set up the halfback pass attempt. It was a cute play and I prefer that they just man up and make some plays, but sometimes you get an easy score because of tendencies and I think they were taking a shot to mess with their tendencies and it did not work.

I agree totally - you can see by his completion chart they showed during the game - he was living with the very short pass and then getting completions down the field, but nearly nothing in the 10-20 yard range where a QB is reading and anticipating throws. He is basically taking cheap check downs and 50/50 balls, but to Pittsburgh’s credit - it had worked against mediocre defenses like Cleveland. The Bills were prepared and made the plays to win this game.

It will be interesting with the loss today if Tennessee does claim him now. Someone should claim him well before Baltimore.

Still do not think it will matter - he can not report - it is actually better that way - you do not have to pay him or cut anyone else. I do not think he clears waivers and gets to Baltimore. Too many teams that may have to play them should block this.

The entire thing is crazy. Putting in for medical equipment they are not getting. Bad Karma - plus it could cost future players as the fraud could force the insurance pool to lose its tax exempt status. Hard to fathom with the amount of money some players make that they have to stoop to this level to get money. I hope there is a better explanation out there, but it is such bad optics.

So many hot takes. So many incorrect thoughts. SO MUCH FAIL. Funny and sad.

You are probably right, but man Arizona screwed the pooch on this. He is still a valuable asset - with the way their season was going they should have looked to make a trade pre deadline or told him to hold on and we will work to get you to your desired team this off-season. They just waived an asset for nothing and for Suggs he could get screwed and end up on a bad team and mess up his reputation if he acts like a jerk. The league is funny this way and they really should have worked out something better to benefit both of them.

Not really his choice. If anyone puts in a waiver claim - the lowest ranking team gets him. The only way he makes it to Baltimore is if they are the only team to put a claim in or he goes unclaimed. The Bills will put a claim in just to block him getting to NE or Baltimore. My guess is depending on his contract for next year (which seems reasonable) - many teams should put a claim in on him - even non playoff teams. If I am the Dolphins or the Lions - put in the claim - you get a player that should have some trade value In the off-season for nothing. If he doesn’t report - no big deal - you put him on a Non football list and let him sit until the offseason and try to trade him then. You could pick up an asset for no outlay. It might tick him off, but you are not doing it to have him as a player - you are looking for the asset in return. Same thing for a guy that will become a FA - you get another FA loss toward a future comp pick potentially.

I guess I would turn it around - if you have no proof that Belicheck was involved or any players/coaches - how do you justify suspending or destroying their careers. The team should pay as an organization and the only major way to do that is fines and loss of draft picks and I am fine there. I would even suspend Kraft and give him a year away - until after 2021. The problem is going to the next Step and suspending Belicheck or other coaches with no proof they had anything to do with it. I am not ok just assuming that everyone is culpable and should be punished. I also think they were not harsh enough last time- so if proof exists - scorch earth is correct.