Straight Hucklebuck

That’s kinda what I’m sensing too. This team has a fragile confidence right now. The Coach is harping on turnovers (code word for Allen), benching “young players” who don’t have trust yet, and wanting more energy (code word: offense). He’s one bad loss away, and maybe just a loss, away from getting the questions about his job. He’s been quick to remind people this week of how many games “we’ve” (code word: he’s) won around here. There is no way I believe that McDermott is pushing for Allen to run more.

He keeps referencing “energy” - I want to see it Sunday. He’s hammering on turnovers - so turnovers here just means Allen, he said it, gets “greedy” and doesn’t “take what the defense gives him” - Joe asked the TOUGH question. Sal then jumped in ask the white knight softball question.

I think this goes a lot deeper than a QB Coach who was misplaced. I think this is hard headed Coach who is a grind to get along with. Working his way down the line from Daboll, to Frazier, to Dorsey and now pecking at the QB. He’s out answers and is feeling the pressure. And my hope is Terry is awake and the one putting the pressure on him to perform or get out.

That’s right. He clearly has no ideas on how to coach an offense to score in the NFL circa 2023. He feels it closing in. The QBs psyche is fragile, the teams confidence is fragile, and he’s about 1 bad loss away from getting asked about his job security. The pre step to that is constantly asking about having too much on his plate running the defense and HC. Soon it will be Sean any concerns about your job?

All that does is add more fuel to the there is internal disfunction fire at OBD. Didn’t Tim Graham report that last year? Or the year before that? Obviously that’s McDermott and Daboll butting heads about running the ball.

Absolutely agree. He says Josh doesn’t have that look in his eye, I’d say he sounds like a Coach who is scraping the bottom of the barrel for answers. Hes running out people to blame for his team continuing to come out flat and uninspired. Can’t blame the fans, can’t blame the owners, fired both coordinators now.

Says the team that has given Allen Diggs and scrap parts to throw to, a below average offensive line in his time here, and doesn’t allow him to run anymore. It’s not all on the Bills, I think Allen sounds strange now and looks weird on the sidelines, and has admitted to not working as hard as he can. This team lacks playmakers, and the scheme has not been cutting edge. So Allen is having to play death by 1,000 papercuts offense and getting grilled relentlessly about turnovers from his coach and media. This franchise has spent their money on defense. Invest heavily in the offense and I think Allen comes back. Greg Cosell last night with Farrar - the Bills are not a talented offense. They became predictable on offense. Stefon Diggs is a high level possession receiver. They don’t have a vertical component in their offense. All this with a strong armed QB that wants to make plays down the field. And we sit here and scratch our head and say why can’t we score 30 every week? Allen is LeBron in Cleveland the first time around. Hey Josh here is a 1986 Camaro, now get out there win races.

When you’re drinking so heavily you have to walk around with Pedialyte an oxygen mask it raises eyebrows. You saw it last year, he carried extra weight around the midsection, and then says in interviews I don’t do any upper body exercises at all. You get the small clips of “not over indulging in film”, how in the past he’s relied on his athleticism, or how he’s always trying to joke with Jordan Palmer while Burrow is “all ball” and you just kind of start getting the picture. And then Allen himself came into Training Camp and said it: I can do more, I’ve never “been more into football”. He can work harder and I do agree that he’s more Hollywood than his Firebaugh and Wyoming roots would imply. With all that said - if we want world class results, we need to get Allen world class weapons and the Bills FO got Diggs and has done little else to give the team speed and playmaking.

I was making that statement in jest, when Allen doesn't play well we go to the he's secretly injured card. Fans today on WGR550 are still going with "I think Allen is secretly hurt more" card.

We're no better - our organization actively covers up Allen concussions starting with Green Bay last year.

Jeremy: Here is a golf analogy for you: it's like hitting a 310-yard drive right down the middle on #1 and you think it's going to be a good round, but then you hook your second shot into the pine straw.

“Can’t get bored with the checkdowns” ~ Josh Allen

One of the few big plays the Bills had in that game. Did a good job to sit, catch, turn upfield, didn't fumble.

They have really painted Dorsey as a flatliner. A lot of emphasis by McDermott on the 'energy' Joe Brady brings. Now its feeding off Brady's energy. Instead of Sugar-High Josh, it's been a lot of Sad Josh so far this year, so maybe that helps? But I still think it's an up hill climb with the players on offense. What change in Diggs' and Kincaid's usage will there be under Brady? One of the ways Dorsey failed was not getting new players involved. Nyheim Hines, 11 touches in 9 games, no good answer as to why that happened? Just he was new and adjusting, meanwhile Josh Dobbs goes right in and wins, Baker Mayfield the year before. That excuse never flew. And then this year, Beane hands Harty a $9M deal and he gets no touches now, phased out of the offense. It took a year and half to get Shakir on the field (and last year it was garbage in the Bottom 3 - McKenzie, Cole Beasley, John Brown, Jamison Crowder, Jake Kumerow). Trent Sherfield I had no expectations for, but he is playing 16%-20% of snaps and he's a nothing in this offense as well. I still think we have a group of possession WRs with no speed paired with a QB who wants to throw it. So maybe true motion, more play action, under center looks will help define it better. Diggs needs 12 targets per game realistically, and Kincaid another 12. Usually there a 40 attempts per game. So over half of the offense needs to be those two. With Shakir and Cook in that order. Phase Gabe Davis out, please.

Yes, yes and yes. I, like you, was screaming at the TV - DK Metcalf - after that Draft lead up????????? After that Combine? In 2019 it was Cole Beasley and John Brown - and that got the Bills to respectable (but again Cole and John were 30/29 years old when we picked them up, so they gave you the last bit the could. In 2020 it was the Diggs trade, still had Beasley and Brown, it was the fuel to get to the AFCCG. 2021 was where it started to come off the rails for me - because we went back to the well and signed Emmanuel Sanders on the fringe of retirement. And look at the game logs, he was out of gas 7 games into that season. 2022 was the year WRs were on the move everywhere and we didn't get one (I don't blame them for not getting Hill, I don't think the Chiefs were trading him here, but there were others. Also, this is the boneheaded Von Miller contract which sucked all the rest of the cap space.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO RAVENS

Yes, I've seen these mock drafts - so far been defensive heavy - the usual's - corners and DTs. I just can't believe the Bills (if they're being honest) are watching Gabe Davis and saying to themselves, we have to get that guy back as the #2 WR. So Bowers, Nabers, Odunze, Coleman all fall to within <5 picks of where you are and you're not going to do what it takes to move up? It's a hard scenario because we need all the picks we can get to fill out the DTs, Safeties, but my gosh it would be 30-31 year old Stef and again nothing else at WR if the Bills don't draft one high.

This is wrapped up in Beane/McDermott’s philosophy to carry over as much of the 2020 team over to 2021, 2022, and 2023. The run it back again approach is partially why the roster has gotten expensive, been focused on defense, and only has cap room for low tier offensive line free agents. That philosophy of cheap bandaids on the line has been how Beane has viewed the last several years.

That's really up to Terry. I do agree with you that McDermott has had enough time and now he's talking about "sub-cultures" in the building with the Joe Brady move - he's scrambling now. Honestly, he sounds like all the bad coaches here do at the end - it's culture, toughness, correcting mistakes, watching tape, going back to basics and fundamentals. He's out of answers. The decision to keep the 2020 roster in-tact as much as possible, rolling it over year to year, has led to an older, more expensive roster, prone to injuries. Allen sounds like he's lost confidence, talking about having "no choice" but to soldier on with Brady, and avoiding turnovers at all cost. After McDermott eventually gets fired, we're going to hear about about his iron fist rule, how he was difficult to get along with, was a know-it-all, and stuck in the past.

Absolutely. Any wonder the Bills invest in a 1st Round TE, and 6 games into his career he passes all the WRs, on the roster except Diggs? And now we can’t imagine a game where he doesn’t catch 5-6 balls? TALENT, not picking up Saints 4th WRs and journeyman and hoping 4th and 5th Rounders become good players.

No it is true, yes I saw that one designed run where Allen got 3 yards, or the Bucs game where he got 6. Its been taken out of the offense. Ironically, the way pressure has worked out, Allen already has 7 TDs rushing this year, almost all of them scrambles in the red zone.

You would think this is the most obvious need on this team. Sure the Bills don't have much at DT, we all know the contracts expire after this year, and of course we'll need Safeties, you can always use a corner, etc. But Josh Allen is the franchise, and our serious investment at WR ended 3 years ago.

Well I know one thing, Allen’s running is never coming back. McDermott and Beane (he mentioned it as well at the year 2022 end of the year press conference) that Allen shouldn’t be running and if he does he needs to slide and get out bounds. So that’s gone. My point was the offense utilizes little to no real motion, limited play action, limited under center looks, no Allen running, and these routes is to lend themselves to checking the ball down as quickly as possibly. Combine that with the minimal investment at WR over the years, and it’s not surprising we’re here.

2020: 40.0% of drives made it to the red zone 2021: 41.4% 2022: 33.9% None of this is surprising. When McDermott came to Buffalo in 2017 he was asked about his offensive philosophy. It was all the same buzzwords: toughness, physical run game, snowy Buffalo weather. We all know he wants to run the ball and stay ahead of the sticks, 3rd and manageable. The article said it once, but it needs to be highlighted, and Beane owns some of this too: the Bills have not drafted a WR higher than the 4th Round since 2017 (2nd Round - Zay Jones). So in the Josh Allen era, Gabe Davis at 128th overall is their highest draft investment at WR. 2018 Ray Ray McLoud #187 Austin Proehl #255 2019 None 2020 Gabe Davis #128 Isaiah Hodgins #207 2021 Marquez Stevenson #203 2022 Khalil Shakir #148 2023 Justin Shorter #150 That's your WR investment with Josh Allen as your QB. So you get what you deserve Buffalo. You're getting what you have invested in - running backs and tight ends.

I want you to keep this energy up when Gabe Davis is your #1 WR.