Ayjent

Great call to believe in what McDermott and Beane were doing. I'm still superstitious about getting too excited about them to be honest - irrational most likely, but there is an entire psychology of being a Bills fan that has you questioning everything until proven otherwise. Maybe part of it is that the Coaches are growing into their roles as well - I think that is what happens with coaches as well as players. It's a really neat thing to watch and it has us all imagining things we haven't had the luxury of thinking about for a long time as Bills fans - like coaches and players that are having a really good season and just starting to wonder how much better it could and may be.

Great win. The Cowboys are very talented, especially on Offense. Although, you don't get to 6-6 because everything is copacetic. The Bills are the better team, although they may not have the top shelf "established" talent, but they did some things to establish that they are very talented as well. I was very much in the "Oh boy! Here we go again." after the first drive by the Cowboys (penalties and run D were very frustrating to watch), but then the Bills settled down and turned the whole thing around like very good teams do. The Bills are hitting their stride and we can only hope that they continue to pick up momentum over the next couple of weeks. Going 2-1 over the next three would be a very good outcome, but I know a lot of us are thinking why not 3-0? I'm starting to think that as well, but this is a young team and this is a very tough stretch of games. They are certainly capable of it, but they've got to continue getting better to do it. Whatever they do, this has been a pretty fun ride so far, and I think this team is really going to be a good team for a while. I've openly questioned what McDermott and Beane were doing in the first 2 years, but I will have to concede that they certainly look like they had a plan that they knew they could execute and are starting to reap the rewards of their investments. They have been focused on building a team that is more than a collection of talent - a collection of talent doesn't work very well in the NFL as has been demonstrated time after time. I was critical of what I perceived as missteps by Beane and McDermott (not that they haven't had them, but all coaches and GMs do) - but in moving out those that had talent but didn't fit the vision, they appear to be creating something special. I guess as Bills fans we've seen the rebuild before and we just didn't want it to be a tear down that turns into a failed rebuild with a Coach and GM being desperate to keep their jobs doing whatever they can to push off the inevitable. They've got a young core that still has a lot to prove, but they are starting to prove it. Dallas was one of those prove it games. The next 3 are as well. The Ravens are the biggest challenge that you can have and if they play well and somehow take them down -watch out. The Bills are built to handle mobile QBs with their team speed on D, but the Ravens also run it right at you with toughness as well. If they can neutralize the running game between the tackles and have their own success on Offense it may be a very entertaining game. I know McDermott and Frazier are looking at this one and are capable of creating some issues for the Ravens but will be happy to have a couple of extra days to game plan.

Lots of options in the draft. I like Justin Jefferson from LSU, Tee Higgins from Clemson and Terry from FSU - WRs that go after the ball with body control and size. The kind of guys that move the chains and can make contested catches. The draft isn't full of blazing speed WRs(there are a few), but it is deep with good solid WR prospects. DaVonte Smith could also be one of those guys who is a solid choice in the 2nd or 3rd round and is pretty good route runner and runner after the catch.

Tie Breakers definitely favor Pats if they have the same record as Bills - unless they drop one to the Bengals or Dolphins. I just don't see that happening. I do think it is possible that they lose to both the Chiefs and Bills. But that means the Bills would have to run the table to win the division. A tough task, but who knows.

Bruce Lee is smiling somewhere. He always said to be like water and that he didn't believe in any particular style because they limited growth.

I thought they really stuck with the run game against Denver, even when it seemed like only 1 in 3 designed run plays was successful to start the game. That eventually changed as the carries mounted, but I think that they need to stick with it like they did on Sunday, as long as they are moving the chains. Now how and from what formations they run is more of my issue, but I like what I saw on Sunday as opposed to earlier in the year. I think they saw a weakness they could exploit with the Broncos run D and they committed to it. I do like that Daboll is adaptive, but there is a fine line between doing what you do well and doing something to exploit a weakness regardless of whether it is something you typically do (or can do). Sometimes I feel like they try to adapt too much to the other team and that has gotten them into trouble. Sometimes they get away from what is working because of what the defense is doing. Sometimes you can still do what you want despite the opponent trying to stop it the best way they can. I guess it is a philosophy of be adaptive because you need to be against the team that can stop you. I'm kind of torn on how you play it, but I can see why they do what they do. Maybe as Josh and the Offense get more cohesive and prolific you worry a little less about cat & mouse games and impose your will the way you want.

Yeah very interesting game between the 49ers and Ravens - two of the frontrunners going at it. It'll be interesting to see how the 49ers DL plays against the Ravens, because Aaron Donald was completely neutralized last night and the Ravens had their way with the Rams D, which is pretty good. Roman knows how to coach mobile QBs and build a strong offense around them, and Jackson may be the best one he's ever had (although this looks eerily like Colin Kaepernick's break out year). The Bills are definitely in the mix as a solid playoff team, but we are about to find out a lot about them over the next 5 games. I think that they go 3-2 over that stretch - I think they most likely beat the Steelers, Cowboys and Jets, and most likely lose to the Ravens and Pats. 11-5 sounds pretty good to me and about right.

On initial reaction most people wouldn't consider the Bills to be on par with Chiefs, because the Chiefs have that explosive Offense with a lot of top notch talent on that side of the ball. Here's the thing - they are not really anything more than a good passing offense with a mediocre to below avg running game, and a below avg defense. They are pretty one dimensional, and they are great at that one dimension, but it's why they have 4 losses and will likely be a 3rd or 4th seed accumulating a couple more losses before the end of the season. By comparison the Bills are everything that the Chiefs aren't - a strong running game, a strong defense, and a passing game that is mediocre to below avg. But that passing game isn't necessarily bad, it's just limited and short on big plays. The Bills are a more balanced team from top to bottom than the Chiefs, but they don't have the Pats D or the Chiefs O. The Bills' balance makes them dangerous to play because you have to beat them in so many facets, but it also means the Bills' have to play well in all facets to have a chance to beat good teams. After watching the Ravens dismantle the Pats and Rams - I'm pretty sure they are the best team in the NFL right now, but there is still some time to go and things change in the NFL pretty fast.

Yeah he is showing poise and patience - I think Josh is on a slower trajectory than some QBs who have become pretty darn good in their first few years, but I think it will lead to a more reliable foundation for him to be a very good QB if the progress continues. But that's okay, because this team is growing together and they are getting better and learning to trust each other as they grow. I think Josh was a perfect fit for the city and the organization - a good balance of modesty and swagger, smart, hard-working, and team-first guy. He had me take notice against the Vikings and then at the end of the season last year I was pretty convinced it was the right pick, despite my initial reaction that it was a really poor pick during the draft. I liked Lamar Jackson a lot out of the group and thought he was as good a prospect as anybody, but didn't really like Darnold or Rosen. I liked Mayfield, but thought he might be more of a system guy than people thought and I think that is still right. I think he is about as good as he is going to be with a little improvement, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I don't see his ceiling as being very high. I'm not sure how good Jackson would be without his staff selling out on what Lamar can do well (which isn't a knock on him, but instead is really good coaching and player development). Both Jackson and Allen are fortunate that they got drafted by the teams that they did. As for the team as a whole. I think that they are a well coached team that puts the concept of team front and center and I think they have the right players for that, and those types of teams are dangerous as they gain confidence. I think the 4 best teams in the AFC are all well coached - Patriots, Ravens, Chiefs and Bills. I think the Colts are well coached too, but I don't think they are talented enough to overcome their injuries and the void left by Luck and I think the more talented Texans likely beat them out for the South, although I don't think that they are particularly well coached (Bill O'Brien is severely overrated in my opinion). I see the AFC as a 4 team race and the Bills are about on par with the Chiefs when you look at a sum of the parts, and the Ravens and Pats are a notch above but also flawed enough to lose to any of the other three teams. The Ravens may be the most complete team, the Pats have the best D, the Chiefs have the best O, and the Bills have a very complete team that is a bit short on top level talent with a few exceptions. I think the Pats are too dependent on their D and their Offense will cost them at some point - a team that is physical and runs it at the Patriots can beat them. Their teams have always been very balanced, and I think that it could haunt them that they are not this year.

I hope that they continue playing like this. This is how good teams have to play - step up the performances as the season progresses. It's the time of year that teams either start falling apart or start jelling. It looks like they are jelling, but we will find out more over the next few weeks. I wasn't a fan of the pick when they moved up for Allen - I think I had been beaten down by so many bad picks over the years that I didn't trust "the process", especially after they passed on picking a QB in the Mahomes and Watson draft - and I really liked Mahomes (disclaimer: I didn't ever think he'd be a 1st rounder and thought he would be there in the 2nd). I absolutely knew Manuel was a joke of a pick when they made it - I watched just about every one of his college games and never saw anything that looked like a pro QB other than his size. So not having watched Josh play much, but watching some plays I was pretty sure the Bills were falling in love with potential rather than anything that was tangible. I think that they did fall in love with Josh's potential, but this staff and organization knew how they were going to groom him and saw things that they knew how to coach up - things that EJ didn't have and a staff that knew what to do to groom a young QB. Has it always been pretty - NO. I think they were looking pretty incompetent at the beginning of the season last year - but they just wanted to be able to ride with a guy that they hoped could play and might even garner some value if he played decent in Peterman. That was a poor plan, but they didn't have much to lose with the roster they had last year. Now they have a guy coming into his own, albeit slowly but with a lot of confidence and still learning. Yesterday was another step for Josh and the offense with that no huddle they ran - that was honestly a great showing and very encouraging. Especially coming out on the first two drives and moving the ball right down the field after being pinned deep both times. This set the tone for the game - we are coming at you and we don't think you can stop what we are doing. For the most part that is exactly what happened and had those FGs been touchdowns - the game could have gotten very ugly for the Broncos fast. A few weeks ago I said I saw a good team that hadn't tapped it's potential - now we are starting to see it.

The dropoff at WR from Beasley and Brown has been huge. Roberts and McKenzie are just not good WRs unless you utilize them in bubble screens and very short routes that tries to utilize them in space. You can really see how bad they are at running routes if you watch the all 22 - sometimes they slow down not realizing that they are being targeted, misjudge the ball while it is in flight, or just don't run crisp routes. Daboll is being very un-Patriot like in not utilizing them at what they are best at. Last year they used McKenzie the way they should have in the passing game - this year the only thing of note he does is run the shuttle pass sweep. Foster has been inactive and he's definitely not clicking with Allen for whatever reason, but I've seen him misjudge a couple of throws pretty badly. I like what he did last year, but whatever they had working last year they are not going back to or it just simply isn't working - I don't really know. Williams has played a decent role when he gets a chance - I like his ability to be a big target but for some reason he doesn't get much opportunity - maybe he is just not getting enough separation, but at least he is a threat. This one is a head scratcher for me, because he is probably the only guy outside of Knox that can win a contested throw, which is especially nice in the redzone. Is Allen to blame for some of this? Sure - if something isn't working everyone is playing a part in it. But I really think Daboll is the guy that it starts with and you can go from there. Expecting him to get better may be expecting too much tbh. He is going to do what he has done in some way and I don't expect him to have an epiphany and morph into an excellent OC over the rest of the season or next, etc. He's okay - he's not the worst, but they could do better, and they could do worse.

The Bills need better playmakers and more touches and snaps for the ones on the roster that might be. They don't have a guy that is great at body control at WR that they suit up regularly. John Brown and Cole Beasley are decent receivers but not a 1 and 2. The other guys like Roberts and McKenzie don't adjust and track the ball in the air very well - this is part of the issue with the deep balls BTW. It's a large part on Josh but not entirely but I've seen the WRs slow down or adjust their route late on these deep balls to then see them sail over them and thinking to myself that could have connected had the WR continued running at top speed. I get that the ball placement could have been off and caused it, but deep threat WRs make a living tracking these down. They don't have a RB that is a big play waiting to happen that the give the ball to enough. Singletary doesn't get enough touches and they need to utilize him in the screen game more. They could also use a better option than Gore as the change up RB. Yeldon is a fumbler but is a good option in the passing game. I like Gore and think he is a tough runner, but he isn't going to juke, run over, or electrify - he's a grinder.

To be fair Beasley lost the confidence of his QB dropping some easy ones early on and he doesn't seem to be targeted nearly as frequent anymore. 36 Targets in First 4 Games, 24 Targets in the Last 5 Games. John Brown's targets haven't dipped and to be honest that is where Josh is looking to go when it matters with mixed results. I think the Offense should look to get Singletary more involved in the passing game and not just as dump off outlet passes if they don't want to run as much. Also, they need to get Knox more involved as well - let these young players develop and they present matchup problems more than Beasley and Brown do. I just don't think Daboll is the right guy and I do think Josh is the right QB for this team even though I didn't like the pick when it was made in the draft. He is good enough but Daboll isn't the right OC for him. I think it would be problematic for more established QBs to succeed in his system as well. It just isn't based on doing what works and is too focused on what the Defense is doing. When people say they don't have an identity - they are right even though we know what Daboll's philosophy is - that's not an identity of what you do well that's just how you gameplan and call plays. The really good Offenses do what they do well and Defenses grapple with how to stop, decent offenses do something well and have a few bread and butter ways to attack defenses, and bad Offenses struggle to do any one thing good enough consistently. This is a "good" bad Offense because it falls into that last category but somehow manages to move the ball without a ton of three and outs - they have very little in the way of things that they do consistently well or establish even against bad teams. Nothing seems to set anything else up and the Bills Offense doesn't really keep Defenses guessing. The only thing that remotely falls into that category is the motion play in front of Allen that they run and shuttle pass into sometimes - and you know what? It actually is one of the most successful things they do consistently. I really don't know why the screen game is almost non-existent on Offense and the Defense can't defend against them very well. Teams are bringing pressure and 0 looks against Allen - and they are playing right into the strength of what the D is doing. I suppose if they had any success with the deep passing game this would be less prevalent against the Bills, but until they do they are going to keep seeing it. Also, some of the route combinations are just head scratchers and the short timing routes are not being utilized - some of it is likely on Allen not having confidence in the throw when they are called, but they're not even being run for stretches of games as far as I can tell.

Yeah I think we all knew that was less than a 50/50 try given that Hausch had already missed a gimme from 34. The game management was very bad and the decision at the end of the game to kick it was even worse.

Because the message from week 1 has been play it close and limit mistakes on Offense - put the team in position to win. Now the message is changing with the Ls starting to accumulate and the team looking like it is stagnating and getting worse where it was strongest (Defense). So the Offense needs to take off the training wheels and become a strength if it can - it can go one of two ways IMO, but that is better than riding out what it has been doing.

This is the McDermott midseason swoon (we've seen it every year) - get ready for them to start picking it up again down the stretch. At least that is what I'm hoping and praying this is.

Maybe it is the realization that they've coached him into playing safer with his throws and now it is time to give him the green light to take more chances since him limiting interceptions hasn't really impacted the teams ability to win (3-3 over past six games). It probably means nothing tbh, but they've got to take the opportunity to let Allen grow and develop into the QB they think he is capable of being even if it means making more mistakes. To me the coaching hasn't been great on the Offensive side of the ball - Daboll isn't terrible, but he's also showing he has limited ability to really use his personnel to the best of their strengths - especially in the screen game - they have some athletic lineman that can move and block in space pretty well (even though they are so so at the point of attack) and a RB that is very dynamic once he gets into space. These are the type of throws that really help a QB and an offense start to get going. Also, too much telegraphing of what is coming at the D based on personnel and formation - they don't mix it up enough out of these formations. I questioned whether Daboll was the right guy and nothing has changed. The Offense isn't inept, but it doesn't take control of games either and despite what people say - it has enough talent to score more than it does, although a stud No. 1 WR would help.

Nope that’s just the browns at WR.

He didn't entirely eliminate them and Allen fumbled deep in Bills territory - thankfully they recovered the ball. He needs to find a better play call to run in short yardage in their own territory.

I keep saying it but the Bills keep doing it - stop running Allen as your short yardage back, especially deep in your own territory. It cost them dearly in the game against the Eagles, and it damn near cost them again against Washington. Shaw, you touched on why I think they are though - the line simply isn't good enough in short yardage when they are clearly showing the opponent that they are running the ball. So you have two ways to go about that - 1) keep doing what you are doing and hope that it gets better; or 2) change up what plays you run in short yardage. One of those is the obvious choice and one is thickheaded. So here is something the Bills could do: they could change up what they do from the formations that are really huge tells about what they are going to do. I've not been upset with Daboll's general effectiveness in getting this offense to move the ball. They do and it's actually not a bad offense in terms of being consistent in that respect. But the situational play calling and tells on formations drives me mad sometimes. Think about how deadly play action could be for the Bills if they actually decided to do it from those jumbo formations when they never do - if you plant a seed that you could actually take a shot with that formation it could provide more space and commitment to playing off the line a little. Split a burner like Brown or Foster wide out with an otherwise jumbo formation and if it is single coverage man, then you should have a decent window to hit a crossing route and a potentially big play - if you see the safety cheating over or back to move into that window, then you should have one less defender to worry about if you want to run. But these are options if you want to start playing a game of cat and mouse with your previous tendencies. The other way is to actually spread out and see what the Defense does to respond to it. I like the spread out play calling in short yardage for this version of the Bills better than the jumbo because of the type of players they have. And I also like the idea of Allen under center in it to put pressure on the Defense to guard against a QB sneak - you are forcing the defensive action when you do things like this. But that is the short yardage issue - the other issue is situational play calling. This team is good enough to be dominant - I truly believe that and I don't think they have tapped that potential yet. They move the ball well start creating separation and then the play calling gets for lack of a better word - $#!tty. Keep doing what got you ahead with smart and efficient play calling - don't play it too close to the vest and be one play away from the game turning on you. That's what I'm seeing - a team that does dominate for stretches and then moves away from what works until they have to again. You have a good defense - play like you can afford a mistake. If you are successful you certainly will be able to make one later without worrying about the consequences when the game is in hand. I think that is what is frustrating fans - they see this team capable of making plays when it needs to, but for some reason it appears that they try to coast and protect small leads. This leads to situations where there is a lot of consequence to a single mistake. It's more of a philosophy of game management than anything and something that may be by design to help this young team learn, but ultimately they need to start taking the kid gloves off to be more dominant.

They don't run that well and they don't pass that well either. Neither aspect is good enough to be too much one or the other. They do best when they get a good balance and don't telegraph whether they are passing or running by formation. What really drives me crazy is how predictable they are based on formation - they rarely use play-action from what looks like heavy run sets. When they do - they have been very successful. They rarely run when they have a wide spread formation unless it is Allen, and I'm just not that keen on him being an occasional running back if you are trying to have a long-term franchise QB.

I think you are 100% right on that - they were outcoached and I think McD knows it, too. I didn't see anyone running free either. FWIW, I really enjoyed being at the stadium - too bad I live too far away to make the games on the regular. My buddy is an Eagles fan and he had a great time. Commented how great people were in the area and what a friendly place it was.

I'll probably try to stomach watching it again tonight on the Short cuts - I saw it live so I'm sure that I didn't see everything the same way you do on TV. But I also saw what I saw and I know that people on TV just don't get the entire play perspective you get at the stadium. What I saw was no one too open where the routes were designed. I also wanted to say that I really had the same reaction as you on the Foster pass - but it seemed to me he lost the ball in the air or maybe we are just seeing why he was a healthy scratch and not too involved this season.

McD is fundamentally conservative - no disagreement, and I understand what you are saying about protecting a lead at the half, but as a coach you need to also find ways to show your Offensive team that you trust them and believe in what they can be. Sometimes protecting that lead - does the exact opposite. I just don't understand what they were trying to do on Offense at all - the first touchdown was all Josh extending the play. The second TD the Bills had was yet another glaring example of why you get Singletary involved in the passing game in space. For some reason, the passing gameplan was designed without many short outlets or quick timing routes. The Eagles were not defending the short routes well because they were focused on making sure they weren't getting beat deeper. From the looks of things they were doing a lot of zone in the flats and shallow middle - the Bills routes were not exploiting that at all. When they did - they had big plays. They just had too few of them.

I think the blame can go around to all involved on the Bills from players to coaches. But like you - I'm going to put this one on the coaches and it started early IMO. This was my first game that I've gone to in a couple of years and I was very excited to see them play at home against a decent opponent. I was due a loss in all of my gameday experiences, 8-0 up until that point (watched them beat the Dolphins for half of those games - most during the Marino years). But I can tell you that was quite uninspired as you started your OP - I was left looking forward to Pizza and Wings as the highlight of the trip. The first head-scratcher came right away. They won the toss and accepted the kick going directly into the wind - they almost always defer. And that was the time to defer if you believe in your D, want to make the Eagles Offense one dimensional, and want to give your Offense the opportunity to go with the wind and put some immediate pressure on a team with some internal strife. I get that they wanted the wind at their back in the fourth quarter, but you are facing a beat up and depleted secondary, but a really good run stopping team. To come out with completely unimaginative playcalling that played right into their strength and put the team into an obvious passing down in bad conditions where you are looking at punting into the strong wind if you don't make it. That just had me thinking to myself - what was that?!!! It showed that they weren't going to attack the weakness of the Eagles that other teams had been exploiting. They held on and still were leading deep into the second quarter. The second big head-scratcher came on the 3rd down QB sweep that changed the game - I'm not so upset about that one call, but more of the philosophy of keeping your QB in the game by not taking hits and attacking the Eagle's weakness. You've got to have a better play than that given the conditions and the opponent. Moreover, why is Josh their short yardage back? That set of downs was where the Bills needed to be aggressive, but they decided they were going to see if they could eek out a first down with conservative playcalling, culminating with putting their QB in harm's way as a short yardage back, and then decide if they wanted to push for another score or wind down the clock up 7-3. They weren't attacking to put the opponent away - they were playing it safe to preserve the lead they had. It's that exact stuff that prevents you from pulling away from opponents, and they've been doing it all season. All it does is make you a mistake away from trailing or letting the other team back in. That's exactly what happened. The Bills were killing the Eagles on rollouts and they simply were not interested in utilizing that strategy until the Eagles proved they could stop it. The Eagles did exactly the opposite . They probed until they found what worked in the run game and then the Bills failed to have any answers.