Success

I have zero doubt that McD has his reasons. He wouldn't do it if he didn't think there was upside.

The "risk" of doing this is kind of overplayed. Starters will be in on roughly 150 drives this season. 1-2 more isn't raising the odds of getting hurt in any meaningful way.

It's a good quesiton - and I do view that show as a bit of a joke, as most sports discussion shows are these days. But it was something they all seemed to agree on. It just got me thinking - do we have it? Is it different in KC, or Cincy? I really don't think so, at least as a significant differentiator. But the discussion did get me thinking about it, and wondering what the rest of the crew here thought.

I saw Broussard say this the other day, responding to Nick Wright's usual deranged lunacy about the Bills. He couldn't agree w/ some of ol' Nick's ridiculous assessments, but in trying to find some common ground for why Buffalo will never win anything ever at any time, he said that they do lack leadership, from any player, or from McDermott. Personally, I don't fully agree. I think Allen leads by example, and is a strong personality at the most important position. We've all seen those moments like the end of the 13 seconds game, where he was exhorting the defense on the sideline after our last score, and getting everyone fired up. McDermott - who has my support as a fan - I'm not so sure on. He seems to be in the weeds a lot, focused on the details. And I think he's a detail guy in general. I'm not sure if he truly LEADS this team, like some of the more legendary HC's who really set the tone, set the boundaries, and were able to create a vision everyone could get behind. Curious what everyone else thinks, and if a "lack of leadership" might be the missing piece that the team needs to figure out, or just develop as they continue to mature.

Since it's a sports board, I can't help but think of a sports expression - which coincidentally, gets applied to the Bills often. Whenever a team loses in a playoff game now, they don't just lose. They "choked." It wasn't always that way.

I remember people were saying similar things about Edmunds that they are saying about Elam now. Both were really young guys when they came into the league. Elam is only 22 this year. I have no worries about him - he made some great plays last year & you could see the potential. If he doesn't get the starting job, it doesn't mean he's not going to be a good or even great one for us down the line.

This, to me, is an overblown issue. I reject the comparisons to Burrow & Mahomes to this point. Anyone w/ eyes can see that JA is asked to do much more, with much less. That's not to say Allen is the best of the 3, but we simply don't know yet. A lot is going to happen over the course of each of their careers. I'm interested to see how the narrative changes this year, which I think it will. Allen will have better protection, and a better receiving corps, and will be healthy heading into the season. Turnovers will likely go down, but I don't think that matters as much as other factors. JA will always be the most risk-taking QB of the 3.

That should be an easy thing for Allen to correct. It's pretty clear on the tape on some of the plays. He's adjusting to a new line, and a new style of play. It needs more than a single preseason game to come together.

Let's dream this one into existence. Love so many aspects of it. But none of it is outrageous - all are plausible scenarios.

What the Pats are doing reminds me so much of drought-era Bills. They have a better coach than any we had in that time, so there's that. But I remember having such confidence that we could grind out wins against the Pats and other high-flying teams with great D and a great running game. Didn't work for us, and won't work for them. Inevitably, you're going to be down more than a score, and you have to pass & score points.

Well, I'd say his finest is drafting a generational QB and building a roster that is consistently one of the top contenders for a title. This is probably just to get another guy in camp before the final cuts.

Great post. Re: the O-line observations: I just watched a good breakdown of the O-line play on youtube (Joe Marino - not sure if anyone has watched him, but it was great analysis). A lot of similar observations - Brown was solid, as was Dawkins & the interior. A couple of misses, but most of the pressure was JA sliding left or right when he could have stepped up in the pocket, or otherwise not managing the protection too well. That's really correctable stuff, and the overall conclusion was that people are WAY overreacting to how the line played in those series Josh was in.

I was around for wide right & the rest of it. I'm too invested at this point. They either win a SB, or I will have no peace.

People are overreacting about Dawkins and Brown. I'm not going to say "we're gonna be fine," but let's see how it looks in week 1. Dawkins is a very solid LT, and it sounds like Brown - while he had a couple of mistakes - has held up well so far in the preseason. With the upgrades at guard, this could be the best line we've had in years.

The hot takes here & nationally if we lose to the Jets are going to be off the charts.

I can't believe Beane didn't go after one of the many pro-bowl linemen that are still out there unsigned in mid-August....

Can anyone who watched all of the downs shed some light on Elam? Was he bad? I had some high hopes coming into this season. I thought he looked great at times last year, and like a guy who could easily move into the #2 spot after Tre. One preseason game doesn't mean that much - but it's starting to feel like he is not going to be a starter.

I dig it.

I'm not an expert. But it seems to me - being the Head Coach of a professional football team is a BIG job. You have to wrangle everything. It's like being the CEO of a company. I think it would be hard to be the CEO, and the national director of Sales. A HC has to look at the offense, ST and defense. They have to set a vision for the team in all 3 areas. They have to help with player evaluation and selection. They have to take ownership of all of the little things, like minimizing penalties and ensuring good overall gameplans on a week-to-week basis. They have to motivate the team every week, and monitor just about every player to know where there head is at. Are they unhappy about something? How is that injury? It's a big job. So is being the Defensive Coordinator of a team. More than anything, it's an overlapping set of huge responsibilities. I'm sure McD has thought that through. But I'm still concerned about it.

Glad to hear the observations on Brown. Reading the thread last night, I thought he was a disaster, but it sounds like he held up okay.

Around 80-85 years is just fine w/ me. Especially if we never win a SB.

Nice alliteration.

The rumblings out of camp were that Bernard was looking pretty solid & like he was ready to assume the starting role. All we can do is hope that's the case, and that he fills in capably. I don't expect that to be our strongest position on the defense, but we do need it to be solid.

I'm trying not to add to the negativity today, so this is just a question. I really don't know the answer. Preseason is a time for overreaction, but there were concerning things yesterday: the penalties and undisciplined play can't just be chalked up to it being preseason. The team looked unprepared, and sloppy. Those things are generally attributable to coaching. My biggest concern this season is that McD just has too much on his plate now. He is passionate about defense, and I think he'll be a good DC - but that passion could lead to a more singular focus on just that, since it's now his responsibility. The rest of the HC stuff might take a backseat. Thoughts?

I was expecting much more from the O-line this season - and in a small sample size, they looked worse. They showed the KC & Bills highlights back to back on ESPN yesterday. It was painfully easy to see how much more protection Mahomes has, and how much more time in the pocket. 2nd observation is that Kincaid is the real deal - looks to be a great draft pick. 3rd, even though it was not asked for, is that Elam may not be a starter. Which isn't great.