Shaw66

Me too. Where I agree with you is that what we've seen from him isn't nearly good enough. Where I disagree is that we're looking at another JP or EJ. He's already beyond them, and growing. How far he grows, we'll have to wait and see. Here's one other thought: I would feel even better about Allen's future if McDermott fired Daboll. Not because I think Daboll is doing a bad job; I really don't know enough about football to know whether Daboll is any good and likely to get better. But if McDermott fired him, that would tell me that part of Allen's problems this year were OC problems, not Allen. I don't expect that happen. If Daboll is gone, it would be because he took a HC job. I'd be surprised if that happened, but I've been surprised before. If he doesn't get a HC job, I think McD keeps him and works with him to get improvement out of him.

Of course you saw those things from Josh. You're gonna see those things from virtually every QB who is the 24th rated passer in the league. However, in my opinion, to say that 27 starts into his career Josh looks anything like JP or EJ is simply foolish. 27 starts into his career EJ Manuel's career was over - he never got that many starts, because he failed before then. 27 starts into his career, Losman's was effectively over. To compare Josh Allen with those guys is absurd. Today, Allen has major upside potential and the other two, at the same points in their careers, had demonstrated that they had NO upside.

One reason I'm so optimistic is that it's a team game. The cumulative effect of improvement across the offensive lineup and in the coach should be bigger than the actual improvement of any particular person. What I mean is that I expect Josh Allen to be significantly better next season, but the statistical improvement will be only partially attributable to his improvement from this season to next season. If the Bills do upgrade the oline, and I think that that will happen because they will bring in one or two new starters and because at least Ford will be better than this season, then Allen's rushing attack will be better, making play action more effective. His pass protection will be better. Allen would have been better, statistically, this season if he'd had those advantages. So next season he'll have the luxury of those improvements, plus however much he grows, plus however much Daboll's tinkering with offense improves things. They're all young and growing. McDermott too. So I expect Josh to be a lot better, but not simply because he has made strides.

No question about that.

I agree that if Allen doesn't improve next season over this season, there will be doubts. I was reacting to the notion that he isn't showing more that EJ or JP showed. That's ridiculous. He runs better, he passes better, he leads better. My objective for this season was to get within the top 20 in passer rating. He finished 24th, and say what you will about the receivers and the oline, Allen didn't do as well as I hoped. My objective for next year, going into this season, was top 10. That's going to require a big leap, but I don't mind if he doesn't get there. The objective for 2019 was a meaningful improvement over 2018, and we got that. If we see a meaningful improvement again in 2020, I'm good.

I argued for the Bills to sign Cousins. I was wrong. I'll take Josh all day.

Where do people come up with this crap? Went into a shell? What are you talking about? From the point the Bills went up 16-0 to the end of regulation, the Bills ran 25 plays from scrimmage. 19 passes and 6 runs, including Josh's scrambles as runs. What about that offensive play selection is "going into a shell"? The Bills went for it on 4th and 27 with less than two minutes to play. That's "going into a shell"? That's just nonsense.

Oh, my heavens. In JP's third year in Buffalo, he had a passer rating of 85 and never got close again. He went 7-9 in that season and had only 3 other wins in his career. In EJ's second season in Buffalo he had a passer rating of 80 and never got close again. After his second season in Buffalo, Josh Allen improved to 85 went 10-6 and went to the playoffs. Allen runs better than both, throws better than both and already has more career wins than both. Not sure what you're looking at. You're right about the o line. The throw to DiMarco was on Allen, not Daboll.

You're right. The article is great. Really funny, but it's clear that the author also appreciates Josh's talents. 37 is better than about 90% of all NFL QBs.

I'm much less critical of his game management than most, because I literally don't know how to make those decisions. Much of the criticism of McDermott's game management comes after losses, and that makes me suspect. If his game management is so bad, what's going on during those wins? Having said that, I think game management is a skill that coaches develop over time. All the time that guys are assistants or coordinators, they're not making game management decisions. The HC is telling them when they're going for it, when they're punting, etc. So McDermott has been managing games for exactly three seasons, while Reid and Belichick and Tomlin have been doing it for 20. There's no way anyone should expect McDermott to be as good at game management, yet, as seasoned coaches. McDermott has talked about this in general terms. He is not exempt from the process. His, game management decisions are studied and evaluated, and they develop knowledge and techniques to correct what they determine are game management mistakes. I'm sure analytics are involved, and that the Bills maintain a database about in-game decisions. I'm sure he's getting in-game advice about what the database says in various situations. So, I don't know how good or how bad his game management actually is, but I would expect that it will improve from year to year for several years.

I don't know the answer to this, but the more I think about it, the more ironic it seems that someone is asking this question. The refrain around here is that McDermott is too conservative, that he punts when he should go for it, blah blah. Now comes someone saying what was he doing, going for it? They're just decisions that a coach has to make all the time. Some decisions work out, some don't. If I had to guess, here's what he was thinking: Whether he punts or goes for it and doesn't make it, if the Eagles get one first down, the game is over. So his chances aren't very good either way. Going for it at least gives him two shots at it. Maybe he gets a miracle on 4th and 27. Maybe he gets a defensive penalty. If he doesn't make it, other than field position, he's no worse off than he was. If his defense doesn't hold, he's done. If it does hold, he has a shot.

I think this describes it very well. There were substantial changes from year 1 to year 2, substantial improvement from year 2 to year 3. They won't say it, but I think McBeane always figured that 2020 was the year the Bills would start seeing real success. A playoff win this year would have been good, but I don't think they're disappointed with where they are in their process. In other words, a playoff win would have been a little ahead of schedule - possible, worth working for, but where they find themselves today is essentially on schedule.

This is exactly right. It's tough to see on the replay, and it's possible that Ford had his right forearm on the defender. But it certainly was not the kind of play that the rule was designed to prevent. He didn't lower his shoulder, he didn't hit with his head, the defender saw him coming. If the forearm was involved, it was incidental. At that point in the game, that's a bad call. Officials let them play at the end of close games, and that's a game changing call on a play that didn't clearly violate the rule. No, that isn't an illegal blindside block. First, he was pushed by Poyer, he didn't make a block. But more importantly, he didn't hit Edmunds with his head, shoulder or forearm.

Another example of a fundamental misunderstanding of how the Bills are being built. This offense is NOT, primarily, built on the strengths of the players. Sure, the Bills run the QB because that's a strength, but the plan, obviously the plan, is that the Bills are acquiring players who fit the way they want to play. It started from the very beginning, with Hyde and Poyer, and it's continuing. And, the point that people lose sight of all the time, is that McDermott''s continuous improvement philosophy demands that everyone get better - that they learn and study and develop and get better. McDermott will evaluate Daboll and talk to him about the ways the two of them can get Daboll to improve. If McDermott concludes that Daboll's growth is maxed out, he'll move on. But if he believes that Daboll will get better, he'll keep him.

And there is a reason that good coaches teach their players the rules. The Texans' failure was a coaching failure, and the officials gave O'Brien a pass.

It WAS a perfect throw, and Duke got both hands on it. But on the closeup replays you could see the defender got a good swipe at the ball with his right hand (he missed), but then his left arm came around Duke's body and hit Duke's elbow just as he was about to secure it. That's when the ball came out. Was it enough contact to forcibly knock the ball out? I don't think so, but it was enough to disrupt the catch. Duke will tell you he should have caught it, but it was a well-defended play.

He is the franchise's quarterback and will be for ten years or more. The definition of a franchise QB is a QB the franchise will keep, and Allen is a keeper. There is no way, for example, that a Tannehill is going to come along and take the job from Allen like he did from Tennessee's supposed franchise QB. Is he a big winner? Not yet.

Well, you're right about this, but I think you may be overstating the case. I don't know how Josh will respond, but good athletes keep the memory of losses in their heads and are motivated by them. There's a difference between dwelling on losses and being motivated by them.

Well, Joe, I agree about the AFC East for sure. As for which AFC teams, if any, I'd rather be a fan of, I don't know if you're right, but I agree with your point. I like my chances with the Bills.

He could have caught it, but it would have been a really, really good reception. It was outstanding defense. Duke wasn't perfect, but he looks like he belongs. Also, Williams had four receptions on 10 targets. At least two of those were throwaways (at the end of regulation) and one was an important overthrow on an easy pass on the Bills' last offensive play. So at worst he had four receptions on seven targets, and one of those was an outstanding defensive play to cause the incompletion. Hard to see how that adds up to Williams not holding up his end of the bargain.

Man, I really agree with this. That was a team loss. McDermott should have challenged the kickoff call. Frazier and Daboll clearly could have called better games. EVERY guy on offense and defense could have made plays they didn't. They'll all learn from this, and they will get better. As fans, we finally have a good football team. Enjoy it.

You are absolutely correct about both of these points. Absolutely. I wrote a long post in the fair catch thread about this. One of my points was that under the old rule, when the the kicking team could recover a loose ball in the end zone, every once in a while we'd see a return man who didn't know the rule and the kicking team would get a freebie TD. I don't ever recall the officials taking away one of those touchdowns because the return man didn't know the rule or "intended" to take the touchback. It was a big screw-up by the Texans, and the officials gave them a pass just because they felt sorry for them. ESPN's announcers said the ruling was "common sense." Common sense isn't part of the rules.

People make comments like this all the time. The comment demonstrates that you aren't listening to what McBeane have been saying since they got to Buffalo. The process is designed to build a team that has sustained long-term success. That means that they're looking for the kind of success that New Orleans and New England and Kansas City have - that is, success where the team keeps winning even thought the players keep changing. That's what they mean when they talk about building the right way. So, for example, the Bills went for quantity instead of quality in free agency in 2019. Other than Morse, they didn't sign a premier free agent on the offensive line. They signed a lot of journeymen, expecting to get exactly what they got - decent improvement on the offensive line. They'll decide that one of two of those guys are keepers, and they'll get some new talent next year. In other words, they didn't bet the farm with the expectation that they could become a Super Bowl contender in 2019. It's not an accident that the "Championship Caliber" sign went up late this season. McDermott sets goals with the expectation that once a goal is achieved, they won't go backward. The goal for 2019 was to become Playoff Caliber, and when that goal was achieved, the goal was changed. That sign will stay up now. Every player on this team now knows that that goal is achievable. There is nothing that anyone ever has said that this is the seven year slog that you make up to be contrarian. This is one of the youngest teams in the league, with a lot of cap room and ten draft picks and a process in place designed to generate continuous improvement. 6-10 to 10-6, including conceding a loss in the final game, together with going overtime in a Wildcard game, is substantial improvement. Just because you're unhappy that your team didn't do better doesn't mean that the Bills are seriously on the move.

I'm a lawyer. If the Saints and their fans couldn't win last year, the Bills and their fans wouldn't win. In theory, to win in court, you have to have a right of some kind that was violated. A constitutional right, a statutory right, a contract right, something. If we have anything as fans, it's a contract right. But what we have is a right to entertainment, not a right to an outcome. We got the entertainment.

Really? They weren't. And more importantly, whatever the stats, Watson was the better QB on the field.