Shaw66

With all due respect, Deek, I think my post was completely clear that I don't know what's true. I said "presumably" and "may be." But with hindsight, I think it's clear that the Bills would have been off today if they'd hired a guy who was willing to be a veteran mentor and had kept that guy. Allen would have had help, and the Bills probably would have won the Houston game.

PM me if you're interested.

I'm not selling. I'm giving.

Okay, I will use deodorant.

I have an extra ticket for Monday night. PM me if you'd like to go.

Meanie suggests that McCarron was unhappy and presumably let people know. So that may be why he's gone. The mistake, as someone said, was not getting someone who was willing to be the mentor. So the mistake was in free agrency, not August. Whatever, they shouldn't have gone into the season with just Allen and Peterman.

Nice story.

That's an interesting and plausible theory. McCarron isn't, by definition, a journeyman, because his NFL journey had been to only one city. Sitting behind Dalton, McCarron still thought he was a starter, not journeyman-backup-occasional starter. When Fitz arrived in Buffalo, he thought he was a starter. By the time he got to Tampa Bay, he knew he was a journeyman. So McCarron maybe wanted out, as you say. Of course, any semi-conscious football fan knew the Bills were taking a QB in the 2018 draft, because they didn't sign a top free agent QB, a guy who had been a starter, like a Cousins or Bridgewater. So I don't see why McCarron should have been surprised in Buffalo. He should have known that if he was competed for and won the starting job, it would only be his job until the 2018 draftee was ready. Heck, Brett freaking Favre should have known that at some point the Packers would move on from him to start Rodgers. So McCarron certainly should have known. I didn't worry about it much a couple of months ago, but McBeane certainly did mismanage the QB situation. In the QB free agency merry-go-round last spring they should have gotten a genuine journey, like McCown, who would have been willing to accept the backup role if that's what fell to him. It was a mistake not to have a veteran presence in the QB room.

I'm a reasonably serious Bills fans, but Coke captured how I feel. The Bills have to be alive for me to be interested, and there were very signs of life last week. Any decent NFL team would have responded to the heart-breaking Texans game with a decent showing in Indianapolis. Instead, we got a totally mailed-in performance. Allen is the only thing that's interesting about this team right now, and he isn't playing.

Saying the Rockpile Review is better than the games is faint praise, indeed! Grilled cheese and kale is better than the games. But thanks. I don't agree with much of the rest, although I, too, think they should have taken a quality offensive lineman instead of Phillips. I don't know the medicine, but as I understand it, Allen's injury is tissue damage that will heal. I don't think he has damage. But I'm not too critical of their player personnel moves. They have a system and a plan, and they're following it. As I've said, what DOES bother me, a lot, is how badly prepared this team has looked in multiple games. I think it's the coaching that's deficient, not the player moves.

I agree with you. A GM ordinarily has that power, but few GMs do it without consulting with the owners. I think, as I think you do, that the Pegulas are too committed to McD to let Beane fire him any time soon. I agree. It captures the reality of the current situation.

I'm not saying I like it; I'm just saying that Beane has been very clear that that's what he's doing. And, as I said, it's been the Packers philosophy for years, and it worked for them. If I were Beane, I'd look at this way: I know what kind of players we are looking for, and I've studied the draft really carefully for the past five years. That means there are guys who are the kind of guys we are looking for coming off their rookie contracts. Some of them are going to be free agents. I need some quality veteran help, so why wouldn't I go after some of those guys? But that isn't what he's said. He's said people shouldn't expect to see the Bills on a spending spree in free agency. He's said they probably will look to plug a hole or two in free agency, but other then that, they want to draft their players.

Replying to you and Figster, I agree with you and disagree with him on this point. It seems to me that the Bills are playing an unimaginative offense, among the least imaginative in the league. Now, they're doing that probably because they either want to dumb it down for their inexperienced QBs or they don't think they have enough talent to open up the offense. Either way, I think that's a mistake, because by playing unimaginative offense you more or less guarantee that the opponent is going to stop you, week after week, so all you're doing is reducing the likelihood that you'll win a game. And winning, after all, is the object. But beyond that, if you're playing an unimaginative offense, you aren't giving your young QBs (and your other young players) a true NFL experience. You're asking them to practice playing a game that is different from the game that you presumptively will be asking them to play next year. By doing that, your players are losing an opportunity to play the way you'll want and need them to play. Give your wideouts an opportunity to run screens and rubs and double moves, because that's what receivers on good teams do. Give your QBs the opportunity to learn how to throw those passes, which require a quick release, accuracy and timing. Run some serious misdirection plays. Run those tricky double screens where it looks like you're screening to one side but you're actually going the other way. Do all that stuff and more. The offense that Bills are playing has virtually no chance of succeeding, unless the defense holds the opponent to single digits. Play an offense that may blow up in your face, but it at least has a chance to score 20 a game or more. And in the meantime you'll be giving your young players an opportunity to learn. This is a man's game, and asking your players to take baby steps ain't gonna cut it.

Yeah, I remember the play but not the look. Again, I don't know what his assignment is on running plays, but it seems that a lot of times when I watched him he gets caught in the wash. I'd think that with his speed, given how much misdirection everyone runs, the Bills would benefit by having lay back a bit and not commit so quickly to his gap. That way he would keep his ability to track plays laterally, which is where his strength is. The problem with that, I suppose, is that if he lays back and the running back hits his gap, the back is going to get 2-3 yards, and occasionally more, than if Edmunds had attacked the gap. The answer probably is that Edmunds has to learn to read the play quickly and to commit to the gap or not, depending on his read. McBeane have been absolutely clear they are not building in free agency. Beane said that the fans shouldn't expect a big spending spree in 2019. He said they may get a guy or two to plug gaps, but their focus is going to remain on the draft. That's what makes we agree with the speculation that the Bills might unload Shady and Benjamin for picks. Essentially what they've said, in so many words, is that they're building like the Packers have done it for years. A couple of years ago the Packers had a roster where NO player had ever been on the 53-man roster of any other team. They were essentially all drafted or undrafted rookies, with a few guys plucked from other practice squads. It sounds like that's what they want to do. And that's why I don't think anyone's getting fired anytime soon. They've explained all of this to the Pegulas, and everything we've heard and seen suggests the Pegulas are on board. Bottom line: the 2019 roster will be the first where McBeane will have THEIR young guys on the team, so you shouldn't expect a Rams-type turn-around.

Their stats are surprisingly good. They're fourth in yards per game, even though the offense has serious trouble staying on the field. More amazing is that they're 16th in points per game, even though they've had games where the opponents seemed to be scoring in the NBA-range.

I share your feelings on a lot of this, except I don't expect him to get fired anytime this season. I expect he'll be the coach on opening day, 2019, and he'll get all of 2019 unless the Bills look as bad next season as they have several games this season. Why? A couple of reasons. First, I think Beane feels gratitude and loyalty to McDermott for having gotten him the GM job. Second, I think McBeane really do believe that they have a system that, in time, will work. Third, I don't think the Pegulas want a coaching merry-go-round. They bought McB's kool-aid, and they're going to savor every last drop before they head off in another direction. I've always thought McB have three full years, minimum, and I still think that.

There's only one thing that feels better than standing and screaming with 70,000 Bills fans in New Era.

Funny, I was looking at threads about flat vs. curved. There's no reason not bend a flat brim. I find, however, that hat with pre-curved brims fit my head better. That's not going to stop me from picking up a #34. Looks cool, and I need a new cap.

You can't curve flat brims? Why not? All caps used to come with a flat brim - the first thing you did when you got a new cap as a kid was style the brim with the right amount of curve for the image you wanted. I was thinking about getting one, but not if I have to wear it flat.

You've had bad luck. I live in Connecticut and have a friend who lives in Cleveland but is a Giants fan. He won't join me in Buffalo for games, but several years ago he told me he'd go to one away game a year with me. So every year we pick one game, fly in on Saturday and fly out Sunday night (except lately my wife has been going with me, and she and I tack on a few days somewhere fun). Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, the Giants, Tennessee, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Houston. Crushed by the Packers who won the Super Bowl that year - it was Trent's last start - he was cut two days later. Beaten badly by the Steelers, with EJ struggling to get one meaningless TD as the clock ran out, win in Cleveland, lost to the Giants with Freddy making a great long TD and Fitz underthrowing Stevie TWICE, each would have been a TD and each was intercepted. Tyrod makes some great plays to beat the Titans. Freddy's great run in overtime to beat the Bears. Ajayai runs for 200 against the Bills. Great win against the Falcons. Peterman throws two picks to lose to the Texans. 4-5. Not bad, and it sort of mirrors the Bills over-all record during that period. I don't know. There have been times when driving home after another hopeless performance by the Bills in November I've decided I'm done, no more season tickets, no more driving to games. But then I stick it out for one more season, and I get rewarded by some good games. Sometimes I think a fitting end to my life would be a horrific one-car crash at 11 pm some Sunday night. If my life story is a tragedy, it would be after a loss. If it's a happy story, it would be after the Bills have crushed the Pats, I'm doing 70 on the Mass Pike, pull up next to a car with Pats decals on it, I'm singing the Shout song out the window to the losers next to me and -WHAM! - right into a bridge abutment, so my dying thoughts are all about the Bills, the win and joy in Bills-land. In other words, I'm nuts, and all my friends know it.

I can't agree. I love being in the crowd. Just like I loved being at Christians Tailgate. All those Bills fans in one place. It's a tribe, and I love being a part of the tribe. I love the feeling. And every once in a while they win, and that's great.

I agree. And Phillips, probably Milano, Dawkins and probably Miller. And they're a little older, but Poyer and Hyde play really well together back there and should be good for 3-4 more years. It's not like there's no talent on the team. Not enough, but they have guys to build on. As I said, it's the coaching that worries me.

One thing about Edmunds I forgot to note in the OP. One of his problems - maybe it's what he's supposed to do, is that on runs he attacks his gap and gets right up in behind the defensive line. When the running back changes direction, or when the play is a well-executed misdirection play, Edmunds can't move laterally, because he gets stuck in the mass of bodies, between his teammates and blockers who have gotten to the second level. The result is that he can't pursue effectively. Seems to me he needs to hang back a bit longer before he moves to plug the hole. It means he gets to his gap a second later, but it also means he's in space where he can move laterally to make plays to his left or right. I'll get bashed for saying this, but I didn't see Mahomes doing anything last night that Allen hasn't done or can't do. Mahomes is blessed with a spectacular collection of talent and a brilliant head coach. Allen has neither.

Yeah, but the guy who is standing "next to nothing" is Larry Fitzgerald.

Yes, that is exactly the question. It's kind of surprising, because he seemed to be a really solid and creative DC in Carolina. What's particularly surprising to me is that he seems to have completely struck out on two successive OCs. You'd think a good DC ought to be able to figure out who's a good OC.