Shaw66

There are only 5 active coaches with at least as many playoff appearances and a better won loss percentage. Every other head coach either has been to the playoffs fewer times or won less or both. There are more measures of success than winning a Lombardi. He was a good hire, both for the regular seasons and the playoffs. Every team wants to win the Super Bowl. Do you really think any team with an opening would not hire McDermott be ause he hasn't won one? Any team? You're being unhappy doesn't mean McDermott hasn't been a success to date.

This is a thread about history, not the future. The history is simple: over his tenure, McDermott isnone of the most accomplished coaches in the league. I'd say, if you want to talk about the future, start your thread.

So hiring McDermott was a bad decision?

Well, two things about this: First, as good as a punt is ONLY said when there actually WAS an interception. No one says it on an incompletion. Second, a fourth down throw into the end zone has a significant upside - a touchdown. There's a much greater possible reward on the throw than the punt.

Thank you for responding. I knew my post would generate these negative posts, and I have trouble keeping my cool responding to them. If the Bills fired McDermott today, how long would it be before New England hired him? Seattle? It's absurd to demean a guy with his regular season record AND his playoff record, as you point out.

I liked him once I heard his first press conference. It was pretty clear he knew what he was doing. Of course, his press conferences have gone downhill ever since!

Man. Talk about a good decision. Seven years later, four straight division titles. Playoffs six times. After all those years of failure.

Well, I continue to think there are opportunities to game the system. One problem is the arbitrariness of the time these rules apply. Why is this rule and the out of bounds rule a 5-minute rule but the 10 second runoff is a 2-minute rule? If the Dolphins were getting the benefit of the clock stoppage, why not also offer the Bills a 10-second runoff? I agree with Gunner that the rule probably is designed to give an advantage to the team trying to come back, but why should that be? If my running back gives himself up and passes up chance get more yards so he can keep the clock running, why should my opponent be able stop the clock by committing a penalty? Whatever. It should be rationalized some way. If you can stop the clock in the final 5 by going out of bounds, fine. But committing a penalty?

Bills were great on that play at the end of half. Diggs or Josh or both recognized that the Dolphins were giving them the first down, so they took and got out of bounds. Real smart football.

Yes. Congratulate everyone every day they're sober.

Why is that the rule? What's the rationale. Once the penalty is enforced, why shouldn't the game be put back in the same position it would have been if no penalty had been called? If you're winning and on offense, the rule denies you an opportunity let the clock. If you're losing, while the penalty is being enforced you're calling the next play and getting up to the LOS. Only thing I can think is that they want to advantage the losing team, so they can have a more exciting finish.

Pics or it didn't happen!

I agree. Someone throws a flag, and at the end of the play the clock stops. I get that. Officials need time to sort out and enforce the penalty. But once that's done, why shouldn't the game resume in the same posture it was. If the clock was running when it was stopped for the penalty, it should restart with a 25-second play clock. Why should a team get the benefit of a clock stoppage when EITHER team is flagged?

I was fine with the decision by Josh. In retrospect of course, it cost the Bills a field goal, and I get the argument that therefore the throw needs to go into the end zone. But in the moment, that was a play that looked like a touchdown. A throw to a running back on the two, on the run, is almost always a TD. You have to trust your teammates to make plays. Josh made that decision. The Dolphins just made a better play.

One of the important differences in playoff football is the officiating. They allow a lot more. Not that it was correct, but the noncall on the Knox I interference was another example.

Great story! I was there, too, and I saw every step. I was really worried that the game was slipping away on that drive. It was so intense, and then Johnson was on his way.

Miami and Dallas led the league in points scored. Against the rest of the league they averaged over 30 points per game. In three games against the Bills they scored 20, 14, and 10. Those are good!

Uh oh. I guess he picked up the game early!

Right about how the coverage worked. Hyde's may have been the best INT I've ever seen.

Ooh. I won't be watching, but a GDT is a great idea!

I don't watch Hard Knocks. Never have. Will there be an episode following this loss? I mean, it'll be seriously painful for them, but good reality TV. GDT?

Right. I have to admit, I didn't notice Spector, whom several people have commented on. What I noticed was that the defensive line wasn't blowing people up, but they were working hard enough to get consistent pressure and be making stops in the run game. And the D backs were all over the place. Loved when Poyer lit up that guy and Collinsworth went nuts. Rapp was possessed on the last two plays. Benford stood out all game, and Jackson was his usual solid self. It was a great show. I'm sure the Dolphins came into the game expecting to win, and came into the second half confident. I usually don't take pleasure in the other guy's misery, but I really enjoyed thinking about how shell-shocked they were at the end. Josh just coming at them relentlessly, mistakes or not, especially on the long third-down run, Harty exploding on them, and the defense just completely taking it to them. It was awesome.

Fans have different opinions about the color commentators on NFL broadcasts. Some like one and dislike another. Others feel the opposite. I like Chris Collinsworth. I like him because he genuinely enjoys watching the games. He gets excited about plays and about situations. Does he embellish his excitement sometimes? I’m sure he does, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t enjoying what he’s seeing. And he sees the game well. As soon as a play is done, he often talks about one player who did one particular thing; then the replay comes up and there it is, just as he said. Sunday night Collinsworth got to call the final game of the 2023 regular season, the game between the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins to decide which team would win the AFC Eastern Division. He got a great game to watch, full of interesting plays, important plays, big plays, and big mistakes. He loved it. Late in the game, Collinsworth said something that was absolutely correct – the game felt every bit like a playoff game. It was dramatic from the very first play until the final interception. Every play mattered, and every fan watching knew it mattered. Everything about the game was at an emotional level higher than Bills-Cowboys, Bills-Eagles, Bills-Chiefs in previous weeks. It was great football entertainment, and it was the perfect game on which to end the regular season and move into the playoffs. And, of course, it was a perfect game for the Bills, because they came from nowhere six weeks ago to the number 2 seed in AFC championship bracket. I loved it. One play was one of the great plays in Bills’ history: Deonte Harty’s 96-yard punt return tied the game and gave the Bills the emotional energy to take the lead on their next possession. And because the game felt just like a playoff game, I will remember that play together with Taron Johnson’s 101-yard interception return against the Ravens in the 2021 Divisional playoffs. Emotionally, the plays were so similar. The Bills were leading the Ravens and were trailing the Dolphins, it’s true, but the Ravens were about to score to tie the game, and the Bills had seemed to be going nowhere. They certainly seemed to be going nowhere against the Dolphins. As Johnson started out of the end zone, I thought he should have taken the knee and the touchback. As Harty caught the punt on the four, I thought he should have taken the fair catch. Then, in both cases, an absolute explosion! By the time Johnson hit the 20-yardline, and Harty, too, it was a simple footrace. Both games turned around after those 80-yard dashes. I knew the Ravens were dead birds after Johnson’s magic, and when the Dolphins went three and out on their next possession, they were dead fish. Two role players (Johnson hadn't yet emerged as the stud he's become), two game-changing plays, two phenomenal Bills’ wins. Mike McDaniel is one of those offensive-geniuses we keep hearing about. He installed some wrinkles in the Dolphin running attack that absolutely tore up the Bills’ in the first half. Achane, particularly, was running wild, and Collinsworth appreciated every minute of it. He understood and explained how McDaniel had taken misdirection to a new level, and how it was confusing the Bills. Still, the Bills’ defense held the Dolphins to two touchdowns in the first half, and the Bills trailed by only 7. Then Sean McDermott, the other coaching star in the game, took over. Having watched only from the sideline, and with the help of his assistants, he developed and installed the antidote during half time. McDaniel’s magic was neutralized, and the Dolphins didn’t sniff the end zone again. The defense completely smothered the Dolphins in the second half – the run game fizzled, and the offensive line harassed Tua enough to limit the effectiveness of the Dolphin quick passing game. Josh Allen had just enough to overcome a series of costly mistakes, including a first-half interception and a second-half sack-fumble-turnover. Still, he was larger than life. When he got going, running like a man possessed and making multiple pinpoint throws to receivers finding their way into seams, he was Josh Allen at his best. He’s just so good, running and passing, that he demoralizes the other team. His play said, “We are not going to lose,” and the Dolphins heard it. The playoffs began Sunday night. GO BILLS!!! The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were every-day people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

I woke up thinking the same thing. Beane does a solid job.

No.