Richard Noggin

Lack of urgency throughout the organization. Too methodical and deliberate in every way. Too conservative. Too predictable. Too patient/passive.

While we've all at least entertained the too old/too small accusations, I think it might be more nuanced, and more connected to philosophy and game-planning. As McDermott has had longer to fully install his vision for how to win consistently in the NFL, it seems the offense has become more and more devoted to staying on schedule, remaining two-dimensional on 3rd downs, and controlling possession. Looks to me like my favorite coaches choose instead to SCORE POINTS on offense above all else. The potential issue with McD's deliberate, paced approach, is that it will likely keep "inferior" opponents within reach on the scoreboard for longer, resulting in more opportunities for the opposing offenses to "remain two-dimensional" and play their own brand of physical, but unpredictable, football. This means more snaps when the Bills defense is getting dictated to, and run at, and hit. If you're intentionally reducing possessions, then you're also intentionally reducing points, right? The Bills looked a lot better against the Dolphins once they got desperate/urgent. Why wouldn't you start the game with that kind of aggression, try to score a million points, and continue to mix in more and more run and ball control as the game script allows? Let the defense play with a dang LEAD once in a awhile. Lessen their burden. Keep them FRESH.

In the bottom left corner, it should read: "Start to BILLieve Again" just sayin I don't make the corny social media rules You got that right. Something is obviously missing in the passing game. While film review pundits and all-22 screenshots suggest guys are often open (I wonder how proportionately true that is against Man coverages) and Josh just isn't hitting his underneath stuff in rhythm, there has to be factors (beyond Allen) contributing to this lack of synchronicity. Whether it's oppo scouting and what the coaches are expecting out of the defense each week, therefore resulting in Allen reading the wrong keys pre-snap and making the wrong adjustments, or the progressions post-snap are ordered/prioritized incorrectly in relation to what the defense is taking away, which causes Allen not to trust what he's seeing, or he's not prepared to read pressures accurately in conjunction with his OL and slide protections effectively, etc etc etc. I keep wondering if the offensive staff overall, minus Kromer, is better than their counterparts each week. Obviously, most of us understand the WR group is objectively bottom tier. That puts even greater pressure on everyone else to perform optimally. I don't think Brady and his battery of passing coaches are up to that challenge. Kromer and Boras seem like they've got the inline blocking schemes optimized more often than not. Even in spite of play-calling predictability and on-field/pre-snap tells.

I guess just read the post below. Better stated than anything I would have put together.

Love this post at first, but it ignores two things: First, it ignores how many plays and points the offense is leaving out there each week. The running game is ELITE at times. But, something is wrong in the passing game, and it's not as simple as bad WRs (although that's certainly an issue). I've wondered about the QBs and WRs coaches, and the backup QB, and if there's anyone truly preparing Allen for the nuances each week, while also repeatedly reminding him to take the small stuff early and often. Daboll was hard on Allen, which I think he 100% needs. I hated Daboll's sequencing and lack of run-pass sync, but he was interpersonally the right guy to coach 17. Second, it ignores what the defense looked like, starting post-bye, when McD took over and we still had Oliver for a couple plays and Hoecht for a handful more quarters. They were doing some things. Sure, we can roll our eyes at the Panthers results because of the Red Rifle. But those Chiefs results were pretty cool. Granted, the Chiefs are super one dimensional on offense, and that's where McD's defenses can actually be effective. Nevertheless, we've seen his desire to be more multiple and aggressive, finally. Not sure he has the horses now to do much but hang on and hope his offense scores a billion points (except for the offense's deliberate, plodding design now).

I'm sure many posters have replied with only the text: "13 seconds" right? Edit: going to read backwards to make sure we're all sane enough to never forget that playoff debacle despite the offense HUMMING AT A HISTORIC LEVEL.

To be completely outclassed by the Dolphins last week was so much more unacceptable than the Falcons loss, on several levels (inferior opponent, divisional opponent, Dolphins were sellers at the deadline, etc.). The offense lacks urgency and passing execution (except against the Chiefs each regular season) in a way that makes watching painful. Get your QB in rhythm for EFF's SAKE. Why play with such fine margins, created by a possession-minded philosophy? So many ways in which I disagree with this team's gameplans most weeks. Especially on offense, since McD took over the D.

I read this as meaning both the Dolphins and the BILLS, to be clear.

I hear you from a competitor's perspective, but on 4th down he fundamentally played the ball wrong. He was posted up perfectly. Just gotta violently rake at it/spike it and knock it DOWN or OUT there, not play it like a WR looking to haul it IN. He tried to catch it and gave Jefferson a chance to make a play on it. Whatever. That being said: I love me some Cam Lewis. Always will. INVALUABLE depth across every position in the secondary. Such a good football player.

Yeah, it seems likely that the Brady and the Bills will seek to break a "selling" Miami team's will tomorrow. As always, I'd like to see them do that with some aggressive downfield shots mixed in. Scoring points quickly can help limit wear and tear on everyone with a one-dimensional opponent offense and fewer high leverage snaps and situations, but it seems like the Bills would generally rather dominate the ball and shorten the game. Gotta throw up my amateur hands, I guess, and hope they can continue to defeat top opponents the way they did last week. Miami ain't a "top" opponent objectively, but they ARE divisional and they DO often stick around against the Bills.

Shame about that 4th down play against Justin Jefferson. Otherwise, he's been so steady when called upon, all things considered. Even played some boundary for the Bills in his 1st (albeit very brief) start against Tennessee, if memory serves.

Calling it "Hard rocks stadium" is a masterful double entendre, given the type of dentally challenged creatures I was surrounded by a couple times back in the early aughts.

Hancock has always been a tweener, for sure. Can play CB, especially NCB, but can also play S. I'll bet he has a future in this league. Like Cam Lewis tbh. Take a gander at Cam Lewis's numbers, they're not terrible:

Some mention already of Jordan Hancock in this thread, and so it's fun to point out his only slightly lesser overall athleticism (compared to Bishop) despite his significantly lesser draft position. He also played significant snaps for a championship program. The dude is an explosive athlete and good football player. He just has smallish hands and shortish arms, and probably needs to pack on a few more lbs.

Or his 1st playoff game, tbh. Wait, is that unusual for you?