Ethan in Cleveland

23 and 22 years ago I had two sons that are amazing young men, college educated, but are not good enough to play WR or CB...

Add Hamlin to the list

Bailey Zappe is on the PS...lol

Starting Flacco behind that line is tanking. He is a leader in the NFL in INT/attempts when he plays

Very odd. Because Jackson drops into coverage which is pretty rare for a DE to do. Either it was some ultracrazy defense where Bernard is actually supposed to be the contain or Jackson didn't know the play. I mean how the hell can it be that hard to know the play book??? There can't be 5 defensive plays in the entire playbook that has the DE drop into coverage, and he thought that was the call???

I said that two weeks ago...

Changes for this week...I focused on the offense because that side of the ball has talent and the scheme can be fixed/changed. The defense is hopeless. The only chance they have is to force turnovers and to score early and often to force the opponent out of the run game. 1. They should work almost exclusively out of the no huddle in the 12 personnel package with Coleman and Shakir at WR. No defense in the league can match Kincaid. He has become an adequate blocker. Both Knox and Kincaid can split out at WR. Shakir can still be the slot with twin WRs to one side and double tight to the other side. This base offense with Cook and Allen would be unstoppable. 2. I am not anti-run on first down, but they need a few more play action plays on first down 3. If they get 2nd and less than 3 take your deep shot then 4. Roll Allen out of the pocket more. It will slow the opponent pass rush 5. A bit more off-tackle runs. Cook looks like he is ready to break one of those soon. 6. Keep running from under center. maybe sneak in a couple pistol plays but no running out of shotgun except next item. 7. Trick play for the week - Thurman Thomas direct snap in shotgun. Always loved this play and it would be a nice wrinkle to bring back 8. Get Johnson a bit more involved on third down. He has struggled so far this season but he has been a reliable pass catcher in the past 9. Sit Ray Davis and dress two RBs. Sit Shavers. Dress Samuel, Moore(can be emergency RB3 if needed), and Codrington for KR. Leave Shakir as the designated punt catcher. 10. On defense, they need to blitz more. They can't get home rushing four and the coverage can not defend long enough for a coverage sack. It's time to start putting more pressure on the QB with LB, CB, and S blitzes. The Bills have had very few short fields to work with this season - maybe one? This puts extra pressure on the offense to be perfect. Blitzing might give up some yards but may also create a turnover. The reality is the defense sucks right now and is going to give up yardage no matter what. McDermott needs to dust off the Jim Johnson DC playbook and start dialing up the heat. If McD is true to his word and he actually want to learn and improve then he needs to adjust to the personnel he has. 11. Put Milano on IR 12. Start Shaq even if Williams is healthy 13. Trade a 7th for Rasul Douglas and cut White. The team needs a wake-up call and White is beyond awful.

Correct they showed it on replay. No conspiracy. They played better. They are coached better. Can't fault the refs when Palmer lines up and leaves Brown uncovered. It is a HS level mistake. We got the calls in the 4th quarter and just like magic people stopped complaining about the refs. They missed PI on the defender who had Coleman's jersey, and the Bernard hit on Maye could have been a no call but he did hit his head with a glancing blow. And the off-sides against their defense was a bit of a gift too as Brown was late in jumping. The Patriots player did not make contact and was already back onsides when Brown touched him. Could have easily been called against Brown.

This is the best argument for a change if they fail in the playoffs again. We all see the same issues that are not being corrected. But it is not going to happen so there really is little reason to even talk about it much anymore. I've dialed down my anti-mcD posts, because it is just too sad to think about the wasted opportunities. And to me that is the worst indictment of all, the passion for me at least is waning knowing that it's probably not going to change. Here is the other big issue. We've already been there four times and lost. Many fans feel a successful season can end without a Lombardi. For many of us though, without a championship it is just more frustration.

He was a good HC that couldn't sniff a SB with one of the best defenses ever assembled. Of course he had something to do with that. However, if it was not for Manning waiving off the punt team when they were losing in the playoffs he may never have won a SuperBowl.

I agree. What we don't know for sure was whether it was supposed to be a handoff or a fake. The blocking suggests it was supposed to be a handoff. Knox's reaction suggests he was not expecting it - most likely because he forgot the play call. But it's possible it was meant to be a bootleg - though very unlikely.

Yes I actually think the Bills will win a SuperBowl with McDermott. Just like Dungy was carried to a SuperBowl win, so will McDermott. Both are decent men that shrink in the moment and were outclassed by their contemporaries - Belichick and Reid. Allen is just as talented as Manning was and he was able to overcome Dungy. If Beane can keep a competent O-line in front of Allen for the next 3-4 years they will win one.

Yeah it was a handoff. The question is did Knox forget about it? He almost looked surprised he was getting the ball. They had the edge blocked up well. It would have been a nice little gain and a nice little wrinkle.

I don't think people are letting the other players and coaches off the hook. But you can't absolve Allen of every mistake just because he is the best player in the league and the best player in franchise history. The INT was terrible. The read option was terrible. The fumble may or may not have been on him. Interesting Allen and Diggs were yet again the best players on the field.

100% agree. Cook, Kincaid, and Shakir should be getting 80% of the targets. Leave the scraps for the others.

More than one thing can be true. As you said, without Allen they lose by a much wider margin. But he made some bad decisions last night. The worst was the Read-Option. If he hands that to Johnson it is an easy first down. The INT was a terrible throw. He went hero mode in the 4th quarter for sure.

I get it. McD and the defense has crapped the bed ever since the Houston playoff game second half. But the SuperBowl window is wide open with the league MVP. Bills have a decent OL, a great RB, a great set of TEs, and a very good slot WR. They should be able to score. What we need to do is for Beane to go all in like the Rams did. He hasn't made a major move since the Diggs deal. Go get Hendrickson. Go find a WR that can at least get open. Mortgage the future to win now!

What window did we miss? As long as Allen is playing well the window is open. Yes they have missed opportunities. And yes injuries have played a role in that. We need to stop with this #1 seed non-sense. The only goal if at all possible is to be healthy going into the playoffs. Plenty of teams have won on the road and won the SuperBowl including a couple WC teams. The issue is to fix the fundamental roster design flaws. No #1 WR, no consistent pass rush, a defense that is too small. The PED cheats should help the pass rush. The 2025 draft class started to address the size issue on defense. Walker is a beast. If Sanders can get better then they have some youth on the inside to pair with DQ and the oft injured Oliver. Palmer looks like a bust. Brady needs to use Shakir and Kincaid way more. Get Shavers off the field. He is useless. Coleman needs to be more like Hollins was last year.

The Pats won targetting a slot WR 150 times a year and a TE 120. Shakir and Kincaid are being grossly underutilized.

I don't disagree. Ive been suspended on here 3 times for a perceived crusade against McDermott. But I try to be balanced. Lack of focus is partly coaching. 11 penalties and 3 turnovers is on the players

As perhaps the founding member of the anti-McDermott crowd, even I'm going to say this was more on the players. Pretty sure Palmer has been coached to line up correctly. He just didnt do it. Josh threw into double coverage not McDermott. And who else is he going to play at CB#2. I was laughed at when Douglas was still available and I suggested bringing him back. He was never as bad last year as White is now. Same for Cooper. He made more plays in limited action last year than Shavers will his entire career. And for the it will be better when Hairston comes back crowd, please remember he wasn't beating out White in OTAs or training camp. Ok last points. Beane's extensions are really mixed right now. Shakir is not getting enough targets. Rousseau has been terrible. Benford hasn't made a play all year. Bernard has been up and down. Only Cook and Brown have played well with the new contracts. Palmer has been gross too as a free agent signing.

Can we get rid of the train horn too???

As much as I want to blame McDermott, the players committed a dozen penalties and fumbled twice. Our MVP did not play great. Terrible INT. Terrible decision to keep the ball on the read option. The hero ball on that last drive when he had been taking what the D was giving them. Brady was just awful. Kincaid could have had 150 yards tonight. No excuse for not targeting Kincaid and Knox all game long.

Many coaches have done this to McDermott but we are not allowed to post anti-McDermott posts on this board.

That was good from 65