Old Coot

Well said!

Let's try a counterfactual: (that means I know this trade would never happen but let's assume that it's on offer) Mahomes for Allen trade, straight up one for one. You are the Bills' GM, do you do the trade? Why or why not?

There is only one solution for this -- fire McDermott!!

Wilks had KC's number in the first half: KC scored zero points. Maybe the firing is related to the fact that Wilks' called D on the last play did not account for KC's Corndog / Tom & Jerry play. KC had shown thta play earlier in the game & the 49ers defensed it well.

The thing that makes the back and forth motion effective is that the motion man is ofren "hidden" behind the bunch or in the case of Shakir he's hidden behind Josh when he makes his turn so the man cover loses Shakir in the crowd. That and the bunch receivers are in a position to get in the way of the man or zone cover man.

Interesting. The NFL is indeed a copycat league.

Interesting analysis of the play in which KC scored its winning TD. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/anatomy-of-a-play-how-the-chiefs-won-super-bowl-lviii-with-tom-and-jerry/ar-BB1iampP The play originally was called "Corndog" and later "Tom & Jerry" KC scored 2 TDs in a previous Super Bowl win and the winning TD on Sunday with the play concept. If you look at the links to the three plays in the above link here's what you see: The WR who eventually gets the ball starts from the outside of a bunch. Here moves laterally to ward the center of the formation for about three steps and then does a quick 180 degree turn and moves laterally in the opposite direction to until he gets to the bunch at which point the ball is hiked. Kelsey (who is in the bunch) takes his man inside or up into the end zone. The man in motion runs to the flat and is wide open. An excellent example of Reid scheming a guy open. This is an interesting concept and one that the Bills should incorporate in their Red Zone offense.

No

Trade Josh for a bag of donuts. Not the jelly kind -- he's not Mahomes

Paint It, Black:

Love Hurts:

I don't know. Football is a quintessential team sport, unlike baseball or basketball. The QBs success is heavily dependent on his OL and skill players and the D, scheme, coaching and execution by other players. This is why Dan Marino, one of the purest passing QBs I ever saw. He had Mark Clayton and Mark Duper, two first class WRs to throw to. He reached the Super Bowl in his second year only to lose to the 49ers. He never returned to the Super Bowl. Think about that: Dan Marino has zero Super Bowl rings. And Marino is only one example. Some others: Jim Kelly, Warren Moon, Dan Fouts, Daryl Lamonica.

That's a good point. Kelce is a beast to cover. He has that technique where he uses the covering player's technique against him: He takes a step or two in the direction of the D's technique getting the D to turn his hips and then does a quick 180 degree turn to get open. He's very quick for a man of his size. Against the 9ers he reminded me of Beasley running his whip route.

On at least one of the plays during 13 seconds tehre was a lack of execution. The Bills' DB on the side where Kelce made his catch (Darby, I think) admitted in an interview that he failed to communicate with the LB on his side and that enabled Kelce to get open. What passes for bad coaching / playcalling on this forum sometimes is faulty execution. This year we were ruined by injuries. Even if we beat KC at home, the ravens would have chewed us up.

I agree with this. Mahomes is a better QB than Josh. Both can scramble and buy time. Both have cannons for arms. But Mahomes is a more accurate passer even when he throws off balance. He also seems to have a better view of the field. If there's an open man Mahomes will find him. Josh occasionally fails to see open receivers. Some of this may be due to the fact that Mahomes had the benefit of top coaches at Texas Tech and KC while Josh's coaching at Wyoming was not at that level. I write this as a Josh homer. I like him and am glad he's out QB. Thoughts?

The Bills' OL was crap during Shaw's tenure. Over 3 seasons (1970-72) he was sacked 110 times! The Electric Company did not turn on the Juice until 1973.

Or French? If it were French the unis would be blue white & red.

Wall Street Journal had an interesting article on the use of condensed formations which it attributed to Mike Shanahan when he coached the Broncos. His son Kyle Shanahan uses them extensively with the 49ers. I have noticed that the Bills occasionally used condensed formations last year. A condensed formation is the opposite of a spread formation. Instead of spreading the O across the field, the WRs are in close to the line and even the OL line splits may be reduced. The condensed formations are said to have two advantages: 1. The open up the middle for passing. How so? The D needs to be concerned about all the open space toward the sidelines which the WRs and RBs have to operate and that opens up the middle to in breaking routes. 2. A spread formation likely signls pass but the condensed formation could be run or pass. I noticed that the Bills last year seemed to have more success running up the middle from a condensed formation. What are your thoughts?

Carl Weathers died at age 76. Though he was famous for his character in the Rocky series, Apollo Creed, he played in the NFL around 1970. He was an undrafted LB and played for the Oakland Raiders.

I agree. When he started out his deep throws were also flat. Then he seemed to have worked to get some height on his throws. Perhaps he has regressed. Time to work with the QB whisperer

I mostly agree with your post. That said, however, safety (especially in McD's defenses) is a more cerebral position so it's best not to start rookies there unless then have exceptional football IQ.

We did not connect on may of the deep shots we took this year. Josh seemed to overthrow his receivers plus occasional drops. It's execution, man. These guys are elete pro athletes. They should be better than this. Josh needs to practice dropping deep balls into trash cans with a guy waving his hands in Josh's face.

who can forget Don Beebe chasing down Leon Lett to turn a Dallas TD into a touchback! One of the finest plays in Bills' history: Beebe reflects on that play:

I did not intend to say that you were paranoid. My message was intended as a joke. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Those with paranoia should move to NYC so their fears will be justified.