Mikie2times

Burrow is still completing passes as you type I found this image of your holistic evaluation

But then you might realize Joe Burrow was 9-9 with two TD passes and a 14-0 lead after two drives 🤣

I'm sorry, I didn't know this thread was about offense? If so I would focus more on the fact that the offense is consistently putting this defense in positive game scripts. All you're pointing out is that it's harder to do that in the playoffs. Ground breaking observation on your part.

Except that's just not true The Colts in 2020 had the 3rd highest EPA facing us of the entire season in the playoffs The Chiefs in 2020 had the 1st highest EPA facing us of the entire season in the playoffs The Chiefs in 2021 had the 3rd highest EPA facing us of the entire season in the playoffs The Bengals in 2022 had the 3rd highest EPA facing us of the entire season in the playoffs The Chiefs in 2023 had the 5th highest EPA facing us of the entire season in the playoffs So we have given 3 separate teams some of the best offensive performances they had all year vs us in the playoffs. Then yes, to your point, we have given KC some of the best offensive performances they have had in multiple seasons.

It's more about the defense struggling in neutral game scripts which are more likely to occur vs good teams. When we jump ahead and force teams into passing situations it immediately covers our biggest weakness with the defense which is the running game. A lot of times we see average to below average QB's struggling against our zone in a situation where they completely abandon the run. We feast, it contributes to a stat profile that is very inflated compared to what the defense would normally do. Then come postseason times when we get destroyed it really looks like we just don't know what we are doing. But I would argue it was there all along. We have allowed 140 yards on the ground 3 times this year. We snuck out a win vs Miami on a 60 yarder, beat the 49ers in the snow, and lost to Baltimore. We are 6-11 since 2021 when we allow more than 140 yards rushing. The only playoff games we did not allow 140 yards rushing in the McD era were the AFC Championship vs KC and the 3 wild card games in 2021, 2022, and 2023. So when we say, will this happen again this season in the playoffs? Well, ya. It most certainly will happen and when it does it is not a good split for us. I don't believe we have a defensive system that is capable of sustained success in the postseason and I put that directly on McD.

I have a tendency to mix up high motor players which made the Tom Donahoe era very challenging

That burns

I say it in an angry German accent

Fine, I agree

No he didn't

If it was all based on that game I wouldn't have this opinion

I don’t know what top two somebody would take over the Eagles and Lions. I have the Eagles in futures bets. To me they look even better than Detroit does. Tampa can cause some issues, Rams clearly can, Vikings, Packers. It’s fairly balanced this year.

I’m from Livonia originally and also did the same with all Bills/Lions games basically going back to 1994. Can’t make this one. Which is a total bummer. I’m happy for my friends who stayed with them or showed some degree of interest in them the last 20+ years. But as I said upthread, I have noticed a whole contingent of people who really couldn’t give a flying F” about them just all over them at this point. Which may or may not be true with Buffalo as well. It’s hard for me to see not being from the area. But my perception is we were always here. Even in the drought era. So it has a fair weather vibe for me. Also, I like the people in that area a lot and still visit a lot, but it would suck if they beat us to it. It’s a little too close to home for me if they do and I would most certainly be subject to some serious crap talking. We will see. Conflicted on them but I’m not really a two team guy anyway.

They just had the draft in Detroit. Anybody from that area feels it’s more up and coming after the money dumped into it the last few years. Then to think Detroit would lose the Red Wings, Tigers, Lions, or Pistons is just humorous to be honest.

Who doesn’t watch Josh with excitement? Who wants bad things to happen? I doubt it’s many people. I will be pumped Sunday as I always am. I don’t see much changing even if we lost in the divisional. I think Terry backs Sean at a pretty high level. This is a good post and if they make the AFC title game, unless it’s just a massacre, I would be pretty happy (although I want more like all of us). Good story

You’re silly with this opinion of yours and doing a reasonably good job keeping the conversation away from anything related to a fact. Which is smart when you don’t have a position to argue. I’m not certain of anything in this world. I think a lot of things but I’m not certain. This one, I’m about 80%, which is about as certain as one could be on this subject. In fact I would say most the Bills fans in the world felt at least 80% certain we would suck for the majority of the existence of this franchise. I’m sure in thinking that they still wanted to watch with the hope it didn't happen.

More are going the route that is very similar to pro sports. With a GM and more separation from the HC at the recruiting level. Focusing him more on X’s and O’s. This really is close to becoming what the pro game is than what the college game used to be. BB should help facilitate that further. I think it was rather smart to go after him.

So by this logic we should have never watched them for 20+ years during the drought. If you think something, like they won’t do well, you should just turn in your fan card. You think you’re onto some cute thought process with this but it’s just that. Cute. Logical? Not really. Good to take attention away from our playoff performance though. Facts don’t favor anybody going down that path. Misdirection is much better.

Well the good news is everybody who still wants him out wants to win a Super Bowl. It’s not like this is new. I have wanted him out since the Bengals playoff game. It won’t change unless I see a reason why it should change. The fact that we have Josh to overcome him doesn’t mean we should still root for him. I also think you underestimate his ability to undermine what Josh does. He dropped 40+ points last game, not enough. So many more like it. Wanting McD out has literally nothing to do with how I or many others root for the team. I actually think we will beat the Lions. Most on here don’t. This board has a real bad tendency to put people in boxes that just aren’t close. You think people that want him out wouldn’t enjoy a Super Bowl if it happened or success when it happens? Not even close. Happy to eat the Crowe to boot if that happens. But I really don’t think I’m wrong on this and it’s not because I need some method of coping. It’s what I think the closest answer is to reality. If I felt we could overcome him and we had the evidence to support that I would feel the other way. This notion of just ignoring what you think is accurate so you can hope or believe in something somewhat blindly is not how I view this.

Dumpolotto baby. Fair weather fans. They all just showed up after 25 years.

Hell no, don’t want them anywhere near one before us

So if we don’t believe in this HC it can only be a result of coping and emotionally defending ourselves because of our past scars. No logical reason exists why we might not support this coach according to you? How do you process our defensive performances in the playoffs? Full games of getting gashed and out schemed by multiple teams in multiple years? Don’t want the stats on these things I imagine, it might disrupt your theory…

Not really. Just people actually researching these concepts. Felt this way since 13 seconds.

I mean Reid had been to 4 conference championships and won one by year 6. Then he didn’t go onto do better things until he left and Mahomes came along. That was almost 20 years later from when he started. But it all started only two years after he had Mahomes. Cowher had won a conference championship in his 4th year. Like Tomlin, he had awful QB’s most his tenure, but did a great job turning that into something. His Super Bowl came in the 2nd year for big Ben nearly a decade later from when he started. Dungy needed two separate teams and nearly a decade to get it done with his second team. Once he had Manning it took five years. Even with his one trophy those Colts teams have to be one of the most underachieving of all time. In the case of the Eagles, Bucs, and Steelers they all won Super Bowls in five years or less of these coaches leaving. Bucs and Steelers nearly immediately. The Colts went to one and lost the following year. All of these coaches accomplished more way earlier than Sean has. In many instances with far less at QB, but when they did get a good QB they won it rather quickly. It took all of them a very long time to finally get to that point, some not even on the same team and when they did exit, those teams won Super Bowls very quickly. So I don’t know if your examples are things we should be trying to emulate. To me they’re more cautionary tail and what we want to avoid.

I just meant with this iteration. That was a very meaningful game for me. Certainly remember when we used be at our best in the postseason but that was a long time ago