GregPersons

The coaching staff is human. They are not infallible. They are capable of making mistakes. Zay Jones. Kelvin Benjamin. NATHAN PETERMAN. They are capable of missing things. Sometimes it's because they're spending all day in practice with these guys. I'm sure Nathan Peterman is the nicest person on the planet. I'm sure he practices hard and is great in the classroom. That doesn't change the fact that ALL OF US -- coaches and fans alike -- are all looking at the same on-field product on Sundays. As fans, we don't need to have the same level of granular knowledge as the coaches do to see things like, Peterman isn't capable of starting in the NFL, or Zay Jones is not helping the offense by dropping half of his targets... Duke played very well in his one game appearance. He was the hero of that game. He seemed to be well-liked by his teammates in all of the stories that came out that week. He played well enough to make Zay Jones expendable. So, is Duke incapable of playing well again? What was so special about the Titans game that allowed Duke to play so far beyond his usual abilities then? Bottom line, here's my take. I'm not suggesting Duke is a secret All Pro being banished to the bench unfairly... I'm saying Duke is a big target who played well, and the Bills need a big target who can play well. The Bills' big targets are playing poorly. Dawson Knox is leading the league in drops. Tyler Kroft has been a complete non-factor. Lee Smith is not going to be the answer as a receiver. Maybe Duke would not do well as a TE. But have they tried? Would it hurt to try? We've been able to win plenty of games without Tyler Kroft active.

I don't think either choice in that situation is absolutely right or wrong, mathematically... it only looks that way if it works or doesn't work, like you say. I think going for 2 when they did was a way to keep the most amount of options/choices on the table for them, and to help the Defense know what they needed to do. If you get the 2, as they did, then you are within 7. You're golden. You didn't put the decision off. You just need one TD, one possession. This is the ideal outcome. The defense's job is to simply prevent Baltimore from scoring any more points and get the ball back as soon as possible. If they score again, you have the choice to potentially win the game if you go for 2 again, or go to OT with a PAT. This gives the most opportunity to "win" on your terms. If you miss the 2, then obviously you now need two possessions. But if you face 4th down in the red zone again, you can take the 3, which now puts you in a position to win on your next possession, rather than tie. The Defense needs to force an immediate 3 and out, or take more chances for a turnover. If you take the PAT and you get it, you need to go score a TD and then go for 2 -- just to tie. It puts all the pressure on that final play, where the best possible outcome is a tie and going to OT... it's potentially a more devastating loss today if the Bills took a PAT on the TD, then were able to score on the John Brown TD, only to then come up short on the 2 point attempt to get to OT. There's more potential for frustration on the "PAT first, go for 2 later" path — it keeps "the hope" alive a little longer potentially, but you're less "in control" of the outcome. That's my guess!

None of us are seeing Duke in practice, and the media doesn't have access either, so we do not know if he's playing poorly there. He could be catching every ball thrown his way in practice. Both are possible. Duke is Schrodinger's cat. Why he hasn't been active on game day is not definitely "he isn't playing well in practice." We don't know that to be true. All we know for sure is that he must be practicing well enough to not get cut because he's still on the 53 man roster. What we do know are these things: —In his one game appearance, Duke Williams played very well. Is this debatable, or do we all agree on this point? —Dawson Knox leads the NFL in drops, and Tyler Kroft has not made any impact as a Bill —In the 5 games that Tyler Kroft has been healthy enough to play, he's caught 4 passes for 52 yards. —Duke Williams is 6'2", which is shorter than this team prefers for TE — but it's still within the range of NFL average height for TE (which is 6'3)... Delanie Walker is 6'0. No. You can be as rude about it as you like, but that's not definitely true. Duke obviously has the potential to help the Bills passing game. He already displayed that, with this team, this season. He hasn't had the opportunity to repeat. Asking why he hasn't is a perfectly valid question.

The coaching staff is human. They are not infallible. They are capable of making mistakes. Zay Jones. Kelvin Benjamin. NATHAN PETERMAN. What I like about this staff is that they generally don't hold the attitude that they're beyond reproach... they seem to respond to the data as it presents itself. While they have been stubborn and arrogant at times, there's not a coaching staff on the planet that hasn't. Duke played very well in his one game appearance. He was the hero of that game. He seemed to be well-liked by his teammates in all of the stories that came out that week. He played well enough to make Zay Jones expendable. Is Duke incapable of playing well again just because he hasn't yet played again? I would love to hear a reporter ask McDermott or Daboll this — why NOT give Duke Williams a shot at TE??? He has the size and the hands to be effective. I don't know how he is as a blocker or on special teams. Even if he's lousy at both, we saw today how crucial it is to have a big-bodied receiver who can HOLD ONTO THE BALL. Could the staff give Duke some opportunity, even just a fraction of the amount of opportunity afforded to Knox or Zay Jones? I wouldn't sit any of the WRs but I would deactivate Tyler Kroft (or Lee Smith but I know he's needed for his ST play, whereas Kroft isn't). 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB — Brown, Beasley, Foster/McKenzie, Duke, Singletary 2 WR, 2 TE, 1 RB — Brown, Beasley, Duke, Knox/Smith, Singletary/Gore

What was bad about Brown's route running on the last play? Genuinely asking. That did not appear to be a WR error -- it was just excellent coverage. IMO the problem was that Brown wasn't getting those targets throughout... Peters is a great CB, and I'm sure the separation wasn't ideal, but Brown needed more opportunities. He got fewer targets than Dawson Knox. Separately — here's a question I'd like to know the answer to — why can't we try Duke Williams at TE??? What is going on there??? I wouldn't sit any of the WRs but I would deactivate Tyler Kroft (or better yet Lee Smith but I know McD loves his ST play). 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB — Brown, Beasley, Foster/McKenzie, Duke, Singletary 2 WR, 2 TE, 1 RB — Brown, Beasley, Duke, Knox/Smith, Singletary/Gore

Not to get in the way of bashing other posters, but there's probably some room for a li'l more love in that nugget. Another explanation is that the team is simply playing more consistently... leading to a more consistent dialogue from the fans. The team has solidified its identity over the last month-plus. There are fewer questions about, say, Allen's abilities than there were in September. My take on today's game is similar to everyone's — although it hurts that lost today, the team did not look outclassed. They were inches from winning. Obviously there are the drops. For another example, Tremaine Edmunds on the last Baltimore touchdown -- Edmunds had a solid day but he's still improving, and Edmunds a "level up" in his progression is maybe is in a slightly better position to get a hand on that ball or even pick it off. Edmunds was the one I'd been saying all week would be the key to the game. That proved to be true. He mostly played one of his best games, I thought. He and the rest of the defense effectively contained Jackson-- they held them to 24 when Baltimore is a team capable of scoring 40+ in most weeks. This wasn't the "breakout game" for Edmunds that I hoped for, but it was definitely a "progression" game where you can see his tools getting sharper. So even in the loss, this looked like a team that should be able to control the game against Pittsburgh, even though it's an away game at night... and they look like a team that's ready to punch New England straight in the mouth.

He was barely targeted!

I'm a big fan of the guys who aren't "supposed" to be good, but they are, and you can tell it comes from dedicated hard work. In particular my faves right now are John "Smoke" Brown Lorenzo Alexander Frank Gore and I think I'd also include Josh Allen to fit in this bucket, also. That type of "blue collar" player just seems to really embody the Buffalo identity, to me. I like the "stars" too, but they're never usually my favorites... for the Sabres, back in the day, I got a Stu Barnes jersey instead of a Dom Hasek or Miro Satan.

Besides Buffalo 66, it's also the plot of the first Ace Ventura movie — they changed it to be the Miami Dolphins so that the more camera-friendly Marino could be part of it, but Ray Finkle is a take on Norwood. It's just so unearned, though, because it was out of Norwood's range on grass and they knew it, or they should've known it. The blame is on Jim Kelly for that loss, and Marv Levy, for not running the ball more, for not being able to recognize what the defense was giving them. I feel bad for Norwood because he was set up to fail, basically a hail mary FG attempt for him, but I find it hard to hold him responsible, so I can't imagine basking in the glow of the Bills winning a SB and thinking "Yeah, this one goes out to Scotty, wherever you are, Norwood... genie, you're free!" He's just one among many who whiffed for Buffalo. There are just far too many other examples of Buffalo being cursed — OJ being maybe the biggest punchline — for all of it to go to Norwood, when barely any of it is on Norwood, imo. Winning a SB would make that team heroes, and it'd exorcise some demons from the fanbase's general spirit, maybe make it easier to appreciate in hindsight aspects of the bum squads of the drought and so forth, but Norwood still missed the kick he was never going to make. I don't think he would appreciate people being like "hey, the Bills finally won one! Took a couple decades but they cleaned up your mess. I now give you permission to stop hating yourself. Congrats!!"

Maybe he reunites with Greg Roman in Baltimore. Edit — Now that I'm thinking of Roman, I wonder if Tyrod could return to Baltimore as QB2 next season if he doesn't get a shot with LAC or if Lynn is fired. Ravens currently have RG3 at QB2 which, I would not want Griffin to play for any amount of time were Jackson to miss any games. Imagine this, Roman coached Kaep to a Super Bowl... if he were to land with any NFL team, why not Baltimore?

Good point. Moving him to LG might be a net negative if he doesn't improve his technique.

Exactly. The Four Falls of Buffalo documentary had the footage of Norwood at the team's rally the morning after the SB — he's already been forgiven. It was never really Norwood's fault, and that missed kick wouldn't make sense as the cause of a "curse." There's no shortage of examples throughout Buffalo sports of gut-wrenching defeats. I'd love to see the Bills win one while Marv Levy is still with us... and who could forget his more recent tenure as GM during the drought... he's been as involved as anyone besides Ralph or Polian in terms of longevity and connection to trying to get Buffalo to a championship.

He'll sign somewhere but it wouldn't be in Buffalo. I do think that some team has the opportunity to get a good deal on him — a humbled Watkins, if healthy, could be great in the right situation.

He can rot in Boston, keep playing worse, and he can help the Pats get swept by the Bills.

John Brown and Isaiah McKenzie.

I'm sure Kyle does feel a bit of FOMO with this year's team, but I bet his knees don't mind. Like my use of FOMO sometimes the timing is just off by a year or two.

Bills play well — They were always good, you idiots! Even when they were losing! How could you not see this at the time?? Bills play bad — They were always bad, you idiots! Even when they were winning! How could you not see this at the time??

Agreed. He's been surprisingly flexible and willing to make adjustments when things aren't working. It does seem like that should be something you could just expect as a standard from a coach but that hasn't been in the case always in the past, in Buffalo or any football coaches. They're generally pretty stubborn people but that's not always a strength, especially not for an organizational leader. Combine that with the ego involved with being a football coach, a job where you tell other people to do things that you could not do yourself, and telling them to do it better, then taking credit and being judged on how well the person-you-told did the thing they do. Like most organizational leaders, football coaches are all basically all dumbasses who are just good at taking credit for things they didn't do. Rex Ryan's accomplishments: My dad had a good job. I had a good job. Give me that job. But I digress. Anyway in comparing them to each other, McDermott is less like Jauron to me and more of a mix of Marrone & Rex, but younger and healthier. I think it helps that McDermott is athletic himself so he seems to practice what he preaches... hearing about process and the attitude and attention to detail toward rote, repetitive activities ... Rex Ryan doing "trust the process" doesn't work because you're thinking, what process, liposuction? Sandal shopping? I'm not running a lap, you run a lap.

I agree, I think you need Edmunds & Milano to stay in zone/spying on Jackson, one safety deep, man on the outsides, 4 rushers, occasional zone blitzes. Pretty straight forward, it's just about the execution. I think Buffalo's defense is perfectly constructed to give Jackson a sub-par day... provided that Edmunds shows a comparable leap in development as Allen has shown, or Oliver, or Shaq, or Phillips... he's just gotta turn the corner on his anticipation and timing and feel for it to be at the right place at the right time. Niners showed today how an effective running game can do just that. As it so happens, our running game is versatile with Singletary, Gore, and Allen each providing a different style of run play that can be used at any time. Bills would need to play as good or better than they played on Thanksgiving. We're at home. It could happen.

If the Bills play like they did on Thanksgiving, they will win.

Allen has played his best in the 4th quarter of games. We're now in the 4th quarter of the season. Let's go!

This is a winnable matchup if Edmunds & Milano can avoid getting juked out of their shoes.

A month ago, we weren't as good as we are now. That's a good thing.

Right around the time he started playing really well!