Chaos

Since the 2020 season, the Bills fans have had legitimate Super Bowl aspirations each year. During the 2020 and 2021 seasons, the stars had lined up very good with the Bills coming into the playoffs with more or less the healthiest team (I seem to remember threads discussing how this was not luck, but superior training and rotation strategies by the Bills). In 2022 the Bills were not so lucky, THE GOOD The Bills and Bils fans should still have Super Bowl aspirations for this season. The fans don't effect the play. If the team plays as if they have given up, or the coaching staff starts making excuses in the press about the challenges, they face, then this should be the coaching staffs last season. The fans do not deserve excuses. Even without Matt Milano, the defense has an opportunity to build on its success through the first five games. The defense is getting back Von Miller full time shortly. He played as if he had never been injured at times yesterday. The defense is getting Groot back. The defense is getting Benford back. Settle, Phillips, Oliver, Ford are a solid interior defensive rotation. Sucks Jones got hurt, but lets not confuse Jones with Von Miller or Matt Milano in importance. Groot, Floyd, Miller and the emergiing Epenesa give the Bills the what is arguably the best DE rotation in the NFL. The coaching staff probably was aware of Hyde's and Poyers age and injury history during the offseason. This is still one of the best safety combos in the league. Benford, Jackson, Johnson and Elam are not going to strike fear into the hears of anyone in the league. But the front four should make their life easier. Finally the LBs. They aren't replacing Milano with a similar talented player. But Benard has already been defensive player of the week one. Dorian Williams is probably more natural playing Milano's position than MLB, and should improve during the season with Experience. Dodson was not a disaster yesterday, and Klein will be brought up to provide at least some experience. Bills have one of the two best QBs in the league. Gameplan malpractice does not change this. There is some confusion among fans. No QB throws every pass directly into the recievers hands. Josh is not "off" if an occasional pass goes astray, or a professional NFL receiver has to make a small body adjustment to catch a ball. THE BAD Preparation. Sean McDermott has been the head coach for 6 years now. We still see too many games, where the Bills simply look unprepared. I am sure I am hyper sensitive to the Bills in this regard. But even when the Chiefs or Niners, or top historical teams lost, I don't recall many situation where I thought "these guys were not ready". THE UGLY Offensive Game Plan Roller Coaster. I am concerned Dorsey has a flaw, that I think Daboll also had, a fascination with their own importance on gameday. It is great to surprise the defense with a play call, or draw up a cleverly designed play that works once. I think the Bills OC's have placed to much emphasis on "out coaching" the other team with play calling. Let me give two examples of the opposite approach. First, from long ago, in the Redskins Hog/Riggins glory years, the opposing team knew the play was Counter Trey, on seemingly every down, and Redskins in their own version of Goodfella's (f.u. pay me) simply out exececuted the defense time after time. Incredible unstoppable rythm to the games. In recent years for nearly a decade in watching the Patriots, I felt like they ran two plays, slant to Welker/Edelman of pass to Gronk. (Mahomes to Kelce) has a similar predictable but unstoppable feel to it. How does this apply to the 2023 Bills. The entire NFL Media Complex was buzzing all week about how Josh Allen had a perfect passer rating for play action passing for the season. Casual fans on TBD picked up on the effectiveness before the media did. It is obvious. Surely, McDermott/Dorsey know the stats, and see the same. But Dorsey decided the better strategy is to use less play action in yesterday's game for no obvious reason, other than we were going to cleverly outcoach the other team by ignoring our strength. I am not a football coach, I feel like the Bills have a lot of offensive talent, and should be able to out execute every defense in the NFL, by being in rythm and playing to our strengths. We don't need to have a clever new solution for every game. 5 Years into McDermott/Allen, there should be zero games where it seems like the offense is "trying to figure it out".

To be fair the coaching staff made the unconventional decision to wait until Friday to travel. They own some of the fatigue discussion

We lost no one on offense to injury. Dorsey put forward an amateur effort. McDermott is in charge of Dorsey, so his effort on that side of the balls was amateur hour as well. I have been suggesting for two years, that the Bills are in HC purgatory, similar to the QB purgatory you are alluding too.

McDermott is in his 6th season as head coach. I know Dorsey is the OC. But McDermott has to own that fact that in 25% to 33% of our games, it seems like our offense is still "trying to figure it out". The entire organization puts forward great effort into the games, but too often that great effort comes across as "amateurish" (note amateurs try hard to). Today's effort from the bizzare traveling planning to the Cook's -4 yard rushing effort, passing on Bass kicking a field goal, calling time outs because the team is confused, to Dorsey's horrible game plan, and lack of adjustments looked like amateur hour.

This is McDermott's sixth season as head coach. He was pretty good his first season. Not sure there is any meaningful improvement since. These games were we still feel like we are trying to figure things out on offense are very frustrating.

to be fair, the Defense has really stepped up, with a ton of adversity. And we still have Superman for QB. We can still win this.

as an aside. if the receivers aren't open, Allen isn't any safer standing in a collapsing pocket than scrambling

I don't usually make excuses for the players. But they aren't ready today. Its a complete organizational failure.

we aren't even punting well. Maybe they should have traveled on Monday.

Knox and Cook. Great hands guys.

We must be play some wierd rope a dope strategy that only geniuses can understand.

2 yards a play doesn't move the chains. In case you haven't noticed, we got 1 first down in the first quarter with the dink and dunk and run strategy so many love

in world of ridiculous hot takes, this stands out as particuarly silly

Do dregs somehow cause players to not be able to tackle?

thank you Dane

Josh will be forced to try to single handedly win the game. If he fails, a whole bunch of idiots will criticize his "hero ball". Folks, we need a hero today.

lets see what the D is made of

Bills look like they want to go into a shell on offense

the waiting until thursday to travel is looking like a very very very bad decision

fans are doing a good job at the game

i hate drops

The famous London sun

they scared of Von

Is it an actually strategy to let opposing teams march down the field on their first possession. Making them over confident perhaps? Locally. Fox 29