Virgil

Shhhhhh

It’s funny, I put off buying a Tyrod jersey for that very reason. I guess that didn’t work out

There are two sides of Flutie. The positive side was that he played one of the original versions of “street ball” and just found ways to win. He was exciting and unorthodox. He was short, but could run. Sound familiar? The negative was that he was never supposed to be “the guy”. We traded high for Rob Johnson who showed flashes, but had overall more stinkers. But because both were capable, there were A LOT of rumors about Flutie trying to turn the locker room against Rob. Flutie was likable via the media, but many thought it was an act. As for the MCM, Flutie was the starter pretty much all season and the reason we made the playoffs. We benched a few starters in Week 17 to give them a “bye” week and rest. Rob Johnson played out of his mind that game. I mean, he looked like a hall of famer to be honest. From that, Wade made the choice to start him from that one game. The rest is history.

Ha! That’s funny. I did the same thing. I remember thinking: “Accuracy issues? The guy is throwing is perfectly through those circles!”

No one got screwed. Winners find a way to win. They controlled their fate. They got paid millions and got to play in the NFL. None of them (TT TBD) went on to win anything anywhere else. We have to stop making excuses. Other teams do more with less sometimes. Man up

Like my post game recap, I needed some time today to think about Tyrod getting benched and the overall state of the team. I wanted to post earlier, but this board went nuts; rightfully so. In my closet is at least 8 Bills jerseys of guys who were supposed to be lifers. Jerseys I paid full price for at first, or got autographed. As time went on, I got cheaper jerseys, didn’t care about getting them autographed. And now, I’ll get the $20 knock off ones. I play Madden Ultimate Team, which is like a fantasy draft of football players on a video game. You play with the best versions of people and hall of famers. Needless to say, not many Bills players get competitive cards to use. So when they do get them, I jump all over them and use them year round. This year, I had Dareus, Sammy, and Tyrod. When JP was drafted as our future, I’ll never forget a D&C article about him embracing the community and the cover photo was him leaning against a railing with the city behind him. He was our first major QB drafted since the Kelly years and therefor thought he was the answer. Likeable guy, but you know the rest. So, what’s the relevance of these? I think I’m just tired of getting attached and remebering faces of guys we had hope for. There were flashes this season of TT finally getting it, the defense stepping up, and the franchise turning it around. Today felt like the closing chapter of the previous two weeks in futility. It’s not about Tyrod, it’s about just another change or spark that turned out to be a disappointment. Maybe Peterman pans out or maybe we draft a QB and we start all over again. Maybe McDermott is our legacy coach or maybe we are searching again in two years. I just see all the gloating of the TT haters or the anger from the Church of Tyrod and I’m more bothered that people always forget we are on the same side. I’m annoyed at yet another flame fizzling out. I’m just plain tired... But I hope to see Peterman have a good game. I hope to see signs of life from the offense. I hope that the defense gets more rest between series and fix the technique and the process is steady and true. I’m ready to buy a jersey and I’m ready to be relevant again. Go Bills

I agree OP. We may be in a playoff spot right now, but the wheels are falling off. I issue this challenge to anyone with hope: Name the identity of this team or something we do really well. We can’t stop the run or pass. We can’t pass nor run the ball. Unless theres some magic spark that wakes these guys up, it’s over

A tally count of every time you click on a fake link and end up looking at Peter Pan. Let people see how gullible you really are

The question of what's more important, talent or scheme, is something I've debated a lot during our playoff drought. The teams that have both are your repeat contenders. But sometimes having one instead of the other, is enough to get you by. I look at what the Rams are doing right now and I think they are good example of how scheme can hold you back. Goff looked like a bust more often than not since drafted but now looks like a bonafide number one pick. Yes, they added receivers, whom he hardly used at the beginning of the season, but now they are all clicking. Do I think that Goff is a top 15 QB? No. But do I think they've got some momentum and their HC has created a system that brings out their strengths? Yes. Even Gurley is finally looking like the halfback they drafted with limitless potential. And then there is the obvious call out, Woods and Watkins. Just look at what Woods did today with his 170+ receiving yards against the Texans. He never came close to that here. I think the Rams are probably 35% Talent, 65% Scheme right now, which is enough to get them into the playoffs. The problem with being scheme based is that, once figured out, can quickly break everything apart. With most of our losing seasons after strong starts, it appears the Bills got the advantage while opponents didn't have much film on their new scheme. But, once the halfway mark hits, we get figured out and we don't have the talent to overcome it. I truly believe that in the Fitz and Edwards strong start years. This year is harder because our offense has more talent this year than those, which is where I believe we have a weak scheme and a QB who just reads the field differently that a strong QB. I like TT, but the college open throws and lack of trust in his receivers to throw it up or on the breaks is hurting us too much. There's no excuse for this offense to only score 3 points with our weapons against the Saints, especially with little pass rush. Our defensive scheme is similar to our offense, but more frustrating because it seems to be obvious to everyone but McDermott what to do. Our guys can't get pressure with 4, and barely with 5. But McDermott refuses to change it up and sticks to his scheme, waiting for his players to figure it out. The problem is, we are losing games and getting blown off the field defensively for 3 out of 4 straight weeks. Our scheme doesn't fit our players and the talent isn't their minus 3 or 4 guys. As much as I hate to use them as a reference, but the Pats had poor talent in many of their dynasty years, but had a scheme that maximized the little talent they had. On the year they had the most talent, they almost went 19-0. The Chiefs are another great example of mixing scheme and talent. I don't know what the answer is for the Bills. We've seen what the same defensive players did under Schwartz vs Rex. We've seen what this rushing attack did under Lynn. So is it really all about coaching? Is the talent level really the most important factor? For us this season, I think we were 80% scheme and 20% talent, and the scheme's been figured out. So now, our talent is getting exposed. I just hope "The Process" can adjust to the players we have and find a way to keep opposing teams guessing. Because not every FA or rookie is going to be a hit and we can't just roll over because the talent is adjusting to the scheme. The coach needs to adapt too. Coughlin is the best example I can think of with this in recent years. Either way, here's hoping things work out in another year of a wasted 5-2 start.

Oline was fine today. Definitely not why we lost today

I’ll do my best to be less lazy and stupid

For what? Being happy we dumped the bloated contract of a guy who played maybe 40% of the defensive snaps and was one drug suspension away from missing the season? Can you apologize for trying to be an “I told you so” posters? Both seem equally offensive.

I would like to see him start, but I think it would be unfair to him. Let him start the next home game on a normal schedule. You aren’t doing him any favors doing it on a West Coast trip.

Was that the worst overall loss in the last 3 years? The score, the defensive effort, the offensive result, being at home in an important game to save the playoff talk? Maybe it’s just fresh, but it looks to be as bad a loss in the past few years that I can remember.

When they were being cute with Tolbert, they weren’t shutting McCoy down. We just abandoned it and had some really questionable playcalling before it turned into a blowout

The second half of the season is officially upon us and we start it with a home game with extra rest. We got healthy in some key positions and added a true number one receiver. If the Bills were to prove they aren't the same old Bills who blow a 5-2 season start, this was where it began. 1 - Rush Defense - I start here because it's all that really needs to be known about the game. The Saints completed a 10 play drive for 93 yards where they didn't throw a single pass. It was capped with a Brees rushing TD. Yes, a Drew Brees 7 yard rushing touchdown. On that drive, Kamara fell down just beyond the line of scrimmage, had time to get back up, and rush for three more yards. That's how bad our once great rush defense was. We were absolutely gashed on the ground as well as multiple 3rd and long plays where a simple pitch got the first. This might have been the most brutal rush defense I can remember in years, and that includes the Ajayi games last year. 2 - Tackling - For a team that was praised for it's fundamentals in the first few weeks, the wheels have completely fallen off the past few weeks. If you saw the Jets game and all of those broken tackles, you saw more of the same and a little more this week. Multiple, and I mean multiple drives could have been stopped with better tackling but we just couldn't get it done. I'm talking Hyde, Lorax, Humber; everyone came to the party. As the game went on and it was clear our offense wasn't going to do anything, you could see them giving up and it showed in the tackling effort. 3 - Defensive Penalties - If you didn't know any better, you would think we were playing in New Orleans. We jumped offsides on 3rd and short twice to give up first downs and were right back to extending early drives with ridiculous judgement lapse penalties. Again, another area of pride in the early season is now showing signs of previous regimes and falling apart. 4 - You say you cannot live with me, you need your own identity And now we air our laundry on national TV And so you hate my arrogance, my smothering and sitting on the fence, But I'm afraid of the hard permanence of letting you go free 5 - Pass Rush - I hate to harp on the same things week after week, but this is my number one issue with McDermott and our defense. We just refuse to send more that 4-5 guys at any time. When we send 5, there are no stunts or masking rushers. When we send 4, there's little to no result. There were a few 3rd and long plays were the coverage was good downfield, but Brees just had all day to throw. It got to the point where even the announcers didn't know what to say about it. It's the definition of insanity out there and we have Rivers, Brady x2, and Smith coming up. It's going to get worse before it gets better. 6 - Special Teams - I can't understand why we kept punting to Ginn, and we punted A LOT. No, he didn't break one, but his returns were good. We didn't try to pin him in a corner or contain him at all. We even outpunted our coverage a few times. Just made no sense. Also, the Saints didn't punt one time. That's right. THE SAINTS DID NOT PUNT THE BALL! 7 - Offensive Play Calling - I'm not dumping our offense just on Dennison. He gets a fair share of the blame though. Outside of the first drive, our offense might have been the worst I've seen it in the past few years. We ran a toss option to Tolbert. That's right, Tolbert. Announcers kept calling out how receivers were running the same routes downfield and couldn't get open. Dennison isn't on the field to make the reads, but he also isn't creating a gameplan that fits TT's strengths. In a game where Clay is back and Benjamin is out there, 3 points is inexcusable. 8 - Tyrod - While I put half of this on Dennison, TT owns the rest. If he's on point, we score a touchdown on the first drive. He missed Kelvin twice, once for a TD. After that drive, there's nothing to even write about. His protection was pretty good all day. The running game was there if needed. He had all his weapons. And we were playing the Saints. At that point, you can't just point to playcalling or receivers getting open, the QB owns it too. After 2.5 years and with this surrounding cast, it's just time to call it as I see it. Nothing personal, but it's Peterman time. 9 - The Process - If this is what we get for trusting the process, I'm concerned or the fans and the players. You could see the defense start to give up at the beginning of the second half and it's understandable knowing the offense wasn't going to do anything. We knew it could be a rough year with the players we lost and the salary dump, and our schedule, but we were 5-2. I've questioned what would happen when we hit a rough patch, and now we will see. This team looks as much like last years Rex team as anything else. We will now see what the process brings out. 10 - McDermott - There was a thread comparing McDermott to Chip Kelly. I thought it was absurd at the time, but I'm starting to wonder a bit. Not because of the playcalling philosophy, but because of the "my way or the highway" mentality. The players on the field are the ones McDermott wants. Dareus, Sammy, Woods, were not good fits. Tolbert is his 2nd rb, Ducasse is his starting guard while Miller is a healthy scratch. I believe a Head Coach is supposed to find ways to motivate his players, give them a goal, and also find a system that maximizes their talents. McDermott only seems to want people who will do what he wants and shares his vision, talented or not. We are seeing the results of that now. Hopefully, with cap space and draft picks, he will get all those guys. If not, this could be year 1 of 3 before another rebuild. *Side Note - I'm not the ethical standard of posters and don't want to pretend to be. But we have so many threads calling us a playoff team after 5 wins and so many other posters who can't wait to say I told you so. Can we please acknowledge that we all want the same goal and this hurts us all equally? The pessimists remember the previous two 5-2 starts and the optimists saw the flashes of hope and ran with it. Neither are wrong for their opinions. No one wins when the other is right. That's all I got. Two rough weeks in a row and some quality QB's coming up. Let's remember what this season was supposed to be and keep watching some of these guys develop. Go Bills!

This is about as useful as a 2018 NFL mock draft

This makes me like Goodell even more. If Jerry doesn’t like him, he must be doing something right.

Hey, I’m happy to be wrong. But I’ve been on this forum for all of the 5-2 starts and seen the same optimistic reasons for why it would be different. Yet here we are. Our gaps are massive on both sides of the line and there’s no reason to believe it will get any better. McDermott refuses to send more than 4 rushers and the QB’s will continue to pick us apart. Again, happy to be wrong.

This is who the Bills are until they prove otherwise

It would be the definition of bittersweet. Now, to beat them in their house to advance.............

Is this supposed to make us feel better or worse?

So far, this might be the most up and down season I've seen in regards to teams performance from week to week. Teams go from getting blown out one week, to blowing out their next opponent. Injuries of marquis players seems higher than normal while normally offensive ProBowlers are anything but. I've seen strange starts to the season before, but it usually levels out by now. On some level, this helps us because it's anyone's game. But from an overall fan perspective, I'm just surprised by what I'm seeing. I don't know if this is what's contributing to the lower ratings, but it's possible. Top 2 Fantasy QB's 1 - Alex Smith 2 - Carson Wentz 3 - Deshaun Watson (now done) Top 3 Fantasy RB's 1 - Kareem Hunt 2 - Zeke 3 - Todd Gurley Top 3 WR 1 - Antonio Brown 2 - DeAndre Hopkins 3 - Tyreek Hill

He better get used to them, because they aren’t going anywhere.

I tell you man, keeping a cautiously optimistic attitude while writing these things can be exhausting sometimes. I try to give myself some time to cool down and be more levelheaded, but the predictable 5-2 collapse was just too much again. I agree that we are exceeding expectations this year, but that doesnt make you want it any less when its right there for the taking. Plus, to see the same crap right side of the line march out there, when everyone can see its crap, drives me nuts. How McDermott keeps sending those guys out there and only rushes 4 is getting maddening as we are wasting a great opportunity. Good news is, with our upcoming schedule plus last nights performance, my expectations are right back to where they should be...as a Bills fan