JohnNord

It’s easy to point a finger at Johnson given how bad the Bills offensive line is season but I don’t think it’s fair to use Teller and Spain as marks against him. To be fair, Johnson did a good job season as the line played fairly well despite losing Morse and Feliciano at times. He also did a fantastic job resurrecting the career of Daryl Williams who was a flier FA. Overall the line did a good job in pass protection and was average in the run game, though could be effective at times. In 2021, the entire line has regressed with the exception of Morse who has been the most consistent lineman. Dawkins and Williams have not played well, which has been surprising. Where I think you can blame Johnson is the lack of development players like Boettger and Ford. They have been awful. But you have to give Johnson credit for getting Spencer Brown ready to play at RT. Overall it’s a mixed bag for Johnson’s tenure as OL Coach. I’m not so certain that he’s the problem

The difference is that when Williams was in the game the Bills OL was kicking the crap out of the Miami defensive line. He probably won’t see a matchup like that any time soon. When an RB is first hit right at the lingo scrimmage, there’s not much more they can do.

So crazy…. I feel the same exact way

The teams that Allen beat last year at this point in the year weren’t that impressive either. Correct..what’s “off” is an offensive line that has played horrible over the past two weeks. When your OL get manhandled and you have zero running game to turn to, numbers really aren’t so great. What has been missing for most games this season has been the big play. But that’s based on the coverages that Josh is getting. Teams have grown to respect him as a passer and so far this season, Tampa 2 has been an effective way to slow down big plays in Buffalo and KC. So I think the issue is the entire offense as well as Josh having to adjust to beating Cover 2 as well as compensating for an OL isn’t very good

People need to get over this… you win some, you lose some. A 5th round draft pick rarely turns out to be this successful.

To be fair, there really aren’t any back that can carry the ball 30 times a game. Maybe Derrick Henry… but now most teams have 2 backs

I agree and think the draft picks were moves for 2022. Beane was hoping to get by this season with Feliciano and Williams. He can get out of the deals this off-season if they want

This is an excellent point. If you fault can fault Beane for anything this off-season, it should be the offensive line. I think they overvalued what they had in Feliciano and Ford. I’m sure they didn’t expect a down year from Dawkins and Williams. I think they took a gamble that the line could play good enough again this year. Unfortunately it hasn’t worked

Do you honestly think changing running backs is going to make any difference when it’s been well established that our backs have INCHES when it comes to YAC? Many straws has been grasped here over the past 24 hours

Don’t pretend you wouldn’t want to work for such great leaders!

No that was John Fina

Of course, if they play every week like yesterday he won’t last long. You could say the same thing any time a team gets blow out. Pretty sure that won’t happen though. To use a one game sample size as an indication to McDermott’s future seems pretty futile. Then again, that’s the whole theme of this forum

Many people in this forum feel a different running back would solve all the problem in the run game. I’m of the belief that the problem lies within the OL. Very few running backs are going to be as successful getting hit behind the LOS

You do realize that McDermott still has 4 years on his contract right? He also has a boatload of goodwill and power around OBD after turning a loser of a franchise into a top team. You can hope all you want but the reality is - he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. One bad season, isn’t going to change that

It’s a bit dramatic but I get what you are saying. The Bills need a strong bounce game and will need to start stacking wins. Each remaining divisional games is the season

Right which is why Buffalo is in the lower-middle of the pack when it comes to redzone TD percentage. I tend to think Josh needs more time to pass

Agreed but Josh barely had half of that yesterday. Watch how easy the pocket crumbles:

Cover 2 shell defense. Line blocks. Josh gets time. Beasley finds the opening but drops the ball. I think so much of the problem is the OL:

It’s a silly topic because there are so many reasons why they lost that can’t be boiled down Coach vs GM. But to your point, it has to be HC. No reason why a less talented Jags team should have beaten the Bills

I have to disagree with you. I think you are underestimated the impact that that an underperforming OL is having on the offense. He obviously had a plan after the Miami game but there was a clear lack of execution…that falls on the players

LOL ok. 1 game = track record

Eh take that comment with a grain of salt. Griffin is a bad cornerback and he’s puffing out his chest after his team pulls off a major upset. The Bills teams under McDermott don’t have this track record.

Everyone is to blame, but it gets back to chicken vs egg debate. Does Daboll have the talent on the OL or RB to beat this defense. It’s very tough to do anything when your line is consistently beaten by a 4 man front

Is it Daboll, Josh, The O-Line, the RB’s? YES to all, but it’s a bit more complex. On the Bills Beat podcast Joe Buscaglia revealed the reason for the Bills offensive struggles: The short: Teams are selling out to stop the passing game and the Bills haven’t found an answer. The long: The offense has not been able to beat a Cover 2 Shell defense. The scheme has allowed less talented teams to bridge the gap with inferior players. It’s basically the KC treatment this season and unless they can figure out a way to solve this, I think what has happened to KC might be a comp. Of course like any issue, there are many reasons: Offensive line - perhaps the “trunk” of the issue. Can’t pass protect and can’t run block. OL is getting good running looks but can’t generate any yards. Easily the biggest issue. Running backs - See above…but also our backs don’t threaten anyone or make teams pay for having a light box. Quarterback - Josh, like Mahomes this season, is getting no help from his backs & OL. He’s trying to do much including moving when he doesn’t need to. Play calling - Brian Daboll had not found a scheme to consistently get teams out of Cover 2. The easiest thing to do would be to run the ball against a light box. But issues with #1 and #2 above really limit what they can do. They did try to use Beasley as a RB yesterday to move the sticks but he couldn’t get any YAC. This week, Daboll & crew need to go back to the drawing board and completely install new routes plays to offset the terrible OL and of course this scheme. Next week will be a major test for the Bills and could be the turning point of the season. It’s possible they could find an answer. Also possible that the a question mark going into this season (the OL) could sink their chances. Joe isn’t pushing the panic button yet but says that this is a major concern that the Bills will need to address or else, teams will just play the same defense. As fans we just have to take this week to week. Hopefully they find an answer. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-buffalo-beat-a-show-about-the-buffalo-bills/id1373776577?i=1000541080089

Right, but how much of that 20 yards was the fault of the running backs versus the O-Line? I am willing to bet it’s mostly the line which is why I don’t think Breida will make much of a difference