UKBillFan

I think you’re both right in a way. A dodgy O Line shouldn’t mean short routes are missed. Indeed, they should be the go to as they are safer and quicker options. But that’s for pocket passers, who prefer to stay out and throw. Josh is someone who likes to elongate plays, and try and get the best result for the team. He is unusually good at escaping pressure but, by this time, his default is to look deep. He looks towards the end zone rather than short field. If the O Line held up, as it did pre bye, it’d open up more of the field for Josh to exploit.

I thought Josh was selected as the alternate but turned it down, so Jones was next up?

We can't trust the team to compete in any game under McDermott. Every single year there's been a horrific performance from every side of the ball at least once a season. Working back we've had the Bengals, Colts and Titans roll the Bills over and, from 2019 backwards, those performances become slightly more common.

Josh would ask to be traded the moment Mahomes steps through the door. And, as good as Mahomes, Burrow et al are I still think he would benefit from their receiving options and play calling/coaching. QB: Josh Allen and Matthew Stafford (at his age he may be starting to think about taking a step back as a number 2) RBs: Saquon Barkely, Nick Chubb, Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey, Tony Pollard WRs: AJ Brown, Ja'marr Chase, Stefon Diggs, Tyreek Hill and Justin Jefferson TE: Mark Andrews, TJ Hockenson, Travis Kelce OL: Terron Armstead, Landon Dickerson, Creed Humphrey, Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce, Zack Martin, Quentin Nelson, Wyatt Teller, Trent Williams DL: Jonathan Allen, Nick Bosa, Brian Burns, Aaron Donald, Myles Garrett, Trey Hendrickson, Chris Jones, Quinnen Williams LB: Matt Milano, Von Miller, CJ Mosley, Micah Parsons, Roquan Smith, TJ Watt, Fred Warner DB: Trevon Diggs, Sauce Gardner, Minkah Fitzpatrick, MIcah Hyde, Xavien Howard, Marlon Humphrey, Derwin James, Jordan Poyer, Darius Slay, Patrick Surtain II, Tariq Woolen ST: Nick Moore (LS), Justin Tucker (K), Ryan Stonehouse (P)

I assume the other 15 starting LG's turned down the opportunity?

That's why Josh's reaction on Brandt's basement surprised me slightly, but there's no doubt he's better at presenting a calm exterior than, say, Diggs! The feeling of beliving it's all of his back is something else which needs to be somehow removed from him though it's understandably why his trust in much of the offensive side of the ball isn't at it's highest. The flatness of the Bills last week is confusing even now. As highly derided as it was, Saffold's comment adds up.

Then you adapt with what you’ve got. Would the Bills still lose? Probably. In the shambolic way they did last week? No.

I can accept this argument with Dorsey. Are there any signs of McDermott or Frasier adapting?

To put it bluntly, the Bengals didn’t win last week. The Bills lost it. Just like the Ravens beat themselves in the Wildcard round.

That’s all well and good until we consider that the Bills looked average at best since the bye. Before snow game. Before Hamlin. And yet started the season looking like Super Bowl champs in waiting; even the Miami defeat in week 3 can be put down as a fluke of circumstances.

I think Josh needs a disciplinarian around him. Someone to lay down the law and get him into line, otherwise he can be too laid back and casual. Which is odd for someone who is nauseous with nerves before games. In the most recent Brandt basement podcast, though this is probably being unfair, it felt like Kyle was more upset about the Bengals defeat than Josh was. There was something off about the whole team post bye this year and that does lead to concerns heading into next season. And, even if the Bills start well, what happens when they hit the bye, as it was a similar story in 2021 until the play offs, when the offense suddenly clicked into gear.

I can’t believe how happy I am about a Chiefs play off win. I feel like the world has turned upside down - cats will start barking and antelopes hunt lions. But that’s where I am right now.

I know, O Line, better receivers, better play calling etc. but that bottom line sounds familiar. I agree with another poster, above. Considering the so-called support from the Bengals towards the Bills which disappeared exceptionally quickly when they realised they wouldn’t get first dibs at the two seed, yesterday was more about the Bengals losing than the Chiefs winning for me. That, and the worshipping of Burrow when the amount of support he gets on and off the field compared to other QBs - no names included - is nigh on ridiculous.

No. Definitely not.

Think my disdain for the likes of Burrow (refund sneer), Apple and a lot of their fans outweighs my respect for Taylor. Can’t believe I’m saying this, but really want the Chiefs to win.

Have to wonder if Dorsey is now moonlighting as the Chiefs OC.

It’s a shame the Bengals didn’t play someone in the Wildcard Round who did almost everything right and could have been used as a blueprint. Oh wait…

The Chiefs were very Bills-like on their last offensive series. Throws without burning the clock when they should have ran the ball. They’re lucky the Bengals didn’t get a TD out of it.

We see it from practically every OC. I don’t get it - keep doing it until the defense proves they can stop it. Then mix of up again.

McDermott and Frasier should be forced to watch the Bengals Wildcard and Championship games with their eyes held open a la A Clockwork Orange. THIS is modern defense, and please don’t try and say the Bills don’t have the personnel to play it - even without Miller and Hyde.

I do wonder if Josh feels he has more freedom under Dorsey to do his own thing, whilst Daboll was more of a boss he listened to. Saying that, it’s not as if Josh didn’t have bad games under Daboll. It’s imperative they work on the short game and accepting what they give him over pre-season. We need to keep the long ball but it has to be used more sparingly, not as a default go to when panicking.

It’s therapeutic seeing Burrow struggle behind a non-existent O-Line. They can have all the receivers in the world, and one of the best QBs, but if he’s not given time or space…

This is the Bills. In the long run, it may do them good to have a disastrous season not down to injuries and clear the top table. But they’ll probably make the play offs, win the Wildcard before losing one of the next three games due to issues we’ve seen before but it will just be enough for everyone to hang on to their jobs.

Regarding the QB argument, Josh is good enough to win the Superbowl. However, whilst he doesn't get a lot of help from elsewhere, I also think he's overly careless with the ball at times, more so than other elite QBs. But do I think the likes of Mahomes, Burrow or Hurts would do any better with this offense? No.

I argued this before but actually... no. Under McDermott the Bills have had this kind of blow out every single season, sometimes more than once in the early years, where no side of the ball shows up. Chargers, Saints, Pats, Eagles, Titans, Colts, Bengals. It has nothing to do with Damar, or the snow, or shootings, or Josh Allen's elbow. It's due to the team turning up at least once woefully underprepared and woefully under-motivated. The positive side is the team has bounced back from all of those games and recovered. I think the Bengals are better than the Bills but not to the extent shown last week. The negative aspect is why do the Bills have this kind of mentality problem at least once a season.