UKBillFan

I have issues with Josh but completely disagree with this. If anything, the issue for me is he tries to hard to be the Bills' saviour. I think it's far more complex than, "he can't be bothered anymore".

I'm tired of a team of quality which too often is incapable of fulfilling the basics, whilst making the same mistakes. More often that not the Bills have lost due to their own errors, rather than the quality of the other side. Plus I'm just tired. I've had three hours sleep over the last 24 hours. 😄

Or he totally implodes.

Completely spitballing but here goes… Josh does the salmon jump in the second quarter, Dorsey absolutely lays into him for it - understandably - either at the time or at half time. Josh’s seemingly already fragile confidence is knocked. He’s tries to make up for it by trying too hard. Things aren’t coming off. He pushes himself further but it’s now snowballing with error after error. It’s only when the game on the line in the final series that he manages, to an extent, reset. May be miles off but I can see this happening.

Considering the Giants’ performance against the Cowboys, I’m not sure if Daboll is the answer to mental toughness.

Maybe I am being unfair but I’m tired. I’m tired of seeing the same issues with Josh, him saying he’s working on them and yet nothing changes. As he says himself, same old s**t on a different day. He can talk the talk at least.

I think the issue is it’s not one game. This may be the worst but he’s struggled since the second half of the Packers game last year. And the weaknesses exploited by the Jets tonight are nothing new.

He needs to be confident in trusting the pocket to hold first.

Not that I listened to the podcast, but are we sure drunk Josh wasn’t being sarcastic considering he had just lost to Matt’s wife?

Dorsey and Josh are too alike IMO. Too emotional and in the moment. I imagine Daboll was a calming influence who brought a sense of logic to proceedings. Now, if one emotion sets in, it escalates rather than everything remaining calm and settled. It’s why we see Josh double down on a mistake. Maybe I’m being unfair but I can imagine Josh beating himself up, Dorsey stressing in his ear about the consequences and everything snowballing as both over-complicate matters in a desperate attempt to make amends.

I can’t fully blame Josh for wanting to escape the pocket considering how hideous the protection has been for most of the time he’s been here. Almost like muscle memory kicking in. Trouble is it made the O Line’s job more difficult tonight.

Providing his body can deliver what his brain should be telling him. He says he knows he has to protect the football. He says he needs to be more sensible with the running game. Pretty sure he said he needs to take what’s given. Yet when he starts doing this (see the first half), he bizarrely slips back to old traits. Can he be taught?

Made a correction after reading your original post - fair point.

Wilson protected the ball better than Josh. That’s all the Bills needed. ETA - Fair point above. The Bills would have won if they had Josh in the first half and Wilson in the second.

So were the Bengals.

You would have been if the Bills had someone just making average plays at quarterback. Heck, if the Bills had Wilson the result would have been different tonight.

Correction - from the second half of the Packers onwards last season. Before then he was elite.

Emotionless stares usually suggest not being in the headspace to think clearly and logically. That would tie in with the way he played in the second half up to the final drive. I don’t get what switched though. The first half was fine from him.

I’m in two minds about this. Quarterbacks can have awful performances in the regular season but win the Super Bowl, so this could be taken as a potential outlier. I recall Brady absolutely stinking the place out against the Saints the year the Bucs won it. Except… except… nothing new happened tonight. We had seen it all before. Every weakness Josh has was exposed and most of them are mental. The signs were there last year yet, despite the post and pre season, where he even said he knows what he has to do, he did not do it when he takes to the field. If he starts against the Raiders in the same fashion I’d be tempted to pull him for a series and put Kyle Allen out there. A warning shot to get himself in order or else. He has the physical attributes to be the best quarterback in the league but the mental side lets him down.

He seemed to wake up in that drive, but then made a mess of the one in OT, though the 2 and 15 call was baffling, to put it politely.

My big hope is this ultimate humiliation will be the making of him. The trouble is it means someone - probably McDermott, Dorsey or maybe even Diggs - sitting down and pointing out for one final time of he doesn’t take what is given then he’s going to be embarrassed time and time again. Defenses have sniffed out his impatience. Yes, he had bad games in his rookie year, but he should be at his peak now. And a very basic stance will get him there. Take what is given.

It could be the Jets are to Josh what Miami was to Brady, or Cleveland is to Burrow.

Dorsey seemingly cannot, or will not, control or calm Josh, and that is a huge problem.

Dorsey maybe needs to attempt tough love now. Forget if Josh doesn't want to watch the film - force him to. Forget it if he has dinner plans - get him to do extra training. I maintain he is the best Quarterback in the league when it comes to physical ability. But he makes too many stupid decisions.

In all likelihood Dorsey will go. But something isn't right with Josh and hasn't been for a while.