Sierra Foothills

So what happens if Andy Reid was our coach and McDermott coached the Chiefs?

The Bills have the QB, don't they? It's about the coaching too.

Actually for you to say "Offensive genius yes. But that he'd be in the GOAT conversation pre Mahomes was laughable" in response to me saying "To their credit, the Hunts also hired Andy Reid" doesn't make much sense. You can criticize Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb and Nick Sirianni and McBeane and I wouldn't argue too much though Reid's accomplishments in Philly speak for themselves... but it's sad that while the Chiefs jumped at the opportunity to hire Reid, the Bills were hiring Doug Marrone.

Don't put words in my mouth. I did not say he'd "be in the GOAT conversation." I said exactly "To their credit, the Hunts also hired Andy Reid." By the way, Andy Reid who you described as an "offensive genius" had a .583 winning percentage exclusively with Philly, which is higher than HOF HCs Jimmy Johnson, Marv Levy, Hank Stram, Don Coryell, Bill Parcells, Chuck Knoll, Dick Vermeil, Tom Flores, Weeb Ewbank and Sid Gillman. It's also a higher winning percentage than Super Bowl winning HCs Tom Coughlin, Brian Billick, Mike Shanahan, Pete Carroll, Jon Gruden, and Steve Mariucci. While in Philly, Reid made the playoffs in 9 out of 14 seasons and he led them to 4 NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl appearance. Is it your opinion that the Hunts should not get credit for hiring Reid?

To their credit, the Hunts also hired Andy Reid.

I'm not saying that he's faking injuries but in his NFL career, Samuel has played in 111 out of a possible 143 games which is 77.6% and averages to missing nearly 4 games per year. With the Bills he's 20 of 28 games which is 71.4% and averages to missing nearly 5 games per year. Obviously being placed on IR is gonna make those numbers even worse. His availability isn't the worst we've seen but it's been far from great. I wouldn't be surprised if he retires after this year. He's made nearly $57 million in the NFL.

But it's not realistic to think that Pegula would fire McDermott after a 13-4 season.

Seahawks are in the top 2.

There were TONS of people here singing the praises of Bobby Slowik in Houston too. He went from star to fired in less than 2 years. The Bills were never going to replace McDermott when he's averaging 12 wins per season over the last 6 years. However sitting at 7-4, for the first time since he was hired there is a possibility (I would say slim) that he could be fired. As such Pegula should be thinking about Head Coaching candidates. If Pegula were to fire McDermott, I suppose he could hire a first timer because McDermott was one but I don't think you want to hire a first time Head Coach when Josh Allen is your quarterback... it seems a too risky. Most first time Head Coaches fail. I would want us to hire a more known quantity. I think the ideal candidate is a former Head Coach who's a respected offensive mind who maybe got a raw deal elsewhere and deserves another chance. Also as others have been saying, the ideal candidate should be an offensive guru a la Andy Reid, Kyle Shanahan, Paul Holmgren, Mike Shanahan, Gary Kubiak, Bruce Arians, etc so that you don't have to worry if you lose your OC. So if guys like Kevin Stefanski, Kevin O'Connell, Matt LaFleur, etc were fired after this season, they would be at the top of my list.

People misunderstood when it was said they were "high on Grable." What was actually said was that they were "high on Gravel." The term "Gravel" is a known street name for the synthetic drug Flakka (alpha-PVP), a dangerous stimulant. Flakka is nicknamed Gravel because of its appearance as white, crystal-like chunks, similar to aquarium gravel. "Grable" is an obscure, regional, or phonetic variation of "gravel." Perhaps prayer is in order... He was notified but there's still some question whether he'll arrive on time. They sell oversized "clapping mits" on Amazon... which are bigger and louder than clapping with your bare hands. You can get them on Black Friday special but unfortunately they don't make them with Bills logos.

For some reason I read this as "I hope and pray." And yes, I think Kiddish is Yiddish for when a kid is Skittish. Someone here dubbed him as Dalton Firstaid, which I thought was funny in a sad way.

TJ Watt is uncontrollably drooling...

Has Coleman returned yet or is he still returning? I'd just like to keep apprised of his progress.

I'm guessing that during his draft year, Pickens wasn't given the "Bills Blue" designation... The Buffalo Bills assign a "Bills Blue" designation to draft prospects who demonstrate high character and strong personal qualities, regardless of their talent or draft round. Known Bills draftees who have received this designation include: Josh Allen (QB, 2018 first-round pick) Harrison Phillips (DL, 2018 third-round pick) Dalton Kincaid (TE, 2023 first-round pick) Maxwell Hairston (CB, 2025 first-round pick) Landon Jackson (DE, 2025 third-round pick) Deone Walker (DT, 2025 fifth-round pick) Dorian Strong (CB, 2025 sixth-round pick)

Was there a box of Kleenex in the room? We need a heart emoji around here. You put the lime in the coconut... Certainly not the tavern owner.

Thanks for updating. Yes when I checked "The Athletic's" playoff calculator it said between 35-42% chance. I assumed the range has to do with the outcome of other games.

Maybe Aiyuk can workout with Keon. I feel like Aiyuk wasn't jewelry shopping at Macy's. I agree with your take and would add that Pegula likes both halves of McBeane, and that he doesn't want to de-stabilize the front office in advance of the new stadium. However nothing lasts forever and the heat has definitely been turned up on this situation. As I pointed out, the Miami loss was the first time in this administration that the majority of fans and media became skeptics and doubters. This group now outnumbers the supporters. It would be interesting to re-visit this discussion after a possible Bills collapse. Could the Bills lose in Pittsburgh playing against TJ Watt without Dawkins and Spencer? Easily. Could the Bills lose to a resurgent Cincinnati team with Joe Burrow at the helm? In this scenario the Bills will have lost 4 of their last 5 and be in jeopardy of missing the playoffs. Things could change very quickly. It hasn't come up in this discussion that McDermott and Beane both report directly and separately to Pegula... which means that on the organizational chart, McDermott is not Beane's boss nor visa versa. While McDermott got here first, Beane occupies what is typically thought of as the higher position so that's a wash. But in terms of organizational structure they are essentially co-equals. In good times, it'll be "all for one and one for all" but in a collapse scenario could it turn into "each man for himself?" Being as they both have the owner's ear, there is a scenario where their organizational survival morphs into a Bill Cowher/Tom Donahoe power struggle. I'm not saying it will happen but it could happen.

Wade?

I guess I'll match your eye roll emoji... Your choice of the word "featured" (not Moore's or Rapaport's word... your word) is incorrect. Rapaport said Moore wanted more reps. You continue to insist that "more reps" = "featured." Then you tried to substitute and then equate "starter" for "featured." None of those 3 things are the same. NFL teams run 11 personnel over 60% of the time meaning that every team has 3 starting wide receivers. Moore was 5th in snap counts. He could have had more reps without becoming a starter and he could have become a starter without being featured. He wanted more reps. Anything beyond that is your own imagination. Good night.

I still disagree. Moore was 5th in WR snaps for the Bills this year so it's still a stretch equating wanting more snaps to wanting to be featured. And now you've offered that he wanted to be a starter but being a starter is still not the same as being featured. There are plenty of starting wide receivers that aren't featured in their offenses.

There's a difference between "wanting to be featured" and "wanting more reps."

The failure of the defense to be a respectable unit is mostly due to injuries. In the first 10 games of the season, the 4 veteran additions of Bosa, Hoecht, Larry O, and Shaq Thompson and the 6 rookie additions of Hairston, Sanders, Jackson, Walker, Hancock and Strong missed a total of 45 man/games (and counting). Add the 24 man/games missed by Ed Oliver, Epenesa, Bernard, Dorian, Milano, Benford, Tre White, Taron, and Rapp and you've lost 69 man/games in 10 weeks. Even subtracting Dorian Strong and Jordan Hancock's 7 each and you're still missing 5.5 core defensive players each week. The only core defenders who've played every game this year are Rousseau, Bosa, and Cam Lewis... just 3 players. And both Bosa and Rousseau have played through injuries.

He's more of a tortoise than a hare... I've never seen a statistical breakdown but I'm quite sure that all teams have the greatest percentage of success on their first drives of each half... the scripted plays that they've practiced, memorized, and visualized. The Bills offense is not dynamic. The best offenses are the ones where the defense really doesn't know what the play call will be on any given down and distance. The Bills are deliberate and predictable. An offense can't always "impose its will." It has to try to keep the defense guessing too. Under Brady the Bills have brought in WRs (Samuel, Moore, Valdes-Scantling) that have had some success elsewhere with poor quarterbacking and proceeded to watch those players disappear despite playing with one of the all-time great QBs. It's more than just talent. It's not an either/or thing IMO. Yes, the talent could be better but again, as I wrote above...

I've always been an "optimistic realist" but here are the posts that most closely express my expectations for the season (some of them are contradictory): As has been pointed out, the Bills have a recent history of going on late season runs and there are other teams have come from the depths of the wild card race to win the Super Bowl. There is much to be said about peaking at the right time. BUT, the last post above by @Puckman5 resonates most loudly for me. How can a team with a TE Coach AND a OL Coach who were both NFL Offensive Coordinators not get the offense straightened out??? The finger points to McDermott, IMO. Either he has more negative influence on the offense than we care to admit AND/OR his systems and culture do not allow for positive collaboration and honest self-scouting. It's unfathomable to me that Kromer and/or Boras don't have some good ideas on how to improve Brady's shyt show and yet even after the bye, we've seen little to no evidence that the offense is progressing in a good direction. Are Kromer/Boras allowed to provide constructive input into the offense? If not, why not? Are their voices welcomed in the room? Are they biting their tongues? Are their ideas dismissed? And why do players like Samuel and Moore, who've put up good numbers elsewhere while never having played with good QBs come to the Bills and promptly disappear from the face of the earth even though they're now playing with an all-time great QB? Mike Sando's "The Athletic" article about the failings of Raiders' OC Chip Kelly seem to apply verbatim to Joe Brady... that he's a college play caller who had short term success, but who can't raise his game now that the NFL has solved his offense. Brady has no answers and neither do those around him for whatever mysterious reasons. The dysfunctional offense and the injury-riddled defense make me highly doubt that the Bills will be the team catching lightning in a bottle this season. I hope I'm wrong.

The Ravens were pretty lifeless tonight. Their play makes me wonder if a total collapse is possible.