Sierra Foothills

McDermott's mentor was the late Jim Johnson. From Wiki: "Johnson was a defensive coordinator for nine seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. Widely regarded as one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL, he was especially known for being a master architect of blitzes, disguising them skillfully and keeping offenses off balance." Johnson on his coaching philosophy: "It was around 1994 or 1995, when I was with the Colts, and we were playing against San Francisco with Steve Young running the West Coast offense, releasing receivers all the time, guys getting by you. The idea was don't let these people dictate to you. You have to put more pressure [on the quarterback], and every year we tried to figure out how to do that." And more: "On January 22, 1999, Eagles head coach Andy Reid targeted and hired Jim Johnson as the Eagles new defensive coordinator. Johnson's tenure in Philadelphia was his most successful, as the Eagles won 5 division titles, each reaping the benefits of his defenses. Because head coach Andy Reid is known more for his acumen on the offensive side of the ball, he handed complete control of the defensive unit of the team to Johnson, allowing Reid to concentrate on running the offense with his offensive coordinators, Brad Childress and later Marty Mornhinweg. Reid repeatedly said he had full confidence in Johnson and the Eagles rewarded him accordingly, as he became one of the highest paid coordinators in the NFL. "As I've said many times, Jim Johnson is the best in the business at what he does", said Reid upon signing his prized defensive coordinator to a lucrative four-year contract extension in 2005. "His defensive units continue to produce at a very high level as he puts a lot of pressure on opposing offenses." From 2000–07, Johnson's units rank tied for first in the NFL with 342 sacks, second in the league in 3rd down efficiency (34.3%) and red zone touchdown percentage (43.0%), and fourth in fewest points allowed (17.6 per game). In 2001, Johnson's unit became the fourth team in NFL history to go all 16 games without allowing more than 21 points. Their streak of allowing 21 or fewer in 34 straight games was second longest in NFL history (Minnesota, 1968–71). In 1999, Johnson's unit forced an NFL-best 46 turnovers, including a team-record 5 interceptions returned for TDs. Eagles defenders were selected for the Pro Bowl 26 times during Johnson's tenure. Former Eagle Brian Dawkins led the way with seven. Other Eagles defenders to go to the Pro Bowl under Johnson include Troy Vincent (five), Jeremiah Trotter (four), Hugh Douglas (three), Lito Sheppard(two), and Trent Cole, Michael Lewis, Asante Samuel, Corey Simon, Bobby Taylor (one each). Current NFL head coaches John Harbaugh (special teams and defensive backs), Ron Rivera (linebackers), and Sean McDermott (defensive backs and linebackers) coached under Johnson with the Eagles. The mistake McDermott made was giving too much trust and autonomy to Frasier. The times McDermott took over the playcalling resulted in a different looking defense that performed better. As was proven as the conversation developed... many more HCs calling plays on both offense and defense. See above. McDermott's mentor was Jim Johnson and McDermott alluded to Johnson's influence when he was hired by the Bills. And as DrDawkinstein added also Dennis Allen and Todd Bowles. Yes, Reid targeted Jim Johnson... to great results. The Bills have 4 former offensive coordinators on the current staff: Aaron Kromer, Joe Brady, Rob Boras, and Mike Shula. There's tons of expertise to help Dorsey... if he has the ability to tap into it and maximize it. That's not really a lava take. Several people in this thread have already stated that McDermott is feeling the heat, and that's what compelled the firing of Frasier and McDermott's decision to take greater responsibility.

We took a vote earlier this week and agreed that his name should be legally changed to "Dijon." Tomorrow someone here is supposed to reach out to the Social Security Administration to get the ball rolling.

He already has a Super Bowl ring. Strongly disagree. That's true but the Bills are the only team in the NFL that uses nickel as their base defense so while it won't happen, it's not much of a stretch either. Yes, don't sleep on Baylon Spector, the uber-athletic LB the Bills plucked from Clemson in the 7th round last year.

My Bills-related unpopular opinion? Peter Pan outfits are a healthy expression of gender identification.

The bolded numbers above need context. Therefore, for my value added contribution of the day I present: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/CampCa99.htm After averaging about 80% of snaps in his first 8 seasons, Campbell has averaged about 61% of snaps in his last 3 seasons. Then what happened? According to Pro Football Focus, for the average 8 person defensive line group, there should be 1.7 to 2.3 mentors. So now that the smoke has cleared on the mentor vs teacher discussion, what is the moral of the story?

Agree on Zay Flowers vs Erik Jones... however I'm a bit alarmed by this Simpson guy... especially with Ford Motor Company's recent re-issue of the Bronco nameplate.

What if his name was Erik Jones? What's Simpson's middle name? Sorry, I don't have the restraint of@Dr. Who)

What if they are proven incorrect? Hayden Hurst the tight end? It's true that Andy Reid for many years wore the label of "not being able to win the big one." I am hopeful that McDermott continues to grow. Josh's decision making last year did regress and I put a lot of that on Dorsey. Part of the OCs job is to set clear parameters for play and reign in hero ball tendencies. Daboll did this better than Dorsey, IMO.

Thanks Dave. Yes good breakdowns. I hope they do the same for the Bills remaining free agent class.

When you say "unpopular" do you also mean one that has proven to be incorrect? I'm not fully understanding the question.

LOL. Speaking of which, there are some posters in this thread who need to take a nap. At his press conference last week Beane said that they acquired Harty with the idea that he would be their 4th wideout.

Again, the ONLY point I was making was that Josh didn't underthrow the ball. I never absolved Davis of the drop. Jeebers.

I think it was pretty obvious that my point was that Josh didn't underthrow the ball.

Josh didn't underthrow the ball... that ball was at the limit of his range for his body position. The problem is that he threw the ball too late. Had Josh thrown it earlier Davis wouldn't have had to wait for it and would have maintained separation/caught the ball in stride.

If they're "Men without Hats" why was the dwarf wearing a hat? Or are dwarves not considered men? Back on topic, as mentioned upthread the Ravens play a base 3-4 where Campbell played 3 technique and 5 technique. In the Bills 4-3 scheme he could play both end and tackle and there's some thought that he could replace Jordan Phillips whereas some see him as a replacement for Shaq Lawson. I loved the passion that Lawson played with last year but when healthy Jordan Phillips is one of the best pass rushing DTs in football. When Phillips is healthy he does a reasonable imitation of Chris Jones. If I were to lose one of Lawson or Phillips for Campbell (assuming all players are healthy in 2023) I would rather lose Lawson. JMO.

To varying degrees, we all want more than we're gonna get. And some people deal with that fact better than others.

AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A FAN!!!!!????

I agree with you but you've made the discussion "incrementally" more complex by introducing the idea of injuries to specific players. I think very few teams can absorb the loss of players like Stefon Diggs, Von Miller, Travis Kelce, Aaron Donald, etc, etc, etc. Assuming Diggs and Miller remain healthy I think the receiving corps is stronger than last years and will be fine... as long as Dorsey improves. I do wish we had another pass rusher to mix in with Miller and Rousseau.

So... you're saying Beane can't multi-task?

Beane is one of the most respected NFL GMs around. He's won awards for his professional work. I'm pretty sure he's able to multi-task.

The way to look at a Calais Campbell signing is whether he's a better value and has a greater impact than Shaq Lawson. And to top it off he was rushed to the hospital for an emergency surgery which was unsuccessful.

Yes, I'm lukewarm at best about Campbell. However, one thing that hasn't come up in these hundreds of pages of free agent conversations is that there is a legit point to be made for "incremental improvement." Of course everyone wants the splash signing for a "difference maker." I understand that signings like the Bills have done so far don't move the needle but what happens if a team like the Bills is successful at improving 4-5 positions during one offseason?

Campbell wouldn't be brought in primarily for his pass rush. Epenesa is irrelevant to this discussion. Yes, Baltimore plays a base 3-4 defense. Campbell would likely play inside on passing downs. He has 57 passes defensed and 9 blocked field goals in his career. He effectively blocks passing lanes. What Campbell brings to the table at this point is leadership, toughness and a high football IQ.

Is Pacman a weather reporter now?