dave mcbride

I think Harris is fine; the line is really bad. Similar situation to the Bills, although it was known before this season that they were bad (unlike the Bills’ line).

You should not make this argument about Daboll without at least mentioning that until Allen came along, he had OC’d the worst batch of qbs this century: Brady Quinn (on two different teams!), a rookie Colt McCoy, Seneca Lewis, Derek Anderson (again twice), Chad Henne, a decrepit Jake Delhomme, Matt Moore, the corpse of Matt Cassel, and Nathan Peterman. When Moore is your star of the bunch, you ain’t gonna produce.

He was a terrible choice as a first round pick. He is average — 4.2 ypc over the course of his 3-year career.

Don't disagree with any of that, although if there's a true blue chip interior lineman who you think could help your quarter-of-a-billion-dollar QB, I'm not opposed to that at all. That said, I truly have no idea what the talent out there is like. I'm not advocating drafting a guy for need; just looking for a stud at guard center that you can build the interior of the line around. Maybe there aren't any. I mean, Luck was getting KILLED because of terrible o-line play, and Indy got Nelson and Kelly. Luck decided to retire of course, but they would have helped him immensely if he stayed. As it turns out, they helped Rivers a ton last year and have made Wentz look like a decent qb again after a terrible year in Philly.

I will fully admit that I don't know about the draftee talent level of the various positions I've highlighted. But I have had it with scrap heap FA pickups for interior o-line. It simply has to get better. It will kill the Bills over time, just like what has happened to Pittsburgh's line in the last couple of years has defanged their offense. Also, yes, Ford sucks, but HE WAS DRAFTED AS A TACKLE. If he was a really good tackle, he would have gone higher. There were real doubts about his game before that draft, and the Bills unfortunately were not one of the doubters. If a Quentin Nelson is available, you take him. I'm not saying there is a guy like that available (he's unique), of course. But the middle-of-the-o-line issue has to end. If a Ryan Kelly or a Travis Frederick or a Zack Martin is there in the 20s? Personally, I'd take him. Again, though, I have no idea how good any of these guys coming out are, and I'm certainly not advocating overdrafting low ceiling players. I just don't know the talent pool.

I get that, but if there is that guy in the low to mid-50s -- e.g., a Jonathan Stewart type -- they should take him. Bear in mind that I have us drafting a lot of interior linemen here, including in round 1. Having said this, I have no idea what the RB talent is in college right now.

I think there's very little chance Daboll gets hired as a HC anywhere. He's still a Belichick guy, identity-wise (none of whom have succeeded in the past), and this season combined with all of the bad statistical seasons prior to Allen are going to make it impossible to sell him to a fan base.

I personally think he gets some positive yardage there. Brown didn't have leverage, but he didn't completely whiff either like Morse. Point is, Brown would still have been a thorn in Judon's side if Moss had bounced it out. Morse was beaten so quickly that there was nothing there inside.

I have no idea. On paper, that defense is a terrible matchup for us because they can get pressure inside and with four. Suh is having a great season.

With the caveat that you gotta take a great player if he's there, I think they should go as follows: 1 - C/G 2 - RB (Mixon type or one who is a legit good receiver to give Allen a guy he can have faith in) 3 - DT (not expecting much in the way of pass rush in the third round, but a monster guy who can hold the point of attack 4 - G or CB (whoever is the better prospect) 5 - G or CB (whoever is the better prospect, again) 6 - S 6 - LB 7 - WR 7 - G

Just looked myself. Jamel Dean didn't practice (concussion; he suffered it on Sunday so maybe he won't play), Whitehead (who missed last week with a calf) didn't either, and Edwards - who doesn't start much but plays a lot - is out. If all three are out, they should in theory be weak back there. But the Colts were supposed to be weak too because of injuries in the secondary. Didn't work out that way. https://bucswire.usatoday.com/lists/nfl-news-tampa-bay-buccaneers-injury-report-week-14-buffalo-bills/ Dean had a concussion vs Atlanta and he may not be ready.

Does anyone have any sense of the injury situation for Tampa's secondary? I know Edwards is down for faking his covid vaccination.

I basically agree, although I do think that Judon might have prevented him from getting a TD. That said, he definitely would have gotten at least 3-4 yards.

I think this clip is basically right - he should have bounced it out - but it has been pointed out that Judon gained outside leverage on Spencer Brown and simply cut back inside when he saw the direction Moss was headed in. And while it's easy to criticize Moss, Morse is badly beaten there. The idea behind the play was for Morse to actually hold his block, and he completely failed.

https://www.nbcsports.com/video/sean-mcdermott-gives-roundabout-answer-about-brian-dabolls-performance?ls=pftvod Simms makes the important point here (3+ minutes in) that the Bills’ offensive talent is wildly overrated. He says that they have two blue chip players (Allen and Diggs) and a bunch of JAGs.

This is fantastic. Best analysis i have seen. So right about knox not coming back for the ball.

All losses for passionate fans are awful regardless of team. And they did beat the Chiefs, who I think have a real shot at going to the SB again.

It's as if people don't think I have aspirations for a championship! Of course I friggin' do. I'm just saying that while it may not come this year, they're set up to be in the thick of it going forward for a while to come. There's a decent chance given the QB and the organization that the stars will align once or twice, just like they have for the Ravens and the Giants. But they probably don't have a chance to win more than two at most.

No, it's a plea to stop acting like Yankees fans and to actually look at the broader recent history of the league and how successful franchises fare within it. Informed realism, basically. No one is rationalizing anything.

I'm not saying they shouldn't be held accountable. But anyone who thinks they're going to make the championship game every year has Patriots syndrome and/or doesn't pay attention to the track records of other good franchises.

Lewis never won a playoff game and never had a true franchise QB. The Bills have and do.

It totally did. I think it was Griese or Riddick who at the beginning of the game said that the plan called for a lot of Brieda that night, and that was presumably based on conversations with coaches beforehand. Btw, Riddick is a really good announcer.

Oh, definitely. I'm thinking more about it coming down to the wire. When Pitt went up by two scores with 10 minutes to go, they traded FGs before the Bills got their final one with 49 seconds left. It's virtually impossible to succeed on an onside kick anymore, so it was over when the Bills let the Steelers march down the field with 5 and a half minutes to go and kick a FG with about 2 and half minutes left.

I am merely saying that it wasn't a one-score game when it mattered in crunch time. It was a two-score game. The Bills' final score to make it a one-score game was basically meaningless. I do realize they led earlier in the game.

Tampa's pass D at least in DVOA terms is better than I thought - 7th. I thought they've been dealing with a zillion DB injuries all season? Or is it that they play in a division with terrible passing games (I'm including ATL here)?