dave mcbride

McDermott is going to be safe. If they end up 10-7 and make the playoffs, that's five straight playoff seasons and a regular season record of 72-42. Will they make the playoffs? I don't know, but I do think they should probably win the following games: Denver, Jets, NE, and Dallas (the Bills are undefeated at home and Dallas isn't that great). I am betting they win another somewhere, with the Chargers and Dolphins being the most likely candidates. Is it great? No. But he'll survive.

https://theathletic.com/5035485/2023/11/06/buffalo-bills-cincinnati-bengals-ken-dorsey/ This piece by Joe B seems to indicate that a change could actually be coming soon. He leans hard into everyone turning against Dorsey, from the players to McDermott. ‘And following the end of the game, there seemed to be a rather interesting shift in how things have sounded. The subtle messages are becoming less so. The frustration and exasperation is growing, and the words used have become tougher. After a great start to the game, in which the Bills averaged 12.1 yards per play on their opening drive, that dynamic offense went missing in action. They gained only 158 yards over their next eight drives, and watched as the Bengals slowly pulled away. “That can’t happen,” coach Sean McDermott firmly said of the offensive inconsistency. “Against a good football team that’s known for scoring points, and a good quarterback. We’ve got to be able to score points, and we didn’t do it enough.” McDermott has made some subtle comments like that since the London game. Even after their somewhat of a resurgence in Week 8 against the Buccaneers, McDermott raised some eyebrows when he said that every play “wasn’t an adventure.” But the subtleties are becoming less so. While the Bills found success going up-tempo the week before, they inexcusably went away from it until it was effectively too late in the game. Why didn’t they use it? “I don’t have a good answer for you right now,” McDermott said. “I’ve got to look into that.” There appears to be a lot more looking into things than usual, and it makes you wonder what’s next for the Bills. … It all leads to one point. The Bills might have arrived at where a big change is necessary before the season gets away from them. And with the offense flailing and seemingly out of answers, the time may be now for the Bills to change directions at offensive coordinator. [Next section is on Allen’s clear postgame exasperation and his subtle digs at the play-calling and game plan.] Why are these pieces of information important? Allen has been the loudest supporter of Dorsey, even in the face of criticism. But if Allen is out of answers and possibly losing confidence in Dorsey himself, then there may be no better reason to make a change than that one. After all, Allen is the straw that stirs the drink. Under Dorsey, the Bills have been utterly predictable and lacked the creativity that had been a staple with Brian Daboll. … The time for waiting to allow things to iron themselves out, or giving Dorsey enough time to find his footing as an offensive coordinator is quickly coming to a close. He now has 26 games under his belt calling plays, and is seemingly in the same evolutionary spot as he was to begin his career as an offensive coordinator. If there is no growth, and the offense is stagnating, a shake-up may be required. … With a Monday night game on the horizon, the Bills have an extra day to prepare should they make a change, and with a plum opponent in a below-average Broncos defense to get them the confidence they need heading into a brutal stretch of games. They have coaches on staff with the experience to take over if need be, but it all comes down to their choice.’ Lots of other comments in the piece too.

I don’t think it’s an overpay. Sweat is very good and plays a premier position. He’s also young. Trading a second was very questionable, but don’t assume they wouldn’t have had serious competition for his services in the offseason.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/josh-mcdaniels-wasnt-happy-antonio-pierce-mentioned-giants-win-over-2007-patriots-in-team-meeting I LOVE this!

Well, the play was there on 3rd down. Should have been a td.

I don’t think teams ever look all that great in Europe. Baltimore looked pretty ragged vs Tennessee too.

The Chiefs second half offense is looking very Billsy right now.

How was not a QB sneak??? It was half a yard!

Also: http://expatalachians.com/country-roads-how-john-denvers-hit-became-the-worlds-most-popular-song

His real name is actually Henry John Deutschendorf.

Go to any bar in Ireland where there is a musical performer (which is most of them). For at least half of them, “country road” is the final or one of the final songs. There was a reason ridley scott used it as the distant radio signal in the second Alien prequel, “Alien: Covenant.”

Way, way too many flags in this game overall. Aren’t they supposed to marketing football overseas??

Tyreek hill literally had a pass go right through his hands on the dolphins previous possession.

This is pretty freaking awesome.

Their average drive start is among the worst in the league, actually — 25th: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/pit/2023.htm. Their defense is 30th in yards given up too. What explains pretty much everything is the fact that the Steelers offense have given up the fifth fewest turnovers and the Steelers defense has forced the second most.

McDaniel is one of my favorite people in the league now. He’s kind of the anti-Marrone in a sense. Too bad he coaches for Miami, but I can’t blame that on him. He is good for the league.

The reason there are fewer practices is because there were so many injuries in practice -- which doesn't get captured in these stats. It's an extremely violent game and it's always been such. Again, the decline in practices is because there were so many injuries in practice!

I am guessing this is more about Damian Harris being out longer than might be expected. They do need a third RB, if only for depth.

My big concern is that historically Burrow has SHREDDED zone defenses. His issues have come against teams with good man cover guys/schemes (Browns, Ravens), and the Bills not only don't play much man, they can't given their JAG boundary CBs. I expect he'll pick the Bills secondary apart. Maybe the Bills score 40; who knows. They're capable of it, and the offensive line is leagues better than it was last year. Hard to pick against Cincy in this one, though.

I know, I know -- paywall: https://theathletic.com/5019995/2023/11/01/raiders-mcdaniels-ziegler-firing-mark-davis/. Still if you can access this detailed piece charting the implosion of McDaniel and Ziegler, you won't regret reading it. It's terrific.

He seems to be in physical decline, though. Whatever mobility he once had -- and he had some -- seems to have disappeared. He's not the same guy. Carr pretty much is. Carr has gotten two teams to the playoffs!

I think you're alone in that position (thinking Jimmy G is better than Carr), but that's OK.

He is on pace for 38-39 catches and is averaging an elite 10.7 ypr. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Cook’s receiving numbers gradually tick up over the final nine games.

Way better than DeVito, though, who I half-suspect is only on that team because of nostalgia for nearby NJ state powerhouse Don Bosco Prep, which DeVito attended (https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/12/sports/12preps.html). And as you may recall, Barkley has had success vs the Jets at the Meadowlands: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201811110nyj.htm.

Carr is definitely not “absolutely terrible.” He’s very slightly above league average who can get a team to the playoffs if the stars align. He’s done it twice and will probably do it again this year because NO is the best team in a bad NFC south.