BillsVet

They had the fight in Week 1 down 2 scores in the 4th quarter. The energy on this team is Josh and McD drains that from this team. I can't put it into words much better than that. When Buffalo was driving against a tired Baltimore defense in Week 1, you could see them responding. I think this play to win by a score mindset the HC wants/has planned for isn't kindling any fire in them.

They haven't taken a deep enough dive into whether the defensive scheme is sustainable/suitable either. Every off-season they conclude the need is for different players to make it work. But last off-season they not only landed on the DLine being an issue, but that a cause was the susceptibility for injuries. OK, but the response/solution was to find more guys who could play there. And I get that they need DL depth because you have to manage snap counts to mitigate injuries, but the investment there impacted using resources in other areas, namely secondary and WR. When you're devoting almost 20% of your cap to a collection of 10 or so DL who are all decent, but not elite, it's maybe not the best way to allocate resources.

Failed from the perspective that last year by Weeks 4 and 5 they couldn't muster much offense, scoring only 30 points total in those 2 games which necessitated the trade for Cooper. After he arrived for week 7, they scored 30+ in 9 of their next 10 games. They replicated the approach this season with everybody eats and a similar offensive scheme and after a hot start, their offensive is sputtering just like last year. KC in 2022 didn't have the brutal games Buffalo did in 2024.

Mahomes throwing to prime Kelce and a healthy Smith-Schuster in 2022 is definitely not Josh throwing to a slot receiver and the 8th WR taken in 2024. Don't care how you quibble over it. That's the topic up for debate, not what happened the following year. Even if it were, Buffalo's version of "everybody eats" was a fail by week 4 last season and KC's was enough to win the SB with similar quality QB play. Doesn't add up.

KC may have been spreading it around more to lower-tier receivers in 2022, but Kelce had almost a quarter of Mahomes' targets and Smith-Schuster had another one-sixth. Those two guys combined for 40% of the pass attempts that year. No doubt having top-end Kelce that year opened other options up in a way Buffalo didn't reflect in 2024. Also allowed someone like MVS to have a decent year w/42 catches for almost 700 yards.

Have to wonder if the message from elsewhere to Brady is to feature Coleman to justify their draft pick amid all the criticism. Pure speculation, but the snap count thing is surprising when viewed any other way. He's not much of a threat to get open otherwise.

I think you're forgetting a pass catcher who happens to be engaged to someone famous and helped with their ensemble WR group. Can't place his name, but I think he's pretty good and probably influenced personnel decisions at WR. As for the post-Tyreek SB win in 2022...Juju had a good season, MVS was better than replacement level...and then there was that guy engaged to the famous person. Not exactly "everybody eats" quality of pass catchers. In 2023, it was Rashee Rice showing up as a rookie...having 500+ yards receiving in his final 6 regular season games. KC didn't do "everybody eats" and comparisons to it are absurd. Scheme is part of it, but the amount of investment on DL is hamstringing their ability to have decent starters elsewhere, namely the secondary. That DL, were it not for suspensions to the 2 UFAs, currently features Rousseau, Bosa, Epenesa, Jackson, Hoecht, Oliver, Sanders, Walker, D. Jones, and Ogunjobi. 10 guys who are either UFAs with a high(er) cap hit, high to moderately high draft picks, and players re-signed to market contracts. DL eats up about 18-19% of their cap. Besides, since Josh re-signed in 2022 and again this off-season, they've held firm if not expanded their investment there. And there's been a lot of misses there as well. Gotta be smarter with their UFA contracts and get more production from drafted defensive players especially after RD1.

Yeah, the Bills identity is essentially McDermott's personality at this point. I'd only add the Bills aren't innovative, stubbornly refuse to change, and go with what they know. See it in the coordinator picks, personnel decisions, the scheme, almost ever facet of the football side of that franchise. Something's gotta give.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46649475/2025-nfl-week-7-barnwell-wrong-takes-chiefs-colts-jaguars-bills Worth a read. Per Barnwell: "What has gone wrong for the Bills? I'll start with the simplest possible explanation: They've been able to lean on a formula that nobody else in the league has managed to match, and that formula has come undone, especially over the past two games. If anyone is capable of rounding back into that form, it's the Bills, but what they were doing was mostly unprecedented in league history." He then points to the turnover anomaly that was 2024. For background, last year Buffalo gave it away 8 times against 28 takeaways in 20 regular and post-season games. Goes on to mention pressure rate on Josh getting higher, not enough explosive plays, and of course the downturn in defense. The Bills are at a cross-roads in a way we've not seen in years, partially because there hasn't been much competition in the AFCE. There is now. Perhaps they use the bye-week to reflect and make changes, although if they don't it's hard to see them improving and less likely they get the 1 seed

Short of a SB appearance this year it's time to move on from McBeane. The issue with this GM isn't so much draft picks/UFA signings, contract extensions, coordinator decisions, X's and O's, or in-game decisions. It's an overall approach to football both of them seemingly share which isn't moving the team forward. They're stuck in the Division/Championship Game round now 5 straight seasons with a franchise QB. That's an eternity in NFL years with little to show for it besides an oft-referenced regular season record.

If no one here refers to Beane as "Big Baller" or a "Wizard" anymore...what is he? Big Blowhard? Beane soup sandwich?

Before the 2024 season, I wondered when people would begin blaming Josh for the team's woes given the WR group they started off with. There was some criticism leveled, but it died down after the Cooper trade as Buffalo got in the groove offensively. Here we are again with the this scenario unfolding after 2 unanticipated losses: blaming the QB. He has his faults and makes mistakes, but these losses typically have more than one contributing cause. Pretty clear right now on offense those include injuries, play-calling, overall offensive scheme, but more than that's it's poor off-season decisions before we start talking about the reigning NFL MVP.

This is all hyperbolic in tone. No one's characterizing that this is went down in 2024 and continued into 2025. It's strange the people who cannot bring themselves to say "everybody eats" was a colossal failure. I'd guess many of these were the people who called Beane a wizard who are noticeably avoiding that moniker. The team can be wrong in what they emphasize and what they don't. And it's clear from the past 5 off-seasons they've avoided WRs, avoided having a robust passing game that could work for an entire season, and prioritized defense nearly every one of those years. It hasn't worked for a long time. Is that really hard to acknowledge?

NHL money compared to NFL money (and owner prestige) is two different worlds, yes. And agree that Josh is Terry's bankable star to carry them on the field and also with the new stadium. I keep thinking about how Terry somewhat regretted giving McBeane so much authority over football ops back in 2017. Since then, ownership has given them a ton of money and that control...but if there are rumblings with Josh's unhappiness then his financial future would overrule whatever agreement was there in the past. Not sure how to interpret that being good or bad...but it's a pivotal time in franchise history. Two guys - a HC and GM - probably making around a third or a quarter of the franchise QB can't get in the way no matter what.

He forgot the sleep aid Nutrol. Josh is getting good sleep...that's why he's able to play QB.

And what would be the result of that conversation? I know we'd all like for it to mean the owner telling the HC and GM their methods are inadequate, but I'm not even sure of that considering TPegs' history forcing out via management players who "rebelled" with his other team. Then again, the NHL team isn't moving into a new stadium nor receives $430M in revenue sharing each year. So who knows what TPegs would do. At the same time, McD was pretty clear from Day 1 that he was the one voice for the Buffalo Bills. As in, he's running the football side which later included this GM. I'm not optimistic that having even a player like the reigning NFL MVP interfere with that would be welcomed by a personality like McD. It's shaping up (if it hasn't already) to be a show-down between Josh and the HC/GM who are an anchor on this franchise. Still not optimistic this owner knows who to handle that situation.

After that 2020 season, I think McD started working toward his version of complementary football, albeit not as fast as he wanted it. In 2021, they didn't have the OL to run it and Diggs was there which meant throwing it more than McD wanted. Daboll's last season. In 2022, they signed some run blocking types, but the pass protection was awful...and Diggs was still there. Dorsey promoted from within. In 2023, Dorsey got canned at mid-season, Brady entered, and he implemented more of this style offense. In 2024, the front office moves out Diggs, and McD has the pieces including the OC, to implement his version of offense. It fails by Week 4. In 2025, they add 1 player on offense the whole off-season, they continue with complementary football and it fails by...Week 5. After all this...I have no issue with Josh going to ownership if he doesn't get a response from the HC and GM because it's clear McBeane's plan has been inadequate long enough. Especially when you consider that guys like Mayfield, Darnold, and others are having success getting to throw the ball downfield to competent receivers. Then again, I'd expect a true owner to look down and ask why the guy guaranteed a quarter-billion and the one who sells tickets is scrambling, sacked, and hurried more this season throwing to guys who don't get open.

Yeah, this isn't the same as those multi-week drops in play from 2020-2023. The fall off in 2024-2025 (so far) is completely different. For example, you don't have an offense bottom-out abruptly, going from scoring 41, 30, 31, and 31 points against mediocre competition to 20 and 14 to NE and ATL. Something more is happening to cause offensive free fall. That's made worse watching a defense get run over week after week. Or, that veteran coordinators make routine mistakes and can't get it right after years on the job. Maybe they're better after the break, but in-season it's hard to make significant changes with personnel and scheme. It's like turning a battleship around quickly.

Josh was the MVP last year and yet, he had one of the worst games a QB has ever had last season versus Houston. The Baltimore game also was a shock to that offense. How does one reconcile that? Did he not take his Nutrol and have a bad night's sleep before the New England game? Is it reasonable to conclude that, while having his faults, Josh's surrounding cast including the GM, HC and OC are not getting it done either. As in, that personnel decisions this off-season were poor, their overall philosophy is too risk-averse, that offensive game-plans are too conservative, and that featuring that WR group is insufficient. There's really two types of fans here this week: those who look back the past few weeks and do their own Kevin Bacon Animal House toutine, "All is well! Remain calm!" and those who see we're needlessly repeating Weeks 4 and 5 from last year all over again.

Offensively, Buffalo is in the same place at this time of the season as they were in 2024. Start hot against mediocre to average competition, then see an opponent adapt to what they're doing and not have the personnel to overcome it. Only question is whether Beane and the HC to look in the mirror and back away from how they scheme the offense and prioritize personnel. Trade deadline is November 4th so we're gonna find out.

Perhaps it's a new policy, but circa 2008-09 I saw game balls overthrown into the EZ and no official demanded them back. One woman had one in the row behind us and a friend caught one. Could see that changing in the ensuing years.

I wouldn't rule Beane making a deal for a WR, but that'd be 2 straight off-seasons he acknowledged a mistake. Couple issues: 1. Bills have 2.5M in cap space. Going to take some maneuvering to fit an acquired receiver under that. 2. Which WR does Buffalo DFA to fit that player on the game-day roster? Won't be Palmer, Shakir, or Coleman. Probably Samuel or Moore, neither of whom have shown much. 3. The acquired player displaces Coleman, who Beane's been rightly criticized about since he was drafted and has done almost nothing to dispel. Not a good look.

That's true. It's also true they had the same HC, OC, QB, RB, and entire OL last year when this problem occurred in Weeks 4 and 5. They chose to do little personnel-wise or schematically on offense to address the issue. Have to have another pitch when the fastball, i.e. the running game, isn't on. Downside of this offense is they don't have the personnel to amp up the passing game when the ground game needs help...unless Kincaid has more games like last night.

Against NE, Josh scrambled 7 times on designed passing plays and sacked once. That's about 20% of his drop-backs resulting in a sack or scramble. Last week was about the same rate of sacks/scrambles versus NO. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/A/AlleJo02/gamelog/2025/advanced/ Pre-Amari last season, Josh was sacked 6 times in 5 games, but only 8 more times in the following 12 games. This year, he's been sacked 8 times in 5 games. Maddening that a relatively easy observation from the beginning of last off-season is being repeated all over again. And of course, that he's getting hit more. Some of the negative externalities of not investing in better receivers.

McD and Beane going back a few seasons have become very conservative running it back in personnel, hiring assistants, and now schematically. It's like a lot of companies...staying with what works is easiest because change means uncertainty. The boldness to move up and draft Josh followed by the Diggs trade has been replaced with doubling down on DL, and thinking JAG WRs will work on a new team because Josh is the QB. And yeah, it's not about this loss. Those are going to happen. It's a leadership group which is trying to advance to the SB, but refuses to consider that their systems aren't functional when they need them most...even with Josh Allen at QB.