BillsVet

Mike Stivic on All in the Family. And still a meathead decades later.

When it works that offensive game plan with motivated players is great. Paired with a defense that then gets to play downhill an opponent is forced to throw (Edit: into that zone). Getting all these elements to go this way is challenging.

Did he expect sympathy from JA on that field after that result? Because I'm pretty sure that Josh is walking away not giving a rip about his whining.

I'm not aware of any fans here who are paying Miller's salary. If there are and now that investment is struggling, I'd like to know. I'll predict people will point to this move for why they're in cap trouble which is wrong. Besides, hindsight is 20/20. Most of the fans here complaining about the 2023 (before the DV issue) Miller were championing him coming to Buffalo in March 2022. For many, their collective Bills inferiority complex highlighted this signing as evidence the Bills could attract name UFA's. Now, those same people complain that he's not worth it. Well, which is it? I don't expect people to announce their own mea culpa because that'd require wiping the egg off their face. And if you're still clenching your fists, then blame McBeane for prioritizing the pass rush at this cost. The player was performing before the injury.

The game changes fast and comparisons to the 60s, 90s, or even 2010s are irrelevant now. This is a win-now league and certain teams with franchise QB's get after that goal with greater urgency than others. Doesn't mean make reactionary moves, only that those who play it safe end up losing. It's why the people here (prior to the DV issue) ragging on Buffalo for signing Von Miller are just following talking heads' opinions. Because prior to 2021, the Bills had a pass rush issue not featuring a guy who could get to the QB consistently. Had no issue with the Miller signing. Or, when it came time to draft a QB they went with the most physically gifted guy. You take controlled risks within your plan. We've seen Josh make plays in the playoffs that should have won at least 1 game. He's not perfect and this off-season needs to get his mindset sharpened. But the weak link in Buffalo is the HC who, at crucial times falls short all too often.

This will probably start like some of the European soccer teams do playing 1-2 games in North America before the season. The US fan base is pretty much what it is and there's not a lot of room for growth. So, like any corporate initiative, they'll look for emerging markets and believe Europe/South America/Asia represent that. Not surprising. What I'm interested in is how the NFLPA addresses initiatives like this. They eventually caved on 17 games and likely will when 18 is up for consideration. Seems like they get pushed around now by the owners in a way that Gene Upshaw never would have allowed. NFLPA strikes me as just controlled opposition now, bending to owners' desire for revenue with token resistance. 18 games is coming and so are more international games. Also means more injuries, shorter careers, and lower quality games. Have to wonder when the players start pushing back on their weak union.

Sometimes that's not the best way. Doing it all the time wears a person out I would suspect. I see plenty of emotion on the field lead to unnecessary penalties.

In other words, 2017, 2018, 2021, and 2022 were defense heavy. 2019 and 2020 were not. Thanks much for making the case that the organization builds its roster in the way I've described: defense first. A defense that breaks down in big moments as we've seen at crucial times going back a few seasons.

Name them. And then compare those to moderate to major (EDIT: defensive) signings and give me the delta.

Do you think it's a coincidence that 2017's first priority was overhauling their secondary? And yeah I know, Beane wasn't "officially" here yet. Or that they prioritized signing Star to a 5 year 50M deal in 2018? You know, during the time they were getting out of the previous regime's cap issues? Or, used 5 of 7 1st round picks on defense from 2017-2022? Or, have targeted defensive players first in each UFA period save for perhaps 1 maybe 2 since McD took over? Nah, McD isn't the prime voice at OBD. Not enough evidence. 👌

Beane is essentially McD. His primary responsibility is to work the personnel side on behalf of the roster priorities of the HC. And the past few off-seasons he either told McD the UFA priorities and draft needed to shift toward offense and was overruled or he didn't do it at all...we'll never know. The football people making decisions lack aggressiveness to make their own way. Most of the time it's acceptable to be cautious, but there's a time to create an opportunity and not just wait for one. It's funny because there's an organizational trend to be risk-averse not only in personnel acquisition, but to play things safe in-game.

If Beane went along with McD drafting and signing all those defensive players as the offense was under-resourced, I'm real hesitant to believe that he'd stab the guy in the back who advocated him for GM. Beane can demonstrate l a used car salesman persona, but I'm not seeing it to that degree. Besides, it'd get around in league circles and make life hard for a guy in his mid to late 40s to find subsequent employment. I can see you've thought this through for all of about 5 seconds. And whiffed tremendously.

Sure, it's that easy. To a fan that is. Try looking at it from a business and operational perspective. If Pegula fires McD that means: 1. Eating 34M+ (I've read McD makes 8.5/per) of salary from a contract extended a few months ago through 2027. 2. Starting the process to interview HC candidates and hire another guy which TPegs hasn't really excelled at. 3. Paying that new HC market rate in addition to the cost to fire McD. 4. Probably needing to hire another GM because Beane and McD are a package deal. So, going through the GM interview process potentially. And making sure the new GM and HC can work together because that's kind of important for a NFL franchise. 5. That new leadership will introduce significant changes in the football operation, including new schemes and personnel priorities. 6. Having all the scouting done in the fall on college and pro prospects needing to be done by the new group. 7. Oh, and the guy leading this is in his early 70s with an ailing wife who winters in FL while the new stadium is being built that is costing more money than he'd originally expected. Yeah, it's easy. And for the record, I'm in favor of firing McD.

HC matchups in the SB going back the last 10 years show an overwhelming trend of offensive coaches who came up on that side. That's the better metric to illustrate where the league is going. The only guy you could make the case who's getting to the SB these last 10 years is Belichick and even then he's the best coach in NFL history. Even Pete Carroll hasn't won squat since 2014. It's been said before here that the Pegula's were regretting giving McD so much authority over their franchise. In fact, I'm not sure one guy has had that much pull at OBD ever: the HC who hired his own GM and is the major factor into personnel decisions. Sure, there's discussion during the off-season, but it's funny that most off-seasons right out of the gate they're signing defensive UFA's and, until Kincaid, were using that first round pick on McD's side of the ball. At least he doesn't have a Ford Taurus. And, is Terry's Tesla self-driving? I don't think those are cleared for roads yet, but he is 72-73 now and older people don't always know to turn their turn signal off.

Will we as Bills fans receive total consciousness at the moment each game is lost?

Every pass I see Shakir catch is against his body including the long score against the Jets. I wouldn't count on him as a candidate to be the Z receiver. Kincaid is being used on underneath throws, but is better suited for downfield. If they elect to use him that way. They've been addressing WR with lower-value options and it shows over the years with 1 year UFA deals and mid to low round draft picks. Buffalo hasn't used a 1st or 2nd on a WR since Zay Jones...when the entire league is taking them high. Shakir and Kincaid shouldn't change that they need higher talent there.

There have to be some fast safeties who can catch footballs in next year's draft. Of course, they won't play because McD doesn't really trust rookies, but he'd have them ready for 2026 or so.

On the broadcast Romo kept talking about how Philly was getting their running game outside and that was the key for them offensively. I remember one play in the RZ where Rousseau single-handedly stopped a run out there, but it happened rarely if ever beside that time. It's as if McD knows the scheme is vulnerable against the run and wants to get off to quick starts and force opponents to throw into that zone. When things don't go that way, he's runs out of ideas quickly. That defense seems especially weak up the middle and I know Jones being out hurts, but it's unreal they haven't developed a way to mitigate that by week 12 and with all the DL investment.

Beane's inability to resource an offense is not a coincidence that it perfectly complements the HC's lack of knowledge about NFL offense.

Hello class and thank you for enrolling in Conflation 101.

McD has fired a coordinator after or during the 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons. I can't recall in recent years a HC of a very good team firing that many and it is sure to raise ownership's eyebrows. Firing coordinators is evidence of dysfunction under his management of the team. They have 7 games now because McD ain't going anywhere during the season save for a catastrophic collapse. I also think he benefits from TPegs likely not wanting to pay his 2024 and 2025 salaries with all those stadium cost over-runs on his tab now.

McDermott just pulled a power play and people aren't seeing it. Josh is being paid 43M per, so he isn't going anywhere. Still, he reportedly had input into elevating Dorsey to OC, but the decision was McD's. McD has fired 4 coordinators in 7 years and likely will be under scrutiny if Buffalo doesn't get to the SB. That's highly unlikely with this roster. Now, McD can spin this hire (and firing now) of Dorsey into that Josh wanted him and he did what he thought best for the franchise QB. McD gets another crack at an OC if the season continues going sideways. And probably doesn't get fired by TPegs for this (so-far) bad season. Might seem a bit Machiavellian, but this is McD we're talking about.

After that play, I had the exact same thoughts as I did leaving the stadium for the Dallas MNF loss in 2007. Mostly, just numb to it all. Or, to more succinctly describe it all: "Billsy."

What we see on the field from players is one cause. The game-plan, in-game calls, players they select to play/bench and even draft/sign, and a whole host of other reasons impact the final result. Josh is a part of the problem. But he ain't the only thing wrong with that team. This season didn't go off the rails beginning in week 1. It's been coming. Total overhaul of the organizational vision is required. Not going to happen with this HC and GM.

A lot of emotionally driven word salad to theorize that Buffalo is still damaged from that Week 16 game 10 months ago. I remember the Hamlin injury, at least in part, also cited on TBD then as a major cause for their post-season swoon versus Miami and again hosting Cincinnati. Maybe there is a team-wide emotional matter, particularly playing in Cincinnati. But if that's true, it's more because generationally-speaking people aren't taught how to handle grief and tragedy. I think you theory is offered because culture at large now has a penchant for always trying to find excuses when problems appear. We can see the adversity, acknowledge it, grieve over it, but still continue. I was at the Kevin Everett game in '07 and in the ensuing days and weeks don't recall his injury being suggested here or elsewhere as a potential consideration for team play. In fact, that Bills team went 5-3 afterward and considering they played Pittsburgh and New England the following weeks, one of those losses was the Dallas MNF game and DJ was HC, that's pretty good. That was about a generation ago, meaning players were later Gen X'ers to early millennials. Heck, Darryl Stingley was paralyzed in a pre-season game in 1978 and New England went 8-2 to start the season. And one of those games was at Oakland where the injury happened...a NE win. As to the general assumption that people think the players are "big dumb galoots" I and many other educated fans around here obviously do not believe that. Game prep has always been key at the pro level and it seems as though certain players aren't taking it as seriously. That's a work-ethic issue, not that players are "galoots." There will always be hard working lower talented players. There will be less hard working better players. And there will be the hard-working types with top-end talent. If there's a work-ethic issue, that's something on management who select and coach the players. On both issues, it kind of mirrors society at large where people don't have mechanisms to cope with grief nor work as hard as previous generations, including NFL players. And for the record I'm a late Gen X'er and not playing the "in my day-itis" card.