BillsVet

I'm sure some people still make this claim re: UFA's, even after signing Von Miller. A ready-made excuse is difficult for some homers to give up when they need to defend the team at all costs. As to WR and TE, I don't think the braintrust really values those positions like they do secondary and DL. Most of their talent at WR since this regime took over was imported, either via trade or in UFA with only a 2nd (Zay) and 3rd (Knox) used there. It's as if they find a reason not to draft offense because a more pressing need exists on the other side.

McD is the primary weak link in this franchise. Not just because of 13 seconds, but rather his vision for roster priorities. He has every defensive piece a former coordinator from that side of the ball could ever wish for. He has to win now or it's an indictment of his overall coaching philosophy.

One would think that a team who can identify the QB would be able to build an OL. It's not as if they haven't spent big dollars to do so, signing a C in UFA and re-signing their LT to large contracts. Drafting another interior OL high and paying Daryl Williams. The issue to all of this is, Buffalo has not focused much on offense save for the 2019 and 2020 off-seasons. The former was all-in on UFAs and the latter to acquire Diggs. No issues there, but it's as if they said we're set there and banked on Josh to make it all work after his excellent 2020 season. This year, they threw some token money at WR and TE, drafted (another) RB fairly high for the position and, like 2021, seem content running it back again. McD is, despite all appearances, a conservative HC. He wasn't enamored with passing the ball so often and, late in the year running Josh. Dorsey will give him what Daboll did not: offensive balance. Concern there is will the OL support more rushing attempts how does taking the ball out of Josh's hands make the offensive better, and when does the lack of WR depth show up?

Maybe when Oliver starts getting more than 60% of the snaps he'll approach that. Maybe. This is another reason why McD's defensive scheme needs an overhaul because he invests high picks and UFA dollars into Dlinemen who are not on the field upwards of 40-50% of the snaps. And that's his vision of defense, the 8-9 man DL rotation, which he'll never evaluate nor adapt. So you get a top 10 pick at DT who in his seasons starting has a 54% and 58% snap count rate.

In Carolina, Gettleman drafted more players (1) who had a 10 sack season than have Beane/McD here (0). When you're looking up at Gettleman something's dreadfully wrong. Not saying a guy like Rousseau can't get there, but it's an indictment of the organization's talent evaluation they haven't identified one yet who can do that...especially for a defensive scheme that has to get pressure from the front 4.

Clearly a "process" guy.

I don't trust McD to do the finishing work on a roster. He's more suited to do the demolition perhaps, but when it comes to sourcing an offense he still has a limited understanding for that side of the ball. He'll never recognize that building an elite offense covers up for mistakes easier than does whatever an "elite" defense looks like in 2022. Expectations for the defense are sky-high, as in that they'll just shut teams down so the offense doesn't have to do as much. If that strategy doesn't work, they don't have the offensive weapons to keep pace. And that's on McD and to a lesser extent Beane for prioritizing defense again. I'm not arguing against Miller and love the signing...it's just that they left themselves thin playing whack-a-mole with the roster.

I get the impression some people would go as far as criticizing themselves before they'd do so for their Bills. #fanhood

Some people envy other people's guns.

The Pegula's don't strike me as the types who'll want to pay another HC if they fail to advance to the SB, so odds are McD stays unless they absolutely implode. Still, McD has been given everything he could ever need to win: a franchise QB who shows up in big moments, the proven pass rusher, and every other defender he's pushed for. If he can't win with this roster barring significant injury, then he's peaked. I think it was Bill Walsh who said back in the 80s that each season there's about 7-8 teams contending for the SB. The rest are either rebuilding or in the middle of the pack. That was the case last year with KC, BUF, TB, GB, LAR, and perhaps DAL and TEN being in the mix. Teams willing to be audacious are gaining advantages over those who take the careful approach. I think McD and his GM are in the latter group especially the HC. Their pass rush was anemic as the deadline approached and they did nothing, which showed up in the KC game. Old news, but a window into how McD operates with Beane. They were able to acquire Miller in UFA and for that credit to them this off-season, but you mention the deadline deals. KC and LAR made deals to bolster their pass rush with Ingram and Miller respectively. And Ingram showed up in the Divisional Round game. Still, Buffalo's made only one deadline deal during the 5 seasons McBeane have been there...and it was for Kelvin Benjamin in their first year. Oooof. The old way of drafting and developing picks, being careful in UFA, not trading picks at the deadline, etc. is falling away. We're seeing more deadline deals as teams look for a competitive advantage. Much like corporate America, you have to innovate or, at best, you stagnate in the NFL a la GB the last decade or so.

He did disappear. TMZ made him reappear for people with little to no life.

@BADOLBILZ I believe has said it before: McD is a significant improvement as a Monday through Saturday coach from his Bills HC predecessors. Evaluating McD on a scheme/personnel vision is another matter. As in, given that McD's vision/brand of football dictates how they acquire personnel, are those schemes appropriate? Especially with having a veritable franchise QB and the league placing a premium on scoring? I've long hoped they'd revisit the offense identity taking precedence with Josh, but I'm not seeing it. And, how does building up a complete defense (as McD desires/pursues) provide Buffalo a matchup advantage over teams that emphasize offense in light of rule disadvantages defensively (PI, RTP, etc.)? The cap is also beginning to run into how he builds a team. With Josh's contract hitting in 2023, the days of being 8-9 deep on DL and paying big contract for the back 7 will run into acquiring the talent to be a productive offense. Something's gotta give.

Comes down to the HC who, both on and off-field, leads the organization. 2022 will be a confirmation or rejection of his vision for a championship football team. As in, is the emphasis this off-season and previously on defense going to provide the margin to win against better AFC offenses in KC and CIN both regular and hopefully post-season? Is the likely emphasis on running the ball and taking it out of Josh's hands a net gain or loss for the offense? Are his choices for offensive assistants up to the task? Can he flex up his defense to confuse opponents, or run the same coverage schemes he has for a few years now?

Washington may be the largest man I've ever seen...at the 2000 Training Camp when I interned for a Rochester TV station. Standing next to Pat Williams, he made him look somewhat normal.

Gotta live up to the magnificent part first.

I wasn't aware we had a combination Nostradamus and Miss Cleo hiding in our midst.

With that rationale, they didn't do enough last year coming off 2020. And in their off-season review this season and by virtue of their offensive personnel changes, they took a similar approach for 2022. At this point, one does not need hindsight to cast doubt on those measures being sufficient.

Rarely when assessing why something went wrong is there one and only one true cause. Not putting Mahomes down was one contributing cause. Another was, for the second year in a row, not interrupting the routes Hill and Kelce ran and giving them free release off the LOS. Another was the rush and pass blocking. Their off-season review I would have thought identified all three as areas to improve. Their response was to overwhelmingly address 1. The second, well, it's McD's scheme Frazier is running and that will likely not change. And 3...that's what we're talking about here. This off-season the bias toward defense continued. And, as Beane has noted, you likely need to improve the areas where you lose your last game if it's in the playoffs. They haven't done that - again. This first sentence is the lead to Conflation 101.

They seem to prioritize offense only when they have to...like 2018 when they needed a QB and recognized it'd take some maneuvering in round 1. Or, in 2019 when their moribund offense needed a major talent infusion. Even 2020 trading for Diggs after their WR group proved good but not good enough against better teams and in the post-season. And amazingly those 3 off-seasons were before Josh ascended into being a veritable franchise QB. For all the joking around about the roster being so deep and picks not making it out of camp, their depth on offense is not aligned with Beane's comments about protecting Josh. I wonder after 2021 and 2022 off-seasons what authority Beane has at OBD. Or, if he goes defense to keep the HC satisfied. I'd just hate to be in a meeting with ownership after 2022 following another playoff loss to explain that the plan of featuring a new blocking scheme, new offensive coaches and aging UFA OL signings was insufficient.

I think we should credit McBeane for the picks and welcome them to Buffalo, but be sure to remind them their stay will be brief. Sad.

Of course, but you can't teach speed nor is there anyone on that roster who can get deep the way people are hyped about Stevenson. He might be last year's sleeper the way Shakir is this year's sleeper.

It speaks to the superior depth though. Beane was wise enough to bring back Kumerow and he's played real NFL minutes. And then there's Stevenson who might be the fastest guy next to Tyreek Hill and is a true sleeper with returner ability. He was picked in the 6th round last year. Not to mention, people are already forgetting Hodgins, a 2020 6th. Those guys are McBeane picks too who haven't had their time to shine.

The board consensus heading into the draft was that 4-7 rounders aren't going to make the roster. Buffalo's too deep at every position.

I'm concerned he's not going to make the roster. Buffalo is so deep at WR, especially, Marquez Stevenson, Isaiah Hodgins and Jake Kumerow already.

Davis is a guy who's logged seasons of 56% and 55% catch percentage. Which says the guy is forced to make contested catches. He's been in that 3rd receiver role, but now has more focus on him as their 2nd. At the end of last season (weeks 13, 14 16, and 17) when he got more than 80% of the snaps he recorded 1 game over 50 yards receiving. Then, against NYJ he was targeted 14 times and caught 3 passes. People putting a lot of faith in a guy after that division round game. Need to see a lot more than that to take pressure off Diggs and make this a good offense. That, and he'll need to stay healthy or it's an unproven type gonna get those snaps. Sal continuing to audition for a spot with the team media group.