BillsVet

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.

I'll put it this way. You build a new home that is originally going to cost you 300k. Building costs increase to the point that the builder comes back and says it'll now cost 400k before construction starts. You've obtained a mortgage for 300k and now gotta contribute more. Oh, and the car could use new tires and brakes, but they're passable for now. You gonna spend that money as easily on the car now that the mortgage went up unexpectedly?

Few NFL HC's have as much authority within their franchise as McD does in Buffalo. The idea he'd willingly cede that because of media/fan pressure is completely asinine, particularly with a team-compliant media. Fans shouting from the roof-tops won't move the needle much either. And then there's the pay thing. As far as we know, unless there's some sort of buyout provision in his contract, he's getting 4 years of salary (2024-2027) although a future position will defray that IIRC. I also doubt Pegula is going to eat ~25-30M and admit that contract extension, by virtue of firing McD, was a huge mistake. The Bills are stuck with McD. Sure it's bad for the franchise, but moving on from him is more of a money thing than fans realize. And with Terry ponying up on new stadium cost overruns, it's not to his benefit because people still come to the games, buy the merchandise, and he gets his cut of the revenue sharing, which is upwards of 370M per now. McD ain't quitting, nor would anyone with a brain do so with contract in hand. Maybe Terry makes the move, but there are other considerations to the decision.

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.

Same dude reported this 5 months ago: https://www.si.com/nfl/bills/news/buffalo-bills-receiver-stefon-diggs-trade-rumor-truth-inside-denver-broncos-benjamin-allbright

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.

Gannett doing what they do best: offer clickbait garbage.

I'm sure there were a lot of afternoon daily newspapers prematurely thrown in the trash by Maroons fans. What the heck was Warren Harding doing back then aside from covering up his affair?

I want the 1925 Pottsville Maroons to get credit for the NFL Championship they won and rightfully deserve recognition for!

23-20 Bills

Jauron also didn't have anything close to the financial support this group has. During the DJ years, by mid-season, they'd dress guys off the street because their depth was nil. People here talk about the need for mid-season acquisitions, but back then I remember names of UDFAs and street FA's who got playing time when 1 guy went down. Jauron's teams were so under-resourced that they used the draft to fill needs they couldn't afford to in UFA or because UFA's wouldn't come. Buffalo was NFL Siberia from around 2006 until maybe when TPegs bought the team. For as much as Belichick is despised, he was ahead of the curve when it came to becoming an offensive-focused team. NE missed the playoffs in 2005 after 3 SB wins in 4 seasons. Against Indy in the 2006 AFCCG, Brady had the likes of Reche Caldwell (RIP) at WR. The result was Belichick grabbed Moss and Welker the following season. Didn't guarantee a SB, but the game had shifted and would continue to. BB was ahead of the curve. I haven't seen McD adapt at anything more than a snail's pace since he took the job. Even with an, albeit flawed, franchise QB.

Sabres were horrible over all of those years. Bills have become perennial playoff participants. Maybe in a big market with a media asking questions a HC is fired who doesn't make the jump from playoffs to championship level. Not Buffalo. Media tip-toes around issues and doesn't demand accountability. There used to be media types who did, but they're either gone now or don't have the forum anymore. The local media does matter, but would agree if it elevated to the national level it could prompt the owner to act. I still don't see local media making a stink over the HC's off-season and in-game decisions. Besides, TPegs' MO has always been to give their coaches what they say they need...until they don't give them it anymore. In that way, he's somewhat mercurial like his predecessor. Thing everyone is missing here is that the Bills are making money. And, TPegs is on the hook for the remainder of the stadium costs. Eating salary is probably not on his list of things to do in the interest of being more competitive. This is a business after all.