BillsVet

2013 Seahawks are the last team with a defense-first HC who won a SB. Cue the poster calling Belichick a defensive HC to counter the point.

And here I thought, in true TBD fashion, someone was openly worried the 3rd string QB was going to sit out the season. Because somewhere someone is considering that Matt Barkley might retire. And then what?

This whole thread can be answered using Occam's razor. Having a DL rotation ostensibly to keep players fresh isn't the primary reason for continuing to invest there. It's primarily to support the HC's vision and scheme for defense which he's based off of working for Jim Johnson years ago. Not saying he's duplicating the scheme exactly because the game's changed, but that's his foundation. As an aside, from 2020-2022 Buffalo was 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in total defensive spending. They're 2nd right now for 2023 and spending, devoting about 18-19% of their cap to Edge/DLinemen, and about 13M more than last season. I don't think they'll keep all 11 of their DL/edge under contract, so that number will decrease. And at the same time, every time they invest a little more in the defense one has to consider how that hinders the ability to support Josh with more OL or skill talent help.

Blame Canada!

I have never quite understood the thought process on how Oliver is used. It would make sense to me if he's hurt why the snap count is what it is despite being a top-10 pick. I'm not buying that it's completely driven by that. I suspect it's also in part a result of McD's DL rotational mindset. And if that's the case, spending top picks on DT's who will be used this way seems mis-aligned. I'd expect the better DL to be on the field if they're relatively healthy, which down the stretch is harder. 37 snaps per game and 54-60% over a season on contract terms he signed for seems like a mis-use of resources.

We're talking strategic and not tactical decision making, i.e. individual personnel moves. Former 7th round picks moving around in the secondary aren't strategic moves that will improve the W-L record much.

I'm coming around now on the learning curve thing not being as quick with certain NFL HC's and GM's. Not going to be as quick sometimes as others, that mistakes get made, and taking a step back happens. Still can't afford a playoff exit like the last 2 seasons.

KC makes substantial changes in an off-season when something hasn't worked. In addition to those 2 safeties leaving in one shot, within the past few off-seasons they (1) re-did 3/5ths of their OL in one off-season, (2) moved on from Hill's contract and replaced with a couple lower-cost options, and before that (3) traded Dee Ford to replace him with Frank Clark when the pass rush was not up to par. These aren't knee-jerk reactions either, but proactive moves toward continuous improvement. And these changes have largely worked because they anticipated better where the roster needed to be, not where it was. For example, I doubt Reid and Veach would have hesitated at all with letting Edmunds walk or continued over-looking the WR position if Davis was their WR2. I have my doubts about whether McBeane, but mostly McD will ever be a good steward of Josh's talents. Drafting Kincaid is a step in the right direction though. Going to be interesting how they replace the 2 aging safeties...because more high picks shouldn't always be the default answer like it's been at CB.

It looks like he is getting into shape...to challenge for a Sumo championship.

Makes me laugh reading this thread making excuses for the, ahem, "expanding" Dawkins. Years ago, hand-wringing Bills fans ripped Jason Peters for showing up to camp out of football shape after a contentious holdout. Now, a guy like Dawkins who is protecting Allen's blind side shows up doing his imitation of the Stay-Puft Marsmallow Man and it's no big deal. After all, he's under contract and available for OTA's. Makes me wonder what the reaction will be when he gives up a big hit on JA because those extra 25 pounds inhibited his mobility to mirror rushers.

Ross obviously didn't include clapping frequency, number of post-game platitudes stated, or how to fire your DC without actually saying so into these rankings. If those criteria are included, McD easily moves up to 20, if not 18.

Dion looks like he needs a couple more tattoos. Those are gonna look great as he continues to "fill out" and age.

No one in this thread really wants to say it: McD didn't have the stones to fire his 6 year tenured DC because it would reflect poorly on him. As much as Frazier underperformed in the playoffs, McD had a big say in the personnel he had to work with. If the defensive talent was solid, we'll see this season if that's the case.

Nice try putting words in my mouth. And I sure as heck ain't "PO'ed." I told a joke the other day here and that should be evidence I'm not. I've always wanted this franchise to pursue excellence, i.e. a SB win. For a lot of people here, it's so scary of a concept they reset what the standard is (regular season W-L record) when Buffalo stumbles and bumbles out of the post-season. Which means now I'm supposed to acquiesce to 37-12 being this incredible achievement that should silence all criticism? Spare me. As for Beane and his boss McD, yeah, they're trying to win and I believe that. Doesn't mean they're above reproach and can't be questioned. This last playoff loss brought with it a lot of questions...like the GM referencing Cincinnati's luck cuz they had another top-5 pick to get Jamar Chase. That's weak sauce man. Stand up and draw the fire to motivate you to get it right. And maybe they have on offense picking Kincaid. Enjoy the ride dude and expect excellence. I promise it won't hurt! BTW, how about that Nick Broeker pick?

It sounds like you're not having fun and I'm sorry to hear that. Smile and have a great day FinC!

It was a joke John. I'm sorry you didn't get it. Someone told me to have fun, so I'm doing it.

Most people don't realize that Buffalo has in some ways run the ball better each year since 2020. From averaging 4.2 yards per carry in 2020 to 4.8 in 2021 to 5.2 in 2022. Attempts and the ratio of run to pass is similar as well. I used averages given that Buffalo had 16 and 30 teams had 17. At the same time, the passing game has declined since 2020: from 3rd in passing yards, 4th in yards/attempt, and 3rd in yards/game, with a similar number of attempts each year to 8th, 7th, and 7th for the same categories respectively in 2022. This is high level and I'm not solely citing the run game for why the passing game regressed. Lots of other factors involved. Looking at KC and CIN neither are as adept in the ground game and rank well down of Buffalo Why? Because the passing game makes up for a less than average running game. You don't need offensive balance to be a high-performing offense anymore. Doesn't mean to completely ignore the run game either, but putting big resources into the run game isn't as value added as people want to believe.

Can you imagine McD and Beane getting up in front of the assembled leadership last Thursday night at OBD reminding everyone how they were 37-12 since 2020 and that's doggone good enough? Probably wouldn't do much espirit de corps. It's not illegal to be satisfied with losing in the divisional round...but it's also shooting real low when the objective is there to be reached.

Their approach to running backs is to keep adding more and then either use them sparingly or not use much at all. Hines had 11 touches in 9 games (EDIT: from scrimmage) and Cook 111 (Edit: touches) all year as a RD2 pick. At some point, the investment has to align with use or it's a waste. Then, their OL is a grab bag. Some are power types like Bates, Torrance, and Brown who look good as run blockers but aren't as adept in pass pro. But they also feature a presumed starting LG in McGovern and C in Morse who are known more for their pass blocking. That ain't an aligned offense...which is why I think they're trying to feature different looks, but NFL offenses can't be both a power run team AND a downfield passing one. Hard to scheme an offense that is all over the map with personnel. Do one thing with superior talent and some audacity...no need to get cute.

At a higher level, something is amiss at OBD in how they view building an offense. From identification of their scheme, using UFA and the draft to acquire/fit personnel to it, then finally game-planning and in-game adjustments. It shouldn't take having a hand-shake deal with a veteran RB to recognize value in a specific draft as they did with this pick of Broeker. It's been 6 complete off-season with this HC and GM to learn and grow in personnel decisions. Some of it just ain't changing much...even with having a franchise QB. I suspect they think the best way to help Josh is taking the ball out of his hands and having depth because the position gets banged up so much. I still don't understand why.

4 out 5 picks from the South...now I'm getting a Buddy Nix feel to this draft. Did they bring him in as a special consultant for Rounds 2-7?

I'm confident the OC and OL coach were involved with the pick, though it comes off as a, "you can make this guy work, right?" type thing. Not saying offensive assistants should have complete say, only that the decision makers should recognize what the offensive vision is and base personnel acquisition around that. There's advantages and disadvantages with having a defensive-centric HC paired with an admin GM who is evolving. The Kincaid pick is a statement about being better in the downfield passing game, but Torrance moves in the opposite direction. I still don't know what their offensive identity is after this draft. Are they trying to feature a power run option and simultaneously a vertical passing team? I'm not sure that's possible. Might end up being neither.

Dorsey's on the hot seat...but McDermott's isn't exactly cold either. Probably not a good indicator if Dorsey has a bad season because McD hired him with likely input from others. And, having just fired Frazier, he can't afford to have Dorsey struggle in year 2. All of that is in the future, but glad to see that they're focused on improving the offense and thus supporting Josh.

Does this mean that you don't expect Marshawn to drive into someone on Chippewa then? That was a busy June 2008.

This is a great idea. A prayer for your Dad and wish him a speedy recovery.