finn

He's small, slow, and a lousy tackler. But he understands McDermott's defense!

Would you take a loss today if it meant Brady being fired for a true NFL coordinator?

Safety or turnover coming up? Pick your poison.

Not their year. Too many problems: linebackers, pass rush, receivers, Allen having an off year... But I think the root problem is not personnel but coaching, the one thing that's not going to change, since McDermott seems to prefer coordinators who don't threaten him. So even if he fires Brady and Babich (he'll need at least one fall guy), the problems will continue, since McDermott is going to haunt us for the rest of the Allen era.

It's like a little assistant coach playing LB.

Yep.

Turning into a shootout.

We're just all channeling our angst. If the Bills do well, our mammas love us, if not, they don't.

With Brady calling plays, it's the only way to score.

Because Tre White is bad at man, and McDermott wants him in. Yes, stupid.

It is, but Joe can't read too good.

I'll take Dorian Williams and Joe Andreesen at this point. Bernard and Milano are liabilities out there.

Bernard and Milano. Just wow.

Wow, have this team looked good in any game this year, aside from the Jets? Wouldn't it be ironic if this is the year they go all the way? I can see it happening if they lose today because of the offense, McDermott fires Brady, and he hires someone competent. But not otherwise.

Not any more, I don't think.

I'm reading it as the players are doing the best they can with a high school coordinator.

This has to be the most predictable offense of our lifetimes.

Does he need to?

You said it better than I did. I work with young males--"men" isn't the right word--who are terrific, but many of them could not handle the pressure Coleman has been under. My guess is that he resented an early punishment just when things weren't going well on the field; maybe he didn't think he was getting the throws he likes or hates his position coach or whatever. A little pushback from teammates, and he spirals into bitterness and isolation. Hard to recover emotionally from this, for anyone. He'll likely need a change of scenery to have any kind of career.

"A man who would make a pun would pick a pocket." But I admit I laughed.

Just speculating, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's also getting a clear message from his teammates that his behavior is unacceptable. At some point, he had to make a choice: change his attitude or double down on it. Sounds like he decided to show them! Won't they be sorry! Incidentally, George Pickens evidently is also an immature, lazy fool of a human being, too, only he has six times the talent of Coleman. If Beane is ok with drafting emotional adolescents, I wish he had gambled on Pickens instead of Coleman. But my guess is that he didn't spot the brat within.

But why does he lose out to Samuel? Of course, it's a tossup in terms of production, with 13 catches between them on the season. But to my eyes Moore has flashed and Samuel has been invisible. At this point I'm asking which is more likely, that Moore, Samuel, and Coleman are all busts--or Brady has no clue how to use them? Keep in mind Palmer has just 14 catches and Cook 18. It may be a productive offense on paper, but it's not hard to figure out that if you stop the running game you stop the Bills. I keep thinking what this same roster would do with a Shanahan or McDaniels or Ben Johnson in charge. For all the heat he gets, McDermott does a lot of things right as head coach, but one big--maybe fatal in terms of Super Bowl chances--weakness is his penchant for mediocre coordinators. A high price to pay for control, Sean.

You may be on to something. Like many quarterbacks, Allen might need to get in a rhythm, another reason he's not suited to be the game manager Brady wants him to be. For all the benefits of a balanced offense (no team runs more that the Bills), one potential downside is that the quarterback never gets into that rhythm. That seemed to be a key problem in the losses this season. Brady runs the ball a lot, then when it's stopped, he expects a relatively cold Allen to work his magic.

Your observation captures what I see as wrong with Brady's offense. Rather than scheme his receivers open, he relies on blockers to spring them free, hence the incessant wide receiver screens and stop routes. One might say his options are limited by the abilities of his players, but as others have pointed out, at least two of the new additions, Moore and Samuel, have had far more success elsewhere. You could arguably add Coleman to that list: maybe he's not a bust but a talented player who is being misused. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Bills receivers have started grumbling behind the scenes. I'll put my point in question form: Have we seen any innovations from Brady in the passing game during his tenure as offensive coordinator? Any surprises, wow moments, or even play calls that run against his tendencies? I'm not talking about cute plays my niece could devise, like throwing to Allen or handing off to Knox. I'm talking about pass-play calling that goes beyond generic and head-slappingly predictable. For example, how about play action on fourth and short instead of always a tush-push? Or an occasional fade or high jump ball to Coleman instead of constant diet of back-shoulder sideline throws? Or Cook on a go route (or any other route on third down, when Brady takes him, one of the most talented players in the NFL, off the field)? Or trying different concepts now and then, like flooding a zone or the no-huddle for an entire series? I've been as critical as anyone about the lack of receiver talent on this team, but I'm starting to wonder if we simply have in Brady a coordinator who is over his head, much like Babich. I admit I'm speaking above my expertise (not hard to do), so If I'm being unfair or just plain wrong, please feel free to correct me.

I do remember he was endorsing Dorsey until the end. I almost wish the Bills would lose the next two games just so Brady is let go. The signs are accumulating that he is at best limited and predictable as a coordinator, not what you want for a team with Super Bowl aspirations. In a way, the worst-case scenario is that the Bills win just enough, say two of every three of the remaining games, to give McDermott pause, and by then it will be too late, at least for this season.