finn

Bills fans are hard on McDermott, Davis, Bass, etc., because they live vicariously through the Bills and they hate feeling like the almost-winners or losers they feel like they (not the Bills, they) might be.

Ah, I wouldn't spend too much time fretting that the Bills are inferior. I don't they are. I won't be winning any arguments because results are the bottom line, but just watch. As long as the Bills don't become a "I'm a loser!" head case like the Super Bowl Bills against Washington and Dallas, they'll win their share of championships. When KC and Buffalo play, it's a coinflip who will win; that's been the case for years. The flip just happened to come up Buffalo in the regular season matches and KC in the playoffs. Just about all of those games could have gone either way. No, all else being equal (no small condition, I realize), we'll see a regression to the mean, and on two Lombardi trophies in Buffalo.

How come he never seems to get a HC offer? He's the DC I respect the most of the opponents the Bills regularly face. He just gets it, like blitzing on that key down late in the game last night to force the field goal try and get the ball back. McDermott might have blitzed, but he might also had played it safe with a soft zone, hoping no one breaks a tackle. Maybe I'm misinformed, but I favor an aggressive offense and an aggressive defense. McD has his moments, but overall he seems to favor ball control, field goals, and "complementary football."🙄

Gabe Davis will always be a bust in my book, if only for his egregious drop of what would have been one of the most clutch passes in NFL history. Waning minutes of the Jets game last year, Allen--with a hurt shoulder--throws the ball 63 yards in the air right into Davis' chest, perfectly in stride. And he drops it. I don't blame Beane for drafting Davis. But I do blame him for thinking Davis could be a WR2.

I'd say that's a wash. They're both busts. Speaking of which, is it a low blow to bring up Cody Ford, another bust Beane had too much faith in? Or Wyatt Teller, an all-pro Beane did NOT have faith in?

I'll see your Skye Moore and raise you Gabe Davis. He was just a fourth rounder, but Beane doubled down on him instead of replacing him when it was obvious he couldn't separate or, you know, catch.

I always compare him to Elam. The Bills evidently wanted McDuffie, but the Chiefs jumped ahead of them to grab him, leaving Beane to draft Elam. Chiefs got an All-Pro, Bills got a guy who can't tackle or play zone and doesn't even start. Put that together with us choosing Boogie Basham and leaving Creed Humphrey, another All-Pro, to the Chiefs, and you begin to understand why the Chiefs and not the Bills are playing in the Super Bowl today.

How would you put those two considerations together? Sounds like if Brady had Mahomes' situation, he would have done even better than he did, is that right?

Can you specify how he should work on that? Having a future HOF WR and a future HOF TE to throw to behind a line with an-Pro line and a future HOF coach calling his plays,? That kind of work? Yes, he should get right on it! Mahomes has clearly separated himself from Allen.

I don't have an answer for that one. I think Beane is as good as any GM in the game (despite his huge mistake re Gabe Davis). But McDermott is at best a neutral factor. I give him credit for helping to build the Bills, but he's holding them back at this point. He seems afraid to lose, in stark contrast to Allen's attitude, which is all about winning. Allen has the heart of a lion. McDermott has the heart of an accountant.

Agreed. It's like flipping a coin and deciding that three heads in a row is a sign from Satan, or shows that heads is better and will always win. The chest-beaters in KC will feel pretty foolish when Allen ends up with more SB victories than Mahomes.

Well, that status will assert itself anyway, right? If he's the best player on the best team, he'll very likely be a candidate for league MVP. There's no need to give him extra credit for being that person, or, worse, confining the award (in practice) to that person. No one else qualifies? Really?

Not sure I follow. Are you wondering if these are my words? But, no, for the record, I don't think the award should be the most valuable player on a single team. What's the sense of that? Lamar was not the most valuable player in the NFL this year, nor the most talented, nor the most accomplished.

Which puts the lie to the name of the award. It should be "The quarterback on the highest seeded team." That would also serve to highlight the idiocy of the award. The quality of Allen's (or anyone else's) play matters only insofar as it helps his team win the top seed. Stupid award, with its pretense that it recognizes the best player in the league.

I loved Kelly, but I don't think there's any question at all that Allen is a better quarterback in every respect. (I don't count hardware, never have.)

I wonder if McDermott thought Butler didn't do a good job developing Elam. It does seem odd that such a physically talented player couldn't learn to play zone and tackle after two years of professional coaching--and an urgent need for him to contribute.

I need to some time to process this sentence.

Don't forget Dugger from the Patriots. He'd be expensive, and he's a strong safety, which they have in Poyer, but he's a terrific player. From what I remember, McDermott wanted to draft him.

I might watch the highlights, but no way I'm sitting through five hours of Mahomes glazing.

To be fair, Mel Kiper thought he was terrific. He was mocked by his colleagues for that stance, and they've never forgiven him for being right.

That's not saying much. Count me in both camps. I wonder if McDermott realizes he's just not in the front ranks of coaches. Pegula has to decide if it matter or not that he is. In short, is Allen good enough to overcome a middling head coach?

Maybe a thought experiment would help convey my point: If Mahomes--the exact Mahomes who is revered today--were put on the worst team in the NFL and the team, not surprisingly, never made the playoffs, would he still be a HOF player? No way. But it's the same player! Football is a team sport, right? If the Bills had a better kicker, he might be playing Sunday instead of Mahomes. But he, too, would be the same player. So, no, Mahomes is not unquestionably better. He is arguably better. He is unquestionably on a better team.

Along with how many drops, fumbles, and disinterested play when he's not getting the ball? To think he's due almost $28 million next year, same as Von Miller. Yikes.

Get this man a team, Beane!

Don't see how he can complain he isn't getting targets, or that he makes the most of them. Neither are true, nor is the story that Dorsey went to him far more than Brady. The fact is, he dropped passes, fumbled, didn't appear to get open as often in the past despite single coverage, and overall did not perform like a WR1, especially a superstar one. Players do hit the wall. I remember when Lofton was suddenly not effective, and even Moulds and Reed fell off.