The GAME when you knew the Bills HC wasn't the guy!

[PUNT750]

We've been through so many HC's in recent history it's hard to single out ONE GAME when you realized this man wasn't going to get the Bills to the Play-Offs or even a winning record.  I know coaches get fired based on a "body of work" but sometimes a single game stands out. 

 

In 2016 Rex Ryan was just in his 2nd season as HC.  He was coming off an OK 8-8 record the previous year.  On October 23rd 2017 we went in to play Miami with a 4-2 record.  Miami was 2-4 and struggling.  It seemed very possible we could win 5 of our last 10 games and fight for a play-off spot.   OUCH!

 

For the 1st time I realized how bad this team was coached.  Miami rushed for 256 yards and controlled the ball for 37 minutes.  Tyrod had a "good" passing day throwing for 221 yards. 

 

We weren't competitive.  Blocking, tackling, preparation and execution.  Rex had to go and we knew it!

 

Any other games like this you remember???

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 minute ago, PUNT750 said:

We've been through so many HC's in recent history it's hard to single out ONE GAME when you realized this man wasn't going to get the Bills to the Play-Offs or even a winning record.  I know coaches get fired based on a "body of work" but sometimes a single game stands out. 

 

In 2016 Rex Ryan was just in his 2nd season as HC.  He was coming off an OK 8-8 record the previous year.  On October 23rd 2017 we went in to play Miami with a 4-2 record.  Miami was 2-4 and struggling.  It seemed very possible we could win 5 of our last 10 games and fight for a play-off spot.   OUCH!

 

For the 1st time I realized how bad this team was coached.  Miami rushed for 256 yards and controlled the ball for 37 minutes.  Tyrod had a "good" passing day throwing for 221 yards. 

 

We weren't competitive.  Blocking, tackling, preparation and execution.  Rex had to go and we knew it!

 

Any other games like this you remember???

 

Sunday, Game 2 of the 2015 season.  Patriots at Bills.  We had easily won our previous game vs Colts, who were thought pre-season to be contenders.

Hopes were high.  Rex was in full braggadocio mode.

 

We were a wet stinkin' mess.  A hot pile.  37-13 Pats until the 4th quarter.  Gave up 507 yds to the Pats.  Had 14 penalties for 140 yds, many of which were stupid out-of-control hothead shots. 

 

That was the game where I changed from "Hopeful" to "Hapless"

[Steve Billieve]

This probably shouldn't count, but Anthony Lynn's game was so bad that I have an exact moment that I knew he wasn't going to remain at head coach.  When we didn't even bother to pick up a kick off. 

[GunnerBill]

For me with Chan it was week 1 of 2012. We had the hot start in 2011 and then in fairness were decimated by injuries. In 2012 with Mario added and most of the offense returning I really thought the team was ready to make a run at least. They got physically bashed by the Jets week 1 and I admitted I was wrong to be adamant that Chan came back in 2012. He was a nice guy but not a good enough HC. The rest of the year from there felt like a slow death. 

 

With Rex it was the London game against the Jags in year 1. Despite everything we had the lead with just over 2 minutes to go and Bortles starting in the shadow of his own posts inside his own 10. Yet the defensive mastermind spent the whole drive dropping Mario to cover the tight end instead of rushing the passer and the Jags marched down and scored. I'd have fired him on the spot. It was over for me with him from that point. 

 

 

[LSHMEAB]

8 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Sunday, Game 2 of the 2015 season.  Patriots at Bills.  We had easily won our previous game vs Colts, who were thought pre-season to be contenders.

Hopes were high.  Rex was in full braggadocio mode.

 

We were a wet stinkin' mess.  A hot pile.  37-13 Pats until the 4th quarter.  Gave up 507 yds to the Pats.  Had 14 penalties for 140 yds, many of which were stupid out-of-control hothead shots. 

 

That was the game where I changed from "Hopeful" to "Hapless"

Interesting. I had a different game in very close proximity to that game in the same season. We went down and smoked Miami following that loss to NE. 2-1 and I was feeling kind of upbeat.

 

When we laid an egg AT HOME against a very beatable Giants team, I really felt like Rex was gonna be nothing more than a 500 coach.

 

I'm not giving up on McDermott, but that home loss to the Saints was a gut punch. Yes, Tyrod was bad, but the way the Saints ran the ball had me questioning if McD had lost the team. He's done enough to garner some hope, but those kind of blowouts need to stop.

Edited January 20, 2019 by LSHMEAB

[whatdrought]

This thread is a joyful expierience.

[Freddie's Dead]

Bills v. Cheats at the Razor, 9/10/2006. Up 17-7 early in the 3rd quarter, Dicky J uncharacteristically decided to go for it on 4th and 1 from the NE 7 yard line instead of taking the purnts with a FG.  He gave the ball to the clueless Willis McGahee, who put up little effort for no gain.  Cheats go on to score 12 unanswered to win 19-17.  After the game, McGahee was quoted in an interview, "That was 4th down?" (McGahee made Leodis "My Man" look like a Rhodes scholar).  Unfortunately, it took the Bills braintrust three more years to finger out that Dicky J wasn't the guy.  I knew.  I knew on 9/10/2006.

[Turk71]

19 minutes ago, Steve Billieve said:

This probably shouldn't count, but Anthony Lynn's game was so bad that I have an exact moment that I knew he wasn't going to remain at head coach.  When we didn't even bother to pick up a kick off. 

I fully agree, I actually fell out of my chair laughing at that play. As a Bills fan,  a sense of humor can be really helpful at times.

[1st Ammendment NoMas]

Any Bills game vs the Patriots with any coach since the turn of the century.

 

[DBilz2500]

Marrone-we were 5-3 coming off a 3 game win streak and we faced the Chiefs at home. We led most of the way and a fumble by Bryce Brown as he’s heading into the end zone and a stupid Leodis punt return fumble gave KC life and the chance to steal the game. We DEF make the playoffs that year especially with that top ranked D that we had.  

[snafu]

24 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

For me with Chan it was week 1 of 2012. We had the hot start in 2011 and then in fairness were decimated by injuries. In 2012 with Mario added and most of the offense returning I really thought the team was ready to make a run at least. They got physically bashed by the Jets week 1 and I admitted I was wrong to be adamant that Chan came back in 2012. He was a nice guy but not a good enough HC. The rest of the year from there felt like a slow death. 

 

With Rex it was the London game against the Jags in year 1. Despite everything we had the lead with just over 2 minutes to go and Bortles starting in the shadow of his own posts inside his own 10. Yet the defensive mastermind spent the whole drive dropping Mario to cover the tight end instead of rushing the passer and the Jags marched down and scored. I'd have fired him on the spot. It was over for me with him from that point. 

 

 

 

That Chan game still pisses me off. Totally unprepared to start the season (the first two games this year made me feel the same way, I admit — though I still have hopes for McDermott).

[Fr. Jerk]

39 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Sunday, Game 2 of the 2015 season.  Patriots at Bills.  We had easily won our previous game vs Colts, who were thought pre-season to be contenders.

 

That first game against the Colts sticks out as well as that was Rex Ryan's peak in Buffalo. It all went downhill from the point on. 

[CommonCents]

46 minutes ago, Steve Billieve said:

This probably shouldn't count, but Anthony Lynn's game was so bad that I have an exact moment that I knew he wasn't going to remain at head coach.  When we didn't even bother to pick up a kick off. 

Anthony Lynn wore a hoodie last week at NE, he was captured by a mic while looking across the field and basically saying oh ***** BB is wearing a jacket and not a hoodie.  How sad, I think that was his game plan for the week. 

[The Wiz]

I won't point out a game but I will say that the second I heard that they hired Rex Ryan I knew they were f'd. 

[BADOLBILZ]

 

The punt that started it all........"The Original Preposterous Punt"

 

November 3, 2002

 

Trailing 17-7 and being thoroughly dominated in the third quarter at home against the Patriots.......Greggo Williams punts from the Pats 32 on 4th down and 2.

 

You read that right.........from the 32.......on 4th and 2.

 

The Pats promptly marched the length of the field against Greggo's beleaguered defense and scored another TD on their way to a 38-7 win..........really the first real thrashing of the Pats pending domination of the Bills...........and the sure sign that Gregg Williams did not have what it takes to win.

 

Prior to this ridiculousness it was really pretty common to see hyper conservative decisions "similar" to this......in fact the crowd at the Ralph was hardly phased by it at the moment...........but this one crossed a line.

 

After that absurdity Gregg Easterbrook started tracking preposterous punts............and the punt shaming has really helped push the game forward in my opinion.

 

 

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, PUNT750 said:

We've been through so many HC's in recent history it's hard to single out ONE GAME when you realized this man wasn't going to get the Bills to the Play-Offs or even a winning record.  I know coaches get fired based on a "body of work" but sometimes a single game stands out. 

 

In 2016 Rex Ryan was just in his 2nd season as HC.  He was coming off an OK 8-8 record the previous year.  On October 23rd 2017 we went in to play Miami with a 4-2 record.  Miami was 2-4 and struggling.  It seemed very possible we could win 5 of our last 10 games and fight for a play-off spot.   OUCH!

 

For the 1st time I realized how bad this team was coached.  Miami rushed for 256 yards and controlled the ball for 37 minutes.  Tyrod had a "good" passing day throwing for 221 yards. 

 

We weren't competitive.  Blocking, tackling, preparation and execution.  Rex had to go and we knew it!

 

Any other games like this you remember???

I knew before a game was played that the Bills were going to fail when Rex Ryan was hired. This was a ridiculous hire bordering on weird. The Pegulas paid over a billion $$$ for their new business and endeavor. Instead of talking to a number of people in the business they allowed a huckster coach with a good interview act and a marketing staffer to influence him in hiring this fool. This loud and brash talking coach with the circus-like act performed to his level of competence. This staffing foolishness set this franchise back by a couple of years. 

[Nihilarian]

For me, it usually never went as far as an actual game. I could see the stupidity in offseason moves and preseason play to realize that this was a bad hire to begin with. The QB situations, the offensive lines it showed season after season. 

 

Gregg Williams in his second year had acquired QB Drew Bledsoe from a trade with the Patriots... who everyone in the world knew by this time that Drew needed supreme protection to win games. After a sack or two and Bledsoe was seeing/hearing phantom rushers and he could never get into a rhythm after that.  New GM/team Tom Donahoe president screwed the pooch in the 2012 draft and drafted the wrong LT in Mike Williams at the #4 spot as he didn't even make a decent RT. Two spots later the Vikes draft McKinnie who is an all pro at LT.

 

The Bills even had Kevin Gilbride as OC at that time. A man who would later go on to be the OC for the SB winning NY Giants. The thing is Donahoe must have known he needed a better line and attempted to up grade it with a new LT. When that failed he gave up on building a better line. Instead Bledsoe was instructed to get the ball out quicker. Sure, ask the QB who has been in the league 10 years, and had taken a team to the SB to change his play style. 

 

These defensive minded head coaches wanting to draft and build a defense first... somehow they forget to fully build the offense. Gregg Williams, Dick Jauron, Rex Ryan. Then the offensive minded head coaches in Mike Mularkey, Chan Gailey, Doug Marrone and even those guys didn't think to build better offensive lines to protect the QBs they had.

 

Now this past year the franchise finally drafts a QB in the top 10 for the first time in their storied 50+ year history and put that rookie behind one of the very worst offensive lines in the history of the Buffalo Bills. 

 

If this regime fails to build a top quality offensive line to protect that young QB and build a better ground game, then this regime will also fail just like all the rest of them. Most Bills fans saw the writing on the wall before the 2018 season started and knew it would be a down year when the FO didn't properly replace Woods, Incognito. 

 

The 64-65 AFL Championship years this franchise had one of the best offensive lines in the league. Same with those late 80s, early 90's Jim Kelly years as they had one of the best O lines year after year. All pro, pro bowl players at C, OG, LT. Those years the Bills defense was very good and the offense was even better. 

 

 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

McDermott starting Peterman against the Chargers on the road to keep the media from asking him how his defense gave up over 200 yards rushing at home to the Saints

[dezertbill]

Every game in Dick Jauron’s Tenure 

[reddogblitz]

I remember it very well.

 

November 17, 2008 - The year we started 5-2.  We still had a chance for playoffs.  Monday Night at The Ralph. Brady Quinn's first start for the Clowns. Trent throws 3 picks in his first 4 possesions.  Bill battle back.  

 

clowns kick FG to go up 29-27 with 1:44 left. Fred returns KO to Bills 44. Trent completes 22 yard pass to Robert Royal putting us on Clowns 34 with 1:03 left. Dick camps out there.3 straight.Beast up the middle runs for a total of 5 yards. Then Lindell misses 47 yarder wide right.

 

I jumped off the Dick bandwagon that night ?.

[Augie]

3 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Sunday, Game 2 of the 2015 season.  Patriots at Bills.  We had easily won our previous game vs Colts, who were thought pre-season to be contenders.

Hopes were high.  Rex was in full braggadocio mode.

 

We were a wet stinkin' mess.  A hot pile.  37-13 Pats until the 4th quarter.  Gave up 507 yds to the Pats.  Had 14 penalties for 140 yds, many of which were stupid out-of-control hothead shots. 

 

That was the game where I changed from "Hopeful" to "Hapless"

 

I pray that, after this year....you can go back to HOPEFUL! 

[Big Turk]

Dick Jaurons first game.

[HomeskillitMoorman]

When McDermott basically tried to play for a tie against the Colts last season in the snow game, and punted on 4th and 1 from the Colts 40 in OT, and then essentially admitted after the game that he didn't know the implications of what a tie would've done to their playoff chances. 

[Nextmanup]

December 10, 2017.

 

Week 14, Colts at Bills in the crazy snow game.

 

McDermott's decision to punt from the Colts' 41 yard line in OT, in a game where a tie was the equivalent of a loss in a tight playoff race--and McDermott didn't know it.

 

The decision to punt on 4th and 1, based on the available data, was straight up wrong.  On top of that, McDermott burned a timeout before the punt to think about it a little, in a situation where the TO was valuable. 

 

But worst of all, the punt meant that the most likely outcome of the game was a tie.  When pressed on the issue the next day, McDermott said "I was thinking a win is better than a tie, and a tie is better than a loss".  He was clearly thinking about a tie when the punt was made and clearly thinking that was OK, if not the best outcome. 

That was not OK, as we had to play NE in Week 16, and the only intelligent approach was to assume we lose that game.  We did lose that game as it turned out, 37-16.  

Had we tied the Colts game, we would have ended up 8-7-1 at best (assuming the loss to NE) and that was not going to get us into the playoffs.  That has to be your thinking as HC of the Bills in that moment.  A tie had to be viewed as an unacceptable outcome.  It's actually a very easy decision to go for it on 4th and 1 in that situation.  Yet McDermott punted. 

 

Of course, we did win the Colts game as it turned out and in fact made the playoffs!  Sometimes it really is better to be lucky than good.  Neither of those outcomes changes how bad McDermott's thinking was in the game, however.

 

The game showed me who McDermott is--an extremely conservative, traditional football guy, who is never going to outsmart Bill B. or any of the smartest coaches in the league. 

 

The premise of this thread was to reference games where we knew the coach would never get us to the playoffs or possibly even a winning record.  That is obviously not my point here.  My point is the Snow Game showed me the caliber of McDermott's thinking and that it's not what I'd like it to be.  We can do better. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 20, 2019 by Nextmanup

[loyal2dagame]

January 2, 2004. 

Mike Mularkey couldn't coach this team to beat the Steelers 2nd and 3rd stringers to get into the playoffs.

that was a wrap for him with me........

[BobbyC81]

7 hours ago, Steve Billieve said:

This probably shouldn't count, but Anthony Lynn's game was so bad that I have an exact moment that I knew he wasn't going to remain at head coach.  When we didn't even bother to pick up a kick off. 

 

And now you don’t have to do anything if the ball goes into the end zone.  Did Lynn recommend that rule change?

[BillsFan1988]

6 hours ago, The Wiz said:

I won't point out a game but I will say that the second I heard that they hired Rex Ryan I knew they were f'd. 

This is pretty much how i felt after every head coach we've hired over last 20yrs. Lol. C'mon now who thought Dickie J or Chan was gonna do anything? The Dickie J hire had me sick .

[Doc Brown]

7 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

The punt that started it all........"The Original Preposterous Punt"

 

November 3, 2002

 

Trailing 17-7 and being thoroughly dominated in the third quarter at home against the Patriots.......Greggo Williams punts from the Pats 32 on 4th down and 2.

 

You read that right.........from the 32.......on 4th and 2.

 

The Pats promptly marched the length of the field against Greggo's beleaguered defense and scored another TD on their way to a 38-7 win..........really the first real thrashing of the Pats pending domination of the Bills...........and the sure sign that Gregg Williams did not have what it takes to win.

 

Prior to this ridiculousness it was really pretty common to see hyper conservative decisions "similar" to this......in fact the crowd at the Ralph was hardly phased by it at the moment...........but this one crossed a line.

 

After that absurdity Gregg Easterbrook started tracking preposterous punts............and the punt shaming has really helped push the game forward in my opinion.

 

 

I was going to post this moment and there was booing in the crowd.  I remember ensuring everybody in my section that it was going to be a fake punt.  Of course they punt it and it's a touchback.  Just horrible coaching and one reason I hoped the Browns would make Williams their HC as we play them next year.

1 hour ago, loyal2dagame said:

January 2, 2004. 

Mike Mularkey couldn't coach this team to beat the Steelers 2nd and 3rd stringers to get into the playoffs.

that was a wrap for him with me........

In fairness, the 2nd stringers that burned us were Willie Parker and James Harrison.

[Chandler#81]

Harvey Johnson’s 1st game. BOTH TIMES!!! Hank Bulloughs 1st game. Rex vs Pats* 1st game with national sound meters for possible decibel level record.

[loyal2dagame]

1 hour ago, Doc Brown said:

In fairness, the 2nd stringers that burned us were Willie Parker and James Harrison.

 

can anyone name the 3rd stringers?

i sure as hell can't.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

9 hours ago, LSHMEAB said:

 

 

When we laid an egg AT HOME against a very beatable Giants team, I really felt like Rex was gonna be nothing more than a 500 coach.

 

 

 

That was the game where I learned that Tuhrod was trash at the qb position. Couldn't make the 50 yard line.

[CSBill]

6 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

December 10, 2017.

 

Week 14, Colts at Bills in the crazy snow game.

 

McDermott's decision to punt from the Colts' 41 yard line in OT, in a game where a tie was the equivalent of a loss in a tight playoff race--and McDermott didn't know it.

 

The decision to punt on 4th and 1, based on the available data, was straight up wrong.  On top of that, McDermott burned a timeout before the punt to think about it a little, in a situation where the TO was valuable. 

 

But worst of all, the punt meant that the most likely outcome of the game was a tie.  When pressed on the issue the next day, McDermott said "I was thinking a win is better than a tie, and a tie is better than a loss".  He was clearly thinking about a tie when the punt was made and clearly thinking that was OK, if not the best outcome. 

That was not OK, as we had to play NE in Week 16, and the only intelligent approach was to assume we lose that game.  We did lose that game as it turned out, 37-16.  

Had we tied the Colts game, we would have ended up 8-7-1 at best (assuming the loss to NE) and that was not going to get us into the playoffs.  That has to be your thinking as HC of the Bills in that moment.  A tie had to be viewed as an unacceptable outcome.  It's actually a very easy decision to go for it on 4th and 1 in that situation.  Yet McDermott punted. 

 

Of course, we did win the Colts game as it turned out and in fact made the playoffs!  Sometimes it really is better to be lucky than good.  Neither of those outcomes changes how bad McDermott's thinking was in the game, however.

 

The game showed me who McDermott is--an extremely conservative, traditional football guy, who is never going to outsmart Bill B. or any of the smartest coaches in the league. 

 

The premise of this thread was to reference games where we knew the coach would never get us to the playoffs or possibly even a winning record.  That is obviously not my point here.  My point is the Snow Game showed me the caliber of McDermott's thinking and that it's not what I'd like it to be.  We can do better.

4

4

 

You don't get it, Bummer . . . Make it easy on yourself and go be a Chief fan for the next few years. I'm sure you'll love Andy Reid.

 

But, my answer is pretty much just as thoughtless, "any game Rex Ryan coached." And it really got ridiculous when he brought his brother in the second season to fix the top 3 defense Rex had inherited. What is worse than 1 Ryan coaching your defense, 2 Ryan's coaching it. Just awful!!!

Edited January 20, 2019 by CSBill

[eball]

6 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

December 10, 2017.

 

Week 14, Colts at Bills in the crazy snow game.

 

McDermott's decision to punt from the Colts' 41 yard line in OT, in a game where a tie was the equivalent of a loss in a tight playoff race--and McDermott didn't know it.

 

The decision to punt on 4th and 1, based on the available data, was straight up wrong.  On top of that, McDermott burned a timeout before the punt to think about it a little, in a situation where the TO was valuable. 

 

But worst of all, the punt meant that the most likely outcome of the game was a tie.  When pressed on the issue the next day, McDermott said "I was thinking a win is better than a tie, and a tie is better than a loss".  He was clearly thinking about a tie when the punt was made and clearly thinking that was OK, if not the best outcome. 

That was not OK, as we had to play NE in Week 16, and the only intelligent approach was to assume we lose that game.  We did lose that game as it turned out, 37-16.  

Had we tied the Colts game, we would have ended up 8-7-1 at best (assuming the loss to NE) and that was not going to get us into the playoffs.  That has to be your thinking as HC of the Bills in that moment.  A tie had to be viewed as an unacceptable outcome.  It's actually a very easy decision to go for it on 4th and 1 in that situation.  Yet McDermott punted. 

 

Of course, we did win the Colts game as it turned out and in fact made the playoffs!  Sometimes it really is better to be lucky than good.  Neither of those outcomes changes how bad McDermott's thinking was in the game, however.

 

The game showed me who McDermott is--an extremely conservative, traditional football guy, who is never going to outsmart Bill B. or any of the smartest coaches in the league. 

 

The premise of this thread was to reference games where we knew the coach would never get us to the playoffs or possibly even a winning record.  That is obviously not my point here.  My point is the Snow Game showed me the caliber of McDermott's thinking and that it's not what I'd like it to be.  We can do better. 

 

 

 

I get what you're saying -- I really do.  I was just as dumbfounded when it happened as you were.  I don't think McD was playing for the tie, however.  I think he made a decision based upon the fact he had a 3rd string QB on the field and believed his D could hold the Colts to a 3-and-out.  If they don't make the 4th-and-1 there is almost NO chance of winning because even if the D holds a punt would have pinned the Bills back deep.  I believe he had absolutely no confidence in the offense.

 

Of course, the next day he's not going to say that (i.e., "I didn't trust our offense") so he stammered around a bit.  As it turns out he got lucky, Deonte Thompson made a big catch, and Shady ended it.

 

All of that said, I still think the "right" call was to go for it on 4th down.  I've seen enough this season to believe that with the right personnel he wouldn't make the same decision.

 

And let's face it, the 2017 Bills had no business being in the playoffs.  That was a gift from the football gods to get the monkey off the franchise's back.

 

[Straight Hucklebuck]

In 2013 Doug Marrone punted from the Pittsburgh 36 yard line on 4th-2 down by two scores in the 4th Quarter with a 3-6 record and defended it in the postgame by citing field position. 

[BuffaloBill]

12 hours ago, BillsRdue said:

Any Bills game vs the Patriots with any coach since the turn of the century.

 

 

 

I really hate to admit it but this is correct.

[billsbackto81]

12 hours ago, The Wiz said:

I won't point out a game but I will say that the second I heard that they hired Rex Ryan I knew they were f'd. 

That's how I felt about Dick Jauron.

[JM57]

10 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

McDermott starting Peterman against the Chargers on the road to keep the media from asking him how his defense gave up over 200 yards rushing at home to the Saints

That three game stretch last year might be the largest swing in emotion I have had with this team in my entire life.

 

November 2, 2017, during the day: Holy sh...this team is 5-2, the Jets are beatable. Get to 6-2 and you only have to go .500 the rest of the way and they're in the playoffs!

 

November 19, 2017: Holy sh...this team is 6-5. Everything is a mirage. Nathan Peterman is a disaster on a proportion I have never seen. McDermott is over his head. I hate this team and being a fan of it.

 

McDermott has had to earn my respect back since then. Still very luke warm on him. He gets them ready to play, I can't argue with that, but man, he's just so old school and I hate it.

[BillsFan130]

7 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

December 10, 2017.

 

Week 14, Colts at Bills in the crazy snow game.

 

McDermott's decision to punt from the Colts' 41 yard line in OT, in a game where a tie was the equivalent of a loss in a tight playoff race--and McDermott didn't know it.

 

The decision to punt on 4th and 1, based on the available data, was straight up wrong.  On top of that, McDermott burned a timeout before the punt to think about it a little, in a situation where the TO was valuable. 

 

But worst of all, the punt meant that the most likely outcome of the game was a tie.  When pressed on the issue the next day, McDermott said "I was thinking a win is better than a tie, and a tie is better than a loss".  He was clearly thinking about a tie when the punt was made and clearly thinking that was OK, if not the best outcome. 

That was not OK, as we had to play NE in Week 16, and the only intelligent approach was to assume we lose that game.  We did lose that game as it turned out, 37-16.  

Had we tied the Colts game, we would have ended up 8-7-1 at best (assuming the loss to NE) and that was not going to get us into the playoffs.  That has to be your thinking as HC of the Bills in that moment.  A tie had to be viewed as an unacceptable outcome.  It's actually a very easy decision to go for it on 4th and 1 in that situation.  Yet McDermott punted. 

 

Of course, we did win the Colts game as it turned out and in fact made the playoffs!  Sometimes it really is better to be lucky than good.  Neither of those outcomes changes how bad McDermott's thinking was in the game, however.

 

The game showed me who McDermott is--an extremely conservative, traditional football guy, who is never going to outsmart Bill B. or any of the smartest coaches in the league. 

 

The premise of this thread was to reference games where we knew the coach would never get us to the playoffs or possibly even a winning record.  That is obviously not my point here.  My point is the Snow Game showed me the caliber of McDermott's thinking and that it's not what I'd like it to be.  We can do better. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty spot on here

[Straight Hucklebuck]

With Jauron it had to be the roll-out pass they tried on 4th-1 against the Jets with JP Losman trying to throw a pass to a rarely used Fullback that got sacked, stripped, and returned by Shaun Ellis. 

[frostbitmic]

13 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Sunday, Game 2 of the 2015 season.  Patriots at Bills.  We had easily won our previous game vs Colts, who were thought pre-season to be contenders.

Hopes were high.  Rex was in full braggadocio mode.

 

We were a wet stinkin' mess.  A hot pile.  37-13 Pats until the 4th quarter.  Gave up 507 yds to the Pats.  Had 14 penalties for 140 yds, many of which were stupid out-of-control hothead shots. 

 

That was the game where I changed from "Hopeful" to "Hapless"

Same game for me but it was one specific play that I instantly knew Rex was in over his head.

 

It was 3rd and about 10 on our own side of the field. Tyrod got flushed from the pocket and was forced out of bounds after a two yard loss. That would've made it 4th and 12, so what does Rex do ? ... He throws the red flag challenging the call because he thought Tyrod gained two yards instead of losing two yards. I was shaking my head and laughing at the clown even before the refs confirmed the call.

 

Hiring brother Rob was the final straw.