Playoff #1 Bills @ Texans PostGame Thread

[WideNine]

5 hours ago, Chaos said:

his 19 points in regulation was so much better than allens 19 points in regulation. like night and day different.

 

This. And Watson is in his 3rd year and has guys like Hopkins to throw to.

 

Not taking anything away from Watson's gutsy play towards the end of the game, but some folks have to have some perspective when making these comparisons.

 

Josh made some great plays, and put the ball where it needed to be a number of times early in the game that should have led to scores, but they were dropped, or receivers could not step in bounds. He also did a bunch of bone-headed hero-ball things in the 2nd half of the game that made me wonder if anyone was talking to him to settle him down and remind him of the game situation, that he had time, to settle down.

 

Either way, the up and down play is what most reasonable fans expected from Allen this year.

 

Allen is also the guy who after throwing a bunch of interceptions against NE early in the year vowed not to do that again and really changed his approach to the game and was not a turn-over machine for the rest of the season. He made mistakes today, he will learn from them.

 

Beane needs to get him some better blockers and at least one more legit receiving weapon, and a running back that can do some damage when he spells Singletary, and an OC that will not abandon the run when it is working.

[CincyBillsFan]

26 minutes ago, TwistofFate said:

It was questionable for sure, but they let Josh "be Josh."

 

Isn't this exactly what his hardcore fans wanted? 

 

Also, there is a difference between playing smart and playing wreckless.  He let the moment overcome him. 

 

I don't know about that. 

 

Getting the Bills into position to kick the tying FG was a big moment and while it wasn't pretty Allen got it done. 

 

And OT was a big moment in which Allen was coolly moving us into position to kick the winning FG  and then we had a QB sweep that should have gone for 20 yards except that the blockers inexplicably forgot to block the only defender on the edge.  Then of course the bad penalty on Ford.  And I haven't even got started on how the defense played in the 4th quarter & OT.

 

Seems to me the moment was to big for the whole team including the coaches.  Let's hope this is 1989 and not 1999.  I happen to think we're closer to a 1989 scenario where a bad playoff loss to Cleveland launched us into the Bills most glorious period.

 

 

Edited January 5, 2020 by CincyBillsFan

[White Linen]

33 minutes ago, TwistofFate said:

It was questionable for sure, but they let Josh "be Josh."

 

Isn't this exactly what his hardcore fans wanted? 

 

Also, there is a difference between playing smart and playing wreckless.  He let the moment overcome him. 

 

If they let Josh be Josh as you suggest, what is McD complaining about?

 

So are you confident in our offensive coaching acumen should we just get a QB you like more?

[TwistofFate]

25 minutes ago, White Linen said:

 

If they let Josh be Josh as you suggest, what is McD complaining about?

 

So are you confident in our offensive coaching acumen should we just get a QB you like more?

He's complaining about stupid mistakes that he continues to make.  Carelessness with the ball for one.   The lateral, the fumble, the intentional grounding, etc. 

 

The fumble gave them 3pts, the grounding lost us 3 pts and the lateral lost us yards on a penalty. 

 

This loss isn't solely on Allen, but his second half performance certainly didn't help. 

[oldmanfan]

2 hours ago, TwistofFate said:

He's complaining about stupid mistakes that he continues to make.  Carelessness with the ball for one.   The lateral, the fumble, the intentional grounding, etc. 

 

The fumble gave them 3pts, the grounding lost us 3 pts and the lateral lost us yards on a penalty. 

 

This loss isn't solely on Allen, but his second half performance certainly didn't help. 

The grounding?  He doesn’t try to make a play he gets sacked and we’re out of range anyway.

[Billsfaninto]

Hey all first time poster here. Been a fan since 2007 and loved the way Marshawn ran angry. Been to a few games including the epic comeback win with Fitz. I know where all bummed out from the loss as I clearly am to be up this late. Anyway in my own assessment I think the road ahead must address a few things 

For Allen: is he a franchise QB? Atm no. There are many who see the potential and many who don't. I'm on the fence but in order to take the next step Josh and only Josh need to improve in 3 key areas.

1) he needs to learn to step up into the pocket and not rely on his athleticism so much. The Bradys, Brees and Rodgers are so good because of this. The ability to know when the climb and shift is something that is absolutely crucial to succeed. Too often Josh bails to early or spins out. While he may have made some positive plays this is not sustainable long term.

2) related to this is his ability to know when to throw the ball away. If the play is not there do not force the issue. Take a short sack or an incompletion. Too often Josh will run around and try to force it leading to either a ridiculously long sack, a holding penalty or a spectacular play. Yes, that seems contradictory but it is not sustainable. I'd rather he learn that an incompletion or coverage sack is not the end of the world than to heave it. Which brings me to number

3) I'm not saying Josh should never run, or use his athleticism and running ability. It's a key part of his game. I'm saying he has to be smart about when and where to use it. It should either be a scripted play or, used in a conservative manner. Meaning when he runs he needs to run as though he's a RB and secure the ball the second he is no longer anticipating a throw. He has lost the ball numerous times and for a while he was covered by luck as it's popped out after being down. Today his luck ran out. Improve these three things and he takes another step forward. 

For the Defense. If I'm being 100 percent honest I don't think this defense is as good as we think it is. It's above average but it's not elite. Considering the caliber of QB we faced this year (AFC east, NFC east, the AFC North and Titans and Broncos) there were no elite throwers on this D and lots of below average QBs. The entire offence in the NFL runs through the QB. We are a bend but don't break Defense disguised as an elite D because of the schedule The same applies to NE. That does not mean the D isn't playoff caliber especially considering the end of the Brady era is near. They gang tackle well, and they communicate well  but are succeptible to the run and at times the screen game. I think we need to pump the brakes about how good they truly are. 

Which leads to the offence. This was undoubtedly the Achilles heel of the team. Too often they put the D in crap situations and relied on them to carry the team. This is another reason why I say the D became and is a very good unit, the reps and pressure they have been out under was immense all season long. The biggest concern for me is an bigger picture focus that has two aspects to it.

1) Does the GM, HC and OC know where the positional weaknesses lie? In one sense I want to say yes because they clearly recognized the need to revamp the O and took the necessary steps to address it.They picked up a few nice pieces in the draft and off-season in singletary and Beasley.

2)The concern is do they actually know how to use the pieces once acquired. The Peterman debacle notwithstanding, for me this is a big fat question mark. Singletary was and should have been the main focal point of the offense after it became clear how good he was. The team also needed a tall possession receiver to complement Beasley in the slot and the deep threats. Duke fit the bill and to his credit Daboll got him involved but it's irritating to think how the season may have played out had he been on the active roster more often. I don't hate Daboll, but I don't think he can be anything beyond average. He does not seem to recognize the strengths of the personnel he and his play calling is questionable for long stretches of the game. For whatever reason the screen game, slants and checkdowns seemed like an afterthought in his scheme, which was baffling considering you have a young QB who can get rattled at times and a suspect O line. Daboll can scheme well and Josh has missed his fair share of looks, but overall as a collective the pieces are an unstable fit. 

At the end there's the HC. I don't necessarily agree with the conservative label McD gets as he has gone for 4th down on occasions where other HC might not. What I don't understand is his clock management. Our four and two minute no huddle offense is surprisingly good, however the other half of the equation is understanding how to manage the time given the situation, which is purely on a HC. While relatively inconsequential during the regular season, it can become suffocating in the PS where every point, possession and timeout matter. Settling for a FG on it's face may seemed conservative, but I think it was more a fundamental lack of strategy in time management than conservative play.  Second, McD commenting that Allen tried to do too much was complete bs in my opinion and reflects on his disconnect with the O. The entire season Daboll leaned far too heavily on a young QB to be self sustaining. 3rd quarters in particular were brutal as Ds adjusted to what the O was showing. Allen does too much because he was expected to without the benefit of a friendly scheme to support him. While the jet sweeps and roll outs helped the options beyond that were questionable at best.  Long developing routes can be effective but when the protection wasn't there there didn't seem to be a back to basics approach. Throw a slant to Beasley. Bubble screen to Mackenzie, fade to Duke. Don't abandon the run or have empty backfields It's the little things to pick Allen up. When they don't happen you have Josh having to orchestrate late comebacks which in turn compounds the reckless habits. 

In conclusion I think we're at a cross roads in the McD era. This season could not have been any more favourable in terms of injury and opponent strength. Some are rightfully pointing out that it's too early to know how much tougher a schedule will look next season but it's hard to imagine it'll be easier than this season. It's also not a forgone conclusion that the draft and FA will be successful. I believe the decisions made in this off-season specifically will determine whether the team will end up trending up or down in the long term.

[TwistofFate]

4 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

The grounding?  He doesn’t try to make a play he gets sacked and we’re out of range anyway.

Um, no... 

 

 BUF-J.Allen, Intentional Grounding, 14 yards, enforced at HST 28.

 

6 yard loss vs 14 yard loss.   

 

6 yards puts is at 34 yard line, making it kickable. 

[oldmanfan]

1 minute ago, TwistofFate said:

Um, no... 

 

 BUF-J.Allen, Intentional Grounding, 14 yards, enforced at HST 28.

 

6 yard loss vs 14 yard loss.   

 

6 yards puts is at 34 yard line, making it kickable. 

I think it would have been more than a 6 yard sack

[TwistofFate]

3 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

I think it would have been more than a 6 yard sack

Lol, you're a funny guy.  

 

Intentional grounding took us out of range and lost a down. 

 

You don't take a sack in that situation, and if you do, you step up or go down, not run back. 

 

It was a stupid play, period. 

[ProcessTruster]

I am totally good.  No way I had them getting this far this year.

This team will only be better next year.   Time to take back the Division and get some home playoff games.  

Trust the Process.  Out. 

[Codyny13]

4 hours ago, TwistofFate said:

It was questionable for sure, but they let Josh "be Josh."

 

Isn't this exactly what his hardcore fans wanted? 

 

Also, there is a difference between playing smart and playing wreckless.  He let the moment overcome him. 

This. You’ll never be able to satisfy everyone. When they were running into brick walls at the end of the game I said let the kid throw the ball, but you can’t run away, spin around, and turn your back on the defense in those situations. Fans hate play calls when the don’t work out. It doesn’t mean it wasn’t the right call, if the play isn’t executed. 

[oldmanfan]

48 minutes ago, TwistofFate said:

Lol, you're a funny guy.  

 

Intentional grounding took us out of range and lost a down. 

 

You don't take a sack in that situation, and if you do, you step up or go down, not run back. 

 

It was a stupid play, period. 

It would have been fourth down anyway as I recall.  And as I also recall there was a second penalty on the play.

 

What he should have done is thrown the ball away earlier true.  But taking the grounding call would not have changed things over being sacked.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

Had a hard time sleeping last night after that loss. 

[Mr. K]

I slept great... and then I woke up and thought "Remember that time Pat Dimarco ran a streak into double coverage and JA threw him the ball?"

 

 

[Teddy KGB]

5 hours ago, TwistofFate said:

It was questionable for sure, but they let Josh "be Josh."

 

Isn't this exactly what his hardcore fans wanted? 

 

Also, there is a difference between playing smart and playing wreckless.  He let the moment overcome him. 

You could always buy a bigger tv, then you could see Duke drop a touchdown or the penalty that prevented the gw fg attempt. 
 

or you could just stick with the tired crusade 

 

??‍♂️??‍♂️

20 minutes ago, JR in Pittsburgh said:

Had a hard time sleeping last night after that loss. 

are you Matt Milano? 

[TwistofFate]

Just now, Teddy KGB said:

You could always buy a bigger tv, then you could see Duke drop a touchdown or the penalty that prevented the gw fg attempt. 
 

or you could just stick with the tired crusade 

 

??‍♂️??‍♂️

No crusade.  I was completely impressed with Allen in the first half.   It was the greatest 30 min performance of his career....and the loss wasn't soley his fault, but he melted down. 

[Teddy KGB]

4 minutes ago, TwistofFate said:

No crusade.  I was completely impressed with Allen in the first half.   It was the greatest 30 min performance of his career....and the loss wasn't soley his fault, but he melted down. 

running gore and the “blindside” block assisted the “meltdown” 

 

Duke lost the game for us in the first half. 

[John in Jax]

6 hours ago, White Linen said:

 

Exactly.  How does a HC say our 2nd year QB is trying to do too much in empty backfield sets?

 

It's mind numbingly stupid.

I like what the Bills did this season, and it does APPEAR that they are a team on the rise, but we shall see about that.

 

All the comments about McDummy are right on the mark. He seems like a good person, but as an NFL head coach, it's rather obvious that he's in over his head. 

 

Lots of posts in here calling out Daboll for the puzzling 2nd half play calling, specifically throwing too much and not using Singletary more....and those posts are absolutely correct. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE HEAD COACH!? Isn't it HIS JOB to see that, and direct Daboll to change what he's doing?

[Wayne Arnold]

7 minutes ago, John in Jax said:

I like what the Bills did this season, and it does APPEAR that they are a team on the rise, but we shall see about that.

 

All the comments about McDummy are right on the mark. He seems like a good person, but as an NFL head coach, it's rather obvious that he's in over his head. 

 

Lots of posts in here calling out Daboll for the puzzling 2nd half play calling, specifically throwing too much and not using Singletary more....and those posts are absolutely correct. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE HEAD COACH!? Isn't it HIS JOB to see that, and direct Daboll to change what he's doing?

 

If McDermott was "in over his head" then the Bills aren't in the playoffs two of his first three seasons.

 

He's not perfect, but few football coaches are. 

[stevewin]

5 hours ago, CincyBillsFan said:

 

I don't know about that. 

 

Getting the Bills into position to kick the tying FG was a big moment and while it wasn't pretty Allen got it done. 

 

And OT was a big moment in which Allen was coolly moving us into position to kick the winning FG  and then we had a QB sweep that should have gone for 20 yards except that the blockers inexplicably forgot to block the only defender on the edge.  Then of course the bad penalty on Ford.  And I haven't even got started on how the defense played in the 4th quarter & OT.

 

Seems to me the moment was to big for the whole team including the coaches.  Let's hope this is 1989 and not 1999.  I happen to think we're closer to a 1989 scenario where a bad playoff loss to Cleveland launched us into the Bills most glorious period.

 

 

Woke this AM, read this, and just the mental picture of those 3 blockers out in front hitting no one - it literally makes my somach turn. To think after all the mis-steps up to that point, just one person throw a block or at least get in the way, and a minute later i'm celebrating a win with my son (instead of storming out in a profanity-laced tirade minutes later after Missed Sack).  Sigh

[WideRightRevenge]

Catching up on morning reading and not read all 28 pages of comments on this line .. but the last few is all about the offense, play calling, etc.  Yes we only scored 19 points and all the BLAH BLAH BLAH about the offense and/or Josh Allen .. I'll come back to that.

 

The reality is as it relates to the game ... our defense had the chance to shut the door and didn't unfortunately ... and I love our defense.  But the 3rd and 18 play in O/T from their 19 yard line ... I repeat their 19 yard line and we have 3/4's of our defense 20 yards deep and can't come up and stop Duke Johnson, why is Edmunds playing that deep versus shadowing the RB out of the backfield?  Then two defenders unable to wrap up Watson (and ton of respect for his play) on their 44 yard line later in the drive for the 34 yard completion that led to the game winning field goal.

 

Now back to our offense ... bottom line our talent on that side of the ball vs. the other playoff teams (net of Philly with their injuries) is not remotely close.  Though I love the moves by Beane this past off-season ... he's not done yet.  Josh and Daboll have done more with less all season long.  I trust Beane will continue to address. 

 

I'll take 3000% of where Josh Allen is in year 2 and continue to be a fan ...  we were down 3 points with no timeouts and ball on our 30 yard line at the end of the game .. and our QB engineered a drive (including a 20 year scramble) to get us a game tying field goal.

 

If you read the pre-season threads ... well over 90% never rationally thought a 10 win season ... we got that and the 2nd playoff birth in 3 years under the McBeane regime ... can we be thankful for the team's resurrection to quality football and TRUST THE PROCESS!! ... Looking forward to the draft and free agency and please please please resign Tre White ASAP ... pay the man .. let's not have a Gilmore flashback.

[loveorhatembillsfan4life]

1 hour ago, TwistofFate said:

No crusade.  I was completely impressed with Allen in the first half.   It was the greatest 30 min performance of his career....and the loss wasn't soley his fault, but he melted down. 

I agree he played a great first half which is what we wanted to see as opposed to turning it on second half.
 

But this time it was like the complete opposite happened. I honestly think the whole second half just became a cluster ***show, the game suddenly got tight and  the moment got to him. Nerves set in . But remember this is his  first playoff game..let’s hope the experience Is another step  forward for him

 

I also think despite that some of the miscues he did lead us into overtime. We had chances to put this away but missed due to other miscues. Where three of our oline completely miss one tackler which most likely spring him for huge yardage was a fail. A horrible ticky tack penalty on Ford. Maybe the results would be different. Maybe Josh doesn’t fumble and we win by three.
 

Our margin for error with this team is so low pretty much every game other than Phily was

decided by a td or less. That trend scares me.

 

 

2020 is crucial.

Beane and Mcd need to spend this offseason figuring what talent  we need at what positions to get this offense over the hump. We need to jump on these teams early and not look back. 
 

We can’t go backwards.  Next year is going to tell us a lot about where we we are with the offense and Josh. 

 

[Foxx]

https://twitter.com/NFL_Memes/status/1213622961627901952

 

[Big Gun]

Pretty obvious after yesterdays loss to Houston McD is the kind of coach that will only get you so far. It has trended that way for a while now based on his body of work.

 

He has been great at changing the culture and getting players to play hard, tons of credit there but he has been abysmal at hiring decent coaches and game planning and game management.

 

He generally has said the right things after games but throwing Allen under the bus yesterday will have some lasting affects, as a coach with good young players, stuff like that can't be said to the media before watching tape when you yourself had way way more questionable bad decisions than the young guy you just roasted. Bad precedent going forward, when push comes to shove the coach doesn't have your back when all he spews is to have each others back, very hypocritical. 

 

McD was winning me over as the coach to get us to the promise land but after last nights many many gaffs and subsequent blaming Allen, i've soured on McD and see him nothing more than coach who will get a team to the playoffs on occasion but never advance very far. 

 

 

 

 

[Cheektowaga Chad]

8 minutes ago, loveorhatembillsfan4life said:

I agree he played a great first half which is what we wanted to see as opposed to turning it on second half.
 

But this time it was like the complete opposite happened. I honestly think the whole second half just became a cluster ***show, the game suddenly got tight and  the moment got to him. Nerves set in . But remember this is his  first playoff game..let’s hope the experience Is another step  forward for him

 

I also think despite that some of the miscues he did lead us into overtime. We had chances to put this away but missed due to other miscues. Where three of our oline completely miss one tackler which most likely spring him for huge yardage was a fail. A horrible ticky tack penalty on Ford. Maybe the results would be different. Maybe Josh doesn’t fumble and we win by three.
 

Our margin for error with this team is so low pretty much every game other than Phily was

decided by a td or less. That trend scares me.

 

 

2020 is crucial.

Beane and Mcd need to spend this offseason figuring what talent  we need at what positions to get this offense over the hump. We need to jump on these teams early and not look back. 
 

We can’t go backwards.  Next year is going to tell us a lot about where we we are with the offense and Josh. 

 

Comment on the 1 score game trend this season, I wouldn't be worried about it. It wasn't like we were winning by lucky plays. Like Pittsburgh and new England this season

 

We just don't have the offense yet. Year 3 has always been beane and McDermott s plan. We need to finish the offense. 

 

 

[loveorhatembillsfan4life]

6 minutes ago, Cheektowaga Chad said:

Comment on the 1 score game trend this season, I wouldn't be worried about it. It wasn't like we were winning by lucky plays. Like Pittsburgh and new England this season

 

We just don't have the offense yet. Year 3 has always been beane and McDermott s plan. We need to finish the offense. 

 

 

Your right. We just were not quite good enough yet to overcome. I’m excited for this offseason. 

[Big Gun]

7 minutes ago, Cheektowaga Chad said:

Comment on the 1 score game trend this season, I wouldn't be worried about it. It wasn't like we were winning by lucky plays. Like Pittsburgh and new England this season

 

We just don't have the offense yet. Year 3 has always been beane and McDermott s plan. We need to finish the offense. 

 

 

Just completed year 3, year 4 coming up and yes there needs to be up grades and more weapons for Allen on offense.

[Cheektowaga Chad]

2 minutes ago, pop gun said:

Just completed year 3, year 4 coming up and yes there needs to be up grades and more weapons for Allen on offense.

Oops you're right. The team has changed ao much since that first season

 

I am gonna just say I was referring to year 3 of the josh Allen QB era

[Frez]

Tough tough tough loss! 

 

I knew going into this game we are still a couple players away from being the team we need to win in the playoffs. Josh Allen will be fine, get him a couple more play makers! 

 

Defense side of the ball. I'd like a younger faster LB to replace Zo and give me another pass rusher or two in this year's draft. 

 

We were up 16-0, I still don't know what happened. I thought we had this in the bag. 

 

My hat is off to House, he was a solid kicker down the stretch. 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

What is really painful was the GW play. Two guys nailed Watson. Because of the physics of two guys sandwiching him, by dumb luck, he stays on his feet. That should have been a sack and way out of FG range. 

[CincyBillsFan]

1 hour ago, stevewin said:

Woke this AM, read this, and just the mental picture of those 3 blockers out in front hitting no one - it literally makes my somach turn. To think after all the mis-steps up to that point, just one person throw a block or at least get in the way, and a minute later i'm celebrating a win with my son (instead of storming out in a profanity-laced tirade minutes later after Missed Sack).  Sigh

 

I agree with you 100%.  Of all the mistakes made and plays NOT made it really did come down to executing that sweep.  For all the bashing Daboll is taking and I'm dealing it out like everyone else, it was a great play call that caught Houston flat footed.  Allen would have gained 20 yards had just one of those guys got in the way of #41.  They didn't even need to make a block. 

 

 

Edited January 5, 2020 by CincyBillsFan

[WideRightRevenge]

34 minutes ago, pop gun said:

Pretty obvious after yesterdays loss to Houston McD is the kind of coach that will only get you so far. It has trended that way for a while now based on his body of work.

 

He has been great at changing the culture and getting players to play hard, tons of credit there but he has been abysmal at hiring decent coaches and game planning and game management.

 

He generally has said the right things after games but throwing Allen under the bus yesterday will have some lasting affects, as a coach with good young players, stuff like that can't be said to the media before watching tape when you yourself had way way more questionable bad decisions than the young guy you just roasted. Bad precedent going forward, when push comes to shove the coach doesn't have your back when all he spews is to have each others back, very hypocritical. 

 

McD was winning me over as the coach to get us to the promise land but after last nights many many gaffs and subsequent blaming Allen, i've soured on McD and see him nothing more than coach who will get a team to the playoffs on occasion but never advance very far. 

 

 

 

 

 

Pop Gun .. as veteran on here ... aren't you happier with McD vs. the 10+ coaches we've had in non playoff years?  Not sure I understand the hiring of decent coaches or game planning.  Why is Daboll getting HC interviews if the rest of the NFL public thinks he's so bad ... Frazier has managed a top flight defense that held many an offense to <20 points all year.

[Mojo44]

16 minutes ago, WideRightRevenge said:

 

Pop Gun .. as veteran on here ... aren't you happier with McD vs. the 10+ coaches we've had in non playoff years?  Not sure I understand the hiring of decent coaches or game planning.  Why is Daboll getting HC interviews if the rest of the NFL public thinks he's so bad ... Frazier has managed a top flight defense that held many an offense to <20 points all year.

I haven’t read too many posts on this thread because of so many pages. But this is, by far, the sanest and most rational post that I have read. Really, going from six and 10 to 10 and six! How often does that happen in this league? And, in particular,I agree with your comments about the offense. Josh has had one real weapon or year in Singleterry. He made John Brown a good receiver this year but he disappears too often and games particularly at big moments. He needs a receiver like Hopkins. I do believe the offense will be better next year because he Josh will have more weapons and he will continue to develop. Along with his awesome physical skills the most impressive thing about Josh is his intelligence and his work ethic. So I choose to be optimistic.

to put this in some perspective, compare my take on this disappointing loss to what’s going on in another thread. I won’t name names or give details. But in the other thread the OP actually suggested the Buffalo Bills fans that they should not go and greet the team at the airport when they arrive because of the loss yesterday. Pathetic! And to me as a fan, insulting.

 

yes, we could have/should have won the game. But we lost in overtime to an evenly matched opponent at their field. Their quarterback made one terrific play that won the game for them.The loss was not embarrassing in the least to me.

 

[apuszczalowski]

22 minutes ago, WideRightRevenge said:

 

Pop Gun .. as veteran on here ... aren't you happier with McD vs. the 10+ coaches we've had in non playoff years?  Not sure I understand the hiring of decent coaches or game planning.  Why is Daboll getting HC interviews if the rest of the NFL public thinks he's so bad ... Frazier has managed a top flight defense that held many an offense to <20 points all year.

The only people who think Daboll is horrible and bad are Buffalo fans, outside of them he is thought of highly as a good coach. Frasier isn't getting the attention because he has had HC jobs before and teams don't want defensive guys as HCs anymore. The trend is to go for Offensive guys to run the team because it's an offensive league.

[HalftimeAdjustment]

10 hours ago, White Linen said:

 

If Allen doesn't take a step next year, which is likely being with this HC, then McD needs to go.  

 

I just can't believe how some of you guys don't see how this HC and OC are pulling the total offense down.  They are not showing themselves capable of developing a young QB.

 

I am all for OC replacement. The HC needs to commit to getting to at least 16th or better in the points for rankings. This year that would mean going from 19.6 to 22.6 PPG. If the Bills had scored 22 points in every game this year they would have been 13-3 (or 12-4 if they did not try against the Jets). I do not put this all on Allen but, he does need to improve.

[WideRightRevenge]

14 minutes ago, Mojo44 said:

I haven’t read too many posts on this thread because of so many pages. But this is, by far, the sanest and most rational post that I have read. Really, going from six and 10 to 10 and six! How often does that happen in this league? And, in particular,I agree with your comments about the offense. Josh has had one real weapon or year in Singleterry. He made John Brown a good receiver this year but he disappears too often and games particularly at big moments. He needs a receiver like Hopkins. I do believe the offense will be better next year because he Josh will have more weapons and he will continue to develop. Along with his awesome physical skills the most impressive thing about Josh is his intelligence and his work ethic. So I choose to be optimistic.

to put this in some perspective, compare my take on this disappointing loss to what’s going on in another thread. I won’t name names or give details. But in the other thread the OP actually suggested the Buffalo Bills fans that they should not go and greet the team at the airport when they arrive because of the loss yesterday. Pathetic! And to me as a fan, insulting.

 

yes, we could have/should have won the game. But we lost in overtime to an evenly matched opponent at their field. Their quarterback made one terrific play that won the game for them.The loss was not embarrassing in the least to me.

 

 

Yeah some of the commentary on that airport greeting thread and many others is insane ... there are a few of our TBD Keyboard warriors that need to

 

 

 

[Heitz]

47 minutes ago, JR in Pittsburgh said:

What is really painful was the GW play. Two guys nailed Watson. Because of the physics of two guys sandwiching him, by dumb luck, he stays on his feet. That should have been a sack and way out of FG range. 

That play, the Brown "gallop" out of bounds and the non-block on the Allen sweep - AHHHHHHRRRRR!!!  ?

 

Buuuu-mmer, man!  

 

 

[HalftimeAdjustment]

Let me add that the announcers were the hardest to listen to - most biased - that I can remember. And that includes a couple of times in the past where I had to listen to an opposing team's radio station.

[leonbus23]

I think we can win with McDermott as the coach if Allen makes some improvements and we get a couple more good players on offense. The schedule is a bit harder (at least it looks that way right now), but we are trending in the right direction. To me, Allen is the key. If he improves, we will continue to make the playoffs. If he doesn't, we wont. Of course, he needs one really good receiver. He needs another RB as good as Singletary and one more O-Line guy. Other than that, we are in good shape, as long as he gets better. 

 

Again, I think McDermott can take us forward. But if we could get a guy like Arians, Carroll, or Reid that would really help a lot. McDermott is definitely flawed and I do not think he can overcome his flaws as they have been apparent since he started in Buffalo. But if Allen can get it together and they can get a couple more good players, McDermott has enough good coaching attributes to get us there. 

[Locomark]

In retrospect the difference in most games comes down to a few plays. We had so many players and coaches leave plays on the field yesterday yet we were a few play away. I wasn’t pissed waking up today because yesterday confirmed what I already knew. We still have talent needs. 

 

Knox + 2 OL whiffing on that QB sweep block that would have set up the winning FG. 

 

Bills having a 3rd and 1 before kicking the tying FG and Daboll dials up our worst play a screen which we never execute and we bite it for a giant loss. Then McD goes for it on 4th and 23 instead of punting them inside the 10 and trusting the defense. We could have been playing for a win and not a tie in that last minute. 

 

Feliciano looking clueless at least 5-6 times against the exact same inside move when they would have Watt rush inside. Mainly going untouched most of the time.

 

John Brown’s non attempt to drag his feet on a long pass instead doing a weird bunny hop and giving himself no chance to get even one foot down. If that is Diggs, it’s a catch. 

 

Duke Williams being targeted 10 times? Why ?? He Isn’t a WR1. He didn’t have any separation when he was targeted.

 

Siran Neal getting cocky after his first sack blitzes from the other side and doesn’t use wrap up technique...ball game.

 

Edmunds leaving plays all over the field from the two point conversion angle to various poor gap assignments to not recognizing Fells when he was lurking in his zone. 

 

Matt Milano missed at least 3 sacks or TFL by running past the QB or RB. Same problem he had with Lamar. Playing with speed but needs to play with control also. 

 

3rd and 18 and Frazier dials up a soft zone. That never works out with a QB that can extend the play. 

 

Finally Josh Allen. Another fumble, almost two. The weird pitch was stupid which could have made it three. The tossup to DiMarco was stupid ( what play design has a slow FB running deep?)  Running backward to avoid a sack in FG range is always stupid.

 

The point is everyone left some big plays on the field and we still barely lost even though we have deficient talent at WR, RB2, LB, DE, and made some coaching errors. 

 

I AM CALM TODAY. WE WILL BE BACK AND BETTER NEXT YEAR, WIN THE AFC EAST, AND TEAMS WILL START TO FEAR US. 

 

i went to to the 89 game in Cleveland and this game is that moment for this team. The prime difference is this team is younger and we don’t have a QB who already had played 5 years of pro football. I am very proud of this team and excited about their future.