The Bickering Bills

[reddogblitz]

24 minutes ago, BananaB said:

Yeah I get it, just think it over rated. The game is 60 minutes long, why not start to try getting ahead early instead of hoping for a double possession. All goes back to what I said about no urgency and believing they will always have a shot instead of going for the kill early. 

 

I agree. With this team, take the opening kickoff and let Dabol put together a good script to get us a score and get ahead. Let them try to catch up with us.  

 

I thought the defer thing was more of a road team thing so you get the ball in the 3rd quarter before a lot of the fans get back to their seats. In a loud road game this might make some sense.

 

We want the ball and we're gonna score should be our attitude IMHO.

Edited December 11, 2021 by reddogblitz

[Nextmanup]

6 minutes ago, mattynh said:

In 1989, who was the GOAT HC?   Who is the coach BB is chasing for all time wins?  Shula was kind of that guy then and he had his franchise QB.  I totally get your point, I dont like the comparisons to those teams though, there is some assumption that to be good you have to mirror the 90's teams.   

For what it's worth, I would have said greatest HC prior to BB was Bill Parcells, or maybe even Bill Walsh who I always thought was a notch smarter than most.

 

Shula definitely would be considered by many to be GOAT...

 

 

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

22 hours ago, Buffalo Barbarian said:

 

Agree with all this but if we get back to being aggressive this year we can make a run this year

 

 

 

That's how I feel. So many are throwing the season away already. Let's see how it unfolds. I don't feel like waiting another off-season when we still have a chance.

Edited December 11, 2021 by ChronicAndKnuckles

[reddogblitz]

1 minute ago, Nextmanup said:

For what it's worth, I would have said greatest HC prior to BB was Bill Parcells, or maybe even Bill Walsh who I always thought was a notch smarter than most.

 

Shula definitely would be considered by many to be GOAT...

 

 

 

Tom Landry was able to get to 20 straight winning seasons. Bill Bellyache was not.

 

Tom Landry is the greatest coach of all times.

[K-9]

27 minutes ago, BananaB said:

Yeah I get it, just think it over rated. The game is 60 minutes long, why not start to try getting ahead early instead of hoping for a double possession. All goes back to what I said about no urgency and believing they will always have a shot instead of going for the kill early. 

Of course going for the kill and getting up early is always preferable and I’m fully on board with that. Who wouldn’t be?
 

I’m just saying that the double possession to end a half and begin a half is a unique time element in the game as being ahead by two possessions well into the third quarter can really force teams to start pressing, especially after they’ve sat for the better part of an hour sometimes. Being up two possessions in the first quarter and into the second really doesn’t move the game plan needle and teams can still stick to it. 
 

I agree 100% that there’s a seeming lack of urgency and I mentioned that in my original response as well. 

[oldmanfan]

Lombardi and Belichick are the best.   
 

Walsh, Parcells, Landry, Noll and Gibbs are next.

 

I don’t have Shula that high.  Should have won a lot more with the talent he had.  Same with Madden.

 

Love Marv but don’t understand how he made the Hall.  Same with Flores.

 

 

Edited December 11, 2021 by oldmanfan

[K-9]

1 minute ago, oldmanfan said:

Lombardi and Belichick are the best.   
 

Walsh, Parcells, Landry, Noll and Gibbs are next.

 

I don’t have Shula that high.  Should have won a lot more with the talent he had.  Same with Madden.

 

Love Marv but don’t understand how he made the Hall.  Same with Flores.

 

 

I agree Marv is overrated as a HC, but I fully understand why he’s in the HOF. He made history in the game and did something no HC had done before and hasn’t done since. That’s hard for HOF voters to ignore. 

[dave mcbride]

5 minutes ago, K-9 said:

I agree Marv is overrated as a HC, but I fully understand why he’s in the HOF. He made history in the game and did something no HC had done before and hasn’t done since. That’s hard for HOF voters to ignore. 

Agree, but I’d add that Marv was very good at a skill that is very under-rated—capably managing the personalities that comprise an entire NFL squad, many of who are borderline psychos.

[BananaB]

12 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Of course going for the kill and getting up early is always preferable and I’m fully on board with that. Who wouldn’t be?
 

I’m just saying that the double possession to end a half and begin a half is a unique time element in the game as being ahead by two possessions well into the third quarter can really force teams to start pressing, especially after they’ve sat for the better part of an hour sometimes. Being up two possessions in the first quarter and into the second really doesn’t move the game plan needle and teams can still stick to it. 
 

I agree 100% that there’s a seeming lack of urgency and I mentioned that in my original response as well. 

There is no guarantee we are gonna have the last possession before half anyway, it just seems to be something this team is banking on it to get ahead. 

[reddogblitz]

20 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

Love Marv but don’t understand how he made the Hall.  Same with Flores.

 

Is the HOF reserved for only SB winners?

[Augie]

8 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

The problem isn’t bickering. The team’s  problem is apathy. 

 

I don’t think the problem is bickering, but I also don’t think the problem is apathy. What is that based upon? Them’s fightin’ words! I wouldn’t dare ask them in person if the problem was apathy. Poyer and Hyde also don’t like to be asked if they were embarrassed. THAT didn’t go well. They care, I’m as sure as I can be from where I sit.

 

The problem is mostly, IMO, lack of talent and execution on the OLine. Better execution there and we are comfortably ahead in four of our five losses and don’t run the risk of losing the close games. It can be corrected in time, but requires adjustments to the personnel and likely the coaching.  

[K-9]

51 minutes ago, BananaB said:

There is no guarantee we are gonna have the last possession before half anyway, it just seems to be something this team is banking on it to get ahead. 

Of course there’s no guarantee. But when the opportunity presents itself, it makes sense to take advantage. I can’t agree that the team is hinging it’s strategy on it though. The idea is to score on every possession, regardless; from your first possession and until you need to start milking the clock if you’re in a position to do so. 

[K-9]

1 hour ago, dave mcbride said:

Agree, but I’d add that Marv was very good at a skill that is very under-rated—capably managing the personalities that comprise an entire NFL squad, many of who are borderline psychos.

That’s so true and I appreciate Marv’s ability for in that regard but I take managing personalities at par for HCs and I don’t think it would be one of my criteria if I were a HOF voter. Marv’s record pretty much tells the story of his ability to manage people. 

[Buffalo Barbarian]

1 hour ago, K-9 said:

I agree Marv is overrated as a HC, but I fully understand why he’s in the HOF. He made history in the game and did something no HC had done before and hasn’t done since. That’s hard for HOF voters to ignore. 

 

Marv had to manage the super egos of that team , that team would have imploded without him, that makes him a HOFer just for that.

 

 

[RobbRiddick]

Last season this team played loose and with confidence, none more so than Allen. This year, especially since the KC game, they look tight and unsure of themselves. 

 

They look like a team that's constantly second guessing themselves and their decisions and it's killed them so far. There's a lot to be said for mojo and this team has none right now. An impressive win against the Bucs might help change that, a win against Tampa followed by revenge against NE would definitely do it but I really don't see us winning tomorrow. 

 

Hope I'm wrong

[Buffalo Barbarian]

10 hours ago, Ray Stonada said:

I was texting last night with one of my best friends, a lifelong Bills fan like me. In high school we went to the 51-3 AFC championship game and about 20 other games together (paying our own money cause we didn't have parents with season tickets). We live a couple thousand miles apart now, 30 years later, but we text every week leading up to games. Last night, we were both predictably frustrated about the coaching and play-calling and we agreed McD seems to have a real knack for making the wrong call on fourth downs and challenges.

 

But we were both worried about something more difficult to define: the feeling of team unity.

 

There seems to be a weird Bickering Bills feeling floating around, like the team isn’t fighting as one. We remembered the 1989 season well and how there was a sense that Jim Kelly throwing Howard Ballard under the bus broke the team's unity back then. It took Thuman Thomas calling him out and the two of them getting over it to bring the team back together. (By the way, for my money Thurman was the MVP of the 90s teams.)

 

Back to this season: when one of our guys makes a dumb mistake, penalty or whatever, I don’t have the feeling that they feel bad they let the team down. It's like they’re not playing for each other the same as last year. As my friend said, last year's team had that good feeling and this year's doesn't.

 

Did the vaccine issue drive a serious wedge into the team? Is the disappointment of the season slowly breaking them down? I rewatched the Kansas City game last night and the Bills looked totally together, and McDermott looked like a different coach: cool, calm and collected. (Also worth noting, for those who think we need to pass 60 times tomorrow night: the Bills put a stamp on that KC game with a TD on our first drive using three called Josh Allen runs, and a couple of runs with our backs, which then set up the deep passes to Sanders, Diggs and Knox later.) 

 

Flash forward to the Pats game and McDermott looks like he's losing it, meanwhile players (like Knox) are making mistakes left and right, they're fumbling handoffs, the whole team just has a sense of malaise around it. The player's efforts don't seem to add up.

 

So the question is, why has a team that seemed like they were on a mission together the last two seasons suddenly unable to win close games, make clutch plays when we need them, and get out of their own way? Why can't they elevate when the chips are down? What happened to their team spirit?

 

 

Its like they put everything into beating KC and now they just cant seem to get back to that level.

 

 

5 minutes ago, RobbRiddick said:

Last season this team played loose and with confidence, none more so than Allen. This year, especially since the KC game, they look tight and unsure of themselves. 

 

They look like a team that's constantly second guessing themselves and their decisions and it's killed them so far. There's a lot to be said for mojo and this team has none right now. An impressive win against the Bucs might help change that, a win against Tampa followed by revenge against NE would definitely do it but I really don't see us winning tomorrow. 

 

Hope I'm wrong

 

I got the  same feeling

 

 

10 hours ago, Johnnycage46 said:

I think the team spirit is fine.  The fans are $%!@#$@#.

 

But it smells like Teen spirit 😉😉

 

 

[NewEra]

2 hours ago, reddogblitz said:

 

Tom Landry was able to get to 20 straight winning seasons. Bill Bellyache was not.

 

Tom Landry is the greatest coach of all times.

😳 Landry was a great coach.  
 

BB did it 19 straight years.  That one season weighs more than 3x the championships?  6-2.  
 

You’re certainly entitled to your opinion, but I disagree.  
 

 

[Buffalo Barbarian]

9 hours ago, ProcessTruster said:

exactly.  the team was onto the next game 3 days ago.  fans are still peeing in their beer

 

Tastes the same

 

 

9 hours ago, Evian said:

I still HONESTLY think the Bills are winning the Supebowl. I don't see why they can't. The Colts game was terrible,  but every team has a head scratching game this year. Every other loss was winnable. 

 

The Bills are just a little bit off. I think the Bills can win this weekend but it will not matter. The Bills at Pats game will determine everything for me. If they go to New England and win I don't think they will lose again. I think they win out and head to the playoffs like an unstoppable train.

 

I hope you're right.

 

These next two games will make or break this team.

 

 

[Buffalo Barbarian]

9 hours ago, LyndonvilleBill said:

Expectations... I think the players are beating themselves up trying to live up to them and may be coming across as lacking unity.  I believe they all are just uptight right now. Just need to loosen up a little and I think a win against the Bucs could do that. I do think that Mommy and Daddy are having issues right now (McDermott and Daboll) and when that happens the kids suffer (team). I don't think McDermott and Daboll are on the same page and until that gets resolved, we could be heading down a rough road.

 

Team unity will be fine, coaching staff probably not so much.

 

They need to be in attack mode all the time or i don't see it happening this year

 

 

[Buffalo Barbarian]

6 hours ago, FireChans said:

The Bills are not playing well.

 

TBD, everytime: IS THIS LIKE THE BICKERING BILLS AND 1989 VIBES???????????????

 

The answer is no. It’s not.

 

The comparison isnt about the locker rooms of these teams.

 

The comparison is we had a great record in 88 and high expectations for 89, same with this season as compared to last.

 

 

[K-9]

1 hour ago, Buffalo Barbarian said:

 

Marv had to manage the super egos of that team , that team would have imploded without him, that makes him a HOFer just for that.

 

 

So, if Marv never went to four consecutive SBs, he still would be in the HOF because he could manage super egos? Somehow I doubt that. 

[Buffalo Barbarian]

20 minutes ago, K-9 said:

So, if Marv never went to four consecutive SBs, he still would be in the HOF because he could manage super egos? Somehow I doubt that. 

 

He went to 4 consecutive Superbowls because he got those divas to work together. McDermott strategy is to have no divas

 

 

[reddogblitz]

1 hour ago, NewEra said:

😳 Landry was a great coach.  
 

BB did it 19 straight years.  That one season weighs more than 3x the championships?  6-2.  
 

You’re certainly entitled to your opinion, but I disagree.  
 

 

 

Tom Landry doesn't need an asterisk or two next to his record.

[RaoulDuke79]

On 12/10/2021 at 6:07 PM, MPL said:

It is more common than not that a team that loses the conference championship regresses and finishes with a worse record the following season, or is bounced from the playoffs in an earlier round. I know there have been some exceptions to this in the AFC over the past decade, but what we're experiencing right now isn't uncommon. 

We didn't add any pieces and ran it back with 21 of 22 starters from last year. Teams had the whole offseason to study our offense. We haven't adjusted or adapted quick enough. 

 

That said, they've got a franchise QB who is one of the best in the league and one of the best WRs in the league. They should be able to retool the roster this offseason and come back better next year. 

Well said. Pressure is on Beane.

[K-9]

54 minutes ago, Buffalo Barbarian said:

 

He went to 4 consecutive Superbowls because he got those divas to work together. McDermott strategy is to have no divas

 

 

I won't belabor the point except to say that every coach in the HOF was good at managing super sized egos. Like I said earlier, it's a prerequisite for the job. 

[Hawaii50]

15 hours ago, Ray Stonada said:

 

I totally agree with this. I still secretly believe the Bills are going to win the Super Bowl too. Just need them to get together and one win in tough circumstances might be enough to do it.

 

 

I always secretly believe they will win the Super Bowl.  Even during the drought years.  Hopefully this team pulls it together and delivers.  This year many teams could win it as no clear dominant team.  Fingers crossed that this team is due, not doomed.  We will get a good read tomorrow.

[oldmanfan]

11 hours ago, reddogblitz said:

 

Is the HOF reserved for only SB winners?

Flores won one and I don’t think he should be in

[machine gun kelly]

This team is getting pushed around, and is not playing with a killer spirit.  They fought hard in 19 and 20.  Even in 18, it seemed they had a belief in their coaching and each other.

 

The Jags game pissed me off as they just were apathetic losing that game.  It just seems as if they think they are better than they are this season.  I’d love for them to prove me wrong by winning today.  You can hate Brady, but he’s a winner.  He demands precision from his players and himself.  I love Josh, and believe he will grow into a perennial winner, and these losses are not his fault.

 

I don’t understand the comparison about the Bickering Bills.  These are the yawning Bills.

[Cotton Fitzsimmons]

On 12/10/2021 at 7:22 PM, nucci said:

they regressed because they hated each other...nothing to do with teams figuring them out

nucci, my good fellow… you are spot on per usual! Now if Josh comes out and is like “The guy should’ve been blocked, I don’t know what the hell Dion was thinking there!” then we’ll have something!

[T master]

On 12/10/2021 at 5:09 PM, Buffalo Barbarian said:

 

Agree with all this but if we get back to being aggressive this year we can make a run this year

 

 

 

I believe we can . They have the talent on the roster i just think they have to think outside the box with the running game on possibly the defense .

 

I have believed since before they chose Moss that they needed a bigger bruiser type RB say in the 230 lb range the year they took Moss was 2020 and we got AJ Epenesa which was a good pick but he hasn't been that guy in our defense and there were some what seemed to be really good backs in that draft .

 

On defense i would like to see the Bills try a more typical 4/3 D i think just having 2 LBers may be adding to opponents being able to run on them & i hope going forward that they will utilize the 2 bigger backs they have on the roster in Gilliam at 244 lbs & Williams at 215 lbs to add some punch to the back field .

 

If it's broke fix it then continue to the play offs ...

[SirAndrew]

2 hours ago, machine gun kelly said:

This team is getting pushed around, and is not playing with a killer spirit.  They fought hard in 19 and 20.  Even in 18, it seemed they had a belief in their coaching and each other.

 

The Jags game pissed me off as they just were apathetic losing that game.  It just seems as if they think they are better than they are this season.  I’d love for them to prove me wrong by winning today.  You can hate Brady, but he’s a winner.  He demands precision from his players and himself.  I love Josh, and believe he will grow into a perennial winner, and these losses are not his fault.

 

I don’t understand the comparison about the Bickering Bills.  These are the yawning Bills.

Agree, we obviously have much better talent in 2021 than the drought years, but the attitude is closer to Jauron than the bickering Bills. 

[BillsPride12]

8 hours ago, Hawaii50 said:

I always secretly believe they will win the Super Bowl.  Even during the drought years.  Hopefully this team pulls it together and delivers.  This year many teams could win it as no clear dominant team.  Fingers crossed that this team is due, not doomed.  We will get a good read tomorrow.

My condolences on a lifetime of disappointments 

[FireChans]

21 hours ago, K-9 said:

I agree Marv is overrated as a HC, but I fully understand why he’s in the HOF. He made history in the game and did something no HC had done before and hasn’t done since. That’s hard for HOF voters to ignore. 

I'm not sure he's overrated in today's day and age. He's very rarely high in the list of greatest HC's of all time.

 

Kelly as well. They both found equilibrium now 30 years removed from their reigns.  Great NFL player/coach, etched in the annals of NFL history and worthy HoFers. But not more than that.

[reddogblitz]

10 hours ago, oldmanfan said:

Flores won one and I don’t think he should be in

 

Why not?

[oldmanfan]

1 hour ago, reddogblitz said:

 

Why not?

Don’t think he’s one of the greats.

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

More like the Bickering fans.

 

Buffalo is 2 wins over .500 with a more than decent shot to make the playoffs. They know if they close the season out w/ 3-4 wins then they're in. It all starts w/ taking down Brady. 

[Beerball]

On 12/11/2021 at 8:41 AM, Ya Digg? said:

Wait am I following this correctly-the Bills have no unity because Knox had a bad game and Breida fumbled the football? 

This team lost to Jacksonville. Ya Digg?

[Ya Digg?]

4 minutes ago, Beerball said:

This team lost to Jacksonville. Ya Digg?

Every team in the AFC has a bad loss, so does this mean every team has “unity” or “bickering” issues? 

[Beerball]

Just now, Ya Digg? said:

Every team in the AFC has a bad loss, so does this mean every team has “unity” or “bickering” issues? 

This team has more than one bad loss. You can sit with your friends around the campfire and sing kumbiya all ya want. If you don’t see more than minor issues with this team then you haven’t been paying attention.

[Ya Digg?]

7 minutes ago, Beerball said:

This team has more than one bad loss. You can sit with your friends around the campfire and sing kumbiya all ya want. If you don’t see more than minor issues with this team then you haven’t been paying attention.

Oh I realize these aren’t minor issues but it seems like some people on here (yourself included) look at this team as a team incapable of winning and are surprised they have 7 wins. The reality is it’s probably somewhere between where I think they are and where you think they are