Showdown with Pats is a judgment day for Sean McDermott, Bills

[FilthyBeast]

4 hours ago, Bills92 said:

Said it before.. I'll say it again...  Regardless of result, there is a good chance we meet the Pats again in the playoffs.  I know it's easy to get caught up in the moment.. but guys like Beane and Coach get paid millions of dollars for a whole bunch of reasons... but one of them is to not lose sight of the big picture.

 

They have built this team to win consistently for years to come and we as a fandom should not lose site of that.

 

Go Bills

 

This is simply false and no factual evidence to prove it.

 

Yes if Allen is a franchise QB it matters, but if he keeps taking a beating he'll go the way of Cam Newton and won't have near the career longevity as some QB's in today do.

 

Again, folks can keep drinking the Beane koolaid all they want but there is a better chance this team is salary cap hell and a 3 or 4 win team looking for a new coach/GM in a few years than being a situation like the Chiefs and contending for a SB every year. It's just how this league works and why very few franchise find a consistent winning formula.

[JohnNord]

1 hour ago, Nextmanup said:

Judging anyone on one game is unfair.

 

It is not unfair, however, to judge McDermott on 4 years of work plus the game on Sunday.

 

Is he ever going to be able to out-coach a really good coach?  Ever?

 

If not, wouldn't it be a good idea to try and find one and hire someone who can?

 

Or are we always going to be content to lose a few games shy of the big dance?

 

Lots of organizations are...in all sports.

 

 

 

 

 

The trick for this game is to give Allen enough time, and for him to have done enough homework, to be able to find the open man and throw him the football.  Without taking too much time.

 

When Josh can do that, we usually win by 20+ points.

 

When Josh struggles doing that, we might lose, get blown out, or win a really scary close one.

 

We have the better QB, by A LOT.

 

Either our coaching staff can find a way to leverage that into a win, or they can't.

 

Let's see what they do.

 

I'll say this: switch starting QBs and there is NO WAY New England loses this game!

 

I wish that were true for the Bills too.

 

 

Your premise is flawed and ridiculously emotional and reactionary.  Good thing you’re not running an NFL franchise.
 

To say McDermott has never beaten a good coach is untrue and there are countless examples from last season alone - including two in the playoffs.  It’s a tired argument that a lot of Bills fans will make that isn’t true. 
 

I don’t think he’s the best coach in the NFL and he’s definitely not perfect but I also think he’s a lot better than people who think like you believe.

 

 
 

 

[Sharky7337]

9 hours ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

 

Can't beat a good ol Eastwood movie lol

[FilthyBeast]

1 hour ago, JohnNord said:

Your premise is flawed and ridiculously emotional and reactionary.  Good thing you’re not running an NFL franchise.
 

To say McDermott has never beaten a good coach is untrue and there are countless examples from last season alone - including two in the playoffs.  It’s a tired argument that a lot of Bills fans will make that isn’t true. 
 

I don’t think he’s the best coach in the NFL and he’s definitely not perfect but I also think he’s a lot better than people who think like you believe.

 

 
 

 

 

Since this continues to be a hot topic, here's his year to year record in terms of W/L against teams that ultimately made the playoffs that year, and including the playoffs:

 

2017:

 

2 -4 (W - ATL, KC, L - NE x2, NO, CAR)

 

2018:

 

0 - 7 (L - NE x 2, BAL, LAC, HOU, IND, CHI)

 

Playoffs

0 - 1 (JAX)

 

2019:

 

1 - 4 (W - IND, L - BAL, NE x 2, PHI

 

Playoffs

 

0 - 1 (HOU)

 

2020:

 

3 - 2 (W - PIT, LAR, SEA, L - KC, TEN)

 

Playoffs

 

2 - 1 (W - IND, BAL, L - KC)

 

Add it all up and this is a very poor 8 - 20 career record against playoff teams in the regular season and playoffs from 2017 - 2020

 

Now if we want to look ahead and assume the following without including the final 3 games and current projects this brings it to 9 - 24 total:

 

2021

 

1 - 4 (W - KC, L - NE, IND, TB, TEN)

 

Bottom line here these are the facts that say McDermott is not a good coach when it comes to equal or better competition. Is there still time to reverse this? Sure but the facts and history say it's not going to happen which is why I maintain he won't be in Buffalo much longer than some folks would be led to believe.

[Nextmanup]

2 minutes ago, FilthyBeast said:

 

Since this continues to be a hot topic, here's his year to year record in terms of W/L against teams that ultimately made the playoffs that year, and including the playoffs:

 

2017:

 

2 -4 (W - ATL, KC, L - NE x2, NO, CAR)

 

2018:

 

0 - 7 (L - NE x 2, BAL, LAC, HOU, IND, CHI)

 

Playoffs

0 - 1 (JAX)

 

2019:

 

1 - 4 (W - IND, L - BAL, NE x 2, PHI

 

Playoffs

 

0 - 1 (HOU)

 

2020:

 

3 - 2 (W - PIT, LAR, SEA, L - KC, TEN)

 

Playoffs

 

2 - 1 (W - IND, BAL, L - KC)

 

Add it all up and this is a very poor 8 - 20 career record against playoff teams in the regular season and playoffs from 2017 - 2020

 

Now if we want to look ahead and assume the following without including the final 3 games and current projects this brings it to 9 - 24 total:

 

2021

 

1 - 4 (W - KC, L - NE, IND, TB, TEN)

 

Bottom line here these are the facts that say McDermott is not a good coach when it comes to equal or better competition. Is there still time to reverse this? Sure but the facts and history say it's not going to happen which is why I maintain he won't be in Buffalo much longer than some folks would be led to believe.

Things have been so bad in Buffalo, for so long, most fans are still in their honeymoon phase with McDermott--basically willing to give him a pass in general.

 

But at some point, unless we win a SB soon, there is going to be a collision of failures and expectations, and I think McDermott could truly be replaced with someone perceived to be better.

 

McDermott has already played an important role in franchise history.  He (and Beane) are the guys that turned 20 years of tire fire around and got things going in a positive direction again.

 

Maybe that's the best he can do.  I don't know.  

 

At some point, we are going to need a coach who can match up against the best coaches in the league, in the playoffs against good teams, and BEAT THEM.

 

He did do that twice last year, then got outclassed in KC.

 

BB just destroyed him in the Wind Game on MNF.

 

Let's see what he does Sunday!

 

 

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

1 hour ago, JohnNord said:

Your premise is flawed and ridiculously emotional and reactionary.  Good thing you’re not running an NFL franchise.
 

To say McDermott has never beaten a good coach is untrue and there are countless examples from last season alone - including two in the playoffs.  It’s a tired argument that a lot of Bills fans will make that isn’t true. 
 

I don’t think he’s the best coach in the NFL and he’s definitely not perfect but I also think he’s a lot better than people who think like you believe.

 

 
 

 

 

It's unreal the amount of people that want McD canned and think he isn't a good coach. I'm wondering if it's just a wave of younger fans that are just recently getting into football. It's like no one remembers Marrone, Jauron, Rex Ryan, Gregg Williams, etc. McDermott is a legitimate top 8 coach in the league w/ a winning record. People would've killed for that 5-10 years ago. It's going to take multiple losing seasons for them to ever consider firing him. 

[Motorin']

 

[Codyny13]

The patriots ran the football because they have a rookie qb who is inexperienced and lacks top level arm talent to throw in 60 mph wind and this makes Belichek a genius? Props to him for understanding and recognizing the strength of his football team matches up well with the weakness of ours…I’ll never downplay the mans skills as a coach but that game didn’t have me walking away thinking wow, nor did I think we got bullied. We had 9 TFL, we just couldn’t finish on offense. Gap integrity and sure tackling will allow us to win the game on defense, it’s up to those 11 to get it done. I’d like to see AJ Klein in on some early down plays as well.

[JohnNord]

 

1 hour ago, FilthyBeast said:

 

Since this continues to be a hot topic, here's his year to year record in terms of W/L against teams that ultimately made the playoffs that year, and including the playoffs:

 

2017:

 

2 -4 (W - ATL, KC, L - NE x2, NO, CAR)

 

2018:

 

0 - 7 (L - NE x 2, BAL, LAC, HOU, IND, CHI)

 

Playoffs

0 - 1 (JAX)

 

2019:

 

1 - 4 (W - IND, L - BAL, NE x 2, PHI

 

Playoffs

 

0 - 1 (HOU)

 

2020:

 

3 - 2 (W - PIT, LAR, SEA, L - KC, TEN)

 

Playoffs

 

2 - 1 (W - IND, BAL, L - KC)

 

Add it all up and this is a very poor 8 - 20 career record against playoff teams in the regular season and playoffs from 2017 - 2020

 

Now if we want to look ahead and assume the following without including the final 3 games and current projects this brings it to 9 - 24 total:

 

2021

 

1 - 4 (W - KC, L - NE, IND, TB, TEN)

 

Bottom line here these are the facts that say McDermott is not a good coach when it comes to equal or better competition. Is there still time to reverse this? Sure but the facts and history say it's not going to happen which is why I maintain he won't be in Buffalo much longer than some folks would be led to believe.

The problem with this is you’re factoring in his two season where the team was pretty much devoid of talent.  If you focused on the past three season where the team reached the postseason their record is not nearly.  

 

3 of the losses this season were 1 score games and there is usually some randomness  at play with those types of games.   So basically you’ve formed an opinion and you’re using data lacking a lot of context to push your bias

 

There’s truth that McDermott needs to cosch better in big games but he has made some progress over the past two years.  I think the emotional takes about him are ridiculous.  
 

And by the way, he’s going no where.  He’s the most powerful person at OBD outside of the owners.  It’s going to take a giant collapse for him to get fired any time soon.  

1 hour ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

 

It's unreal the amount of people that want McD canned and think he isn't a good coach. I'm wondering if it's just a wave of younger fans that are just recently getting into football. It's like no one remembers Marrone, Jauron, Rex Ryan, Gregg Williams, etc. McDermott is a legitimate top 8 coach in the league w/ a winning record. People would've killed for that 5-10 years ago. It's going to take multiple losing seasons for them to ever consider firing him. 

I just think it’s ridiculously reactionary.  Don’t get me wrong McDermott has his faults but fans want to blame him for everything.  Some things are out of his control.

 

I think he’s a pretty good coach and while this season has been somewhat disappointing it would be foolhardy to fire him

[Chaos]

I think McDermott is about the 10th best coach in the league. He has a top 5 QB. The rest of the roster taken as a whole, is about NFL average.  This is not a formula for a Super Bowl championship.  It is a formula for perenial wild card contending team, with an occassional playoff win. 

Edited December 25, 2021 by Chaos

[CodeMonkey]

20 hours ago, HOUSE said:

 

Mark Gaughan

 

It’s Judgment Day in a lot of ways for the 2021 Buffalo Bills on Sunday against the New England Patriots.

Actually, let’s call it Judgment Day, Part 1, since the final judgment on the Bills will be made based on what they do in January.

• Can Sean McDermott avoid being outcoached by Bill Belichick?

• Did Brandon Beane build a team geared toward beating the Kansas City Chiefs and fail to keep a keener eye on beating the Patriots?

• Can Brian Daboll find the right adjustments against the defensive wizardry of his chief pro football mentor?

 

https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/mark-gaughan-showdown-with-pats-is-a-judgment-day-for-sean-mcdermott-bills/article_d00ac162-6364-11ec-a9bf-6b672cd22306.html

Not even close to judgement day. If the Bills win, he is safe.  If the Bills lose, the excuse will be covid and he is still safe.

[MJS]

8 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

You and Sean would get along on game day….***** the playing not to lose *****…. Be aggressive, trust your QB to make a play. 

No. Do the smart thing. Be aggressive if that's needed. Be conservative if that's needed. Be like Bill Belichick.

[HamptonBillsfan]

On 12/24/2021 at 1:54 AM, HOUSE said:

 

Mark Gaughan

 

It’s Judgment Day in a lot of ways for the 2021 Buffalo Bills on Sunday against the New England Patriots.

Actually, let’s call it Judgment Day, Part 1, since the final judgment on the Bills will be made based on what they do in January.

• Can Sean McDermott avoid being outcoached by Bill Belichick?

• Did Brandon Beane build a team geared toward beating the Kansas City Chiefs and fail to keep a keener eye on beating the Patriots?

• Can Brian Daboll find the right adjustments against the defensive wizardry of his chief pro football mentor?

 

https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/mark-gaughan-showdown-with-pats-is-a-judgment-day-for-sean-mcdermott-bills/article_d00ac162-6364-11ec-a9bf-6b672cd22306.html

This is judgement day for the Bills organization. The ability to beat a good divisional opponent with the division on the line will shed light on our coaching staff and Beane's personnel decisions. I want to see physicality, discipline and a sense of urgency from these underachieving Bills. We are better than this team. Make this our line in the sand game. 

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

On 12/24/2021 at 5:09 PM, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

 

It's unreal the amount of people that want McD canned and think he isn't a good coach. I'm wondering if it's just a wave of younger fans that are just recently getting into football. It's like no one remembers Marrone, Jauron, Rex Ryan, Gregg Williams, etc. McDermott is a legitimate top 8 coach in the league w/ a winning record. People would've killed for that 5-10 years ago. It's going to take multiple losing seasons for them to ever consider firing him. 

I’m not at all on the “McD is a bad coach” train, but just naming the litany of crap before him doesn’t make him the next Lombardi 

[97bills]

On 12/24/2021 at 5:22 PM, JohnNord said:

 

The problem with this is you’re factoring in his two season where the team was pretty much devoid of talent.  If you focused on the past three season where the team reached the postseason their record is not nearly.  

 

3 of the losses this season were 1 score games and there is usually some randomness  at play with those types of games.   So basically you’ve formed an opinion and you’re using data lacking a lot of context to push your bias

 

There’s truth that McDermott needs to cosch better in big games but he has made some progress over the past two years.  I think the emotional takes about him are ridiculous.  
 

And by the way, he’s going no where.  He’s the most powerful person at OBD outside of the owners.  It’s going to take a giant collapse for him to get fired any time soon.  

I just think it’s ridiculously reactionary.  Don’t get me wrong McDermott has his faults but fans want to blame him for everything.  Some things are out of his control.

 

I think he’s a pretty good coach and while this season has been somewhat disappointing it would be foolhardy to fire him

And he wouldn’t last 5 minutes on the open market, the way Buffalo sucked for 20 years and he turn that team around, and brought recondition back to Buffalo. I can think of a few teams who would love to have him in the building and give fans hope. 

[Jpsredemption]

I won’t how furious he’s going to be when the Patriots win tomorrow. Should have won round 1. Enough said. 

[muppy]

55 minutes ago, HamptonBillsfan said:

This is judgement day for the Bills organization. The ability to beat a good divisional opponent with the division on the line will shed light on our coaching staff and Beane's personnel decisions. I want to see physicality, discipline and a sense of urgency from these underachieving Bills. We are better than this team. Make this our line in the sand game. 

DITTO and concur 100% with every word. Succinct as JUST WIN ..boom YEP.....but even  a loss won't lose McDermott his job imo. I just dont believe Pegula would pull the trigger that quickly on his removal. Firing Beane imo would be a hot mess...talk about imploding the franchise.

[78thealltimegreat]

On 12/24/2021 at 3:32 AM, SydneyBillsFan said:

 

McD being outcoached is a given, but there is no shame in that. He just has to coach competently - no wasted time outs, going for it on 4th and short in the Pats half, no stupid challenges, better clock management etc.

 

Beane needs to build a well-rounded roster with extra emphasis on offense to marry up with the talent he spent $258 million on. He can see where the weaknesses are, he just has to cut the dead wood, nail the draft (where he has recently missed a few) and make one or two BIG free agent signings.

 

Daboll needs to be less vanilla and more creative, although he is a bit limited with our OL - especially this week.

Here’s the thing if the Bills actually let Allen walk at the end of his contract he’d get 258 million on the open market easily with his skill level…see what the Saints gave a glorified HBack in Tayson Hill for example 

Edited December 26, 2021 by 78thealltimegreat

[HamptonBillsfan]

35 minutes ago, muppy said:

DITTO and concur 100% with every word. Succinct as JUST WIN ..boom YEP.....but even  a loss won't lose McDermott his job imo. I just dont believe Pegula would pull the trigger that quickly on his removal. Firing Beane imo would be a hot mess...talk about imploding the franchise.

Their jobs are safe,but it creates doubt where there was high expectations after their breakout season. They were a few good plays away from a better record(Tenn,Tampa and NE),but at some point losing all  the close ones puts a cloud over the team.

[JohnNord]

3 hours ago, AlCowlingsTaxiService said:

I’m not at all on the “McD is a bad coach” train, but just naming the litany of crap before him doesn’t make him the next Lombardi 

Agreed and 1 disappointing season also doesn’t make him Chan Gailey.  

[Nextmanup]

1 hour ago, JohnNord said:

Agreed and 1 disappointing season also doesn’t make him Chan Gailey.  

I always liked Chan Gailey.  He had a natural knack for good offensive play calling currently lacking on the present  Bills coaching staff.  

 

He wasn't head coach material, mind you, but most head coaches in the NFL are not.

 

And he is a good man to boot! 

 

 

 

 

[Watkins101]

On 12/24/2021 at 5:16 AM, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

It's really starting to simplify for the Bills. If they lose to NE, they're more than likely going to be looking at needing either BAL or CIN to lose two of three.

 

BAL:

@CIN

LAR

PIT

 

CIN:

BAL

KC

@CLE

 

That's why this BAL-CIN game this week is so critical. Really need the Ravens to win. Then we would just need the Chiefs to beat the Bengals.

 

If the Bengals beat the Ravens, I think the Bills will miss the playoffs. CIN will go 2-1 with wins over BAL and @CLE, and BAL will also go 2-1 with home wins over LAR and PIT to close the season.

Why so sure that the ravens will beat the rams and the Steelers? The rams are 10-4 and are a solid team, and the steelers aren’t horrible and could be playing with playoffs on the line. 

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

1 hour ago, Watkins101 said:

Why so sure that the ravens will beat the rams and the Steelers? The rams are 10-4 and are a solid team, and the steelers aren’t horrible and could be playing with playoffs on the line. 

I don't like the Rams flying east against a desperate Ravens team trying to save its season. I also don't like Steelers matchup because it's also at home, the Ravens will be seeking revenge, and I think the Steelers will already be cooked (via Chiefs tomorrow).

Edited December 26, 2021 by Giuseppe Tognarelli

[AlfaBill]

On 12/24/2021 at 1:18 PM, ScottLaw said:

You and Sean would get along on game day….***** the playing not to lose *****…. Be aggressive, trust your QB to make a play. 

No you’re wrong. To say that every game and every situation is the same is ignorant. Sometimes you need to kick the FG and sometimes you go for it on 4th. A great coach knows when to do it. Anyone who says different is a simpleton. 

[Nitro]

Judgement day?  Nah!  If they lose all is not lost.  This season is a learning experience for all involved.  The Bills will lose veterans that will be replaced by draft picks and FA signings.  I expect a better team net year.  While this one plays out, I think they will be a force heading into the play offs.  Every AFC playoff team is flawed.   It is a toss up going into the playoffs.

[dma0034]

On 12/24/2021 at 5:16 AM, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

It's really starting to simplify for the Bills. If they lose to NE, they're more than likely going to be looking at needing either BAL or CIN to lose two of three.

 

BAL:

@CIN

LAR

PIT

 

CIN:

BAL

KC

@CLE

 

That's why this BAL-CIN game this week is so critical. Really need the Ravens to win. Then we would just need the Chiefs to beat the Bengals.

 

If the Bengals beat the Ravens, I think the Bills will miss the playoffs. CIN will go 2-1 with wins over BAL and @CLE, and BAL will also go 2-1 with home wins over LAR and PIT to close the season.

 

 

Ravens have no chance to beat Rams. They'll have no answer for the passing attack of the Rams.

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

23 hours ago, AlCowlingsTaxiService said:

I’m not at all on the “McD is a bad coach” train, but just naming the litany of crap before him doesn’t make him the next Lombardi 

 

A decisive win against a division rival in a late season game FOR the division is a start.

[Niagara Bill]

Sean should be fired for dressing a punter he did not use rather than another o lineman.😉