Bruce Smith discusses Josh Allen, McDermott, and the last 13 seconds of the Chiefs game

[DrPJax]

11 hours ago, Niagara Dude said:

Bruce has eyes only McDermott apologists pretend it was not the worse meltdown in playoff team history

I agree with you , and having been a fan since ‘63 while experiencing all the prior meltdowns, IMHO nothing else is comparable except wide right.    I feel this way even more as time passes because this loss was incomprehensible and is a coaching AND player mental / intelligence breakdown beyond belief for professional football. It also wasted the best QB performance in the playoffs ever by a qb and even Kelly never came close to this type of performance while leading the Bills to the 4 straight Superbowls. 
 

Couple that blunder with all the other circumstances that I believe would have ended with at least a SB appearance or possible victory ( AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME at home against an inexperienced Cincy squad, Titans out, BRADY & Rodgers BOTH out, team was really healthy and offensively peaking ) and it will always remain gut wrenching for me. Bruce was straightforward saying there was no excuse for these mistakes , including the mistake on the kick. He pointed out how it should have been just basic defense to not let Kelce come off the line without being checked / hit.  It was poor coaching strategy and poor player recognition. I put most responsibilities on the coaches , especially given the two times out taken , to communicate the situation to the players about checking Kelce and Hill and go over other options like even holding them to waste time. Mcd froze and he continues to make game day mistakes every year that are hard to believe for a 5 year head coach.  
 

I like Mcd as our coach, yet I am starting to question if he will ever be a complete in game coach. I really hope he does, but it will take winning a SB now in my view to overcome blowing an opportunity of this magnitude; I mean 13 seconds and you can’t devise a defensive strategy for that short period having been PRIMARILY A DEFENSIVE ORIENTED COACH for the majority of your career?  
 

My concern for next year revolves around Mcds and Frazier’s defensive scheme that broke down against  quality opponents. Bruce pointed out how with the league passing 20-30 % more than was done when he was a rushing icon that he would have gotten to the qb even more than he did resulting in him acquiring even more sacks. He felt we should have gotten more sacks and missed a lot of chances in that game.  Our d line players are NOT DEVELOPING adequate moves ( something Bruce and John Fina , as a prior tackle who faced ends all the time, have both said), and our lack of young player development is I believe caused by the heavy rotation where most players are only in 40-45% of the snaps. They take longer to develop experience and to develop a rushing strategy that way. Cincys main rushers are in over 80% of snaps in direct comparison.  If we keep this same philosophy, keep Frazier with his lack of pressure and his like wise poor in game adjustments we all too often see, and we will be fortunate to ever get a home AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, which is the ticket to the SB as Bruce explained comparing things to the ‘88 & ‘89 seasons where the Bills lost in Cincy and Cleveland before finally getting the game home in Buffalo ( beating the raiders 51-3 for their first SB appearance).  Mcd also has made many questionable personnel moves ( o line with not playing Bates’, not playing. Mckenzie much on O, rotating o linemen to different sides and positions ) and despite his getting us to the playoffs , he still is a terrible 0-4 on the road and that can’t be ignored. Lots of reasons to wonder if he will make that final jump in coaching; I want to hope he will but this monumental 13 second blunder is something I can’t forget.  It’s right there with the worst of all time mistakes when so many things were breaking in the teams favor. 

[Pbomb]

19 hours ago, Lost said:

Haha,  even Bruce Smith even blasts Edmunds for the Chiefs loss. 

Didn’t but gotta get a jab in on Edmunds whenever possible 

[Niagara Dude]

17 minutes ago, DrPJax said:

I agree with you , and having been a fan since ‘63 while experiencing all the prior meltdowns, IMHO nothing else is comparable except wide right.    I feel this way even more as time passes because this loss was incomprehensible and is a coaching AND player mental / intelligence breakdown beyond belief for professional football. It also wasted the best QB performance in the playoffs ever by a qb and even Kelly never came close to this type of performance while leading the Bills to the 4 straight Superbowls. 
 

Couple that blunder with all the other circumstances that I believe would have ended with at least a SB appearance or possible victory ( AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME at home against an inexperienced Cincy squad, Titans out, BRADY & Rodgers BOTH out, team was really healthy and offensively peaking ) and it will always remain gut wrenching for me. Bruce was straightforward saying there was no excuse for these mistakes , including the mistake on the kick. He pointed out how it should have been just basic defense to not let Kelce come off the line without being checked / hit.  It was poor coaching strategy and poor player recognition. I put most responsibilities on the coaches , especially given the two times out taken , to communicate the situation to the players about checking Kelce and Hill and go over other options like even holding them to waste time. Mcd froze and he continues to make game day mistakes every year that are hard to believe for a 5 year head coach.  
 

I like Mcd as our coach, yet I am starting to question if he will ever be a complete in game coach. I really hope he does, but it will take winning a SB now in my view to overcome blowing an opportunity of this magnitude; I mean 13 seconds and you can’t devise a defensive strategy for that short period having been PRIMARILY A DEFENSIVE ORIENTED COACH for the majority of your career?  
 

My concern for next year revolves around Mcds and Frazier’s defensive scheme that broke down against  quality opponents. Bruce pointed out how with the league passing 20-30 % more than was done when he was a rushing icon that he would have gotten to the qb even more than he did resulting in him acquiring even more sacks. He felt we should have gotten more sacks and missed a lot of chances in that game.  Our d line players are NOT DEVELOPING adequate moves ( something Bruce and John Fina , as a prior tackle who faced ends all the time, have both said), and our lack of young player development is I believe caused by the heavy rotation where most players are only in 40-45% of the snaps. They take longer to develop experience and to develop a rushing strategy that way. Cincys main rushers are in over 80% of snaps in direct comparison.  If we keep this same philosophy, keep Frazier with his lack of pressure and his like wise poor in game adjustments we all too often see, and we will be fortunate to ever get a home AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, which is the ticket to the SB as Bruce explained comparing things to the ‘88 & ‘89 seasons where the Bills lost in Cincy and Cleveland before finally getting the game home in Buffalo ( beating the raiders 51-3 for their first SB appearance).  Mcd also has made many questionable personnel moves ( o line with not playing Bates’, not playing. Mckenzie much on O, rotating o linemen to different sides and positions ) and despite his getting us to the playoffs , he still is a terrible 0-4 on the road and that can’t be ignored. Lots of reasons to wonder if he will make that final jump in coaching; I want to hope he will but this monumental 13 second blunder is something I can’t forget.  It’s right there with the worst of all time mistakes when so many things were breaking in the teams favor. 

Wide right could have happened to any FG kicker and Music city was an execution issue and perhaps a missed call on the throw back.  Beane wants this to go away fast and cover for his buddy but even former legends like Bruce are not buying it.  I think Bruce said it perfectly,  there were plenty of options and Frazier/McDormott choose the worse one.  Even with the new rules you can hold by design on one play before the refs would throw a flag.  Rushing 2 and just holding guys would have burned away 5-6 secs for the result of a 5 yard penalty. We just made it to damn easy,  pitch and catch and we have people thinking that it was not that bad and we will get them next season.  They stole a legacy defining win away from Josh Allen with a chance at finally winning it all.

[Lost]

8 minutes ago, Pbomb said:

Didn’t but gotta get a jab in on Edmunds whenever possible 

 

Well when you hear someone say "out of position" and "seam route" when referring to the Bills defense, who's the first players name that jumps into your head?   

 

I know it's not nice to take jabs at Edmunds all the time but he is such an easy target.   I like the guy on a personal level but we're about to pay him 12.7 mil next year. he's the 4th highest paid player on the team and least impactful.   I'd rather give that 12 million to Gabe Davis or someone who actually shows up.

[zow2]

1 hour ago, dave mcbride said:

I advise watching the final SB to halftime, declaring victory with a 13-6 win, and then getting the hell out. Like Vietnam. It works for me.

 

Ha.  I was at that Super Bowl.  But still recall not feeling all that confident at halftime.  

[DrPJax]

33 minutes ago, Niagara Dude said:

Wide right could have happened to any FG kicker and Music city was an execution issue and perhaps a missed call on the throw back.  Beane wants this to go away fast and cover for his buddy but even former legends like Bruce are not buying it.  I think Bruce said it perfectly,  there were plenty of options and Frazier/McDormott choose the worse one.  Even with the new rules you can hold by design on one play before the refs would throw a flag.  Rushing 2 and just holding guys would have burned away 5-6 secs for the result of a 5 yard penalty. We just made it to damn easy,  pitch and catch and we have people thinking that it was not that bad and we will get them next season.  They stole a legacy defining win away from Josh Allen with a chance at finally winning it all.

You are spot on ; I am all for positivity, but don’t get the “ we’ ll just get them next year “ simplistic thinking. 😀 We thought that since it all started back in 1990, and still no Lombardi here unfortunately. I get it tho, there’s nothing else we can do but hope for next year. The schedule is going to be much harder with Chiefs, Bengals, Rams , and the home / away breakdown looks pretty difficult.   I have belief our O will be ok eventually , but it is the first year for our OC actually BEING “ THE” guy developing the strategy and doing all the play calling so there will be some growing pains.  Allen is just a superstar and if Beane keeps providing him with weapons he will overcome any issues. The playoff run was him taking leadership and decision making skills to the next level and the future offensively with him is unlimited.  I love your use of a “ legacy defining win” ; it could have been a legacy defining playoff run with the two performances he already had with 9 td passes and 0 ints, and more likely to follow because he was just that in command and in a zone. 
 

I just can’t get past the D tho. Stats aside, they have had a history of coming up small in critical games during the Frazier years. They blew this game and that OT performance was one the worst D efforts I can remember. What really made it worse was watching Cincy shut KC down the whole second half with their adjustments proving it could be done while getting 4 sacks compared to our ZERO.  Our d talent has a long way to go and the off season is critical.  They need a legit edge rusher and they need much better performances from the LB’ s , especially Edmonds.  Everybody loves his mobility , but his low PBU’s, low ints, in my mind are in juxtaposition to that mobility. His lack of impact plays is no longer just excusable because he is young , and around  the league there were rookie or young LBs having more impact for their teams.  Beane has a big challenge figuring out this front 7 , and I don’t think he can use more early draft capital on D linemen. Groot, Boogie, AJ need to develop, and we probably need one premiere FA edge rusher and another who is up and coming if we look to just not stand still from a production standpoint.  
 

Keeping my fingers crossed things will turn out, as I know from experience there is no promise beyond just making it back to the playoffs. That will always be within reach with Josh, but getting home field is paramount. Unbelievably, so many times on podcasts and posts I saw people saying home field was not a big deal last year through the season as they minimized the losses to Jax etc.. ; Bruce felt differently as he said reflecting on finally making that leap of a home AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME in 1990-91.  Just having to go back to KC AGAIN NEXT YEAR during the season, seems cruel and unfair and will be a major psychological hurdle to overcome again after they left everything out there that night!  Giving up 42 points kind of negates any positives from the early season win and shows at least from a D perspective, we still have a long way to go in solving playing against Mahomes.  I hope he doesn’t become “ Brady” for the Bills, and that the D finds a way to be aggressive like Cincy was in beating him twice last year. That’s the first step in getting that home field advantage I believe is our biggest hope in getting Josh that great legacy he deserves a shot at. 
 

[dave mcbride]

1 hour ago, zow2 said:

 

Ha.  I was at that Super Bowl.  But still recall not feeling all that confident at halftime.  

I went to the one before (at the Rose Bowl), and I was not confident at halftime for that one!

[Momma Pecoraro]

Table was set for Bills in 1980, 1990, 2021. 

Edited February 5, 2022 by Momma Pecoraro

[Nextmanup]

18 hours ago, Beerball said:

Let me be the first to say oh no he dint.

You're actually about No. 17.

The whole damn thread is that comment followed by everyone saying no he didn't.

 

[Nextmanup]

22 hours ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

Yeah I didn't hear anything on Edmunds either but he is correct, we were out of position pre-snap which is really inexcusable given we had timeouts & have an alleged defensive minded HC and a seasoned DC.

 

Bruce did a great job, very insightful.

Listened to his comments just now.

 

What he does is the same thing John Fina did in his last podcast on the same game--they both criticize effectively the defensive coaching, which had an impact on what happened on the field.

 

The "13 seconds" is all about a huge coaching failure from many perspectives.

 

 

 

 

[Fan in Chicago]

2 hours ago, DrPJax said:

 

I just can’t get past the D tho. Stats aside, they have had a history of coming up small in critical games during the Frazier years. 

 

This exact thing has been my complaint for the last two seasons. 

Imo, the disaster of those 13 seconds falls on Frazier. The scheme was wrong and it was bad situational football

[34-78-83]

On 2/4/2022 at 2:30 PM, BUFFALOBART said:

IMO, Bruce is the best to ever play the LDE position, and furthermore, he will tell you so!

RDE but still funny!

[par73]

On 2/4/2022 at 2:18 PM, RoyBatty is alive said:

Yeah I didn't hear anything on Edmunds either but he is correct, we were out of position pre-snap which is really inexcusable given we had timeouts & have an alleged defensive minded HC and a seasoned DC.

 

Bruce did a great job, very insightful.

And yet McDermott blames execution. What does execution have to do with a horrible defensive call that allowed that disaster to happen?

[Punching Bag]

12 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

It was def a bad look for him…. I’m sure the players didn’t appreciate it either.

 

Your assurance means everything.  It makes me feel 10000% better.

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

On 2/4/2022 at 3:47 PM, TheFunPolice said:

I think they had a squib/pooch called followed by this D, and when the kickoff cluster happened they just stuck with the D anyway, figuring it probably would still work. 

This is my final conclusion as well. 100%. I think this is what happened.

[TheFunPolice]

On 2/5/2022 at 10:57 AM, zow2 said:

 

Ha.  I was at that Super Bowl.  But still recall not feeling all that confident at halftime.  

 

We had the ball coming out of half... Bills were dominating that game but the scoreboard didn't show it. On that "4 Falls" show a couple of Cowboys basically said the Bills were manhandling them but seemed terrified of what was going to happen next...

 

If we go down and get 7 it's 20-6 midway into the 3rd quarter back when that was a huge lead... the Cowboys were ready to say "hey they finally got one!" because Aikman was so concussed he didn't know what planet he was on. 

 

Instead it's a fumble returned for a TD and a 13-13 game. 

Edited February 7, 2022 by TheFunPolice

[BobbyC81]

On 2/5/2022 at 4:58 AM, ScottLaw said:

Huh? Kelce went down himself. No one touched him. He gave himself up and called time out.

Watch it again.  Wallace hit his foot.