Colin Cowherd's Take

[uticaclub]

2 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Beane is out to prove the doubters wrong on both Brown and Davis… he was heavily criticized in his postseason press or on both….as of now, he is doubling down on both. 

So we are without a RT or WR2 because of Beanes stubborness? 

[billsfan89]

Cowherd is a blowhard who is immensely unlikable. His point was true the past two off-seasons in 2021 and 2022. Von and the DT's on the interior along with Elam being the first-round pick were where heavy resources went to the defense when in reality the Bills likely could have invested more in the offense. 2021 had a similar focus with both of the first two draft picks being defensive linemen and most of the cap dollars being spread toward the defense easily could have balanced things out more to help Josh and the offense.

 

But in 2023 the priority resource-wise has been shifted more towards the offense. The Bills biggest external free agent contract was McGovern and the first two draft picks were spent on the offensive side of the ball. Also, a lot of the smaller signings like Hardy, Harris, Sheffield, and Edwards were on the offensive side of the ball. Outside of resigning Ed Oliver, there wasn't really much action or resources spent on the defense. 

 

A third-round pick and some late-round picks were tossed into the defense, so draft wise there wasn't really much. AJ Klein, Jordan Phillips, and Shaq were resigned to minimum or close to minimum deals. Poyer was resigned to a mid-level contract and Poona Ford signed to a deal that was lower mid-level at best. The only significant defensive signing was Floyd whose deal is not exactly a massive one and was done late in free agency and was a huge discount for a player of his value. 

 

The Bills are also still in on D-Hop by all accounts and have some cap flexibility (they can restructure Dawkins and extend D.Jones to free up some space and if they are more inclined to take on risk Tre White can also be restructured) so I wouldn't rule out one or two more offensive late stage free agency acquisitions. 

[newcam2012]

2 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

No, not too high.  And I agree with what you say.   

 

Acknowledging it's difficult doesn't automatically translate into an excuse.  There's a difference between an explanation as to why something happened and making an excuse.   

 

For any team, the answer to the question "why didn't you win the Super Bowl" is "we weren't good enough."   There are a lot of explanations for why one team or another wasn't good enough.  There are explanations for the Bills, too.  

 

What people mean when they say that an explanation is an excuse is that they think the team is using the explanation to make it okay that they didn't win.  One thing we know for sure is that the Bills - the owner, the GM, the coaches, and the players, do not think it's okay.  They aren't making excuses for themselves.   They're trying to do something that is very difficult, and they're going to keep trying.  

 

Fans can complain if they want, but I'm not complaining.  Yes, the Rams won a Super Bowl, and almost immediately they weren't competitive.  The Bills are competitive every season, and they intend to stay there.  I can support that. 

That's a solid response. One thing that I slightly disagree with is that excuses were made. Perhaps legit or maybe not. 

 

Listen to Beane's end of season presser. He talked about Cinci and their cap situation. Burrow being on his rookie contract. I would have asked him what happened when Allen was on his rookie contract? The Buffalo media is soft as Charmin toilet paper. How in the world does it allow Beane to get away with using that as an excuse when years before he was under the same situation. Crazy...

 

Coach McD talked about his team after the Cinci loss. He specifically talked about how they didn't have anything left in the tank. Really? Did anyone ask him isn't it his job to have the team ready? What was the gameplan? Didn't he learn anything from playing Cinci weeks before? 

 

Let's not even begin to talk 13 seconds. He never took ownership as far as I'm concerned. A man known as a high character guy skirted responsibility. Fired the special teams coach. Lol

 

It was a home playoff game and Hamlin was present. He was obviously getting better. We were all relieved as fans. Religious or not it was a miracle. Prayers were answered. 

 

Prior to the game, we didn't hear any rumblings about how the team was gased, mentality unfit, unfocused unprepared, preoccupied, traumatized, etc...

 

After the Cinci embarrassment all the above surfaced. How convenient. Did anyone see the Miami game the week before? The Bills out coached by an inferior team. Lucky to advance to be honest. Takes me back to the home Indy game with Philip Rivers. 

 

Anyone see a pattern here? In The big game the Bilks haven't gotten it done. Are they soft? Lack physicality, toughness, leadership, or just not good enough?

 

Does the coaching staff put the team in the best position to win? Dorsey? Frazier? McD? 

Edited June 7, 2023 by newcam2012

[billsfan89]

6 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Beane is out to prove the doubters wrong on both Brown and Davis… he was heavily criticized in his postseason press or on both….as of now, he is doubling down on both. 

 

I doubt Beane cares about proving doubters wrong. The staff probably felt like Spencer Brown healthy with a full off-season to work on his game would make a good RT but still brought back Queese a decent vet backup and Shell an experience RT as competition. Would I have liked better competition for Brown? Yeah but it isn't like there isn't options on the roster if Brown struggles. 

 

In regards to Davis the team did spend a 1st round pick on a pass catcher that will likely allow them to be less reliant on Davis and signed Hardy to help alleviate pressure on Davis. The team also seems to be in on D-Hop so clearly not shying away from trying to find more WR help. The Bills being up against the cap and missing out on top WR talent in round 1 simply had to make a choice on how to invest resources and went with a more prudent approach. Had they had a better chance to upgrade from Davis I think they would have. Who knows maybe D-Hop is still in the mix?  

[Nextmanup]

12 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

Cowherd is a blowhard who is immensely unlikable

You may not like him, but to dismiss him as a blowhard is ridiculous.

 

He's one of the better guys in the country doing that type of work.

Can you possibly imagine anyone at WGR-550 investing that level of research and preparation into on air segments?  The Gr-55 guys, Sal C. at the top of the list, are blowhards.

 

There is a reason why Cowherd went from a regional talent in the Pacific NW to a huge national name.

 

You don't have to like him tough!

 

 

[billsfan89]

2 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Yea don’t disagree, but that is way down the totem pole of reasons they lost to Cincy IMO…. Still, I think some fans have these wild expectations with the running game seemingly every year… they were 7th in the league in yard per game and 2nd in the league in yards per carry in 2022….Singletary averaged 4.7 YPC and Cook 5.7…. How much better can we really expect? 
 

Offensively they need someone to step up in the passing game and be a better 2nd option for Josh than Gabe(unless he emerges after 3 inconsistent seasons)… that’s where the real opportunity for improvement is on offense IMO.

 

The issue with the Bills offense was more so being more effective in the red zone and moving the ball "easier" against better teams and in certain situations. The Bills put up a lot of points and moved the ball well but in the red zone where teams could double Diggs easier and force others to beat you the Bills at times struggled. The Bills also lacked a conventional running game at times and supplemental weapons when Diggs was doubled or even tripled at times. Hoping the improved interior O-line and the addition of Kincaid the Bills can be more consistent in the redzone and make things easier for Josh against better defenses. 

[billsfan89]

14 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

You may not like him, but to dismiss him as a blowhard is ridiculous.

 

He's one of the better guys in the country doing that type of work.

Can you possibly imagine anyone at WGR-550 investing that level of research and preparation into on air segments?  The Gr-55 guys, Sal C. at the top of the list, are blowhards.

 

There is a reason why Cowherd went from a regional talent in the Pacific NW to a huge national name.

 

You don't have to like him tough!

 

 

 

Even in this segment he completely ignored the past off-season where the team spent draft resources and free agency dollars more on the offensive side of the ball. He cites Poona Ford as a big-time addition whose contract was a low-level deal. I never find any of Cowherd's takes to be all that well-researched or all that good either. His takes are either obvious sports stuff or just ***** he goes off the cuff about. I think several times he had done NFL season predictions and he had the entire NFL 60 games over .500 or majorly over .500. I don't listen to much local sports talk radio (I get more sports punditry from Youtube and podcasts) but even in that context, Cowherd's analysis is mid-level at best in my opinion. 

 

Also, someone becoming popular does not necessarily mean they are that great. Mcdonald's is the world's most popular restaurant doesn't mean they are the best restaurant in the world. 

[Augie]

Win 4 straight and look good doing it, and we are back in Cowherd’s top 3 teams in the NFL.   🤷‍♂️

[BigAl2526]

I think there are some pundits who believe if you don't throw a boatload of money at a player or players to fix an area of the team, you didn't do anything.    Buffalo was restricted in what they could do this off season.  I think they did more than most of us thought they could.  They didn't throw out big contracts on the offensive line, but they did sign some players who are pretty well respected and have lots of starting experience.  I think the offensive line will be better than last season.  With improvements at running back and a new weapon at tight end, that might be enough to reduce pressure on Josh Allen.

[Shaw66]

1 hour ago, Logic said:

The only thing it "says" to me is that OTHER teams have franchise QBs and good rosters, too.

You say the best way to punch your ticket to the SB is to have a franchise QB. That's true. But sometimes all seven teams in the AFC playoff field have franchise QBs. So what's the "deeper meaning" for the six that don't win? Is it always a larger systemic failure?  Or is it just a system where, in each game, two teams face off and only one can win?

If two teams face off in an exciting duel and one barely outlasts the other, is it always a complete referendum on the losing team? Or did one of the two teams just happen to have the ball last?

Your hypothesis of "they have a franchise QB and yet they haven't won it all, so something must be wrong in the bigger picture" just seems overly simplistic to me, that's all. Only one team out of 32 gets to win the championship. 

Can improvements to coaching, scheme, personnel, and execution be made? Of course! But that doesn't necessarily mean there's some larger, deeper thing that is structurally wrong with the team. 

It's hard to win the Super Bowl. 

I agree.

 

And I want to add something to discussion that has been nagging at me when I first saw it a few weeks ago.  I don't recall the thread where this discussion took place, but someone dug out passer rating and other performance data splits on Burrow and Allen in 2022.  I think Mahomes' data was there, too.  Among other things, the data showed that Burrow's passer rating rose incrementally from the first quarter to the fourth quarter.   Allen's dropped off in the fourth quarter fairly significantly.  Mahomes was better than Allen, too.

 

There are multiple things of significance in that information.  First, of course, is that there could be a lot of different reasons why Allen's performance tailed off in the fourth quarter - it's a team game, and any number of things could contribute to Allen's decline.  

 

Second, whatever the reason for Allen's decline, there simply is no question that you'd rather have a QB with a passer rating of 105 in the fourth quarter than 89, which is in the ballpark of what the difference was.   There's simply no question that your team is likely to have greater success if your team has a quarterback who's very efficient in the fourth quarter.  

 

Third, this kind of information really undermines the argument that you've properly challenged here - that is, if the team has an elite quarterback, the coaches should be winning Super Bowls.  Who's to say that the problem isn't simply with #17.  Maybe the coaches are doing it all right, and #17 just isn't getting the job done?   Now, I know there are all kinds of rebuttals to that, some of which I agree with, particularly it's Dorsey, it's clock management, it's the offensive line, but none of that is the point.  The point is that there's elite and there's elite, and to blindly lay the problem at the feet of the GM and coaches isn't looking nearly closely enough at what might be causing the team to fall short. 

 

Maybe the only reason the Chiefs are winning Super Bowls and the Bills aren't is that Mahomes is simply better than Allen.   I suppose that thought will cause some people to say, "Well, then that's reason enough to put McDermott on the hot seat, because he's the one who decided he didn't want Mahomes."  Those people will flame away.   They're the people who, when the Bills win the Super Bowl, will complain that they didn't beat the spread.  

[billsfan89]

30 minutes ago, BigAl2526 said:

I think there are some pundits who believe if you don't throw a boatload of money at a player or players to fix an area of the team, you didn't do anything.    Buffalo was restricted in what they could do this off season.  I think they did more than most of us thought they could.  They didn't throw out big contracts on the offensive line, but they did sign some players who are pretty well respected and have lots of starting experience.  I think the offensive line will be better than last season.  With improvements at running back and a new weapon at tight end, that might be enough to reduce pressure on Josh Allen.

 

The Bills signed one of the better pass-blocking guards in the league who is also a decent run blocker, they drafted the best guard and tight end in the draft. They also signed a power running back and kept Hines as a good gadget/third-down back. In addition to that they signed Hardy as a burner and Sheffield who was the Fins third leading receiver to supplement the WR corps depth. The Bills also further addressed depth along the interior O-line by signing Edwards a former solid starting guard for a Super Bowl winner to go off the bench and they brought back Queese as a decent backup and signed Snell an experienced RT to challenge Brown in camp. The Bills are also still in on trying to sign Hopkins so clearly they are still trying to find some players on offense still.

 

The Bills had limited resources this off-season and they spent those resources more so on the offensive side of the ball. The criticism of over-investment in defense was extremely valid in 2021 and 2022. But in 2023 they have focused more so on offense both in terms of higher draft picks and cap dollars. 

[L Ron Burgundy]

20 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Still don't understand the Davis hate on this board. Yes he was a bit inconsistent last year but his YPC is elite. He makes difficult catches look routine.  He makes a ton of plays. I can forgive some miscues from time to time if he makes up for it with TDs and big catches. 

If the offense is to play better, it starts with the OL which should be better and then it falls on Allen. People don't want to admit it but he was careless with the ball last year and he missed open guys underneath. Kincaid and another year with Dorsey should help. Run game should be more consistent as well.

I think Beane did enough to improve the offense even without Hopkins.

He makes easy catches hit the turf.   He was terrible last year.  I wanted him to be a be a 1b reciever but that did not happen. 

[ProcessTruster]

21 hours ago, RichRiderBills said:

What the hell is he talking about ? We brought in like 5 new OL including a top Guard in the draft. Bills have had a crazy good off-season. They've nailed all their needs. 

 

Ridiculous take. 

 

DL was a bigger problem in that Cinci game. 

pay no attention to the Cowturd.   I'm just an idiot homer fan and even I could see McBeanes killed it this offseason.  

[Royale with Cheese]

2 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

You may not like him, but to dismiss him as a blowhard is ridiculous.

 

He's one of the better guys in the country doing that type of work.

Can you possibly imagine anyone at WGR-550 investing that level of research and preparation into on air segments?  The Gr-55 guys, Sal C. at the top of the list, are blowhards.

 

There is a reason why Cowherd went from a regional talent in the Pacific NW to a huge national name.

 

You don't have to like him tough!

 

 

 

It's because of his on air personality.  There are a lot of guys that work hard but they don't build up a big following for various reasons.

 

The WGR guys know more about the Bills and Sabres than other talk show hosts by a mile.  WGR guys specialize in just two teams.

 

Cowherd's and Dan Patrick's and others talk about any big sports topic....much broader audience and broader subjects.  They aren't experts in any specific team unless it's their team.

 

I like Cowherd and listen to him a lot.

[Aussie Joe]

2 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

Beane is out to prove the doubters wrong on both Brown and Davis… he was heavily criticized in his postseason press or on both….as of now, he is doubling down on both. 

He doesn’t seem to show the same loyalty with his DE picks…

[Beast]

21 hours ago, teef said:

Without watching a single second, I’m going to guess it made you tingle down there.  Am I right?

Yep. It’s a regular who’s who in this thread.

[phypon]

He's not completely wrong.  This D has been a sieve at stopping the run during the wrong games, so the D line has required attention.  As other's have stated, they've been trying to improve the O line.  As long as they are addressing both lines, I'm good that they are aware of the need.  If the D line is improved this year and the O line needs more help, maybe they go heavy next year for the O line.  As much as we don't want to see Allen hit the dirt, he does mask O line issues.  I'd love to have a great O line.  Hopefully, this year's line is better and they can throw more resources at it next year and the year after if need be.

[John from Riverside]

2 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

Yea don’t disagree, but that is way down the totem pole of reasons they lost to Cincy IMO…. Still, I think some fans have these wild expectations with the running game seemingly every year… they were 7th in the league in yard per game and 2nd in the league in yards per carry in 2022….Singletary averaged 4.7 YPC and Cook 5.7…. How much better can we really expect? 
 

Offensively they need someone to step up in the passing game and be a better 2nd option for Josh than Gabe(unless he emerges after 3 inconsistent seasons)… that’s where the real opportunity for improvement is on offense IMO.

A reliable over the middle target would open things up for the outside receivers
 

Enter Dalton Kincaid

[Aussie Joe]

8 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Not really the same thing. The Bills rotate their DLine, so AJE/Basham will get plenty of reps. 

 
or one of them might be gone come Week 1

[Beck Water]

22 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

2 of the biggest hits JA took last year was from RT.  Neither Brown or Quessenberry have the foot quickness to keep Josh from being "out for the season". Yes we upgraded the IOL.  But it's the outside speed rushers who are the threat.

 

The canonical wisdom is that the "blind side" is the L side, the IOL needs to maintain a pocket, and the RT can be given help from a TE, WR or RB to chip - or, in Josh's case, that he can see and evade.

 

42 minutes ago, Aussie Joe said:

 
or one of them might be gone come Week 1

 

At this point, we certainly have too many bodies signed at both DT and DE

[krf139]

He’s not wrong. Every year of McDermott is a wasted year of Allen’s prime. We’ll all be looking back on this decades from now saying “how did we not win a Super Bowl with Josh?”

[DCofNC]

6 hours ago, Florida Bills Fanatic said:

Colleen Cowpie spews what his west coast writers create for him.  His take on most things is based on relatively superficial research.  His take on the Bills' off season is pretty much off the mark.  What he neglects to acknowledge is that the 2023 draft class was pretty weak overall and the CAP constrained free agent activity.  Beane has taken what was already a really good roster and improved it.  He may not have done it like many of us wanted but it is better nonetheless.

Did he really improve it? He signed a back-up lineman to a starting contract, what looks to be a wash at WR/RB, lost one of the best LBs in the league without replacement, and signed an aging LB/DE that nobody else wanted to pay.   We all want to assume the draft will pay dividends, but if we are honest, rookie TEs rarely have a lot of impact and Torrence fell a long way to get to us, the last time we thought we “stole” a Guard that didn’t play out to well. 
 

I’m saying he didn’t , but if you aren’t a Bills fan, would you really say so?  I can’t say yes.  

[Aussie Joe]

13 minutes ago, DCofNC said:

Did he really improve it? He signed a back-up lineman to a starting contract, what looks to be a wash at WR/RB, lost one of the best LBs in the league without replacement, and signed an aging LB/DE that nobody else wanted to pay.   We all want to assume the draft will pay dividends, but if we are honest, rookie TEs rarely have a lot of impact and Torrence fell a long way to get to us, the last time we thought we “stole” a Guard that didn’t play out to well. 
 

I’m saying he didn’t , but if you aren’t a Bills fan, would you really say so?  I can’t say yes.  

 

I will say very confidently that the players on the team have improved this season.

 

I want to see if the coaching improves however …

[DCofNC]

31 minutes ago, krf139 said:

He’s not wrong. Every year of McDermott is a wasted year of Allen’s prime. We’ll all be looking back on this decades from now saying “how did we not win a Super Bowl with Josh?”

I hate that I agree.

3 minutes ago, Aussie Joe said:

 

I will say very confidently that the players on the team have improved this season.

 

I want to see if the coaching improves however …

I’m honestly not confident on either, there’s more “potential” on the roster, but not a lot of guys I’m sure about.

[Aussie Joe]

2 minutes ago, DCofNC said:

I hate that I agree.

I’m honestly not confident on either, there’s more “potential” on the roster, but not a lot of guys I’m sure about.

Interesting… do you tend to be optimistic about the Bills generally… and this off-season is different? 

[RichRiderBills]

2 hours ago, phypon said:

He's not completely wrong.  This D has been a sieve at stopping the run during the wrong games, so the D line has required attention.  As other's have stated, they've been trying to improve the O line.  As long as they are addressing both lines, I'm good that they are aware of the need.  If the D line is improved this year and the O line needs more help, maybe they go heavy next year for the O line.  As much as we don't want to see Allen hit the dirt, he does mask O line issues.  I'd love to have a great O line.  Hopefully, this year's line is better and they can throw more resources at it next year and the year after if need be.

 

The other guy made this point , not Colin.

 

Anyway the point is we DID go heavy on OL. Brought in best G in draft and another guy we feel great, then several other options in case other guys don't work out. There's even a solid backup plan at C. 

 

Honestly it was good work on the OL by Bean, detailed planned work, that appears thought out and overt. Bean deserves better than this uninformed ham fisted take by Cowherd. 

 

I am worried about Brown, but Bean likes him....and he has options if he doesn't work out. 

 

Then we got bigger at RB bringing in thumpers. 2 depth WRs I personally find intriguing and cut the cord on a couple of guys in McKenzie and Singletary we both upgraded. 

Edited June 7, 2023 by RichRiderBills

[Matt_In_NH]

He mentions how highly ranked the Bills defense is and then concludes they spend all their resources on defense.  I will just point out the Bills offense has gained the second most yards and scored the second most points the last three years.  In fact they are 10 points behind the Chiefs in points over the last three years.   And that is with one less game!  If the Bills played that Cinci game they would have be the highest scoring team over the last three years.  If you go points per game, Bills are number 1 over the last three years.  Also, the one less game actually plays into the Bills defensive stats in the favor of the Bills D over that timeframe, but they may still be number 1.  I listened to this and it sounds good and interesting but it is meant to generate reactions, he does not give you all the invormation, just some information that makes his intended point look better.

 

So what problem is Colin really fixing exactly?  Sure you can say I want more talent, I can say that about defense frankly.  The results are there on both sides of the ball.  There really is one thing this team needs to do and I dont have to say what it is.  

Edited June 8, 2023 by Matt_In_NH

[DCofNC]

38 minutes ago, Aussie Joe said:

Interesting… do you tend to be optimistic about the Bills generally… and this off-season is different? 

I’m realistic.  There’s always a shot to be good w Allen at QB.  He had his ups and downs last year, but he’s elite and creates a lot from nothing.  
 

I turned a bit more pessimistic last offseason when they banked on Davis becoming a legit 2 and ignored the OL again, while dumping huge money into an older DE, knowing full well they rotate the line to death.  The continued spending of high picks on the D and little to no return on them has me questioning a lot.  I can’t figure out if it’s a disconnect between the coaching and the GM or if the coaches absolutely refuse to use players to their strengths. 
 

As for this off-season.  I feel like McGov is basically Rick Bates 2.0 in terms of a guy who was a back up, got limited reps and cashed in.  Maybe it works, but it’s a projection at best.  I like Harty and Sherfield, solid depth with some speed, but it still doesn’t address the glaring hole at #2 WR.   MLB is basically a perfect example of Hope as a strategy.  OL isn’t far behind. 
 

Coaching has been suspect at best the last three seasons.  Perhaps more concerning is McD didn’t even have the balls to fire Frazier or take over play calling if he truly wasn’t happy w it in season. He’s supposed to be the guru, but the D has choked in big moments.  He seems to meddle in the O, but again leaves the big moments on a (struggling) rookie OC down the stretch.  I feel McD is a good guy, great culture builder, but has hit his ceiling.  This combined with the continued misses in the draft, there’s not enough talent/money to get more talent to cover for bad drafts, to cover the mediocre coaching.  
 

At this point, I see a lot of holes in the roster and don’t see a coaching staff that can overcome.

[DCofNC]

30 minutes ago, Matt_In_NH said:

He mentions how highly ranked the Bills defense is and then concludes they spend all their resources on defense.  I will just point out the Bills offense has gained the second most yards and scored the second most points the last three years.  In fact they are 10 points behind the Chiefs in points over the last three years.   And that is with one less game!  If the Bills played that Cinci game they would have be the highest scoring team over the last three years.  If you go points per game, Bills are number 1 over the last three years.  Also, the one less game actually plays into the Bills defensive stats in the favor of the Bills D over that timeframe, but they may still be number 1.  I listened to this and it sounds good and interesting but it is meant to generate reactions, he does not give you all the invormation, just some information that makes his intended point look better.

 

So what problem is Colin really fixing exactly?  Sure you can say I want more talent, I can say that about defense frankly.  The results are there on both sides of the ball.  There really is one thing this team needs to do and I dont have to say what it is.  

I have been lit up for pointing it out, but the Bills D has had the benefit of exceptionally weak competition over that time.  In 2021 they got 8 games against either back-up or rookie QBs and another 4 of those in 2022. That’s quite literally over half the wins the team had in that span, the stats don’t tell the whole story.  If you look at the numbers against teams over .500, they aren’t nearly as good.

[Aussie Joe]

6 minutes ago, DCofNC said:

I’m realistic.  There’s always a shot to be good w Allen at QB.  He had his ups and downs last year, but he’s elite and creates a lot from nothing.  
 

I turned a bit more pessimistic last offseason when they banked on Davis becoming a legit 2 and ignored the OL again, while dumping huge money into an older DE, knowing full well they rotate the line to death.  The continued spending of high picks on the D and little to no return on them has me questioning a lot.  I can’t figure out if it’s a disconnect between the coaching and the GM or if the coaches absolutely refuse to use players to their strengths. 
 

As for this off-season.  I feel like McGov is basically Rick Bates 2.0 in terms of a guy who was a back up, got limited reps and cashed in.  Maybe it works, but it’s a projection at best.  I like Harty and Sherfield, solid depth with some speed, but it still doesn’t address the glaring hole at #2 WR.   MLB is basically a perfect example of Hope as a strategy.  OL isn’t far behind. 
 

Coaching has been suspect at best the last three seasons.  Perhaps more concerning is McD didn’t even have the balls to fire Frazier or take over play calling if he truly wasn’t happy w it in season. He’s supposed to be the guru, but the D has choked in big moments.  He seems to meddle in the O, but again leaves the big moments on a (struggling) rookie OC down the stretch.  I feel McD is a good guy, great culture builder, but has hit his ceiling.  This combined with the continued misses in the draft, there’s not enough talent/money to get more talent to cover for bad drafts, to cover the mediocre coaching.  
 

At this point, I see a lot of holes in the roster and don’t see a coaching staff that can overcome.

Ok…

 

The reason I ask that question is I note that a lot of people here tend to be pessimistic in their outlook… I’m not sure why about this current team that is like  the third favourite to win the Championship..I’ve been following this team for 40 years and this is rarified air to have a team this highly rated …

 

it’s tough improving on a 13-3 team….

 

I think the OL and RB are improved though… not that the OL is elite by any means…but simply not having  Saffold there is an improvement for me…I would have liked to see an upgrade on Brown..  at least there are other solid options this year to turn to if he is not getting it done … I like the addition of Brown and Murray… they have running options in the red zone now not named Josh Allen

 

WR I’m not so sure about… let’s see if Beane is done there though come Week 1… I wouldn’t be surprised if something else happens …TE is improved through Kincaid…

 

The D should not be any worse than last year if they can get a better deal with injuries …it’s hard to imagine that situation not improving …

 

I brought up the coaching doubts earlier… we won’t know until the season is underway and even through the end of the season…what has happened last year isn’t relevant for next season … Leslie is gone and Dorsey isn’t a rookie anymore…

 

it’s possible they are a better team this year even if their record is worse in 2023… success to me means progressing further …

Let’s wait and see

 

7 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Maybe. As I’ve said before, I’d be surprised if Basham(assuming that’s who you are talking about) is cut/traded… McBeane have shown they have a long leash with their draft picks. 

Well .. he got roasted for Teller right?

 

I note he moved on from Moss and Ford last year…

[LeGOATski]

13 hours ago, Bill from NYC said:

I can say that they haven't tried hard enough. McDermott drafts DTs, LBs, and DBs galore, and even trades up for them. 

 

You are correct. The days of the 86 Bears defense, or the old Raiders secondary are long gone. Players like Jack Tatum and George Atkinson would be arrested today, let alone fined. McDermott fails to recognize this, concentrates on defense, and fails to protect his great, if not generationally talented quarterback. 

 

It remains to be seen how long Mr. Pegula will continue to be mesmerized by the "process" sales pitch that McDermott sold him on.

I think it'll be a long time

7 hours ago, DCofNC said:

Well, context is the next easy thing you can work on.  Weigh it vs DL picks and signings and it’s a joke.

This response is a little better, still not much thought put into it

[Florida Bills Fanatic]

1 hour ago, DCofNC said:

Did he really improve it? He signed a back-up lineman to a starting contract, what looks to be a wash at WR/RB, lost one of the best LBs in the league without replacement, and signed an aging LB/DE that nobody else wanted to pay.   We all want to assume the draft will pay dividends, but if we are honest, rookie TEs rarely have a lot of impact and Torrence fell a long way to get to us, the last time we thought we “stole” a Guard that didn’t play out to well. 
 

I’m saying he didn’t , but if you aren’t a Bills fan, would you really say so?  I can’t say yes.  

Your take on this is your right to have but you are wrong in some of your basic assumptions.  Floyd had multiple offers and chose Buffalo for less money.  Edmunds was not one of the best at his position and the Bears over paid him.  If he was that good, a good team with money would have paid him.  Your so-called back-up lineman was a starter in Dallas that they wanted to keep but the player wanted to leave.  He is a huge upgrade over Saffold.  Harris is a better player than Motor.  I suggest that you watch some video of Torrence in college and review his stats against SEC teams.  The Torrence is a beast.  Rapp is a major upgrade of the team's depth at safety. If Beane had done a bad job, I'd be one of the first people on this board to be critical.

[90sBills]

4 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

 

Maybe the only reason the Chiefs are winning Super Bowls and the Bills aren't is that Mahomes is simply better than Allen.   I suppose that thought will cause some people to say, "Well, then that's reason enough to put McDermott on the hot seat, because he's the one who decided he didn't want Mahomes."  Those people will flame away.   They're the people who, when the Bills win the Super Bowl, will complain that they didn't beat the spread.  

How dare you, sir! If Reid is Allen’s coach he’d win 5 superbowls by now! Just kidding. I completely agree with you on this point. But I also believe Allen will get one eventually. Maybe next season.

 

[Aussie Joe]

Just now, ScottLaw said:

Yea, Moss was the really the only high pick he moved on from somewhat early… Ford was just a disaster and they literally gave him every chance to prove them right until his last year they finally gave up.

 

Yes Ford was a disaster… but I also said that he was criticised for moving on from Teller too early…

 

Hindsight is 20/20 right…

[billsfan89]

29 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Yea, Moss was the really the only high pick he moved on from somewhat early… Ford was just a disaster and they literally gave him every chance to prove them right until his last year they finally gave up.

 

Teller was a 5th round pick and was traded after one year… not at all the same situation as Boogie. Again, I’d be surprised if they trade/cut him given their history.

 

Boogie did look like he was making some improvement in 2022, it felt like he was setting the edge decently. I know Boogie's 5 sacks in two years aren't very impressive but to the eye test he looked a bit better. As long as Boogie isn't a complete disaster in camp/pre-season I think he stays on the roster. Especially since Von will likely start the season on the PUP list the five DE's will likely be AJ, Boogie, Groot, Shaq and Floyd if all are healthy. 

[Shaw66]

49 minutes ago, 90sBills said:

How dare you, sir! If Reid is Allen’s coach he’d win 5 superbowls by now! Just kidding. I completely agree with you on this point. But I also believe Allen will get one eventually. Maybe next season.

 

I agree.  Almost any simplistic explanation of why 60 players and 20 coaches didn't combine to win a game is almost certainly an inadequate explanation.  What Cowherd had to say was simplistic.  It's just another example of how much of the media works these days:  pick a subject, decide on a take, and go with it.  Whether it makes sense doesn't really matter.  

[newcam2012]

On 6/6/2023 at 6:01 PM, HaldimandBills said:

Maybe this is my Canadian ignorance showing but is it normal to take the opinion of NBA broadcast types as gospel when they voice an opinion on the NFL? 

 

Didn't Nick Wright, Colin Coward, Steven A Smith, and Skip Bayless all start as basketball guys? Just seems funny to care what they say. Then again I find sports talk to be idiotic unless I'm reading a Bill Barnwell who specifically writes about the NFL. 

 

Also carrying on about offense is the most casual fan cringe thing going. Bengals rode their defense to the Superbowl. Same with the Rams that season. Tampa had a great defense when Brady arrived. Patriots won multiple Superbowls with Brady playing smart football and the defense locking it down. Same with the Ravens and Steelers. 

 

Bills might hypothetically have this great defense during the regular season but one thing they've been awful/average at come playoff time is rushing the passer. Not sure how any move to improve this isn't applauded?

 

Bengals only scored 20 points on KC after blasting us. Always found it interesting how we always have this top 5 defense in the regular season while KC has a bottom 10 but come playoff time KC seems to flip a switch and play 10 times better defensively while our defense implodes.

 

What Cowherd should be questioning is why our defensive coaching which is the coaching backbone of this team keeps being manhandled in the playoffs while the Bengals and Chiefs seem to find another gear defensively? I still think we scheme too much from the secondary to prevent deep passes and not enough from schemes to gain pressure with the front 7.

It's coaching. The coaching in the playoffs has been consistently poor along with poor game planning, schemes, and game time adjustments. 

 

The exception is when they play poor passing QBs like Lamar. 

[EmotionallyUnstable]

Just score. 
 

We could field 11 of us bums on defense for all I care. Bring in the ballers on O and Josh will bring us to the promised land.

 

P.S. dibs right DE…I’ve got a mean spin move. Just gotta get this right hip flexer/groin ironed out a bit after a tough vacuuming session the other week has me hung up momentarily 

[Matt_In_NH]

2 hours ago, DCofNC said:

I have been lit up for pointing it out, but the Bills D has had the benefit of exceptionally weak competition over that time.  In 2021 they got 8 games against either back-up or rookie QBs and another 4 of those in 2022. That’s quite literally over half the wins the team had in that span, the stats don’t tell the whole story.  If you look at the numbers against teams over .500, they aren’t nearly as good.

Cowherd talked about defense over 5 years.   I think good and bad QB's/offenses have to balance out over that much time.  Sure you could rank the offenses and some teams will have some advantage but things will tend to average over 5 years.  In one given year can that happen, yes sure. The Bills have been playing a first place schedule for the last few years which means Mahomes every year, the Bills played Tampa with Brady as the extra game a couple years back.  

 

The Bills have been near the top in rankings in both offense and defense and yet dont have much to show for it.  To me, the failure has been playoffs.... some critical coaching failures in the playoffs.  Those things are correctable IMO.

[BuffaloBillsGospel2014]

On 6/6/2023 at 7:23 PM, newcam2012 said:

Pretty blunt take from Colin. Wondering how others feel about what he says. 

 

Not a Cowherd fan at all but i have to agree here.... I like all the defensive moves they've made but we still have Spencer brown as our starting RT after being abused last season, I like the Connor McGovern pickup but he was a backup the past 3 years only coming in for injuries along the OL, loved the pickup of O'Cyrus Torrence but he's a rookie, 3 question marks at the position. Now if they hold up and become a juggernaught OL then obviously that's a huge win but if Allen is running around again getting killed then I think we're going to have an interesting offseason (not in a good way). I hope of course the Bills just kill it this season and win the SB to get the monkey not only off this orginization but for the fans also plus I'd really like for both McDermott and Beane to hold up that SB trophy since they've really turned this thing around.

Edited June 8, 2023 by BuffaloBillsGospel2014