Article on Josh Allen's state of mind

[4merper4mer]

1 hour ago, FrenchConnection said:

And here is a gut punch for all of you getting ready to type "Tom Brady" didn't need that hippy crap: 

 

Edited October 25, 2023 by 4merper4mer

[Scott7975]

2 hours ago, FrenchConnection said:

I don't understand how we got here from the Miami game. I really don't.

 

Better defense with a better plan.

[GoBills808]

4 minutes ago, Logic said:

I believe that if Sean McDermott were to be available this offseason, he'd be hired VERY quickly by another team.

Yes, a bad one.

 

Sean McDermott is probably one of the best possible candidates to take a bad team and turn them into a good one.

[PBF81]

3 minutes ago, Logic said:

Thanks for this post.

I believe that if Sean McDermott were to be available this offseason, he'd be hired VERY quickly by another team. He is the Bills' all-time leader in winning percentage as a head coach, ahead of Hall of Famer Marv Levy. He has led the Bills -- who hadn't made the playoffs for seventeen consecutive seasons -- to the playoffs in five of his six seasons as head coach. He routinely posts double digit wins. He coached the Bills to a 13-3 record last season despite absolutely unreal levels of challenges (which I won't go into here, as everyone knows by now). Even now, as we all sit here and feel like the sky is falling, the Bills are 4-3 and a game back from the division lead.

In short, I think it's more than loyalty that keeps coach McDermott employed. I think it's the fact that he's been wildly successful.

While I maintain my concerns about Ken Dorsey and, if the offensive ship isn't righted, would support potentially moving on from him in the offseason...I think it's too early and not yet reasonable to suggest replacing Sean McDermott. Talk to me again at the end of the season, but as it stands now, he has proven to be a very good NFL head coach.

 

Well articulated. 

 

I would look at his playoff performances more than I would the regular season. 

 

I would also look at our offense and ask why more hasn't been done to support Allen.  Granted, we're getting Beane involved, and while many others around the league may not understand the preordained arrangement between Beane and McD, with the latter having brought the former on rather than the traditional visa versa, we do, so I take that for granted.  

 

He would be hired quickly, but I think that his flaws would become far more visible at the same time.  

 

Either way, unless your answer to the question is McD (is it?), then you did not answer the question.  You merely hedged apologetically for McD.  

 

If, at the present time, the team were rudderless (aka w/o head coach), your first choice would be McD then?  ... of all of the potentially available candidates that is.  Not Reid for example.  

 

 

14 minutes ago, 4merper4mer said:

Again with the s.

 

We’ll disagree I guess. I see so many excuse for Allen and deflection of blame to everyone else on these threads that I can’t count them.

Ooh a false choice fallacy.  Clever.  I probably should have stopped reading at “He’s not flawless…..BUT…..”.

 

No false choice, don't hide behind it.   

 

It's a simple question, whom would you hire for the role if he weren't out head coach?  If it's him, say so.   And why.  

 

Shouldn't be a difficult question.  Take as long as you like to answer it.  

 

There's on trickery here!  Don't use it as an excuse.  

 

 

[Freddie's Dead]

4 hours ago, ddaryl said:

 

 

or maybe he needs puppy uppers

Josh has had enough Puppy Uppers (Sugar Rush Josh). 

[Gregg]

They were talking about the Bills on WFAN and Craig Carton chimed in. Blames McDermott for Allen's struggles.

 

 

With the Buffalo Bills now 4-3 heading into Week 8, pressure is arising on them. Allen has faced a lot of criticism from the media this season, but Craig Carton believes that head coach Sean McDermott is to blame for Allen's regression this season.

Here's what Carton said on his show:

"They're a dysfunctional mess and to me, it's not so much about Josh, it's as much about Sean McDermott as it is about anything. But I would like them to allow Josh Allen to just go play football."

"I think when you talk too much to young players, and try to mold them into what you think a prototypical quarterback or any position should be, you take away what makes him special. I think that's what's happening in Buffalo."

"It's enough talk, let the kid meaning Josh Allen, just go out there and play football. The way he plays it, if he gets hurt, he gets hurt. If he throws a bad pick once in a while, he throws a bad pick, but they're messing with the kid's brain. And I think that's the biggest problem in Buffalo right now."

 

 

[Logic]

1 hour ago, PBF81 said:

 

 

Either way, unless your answer to the question is McD (is it?), then you did not answer the question.  You merely hedged apologetically for McD.  

 

If, at the present time, the team were rudderless (aka w/o head coach), your first choice would be McD then?  ... of all of the potentially available candidates that is.  Not Reid for example. 

 

 

This question seems impossible to answer because we don't know who would be available. 

Take Ben Johnson, for instance. He seems to be a popular choice around here lately. He just pulled himself off the table after being interviewed for a head coaching position this past offseason, stating that he'd rather remain OC for the Lions.

The tough part, ultimately, is that we don't know what coordinators would make good head coaches. I believe that it takes more than just Xs and Os to be a good head coach. I look for leadership, first and foremost. And that kind of thing is hard to gauge for us as fans, without knowing what these meeting rooms look like or what qualities of leadership these coordinators do or do not have.

To answer your question the best I can: I am starting to believe that I would prefer that the Bills had a very astute offensive mind running the show. I believe that the current NFL is dominated by forward thinking offenses, and it's hard for me to buy into the notion that the Bills will ever truly have that as long as McDermott is head coach. Further, even if they DO get an offensive coordinator who is forward thinking and innovative, he'd likely be poached after a year or two.

Up until very recently, I've been fine with a "defensive guy" being head coach, for two main reasons: One, I felt that his leadership and culture-building trumped whatever he lacked in offensive prowess. Two, I feel that pairing a consistently elite defense with a great quarterback can still be a championship recipe in the modern NFL. The thing that has started to change my mind on these factors is, as to the first point, that for all the "leadership and culture-building" McDermott offers, the Bills have far too many "wakeup call" games per year, where they look unprepared and uninterested. And as to the second point, the "consistently elite defense" folds when it runs into truly elite offenses, particularly in the playoffs.

So if your culture and leadership aren't producing detail-oriented, consistent, complementary, winning football, and your bread and butter (in McDermott's case, defense) isn't showing up in key moments, then what exactly are you bringing to the table? For these reasons, my stance on McDermott definitely being the no-doubt-about-it guy to lead the Bills has begun to soften.

ALL OF THAT HAVING BEEN SAID...how do you possibly fire a guy who wins you the division and gets you to the playoffs every single year, whose playoff record is not bad overall, when compared to his contemporaries, and who is currently leading a team with a winning record and a legitimate shot at another division title? You can't do it. That's why, despite everything I just stated, I still feel that it's premature to discuss firing McDermott at this moment in time. Talk to me again after the season, and once we know what replacement candidates are available.

[Drew21PA]

Idk I would be fired up if I just witnessed my leader run someone over then have that maniacal fire in his eyes 

 

hell yea I wanted to jump through tables for that

 

idk I hate the new Josh to be honest - old Josh was fun and kicked ass - new Josh is like jay cutler boring 

[DuckyBoys]

36 minutes ago, Logic said:

This question seems impossible to answer because we don't know who would be available. 

Take Ben Johnson, for instance. He seems to be a popular choice around here lately. He just pulled himself off the table after being interviewed for a head coaching position this past offseason, stating that he'd rather remain OC for the Lions.

The tough part, ultimately, is that we don't know what coordinators would make good head coaches. I believe that it takes more than just Xs and Os to be a good head coach. I look for leadership, first and foremost. And that kind of thing is hard to gauge for us as fans, without knowing what these meeting rooms look like or what qualities of leadership these coordinators do or do not have.

To answer your question the best I can: I am starting to believe that I would prefer that the Bills had a very astute offensive mind running the show. I believe that the current NFL is dominated by forward thinking offenses, and it's hard for me to buy into the notion that the Bills will ever truly have that as long as McDermott is head coach. Further, even if they DO get an offensive coordinator who is forward thinking and innovative, he'd likely be poached after a year or two.

Up until very recently, I've been fine with a "defensive guy" being head coach, for two main reasons: One, I felt that his leadership and culture-building trumped whatever he lacked in offensive prowess. Two, I feel that pairing a consistently elite defense with a great quarterback can still be a championship recipe in the modern NFL. The thing that has started to change my mind on these factors is, as to the first point, that for all the "leadership and culture-building" McDermott offers, the Bills have far too many "wakeup call" games per year, where they look unprepared and uninterested. And as to the second point, the "consistently elite defense" folds when it runs into truly elite offenses, particularly in the playoffs.

So if your culture and leadership aren't producing detail-oriented, consistent, complementary, winning football, and your bread and butter (in McDermott's case, defense) isn't showing up in key moments, then what exactly are you bringing to the table? For these reasons, my stance on McDermott definitely being the no-doubt-about-it guy to lead the Bills has begun to soften.

ALL OF THAT HAVING BEEN SAID...how do you possibly fire a guy who wins you the division and gets you to the playoffs every single year, whose playoff record is not bad overall, when compared to his contemporaries, and who is currently leading a team with a winning record and a legitimate shot at another division title? You can't do it. That's why, despite everything I just stated, I still feel that it's premature to discuss firing McDermott at this moment in time. Talk to me again after the season, and once we know what replacement candidates are available.

Problem with keeping McDermott is the defense is now old and he is going to continue to pile resources into it vs going balls out on offense.  Safeties are old who even knows what we have at corner  He is going to convince himself its easier to squeeze more from the offense by limiting mistakes vs opening up the offense  Yeah we could certainly do worse but think the Bills need a new sense of direction and I dont think McDermott has it in himself to reinvent who he is and how  he thinks they can reach their goals of a title

[Simon]

8 minutes ago, Drew21PA said:

Idk I would be fired up if I just witnessed my leader run someone over then have that maniacal fire in his eyes 

 

hell yea I wanted to jump through tables for that

 

idk I hate the new Josh to be honest - old Josh was fun and kicked ass - new Josh is like jay cutler boring 

 

Josh Allen's job is to win football games, not to fire you up.

[Drew21PA]

5 minutes ago, Simon said:

 

Josh Allen's job is to win football games, not to fire you up.

Thanks….not winning like he use to now is he?

[Simon]

1 minute ago, Drew21PA said:

Thanks….not winning like he use to now is he?

He's been 4-3 before.

[RunTheBall]

Let me preface this by saying on the list of problems this team has I don’t think Josh is in the Top 5. We need a team that can win when Josh isn’t doing it all himself.

 

I’ve never been on the “Josh needs to run less” train and now I’m pissed because I think his whole head space has been mangled by the coaches and Beane beating into him that he has to protect himself. 

 

He needs to run smarter, not less. They neutered him and it’s clear it’s taken away some of his fire. His whole game is off at times because he needs to lay a f’n shoulder into a dude to get the fires really burning. . Since his 2nd season I always waited for that one run where he dished out the pain at the end of a run and thought “now we will start cooking”. 

 

All this “low positive” zen sht needs to take a hike. Give me the guy with a fire in his belly, firing up his teammates and sht talking all game long and I’ll accept a bunch of “WTF was that” interceptions because he’s putting up twice as many TDs. 

 

He’s 6 years in. He doesn’t need Dorsey to tell him to hit a hot route when the blitz comes. Give me Sugar High Josh back who wants to score on every play and lay out a linebacker because this version is thinking too much and not playing.

 

 

 

 

[Drew21PA]

Just now, Simon said:

He's been 4-3 before.

Yeahhhhh - buttttt

 

not when he’s suppose to have matured - and he didn’t have the cast he how now…soooo you’re wrong 

[Simon]

Just now, Drew21PA said:

Yeahhhhh - buttttt

 

not when he’s suppose to have matured - and he didn’t have the cast he how now…soooo you’re wrong 

 

Yes, I am wrong.

His job is to fire up the fans like a professional wrestler. 

[Drew21PA]

Just now, Simon said:

 

Yes, I am wrong.

His job is to fire up the fans like a professional wrestler. 

Becuase that is exactly what is being stated

 

ya know what? Never mind if that’s what you got from that then ok

 

but I think you’re just arguing for arguments sake

[BeastMaster]

Josh needs to be himself...full stop.

 

He will mature and make better decisions as time goes on, but his progression should be natural, not coerced or forced.

 

 

[Simon]

Just now, Drew21PA said:

Becuase that is exactly what is being stated

 

ya know what? Never mind if that’s what you got from that then ok

 

but I think you’re just arguing for arguments sake

 

I'm arguing because I'm tired of seeing people trying to psychoanalyze this kid from 4 seconds of video and then projecting their own needs onto what they see instead of recognizing that he's a QB that's supposed to be a cold-blooded assassin and not a mindless raging berserker.

 

[newcam2012]

1 hour ago, Logic said:

This question seems impossible to answer because we don't know who would be available. 

Take Ben Johnson, for instance. He seems to be a popular choice around here lately. He just pulled himself off the table after being interviewed for a head coaching position this past offseason, stating that he'd rather remain OC for the Lions.

The tough part, ultimately, is that we don't know what coordinators would make good head coaches. I believe that it takes more than just Xs and Os to be a good head coach. I look for leadership, first and foremost. And that kind of thing is hard to gauge for us as fans, without knowing what these meeting rooms look like or what qualities of leadership these coordinators do or do not have.

To answer your question the best I can: I am starting to believe that I would prefer that the Bills had a very astute offensive mind running the show. I believe that the current NFL is dominated by forward thinking offenses, and it's hard for me to buy into the notion that the Bills will ever truly have that as long as McDermott is head coach. Further, even if they DO get an offensive coordinator who is forward thinking and innovative, he'd likely be poached after a year or two.

Up until very recently, I've been fine with a "defensive guy" being head coach, for two main reasons: One, I felt that his leadership and culture-building trumped whatever he lacked in offensive prowess. Two, I feel that pairing a consistently elite defense with a great quarterback can still be a championship recipe in the modern NFL. The thing that has started to change my mind on these factors is, as to the first point, that for all the "leadership and culture-building" McDermott offers, the Bills have far too many "wakeup call" games per year, where they look unprepared and uninterested. And as to the second point, the "consistently elite defense" folds when it runs into truly elite offenses, particularly in the playoffs.

So if your culture and leadership aren't producing detail-oriented, consistent, complementary, winning football, and your bread and butter (in McDermott's case, defense) isn't showing up in key moments, then what exactly are you bringing to the table? For these reasons, my stance on McDermott definitely being the no-doubt-about-it guy to lead the Bills has begun to soften.

ALL OF THAT HAVING BEEN SAID...how do you possibly fire a guy who wins you the division and gets you to the playoffs every single year, whose playoff record is not bad overall, when compared to his contemporaries, and who is currently leading a team with a winning record and a legitimate shot at another division title? You can't do it. That's why, despite everything I just stated, I still feel that it's premature to discuss firing McDermott at this moment in time. Talk to me again after the season, and once we know what replacement candidates are available.

Really great post. Agree you can't fire McD at this point. It just would be too disruptive and hard to overcome that drastic of a change. 

 

Where we probably differ is McD should have been let go after the Cinci playoff loss. Add in the 13 second disaster and previous playoff disappointments. This fan had seen enough! 

 

This season is apparent that they are regressing, the McD culture building has lost it's bite, and players are seemingly unprepared and not focused.

 

How the head coach isn't held accountable is beyond me. How he escaped the 13 second blunder without even a scratch is ridiculous. How he didn't receive significant criticism when his team didn't show up for the Cinci game is remarkable. It's excuse after excuse after excuse. This fan is out of excuses.

 

I suspect McD will remain the coach next year even if the Bills don't make the playoffs this year. Be careful what you ask for. The writing is on the wall for change. We fans should embrace it and not fear it. That fear will keep the Bills from representing the AFC in the SB. 

 

Folks, the McD show has clearly run it's course. Its time to give him his props and clap him to another team not named Buffalo. 

 

Thank you coach McD for everything you have done. You have earned our respect. Best of luck with your next team. 

 

Edited October 25, 2023 by newcam2012

[Logic]

3 minutes ago, newcam2012 said:

Really great post. Agree you can't fire McD at this point. It just would be too disruptive and hard to overcome that drastic of a change. 

 

Where we probably differ is McD should have been let go after the Cinci playoff loss. Add in the 13 second disaster and previous playoff disappointments. This fan had seen enough!  After the Bills went 13-3 in the regular season, losing those three games by a combined 8 points, despite the INSANE amount of things they went through...I don't think it would have been reasonable at all to fire Sean McDermott after the Cincy playoff loss. Every team gets outclassed in a big time game from time to time. It happens. It's not reason enough to fire someone. He should've been closer to being named "coach of the year" last season than being fired.

 

This season is apparent that they are regressing, the McD culture building has lost it's bite, and players are seeming unprepared and not focused.

 

How the head coach isn't held accountable is beyond me. How he escaped the 13 second blunder without even a scratch is head scratching. How he didn't receive significant criticism when his team didn't show up for the Cinci game is remarkable. It's excuse after excuse after excuse. He DID receive significant criticism for both the Cincy AND KC playoff losses. We also don't know what exactly happened behind closed doors with Leslie Frazier's exit, but a significant change WAS made.

 

I suspect McD will remain the coach next year even if the Bills don't make the playoffs this year. Be careful what you ask for. The writings on the wall for change. We fans should embrace it and not fear it. That fear will keep the Bills from representing the AFC in the SB. 

 

Folks, the McD show has clearly run it's course. Its time to give him his props and clap him to another team not named Buffalo. Just a few weeks ago, the Bills were coming off a 28 point SHELLACKING of the Miami Dolphins, the team was on a roll, and it looked like they'd figured out what ailed them and were on their way to another excellent season. Yes, they've hit a lull, again, and I admit that these early-midseason lulls are becoming all too common. Still, I'm not ready to say that the recent bad three game stretch is more representative of this year's Bills team than the three game winning streak that preceded it. 

 

 

My responses are bolded.

Put simply, I respect your position that it's time to replace McDermott, and I respectfully disagree. We need to see how this season plays out, in my opinion.