Hot take regarding McDermott and the end of games

[Steptide]

Let me start by saying that I'm not a "fire McDermott" guy. I think firing Dorsey or McD right now would be the worst possible thing for the bills. Anyway... 

 

Lots of talk today regarding the hail Mary and the bills letting the bucs back in the game. I have somewhat of a hot take regarding the end of these games. Our last 3 games (giants, pats and bucs) the bills have somehow managed to let teams get in a position to win, and in the Pats case, they did win. We all know McDermott loves his timeouts at the worst times, but I think it's deeper than that. I'm starting to think McDermott calling defensive plays AND trying to manage the team under 2 mins is too much and/or too confusing. To his credit, that IS alot of responsibility. When the game tightens up at the end , maybe McD needs to either hand off defensive calls to someone else, or have someone else manage clock/timeouts. This trend is definitely new, and I feel like this could be part of the reason. The raiders, Washington and Miami game were all well in hand with 2 mins left. 

[SirAndrew]

This might be true, but McD had trouble managing clutch situations long before taking on the D coordinator role. 

[Steptide]

13 minutes ago, SirAndrew said:

This might be true, but McD had trouble managing clutch situations long before taking on the D coordinator role. 

True, but to this extent against bad teams? I don't think as much

[Don Otreply]

I love hot takes,

[ProcessTruster]

fans are dumb

[Bob Jones]

21 minutes ago, ProcessTruster said:

People fans are dumb

FIFY. 😂

[LABILLBACKER]

4 hours ago, Steptide said:

Let me start by saying that I'm not a "fire McDermott" guy. I think firing Dorsey or McD right now would be the worst possible thing for the bills. Anyway... 

 

Lots of talk today regarding the hail Mary and the bills letting the bucs back in the game. I have somewhat of a hot take regarding the end of these games. Our last 3 games (giants, pats and bucs) the bills have somehow managed to let teams get in a position to win, and in the Pats case, they did win. We all know McDermott loves his timeouts at the worst times, but I think it's deeper than that. I'm starting to think McDermott calling defensive plays AND trying to manage the team under 2 mins is too much and/or too confusing. To his credit, that IS alot of responsibility. When the game tightens up at the end , maybe McD needs to either hand off defensive calls to someone else, or have someone else manage clock/timeouts. This trend is definitely new, and I feel like this could be part of the reason. The raiders, Washington and Miami game were all well in hand with 2 mins left. 

McD definitely loves his last second TO's at the worst time. But this characteristic/ trend is hardly new. He's done it since year 1.  He needs to trust/teach his Defense what to do in these situations.  Not just always swoop in and call a TO so the opposing OC can simply shift out of it.  

[Mikie2times]

Really hot, like it

[Rocky Landing]

Compared to some of the other hot takes on this forum right now, this one's barely above room temp.

[Chaos]

4 hours ago, Steptide said:

Let me start by saying that I'm not a "fire McDermott" guy. I think firing Dorsey or McD right now would be the worst possible thing for the bills. Anyway... 

 

Lots of talk today regarding the hail Mary and the bills letting the bucs back in the game. I have somewhat of a hot take regarding the end of these games. Our last 3 games (giants, pats and bucs) the bills have somehow managed to let teams get in a position to win, and in the Pats case, they did win. We all know McDermott loves his timeouts at the worst times, but I think it's deeper than that. I'm starting to think McDermott calling defensive plays AND trying to manage the team under 2 mins is too much and/or too confusing. To his credit, that IS alot of responsibility. When the game tightens up at the end , maybe McD needs to either hand off defensive calls to someone else, or have someone else manage clock/timeouts. This trend is definitely new, and I feel like this could be part of the reason. The raiders, Washington and Miami game were all well in hand with 2 mins left. 

Its not clear if the reason some people are criticizing your post is because they think McDermott is doing a good job at the end of games, or if they disagree with your reason.  From my perspective, the end of games situations have been complete coaching chokes.   I agree with that part. Your theory on why we keep choking is hard to know without being there.  But I honestly wish the Bills would hire a clock coach for the final four minutes of game, and not let McDermott make those decisions.  We need the closer equivalent of baseballs' Mariano Riveria. 

Edited October 28, 2023 by Chaos

[Buffalo716]

51 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

McD definitely loves his last second TO's at the worst time. But this characteristic/ trend is hardly new. He's done it since year 1.  He needs to trust/teach his Defense what to do in these situations.  Not just always swoop in and call a TO so the opposing OC can simply shift out of it.  

It has worked and not worked over the years

 

And the main reason he does it... Is because you say the offensive coordinator will shift to something else

 

But that's the point... In a crucial point you want your best play call... Not your second or third.. the best play call

 

Sean gets to see your best look... And now you're forced to either run the look and he probably knows the play because he does a lot of studying.. or you're forced to run a lesser play

[BuffaloMatt]

Just rewatched the end of the game on NFL Network reply. Fourth down right before Evans TD the play clock is down to four secs and TB scrambling and trying to get to line and TO Bills. Gave TB WRs a chance to catch their breath and OC a chance to dial up play. THEN with 16 seconds left in game Bills call TO erasing a would be sack. TB gets a rest and another chance to call a play. Not sure why either had to be called as it gave TB two more TOs, rest and their first year OC time to think. TB final two drives five TOs (2 gifted to them) and 2minute warning. That's a fail for McD!

[Buffarukus]

I think if your a head coach coming from a discipline. That segment should be the the pride of the team as extra attention and knowledge at the top position is integrated.

 

13 sec. Arizona. Minnesota, New england this year going length of the field in short time. Now tampa going the length. Add a 2 point. Then being in a position to win it with a hail mary where the ball isnt defended? Alot of hearts being ripped out mult times a year.

 

Come on man. Can never be comfortable to pull out a win without multiple score leads. 

 

Plain and simple our prevent end of game senarios are really bad. D plays good unless they absolutely HAVE to stop a drive. Its got to change.

 

 

[Chaos]

24 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

Sean gets to see your best look.

Actually, Sean gets to the see the look the other coach wants him to see before McDermott calls the inevitable time out.  Then he resets to his best call, which is why the Bills defense fails sometimes after the defensive time outs.  McDermott is pretty predictable to the casual fan. It is like professional NFL coaching staffs have a pretty good idea what he is going to do in a game.

[Buffalo716]

2 minutes ago, Chaos said:

Actually, Sean gets to the see the look the other coach wants him to see before McDermott calls the inevitable time out.  Then he resets to his best call, which is why the Bills defense fails sometimes after the defensive time outs.  McDermott is pretty predictable to the casual fan. It is like professional NFL coaching staffs have a pretty good idea what he is going to do in a game.

See the keyword is fail sometimes

 

I don't like all the time out on defense.. but it has worked before

 

And the other coaching staff has no idea when he's going to call a time out so.. they just can't bluff a play call hoping he's going to call it

 

He calls it a few times a game on third down.. 4th down .. let's say 3 of 15 

 

That's not good enough odds to just give bluff play calls and expect the time out... Sean is absolutely getting them out of their first look or they have to show him the same look

 

They're not giving a bluff play call expecting Sean to call a time out because sometimes he doesn't

 

[BuffaloMatt]

15 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

See the keyword is fail sometimes

 

I don't like all the time out on defense.. but it has worked before

 

And the other coaching staff has no idea when he's going to call a time out so.. they just can't bluff a play call hoping he's going to call it

 

He calls it a few times a game on third down.. 4th down .. let's say 3 of 15 

 

That's not good enough odds to just give bluff play calls and expect the time out... Sean is absolutely getting them out of their first look or they have to show him the same look

 

They're not giving a bluff play call expecting Sean to call a time out because sometimes he doesn't

 

As I said above his timeouts killed us and gave them two more. Situationally here he failed. Why make a team use their TOs just to assist them by calling two TOs with time ticking away? 

Edited October 28, 2023 by BuffaloMatt

[stinky finger]

He was guilty of the same when he wasn’t calling the D. 

[Buffalo716]

9 minutes ago, BuffaloMatt said:

As I said above his timeouts killed us and gave them two more. Situationally here he failed. Why make a team use their TOs just to assist them by calling two TOs with time ticking away? 

He's been doing it for 6 years it's clearly something he likes to do

 

I would like to see the statistics over 6 years on positive versus negative outcome

 

And it has certainly bit Us in the butt in the past

Edited October 28, 2023 by Buffalo716

[fasteddie]

6 hours ago, Don Otreply said:

I love hot takes,

Me too!

 

Oh, I thought you said hot cakes. 

[BuffaloMatt]

1 minute ago, Buffalo716 said:

He's been doing it for 6 years it's clearly something he likes to do

 

I would like to see the statistics over 6 years on positive versus negative outcome

 

And it has certainly bit Us in the butt in the past

Agreed. My money is on it hurts us more than it helps. It is a tough stat to figure out as it is hard to say what would have happened if the play was allowed to run. In this game I believe the game ends and TB doesn't score.

[Taro Nimbus]

Yay!   Another "Lets bash McDermott post"    I'm sure there isn't already 25 of these floating around somewhere.

[BuffaloBillsGospel2014]

6 hours ago, Steptide said:

Let me start by saying that I'm not a "fire McDermott" guy. I think firing Dorsey or McD right now would be the worst possible thing for the bills. Anyway... 

 

Lots of talk today regarding the hail Mary and the bills letting the bucs back in the game. I have somewhat of a hot take regarding the end of these games. Our last 3 games (giants, pats and bucs) the bills have somehow managed to let teams get in a position to win, and in the Pats case, they did win. We all know McDermott loves his timeouts at the worst times, but I think it's deeper than that. I'm starting to think McDermott calling defensive plays AND trying to manage the team under 2 mins is too much and/or too confusing. To his credit, that IS alot of responsibility. When the game tightens up at the end , maybe McD needs to either hand off defensive calls to someone else, or have someone else manage clock/timeouts. This trend is definitely new, and I feel like this could be part of the reason. The raiders, Washington and Miami game were all well in hand with 2 mins left. 

 

Or our players could just make the plays? 3 dropped Poyer INT's, Floyds missed sack, Philips facemask, the entire defense missing the bat down of the hail mary by noodle armed Mayfield.

Edited October 28, 2023 by BuffaloBillsGospel2014

[ColoradoBills]

6 hours ago, Steptide said:

Let me start by saying that I'm not a "fire McDermott" guy. I think firing Dorsey or McD right now would be the worst possible thing for the bills. Anyway... 

 

Lots of talk today regarding the hail Mary and the bills letting the bucs back in the game. I have somewhat of a hot take regarding the end of these games. Our last 3 games (giants, pats and bucs) the bills have somehow managed to let teams get in a position to win, and in the Pats case, they did win. We all know McDermott loves his timeouts at the worst times, but I think it's deeper than that. I'm starting to think McDermott calling defensive plays AND trying to manage the team under 2 mins is too much and/or too confusing. To his credit, that IS alot of responsibility. When the game tightens up at the end , maybe McD needs to either hand off defensive calls to someone else, or have someone else manage clock/timeouts. This trend is definitely new, and I feel like this could be part of the reason. The raiders, Washington and Miami game were all well in hand with 2 mins left. 

 

You do bring up a point that does have merit.  The thing about this team is I'm not really sure when it comes to the offense how

much McDermott is involved in the TOs or the play calls.  On defense I will admit I think he takes too many time outs, but I do see

a trend near the end of the game when the D has been on the field a long time, he is prone to take one during critical plays.

That being said, I think McDermott is a smart coach, but I do question whether he always makes the right choices during critical moments.

 

Ther are a lot of moments that even casual football fans would have acted (or not acted) better.

 

All that said, I believe McDermott would be well advised to have an analytic and trustworthy voice in his ear to give him the other

point of view that may counteract his trends.  That should also be the same voice in Dorsey's ear.  The shotgun play call inside the 1 was insane.

 

It's a trend I truly wish would be addressed.

 

[BuffaloBillies]

I've said this for many years.... I think they need a person like me, or you, sitting at home on their couch to have a direct line of sanity. I'm sure when you're in the heat of end of game battle you're mind is going crazy. Who better to call than a guy in Ohio (or wherever you are) sitting on his couch in his underwear. No one! I always know what they should do in those situations (and I'm actually not kidding about that), but I do wonder if they have some level-headed dude not on the sidelines giving input. Often it doesn't feel like they do. 

[BuffaloMatt]

second half replay about to start on NFL Network if you want to watch what we are talking about

[WotAGuy]

Allen needs to use up all the TOs on their last drive so McD can’t call any on the defense’s last stand.  Boom. 

[Dopey]

17 hours ago, Steptide said:

Let me start by saying that I'm not a "fire McDermott" guy. I think firing Dorsey or McD right now would be the worst possible thing for the bills. Anyway... 

 

Lots of talk today regarding the hail Mary and the bills letting the bucs back in the game. I have somewhat of a hot take regarding the end of these games. Our last 3 games (giants, pats and bucs) the bills have somehow managed to let teams get in a position to win, and in the Pats case, they did win. We all know McDermott loves his timeouts at the worst times, but I think it's deeper than that. I'm starting to think McDermott calling defensive plays AND trying to manage the team under 2 mins is too much and/or too confusing. To his credit, that IS alot of responsibility. When the game tightens up at the end , maybe McD needs to either hand off defensive calls to someone else, or have someone else manage clock/timeouts. This trend is definitely new, and I feel like this could be part of the reason. The raiders, Washington and Miami game were all well in hand with 2 mins left. 

Can I have some eggs and sausage with this hot take?

[Dopey]

10 hours ago, BuffaloBillies said:

I've said this for many years.... I think they need a person like me, or you, sitting at home on their couch to have a direct line of sanity. I'm sure when you're in the heat of end of game battle you're mind is going crazy. Who better to call than a guy in Ohio (or wherever you are) sitting on his couch in his underwear. No one! I always know what they should do in those situations (and I'm actually not kidding about that), but I do wonder if they have some level-headed dude not on the sidelines giving input. Often it doesn't feel like they do. 

News flash:

There’s plenty of people here that think they can do it better than McDermott too.

I don’t want to trust someone drunk on genesee. 

[Yobogoya!]

11 hours ago, BuffaloMatt said:

Just rewatched the end of the game on NFL Network reply. Fourth down right before Evans TD the play clock is down to four secs and TB scrambling and trying to get to line and TO Bills. Gave TB WRs a chance to catch their breath and OC a chance to dial up play. THEN with 16 seconds left in game Bills call TO erasing a would be sack. TB gets a rest and another chance to call a play. Not sure why either had to be called as it gave TB two more TOs, rest and their first year OC time to think. TB final two drives five TOs (2 gifted to them) and 2minute warning. That's a fail for McD!

Both of those timeouts were infuriating, especially the first one when an offensive pre snap penalty was all but assured to be coming there. 

[SirAndrew]

18 hours ago, Steptide said:

True, but to this extent against bad teams? I don't think as much

Good point, typically it’s better opponents who made us pay the price for mismanagement in clutch situations. However, mismanagement of those situations is a coaching weakness that shouldn’t be impacted by strength of opponent. A coaching staff needs to learn how to manage clutch situations against all opposition. I think quality teams are more likely to make coaching blunders cost their opponents, but lesser opponents can luck their way to victory when the door is left open. It seems like the laws of averages have caught up to McD. What used to cost us against superior teams, now costs us against inferior opponents as well. I don’t think the actual problem has changed much. 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

1 hour ago, Dopey said:

News flash:

There’s plenty of people here that think they can do it better than McDermott too.

I don’t want to trust someone drunk on genesee. 

Drunk on Genessee?!  That's unpossible!  The buzz hasn't even arrived before reverse peristalsis kicks in!

[Low Positive]

4 hours ago, Dopey said:

News flash:

There’s plenty of people here that think they can do it better than McDermott too.

I don’t want to trust someone drunk on genesee. 

How about if I get drunk on Blue Light. Could I do it then?

[The Wiz]

19 hours ago, Bob Jones said:

FIFY. 😂

One of my favorite quotes from Men in Black "A person is smart, people are dumb panicky dangerous animals".

[Old Coot]

19 hours ago, Bob Jones said:

People fans are dumb

"People are strange when you're a stranger" said Jim Morrison

[Steptide]

17 hours ago, Taro Nimbus said:

Yay!   Another "Lets bash McDermott post"    I'm sure there isn't already 25 of these floating around somewhere.

Did you miss the first few sentences 

[JTown]

22 hours ago, BuffaloMatt said:

Just rewatched the end of the game on NFL Network reply. Fourth down right before Evans TD the play clock is down to four secs and TB scrambling and trying to get to line and TO Bills. Gave TB WRs a chance to catch their breath and OC a chance to dial up play. THEN with 16 seconds left in game Bills call TO erasing a would be sack. TB gets a rest and another chance to call a play. Not sure why either had to be called as it gave TB two more TOs, rest and their first year OC time to think. TB final two drives five TOs (2 gifted to them) and 2minute warning. That's a fail for McD!

McClappy has been doing this since he got here.  It's beyond frustrating at this point.  People here have anointed him to be a great coach and I don't get it.  Yes, he changed but I feel as though he reached his ceiling.  The 13 second meltdown is classic McClappy.  Highly unlikely he takes us anywhere. 

[Malazan]

On 10/27/2023 at 2:30 PM, Steptide said:

Let me start by saying that I'm not a "fire McDermott" guy. I think firing Dorsey or McD right now would be the worst possible thing for the bills. Anyway... 

 

Lots of talk today regarding the hail Mary and the bills letting the bucs back in the game. I have somewhat of a hot take regarding the end of these games. Our last 3 games (giants, pats and bucs) the bills have somehow managed to let teams get in a position to win, and in the Pats case, they did win. We all know McDermott loves his timeouts at the worst times, but I think it's deeper than that. I'm starting to think McDermott calling defensive plays AND trying to manage the team under 2 mins is too much and/or too confusing. To his credit, that IS alot of responsibility. When the game tightens up at the end , maybe McD needs to either hand off defensive calls to someone else, or have someone else manage clock/timeouts. This trend is definitely new, and I feel like this could be part of the reason. The raiders, Washington and Miami game were all well in hand with 2 mins left. 

 

I think he got tired of hearing that the Bills lost all the close games and could only either blow teams out or lose so he's purposely making decisions to let teams hangs around so they can win close games. 

 

..and look at our two theories. Yours is obviously utterly insane and mine is the very epitome of sanity. 

[Ramza86]

He loves using timeouts on key defensive plays just to get a look at the offensive formation....so he can adjust....in theory it seems fine....but it infuriates me because its not like offenses dont have 3 or 4 great plays in their book at key moments. 

For example against the Pats we could have really benefitted from having an extra timeout.

[BananaB]

More he ***** up the faster we see change. I don’t think he’s leading this team to the Super Bowl anytime soon, much rather see a good offensive guy come in here and work with Josh.

[zow2]

Let me nitpick at McDermott some more.  Does this guy ever have a good time? He is wound so tight i think he will spontaneously combust sometimes. He never says anything in press conferences, or remotely funny.  Some of these other coaches like Siriani, Mike McDaniel, Campbell, etc.. keep it pretty loose when the moment is right, even during games. Mcdermott is a tight ass.  Solid coach but cmon Sean, have fun once in a while maybe it will rub off on the team.