9/14/25 Week 2 GAMEDAY Bills @Jets post game Thread

[ColoradoBills]

3 hours ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

I think it’s going to be an unpopular thought here but I actually think the love affair with Tarron Johnson is a huge issue with our defense.
 

He’s a good player. He might even be a little better than good. He’s absolutely nowhere near as good as he gets credit for. Teams have no issues converting 3rd downs on us, guys running wide open all over the place and he gets hurt multiple times a game. The other thing he does is make our coach believe we never have to put a 3rd LB on the field. They never want to take him out. Him being out yesterday was probably a blessing in disguise. I’m not saying he’s not good. I just feel like the overall game plan becomes a little more sensible when he isn’t out there. The coaches think he’s erasing things that he just flat out isn’t. He’s not 2017 Poyer and Hyde…Yesterday was a great day for our defense. Those days are few and far between.

 

Taron's game has dropped off some (most likely from injuries) but he is a good athlete and nickel corner.

 

The dilemma has been taking him off in place of a 3rd LB.  It is a tough choice.  You want to keep him on the field but there has

been too many times the Bills DC should have 3 LBs on the field.  Not only for obvious benefits but to change things up and make

the opposing offenses have to adjust more.

 

What I always thought would have been smart was to have Taron take some boundary CB and Safety snaps.

Having him in a more of Cam Lewis situation than just a SCB.  It sure may have come in handy these past 2 seasons.

 

I like Taron a lot, but I don't like the constant nickel the Bills are always in.

[The Jokeman]

15 hours ago, Process said:

Love Knox but there's really no reason for this not to be his final year with the Bills. Time to move on. 

I don't mind him as a TE2 it's just we can't re-sign him as a TE1. 

[Fan in Chicago]

2 minutes ago, The Jokeman said:

I don't mind him as a TE2 it's just we can't re-sign him as a TE1. 

Hawes will get more opportunities to catch passes. He is reportedly good at blocking, which was Knox's advantage. But if Hawes has more reliable hands, Knox's days as a Bill are numbered. 

[Low Positive]

7 hours ago, Chandler#81 said:

Jets. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

FYI. This is the "Angry Jets Fans" video. The one that you wanna watch. 

[GunnerBill]

3 hours ago, TFBillsfan said:

In fairness, didn’t Taron play thru a torn labrum last season that needed surgery? Not ready to kick him to the curb.

 

I am not kicking him to the curb either. I think he can still play. He just isn't quite the top 3 pure nickel in the league he was at his peak.

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

4 hours ago, billsfan89 said:

 

Tarron is a high end slot corner, there's a good reason he was an All-Pro, I think the issues you have with him are more so on the defensive scheme as opposed to how good Tarron is. 

Absolutely that’s the case. It’s nothing against him personally. I just hate the way our defense is coached. And while I think he’s nowhere near an all pro level player now, he’s fine. But my issue is the coaching. No arguments 

[MJS]

17 hours ago, Process said:

Love Knox but there's really no reason for this not to be his final year with the Bills. Time to move on. 

Knox is not going anywhere. He is a glue guy for the locker room and a good TE. He is one of Josh Allen's best friends on the team. Everyone loves him, including the front office.

[Doc Brown]

5 minutes ago, MJS said:

Knox is not going anywhere. He is a glue guy for the locker room and a good TE. He is one of Josh Allen's best friends on the team. Everyone loves him, including the front office.

So was Gabe Davis.  It'll be interesting next year what they do as they'll save $12m cutting him.  It could be take a pay cut or leave.

[billsfan89]

17 minutes ago, MJS said:

Knox is not going anywhere. He is a glue guy for the locker room and a good TE. He is one of Josh Allen's best friends on the team. Everyone loves him, including the front office.

 

Knox is one of Josh's closest friends on the team and one of his longest tenured teammates (only Dawkins on offense has been here longer than Knox). I think the issue with Knox is going to be that the be how much is he willing to rework his deal? The Bills can't afford him at a 17 million dollar cap number he is a solid TE but not worth that salary, they can cut him and save 10 million as his dead cap is only 7 million. If Knox is willing to restructure his deal to where the cap hit can be around 10 million (thus only costing the Bills 3 million on the cap to keep him) I think he stays another year. 

[Process]

49 minutes ago, MJS said:

Knox is not going anywhere. He is a glue guy for the locker room and a good TE. He is one of Josh Allen's best friends on the team. Everyone loves him, including the front office.

So everyone at OBD hated Poyer when they cut him? And Morse? And White?

 

Next year they can finally get out of what has been a terrible contract. If he wants to take a paycut okay. But they aren't going to keep him around on his current deal just for the vibes. 

[ColoradoBills]

33 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

 

Knox is one of Josh's closest friends on the team and one of his longest tenured teammates (only Dawkins on offense has been here longer than Knox). I think the issue with Knox is going to be that the be how much is he willing to rework his deal? The Bills can't afford him at a 17 million dollar cap number he is a solid TE but not worth that salary, they can cut him and save 10 million as his dead cap is only 7 million. If Knox is willing to restructure his deal to where the cap hit can be around 10 million (thus only costing the Bills 3 million on the cap to keep him) I think he stays another year. 

 

I'm hoping Knox and his agent are smart and they tear up the old contract and sign a new 3 year one to start 2026.

If the Bills cut Knox, he gets no money in 2026.  The dead money is what he has already been paid out with no new money.

 

He has to know if signed by another team it will be for TE2 money.  Take that from the Bills and stay with the team.

Edited September 15 by ColoradoBills

[Sierra Foothills]

9 hours ago, SageAgainstTheMachine said:

Prater is now 11/11 on kicks (6/6 FG, 5/5 XP), not to mention two of those being a game winner and a 50+.  The only advantage Bass gives you is the hypothetical length to nail an emergency 60+ and frankly we have a QB who's savvy enough to play to his kicker's target line in an end-game drill.

 

7 hours ago, BearNorth said:

Except I think it was Romo yesterday that was saying that Prater in his career has the most [82] 50+ yard kicks.  [not even close for the second place kicker - Janikowski].  Prater's career long is 64, some of this is skewed by his long service at altitude in Denver.

 

Bass has had several lower body injuries in his relatively short career. It's entirely possible that he's not physically the same guy he was just two years ago and I am definitely skeptical that he has greater range than Prater.

 

7 hours ago, Danger Mouse said:

In elite sport, it's how you handle defeat that really makes the great ones great. I was watching the Panthers' coach yesterday and that lad has the mindset. Not too high, not too low. Let the fans show the emotion, you just do your job. McD has that quality too.

Dan Campbell, for instance, looks like he's a 4-game losing streak away from driving naked to Canada with a trunk full of hand-grenades. 

 

I agree with your entire post except the part about Dan Campbell. Unless there's some video I missed, I thought that he handled himself well and with maturity after the Week 1 loss to the Packers... and I was definitely curious as to how he would take the loss.

 

7 hours ago, MikePJ76 said:

Yesterday Romo said something to the effect of, Oliver being out is huge,  Johnson…..then his brain tailed off.  It’s like he tried to say three different things at once, mixed them all in together form a completely incomprehensible sentence with no ending.

 

if the bills are winning I can ignore the two of them but man he has become awful at the job.  Everything in a nantz Romo broadcast is like,   That right there Jim is why the bills can win a Super Bowl….meanwhile someone made a routine play in the first qtr of week 2.

 

In fairness, many people lose their train of thought when that combination of words is used...

 

6 hours ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

I think it’s going to be an unpopular thought here but I actually think the love affair with Tarron Johnson is a huge issue with our defense.
 

He’s a good player. He might even be a little better than good. He’s absolutely nowhere near as good as he gets credit for. Teams have no issues converting 3rd downs on us, guys running wide open all over the place and he gets hurt multiple times a game. The other thing he does is make our coach believe we never have to put a 3rd LB on the field. They never want to take him out. Him being out yesterday was probably a blessing in disguise. I’m not saying he’s not good. I just feel like the overall game plan becomes a little more sensible when he isn’t out there. The coaches think he’s erasing things that he just flat out isn’t. He’s not 2017 Poyer and Hyde…Yesterday was a great day for our defense. Those days are few and far between.

 

6 hours ago, Cheektowaga Chad said:

2. his snap counts are getting lower each season, week one he only played about 35% of the snaps and last year he was around 50% for the entire season compared to 2022 and 2023 being 90%

 

I'm looking at Taron's and Cam's snap counts from Week 1 and Week 2 and I'm thinking that the Bills are reducing their use of the nickel as their base defense. I agree with those upthread who said that some of their heavy reliance on nickel has had to do with the lack of quality linebacker depth.

 

I too hope that the Bills are more multiple in their base defenses... unless they can find a replacement for Taron who can play at the All-Pro level that he used to play at.

 

5 hours ago, stevewin said:

McDaniel may be a good coordinator, X and O's guy, but definitely not a leader of men.  All one has to do is watch the in season Hard Knocks to see how awkward and out of place he is as a 'leader' - would be comical if it wasn't so cringe.  There's a reason why his word-salad-spewing, nerd/'quirky' persona was so against the typical NFL HC grain - because it doesn't work.

 

I agree with your last sentiment know one really knows how hard being a HC is, but sometimes it's easy to see when someone doesn't have what it takes

 

There aren't too many industries where a person who is unable to speak in coherent sentences would be rewarded with a leadership position.

 

5 hours ago, Big Turk said:

I am almost crying from laughing so hard...this is hilarious...

 

 

 

This is 2 hours and 26 minutes. Is there an excerpt you could direct us to? A CliffsNotes?

 

58 minutes ago, MJS said:

Knox is not going anywhere. He is a glue guy for the locker room and a good TE. He is one of Josh Allen's best friends on the team. Everyone loves him, including the front office.

 

51 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:

So was Gabe Davis.  It'll be interesting next year what they do as they'll save $12m cutting him.  It could be take a pay cut or leave.

 

36 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

Knox is one of Josh's closest friends on the team and one of his longest tenured teammates (only Dawkins on offense has been here longer than Knox). I think the issue with Knox is going to be that the be how much is he willing to rework his deal? The Bills can't afford him at a 17 million dollar cap number he is a solid TE but not worth that salary, they can cut him and save 10 million as his dead cap is only 7 million. If Knox is willing to restructure his deal to where the cap hit can be around 10 million (thus only costing the Bills 3 million on the cap to keep him) I think he stays another year. 

 

The question of how much influence 1) Josh has, and 2) cares to influence McBeane with...

 

There are players that were close to Josh who are no longer with the team and I believe he wants to avoid the appearance (and maybe the practice) of being a diva QB a la Aaron Rodgers. Josh is a team guy and might flex his clout muscles a bit but I think there are limits to how far he'll go, in defiance of McBeane.

 

Regardless, I'm pretty sure Knox will take a substantial contract modification to stay with the team.

 

Edited September 15 by Sierra Foothills

[Simon]

2 minutes ago, Sierra Foothills said:

I'm looking at Taron's and Cam's snap counts from Week 1 and Week 2 and I'm thinking that the Bills are reducing their use of the nickel as their base defense.

 

I would guess in Week 1 it was more of a matchup issue, when they thought it would be wiser to run 4/3 for a full third of the game against Baltimore.

Week 2 is harder to parse with Taron out, DWilliams becoming the #2 'backer in the 2nd half, a Jets O that had showed some success running read option vs P'burgh in the only game they've put on tape and then the whole thing becoming a farce in the 3rd qrtr.

With a healthy defense and in a game against a more "traditional" opponent, I'm guessing they still want to run as much nickel as they possibly can.

[Solomon Grundy]

21 hours ago, NewEra said:

@Solomon Grundy

James Cook >> Breece Hall yet?

 

Imagine Breece in a Bills uniform. I thought you were going to commend me for forecasting a big game from Bosa 🤷🔺⬆️

[NewEra]

8 minutes ago, Solomon Grundy said:

Imagine Breece in a Bills uniform. I thought you were going to commend me for forecasting a big game from Bosa 🤷🔺⬆️

I can’t imagine him being better than James Cook.  He just continues to get better

I can’t recall reading about your Bosa forecasting.

[Solomon Grundy]

16 minutes ago, NewEra said:

I can’t imagine him being better than James Cook.  He just continues to get better

I can’t recall reading about your Bosa forecasting.

Page 11 Bills Jets game week thread 

[balln]

 

[Richard Noggin]

7 hours ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

Taron's game has dropped off some (most likely from injuries) but he is a good athlete and nickel corner.

 

The dilemma has been taking him off in place of a 3rd LB.  It is a tough choice.  You want to keep him on the field but there has

been too many times the Bills DC should have 3 LBs on the field.  Not only for obvious benefits but to change things up and make

the opposing offenses have to adjust more.

 

What I always thought would have been smart was to have Taron take some boundary CB and Safety snaps.

Having him in a more of Cam Lewis situation than just a SCB.  It sure may have come in handy these past 2 seasons.

 

I like Taron a lot, but I don't like the constant nickel the Bills are always in.

 

STRONGLY agree that being more multiple and interchangeable on the 2nd and 3rd levels could help refresh and disguise this stale/predictable defense without dramatically overhauling the fundamental schema. 

[Gregg]

[Pete]

PFF  Highest Bills Grades vs Jets

1.  Joey Bosa 95.8

2. Jackson Hawes 85.3

3. Dawson Knox 83.8

4. Dion Dawkins 79.6

5. Greg Rousseau 76.7

 

Josh Allen 74.7