Joe Brady through 2 games

[BillsFan130]

2 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I disagree. I don't think it was a conservative plan. I think it felt conservative because when they more aggressive plays were called Josh checked down. He was right to check down. Nobody was open deep.

 

On the audible on 2nd and the reason I think it was a pass is because he alerts and then he points behind his back to Cook and "Omahas." Could that all be part of one call? Sure. But I'd need evidence that he has double signalled that way on other alerts. I think he alerted from a pass to a run and then flipped the run. Don't know for certain but that is my rationale. 

 

It's a fair rationale. I'm not saying you're wrong as you very well could be right. I think personally he just changed direction on the run.

I guess unfortunately we probably will never know the actual answer 

[transient]

On 9/14/2025 at 10:22 PM, BillsFan130 said:

Go back to the Denver game from last years playoffs to now. (So 5 games in a row and even before that )

 

It has been very tight to the chest with a lot of running, short passes etc.

 

The last time I feel like the bills really opened up an offensive game script, was the Lions game

...not the 4th Q of the Ravens game when Allen put up 251 yds?

[DapperCam]

I think a lot of our play calling is the way it is right now to protect our defense and keep them off the field. It works against a team like the Jets, but needing 3 downs to get a first down isn’t really a great strategy to move down the field. Plenty of drives have stalled already to due being extremely conservative and it would have cost us the Ravens game if not for Allen’s heroics.

 

I wish we had a better rhythm on intermediate passes (10-15 yards). It feels like we have the talent to consistently complete those passes and improve our efficiency.

 

I remember McDermott saying things about “scoring too quickly” when Daboll was the OC, so I have no doubt it is partially coming from the HC.

[BillsFan130]

13 minutes ago, transient said:

...not the 4th Q of the Ravens game when Allen put up 251 yds?

Read my quote again. "The last time the Bills opened up an offensive game script". meaning going into the game aggressive without game script dictating the play calls.

 

Game script and being down 15, of course made the bills throw it all over the yard against the ravens 

[GunnerBill]

6 minutes ago, BillsFan130 said:

Read my quote again. "The last time the Bills opened up an offensive game script". meaning going into the game aggressive without game script dictating the play calls.

 

Game script and being down 15, of course made the bills throw it all over the yard against the ravens 

 

Can you clarify what you mean by aggressive? Do you mean throwing lots? Or do you mean throwing down the field? Or do you mean attack a defence's weak spots?

 

Cos I think the Bills are balanced run to pass in order to put the ball in the hands of their most explosive skill player, I think they have called deep shots and they are not there because guys can't get open deep and I think they do a pretty good job going after weaknesses. I don't see any of that as not being aggressive. 

 

Have had a couple of conservative play calls - sure. The 3rd down after the alert we just talked about they rushed to the line and tried a run which was odd, and the 3rd down on the first drive of the second half the other day when they ran and kicked a FG was unnecessarily conservative to my eye. But I think they are individual play calls rather than something that signifies an overall conservative offense.

[Coach Tuesday]

Josh used to play hero ball at MetLife, the Jets would always bait him into throwing into the teeth of their downfield coverage.  Glad he avoided that trap on Sunday and just took what was there.

[ColoradoBills]

After 2 games the Bills are 3rd in passing yards and 2nd in rushing yards and lead the league in rushing TDs.

 

All this without Josh working with these guys in the preseason and some dinged guys during camp.

I don't have definitive proof, but I also think Josh is taking more upon himself to control the plays during the game.

If he wants to work that in a little conservatively, that's fine with me.

 

 

 

[Alphadawg7]

On 9/14/2025 at 6:12 PM, dayman said:

We’re scoring points, so I can’t complain too much—but doesn’t it feel like we have a lot of predictable 2nd-down runs that go nowhere and start slow? Came back strong vs. the Ravens, but it’d be nice to open things up earlier. Against the Jets it didn’t matter, but I’m still waiting to see more schemed explosive plays in the passing game, especially early. Similar issues as last year. What do you guys think?

 

Big fan overall of Brady, but -- while people are going to push back soley based on our PPG numbers, the facts are the offense was way out of sync week 1 for 3 quarters and we only won that game thanks to Baltimore doing Baltimore things and choking away the game.  From the tipped ball on 4th and goal that found its way miraculously into Keons hands, the Balt missed XP, a low percentage chance of a fumble, to not going for on 4th and 3 due to Lamar having a cramp, etc.  It took many things to go just perfect, even Kyle slowing up a fraction of a second and just barely missing the block on the game winning FG for us to win that game.  GREAT GREAT win and the offense was clicking that stretch, but we were behind the 8 ball the first 3 quarters because of some really questionable play calling and it wasn't until we went into the 2 minute offense for essentially the entire 4th quarter did it work out.  

 

On 9/14/2025 at 6:15 PM, thenorthremembers said:

I think if your offense scores 36 points a game and you're complaining about the offensive play calling, the issue is more about you than it is the play caller. 

 

No disrespect, I think anytime you look at a stat and remove all context you are making a mistake. 

 

The play calling and offense were struggling for 3 quarters against the Ravens and it didn't open up until we ran the 2 min offense, which is completely different than the offense we ran the rest of the game.  And we only got to 41 points because we got lucky on 4th and 3 that a tipped ball miraculously fell into Colemans arms and then Henry miraculously fumbled, something he rarely does.  Otherwise if that ball doesnt find its way to Coleman, we probably don't break 30 week 1 as that was a domino into all the other things.  

 

Against the Jets, the offense was not great, the play calling was not great.  Our first opening drive TD only happened because Jets gave us multiple chances with dumb penalties or we would have punted multiple times that drive.  In the game, we got a few big plays that helped, but overall, Allen was off before and after his nose. I mean he started the game 3 for 10.  Lucky the Jets were worse, so we got a lot of chances with the ball and controlled TOP especially with the insane amount of times the Jets shot themselves in the foot on both sides of the ball.  

 

Had that been the Eagles, Lions, Chiefs, Ravens, etc on the other side of that field on Sunday, not only is it a much closer game, we may not have had enough to win with how the offense was playing.  

 

I think this team is going to be just fine and we got some cushy games for the offense to get right.  But make no mistake about it, this offense was only humming for 1 quarter in 8 quarters of football so far this season and playing up to its potential, and that was mostly done in the 2 min offense.  Brady has to be better, has to find a way to get the quick start, to bring that 2 min offense energy and pace to the rest of the game.  Dion Dawkins verbatim said the same thing in interviews as well.  

 

To be clear, not panicked and big fan of the Brady -- but facts remain, the offense and play calling have not been great these first 2 weeks.  Miraculous opportunities masked that week 1, terrible play and self inflicted mistakes by our opponent mased that in week 2 on the scoreboards.  

[BillsFan130]

55 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Can you clarify what you mean by aggressive? Do you mean throwing lots? Or do you mean throwing down the field? Or do you mean attack a defence's weak spots?

 

Cos I think the Bills are balanced run to pass in order to put the ball in the hands of their most explosive skill player, I think they have called deep shots and they are not there because guys can't get open deep and I think they do a pretty good job going after weaknesses. I don't see any of that as not being aggressive. 

 

Have had a couple of conservative play calls - sure. The 3rd down after the alert we just talked about they rushed to the line and tried a run which was odd, and the 3rd down on the first drive of the second half the other day when they ran and kicked a FG was unnecessarily conservative to my eye. But I think they are individual play calls rather than something that signifies an overall conservative offense.

Yep for sure- So when I mean aggressive it's a combination of a few things:

 

1. Pass to run ratio. (Of course more passing would = more aggressive)

 

2. More downfield shots- I am not saying there weren't any designed downfield shots, but they definitely played the first half in an 8 yard box for the most part. It's also hard to tell if the receivers are running deep to space the field , or if they are actually the designed first read.

 

3. More throws/play action on 2nd and short

 

4. To simplify probably the most, just putting the game in Josh's hands and let Josh be Josh . (Like the 4th quarter)

[GunnerBill]

19 minutes ago, BillsFan130 said:

Yep for sure- So when I mean aggressive it's a combination of a few things:

 

1. Pass to run ratio. (Of course more passing would = more aggressive)

 

2. More downfield shots- I am not saying there weren't any designed downfield shots, but they definitely played the first half in an 8 yard box for the most part. It's also hard to tell if the receivers are running deep to space the field , or if they are actually the designed first read.

 

3. More throws/play action on 2nd and short

 

4. To simplify probably the most, just putting the game in Josh's hands and let Josh be Josh . (Like the 4th quarter)

 

My pushback is 1, 2 & 4 sound like the Dorsey offense. And that wasn't aggressive. It was just dumb.

[billsfan89]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

 

My pushback is 1, 2 & 4 sound like the Dorsey offense. And that wasn't aggressive. It was just dumb.

 

The Bills need to be able to have a conventional ground game. As great as Josh is this team plays in the elements esp in the playoffs and deep in December. This team has to be able to do bully ball. Dorsey's offense was as if this team had a dome and could play a spread offense. It put a lot on Josh and I think the best way to utilize Josh is to not ask him to do everything all the time. Just because he can do it all doesn't mean he should, if he has to do it all consistently it means the supporting pieces aren't doing enough. 

[BillsFan130]

2 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

My pushback is 1, 2 & 4 sound like the Dorsey offense. And that wasn't aggressive. It was just dumb.

I think by far the biggest issue with Dorsey's offence was it was way too complicated and doesn't have much to do with putting it Josh's hands.

 

I would say 1, 2 and 4 are more like Brian Dabolls , which I still think is peak Bills offence in the McDermott era. (2020 regular season and 2021 playoffs they were literally unstoppable)

[GunnerBill]

1 minute ago, BillsFan130 said:

I think by far the biggest issue with Dorsey's offence was it was way too complicated and doesn't have much to do with putting it Josh's hands.

 

I would say 1, 2 and 4 are more like Brian Dabolls , which I still think is peak Bills offence in the McDermott era. (2020 regular season and 2021 playoffs they were literally unstoppable)

 

And yet the results Brady has had with less talent are comparable. 

 

I was a Daboll fan too, less so Dorsey. But if Daboll had this roster his offense wouldn't work. We don't have the pieces.

[syhuang]

 

[BillsFan130]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

 

And yet the results Brady has had with less talent are comparable. 

 

I was a Daboll fan too, less so Dorsey. But if Daboll had this roster his offense wouldn't work. We don't have the pieces.

Less talent in the skilled position now, but the offensive line and TEs now are 10x better than 2020-2021.

 

But ya I agree with the last point. To be clear I'm not hating on Joe Brady as I think he's good. I Just wish he would open it up a bit more at times

[HamptonBillsfan]

On 9/14/2025 at 9:12 PM, dayman said:

We’re scoring points, so I can’t complain too much—but doesn’t it feel like we have a lot of predictable 2nd-down runs that go nowhere and start slow? Came back strong vs. the Ravens, but it’d be nice to open things up earlier. Against the Jets it didn’t matter, but I’m still waiting to see more schemed explosive plays in the passing game, especially early. Similar issues as last year. What do you guys think?

How can you question Brady off these two games? Let’s go Jets first, his decision to run Cook and Josh set the stage for domination of the play clock and continual scoring. Having Trubisky come in and throw a perfect drive sustaining 3rd down completion was huge.  All and all , after two years of struggling at MetLife with Josh getting hit around by a swarming defense, we dismantled this team after they were brimming with confidence after a big offensive showing against Pitt.  The Ravens miracle only happened because Brady dialed up chunk plays using different receivers( Cook, Coleman, Palmer and of all people Hawes. There will be opportunities to criticize Brady but with Josh with Brady’s play calling , I truly believe the Bills are the only team that could’ve pulled off the Baltimore miracle. 

[Walking Tall]

Flashes of being conservative but the ultimate grade is on the scoreboard so he gets an A+ from me.

[Billsfan1972]

2 hours ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

Big fan overall of Brady, but -- while people are going to push back soley based on our PPG numbers, the facts are the offense was way out of sync week 1 for 3 quarters and we only won that game thanks to Baltimore doing Baltimore things and choking away the game.  From the tipped ball on 4th and goal that found its way miraculously into Keons hands, the Balt missed XP, a low percentage chance of a fumble, to not going for on 4th and 3 due to Lamar having a cramp, etc.  It took many things to go just perfect, even Kyle slowing up a fraction of a second and just barely missing the block on the game winning FG for us to win that game.  GREAT GREAT win and the offense was clicking that stretch, but we were behind the 8 ball the first 3 quarters because of some really questionable play calling and it wasn't until we went into the 2 minute offense for essentially the entire 4th quarter did it work out.  

 

 

No disrespect, I think anytime you look at a stat and remove all context you are making a mistake. 

 

The play calling and offense were struggling for 3 quarters against the Ravens and it didn't open up until we ran the 2 min offense, which is completely different than the offense we ran the rest of the game.  And we only got to 41 points because we got lucky on 4th and 3 that a tipped ball miraculously fell into Colemans arms and then Henry miraculously fumbled, something he rarely does.  Otherwise if that ball doesnt find its way to Coleman, we probably don't break 30 week 1 as that was a domino into all the other things.  

 

Against the Jets, the offense was not great, the play calling was not great.  Our first opening drive TD only happened because Jets gave us multiple chances with dumb penalties or we would have punted multiple times that drive.  In the game, we got a few big plays that helped, but overall, Allen was off before and after his nose. I mean he started the game 3 for 10.  Lucky the Jets were worse, so we got a lot of chances with the ball and controlled TOP especially with the insane amount of times the Jets shot themselves in the foot on both sides of the ball.  

 

Had that been the Eagles, Lions, Chiefs, Ravens, etc on the other side of that field on Sunday, not only is it a much closer game, we may not have had enough to win with how the offense was playing.  

 

I think this team is going to be just fine and we got some cushy games for the offense to get right.  But make no mistake about it, this offense was only humming for 1 quarter in 8 quarters of football so far this season and playing up to its potential, and that was mostly done in the 2 min offense.  Brady has to be better, has to find a way to get the quick start, to bring that 2 min offense energy and pace to the rest of the game.  Dion Dawkins verbatim said the same thing in interviews as well.  

 

To be clear, not panicked and big fan of the Brady -- but facts remain, the offense and play calling have not been great these first 2 weeks.  Miraculous opportunities masked that week 1, terrible play and self inflicted mistakes by our opponent mased that in week 2 on the scoreboards.  

Like you I'm not panicked at all and expect the next three games won't tell us a lot either, but you are bang on.

 

Still receivers with minimal separation, only 5 targets to Shakir & Coleman vs. The Jets and sleepwalked after the first possession vs. the Ravens (at home) until the 4th, with nothing downfield.

 

Yep expect way more from the offense then what they have shown for 7 of 8 quarters.

[BigAl2526]

There are times when Brady is brilliant and a few times when I know what play he's going to call and I know it won't work and I'm right.

[Big Turk]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

And yet the results Brady has had with less talent are comparable. 

 

I was a Daboll fan too, less so Dorsey. But if Daboll had this roster his offense wouldn't work. We don't have the pieces.

 

It's really unbelievable that a team who leads the NFL in points a game since 2020, averaging over 29 PPG, is near the top of the league on 3rd down conversions over that time, has punted the fewest number of times and who's average game is a 9.5 point win (INLCUDING THEIR LOSSES) STILL has people complaining about things. 

 

Like what the hell do you want? Their average game is a 9.5 point win and the next closest team is Baltimore at 6.72. That's an absurd difference. That's a bigger difference between the Bills and the 2nd place team than it is between the Ravens and the 6th place 49ers.  And that includes multiple games where Allen has sat out in the 4th quarter where they could have run up the score like Baltimore likes to do and games where Allen hasn't played.

 

Results count...not any of this other nonsense. And at the end of the day the Bills have gotten better end results in terms of scoring points than any other team in the NFL for over 5 years.

 

I don't give a damn how they score points. Just score. They put up 400 yards and 30 points in 3 quarters against the Jets and people are crying like they just put up 2 FGs because it "looked bad". Give me a break.

 

And save me the crap about "well that won't work against X" because as we've seen, when Allen needs to go off, he goes off and there isn't much that can be done to stop him.

 

He is the single most productive player in the history of the NFL on a per game basis in both the regular and post season and he just continues extending the gap between him and everyone else.

Edited September 16 by Big Turk