What's the Bills team identity?!?

[Paup 1995MVP]

4 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I don’t disagree but the flip side is the point made by @NoSaint. The Bills are certainly better at running it. Running it successfully though, takes time off the clock, keeps the game close and allows other teams to continue running vs. the Bills. Are we better off, attacking through the air even if we aren’t as good at it? Basically, are we better off trying to methodically control the ball and be efficient vs. fire it all over the place with both good and bad results? If you can open up a 2 score lead, teams will be one dimensional against you and it won’t impact your undersized defense. You can just rush the passer and hope to get stops.

 

My issue with the style that they play now is everyone is always in the game. Bad teams can hang around even if you’re effectively running and sustaining drives. Less possessions benefits bad teams. My belief is that this team should play with their foot on the gas. Make teams try to keep up with Josh Allen. That’s how they should be built with speed and playmakers to support him. They try not to lose more than they try to win. Attack, attack, attack and let other teams adapt to you. 

Its ridiculous that the team has been built to play as conservatively as possible with one of the most gifted QB's of all time.

 

Does Pegula understand football?  Because you would think if he did, he would have fired McBeane several years ago.  He really needs to bring in an outside guy as a consultant to look at the entire operation, if things continue South the rest of the year.  

[HappyDays]

28 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I don’t disagree but the flip side is the point made by @NoSaint. The Bills are certainly better at running it. Running it successfully though, takes time off the clock, keeps the game close and allows other teams to continue running vs. the Bills. Are we better off, attacking through the air even if we aren’t as good at it? Basically, are we better off trying to methodically control the ball and be efficient vs. fire it all over the place with both good and bad results? If you can open up a 2 score lead, teams will be one dimensional against you and it won’t impact your undersized defense. You can just rush the passer and hope to get stops.

 

My issue with the style that they play now is everyone is always in the game. Bad teams can hang around even if you’re effectively running and sustaining drives. Less possessions benefits bad teams. My belief is that this team should play with their foot on the gas. Make teams try to keep up with Josh Allen. That’s how they should be built with speed and playmakers to support him. They try not to lose more than they try to win. Attack, attack, attack and let other teams adapt to you. 

 

Yeah ideally of course I want the explosive passing offense that can run up the score and make the defense practically irrelevant. Unfortunately we don't have the personnel for that. From Joe Marino's substack:

 

Quote

Over the last three weeks, Allen has thrown deep on 16.5 percent of his dropbacks, which is the third-most in the NFL, and completed just 4-of-13 passes for 108 yards with two interceptions. That equals a passer rating of 22.8

 

I really think we are better off just going back to basics. The offense has to run through Cook, even as a pass catcher he should be more involved. Kincaid should be the #1 target on forward passes, ideally while catching the defense in heavy personnel, and Shakir can still do his 3-4 quick screens per game. If Palmer can get loose once or twice a game that is where our deep shots will come from. Coleman's role needs to be heavily reduced.

 

These aren't good answers but they're the best answers we have to get out of this slump.

[BillsVet]

49 minutes ago, 90sBills said:

What? Allen won MVP last season spreading it around. Bills offense was #2 in points scored. Trading for Cooper gave them another viable option. How did they failed?
 

If you say it’s failing at this point then I agree. Just like year 2 of KC’s method was not that great as well. Another similarity. 

 

Failed from the perspective that last year by Weeks 4 and 5 they couldn't muster much offense, scoring only 30 points total in those 2 games which necessitated the trade for Cooper.   After he arrived for week 7, they scored 30+ in 9 of their next 10 games.  

 

They replicated the approach this season with everybody eats and a similar offensive scheme and after a hot start, their offensive is sputtering just like last year.

 

KC in 2022 didn't have the brutal games Buffalo did in 2024.   

Edited 22 hours ago by BillsVet

[Comebackkid]

3 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

Yep KC's offense took people by surprise in 2022. Defenses were still playing them like they had Tyreek Hill. In 2023 defenses adjusted to take away the easy short field completions and suddenly their offense started to struggle. So since then they have invested a ton into their WR room, and now right when their defense has fallen off a bit they have a passing offense to make up for it. That's what a forward thinking organization does. Adjust on the fly to work with the pieces you have, but don't get complacent just because you're able to make those pieces work for a short time. The Bills on the contrary are stuck in neutral. Whatever worked last year, just do it again. It turns out simply running everything back was the wrong strategy, as many people on here predicted. KC every year takes on a new identity.

that was where NE always excelled with Brady...they could change an identity game to game.   the Bills are stuck in a one size fits all belief system

[colin]

we have what we do best, we should do that until teams stop us from doing that.  having our big people out there with cook and allen and the ol gives us a better group of talent than our opponents except for maybe a couple of match ups (i remember thinking the late 2024 baltimore d which was #1 after a horrible start was a bad match up, we got to up 2 points and had to kill the clock, and we just ran power with ty johnson and took a first down from their d hell bent on stopping a run.  big people win football games most of the time, no reason to not think ours can too).

 

you can run and pass out of heavy formations, we are literally the best at that.  allen throws perfect lazers to tightends and to wrs in long routs out of max protect and play action (the bomb to set off our first score that hit palmer was in like 12 or 22 formation, without our best te).  we can do that and no huddle into having ty or cook line up in the slot, kinkaid in the slot, or the wr in the slot and kinkaid out wide.  we can run allen runs out of that, we can run gap or zone out of that, and we will take the teeth out of any blitz like that.  if kinkaid was right last season maybe he catches that 4th down pass on a blitz that was picked up wrong vs kc, that could be a chip play, and now we have better players for it.

 

the big issues is we tell the d what we are doing and arrogantly do it.  there is no need for that and it must stop.  we can do that in the 4th with a lead when the opponents d is gassed and sad.

[90sBills]

18 minutes ago, BillsVet said:

 

Failed from the perspective that last year by Weeks 4 and 5 they couldn't muster much offense, scoring only 30 points total in those 2 games which necessitated the trade for Cooper.   After he arrived for week 7, they scored 30+ in 9 of their next 10 games.  

 

They replicated the approach this season with everybody eats and a similar offensive scheme and after a hot start, their offensive is sputtering just like last year.

 

KC in 2022 didn't have the brutal games Buffalo did in 2024.   

Bills averaged 37pts the first 3 games last year. Then the lull hit with Baltimore and Houston. To be fair this is what they seem to do every year regardless of what system or OC is in charge. I’m not sure why that is but it has happened. They pull themselves out all those times and I’m expecting the same this year starting this week. 
 

Do they have enough to go all the way? Not sure. There’s still a lot of football left. 

[NoSaint]

2 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

That’s the million dollar question. Someone has looked at the talent added with Schoen here vs. without (it might have been @GunnerBill). They really haven’t had the same level of success and he was really the scout.

 

I think that there is also something to roster building philosophy. Beane and co. follow in the footsteps of Gettleman and Hurney from Carolina. They never prioritized WRs and threw tons of valuable assets at DL (and RB too). That’s what they believe. It’s just tough to have that belief with Josh Allen at QB. If you’re buying a Ferrari give it premium fuel. 

and ultimately we talk about the cap challenges that come with an extended regime - ie once you pay the qb it’s harder to get over the hump. If you couldn’t do it with that advantage, will you pull it off later without them….

 

you also get the less talked about attrition of your best talent in the front office and on the sidelines. 
 

at some point does a new regime come with a full compliment of talent throughout the facility, in addition to the fresh voice at leader. All fair considerations. 

[That's No Moon]

They are a finesse team on both sides of the ball.

 

Show me some 2 TE with Hawes and Alec Anderson out there beating asses. Btw, we havent seen any Anderson tackle eligible this year

 

To put a finer point on it, they are small and also slow at a lot of key positions. Not many spots where you can look at it and honestly say they will out athlete anybody and they don't bully people around either.

 

Edited 20 hours ago by That's No Moon

[babulator]

Our Team Identity is Josh Allen / Hero Ball. We'd be in big trouble right now if we let Cook get away in the off season. IDK, I still think DK would would have been a good fit for Josh, or AJ when he went to Philly. Our WR track record drafting or developing WR's over the years has been terrible. I want to like Keon, but the fact that we settled on him in that WR rich draft is brutal. If we're gonna play hero ball can we at least get him someone to play with? Also, we have one of the worst secondary's in the league from a guy that is supposed to know defense or DB's. We've wasted soo much $ on the D and DL for soo little production over these last years it just doesn't make sense. Ultimately, our poor drafting and use of Cap has been a big impediment to our success. 

[Kirby Jackson]

1 hour ago, NoSaint said:

and ultimately we talk about the cap challenges that come with an extended regime - ie once you pay the qb it’s harder to get over the hump. If you couldn’t do it with that advantage, will you pull it off later without them….

 

you also get the less talked about attrition of your best talent in the front office and on the sidelines. 
 

at some point does a new regime come with a full compliment of talent throughout the facility, in addition to the fresh voice at leader. All fair considerations. 

I’ll add a layer too. You overvalue the guys that you selected. “Draft and re-sign our own” is great in theory. When you start overpaying for guys like Rousseau and Bernard it puts you in a tough spot. 

[Returntoglory]

[transient]

This team’s identity in 2025 is Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane’s hubris. This stupid complementary football, everybody eats philosophy (used to) win the games they’re supposed to win and is destined to fail when it counts just like every season.
 

Taking an Allen led offense and grinding the clock from the opening whistle as part of the McD defensive game plan because he’s too scared to expose his defense is horseshit. I hate watching a defense that waits for the other team to make a mistake or score instead of forcing them into errors. Might as well bring Walt Corey back. The fact that the defense hasn’t improved against the run “because that’s the way McDermott plays defense” is frustratingly stupid. And I’m starting to think teams let the Bills get them in 3rd and long just to demoralize Bills fans everywhere. 
 

And expecting Allen to raise the level of the entire offense of JAGS, Cook notwithstanding, for a full season because he can is also a horseshit philosophy. I had given Beane the benefit of the doubt in seasons past, but since he was the one whipping out receipts about the WR position in the offseason, he owns this shitshow of his own making. 
 

When he was hired, I thought Dan Campbell was a stupid meathead… now I’m jealous of Detroit. At least the man has the balls to take a swing when he’s at the plate. When he fails it’s not for fear of trying. 

[Sweats]

I would think that with Cook on the team, we should almost be a run first system and when teams adjust in game, then throw in some short dumpers across the middle, but on the flip side of that, we've got arguably the best QB in the game right now, so wouldn't we want to be a pass first team?

 

Like, what are we doing here?!?

[Coldfronts]

It's simple it's the "everyone eats" identity..... which begs the question what is this team's identity.

[Sweats]

Teams are adjusting their identities and systems from week to week in order to compete and give themselves a viable chance every game.........and we're trying to use a system that worked last season, cause hey, it worked last season.

 

I get jealous of organizations like KC and Detroit who seem to look ahead and be proactive and be the trendsetters in systems and techniques that actually work. We seem to be reactive and always a season behind.

 

.........that's on coaching and our FO.

[HappyDays]

McDermott doesn't know either:

 

 

[Sweats]

3 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

McDermott doesn't know either:

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's been 9 years, and he doesn't know if we're there yet?!?..........even HE can't give an identity to his own team

 

I'm going to be sick.

[Fleezoid]

[Billsfanatic8989]

On 10/20/2025 at 6:15 PM, FireChans said:

Our team philosophy is "protect our defense from being exposed at all costs."

 

We don't want to get in shootouts where our defense could potentially look bad, even when we have the best QB in the league. So, we run a boring, clock chewing system on offense to limit both teams' possessions, despite that undermining our own ability to rack up points.

 

We don't want the defense to have to step up in the face of adversity. So, potential turnovers are avoided at all costs, even if it shackles said QB and neuters his greatest gifts.

 

We don't want our defense to ever feel undermanned. So, we dedicate the lion's share of our assets and draft capital and cap space to constantly re-tooling that side o the ball, while we ask said QB to run through linebackers in week 5 in order to generate offense because he's playing with Fisher-Price weapons.

Correct.

 

This is my issue with McDermott. He is a defensive HC with not so good defenses. What does he actually contribute to on field success? Now the offense is being affected by trying to compensate for the defensive shortcomings. The Bills have two units not performing. 

57 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

McDermott doesn't know either:

 

 

Worrisome statement for sure. 

 

I never heard this from a Belichick, Reid, or McVay coached team.

[nuklz2594]