McD strategy blunders

[WIDE LEFT]

No and no. Not a McD “hater” here.. I recognize he brings a lot of positives to the team as a HC. But time after time his game strategy decisions are terrible, especially in the biggest games. In previous posts I have advocated for a strategy coach, an advisor who sits in the booth, away from the chaos of the sidelines, and is able, based primarily on solid analytics, to present options and recommendations. Take a look at the Bills sidelines during a game. McD clapping, totally engrossed in each play, now calling defenses etc etc. Like every NFL sideline - chaos. The WORST possible environment to make strategic decisions. Every NFL coach could use a strategy coach.BTW, Vrabel in New England employs one.

 

     And he is not getting better at this. Last year, year 7 as HC, he made what ESPN’s Mike Greenberg called “probably not the worst decision we will see this year, but certainly the dumbest” by throwing choosing to throw 3 times at games end from his own one yard line, which handed Houston a win. McD then went on the to make the WORST decision of the year, calling a timeout with less than a minute to go with the Bills at the Rams one yard line. Brady, who was calling the game, reacted immediately, calling out what a horrible decision that was, as it left the Bills no chance to win, other than recovering an onside kick. And of course McD has a history of bad decisions - 13 seconds etc etc

 

Sunday McD strikes again. A strategy coach would have strongly advised against kicking that last field goal. A punt, a punt angled out of bounds ( to prevent any possible return) was the correct strategic decision. It’s virtually impossible for a team drive the ball down the field, 80 + yards, in 22 seconds with zero timeouts. It’s even unlikely a team could even get in position to throw a Hail Mary under those circumstances. Recall the 13 seconds game KC had all three timeouts and only needed a FG. Instead McD blunders again, and Mahomes second last pass was way too close to tying that game. These games are won on the margins, especially playoff games, and his strategic blunders have cost the Bills playoff losses in the past, and I don’t see any improvement in this area.Hire a strategy coach, not to make the final decision but to present best options away from the chaos that is an NFL sideline 
 

 

[RochesterLifer]

Someone doesn't know the meaning of "strategy." Those are tactical decisions.

[BuffaloBillyG]

If Prater makes the kick, no one is complaining. If McDermott punts there he's "spineless, gutless and clueless. Needs to trust his kicker to win and not play not to lose."

[GolfandBills]

I thought they should have just went for it but what do i know 

[oldmanfan]

Just now, WIDE LEFT said:

No and no. Not a McD “hater” here.. I recognize he brings a lot of positives to the team as a HC. But time after time his game strategy decisions are terrible, especially in the biggest games. In previous posts I have advocated for a strategy coach, an advisor who sits in the booth, away from the chaos of the sidelines, and is able, based primarily on solid analytics, to present options and recommendations. Take a look at the Bills sidelines during a game. McD clapping, totally engrossed in each play, now calling defenses etc etc. Like every NFL sideline - chaos. The WORST possible environment to make strategic decisions. Every NFL coach could use a strategy coach.BTW, Vrabel in New England employs one.

 

     And he is not getting better at this. Last year, year 7 as HC, he made what ESPN’s Mike Greenberg called “probably not the worst decision we will see this year, but certainly the dumbest” by throwing choosing to throw 3 times at games end from his own one yard line, which handed Houston a win. McD then went on the to make the WORST decision of the year, calling a timeout with less than a minute to go with the Bills at the Rams one yard line. Brady, who was calling the game, reacted immediately, calling out what a horrible decision that was, as it left the Bills no chance to win, other than recovering an onside kick. And of course McD has a history of bad decisions - 13 seconds etc etc

 

Sunday McD strikes again. A strategy coach would have strongly advised against kicking that last field goal. A punt, a punt angled out of bounds ( to prevent any possible return) was the correct strategic decision. It’s virtually impossible for a team drive the ball down the field, 80 + yards, in 22 seconds with zero timeouts. It’s even unlikely a team could even get in position to throw a Hail Mary under those circumstances. Recall the 13 seconds game KC had all three timeouts and only needed a FG. Instead McD blunders again, and Mahomes second last pass was way too close to tying that game. These games are won on the margins, especially playoff games, and his strategic blunders have cost the Bills playoff losses in the past, and I don’t see any improvement in this area.Hire a strategy coach, not to make the final decision but to present best options away from the chaos that is an NFL sideline 
 

 

The decision to kick a FG Sunday was a great decision.  You have a kicker whose record with 50 yard FGs is excellent, and if he makes it game is over.  And if he didn’t then you have to make them go 60 some yards in 20 some seconds against a defense that gave Mahomes fits in the pocket all day.  And did so again when the smart decision was made to rush 5 on the last play so he couldn’t throw a decent Hail Mary.

 

There are criticisms to make about management in the past.  The finish of Sunday’s game is not one of those.  For the life of me I cannot understand why some people around here cannot simply enjoy a big victory against a big rival without getting all negative about this or that.

[Slack_in_MA]

No HC bats 1.000

 

Do you also give credit when he’s made good/great decisions or do you just cherry-pick the bad stuff where talking heads say something publicly? His win-loss record is what it is.

[racecitybills]

5 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

If Prater makes the kick, no one is complaining. If McDermott punts there he's "spineless, gutless and clueless. Needs to trust his kicker to win and not play not to lose."

The nattering nabobs of negativity would be roasting mcd for a punt.  The fg or going for it were the best options. 

[Augie]

6 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

If Prater makes the kick, no one is complaining. If McDermott punts there he's "spineless, gutless and clueless. Needs to trust his kicker to win and not play not to lose."

 

You spoke the truth in far fewer words. Most of that crowd waits for a loss to show their true colors. Not today! 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

Jerry Sullivan's burner account? 🤔

[Mikie2times]

9 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

If Prater makes the kick, no one is complaining. If McDermott punts there he's "spineless, gutless and clueless. Needs to trust his kicker to win and not play not to lose."

Not at all. The right move was to punt. That said, I'm not giving him a hard time. He did an excellent job Sunday. 

[Donuts and Doritos]

[Mikie2times]

7 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

The decision to kick a FG Sunday was a great decision.  You have a kicker whose record with 50 yard FGs is excellent, and if he makes it game is over.  And if he didn’t then you have to make them go 60 some yards in 20 some seconds against a defense that gave Mahomes fits in the pocket all day.  And did so again when the smart decision was made to rush 5 on the last play so he couldn’t throw a decent Hail Mary.

 

There are criticisms to make about management in the past.  The finish of Sunday’s game is not one of those.  For the life of me I cannot understand why some people around here cannot simply enjoy a big victory against a big rival without getting all negative about this or that.

Prater is 75% at best in that spot, that's a 25% chance to have several clean shots at the goal line. I don't think they had any chance if they had to go the field. So I didn't like the call. 

[BuffaloBillyG]

1 minute ago, Mikie2times said:

Not at all. The right move was to punt. That said, I'm not giving him a hard time. He did an excellent job Sunday. 

Lol. No it wasn't. Hindsight is beautiful. 

 

The right move is to try and win the game right there. Kicker just needs to execute the kick. 

[BuffaloBillsGospel2014]

Andy Reid has no fear of Sean McDermott at all, he went for it on a 4th and 17 and made the first down, how does that even happen? We've been stuffed on 4 and 2/ 4th and 3 and they made a 4th and 17. As poor as Mahomes played this game due to the pressure they were only a TD away from tying it up at the end. How many on here thought once Prater missed that FG, "oh no 22 seconds" ? I sure as heck did and there's a reason for that. For me though this game really didn't mean much, none of these regular season games do, seeding in the playoffs doesn't mean much either imo, we've lost at home and on the road in the playoffs so just get me to the playoffs and hopefully McDermott doesn't hold us back again this season that's all you can ask for.

[Augie]

I would suggest that anyone who quotes Mike Greenberg like he has anything meaningful to say and is still stuck on 13 seconds from so many years ago…….. should seek help. 

[Mikie2times]

Just now, BuffaloBillyG said:

Lol. No it wasn't. Hindsight is beautiful. 

 

The right move is to try and win the game right there. Kicker just needs to execute the kick. 

I said it in our TBD fantasy league in real time so not exactly hindsight. The variance on this decision on win rate is around 1%. I still think kicking puts you on the wrong side of that 1%, but not worth starting a thread on. I don't see anybody in this thread taking the time to prove this out, so all opinion.  

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

I actually agree. In the game day thread I was berating McD for that decision. I don’t care if we had a prime Justin Tucker. Too much can go wrong giving Mahomes a short field like that. 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

13 minutes ago, GolfandBills said:

I thought they should have just went for it but what do i know 

Agreed. The reality is that all three decisions were all pretty reasonable options (FG, punt, or go). 

 

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

1 minute ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

Agreed. The reality is that all three decisions were all pretty reasonable options (FG, punt, or go). 

 

There really is a good argument for every single one of them. So true.

 

still I think you punt it

Edited 9 hours ago by ChronicAndKnuckles

[oldmanfan]

5 minutes ago, Mikie2times said:

Prater is 75% at best in that spot, that's a 25% chance to have several clean shots at the goal line. I don't think they had any chance if they had to go the field. So I didn't like the call. 

He is in fact 75% over his career from 50-59, meaning he’s got a significantly better chance of making that kick than not.  You also discount the fact that the defense was in on Mahomes all night.  Do McD and Babich get credit for that, especially rushing 5 the last play so he couldn’t throw to the end zone?