A Few Thoughts about the Bucs Game - Community Edition

[Pete]

Samuel ran selfless clear outs all game, and opened everything up.

 

Dorian Williams was tremendous fluctuating between spying Baker, and then selflessly setting picks violently, allowing other players to the ball.

 

Shavers won deep consistently.  He made some key blocks.  Then played coverage teams.  One cannot praise Shavers enough for his game.  
 

Secondary played very well, providing sticky coverage. 

[BearNorth]

49 minutes ago, Livinginthepast said:

This is the bizarre thing about McD, he takes over the defensive playcalling when things get bad for his DCs, sometimes it works and sometimes its its takes a while but eventually works then other times its embarrassing. This seems to happen with regularity so what is the point of Babich exactly? If he is so incapable that helicopter dad McD has to take over for him then why is he the DC?. Maybe we should get a seasoned proven DC in here and revamp this defense? Someone better than Babich and McD?

 

 

I doubt Schwartz would come if McDermott was the head coach tho.  Like Wade, if you hire Schwartz as the DC, stay out of my room.

 

[Big Turk]

18 hours ago, billsfan714 said:

Thank god for the Bengals or we would have the worst rushing defense in the league.  It was the same old, same old except we made Sean Tucker look like Gibbs.  It wasnt a good runningback this time.  It was a guy who probably isnt rostered in 14 team fantasy leagues.  Look at the teams in the bottom 8 in rush defense, none of them will go to the superbowl, including us.  As happy as I was seeing an improved passing attack, it was more than disappointing watching that rush defense, again.  Its atrocious, plain and simple.

 

Dude has speed tho...runs a 4.33

[GunnerBill]

36 minutes ago, Livinginthepast said:

This is the bizarre thing about McD, he takes over the defensive playcalling when things get bad for his DCs, sometimes it works and sometimes its its takes a while but eventually works then other times its embarrassing. This seems to happen with regularity so what is the point of Babich exactly? If he is so incapable that helicopter dad McD has to take over for him then why is he the DC?. Maybe we should get a seasoned proven DC in here and revamp this defense? Someone better than Babich and McD?

 

I think McD taking over the playcalling HAS worked. When I was advocating for him to do it, even before the Falcons game where it became obvious he had to it, the two things I said I thought it would fix were third down and the confusion pre-snap. 

 

While Tampa had a good day on 3rd down on Sunday overall the 3rd down D since McD took over is singificantly improved (was about 20% points better before Sunday). And the pre-snap miscommunications have been better the past game or two after being an issue all season (including the first couple of McDemott games). 

 

He isn't going to magically fix the rest of it. I think the talent on D gives it a pretty clear ceiling. Someone said it elswhere they are kind of between two stools.... older guys who are dropping off and young rookie / 2nd year guys who haven't established themselves yet. The prime age/experience guys on this D are basically the three they resigned this year - Groot, Bernard and Benford - and Oliver who is done for the year. I was pretty clear at the time I wasn't necessarily in favour of extending Bernard. And I was on the fence with Groot.

 

The positives on defense from this year are Walker, Bishop and Hairston. Three talented young guys who have really shown some promise. 

[KHAN]

The defense will not be able to shut down good teams this year. Just not enough healthy talent.

 

I can understand the concept of taking the air out of the ball on offense. But that's what you do with a game manager QB. We have Josh, and the goal moving forward needs to be to let Josh go balls to the wall and try to score as many points as possible. The goal needs to be put up 50. Try to limit his  running plays to important downs. 

 

[HappyDays]

3 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

The problem isn't the read. Or Knox. Josh is just late on the throw. I think a lot of his issues in recent weeks - including the poorer throws in this game - have been due to timing. If that is thrown half a second sooner it is a completion. 

 

I could be wrong but I believe he wants #8 and #21 to cross before he throws the sit route. The timing gets messed up primarily because Palmer gets chucked to the ground which causes #21 to slow down right in the throwing window to Knox.

 

This is the moment where he ideally wants to be releasing the ball:

 

 

Like I said I could be wrong but I believe #21's positioning is why he has to throw it a half second late.

[GunnerBill]

58 minutes ago, Nihilarian said:

PlayerPosPractice StatusStatusDetails

 

Tyler Bass K Injured Reserve

DeWayne Carter DT Injured Reserve

Tylan Grable OL Injured Reserve

Damar Hamlin DBI njured Reserve

Michael Hoecht DT Injured Reserve

Landon Jackson DE Injured Reserve

Cameron Johnston P Injured Reserve

Ed Oliver DL Injured Reserve

Wande Owens S Injured Reserve

Taylor Rapp S Injured Reserve

T.J. Sanders DT Injured Reserve

Dorian Strong CB Injured Reserve

Dalton Kincaid TE DNPOutHamstring

Phidarian Mathis DT

 

Taron Johnson CB LimitedQuestionableGroin

Cameron Lewis DB LimitedQuestionableCalf

T.J. Sanders DT FullQuestionableKnee

Shaq Thompson OLB Questionable

 

Buffalo has limited cap space and once everyone is back healthy they will be improved on defense

 

The problem is a lot of those guys are not coming back this year. 

 

Hoecht is done. Jackson is done. Strong is done (and who knows career wise). Rapp is done (maybe a good thing). Oliver at best is back for the playoffs. 

2 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

I could be wrong but I believe he wants #8 and #21 to cross before he throws the sit route. The timing gets messed up primarily because Palmer gets chucked to the ground which causes #21 to slow down right in the throwing window to Knox.

 

This is the moment where he ideally wants to be releasing the ball:

 

 

Like I said I could be wrong but I believe #21's positioning is why he has to throw it a half second late.

 

I still think it can go half a second sooner. He has not been decisive enough in multiple games. When he overthinks he makes mistakes. When Josh is playing instinctive and decisive it doesn't matter whether he is going short or long he is hard to stop. 

[Ralonzo]

19 hours ago, Big Turk said:

I know this is crazy saying it after the Bills scored 44 points but I felt like they left a lot of easy plays out there and could have easily put up 60 on the Bucs.  

 

It's pretty hard to put up 60 when the main goal of your offense is to shorten the game to 7-8 possessions... the only calculation I can think of for this strategy is when you think your defense is worse than the opponent by an even larger margin than your offense is better than them.

[Livinginthepast]

1 hour ago, KHAN said:

The defense will not be able to shut down good teams this year. Just not enough healthy talent.

 

I can understand the concept of taking the air out of the ball on offense. But that's what you do with a game manager QB. We have Josh, and the goal moving forward needs to be to let Josh go balls to the wall and try to score as many points as possible. The goal needs to be put up 50. Try to limit his  running plays to important downs. 

 

I agree, but the beef I have with McD is that he keeps playing the defense as if we have no injuries. He also sometimes sticks stubbornly with the same schemes that dont work, then finally abandons them when things are dire.  Maybe he hopes that the backups and kids we have playing can handle things but we've seen ample evidence especially in the last 2 weeks that is not the case.  I just wish he would simplify things or mix it up with some disguised defenses because we cannot have Josh bail us out every week.

[KHAN]

34 minutes ago, Livinginthepast said:

I agree, but the beef I have with McD is that he keeps playing the defense as if we have no injuries. He also sometimes sticks stubbornly with the same schemes that dont work, then finally abandons them when things are dire.  Maybe he hopes that the backups and kids we have playing can handle things but we've seen ample evidence especially in the last 2 weeks that is not the case.  I just wish he would simplify things or mix it up with some disguised defenses because we cannot have Josh bail us out every week.

I think McD knowing how depleted the defense is has decided to try to stop the pass and live with the run defense.

I think he'd rather give up 175 rushing, and 175 passing than 75 rushing and 400 passing which could happen if they sold out on the run. 

 

I think leaning on Josh to "bail us out" may be the best option, unless they get as healthy as possible given the current injuries on defense heading in to the playoffs.

 

 

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

5 hours ago, Coach Tuesday said:

I am hard on Beane

 

[Virgil]

5 hours ago, KHAN said:

The defense will not be able to shut down good teams this year. Just not enough healthy talent.

 

I can understand the concept of taking the air out of the ball on offense. But that's what you do with a game manager QB. We have Josh, and the goal moving forward needs to be to let Josh go balls to the wall and try to score as many points as possible. The goal needs to be put up 50. Try to limit his  running plays to important downs. 

 

In all fairness, who are we really missing on defense that doesn’t have a starter replacing them?  Even with the injuring, you have Groot, Bosa, Walker, and Jones.  We’ve lost depth for our rotation, but Walker and Jones have been very good, just with a weaker pass rush. 

[KHAN]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

In all fairness, who are we really missing on defense that doesn’t have a starter replacing them?

I don't see anyone on the depth chart replacing Oliver and Hoecht. 

[Billsfanatic8989]

OT here.

 

There was not many Bucs fans at the game. Correct? 

 

I ask because there was alot of red in the stands. You rarely see opposing fans at Bills home games. Maybe it was fans wearing the Bills red jerseys. 

Edited 8 hours ago by Billsfanatic8989

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

On 11/17/2025 at 12:23 PM, BuffaloBillyG said:

A couple of seasons ago, the Bills let some vets walk on defense. It was time. They said goodbye to Poyer, White (who are both oddly back) and Hyde. 

 

This off season I feel it's time to do the same. It's time to shed some longtime guys who just aren't what they used to be. Obviously, Milano, Tre White and Poyer need to be upgraded. But, they need to take a serious look at Taron Johnson, Rapp and even the newcomer in Joey Bosa as guys that probably shouldn't return. 

 

It's really telling that once Rapp went out our secondary seems to have pulled it together, and is always stronger when White is on the side watching Mad Max play. It really speaks volumes that when Taron is out, the slot is covered just fine. No drop off at all. Games Milano have missed have actually had better LBer play. 

 

For as many assets that they have sunk in, the best thing they could do is to cut the dead wood off, let the young guys get experience and reboot that defense this off season 

Bosa would be so much better if pocket QBs were still the rage. Seems like he takes a ton of horrible angles when the QB starts running. 

 

With that said… I think Bosa has been a solid rotational piece. This will potentially be his first healthy season in years. I’d hate for him to build on that with a different team next year. 4 sacks 4 forced fumbles is good production with 6 games left. 

[BuffaloBillyG]

3 minutes ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

Bosa would be so much better if pocket QBs were still the rage. Seems like he takes a ton of horrible angles when the QB starts running. 

 

With that said… I think Bosa has been a solid rotational piece. This will potentially be his first healthy season in years. I’d hate for him to build on that with a different team next year. 4 sacks 4 forced fumbles is good production with 6 games left. 

I've been a big Bosa supporter since we signed him. He brings a lot to the team. I just am not sure I would wanna sink a high dollar into him and bet on him staying mostly healthy a second straight season. Seems very risky. 

 

Now, I also admit I'm not sure how his contract works. I believe I say somewhere he carries a $7M dead cap next season due to void years. I'm not sure if we sign him if that gets absorbed or not? But if we started by saving a big dead cap hit I could be on board. 

[Governor]

10 hours ago, KHAN said:

I think McD knowing how depleted the defense is has decided to try to stop the pass and live with the run defense.

I think he'd rather give up 175 rushing, and 175 passing than 75 rushing and 400 passing which could happen if they sold out on the run. 

 

I think leaning on Josh to "bail us out" may be the best option, unless they get as healthy as possible given the current injuries on defense heading in to the playoffs.

 

 

Right but McD basically did that last year too and then we had to play the Ravens. He can’t make that adjustment this year with these players.

[EmotionallyUnstable]

6 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

I believe I say somewhere he carries a $7M dead cap next season due to void years. I'm not sure if we sign him if that gets absorbed or not?

So his contract is essentially a 3 million in base salary this year (2025) with a 9 million dollar signing bonus. Although Bosa is paid 12 million in money this season, the money is not paid out that way on paper.
 

Per league rules, a signing bonus can be prorated up to 5 years. So the Bills chose to spread the 9 of the 12 million over 2025-2029 (1.8 a year). Therefore, though Bosa is actually getting paid 12 million this season, his cap hit this year is only around 5 million (base + 1.8 prorated signing bonus). The remaining 7 million (1.8 x4 more years) is spread out down the road. 

 

Still with me? If so, this is where the potential extension could in theory help them. One of the nuances of void years in contracts is that when a contact voids, all signing bonus money in future years (those 1.8 over 4 years) becomes immediately due on the books that year. If Bosa is not extended, the 7.2 dead cap is due in 2026. (All remaining 4 years of 1.8 signing bonus).

 

If they DO extended him, then the prorated money from 2026-2029 remains in place and they will still on the hook for 1.8 on in 2026 for Bosa (with 3 more years to pay). So although it doesn’t save you money in the long run, an extension could continue to bump bonuses down the road, and remove 5.4 million in dead money (2026-2029) from becoming due leaving them more room to work with next year.

 

I hope my rambling explaination was helpful. Check out his contract details here if you’re interested 

 

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/_/id/18951/joey-bosa

[HappyDays]

20 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

I've been a big Bosa supporter since we signed him. He brings a lot to the team. I just am not sure I would wanna sink a high dollar into him and bet on him staying mostly healthy a second straight season. Seems very risky. 

 

Now, I also admit I'm not sure how his contract works. I believe I say somewhere he carries a $7M dead cap next season due to void years. I'm not sure if we sign him if that gets absorbed or not? But if we started by saving a big dead cap hit I could be on board. 

 

I'm interested to see where the league values Bosa. He's had a very strong impact at times as a pass rusher but he occasionally disappears and he can't really play the run, and now the nagging injuries are starting to show up. I could see him signing for exactly the same one year deal next offseason and I think I'd take him back at that number, especially because like you said we're on the hook for $7.2M regardless. Would he accept 2 years $22M? I don't want to start over at the spot opposite Rousseau next year if we can avoid it.

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

#1    I do wonder if Allen would have made that same pass that resulted in the first int, if he wasn't in the endzone as he realized if he didn't get rid of the ball it was safety.  I'd hope if were say on the 5 or 10 yard line he'd have taken the sack rather than throw a pass like that??

 

#6   I read Harston played like 2 more plays than White did