GASabresIUFAN

How about with the players who failed to tackle or the GM who failed to build proper depth? Lots of blame to go around.

Let's say the Bills go for it in the bad conditions at the end of the 1st half and someone fumbles or Josh forces a throw and it gets intercepted and run back. What would everyone be saying then? The Bills were up 10 heading into the half. No reason to risk a F'up. Had it been 40 or 50 seconds I might agree with you, but just 20 in those conditions would have been a mistake.

So what end-of-game plays would you or any of your friends have called differently and with what assets on the Bills would you have accomplished that goal tonight? McD can't make the guys execute. Take Poyer's play near the end of regulation. He punched it out therefore stopping the clock for a 59 yard kick in the rain. What if he just tackles the guy right there in bounds and Philly has to rush the kick? Do they still make it? Regardless the Bills forced them to kick a near impossible field goal in the rain and they made it. That was great execution on the kicker, but it was bad luck for the Bills because they played it well. Did MCD make Bass miss two kicks? Was it McD's fault that Cook dropped a sure TD or that Davis didn't look back for the ball or the officials purposefully taking the Bills out of 2nd and goal at the 5 with impossibly terrible calls? I get people are frustrated with both teams right now. I'm more pissed at the Sabres than the Bills. I see a Bills team battling despite crippling injuries on defense and a terrible offensive scheme for much of the season. Brady has fixed the offense and the defense is what it is until people get healthy or next season.

The Bills are not moving on from Diggs. They have to much invested in him and the cap hit, unless restructured, is way to much. They also don't have anyone close to him on the roster as a replacement. Given the other critical needs facing this team, I also doubt they draft a WR in the 1st rd.

Like I said, I don't disagree but maybe Brady will help him become more aggressive if can get back to trusting Josh not to make stupid plays.

I'm not sure why people think EJ is a problem. He's only -2 and only has 6 giveaways in 21 games. Power has 17 (with only 5 takeaways). Dahlin has 15, Mule 11, Joki 10, and Clifton 9. EJ, who was often paired with Clifton, must be doing something right if his +/- is -2 compared to Clifton's -9. He is second on the teams with blocked shots (37) and is 6th on the team with 26 hits. He is also a stalwart on the PK. So far he is doing exactly what he was hired to do. Anyone who wants to start a thread on how disappointing Clifton has been, I'm right there with you, but EJ has passed the eye test regardless of what the often useless fancy stats say.

You know I'm not going to argue with that. I like what Joe Brady has done so far and I do agree I'd like to see more of a killer instinct from MCD. However, this loss isn't on MCD. Truthfully most of the early season losses were on Allen's turnover and Ken Dorsey. With a healthy defense this team has at least 3 more wins including today.

Despite my post, I don't think the window is close to closing and that is where the youth comes in. The Bills will need to restructure some contracts, draft well this coming off-season and find a way to stay healthy, but this team will be very competitive next season.

I do think there is some merit here in general, but I'm not sure he caused the loss today. I just don't think he has the horses on defense right now to compete. The defense is without top starter Jones, White and Milano and played without DB's Jackson and Rapp tonight.

Personal reasons could be nearly anything such as a very ill parent, spouse, or child. Maybe his wife is having a baby? It could be a mental health issue or a legal matter off the ice. Who knows.

By the way folks, Allen, Diggs, and Miller will cost the Bills nearly $100 million next year (40% of the current cap) without some restructuring.

Daboll left to take a deserved HC job. We got jobbed by the officials tonight. That said, had the defense been healthy we'd win this game going away. Frankly, I'm not to upset. This team needs a reset and to cut some dead weight. We also need a better draft position and a fairer schedule. Going around .500 season wouldn't be the worst thing. There are also some real positives from this season. Rouseau, Benard, Benford, Kincaid, Shakir, Cook, and Torrence have all really stepped up this season and give us some youth to build around. Floyd, Douglas, and McGovern have been really good additions. Add a couple of new starters in this coming draft and the Bills should look younger and deeper next season.

First things first; Granato and Adams aren’t getting fired. They were recently extended and TP isn’t eating those deals. Assistant coaches may get replaced, but Granato is staying. Sorry. TP, KA and DG have two built in excuses for continued failure and they are the Sabres are the youngest team in the NHL and injuries to key players. To fix this mess, KA has to get off his hands and start being more aggressive with player acquisition. Since he traded out the old core, the players he has added are Pilut, Clague, Sheahan, Greenway, Stillman, Anderson, Comrie, Lyubuskin, Cilfton, and E Johnson. These are all depth or worse players. Not exactly a list to help the team take a major step forward.

The horse collar was one of the worst non-calls I’ve ever seen. Karma played out and we got the TD off the fumble.

“Fixing“ the defense is pretty simple. Go down to 6 D and play Ryan Johnson. Clifton has been our worst D. Put him in the pressbox. This isn’t hard.

The Sabres have 10% more points than last year. I'm sure KA is very proud of his improved roster.

Despite UPL’s vast improvement, the goaltending remains below average. (Numbers from hockey-reference) Sabres 5 on 5 save % .907. NHL average .918. Sabres overall save % .895. League average .897.

Sadly the goaltending is not substantively better than last season. UPL is certainly better, but the team’s overall numbers aren’t. What is better is the defense. Despite giving up 33 tonight to Pit, the Sabres have given up less HDC per game vs last year and 4 less shots on goal per game. Our goals against are down from 3.6 to 3.2 which corresponds to the 4 shots less game at the NHL’s 10% shooting %.

VO now has 7 points in 14 games, but more importantly 6 points in his last 5 games.

Why do they only care when they get embarrassed? Where is that effort from the opening puck drop?

Great comeback, but where was that energy in the 1st two periods? If they play like they did in the 3rd most of the time they'd be a top-tier team.

I guess, but it’s a pretty universal standard. The Sabres have only lost one game this season when recording a .900 save % or better. They have only won 2 games with under .900. In one of those two wins, UPL had a .895 and the other was the 6-4 win over Toronto. It’s pretty straight forward. Stop 90% of your opponents shots and you win the game. Fail to do it, you lose.

If the Sabres are going to move up in the standings no time like the present.

I've seen a couple of posts from various posters today that all 3 of our goaltenders have been good this season and/or that Levi is coming along since his injury. UPL has been solid and has had some very good nights (although rebound control is still a problem), but Comrie and Levi have not been good and Levi hasn't been good overall since his return. Levi has had 8 starts this season. His GA is 3.66 and save % .879. These are not good numbers. The Sabres are 3-4-1 in those starts. Don't be fooled by the record. He has had only 2 starts this season where he saved more than 90% of the shots against. According to Natural Stat Trick, Levi's save % on HDC is 62nd in the NHL. In his last 4, he has a save % of .857, .943, .722, and .867 allowing 4 or more goals in 3 of the 4 games. Despite Levi's goaltending, the Sabres are 2-1-1 in those 4 games. Comrie has played four games and posted a 90% or better save % in just one of the four. The Sabres are 0-3 in Comrie's last 3 starts and his return from injury game was his worst of the year with an .833 save%. In summation, UPL has been surprisingly good, Comrie slightly below mediocre and Levi bad. Overall the Sabres' .909 save % 5 on 5 in below the NHL average (.919) and our overall save % (.893) is also below average in the NHL (.897). By the way, our save % 5 on 5 is actually slightly worse than last year (.909 vs .911), but the overall % is slightly better (.893 vs .890). The biggest change is our GA (3.21 ytd vs 3.62 last season) is more a function of improved defence instead of improved goaltending. Shots against have fallen by 4 from 32.5 to 28.3 and HDA have fallen from 8.43 per game to 7.79. The league's shooting % is 10.3%. A drop in 4 shots a game would essentially lower our GA by the .4 we are seeing this season (3.62 down to 3.21).

Levi has played 2 good games out of 8. His save % in the other 6 games was well under .900. The Sabres are 1-4-1 in those 6 games. Comrie has played 1 good game out of 4. His save% in the other 3 games was well under .900 and the Sabres lost all 3. In total the Sabres are 4-7-1 in games started by Comrie and Levi this season. Sorry, they haven’t been good. Our 5 in 5 offense hasn’t been bad. It’s 9th in the NHL with 41 goals. The failing PP is the key offensive issue.