Buffalo Bills 2023 Thread

[Crusader1969]

12 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

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.  

That's an excuse. Plus it's just not tonight.   How many late game drives has he not been able to stop?

NYG, NE, PHI and DEN all this year.   Who's at fault for 12 men?

He could have had 20 seconds and 3 time outs last night but no.  It's a pattern with him. 
 

and let's not forget 13 seconds.  One of the greatest coaching debacles of all time 

 

11 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

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. 

Again if this was a one off , no one would be calling for his head 

[inkman]

McDermott can fire himself already 

[Brawndo]

7 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

While that's great standard, the AFC has had much deeper competition over the last 3+ years.  There are 5 teams in the AFC that have won 30+ games in the last 3 full seasons lead by KC (42) and Buffalo (37).  In the NFC, only 3 teams have had 30+ lead by GB's 34.  3 AFC teams have had 3 straight winning seasons, while none of have accomplished it in the NFC.  

So Bills Fans are supposed to accept mediocrity and regression because the AFC is a better conference? 
 

The Chiefs and Bengals have represented the AFC in the Superbowl over the past four years, the difference in talent between these teams and the Bills is minimal over the same period. 
 

The difference in Head Coaches is light years apart. 
 

 

 

 

[Crusader1969]

This is your coach McDermott  leading or tied with 2 mins in all these games ended up losing 

 

[inkman]

Hire him now? I’m not a “I’ve heard of him” or “He’s a Buffalo guy” person but it almost is too good.  Terry can hire someone with Buffalo ties and previous success in the league.  Fire McDummy yesterday.  
 

 

Edited November 27, 2023 by inkman

[Brawndo]

23 minutes ago, inkman said:

Hire him now? I’m not a “I’ve heard of him” or “He’s a Buffalo guy” person but it almost is too good.  Terry can hire someone with Buffalo ties and previous success in the league.  Fire McDummy yesterday.  
 

 

He would be another Carolina Connection. 
 

I’ll show myself out 

[Crusader1969]

This is all you have to know about McDermotts ability in the last 2 mins of a game 

"According to TruMedia, when tied or winning by one score in the fourth quarter or overtime this season, the Bills rank a horrendous 31st in both EPA and third-down conversion rate. That second-worst mark in the league." 

#FIREMCDERMOTT"

 

[MattPie]

1 hour ago, Doohickie said:

What gets me is that in so many games the defense is sterling for three quarters and turns into a sieve in the fourth (and OT).  Yesterday was a prime example.  0.31 points allowed per minute in the first three quarters, 1.05 points allowed per minute in fourth quarter and OT.

Very succinct explanation of the McD effect.

[PASabreFan]

Do you honestly think Terry will ever fire McDermott unless he absolutely has to? Team starts 0-7 next season or something.

[Doohickie]

4 minutes ago, MattPie said:

Very succinct explanation of the McD effect.

To be fair, I think this is a trend in a lot of games- that offenses get more desperate and cash in.  It might be worth the time for me to just do a quick survey of scoring per quarter and see if the effect is as bad with McDermott as we all think it is.  I bet he's the worst at allowing points in the final two minutes of regulation.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

This one hurt.  Played well enough to run away with it, but for the 10+ mistakes and / or bumbled plays that came back to haunt.

I think coach needs to be fired, but will not likely happen until the end of the season.  The Bills are basically only 1 game (not sure of tie-breakers) out of the WC.  I have a feeling that they will sneak in as the last WC at 10 and 7 - I think they only lose to Dallas.  Then all bets are off.

Something just doesn't seem right.  Josh seems to have a better relationship / understanding with the new OC.

[inkman]

24 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Do you honestly think Terry will ever fire McDermott unless he absolutely has to? Team starts 0-7 next season or something.

Not sure what to think anymore.  I’ve never heard this much clamoring for a new coach since Krueger was on a 10 game losing streak.  

[Pimlach]

13 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Regardless of WRs, McDermott needs to be gone.  I've never seen a worse end-of-game manager.  It's so bad because it's so predictable.  When the Bills scored to go ahead late, none of the people at our table at the Bills Backers bar was particularly excited.  We knew what was coming.

Same with our Bills Backers table.  The defense has closed out games very rarely.  You just knew what was coming.  

[Pimlach]

13 minutes ago, inkman said:

Not sure what to think anymore.  I’ve never heard this much clamoring for a new coach since Krueger was on a 10 game losing streak.  

I like McDermott but the body of work speaks for itself.    Good, but not great. 

It sure looks like he peaked as a HC in Buffalo.  

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, Crusader1969 said:

This is your coach McDermott  leading or tied with 2 mins in all these games ended up losing 

 

Those are just the OT games.   The are many more L's that never got to OT where we took the lead late in the fourth quarter and lost on the last drive - such as the New England and Denver games just this year.  

[GASabresIUFAN]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2023/11/27/sean-mcdermott-josh-allen-bills-eagles/71715583007/

USAToday is ready to fire McD.  

 

[Marvin]

I think fans of McDermott need to accept the mere possibility that he is like Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay, who turned a joke of a franchise into a good team, but can not get the same team to the next level because of his own limitations and blind spots.  Once you accept that, then you should see why the calls for his ouster are not just knee-jerk reactions to yesterday's loss.  He might eventually win it all, but it will not happen in Buffalo.

[Gatorman0519]

McDermott has a terrible record in close games and 0-6 in OT. That says it all. 

[mjd1001]

3 hours ago, Doohickie said:

What gets me is that in so many games the defense is sterling for three quarters and turns into a sieve in the fourth (and OT).  Yesterday was a prime example.  0.31 points allowed per minute in the first three quarters, 1.05 points allowed per minute in fourth quarter and OT.

A lot of times the Defense plays a bit tighter and more aggressive for those 3 quarters and it works (often). The logic is...when protecting a lead play softer, make the other team work down the field and as they take time off the clock hope they make a mistake. If by the time they get on your side of the field they don't make that mistake, then tighten up.  That is coaching by fear.

The thing is if you rush harder and play a little tighter in those last couple minutes, there WILL be times you will be burnt deep.  However, we see that when they play loose, they are losing just as many (if not more games).  

Again, it is coaching out of fear/for reputation.  If you get burnt deep while playing aggressive, the coaches are fearful that they will be called out for it. If you lose the way they play late game D, you can just say "the other team made plays"

[MattPie]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2023/11/27/sean-mcdermott-josh-allen-bills-eagles/71715583007/

USAToday is ready to fire McD.  

 

Spicy. There are going to be a ton of people spilling their complimentary hotel breakfast coffee after reading that one.

(I don't think it's wrong, either)

[inkman]

4 minutes ago, MattPie said:

Spicy. There are going to be a ton of people spilling their complimentary hotel breakfast coffee after reading that one.

(I don't think it's wrong, either)

Everyone I follow on Twitter is calling for his head.  Enough already, fire this jackwad into the sun. 

[That Aud Smell]

2 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

Do you honestly think Terry will ever fire McDermott unless he absolutely has to? Team starts 0-7 next season or something.

Like you, I think Terry isn't close to parting ways with McDermott. A disastrous start to the 2024 would probably force Terry's hand.

35 minutes ago, Marvin said:

I think fans of McDermott need to accept the mere possibility that he is like Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay, who turned a joke of a franchise into a good team, but can not get the same team to the next level because of his own limitations and blind spots.  Once you accept that, then you should see why the calls for his ouster are not just knee-jerk reactions to yesterday's loss.  He might eventually win it all, but it will not happen in Buffalo.

This is a very interesting take.

Because, seriously: McDermott is an exceptional professional and a good head coach. Many Bills fans will be heard saying or seen to have typed -- in frustration: His record speaks for itself at this point.

The inverse (converse? (obverse??)) is also true: His record speaks for itself. He's won a lot of games. He's made the playoffs several times. He's won the division twice (three times?). He's won playoff games. He is a good NFL head coach. There's no disputing that. Not reasonably anyway.

10 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

A lot of times the Defense plays a bit tighter and more aggressive for those 3 quarters and it works (often). The logic is...when protecting a lead play softer, make the other team work down the field and as they take time off the clock hope they make a mistake. If by the time they get on your side of the field they don't make that mistake, then tighten up.  That is coaching by fear.

The thing is if you rush harder and play a little tighter in those last couple minutes, there WILL be times you will be burnt deep.  However, we see that when they play loose, they are losing just as many (if not more games).  

Again, it is coaching out of fear/for reputation.  If you get burnt deep while playing aggressive, the coaches are fearful that they will be called out for it. If you lose the way they play late game D, you can just say "the other team made plays"

I don't think this necessarily plays here with McDermott. Against Denver at the end of the game, for example, he dialed up nearly identical jailhouses blitzes on two consecutive plays (which seemed like bad judgment).

This goes to a larger point about his limitations: He seems to lack good feel for what's right in the moment. He's aces at preparing his players during the week. But in crunch time, he seems to lose the thread.

[MattPie]

6 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

The inverse (converse? (obverse??)) is also true: His record speaks for itself. He's won a lot of games. He's made the playoffs several times. He's won the division twice (three times?). He's won playoff games. He is a good NFL head coach. There's no disputing that. Not reasonably anyway.

 

This goes to a larger point about his limitations: He seems to lack good feel for what's right in the moment. He's aces at preparing his players during the week. But in crunch time, he seems to lose the thread.

I think this is the crux. He's good at making the team play well, but does not seem effective in the highest of pressure situations. He wins games because the team plays well enough to get ahead. Even behind earlier in the game, he's OK because it's not 100% make or break yet. But get to the end of a close game and he just can't manage things. Fine for a regular season coach, but you're always going to be disappointed in the playoffs.

Edited November 27, 2023 by MattPie

[LGR4GM]

Sean McDermott, never has someone done so little with so much. 

 

[Gatorman0519]

I said we would be 9-8 and miss the playoffs this year and I got flamed.  I knew the coaching had reached its limit and we were due for a down year. If you think this is bad, we are going to be roughly $30 million over the cap and Josh's cap hit more than doubles.  Next year we will be lucky to be .500 as we are going to have to have a clean up the cap space year. The only hope I have is we get an elite offensive minded coach (maybe McVey will leave LA?), use the next two draft picks to reload (especially at WR), and we can make a run on the back half of JA's prime in two years.