Buffalo Bills 2023 Thread

[Pimlach]

37 minutes ago, Gatorman0519 said:

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. 

I am not ready to give up on playoff this season (stubborn I know), but it wont matter, we aren't going to win on the road. 

Yes, next year is critical for a retooling the roster and we might miss the playoffs again.  The following year we can dump Von Miller and Knox, and work some cap magic to re-emerge.  

If TP fires McD and also loses Beane then all bets are off.  I have ZERO faith that he can get lucky again.  

 

Edited November 27, 2023 by Pimlach

[MattPie]

15 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

 If TP fires McD and also loses Beane then all bets are off.  I have ZERO faith that he can get lucky again. 

Would Beane be that much of a loss?

[Marvin]

5 minutes ago, MattPie said:

Would Beane be that much of a loss?

That depends on how much you think the roster holes are his fault.  I don't know.

[Pimlach]

9 minutes ago, MattPie said:

Would Beane be that much of a loss?

Yes.  He is really good (not perfect, no one is) at his job and I don't understand why people don't acknowledge it.  Yes, you can name some draft picks that didn't make it, so can every team.  

3 minutes ago, Marvin said:

That depends on how much you think the roster holes are his fault.  I don't know.

We have very few roster holes.    With all the injuries we still have the team playing competitive football with the exception that they cannot finish their games.  For that, we have national consensus across the whole country that the coaching staff is not up to the task of taking the next steps.  

[Ross Rhea]

24 minutes ago, Marvin said:

That depends on how much you think the roster holes are his fault.  I don't know.

I don't think so as I think McD runs the show. He is the one who hired Beane after all.

[That Aud Smell]

1 hour ago, MattPie said:

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.

I think this is just about it.

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

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

Disagree, to a point, for the reasons summed up above by @MattPie. He does do good work. It's just limited.

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

If TP fires McD and also loses Beane then all bets are off.  I have ZERO faith that he can get lucky again.  

Well, that's just it. It'd be a huge risk.

25 minutes ago, Ross Rhea said:

I don't think so as I think McD runs the show. He is the one who hired Beane after all.

(The) Pegula(s) hired Beane, but, yes, they hired McDermott first and then it was McDermott who prevailed on Beane to join him in Buffalo. (I recall the story about McDermott sending a copy of some b.s. "seize your moment" self-help book to Beane, and that the book actually helped tip the balance.)

[GASabresIUFAN]

I don't think Beane is the issue.  His drafting (Elam aside) has been very good over the last 4 years.  We have 2 starters already from 2023 (Kincaid and Torrence), 3 + from 2022 despite drafting Elam (Cook, Benard, Shakir, and Benford), 2 starters from 2021 (Rousseau and Brown), and 4 key contributors from 2020 (Epenesa, Davis, Bass and Dane Jackson.  He also was very solid this past off-season and at the deadline adding Floyd, McGovern, Edwards, Rapp, and Douglas amongst others. Yes, Harty is a disappointment.

You can rightly criticize some of the contracts (Knox and Miller for example).  The only real complaint I have is not investing properly in WRs (David and Shakir are 4th and 5th rd picks) and not investing enough in the OL high in the draft.    In fact, Kincaid was the first offensive player taken by Beane in the 1st rd since 2018.

I also don't think MCD is getting fired, but a 8-9 or 7-10 season could easily change that thought, especially if the team quits on him.

 

[That Aud Smell]

McDermott: I just was reminded of something. I knew after our first interview here it was going to take some effort to convince him to leave Carolina—he’s lived there his whole life, and his wife’s from there. I took a picture of a book that I am currently reading. It’s called “Chase the Lion,” and the subtitle is, “If Your Dream Doesn’t Scare You, It’s Too Small.” And I took a picture of it and I sent it to Brandon, and that was kind of my recruiting approach to convince him that this is a chance for him and his career and what he and his family have sacrificed over the years.

Beane: When I got it, I was lying in bed, watching TV with my wife. I was like, This is so Sean.

McDermott: It was a recruiting ploy.

Beane: When I saw that picture, I laughed, but there is a lot of truth behind that. It did help. There were a lot of reasons to go back for that second interview, Sean and I am so glad I did. I’m excited to get going with you [talking to McDermott].

https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2017/5/19/15664220/sean-mcdermott-brandon-beane-buffalo-bills-recruitment-ploy

 

[That Aud Smell]

Re the above ^^

Note that McDermott had already been hired and was involved in the Pegulas' interviewing Beane -- indeed, wooing Beane to come to Buffalo.

[nfreeman]

3 hours ago, MattPie said:

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.

I do not want them to fire McD, but this is well said and could very well be true.  I remember thinking last night during the game, when they showed McD on the sidelines in the 2nd half, that he didn't look loose and confident -- just the opposite.

We'll see.  The good news is that JA was terrific, and the offense looked great, for most of the game, so it doesn't appear that the post-Dorsey improvement was a one-game mirage.

[Crusader1969]

29 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

I do not want them to fire McD, but this is well said and could very well be true.  I remember thinking last night during the game, when they showed McD on the sidelines in the 2nd half, that he didn't look loose and confident -- just the opposite.

We'll see.  The good news is that JA was terrific, and the offense looked great, for most of the game, so it doesn't appear that the post-Dorsey improvement was a one-game mirage.

I really have a hard time imagining how anyone is left who doesn't want him fired ?    He clearly is limited. 

[freester]

25 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

I really have a hard time imagining how anyone is left who doesn't want him fired ?    He clearly is limited. 

Who are you replacing him with?

[nfreeman]

9 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

I really have a hard time imagining how anyone is left who doesn't want him fired ?    He clearly is limited. 

A lot of coaches didn't win big until they did -- and a lot of coaching changes haven't improved their teams.  Remember what happened when the Sabres replaced Lindy with some young hotshot?

McD has made some mistakes and has had some bad luck.  He's still got them in the playoffs every year, has won a ton of games, home and away, against quality opponents and the players still believe in him.  Jalen Hurts, before yesterday, had won 16 out of his last 17 home games, in which he produced 42 TDs.  Philly is the best team in the NFL and they still needed a very unlikely long FG in a heavy rain, a brain lock by Gabe Davis and a questionable non-fumble call to get to OT.

The Bills are where they are because the offense was freaking terrible for a solid 6 weeks after they beat Miami.  Then they fired Dorsey -- for whom JA pushed hard to get the OC job -- and the offense looks transformed.  Given the injuries and the schedule, it may be too little, too late.  But I'm not throwing the baby out with the bath water.

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, Crusader1969 said:

I really have a hard time imagining how anyone is left who doesn't want him fired ?    He clearly is limited. 

I wonder how many people said that about Bill Cowher.   Took him 4 years to get to a Super Bowl and 10 more to get back and win it. 

Then there is Andy Reid.  Six years to get there, fifteen more to get back and win.  

One difference is  McD has Josh Allen.   With that, coupled with todays continuous media, the pressure on McD is sky high.  

[triumph_communes]

McD does a great job prepping the team but he can’t manage the second half of games. There isn’t a sub-HC role to defer that task to though. It’s his ceiling. 

[Crusader1969]

51 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

I wonder how many people said that about Bill Cowher.   Took him 4 years to get to a Super Bowl and 10 more to get back and win it. 

Then there is Andy Reid.  Six years to get there, fifteen more to get back and win.  

One difference is  McD has Josh Allen.   With that, coupled with todays continuous media, the pressure on McD is sky high.  

1 hour ago, freester said:

Who are you replacing him with?

Anyone.   How many games are you will to watch him be the biggest reason they lose 

i wonder if Andy Reid has 13 seconds , 12 men, do we have a name for last nights debacle? Not to mention losses the loses  to Jones (NE) and Wilson (NYJ)   Almost another to Tyrod Taylor.  Not to mention the decision to fly out to London 48hours before the game vs Jags.   

[GASabresIUFAN]

Reid had similar issues McD is having when with the Eagles.  https://www.profootballnetwork.com/why-did-the-philadelphia-eagles-fire-andy-reid/

Quote

Despite having the sixth-best record in the NFL across his Eagles tenure, Reid earned a reputation for poor clock management, leading to opportunities for opponents to win close games late. His offenses also stalled in key playoff games, including a combined seven points in each of their three NFC Championship losses.

 

Edited November 28, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[MattPie]

2 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Reid had similar issues McD is having when with the Eagles.  https://www.profootballnetwork.com/why-did-the-philadelphia-eagles-fire-andy-reid/

Yep, I was nominally an Eagles fan during the Reid years (2nd team, of course). People would *rage* about Andy Reid at the end of games. McD is in the same league in that area, and that's not a good thing. Even before this, I was thinking McD's handling of the end of games was similarly questionable.

[mjd1001]

19 hours ago, Crusader1969 said:

I really have a hard time imagining how anyone is left who doesn't want him fired ?    He clearly is limited. 

I'm not in the fire him camp yet. As other have said, who are you replacing him with and give me a reason why they would be a lot better first.  

[Crusader1969]

2 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

I'm not in the fire him camp yet. As other have said, who are you replacing him with and give me a reason why they would be a lot better first.  

how about he hands of the reigns to someone else when they hit the 2 minute warning? there is substantial evidence that he is among the leagues worst when the game gets to that point

[Marvin]

1 hour ago, Crusader1969 said:

how about he hands of the reigns to someone else when they hit the 2 minute warning? there is substantial evidence that he is among the leagues worst when the game gets to that point.

Is he modest enough and self-aware enough to do this?

[That Aud Smell]

Arrest warrant allegedly issued for Von Miller based on allegations of a domestic violence incident.

https://sports.yahoo.com/report-arrest-warrant-issued-von-155452520.html

FFS.

[That Aud Smell]

I mean. My guy. Your knee blew up. You're still not back in form. Your contract is an albatross. You're a "veteran leader."

And now you've used the bye week to go home and - allegedly - assault a woman who's pregnant with your child.

[GASabresIUFAN]

On 11/27/2023 at 5:31 PM, freester said:

Who are you replacing him with?

That’s always the question isn’t it.  Fire McD and you could end up with Hank Bullock (RIP).  

[LGR4GM]