Disclaimer: I'm a Bengals fan who moved to Buffalo 10 years ago.
This is a great piece, Ty. I obviously have felt many kinds of football pain over my 40+ years following this team. Playoff losses are the worst. So close, yet so far away. People tend to forget the Bengals made the playoffs 7 times in 12 years in the 2000s... and lost the first game every single one. We all were pretty sure it HAD to be the coaching. Dalton and Palmer were solid with great skill talent around them, but Marvin Lewis could never win the Prime Time or Playoff games. Joey B and Zac Taylor sure have shown the opposite.
It's hard not to see the commonality with Sean. He seems like an awesome dude and a solid coach, but he's done just enough for his team to be very good... just not great. Then again, how many coaches can?!
Cincinnati was so loaded on both sides of the ball that season with A.J. Green right in this prime and Vontaze Burfict not yet going off the deep end.
Then, it all ended with a listless 27-10 WC loss to the Chargers.
Now that I see how vibrant the fan base in Cincinnati is, I cannot imagine how agonizing that run of early playoff exits was for all involved. Mike Brown obviously had his way of doing business, but gosh. You've got to make a change at some point to preserve a real shot at winning a championship. While Josh Allen > Andy Dalton, the Bills do run the risk of hamster-wheeling this opportunity.
Not only does McD invest heavily on defense every year both in the draft and financially, he does so at the expense of the offense. Beane and McDermott have over spent on the d line every year to no avail. Millions of dollars wasted and cap space used up with a dumb philosophy of playing 7 yards off the receivers. A quick release from the qb to a wide open receiver renders the d line useless. Not only that he has so many high paid d lineman but uses them sparingly, rotating them in and out of the game and having them play contain instead of rushing. The rotation and lack of use is supposed to keep the d line fresh for the fourth quarter. Not once in the McD era has a Bills defensive line ever dominated any one much less in the third quarter.
Ignoring the offensive talent and line is putting Josh in a no win situation of having to do everything. McD is following the same formula that was used in Carolina that severely shortened the qb’s career. Josh will have a short career also if he has to keep taking huge hits every game.
McD is a great guy but just like Marvin Lewis he will never get the Bills a Super Bowl. The players seemed to sense the gameplan was so bad and had no chance of working that they didn’t even seem to try. One of the worst showings in front of a pumped up sold out crowd I have ever seen as a Bills fan and I’ve seen a lot in 50 years of following them. The players followed McD’s cowardly leadership and failed miserably.
The investment into the defensive line has to be most demoralizing from a roster-construction standpoint, I think. Even before Von Miller signed his albatross of a contract, the Bills had the 2nd-most money tied up into the defensive line, next to Kansas City. And as we noted in the story, it has not amounted to much in the playoffs. Mahomes and Burrow have had all day to read the field and pick apart McDermott/Frazier's lax coverage schemes.
Compare this to what we saw on Championship Sunday, right?
Philadelphia's pass rush is nasty. The best in the NFL. They blast offense in waves. (In theory, what the Bills were gunning for in constantly drafting DL.)
And there's Chris Jones winning the Chiefs a game with his sack of Burrow on third down. He was phenomenal on his eight pressures.
Where does Buffalo turn? Von Miller's recovery is going to be long. They'll really be counting on Rousseau, Basham, Epenesa, someone up front growing a ton this offseason. There's no way they can spend money or premium draft capital on the defensive front anymore. If they do, it'd be unbelievably foolish given the state of their offensive weaponry.
They absolutely have to change their defensive philosophy. Even the year before last I think we had the highest paid defensive line which was the equivalent of 2 defensive lines because the y rotate them so much. It did not work then and it has not worked this year with new players either. The lax coverage nullifies the pass rush because they can throw quickly to open receivers. You are right. It is a huge waste of resources with no benefits. I say play your best players the majority of the snaps. They can’t afford to let them play 30 or 40 percent and pay them millions.
Good article. Once again a bit too over the top for me on McDermott. The core thing I agree with his he seems to clam up or get more conservative in the pressure playoff situations. He had proven to be the opposite (more aggressive) in the regular season however, and overall McDermott has done way more…..WAYYY more, good than bad for this franchise. We easily lose sight of the sheer levels of despair this franchise was in for almost two decades, and he pulled us/them out of it.
No doubt about the big picture. The Bills were a mess internally before McD arrived. It's always funny to hear people criticize Monos/Whaley when Monos is the very first person to detail how chaotic the state of affairs was at the end of their tenure. I appreciate his incredible honesty. No way would I ever take away what McDermott did to clean things up and bring about order. And how he coached the Bills during the Damar Hamlin stuff was textbook.
Yet, if covering the Packers those five years taught me anything, it's that *Playoff Football* is different. Always. That was a franchise that should've easily won two more Super Bowls minimum, and did not. I'll always be far more critical of postseason success vs a Week 7 outcome vs the New York Jets.... especially for a team favored to win the Super Bowl into this season.
You got the wheels turning a bit here, Steve. I probably should explore the 2010s Packers and 2020s Bills in a column to find parallels and solutions.
Making the playoffs is great for the Buffalo Bills, and something an entire generation of fans missed out on. But with Josh Allen, the Super Bowl window is open. My opinion is that we all should be critical of how the team functions when that window is open, because it will close at some point. Love McDermott's aggressive in those Week 7 games, but why does it always change?
Thank you for the thorough and insightful reply, and further, sorry it took me a month to realize you did so!
I appreciate your acknowledgement of the big picture piece on what he’s done. I also appreciate your perspective and point on “playoff football”. You actually have thoughts consistent with many of my close friends and family as well on this topic.
I’ll try to state my feelings another way, and I will openly admit there are emotional/non-objective strings attached.
It’s that, the Bills were *so* incredibly bad.....the franchise was in the deepest chasm of Doldrum Canyon for so long, to the point that I, and i think many fans, thought they’d never get out of.....issues going up through ownership and trickle down affects (like Monos/Whaley were faced with adding through).
All to say, I think I will be where others are along these lines of impatience with McD if we have 2-3 more years of playoff head-scratchers. I am just willing to give that much leash to it given where we came from. If the Bills won a SB or two in 90s, I might be a little more impatient, if that makes sense. Is that too sympathetic? Maybe, but I’m still optimistic McD is the guy.
I agree with you 100%. I would rather live in this space where the team is playoff bound every year than in the once we used to exist where we're looking forward to free agency and the draft early in December. I don't miss the off-field chaos and embarrassing info leaks either. That said, he does have to realize that a change in philosophy is needed in the big games.
I remember his first training camp here. He was interviewed on WGR and was asked about his philosophy. His answer was "We're going to do everything we can to win. But if we're losing we're going down guns a blazin'!" We see that all season long... but not in the playoffs. Prevent defense won't cut it these days. (I never liked it in the old days either though.)
What a pull, Deb. Never heard that WGR line. I think the patrons of his football product would love to see those guns start to go ablaze!
Also, telling that the Chiefs were able to beat Burrow with so many rookies in their secondary. It can be done. Just need to draft correctly. We can safely assume the head coach's fingerprints are all over these defensive picks.
True enough. Oliver and Edmunds are the showcase for that point. But to me, the bigger issue is how they're used. Sometimes I think zone defense is a good plan. But against some teams, man is clearly better. In a zone scheme, I don't think you can delay a receiver off the line. Which seems to me to leave less room for error. I don't want to spew too much because honestly, I'm just a spectator who has been watching football a long time and never played, but absolutely loves the sport. I was just SO frustrated with them playing so far back again. I believe this is Leslie Frazier's defense, but he is coach McD's choice because of it. Must be you wrote a Great Article because you made me think enough to speak a bit of my mind.
By the way, I think the first part of the quote is close, but not perfect. The part about losing stuck like glue for what... 6 years? I remember I was driving to work listening, so was probably the morning show. Howard and Jeremy. At the time it shot my excitement through the roof - and later, made me want to have a conversation with him after the :13 debacle.
Good Article. Your frustration with the Bills is palpable. I can't say as I blame you. Their time is now. As the old song says: "Someday never comes."
I seriously doubt that Tua ever plays another snap. Three concussions last year? The Dolphins ought to do what the Packers did with Nick Collins and Sterling Sharp, medically disqualify him.
Thanks, Boothie. There's a definition out there for making the same mistake over... and over... and over again....
The offseason is young. But everything we've heard is that Tua Tagovailoa plans to play in 2023.
I do think they've got to get creative with his helmet. Put some extra padding in the back of it. Something. And if he suffers another concussion, we could be having a totally different conversation. It's all up to Tua. I'd never tell a player what to do with their life, their talents.
That being said, we're going to have a story on one former NFL quarterback who suffered a scary string of concussions. Cautionary tale.
What about the decision to promote unproven Ken Dorsey to OC instead of conducting an external search? Will the reorganization now be Beane's decision alone or does ownership have football advisors?
As Doc here notes, it's what Josh Allen seemed to want so the Bills listened to their quarterback. Have no qualms here. Feel like the team should be doing what they can to take advantage of Allen in Allen's prime years here. But maybe all of us in the media should've been more skeptical. I cannot remember any pushback whatsoever with the hire publicly. Perhaps the best thing for Allen would've been an outside OC. Hard to say. I assumed they'd do everything in their power to carry over Brian Daboll's system but the 2022 offense had a much different feel than the 2021 offense. Also wonder what McDermott's influence is over the unit.
Before the season, I wrote at length about last year's victorious, demon-exorcising playoff game that I got to watch in person. I also wrote that any time you attend a live sporting event—though particularly one with win-or-go-home stakes—you really put yourself out there: It's going to be glorious, or unbelievably painful.
I now have both experiences under my belt, and I'll tell you what, I will have to really think about attending one again. I'm sure that I will, but man, OP was the last place I wanted to be after that letdown. There were plenty of signs throughout the second half the season, but anyone who says they saw this specific result coming is lying.
Going to need to watch some uplifting Bills highlights to erase some of this from the memory jar. Go Bills, and Go Long.
Always appreciate the love, Ed. This is so perfectly put.
Been a long, long time since I attended an NFL game purely as a fan but the agony + euphoria absolutely hits different. My Dad and I used to take a Lambeau trip every other year and I still cherish my first time: 1999, a 26-17 win over the Lions. Keith McKenzie's mother sat next to us in the first row behind the Packers bench... Corey Bradford had an insane one-handed catch... Brett Favre dropping a throat-slash celebration. What a day. Cannot imagine how 12-year-old Tyler would've processed defeat!
And if you're in need of a Bills serotonin boost, I'll suggest this. Sent it to Luke* Russert the day of the game, too. Such an awesome look at the Bills from the origin on through. Could not believe the original Bills practiced at Knox Farm in EA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfkzLYLyluY
You know, Ty, if you just changed a few names in this story and the comments that followed, it would very closely describe the Matt LaFluer era in Green Bay. How many other teams, as well?
There are similarities to the Packers defense through the 2010s, too. Just total unpreparedness.
How Dom Capers was not ready for Colin Kaepernick and the read option in the '12 divisional, I'll never know. Joe Webb went right down the field with it the week prior.
Excellent article. The comparison to Martyball is perfect. The team gets high marks in stats and analytics during regular season but when it really matters McDermott fumbles every time. Supporting Allen is the key but McDermott’s defence first approach is destined to fail. I hope he can change but I have my doubts. Beane needs to be the one to put in the offence first plan
Thanks, Jeff. Speaking of "Martyball," those who control this New World Order must be reading Go Long because a bunch of Schottenheimer-coached Chiefs playoffs games keep popping up on my YouTube page. There are so many playoff games I forgot about in my youth. Got sucked into his 1995 AFC Divisional Playoff loss to the Jim Harbaugh-led Colts at Arrowhead. The final was 10-7... 10-7! And that Chiefs team had the best reg-season record in the NFL: 13-3.
There really are two types of football: Regular season football and playoff football.
Playoff football requires a different level of coaching that we haven't seen in Buffalo over Sean McDermott's six seasons.
Hard to comp the NFL and NBA with completely different salary cap structures. The Rams went full Warriors, got a ring, but then crashing hard back to earth. Still believe a team can sustain winning with strong drafts and smart, bold, timely signings.
Great article! It’s going to be tough for the Bills to improve….not saying they can’t, but Allen, Miller and Diggs count a combined $78 million towards the cap in 2023…I truly believe the last three seasons were their best chance to win it all. You make a great point about Jacksonville being a team on the rise….and if the Jets trade for Aaron Rodgers, which I heard they might be interested in doing, look out!
Jacksonville is very sneaky... sneaky... sneaky team.
Calvin Ridley will be back from his suspension to join Christian Kirk, Evan Engram, Zay Jones, Marvin Jones. That's a deep receiving corps. Travis Etienne could be a star. And the defense is better than advertised with youth (Allen, Walker) up front.
We know Doug Pederson will possess the necessary brass cajones in these playoff games, too.
Sean Payton is a smart fella. I'd be shocked if he took the Broncos job even at 25 mill a year. Russell Wilson? No picks? No thanks. He can wait for a year, make money at Fox and assess in 2024. He'd certainly be all-in on a talent like Allen. I don't think it's too out of the realm of possibility to view him as a candidate next spring if the next Bills season ends in a similar whimper.
Incorrect, Big John, thought I appreciate you reading and subscribing. Have written many times over how good this Bills team is the last few years. Urgency and expectations have heightened to the point where, I believe, it's time to be critical.
Super Bowls are the goal now. That's a good thing.
Disclaimer: I'm a Bengals fan who moved to Buffalo 10 years ago.
This is a great piece, Ty. I obviously have felt many kinds of football pain over my 40+ years following this team. Playoff losses are the worst. So close, yet so far away. People tend to forget the Bengals made the playoffs 7 times in 12 years in the 2000s... and lost the first game every single one. We all were pretty sure it HAD to be the coaching. Dalton and Palmer were solid with great skill talent around them, but Marvin Lewis could never win the Prime Time or Playoff games. Joey B and Zac Taylor sure have shown the opposite.
It's hard not to see the commonality with Sean. He seems like an awesome dude and a solid coach, but he's done just enough for his team to be very good... just not great. Then again, how many coaches can?!
Jason: This is such a sharp comp. I hadn't even thought of Marvin Lewis, but it makes a lot of sense. A couple of those Bengal teams were damn good, too. I really liked the 2013 team. Remember covering that WACKY Cincy-GB game early in the season for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Just dug that link up here: https://archive.jsonline.com/sports/packers/for-packers-defense-4-straight-turnovers-not-enough-to-secure-win-b99103791z1-224810822.html/
Cincinnati was so loaded on both sides of the ball that season with A.J. Green right in this prime and Vontaze Burfict not yet going off the deep end.
Then, it all ended with a listless 27-10 WC loss to the Chargers.
Now that I see how vibrant the fan base in Cincinnati is, I cannot imagine how agonizing that run of early playoff exits was for all involved. Mike Brown obviously had his way of doing business, but gosh. You've got to make a change at some point to preserve a real shot at winning a championship. While Josh Allen > Andy Dalton, the Bills do run the risk of hamster-wheeling this opportunity.
Not only does McD invest heavily on defense every year both in the draft and financially, he does so at the expense of the offense. Beane and McDermott have over spent on the d line every year to no avail. Millions of dollars wasted and cap space used up with a dumb philosophy of playing 7 yards off the receivers. A quick release from the qb to a wide open receiver renders the d line useless. Not only that he has so many high paid d lineman but uses them sparingly, rotating them in and out of the game and having them play contain instead of rushing. The rotation and lack of use is supposed to keep the d line fresh for the fourth quarter. Not once in the McD era has a Bills defensive line ever dominated any one much less in the third quarter.
Ignoring the offensive talent and line is putting Josh in a no win situation of having to do everything. McD is following the same formula that was used in Carolina that severely shortened the qb’s career. Josh will have a short career also if he has to keep taking huge hits every game.
McD is a great guy but just like Marvin Lewis he will never get the Bills a Super Bowl. The players seemed to sense the gameplan was so bad and had no chance of working that they didn’t even seem to try. One of the worst showings in front of a pumped up sold out crowd I have ever seen as a Bills fan and I’ve seen a lot in 50 years of following them. The players followed McD’s cowardly leadership and failed miserably.
The investment into the defensive line has to be most demoralizing from a roster-construction standpoint, I think. Even before Von Miller signed his albatross of a contract, the Bills had the 2nd-most money tied up into the defensive line, next to Kansas City. And as we noted in the story, it has not amounted to much in the playoffs. Mahomes and Burrow have had all day to read the field and pick apart McDermott/Frazier's lax coverage schemes.
Compare this to what we saw on Championship Sunday, right?
Philadelphia's pass rush is nasty. The best in the NFL. They blast offense in waves. (In theory, what the Bills were gunning for in constantly drafting DL.)
And there's Chris Jones winning the Chiefs a game with his sack of Burrow on third down. He was phenomenal on his eight pressures.
Where does Buffalo turn? Von Miller's recovery is going to be long. They'll really be counting on Rousseau, Basham, Epenesa, someone up front growing a ton this offseason. There's no way they can spend money or premium draft capital on the defensive front anymore. If they do, it'd be unbelievably foolish given the state of their offensive weaponry.
They absolutely have to change their defensive philosophy. Even the year before last I think we had the highest paid defensive line which was the equivalent of 2 defensive lines because the y rotate them so much. It did not work then and it has not worked this year with new players either. The lax coverage nullifies the pass rush because they can throw quickly to open receivers. You are right. It is a huge waste of resources with no benefits. I say play your best players the majority of the snaps. They can’t afford to let them play 30 or 40 percent and pay them millions.
Good article. Once again a bit too over the top for me on McDermott. The core thing I agree with his he seems to clam up or get more conservative in the pressure playoff situations. He had proven to be the opposite (more aggressive) in the regular season however, and overall McDermott has done way more…..WAYYY more, good than bad for this franchise. We easily lose sight of the sheer levels of despair this franchise was in for almost two decades, and he pulled us/them out of it.
No doubt about the big picture. The Bills were a mess internally before McD arrived. It's always funny to hear people criticize Monos/Whaley when Monos is the very first person to detail how chaotic the state of affairs was at the end of their tenure. I appreciate his incredible honesty. No way would I ever take away what McDermott did to clean things up and bring about order. And how he coached the Bills during the Damar Hamlin stuff was textbook.
Yet, if covering the Packers those five years taught me anything, it's that *Playoff Football* is different. Always. That was a franchise that should've easily won two more Super Bowls minimum, and did not. I'll always be far more critical of postseason success vs a Week 7 outcome vs the New York Jets.... especially for a team favored to win the Super Bowl into this season.
You got the wheels turning a bit here, Steve. I probably should explore the 2010s Packers and 2020s Bills in a column to find parallels and solutions.
Making the playoffs is great for the Buffalo Bills, and something an entire generation of fans missed out on. But with Josh Allen, the Super Bowl window is open. My opinion is that we all should be critical of how the team functions when that window is open, because it will close at some point. Love McDermott's aggressive in those Week 7 games, but why does it always change?
Hey Tyler,
Thank you for the thorough and insightful reply, and further, sorry it took me a month to realize you did so!
I appreciate your acknowledgement of the big picture piece on what he’s done. I also appreciate your perspective and point on “playoff football”. You actually have thoughts consistent with many of my close friends and family as well on this topic.
I’ll try to state my feelings another way, and I will openly admit there are emotional/non-objective strings attached.
It’s that, the Bills were *so* incredibly bad.....the franchise was in the deepest chasm of Doldrum Canyon for so long, to the point that I, and i think many fans, thought they’d never get out of.....issues going up through ownership and trickle down affects (like Monos/Whaley were faced with adding through).
All to say, I think I will be where others are along these lines of impatience with McD if we have 2-3 more years of playoff head-scratchers. I am just willing to give that much leash to it given where we came from. If the Bills won a SB or two in 90s, I might be a little more impatient, if that makes sense. Is that too sympathetic? Maybe, but I’m still optimistic McD is the guy.
I agree with you 100%. I would rather live in this space where the team is playoff bound every year than in the once we used to exist where we're looking forward to free agency and the draft early in December. I don't miss the off-field chaos and embarrassing info leaks either. That said, he does have to realize that a change in philosophy is needed in the big games.
I remember his first training camp here. He was interviewed on WGR and was asked about his philosophy. His answer was "We're going to do everything we can to win. But if we're losing we're going down guns a blazin'!" We see that all season long... but not in the playoffs. Prevent defense won't cut it these days. (I never liked it in the old days either though.)
What a pull, Deb. Never heard that WGR line. I think the patrons of his football product would love to see those guns start to go ablaze!
Also, telling that the Chiefs were able to beat Burrow with so many rookies in their secondary. It can be done. Just need to draft correctly. We can safely assume the head coach's fingerprints are all over these defensive picks.
Um, the Chiefs have only beat Burrow once in 4 tries and it was because Bengals lost 60% of OL starters during the previous month.
True enough. Oliver and Edmunds are the showcase for that point. But to me, the bigger issue is how they're used. Sometimes I think zone defense is a good plan. But against some teams, man is clearly better. In a zone scheme, I don't think you can delay a receiver off the line. Which seems to me to leave less room for error. I don't want to spew too much because honestly, I'm just a spectator who has been watching football a long time and never played, but absolutely loves the sport. I was just SO frustrated with them playing so far back again. I believe this is Leslie Frazier's defense, but he is coach McD's choice because of it. Must be you wrote a Great Article because you made me think enough to speak a bit of my mind.
By the way, I think the first part of the quote is close, but not perfect. The part about losing stuck like glue for what... 6 years? I remember I was driving to work listening, so was probably the morning show. Howard and Jeremy. At the time it shot my excitement through the roof - and later, made me want to have a conversation with him after the :13 debacle.
Good Article. Your frustration with the Bills is palpable. I can't say as I blame you. Their time is now. As the old song says: "Someday never comes."
I seriously doubt that Tua ever plays another snap. Three concussions last year? The Dolphins ought to do what the Packers did with Nick Collins and Sterling Sharp, medically disqualify him.
It is, after all, only a game.
Thanks, Boothie. There's a definition out there for making the same mistake over... and over... and over again....
The offseason is young. But everything we've heard is that Tua Tagovailoa plans to play in 2023.
I do think they've got to get creative with his helmet. Put some extra padding in the back of it. Something. And if he suffers another concussion, we could be having a totally different conversation. It's all up to Tua. I'd never tell a player what to do with their life, their talents.
That being said, we're going to have a story on one former NFL quarterback who suffered a scary string of concussions. Cautionary tale.
You’re right about Tua. Guy should call it quits. Same with Morse who has had SIX concussions 😱.
What about the decision to promote unproven Ken Dorsey to OC instead of conducting an external search? Will the reorganization now be Beane's decision alone or does ownership have football advisors?
GF: A fair question.
As Doc here notes, it's what Josh Allen seemed to want so the Bills listened to their quarterback. Have no qualms here. Feel like the team should be doing what they can to take advantage of Allen in Allen's prime years here. But maybe all of us in the media should've been more skeptical. I cannot remember any pushback whatsoever with the hire publicly. Perhaps the best thing for Allen would've been an outside OC. Hard to say. I assumed they'd do everything in their power to carry over Brian Daboll's system but the 2022 offense had a much different feel than the 2021 offense. Also wonder what McDermott's influence is over the unit.
Allen wanted Dorsey…so he’s not going anywhere, unless he takes a head coaching job elsewhere..
Before the season, I wrote at length about last year's victorious, demon-exorcising playoff game that I got to watch in person. I also wrote that any time you attend a live sporting event—though particularly one with win-or-go-home stakes—you really put yourself out there: It's going to be glorious, or unbelievably painful.
I now have both experiences under my belt, and I'll tell you what, I will have to really think about attending one again. I'm sure that I will, but man, OP was the last place I wanted to be after that letdown. There were plenty of signs throughout the second half the season, but anyone who says they saw this specific result coming is lying.
Going to need to watch some uplifting Bills highlights to erase some of this from the memory jar. Go Bills, and Go Long.
Always appreciate the love, Ed. This is so perfectly put.
Been a long, long time since I attended an NFL game purely as a fan but the agony + euphoria absolutely hits different. My Dad and I used to take a Lambeau trip every other year and I still cherish my first time: 1999, a 26-17 win over the Lions. Keith McKenzie's mother sat next to us in the first row behind the Packers bench... Corey Bradford had an insane one-handed catch... Brett Favre dropping a throat-slash celebration. What a day. Cannot imagine how 12-year-old Tyler would've processed defeat!
And if you're in need of a Bills serotonin boost, I'll suggest this. Sent it to Luke* Russert the day of the game, too. Such an awesome look at the Bills from the origin on through. Could not believe the original Bills practiced at Knox Farm in EA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfkzLYLyluY
Gonna sit down with that video for sure—thanks, Ty. And it leaves off right when Trent comes to town!
You know, Ty, if you just changed a few names in this story and the comments that followed, it would very closely describe the Matt LaFluer era in Green Bay. How many other teams, as well?
There are similarities to the Packers defense through the 2010s, too. Just total unpreparedness.
How Dom Capers was not ready for Colin Kaepernick and the read option in the '12 divisional, I'll never know. Joe Webb went right down the field with it the week prior.
Excellent article. The comparison to Martyball is perfect. The team gets high marks in stats and analytics during regular season but when it really matters McDermott fumbles every time. Supporting Allen is the key but McDermott’s defence first approach is destined to fail. I hope he can change but I have my doubts. Beane needs to be the one to put in the offence first plan
Thanks, Jeff. Speaking of "Martyball," those who control this New World Order must be reading Go Long because a bunch of Schottenheimer-coached Chiefs playoffs games keep popping up on my YouTube page. There are so many playoff games I forgot about in my youth. Got sucked into his 1995 AFC Divisional Playoff loss to the Jim Harbaugh-led Colts at Arrowhead. The final was 10-7... 10-7! And that Chiefs team had the best reg-season record in the NFL: 13-3.
There really are two types of football: Regular season football and playoff football.
Playoff football requires a different level of coaching that we haven't seen in Buffalo over Sean McDermott's six seasons.
Tyler adds incisive journalism to the NFL analysis that most other scribes do not....Thank you, Tyler....Regards, Daniel
Thank you, Daniel! Always great to hear from you.
Are the GS Warriors the best example of a team who has gotten over the Championship hump? Takes an aggressive owner and front office.
Hard to comp the NFL and NBA with completely different salary cap structures. The Rams went full Warriors, got a ring, but then crashing hard back to earth. Still believe a team can sustain winning with strong drafts and smart, bold, timely signings.
Great article! It’s going to be tough for the Bills to improve….not saying they can’t, but Allen, Miller and Diggs count a combined $78 million towards the cap in 2023…I truly believe the last three seasons were their best chance to win it all. You make a great point about Jacksonville being a team on the rise….and if the Jets trade for Aaron Rodgers, which I heard they might be interested in doing, look out!
Jacksonville is very sneaky... sneaky... sneaky team.
Calvin Ridley will be back from his suspension to join Christian Kirk, Evan Engram, Zay Jones, Marvin Jones. That's a deep receiving corps. Travis Etienne could be a star. And the defense is better than advertised with youth (Allen, Walker) up front.
We know Doug Pederson will possess the necessary brass cajones in these playoff games, too.
This fourth and 1 call... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klbXijffNWc
Yes, they’re only going to get better…and you’re right about Pederson. Guy is a winner!
Wow, great article once again. My only hope is that McD and Beans read your article as well. Your points are valid
You never know! They're always welcomed Go Long subscribers. Thanks, Keith.
What is the realistic solution here? Payton? Sadly, seems like the current Seanball may the best we will ever experience. Regular season accolades.
Sean Payton is a smart fella. I'd be shocked if he took the Broncos job even at 25 mill a year. Russell Wilson? No picks? No thanks. He can wait for a year, make money at Fox and assess in 2024. He'd certainly be all-in on a talent like Allen. I don't think it's too out of the realm of possibility to view him as a candidate next spring if the next Bills season ends in a similar whimper.
Long overdue to respond to you all! Thanks for the patience, everyone. It's been a busy time.
Here we go...
Appreciate all the responses—I think they benefited with some distance from the game. Might be a smart way to approach comments going forward.
Great work, Ty. I’m a big fan of McDermott, but this is getting old. Does he have what it takes to change?
Honestly? I do not know. He's the sixth-longest tenured head coach in the NFL, I believe.
A massive 2023 season for Sean McDermott.
Incorrect, Big John, thought I appreciate you reading and subscribing. Have written many times over how good this Bills team is the last few years. Urgency and expectations have heightened to the point where, I believe, it's time to be critical.
Super Bowls are the goal now. That's a good thing.