I don't know why anyone would complain about this series. It was an extremely fair, detailed and obviously tightly sourced and written profile. Anyone who has followed the Bills for the past 6 years can attest to McDermott's conservative game calls, his reluctance to take risks, and his propensity to double down on a running game that is, to be charitable, less than stellar. Every criticism of him in this series rings true, but I also note that it goes out of its way to credit him where credit is due. Sports media is littered with access journalism, thinly-veiled PR, favoritism, stupid takes and homerism. We should be lauding efforts like this to get to the heart of the game and its complexities. I look forward to similar stories in the future. Don't let the naysayers win!
Your series was fair and balanced for the reasons you stated. I can understand why most of the media wants to avoid controversy and protect their jobs. Doesn’t mean it’s right though. I for one am not interested in fluff articles. I want to hear it like it really is. Tyler, keep pulling back the curtain.
Really appreciated your work! Never heard of it until now, but I'll remain subscribed. As a Chiefs fan for life, I get to an extent what Bills fans are going through being so tortured for so long. I hope they get a better coach than McDermott, and I hope the media actually analyzes your entire story. The 9/11 reference wasn't even the worst part, honestly.
Tyler, outstanding work. I’ve been a Bills fan for 40 years, I wish people would put down the kool aid and actually read the story. These are the type of articles I want to read to learn more about my team. I hope you are hanging in there. It can’t be easy dealing with all the negative blow back. Keep up the great work.
The job of any good journalist is to uncover and report the ‘real’ story, or truth of a situation, to the best of his/her ability. That’s the responsibility the reporter has to the readers/viewers, editors and the profession — while knowing that it will anger those in power, make future interactions uncomfortable, may limit your access and even prompt resentment from other reporters who — for whatever reasons — chose not to report (or failed to uncover) the same information. The piece IMO revealed aspects of McDermott’s personality and coaching style that hadn’t previously been reported in depth, raising legitimate issues and expanding the overall picture of the head coach. Readers may differ on how fair the piece is (not incidentally, numerous sources praising McDermott were cited). But there’s no question that Dunne did his journalistic duty to dig deep and report what he found. Nice work!
The article makes a thorough and objective argument why the Bills need a new head coach in order to win a championship. It will be a useful reference point as this season concludes.
Must admit, I wondered why all the beat reporters did not take McDermott to task on some of the eyebrow-raising revelations raised in your three-part series. They mostly asked how he was feeling and whether he heard some encouraging words from his players. It strikes me as odd that nobody questioned why Leslie Fraser abandoned one of the top defenses in the league to sit out a year and why Daboll refused to speak to McDermott after the Giant's game but he embraced Allen. Your stories were very thought-provoking and I like the description of McDermott coaching "tight" and that is reflected in how the team plays when the game is on the line. Well done Tyler! Keep up the good work. Some of us thoroughly enjoy it. P.S. I miss Jerry Sullivan!!!!
I really hope the media storm leads to more curious making a subscriber bump. If the team rallies; McDermott learns to stop the blame game, let Josh rip, and they win 5 games in a row; mission accomplished.
Excellent work. I didn't interpret it as a character assassination piece at all. It showed balance, yet explained the head-scratching moments surrounding the team in a way that no one else has. To me, the most worrisome part is the relationship between coach and QB—if that is to blame for Allen's uneven performance, then it may be time for a coaching change.
The way that tiny detail became the WHOLE STORY pissed me off. I was texting to friends about McDermott problem and this piece before the "story" broke; and 1 finally asks "is it tyler dunne? Yes? Wow, Did he really use 9/11 hijackers in a speech?"
I was yelling these sentiments at the broadcasters all night! Except it came out more like "ugh shut up!! Read the piece you imbecile! Stop saying the word "character"!!! Thankful for your superior articulation skills :)
As you know, this is a tough fandom. They’re the first to scream about how terrible the team is, and call for the coach’s head, but god forbid anyone else does it. I’ve always sensed some underlying issues with the coaching staff and your reporting isn’t surprising in that regard. As a former sports journalist, I know how hard something like this is, and you did it well. I hope Terry Pegula pays attention after the season and acts accordingly.
Considering how Matt Araiza and the allegations against him turned out to be completely wrong I have no problem w the Bills playing Miller. As far as everything else; he has won 60% of his games, 4 playoff games and 3 straight division titles. I don’t care how the cow is slaughtered, show me the steak.
I cannot thank you all enough for taking the time to read our series, this column, and everything at Go Long. Man, this is incredibly kind.
And fantastic points all around.
We'll keep pressing, and hope we can all meet on a virtual Happy Hour soon.
I don't know why anyone would complain about this series. It was an extremely fair, detailed and obviously tightly sourced and written profile. Anyone who has followed the Bills for the past 6 years can attest to McDermott's conservative game calls, his reluctance to take risks, and his propensity to double down on a running game that is, to be charitable, less than stellar. Every criticism of him in this series rings true, but I also note that it goes out of its way to credit him where credit is due. Sports media is littered with access journalism, thinly-veiled PR, favoritism, stupid takes and homerism. We should be lauding efforts like this to get to the heart of the game and its complexities. I look forward to similar stories in the future. Don't let the naysayers win!
CORRECT x 1,000…regards, Daniel
Your series was fair and balanced for the reasons you stated. I can understand why most of the media wants to avoid controversy and protect their jobs. Doesn’t mean it’s right though. I for one am not interested in fluff articles. I want to hear it like it really is. Tyler, keep pulling back the curtain.
Really appreciated your work! Never heard of it until now, but I'll remain subscribed. As a Chiefs fan for life, I get to an extent what Bills fans are going through being so tortured for so long. I hope they get a better coach than McDermott, and I hope the media actually analyzes your entire story. The 9/11 reference wasn't even the worst part, honestly.
Thanks for doing what you do!
Tyler, outstanding work. I’ve been a Bills fan for 40 years, I wish people would put down the kool aid and actually read the story. These are the type of articles I want to read to learn more about my team. I hope you are hanging in there. It can’t be easy dealing with all the negative blow back. Keep up the great work.
The job of any good journalist is to uncover and report the ‘real’ story, or truth of a situation, to the best of his/her ability. That’s the responsibility the reporter has to the readers/viewers, editors and the profession — while knowing that it will anger those in power, make future interactions uncomfortable, may limit your access and even prompt resentment from other reporters who — for whatever reasons — chose not to report (or failed to uncover) the same information. The piece IMO revealed aspects of McDermott’s personality and coaching style that hadn’t previously been reported in depth, raising legitimate issues and expanding the overall picture of the head coach. Readers may differ on how fair the piece is (not incidentally, numerous sources praising McDermott were cited). But there’s no question that Dunne did his journalistic duty to dig deep and report what he found. Nice work!
The article makes a thorough and objective argument why the Bills need a new head coach in order to win a championship. It will be a useful reference point as this season concludes.
Must admit, I wondered why all the beat reporters did not take McDermott to task on some of the eyebrow-raising revelations raised in your three-part series. They mostly asked how he was feeling and whether he heard some encouraging words from his players. It strikes me as odd that nobody questioned why Leslie Fraser abandoned one of the top defenses in the league to sit out a year and why Daboll refused to speak to McDermott after the Giant's game but he embraced Allen. Your stories were very thought-provoking and I like the description of McDermott coaching "tight" and that is reflected in how the team plays when the game is on the line. Well done Tyler! Keep up the good work. Some of us thoroughly enjoy it. P.S. I miss Jerry Sullivan!!!!
I really hope the media storm leads to more curious making a subscriber bump. If the team rallies; McDermott learns to stop the blame game, let Josh rip, and they win 5 games in a row; mission accomplished.
Excellent work. I didn't interpret it as a character assassination piece at all. It showed balance, yet explained the head-scratching moments surrounding the team in a way that no one else has. To me, the most worrisome part is the relationship between coach and QB—if that is to blame for Allen's uneven performance, then it may be time for a coaching change.
The way that tiny detail became the WHOLE STORY pissed me off. I was texting to friends about McDermott problem and this piece before the "story" broke; and 1 finally asks "is it tyler dunne? Yes? Wow, Did he really use 9/11 hijackers in a speech?"
I was yelling these sentiments at the broadcasters all night! Except it came out more like "ugh shut up!! Read the piece you imbecile! Stop saying the word "character"!!! Thankful for your superior articulation skills :)
As you know, this is a tough fandom. They’re the first to scream about how terrible the team is, and call for the coach’s head, but god forbid anyone else does it. I’ve always sensed some underlying issues with the coaching staff and your reporting isn’t surprising in that regard. As a former sports journalist, I know how hard something like this is, and you did it well. I hope Terry Pegula pays attention after the season and acts accordingly.
Agree with Tyler's stance: MAJOR support for him from dozens of my co-workers. Write on, Tyler...Please. We respect you.
Loved the series, Ty! The drama even brought noted Wellsville Sun columnist Chuck Pollock into my newsfeed again.
Considering how Matt Araiza and the allegations against him turned out to be completely wrong I have no problem w the Bills playing Miller. As far as everything else; he has won 60% of his games, 4 playoff games and 3 straight division titles. I don’t care how the cow is slaughtered, show me the steak.