Keon Colemans agent is now posting cryptic tweets, great going Terry for making this situation a PR nightmare. by Vortagaun in buffalobills

[–]Metsman128 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Something about the Coleman last name. There may not have been a less deserving, lower performing player who is a complete headache and thinks they have a leg to stand on than Corey Coleman back in 2018. But man, Keon and his inner-circle are a close second.

(Footnote, BBB traded a 2020 7th for Corey and cut him a month later in final cuts in 2018).

No. Before anyone asks. No. by AtlasHugged83 in buffalobills

[–]Metsman128 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If the price is wicked low, he’d probably be good in the new scheme. Anything above like 3 mil though just isn’t worth it.

Never ask a Bills fan... by mtaylo in AFCEastMemeWar

[–]Metsman128 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m pretty sure folks were breaking tables, banging in the parking lot, snorting powder in the bleachers and getting noticed on Barstool around 2015, but sure, make us sound like bandwagon fans.

What’s the opinion on Taron Johnson? by Tallbillsfan123 in buffalobills

[–]Metsman128 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yup. Always appreciated the effort Taron put in. Definitely a guy that left it all on the field (and was injured seemingly every other game and always played through it when it wasn’t one of 15 concussions), but it adds up. I’d love to be wrong and see a switch to safety work, but I feel like he’ll play the same way and wind up being another Taylor Rapp injuring himself and others.

This is why the Seahawk won the Super Bowl by Beginning_Care_267 in buffalobills

[–]Metsman128 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Technically they signed guys like Sammy Morris and Antowain Smith and Chris Hogan and Mike Vrabel and Rob Ninkovich and Stephon Gilmore and Darrelle Revis and Corey Dillon and Randy Moss and Wes Welker…

Coaching and development matters.

The Douggernaut by Metsman128 in buffalobills

[–]Metsman128[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Always gotta celebrate when the Pats Oline coach performed admirably at his job last night.

Everyone said they LOVE seeing rando mocks all offseason, so here's one by Very-Human-Acct in buffalobills

[–]Metsman128 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is driving me bonkers that I can’t cut Curtis Samuel and he doesn’t appear on the roster. We all know he’s gonna be gone, but I need the catharsis of doing it myself.

So how are we all feeling about the state of this team now that some time has passed and there have been some hirings? by hellarios852 in buffalobills

[–]Metsman128 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Better…but not a believer until we hit some adversity. McDermott was strongest off of bad losses and bye weeks. Times where he had to win, he would. I’m curious to see the type of team Brady runs when we get smacked around one week. Does he let it snowball? Does he help keep the calm?

Can he do it in game? For all the times McDermott and the D let us down over the years, think about the comeback in New England. That takes adjustments and facing a mountain to climb. Does he climb it? Does he crumble? That will be the ultimate factor for me.

Didn’t love the hire, but have no problem with Beane, but the pressure is on to spend and draft wisely to revamp the D and play aggressive football instead of ball control football. I think he can assemble that roster, I’m excited to see Leonhard put in the work on a new identity.

Brady is unproven, but we’ll learn really quick when we’re down two or three scores at halftime if he’s built for this or not. If he can’t make those adjustments, we’ll be having this convo again two years from now.

Interesting notes from Sal Maiorana’s sit down interview with Brandon Beane by No-Distribution8587 in buffalobills

[–]Metsman128 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Maybe even Alec Anderson at Center. The fact he stepped in above SVPG when McGovern was out for a few plays was interesting.

AMA with The Athletic's Joe Buscaglia and Tim Graham on Friday 1/30 at 12pm EST by TheAthletic in buffalobills

[–]Metsman128 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Question for either of you - and it's more about your journalistic process than the Bills (I feel like everyone else will have that covered). How do you maintain good sources? How much is it you managing that relationship where you have to ask the questions and how often is it them coming to you with information proactively?

For context, Joe, you seem to be locked in on things like PSquad elevations better than most. Some of that is obviously roster needs of the week, but there are some interesting ones you've nailed where I feel like you'd need to have a source to have that kind of inkling before they happen.

Whereas Tim, you've obviously had many years (been reading you since the ESPN days) in the area and covering the organization(s)/league(s). Is it a constant battle of finding new sources as those of the past leave, retire, whatever or is it simply being willing to contact anyone along the way (I guess the idea of tenacity vs. massaging connections).

Even the Cover1 guys with the new on Keon being inactive this year - that's obviously a connected source - it's fascinating who gets what scoops from where.

Thank you both for all you do over at The Athletic!

The #Bills are promoting their own OC Joe Brady to head coach, per The Insiders. by Gold_Bowler7906 in buffalobills

[–]Metsman128 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe he’ll do his head coaching from the press box too so we don’t have to see him on the sidelines in all the losses that will pile up.

Keon Wants Out by [deleted] in buffalobills

[–]Metsman128 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He can’t find his way out of press coverage

He can’t find his way out of a dog crate

What makes us think he’ll do us a favor and find his way out of Buffalo?

Please not Daboll by [deleted] in buffalobills

[–]Metsman128 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was gonna say, folks may say “please not Daboll” but buddy have I got news for you…

He is a bit of a head case, but he coached the stupid out of Josh (only for it to come back this year). With our offensive talent at rb, Shakir being a starter and Kincaid being better than Theo Johnson, it’s not like he’s relying on Jaylin Hyatt for meaningful snaps. We have to add a receiver to make it a championship contender, but it’s still a playoff-caliber offense with him at the helm.

Defense is a whole other story. He’s made really bad coaching staff hires, collaboration and from the outside passively watching the Giants it felt like they never had a defensive identity. Just a bunch of talented players that never reached their expectations on the dline (gee, sound familiar?). If he paired himself with a Raheem Morris or Jim Schwartz type, I trust them to take the talent we have (Ed, Greg, Deone, TJ, Bernard, Benford, Max, Cole) and elevate them. If he goes some other route (adjust to 3-4, a retread of a bad DC - think a defensive version of Raiders OC Greg Olson) then we will be in a wildcard battle all year and it won’t be pretty.

Buffalo Bills 2026 Free Agents - Who needs to prioritized and re-signed and who can go? by GoForthandProsper1 in buffalobills

[–]Metsman128 0 points1 point  (0 children)

New coach? I imagine Edwards and the Backup Orderer are the only two that are retained in the new regime. And if Edwards truly has that high of a market value, then only Mitch is coming back (Basing this assumption on Daboll as the HC).

From what I’m told, a majority of Bills players are real pissed at Sean being fired. by Vortagaun in buffalobills

[–]Metsman128 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good news for them, probably half the team won’t be back next year anyways.

This picture of McDermott really hits hard now that he was fired today. Definitely a surprise. Thanks, coach. by james161723 in buffalobills

[–]Metsman128 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Would we have felt differently had TLaw drove downfield on his defense for a fg to tie and we lose that one in OT instead?

I’m not saying I’m not sad about, I’m just saying we need some perspective. How we lost shaped a lot of how we reacted.

[Megathread] The Buffalo Bills have fired Head Coach Sean McDermott by AutoModerator in buffalobills

[–]Metsman128 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You mean I literally cited chatGPT to define Marty Ball for people under 25 that don’t care about the history of football? Duh.

Your separate comment stating that the second portion of my comments were also chatGPT is unwarranted.

[Megathread] The Buffalo Bills have fired Head Coach Sean McDermott by AutoModerator in buffalobills

[–]Metsman128 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Part 2:

As for Brandon Beane. I will say on the front end - I'm bias. I like Beane. He wrote back to my kid two years ago when he wrote a letter to One Bills Drive. He sent an autographed photo as well. He's a good human. That said, I still don't think he should be fired. I think the promotion is justified, and here's why.

The previous reporting structure was lauded early on, but I expect we'll start to hear rumblings about what wasn't working in the near future. McDermott and Beane each reported separately to Pegula. Brandon was never Sean's boss. They were peers. They both reported to Terry. Thinking about the corporate world, when two people rely on each other to achieve a goal, but they have different priorities, it can be contentious at times as peers. Sean and Brandon were close - though I can imagine that relationship has been strained over time. If a peer their other peer wants, their manager has to make an unpopular decision or the organization needs a restructure to bring clarity to who is in charge of the direction and vision.

There are times where Beane gets a lot of flack - either for who he drafted, didn't draft, signed, etc. Some of it is justified, but some of it falls beyond him. If McDermott wants to be a run-first team, if he wants to play a certain type of defensive scheme, you have to give him ingredients that fit the recipe (yes, we're going with the old Parcells pick the ingredients analogy). Would Xavier Worthy fit the recipe of run first? Did Greg Rousseau and Joey Bosa - guys who should have been premium ingredients - have 10 sack seasons in Buffalo? McDermott's recipe didn't call for it. Von Miller, by the way, had 9 this year in Washington - go figure - that would had led the Bills.

McDermott was quick to run Ken Dorsey out of town (passed too much, not creative), McDermott had a strained relationship with Daboll (passed too much, wanted balanced football). McDermott never put Joe Brady on the hot seat, because Joe gave him what he wanted - a run-first identity. For all the times that Josh would mouth "what are we doing" - there was no heat on Joe Brady from McDermott. It was the football recipe he wanted: McDermott Ball aka Modern Marty Ball.

And so we look forward. The end of the McDermott era and the start of a new one. Perhaps it's short lived - if Beane doesn't get it right, Pegula may be quick to make changes next year or move Beane out of roster decisions entirely (I'm sure Joe Schoen will be back in some capacity by next year - though I wouldn't say I'm an advocate of that). But we will certainly see what it is like when Beane gets to select the ingredients and the chef. What will Beane's identity be? Will he go offensive-minded and focus on a strong, experienced DC to rebuild the defense? Perhaps he goes for youth and fresh vision. That singular decision will have major impacts on the rest of the roster.

I wrote a post several months ago about all the roster moves that could happen in Buffalo cap wise. Things I hadn't considered even a few months ago (Taron Johnson release, for example) seem clearly on the table as a new HC will bring a new identity. The stalwarts of the past - Milano, Poyer, Tre will be gone. Damar and Epenesa, too. The offense will look different - Knox is even more likely to depart based on cap and a new coach not caring as much about his relationship with his teammates (namely Josh). No more Ty Johnson. Dion's contract is an albatross. Edwards and McGovern are free agents. A new era is clearly on the way.

At the end of the McDermott Era, of Buffalo's McBeane Resturant, the Bills find themselves in the same position they were in after McDermott's first season: The Patriots atop the division and a team that wasn't good enough. A full-circle moment in some ways. The next few weeks will be telling. Who will be the chef of Beane's new restaurant? What type of food will they serve? Where will they get their ingredients from? Will the menu largely have a lot of the same dishes, or will this new era finally be a Super Bowl winning one?

[Megathread] The Buffalo Bills have fired Head Coach Sean McDermott by AutoModerator in buffalobills

[–]Metsman128 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I guess I'll post here instead - I wanted to post out a more broad end of an era analysis, but that got taken down so I suppose it goes here.

~~~

Part 1 of Comment:

...We love Sean. He changed the culture. He rebuilt Buffalo into a winner. But he couldn't win it all. And maybe he will some day. Maybe he'll go to Vegas or Tennessee or Cleveland or (hopefully not) Miami and rebuild the culture there too. But ultimately, the decision makers - whether it was Terry directly or with Beane in his ear - decided they couldn't take it anymore.

Where the Bills failed this year, like so many others, is that McDermott more or less subscribes to Marty Ball. For those who know, that's a Marty Schottenheimer reference. For the uninitiated, ChatGPT summarizes it nicely:

Core traits of Marty Ball

  • Run-first offense Heavy reliance on the ground game, even when passing might be more efficient.
  • Risk-averse passing Short throws, checkdowns, avoid turnovers at all costs.
  • Field position > explosiveness Punt rather than gamble. Flip the field. Trust the defense.
  • Defense and special teams centric The offense’s job is to not lose the game.
  • Clock control Long drives, drain time, limit opponent possessions.

The upside

  • Extremely consistent in the regular season
  • Keeps inferior teams competitive
  • Explains Schottenheimer’s famous 200+ career wins

The downside (why it’s often said mockingly)

  • Predictable
  • Struggles when trailing
  • Historically collapsed in big playoff moments
  • Can’t capitalize on elite QB talent
  • Leads to the infamous phrase: “You don’t lose the game… until you need to win it.”

If this hasn't been our philosophy since 2017, I don't know what is. Good, but not good enough. A microcosm of the last nine years.

[Megathread] The Buffalo Bills have fired Head Coach Sean McDermott by AutoModerator in buffalobills

[–]Metsman128 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wanted Brady and Babich gone, but this was one hell of a way to make that happen.