Quick Takes Edition 9

Buffalo Bills (5-5)

I’ve been attempting to articulate the aftermath, not to mention the game itself, following the Bills’ loss to the Broncos on Monday Night Football. It’s been a bit of a struggle because what can be said that hasn’t been already? Perhaps another review of the process? Aren’t we supposed to trust the process? Seriously, the loss to the Broncos should come as no surprise. If it did, well, then maybe some people weren’t paying close enough attention. The team just didn’t degrade overnight. There has been a steady and consistent march to this 5-5 record, and inevitably we’ll be discussing their under .500 record next week. There has been one distinct shift in the focus, however, by both fans and media after the loss, and it squarely lands on Sean McDermott.

Prior to Monday night there had been a lot of criticism weighed on offensive coordinator, Ken Dorsey, and rightfully so. As any offense struggles coaches and coordinators get put under the cliché microscope. It’s just a simple fact in any sport. In baseball when the team isn’t hitting the hitting coach is on the hot seat. In football it’s the coordinator, and Dorsey’s offense has provided a lot of critical source material for second guessing. No sustainable drives. Three and outs. No real running game to speak of, and a pass centric approach that even Air Coryell would find a bit over the top. I won’t blame Dorsey for the turnovers – that falls firmly and directly on the players. Particularly Allen. However, the entire Dorsey approach is proving to be flawed in its unbalanced conception. I’ve stated many times that the Newark Jets last season provided the defensive blueprint for the rest of the league. Granted the Jets have an excellent defense, and the remaining teams can’t match that same level of personnel, but they are still professionals and they can mimic enough of the blueprint to get by. Don’t think so? The Bills had the same problems with the Jaguars, Bengals, Patriots, and the Newark Giants as they did last night against the Broncos. It may bother Bills’ Mafia to hear, but teams are not impressed by Allen. They acknowledge his strengths, particularly his arm, but it pretty much ends there. They look to limit his running, and they dare his gunslinger mentality to beat them. In fact they bait him. Yes, he’ll hit a play for a big gain, but the odds are more likely those will be more limited in scope and the positives – such as incompletions and interceptions – outweigh the occasional big gain. When you combine a gunslinger with a former quarterback at the offensive coordinator position it has become a recipe for cascading errors. QB and coordinator are too similar. Too much on the same page. Which is exactly what happened to the play calling. So all of the Dorsey criticism is valid.

The part that’s new is the sudden realization by many regarding McDermott. There are too many breakdowns on his watch. People had been slow to criticize because he, along with Beane, had brought an organization out of the mire of seventeen years of futility and back to contenability. Respectability. However, when reviewing the body of his work it can’t be discarded that there are some horrific breakdowns on his watch. The blown lead in the playoffs against Houston. The Hail Murray play in Arizona. The Hail Mary by the Vikings (2022), and of course, the Thirteen Seconds in the playoff loss at Kansas City. There was also the near miss Hail Mary against the Buccaneers just a couple weeks ago. When you sum everything together the totals reveal McDermott has more in common with Marty Schottenheimer and Buck Showalter (in baseball) than he has with Bill Belichick, Bill Parcells, and Joe Torre. Showalter and Schottenheimer were heavy lifting individuals where they could rebuild broken franchises from the ground up, restore them to playoff contention, but never championship contention. There was always flagrant miscues that proved costly. Season ending. Each situation is unique, but the composite of breakdowns between McDermott has been painful. Thirteen Seconds was painful for Bills’ Mafia, but the loss to the Broncos Monday night might have actually been worse. Thirteen Seconds was a playoff loss, but there was a ray of hope moving forward to next season. The loss to the Broncos might be more excruciating because it eliminates hope, and invites in the revelation that the window of opportunity is shut, again, on this season, and without significant philosophy changes its permanently closed. Philosophy changes usually don’t happen by existing staff either. It takes new people to accomplish that part. Which doesn’t bode well for McDermott or Dorsey longevity with the organization. It also indicates a shift that the excuse period is over. The post-game cliché speak has now run its course. Comments such as “We have a lot of confidence with everyone in that locked room,” “We need to refocus,” and, “We’ll get thIs fixed” have now run their course. “It’s inexcusable” is not a reply. It was inexcusable last time. What is the excuse this time? Mental mistakes  keep happening. Perhaps those are the quotes players say when they lie to themselves – hoping that it’ll be true I guess? People will say many things when in denial. Unfortunately for professional athletes much of it ends up in the mass media. The populous may have bought into it in September. I know I gave my benefit of the doubt.

In full transparency back in September many of us (me included) thought the Bills were more than the sum of their parts. Going into the Newark Jets game many looked at it as a tough test against the exalted Aaron Rodgers in Prime Time, but didn’t think it was impossible. Then Rodgers went down on the first series and if ever the Bills had an opening it was that night. They failed. Bounce back wins against the Raiders, Commanders, and Dolphins was, in retrospect, the balm on an open wound never fixed. Even further, the Miami game now stands as a one-off outside of the composite data set. The games against the Jaguars, Giants, Patriots and Buccaneers are the actual benchmarks for this team. A non-playoff team. Something we thought folly in September when evaluating the roster. That’s why so many are frustrated. When the talent is there, but the team under performs and does not reflect its potential, individuals lose their jobs. Explanations ware thin. Comments that, “We had a great week of practice” are hallow soundbites. Let’s face it, many of us hit balls amazing on the driving range before we make it to the first tee. It’s what people say when they have nothing to say anymore just to fill the air. It’s what people say when they’re out of ideas and don’t want to admit the reality.

I do not criticize McDermott for taking the ball at the coin flip to start the game. I don’t even criticize him for sitting Cook after the fumble for a series, but to do it for almost an entire half of football was overkill. It was a panic move made out of anger, frustration, and fear. The latter probably being the most prominent because options are being exhausted. The only remaining one is personnel, and Dorsey is being lined up to fall on the sword. It has already happened once with Leslie Frazier. No matter what Frazier’s circumstances were at the end of the day, right now, this season, the Bills do not have a defensive coordinator. That was a red flag when it was announced and it remains so no matter how well they have performed. Head coach in the NFL is a big job; so to pull double-duty and call the defensive plays in addition to head coach duties is a curious choice.

I originally thought McDermott’s position was safe, but after last night, with twelve men on the field, I’m not so sure. There are penalties because you’re not strong enough, fast enough, to keep up with your opponent, and then there’s the motion penalties. The offsides. The too many men penalties which fall at the coach’s feet as a matter of organization and discipline. For McDermott who’s calling the defense – that isn’t a good look.

Sensible people have written off the season, the playoffs, and rightfully so. A paradigm shift at this point is reasonable. I think Beane is an excellent general manager – the best they’ve had since the ’90s frankly, but he has some difficult decisions to make. If this team is going to keep its window open at a legitimate championship run (not this season) some big decisions are ahead. There’s a storm coming. Will Diggs even be here? Will McDermott be? The Von Miller experiment didn’t work out as planned. I don’t blame players for their injuries – I’m just saying it didn’t work out. So it’s time to move on. When the dust settles it won’t just be the roster that will see changes – the front office will too.

Author’s note – Ken Dorsey Update

So I wrote the above in the early hours of this morning after having an opportunity to reflect on the insanity that was last night’s game. I can’t say it wasn’t entertaining – just maybe the right level of applied craziness that two mediocre teams provide. There are heavy weight matches of teams that are the best in the league, and then there’s what we had last night. A joyful level of incompetence similar to an eighties romcom.

By lunchtime, however, I had heard that Ken Dorsey has, indeed, fallen on the sword. I haven’t read all the details, but I’m guessing perhaps Salome had called for his head. Again, as I indicated previously none of this is the least bit surprising with the exception of timing. I thought personnel moves wouldn’t happen for a few weeks yet. So the fact it happened now still has me believing the Bills erroneously think they can salvage 2023. They can not.

Dorsey had served as quarterbacks’ coach in Carolina (2013-18) before moving laterally to Buffalo in that same position in 2019. Which is a reminder to all that with this edition of the Bills all roads lead back to Charlotte, NC. He became Offensive Coordinator when Brian Daboll left for the Newark Giants. I don’t know why I thought Dorsey would survive until the end of December. Perhaps it was the lateness of the hour? However, I guess the weight of last night which had been building up for weeks was just too much for the pillars of harsh reality to stand. He didn’t even last twenty-four hours. Last night’s game wasn’t a good look. Not just what happened on the field, but also by the composite organizational atmosphere of a team not being on the same page at multiple levels. Coaching and front office. Dorsey is not to blame for all of it, but he did have a hand in some of it. He just has the distinction of being the first to go. I don’t think it’ll stop there. It’s difficult to stop the bleeding away of this season. The next game is against the Jets. A team that pretty much owns the Bills – their offense anyway. It seems a decision to move on from Dorsey could be too late. Again, another trait of McDermott. Slow on the draw.

The final weeks of the season will be interesting.

Notre Dame #20 (7-3)

A quick statement on the Fighting Irish. After a bye last week they will be facing Wake Forest in the last game of the year at South Bend before finishing the 2023 regular season at Stanford the following week. It’s difficult to say 7-3 is a disappointing season, but when the goal is the College Football Playoffs Top 4 there is little room for error. As it should be. Interestingly, the CFP Committee and the Associated Press both have the Irish at 20, but the Coaches’ Poll puts them at 18. Tomato. Tomaaato. It will be interesting viewing the last couple games, and then whatever bowl they officially land. College football is cyclical like that. If the playoffs are not an option then the goal is to finish strong, and evaluate going into 2024. Like all fans the hope always is they can grow from it. 2024 will be Marcus Freeman’s third year. With strong showings against Ohio State and Southern Cal this season the hope is they will iron out the missteps at Duke (even though they won), Louisville and Clemson. My guess is 2024 will be an important season for the program. Is it advancing or regressing? Right now the status is uncertain.