Welcome to a taste of what’s to come.
This Sunday-less football will be the norm after next week’s Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles. The offseason calendar, however, has very few breathers, as free agency will be here soon, followed by the draft. Before we get to all that in more detail, we’ll clean up a few loose ends regarding the end of the Buffalo Bills’ season to start this week’s mailbag …
Mark Jeffe asks: You awarded an F to the coaching staff following the loss to the Chiefs. I agree with the grade. You’ve awarded numerous F’s throughout the season – typically after losses to tougher teams. McDermott’s MO is that he has a rough time beating the better teams in the league. A well-deserved MO. This season is a sterling example, as they only beat one team with a winning record on game day. We are in a conundrum, as McDermott has brought much to be happy about to this team, but how many F’s do you have to get before folks start to antsy with this regime?
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Jay: It’s way too premature in my mind to talk about McDermott being on any kind of hot seat. The Bills have won at least 10 games in each of the past three seasons. The Chiefs and Packers are the only other teams in the NFL that can say that. McDermott deserves to take the heat for what happened at the end against Kansas City – especially if he’s not going to provide any more specifics than “execution.” I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from fans on that. Most have said they’d like some sort of explanation, while others have said McDermott is right to keep it in house. Here’s my take on that: The Bills are a private company, but they’re also a public trust. McDermott's failure to provide any reasonable explanation for what happened against the Chiefs is costing him in the court of public opinion.
Even with that being the case, be careful what you wish for. Do you really trust the Pegulas to fire McDermott and then hire the right coach? They haven’t exactly had a great track record. Fans are right to be frustrated – the sting of this loss is going to take a long time to dull. Nevertheless, this front office and coaching staff, led by McDermott, has brought the franchise a long way from the depths of the drought. I’m nowhere close to thinking that a new coaching staff would be the right move at the moment.
Dan Siergiej asks: On the fourth-quarter punt by the Bills, there were two penalties called. One a 5-yard procedure on the Bills for running out of bounds and one a 15-yard personal foul penalty on the Chiefs. I've seen games this year with a similar situation where the 5-yard penalty has been disregarded and the 15-yard penalty is enforced. This may have prevented a Chiefs score as they would have had to begin a drive inside their 20-yard line as opposed to starting inside the Bills’ 25. The official called offsetting penalties and a re-kick, which really cost the Bills. Can you clear up my confusion?
Jay: I enlisted the help of the Football Zebras on Twitter to answer this. As an aside, that’s a great follow for those interested in how the game is officiated. Here was the response: “There is a 5 vs. 15 enforcement that will take the 15-yard penalty, erase the 5-yard penalty, and repeat the down, but that can’t be used on the down where there’s a change of possession. In this case, the receiving team has the option to repeat the down or offset at the end of the kick.” As Dan points out, the Chiefs wisely chose to repeat the down, and on the next punt improved their field position by 40 yards.
Sam Ruggiero asks: Does Brian Daboll take Mitchell Trubisky with him? If Trubisky leaves, who do we pursue – free-agent quarterback or draft a quarterback? Which of the free agents out there would fit best to back up Josh Allen?
Jay: I’d be surprised if the Giants went after Trubisky, because doing so would put Daniel Jones firmly on the hot seat. The Giants’ ownership has made it clear they want to give Jones every opportunity to prove he should be their starter. Bringing in Trubisky, who has 50 games of starting experience in the NFL, would mean as soon as Jones throws one interception, fans will be clamoring for him to be replaced. That’s exactly the type of situation the Giants should want to avoid if they’re serious about giving Jones a legitimate chance. If Trubisky does leave, which I’d consider a good possibility, I’d expect the Bills to pursue a veteran in free agency. A team built to win now likely wouldn’t want to hand the keys to the car to a rookie if something were to happen to Josh Allen. Again, we’ll have full free agency profiles coming soon, but here are a few players scheduled to hit the open market who project as backups: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Teddy Bridgewater, Colt McCoy, Jacoby Brissett and Tyrod Taylor. Obviously, some familiar names on that list. Who would say no to Fitz as a backup?
Ken Gawel asks: After the Bills’ overtime loss, I am sure you are getting bombarded with questions and comments about the overtime rule. I have read and heard a dozen different elaborate ideas. My question/comment is why not just keep it simple? Each team gets a possession. After that one possession, the team with the higher score wins. If still tied, then it goes to sudden death. In this scenario, at least each team gets the ball once. If the team on defense first scores a defensive touchdown, then they would win. What do you think?
Jay: We went over the overtime rules in depth last week, so I’ll keep this short. This would be a better option than what currently exists. The more I think about it, though, the one idea that I keep coming back to that I like is a simple, 10-minute extension of the game. Unless teams strap on leather helmets and really bleed the clock, each team should be guaranteed at least one possession. It also keeps time management a factor, which it is in regulation. In the regular season, if it’s still tied after the 10 minutes, the game is over. It gets a bit more troublesome in the postseason if the game is still tied. Playing two, 10-minute overtimes is a lot to ask of teams, but it would make for a great game.
Lorraine Sodaro asks: Do you think the interviews for head coach distracted our team? Should the NFL wait until the season is over before allowing the job search?
Jay: They can’t. Teams want to have their coaching staff in place for the start of the college all-star games, so that they can begin formulating their offseason plans. I agree, the timing stinks. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution. Waiting until after the Super Bowl is logical on the surface because it levels the playing field, but it would require drastically altering the offseason schedule, and that doesn’t seem likely. To answer the first part of the question, though, no, I don’t think either Brian Daboll or Leslie Frazier were distracted. They have to compartmentalize that part of the job. It’s not ideal, but it’s also not life-saving surgery, either. We all have parts of our jobs we’d like to change if we could. That’s one of them in the NFL.
Bob Rusinko asks: It seems to me that part of the problem is that the offense may not be ready to play at the start of the game. When was the last time that the Bills scored more than seven points in the first quarter? Makes you wonder about the overall attitude that just showing up is enough.
Jay: The numbers don’t back that up, Bob. The Bills outscored their opponents 102-37 in the first quarter during the regular season. The worst quarter, in terms of score differential, was the second quarter. The Bills were plus-8 in that, 123-115.
Frank Ricchiazzi asks: If you gave all the players a secret ballot and simply asked each one if they would prefer to play in an open-air stadium or a covered stadium, what do you think the vote would be? And, would you send them a ballot?
Jay: The vote would be in favor of a dome, perhaps overwhelmingly so. Basically, you’re asking the question, which you rather be cold or comfortable? A big portion of the Bills’ roster comes from warm-weather parts of the country. I can guarantee they don’t care one iota about the idea that the cold provides any sort of home-field advantage. Unfortunately for them, their opinions are valued only slightly more than yours or mine on this topic. As for sending them a ballot, maybe I can take an unofficial poll if the NFL ever allows us back in the locker room.
Grumpy Old Man asks: Do you think any of the players who wound up on the Covid-19 list have any remorse or guilt for not being out there helping their teammates? Do they still get paid when they’re on that list? They shouldn’t. If they choose not to get vaccinated, then don’t pay them when they have to miss a game.
Jay: Those who went on the Covid-19 list this past season were paid. As for remorse, that’s impossible for me to say. Given how quickly Covid-19 spread through NFL locker rooms before the league did away with testing, my guess is the unvaccinated players looked at how many vaccinated players were testing positive and felt like it didn’t make a difference either way. That’s not to say that viewpoint is correct, but it’s a hunch as to how they felt.
Dale from Williamsville asks: Can you give us a brief tutorial on the pros and cons of a man-to-man defense versus a zone and where the Bills messed up in those 13 seconds and overtime? Patrick Mahomes insinuated that him intentionally running more late led to the disaster for the Bills at the end of both regulation and overtime. Also, the mantra of “it’s a game where it felt like the last team to get the ball would win” suddenly became “the first team to get the ball would win” in overtime. Your thoughts on the overtime rules?
Jay: See above for the overtime thoughts. As for the man-to-man defense, the fear is a player with superior speed such as Kansas City’s Tyreek Hill has getting separation and running away from the defense – as he did in the fourth quarter for a touchdown. The problem for the Bills was the prevent defense they played gave way too much open space in the middle of the field, and the Chiefs had all three timeouts, so they weren’t restricted to just working the sideline. If the Bills were going to go with a zone-based prevent defense, they would have been better off rushing three or even two defenders and trying to force Mahomes to hang onto the ball while he searched for a receiver. Instead, he was able to get off quick throws to open spots. Let’s call it like it was: A catastrophic defensive failure.
Jeff Miller asks: I know last week you tried to head us off at the pass and said a lot will be written soon about free agency, but I’ll try to sneak one in anyway. Who are our free agents, and, without any explanations, on a 1-10 scale, rate how much effort should be put into keeping them. And for the sake of this letter, the salary cap won’t be considered.
Jay: It’s a long list of free agents, so I’ll just give you the big ones: Cornerback Levi Wallace, defensive ends Mario Addison and Jerry Hughes, defensive tackle Harrison Phillips and wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie. On your scale, I’d put a 10 – meaning the most effort – into re-signing Phillips and McKenzie, an 8 on Wallace, and a 4 on the veteran defensive ends. If money isn’t an object, that should be easy. Of course, it is, so it won’t. Phillips closed the season strong, while Wallace plays a position that’s thin. It’s time, in my mind, to turn the page and get younger at pass rusher, so those would be my priorities.
The Hott Cigar asks: It’s easy to say Tom Brady was a great quarterback, but he was also a cheat and a whiner. Do you think if the Bills, Jets and Dolphins had their franchise quarterbacks during his career that he’d still be polishing seven Super Bowl rings? Who were the stiffs on those teams that didn’t measure up?
Jay: A tougher path to the postseason, as opposed to the AFC East feeling like it was over by Halloween during most of Brady’s tenure, probably would have resulted in less success for Brady. That’s on the Bills, Jets and Dolphins for failing to build rosters that could take him down. Another team’s ineptitude doesn’t mean Brady wasn’t great. Both things can be true.
Bob Rajczak asks: With the big class action suit and issues regarding the lack of Black coaches in the NFL, is there any chance that a Black conglomerate or individual Black billionaire might try to purchase the Denver Broncos? It would seem the other NFL owners would/should give them serious consideration.
Jay: Absolutely there is a chance, and I’m sure the NFL would say it will consider that offer the same way it would any other offer. Whether you believe that to be true is entirely up to you, but Brian Flores’ lawsuit should give everyone pause as it pertains to systemic racism in the NFL. Here’s to hoping that it creates meaningful, positive change within the league.
Jim Maher asks: With Tom Brady retiring, Rob Gronkowski may not be as committed to Tampa Bay. Should the Bills try to sign him as a free agent to help his hometown team win a Super Bowl?
Jay: The Bills did express some interest in Gronkowski last year, but he elected to stay with Brady. It would be a good story, even if a surprisingly large number of Bills fans can’t seem to get over the cheap shot Gronk put on Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White a few years back when he was still with the Patriots. Bills general manager Brandon Beane did say he wants to add some more depth at tight end. If Gronkowski was interested in a reduced role behind Dawson Knox, it seems at least plausible that there could be mutual interest. I’d say it’s more likely he retires, though.
Paul N. asks: How much did Tre'Davious White's absence affect the Bills’ defensive game against the Chiefs? Do you think they win that game with him playing?
Jay: Yes, I do. We knew the moment White got hurt on Thanksgiving night that there would be a time his absence was felt. That time came in the two games the Bills played against elite quarterbacks after that – Brady and Mahomes. The secondary got torched in those two games. If White is on Tyreek Hill, maybe he doesn’t score the go-ahead touchdown with just more than a minute left in regulation. Perhaps the completions to Hill and Kelce in the final 13 seconds of regulation don’t come so easy.
Barb asks: If the Bills had successfully executed and recovered an onside kick at the opening of the overtime period and then scored a field goal would they win? Does the onside kick count as the other team's "possession"? Same as recovering a fumbled kickoff? Thanks and three cheers for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Jay: Yes, the Bills would have won in that scenario, Barb. The Chiefs would have had an “opportunity to possess” the ball in this scenario. A recovered fumble on the kickoff would mean the same thing – a field goal by the Bills after that happened would mean the game was over.
Thanks, as always, for the questions, which can be submitted via email to jskurski@buffnews.com or via Twitter, @JaySkurski.
