Game Day Thread Official Post Game Thread- Bills beat the Pats

[long distance]

They didn't make a single stop. Not one.

Tackling - the supposed strength of this team - disappeared not only vs BUF but for most of last part of the season. That was the most baffling thing about this stretch. When best tackler Dugger showed with only one arm and second best tackler Bentley went down early it already felt its going to be ugly. There were just DMC and Phillips left with occasional tackle. JC stopped tackling a while ago, IDL completely lost the grip, Judon for whatever the reason lost himself along the way, HT was catching for straws before and injury didn't help, Collins is warm weather situational player etc.

In any case this was (likely) just the last chapter of the old D champs that lost their step a while ago but were kept on big last yr contracts.
The big rebuild of D was always coming in 2022..

 

[The Brandon Five]

After this game, I now think JC won’t be back. They could franchise him or sign him long term but it would take up too much of their cap space and they need a lot of guys. Not a ton of “stars” but several positions need to be shored up and it doesn’t make sense right now to use that much capital on one player this off-season, unfortunately. I feel like they’d be better off with a lot of OK defensive backs playing more zone, vs trying to go man so much with 1 elite CB and a bunch of relatively poor guys below him.

I think the offense is what it is to an extent for 2022. Maybe they try to make a deal for a #1 WR that doesn’t hurt their 2022 cap too much but I doubt it. Chances are the corps at WR and TE will largely be the same, but I don’t have a big issue with that - with another offseason together and more experience and chemistry in the offense, they should be fine there. It’s really the defense that needs a massive youth injection.

He didn’t have a great game last night, to put it mildly.

 

[RobertWeathers]

We don't have the athleticism on defense to keep up with Buffalo or the talent to overtake better teams that also are playing well. Plain and simple.

However the mental errors that pop up like a covid spike are concerning. That's a coaching thing.

Teams figured out our zone D.

Pass rush died.

Mac hit the wall.

Injuries.

Defense wore down. Guy, High, DMC, Jamie and even KVN seemed a step late everytime.

Need speed. Need greasy fast speed at linebacker and man cover personnel in the secondary.

Coaching? I dunno. Special Teams is a concern but BB Jr and Josh played the cards they were delt.

This is BBs team. Let the rebuild continue. It won't be all sunshine and rainbows

 

[stcjones]

I sooo didn't want to play the Bills or any division team more than we have to. We just lost to Miami so its not like this loss shocked me, but this was pathetic. Outside of Barmore and Judon, everyone in the front 7 needs to go. I've been off the Bently, Wise, and Guy bandwagon for 2 seasons now. Hightower is washed up.

McCourty isn't the same player, but I don't want to move on from him necessarily. I've seen bad safety play around the league and we aren't there yet.

Offense seems harder to fix. Josh doesn't seem to know how to use the talent that we do have. He seems clueless in how to utilize Jonnu or Agholor. Agholor catches flack on this board but he could be so much more than we have seen. His speed is legit but rarely gets thrown screens or allowed to run reverses etc. Josh needs a new Welker for our offense to work.

I am not a fan of Josh at all but it doesn’t look like he is going anywhere….I think he knows BB is leaving in next two years if not sooner…and he is next in line. I also agree that he has trouble adjusting, being creative (in a good way not the triple reverses on 3rd and 1) and utilizing talent. Henry, Agholor, Smith had underwhelming seasons….why?! It comes down to OC. Charlie Weis would have done a lot more quick screens, quick outs, passes to RB in the flat….McD needs to go…but he won’t

 

[Ivan]

This is a tough ending to an otherwise good season. Not many would have thought we would have made the playoffs with a rookie qb. I think Mac is definitely our future. Our defense was as bad as I can remember though. We'll need to upgrade our secondary, add a big body in the middle and add more speed to our LB.

This wasn't competitive today....hats off to the Bills, they were the better team. Josh Allen was too good.

This team has some decisions to make....do we bring back Hightower, McCourty, Van Noy, Collins, Bentley, Trent Brown, Karras?

Overall, this was a successful season and we have some young talented players to build with, namely Mac.

Thank you to all who contributed this year in the GDT. On to the offseason.



Let's discuss!!!

Right on the money. They got their asses handed to them from the opening whistle, the Bills are a better team this season, and now it’s time to take stock of the team as a whole and figure out where they go from here. Fun season overall, sucky ending, time to evaluate and build for next season,

 

[stcjones]

Look the Bills are totally legit. Josh Allen is a top 3 QB and he played lights out yesterday, they have good playmakers, excellent coaching staff. They are in a better shape as a football organization right now and that didn't start this season, that started a few years ago, gotta give them credit.

Allen is amazing. Went on media and told everyone exactly what he was going to do…play like an Elite QB. Not wearing sleeves because I’m going to run it at you….I have a lot of respect for Allen ….especially after blowing us out last night throwing it and running it.

 

[Ivan]

Let the meltdowns commence, I’m going to look at some draft sites.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Allen is amazing. Went on media and told everyone exactly what he was going to do…play like an Elite QB. Not wearing sleeves because I’m going to run it at you….I have a lot of respect for Allen ….especially after blowing us out last night throwing it and running it.

He did wear sleeves though. He smartened up.

 

[Fatmancryin]

Seems like BB lost Ernie Adamss’ cheat codes, the lucky charms leprechaun on the Bills sideline must have found it.

Some of BB‘s roster and game days roster decisions continue to be problematic, also his refusal to incorporate simple analytics like being 8-1 when scoring first but still deciding to defer (even though deferring hasn’t helped you at all this year) is another Issue.

I think the last 5 games has been the worst coached/played football games I have seen in BB tenure as a Patriot.

 

[Triumph]

The key for the longest time has been how he’ll respond this offseason. He’s proven he’s an NFL capable QB. The question is if he can take what he learned and turn himself into a good one. We won’t know the answer until this time next year. Maybe not then either; Josh Allen looked like a bust until season 3 when he took the leap.

I said that Allen was the QB to take over Darnold, Rosen and Mayfield and people doubted. My thoughts were that with the right development Allen could be a top 10 NFL QB. Big arm, size, mobility.

My Super Bowl is Green Bay vs Buffalo.

 

[sieglo]

Bills punter is definitely the most overpaid player in the NFL.

Well, maybe second after Harry.

 

[50-yard-line]

That’s a little extreme, a few guys can do well if they’re in more limited roles (Bentley and Wise). But I definitely agree a talent upgrade is really needed, and that will help those guys perform better too with the limited roles

Did a quick look, they can open up $10.1m in cap space immediately by dumping Agholor, Henry Anderson, and Guy.

You're really into dead money, aren't you?

They gain nothing by dumping Agholor. $5 million savings...$10 million dead money. So, basically, Agholor next year at $5 million is value - forget the other $10, because it's gone either way.

 

[Rob0729]

Agholor and Henry aren’t realistic cuts.

Agholor is owed $14M, so you have to pay him rather than just eating $10M for nothing.

Henry is actually a negative net cap hit if cut in 2022. He costs $15M, but cutting him is $19M.

They can free up 2.5M with Guy and 2.5M with Anderson.

They could, with Henry, Smith, or Judon, restructure by pushing money into 2023 and converting roster into signing bonus, but it would mean there’s no getting out of these contracts the next year and financially committing for a longer term…the team trades off its ability to move on sooner. So restructuring is fine provided you’re confident the player will be there next year. For a guy like Smith, they’re probably better off just ripping the band aid off, taking the hit, and moving on from him after 2022.

Agholor is a realistic cut. The Pats get back $5 million of cap space if they cut him. He would make a ridiculous amount for one so-so at best year, but he is very cutable. Not sure they will.

Henry isn't cutable, but why would you cut him anyway. Other than Bourne, he is Jones' best receiver and a solid red zone target. If they do anything with him, they might convert part of his $9 million base into a bonus to create cap space. Others who might have salary converted into bonus for cap space are Judon and Mason.

Cutting Godchaux and Van Noy would give the Pats $5 million of cap space each.

Players in the last year of their contracts that could get extension (really not the Pats' style though) to free cap space are Jonathan Jones, Isiah Wynn, and McCourty. Technically, McCourty is no longer under contract, but he has voidable prorated bonuses due the the next three years. If the Pats give him an extension, I think they can push some of the cap hit out.

Depending how much the Pats want to cut and how much they want to push out the cap (which may be advantageous since the cap could explode with the next TV deals when they kick in in 2023), the Pats can free up plenty of money to be free agent players. The question is will they. I think they may be somewhat active this offseason, but nothing like last year or even the big players in free agency this year. They won't be pursuing the marquee guys, but second and third tier free agents.

 

[Fatmancryin]

Overthecap.com projects them at 21.5m in cap space and that’s before taking into account that McCourty has a voidable deal like Brady did. If he’s not resigned prior to free agency, dead cap accelerates and we lose an additional $4.3m in cap space - down to $17.2m.

Expect a traditional BB free agency — dumpster diving after other teams’ released players. Hopefully they can reel in Trey Flowers when the Lions dump him, I really think that can solve the problem of the lineman opposite Judon.

‘They can gain 20+m

I would take the 4.3 lose as not extending McCourty.

 

[sb1]

I wish Allen wasn’t as likeable as he is

 

[Ross12]

One item I haven't seen touched on much is Wynn. Herron actually looked fine out there last night. Is he excellent? No, but he wasn't a problem. I'm curious if the team explores trading Wynn. Even if they don't get much draft capital in return, trading him would give them almost $11M in cap space.

 

[patsfanfromoversea]

One item I haven't seen touched on much is Wynn. Herron actually looked fine out there last night. Is he excellent? No, but he wasn't a problem. I'm curious if the team explores trading Wynn. Even if they don't get much draft capital in return, trading him would give them almost $11M in cap space.

Trent Brown was a bigger issue yesterday, allowing 4 pressures and 1 sack

 

[Rob0729]

Don't forget the Pats have about $3 million left in cap for 2021 that will be pushed to 2022. So that will cover most of McCourty's voidable bonus cap hit if he doesn't re-sign.

 

[Triumph]

Bill is nothing without Brady as it stands today. The dynasty was all about #12, always was and will be.

It takes a QB, HC, GM and owner.

Montana - Walsh - Mcvay - Debartalo
Elway - Shannahan - Beake - Bowlen
Bradshaw - Noll - Haley - Rooney
Aikman - Johnson - Johnson - Jones
Kelly - Levy - Polian - Wilson

 

[Patnation21]

Mac says end zone pick was not a very good throw, he needs to do a much better job there.

I thought he threw an absolute dime, it was about to land perfectly for a TD but Hyde made an absolutely amazing catch.