Buffalo Bills OFFENSE STAGNATES Under Joe Brady—Can Josh Allen Reverse the DOWNFALL?
Joe Brady’s failure to evolve the scheme is at the core of Buffalo’s offensive regression. Locked on Bills starts now. You are Locked on Bills, your daily Buffalo Bills podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. What’s up, Bills Mafia? It’s Joe Marino, author of the herd mentality substack, co-host of the Locked On NFL scouting podcast, co-host of the NFL first read podcast, and I’m your host of Locked On Bills. Locked on Bills is a proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network. I want to thank you for making Lockdown Bills your first listen every day and a big welcome and shout out to our everydayers. You know who you are, those of you who never miss a single episode. I appreciate y’all being here. very very much. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’re going to get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Well, folks, welcome in. It’s time for Herd Mentality, the weekly episode where you control our discussion. We have some great topics to get into, including the future of the offensive line, the future of the linebacker position, Keon Coleman, but we start with a couple of questions about the offensive regression. Let’s dive in. The first one comes from Bill’s WZA. It’s hard to not come out of your all 22 review thinking that Joe Brady isn’t the primary issue with the offense. You outline his lack of flexibility and using more protection for Josh, pulling Spencer Brown out of the game too late, not running when the defense was inviting it, overusing mesh when it was unlikely to work, and more. Based on this information, where are you at on Joe Brady and the potential hope for the offense moving forward? Thanks, Joe, and go Bills. It’s a good question. It’s a really good question. And if you listen to the All 22 review, which I I hope you do, they’re really meaningful conversations after losses. I know nobody really wants to talk about it, but the most important conversations we have are after losses. And I hope that you will consume that content because it’s really meaningful. And the Bills are now seven and four. And I feel like after all of the losses, right, each of those four losses, I came back with some pretty pretty harsh criticism for Joe Brady. And this latest loss is no exception, right? Some some pretty big blunders in my opinion. And so he’s frustrating. He’s very frustrating. Sometimes it looks like Joe Brady has the right ideas and looks fully capable. I think he coordinated the best offense the the Bills have ever put on the field last year ever. And if it’s not number one, it’s definitely in the top three. So sometimes he looks really capable. Look at that Kansas City game. Looked very capable. But then there’s games like the Houston one where I just can’t reconcile a lot of the thought process. He’s inconsistent, right? That’s what it comes down to. A lot of times he has the wrong ideas and where I think things really get away from him. It’s the heat of battle. It’s the heat of battle. Maybe they’re down a little early in the game and he chases it. Maybe there’s a certain element of the team that was supposed to be a little better in that game and it isn’t. And it’s those heat of battle moments where I think he’s most susceptible to having some mistakes. And so that’s concerning for me. And I I look at this year in general and I’m completely aware that there’s things that he’s counting on that are not doing what it’s supposed to do. You know, Don Concincaid obviously that’s actually going quite well except for the fact that he’s once again hurt. Josh Palmer, a meaningful addition to your offense. He’s been hurt. Keon Coleman hasn’t taken a step forward. In fact, he’s done the opposite. He’s probably in some ways regressed from the first half of last year and has been benched. The offensive line not as good. Josh Allen not as good. But a lot of that goes right back to him. You still can’t figure out what to do with Curtis Samuel. Elijah Moore not relevant in this offense. So, for as much as I’m sensitive to some of the elements of this offense not quite performing like it’s supposed to, a lot of that’s his fault. And at the core of it, I don’t think the scheme evolved enough year over year. I feel like this is an offense that believes what I said earlier that, hey, we were the we’re the best offense the Bills have ever put on the field. We’re good. Let’s just get better at what we do and go after it again. There needed to be some evolution here. And there just wasn’t. There’s no wrinkles. There’s no counter punches. There’s no, hey, this is how we’re going to take this to the next level. And that’s disappointing because I do believe and I will maintain that I think this personnel offensively is better than last year’s because it’s basically the same except for you swap out M. Holland and Amari Cooper for Elijah Moore and Josh Palmer. I’d like I’d rather have that and this offense is not as good. So I think at the core of why this offense is not as good is Joe Brady’s failure to evolve the scheme and build new layers to it. I’m watching the same stuff that I watched last year. And guess what? The league kind of knows. And the Bills are very much a hey, we’re just going to it’s we’re an execution team. We’ll have some scheme wins or whatever, but for the most part, they just want to do what they do at a high level. And well, I don’t think that gets it done in the NFL. I think it’s too competitive of a league. There’s too much emphasis, right? How many times are we going to watch the Bills lose a game and that other team, the whole narrative, all the media coming out of it is statement win. They beat the Bills, right? Statement win. The Bills, I know they haven’t won the Super Bowl, but beating the Bills means something to other teams. You’re going to get high high levels of effort from everybody that you face because it means something to beat the Bills. It does. And because of that, it puts more of an onus, more of an emphasis on your ability to stay ahead of it. Understand the effort that other teams have when they want to play. You’ve been in the way of a lot of teams getting where they want to go. They want to beat you. And that requires you to be as sharp as possible at all times. You can’t rest on your laurels of, hey, this really worked last year. Let’s just continue to be really good at it and expect that to be the formula to replicate your success. You have to keep evolving. And I don’t think it happened at a high enough level with this offense. Buffalo says, “Why are the Bills struggling so much with blitzes this year?” Let’s first of all acknowledge that the Bills are way worse against the Blitz this year than they were last year. Josh Allen versus the Blitz this year. He’s completing 65% of his passes, five touchdowns, four interceptions, passer rating of 93.1. Last year against the Blitz, 61%. So, he’s actually completing a higher level of passes, but the yards per attempt, he had 11 almost 1,200 yards passing, 16 touchdowns, one interception, pass rating of 123.2. This year, Josh Allen is 12th in EPA against the Blitz, 17th in completion percentage over expectation, and 23rd in rating. Teams are blitzing the Bills a ton on third down. They’re getting a lot of negative plays out of the Bills. It’s not good. They’re struggling big time. I think there’s a couple of reasons. Number one, the Bills love fiveman blocking surfaces. So, just your five offensive linemen, they don’t want to give them any help. They don’t help with tight ends. They don’t help with running backs very often. And like on paper, that sounds pretty good. Like, hey, you got a good offensive line. You got a quarterback that can make people miss in the pocket. Maximize your eligibles and don’t keep them in to pass block, right? You only get five eligible receivers. Don’t waste them to pass block. Well, it’s not working. So, you’re you’re not doing enough to help your protections. You’re not providing enough answers. when the blitz is happening and you’re not getting to those answers, which is a bit of a consequence of the Bills getting away from having choice routes. A lot of their routes are locked routes, meaning they they don’t adjust to coverage. The route you run is the route you run. And that was a big shift philosophically coming out of Ken Dorsy into Joe Brady. They want to simplify some things, no choice routes. And well, I think that leads to some problems when you get some pressure because they’re not they’re not adjusting their routes. So, your protection schemes need to adjust. You need to provide more answers. You need to get to those answers, which requires you to be more willing to go to more choice routes or ability to adjust on the fly as opposed to locking your routes. It’s professional football. I expect receivers to be able to adjust on the fly with choice routes and I expect the quarterback to be able to know where they’re going to go and for that to be a helpful part of your offense and not a hurtful part. But obviously it was a problem. That’s why they made a change. But I have a higher level of expectation for what should be able to get done in the National Football League. And then also Josh just isn’t playing as well. He’s not. And I think I think that’s a lot to do with what’s around him. the scheme not evolving. I don’t think it’s because Josh Allen’s lost talent or he’s not as capable as he once was. I think they have failed to build a dynamic offense in terms of weapons and I feel like the offensive scheme has not evolved enough and I don’t think he’s overly comfortable with everything that’s happening around him and it’s affecting his performance. So, a lot of reasons for the offensive regression, but I think at the core of it, they just didn’t evolve things enough year-over-year. All right, coming up next, we’re going to talk about the Texans defense, how it got so good. James Cook, the pass blocker, a couple of really good questions about linebackers, uh, one about Dorian Williams future. So, we’ll talk about that as well. Folks, be sure to stick with me. The NBA is back and there’s no better place to get in on the action than FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you miss the start of the game or you want to ride the hot hand, FanDuel has live bets on everything from who’s going to score next to fourth quarter comebacks. Plus, you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. It just keeps every game exciting, especially when your team’s making that late push. I really enjoyed FanDuel on Sunday. didn’t have the Bills to watch, but I got in on some fun parlays while I was watching the uh the Patriots and the uh the Bengals and Chiefs and the Colts and actually had some nice hits. Now, I missed on a couple of spreads, but it was a lot more fun to get through that Sunday slate without the Bills with a little action on the game. So, check it out, folks. Right now, FanDuel is giving new customers $300 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. So head to fanduel.com to sign up and play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. All right, folks. Welcome back. Next one today comes from Chris, who says, “In the leadup to the Texans game, there has been immense praise for the Texans defense and the caliber of talent they have across all position groups. So much so, it’s impossible not to look at the Bills defense in comparison. What have the Texans done as an organization to field this group? Is there any is there a difference in scheme development or drafting that we could look for as to why they have such a productive unit compared to the Bills? It’s a good question and I’m I’m going to answer it, but I want to start by just acknowledging this. Ninth year general manager, ninth year head coach. Boy, you’d like to think that there’s been some real finds along the way for the defense. that you’ve stumbled across over the last nine years. And in some ways, there’s been some good stuff. Ed Oliver, Trey White, Matt Milano. The problem is not with Ed Oliver, but Matt Milano and Trey White, you paid them, and in the prime of their career, they just had back-to-back massive season ending injuries. At Oliver took some time, he comes along, he’s hurt. Trell Bernard, Greg Rouso not necessarily making the impact you’re looking for. Christian Bener not making the impact you’re looking for. Darren Johnson, massive regression. It’s kind of unsettling to consider where this defense is and isn’t at this point. I understand there was a mini reset and that’s necessary, but along the way, you like to think that your ninth year GM and your ninth year head coach that specializes in defense would have a little more to show for. So, how did the Texans defense get so good? Well, it starts with them being bad, right? They earned some high picks in 2021. They were four and 13. That got that got them the number three pick in the draft. And so, they selected Derek Stingley. And Stingley’s awesome, right? that was a really high-end talent that you watch at LSU. You knew he’d be a star and he is a star. So, they organically pick Derek Stingley. And then in in 2022, they go 313 and one and with their own pick uh number two overall, they select CJ Strad, but then they also remember they had picks from the Browns because of the Deshun Watson trade. So in 2023 that draft they had the Browns pick which was number 12 overall and they traded up from 12-3 and they traded 12 33 their first round pick the next year and their third round pick the next year. So 12 33 a one and a three to get to number three. They also got 105 back and that’s how they got Will Anderson. So again, that trade from 12 to three, they gave up 12 33. They’re first and third next year for the third overall pick and pick 105. They got Will Anderson. Now, some things needed to happen for them to get Will Anderson at number three because Will Anderson’s the type of player that should go number one overall. You can thank the Carolina Panthers for that because they picked Bryce Young. Picked Bryce Young at number one overall. That’s not a number one overall talent in any draft ever. And that’s what they did. And that puts CJ Stroud at number two, it puts Will Anderson at number three. So that’s that’s helpful. Being bad and the Deshun Watson trade working out like it did. But then they made some really phenomenal picks on day two. They pretty much built out their secondary on day two. So they have Derek Stingley. Then they draft Jaylen Petri in the second round who’s like maybe the best slot nickel corner in the league. Kamari Lacader, the the outstanding outside corner opposite of Stingley. They got him in the second round. And then Kaitlin Bulock, their high-end free safety, they got him in the third round. So, they nailed those day two picks to round out their secondary. And then they’ve they did a really good job in free agency with their front. Now, obviously, of course, they drafted Will Anderson, but they were able to sign Denil Hunter to a two-year $50 million deal entering 2024. He’s unbelievable. They signed Aziz Shaier who was a player that started with Demo Ryan’s in San Francisco. Then he had his moment with Tennessee and they bring them to Houston and that’s just a really good fit. And then they were able to nail some veteran free agent signings like Tim Settle. Hi Sheldon Rankkins, Derek Barnett, Denal Autry. Those are all players that Houston’s been able to sign and get a lot out of. Well, they’re in part of a great infrastructure. But I will say, you know, watching this Houston defense now, it’s a lot like the early McDermott defenses. Hey, we we run zone coverage. We’re top down. We’re a little bit small up front with our Dline. We don’t do anything exotic. We just execute. We play together. We’re cohesive. They strain. They compete. Don’t feel like I’m talking about a Shawn McDerman defense right now, but you felt that way early on. structurally very similar. Their ideas very very similar. It’s concerning. Ross says, “So that’s how it happened, right? Hopefully you can appreciate the analysis there and understand how they got as good as they did on defense.” Demo Ryan’s a heck of a coach. Ross says, “How is James Cook’s pass blocking this year?” Uh, he’s on the field a lot more. I haven’t noticed much, but we also haven’t talked about it much either. One reason he didn’t seem to be on the field as much was because he was bad as a pass blocker. Now that he’s on the field more, is he better? Are the smelling salts helping him? All right. So, James Cook is playing 60% of snaps so far this year. And um that’s like a little bit more than he was playing. So, it’s it’s a little more, but not a ton. Um just to tell you what he’s on pace for in terms of touches, he has 223 touches so far this year. He had 239 last year during the regular season. So, he’s going to he’s going to go over the the 239 that he had last year in this coming game most likely in week 13. He’s on pace for 344 uh and his careerhigh is 281 back in 2023. But ultimately, he’s not pass blocking a ton more. Last year he was on the field for 248 passing snaps and he passed blocked 11 times. And then this year he’s been on the field 206 passing snaps. He’s pass blocked 10 times. So you’re talking about once per game. He’s not he’s not doing he’s not doing it right. Like it’s just not what they ask of him to do. 10 times in what 11 games. Is that what the Bills have played so far? They’re seven and four 11 games. So it’s still not a big part of what he’s asked to do. I mean, literally 10 times on the season. So, it’s it’s never going to be a strength of his, but that’s not why you have James Cook, right? James Cook’s not on your team for pass. You wish it was part of what he could do, but it’s what he does with the ball in his hands is where James Cook is meaningful. And that’s also why they pay him what he they pay him, right? That’s not that’s why he didn’t get 15 million a year because that was always a silly number. They got him at 11 and a half, which is very reasonable. Joseph says, “What do you see as a fix for the linebacker position more so in the run game? Just feel like Terrell Bernard’s injury is hurting and Matt Milano seems lost at times.” Well, I I know that you asked about the linebackers, but I think the defensive tackles are where you have to start this conversation. They’re a mess. They’re a mess. Blown off the ball all the time, especially Jordan Phillips. But they all have their moments. Every single one of them has their moments of getting blown off the ball. Maybe not the Aquinos, but there’s they’re just highly inconsistent. And so it’s very difficult for you to play downhill linebacker when the dudes in front of you are getting pushed around like crazy. It’s hard to know where your gap is when guys are getting blown off the ball. I also think that they’re very inconsistent with their reads and you’re supposed to read through the guards. They get moved out all the time. So they’re they’re inconsistent with their reads and coverage. They drift quite a bit. But I think this is a, you know, that this is a consequence of the skill sets that have been assembled. They obviously prefer penetration style defensive tackles that aren’t super firm against the run, and they want matchup linebackers to play in space, but aren’t super firm against the run. Well, geez, if your defensive tackles aren’t firm against the run, your linebackers aren’t firm against the run, your defense probably won’t be firm against the run. It’s a consequence of the style that they want. And if you get enough negative plays along the way, it’s okay. What What happens when you don’t get enough negative plays along the way? Well, it looks like what you’re seeing this year. There’s a saying in football that you have to earn the right to run. There’s a saying in football that you have to earn the right to rush the passer by defending the run. The Bills are missing the first part. They’re missing the first part. In order to be good on passing downs, you got to be good on running downs. They’re missing the first part. All right, we’ll talk Dorian Williams, Keon Coleman, the future of the offensive line, and more here on the other side of it. So, folks, be sure to stick with me. Today’s show is brought to you by our friends over there at Pelaton. Look, folks, it’s time to break through the busiest time of the year with a brand new Pelaton crossraining tread plus that’s powered by Pelaton IQ. It’s Pelaton’s most elevated technology and equipment yet that gives you real-time guidance, and it gives you endless ways to move. Whether you want to work out by yourself or if you want to work out with your favorite instructor like my personal favorite, Alex Tousant, he always gets me fired up to tackle the day. And the thing I like about Pelaton, it helps me achieve more in less times. They have features that help you plan, stay motivated, track your progress, and Pelaton IQ also provides personalized workout plans and recommendations. That’s something that I use right now during the busiest time of the year covering the NFL. They plan my workouts for me based on my mood, my vibe, and also my favorite instructors. So, make sure you check it out and use it because it also helps you correct your form in real time. And it maximizes your reps. It counts your reps so that you can do it smarter, safer, and more efficient. Let yourself run, lift, flex, push, and go. Explore the new Pelaton crossraining tread plus at onepliton.com. Welcome back. The next one today comes from Josh who says, “Dorian Williams has been a key piece the defense in specific change of pace role. Do you believe that this is preparing him to elevate into an everyown linebacker role in the future or is he best suited to stay in a similar role going forward and we should find the Milano replacement elsewhere? If he’s to elevate to Milano’s role, is there a replacement on this roster right now that can fill Dorian’s current role? Should they seek to replace it elsewhere? or is this role specific to what Dorian can bring in the same way that you can’t replace what Lorenzo Alexander, M. Holland, or Michael Hoy bring one for one? It’s a good question. I think Dorian Williams has carved out a bit of a niche role. Um, I’m curious. I’ll say that. I’m curious to see what the plan is. I like so much of what Dorian Williams brings to the table. Size, physicality, athleticism, downhill ability, right? Whether that’s a defending the run, downhill ability to rush and blitz, downhill ability to set picks and free up other guys. You know, to me, that’s a a classic Sam linebacker role, which is kind of what he’s asked to do. Um, you talk about Dorian being in the Matt Milano role, the ideal Matt Milano role is more of a matchup type player that’s going to play in space, man coverage, play in zone. Those have not proven to be strong parts of Dorian Williams game. And so I I want players to perform in roles that are optimal to their skill set. And and to me, this Sam Backer role makes the most sense for Dorian Williams. Um I think at a minimum, this is what you’re going to get out of Dorian. Quality subpackage player, impact special teams guy. But I don’t want to diminish this idea because the Bills play a lot of base defense now. That this has changed. The Bills right now this year are 20% base defense and they’re actually very good of it. They’re seventh in EPA per snap when they’re in base. They’re 23rd in EPA out of nickel. They’re 16th in dime. And Dorian helps you on the 20% base snaps and on a lot of those dime snaps when you use him as the mere player. So, they’re finding ro ways to get it out of them, which I kind of like. But I I do recognize that 2026 is a big year. You got Matt Milano as an expiring contract. Shaq Thompson is an expiring contract. You got Terrell Bernard who’s always banged up. And so it’s Bernard Williams and it’ll be a contract year for him in 2026. And then what do you have Jo Andre? So the Bills have some things to figure out here. And I think it’s a tough needle to thread between using Dorian in this role that makes the most sense for what his skill set has told you versus, hey, can can you get even more out of him in the weak side backer role? That’s what the coaching staff’s got to figure out, right? I don’t necessarily see a player on the roster that’s optimized to do what the Bills are getting out of Dorian Williams right now. So, if that’s something that they would want and the idea is to move Dorian Williams to weak side backer, well then you you’d have to find a a new player for that role. So, we’ll see. Smurf says, “Keon Coleman, another healthy scratch. What are your thoughts?” Well, I think first of all, the short week after the Bucks game, so you go inactive on Sunday as a disciplinary thing, and then you’re going to play again on Thursday on the road. I think that probably does factor into Keon playing or not playing on Thursday. I mean, they didn’t even have a full practice. They just had walkthrough practices. So, I think that impacted things. I will say this that anything that the Bills would ask Keon Coleman to do on the field, I’d rather have it done by Gabe Davis. Before the by-week, I went in hard about Keon not being ready for the role he’s been asked to fill. And and to me that is obvious when you watch him play, but it also extends to off the- field stuff. I don’t find myself yearning to see Keon Coleman back on the field for any other reason than he’s a young player that maybe there’s some untapped potential. That’s the benefit. I don’t think that right now he’s a worthy player to have on the field. But if you’re trying to assess and evaluate and you want to get a feel for what you have in Keon, well then yeah, I think the idea is to play him. But how much is how much is he hurting your team along the way? That’s that’s tough. It’s why the coaches get paid the big bucks, but I don’t see a player that is right now in a position to help the team. And so that’s why I don’t find myself very hungry to see him back on the field. Mike says, “Could you give your updated opinion on whether they could or should keep McGovern, Torrance, both or neither? I feel like they’ve both been really good this season, but both had a rough night against Houston. Has your opinion on which one to sign changed at all?” Well, first of all, let’s acknowledge that Torrance is signed through next year. They don’t have to make that decision until after 2026. But I will say this, uh, on our Wednesday night hangouts that we have in the Discord channel, we’re watching Oline tape with Jerry Estroski. And I think anybody that’s been part of those film sessions has a very different perspective on this offensive line in terms of who’s playing well and who’s not. The player that Mike, you didn’t even ask about him is David Edwards. That’s an actual expiring contract. That David Edwards and Conor McGovern are your two expiring starting offensive linemen this year. David Edwards is arguably been the Bill’s best offensive lineman this year. I would say before the Houston game, Spencer Brown was, but you know, after the Houston game, I might tell you David Edwards has been the best offensive line of the Bills have. And he’s really important for Dion because I don’t think Dion knows what he’s doing a lot of times. And David Edwards is very important for that piece of it. He’s playing at he’s he’s playing at a higher level than you might think he is. So to me, he becomes a high priority to bring back. As for Conor McGovern at center, I think he’s a fine player. I’m not falling all over myself to pay him $14 million a year. If you can get a value extension there, yes, but Conor McGovern does not need to become one of the highest paid centers in the NFL. And as for Osiris Torrance, boy, he’s got a lot to prove. To me, right now, he’s not an early extension candidate. Like the Bills will sometimes extend guys a year early. I wouldn’t do it with Torrance. I want to see if it comes together in 2026 because I think he’s kind of stagnant right now. Some things I need to get cleaned up there. So, right now I find David Edwards to be the priority and I’m not touching Torrance until after 2026 and I’m not super interested in making Conor McGovern a top three highest paid center in the NFL. Connor says, “Why are the Bills struggling in the middle eight of games? All of our losses have been horrendous in the middle eight. I’d agree with you on the last two, the Texans and Dolphins. The middle eight uh were were problems for sure. Go back to this Texans game. The Bills take possession of the ball with 547 left in the second quarter. They’re down 20 to 16. I’m thinking all about a double dip because they get the ball first out of the half. What happens? You have the Khlo Shakir fumble which leads to a Texans field goal and then you get the ball back and uh in the second half, right? Your opening drive of the second half. The Bills turn the ball over on downs after five straight James Cook runs where he wanted to get off the field for the fifth one. Not great. The Dolphins game, the Bills take over with 43 seconds left and two timeouts at the 20. They’re down 16 to nothing. I’m thinking about a double dip and the Bills get to third and five with 33 seconds left. Two timeouts and they do a surrender run. They do a surrender run. Run out the half and the opening drive of the second half is 14 plays. The Bills have the ball. 14 plays, 77 yards. Josh Allen throws an interception in the end zone. Not good. Falcons and Patriots not nearly as bad. In fact, in both the the Patriots and Falcons game, the Bills scored a touchdown in the opening possession of the second half and you could point to the first the other side of that and you know, Josh throws a pick right before the half against the Falcons and then the the Bills actually give up a field goal drive to the Patriots. A it’s a three to three game and the Patriots get the ball with 222 left in the second quarter. They go 11 play 69 yards get a field goal to go up six to3 at halftime. But the frustrating part of that is the Bills had them in first and 25. The Patriots had a face mask on first down. So they go to first and 25 and then they promptly complete a 22- yard pass to get right out of it. So yeah, there’s some issues on that. But definitely the Texans and Dolphins games were two great examples of the Bills not being able to win the middle eight. They’re not a very situationally they’re not a consistently situationally sound football operation. So, this is what happens. You’re going to be inconsistent. It’s unfortunate. All right, folks. That’s going to do it for us here today on the podcast. We’ll start getting ready for this Steelers game coming up. Primer crossover Thursday, final thoughts, all the things here ahead of this game. So, don’t miss anything. Make sure that you’re subscribed. Would love it if you took a second to rate, review, and share the podcast. Have a great rest of your day. Go Bills. I look forward to catching up with you again real soon.
Buffalo Bills’ playoff hopes hang in the balance as offensive regression sparks concern across Bills Mafia. Is Joe Brady’s failure to evolve the scheme the fundamental cause behind Josh Allen’s struggles and the team’s woes against the blitz? Joe Marino breaks down the offensive line’s future, Keon Coleman’s benching, and why matchups like Texans vs. Bills now expose deeper system flaws.
Key discussions include the defense’s inability to stop the run, the critical roles of Terrell Bernard and Dorian Williams at linebacker, and eye-opening comparisons to the Houston Texans’ roster-building successes. Joe Marino also spotlights player development questions around James Cook’s limited pass blocking and the offensive line’s contract priorities. Can Sean McDermott and the front office make the right adjustments?
Visit https://www.thejoemarino.com/ for details on Substack, Subtext, Merch and more!
Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOBills?sid=Yo…
Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL
Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
Betterhelp
This episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Our listeners get 10% off their first month at https://BetterHelp.com/lockedon.
Rippling
Get Rippling FREE for 6 months. Terms and conditions apply. See site for details: https://app.rippling.com/legal/promoterms
Supply House
Join the free TradeMaster program today and score serious perks like priority shipping, lower prices, and a dedicated support line. Visit https://SupplyHouse.com to sign up for free and use promo code SHNFL5 for 5% off your first order.
Peloton
Let yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com.
PrizePicks
Download the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.
Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL
Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.
FanDuel
Right now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app.
FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)
28 comments
I woke up this morning to brush my teeth and shave and get ready for the day and a new Locked on bills episode hasn’t dropped yet I felt like I missed talking w one of my best friends about one of my favorite topics 🤣 this every dayer stuff truly is a habit for me
i think McDermott and Beane need to go.. 7 years is enough.. drafting Coleman was the last straw … without Josh this is a 7-10 team.. not good enough.. no more defensive coordinators for head coach
Watching you, Joe, here now it"s Tuesday 8am Philippines Bills Mafia moments. Beat àaronRogers Pride n Pittsburgh, BUT JUST BEAT dProudBoys Pats b4 we make d Playoffs. Go Bills!
Joe, I didn’t know Isaiah Bond was actively playing. He signed with the Browns in August? Did the Bills even try?talk to him? I get it. The case situation. But I also see how the Chiefs has their guy at punter. And the Bills don’t. The Browns have the WR of interest to the Bills.
One more comment on those 4 losses to back and study the middle 8- it would be interesting to hear the stats on those vs our wins this year
Fire Brandon beane. Coleman would have been picked in fourth round. And Klair Elam was a miss. The chiefs are rooting for beane to stay in Buffalo so they can steal away bills draft picks
I don't see us winning three road playoffs games man.
For those in the comments I’m being honest but kinda trolling lmfao!! Say we fire Sean and BEANE!! All we are gonna do is hire someone with ties to Carolina or old Buffalo players!!
I think they need an offensive head coach. Simple as, but that won't change, so I try not to dwell on it.
He's just out there calling plays. No tendency breakers. No creative ways to scheme guys open. No zone beaters
It’s just like a Dorsey O ….
And what happened to him … same should happen to Brady …
But bottom line is Turnovers did them in so far this year …
Brady is as good as gone IMO. We all know McDermott loves having a scapegoat so no one looks at him.
The offensive decisions on plays are a combination of The OC call and the QB audible capability …. Problem with Dorsey and Brady has Allen as a constant .. I said although Allen is so physically fit as a QB … he is not proficient in reading Defenses….
Allen also looks jittery.. flees the pocket too early … his body language shows a not a confident QB…..
I like u mentioned seen same plays last year…. In other words predictable … mentions many times … my grandma can tell u what play is coming …
Team speed has slowed with the bills …
These ugly games also happened with Dabill … Jags , colts blowout , pats wind game … so common factor ..with Dabil , Dorsey and Brady ? …. Allen … bills lose when Allen has these multiple turnover games .. doesn’t see open receivers, and being inaccurate ..
Dead on analysis
Texans are fast ….
Coach Brady needs an experienced coach for advice as a mentor or another set of eyes. He cannot adjust. Coach McDermott has been a resource for Babich, but he is a defensive mind. This is not Coach McDermotts fault at all. Brady very vanilla
Roussseau proves he’s not a pass rusher.. move him to tackle..
Exactly right, we beat the Dolphins in the first game, but all we talk about is the Dolphins scored over 30 points and won the second game.
Football is very nuanced, and being a good OC or DC requires MANY years of experience in order to make in-game adjustments. Comming up with creative plays and a good game plan is not enough. The OC needs to be able to adjust to what he is seeing on the field in real time. It is like Brady can't get off of his game plan during a game. Brady does not have enough experience to be a comprehensive Offensive Coordinator!
Everyone needs to come back down to reality. Josh Allen has had a terrible season. He’s being paid $55 million and his turnovers are egregious. He needs to play smarter and more disciplined in order to win.
Joe Brady may be too blame for consistency issues but the players haven't played nearly good enough we just don't have the players like Houston or Baltimore or other teams who have been good year in and year out
If don't have the players you can't really do to much it's just Josh and Cook
If I can predict the first offensive play of the next game, Brady sucks. Cook run up the middle.