Buffalo Bills Season's End: The Off-Seasons Starts Now

[Jim Bob]

Tyler Dunne posted a massive hit piece on McDermott this morning. It's mostly behind a pay wall, but it looks like he basically got 25 anonymous sources to talk shit about him. Should be a fun couple of days.

The McDermott Problem, Part II: Lost in translation

“It’s like you make a good batch, but then he just adds a drop of poison in there and it makes the whole thing bad." There's a reason these Bills fail in the final seconds. Here's Part II.

www.golongtd.com

The McDermott Problem, Part III: Let Josh be Josh

“He wants to run through your face and establish the fact that he’s the biggest alpha male dog quarterback in the history of pro football." Buffalo needs to do what's right for its QB. Time's ticking.

www.golongtd.com

 

[KeyserSoze81]

Tyler Dunne posted a massive hit piece on McDermott this morning. It's mostly behind a pay wall, but it looks like he basically got 25 anonymous sources to talk shit about him. Should be a fun couple of days.

That's an exciting piece for someone who has wanted McDermott gone for some time. It is harping on his narcissism and lack of personal accountability while he points the finger at everyone else. He has shown it repeatedly, and its a fatal flaw for any leader.

We all know that he tightens up in critical moments, but he is unable and unwilling to self reflect, admit his mistakes, and relinquish control. It has and will continue to prevent him from improving to the level that is required.

The intent and drive is there to be a good coach, and he genuinely wants the best, but that will never be enough.

 

[buffalowing88]

I'm fine with moving on from McDermott but Tyler Dunne comes across as a bitchy mean girl whenever he comments on the Bills FO. The parts about Allen and McDermott having a disconnect were super speculative, too.

 

[ValJamesDuex]

Frank Reich is going to coach the Bills next isn't he ?

 

[Zman5778]

Tyler Dunne posted a massive hit piece on McDermott this morning. It's mostly behind a pay wall, but it looks like he basically got 25 anonymous sources to talk shit about him. Should be a fun couple of days.

I'm fine with moving on from McDermott but Tyler Dunne comes across as a bitchy mean girl whenever he comments on the Bills FO. The parts about Allen and McDermott having a disconnect were super speculative, too.

I mean, this bit from the un-paywalled stuff kind of sums it up for me:

While Go Long is based in Western New York, the Bills are one of the few teams that have chosen to deny us credentials and, hey, that’s fine. That’s their prerogative. We were told a while back to grab quotes from press conferences online for stories. Of course, that’s a disservice to you. So, in the interest of covering this team to the best of our ability, we’ve brought you the “Isaiah McKenzie Show,” connected with many Bills players independently for longform profiles and, now, it’s time to sift through the rubble to figure out why everything’s going south.

I'm sure what's behind the paywall is completely neutral. And I'm sure they didn't ask their anonymous sources any leading questions at all.

 

[zenthusiast]

you either believe the guy has professional integrity or you don’t

It’s likelier to me that he does

 

[Jim Bob]

I'm fine with moving on from McDermott but Tyler Dunne comes across as a bitchy mean girl whenever he comments on the Bills FO. The parts about Allen and McDermott having a disconnect were super speculative, too.

It's almost like his work partner was fired by the current regime at OBD...

 

[misterchainsaw]

Nothing like actively trying to create a distraction 3 days before the most important game of the season so far.

This is offseason crap at best.

 

[zenthusiast]

It's almost like his work partner was fired by the current regime at OBD...

That’s Nate advocating for the accuracy of the piece

 

[Dirty Dog]

It reads as extremely biased. Extremely and unprofessionally so.

It isn’t a journalistic piece, it is a rant from the writer with anonymous sources sprinkled in. If he wanted to make an actual piece based on the sources, he could have done so and did not. Says all you need to know

 

[zenthusiast]

It reads as extremely biased. Extremely and unprofessionally so.

It isn’t a journalistic piece, it is a rant from the writer with anonymous sources sprinkled in. If he wanted to make an actual piece based on the sources, he could have done so and did not. Says all you need to know

It may not be to your taste but there’s nothing unprofessional about the publicly available stuff unless it’s fabricated, in which case obviously drum this guy out of the Internet. I doubt that it is.

However I’ve now decided I’m fully on team McDermott:


At St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, N.Y., McDermott’s morning address began innocently enough. He told the entire team they needed to come together. But then, sources on-hand say, he used a strange model: the terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001. He cited the hijackers as a group of people who were all able to get on the same page to orchestrate attacks to perfection. One by one, McDermott started asking specific players in the room questions. “What tactics do you think they used to come together?” A young player tried to methodically answer. “What do you think their biggest obstacle was?” A veteran answered, “TSA,” which mercifully lightened the mood.

 

[Dirty Dog]

It may not be to your taste but there’s nothing unprofessional about the publicly available stuff unless it’s fabricated, in which case obviously drum this guy out of the Internet. I doubt that it is.

What’s unprofessional, in my opinion, is that it is an opinion piece under the guise of something else. it has paragraphs of opinions from the writer.

What’s more unprofessional is how biased of an opinion piece it is. It mischaracterizes information to fit his narrative.

What’s even more unprofessional is how insulting it is. And by that I mean literal insults at McDermott coming from the writer.


And second thought, what isnt unprofessional about this piece?

 

[zenthusiast]

What’s unprofessional, in my opinion, is that it is an opinion piece under the guise of something else. it has paragraphs of opinions from the writer.

What’s more unprofessional is how biased of an opinion piece it is. It mischaracterizes information to fit his narrative.

What’s even more unprofessional is how insulting it is. And by that I mean literal insults at McDermott coming from the writer.


And second thought, what isnt unprofessional about this piece?

This is what long-form journalism is, more so than just an extended wire service piece. I don’t expect you’ll find any journalists objecting to the substance because it’s fully appropriate to center this sort of thing with clarifying argument.

If you want to dismiss the entire style, that’s your business, but it’s not unprofessional with respect to journalistic standards. If the “insults” are true and reflective of the sources’ information, it’s malfeasance to soft-pedal the narrative

 

[zenthusiast]

In fact I expect you won’t even see the in-house good soldier reporters comment on this at all, because the only scenario where that goes well is if Dunne is fabricating. If he isn’t, players will probably be told to dodge and give general positive responses rather than refute.

 

[misterchainsaw]

In fact I expect you won’t even see the in-house good soldier reporters comment on this at all, because the only scenario where that goes well is if Dunne is fabricating. If he isn’t, players will probably be told to dodge and give general positive responses rather than refute.

The players aren't going to give this the time of day. They have a game to prepare for.

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[zenthusiast]

The players aren't going to give this the time of day. They have a game to prepare for.

They’re clearly going to be asked about it after practice and during general media availability.

 

[zenthusiast]

He’s not going to leave unless they get serious sanctions, and the NCAA is too chickenshit to do that to a real program

 

[Jim Bob]

This is what long-form journalism is, more so than just an extended wire service piece. I don’t expect you’ll find any journalists objecting to the substance because it’s fully appropriate to center this sort of thing with clarifying argument.

If you want to dismiss the entire style, that’s your business, but it’s not unprofessional with respect to journalistic standards. If the “insults” are true and reflective of the sources’ information, it’s malfeasance to soft-pedal the narrative

The responses I have seen from journalists so far seem to fall along the lines of whether a journalist tends to have a high view or a low view of McD prior to today.

Like so many things in our world today, the reaction seems to be based more on pre-conceived beliefs than a neutral reaction to the content of the piece.

He’s not going to leave unless they get serious sanctions, and the NCAA is too chickenshit to do that to a real program

Harbaugh has been suspended for 6 games this season. 3 from NCAA issues and 3 from the Big 10.

I doubt they will be afraid to do anything bigger if Michigan keeps playing loose with the rules.

 

[zenthusiast]

The responses I have seen from journalists so far seem to fall along the lines of whether a journalist tends to have a high view or a low view of McD prior to today.

Like so many things in our world today, the reaction seems to be based more on pre-conceived beliefs than a neutral reaction to the content of the piece.


Harbaugh has been suspended for 6 games this season. 3 from NCAA issues and 3 from the Big 10.

I doubt they will be afraid to do anything bigger if Michigan keeps playing loose with the rules.

I don’t really put much stock in the WGR guys (I think they just say whatever they have to in order to keep radio’s lights on) but outside of their positive reception, the only guy I’ve seen pumping the brakes is Thad Brown, who thinks the sources should be read with context rather than saying Dunne’s writing is the issue with the piece. Maybe we’ll see more from News guys as the day goes on.

Until the school actually gets wins stripped or bowl eligibility taken I think it’s mostly toothless. Maybe if they were a smaller school it’d have more bite

 

[buffa dud]

It's almost like his work partner was fired by the current regime at OBD...

Nate Geary needs to ask for a Hooked on Phonics book for Christmas, because that post was brutal.

 

[buffa dud]

Looks like the hit piece is making its rounds:

Feature says not everyone is comfortable with Sean McDermott, including a strange 9/11 reference he reportedly made

An feature on Sean McDermott was released and... it's interesting to say the least:

sports.yahoo.com

There are former Bills players who went on the record to say positive things about McDermott. It’s not all negative, but the oddest of parts notes how McDermott used a September 11th reference during a team meeting at one point which involved McDermott asking “What tactics do you think [the terrorists] used to come together?”

I had to laugh at this part. Do you honestly expect me to believe McDermott is asking is his team to model their behavior after terrorists? GTFO.

 

[yahhockey]

If it's an in-depth piece with that many sources he must have been working on it for a period of time. It isn't urgent that it be released today. It should have been released Monday to Sunday following the Eagles game. Being released on a Thursday before an important game, although at this point with their record every game is important, it's timed to be a distraction. Even if every word of it was factual it's still a troll job. McD should be scrutinized, his job should be in jeopardy, the premise is fine and he's not the first person to think McD may be an/the issue, but delivery counts and as far as I'm concerned he missed the mark. Maybe even a Monday news drop if they were to lose to the Chiefs or the following Monday if they were to lose to the Chiefs and Dallas thus ending their playoff hopes but releasing the story today is weak sauce.

On an unrelated note a sideline employee was injured during the Lions/Saints game. He has two torn ligaments, a fractured fibula and cartilage damage. His job on Sundays when the Saints are at home is to stand on the sideline and put the orange first down marker in place. I believe the flat orange piece that is placed on the ground with an arrow pointing towards the field in front of the chains, a triangle at the end of a rectangle if you prefer. He is paid $50 per game. I'm sure it's great to be that close to the field and many would line up to do it for free however it is still a job and his compensation for an important enough job to be on the field is ~$50 per game. I don't know, it just seems crazy. I don't what number would make me think it's fair or reasonable. It seems there is not a state minimum wage so their minimum wage is the federal $7.25.

Saints' injured sideline worker thanks team and Alvin Kamara for support

Nick Piazza's job on Sundays when the Saints are at home is to stand on the sideline and put the orange first down marker in place.

www.nbcsports.com

 

[KeyserSoze81]

If it's an in-depth piece with that many sources he must have been working on it for a period of time. It isn't urgent that it be released today. It should have been released Monday to Sunday following the Eagles game. Being released on a Thursday before an important game, although at this point with their record every game is important, it's timed to be a distraction. Even if every word of it was factual it's still a troll job. McD should be scrutinized, his job should be in jeopardy, the premise is fine and he's not the first person to think McD may be an/the issue, but delivery counts and as far as I'm concerned he missed the mark. Maybe even a Monday news drop if they were to lose to the Chiefs or the following Monday if they were to lose to the Chiefs and Dallas thus ending their playoff hopes but releasing the story today is weak sauce.

I think it is a perfect time to release it if he wants maximum exposure. The media spotlight is all over Buffalo - underperforming expectations, likely to miss playoffs, Von Miller's potential DV felony, and playing the darlings of the NFL in KC. It's a hit piece, but even if half of it is true, it's not a good look.

 

[buffalowing88]

If it's an in-depth piece with that many sources he must have been working on it for a period of time. It isn't urgent that it be released today. It should have been released Monday to Sunday following the Eagles game. Being released on a Thursday before an important game, although at this point with their record every game is important, it's timed to be a distraction. Even if every word of it was factual it's still a troll job. McD should be scrutinized, his job should be in jeopardy, the premise is fine and he's not the first person to think McD may be an/the issue, but delivery counts and as far as I'm concerned he missed the mark. Maybe even a Monday news drop if they were to lose to the Chiefs or the following Monday if they were to lose to the Chiefs and Dallas thus ending their playoff hopes but releasing the story today is weak sauce.

On an unrelated note a sideline employee was injured during the Lions/Saints game. He has two torn ligaments, a fractured fibula and cartilage damage. His job on Sundays when the Saints are at home is to stand on the sideline and put the orange first down marker in place. I believe the flat orange piece that is placed on the ground with an arrow pointing towards the field in front of the chains, a triangle at the end of a rectangle if you prefer. He is paid $50 per game. I'm sure it's great to be that close to the field and many would line up to do it for free however it is still a job and his compensation for an important enough job to be on the field is ~$50 per game. I don't know, it just seems crazy. I don't what number would make me think it's fair or reasonable. It seems there is not a state minimum wage so their minimum wage is the federal $7.25.

Saints' injured sideline worker thanks team and Alvin Kamara for support

Nick Piazza's job on Sundays when the Saints are at home is to stand on the sideline and put the orange first down marker in place.

www.nbcsports.com

Kamara signed a football and jersey for him? Jesus that really is the bare minimum. Guess the sideline guy is lucky Kamara and his buddies didn't stomp him out afterwards at least.