2003Contenders
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Posts posted by 2003Contenders
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8 hours ago, The Red King said:
In general, it may seem a lateral move. But Brady's stuck with Dorsey's system this season. The biggest change I've noticed is that Brady actually makes adjustments, while Dorsey would keep shotgun-drawing into a brick wall.
Also, I think a huge difference is in demeanor and the way the respective coaches' have handled the players.
I always attributed Josh's being "dialed back" under Dorsey to mandates from McD about not putting the ball in harm's way, etc. Same with Cook's benching for the first half of the Denver game because of the fumble on the first offensive play of the game. However, in the Jets game (Brady's first game as OC) we hear Josh exclaim, "I'm back!" -- and in all the games since it really does seem like Josh has been playing like his old self (both the good and the bad, as we saw in the Miami game). Also a couple of weeks back, the broadcasters alluded to a comment from Cook regarding Brady: Cook said was relieved not to have been "disciplined" after dropping that potential TD pass against Philly. Same thing Sunday night, even after dropping the TD pass against Miami, Brady showed faith in going back to Cook. By implication, it would seem that benching Cook in the Denver game was Dorsey's doing, not McD's.
It just seems like under Dorsey, the players were possibly over-coached to the point of worrying too much about making mistakes -- whereas under Brady they have been much more loose and comfortable.
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Davis does many things well -- he is physical in the run game (remember, he received a game ball in the Dallas game even though he did not catch a pass). I just wish he was more reliable in terms of his route running and pass catching.
I actually do hope that he is healthy enough to play against Pittsburgh -- because, due to the bad weather and Pittsburgh's tough defense, Davis would definitely make a big impact in a ball-control offense sort of day.
Speaking of Pittsburgh, for years I have thought that what the Bills REALLY need is a clone of Hines Ward. A guy who is physical and can do all those things that Davis does do well -- but at the same time has great hands and runs precise routes.
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He should be a big target for Josh on Sunday considering the weather and the fact that the Steelers' weakness on defense is with their LBs.
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14 minutes ago, PaattMaann said:
Banged Up Bills posted video of Gabes injury. Most likely a knee contusion with swelling from falling directly onto it in the endzone. Better than anything else that could happen with the knee.
For all the righteous indignation about how poorly Gabe has been playing -- he DID have a career game the last time we played against Pittsburgh.
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This team is battle-tested and has a 4-1 record against playoff teams with the only loss coming with the aid of horrific officiating against Philly.
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By far and large O'Cyrus has played well this season. He may be hitting a bit of a "rookie wall", but I believe that it is best to let him work through it. For as much as I have historically complained about the OL and the front office not investing enough into it, I will say that I have been happily surprised by just how effective (and healthy) they have been this year. Even Spencer Brown is rounding into shape finally -- and I thought he played a pretty good game last night. Even for that series or two when Dawkins was getting his hand attended to, Van Demark filled in seemingly without issue.
For the most part, Josh had plenty of time in the pocket last night. Other than the sack/strip/FR by Wilkins, where O'Cyrus was soundly beaten (by a top tier DT), Josh was only primarily pressured when Miami went all-out with the blitz.
I will say that the last few games, defenses have done a good job with stunts and bringing extra rushers up the middle, which DCs have discovered makes Josh more mortal. The entire interior of the line (beginning with Morse) needs to do a better job communicating and setting the necessary protections. And, Josh needs to do a better job recognizing when the pressure is coming too -- and better protect the ball. That is especially important with a high-pressure team like Pittsburgh coming to town.
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Something that I just realized -- the Bills record over the last 2 seasons when Von is NOT on the field is exemplary.
Recall that he went down in the Detroit game last season -- and the Bills won every regular season game after that. This year he was inactive for the first four games -- and the only one of those games the Bills lost was the Jets game in which the defense played well -- and we lost because Josh was careless with the football. In fact, when Von was inserted this season (against the Jags) that is when our of our troubles began.
Interesting.
Not sure how much of this is coincidence, the surrounding players stepping it up knowing that he is out, changes to defense alignment, etc. He did have some key plays last season -- but has been mostly invisible this season.
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TEs historically have a pretty big learning curve because of the variety of things they are asked to do both in terms of protections as well as the passing game. It is a bit unfair to compare Kincaid to LaPorta given that LaPorta has had an out-of-this-world rookie season. All things considered, Kincaid has had a fine rookie season with 66 receptions for 589 yards.
His 66 receptions rank 8th in the league for TEs. He caught 81.48% of his targets, which ranks ahead of all the big-time TEs such as Engram(80%), McBride (78%), Likely (77.78%), Kelce (76.86%), Hockenson (74.8%), Andrews (73.77%), Goedert (73.42%), Kittle (72.22%), and LaPorta (71.68%). So he is doing a good job catching the ball. It's not his fault that the goons that design the plays for the Bills are not placing him in a position to be more productive (just 2 TDs).
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1 hour ago, The Wiz said:
MLJ on WGR right now. He can't say for sure yet but thinks Mostert, Waddle and Howard will be out.
Interesting... I was under the impression that Howard was almost definitely out, Waddle was 50/50 and Mostert was likely back, given that Mostert practiced in some capacity last week but was surprisingly scratched. I wonder if Mostert aggravated something in practice -- or if Miami's McD was playing games with the injury designations. Maybe he is doing the same this week.
Honestly, if Miami is truly limited at so many positions (including a nicked Tua), I wonder if they would be best served to rest guys knowing that they are at least assured a playoff spot? Yes, they would certainly rather play at home than on the road in the playoffs -- but I also think they would rather be as close to healthy as possible and not risk further injury to guys who are already banged up.
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It is hard to look at stats overall, because each game presents its own unique situation.
I think we can all agree that the offense looked much improved in Brady's first two games as OC against the Jets and Eagles.
Against the Chiefs, who sport a top-notch defense, the numbers were not as great but the offense still did enough to pull out the victory on the road in Arrowhead.
The Cowboys game was also hugely successful with Brady showing the adaptation to move toward a rushing attack that was tailor-made to thwart a Cowboys defense that was built to stop the pass. I suspect that the success of the rushing attack in that game may have given Brady a bit of an inflated view of just how good the offense really is at running the ball, given that they had nowhere near that sort of success against either the Chargers or the Pats.
Speaking of which...
The offense certainly regressed after the Dallas game -- but I do not think they were nearly as bad against the Chargers as we remember. Remember that 3 bad turnovers (including one on Special Teams) served to minimize the offensive output in that game.
The Pats game was another story entirely, as the offense looked as bad as it has all year long (with either Brady or Dorsey). Plenty of blame to go around here, as the play calling definitely left a lot to be desired -- but the OL did not do a great job, Josh missed on some key opportunities, and the receivers (running backs included) dropped some very catch-able passes.
Sometimes, though, you have to give credit where it is due -- and Bill Bellichick had a masterful game plan that his players executed excellently. You know that after those back-to-back games against Josh and the Bills back in 2021 (where the Bills did not punt a single time in either game), BB was up nights trying to figure out a defense that would thwart Josh. To an extent, he succeeded as the offense did not play nearly as well against the Patriots last year. And in 2 games this year, that defense gave Josh fits. The Pats figured out a way to make Josh uncomfortable -- and when he is uncomfortable, he s prone to making mistakes (and missing open receivers).
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13 hours ago, BigAl2526 said:
I would have set practices two hours later than usual and invited players to sleep in and stay up late. Hopefully, Josh bought tickets to the game for everybody in Firebaugh.
Not too worried about the time issue as the Bills have mostly played later games this season.
Jet-lag, however, could be a bit of concern. No need to start this game sluggishly and allow an overwhelmed team (with a new interim head coach) to build its confidence!
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When he was originally brought in, I am not sure that anyone on the Bills (or in the league) knew what to do with him. Was he a jumbo TE? Offensive tackle? Defensive lineman? Purely special teams? So it may not be that the coach in question was even an offensive line coach. May have been special teams -- or even a defensive coach.
I can't remember the full chronology of Peters' tenure here with the Bills. I do know that he played some special teams (blocked a punt, I recall) and some DT as well before he settled in at RT. I believe he became the starting RT in his 2nd season (2005?) and did so well that he signed a contract extension a year or so later (2006 or 2007). Then he was moved to LT -- and was unhappy that he was being paid like a RT, even though he had developed into an elite LT. That's when he had Parker started playing hardball... and was traded to Philly after the 2008 season.
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10 hours ago, Eastport bills said:
Sam Martin’s last punt was one of the most important plays of the game. The Bills were pushed back inside their 20 and his punt went out inside KCs 30. Now he’s been mediocre in other games but our coverage group have been inconsistent also. Hopefully we get games that we punt 2times or less.
Excellent point.
Remember also that Martin did a fantastic job pinning the Bucs deep inside their own territory repeatedly in a game that wound up going down to the wire.
I would also say that one of the myths about punters is to look at their average punt distance. A team whose offense is terrible punts from their own side of the field most often and relies on their punter to boom it 50+ yards -- whereas, a team with an offense that moves the ball (like the Bills) is usually relying on their punter to get more hang time and less distance.
Not saying that Martin couldn't do a better job in certain situations -- but I don't see him as near the liability that many others do, especially when the Bills typically punt so rarely.
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A few things for all the Chiefs fans and Reid/Mahomes apologists (in the fashion of the old ESPN series, "5 Reasons You Can't Blame the Refs for the Chiefs Losing to the Bills")...
1. The off-sides on Toney ABSOLUTELY was a penalty. It wasn't even close. It's not like his toe was across the line -- literally his whole body was across.
2. That penalty ABSOLUTELY could have been a reason for the outcome of the play. Let's not forget that it was Toney who caught the lateral and ran the ball in for a TD. I do not think it is crazy to believe that his illegal head-start played a role in his ability to complete that play.
3. It is not like the refs were trying to screw the Chiefs over after the result of the play. The flag came out immediately -- before Mahomes even threw the pass, before Kelce made the catch, before Kelce lateralled the ball to Toney, and before Toney ran into the endzone.
4. Furthermore, this was not the last play of the game/drive. The Chiefs still had 3 more plays to try to at least get a first down.
5. Even if the play stood, the Bills' offense would have had over a minute and all 3 timeouts to respond. I like their odds there with Josh Allen.
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1 hour ago, wjag said:
If I'm in Miami, that Jets game would be scaring the beejeebees out of me. Miami now have a patchwork offensive line having lost another key player last night. The Jets have as stout a Dline as there is in the game and their Defense plays rough and tumble. I would keep my eyes squarely on NY and not worry an iota about Dallas or Baltimore or Buffalo.
Yes. Miami is without their starting Center now -- and I would be worried about Tua's health against that stout Jets defense.
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26 minutes ago, FireChans said:
We barely had a starting corner on the roster and they had one with a first round grade.
Are you arguing they should have taken what they believed to be was a lesser player solely because they weren't a DB?
Actually, I get the opposite sense when it comes to McD. I think he prides himself on finding diamonds in the rough at the CB position and believes that he can coach them up. In a way he is right, as he has managed decent production from late-round and undrafted players. Benford was a day 3 pick in the same draft as Elam.
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10 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:
yup. see the point above from someone who actually watched the pre-game warmups. No way was Bass making a 62 yarder. No effing way.
Exactly. I am sure that McD also consulted with the ST coach and Bass to get an idea what the max would be. I am guessing they told him 50-55 yards, which is why the offense attempted a quick play with 5 seconds to go, which wasn't there. So the option with 1 second to go was a low percentage hail Mary or a kick that was beyond Bass' range (in yesterday's conditions), which was essentially 0%.
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I also believe that the complaining about the officiating after the game was a bit of damage control on the part of Reid and Mahomes that was concocted between Mahomes' outburst and the press conferences. Mahomes' frustration on the sidelines was directed at his teammates -- offensive line and Toney in particular -- rather than at the officials. During his tirade you can clearly read Mahomes lips to say, "Offensive line, what offensive line?" Reid would rather have them outwardly complain about the officiating than show the whole world the inner-team turmoil.
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What was the color combination they wore in the regular season games against KC the last 2 years?
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While this piece was definitely a hatchet job on Dunne's part (appears he didn't even attempt to seek out alternative viewpoints), there is still plenty here that corroborates what many of us have suspected regarding McD's over meddling.
Reminds me a bit of the Tom Coughin situation when he was with the Giants. Ultimately, some veterans went to him and voiced their frustrations. To his credit, Coughlin was open to their criticism and took some steps to get better. The Giants went onto win 2 super bowl under him. Wonder if something like that could happen here?
Maybe instead of player-only meetings, a few key vets could have a intervention meeting with McD?
Maybe Diggs tried to do that himself in the preseason and was sent home for his efforts?
Maybe something like that DID happen when Dorsey was fired as the offense under Brady has been more fluid and Josh has looked more like the old Josh. Or, maybe Brady and Josh sensing that McD is not going to fire a 2nd OC decided to "F McDermott -- let's do things our way!"
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24 minutes ago, Patrick Fitzryan said:
This has nothing to do with NYC producers disliking Allen because he plays in Buffalo.
Allen has always been treated poorly by the media because he had the audacity to be drafted ahead of Lamar Jackson, which idiots view as an act of overt racism. Kirk Cousins gets the same treatment because he unseated RG3. Let's be honest with what is happening here.
Yea, I don't know about your race angle. What I believe is that back when Josh was drafted back in 2018 many in the media predicted that he would be a bust. Now 5-6 years in, many of these pundits are still trying to die on that hill and grasping for any straw that indicates there is any teeth to their argument. Heck, we still have plenty posters here who applaud every negative play Josh makes because they still insist that the Bills drafted the wrong Josh.
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2 hours ago, Bleeding Bills Blue said:
Been a weird season. I don't think he wanted to lose on something stupid after a 60 yard field goal.. But thats his issue - playing not to lose.
And we still should have won - even with all of these factors. Penalties called and not called. Coaching mistakes. A turnover. 60 yard FG. etc.
Agreed -- and under ordinary circumstances I could understand the logic there. But that is McD's biggest failure as a coach -- not accounting for the situation at hand as it relates to the flow of the game. What he had to understand there was:
-- The team's failure rate in overtime during his tenure as head coach
-- The defense had allowed the Eagles to score at will on 4 out of 5 second half drives
-- The offense had played very well all game
I also think that at least trying to do something on offense in those last 20 seconds would have sent a message to his team that he had confidence in the offense to win the game right there.
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15 minutes ago, Beck Water said:
I'd like to throw out a thought.
-What Von Miller is alleged to have done is despicable, and if it's beyond a reasonable doubt he did it, he should not be in the building
-At this point, it's not beyond a reasonable doubt. It's not even clear that the evidence is enough to charge him with a crime
-If he's charged with a crime, for sure, he should not be on the field until the investigation completes. The NFL has a procedure for this, "Commissioner's Exempt List"
-If he's not, just maybe...the NFL's procedure of waiting to take action until an investigation takes place...is the 'benefit of doubt' standard we would all like to have applied to us?
Crazy Talk, I know.I'm not sure the "team can suspend him". On what basis at this point? They can make him inactive, and let him sit on the sideline in civvies, I guess.
Agreed.
That is why I suspect what the team will do until the smoke settles is "unofficially" place him on paid administrative leave. That is, the team will say that they realize that he he has more important things in his life to deal with right than football, and allow/urge him to do so.
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2 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:
Ok, lets! (I honestly have no idea how this is going to go as I type it out)
2019 - Ed Oliver. I don't see an Offensive player that was taken in the rest of the 1st round that I would take over Ed. Certainly no weapons. If we want to use the magic of hindsight and say we could have taken Deebo Samuel in the 1st, I don't think that is being reasonable with how everyone felt on draft day. Now, AJ Brown or Metcalf in the 2nd is a valid argument. I know there were posters here begging for DK in the 2nd. And we wouldnt have even needed to trade up like we did for Cody Ford. But we did make an offensive pick in the 2nd. (And we picked a guy who plays offense. badum tss)
2020 - 1st round pick, Diggs. So there's that. For Epenesa's pick, I guess there is JK Dobbins right after, but not too impressed there. Denzel Mims at WR? Yikes. Given AJE's emergence this year, seems like the right pick. Hope we can re-sign him.
2021 - Rousseau/Basham. I think we all know what round 2 should have been. It's imo Beane's biggest mistake to date. However, I don't see an offensive weapon or even contributor we should have picked over Rousseau. Even with the benefit of hindsight.
2022 - Elam. Reminiscent of 2021, Tyler Linderbaum was there, I was hoping for him, but alas... However, it's not like Linderbaum has been amazing, and I dont think he's much of a weapon. I do think with either him or Humphrey we win the Vikings game. And they would have helped us get out of Morse's contract earlier. But I dont think we missed anything to weaponize the offense. Breece Hall I guess. But a 1st round RB? Sure, anything is better than what Elam has been so far. But I still would have gone Defense here and picked Dax Hill instead.
edit: I typed this out all the way until my 2pm call started so didnt have any time to provide commentary. Looking back...
So, out of 8 possible picks across the first 2 rounds of these drafts, 3 went to Offense and 5 went to Defense. Only 1 year, 2020 2nd round, did Beane miss the opportunity to add a real weapon but did use that pick on Offense. He twice missed on drafting Morse's replacement, and both of those picks were major whiffs on Defense.
Honestly seems like the balance isnt tooo far off. It's more that those whiffs make it hurt worse. Ford, Basham, Elam instead of Brown, Humphrey, Hill/Hall.
Excellent summary!
While Beane is the one who officially makes each pick, like all teams in the NFL, the Bills operate under a consensus type process. Beane, the scouts and the coaches (yes, including McD) are all part of the equation. Beane and the scouts work with the coaching staff to understand what style of offense/defense they run and dig to find players that fit the respective style.
As a side note that is what makes the Elam pick all the more perplexing -- as the book on him coming out of college was that he was not a good fit for McD's defense. And Beane traded up for him to boot. Perhaps, as some have speculated, it really was a panic move after the run on CBs in the draft.
Von Miller report?
in The Stadium Wall
Posted
Add also that the Dolphins added new wrinkles with all of the misdirection on the running plays, and I think the DL was instructed to hang back a bit and not over-pursue.