MarlinTheMagician

Tackling could have been better at times, but we did play way too soft in the first half. Burrow is a great talent, you have to get him off his spot and affect his throws, at least in third and long. We didn't in the first half.

As you say, they torched us. Sitting there in zone giving cushions when we had SEVEN third down opportunities to get a stop in the first half was absolutely maddening. Many of those were third and 5 or more - something Benford mentioned post-game. Have to take some shots on third and long. ESPECIALLY in slippery conditions, because those in the soft zone can't drive on the ball as fast. If we got off the field on a couple of those we might not have needed all the heroics in the second half. And IMHO, matching Benford on Chase the whole day was a mistake. Tee Higgins was too big and physical for Tre and Hairston - should have put Hairston on Chase and given him help. Great win, but I IMHO D scheme in the first half made it harder than it had to be.

Love Daquan, really like Walker. And, like Scuba Guy, swear I saw TJ Sanders make a play yesterday. Thought I got the number wrong!

Even better - Baylan active! 😬

You people have PTSD!! I am not trying to dredge up discussion of that game! (But perhaps I should have realized I would). I am saying, given our shorthanded defense, we need to really mix it up to generate some stops (because I think we are unlikely to get many if we sit in our base nickel). Giants were the best example I could think of where a D played outside its usual structure to throw-off a lethal offense.

Autographs from BOTH Jack Kemp and Butch Byrd, bros! More stuff than I should have, less than many. Tend to favor older stuff, maybe because I am getting - ah, shall we say, more experienced!

Agree! Sadly. But we can put some pretty good athletes out there in the look - Williams, Shaq, Milano - mix in Buffalo Joe or Cam depending on whether you want to be a little heavier or a little faster at that moment. I will die if we sit in our usual zone and its fish-in-barrel time again. As Teddy Roosevelt said (in substance) in "Man in the Arena" - Better to live greatly and fail than to never have lived at all!

I dig more than you know! I was there, but lived in New York at the time. For 20+ years my friends in New York, who were all Giants fans, sent me a Christmas card saying "Merry Christmas - I am so sorry I missed that kick." Signed: "Happy Holidays, Scott Norwood." Return address was always "The North Pole" - never did find out which of the miscreants was responsible.

Agree. Plus for a little guy Cam hits like a Mack truck!

Even though we could run with Thurman, they recognized Kelly could gash them with Lofton, Reed and Beebe. They decided - better Thurman average 7 or more a carry than be shot dead by the K-Gun. Giants used either a 2-5-4 or a 2-4-5 on many of the snaps. I feel we should be similarly creative, even if we don't use exactly what the Giants used against us or don't stay in the formations long. We need to mix it up, get Burrow off his spot once in a while, and manufacture pressure by sending different rushers from different angles of attack. In an average NFL game a defense gets 7-8 stops. I feel if we can get 5 stops, by turnover or punt, we win. I don't care how bad we look on the 5-6 possessions where we don't get a stop. We have to win on D sometimes, not all the times.

I think it is still too early to close the book on Keon, but the first several chapters have not been what we hoped. OP is right that folks had the same view of Moulds, so I will hold out hope into say week 4-5 of year 3. If we don't see it by then, we ain't gonna. Lack of professionalism to date is, however, a serious negative indicator.

Injuries negatively impacting team: Oliver, Brown, Dawkins, Hairston, Milano, Bernard, Bosa, Hoecht, Palmer, Dorian Strong, Shaq Thompson, Shakir Injuries that may have negatively impacted team (as we don't know how the players would have developed): Carter, Sanders, Jackson, Samuel, Hardman, Grable, I am sure this is not complete, but the point is - while it is true we had some injuries that may not have hurt us, it is abundantly clear that we had a ton of injuries that either did hurt us or may well have hurt us. The staff and players have done a good job navigating them. Ironically, I am the most optimistic I have been for this team since the Falcons/Dolphins losses. Seems the defense is gelling a bit and any offense with Josh Allen and James Cook gives the team more than a fair shot. In an AFC where two of the three pre-season favorites (Ravens, Chiefs) have materially worse records than the Bills, I say - why not us? Keep hope alive!!

Mix it up, run some 3-4 and send Dorian and Milano, sometimes one sometimes both, send corners sometimes, safety sometimes. Our standard get pressure with 4 and play zone plan - I just can't see it working. Burrow will pick us apart. I think you need to take chances to try to get 3-4 stops. If they score quickly rather than slowly on some of the other possessions, so what? We need to manufacture some stops, IMHO.

Can Slay get open as a WR?

Those are not bad stats either. On Defense: I think the points against is in part on the offense due to turnovers. Clean those up and the points against will improve. Whether the D to date is judged based on being eighth in yards or twelfth in points - both stats are describing a similar defense. If the defense can be a top 10 unit in both yards and points -- a true top 10 that passes the eye test -- we may be on to something. The comments about "which team shows up" being important I think are spot on - we need to be consistent on defense and fix the offensive mistakes and develop a passing philosophy that works given our limitations at WR (more to the backs, more to TEs - especially once Kincaid is back). Loved seeing Cook and Ty Johnson in the backfield at the same time. Defense seems to be coming together a bit.

Dude is now and has always been a bag - never understood the enthusiasm when we signed him. Best way to use him? Ball boy.

Was surprised to see FoxSports rankings based on yards after this week. We are 2nd in offense and 8th in defense?! It has not looked nearly that good to me under the "eye test", but if the D can really be a true top 10 unit and the offense can get it together - we could have something with that kind of balance. Lotta season left.

Agree pass D has not looked good on the whole. But with Poyer organizing the back-end (spelled by Hancock), Benford trending up, Bishop emerging, Milano recovering, and Max Hairston back I think it could be pretty decent (At least until we have to put all of them in the box to stop the run!)

Did you see Tre White try to tackle Washington (kind of)? Business decision! I don't blame Tre one bit, but I respect Bishop for taking him on. Defense maybe can be solidly mediocre, which might be enough if the offense gets it together.

Why not work him out? Keep signing guys until someone gets open!

From the TV view, seemed he was a force tonight. I like the combo of him and Shaq. Would love to hear what the view is after people break down the All-22, but I thought he looked quick, violent, and very additive to our defense tonight. Him and Shaq playing well together could be a difference maker for the D. Who would have thought our D would carry us in any games this year after the way they have played to date. Great showing tonight, won the game for us.

I wanted to like Brady, but I think he needs to go, and maybe right now. Things I did not like: 1. Overdoing the tush-push against KC in the playoffs; 2. Not giving help to the Oline against Houston, which was clearly being beaten by 4 rushers; 3. Not getting plays in timely for Josh to make adjustments; 4. Overdoing the lateral screen to Shakir/Dalton/Ty (worked for a while); 5. Getting too cute too often; 6. Not scheming the running backs into the passing game more consistently; 7. Running Cook 4x in a row in one series vs Houston; 8. Not scheming enough quick hitters where the ball comes out early when we are facing pressure. Our wide receivers are not good, but they were worse when Josh started in 2018. People got open. And if no WR is ever open, put two backs in the game and get them matched up on LBs, use TEs other than Kincaid more. There are answers, I believe, and it seems he is not finding them.

I have been critical of many of Beane's picks (Coleman and Elam especially), but one counterpoint - drafting last or near it for six straight years makes it hard to stay on top. The Texans got 50 draft picks for Watson, they should have some players.

They were bad, Brown hurt of course. But a quick separator would have helped a lot. We have no one that bails him out.

With Hoecht back, assuming he is healthy, I think our pass rush could be okay, but we have a hard time getting anybody behind the sticks because we can't stop the run. It is so annoying!