GunnerBill
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Posts posted by GunnerBill
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21 hours ago, Pete said:
How did Ed end up in a walking boot during a walk through day? He must of rolled an ankle is my guess
He didn't. He got hurt Wednesday.
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14 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:
I think the only time you should play more conservative on offense is once you have a 3 possession lead and the game starts to get below 8 minutes and you have the ball. Let's say you have the ball at your own 30 and there's 8 minutes flat left in the game and you are up 17. Running the ball a couple of times to try and kill some clock and take 90 seconds off allows you to ensure there's only 2 possessions left for the offense most likely. Then on third down depending on the distance you can either run it again and take another 40 seconds off or throw in a 3rd and medium/long situation and even if there is an incompletion you still took some time off to shorten the game.
I think with a 2 score lead the grinding of the clock probably shouldn't occur until you are hitting about 5 minutes left in the game. As if you are up 10 with 5 minutes left and you run the ball twice you either eat up two timeouts or you press the clock down to 3.5 minutes left and you make it very tight for there to be 2 possessions left for the opponent.
"Garbage Time" in the NFL does not exist for the vast majority of the game. Yeah if you get up 4 scores and have the ball with a quarter left yeah maybe grind the clock then but for most of the game you have to build a lead unless you get to a ridiculous 5+ possession lead.
I honestly think it is one of the areas of NFL game management that is still under appreciated by teams. There are well established principles most employ inside 4 minutes and inside 2 minutes. But basically in a game that isn't a blow out the whole 4th Quarter should be about playing the clock as much as the opponent and you just rarely see teams really start to think that way until much later. Being up two scores and snapping the ball with 20 seconds left. Or being down two scores and still regularly having the clock get inside 5 seconds. I am surprised analytics hasn't yet made teams smarter in those situations
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4 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:
I remember the Bills losing a lot of games by big margins during the drought. Yeah they choked some games here or there like any NFL team does but I remember more often than not they would just be outclassed by good teams.
By the top teams, yea. But they used to lose 2 or 3 games every year to the league's middle class in stupid ways. In a number of seasons win those games the drought ends sooner.
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10 minutes ago, May Day 10 said:
This is an interesting point that never occurred to me.
I wonder if the response is with 15 seconds left, let Allen drop way back, roll out, and sail one out of bounds, taking 6 seconds or so.
Then full play clock for the fg.
You gotta be careful not to get an intentional grounding penalty. It is doable but that would be the risk you run and I think that comes with a 10 second run off. (Well that and if a defender breaks free right away and gets to him a sack ends the game).
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Al sounds so damn bored on TNF
8 hours ago, RiotAct said:Fox has a “G” team? 😂
If it's Millen I'm here for it...... his "you can't even fart on a Quarterback these days" from Bills - Dolphins a few years ago is a thing of legend.
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Friday morning thoughts:
- for two of the better teams in the NFC that was an ugly game. Some of that may have been the usual TNF roughness but I think the offensive lines on both sides being down to backups in key spot was part of it too. Neither side protected well.
- I know the Commanders want to feature McLaurin and Deebo but it was only when they started to get Zach Ertz involved second half that the offense got off the canvas. He remains a critical piece to them.
- if Jayden Daniels is gonna avoid a CJ Stroud esque sophomore slump he just needs to focus back in on his fundamentals. I am sure the protection issues play a part but both his footwork and his throwing motion looked a little loose to me in that game.
- Green Bay last season were a team that can throw waves of pass rushers and pass catchers at you but didn't have a lead dog in either yard. They unquestionably do now in the pass rushing area with Micah Parsons and they drafted Matthew Golden to be that in the pass catching coprs, but he seems to be being used for gimmick plays and deep shots right now and it might be more of a work in progress for him to emerge as a true #1 receiver.
- the stat at the end of that game on Jordan Love tells you how important getting the offensive line healthy is for Green Bay. Through two games he only has four incompletions when not pressured. With time he can be devestating. His decision making under pressure is the thing that is holding him back from really breaking into the upper echelon of NFL passers.
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21 minutes ago, boyst said:
I agree with this, I guess. The Steelers have a special place for abilities in the regular season. As good as some of the best teams, at times.
Wrt the ravens, i don't say we are better than them. We beat them but we are both equal right now. Play that game 3 more times we may win 2 of the bouts.
I agree.
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1 minute ago, HappyDays said:
Sigh... what is going on with this team.
That is seriously bad news.
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10 minutes ago, Pine Barrens Mafia said:
The Bengals?
I fear that team not at all
I don't think they can win a Superbowl, but on their day Burrow and his receivers and tight ends get hot? Yea they could knock off a top team IMO.
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2 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:
Pretty good list. I would move the Lions up a tier. They just couldn't match the Packers insane energy at home and the two new coordinators struggled. I think they'll get much better as the year progresses. I think the Packers could be in that top tier but I need Love to have more consistency before they're in it.
Yea agree with both of those. It could be recency bias holding the Lions down. And Love at his best the Packers can win the Lombardi. Agree he isn't quite as consistent as the top guys tho.
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2 minutes ago, BillsVet said:
When you continually revamp defensive personnel and that unit falters in critical moments, then their governing philosophy is up for criticism. More now than any other season based on significant DL and a fair amount of secondary investment. This while wanting a run-pass balance to wear teams down on offense.
There's little margin for error, and when it doesn't work then they need hero ball from Josh. He's mostly been up to the task, but when his low-moderate receiving talent aren't you get the AFC CG last year. Or, the Week 1 game against Baltimore.
For sure. But every season is a referendum on the approach every team has taken. That's the sport. You build your roster in March and April. You find out whether it worked between September and February.
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1 minute ago, boyst said:
This has me thinking. Well, many things do from the game this week.
We just beat the best or second best team in the league; debatable sure. Both the top two best other teams are on our schedule. So are 5 of the top 7 KC, Cincinnati are there, and I go on a limb but TB is up there.
Pittsburgh is a top 10 team, too.
Ok, with that said, what do we have to do in order to verify our win against the Ravens and show we are the best team?
I don't think we need a blowout or rout. I will take a 10 to victory with a total points under 50
I don't think the Steelers are a top 10 team personally. They are not an easy out for anyone, sure. But I don't think they are a top 10 team.
Top ten:
Tier 1
1. Eagles;
2. Bills (with the tiebreaker)
3. Ravens
4. Chiefs (here until they are not)
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Tier 2 (these are the teams I think are a longer shot for a Lombardi but I could imagine beating one of the Tier 1 teams in a playoff game)
5. Chargers
6. Packers
7. Commanders
8. Bengals
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Tier 3
9. Buccaneers
10. Lions (I think they have too much talent to flatline all season though they have clearly taken a step back)
11. Vikings (if McCarthy is it this is arguably too low)
12. Broncos
4 minutes ago, balln said:isn’t it interesting that he has more impact and rated so high (obviously bc of his unicorn blocking talent- but Josh Allen is his qb) than all of the first 4 picks that were all on D combined?
In fairness two of those four didn't play.... though Jackson was a healthy scratch so you can certainly consider that a fail.
Most of Hawes impressiveness was in blocking though. Which is not Josh centric. He is just a v good blocker.
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9 minutes ago, Logic said:
Breece Hall goes over the century mark and Justin Fields rips off some chunk runs.
Sean McDermott's defense forces some passing errors from Fields, who finishes with two interceptions.
Josh Allen feasts against the Jets pass defense.
Bills win 27-16Yea I think the Bills will have a couple of picks Sunday. I can see it as one of those games where they give up more yards than any of us want but manage to force some turnover and keep the Jets to 20 or under and win by two scores.
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4 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:
I am in the middle on this argument. I think @HappyDays is right that they need a dominant 1 tech if they want to play base nickel with 2 less-than-physical LB's. It was different when they had 250# 1st round pick Tremaine Edmunds, having to sacrifice pass rush to protect that no-play-making SOB was a ridiculous state of affairs. Bernard NEEDS protection. That MF'er is a turnover magnet and you need those kind of players opposite a high powered offense. Bernard also might be their best pass rusher(aside from Ed if he plays like this) and you can't use Bernard on the blitz if you can't control the middle of the LOS.
And I do somewhat excuse the LB's and safeties some for being in preseason form because they basically didn't play behind this line in game action until Sunday and the Ravens clearly put a lot of thought into this game plan. The Bills were reacting. Whatever they might have drawn up they weren't able to get to it because Monken beat them to the punch. That said, the huge, untouched run gains by the Ravens weren't appreciably different than getting gashed by a few huge pass plays. So by late in the game the Bills defense was still fresh. Even Ed Oliver only played 35 snaps and it seemed like he was not coming off the field in the second half.
Oh I'm not saying they don't need a better 1 tech. I didn't like the Daquan contract when they did that before 2024 and it has played out exactly as I'd have predicted, overpaying for a declining talent. But whatever the reasons there is no excusing performances as bad as the linebackers and safeties put out there on Sunday and they are accountable for that. They were terrible.
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33 minutes ago, Einstein said:
I don’t think he checked out of a pass. I think it was a run and he changed the direction.
He called an alert to tell the OL that he was changing direction and then signaled to Cook behind his back.
I think it was a pass because he called the alert and THEN signalled behind his back to Cook the direction of the run. If it was just a run switched to the other side why would he need the second signal? Cook's not an idiot he heard the alert! I mean we don't know for certain my strong suspicion on that one was that it was a pass.
The screen on 3rd and 6 in the next series was obviously a pass but we don't know what kind of pass but he killed that and went to the screen (he also didn't throw that screen great Kincaid kinda had to come back to it).
I think the playcalling on those two series can take some heat, but not all the plays we ran were the plays we called.
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31 minutes ago, BillsVet said:
That may be. Still doesn't remove the larger point that this season is a referendum on the HC, GM, and their philosophy on how to win.
I mean, sure. Every season is in a way. There is more pressure on McDermott and Beane every year they don't win a Superbowl. Ultimately only one philosophy a year succeeds.
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5 minutes ago, Wayne Cubed said:
I do wonder if some of it is this pre season and how players now don't really have one. I agree with what you said about the 2nd level. The LBs and Safety's just looked slow to react or weren't reading the plays correctly. Rusty, I would call it. I thought for the most part the DL as a whole, outside of the rookies, did a decent job. And then Oliver obviously adjusted and took over.Yea - it's also worth saying that all three years he has been the starter Bernard has had a rough week 1. He struggled at the Jets his first start as the MLB in 2023 - missed some assignments that allowed Breece Hall to break off long ones, had a couple of big missed tackles vs the Cardinals in week one last year..... given the lack of pre-season snaps he feels like a guy who needs a game to get himself going.
It is also true what @HappyDays said that even when they are at their best not sure the Ravens is a game that necessarily plays to Milano and Bernard's strengths. But man they just gotta play better than they did on Sunday. They have to read it better, react better, make better decisions and execute their assignments.
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7 hours ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:
Tre’s injury is a groin too? You can’t make this stuff up! That has to be a record breaking number of groin injuries!Last year was the year of the wrist. This is the year of the groin!
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2 hours ago, Herc11 said:
That first drive was beautiful. The pass was working mixed with run. I know it's scripted plays, but then Brady crapped the bed on the next two possessions and allowed the Ravens to jump out on top. Really hope Brady looks at the play calling that stalled those drives and makes some adjustments.
On both of the next two possessions Josh checked out of plays into a run up the middle and a screen. Now who knows what those calls were originally (pretty sure the first on 2nd and 1 was a pass) but wjen people are criticising conservative play calling they need to take that into account.
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11 hours ago, DabillsDaBillsDaBills said:
Going back to the AFCCG we've now failed 5 consecutive 2 point conversions. Pretty insane with Josh Allen as QB
We really need to figure something out on short yardage, have to have it, type plays
Not a defense of the Bills but the success rate on 2 pointers across the NFL has plummeted. It was the lowest for 15 years last year. I always said as more teams go for them the math would change on how likely you are to get them.
On the Bills they need to freshen up their list of 2 plays. I feel like we have seen that little flare motion they tried on the second one with Cook multiple times and teams are alive to it now.
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7 hours ago, HappyDays said:
Those players you mentioned haven't had issues with run fits before though. Certainly not to the disastrous level they did on Sunday. Milano has always been an elite cerebral player and it's not like he was getting beat up physically, he was overrunning his gaps or getting to his landmarks late. At a certain point the coaches have to be accountable for every single 2nd and 3rd level player having a worst game of their career type of performance. Getting beat by their cadence for example falls on coaching IMO. Week 1 you expect some rust but one team looked extremely prepared and one team looked like day one install of training camp.
FWIW I chalk most of that up to Babich more than McDermott. McDermott hired him so he owns the final responsibility, but still Babich has to have his guys better prepared than that. As a head coach managing the game I thought McDermott was as good as I've ever seen him.
I disagree that the Bills were not ready to play. Indeed on the Ravens first drive I think they fitted things up pretty nicely. It was after that the wheels came off. Sure, Baltimore's cadance and quick snaps caught us in a bind in some spots - that is true. Could there have been adjustments there? Sure.
But the disastrous play of the 2nd and 3rd level is on the players. They have to be accountable.
I am not a big Bobby Babich fan but I cannot really put this on him. As I said before, especially first half, I think he was guilty of trying to do a bit too nuch with some of the calls and personnel packages and that is on him. But the stuff the Bills were getting wrong routinely on Sunday night is not stuff experienced players like Milano, Bernard and Rapp especially should be getting wrong. Coaches coach, but players have to play. And those three played dreadfully.
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2 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:
Is that a common sense error? Do defensive players usually abandon their assignments? Serious question.
When it is already obvious at the snap that their assignment is blown? Yes. It's the equivalent of a Quarterback throwing the ball into the dirt when the screen he was hoping to throw is blown up immediately.
I guarantee when they reviewed the film on Monday his coaches weren't saying "atta boy Cole you played your assignment" they were saying "you are in the pros now you have to be mentally capable of using judgment and adjusting on the fly."
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2 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:
So they can all make it up as they go?
Look, I dont disagree. But we dont know. It didnt look like much of the defense was prepared for the obvious things the Ravens were throwing at them, so my questioning starts to go above the players.
I can't absolve a player for such a just basic common sense error. I'm sorry. Coaches coach. But players have to play. That are not inanimate chess pieces.... though come to think of it a pawn and a rook would be an upgrade on the Bills current safeties.
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34 minutes ago, HappyDays said:
I didn't like that extension either. But to be fair to Bernard, Baltimore is the worst matchup for his skillset. He is not built to take on 400 lb pulling guards. His pass coverage is where I need to see improvement from last year to make that extension worth it.
The more all-22 footage I've seen the more I blame (1) coaching because our players were not remotely prepared to play, and (2) Daquan Jones who is the only legit 1T on our roster and he couldn't shed a run block to save his life. We put Oliver at nose a few times and even he was more effective at that spot than DQ. We've built a small 2nd level which means we need the front to keep them clean... not give up wide open gaps with room for the RB and his pulling OL to escort him. The 2nd and 3rd level definitely misplayed a lot of their assignments but they were not put in favorable positions either. The way to beat Henry is make him hesitate just a bit in the backfield which requires penetration from the front. If he can just accelerate without breaking momentum that is a tough ask for almost any LB or safety.
I actually disagree very strongly. The more I watch the all22 the more convinced I am that the linebackers and the safetys were the primary reason for the defensive failure.
I caught Joe Marino's bit on WGR he said that same.
I don't think it was primarily coaching (though I do think Babich is continually trying to "do too much" in these games.... some bear front, some base defense, too many blitzes which Lamar killed) it was primarily a more basic inability to gst basic run fits right. Bernard was dreadful, Rapp was worse. Milano was almost as bad. Williams was all over the place and Bishop still looks tentative and late on most plays.
It isn't so much about tackling Henry in space. I agree that is darn hard. It is about basic gap discipline and run fits. And the linebackers and safeties sucked at it on Sunday.
2 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:Is that what he's coached to do? Are you sure? Could very well be theyve been told to run their assignments and do their 1/11th no matter what. Otherwise, you have some guys running 1 play, and others running another. Who knows? Someone should ask Babich.
I don't know what he has been coached but he should not have followed through with that blitz. No way. That is just bad football. Players have to be accountable.
Ed Oliver in walking boot..per Matt Parrino
in The Stadium Wall
Posted
Think reporters are describing as multiple weeks.