Dont Stop Billeiving
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Posts posted by Dont Stop Billeiving
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56 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:
Not surprised about White, he's having another excellent year so far.
Bryce Hall is legit, I was so certain we were going to draft him...the Jets got a good one. Now they just have to find 3 other NFL-level CBs and they're sorted!
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I don't know about you, but I couldn't let myself predict that we would beat the Chiefs until I saw it happen. Kansas City was the one big test that Sean McDermott and Josh Allen had yet to pass as they beat us in all phases twice last season. Then Beane went to work in the offseason drafting three enormous humans to help us match the physicality of the Chiefs at the LoS and bringing in Emmanuel Sanders to give us another weapon in the passing game. Star returned from his opt-out year faster and leaner while Dawson Knox aced all his tests at Tight End U. This team went into a hostile Arrowhead Stadium to fight the Chiefs, the refs, and the elements and came out the other side with an eighteen point victory. Allen put on a show, the defense proved it's for real (schedule be damned), and we played with an edge, leaving KC bruised and battered. It was just one game, but it feels like a turning point in the rivalry and a new chapter for this Bills team that just seems to keep heading onwards and upwards.
Looking ahead, the Bills are heading to the Music City to take on the Tennessee Titans. There was a lot of talk before the KC game that the Bills hadn't beaten anyone yet, but you could make a similar argument about the Titans. After their opener against Arizona in which they got dominated, Tennessee has played four games against opponents who have a combined four wins right now and they also generously gave the Jets their first win. Tennessee underwent a lot of change in the offseason, but the bones of this team remain the same. Derrick Henry is the focal point of the Titans offense while Ryan Tannehill has proven to be an efficient and steady-handed game manager. While the Titans have brought in some top end weapons in AJ Brown and Julio Jones, their offensive line has struggled and Tennessee lacks depth behind Brown and Jones at the skill positions. It's also worth mentioning that they lost Arthur Smith as their offensive coordinator/play caller and that seems to have had an effect on the offense in the early part of this season. On defense, Harold Landry, Bud Dupree, and Jeffrey Simmons are all studs, but the Titans back seven is likely one of the worst in football. Tennessee beat us last season with a very similar formula/game plan to what they have rolled out in 2021 so this is another revenge game and a test to see how much the Bills have improved year-over-year.
The Titans are getting healthier, but they must be among the league leaders for most injuries so far this season and most significantly, their top two wideouts are still battling injuries. AJ Brown played last week, but was on a snap count and isn't 100% yet and Julio Jones has missed the past two weeks. However, based on early Wednesday reports, it appears that Tennessee will have Jones and safety Amani Hooker back for this match up. Same as the previous weeks/seasons, I wanted to do an amateur deep dive/scouting session into Tennessee's last three games based on their game highlights (granted it's not the All-22 film but still nearly an hour of tape) and then list some keys/X-factors for our matchup this week. Anyways, hope you enjoy/find this useful:
***Offensive and Defensive Ranks are based on Football Outsiders' Defense-adjusted Value Over Average statistics***
https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/nfl/team-efficiency/2021
Sunday September 26th- Week 3 Home Win vs. Indianapolis (the Colts (current record: 1-4) have the 20th ranked offense, 23rd ranked defense, and 22nd ranked special teams) by a score of 25-16:
Ryan Tannehill (18/27 for 197 yards, 3 passing TDs, and 2 INT with 56 rushing yards)- Got sacked on his very first drop back by an untouched Bobby Okereke blitzing between the RG and RT, but soon after connected with Chester Rogers for their first score on a quick slant and then made an accurate throw for his second TD pass on a busted coverage. Hurt the Indy defense with his mobility, scrambling for 16 yards to convert a third down after the Colts lost contain and 25+ yards on an impressive second half run. Interestingly he didn't slide even after picking up the first down and took a hit. Missed AJ Brown long on a deep shot. Tannehill was leading a nice two minute drive before HT, but his WR popped the ball up in the air for an Indy INT, wasting their scoring chance. Tannehill threw an ugly INT into heavy traffic over the middle, hard to know what he was seeing on that play and it helped to set up the Colt's first TD. He threw his final TD on a nice wheel route by the RB in the final quarter. The Titans offensive line gave their best performance of the season, mostly providing the time for Tannehill to throw, allowing just the one early sack, and keeping DeForest Buckner quiet.
Titans Running Game- Derrick Henry (113 yards and 4.0 YPC) broke several arm tackles for a 20 yard run to set up a first-and-goal opportunity early in the game. Seemed to get his biggest gains running left behind Taylor Lewan and Roger Saffold and like he typically does, Henry seemed to wear down the defense with his physicality late in the contest. The Titans love to run that misdirection pitch play to him as it allows him to build up speed and attack the wide area of the field, something we have to watch out for and not get overaggressive. Henry also showed off his prowess in the screen game with a huge gain just before HT, trucking Darius Leonard in the process. Scored up the middle on a two point conversion. Jeremy McNichols (2 carries for 6 yards with 10 receiving yards and 1 TD) is Henry's primary back up with Darrynton Evans on IR and wasn't a factor running the ball, but did score through the air.
AJ Brown (0 catches for 0 yards)- Couldn't connect with Tannehill on his early targets and left the game injured.
Julio Jones (3 catches for 47 yards)- Still a physical and vertical threat. Made an outstanding grab to pick up a first down, high pointing the ball over his defender. Was injured in the second half and didn't return.
Chester Rogers (1 catch for 6 yards and 1 TD) and Nick Westbrook (4 catches for 53 yards and 1 TD)- Rogers beat his man to the inside for a short TD catch in the first quarter. Westbrook stepped up after the other WR injuries and scored his first TD of the season. He did lose a fumble in the red zone though.
Titans TEs- No real standouts in their TE room this season, Geoff Swaim (3 catches for 27 yards) was the best of the bunch on this day.
Titans Run Defense- Looked vulnerable to inside runs, allowing too many first downs up the middle and keeping the Colts offense on the field. Allowed Jonathan Taylor (64 yard and 6.4 YPC) to rip off a 20+ yard run through the left side without getting a glove on him. Nyheim Hines (25 yards, 4.2 YPC, and 1 TD) also scored on a 10 yard TD run to the left untouched. Indy probably didn't run as much as they would have liked given that they were playing from behind the entire game.
Titans Pass Defense- Did a really nice job of limiting Carson Wentz (19/37 for 194 yards, 0 passing TDs, and 0 INT with 0 rushing yards) and the Indy passing offense in this match up. It has to be noted that Wentz was not 100% healthy though and played pretty conservatively. Allowed Indy to gain 30-40 yards in under a minute and kick a FG as time expired in the first half. Dane Cruikshank blew up Jonathan Taylor on a perfectly timed blitz and forced a Wentz throw away on third down to kill an early drive. Denico Autry (one of my recent FA crushes) did the same a couple drives later, blowing past his man with a swim move and nearly sacking Wentz. Harold Landry and Ola Adeniyi combined for Tennessee's two sacks including one that forced a key Indy punt as they were starting to build momentum. Breon Borders made a nice play to break up a third down pass in the back of the end zone and force another Indy field goal.
Miscellaneous- Wentz missed a wide-open Michael Pittman in the end zone for the go-ahead score in the third quarter and the Colts wound up settling for a short FG instead, it felt like a turning point in the game. Mike Vrabel was pretty aggressive in this game, going for it on fourth down in the first half and then going for two after going up by 7 points to make it a 9 point (and importantly a two score) game. Tennessee lost the turnover battle 3-0, but still won this game which has to be an anomaly. Tennessee averaged 5.7 yards per play (they went 6/12 on third down) and committed 4 penalties for 24 yards.
Sunday October 3rd- Week 4 Away Loss vs. New JERSEY (the Jets (current record: 1-4) have the 32nd ranked offense, 21st ranked defense, and 7th ranked special teams) by a score of 27-24:
Ryan Tannehill (30/49 for 298 yards, 1 passing TD, and 0 INT with 9 rushing yards)- Was under pressure constantly, his available weapons let him down, and he lacked efficiency in the red zone, settling for field goals too often. Despite all of that, Tannehill nearly saved the Titans by leading a quick and efficient two minute drive to tie the game and force overtime. Tannehill hasn't been effective in the vertical passing game this season, but he threw a perfect deep ball to Reynolds that was dropped. Executed a nice QB sneak for a first down, he's an effective alternative on these short yardage plays where the defense probably expects Henry to get the rock. Was the victim of a high snap by Aaron Brewer (who was replacing the injured Ben Jones) that he did well to recover, but it was a loss of nearly 20 yards on third-and-1 from inside the Jets ten yard line, a huge missed opportunity. Similar to last week's game, Tannehill got pancaked by an opposing LB on their first drive. Unlike the last game, the Jets were able to keep up that amount of pressure throughout the game and ultimately sacked Tannehill SEVEN times. The Titans offensive line really struggled to pick up the blitzes and games the Jets ran, often giving defenders an open lane to Tannehill.
Titans Running Game- Henry (157 yards, 4.8 YPC, and 1 TD as well as 20 receiving yards) bounced an early carry to the right and down the sideline for 15 yards and broke another big gain through the left side of the line to set himself up for a goal line TD carry on the very next play. Henry also converted a key fourth down in OT to keep Tennessee alive. McNichols (1 carry for 11 yards as well as 8 catches for 74 yards) made some excellent plays as a receiving option, making a couple defenders miss and getting the first down on a third-and-21 play and hauling in a key catch on their game-tying drive at the end of regulation among the most significant.
AJ Brown and Julio Jones-both out injured in this game.
Josh Reynolds (6 catches for 59 yards)- #1 WR on paper for this offense without Brown and Jones. Made some routine grabs throughout the game, but no highlight worthy or significant plays. Dropped a perfect deep ball from Tannehill that would have been a 50+ yard gain and set the Titans up in the red zone.
Chester Rogers (5 catches for 63 yards) and Nick Westbrook (3 catches for 29 yards)- Struggled to gain separation from the Jets' man coverage. Rogers came alive late as he drew a huge DPI call that allowed the Titans drive to continue to tie the game at the end of regulation and then made multiple grabs in OT.
Titans TEs- MyCole Pruitt has some sneaky athleticism and had a nice catch-and-run on a TE screen for a first down, did a nice job faking like he was going to block and finished the play strong. He also caught a two point conversion on a crosser as he had a quick release off the LoS and gained a step on his defender.
Titans Run Defense- Again looked soft on runs up the middle at times and gave up a nice reverse play to Braxton Berrios as well, but ultimately played much better and did an effective job limiting the Jets running game (a combined 25 carries for 66 yards). Autry did a nice job of staying with Wilson on a QB bootleg-turned-run and stuffed him for a TFL in the red zone in OT.
Titans Pass Defense- Made a few splash plays, but overall they allowed Zach Wilson's (21/34 for 297 yards, 2 passing TDs, and 1 INT with -2 rushing yards) best performance of his young NFL career and his first win. The Titans secondary allowed several deep shots from Wilson as he escaped pressure and rolled out to the right (Josh Allen's been known to do this once or twice too!). Corey Davis (4 catches for 111 yards and 1 TD) was on a mission to show his old team what they lost and Jamison Crowder/Keenan Cole both had key grabs downfield. Landry made a quick read on a Jets screen play and blew past the blockers for an early TFL and got the Titans only sack of the game later on. Fulton capitalized on a miscommunication between Zach Wilson and former Titan Corey Davis to intercept the pass and return it to the Jets thirty yard line.
Miscellaneous- Vrabel went back to being conservative in this game, kicking multiple short FGs and punting the ball from the Jets 39 yard line at one point (albeit on a 4th-and 13). That approach was punished when Bullock missed the game-tying field goal attempt WIDE left in OT which cost Tennessee the win. Tennessee averaged 4.6 yards per play, went 5/19 on third down, and committed 8 penalties for 98 yards.
Sunday October 10th- Week 5 Away Win vs. Jacksonville (the Jaguars (current record: 0-5) have the 23rd ranked offense, 31st ranked defense, and 26th ranked special teams) by a score of 37-19:
Ryan Tannehill (14/22 for 197 yards, 1 passing TD, and 0 INT with 21 rushing yards)- A quiet enough performance against a bad Jaguars defense, but Tannehill didn't make any mistakes and managed the game. In all three games, it's worth noting that Tannehill's pretty adept at leading two minute drives and he did so again before HT, leading to a Bullock field goal. Tannehill picked up a third down on a well-executed RPO where he kept it and eluded a defender for the first down. He really needs to start sliding though, he takes too many unnecessary hits at the end of his runs for a veteran QB who should know better. The offensive line gave up 3 sacks and lost their best player in Roger Saffold partway through the game.
Titans Running Game- Henry (130 yards, 4.5 YPC, and 3 TDs) put on a show in his return to his hometown, plowing into the end zone for all 3 scores from inside the five/ten yard line. He's difficult to stop in that area of the field (getting interior pressure is probably the best way to prevent those and stop him before he can accelerate). McNichols had 35 combined yards on his limited touches.
AJ Brown (3 catches for 38 yards)- Had a couple grabs on crossing routes where he was able to pick up yards after the catch. It was apparent that he was still limited by his injury though. He seemed slow to get up each time after being tackled.
Julio Jones- missed a second consecutive game.
Chester Rogers (1 catches for 26 yards) and Marcus Johnson (3 catches for 52 yards)- Johnson led the team in receiving and had a nice deep catch down the sideline. Not a ton of highlights as the Titans leaned on the running game.
Titans TEs- Pruitt settled into a soft area of the Jaguars zone coverage and hauled in a short TD pass. Anthony Firkser had 3 catches for 33 yards as well.
Titans Run Defense- A terrible performance from a defense that was trying to stack the box and force rookie Trevor Lawrence to beat them through the air. Gave up a 60 yard run to James Robinson (149 yards, 8.3 YPC, and 1 TD) in the first quarter as Landry got pushed out wide by the tackle and left a huge gap and then Robinson punched it in for a TD a couple plays later. The Titans lost the race to the edges over and over with the Jaguars enjoying a ton of success on off tackle runs and pitches. Tennessee also allowed Lawrence to score untouched on a QB keeper. Their one positive was significant as Teair Tart got into the backfield and stuffed Carlos Hyde on fourth-and-goal in the fourth quarter, preventing a TD that would have made it a one possession game.
Titans Pass Defense- Kept Trevor Lawrence (23/33 for 273 yards, 1 passing TD, and 1 INT with 28 rushing yards and 1 rushing TD) mostly in check and kept everything in front of them in coverage. Elijah Molden made an outstanding play forcing a fumble on Jacksonville's first drive which Kevin Byard recovered and returned for a TD. Our old friend Jacob Hollister beat Landry in coverage for a TD in the second quarter and Tennessee struggled in coverage against the various Jacksonville TEs in general. The Titans also gave up an inexcusable 60 yard catch-and-run to Laviska Shenault, missing at least four tackles on the play. Landry was able to sack Lawrence just before HT to deny the Jaguars any opportunity for points and then sacked him again to force a punt in the second half (Tennessee's only two sacks). Lastly, Byard picked off Lawrence on the final play of the game as he threw into traffic in the end zone.
Miscellaneous- The game felt closer at times than the final score indicated. The injuries continued to pile up for the Titans as Kristian Fulton, Rashaan Evans, Monty Rice, and Roger Saffold all exited the game with injuries. Bullock missed his final XP attempt. Kansas City averaged 6.0 yards per play, went 5/11 on third down, and committed 7 penalties for 44 yards.
Monday October 18th Preview- Week 6 Tennessee (current record: 3-2, the Titans have the 21st ranked offense, 27th ranked defense, and 25th ranked special teams) vs Buffalo (current record: 4-1,
the Bills have the 12th ranked offense, 1st ranked defense, and 16th ranked special teams):Bills On Offense- After finishing near the bottom of the NFL in most defensive statistics in 2020, Tennessee let a lot of those 2020 players walk and brought in a lot of reinforcements this offseason to replace them, but it hasn't made the difference they had hoped for yet. They still don't have enough talent IMO and have been let down by a rash of injuries (Bud Dupree, Jayon Brown, Amani Hooker to name a few). This Tennessee defense has some excellent, disruptive players on their line in Jeffrey Simmons (a potential game-wrecker, the Bills IOL needs to have a plan for him!) and a pair of speedy edge rushers in Harold Landry and Bud Dupree, but Tennessee somehow has the lowest sack rate in the NFL currently. Brown has been out injured so David Long and Rashaan Evans (who PFF has ranked as the worst LB in 2021) are getting most of the LB reps. Tennessee loves showing that double A gap blitz pre-snap that we also like to run, but their current LBs don't have the length or athleticism to pull it off well whether they rush or back out into coverage. The Bills need to attack their LBs the same way we did with the Chiefs and I would predict strong games from Knox and Beasley on MNF. Kristian Fulton is having a really nice year as their top cover man and Kevin Byard seems to be rebounding from an uncharacteristic down year in 2020, but the rest of this Titans secondary is filled with older, underachieving players like Janoris Jenkins and young, inexperienced rookies like Caleb Farley and Elijah Molden who are being slowly phased in. Tennessee's depth in the secondary should be a real concern for them if Daboll decides to bring back more of our spread concepts this week. We also need to target the deep areas and width of the field to test the Titans' speed and communication. Lastly, I've said it a few times recently and it hasn't really happened yet, but it seems like a good week to bring back more of the jet sweeps and misdirection against this subpar LB corps.
Bills On Defense- The first priority when facing the Titans is always limiting Derrick Henry's impact on the game, a tough task for any defense, but we have actually handled Henry relatively well in the past (only 56 yards in 2018, 78 yards in 2019, and 57 yards last season even with all the injuries we had). He's off to a great start this season with 640 rushing yards and 7 TDs and as always, it's important to tackle well and not let him get up to full speed. Henry has been able to achieve this success despite running behind a line with several weak links (Taylor Lewan isn't fully back from his ACL injury at LT, Nate Davis is slumping after a promising start to his career at RG, and David Quessenberry is a below average RT). The Titans are missing Jonnu Smith especially his run blocking a lot from what I saw on film. I wouldn't have paid him the money he got from New England either, but they failed to bring in an effective replacement. The Titans just don't have much at the skill positions beyond that premier trio of Henry, Brown, and Jones although I will say that the Bills should have a plan for covering McNichols when he's in the game as he's been a great safety valve for Tannehill and is pretty elusive after the catch. Our new and improved defensive line needs to get after Ryan Tannehill and make him uncomfortable while also walking that fine line of not leaving our gaps and losing contain, allowing him to scramble. Tannehill is an effective game manager for this offense in the best sense of that term (they don't need him to be anything more) and he's a generally underrated player who has turned his career around in a Titans uniform (21-10 when he starts). Tannehill excels running play action and is getting the ball out quickly this season, mostly focusing on the short passing game (has only completed 3/18 passes 20+ yards downfield). That being said, Tannehill and the offense are not firing on all cylinders as they adjust to their new offensive coordinator Todd Downing. Tennessee has given up 20 sacks so far this season (this equates to 10.4% of Tannehill's drop backs which is very high) against mostly below average defenses so I'm expecting to see a similar performance to what we saw in Week 2 against Miami. I could see big games from Hughes, Addison, Epenesa, and Rousseau off the edges against these tackles that allowed a five sack game to Chandler Jones. Tannehill is only completing 43.8% of his passes when pressured, but he handles the blitz pretty effectively so getting that pressure with four rushers is ideal. The Titans have a top tier pair of wide receivers in the league, but have not been able to keep them healthy this season. Both guys are elite playmakers with a lot of physicality, but Brown has been very limited and Julio Jones has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury. Josh Reynolds hasn't really taken advantage of his opportunity for more snaps in their absence.
On Special Teams- Randy Bullock has provided some level of consistency after Tennessee hasn't even had average kicking for years, but he's very capable of bad misses. Brett Kern is one of the premier punters in the NFL (and a Grand Island native), but he was placed on the Reserve/COVID List on Tuesday and will likely miss this game. Chester Rogers is a very solid punt returner and an average kick returner who handles both duties and takes good care of the football.
Alright thanks for reading! I enjoyed putting this together and will look to do so each week moving forward. Can't wait for Monday Night Football! All the best and Go Bills!
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3 hours ago, The Wiz said:
One thing Tanny did well last year was take off with the ball.
I think he ran for 3 or 4 first downs that game.
Have to make sure to keep him in the pocket.
Also what's the story with Saffold, looks like he injured his shoulder again against the Jags?
His snap count was only 38%.
Yeah Saffold got dinged up and left the game during their win over Jacksonville.
Can't find much about it as we don't usually find out a whole lot before the first injury reports on Wednesday afternoon, but there's this from an NFL.com article (https://www.nfl.com/news/2021-nfl-season-notable-injuries-news-from-sunday-s-week-5-games) :
'Tennessee Titans linebacker Rashaan Evans (quad), guard Rodger Saffold (shoulder) and linebacker Monty Rice (groin) exited early against the Jaguars. Cornerback Kristian Fulton (hamstring) was ruled out.'
I also saw a different article on Monday that Tennessee is considering putting him on IR to give him the time to recover. Saffold might be the best player on their line with Lewan still not at 100% from his ACL injury. Huge blow to their offense if he is out.
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1 hour ago, YoloinOhio said:
Sacked 20 times in just 5 games and they've played the 4th (Arizona), 25th (Seattle), 23rd (Indy), 21st (Jets), and 31st (Jax) best defenses in terms of defense DVOA (https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/nfl/team-efficiency/2021).
They haven't exactly faced a murderer's row so far and the offensive line is still giving up that much pressure.
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Not sure there's any correlation between the two.
I believe Kumerow's snaps are up a bit this year at WR after his really strong offseason and he's a core special teamer as always.
Beasley's reduced snaps have been game plan-specific in my view (and I believe McDermott and the team have confirmed this). He had a career high 11 catches only three games ago and I'm sure we'll see some big games out of him again soon.
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Great post, thanks as always!
Just finished the re-watch...Spencer Brown was impressive. He got beat inside by Nick Bolton on a run blitz for a TFL and he allowed a QB hit to Frank Clark, but outside of those two plays, he was really solid in run blocking and in pass pro. Love the way he gets behind the RBs and pushes the pile for a couple extra yards. Also love that he protects his guys and plays with that edge. Was giving Mathieu the business after he knocked the ball out of Josh's hands on his early TD run. I think we might have our RT for the next decade guys!
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6 hours ago, CheshireCT said:
I agree with the others who say his limited snaps were likely game plan specific.
in terms of the Twitter crap and vaccine protest, I’m glad to see the team is showing they will not be distracted by it. If anyone is distracted by it, it’s Beasley himself, who I do think is limiting his own potential.
hope he stays off Twitter and refocuses on football. One thing is for damn sure, you can win the Super Bowl but you can’t win Twitter.
Best post of the thread, agree 100%...the Twitter stuff (and the resulting fallout or whatever you want to call it) has been self-inflicted. I really hope Beasley getting off Twitter can be the end of this weird chapter of his Bills career and now he can get back to helping us move the chains and win football games.
Great football player who has had some outstanding moments for our team and who we'll need if we want to win the Super Bowl this year. Need him back to his best.
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Ward being out is really significant as well. Big inactives (Ward and Jones/Milano) for both defenses.
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I’m watching the USMNT World Cup Qualifier right now against Panama. Couldn’t find a good link with english commentary so I’m watching one in Spanish and one of the broadcasters just said ‘La mafia de Buffalo’ unprompted. We’re famous!
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18 hours ago, GunnerBill said:
It is a point on the defense and it does just give me pause on what they are planning with Edmunds. I still lean towards they will extend him but let's say they do and the let Hughes and Addison walk. That is still: Lotulelei, Milano, Edmunds, Johnson, Hyde, Poyer and White that you are "paying" on your defense. That is a lot.
The cap is very malleable though and so long as the Pegulas are willing to pony up the cash up front the Bills can somewhat kick the can cap wise, especially with TV numbers soaring, crowds back in stadiums and the promise of a major cap bounce back in the next two years.
I agree they need to invest in some more youth on offense though. Another playmaker on that side of the ball should be a priority next April, even if Dawson Knox continues his emergence at tight end.
Would love a speed WR and an IOL on Day 1/2!
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Exhibit A: Houston putting up 15 points and 237 yards on the Pats in the first half after being shut out by Buffalo last week.
Exhibit B: Philly 's offense having 3 points and 49 total yards against Carolina so far after putting up 30 points and 461 yards against KC last week.
Bills defense >>>>>>>>>>>> Chiefs defense
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18 hours ago, LeGOATski said:
Why do people keep saying Milano should cover Kelce? Why would that work and when has it ever worked?
I'm honestly questioning it. As painful as it may be, I have to go back and watch the last 2 games vs the Chefs.
If Milano is out there, my instinct tells me to use him mostly to stop the run, pressure and contain Mahomes, sniff out the flat routes to the RB.
Edmunds has been great in coverage this year and should be able to bracket Kelce effectively with a DB.
Yeah I get it and to be honest there's no perfect answer. Kelce is a future Hall of Famer b/c he can't truly be covered one-on-one.
Milano on Kelce has been a potential option or at least talking point with his skill set in the past. But the Bills have been using Poyer to cover tight ends more often in 2021 which is interesting. We haven't faced anyone near Kelce's level yet, but he's been doing a good job so far.
In general, I think the ideal scenario (and what teams like the Ravens/Chargers did) is to put your best man defender on Kelce (accepting that he will still make plays) and then double Hill wherever he goes. I agree that Edmunds seems like the ideal candidate for the Kelce match up with his speed and length.
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19 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:
Thanks for sharing, big fan of The Ringer but hadn't seen this yet! This article sort of hints at something I meant to include in my Scouting The Chiefs post which is that Frank Clark being back may not be the big upgrade to the KC defense that you would assume. His replacement Mike Danna has three sacks in the last two weeks so limiting his snaps may not be to their advantage. A case of Clark's talent/track record vs Danna's form in 2021...fingers crossed that the Chiefs make the wrong call on Sunday!
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A few thoughts:
- Hope we get Milano back healthy for this game somehow, but if he can't go, I feel more comfortable with our LB depth than I did last year. No one can fully replace what Milano does, but Klein is more comfortable in this defense and is playing at a higher level than in early 2020 plus Dodson and Smith have looked capable at this level in their limited opportunities.
- Love the comments from Sanders about already being mentally prepared for the KC secondary's aggressiveness. Think the Bills looked surprised by it and didn't know how to react to it last season, but now they know what to expect and will hopefully counter effectively.
- Would be awesome if this could be the Gabe Davis breakout game of the 2021 season. He has a different skill set to our other weapons and hopefully he's finally healthy and can win his match ups (this week he might see a lot of Mike Hughes and I like our chances there) more often going forward. This offense could be really special with Diggs, Sanders, Beasley, Davis, and Knox all healthy and in good form.
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18 hours ago, HappyDays said:
Excellent breakdown as usual. This has become one of my mandatory weekly reads.
I'm gonna do a LAMP thing and quote myself from another thread because this is an interesting point about Mahomes this year:
Agreed, the key to the game on defense. It's been interesting that in the Chief's two losses, Kelce had big games, but Hill was almost non-existent with a lot of safety help over the top.
On 10/7/2021 at 10:20 AM, ProcessTruster said:"Mahomes is getting the ball out quicker this season, funneling the ball to Kelce and Hill (his first reads), but his stats really drop off a cliff when he's forced to hold onto the ball longer/go through his progressions and especially when he is pressured (again both changes from the last couple seasons where his splits weren't nearly as bad"
Bills will need to play a awful lot of man coverage to allow pass rush to get there. With Milano likely out or limited and the Bills primarily a zone pass defense , gonna be difficult to pressure Mahomes into a 3 second plus release timing. In other words, since he eats up the blitz, he only way to get pressure on Mahomes is to play man to man coverage , which the Bills, in general, don't have the players (by design) to play (including TWhite who is not a press man cover guy).
KC won't get the big play, bc McD's defense takes it away, but the short passing game + YAC should be there all night. It seems KC's defense has fallen off, so look for this thing degrading into a shootout, with last possession winning.
Good breakdown here, thanks! And HappyDays has provided more the actual stats/splits above...I agree with most of your premise, but I'm hopeful that there are a very factors that can help us force Mahomes to hold onto the ball for longer:
1) Anticipate and disrupt passing lanes. The defensive line needs to be aware and get their hands up if they don't have a shot to get a sack. Also, Edmunds needs to continue his strong performance in coverage. His length takes away a lot in the middle of the field.
2) Send four rushers, but switch them up. We need to keep Mahomes and KC's newly recreated offensive line guessing as to where the rush is coming from. For example, dropping a DE into coverage and letting Taron Johnson or Jordan Poyer get after Mahomes.
3) Play physical with Kelce at the LoS to disrupt his timing and bracket Hill everywhere. I also know what you're saying about us not having the players for man coverage (this is why I was hoping we would draft a CB with speed early last year), but I think between Frazier's game planning, dropping seven guys into coverage most snaps, and the chemistry of our secondary, we can at least be tough to break down. It's an elite offense so I'm not expecting a low scoring game, but the defense just needs to make the occasional play here and there. Fingers crossed for Sunday!
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10 hours ago, BillsShredder83 said:
Rousseau injury sucks whatever it is. Really like that matchup vs Chiefs tackles who have struggled, and having seen what happens to Mahomes under pressure. Time to graduate to big boy status! LFGGGGGGG
Hoping Rousseau will be back and that he'll practice today...if there's a weak link on this KC offensive line, it's Lucas Niang who's a first year player after sitting out last season. Need to compress the pocket, get arms up into passing lanes, and pressure Mahomes into some bad decisions. He's made more this season than I can remember in past years.
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11 hours ago, 78thealltimegreat said:
Take the ball and ram it behind Spencer Brown Chiefs can’t stop the run to save their lives very very winnable game here…take care of the ball…limit penalties…hit a big play or two…I think we clock these guys heck Jalen Hurtd lit them up like a Christmas tree
I really hope that for one more week, Kansas City keeps trying their Chris Jones at DE experiment. Teams have been able to run right at him really effectively from that spot and in my view, it's taken away what he does best which is batting down passes and pushing the pocket/providing interior pressure. Interesting to see what shape Jones and Frank Clark are in as well although I won't be surprised at all if they both play.
11 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:"What a performance from the defense on Sunday despite missing some key starters."
Deshaun Watson?
Was actually talking about the key starters that our defense was missing in Poyer, Taron Johnson, and Milano (for most of the game). I thought our defense has fully bought into that 'next man up' mentality and Jaquan Johnson/Cam Lewis really met the moment. AJ Klein flashed a few times as well.
But yeah Deshaun Watson not being on the other side sure helps!
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One more reason to hate Laremy Tunsil...the most average NFL player to ever get traded for a billion draft picks...
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Only three teams in NFL history have ever recorded two shutouts in their first four games of a season. Two of those teams (Washington in 1991 and Baltimore in 2000) went on to win the Super Bowl. The other team? Your 2021 Buffalo Bills. What a performance from the defense on Sunday despite missing some key starters. The offensive line likely played its most complete game as we rushed for 200+ yards (why do kneel downs count in the stats??) and Spencer Brown's promising debut gives me some optimism that the line can figure it out. And even though Josh and Daboll haven't consistently performed to the level we know they can, this team is way more balanced than the 2020 version that lost in the AFC Championship Game and its ceiling seems higher. The pressure isn't all on Josh anymore and everyone is contributing, even the younger guys (great to see Boogie get his first sack as well!). Now it's time to put all of this to the test against Kansas City.
Looking ahead, the Bills are heading to Arrowhead to face the hated Kansas City Chiefs. KC has hosted three straight AFC Championship Games, they won the Super Bowl in 2019, and they have an MVP-winning QB with two elite receiving weapons and some blue-chip defensive line talent. The Chiefs are basically just a year ahead of us in their rebuild/window, but they really had our number in 2020. This 2021 version of the Chiefs is different (better offensive line, but worse receiving depth and overall defense) and they sit at 2-2 after close losses to the Ravens and an ascending Chargers team. I think we all feel that Beane had KC in mind with some of his offseason moves and now it's our turn to face Kansas City and see how we stack up and if we've learned the lessons from 2020. More than anything, the Bills need to win this game, just so Josh and the boys know they can do it going forward.
The Chiefs appear to be getting healthy for this game with Chris Jones, Frank Clark, Rashad Fenton, Charvarius Ward, and Willie Gay all potentially back. Same as the previous weeks/seasons, I wanted to do an amateur deep dive/scouting session into Kansas City's last three games based on their game highlights (granted it's not the All-22 film but still nearly an hour of tape) and then list some keys/X-factors for our matchup this week. Anyways, hope you enjoy/find this useful:
***Offensive and Defensive Ranks are based on Football Outsiders' Defense-adjusted Value Over Average statistics***
https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/nfl/team-efficiency/2021
Sunday September 19th- Week 2 Away Loss vs. Baltimore (the Ravens (current record: 3-1) have the 10th ranked offense, 12th ranked defense, and 2nd ranked special teams) by a score of 36-35:
Patrick Mahomes (24/31 for 343 yards, 3 passing TDs, and 1 INT with 3 rushing yards)- Having another MVP-caliber season so far. KC really tailors their scheme to what he does best with a lot of bootlegs, play-action, and chances for him to use his legs to extend plays (although he seems to be running less in 2021). Mahomes made a nice sidearm throw to Mecole Hardman to pick up an early first down. He then threw off balance 35 yards downfield to Demarcus Robinson who beat Marlon Humphries for the TD. I will say that Mahomes still has a tendency to take unnecessary risks (arm arrogance???) such as throwing into tight coverages or throwing off-platform. For example, he sailed an ill-advised pass off his back foot into double coverage that should have been picked. Likewise, his decision-making continues to lapse at times as Mahomes threw the ball up wildly as he was about to be sacked at least twice, eventually throwing an INT in the third quarter. The Chiefs offensive line, which underwent a huge makeover this offseason, was effective despite three first year starters in Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, and Lucas Niang. Humphrey did have a bad snap in the first half that led to a fumble and an intentional grounding penalty, but Mahomes was mostly kept clean as he got the ball out quickly and wasn't sacked.
Chiefs Running Game- After being really impressed with his career at LSU, I think Clyde Edwards-Helaire (46 yards and 3.5 YPC) has been a good, not great RB so far in his young career. He's got the balance and toughness, getting the yards available behind a strong o-line, but he's just not very dynamic. He also lost a fumble on KC's final drive. Darrel Williams is their power back and scored a TD, but wound up with -2 yards on 3 carries. A poor performance overall.
Tyreek Hill (3 catches for 14 yards)- I'll say the same thing I said last year: my goal here is to provide unbiased analysis without any preconceived thoughts about what a player has done in the past, but Hill is my least favorite player in the NFL and he's so lucky he was given the gift of speed or else he'd be out of the league IMO for his actions off the field. Can't think of anyone that's more difficult to root for. KC has a history of allowing these players with character flags into their locker room (Kareem Hunt, Frank Clark, etc) and I hope it comes back to bite them one day. I recognize his talent on a football field and that he's an elite playmaker, but I hate this dude and it pisses me off when he scores/celebrates etc. Anyways, back to the regularly scheduled programming...Baltimore clearly made it a point to keep a lid on Hill and he had a quiet game.
Mecole Hardman (5 catches for 55 yards)- Getting a significant increase in his snaps and touches this season. KC likes to use him on jet sweeps and quick slants with his speed. Very dangerous in space, but still learning the WR position and his route running needs work.
Demarcus Robinson (3 catches for 46 yards and 1 TD)- Beat Humphries in man coverage (which doesn't happen too often) on a double move for a deep TD. Inefficient on his other targets.
Travis Kelce (7 catches for 109 yards and 1 TD)- Their clear #1 weapon in my view and the key to stopping/limiting this offense. Again, it's the simple but intelligent scheme KC runs to get him the ball and into space. Kelce executed a nice flat route with two wideouts blocking for him upfield and gained 10+ YAC. Later caught a short pass at the 45 yard line and powered his way through multiple defenders for a huge TD.
Chiefs Run Defense- The Ravens present possibly the toughest and most unique test in the NFL for any run defense and the Chiefs didn't really have the answer especially on runs towards the left side of their defensive line, so much so that the commentators brought it up several times. Ty Williams (77 yards and 5.9 YPC), Latavius Murray (36 yards, 4.0 YPC, and 1 TD) and Devonta Freeman (29 yards on 2 carries) each had multiple 10+ yard gains mostly by bouncing runs outside the tackles. Murray broke several tackle attempts on a game-tying TD run in the second quarter. The KC defensive line (a healthier version than we should see on Sunday mind you) did a nice job of compressing the pocket early on to limit Jackson's ability to run, but the Ravens adjusted and Jackson broke loose more often later in the game. Lamar wound up scoring two decisive TDs running untouched into the end zone, again towards the left side of the defensive line. KC missed a ton of tackles throughout as the Ravens gobbled up yards after contact.
Chiefs Pass Defense- Like most teams, Kansas City struggled to handle the dual threat of Lamar Jackson (18/26 for 239 yards, 1 passing TD, and 2 INT with 107 rushing yards and 2 rushing TDs). The secondary struggled to deal with the speed of Hollywood Brown (113 yards and 1 TD) throughout the game. KC's LBs and DBs seemed to be giving a bit more cushion and playing less physically than we saw in 2020. This was especially true with Brown and Mark Andrews; I felt like every time they caught a ball on tape, they had five yards or more to run before first contact. Baltimore was able to sustain a lot of drives this way. The low point for KC was leaving Brown wide open on a busted coverage for a 42 yard TD catch-and-run. However, KC did well defending a pair of late two point conversion attempts in the final quarter. It appeared that Jarran Reed tipped Lamar Jackson's pass on their first drive which resulted in a pick-six for Tyrann Mathieu and a 7-0 KC lead less than one minute into the game. Mathieu later easily picked off a second pass that Jackson floated deep into the end zone into triple coverage. Kansas City only sacked Jackson once as Chris Jones (who they have moved to 5T/DE) and Frank Clark were almost invisible.
Miscellaneous- The Chiefs led throughout the game until Lamar's running ability brought the Ravens ahead (KC gave up 251 rushing yards and allowed 31 first downs!). It's worth noting that Baltimore made a really aggressive call going for it on fourth-and-one ahead by one point from their own 43 yard line and over a minute left in the game. Not many head coaches in this league make that call and it likely won the Ravens this game as Jackson executed a QB sneak for the first down. Kansas City averaged 8.3 yards per play (they went 1/6 on third down) and committed 5 penalties for 46 yards.
Sunday September 26th- Week 3 Home Loss vs. Los Angeles (the Chargers (current record: 3-1) have the 11th ranked offense, 9th ranked defense, and 31st ranked special teams) by a score of 30-24:
Patrick Mahomes (27/44 for 260 yards, 3 passing TDs, and 2 INT with 45 rushing yards)- started this game having to use his legs a lot, escaping and scrambling for first downs. Got the ball out quickly and didn't push the ball downfield much at all. No many highlight-worthy plays which is unusual for this offense. Mahomes overcooked a pass over the middle that was behind Marcus Kemp resulting in a tip drill INT on the Chiefs first drive. Was sacked on an early RPO to the left by Kyzir White and Joey Bosa got the best of Trey Smith for a sack in the second quarter. On the most significant play of the game, Mahomes bought time with his legs, rolled right, and threw over the middle, sailing the ball over Kelce straight to Alohi Gilman who made the interception. The offensive line was slightly less steady this week, allowing two sacks and a few additional pressures that resulted in the turnovers.
Chiefs Running Game- Quietly efficient in this contest, one of the better games of Edwards-Helaire's career (100 yards and 5.9 YPC as well as 9 receiving yards and 1 TD). Helped to keep the chains moving and get KC back into the game. However, CEH lost a killer fumble for the second straight week. He did squeeze under a defensive lineman and escape for a nice first down in the second half and later scored a TD on a well-blocked screen pass. Williams (28 yards and 4.0 YPC) wasn't much of a factor.
Tyreek Hill (5 catches for 56 yards)- KC tried to emphasize Hill from the get go, manufacturing touches for him near the LoS. Took a jet sweep for a first down beating everyone up the sideline. Hill lost a fumble after catching the ball on a shallow crosser on the Chiefs second drive and had another below average day by his standards.
Mecole Hardman (3 catches for 33 yards and 1 TD)- Broke three tackles on one jet sweep with his speed and agility and took another for a go-ahead fourth quarter TD.
Travis Kelce (7 catches for 104 yards)- Made an excellent contested catch on a quick slant on third down, shaking off his tackler and gaining an extra 10 YAC. On KC's final drive before HT, Kelce high-pointed a ball over a CB to set up a Chiefs FG. You could see Mahomes looking his way whenever he was in trouble.
Chiefs Run Defense- Wasn't forced into action much as Los Angeles went pass-heavy against the struggling KC secondary. Austin Ekeler (55 yards and 5.0 YPC) was efficient on his limited carries.
Chiefs Pass Defense- Didn't do a good job of affecting Justin Herbert (26/38 for 281 yards, 4 passing TDs, and 0 INT with 16 rushing yards) and making him feel uncomfortable even in the hostile confines of Arrowhead. KC did a better job of limiting the tight ends and their coverage between the hashmarks overall than in the previous week, but they left Keenan Allen wide open in the end zone for LAC's first score and did the same for a Mike Williams (7 catches for 122 and 2 TDs) score in the fourth quarter. L'Jarius Sneed got stiff-armed by Mike Williams for a 25 yard catch-and-run before Anthony Hitchens lost Austin Ekeler who walked in for a TD on a short pass. On the positive side, Anthony Sorensen recovered well and made a crucial pass break up on a deep ball to Jalen Guyton who was initially left open in the end zone, a rare Herbert underthrow. Mike Hughes (this season's Bashaud Breeland replacement) broke on a slant route by Williams and made a key PBU as well. The KC secondary got justifiably flagged on a couple key pass interference calls late as they were more handsy with the physical LAC wide receivers. Mike Danna brought down Herbert on a second-half coverage sack (their only sack of the game), but the Chiefs otherwise struggled to put pressure on Herbert who had a lot of time to throw despite a blitz-heavy approach by the defense.
Miscellaneous- Kansas City committed a turnover on each of their first three drives, ultimately putting them in a 14-0 hole. Justin Herbert is an outstanding young player, but he had a weird play early where he seemed like he lost where he was on the field and slid/gave himself up well short of the first down marker that killed a Chargers drive. This contest was back and forth the entire second half with multiple lead changes as the KC offense finally got going, but the KC defense just couldn't get off the field. KC averaged 5.8 yards per play and committed 6 penalties for 56 yards.
Sunday October 3rd- Week 4 Away Win vs. Philadelphia (the Eagles (current record: 1-3) have the 16th ranked offense, 24th ranked defense, and 8th ranked special teams) by a score of 42-30:
Patrick Mahomes (24/30 for 278 yards, 5 passing TDs, and 1 INT with 26 rushing yards)- Led KC to their best offensive performance of the young season. Executed the underhand throw to CEH for the goal-line TD we've all seen 100 times by now and another patented shovel-pass to the tight end for a TD play they love so much. Threw a beautiful deep ball to Hill down the right sideline to set up a short TD on the next play. Probably didn't need the help, but took advantage of a bad Eagles defense that misses a lot of tackles and commits a lot of penalties. Mahomes again tried to avoid taking a sack, throwing the ball up for grabs down the middle instead and was picked off. The offensive line gave up a sack with interior pressure on the first play of the second half, but otherwise won the LoS and kept Mahomes clean.
Chiefs Running Game- The Chiefs had success running the ball straight up the gut on draws and RPOs. There was a more even split than usual between CEH (102 yards and 7.3 YPC) and Darrel Williams (42 yards, 4.2 YPC, and 1 TD) who also powered in for a goal-line TD.
Tyreek Hill (11 catches for 186 yards and 3 TDs)- Finally had his epic breakout game. Caught a lovely deep pass and tapped both feet inbounds early in the contest and then ended the game by catching another deep ball for a TD on a busted coverage. Took a jet sweep for another TD.
Mecole Hardman (2 catches for 16 yards)- not much of a factor.
Travis Kelce (4 catches for 23 yards)- It was Hill's game to go wild as Kelce was limited by the Eagles.
Chiefs Run Defense- Allowed 103 rushing yards on only 19 carries. Lost contain on Hurts multiple times and gave up some big runs by Gainwell.
Chiefs Pass Defense- Jalen Hurts (32/48 for 387 yards, 2 passing TDs, and 0 INT with 47 rushing yards) had some shaky moments in the pocket, but had a strong game overall. Almost-Buffalo Bill Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert combined for 116 yards and 1 TD and KC couldn't find the right match up in coverage with Goedert beating Hughes on a corner route for Philly's first score. Hurts actually missed a wide open Ertz in the end zone who had beaten his man up the seam, settling for a FG instead. Philly's two rookies Devonta Smith (7 catches for 122 yards) and Kenneth Gainwell (6 catches/58 yards for one of my draft crushes) were able to find a lot of space and gain YAC consistently as well. Sneed came loose on a corner blitz and forced Hurts to fumble, but Philly recovered. Mike Danna racked up two more sacks filling in for Frank Clark.
Miscellaneous- KC only had a 28-23 lead with nine minutes remaining before pulling away. The Eagles ran up-tempo for much of the game and the Chiefs had a hard time getting subs in and getting set up, something to consider for Sunday. KC also seems to have gradually faded Juan Thornhill out of its defense which is strange since he's been a good young player for them, hard to know what the thinking is there. Kansas City averaged 7.5 yards per play and committed 7 penalties for 46 yards.
Sunday October 10th Preview- Week 5 Kansas City (current record: 2-2, the Chiefs have the 1st ranked offense, 32nd ranked defense, and 6th ranked special teams) vs Buffalo (current record: 3-1, the Bills have the 17th ranked offense, 1st ranked defense, and 12th ranked special teams):
Bills On Offense- When facing KC, it would be normal to think we need to throw the ball 50 times and score 40+ points to keep up with Mahomes and Co., but the teams who have beaten the Chiefs have done it by running the ball well and often, keeping the KC offense on the sideline and tiring out the KC defense. Along with our potentially improved pass rush and the play of Dawson Knox, our ability to run effectively this season might be the biggest factor/difference in finally matching up with and beating Kansas City. The Chiefs defensive line has underachieved (I wonder why they have messed around with Chris Jones' position) and they are the second-worst run defense in the NFL so far. I think we kept the game plan pretty vanilla last week against Houston and also sprinkled in some 21 personnel/heavier formations to keep the Chiefs guessing. Kansas City's linebacking corps has looked very suspect and unathletic on film, but they may activate Willie Gay off the IR this week who is more dynamic than their other guys. Diggs should have an advantage against any DB the Chiefs put on him and I expect him to play with a chip on his shoulder after the AFCG loss last year and how hard he took it. I also expect Knox, Beasley, and Sanders to feast on crossers and seam routes over the middle. Our passing offense looks to have a big advantage on paper, but I felt that way last season too and so I'm very interested to see how the game is called by the refs as we struggled to adapt to KC's aggression and physicality previously. It might also be a good week to bring back some of the pre-snap motion and jet sweeps to test the edges and sideline-to-sideline range of this defense. Lastly, we need to stay on schedule, take the easy yards, and just play our game/brand of offense, all things we haven't stuck to versus KC in the past.
Bills On Defense- First off, there's a lot of talk about how the Bills haven't played any good QBs yet and that's probably right. At the same time, this Bills defense has the third-best DVOA ever recorded in the first four games of a season which takes opponents and several other factors into account so I believe both statements can be true. The Bills haven't faced an above average QB or offense yet while also playing at an extremely impressive, record-setting level that should represent an improvement over our 2020 defense.
For this week, the key to stopping KC is to get pressure on Mahomes with four rushers (no blitzing) and do your best to take away Kelce and Hill in that order. As some other posters have said in the gameday thread, our best bet is likely Milano (if healthy) or Tre White on Kelce with double coverage from Levi Wallace (our best tackling CB) and a safety bracketing Hill wherever he goes. Hill and Kelce make up the vast majority of the targets in the Chiefs' passing game so we need to try to force their secondary players to step up. Mahomes is getting the ball out quicker this season, funneling the ball to Kelce and Hill (his first reads), but his stats really drop off a cliff when he's forced to hold onto the ball longer/go through his progressions and especially when he is pressured (again both changes from the last couple seasons where his splits weren't nearly as bad). Lastly, as always but especially this week, it's important that we get our hands up and disrupt passing lanes, tackle well, and limit YAC as much as possible.
On Special Teams- Harrison Butker is one of the better kickers in the NFL and has been very consistent again this season. Tommy Townsend is a solid young punter in his second season. Byron Pringle is getting his first chance to return kicks this season and Mecole Hardman is their punt returner, we know what they both can do in the open field. Keep those touchbacks and fair catches coming!
I'll end with something completely unrelated to the game on Sunday Night Football which will possibly provide some hope to others who lose sleep at night wondering what it will take to beat KC and how long this freakin' Mahomes guy will be this good for:
Looking ahead to 2022 (per Spotrac), Kansas City only has 26 players under contract and approx. $32 million in cap space with several key starters like Tyrann Mathieu (who makes $14+ million per year), Orlando Brown Jr (who has leverage since they just traded for him and should account for at least half of that cap space if re-signed), Jarran Reed, Charvarius Ward, Daniel Sorensen, Demarcus Robinson, and Derrick Nnadi hitting the market. In addition, the Chiefs have three players making over $25 million and five players who will be making more than the Bills highest paid player in 2022. Conversely, the Bills have 37 players under contract for 2022 and just over $20 million in cap space with nearly all of our key starters locked up besides Taron Johnson, Isaiah McKenzie, Jerry Hughes, and a couple others. The cap will likely go up by a decent amount, but my point is that it appears that we have an opportunity next year to gain even more ground on the Chiefs and that our roster construction by comparison appears to be a bit healthier to this point even when Allen's contract really increases.
Alright thanks for reading! I enjoyed putting this together and will look to do so each week moving forward. Can't wait for Sunday! All the best and Go Bills!
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2 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:
Dolphins picking Tua over Herbert will go down as one of my favorite Dolphin drafts of all time. (Right up there with Chad Henne)
Agreed, the Austin Jackson and Noah Igbinoghene picks as well...Miami took advantage of a vulnerable adult (Bill O'Brien) for one of the most lopsided trades in league history and got way more draft capital back for Tunsil than they should have. They should have the beginning stages of a dynasty right now with all that young cheap talent, but they seem like they're wasting that chance so far. You love to see it.
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Would love to add Jordan Davis to our defense...dude is enormous and should not be able to move as fast as he does.
Question is whether he falls to our pick or not, I'm guessing not as he's having a monster season so far.
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54 minutes ago, BIGFOOTspaceman said:
This is just me guessing but I think McD held out him just to be cautious. Already had the feeling the D was going to dominate so why not keep him sidelined.
He had his helmet on and looked like he wouldn’t be out long but it was decided to send him to the tent. Betting he plays next week.
I really hope you're right, thanks for sharing as I didn't see him at all after the injury. Milano getting hurt (and a couple misfires in the red zone) is basically the only thing that kept today from being a perfect game.
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2 minutes ago, Protocal69 said:
Love it, simple trash talk but well-executed...thought he played great today, can't wait to see him play more!
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On 9/30/2021 at 2:29 PM, dneveu said:
Houston isn't among the worst offenses in the league simply because they haven't been very turnover prone. But they struggle to move the ball, as well as on on 3rd downs, and this bills defense is a bad matchup for a team that doesn't run well and has an inexperienced QB. Confusing coverages, disciplined DBs, good pass rush, its a recipe for a poor outing.
As for their defense, they know for a fact that they need multiple takeaways to have a shot in this game. They will be ball punching and trying all game long. Moss and DS need to be secure, Diggs needs to get out of bounds, and Allen needs to be conscious of pressure. Take what they give you - balls out quick, run into 2 high fronts, use some jet action to get their LBs moving to make space in the middle of the field. Obviously take your shots when they are there, but playing a smart efficient game should get you a win.
Houston actually ranks really highly on third down conversion % which is strange enough, but you're right, they have limited turnovers/big mistakes and consistently fed the ball to Brandin Cooks a ton. If we can take him away, I really like our chances to limit the Texans on offense. The defensive line should have time to affect Davis Mills as well.
Agree with your thoughts on their defense as well...losing the turnover battle by 3 or more is the only way I can think of Houston winning.
Genuinely interested to see how Jaquan Johnson or Damar Hamlin play on Sunday with Jordan Poyer missing the game (less interested in this experiment against KC though, hopefully Poyer will be back for that!). Important to see them in live game action and see what we actually have at back up safety.
Looking forward to the Texans' final injury report...we'll see if Amendola, Reid, Grugier-Hill, and Britt can suit up.
Scouting The Tennessee Titans (Week 6 2021)
in The Stadium Wall
Posted
You ask and you will receive:
Titans getting some key players back from injury.
Stop Derrick Henry by playing with gap integrity and getting interior pressure.
Affect Ryan Tannehill and make him uncomfortable in the pocket (sacked 20 times already this season).
Attack the Titans LBs in coverage and test their sideline-to-sideline range in the run game.
Limit turnovers and tackle well. Do these things and we win the game.