Last Guy on the Bench
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Posts posted by Last Guy on the Bench
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From the Ringer:
Buffalo can go light with three and even four receivers on the field at once. They can put multiple backs in the backfield or multiple tight ends on the line of scrimmage. They can line up under center or in the gun. They can dial up old-school, downhill-run plays, or call more modern option plays designed around the QB. Allen has become a surgeon on underneath stuff, but he’s still throwing rockets to the deep and intermediate parts of the field. And he’s as comfortable throwing to the middle of the field as he is outside the numbers.
This offense can do anything at any time, and it does it all at a high level. This isn’t just the best offense in the NFL today. It’s one of the most comprehensive attacks this league has ever seen.
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1 minute ago, thenorthremembers said:
I thought for sure they'd challenge it as it looked like Fitzpatrick had sole possession as they stepped into the endzone. I'd think that would make it a touch back as soon as the ball went over the goal line and anything Davis did after that point wouldnt matter.
That's where I disagree. If a defender catches a ball in the field of play, he can't run into the end zone and claim a touchback. He has to be in the end zone already, or I think his momentum can take him there. But even then he still has to go down or give himself up somehow. If a defender is running around with the ball in the end zone looking to escape and make a big run back, he is fair game for a strip.
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10 minutes ago, Ya Digg? said:
I haven’t seen or heard a single person say Fitzpatrick cleanly had that ball. Davis had it, they were then fighting for it, and Davis came away with it. I honestly have not heard one person say that it was a clean interception
This dude:
And I saw a few people on a Steelers board.
5 minutes ago, mjt328 said:Yes, I believe you are correct.
The only thing that could have changed was in the stat column.
- Josh Allen would have gotten an INT instead of a TD pass
- Gabe Davis would have gotten credit for a fumble recover TD, instead of a TD catch
- Minkah Fitzpatrick would have gotten credit for the INT.
I don't believe there was enough evidence to show that Fitzpatrick actually possessed the ball at any point though, since Davis had his hand on the ball and eventually was the one who came up with it. Ties also go to the offense.
Totally agree. I think it was correctly called all along. But even if it were called the other way - still our TD. With different stats, as you say.
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I've seen a few people online and on TV kvetching about the length of time Fitzpatrick seemed to have possession of Gabe's 2nd TD before Gabe ripped it back. Their argument is that Fitzpatrick had already intercepted it fully and it should have been ruled accordingly. I was wondering about this live, while I nervously waited for the extra point to be kicked before a red flag could be thrown.
But then I thought about it more. Even if Fitzpatrick had it and it was an interception, the ball is still live. If a defender has a ball in the end zone, it is live until he is tackled or gives himself up, right? Totally different than an offensive player - if an offensive player has or establishes full possession in the end zone, it's a TD and the play is over. But if a defender picks it and starts running around back there, an offensive player can still strip him of the ball and it's live. So seems to me that at worst, that play is an interception and then a fumble in the end zone recovered for a touchdown by Davis. Am I crazy? The one counterargument I can see is if Fitzpatrick had possession and they ruled he was down by forward progress - but that would be whack - he wasn't being pushed "backwards" - he was running full speed in that direction.
In any case. I don't think Minkah every really established full possession in the first place - they were wrestling for it, and Gabe won. But either way, it's a TD to my thinking.
Also, the reason Gabe caught it one-handed is that he had to because Minkah was holding his other arm - so it could also have been Pass Interference.
Strange and exhilarating play. Just want to make sure my reasoning is correct if I start arguing with a whiner.
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Just now, uninja said:
Hackett is getting canned at the end of this season. Book it.
Not sure he makes it that far.
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8 minutes ago, fergie's ire said:
It looked to me like because it was tipped and off target, Knox thought it was intended for someone else. So he started for it but stopped thinking, "No I don't want to deflect a ball headed for x." Not sure who it was but there was another receiver close by.
Agreed. I thought Knox pulled away from the ball on purpose. Wasn't that other receiver Diggs? I'm not even sure that Josh wasn't throwing to him - he was just past the first down marker, if I recall. Hard to tell where he was throwing, given the tip. Weird play all around.
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10 minutes ago, nedboy7 said:
That was garbage. Means nothing about how good we are. But let's stop pretending Miami is trash.
Agreed. If I was neutral, that game would tell me that in the long run the Bills are the stronger team, probably by a good amount.
BUT, I give Miami's defense a lot of credit. They were on the field forever and they still really played tough all day. They were hitting, covering. They made life difficult for Josh who gutted it out but clearly didn't have his usual magic. Miami is going to make some noise. They seem like a scrappy wild card team to me. And they deserve a lot of credit for hanging in that game and making plays. Sure the Bills missed some opportunities. But so did the Dolphins. They dropped a few potential interceptions.
Anyway, very difficult to watch. Can't say I enjoyed it. But it was just one of those weird games that happen pretty regularly in the NFL. Too bad we couldn't get a chance for a kick at the end. But given the week we've had, kind of fitting. I plan to forget this past week immediately.
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5 minutes ago, Fred Slacks said:
Few things:
1) our defense is good
2) we have given up zero points in the second half of both games.
3) I think people are underplaying how good our defense is.
4) our offense is better
5) our QB is better
I don't see this being a close game. Maybe the fins score a garbage TD late to make the score look closer than the game really is. I don't think either of our rookie corners change how we play defense in this game. Would be the same either way. Micah Hyde is the bigger missing piece this week and I still think we do okay without him.
28-17 Bills win. I wouldn't be shocked if we score more than 35.
Good points about the defense, but I can't see Miami holding us to 28 points. You never know, but the way their defense plays, injury to X, Josh and Co's current form, etc. make it hard to picture. They could beat us, but I think they'll have to score 30+ to do it. I like our chances a lot more than theirs, even with the injuries.
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7 minutes ago, wjag said:
It's the NFL and hope springs eternal for every franchise. I have no issue with the hype being shared. If the shoes were reversed, TBD would be sky high with hope and expectations. The cool thing is, they get to play the game. It will be settled on the field. And then just like that, it will be on to the next game. They don't call it over reaction Monday for nothing.
The thing I was musing about yesterday was the share depth of content available these days. With the advent of YouTube, AWS, etc, you can spend as much time as you want reading and listening. We are a long way from the 90s dearth of coverage/opinions where the only real content was the evening SportsCenter segment and the Buffalo News Sunday and Monday papers. I can remember reading everything on Monday if they won and nothing is they lost. Now it's all internet content, but the same rules apply. Watch everything I can if they win and internet hibernate if they lose.
Don't forget "Shout" - the day that came out (Thursday?) was the most exciting day of the week. I especially loved the training camp notes you could get there. It's crazy how thin those were compared to what our many resident dedicated posters give us, not to mention all the media types observing practices. But it was gold back then.
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12 minutes ago, BillsShredder83 said:
Absolutely insane that state will allow for sex change hormones, double mastectomy, but two minors having consensual sex is a crime.... for the male... how?
It's not just for the male. You made that up.
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3 hours ago, Meatloaf63 said:
We lost to the Giants in the first super bowl because he couldn’t control Jim Kelly's ego and run the ball. Look at Thurman Thomases ypc and asked why he wasn’t used more to force the Giants out of their defense? I for one will never forgive him for that…
Cool. Let's say you're right in your analysis of SB XXV. (There are a lot more variables at play in a complex phenomenon like a football game than your simple reduction can possibly do justice to, but for the sake of argument, let's say you're right.) You are holding up one bad decision or failure against the LONG pattern of success that @folz outlined. And to you, that means he's a bad coach and can never be "forgiven." You completely erase all the decisions he made along the way to get them to that Super Bowl. I just can't think that way.
If you want to argue that Marv wasn't perfect, I'm right there with you. But of course no one is perfect, so that's not much of a discussion. If you want to argue that Marv's failings significantly outweighed his strengths, then I refer you back to @folz's original post.
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1 hour ago, folz said:
Sorry to jump on an old post, but I'm always surprised by how many Bills fans think Marv Levy is overrated, lucky (due to personnel), or just not that great of a coach. I assume a lot of this sentiment is from younger fans who didn't actually watch those '90s teams and only see 4 Super Bowl loses with a loaded roster.
But, you say Marv Levy was fortunate---i.e. he only has a good record because of the talent he coached on the Bills (Kelly, Bruce, Thurman, Andre, etc.). And that "Head Coaches that have had success at multiple locations..." As if Marv never did anything before coming to the Bills. Here is an abbreviated list of what he did before coming to Buffalo. I hope you and other fans who think Marv is overrated read this.
- In his first coaching job (2 years coaching football and basketball at a high school in St. Louis), he coached their basketball team to a championship.
- He then returned to Coe College (his alma mater) for two years as asst. football coach and head coach of the basketball team. He led the basketball team to a championship.
- At his next stop, University of New Mexico, he was an asst. for 4 years before being named head football coach. In two years as the top man, he had a 14-6 record and won Conference Coach of the Year.
- Didn't do great in his stint with UC Berkeley, but did hire and groom Bill Walsh on his staff.
- In 5 years as head coach of William & Mary, he won a Conference Title and Conference Coach of the Year twice.
- Four years in the NFL as Special Teams Coordinator under George Allen.
- Became Head Coach of the Montreal Allouettes in the CFL. In 5 seasons, he took the team to the playoffs and the Eastern Conference Finals all 5 years. And made it to the Championship game 3 times, winning it all (the Grey Cup) twice and earning CFL Coach of the Year in 1974.
How many coaches can say they took their teams to 4 Super Bowls and 3 Grey Cups? He made it to the big game 7 times with two different teams.
- Five years Head Coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. People knock his record here, but he took over a 2-12 team, the worst team in the league, that just had their best two defensive players retire. Not counting the strike year, his record was 28-36. Not great, but there was improvement every year (from that 2 win season before he arrived) to 4 wins, then 7 wins, then 8 wins, and to a 9-7 record in 1981. And remember, this was pre-free agency. Rebuilds took a lot longer back in the day. It wasn't like today where teams can go worst to first in one year with a good free agency class.
With the Bills, besides the Super Bowl runs and his record, he was also named NFL Coach of the Year in 1988; and AFC Coach of the Year 3 times (in 1988, 1993, and 1995).
And fans really underestimate how he was able to bring that collection of alpha, ego-driven, big personalities of the '90s Bills together as a team. A lot of coaches wouldn't have been able to bring that group of guys together no matter how much talent they had. It took Marv's wisdom, experience, and demeanor to do that. Not to mention how hard it is to coach one team to a Super Bowl, but to keep getting a team back there despite losing every year is a major coaching feat in its own. The character, commitment, perseverance, and fortitude to do that is rare. And Marv did have success in multiple locations with different players---maybe not multiple NFL teams (as HC), but then, he only had two opportunities as HC in the NFL and at least his KC team was improving each year.
If anything, Marv is now underrated by too many Bills fans.
End of rant. 😊
This is my favorite post of the past five years. Thank you.
You're fighting the modern current of smug opinion that labels anything with an imperfection (i.e., everything, eventually) as "trash" and that overlooks the many, many talents and character traits it takes to succeed in even the smallest way at the highest level. Marv had a number of remarkable qualities, and you do a great job showing how those qualities helped him win consistently in many contexts. And that's ignoring the other positive effects he undoubtedly had on many people beyond the football field.
And sure the Bills were talented in the 90s, but it is no easy trick getting talents like that to align effectively for a year or two, let alone multiple years in a row. Marv is completely deserving of his HOF recognition, and we were beyond lucky to have had him as our coach.
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4 hours ago, Gunvald's Husse said:
That is why Leeds > Arsenal ... I got to watch the Bills on Saturday and the Mighty Whites today (and what a game it was against the Chelsea scum) MOT
Chelsea scum here. Good lord your boys waxed us. That was painful. Tip of the hat to you. Premium win. (And I was glad to see Aaronson looking feisty anyway. Took a bit of the sting out.)
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1 hour ago, Albany,n.y. said:
I've been watching Hard Knocks & I think Campbell & his staff look & sound like real coaches. I remember seeing guys like Joe Philbin & Hue Jackson on Hard Knocks & thinking these guys have no business being NFL head coaches.
Philbin especially. Watching the way he thought about things and interacted with players - I thought he seemed in so far over his head. Very strange choice for the Dolphins (but great for the Bills).
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The things they are talking about (e.g., reading leverage) are basic and generic for a professional. Even the most junior opposing coach or player would already know all of this from a glance at film (and from their own systems). I think there is zero risk here.
On the other hand, for a nonprofessional like me, these videos are very educational. I love them.
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2 hours ago, Simon said:
In that case, suggesting a guy could be a .500 quarterback with a very good roster around him is hardly conferring "legend" status upon him.
Yep, especially considering he went 29-21 in Chicago with a worse roster. It's definitely not an inflated opinion of the guy to imagine he could go .500 with the Bills.
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2 hours ago, GunnerBill said:
As for my Bills fandom it is a long story, and apologies to those who have heard it before, but my grandad was from the Poland / Czechoslovakia border, joined the Polish army at the outbreak of WWII and was captured by the Germans. Anyway he managed to escape a POW camp and make it to France where he was hidden by the resistance for the final 2 years of the war, and then eventually made it to the UK post war. Met my nan, got married, had kids. In the 60s and 70s he took his family back to his homeland into the Eastern bloc every summer in a caravan, driving from the middle of England to Poland. He died relatively young, sadly, just before I was born but he had made my nan promise if he died first she would still go back to Poland to visit his family. On one such visit my nan met a younger brother and sister from Buffalo who also had roots in Poland / Czechoslovaki and were tracing a family tree, got talking in a shop and became pen pals which later developed into visiting each other. In 2002 we went to California (where the guy now lives) as a family for 2 weeks in August and while there I watched the Bills play the Lions in pre-season and was basically hooked immediately. I went to university that next year and used to watch the MNF with my kebab after a night out and then from 2006 when it first became possible to stream games I have watched the Bills most weeks. Since 2010 I have missed two Bills games and one of those was because I was at Wembley watching one of the international series games instead.
Very cool story. Thanks for sharing. We are lucky the brother and sister were from Buffalo, so we get the benefit of all of your insight instead of it being wasted on the undeserving fanbase of some other team.
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He's not saying anything unreasonable.
I'm optimistic. When the Bills are clicking they can crush anyone on offense. And I think the defense will be better this year with the new additions.
But they did beat up on a lot of bad QBs last year. And the offense went to sleep at times.
The guy wasn't saying anything ridiculous. We might very well lose a game or two more in the division than we have been lately. And we have lots of other tough games.
Having said that . . . 20-0! Can't wait!
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4 hours ago, Virgil said:
1 - Anyone get the vibe that maybe Kyle and her don't really get along?
I don't know if I'd go that far, but it's true that his goodbye was a little thin and chilly for a guy that is usually so emotive.
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10 hours ago, The Dean said:
Not really talking semantics. But yes, on sport forums it's common to call them Primetime games. But don't believe for one minute those at NFL think of it that way. The available audience in actual primetime is larger than in the afternoon---even on Thanksgiving. And the cost per rating point advertisers pay is higher at night than it is in the afternoon. Now it's been awhile since I've been in the biz and seen actual CPPs, but I'll assume a Thanksgiving afternoon game has a higher CPP than a Sunday afternoon game. But probably doesn't have the same CPP as a Sunday or Monday night (actual primetime) game. And I'd shocked if it has the CPP of the Thanksgiving night game.
The NFL uses the term Primetime because that is the TV and Ad Agency term, which has actual definitions. Is it really that hard to just say "Nationally Televised" games? I'd doubt you'd have to deal with these petty posts if you did.
You obviously know much more about this than most of us. But a quick Google shows that the early Thanksgiving game last year averaged over 26 million viewers. MNF, SNF, and TNF all average substantially fewer viewers than that, these days.
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13 minutes ago, LEBills said:
Yea he does have a hitch, it was pointed out by some of the draft evaluators as well and may be part of the reason - along with the 29 inch arms - he dropped to round 5.
I think the hitch can be coached out of him and really let his 97th percentile 1.49 ten yard split shine
Thanks, I hadn't seen that in his evaluations. Definitely seems like something he could change. It's just a habit. As you say, he's very quick.
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Was watching all of Shakir's plays in this Nevada game. Seems like he has a little delay (sometimes even a hitch) at the snap before he starts every route? You can see the other receivers getting off the line into their routes before he does. It's not a quickness thing - to my untrained eye it looks like he kind of stands there or gathers himself at the snap before he leaves the LOS (or wherever he is starting).
Any WR experts see the same thing? Is this normal? I don't know much about route running (my big accomplishment this year was finally learning what stacking was - thanks YouTube). Anyway, even if it is an issue, seems like an easy thing to correct.
In any case, he had some great plays in this game. A couple of wow catches and a nice punt return. Worth a watch regardless. I'm excited to see him in action this preseason.
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What's this stuff about McDermott's good old boys, or small overachievers? Strange narrative. Is it just based on McD's personality and his own story? Because the Bills have been CONSISTENTLY drafting high RAS guys - explosive athletes with good positional size. Where are they small or overachievers?
They are drafting giants on OL. DL guys are good sized - Groot makes McD look like a chipmunk. Edmunds is huge for that position. Josh is huge. Their starting corners have decent size. There are a few smallish players, like Milano, who can really ball anyway. And the receivers aren't that big right now. But overall, they have clearly been prioritizing guys with superior athletic traits (including size) who also happen to be very self-motivated football junkies. They've also been trying to get faster, and this draft class will help that.
The Bills are not a team of plucky underdogs.
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Greg Cosell is completely sold on Shakir in this clip. Raves about him for a couple of minutes. Starts at 10:40.
Cosell is not a raver. He is pretty cautious, and while he won't trash guys too often, you always get a sense of his caveats. Not here. He is smiling when he talks about him.
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Rookie Josh vs Packers
in The Stadium Wall
Posted
Yikes! It's pretty amusing to watch, though, now that we know how the story turned out (i.e., we seem to have one of the greatest players in the history of the NFL on our hands).