Logic

Haha, thanks. I've been using it every week, but...sometimes their stream dependability leaves a lot to be desired. I totally understand why, and I have no cause to complain, it just...stinks sometimes when Josh Allen unleashes a frozen rope, and it freezes in the air and I get the "three dots of buffering death". And then I re-load the stream, close all the ads, and it's two plays later and I've missed both the play and the replay. After years of paying for Gamepass, which never dropped or buffered on me, I'm still getting used to this pirate life. It kinda sucks sometimes. And for a game as big as Bills-Dolphins, I'm thinking the drive and the bar tab might be worth the trouble.

Ugh. All of Oregon is showing the Raiders-Chargers game instead of Bills-Dolphins. I guess they figure that we care more about the Raiders and Chargers due to proximity, but...yuck. Absolute yuck. Might have to go to the Bills Backers Bar for this one.

While I agree with others that the biggest test of the season lies ahead for Tre White... I WILL say that when I watch Bills games, I'm not worried about Tre White. I'm not seeing him pop up a bunch on my screen, getting burned by WRs or routinely beaten on routes. How many times this season have the Bills defense given up a big reception, and you look on the replay, and it's Tre White that's responsible? Not often, right? I'm not saying he doesn't get beaten at times, but it's not often, and it's not badly. He can generally be trusted to take care of the receiver he's assigned to. Only elite WRs give him any kind of trouble. What we've all been waiting to see is the return of the splash plays he's been known for in the past. We finally saw one against the Commanders, and I think it will do wonders for his confidence as he returns to his pre-injury form, both physically and mentally. I still consider Tre White a very good NFL corner, probably right on the fringe of the top 10. At the very worst, he's CERTAINLY a more than viable CB1. I expect a good season from him moving forward. And if I'm wrong, well...he can always fall back on his goalie training.

Watching Monday Night Football last night, not only did I see Josh in multiple commercials, but also a commercial featuring a bunch of Bills merchandise being bought (a credit card commercial, I believe?). These are national commercials for big brands, not just local car dealership commercials or something. Josh Allen is singlehandedly making the Buffalo Bills more of a national brand. The type of team that a credit card company features prominently in a commercial. Crazy how much the drafting of ONE player has completely changed the fortunes, public perception, and national marketability of the Bills.

Why stop at large scale spectacle events? Why not roll up 10,000 strong to a local wedding, singing the shout song, dousing the bridesmaids in ketchup and mustard, and throwing the groomsmen through tables? THAT should be the pinnacle aspiration of #BillsMafia, if you ask me.

At least search the GIF, sheesh.

All I know is that he has a tiny wingspan that doesn't affect passing lanes the way that a giant pterodactyl might. He's also really old. Kidding, of course. I've been absolutely thrilled with Bernard's play so far. My biggest worry about the defense this year (MLB), seems unfounded. In fact, it seems that not only did the Bills not downgrade at MLB, they may have UPGRADED! By the way, the fact that Bernard did something that hasn't been done in 16 years (2 sacks, 1 INT, 1 Fumble Recovery), when Brian Urlacher and James Harrison did it, is pretty damned impressive. Bernard impacted that game in a big way yesterday, and getting impact plays from the middle linebacker position is a sight for sore eyes.

I hear ya. The problem is, I think that as long as Josh Allen is the quarterback of the Buffalo Bills, you're S.O.L. on this desire. I don't think "always take the easy throw" is in his DNA. If it IS in there, it's buried by much stronger strands of "I'm gonna throw this insane tight window throw into triple coverage" DNA. I just personally don't think Josh will EVER be an "always take the easy throw" guy. I don't think he's wired that way. I think he's Brett Favre until the day he hangs up his cleats.

I hear you, but.... That was NINE years ago.

Not enough credit being given to Dorsey and his staff for the way they schemed to neutralize Maxx Crosby and then an excellent Commanders DL in back-to-back weeks.

Mike Williams has been the most common name for NFL wide receivers in my lifetime. Just an observation.

I do actually want to contribute to the discussion here, because you brought up a point that I think is interesting. First you said that there were too many field goals and not enough touchdowns. Later you said that you didn't like Josh's shot to the end zone to Knox. I was thinking that maybe those two thoughts are at odds with each other. Some of what is leading to the lack of touchdowns right now is the new emphasis on playing smart, taking the short gains and checkdowns, and Josh's reads going short to long rather than long to short on a lot of plays. On the Knox play, he eschewed that philosophy and went for the throat. It was a bad but understandable drop in the rain that leads us to the conclusion that it wasn't a great decision. Better hands by Knox there and we're all lauding that play this morning. My suspicion is that the Bills offense -- and Josh Allen, in particular -- is trying to find the balance right now between playing smart and taking risks. In 2020 and 2021, Josh seemed to have struck that balance quite well. For much of 2022, he was out of balance. Trying to play hero ball too often, not being smart often enough. This season, after the wakeup call of week one, I think he's trying to re-discover the balance. Maybe it's the transition to a new playcaller, new players around him, new personnel sets, whatever...the end effect is that the training wheels have been re-applied, and Josh is slowly shedding them a little bit at a time as he regains confidence and re-discovers balance. My hope is that Josh continues to start out games by playing smart and taking short gains, building a little confidence and rhythm, and then turning into Killer Josh. That's when he's at his best to me. When he's taking small profits and being patient and frustrating the defense. Then, the MOMENT they start to creep down to cover the short stuff, he hits Gabe long for a score, or throws a rope to Knox in the end zone in a keyhole. I think we're seeing a necessary growth period and re-discovery of balance for Josh Allen and the Bills offense, but it's gonna take a little time for this offense to hit its full stride. Even so, they converted 9 of 15 3rd downs yesterday and scored 30 points. Not bad for a "training wheels" day.

Liar.

I haven't read through the entire thread, but I just wanted to say that I disagree with the OP. The past two weeks -- and especially this week -- are the LEAST disjointed I've seen the Bills offense look in a while. Last year, and in week one of this year, everything looked like a struggle for the offense. The past two weeks, that hasn't been the case in my eyes. The Bills offense is starting to move the ball with more ease and crispness and consistency. If anything, as @teef said, the offense has looked non-explosive. But I think that's what defenses are daring and begging the Bills to be. They're still doing that two-high shell, "you're going to have to dink and dunk to beat us" stuff against Josh Allen. The more the Bills are patient and commit to the run and take the short gains, the more the defense creeps down, and then big shots -- like the one to Gabe Davis for a TD and almost for a second TD yesterday -- open up. Further, I'd suggest the Bills are still figuring out the balance of exactly what they're going to be this season. The last few seasons, they were such a heavy 10 and 11 personnel team. This year, they've undergone a HUGE shift to more 21, 12, and 22 personnel. Finding that balance, learning which sets work best in which situations and in which sets the offensive players are most comfortable and effective, will take a bit of time. Personally, I've been the most encouraged about the offense the past two weeks that I've been since early last season.

Something something, "at least they got a touchdown first", something something. It's early on the west coast. I need more coffee.

Blitzing the least but sacking the QB the most? This is McDermott's ultimate football aspiration come to life. It is THE defining characteristic of what McDermott wants to do on defense. He finally has the defensive line to do it. AND VON MILLER IS COMING BACK. Look out opposing offenses. The thing I like the most about the past two weeks is that the Bills are dominating in the trenches. If you want to know who's likely going to win a football game after watching only the first few drives, just look at the battle in the trenches. The team winning that usually wins the game. The last two weeks, the Bills won both battles handily. If that continues, it'll be a great season.

I wanted to say two things: First, this is an excellent thread and a great discussion. It's posts like this that make TBD such a great place. Even @Einstein, who sometimes makes me want to shake a puppy, provided an excellent contribution. Thank you, Einstein, and thank you everyone else who is contributing. Second, I am team "play-action always makes the QB and the offense better. Always, always, always". There has been data over the years showing that you don't even need to be running the ball effectively for play-action to work well. No matter what, the defense HAS to account for the run possibility. It's just innately ingrained in the brains of defensive players to react -- at least a little bit -- to the handoff action. Even the tiniest split second of hesitation for a defensive player gives an advantage to the offense, just like pre-snap motion does. Josh Allen, I think, ESPECIALLY benefits from play-action. I don't have any evidence to back that up other than what Einstein already provided. It's just an anecdotal, gut feeling I've gotten from watching him over his career. Josh just seems better off play-fakes. Always has. I can't comment as much on the "under center vs shotgun" debate, except to say that on the graph provided above, there ARE some successful offenses all the way to the left of the chart, like the Rams and Lions. Shotgun is not NECESSARILY a prerequisite for success in the modern NFL. Hopefully, the new emphasis on heavier personnel sets in the Bills offense and the new commitment to and success with running the ball will continue to lead to more pro sets, more play-fakes, and better Josh Allen.

The key point to me is that the guy who replaced Edmunds made more game changing plays in one afternoon than I can recall Edmunds making in his entire Bills career.

I think the biggest change I've seen the past two weeks -- and make no mistake, this is likely due to Ken Dorsey's coaching -- is that there seem to be a lot more passing plays where Josh Allen's progressions are from short to long, rather than long to short. This is a HUGE difference, and a big reason that Josh suddenly looks much more comfortable back there. Less double-clutching, less running around like a chicken with his head cut off. He seems to be being coached that if the short completion is there, you take it. This, in turn, gets him in more of a rhythm and builds his confidence, and when shots ARE there (see the Gabe Davis TD and Knox end zone drop) he takes them. To add to that, the coaches seem to be instilling in Josh that he doesn't need to be a hero against inferior opponents. The most interesting andencouraging thing I heard during the broadcast today was the announcers saying that Josh said he "needs to be aware of who the opposing QB is, too". In other words, there will be weeks where he needs to sling it and let it loose and make things happen (vs Mahomes, vs Tua, etc), and weeks where he simply needs to be smart and take small profits (vs Howell, vs Garappolo, vs Mac Jones, etc). Great stuff.

LOL. "Continues to struggle", he says. 🤣 30 offensive points this week against a quality defense, on the road. 38 offensive points last week. "Continues to struggle". Amazing.

People bagging on Dorsey today? REALLY?! They mentioned early in the broadcast that the Commanders had gone an NFL record 9 straight games without allowing more than four 3rd down conversions in a single game. The Bills today were 9 for 15 on 3rd downs. They were the picture of balance, with 32 passes and 33 runs. They had 170 yards rushing, 218 yards passing, and scored 30 points. Yes, there were short fields, and lots of credit goes to the defense. But the Bills offense just had a quality showing against a very good Washington defense. They dominated time of possession, kept their quarterback clean, barely punted, and put up 30 points. Was Dorsey's gameplan perfect? No. Were there some calls he'd probably like to have back? I bet so. But that's the NFL. If you're honestly upset with Ken Dorsey TODAY, well, you're just looking for reasons to be upset, and I doubt anything will ever please you.

Posted this in the gameday thread, but... - Bills offensive line looking amazing the last two weeks. They were NOT going against slouches this week, either. Very, very impressive. - Spencer Brown. Where the HECK did this come from?! Looks like a totally different guy. Not perfect, mind you, but leaps and bounds above what we all thought we were gonna get this season from him. - Splash plays from a middle linebacker? Affecting the outcome of the game with sacks, interceptions, fumble recoveries? What on earth? THAT'S ALLOWED?!! - This defensive line is gonna be a PROBLEM for opposing teams this year. Adding Von Miller back in the next few weeks? My goodness! - Count me among those who prefer McDermott's playcalling to Leslie Frazier's thus far. - Jimbo Cook is silky smooth. - The week 1 Jets game looks to have had the same effect on Josh that the Pats multi-turnover game did in 2019, where it flips a switch in his brain and he starts paying controlled, smart, and within himself. - Love the diversity of the Bills offensive personnel and playcalling so far. - Things are no longer looking like a struggle for this Bills team. They're starting to get back to dominating and not getting in their own way and playing smart football on both sides of the ball. All in all, a very encouraging two weeks. Onto the absolutely ENORMOUS game against the Dolphins next week. GO BILLS!

- Entire offensive line - Spencer Brown specifically - Terrel Bernard - Leonard Floyd - Stefon Diggs. I know that these types of performances are commonplace from him and we hardly even notice, but...he's just SO good and SO consistent. - Sean McDermott - Tyler Bass 37-3 on the road against a 2-0 opponent? Give a game ball to all 53 active players, as far as I'm concerned.

- Bills offensive line looking amazing the last two weeks. They were NOT going against slouches this week, either. Very, very impressive. - Spencer Brown. Where the HECK did this come from?! Looks like a totally different guy. Not perfect, mind you, but leaps and bounds above what we all thought we were gonna get this season from him. - Splash plays from a middle linebacker? Affecting the outcome of the game with sacks, interceptions, fumble recoveries? What on earth? THAT'S ALLOWED?!! - This defensive line is gonna be a PROBLEM for opposing teams this year. Adding Von Miller back in the next few weeks? My goodness! - Count me among those who prefer McDermott's playcalling to Leslie Frazier's thus far. - Jimbo Cook is silky smooth. - The week 1 Jets game looks to have had the same effect on Josh that the Pats multi-turnover game did in 2019, where it flips a switch in his brain and he starts paying controlled, smart, and within himself. - Love the diversity of the Bills offensive personnel and playcalling so far. - Things are no longer looking like a struggle for this Bills team. They're starting to get back to dominating and not getting in their own way and playing smart football on both sides of the ball. All in all, a very encouraging two weeks. Onto the absolutely ENORMOUS game against the Dolphins next week. GO BILLS!

I think you misunderstood the OP. The Bills' offensive rushing scheme has nothing to do with how teams run the ball against them.