Rochesterfan

I agree and although I also think it would be nice to see some major tendency breakers early in games - I do wonder if some of that is on purpose and something that they have learned over the years. I think the staff believes if they play base normal defense early - they can see exactly how teams want to attack their defense and how they will react and then exploit that later. If they break tendencies early - they do not see the response to things like simulated pressure and then have to adjust later. I believe that is what happened to the team years ago. With Dabol and Frazier - experienced coaches - they broke tendencies early and then hit lulls as they and teams adapted - see 3rd quarter struggles. I believe they have now overcompensated and that has lead to early game struggles. Neither approach is great against top tier teams and that has lead to struggles, but the current approach is really bad if they are outplayed and out muscled like against Baltimore.

I totally agree with this. I will also add that it is not even a halftime adjustment for all the people that say the coaches don’t adjust during the game - you see them making adjustments and honing in on other teams starting by the end of the first quarter and the second quarter. The same issue occurs on offense where they have a set run of plays scripted, but it looks like Josh wants it to happen similar to what he is expecting and doesn’t follow his check down rules and the offense struggles for the first quarter until he gets into the flow reading the defense. You can’t really even say this is a McD issue because a few years ago it was exactly the opposite. The Bills would come out and score nearly 100% of the time on the first couple of drives build a lead and stop other teams most of the first half. Then everyone complained because after halftime the adjustments made by other teams worked for the 3rd quarter and the games would tighten up - both the offense and defense struggled and then the 4th quarter hit and boom they would salt the game away. I think it is really just the NFL - Most games teams have flow and then lose it and other teams look lost and then move forward. I don’t think it is as pronounced with other teams because with the Bills when both the offense and defense are working close games become blowouts quickly and that is what you are seeing.

🤦‍♂️. Nice view - you can clearly see his had is already off the ball by step 2. It perfectly shows why it is not a catch. If he had control wouldn’t the ball stay where it was - it is moving and therefore not a catch. If you think this is a TD - show me other examples where a guy bobbles the ball as he is in the process and gets the completion. This is 100% incomplete as at no time does he have full control because the defender did his job.

The coaches can tell them what they are challenging, but during review they are looking for other reviewable aspects and in this case which is rare - they realized not that Kincaid failed to make the catch, but that he fumbled before he was down. They made a change to the ruling and therefore - even though the it did not prove to be what was challenged- the play was changed and therefore technically the Titans are not penalized. This is a rare occurrence and is typically seen on challenges to spotting of the ball where the ball is moved either forward or backwards a few inches and therefore the challenge is acceptable, but the outcome may not be changed - such as the guy was still short of getting a first down. It is not something to really take advantage of - it is just a minor outcome of a play.

Yes you are wrong because he needs to complete the catch - it is total different than a runner at the goal line. The 2 steps for a completion do not start until the player has control of the ball. He gets it in 1 hand, loses control as the ball slides down into his mid section - regains control and gets 1 foot in and one foot out of bounds. It is not a catch anywhere on the field of play since he did not get both feet down in bounds with control of the ball. The goal line only matters if the player has control - such as a running play. A passing play still requires the player to make the catch. I feel for Coleman because it was a great effort and he literally made a superb attempt, but the defender looked to just free up the ball and force him to regather and his toe was just out of bounds. Sucks, but it was the right call and the same reason the Kincaid catch last week was not challenged - you must maintain that control and get your feet down. It was also why the Kincaid catch today was a catch and fumble as he got 2 feet down and dove forward completing the play as the ball was knocked out and ruled a fumble.

I guess I am not seeing his Elbow hit in bounds for sure. The spot the video is stopped - the pellets flying up are not from his elbow, but from the defenders back foot. His elbow is still in the air - it comes down and connects to the ground just as his forearm and lower body is hitting out of bounds. It is also difficult to tell, but at 0.01 seconds on that video his toe hits right on the sideline in bounds, but slides - does it touch out of bounds? At 0:02 seconds his arm comes down and the elbow and forearm hit simultaneously with his arm out of bounds. It was not going to be overturned because even as a homer of a Bills fan - it was the correct call. The Dalton catch by the sidelines also would not be overturned in my opinion - not because of a small bobble, but because it is not a catch until he demonstrates control and control means not grabbing and having the 2 bobbles before he hits the ground. He did not show control until he was out of bounds. If Dalton makes the catch clean at first with both hands and controls it until he hits the ground and it moves the small wobble that it did - then I could see the challenge, but he clearly loses control right after the catch as he is going down as the ball moves while falling and that to me is why the Refs called it correctly incomplete. They were correctly not challenged - although you could use the Cook challenge as a timeout, but the effect was going to be the same - a play stoppage and incomplete.

Watching Cook over his time - I think that throw is very hard for him to catch. That particular throw - over the top/shoulder with the receiver going straight away - is a WR style catch and Cook has missed on several of those over the last 2 years - especially last year. I don’t think they are really drops as those are going to be very low percentage catches for him. Cook is much better on the quick sideline routes and the crossing the middle style routes - where he can turn and get eyes on the ball and look it in. I think Brady and Josh need to recognize that and adjust because Ty Johnson and Ray Davis seem better at that route. It does not mean the Bills should not utilize Cook in the passing game or limit his plays, but maybe they need to look as his personal route tree and limit that specific type of throw and move him to something where he can really see the entire pass. He is a good receiver out of the backfield and has shown that at every level he has played, but he looks very awkward when trying to catch that type of pass and he seems to misjudge and not make a hands catch like he does elsewhere on the field.

Well - the team with the 2nd longest streak - the Rams got blown out today after 9-10 weeks. It shows just how difficult it is to be in every game or be blowing people out. The streak is pretty amazing overall and I think is a testament to coaching, team build, preparation, and the players commitment to this staff that they give everything each week to try and win.

I am sorry, but 30 posts - poor topic recognition - just plain stupid with no real stats to back things up - my god - hang it up. 🤦‍♂️ McD has been repeatedly praised for being one of the best at using analytics to determine go for it - versus punt/FG tries in relation to outcome impacting wins. The data shows that he is among the best at being aggressive at the correct times and situations. Raw numbers mean nothing - the Bills are amongst the highest scoring teams meaning they face fewer 4th down in general and are ahead many of the times and it is inappropriate to go for it. It also boasted Tyrod as the starting QB and a strong defense. McD was conservative in his first season - 100% based upon the team. He loosened up a bit in year 2 with a rookie QB and has learned ever since. I 100% agree with this post.

I totally agree - the first time through I was using over 8 which moved Baltimore to all of last year, but after re-reading it moved Baltimore to week 18 of last year. I also think it just goes to show how incredible this is.

I think it is the Rams at 10 weeks - with week 9 of 2023. They lost week 13 in 2023 to GB by 8 - so 6 games ago Even if you include the Bengals game - we have the longest streak by far. Nearly 1/2 of the teams have lost by 7 either week 18 of 2023, week 1, or wk 2 of 2024. The longest outside the Bills - looks like the Rams in the middle of last year - 10 games ago. The Bills still have all of last year and this year as longer than every other team. You can spin McD any way you want, but the preparation of the Bills can not be questioned. Not only do they rarely lose, but even when they do - it is an intense close competition. Meanwhile the coaches some of our fans slobber over have weeks that there teams just are not prepared and it gets worse if you include the playoffs for teams not better. The fact that people point to Cincinnati like that is so much closer ends up as a joke. The Bills are still very dominant in this category.

Thank you for a nice write up. First - I will say in regards to the running game and I have not seen it mentioned really - I believe the weather played a lot with gameplan and play calls. The Bills - especially in the first half - spent the majority of the time going into the wind. The wind caused issues with deeper and outside throws - therefore you saw more running and short passes and more focus around the line of scrimmage. I will be very interested as the games move along to see how the JA passing chart expands, but I think they had an Arizona team they felt they could run on and a wind that impacted throws down the field and to the sidelines. Second - and maybe it will change, but I can’t stand the kickoff rules. Really other than the Bills game nearly every kick was still a touchback and the only kicks that weren’t - were caused by the wind. Yes those 4 kicks ( 2 returns and 2 penalties) had an impact, but I would prefer they just get rid of it and move on. We will see as it will be a bigger impact all year on the Bills than the majority of the teams, but I also think that is unfair - it is not an even impact on teams due strictly to weather.

There were 2 - 1 was #99 I believe on the outside - very minor but as he is crashing down the Cardinal player is pushing him in the back with one hand. Again that is minor. #2 is pretty egregious- Bills # 30 something right in the hole. He is going to be double teamed by Cards #3 (2nd deep man) and #44. The Bills guy is past #44 at the 30 and is breaking down near the 25 - he looks to be sandwiched by the 2 Cardinals players, but fights through. #3 looks to whiff and as the Bills player reaches out at the 25 - you can clearly see #44 driving him from behind. #44 never gets him from the front or side everything is him pushing from behind and that opens the gap to run through. Even with that - the Bills are still in pretty good shape - 95, 5, and 41 are all converging on the runner right in the hole. Both Gilliam and Elam have him in their arms at the 35, but fail to make the tackle. An outside DB also has him lined up as they are making the tackle near the 37 and ducks and ends up giving him the O’le - allowing the TD. It was bad tackling, but a block in the back also.

Both the Bills and Cards kicked to the Endzone with the wind - that seemed to be the plan of just about every team. Neither the Bills or Cards kicked to the endzone against the wind - neither kicker could get the ball there with the wind. The Cards did not make the decision to kick to the endzone into the wind. They had 1 kickoff in the first Quarter that was a long return and then tried squibing to start the 3rd quarter and left it short of the landing zone and the Bills got the ball at the 40 - they knew they could not get the ball to the endzone in that direction. If the wind had allowed - both teams would have put every kick into the endzone, but the wind did not allow. It is also difficult to know exactly what Arizona was blocking - up to the return for TD - they only had 1 return for 25 yards with the kick in the first quarter - where the player was tackled short of the 30. The rest there was no return and therefore the up guys really never got to move. The 2nd kick was muffed and never returned - downed inside the 5. The TD return had a major block in the back right where the returner was going and 3 Bills with a chance to tackle him - it seems like they were pretty prepared for what the cards were doing - the players on the field failed the coach.

It is harder - just look at the 6 kick-offs that went in that direction and the impact of the wind. Arizona #1 - Prater kicked deep - could only get the ball to the 2 and we had a 53 yard return. Arizona #2 - Prater tried a squib and it hit short of the zone and the Bills got it at the 20. Bills #1 - Deep kick to the 4 - return to the 29. Bills #2 - Deep Kick to the 4 - muff Bills #3 - Deep Kick to the 4 - TD return with a huge block in the back right at the point of contact and 2 Bills sliding off the runner and a third guy going O’le. Bills #4 - Tried to squib, but kick goes OB. The wind made it impossible going in that direction to get any kick to the end zone. The Ball was getting held up and pushed short and if you tried to keep it short - the wind was pushing it hard toward the sideline where Bass’s kick went. Squibs and low line drives are even harder now because it must go to the landing zone and if it is low enough an up man can knock it down short of the landing zone - so you have many fewer paths to try and squib the ball through. Shaw - I don’t think this is correct - they pretty much knew exactly where he could reach going that direction into the wind. The previous 2 kicks were identical and both landed at exactly the 4 - exactly the same as the returned kick. They had covered well on the first and the second was muffed. Even the TD return was well covered. They had a guy right at the point get blocked right in the back and pushed past the returner and then the 2nd wave had 2 guys wrap up and slide off and a 3rd guy sort of O’le out of the way. I think the pregame plan was to kick all to the endzone, but neither kicker could get the ball there with the wind. The Bills felt good about their coverage and some bad play by a few guys and an uncalled penalty created the TD.