Rochesterfan

I am not as worried about Knox because they had Kroft filling the HB role and he was fine on several plays. I think Gilliam can fit in to that also. I do worry a bit about Moss only because I believe we do not great RB depth and I think activating TJ Yeldon helps the pass game, but I get concerned about the running game.

I saw several on the 4th quarter cover 1 plays. Not sure if it was as much as Knox, but he was in that role. @Hapless Bills Fan I quickly reviewed the Cover 1 film and you can see at least 2 plays with Kroft at the HB position (43:00 minutes and 53:00 both - long pass to Diggs and TD to Brown). I would assume the play before (mis-read with Brown) Kroft was also in at HB. Other plays they were in 10 personnel with no TE at all.

They used Kroft in that role a bunch at the end of the Dolphins game. My guess is we see a lot of Kroft and Gilliam in that role.

Additionally, I think it was in the Athletic- there was an excellent article about how the Jets window has been screwed up and how important that is to winning. The critical winning windows look at Coach contract length, GM contract length, and QB Contract length. The Bills screwed this up for years also, but the Jets have been in Hell with this the last decade. You retain a GM and let them hire a coach - the GM wants to be more aggressive as his seat is getting hot, but the coach wants his own guys and QB. They start to build, but then the GM is fired in 2 years and a new GM comes in. Now the coach is getting on the hot seat, but the GM wants to build and therefore trades for more picks and basically sets the Coach and QB up for 1-2 bad years and then you reset the coach. Now the new coach wants his players and the GM has wasted his safe years and you see the cycle repeat. The Jets are still in that cycle as Gase does not seem sold on Darnold nor Bell - so Joe Douglas has to move on. If they fire Gase and draft Lawerence/Fields - they have a chance to set up a 5 year plan where the GM, Coach, and QB all have about 4 years to make it work. I believe they screw this up by retaining Gase after this year (lots of term left on his contract) and try to let him and Joe Douglas build together until the fans totally revolt (as Bills fans did with Jauron as HC). Just my opinion, but I think the hardest thing to do is to get the Coach/GM/QB window aligned and set so that everyone has enough time to implement a plan and grow a team.

Unless they are idiots - the Jets have to take the QB - just because of the contract. After this season it is 5th year contract decision and then long term contract time for Darnold and they have wasted his cheap years. Yes they could get a boat load of picks for Lawerence, but if you figure those spread out over several years - you are to the point of paying your QB 40 million and it will impact who you can retain. Lawerence resets that window and let’s you spend on FA to build around him and use your draft picks on future talent to grow with him. I just don’t see the Jets as getting a top 3 pick. They are terrible right now, but I think around game 6-7 when the pressure is off - they will start to stack a few wins and end up with 4-6 wins by the end. Darnold will get hot and some teams will overlook them and bam. I expect Carolina, Jacksonville, Cincinnati, NYG, Detroit, and/or Minnesota to all be in the 2-5 win range with shots at picking before NYJs.

Totally disagree with this. My opinion on Spain is going to be - what do you want from that position. Since he was signed - he is easily the best pass blocking o-lineman the Bills have had. He is not dominant, but he is always in a great position and battles to the end. He picks up Stunts and tricks and is very good at stopping a rusher - passing him off - and picking up the delayed blitzer coming through the middle. He has excellent feet to get into a position to protect Allen. He is not a dominant run blocker - he will occupy guys, but he is not going to drive them off the ball. To me - he and Morse at Center are very similar- they both have great technique in pass blocking and move around well, but neither are going to drive guys on run blocking. I am ok with that as we have been transitioning to a more pass oriented offense to move the ball. Mongo on the other hand is exactly like his handle states - he is very physical and much more powerful in the run game than either Spain or Morse, but his aggression and his power also cause him to get out of position more on the pass blocking side and to miss things like stunts more frequently. He tries to bury his guy and on more than one occasion last year - that caused him to get out of position and leave an opening for the defense to attack. Spain is paid appropriately for what he does and he continues to be one of the best pass blockers on the team and that is crucial for this team going forward. I have no issues with the Bills trying to shift a few guys around. If you are looking to run late in the game - Mongo and Ford at guards are most likely giving you the biggest push. Heck even Mongo at Center last year replacing Morse got huge push in the running game. If you want to pass and protect the QB - Spain, Morse are both going to be in there. The other guard that has shown some pass blocking could be Winters - although it was tough to judge based on the day. Ford and Mongo both also can fill that 2nd guard spot.

This is ridiculous since they never mentioned the AC joint and if it was 3+ weeks they would have IRd him to get the additional body. It is not like years passed where IR was 6 weeks minimum and you could only bring back 2. I expect Edmunds back probably this week as he was practicing last week with the Red jersey. Milano - the Bills tend to go more cautious- my guess is he could play this week, but they will try to let him sit one more week. They already saw Norman re-aggravate his Hamstring and cost him additional weeks .

What a week for Josh: AFC Offensive Player of the Week GMFB Angry Run Scepter winner Top 15 QB Ranking by PFF for the week. 🙄 Man which award to highlight.

The throw to Diggs was definitely Cover 0, but it is hard on a few of the others - the run they had a deep safety that was so deep on that view you couldn’t see him until Allen slides. I really need to have time to watch the All-22 - it did appear they were running with a deep safety most of the game and were still getting beat over the top. So we will need to see how many times they ran a true cover 0, but at least once on the big Diggs completion to the sideline was a classic.

I will wait for the All-22, but just watching his NFL player of the week highlights - several of the big throws came against what appeared to be Cover 0 with tight man. I think the difference between this year and last year is the formation. Last year they ran a lot of 21 and 12 personnel because they only had 2 legitimate WRs. So when teams played Cover 0 - they did not have the athletes to win - so many throws were long throws that were overthrown. Against Miami - they ran cover 0 and had everyone at the line of scrimmage and brought pressure, but the Bills spent a bunch of time in 10 personnel with 4 WRs and suddenly you had crossing routes to Diggs and Beasley open and he was completing the passes. It sure looked to me like he beat Cover 0 against the Dolphins a lot more than he struggled - even in the Red Zone for TDs. I know the Dolphins pass rush is not great, but they have what was supposed to be some of the top cover CBs in the NFL and that was going to be their strength. Allen even beat what looked to be Cover 0 by spreading the field and running a delayed draw for a first down. It wasn’t perfect, but it has to give some pause to teams that watched the Pats and Ravens destroy us with that. It appears the Bills are going to counter with 4 WRs and challenge the defense to cover 4 guys right from the snap and not many teams have the CB horses to match that - especially if Diggs beats his man right off the line.

What really matters to me is yes it was the Jets and the Dolphins, but the Jets have typically run a bunch of zone coverages with pressure packages and Josh read that and beat it. The Dolphins on the other hand run Man coverage with and including some 0 coverage blitzes that have given Josh issues in the past. He read both styles of D and found the open guys - that bodes well for the future as we see him beating all types of coverages. Now neither team is overall elite, but the Dolphins spent big on DBs and had perhaps 2 of the top 5 CBs and a 1st round pick (so no slouches), but Josh beat them all over the field. If Josh can get a read on the defense and beat the coverages that hurt him last year (all out man blitzes - zone/man combos) he will be tough to beat. The addition of guys that go and get the ball is also so evident. There have been probably 10 passes that in years passed get dropped and now guys are making plays. Several throws to Diggs that are sweet throws where he goes an gets the ball - in years passes those are incomplete because the DBs would out physical the WRs. The TD throws to Davis, Moss, and Gilliam - all thrown to places to allow the receiver to make the only play on the ball - those are not catches in other years. They were all good throws with placement to keep the player away from the defense, but if they are all dropped - the issue is why didn’t the ball go right to the bread box or something to that effect. The fact is Josh has improved leaps and bounds and his receiving talent has improved and together they make the offense fun to watch.

The explanation in part 2 is perfect. That is how they play and it may be frustrating to fans, but they do not hate the way Wallace plays in this D. That does not mean they are not looking for better, but they know what they have in Wallace and it is good enough to run their defense. I think they brought extra pressure for 2 reasons - mostly because I think they wanted to force Fitz to throw it quickly and allow the troops (CBs and Safeties) to rally and tackle. They did not want to get beat longer on double moves - like what happened to Tre’. I think they felt like pressure him - get the ball out and tackle and maybe once or twice Tre’ will get a shot. I think they also hoped it would throw a little confusion and maybe get a few drive stops. If they could blitz and stop the run - it would give less exposure to the back-up LBs and maybe having them a bit closer to any receiver. I think Fitz is just darned good at handling that and he made some great throws to guys that had Bills defenders draped all over them. The TD against Tre by the TE - that was classic Fitzmagic. Tre was right there on the TE forced him to the inside and reacted perfectly- Fitz just beats him with a throw. If it was a different QB that reacted a second slower or like Darnold in week 1 - Tre either gets a hand on it or a pick, but sometime when Fitz is on - he just beats you.

Not sure he is late, I believe he is a better Zone than Man Corner and he plays as the Bills expect - keep the guy in front of you and make the tackle. The problem is he gets exposed by QBs that aren’t afraid of tight windows. A guy like Fitz isn’t scared to go after a CB like Tre’ and has no qualms about a guy like Wallace - who even with good coverage is more focused on making sure he gets his man to the ground rather than jumping a route. Wallace seems much more comfortable when he can play zone - see the QB and the WR and knows he has safety help over the top. With the Milano and Edmunds injuries and Fitz attacking the middle of the field with zone coverage - it pulled the safeties into coverage there. Then when the Bills would throw a wrinkle and go man - Fitz was unfazed - even with pressure- and attacked the outside - sometimes it was Tre, but many times it was Wallace. I get people wanting him to be better, but the dude balls as much as he can, makes solid tackles, and is a solid CB - he just is not Tre White and therefore is going to face a lot of throws. Fitz attacked Wallace with several throws where Wallace was right there - Darnold was to scared to make those throws or tried to finesse them and was off target. It is a huge difference between those 2 QBs.

I think McKenzie was fine right up to the block, he didn’t just tense up for the hit - He lunged right along the yard and hit him directly with his shoulder. He needed to do the old Ole’ block - just pushing the guy slightly. The size of the guys don’t matter - the NFL is working to outlaw this type of block and have been regularly calling this.

Brand new - just put in and it is supposed to be really good, but the 49ers said the turf was long and caught on their cleats. It may be they were wearing the wrong cleats, but we will see - the 49ers get to play the NYG on the same field next week also.

You either trade him for lesser value or you let him be the veteran year one and let him walk. At this point the Jets would be insane to give him a 5th year option and another contract along with passing on Lawerence - for even a ton of picks. The cost on Darnold would hurt any plans to build easily around him. Now if they are sitting at pick 5 or 6 - then you have to look at keeping Darnold and building around him, but only if you miss out on the top QBs.

If they don’t take Lawerence and try to trade Darnold - the GM should be fired and I think Douglas is pretty smart. It has nothing to do with production, but contract. If they keep Darnold - they have to pay a true QB salary upper 20 - 35 million per season. With Lawerence you reset the contract to rookie base and have 4 years to build with that rookie deal.

I also think Miami is a really bad match-up for Wallace because of Fitz. I like Wallace when then can run a lot of zone and help with coverage. Typically that zone package protects Wallace and lets him play. The difficulty with Miami is they do not fool Fitz - so if he reads Zone - he works the middle of the field and you see guys like Marlowe and Johnson getting beat - especially this week. If they bail and run man coverage - then Fitz targets the outside guys - Wallace more than Tre’, but both got beat a few times. The Bills even tried a few different rotation coverages - like Wallace and Tre covering the TE and both got burned on that package. Without Milano and Edmunds in the middle - the Bills struggled to control that area and Fitz just is not afraid to throw against this defense. It puts immense pressure because they could not help out like normal.

I want to give a big shout out to our trainers, coaches, and players for really buying into a process to stay healthy and hydrated. The heat and humidity early in the season usually leads to cramps and muscle issues. The fact that the Bills players rotated like they did without drop off and I did not see really any major cramps or other injuries. It is a huge sign of how good these guys are and how much they use analytics to keep guys healthy.

At one point with the ball at 7 yards - the Falcons had like 3-4 guys to the one Giant and needed to go get it. No good excuse not to try. I do remember doing a bunch of fumble drills as a player and coach - and one of the hardest things to do is cover a ball rolling on the ground - without having it squirt free or slide away. The falcons still had to try - they also could have worked to box the Cowboy player out, but they all just stood there looking at it. It was literally about the worst effort and planning I have ever seen out of a team - especially in a crucial point like that.

No the return team can recover it at any point. That was a terrible job by Atlanta. Once Atlanta touches the ball, then Dallas can recover it even if it does not travel 10 yards. My only thought is the Atlanta players did not think it was going to make it 10 yards and therefore decided to back away at first, but to not go and get it at about 8 yards was terrible.

It was so weird - they said he was hurt during the week, but was expected to play. The announced fairly quickly that he was not playing at all and had been ruled out. Not sure I have seen anything else like this before.

It looked like they were rotating guys all day. Lots of heat and humidity. Not sure he was benched - I think he was out and then went in for Spain on the next drive to give him a breather. Lets hold the hot takes.

I think him traveling is important as it gives him more time to work with Dodson on film study and calling some defenses. I also think that maybe missing a game, but having to work closely with Dodson to get ready and describe what you are seeing and why to get into a specific defense - may in the long run help Edmunds a bit more. Sometimes having to talk through it helps solidify things and compartmentalize them in your mind.

The Bills currently run a ton of 4-2-5 - Nickle looks as it is. My guess is that they run a bunch of 4-1-6 Nickle/Dime looks using Marlowe and Neal in the Milano role to cover the TE/RBs. They will most likely rotate Klein and Dodson as the single backer depending on down and distance. I also expect to see some 5-1-5 personnel on early downs, but using Addison or Hughes as a OLB to give some size and stoutness to prevent runs and using them and/or Dodson on Blitzes to get some pressure on Fitz. I expect from the All-22 the overall Scheme will run similar to their standard Nickle package just using 1 LB and filling that second role with either a smaller faster DB for coverage or a larger DE for run stuffing and blitzes. I also expect them to try and use some standard 4-3 looks, but again using just Dodson and Klein (both with positional flexibility (MLB/OLB) to dictate the Dolphins strong and passing sides. They will fill the 3rd position with an extra coverage safety to again help get through the game.