Rochesterfan

The sticks are there this year mostly for decoration. The NFL said prior to the year you would see less measurements because they were using the eagle eye spotting and that is what you got. Someone above made the spot and deemed it short.

How do we feel about this now? KC got stronger playing against it especially when it was obvious. You don’t think that there was an equally good chance the same thing happens fron 2+ yards out against Baltimore.

Nope - several times they rush to the line to run the play - preventing the other team from bringing in extra DL. Additionally, when the other team is not on the goal line - they still have to think about defending the entire field - so they keep LBs and safeties on the field giving the OL a huge advantage. Down at the goal line after waiting to get the spot - Baltimore had already brought in extra DL. It was a totally different situation than even earlier when they hustled at the goal line and caught Baltimore with a standard defense and scored. This is the second time that this happened - the first was Detroit - and neither time where the defense could substitute and get fully ready at the goal line did the Bills run the play. I think they recognized when it works and when they will have issues and they go to alternate plays.

Disagree - it works because the Bills get them in a front where Josh has a gap. That is why the move him over - he doesn’t just go forward like Philly did. The Bills recognize that at some times a team doesn’t have to defend most of the field - they can instead fill gaps - in those cases you do something else. The bills tried to let them rush to create a gap - it worked, but an extra blitz filled that opening and he got Josh down.

I believe it is a couple of reasons. The Allen QB sneak works best when they rush up and catch the opponent in a lighter box and have gaps for Allen to hit. It also works best with less than 1 yard to go. Down at the goal line because of the time to get the ball spotted - there was time for the defense to bring in extra linemen and with little area to defend - they can bring in a lot of extra beef making it not only harder, but more dangerous for Allen. Think of the stop by Tennessee at the goal line. Defending the end zone and defending 1 yard at midfield is very different. I think the Bills recognize that and respect the difference. Earlier in the year at the goal line you saw a play like that and Josh went basically outside the tackle to get a gap. If after the 2nd down run they could have rushed up and tried it - they have more success, but the ball was spotted outside the 2 causing a delay - which changed everything up and stopped momentum.

Yikes - except the Bills had only 1 TO since the KC game - Josh’s 1 Int against NE in the endzone. So neither team makes mistakes. It is going to be a long, close, nerve racking game all around.

Agreed and 99% of the time even if it looks to be slightly farther - they don’t change the spot. The Bills have a former Ref making the calls from above - so I doubt it was much of anything. I would love to see some replays because I thought he was a bit closer, but man - the Refs really do a pretty good job catching it live when we think he is still up.

The reason I believe for not running it - is what @BillsFanForever19 says for the most part. The QB sneak works best when the Bills immediately run up to the line and can run it without the other team putting their big package in. The Bills did that in the Ravens game and got the yardage. It is less effective when the opponent can bring in extra guys to fill all of the gaps. 2nd I think they had decided that the FG was more important than going for a 4th down and risking losing the game with no chance - so they had 1 play from the 2 yard line with Baltimore able to bring in all of their d-line. Everything changes if the Bills were up by 8 or less than 4 - then I think McD says we have 2 plays for the TD, but up by 5, 6, or even 7 - the FG to ensure you get another chance on offense was the right call - so you need over 2 yards on 1 play. I don’t know that is the play I want, but it was not the QB sneak from that spot against that Defense.

He chased points all game failing on multiple 2 pt conversions. He allowed the Ravens in critical situations to go away from Henry and try to score via the pass - see the 2pt plays and the FG drive. It is not totally on Harbaugh - just as it is rarely on McD, but the buck stops with the coach and he didn’t do enough to put them in position to win and the players couldn’t pull it through. It was 2 very evenly matched teams and one forced the other into several mistakes and that is without people acknowledging the 3rd fumble caused by Cam Lewis on the last drive that lucky for Baltimore happened to fall into the WR hands on the ground or the Bills force a 4th TO. The Bills were obviously coached up this week especially with the weather to attack the ball and it worked.

Not only that - Cam Lewis forced a fumble on the final drive also - the Ravens just got lucky the fumble landed back in the receivers hands on the ground. The Bills knew that they were not bigger, but they are superbly coached and very disciplined and that lead to the victory. The Bills have been playing like that all year - we are going to march down the field and get points and make few mistakes - their opponents can’t do the same - they make a mistake and that gets magnified in the playoffs. Great job to the staff they outcoached and outplayed the opposing team once again. Yes that is why they had to run the ball instead of kneeling down. They could of used approximately 85 of the 93 seconds on offense without the first down.

It could be the Chargers and Broncos become factors, but I really see them more like Miami and NE from a couple of years ago. The Chargers and Dolphins seem nearly a match with the ability to look great, but man do they find ways to lose big games. It has been multiple coaches and rosters, but I just think Herbert does not have enough to lead his team to big wins. The Broncos remind me of Mac Jones rookie NE team - where everyone thought he was going to become elite and then teams got a handle on him and it was gone. I think perhaps Bo has a chance to continue, but I would not be the least bit surprised to see them move back a few steps. I could be wrong, but I still feel they have a long way to go have significant impact.

I don’t disagree with he was sore on the play - saw it and agree. I don’t think the Bills are actively flaunting the rules and risking getting fined or losing draft picks by not putting him in protocol with a head injury. Since he had a back injury designation last week - I could see that, but I highly doubt they call it a personal matter as that would be highly suspicious if the NFL finds out they are hiding an injury.

As you know - I totally disagree that we are in any way screwed by this playoff schedule. There is only 1 game for each division that determines all of the other games for the next weekend and that is the #2 versus #7 game. The Bills are actually the beneficiary with the schedule. Based upon the 2 Saturday games - they know exactly who they will be playing and their team can get ahead of it based upon the outcomes. The winners on Sat still won’t know for sure until around 4pm on Sunday who they play. For example if Baltimore and Houston win - Baltimore may be planning on Buffalo and Houston on KC, but an upset by Denver changes the game to Baltimore/Houston. Whereas if Baltimore wins - that is the only team we can play and we can begin getting ready. We either face Baltimore or are done in that case. The extra rest is totally overblown as their game is late Saturday night and they have to travel - so basically the overall time is nearly identical. It is exactly the same schedule as last year and most likely only the division changes as we move forward as it seems to work fine as long as the stadiums are free.

I only see 2 so far 49ers and Lions. The Pats this week would be 3, but then it resets for the playoffs to unlimited. So if they want to elevate him - it should be fine.

Totally agree - you have franchise QBs where the expectations are SB, but with poor coaching - you get Cincinnati of this year on the outside looking in.

That is only if you believe that McD has not influenced that. McD as a coach talking with Josh and working with him and the OC to not only come up with plans, but what to work on and plans for growth have allowed Josh to develop. Without the success and stability of a head coach, you get Aaron Rodgers of 2024 and NYJ Sam Darnold versus Minnesota Sam Darnold. You get the Bears blowing multiple high draft pick QBs not because of talent, but the change and lack of stability cause the QB failure. Josh is Josh because McD allowed him to grow and foster. My belief is that Josh’s success is a direct reflection of his relationship with Beane and McD and their trust and attitude in how to build a franchise allowed Josh to grow and become a star and you do not get one without the other.

I feel like the was the plan and then Brown got the stinger/shoulder and I think they want the safety of an extra tackle for the playoff run. I don’t think Brown will miss time, but now you have that potential for aggravation and missing snaps. Plus gives them depth for resting people week 18 and get the youth some playing time.

I think Jefferson was sluggish versus Detroit because he was inactive. He was bad versus LAR, but they went size and Jordan Phillips versus Detroit.

Totally agree and unfortunately he right now keeps getting nicked up when he gets a shot. Had a turf toe, ankle, foot, shoulder, etc. I think it has been a snake bitten year. i expect given a healthy, but short offseason - they can revisit the stuff we saw in training camp before his first injury.

Totally disagree. The Bills like the Lions are very aggressive once you get passed the 50. The onside kick makes it more likely the Bills are aggressive and have 4 downs to get a first down. A full kick-off put the Bills on their side of mid field and they need 2+ first downs to get passed the 50. The Lions were significantly more likely to get a potential stop at the 12 minute mark with a full kickoff rather than the onside kick. The onside kick failed and allowed the Bills a TD and then the Lions were back down as if their last drive did not happen. When they kicked deep they held the Bills to a FG (somewhat asterisked), but it actually allowed them to get closer rather than the onside kick. I can understand wanting to on-side, but how he handled the next kick-off tells you that he recognized it was the wrong call or he would of done it again.

You mean exactly what we did against the Lions - found the weak LB that is a back-up and attack him. This is an issue, but it is across the board - Spector is a 3rd LB and not even a primary weakside back-up behind Milano and Williams - he is more designed to be behind Bernard. Little you can do mid game and you are on back-up #3 for a position.

But what is the point. There have been multiple QBs with 65+ QBR with winning records and no playoffs. Fitz has done it a couple of times. This year you have 3 QBs with Burrow, Carr, and Purdy above 64.5 with losing records. If there is some correlation that would be helpful, but it doesn’t match anything other than teams that have pretty good QB.

Maybe I am missing something here, but your 49ers defense of losing to the Chiefs is the 2 guys that Shanahan and Lynch have picked to be QBs aren’t as good as the guys McD picked and if they were they would have won - ok, but that choice has always been on them and who they wanted at QB. The second part you praise the 49ers D under an offense coach and blame the failure on the offense and then Hammer McD because the Bills offense has been sound and the defense failed. How does this not ring exactly the same for both of them. If the Bills are being outcoached because the strength of the Bills coaching is defense and that is being beat - then I would argue the 49ers suffered the same thing by playing great defense and the handpicked QBs failed. If Purdy can’t play from a messy pocket - isn’t it Shanny job to adjust and fix that - roll outs, extra protection, quicker routes, etc, but you blame the QB for the failure and leave the offensive guru as a by product. When 13 seconds occurred - everyone blames McD implicitly even though Wallace and Poyer have both come out and stated they had a miscommunication and the players messed up the call and were not in the correct position. For the Bills it is coaching and a McD failure - for SF it is his QBs that he picked that is the failure. It makes no sense. I guess for me the loss is the loss and Shanny has never beaten KC (regular or postseason) and he has also been outplayed and beaten by the Bills in their match-ups.

Yes they acquired them as draft picks and now that they have to pay them - they are in the same boat as the Bills. If they pay Purdy - they are looking at letting some DL and a WR go. It is a choice that teams make. SF went for a veteran QB and built the defense by draft. The Bills drafted a QB and built the defense by FA and are now transitioning the other way. I also noticed how convenient you stopped there : 2024 Josh counts over 30 million in cap and 60 million in cash 2024 Purdy - 1.004 million in cap That 29 million allows Nick Bosh, Deebo, and your choice of Lenoir or Floyd to cover cap only. They have 1 more year and then need to decide are they going forward with Purdy or back to drafting another QB and shot #4.

I don’t know - I have probably watched at least 20 -25 49ers games over the last 2 years maybe more and yes Tua and Purdy are not in the same class making off schedule plays because that is not how Shanny (or by default McDaniels) want the offense run. Trey Lance in his limited games was playing like early Josh - holding the ball - waiting for plays to open up deeper and taking off when needed and Kyle benched him as quickly as he could because he wasn’t getting the ball out - he didn’t even try to grow him into a player. Look as was said Shanny is in the same ballpark/Tier as McD as a coach, but I wouldn’t trade the 2 from the beginning and believe that the Bills are where they are under Shanny - I don’t think he would of drafted Josh or mentored him to the QB he is. Maybe he would have, but as he got the QB he wanted in SF with Jimmy G - why do we think that wouldn’t have been our path also.