Shaw66

Yeah, and then when you consider the athleticism of the pass rushers, it's an unfair competition. Miller, of course, is an example, but there are dozens of guys who really test offensive linemen, including Greg Rousseau and plenty of others. Having guys with both the brains to play the position and the athletic talent to deal with the talents of the defenders is very difficult. It helps make the point that Gunner has been talking about - you have to invest draft picks in offensive linemen, because in the first couple of rounds is where you find guys with the raw materials necessary to survive in the league. Later rounds and free agency is pretty slim pickings.

You're dreaming. You think there is some starter-quality offensive lineman sitting on someone's practice squad. Every single guy you or I would think is good enough is on some team's 53 already.

Agree. They can't rely on Josh as part of the running game. It isn't as effective as it was, and it's something that all teams are prepared for in the red zone now. On improvised scrambles, sure, but every team is looking for those option plays down there. Plus, it's clear that they're trying to run him less, and he's sliding more, and that's all necessary as he matures. They need an effective, standard running game, which is what supports your argument that the real problem is that they continue to allocated too few resources to the offensive line. They thought that they had enough talent for Kromer to work with, but so far that seems to be incorrect.

I like Cowherd but this is nonsense. Allen is throwing the ball like Mahomes and Rodgers in his prime. Do those teams depend too much on their QBs? The Bills aren't running Allen a lot.

I think this is correct. As heat exhaustion approaches, they're ability to do the things they normally do is compromised. But their desire to do those things is unchanged, so I suspect some of those guys were to do things they just couldn't.

Thanks. As I said, I hadn't read the thread when I jumped in. That's good and helpful analysis. I'm not sure yesterday quite counts, under the circumstances, but certainly a better oline performance would have won the game. I'll add, without knowing, that someone posted saying, well, there were three close games last year that the Bills took over late and won by enough that the final wasn't close. Those were close games into the fourth quarter and the team DID respond well. Which is not to say that isn't a problem that they aren't protecting josh or powering a running game consistently late in games. But it may not be a huge problem. Half of the players on the field on offense are linemen, so it shouldn't be exactly surprising that half of the losses may be attributable to the line. I know that's a naively simplistic statistical tool, but it makes some sense. I still come back to the coaching. In the fourth quarter the Dolphins had the plays they needed, play after play, on an six-play, four-minute drive to win the game. The Bills had two drives after that and couldn't deliver. They were first and goal at the two. I don't care who you have up front. These are professional football linemen, and in the right plays a good team will score from two yards out. There are blocks that they can make, so those are the plays you call. All kinds of players in that game missed plays that would have won the game, but on first and goal from the two, it's on the coaches.

That was barely a walk at all. He was a light-heavyweight about to collapse.

Ah, thanks. I haven't watched any replays, and I thought he might have completed his tuck. Thanks for responding. Not to be a pain, but where's that list? This thread, or someplace else? Thanks.

Well, that may be true, but blockers aren't the answer to the problem, if it actually is a problem and not just coincidence, that the Bills do not win close games. The answer to that problem is much more likely to be found in how the team is prepared for the game, the skills and habits the players have. I'm not sure his GM has done so badly. About the most you can ask for from the GM is a solid starting five - having a solid oline depth is tough. What you hope for is to have a solid group of starters, then when one goes down, the four can carry the fifth a bit. When you're good but not superb to begin with, and three go down, you only have two left to carry them, and that is not going to work. Beyond that, winning close games at the end is when playcalling on both sides of the ball becomes critical. Based on your preparation and what you've learned from the game, you have to have the plays and the formations that will allow your players to create opportunities and take advantage of them. When you're consistently losing close games, what it suggests is that your coaches don't have the in-game answers. Yesterday, it was Dorsey. There had to have been ways to win that game. We saw them in multiple offensive failures. One might try to lay all those failures at the feet of the oline, but I think it was more than that. I can be patient with Dorsey - I think he's the right guy, but he has a lot to learn. Even the very best young coordinators make mistakes, sometimes big mistakes, in games early in their careers, because it isn't easy. But even if I'm willing to give him a pass for a while, it still doesn't change the fact that this is an aspect of their game that the Bills need to get better at, and it would be nice not to waste another entire season learning how.

Hey, Gun, I don't know the rule, so maybe you can explain further. If I do a real tight-rope, two-toe drag and catch the ball falling to the ground out of bounds, I never make a move common to the game, except falling down. I would think the rule would be different in the end zone. After I've caught the ball in the end zone and I have two feet on the ground, there is no move to make that's "common to the game." What's common? A spike, a dance? I mean, after catching the ball for a TD, receivers don't make a "move common to the game," at least not that in any way at all has any relevance to the game. I thought that the rule was, or maybe I just assumed the rule was, that possession, tuck the ball, and two feet in the end zone (all of which Davis had) ends the play, unless the receiver was on his way to the ground, in which case he still has to maintain control through hitting the ground. Do you know the answer to that, or do you have a theory about it?

I gotta say that Einstein's take on this, as expressed in the comparison to Fox, is a legitimate concern. And, frankly, I think McDermott would agree with it. I think McDermott already understands that he's not winning close games. If he didn't understand it before yesterday, he does now. The players he put on the field were better players (if not in raw talent, then in terms of discipline, teamwork, complexity of offense and defense), with a much better quarterback, and McDermott knows that. I think he would say that winning games like yesterday is a capability that he, his staff, and his players must develop. McDermott has only one objective, and that's winning. If he's not winning, he wants to correct it.

Corta - great summary. Thanks. Five minutes and I have a reasonable take on 32 teams. These are fair points. On the other hand, every good team has some bad stats. It's not a predictor of the future, but the Bulls have to ask themselves why thus is happening. Offense or defense often has failed late in these close games.

Right. As others have said, 4 pm games are an option too. All I know is that they shouldn't put people at risk like that. It's just a football game, not a death March.

An interesting commentary on the Dolphins. They don't seem to care, do they.

Well, that is actually true. In those conditions, they were the better team. Just like the Patriots were the better team in Buffalo last year. But that isn't the point. It wasn't dangerous to the players last year.

Thats true but there's a bigger point. These guys are warriors, on both sides, and they will not stop. Diggs kept coming off and going g back on. It's dangerous for humans to do that. I'm sure that many pf these guys, probably Dolphins too, wo t be well tomorrow. It was really bad out there.

I haven't read the thread, so I don't know what others have said, but I agree with you. There are some things that are gamesmanship, things like taking advantage of differences in locker rooms. The Dolphins probably always wear white at home, because that forces the visitors to wear dark shirts, and that gives the Dolphins an advantage in the hear. But teams shouldn't be able to manipulate their stadiums to create a built-in advantage for themselves. The game is premised on, to coin a phrase, a level playing field, and in those conditions yesterday, the field was not level. Someone, I think it was the Minnesota Twins in the Metrodome, figured out that the ventilation system created a draft, either in from the outfield or out from home plate. So, they began turning the ventilation on and off every half inning, so that the Twins had the advantage of the draft. It actually affected play, at least until the league discovered they were doing that and made them stop. When you're the visiting team and all your headsets die to your coaches in the booth, the home team is required to turn off their headsets until the problem is fixed. There are a lot of rules to keep the playing field level, and teams in hot climates shouldn't be able to take that advantage. Why didn't the Bills just bring 30 or 40 pop tents, like tailgaters use, and line the sideline with them?

Well, I don't know if he would have made a difference in the game, but you're absolutely right. I don't know exactly how McDermott handles these things - player stupidity that hurts the team - but I'm pretty sure that one way or another, someone is going to talk to him about the level of behavior that's necessary, every day, to make yourself the best and to contribute to your team. As Hart looks back, he can see how his behavior hurt the team. McDermott is forgiving, if you're actually always working the growth mindset, working to get better and make the team better. Hart watched the game yesterday and he knew he had hurt the team. We'll see how he responds.

I really don't care what Miami thinks of it. They may think it's huge, but the Bills don't consider it a huge loss.

I thought he was exhausted. I kept looking at his face late in the game, and he looked like he was struggling. And when he had his head on Tua's shoulder, he looked wiped out, too. When you're in that physical condition, it's tough to maintain your discipline, your mechanics, your concentration, all of it. He was not at his best at the end. He fought, tenaciously, but he couldn't do magic at the level he usually can.

You put together the gist of it. And after they think about all those things, what the Bills know is that they should have won the game. They know that, even WITH all of those things going wrong, they still are the better team. They'll go back to work on Tuesday, and they'll ask themselves what they need to do better and they'll devise habits or strategies that will make them better. It's an amazing process. I think you could see how good the Bills were, even though they had all this stuff happening. I mean, the only thing that the Dolphins did better than the Bills is rush the passer. Their pressure was tough on Allen, and it created the turnover for an easy score. Other than that, I thought the Bills were better on offense and defense, which is why the stats are so lopsided. Allen for sure is thinking about how to get better. He left plays on the field, big plays, and he knows it. He won't hang his head and make excuses because of the heat or the injuries. He'll just learn from it and get better.

You make good arguments. I think a team should always want the chance to open the second half on offense and have a chance at the final possession at the end of the game. And you certainly don't want your opponent to have that advantage. Regardless of the score at halftime, you want the ball first. To begin your comeback or to bury the other guys deeper, you want the ball.

Obviously, bad news. I've always thought Micah is the anchor to the defense. Bills have had had great injury luck over the past few years. Tre's injury was the beginning of that pendulum swinging the other way. The silver lining is that this has happened so early in the season. Assuming Tre comes back healthy and the Bills don't lose anyone else, by December the Bills will have a solid defensive backfield, with Tre, Taron, and the best of Jackson, Elam, and Benford at corner and Poyer and the best of Jackson and Hamlin at safety. The youngsters now have a couple of months to grow up in the league. The talent and the coaching is there to be solid by the time the games really matter.

You're thinking isn't clear about this. You're assuming that possessions will go back and forth throughout the game, and therefore the team that gets the ball first statistically would have a chance of getting an extra possession. That would make sense only if the second half kickoff was determined by who had the ball last in the first half. Instead, there are two halves, which means that the team that receives the opening kickoff has a good chance of having an extra possession in the first half, and the other team has the exact same chance of having an extra possession in the second half. McDermott's philosophy on deferring is based on his belief (that may be hard to establish with data) that you win more often by playing your best in the second half. That is, if you can play one good half and one bad half, you'd rather have your good half in the second half. So, he prepares his team to play their best in the second half. If you're going to play your best in the second half, that's the half you'd like to have the extra possession. And I'd never thought about it, but RoyBatty is correct about being on the road. In a lot of stadiums, including in Orchard Park, the fans tend to be late getting back to their seats to begin the second half, so the crowd support for the defense is weaker opening the third quarter compared to opening the game. That gives the visiting offense an advantage opening the third quarter.

No. One of the many things that McDermott does that promotes excellence on this team is stress the importance of the second half and particularly the 4th quarter. I know that points are points, but seven to open the second half is always more important than seven to open the first half. I've heard several coaches make the same point. Someone, I think a college basketball coach, said the "the point of playing the first half is to get to the second half." I've often said that you can't win the game in the first half, but you can lose it. Josh said that at halftime of the Rams game, he wasn't worried, because he knew the team was playing well, despite the score. Belichick at halftime of the Super Bowl, down big to the Falcons, said no one was worried, because they knew they had been competitive on the field, they just hadn't been competitive on the scoreboard. If the Bills defense is going to play well enough to slow down the Dolphins, an opening drive for a TD won't matter - the Bills will win anyway. If the Bills defense can't stop the Dolphins, an opening TD drive probably won't save them. The game plan is always the same - stay close in the first half, win the game in the second half.