Shaw66

I agree with all of us and I appreciate that people are talking about it. I didn't see it until this conversation. The interdependency of the players is key - they know each other and they are committed to this - well, uh - this process. You can see how they've gotten better, building on year after year, getting more sophisticated, nuanced. Part of the process is going to be working younger people in, because there has to be a continuous rotation. Someone has to be behind, a new corner has to come in to replace Wallace and be the successor to Tre. It's a constant building process, with young talent coming in and learning the process, raising their game to the level of the veterans. They have to be in line waiting. We won't realize they are there and that good until the vets start getting let go, to our dismay. Remember how amazing it was when the Pats caught Lawyer Milloy, and then the Bills signed him? He was part of their powerhouse (or so we thought) safety combination. The Pats, we were told, had mismanaged their cap and didn't have room to sign Milloy. He wouldn't do a team-friendly deal. The Pats said, well, then, good-bye. Turned out Milloy was a very good but not great player who succeeded because of the great team defense he played in. He was the first of many Patriot "stars" Belichick let go. Little by little, we're going to see that happening with this team. Guys we really like are going to move on, and the Bills always will have someone behind him. It's quite impressive how this team is built.

That's great. I think you describe it exactly. Taking a step back, what's in credible about this defense is that it really is a team defense. Everyone succeeds because his teammates are succeeding. Tre gets beat. Levi does. Taron does. But they make a high percentage of their plays. That means that the dline knows that if they just work hard at their jobs, they'll be able to create pressure. Everyone's success in this defense depends on the others. Gotta give a lot of credit to McDermott for that. He and Beane have seen that a certain kind of player who truly buys into a team concept is more valuable than a star, because the power of team can overcome individual talent. So, yes, when a Mack or a Watt becomes available, they'll look at the guy, but only if the guy is that kind of team player. So, as I think about it, I think this really may be an elite defense. Part of the problem with calling it "elite" is that we tend to compare what we're seeing to what we think we know about the historic great defenses, or even about whoever was the best defense in the league even a couple years ago. What we really know about those defenses is mostly our memories of their highlight reels. Almost all of them have times struggled at times. We tend to think that if no player LOOKS as good as a Bruce Smith, then the pass rush can't be as effective as a pass rush with a stud. McDermott essentially is teaching his players that they can win more by committing completely to a team scheme. Take Tre White as an example. He's 100% into the team concept. He does what he's supposed to do every play. He doesn't always make the play, be he does everything the way the team defense wants him to. In another defense, he might have more freedom, and he might be known around the league as a shut-down corner. It might be worth more money to him to have that reputation. But White understands that the best defense is a team defense, and he's willing to pass up the personal accolades for the wins. Part of the genius of this type of team defense is can be great WITHOUT the elite players at any positions. None of the Bills defensive backs plays the game like the very best players at their position, but every one of them plays maybe only a notch below. Very solid, rarely out of position, every guy trusting the other guy to do his job, and all of them recognizing that playing that way will result in more wins, even if they struggle at times. And then, every once in a while an elite guy comes along who's willing to play that team style, and then it can be REALLY special. Not to start a new debate here, but I think we've seen a different Edmunds this year. We're seeing a guy who is attacking more, who actually may be growing into the kind of force we hoped he'd be. It's all very Belichickian. That's how the Pats defense has played, and every once in a while they'd have a stud somewhere, a Gilmore or that other shut-down artist they had, or a Wilfork. When Belichick has a real stud at an impact position, he can rely on that guy taking on a bigger role in the scheme, and the responsibilities of all the other positions shrink a little bit, allowing all of those players to be a little more effective. But Belichick doesn't NEED a stud. Look at Devin McCourty. He's never struck me as a true stud, but more of a really good football player at his position who's been taught to play a complicated scheme. A lot, in fact, like White, or Hyde, or Poyer, or Taron Johnson. And Levi really is only a small notch below that. Think about it. Nobody's calling any of those guys studs. What they're saying is these guys are just **** good football player playing a great team scheme.

This too is a very good point, and even this point is more complicated than that. You're saying the probability of converting the two point try is better after a long drive. Maybe it is. But it also may be better after a pick six, or after a kickoff return for a TD. The probabilities no doubt vary, and I suspect that all of those probabilities go into the calculations, too.

Yours is the only analysis that comes close to the reason you go for two. Most everyone else thinks the answer to the question is found by thinking about probability of getting one point or two points, and maybe about whether the other team will score again. The actual analytics calculation is much more complicated. The question is whether, down eight, our chances of winning the game are better if we go for one or go for two. Chances of winning the game. That calculation depends on the probability of converting this two point conversion, chances of converting the next one, chances of converting each PAT, chances of scoring again, chances of the other team scoring again, chances of the other team making the PAT, chances of going into overtime, chances of winning in overtime. All of those probabilities are team-specific - that is, if I'm playing Jacksonville, a lot of those probabilities are different than if I'm playing Arizona. The probabilities are recalculated every week, depending on how your team is doing and who your opponent is. During the Auburn-Ole MIss game they talked about it a lot, because Kiffen goes for it on 4th down a lot and goes for two often, and they said his decisions to do so are based on different analysis each week. The classic example was when Belichick went for it on 4th and 2 from his own 30 with a minute left, up three against the Colts. He didn't make it, Peyton drove the 30 yards for a TD and won the game. Belichick was absolutely ripped in the press for not punting. A few days later, the math came out, and he was right. His chances of winning the game were better going for it. He had something like a 70% of making the first down, and if he made it, he had a 99% chance of winning the game. So going for it gave him 70% chance of winning. If he punted, he could give up a return for a TD or for big yardage, or Peyton could drive in the time remaining. Punting meant the chances of the game being tied and going to overtime were pretty high, in part because it was Peyton. If it went to overtime, your chance of winning was 50-50, more or less. Or you could lose in regulation. When you calculate all the probabilities, it was clear that punting gave Belichick less than a 70% chance of winning, so going for it was the right call. All I know is that when the Dolphins got the two points, it was a six-point game and I was very uncomfortable. That alone made it the right decision. Your opponent is going to play more scared with a six-point lead than with a seven-point lead.

I don't think McBeane would agree with you. I think they've built the offensive line just the way they've built the defensive line. They aren't looking for the standout stars; they're looking for versatile dedicated athletes who will work together within a scheme. The Bills don't have an Aaron Donald or Chris Jones or Kahlil Mack or JJ Watt on defense, and they don't have whatever the comparable names are on the offensive line. The Bills don't strive to have a feature guy on either line. Look at the draft choices - Epenesa, Rousseau, Basham - none of them is a flashy sackmeister. Look at the 1-tech tackles - none of them is the monster in the middle. That's not what the Bills want to play with. And they've built the o line the same way. So, to call the o line subpar is correct, if you're talking about raw athletic ability and special playmaking ability. If that's what you expect, yes, the oline is subpar and you're going to be disappointed. That's not the ideal that McBeane are after.

I just don't see many teams protecting their QB in the pocket on 90% of the plays. No teams have studs across the whole offensive line. The game has changed. We're seeing mobile QBs for two reasons: (1) Because they can add to the offense - Jackson, Murray, Allen, and (2) because nobody has a line that can protect a stationary QB. QBs MUST be able to run, or they'll take too many sacks.

I think the comments in this thread are kind of funny. Lower top 10? Lead the league in yards against and points against, lead the league in takeaways, and you think there are 7, 8 or 9 better defenses? What makes those defenses better? Their teams have cheerleaders?

The reason I say they protected well is that I think the perfect pocket that Peyton used to hang in is a thing of the past. Perfect pockets for most of the game is a thing of the past. If you're going to throw 35 times a game, on about 10 or 15 of those, you'll be releasing quickly enough that any kind of protection is okay. On another 10 or 15, a good oline will give you a good pocket. On the final 10 or 15, a good line will give Josh running lanes, or at least room to move. I think that's what we saw yesterday. In the modern NFL, an immobile quarterback can't play, because his oline, no matter how good, can't protect him all the time. Even Brady is getting forced to run more often.

Yes, I noticed it, too. Essentially no run up - just blasts away. Useful in on-side kick scenarios.

On the money, as usual. And McDermott does one additional thing - he steels his guys to be tough at the goal line. They're currently second in the league in red zone scoring defense. If you're going to lead the league in scoring defense, you have to be good in the red zone. So, not only does McDermott insist that you won't hurt him long, which allows teams to attack consistently for short yardage, he also insists that you won't hurt him with short yardage once you get inside the red zone. It makes sense, of course, because there is much less territory to defend, but you can see that the rushing defense tightens up too. It doesn't hurt so much to bite on play action from the five, because the guys in the box don't need to take deep drops. Again, whether we think it's pretty or not, whether he think it's flashy or not, there's no arguing that it's effective.

I keep saying it, because every week that goes by makes me think the same thing: We're watching a young Bill Belichick. Belichick didn't have a star-based defense. His defenses don't make lights out plays, and they also don't make mistakes. Belichick wants a shut-down corner, if he can get one. Other than that, he'll assemble good players at every position, teach them a complicated defense, and then they'll do what they need to do to win. When has Belichick based his defense on true All-Pro pass rusher? So far as I can recall, never. His guys are always around the ball, they're always good at taking the ball away, they're always well ranked, but they aren't the 85 Bears. (Frankly, it's been so long that I don't think the 85 Bears are relevant. And I'm not sure that even the 85 Bears were as good as we think we remember.) I'm not sure that even the Ray Lewis Ravens are relevant any more. I mean, what team has had a truly lights out defense in the last 10 years? Yes, the Bills give up some easy yards, or at least it looks that way. After all, how much easy yardage can you give up and still lead the league in yards per game defense? The offense isn't dominating time of possession (fourth at 32:23) that much to keep the defensive stats down. Every team gives up some easy throws every game - it's just gotten a lot easier to pass. And Tennessee kills you with play action because they threaten on every play to send Henry rumbling through the middle. I think McDermott knows what Belichick knows, which is that JJ Watt doesn't win championships, Von Miller doesn't, Kahlil Mack doesn't, name whatever flashy defensive player you want, they don't win championships. Really solid team defense wins championships. On one play, are the Bills at a disadvantage because they don't have Aaron Donald or a JJ Watt clone? Sure. Over the course of 60 minutes, I'm just not so sure those guys matter. I'll take first in yards defense and first in points defense, however impressive or unimpressive it may look.

Well, I have to agree with that, but the original point was actually pretty good. It DID look like so many Bills-NE games over the past couple of decades. Like the Bills did so often against the Pats, the Dolphins played the Bills tough and then, like the Pats, the Bills said "enough" and shut the door.

Whoa! Maybe I need do a podcast with a soundtrack? There's an idea.

Well, actually, this isn't as wild an idea as everyone seems to think. What if the deal were Trubisky for Siemian and a starting guard? Siemian and a second round pick? The odds are you probably won't need your backup to start, because most starting QBs don't go down. Although Trubisky is clearly a better backup for Allen than Siemian, Siemian has a lot of starting experience and showed some good presence. Plus, their both free agents at the end of the year. Trubisky almost definitely is gone, but Siemian has real potential as longer-term backup.

You simply do not give up possession of the ball with time on the clock with a two-score lead. Look at Hyde at the end of the first half. He knew the situation, so he kept the ball alive to see if there was a way to score. If the Bills had scored on that play it would have been amazing. Point is, scores happen is surprising and unusual ways. Now, if there had been a practical way for Allen to get the first down and then give himself up, he should have done that. Then, they could have taken knees and ended the game. But it was too close; you certainly don't want to give yourself up and then have the ref rule that you were short of the line to gain. So, Josh didn't have much choice. Going for two was a bit much, but the logic was right. Getting the two point conversion makes it a three-score game and it's over. Plus, I think McDermott's competitive emotions may have gotten the best of him - Dolphins went for two, so I think he wanted a little payback.

Well, I don't know. My gut says Shaw. He was just so good, consistently. But i was going to those games and watching them on TV. By the time Joe D came along, i was at college and running around, never around Buffalo, so I didn't see the Bills nearly as consistently in those years. However, the Electric Company was more than a cute slogan - those guys were amazing at getting out clearing a path. Plus, to be honest, I'm biased against Joe D because he has whined so much about wanting more from the NFL for retired players. I'm not saying he's wrong; I don't know the right answer to that question. I just find complaining about it as often as he has to be tiresome. At some point he needs to accept that he was born in the wrong era. Shaw got paid less than Joe D, and Shaw's not complaining.

The NFL season follows a predictable pattern: In September, a few teams explode offensively and a few teams are absolutely terrible. Some players (veterans you’d expect and some younger players you wouldn’t) have some spectacular performances. The trend continues in October, but less dramatically. Some team (this year it’s the Chiefs) struggles unexpectedly, and a few that had shown some promise (like the Bengals and the Chargers and Cardinals) appear to be the new powers. Then November hits, and the real NFL season begins. There’s still a really bad team or two, but all of a sudden just about other every team becomes a tough out. The truth is that parity is real – even the weakest teams have very good football players, and they don’t like losing. And those explosive offenses? Well, every team has seen two months of film on them, and every team has seen what other teams have done to slow down the high flyers. When November comes, tough, hard-nosed football returns. Reality returned to the NFL in 2021 in week 8. Okay, it wasn’t November yet, but it was close enough. It began on Thursday night, when the Packers took down the league’s only undefeated team. Welcome to the real NFL, Kyler Murray. You’re a spectacular player, but spectacular isn’t enough in the NFL. Let’s see how the next two months go. Then on Sunday, other teams got punched in the face. Sorry, Bengals, the Jets were ugly for a month or more, but it’s time for real football with real football players, some of whom are really tired of losing. Sorry, Chargers, the masters of real football came to town and showed you how it’s done. Sorry, Browns, but Tomlin and Roethlisberger know a lot about November football, and if you want to play with the big boys, you have to step it up. All around the league on Sunday, rough tough football was on display. Trench warfare. Hard, power running. Ball security. Courage in the face of adversity. Even the G.O.A.T. got his nose bloodied. In the NFL, there’s preseason in the summer, warmups in September and October. The true regular season begins in November. Or in this case, on Halloween. The Bills entered the true regular season at 4 and 2, coming off a tough loss to Tennessee and a bye week. They needed a win for several reasons – to get back to winning, to keep pace with the rest of the AFC front-runners and well, because it was the Dolphins. Like a lot of AFC front-runners, they weren’t ready. They were prepared, but they weren’t ready. The Bills seemed to think that the game would be a Halloween party – maybe a few scary moments, but mostly a lot of laughs and treats. But these weren’t some cute little kids coming to town. These weren’t the hapless Dolphins the Bills trampled 35-0 several weeks ago. That game wasn’t the blowout that the score would suggest; the Bills got two quick TDs in September and then stalled for most of the game, before blowing it open late. And the Dolphins, although still losing, had been playing better in recent weeks. They were hungry, and they have good football players. The Bills’ offense did nothing in the first half. One 35-yard drive for a field goal. That was it. Fortunately, the defense came to play, and Dolphins’ offense stumbled just enough to match the Bills; the half ended 3-3. Devante Parker looked like the great receiver that he is, and the Bills were fortunate to keep him out of the end zone. What happened? The real regular season arrived, that’s what happened. The Dolphins were ready for it, and the Bills weren’t. The Bills seemed to think it was still October. The Dolphins came ready to play November football, and in the first half, they showed they weren’t going to roll over for the Bills. The good news is that the Bills aren’t just another NFL team. This is a Sean McDermott team, and Sean McDermott builds his teams for November football. And December football. He builds his teams like Belichick and Tomlin, to be tough and resilient in the face of the toughest challenges at the end of the season. It won’t always be pretty, but McDermott’s teams are built to rise to the challenge, week after week. They don’t always win (sometimes you get stuffed on fourth and one), but they don’t back down. And so, in the second half, the Bills took over the game and put the rest of the league on notice: the Bills are who we thought they were. They forced three straight Dolphin three-and-outs in the second half, while the Bills’ offense was getting rolling. The Bills finished the game touchdown-touchdown-field-goal-touchdown. The Dolphins made it close in the fourth quarter with a touchdown and two-point conversion, but the Bills answered with a drive that made it a two-score game. Josh Allen’s touchdown at the end of the game truly was icing on the pumpkin donut, but it also highlighted the Bills’ offensive dominance. It may be November, but the Bills still can move the ball and score. (If McDermott is able to work his usual late-season magic, if his team can continue to get better, then the league should be worried. Just short of the halfway point, the Bills are sixth in offensive yards per game, first in points scored per game, first in defensive yards per game and first in points per game allowed. Whew!) What are the signs of a good November-ready NFL team? One is ball security. The Bills were going to win the game if they didn’t give away the ball. I’d been wondering whether this would be the game that Isaiah McKenzie coughed one up, and he almost did. It was a tough play and a ball he should have fair caught, but it was a play – and a muff - that Andre Roberts might have made, too. McKenzie’s been a rock, and the Bills survived the muff, so all was good. Allen waved the ball around wildly on one first-down run, but he tucked it away before the hit. He didn’t throw anything close to an interception. The Bills weren’t going to give it away. Another sign is that players step up. Mario Addison has become a special player for the Bills on defense. The Bills have stocked the defensive line with guys who can play, so no one needs to be on the field for every play. The rotation has evolved in a way that allows Addison to be a true pass-rushing specialist, and the effects are obvious. When Addison is on the field on passing downs, he’s applying relentless pressure. And he’s able to do it because Jerry Hughes has shown the versatility to flip from right to left defensive end and create his own pressure. Tua was under pressure all day, from the outside and from the endless combinations of inside rushes, led by Ed Oliver. Tua had success with Parker in the first half because the Dolphins were getting the ball out quickly, before the rush got to him. In the second half, as the coverage tightened and Tua held the ball longer, he began to feel the heat. Why did the coverage tighten? Well, in part because Tre’Davious White was a man possessed, and not just because it was Halloween. He’s getting like that every week – serious intensity. And quarter after quarter, Levi Wallace’s coverage was better and better – by the fourth quarter he was there consistently as the ball arrived, working his hands, making the hit. Dr. Jordan and Mr. Hyde were their usual scary selves. And for years I’ve been hoping I’d see Tremaine Edmunds take down a running back in the hole with authority. Who was that masked man, stopping ball carriers all over the field? Sunday, Cole Beasley was the number one stepper upper. In the second half, play after play, Allen found Beasley and delivered the ball, and Beasley caught everything that came at him. Get open, catch the ball, get up field, take the hit, move the chains. Beasley is a great weapon when you have wideouts who attract the attention that Diggs and Sanders do. Defenses know that Allen is going to go deep if he can, and that gives Beasley plenty of room to work his magic. (Kudos to Beas, too, for deciding that it was time to get off social media. It’s good for him and good for the Bills to get rid of the distraction.) Diggs was rewarded for all the gritty, dirty work he did on short yardage when Allen found him for a score with a picture-perfect throw on a classic Diggs route over the middle. Sweeney was ready for prime time. The offensive line survived another shuffle with Spencer Brown out, and then with Feliciano going down. The run game still didn’t work, but the pass protection was solid. Josh Allen showed up for the the game dressed as the super-hero he is. Josh made some bad choices here and there, and he missed a few throws, but this was a gritty, MVP-type performance. The Bills were 6-13 on third down and 3-4 in the red zone, and a lot of that was Allen. His running was timely and extremely effective. His 12-yard run on the late field-goal drive was one of those plays that only Allen makes – he’s just so big and tough that he takes yards that no other QB gets. Daboll isn’t using Allen as the feature back; it seems like a surprise each time the flow starts one way and Allen gets to the edge behind a couple of lineman who have pulled and gone the other way. In the pocket, Allen is showing great presence. He moves and slides to buy time. He knows what he wants downfield. His escape and short scramble to the right to get the ball to Davis for the first TD was classic Allen – he knew what he had, and he knew he needed to avoid the rush. He had the strength to break the tackle and make the easy throw. Allen finished with a passer rating over 100, and he is sneaking up into the top 10 in the passing stats. All in all, it was a solid November-NFL win. Jacksonville won’t be easy. No one is easy this time of year. GO BILLS!!!

The question turns on whether he was giving himself up or trying to advance the ball. It was pretty clear that he was giving himself up to avoid contact. So, the ball is spotted where it was when his knee hit the ground. It really was a pretty routine call.

Most of us thought he learned that last season. Seems he forgot.

Yes, we're old. Not responding to you, but I will say that I've seen them all since Brown, and Brown is absolutely the correct comparison in terms of running style. Exactly the same style. Pound straight ahead into the hole and make the slightest of moves necessary to get to daylight, breaking arm tackles along the way. Absolutely devastating stiff arm. The only season Brown did not win the rushing title was when he played the entire season with a broken wrist, carried the ball in his good hand and couldn't stiff arm with the bad one. Blistering straight ahead speed. Plus tremendous power. Not Campbell, who was incredible and had the speed. But Campbell didn't feint past tacklers like Brown and Henry, he just bulldozed them. Dickerson was closer to being like Brown and Henry, and was better than they were in the open field, but wasn't as good as just a great back for as long as Brown. Simpson, Sanders, Sayers were the most spectacular ball carriers ever in terms of pure entertainment value, but they weren't the same kind of workhorse backs that Brown and Henry were. Brown then and Henry now, if your game plan every week is get him the ball 30 times, it's a good game plan. One difference between Brown and Henry is that back then, it was a running game, and Brown gave the Browns the best running attack, year after year. He was just so dominant. Henry is so good that even though it's no longer a running game in the NFL, the Titans can play throwback style football and make it work. He's devastatingly good. To your point, I'd never really thought about it, and it's very interesting. When he was coming out of Alabama, few people were raving about him. He looked like a guy with great attitude who benefitted from playing on a great team. Nobody was looking at him as the next truly great running back. He was picked 45th! (Everyone knew Brown was great. He was picked 7th, I think, and probably would have gone earlier if he weren't Black. It was the 50s, and NFL teams were just starting to add Black players to their rosters.) And then, as you say, he didn't explode on the league like the typical superstar running backs. (Brown was great as a rookie, broke the single season rushing record in his second season. Dickerson, Sanders, Sayers all flashed almost immediately. And, as you say, more recently, RBs star early and then fade; it's a consistent pattern.) I was a huge Jim Brown fan when I was a kid, and I've become a Henry fan. One thing I liked about Brown was his stoicism. He just carried the ball and went back to the huddle. Players were less demonstrative in those days, but even by comparison in those days, he seemed to be emotionless on the field. Henry plays like that too. Make the run, get tackled, get up, go back to the huddle. It's almost impossible for Henry to catch Brown in terms of career dominance in the NFL, because of Henry's slow start the first few years. Brown played nine seasons, led the league in rushing eight times (as I said, he played the whole season with a broken wrist the one season he didn't win the title). But if youngsters like you want to know what Jim Brown was like, replay in your head Derrick Henry against the Bills on Monday night, and then imagine him doing the same thing every game for nine straight seasons. That was Jim Brown. (EVERY game? Well, no, he got stopped once in a while. But you never were surprised when he played like Henry did the other night. Never. You were surprised when he didn't.) When Franco Harris was closing in on Brown's career rushing record, Brown was 45. He said that if he came out of retirement, he would be better than Harris. Brown was so good that even though he'd been out of the game for 13 years, lots of people seriously argued the point.

Nice, nice, nice. Thanks for posting this.

I'm glad you said that. Why wouldn't those guys run some kind of route? Who knows what might happen on the play? Or come down the line to block, if that's still legal. Why wouldn't you want the QB to have the option to back off the pile and throw it? That seems obvious. Bills had three guys on the field who were total observers. Granted, they occupied three defenders, to make the play 8 on 8, but that's not getting the most out of the fact that rules let you play with 11. Thanks for this explanation. I wasn't trying to suggest that WhoTom is an infallible source. I was only trying to explain why I relied on what he said.

After the game he was asked if Josh had options, and McDermott said yes. It was clear that McDermott meant that Josh did some decision making on the play. Maybe it only meant he had options to choose the hole, I don't know. Of course it is. I didn't say it wasn't. You asked me how I knew that Allen changed the play. I went back and found where I heard it and showed it to you. I also told you that there was no link, and that I generally trust what WhoTom says. None of that suggests that that inquiry should stop there. And then I went and did the research and explained that I didn't find anything saying Allen changed the play, just that he had options. I'm not sure why you're asking this.

Hap - I just went back and listened to McD's presser after the game. He doesn't say it directly, but at one point he says "I'm gonna trust my players," and it seems like he meant he's going to trust Josh to get the yardage. Didn't necessarily mean that Josh changed the call. But then later someone asked whether Josh had an option or choice, and McDermott said he did, and Josh has usually been excellent in making that decision. Now, again, it isn't clear that Josh changed the play; McDermott may have meant that they called the sneak but Josh has options as to how to run it, where to attack it. That "sneak" he ran around left end a couple of weeks ago clearly was Josh reading the defense and attacking where he saw the weakness. So, I didn't find (didn't look too hard) McDermott saying that Josh changed the play, but it's clear that at least some of the responsibility for running the play and how it was run was on Allen. Someone else commented that the Bills had three receivers in the end zone on that play, and the body language of each suggested some disappointment or frustration. That's not right. The wideouts just stood at the line as the ball was snapped and pretty much just watched. The sneak had to have been called either in the huddle or at the line, because the receivers had nothing to do except line up in places that would keep three defenders too far from the play.

On the first page of Thr Rockpule Review, WhoTom said this: "One point about the 4th-and-1 play call: McD said Josh made the decision to change from whatever play Daboll called and sneak it instead. They gave him the authority to do so." No link. WhoTom doesn't make stuff up. I assumed it came from the postgame interview.