Mikey152

That's the "problem"... You can't match up with the Raven's big package with your big package, or Lamar will run circles around you...The Bills need to combat that heavy personnel with speed. We should have 5-6 linebackers and safeties on the field at all times. Those guys can guard the perimeter and run around blocks in space...a S would make a 300lb fullback look silly on the edge.

The NFL is a matchup league. The 49ers have a great defense because their defensive line is full of studs. The pass rush they generate, on top of playing strong run defense, is formidible for a traditional offense. But as others have pointed out, that fierce rush and playmaking ability left them out of position a few times against the Ravens, as they were trying so hard to make a TFL they didn't always do their job and it cost them. That said, they only gave up 20 points. The Patriots defense wins with aggressive man coverage and creative pressure packages. The two things they are most susceptible to are QB runs and passing over the middle.

Yes and no... TE's (and Olineman) can block in a phone booth, but they don't have a prayer blocking a DB in space. And if the TEs are blocking, they aren't catching passes. Win on the interior, stretch the play and let your speed win. This plays into the Bills strength as far as the run game goes. The key is getting the run fits right inside, which we seem to have cleaned up If you play them passively with a mush rush trying to keep him in the pocket...all you really wind up doing is giving him more time to find a hole in your zone or a running lane. All that has really worked so far is to be aggressive up front, play zone in the back end and have lots of speed on the field at every level. It's how the Chargers won and its how the Browns won. You can't completely stop it...he will get yards. But if you keep ingram in check and don't let jackson's 10 yard scrambles turn into 50 yard one's, you can contain them. All those years building to defend the patriots offense will pay dividends this weekend...it seems really different on the surface, but really the problem is the same: Their personnel is multiple. The Bills have built a scheme and roster on defense designed to combat it.

Historically, the best defense against Lamar was in the playoffs last year, and it was...unconventional. The Chargers played the vast majority of the game with SEVEN dbs on the field...they basically had safeties playing lb. the idea is to increase the athleticism on the field so you can run with Lamar and cover their TE. You are vulnerable to a power run game, so you have to be aggressive on running downs. the nice thing is, the Bills can do something similar in a nickel defense. Milano and Edmunds run And cover like safeties and can stay on the field in most situations, making the bills less vulnerable to a power run game. so the answer, basically, is to play nickel defense all game, 2-3 safeties (depending on personnel), 7 or 8 in the box. Hit Lamar whenever you can and make him pay for keeping it. Play zone underneath and use the extra speed to limit scrambles from turning into big plays. i actually think the Bills match up better than most...they will do ok containing Lamar. The question is whether or not they can stop Ingram on the inside power stuff without sacrificing their athleticism

No. Here's the deal...if you want to stop Baltimore, the key is being able to stop Ingram with 5, 6 or 7 DBs on the field. The more DBs you have out there, the more speed AND the more zone you can play, which has two benefits...players play more facing and reading the QB so they can account for the run and they can attack the football when it is in the air. The Bills match up well because their two best LBs are very fast and better in coverage, so they can play nickel and still get the speed boost. On top of that, they are a zone team by default that is used to playing team defense.

I will say this about him...he is an incredible athlete. He clearly has a strong, whip-like arm. But I have real doubts that he can drive a football to the sideline...if he completes a deep out it will be because the defense was soft and his release is lightning quick. that said, he doesn't need all the traditional tools in his toolbox right now, because he has other ones that most guys don't have...and on top of that he has some nice touch and natural ability when it comes to placing a football. Not gonna lie, though...I don't think he matches up well against the Bills defense.

He's very upright, with a very narrow base, and he doesn't clear his hips well...His arm is where most of his power comes from. He has clean arm mechanics when he throws in front of him, but his arm gets sort of whippy when he throws to the sideline...because his hips are stiff due to the narrow base. To me it looks like a good athlete who is always ready to run playing QB...his arm is good and his upper body mechanics are good, but he looks disconnected from his lower body, so you see nicely spun and touch throws, but no real driving, power throws.

People are skeptical on Jackson for a very simple reason: Vick Young Kaepernick Tebow RGIII even Newton All of these guys were running quarterbacks with either questionable arm strength, accuracy, or smarts...maybe all three. All of them looked great early in basic, run-oriented offenses. They all hit a wall. Maybe he winds up as a Wilson or Watson...it's possible, I guess, but both of those guys look natural throwing the football. Sometimes there are quarterbacks who are great athletes...and sometimes there are great athletes who play quarterback. Early in a career, it's hard to tell the difference

It basically boils down to a boss v. leader. Bosses manage a team, and leaders inspire them. How they go about doing that (ie faith, hard work, caring, even fear, etc...) is generally less important than the end result. That said, being a great leader is not enough...you have to know football, too, if you want to be truly great.

I agree 100%...it's all gamesmanship. They have mastered playing football 5-10 mph over the speed limit.

This is the truth... Gilmore was good in Buffalo, but he was also super handsy and got called for it quite a bit. Now, in NE, he is just "physical"

This is not really true... Aaron Rodgers, who is the best deep ball thrower in the NFL, tries to throw it the same distance every time. He focuses on mechanics and side. The rest is all timing.

That safety was in good position to make a play on Mckenzie if Josh threw the ball earlier. Mckenzie wasn't really open until the safety let him go by so he could stay in position for the crossing route underneath...which is exactly when Josh threw the ball.

Takes like this always crack me up...as if other quarterbacks can drop 50 yard bombs into a bucket consistently in a game situation. Deep balls (ie fades, not crossing routes or long throws on a rope) are not nearly as precise across the nfl as you seem to think they are. Most quarterbacks are focusing on inside/outside the numbers, timing, and consistent technique. None of them can throw it 55 yards instead of 58 on command...that's not real life. Their goal is to throw it the same distance every time. Josh is consistently overthrowing his targets and they appear to be to the correct shoulder and in bounds, so it's clear to me that there is a timing issue, not a technique issue (last year he had some underthrows that looked like they WERE technique related). Some of it is on him, i'm sure...because he throws it further, he has to wait longer and sometimes the internal clock goes off in his head too early due to things like pass rush or excitement. Some of it is also on his recievers...they're all pretty small and guys like Zay were horrible at tracking the football. On that miss to John Brown, James Lofton (who is qualified to criticize) even mentioned that Brown looked too early/long...That's going to impact the timing, especially with a QB like Josh who is unlikely to leave it short.

They get called for a lot of penalties because they COMMIT a lot of penalties. It's intentional. They coach holding on offense and on defense, because they know full well that refs aren't going to call it on every play, and they are willing to take those penalties because overall the benefit outweighs the risk. What you won't see them do is commit a lot of stupid penalties like false start, off sides, etc...It's all holds, interference, roughing, etc...and it's on purpose.

The reality is, the biggest way they cheat is rarely ever even talked about... They cheat with the salary cap. Tom Brady is arguably the greatest QB of all time, yet continually makes quite a bit less money than that title should afford him. And it's not all out of the goodness of his heart that he takes less. The team has found ways to compensate him that don't count against the cap, with the most obvious being hiring his TB12 company. It's complete bull####. And beyond the cheating, they are also masters of "gamesmanship" ie pushing the rules as far as they can go without either A) breaking them or b) not getting called out for breaking them...kinda like going 5 mph over the speed limit and not getting caught. In the NFL where the difference between winning and losing is razor sharp, those little edges become huge.

There is a reason why Jones, who isn't particularly fast, is the one who is open on deep balls...It's because he's left in single coverage by the defense, almost daring Josh to throw it. I think it's pretty clear by now that Zay has poor ball skills. Honestly, I think a lot of you WAY overrate the ability of a quarterback, any quarterback, to place a football 40+ yards downfield. On a deep ball like that, their job is to put it in a general area with enough air to allow their WR to make a play. On a ball that is "overthrown" by 5 yards, sometimes the QB leads the WR too much, but often times the WR misjudged the football or looked up for too long. Maybe it's easier to think about a sport like baseball...speed is an asset in centerfield, but there are tons of examples of fast guys that don't reach baseballs that guys slower than them make plays on, simply due to the fact that some people are better at tracking the ball in the air. Zay Jones has horrible ball skills, pretty much at all levels.

I think a WR's ability to track the football is seriously underrated when it comes to a deep ball...A QB is not super precise on something that far away and with that high of a launch angle. It's all about timing and a WR's ability to adjust. Case in point, Tyrod Taylor was one of the best deep ball throwers in the league...when he targeted Sammy Watkins. After Sammy left, Tyrod couldn't connect to save his life.

I will say this... I don't like how slow they are to get to the line sometimes. In the first game against the Jets, this didn't seem to happen and they ran quite a bit of motion...but the last two weeks they seemed to be a bit slower getting plays in and there was more than one rushed snap that just got off in time. Might have contributed to Josh not seeing the whole field.

That safety had a lot of ground to cover when Allen let go of that football. And....Brown is open. But Josh didn't get enough on it. Not only did he not set his feet, but it didn't come out of his hand great. Also, looking at this graphic he probably had more room than I thought towards the pylon

Because he reached the boundary and had to stop running...but when Josh let go of the ball, he was still open, he was just standing still 30+ yards away so it was going to take a strong throw to get there before the coverage did. Allen didn't get enough on it because he was on the move. You're right, though...he might have been able to hit Knox on the sideline, but I think he was only open because the corner who had that zone dropped back to try and play the pass...it would have been similar to the pass he ended up throwing aside from the fact that Know still had a little room to run. But I am done splitting hairs over it. It was a risky throw due to the pressure, but Brown WAS open on the play and Allen was accurate...the timing was just off. So while it was close to being a pick, it was also close to being a TD.

No doubt...but I also think it was a calculated one. They were down 16 on the road. To that point, he also just missed a TD to Brown on the play prior when Mosley threw his hands up with his back to the QB and got a PD. Was decent position, but straight luck to get this arm on the ball. 9/10, John Brown down the seam against a LB with his back to the ball is a TD or penalty.

I never said it was a smart decision...I'm not defending his choice, as clearly he misjudged how long the ball would take to get there when thrown on the run. But you're wrong...he DID have time to set his feet. At the very least he could have settled. He wasn't rolling out so much as stepping up in the pocket. But he got excited when he saw brown open and thought he could get it there. the whole point was yes, it was almost picked...but it wasn't a bad decision, it was bad mechanics by a young QB trying to make something happen. It's not like the safety was baiting him...he just made a nice play. So as much as it could have been an interception, it was a lso really close to being 6. So was the throw right before it with a super lucky pass break up by Mosley.

To me, that's the real takeaway from the first half...outside of the turnovers, the Bills offense actually looked sort of...efficient. Even without a running game. Quick, accurate passes to open receivers...changing the plays at the line...pretty much the exact thing every critic of Josh Allen said he couldn't do.

We clearly were not watching the same football game... John Brown was standing still wide open by the pylon, but it was a long throw by Allen and he threw it on the run without setting his feet, which game the safety time to get over and make a play on the ball. It was accurate and his receiver was open...he just didn't have enough velocity on it to beat the safety. As for the Darnold pass, Bell was covered...hell, he was slowly walking backwards while Darnold was scrambling for his life. Darnold heaved one up to the back corner and the Bills defender, who was right in front of Bell, completely whiffed on the PD. As for sugarcoating...We didn't turn the ball over on that play and it wasn't in the first half, so I'm not sure what you're even talking about. It's you that's reaching with the "should have been a pick"...that's pretty much the definition of hypocrisy.