WideNine

Allen left the pocket a bit early on that last play, but with poor field position and digging themselves into a 3rd down hole, punting is not the worst outcome.

Bass still makes me nervous. Hard waiting for a kid who looks like he should still be playing HS ball to grow into an NFL kicker.

Allen learns to rely on the run a bit more early in his career he will extend that career. Awesome series called by Daboll.

Love me some run game....

Agree. I think he will burn through that ok...and if he takes down Cam a few times along the way, it's all good.

A lot of fans are nervous after a closer than desired game against the Jets. The Athletic had an article that dove into this a bit more and the take away from why we stalled so many times in the red zone, relying on Bass rather than punching it in. Had we punched it in on just half our trips there, the game would have been more lopsided. Those failed attempts mostly came down to two factors, the play of our guards, and Allen's trust in their play. Because of pressures given up by Ike and Winters Allen often had to reset, or scramble. This also messed with Allen's internal clock where he was not going through his progressions in the red zone to find the open man (there were options) instead locking on his first read, either forcing the throw or escaping the pocket early. Hard thing to ask a QB to do...trust guys who have given up inside pressure, or blind side strip-sacks, but more times than not the pocket held long enough and Allen has to trust it a bit more. Better play from our guards would certainly help with that.

Thanks Hapless, I will definitely check that out. I never quite got that bubble screen being an extension of running game - more a lateral, but understand that it's a common saying. I guess the receiver is behind the LOS and it relies on RAC much like a toss sweep... Either way, I think the bubble was a good option with teams playing off our receivers and dropping into zones. If we keep a back in the backfiekd the bubble also helps keep teams from loading the box against the run as they have to defend sideline to sideline. The downside is that they are tough touch-throws for Allen like most screen throws can be.

I think the Bills are desperate to get their running game on track and they are an injury away from not being able to use a 2-TE set so makes sense even if he does not see a lot of action. I think he will play though as Smith does excel at blocking. Although, he was struggling a year ago with sealing the edge on sweeps without drawing a flag. I don't think he is a terrible player, and he plays with a bit of "dog" in his game.

Translation: I see gaps all over the place I can exploit.

The 49ers chewed up NE with their 21 personnel - basically two backs and Kittle as the TE. They can either use a back as a lead blocker or as misdirection to attack weak gaps, or as extra blockers where Kittle is a mismatch. I think in this regard our offense has very little practice executing this alignment, in fact we probably spend most of our snaps in an empty-set (I have not looked that up - just a gut feeling). Not only are we not running the ball when we go empty, we are not even threatening to run the ball so we cannot leverage any play-action. Then on early downs when we go with a 11 or 12 personnel look we signal to teams to load the box and play the run. Earlier this year when teams were committed to playing man against our receivers then that empty look helped Allen see the field and we were able to create a lot of confusion and rub plays with crossing routes. We were chewing up the field and scoring in bunches. I know folks hate that ground and pound philosophy, but as Chris alluded to NE packs the box with their coverage personnel and those guys are at a disadvantage against blockers and runners. Bill loads the box to get teams to abandon the run... it is a bluff unless he swaps out personnel. This is not a great match-up for the offensive game plans that Daboll has cooked up the past few seasons and how poorly our offensive line has been run-blocking. I know there are folks on this board that see a weak and vulnerable NE team, but they are actually well matched against the things our team is weak at executing.... their run vs our stopping the run, their mobile QB vs our containing a mobile QB, our ability and commitment to running the ball vs throwing against zone looks, etc... I want the Bills to win this one, but the sky is not falling if the chips do not fall our way, but I am hopeful that our coaching staff recognizes that they will need to get this team to play out of character to create a better match-up against NE.

Muzzle will be more appreciated. Every week I find myself hoping for a relatively flag-free game where the play flows without all the head-scratching stoppage.

This is just another step on the journey. Last year teams were playing a lot of man and blitzing Allen to rush the throws. He and Daboll were carving those defensive schemes up so teams started going with 2 (or more) deep zone looks. This has caused Allen to have to process more and hold the ball a bit longer. Once he has seen enough of these, he will know where the seams and soft spots are and how quickly they close. I expect that the anticipation throws will follow that natural learning curve. Patience, and a good ground game will help along the way.

That was also the game with the non-interception interception. The point could simply be there are poor officiating groups that overly insert themselves into games with an abundance of flags, which affects outcome regardless of who wins the game. The Bills games seem to have drawn the short-straw in regards to those crews. There have been a lot of ticky-tacky calls that have negated plays on either team where the announcers have been baffled either by the rule interpretation or that anything was called at all. Let's hope they change up the assignments a bit to a officiating crew that believes less is better.

I like that old school attitude. I think both sides of the LOS had been missing that this year and I have always doubted team chemistry when I see a QB driven to the turf and no one cares or gives him a hand up.

We may have to be careful what we wish for... you want more attitude on your o-line? You get it with Feliciano. He will straight up tackle a d-lineman rather than give up a free shot on his QB. I am ok with this philosophy, why get called for a ticky-tacky hold while letting your QB get planted when you can just double-down and plant the guy rushing? Feliciano was the only offensive lineman on the team last year to be assessed both an unnecessary roughness, and unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. I think offensive lines need at least one or two players that have some dog in them. Hope he gets some reps to work himself back jnto game shape.

It explains some, but not all of the struggles Edmunds has had diagnosing and being in position to make the tackle. Some are just poor fundamentals, but I have recognized plays where the DT gets sealed/moved out of his gap and it is not Edmund's fit against a particular run. In fact, I started keying on Phillips play just because I went back and noticed that he was the guy getting blown out of his gap on some negative plays that were being laid at Edmunds' feet. It's not all piling on. I want the kid to succeed or be put in a position where he can grow and be successful.

That ability to weave through a bunch of bodies, while targeting the ball is a skill not everyone has. In Edmunds case it is a bit frustrating because if he slows down to analyze the play, he gets blocked out of it. If he shoots a gap or tries to set the edge, his angles are bad and he tends to overshoot the player with the ball. This last trait tends to put him in the awkward position of reaching out to try to make an arm tackle rather than being in position to wrap up. This leads to the type of injury he sustained earlier this year. Has to be very painful trying to play right now with this tendency. They need to teach him how to better keep his pad level low, shoot the gap, but keep his steps short and choppy else he is just taking huge strides past the ball, or launching himself. The kid has heart, but needs a lot more coaching up to play the run, or to be an effective Blitzer from the middle.

Not much to add here. My own journey mirrors several here. Grew up in Western NY, my parents weren't interested in sports, but I had a cool teacher who had pictures of the Sabres French connection and Bills memorabilia and would talk about the teams and I started following them and got hooked. Probably even more so when my parents had to move to Jersey for work...was my only way of staying true to my roots. This forum has helped too, although there were times it could get pretty dark and depressing during the drought.

Romo yes, but Collinsworth? For years that guy has been dumping on the Bills and he just has that arrogant annoying nerd voice. I hear him talk and....

The refs hate Hughes. As long as he is cheering on the sidelines.... If it was after a defensive play on the field standing over a QB I always feel there is about a 50/50 chance he will get an unsportsmanlike penalty. He has not backed down much at all in that running feud, and I still see him getting dragged back while chirping at the zebras. I get it, he has not been treated fairly by Rivera's cabal. I like his exuberance, but Jerry is an emotional player that needs calmer heads around him. Lorax and Williams rarely took a selfish penalty. Nothing against his contributions on the field and sideline. Lord knows the boys have needed a spark.

His completion percentage is not that effected by what I am seeing defenses do to drop that low. That is probably an overly gloomy prediction. The Jets often went to the same zone defense he has seen 3 weeks in a row and although the Bills sputtered in the red zone, he had a 71% completion outing and moved the team easily down the field racking up over 300 yards. His opportunities for long-gainers has been reduced with the high- low coverage deep. Allen's biggest challenge IMO is that he does press when our defense is getting rolled...these are maturity things that will take "the Allen project" time considering his limited experience playing anywhere near this level. He has a tough stretch of games ahead, but just needs to focus on just his own execution and just doing his part. It is still a team game, he needs to continue to grow in regards to learning to trust and let his playmakers make plays on those dumps and outlets. I have seen progress there in fits and starts.

Remember last year when Allen would never be good because of his completion % hovering around 58 and lack of 300 yard games. This year his completion % is around 70 and 300 yard games are now pedestrian - go figure?

Honestly I think Phillips is on the bubble. They like him, he works hard in their community outreach, and he seems to be a good locker room guy, but he is not bringing enough play making to their d-line to justify starting him on game days. Not sure where they go from here, but the IR and now that he is back, he is not playing at a high-enough level.... I don't see them tying up any significant cap dollars retaining him. IMO I think it was just McD saying Phillips is a great guy and just not saying the, "but we need to play guys that can get the job done." part.

I think the Dolphins best chance to beat us was starting Fitz. He was always up for our games and made them tough. Against a rookie QB, I like our chances. R

So far I have been happy with Kroft, but we are an injury away from being in trouble. A game-changer at TE would be nice, but Allen just needs that TE with reliable hands who can out-position and highpoint the ball as that security blanket. Having that TE outlet IMO helps Allen settle down and find his rhythm. Kroft is doing that now, and the investment waiting for him to get healthy is starting to pay dividends.