WideNine

I don't feel the need to pile onto an injured Bill, but you nailed it role wise. Brady features a more balanced offense and more short routes to the flats. Quick answers for Allen to keep the chains moving, get him into a rhythm, keep us in manageable down and distance situations, and maintain the threat of running the ball. That is just not Gabe's forte. That is more suited to Shakir and Harty (who seems to have recovered from that nagging turf toe). Both those guys can get open on those quick routes. We still take shots when those open up and need to keep that threat, but have a few options that we can lean on for that. Gabe is able to uncover deep, but Allen rarely has that 3.8 second luxury and clean pocket to step up and deliver a lot of those. Trying too many of those shots were kind of a hallmark of Dorsey's 3-and-out offense. Also, no easy answers for Allen so he would just go off script, get in trouble and chuck it. Running the ball was random and was not really baked into the game plan either. Folks have twisted others comments about Gabe's blocking being his only redeeming quality. What was said was that many of our plays often require our WRs to block and it is a thankless task that Gabe performed well. Sherfield and our TEs also provide this on the edges so we don't really lose that ability if he is out. Lastly, Allen was off a lot on his his throws this year and especially the deep shots to both Davis and Diggs. I think that factors into the productivity issues too considering where Gabe does excel. Allen has said that the ball is coming off his hand really good the past two games and you can see that in how he is accurately slinging the rock all over the field with a lot of confidence. A great time for his throwing arm to get back into form. I have some theories around that and what can happen when an athlete plays most of a season compensating for an injury, but another thread for another time.

Not just punting. Martin got hurt because Bass is struggling to get his kicks over the opposing teams hands and he was chasing down that blocked kick. Then Bassonatic shanks a 27 yarder into the rough... That is HS field goal range and would have given us the lead we needed to keep the game out of reach. The kid has been shaky this whole season and is not looking much better down the stretch.

Why that buffoon and his crew is allowed to officiate any playoff game after their multiple terrible performances and clear Eagles favoritism during the regular season is beyond me. NFL says they grade these clowns... Sure. He and his crew are bent and terrible in all the wrong ways for us. It will start out with phantom calls galore on us to kill any momentum, coupled with egregious non-calls on our opponents till they are safely ahead, then they will throw in some inconsequential calls our way at the end to make it look almost proportionate and fair.

I think the defender had enough time to pull up when Allen shifted to a feet-first slide. Instead he loads up the forearm goes towards to upper shoulders and head and he immediately throws up his hands in mock innocence once he follows through. I am sure Allen was not hurt, but defenders know the rules. Those back 7 defenders hate mobile QBs and want to get that hit on them to send that "stay behind the LOS" message. Oliver love tapped Rudolph with a late shove that Rudolph embellished enough to get whiplash and he got a roughing the passer penalty. It is just part of the game and defensive players have to be smart about hitting QBs. WIth Allen they just have to wait a bit, he is sure to plow into their defense head first a few times during the course of a game.

Every slot Corner plays those quick slants the same way. Contact/jam/press within the 5 yards to disrupt timing (which is allowable), and then maintaining inside leverage with negligible hand contact with the receivers (hip) so they can mirror their movements yet keep eyes on the QB and play the ball. That was text book slot coverage and a complete nothing burger. Of course Pickens would lobby for a flag, what did they have to lose trying to draw one? Lobbying for flags are part of the game; however fans arguing the merits of a DPI there...not sure what they are looking at.

Need a cold weather kicker, or at least a cold blooded one... Our bassomatic has been glitchy.

That kind of contact happens all the time in those inside slants... Not penalty worthy.

Lewis is our Waldo. ...and Pittsburgh has found him. McD needs to think about what to do there. Or we just need to have Shakir do that!

They have a pretty solid red zone defense considering how many trips we and the Chiefs made down there to come away empty or with field goals. And they were missing a lot of pieces on D. Curious what Fangio cooked up down there that was so effective. Since they are no longer in it, I am sure they would not mind if we steal a page from their book.

Our Bills have not given us any reason not to take any opposing team seriously. Especially Pittsburgh, as they usually play physical and their defensive fronts, zone blitzes, and simulated pressures have traditionally given us fits. They also are a league leader when it comes to limiting negative plays and mistakes. They don't hurt themselves with mistakes, the Bills we know have been less disciplined in that regard under McDermott. I don't imagine any Bills fan that has followed this league, especially the past few years, would assume the betting favorite will have the win in the bag. Of course I like our chances and there is no reason for this team to play scared, but they are still going to have to strap'em up and play hard and play smart for 60 minutes. Would be nice, but I don't see Pittsburgh just rolling over for us even if we get up a few on them.

I have the same concerns with Cook dropping passes and ball security in the elements. Fingers crossed and I agree he seemed a lot less determined running vs NE, but they have a very good run defense. Trying to just let go of all the worries and just enjoy a B-Lo snow bowl game....trying.

When you watch Davis take out two Miami defenders on a bubble screen to Shakir during the Miami game so Shakir can scamper nearly 40 yards you get how that role is important to those plays, our outside zone runs, and our rub routes. Sherfield has the size and did a good job stepping into that key role when Gabe went down even though it is often a thankless role.

Weather may well be a factor and that somewhat benefits Pittsburgh's ground and pound game. That being said, I trust Allen throwing into elements far more than I would trust Mason Rudolph. Will likely be one of those situations where teams take more of their shots whenever the wind is at their back. If so, it would benefit us to have the wind at our back in the 4th qtr. and the Steelers going into it to negate any late deep threat Pickens would pose or late field goals. My real hope is that we get some stops and our offense gets up on them some scores. We should be able to lean on our own running game and TEs too as there should be some windows and matchup issues for them in the middle of the field. I sort of like those snow bowls, but think those conditions would benefit the Steelers a bit more than our team.

I feel the Diggs AWOL hype is just a bone media got ahold of and ran with... They have to go with something. Defenses focus a lot of attention on taking Diggs out of the game which means Shakir and Kincaid and others get more room to operate. Diggs is just fine and they are finding creative ways to get the ball in his hands.

The way we knifed through Miami's defense only to crap ourselves in the red zone...has become a bit of a trend. I feel like too much changes down there, we take longer getting plays in, and we play a bit more on our heels. We need some good RedZone work this week and execution on our go-to plays. The talking heads stress the INTs, but miss that Knox was obviously held on one possession, that pass to Cook that he dropped was so money, and Allen was half a second off from pulling the trigger and leading Ty Johnson in a way where I feel he gets in before the half. They are really close and I think Allen is getting some of that swagger and confidence back that was causing him to delay throws a bit or turn down throws. Been a while since he was himself and that is good to see. You could see the ball was coming out really good even when having to throw from odd platforms eluding the rush. Other than that it was just having better execution and having some blitz beaters down there, some better blocking from our RB (asking Cook to pick up blitzers is hit or miss so maybe more Fournette down there) or go heavy max protect if you think plays are going to take time developing.

Poona is good against the run too he is an odd specimen that is hard to block. He also has some pass rush moves and played all over Seattle's front so you could move him around so maybe Lawson sits and keep Poona in the rotation to keep more beef up front and fresh. Miami was having success on the perimeter... Basically running away from our run stuffers, but McD made some good adjustments at the half. Pittsbugh loves those gap runs and are pretty stout up front and have running backs that can break tackles. They ran more 13 sets and heavily used their TEs to wash out the second level defenders too vs Seattle. Our best defense would be to get up on them a few scores and force them into a boat race... Not what they are built best to do

That Ty Johnson route was a strange one... With no time on the clock you don't run a drag route shallow of the EZ unless it is a pick and he was not meant to get the ball. That did not seem to be the case. Just a strange play and it will be interesting hearing some of the Xs and Os guys break that one down. Truth... they left a lot of meat on the bone, but played hard for 60 minutes. Good things can happen when teams do that...like an unexpected Harty return for a TD that was a catalyst and spark that got them back into the game.

I think a lot of those not-so-good decisions with the ball get cleaned up if they can stop leaking so much pressure up the middle and Allen can get into a rhythm. He and Diggs have just been off on the deep shots all year, but still glad they took that shot and it would have been sweet to get another play like that over on Ramsey.

What fans said Allen should be pulled? ...and replaced with the king of handing the ball off? Just silly.

I admit. I literally said "stick a fork in them".

Not sure where all the McD criticism comes from as I think he has navigated a pretty tough season fairly well. I thought he needed to manage games better and I think he has stepped up in those areas and gotten better and his defenses are closing out games. All the other things from his clapping and expressing his faith at the podium I don't think have changed very much from his day 1 with this club. For some it has probably gotten stale and on their nerves, but he is a coach that has led this club to multiple AFC Championships and I can appreciate that. I wouldn't read too much into it. I used to rag on Wade waffling between QBs and then regretted the turnstile decade-plus of fail at HC after he got the boot. Maybe McD is not the guy to get us over the hump, but you have to be in the playoffs to even have a chance and he has gotten this club there....again.

To your point about the flip side is the quality of our new players and reserves this year. Bernard starting the season for that guy that left for Chicago. Kincaid at TE having to take all the reps for and injured Knox early on. Dodson stepping up for Milano when he went down. Then Spector having to come in for him. Dane coming in for Tre when he went down, and then Rasul Douglas brought in as an upgrade to Dane and depth. Dane having to come back in for Rasul and having to cover Hill in this game. Rapp coming on at safety. Van Demark coming in for Dawkins at LT. The RBs they have brought in. Beane has done a great job of finding players that can step up when their number is called and ensuring good competition at key positions. The sloppy execution, blocking from guard to guard, and clock management have to get cleaned up so there is work for our coaches and players to do - that is critique not hate BTW. I always want our players and coaches to be successful. I also think that teams have figured out our run tendencies and Miami had some answers for our go-to pulling plays so we need to come up with some counters and wrinkles.... This is where self-scouting and finding tendency-breakers comes into play as we need to get Cook cooking again.

What a weird game where the difference makers were players who have been mostly invisible or drawing penalties this year. Sherfield, Harty, and Rapp. Would never have expected those guys to tilt the game our way, but glad they came in when they did.

We really struggled getting that run game going for the last few weeks. Protection issues early and some bad Allen decisions and key drops. BUT, Allen heated up and this team has learned to play a full 60 minutes and the defense has learned how to close the door.

Yup. We were getting killed by those RPOs and with those misdirection motion edge/toss sweep plays. They have adjusted.