WideNine

The Pats never overpay and they have always been able to turn middling o-line talents into rock stars. But usually their stars are not able to replicate the same success elsewhere. Brady usually gets rid of the ball quickly or throws it away, or in the dirt in front of him because he rarely if ever gets called for intentional grounding. Their o-linemen usually do not have to hold their blocks as long. Also, they have had the services of arguably one of the best offensive line coaches still active last year to coach up a unit - Scarnecchia. Looks like he is hanging up the whistle for good this time so good news for Buffalo. He ranked right up there with the best in the business Hanifan, Bugal, the homer in me always though McNally was pretty darn good too. I don't see the Bills getting into a bidding war for a guard sitting near the top of the FA pool, but who knows. I could see them going after a cheap FA someone like Van Roten because they take chances on players who are dinged up but were playing at a high level if they feel they can get them back into playing shape. He would come far cheaper than the FA guard top-list targets, and there is the Carolina connection.

That is an area of his game that needs work...how to anchor, but the dude has a burst and can get upfield from the interior. In a league that prioritizes passing he has value. Most defensive linemen are part of rotations or situational packages, not sure why he would get dinged that badly for not being the best space eater against the run. He will get paid. If not here, somewhere else and no hard feelings.

Going to be interesting. I think they are a piece away on the offensive line when everyone is healthy, and they need a legit 1-2 punch in their running game. For Josh, it usually seems that the old issues with mechanics and decisions follow his mental state during a game. When he is focused and has good situational awareness and trusts the guys around him, he can be literally amazing. When that focus unravels, as it did in the later half of his first ever playoff game, then the mechanics and decisions go out the window. I do not think that Daboll has the best situational awareness either on game days and often does not do his young signal caller any favors. My hope is that Allen can at least adapt to all the situations and the nerves part of the game will subside. I am not sold that Daboll will be the right guy to take their offense to the next level, but we will see if Beane can give them enough shiny new toys to compensate. There is more to being a great OC than just creativity, and his running game personnel decisions and play calls with Gore last year were uninspired.

Some do, others do not deny the talent of Mahomes or the skill it took Lamar to achieve what he has achieved. Is it sustainable is probably a better question to ask than to say the talent is not there now to move an offense. Mahomes is sharp, can read defenses, throw every pass, and moves enough to create opportunities to extend plays and when needed he can throw off-platform with good touch. I think he has everything to sustain a pretty high-level of QB play for a long time as long as he can stay healthy which goes for any NFL player. I have no illusions about Allen and he is not there yet, but I do like how Daboll has forced him to continue to learn to read defenses and play QB from the sticks back to the LOS. His starts in his first season were pretty much sandlot football from the get-go. Perhaps that was not so much out of choice as the o-line held up like a wet paper bag as soon as the ball was snapped, but a habit that has fed the hero-ball that will need to be purged from his game. It will be interesting to see how these two young QBs trend over time - I would not toss the towel on either of them, but clearly different approaches to grooming them for the NFL.

I have seen him thread some passes between defenders on the move, but I do think that stacking the box and playing man is the defensive model that gives a team the best chance to shut them down. Not everyone can shut down their running game even with 8 in the box, or has the kind of defensive backfield that can play man, or the abilility to match up with their TEs when they release. If they can it does force him to have to throw more often into smaller windows where dbs and safeties are not pealing back to defend the run and gives teams a better chance of getting him on the ground. I am not a fan of labeling these young QBs "gimmicks" quite yet; although I admit if Lamar was forced to operate out of the pocket (if he got dinged during a season and could not run or cut as he does) he would be far far less effective as a QB in the system Baltimore has built to take advantage of those skills.

Sad, but true.

Sure Baltimore has the Inner Harbour, but have you ever got off on the wrong exit West of I95? It is like a demilitarized zone. Someone remind me how many riots the City of Buffalo has had? What ever...did not wish any ill on Lamar or the Ravens. They played us hard and clean, but glad they were stopped short of a SB so clowns like this can crawl back under their rock.

Yup. Nice catch - I'll edit.

I dunno. I don't see kill-shot, I don't see shoulder, I see Ford setting his block and hitting him with his hands and arms in the front of his jersey and he is a much bigger man. The defender does not even go down, just has to hop backward and reset his feet. Just a lame call that should never had been made. You looking for blind side - look to the Jets defender Anderson with a history of dirty hits and fines being given a 10K fine when he wiped out Hauschka last year. Explain how Ford's legit block is a 28K fine, and Anderson's was a 10K???? "F" Rivera.

This is the mob mentality that Al Rivera has instilled into the NFL Officiating organization and the owners need to do something because it is not trending in the right direction. Question us, we deny any poor calls close ranks and fine you. Question us and pass new rules to improve our performance, we will ignore them or selectively enforce them to show our displeasure. From the top-down that organization needs to be blown up and rebuilt the right way or the systemic issues the owners are trying to regulate out are not going to go away, and they should start with Rivera. Hire full-time referees with strong progressive leadership and install some independent oversight for organization performance reviews and as a watchdog as we know legal NFL gambling makes referees a tempting target. Figure out better ways of working more quickly and seamlessly with video technology instead of the knuckle-dragging, Luddite approach of competing with or suppressing it. Most of all instill the understanding that it is OK to pick up a flag. If your crew has no qualms about waving off a TD because a player forgot to take a knee, you should be able to recognize that you made a mistake on that nonsense blindside block call in OT effectively killing a drive for a team trying to score in a playoff game and pick up that flag.

Whereas Daboll marches out Gore, Dimarco, and Smith and thinks he's fooling anyone with that personnel package. 2 plays after Singletary broke a long run Allen used play action and...it worked. The safties came up, their corners trailed our receivers with no deep help, and Josh hit a long pass. Sometimes the tried and true methods still work.

Analytics junkies claim our line is great because Allen holds the ball too long. I dunno, sometimes he has time to survey the field and is slow to pull the trigger, but many times this year it was a jail break where Allen had to juke and scramble around just to be able to get a pass off. Often it was only 3 and 4 man rushes with just odd alignments, but our line seemed to be stumped regarding who they should pick up. I think our line could use some more talent particularly on the edges where they struggled with speed rushers. It is not like Allen had a clean pocket a lot of times, but when he did and could step into throws more often than not I liked how he moved the team.

Truth. Gotta punch more of those in. Drove the length of the field and knocked on the door enough, but play calling and poor execution kept the door closed.

There are always the chuckleheads that possess internet accounts. I like to critique our players, coaches, and execution, but try to keep it to the X's and O's. I may not think they use Cody the right way, but the kid stepped up to play RT when Nsekhe went down and I am not sure, but it looked like he was playing with an arm brace yesterday too. He has heart, he is a rookie; he will get better, and that call was BS.

He needs to tackle better, and as a team the defense needs less launching themselves and more wrapping up and driving thru. That is Pop Warner stuff. One can critique poor execution when it is true. Not sure why it seems to illicit this mantra of defense does not need to stop teams, the Bills need to score more. The two are not mutually exclusive. The offense needs to score more and the D needs to have less missed tackles.

They kept a lot of defenders back in coverage confident they could generate pressure with 3 and 4 man rushes...which they did. Was easier to bottle up our receivers. Not a steller outing for our o-line, but I think there were a few guys playing pretty dinged up, and we need better talent/coaching-up of the OT positions. There are positions for Beane and his staff to improve upon.

Although your first year QB can and does call out protections, the center also plays a big role. That is why they spent big money on a veteran like Mitch so he could shoulder more of that responsibility. Not sure why they struggle as much as they do at times with 3 and 4 man rushes. It is something NE employs a lot of dropping all those guys into coverage confident that Allen will hold the ball longer, and their few rushers can still generate pressure.

Did something similar... just looked at a bunch of different football reporting sources to see how biased I was being. Most acknowledged the up and down performance we all saw. Clutch and on target throws through most of the game, then some wide-eyed reckless desperation plays later with a playoff game on the line. A lot of focus on the lateral and I guess that is to be expected as it was the most glaring proof that Josh had lost the handle on the actual game situation. Unlike the news outlets, I also blame Daboll and Dorsey for not recognizing the situation earlier and working between the offensive series to talk to Allen review where they were at and what they needed and the time available. Just helping keep your young QB grounded. That is what a QB coach does during games, but maybe they tried and it was not effective. Either way, something that Allen and the team needs to do better. First full season behind center and the kid helped guide this team, sometimes carried this team, to a 10 win season and playoffs. He has work to do, but I saw things that make me think that with the right pieces in place he can take another step in the right direction - like the 50/50 balls Allen was willing to throw to Duke that have been rare with his determination not to turn the ball over. He still needs to get the ball out earlier when his receivers are coming out of their breaks as the Texans sat on some of those shorter sideline and comeback routes and nearly had picks. My hope is that OBD coaching staff also spend some time objectively reviewing game tape and the decisions that they made and whether they brought their "A" game. McDermott preaches 360 evaluation and continual improvement... have faith that as an org they will make the changes necessary to continue to improve.

Same here, and I have felt this way for most of the year. Daboll can come up with some real offensive wizardry and cool unique plays, but there are times when I think he seems more dedicated to proving how unique is offensive play calls can be while showing a stubborn disconnection with what is happening on the field; What is working, what isn't working, how is the o-line holding up, how Allen is holding up, etc... Well, got to let this one go and at least NE crapped the bed at home... makes this a slightly easier pill to swallow.

And the defense had all the stopping power of a sheet of wet Kleenex. It was a team loss and yes, I include the coaches. We need some better players, but good coaches put the players they have in the best position to succeed. I don't think I can say that about our coaches today. That being said, this is a better team than last year and I have to trust they will make the changes needed to be even better next year.

This. And Watson is in his 3rd year and has guys like Hopkins to throw to. Not taking anything away from Watson's gutsy play towards the end of the game, but some folks have to have some perspective when making these comparisons. Josh made some great plays, and put the ball where it needed to be a number of times early in the game that should have led to scores, but they were dropped, or receivers could not step in bounds. He also did a bunch of bone-headed hero-ball things in the 2nd half of the game that made me wonder if anyone was talking to him to settle him down and remind him of the game situation, that he had time, to settle down. Either way, the up and down play is what most reasonable fans expected from Allen this year. Allen is also the guy who after throwing a bunch of interceptions against NE early in the year vowed not to do that again and really changed his approach to the game and was not a turn-over machine for the rest of the season. He made mistakes today, he will learn from them. Beane needs to get him some better blockers and at least one more legit receiving weapon, and a running back that can do some damage when he spells Singletary, and an OC that will not abandon the run when it is working.

Yeah. I said it was a bad call. I also said that NFL players who are not paying attention and get blocked or pancaked near the play from any where around the front of their jerseys and the numbers should not draw flags for holding (which many pancake blocks were flagged as this year), or that ridiculous flag for a blind side hit. Ford did not lower the boom just blocked the guy and if a player's blind side is the direction he is facing he deserves to get blocked out of the play. Certainly the Bills need to play better and made enough mistakes to lose the game outright, but I cannot believe how many ticky-tacky calls this crew made, and how many times they got in the way of our players trying to make a play. Trying to pin a punt deep and the ref basically blocks our guy from getting to the ball, Josh trying to escape the pocket and he runs into the ref in the "umpire" position and takes a sack. They also flat-out sucked at spotting the ball. Gave Beasley a first down when he was a bit short, and then gave a 1st down to the Texans one time when their receiver was a full yard short. - if that was playoff caliber officiating the NFL needs to think about a new way of producing better refs, starting with giving Ron Rivera the boot. Been a pretty rough year after a suspect year before.

Was not the best call and was not blind side. Hit the guy on the numbers. There is a point where NFL players just have to be aware of their surroundings or risk being de-cleated fair and square.

Both offensive and defensive lines crapped the bed in the second half. Could have been poor adjustments, but to me I did not see a lot of different looks from the Texans, if anything they did not bring the extra rusher like I thought they would and they were still getting to Allen unblocked, or barely blocked. The Texans lined their pass rushers wide all game long, that should tell you what they thought of our tackles. Watt schooled everyone in front of him for the most part and played all over the front line. Our defense stopped getting to Watkins as much in the second half and seemed to lose a step when they had to defend the run a bit. With more time Watkins got into a rhythm - missed tackles turned small gainers into longer ones and 1st downs and they were able to drive the field. Our defense seemed to be able to get them into 3rd and long enough times to force a punt, but got conservative and would give up the first. I am fine with Edmunds being a spy, but as the case was in run defense he has to avoid playing on his heels, or back-peddling. He needs to shadow that mobile QB, without conceding easy yards in front of him, take good angles, and close on him when he pulls it down - not wait for him to plow him over the 1st down marker. I like that he wraps up, but would like to see him take better angles and get some shoulder into his tackles to drive guys back rather than trying to drag guys down with his arms. He is young, and he will only get better. Not sure what our team priority needs are, but would have to think that RT, WR, and LB are up there especially with Zo retiring.

Our Bills defense needs to stop folding in the 2nd half of games. Good defenses close games out; They do not allow back to back scores and 2 point conversions. Missed tackles really have been a problem all year, needs to be a focus. That soft zone on 3rd and 18 was a huge mistake - did not like the call or the execution. Not sold on Badork as our punter... and today did nothing to make me feel like we have the right guy. Daboll did not call the best 2nd half, and the o-line needs some better pass protectors as 3 and 4 man rushes should not have been coming through our line like a hot knife thru butter. Definitely need an upgrade at RT as the Texans attacked that position with rushers setting up wide all game long. They got better on the left side defending that wide nine rusher, but even inside they were giving up pressure. How do you call a timeout, and then put in a downfield pass play that leaves Watt unblocked when in OT????? Sheer freaking genius. Allen choked a bit and the game got a bit big for him...just calling it as I saw it. That is where a smart OC gets the RB who is eating the Texan's lunch involved and does things to calm his QB down and lets him get into a rhythm. Instead he goes empty sets and puts more responsibility and pressure on his young QB and calls a bunch of QB designed runs when we know Allen can get hurt or put the ball on the turf. I don't get it. I like Allen using his legs on broken plays, or designed roll outs with receiving options, but have never been a fan of him plowing into defenders on stretch running plays or off tackle. Smoke seemed a bit off this game and I am not sure why - signaling for a flag as the ball is popped up and was still in play in the end zone. Not being aware of where the sideline was on the other deep route where normally he is really aware and would toe-tap that. White also played a bit uncharacteristically soft against Hopkins. I think he was so concerned about giving up the big play that he was giving him a bit too much cushion in the 2nd half. Give White some slack as he was in man to man quite a bit and he did not want to give up the big play.