WideNine

I like Daboll too, and I think he is good at creating schematic mismatches, but there are times I think that he is a bit blind to the skills of the pieces he moves around the chess board. Gore on a stretch play is not as effective as Gore off-tackle whether or not the other team is expecting Gore to run a stretch play. It is those kinds of plays where you will often find that even many experienced NFL players and ex-coaches will make the off comment that the Bill's OC Daboll "got a bit too cute" on this or that play. It happens, folks notice it from time to time, and although a valid critique, it does not take away from the larger body of work that Daboll has done to try to transform this Bills offense. Over time as we improve the skills in a few areas, or just get the right guys healthy again, I think a lot more of his plays will click. That being said, better tailoring his plays to the skills of the players he is able to field that day should be something he always prioritizes.

Johnson in the 7th was a steal IMO.

Did you notice that Bill sent 7 players on that rush...4 to Allen's blind side. He doesn't mind sending the house when teams are deep in their own zone.

Old school nonsense, but it was the way coaches treated it back in the day. Remember a hockey interview where one of the announcers was a former player discussing a concussion he had. Said he could not even recall his own name. His coaches told him he was Gretzky and sent him back on the ice. "Did you play then like Gretzky?" "No."

I would have liked to see more runs this game. Not to hide Allen, rather I think run blocking is the current strength of this o-line and their pass pro not-so-much. Dawkins and Ford were giving up plenty of pressure off the edges....especially Ford. If it protected Allen a bit then that would have been fine too. NE's defense is very good at shutting down the passing game. I don't feel they are as good against the run, but few teams hang with them long enough so that running the ball is an option. Look at all the positive yards grandpa Gore was getting. Not sure if he could have taken more touches, but when we do have the RB depth there is no reason not to run the ball if it is an effective strategy to move the chains. Really not sure if that is hiding Josh, I just think it is a better way to play that NE defense this year with our personnel. I do agree that Josh works better with the hurry up as he does not have the time to over think his options.

The D-line was getting penetration from Oliver and from Jordan Phillips, even Peko was winning his battles, the pulling that NE likes to do was a train wreck and that forced Sony to hesitate and pick different gaps, and this year he was getting wrapped up in the backfield and Edmunds was not waiting for Sony to get to him, he was recognizing run and hitting the right gap and stuffing him before he could get traction. The d-line played lights out and the gang tacking was very good, if one guy got a leg there were 3 more bodies flying in to finish it off. Frazier's squad and coaches deserve the kudos they are getting - they were ball'n

I don't think Murphy has been terrible, just not contributing many impact plays. Johnson has had more impact from the position and is already taking reps from him. I am not sure who else they have on rotation on the end that could fill though and the rotation keeps them fresh.

Good analysis and you are right. There is always that bit of debate that goes on over the headsets and sometimes there just is not enough time. I actually think our ST have been better this year and am willing to let this guy grow into his role, but some do not see it that way. Either way, it will be another teaching moment for a pretty young team.

I will be honest and say that I was pretty frustrated with Allen. But I have to remind myself that only 2 or so games ago I was posting that everyone should expect that he was going to have up and down games, and on Sunday against the Pats very good defense he fell back into his bad habits had a down game and I did not really have the patience that came more easily when we were winning. Belichick's plan had not deviated too much from last year, to have Allen feel the rush and force him into the quick decisions and reads he is not quite ready to make and to cause him to hesitate and pull the ball down. That hesitation means that his rush will either get to him or force him to roll right out of the pocket. Once Allen rolls right then his coverage downfield always had help over the top playing center field watching Allen's eyes. Belichick's defenses have confused and rattled and stalled a lot of veteran QBs along the way and there is no shame in counting yourself among them, but I always thought that his defenses could be forced into more predictable fronts if a team continued to hammer the ball at them with the running game. The o-line did not have its best game and I somewhat blame Daboll for not having enough running plays with Josh back there to slow up that pass rush. Part of that is that they were trying to keep Gore's touches reasonable, but if that was the case I think they needed to pull up another RB and I still think that would have been better than only having Yeldon who is mainly a receiving option out of the backfield. Allen's issues have not changed and those are that his presnap reads and ability to read coverages short to deep are not there yet - can anyone really do this well with the way Belichick disguises his defense? This inability has him holding the ball too long waiting for something to develop downfield and there was very little of that going on Sunday. Coverage was tight. The unforgivable thing was Allen's stubborn insistence on throwing it deep off platform into double-coverage or simply not locating the free safety. He absolutely needs to get that through his head (where is the safety???????). Allen has had enough success rolling right and hitting his receivers that break off their routes to come back to him, but those options were largely schemed out of the picture as Bill looks for those tendencies and does what he can to take those away. He threw some away, he needed to take a page out of Brady's book on Sunday and tip his hat to a very good defense and throw a lot more of them away. I think we mainly learn and build off of failure. Last year, the biggest leap in Allen's development came after his dubious launch and injury when he had time to sit, reflect, and dedicate himself a bit more to learning from those around him. I will be curious how Allen responds to this set back, but I am thinking we will have to wait till after the bye week for that just my hunch, but we will see.

I could be wrong, but I think McD will be cautious with Allen, and giving him two weeks to heal and time to watch Barkley take snaps with the ones and a game to watch Barkley work within Daboll's scheme would be good for him. Folks are looking for controversy and hate where there is none. Barkley will be able to execute a short timing game that Daboll will scheme up for what the Titans like to use in different down and distance. What he cannot do is work outside the scheme when it breaks down and when teams get enough tape on him. He is a good fit for a team trying to groom a young QB. Some folks are trying too hard. I suspect Allen sits and Barkley can do enough to get us through this game. If we can execute a scripted drive early that leads to points before they make a lot of adjustments, I trust this defense to keep us in the game or chip in a pick 6 (they are due). If Singletary is in and is fully healed I expect us to win.

I don't mind Josh using his skills to create some plays, and NE's "D" had given up quite a cushion underneath. BUT he absolutely has to have his head on a swivel and know there are players that are on the hunt for those hits. Not only that, but if they lay that hit they apparently get off Scott free (if they are NE) and you are knocked out of the lineup. Risk reward...

Those scrambles and long passes into double coverage were not where Daboll wanted Josh to go with the ball. If they were, he would not have been yelling in Allen's face on the sideline and clearly saying use your head while tapping his head. Allen has to learn to take what the defense is giving him and if it ain't there toss it away.

This. Hausch was injured by the cheap shot last year and I think it has taken this long for him to start to get his game back. He has been pretty solid, it could be worse we could have the Pat's kicker.

Both QBs could have used Singletary out there as a change of pace to Gore. Also helps them understand that the whole game is not on their shoulders. We are not in a terrible place with this team and just played a NE team that was slicing through teams like an unstoppable juggernaut and made their offense look pretty pedestrian. We get Singletary back and hopefully Josh gets through this protocol and recommits himself to improving his decision making.

This mirrors the exact conversation and coaching he got in the offseason at his QB camp. They discussed how Barkley does not have the arm so he has to play with anticipation, Josh has the arm but does not play with anticipation yet, maybe never we will see - he needs to recognize defenses and throw it to a spot where his receivers have the best chance of making a play on the ball. Josh also seems far too resistant to the concept of checking down to his outlet receiving option - that is the maverick hero-ball that is tough to coach out of him. What no one knows for certain is whether that is something that over time and with more experience Josh can develop. Today, against the Belichick defense, the ball came out too slow as he is not sure where to go with it which led to some late poor decisions under duress. He also needs to get better when facing the 5 and 6 man rushes that both NE, the Giants, and the Bengals used to hurry and confuse him. In all those times I saw Josh having a harder time pulling the trigger with any kind of rhythm. There is a tendency for Josh to start too hyped and erratic and gradually get better as the game goes on, not sure if he just needs enough games to move past that but today served notice to Josh and the coaches that having him lean on running and not sliding is a recipe for Allen getting knocked out of a game - literally.

Yes, but it is the first one in a while where the team lost. Just like in life, it is easier to blow off poor habits when you are able to squeak out a win in the end. The soul searching happens when you are not able to recover from the poor decisions.

That, and Brady's intentional grounding did not give us the ball on their 5.

Yes, he is guilty of trying to do too much on his own against a defense that had not allowed a TD since their Super Bowl and just 3 points. Perspective folks... Did he try to force things that were not there - yes. He will learn from this, he has had too much success extending plays he needs games like this to learn. I am frustrated too, but will see what he takes from this experience. It sucks, but NE would have eaten Barkley alive had he started and they did any scheming for him.

I felt his discipline had been slipping the past few games, but he was able to do things in the end to recover. Not sure he was learning from that. Like last year when he was knocked out of the lineup and came back more focused to improve, I am wondering if it takes getting really smacked in the mouth for Allen to respond and grow. We will see.

Will they be up against a far weaker opponent?

Outside of the perennial negative folks, how many actually thought we would give NE that much of a fight? I sure has hell didn't, but as one poster alluded to, it almost hurts worse that it was so close and there for the taking. Have to see what the pressers say about Allen and how long he may be out. I thought the officiating was pretty balanced right up to the Brady clear intentional grounding, and the non-ejection on the helmet to helmet to Allen. This team is on the rise folks, the sky is not falling, and I think we have a very good shot at getting into the playoffs this year - after than anything can happen. But we have not had a shot at being relevant in a long time. This is not a bad team, the offense needs work, but they were exposed against one of the best defenses in the league.

low snap too. Bork had to take it off his laces... that is a nit I think we don't pick.

For most QBs throwing it 30 yards on a rope is about the longest you are going to see and when Josh connects on those to Knox I think folks do not look at it like a HS play. Brees and Brady pretty much make their living behind the sticks. My point was that New Era is known for being tough on throws or kicks when they get a bit high... and I am curious what those throws look like sans our swirling winds. It is curiosity only as I have not seen a lot of visiting QBs throwing and connecting with 50 yarders.

not sure I agree or disagree at this point as most of his long balls have come with him throwing off platform. I think he can be pretty money on what most QBs consider long balls the 15-30 yard throws, but he is not setting up properly to throw the longer balls and they are sailing on him. And in our stadium they are dangerous to begin with... they get just a bit high and the wind catches them and they float for an int. Taking a longer view, but I would be curious to see Allen's deep balls in a dome or different field. Not excusing him taking those long shots off his back foot in New Era. That is poor judgement for the most part.