WideNine

I did not like him coming out of college. The way he soldiered through a completely disfunctional Brown's organization to be productive and was not the cancer I thought he would be changed my stance. He is a tough SOB

Big passing yards are never a good measure of offensive production rather EP is a better measuring stick. Maye has not had to play catch up too much and NE generally plays a solid game on both sides this year under Vrabel and are either leading or close to it. Usually if you are racking up a lot of passing yards you have dug a good hole for your team and you are trying to pass your way back into the game against a team just preserving the multi-score lead.

They have to do something about how dead Allen and this offense has been looking in the first half of games. I have not checked the stats, but pretty sure most of the scores are coming in the second half of our games (Panthers run fest aside).

Man we had some calls go our way that I usually do not see. Putting my tin foil hat on and thinking the league wants to see a Bills Patriots playoff showdown or something

Teams have been eating up that bubble to Shakir, but Brady keeps going to it in high-leverage moments. Teams are looking for it and it aint working.

I have nothing I can say about the injuries on this team - just baffling. We need a 50-man roster just for the defense to make it though a season. Mecole was here for how long before getting hurt?

Perhaps - they have been exposed a bit with those protection schemes this year and picking up the late blitzers - particularly on the outside where Dawkins and Brown have both taken an inside rusher to let the outside rusher come free. But I think on the whole he has been behind shakier offensive lines - this we know. Also, there has been a trend of Allen heating up later in game and coming out cold and dead in the 1st half. Adjustments aside, that is something the coaching staff has to find a way to turn around. Maybe more designed Allen runs early? That used to work for Dabs to get Allen into the game flow and calm his nerves.

Oh Mecole we hardly knew thee.

The D would be a lot more disruptive on 3rd downs that's for sure and Hoecht was a finisher tackling.

True, but he is just making it harder than it needs to be on himself and I am baffled as to why. Teams do send some early blitzes his way lately, a corner blitz and a delayed safety blitz real early when we were deep in our EZ and maybe that is the secret sauce that gets Josh's clock ramped up so he does not settle in and see the field. Dunno.

We see the splash plays, but on the balance that guy is usually no where near his gap and lost in coverage. I can get that he was tapped as our Mike when the league was all pass pass because he is lighter and faster, but even when he drops in coverage he just covers grass and seems to have no concept of zone match. I know it will likely never happen, but they need more of a thumper that is gap sound at Mike and Bernard is more of a weakside LB IMO.

Com'on bud he has made some poor decisions out there and missed some chip shots. It is what it is, but Allen has a strong arm if he sets up and he can get a ball through the winds - there is a chance some of those his off throws were blown off course. Usually you see teams run one direction and throw the other if the winds are too rough - seems both teams are taking shots downfield when they have the ball. Not sure why TB is passing the ball, I would just run on the Bills all day. The tape will tell in the end and the truth will likely be somewhere in the middle, but I still think he has turned down some easy ones today and has been really tentative and off the past few games.

Throw to the RB worked - who would've thought?? 🤔

At least someone came out to play today. Nice one Bishop.

Yep, and they have been terrible at setting the edge. Guys go inside and there is no help from the second level on the edge - that cannot be by design - right???

Brady has his issues, but even some of the die-hard groupies here are having to admit. Allen is stinking up the joint today. Still love JA 17, but he has got to play better than he has been if this team is going to have a chance.

Now if only Allen sees it right? Not sure where his eyes are going today and why he is so off on some of the easy throws. This is old Josh with the turndowns on easy throws underneath, bailing on clean pockets, and poor mechanics on deeper tosses. A lot of guys running free out there especially against those backers. Making things harder than they need to be often with plenty of time and a clean pocket by turning those down. Defense, for years I have heard how they don't need big run stuffing tackles and LBs and for years I watch them get blown off the LOS. Taron, Milano, and Bernard look lost on a lot of plays and getting way sucked into pre-snap motion and out if their gaps. The rookies on the line I will give some grace to, but they are not getting much push.

There is some scheme inflexibility Brady has had with all the success last year using 13 personnel. Kincaid really makes that work better. Kincaid and a true X receiver (Palmer) makes that recipe even more successful. With Palmer and/or Kincaid out that package can stall out. I think Mr. Brady has to open up the 11 and 12 personnel playbook from time to time to better use those other WR assets.

Addition by subtraction...the kid has a long way to go to be what they are asking and it is a bit unfair. Some "on the job training" is expected of high draft picks, but not wise to put those guys in a critical position that needs almost veteran-level proficiency to keep the offense moving. The kid had tremendous production in college off of mediocre volume of targets and was a consensus fringe 1st round projection, but a raw product in many ways. It can be interesting to go back to the weakness traits that scouts saw. Those can really get exposed with the competition at the next level. Weaknesses Explosiveness, while exceptional, isn’t always enough to completely stack boundary DBs. Has enough burst to stress vertically but doesn’t have high-end vertical range. Sometimes can be a bit late to decouple from defenders and turn his head on deep routes. Can be prone to occasional drops on low, high-difficulty catch attempts. Doesn’t quite have elite hip flexibility and sinking capacity, as hips can lock up. Has to take extra steps to gather himself on 180-degree route transitions. Sometimes will divert upright at stems, sapping at momentum and keying in DBs. At times, plant-and-drive footwork on comeback routes can be more efficient. Has immense promise with his route tree but can strive for more consistent technique. Still learning how to sequence short-area agility and physicality against press coverage. Contact balance, while solid, is not elite and doesn’t always bail him out on short passes.

Agree it is more nuanced and good points that game script means a lot with the way this team is built. Our defense was likely more built (before being decimated by injury) around playing with a lead and facing offenses that were forced into more one dimensional options having to pass to catch up. Not so much offenses that can be balanced, pound the rock, eat clock and wear them out. Not playing with the lead puts our defensive makeup in a position where they have to actually stop the run and get off the field on 3rd down to give our offense a chance to catch up. To get that lead they have to have enough investment outside of Allen and Cook and really well-scripted early possessions to get a lead. If we win the toss and we give the ball to their offense (hoping to get the halftime double dip) our defense has to go out and get a 3 and out or turnover, which they actually did in Miami, but our offense did nothing with it.

My biggest question is even with the speed added to the roster; will Brady use it? I have loved our 13 personnel look with the talent we have at TE, but with Kincaid not available what the Bills can do out of those looks becomes more limited. The Bills should lean more into the WRs with speed they already have on the roster and run with more 11 and 12 personnel. We have to get teams to pay for how often they are not using any safety help over top allowing them (especially on early downs) to play the run and hem Allen in the pocket. That probably starts with getting Keon off the field. Not everything is this young man's fault, but he has not done enough to earn the reps he has been given so that is the first change. They may want to use him to return kicks and punts like he did in college, but I don't know if he is still bought into the program. Things like this can really test a young player's pride and maturity. We need more of a true veteran X-receiver, and we have that in Palmer who I sincerely hope is healthy again. Moore should be in the lineup on the boundary, and then Shakir and Samuel can share snaps in the slot as they are pretty good at finding soft spots in the zone, both have RAC, both are pretty good with motion and screens. It those guys start making teams pay getting open and giving Allen more answers downfield then that will open things up for Cook too. We had a bad run game plan with Miami expecting more out of our zone runs and cutbacks and they were disciplined and took those cutback lanes away. The Bills coaching staff needs to have a better run game plan coming into the Tampa game but even if they do, it does not change the fact that the passing game needs to be fixed. Kincaid has proven he could be a dynamic piece of the Bills offense for years to come, but the thing that may get in the way of that is his penchant for missing games with injury. I have been really stoked that he and Allen seem to be on the same page this season, but the flip side of that is Allen looks lost when Kincaid is not out there.

My theory on many of the defensive injuries used to be the aging roster. I also thought that we were too light overall with the Beane and McDermott preference for lighter quicker DL players and LBs. We did not match up as well with bigger more physical teams and guys were trying to do too much - it seemed to fit with the kind of DL and LB injuries. Torn biceps and such seem to support guys not physically able to shed blocks or trying to arm tackle guys getting past them. But some are just freak injuries. I mean Hoecht was injured and I think he was just taking a step with no contact. Still, even with having to throw together a defensive roster with rubber bands and bailing wire, I think the D did enough early in the Miami game to give the offense a chance to get back into the game.

Not on the field, but in the locker room yeah. Extolling guys on the sidelines and getting them fired up yeah. Temper tantrums on the sidelines and quitting during games? Not so much Just IMO.

I am at a loss, as Kincaid an offensive early pick looks like he could be the real deal coming on at TE, but yeah...injured again. What do you do? Do these guys need better strength and flexibility training or some kind of hoodoo cleansing ritual to ward off the bad juju?

Folks forget that now that he is "Mr. Team player" in NE with things going well for that team. The talent was there, and in fairness there were times he played pretty banged up, but his on-field antics were not the things you look for from a leader.