WideNine

Run blitz is not a bad idea to try to stop a short yardage run... they play on the wrong side of the LOS too often and get carried over the sticks

As much as I do not mind passes underneath on 1st and 2nd down, I am not a fan of routes that are short of the sticks against the kind of zone the Dolphins had.

No push for run game.

Some act like it is not possible that he was not doing this a few games ago - who knows... social media gets around and maybe he got some ribbing from his team mates. McD called him out last week for having a less than great game... seems to have had an effect.

I'm ok with the call, just not going to go a rookie's way. Josh needs to protect the ball a bit better with the lead and short field. Had enough time, but it is a shame that the Phins were getting pressure with a 3-4 man rush and able to drop everyone else back in coverage.

WTF McKenzie HAS to know better then to try to field that.

Has been less than money the end of last - I like Hausch but his stats have been trending down since '15 and I feel like the Bills have given him a shorter field than prior years... may need upgrade at position. Not sure what is going on.

Slide kid... there was a knee aimed at there.

Yeah that slant pass got there late and Zay adjusted... like the play calling forcing Josh to start taking underneath routes.

I stand corrected...I had it in my head that he had a big game against the Bills, and I think it was just the shock that he was beating White - only had 22 yards that day on 3 rec. Went back through his production this year and meh. I have no idea why they would lock him up for longer, but its the Jets on the verge of firing their HC so....

I am fine with the Jets paying him, I just don't think he is all that productive - solid #2-3 but that could just be the turmoil that has been the Jets, although Josh McCown had a pretty good year last year... He had a highlight reel catch against the Bills and White struggled with the size mismatch. I feel there are a lot of draft WR and TE prospects that are in the Enunwa mold - big, tall, but with slightly better speed and can high point the ball just as well - I would rather the Bills grab one of those.

I am there with you...the guy is in the league for 4 years and starts putting his game together during his contact year. Not saying 2018 was a flash in the pan, but would not be the first time I have seen a pro player turn back into Joe-average after getting his $$

I don't think Overdorf is running around with a pen and checkbook, PSE has an executive staff including an EVP of Finance that oversees Sabre and Bills operations... I get the sense that there is more oversight and less rodeo than there was during the Russ Brandon era.

Should be something in those agreements...sucks to have someone that privy to draft and FA planning jump ship to a rival in your division.

The other 2 were for crack-back blocks - no call, just like how the rushing TD that never crossed the goal line was reviewed and held. Is what it is. I would be OK with the penalty if a Bill returned the favor.

I know I am usually preaching offense and surround Josh with some better talent, but I think if Oliver is still there when the Bills pick you take him as the guy is an instant upgrade for a d-line - I do have the head-case concerns and I would expect OBD to do their homework to ensure the sideline tirade was an isolated thing rather than a sign of Aldon Smith-like craziness. There are a couple good tackles in the draft and some mocks have us taking WV's Cajuste. Most would agree that the draft is deep with defensive players, but less so for offensive players. Some use that rational to say that the draft will play out with just defensive guys taken first and foremost. I am not too sure - if the drop in offensive talent is steep from early round to later round talent than there may be a run on the few elite offensive players available and folks will take their chances with the depth of available defensive prospects. I saw one mock where he had the Bills completely focused on offense the first 3 rounds - taking Metcalf as their 1st pick, LT Cajuste with their 2nd pick, and had the Wisconsin Center Biadasz in the 3rd. If Biadasz made it all the way to the 3rd it would be a miracle and a no-brainer steal for the Bills, but that just is not going to happen.

Not sure they are trying to make him a pocket passer as there have been plenty of designed roll-outs and QB option plays called. There are times (the NE game is a perfect example) where a QB is kept in the pocket by the defensive design of your opponent. Belichick loves doing that to rookie QBs because pretty much all rookies have a comfort level of falling back to running the ball when they do not like what they see or get pressured in the pocket. Getting QBs in general and rookie QB's in particular to be "uncomfortable" and out of rhythm is the goal. Also, if I were a betting man and had to bet on Buffalo's receivers catching a deep throw or Allen running wild down the field, the safer bet would be to guard against the latter and trust your DB's and the Bills receivers to not make the catches. It is games like NE that force the need for honing patience and pocket-passing skills. Josh will need to be able to adjust to taking what defenses give him - if it is underneath options from the pocket, so be it. Having some kind of quasi-consistent running game will also help build that patience and the sense that the entire offense is not predicated entirely on his ability to push the ball downfield with throws.

I measure my devotion by how well I have handled being in an abusive relationship for most of my life. So pretty much hopelessly devoted. Signs of Abusive Relationships Important warning signs that you may be involved in an abusive relationship include when someone: harms you physically in any way, including slapping, pushing, grabbing, shaking, smacking, kicking, and punching (causing over drinking, over eating, nausea, bouts of insomnia, frequent throwing up) tries to control different aspects of your life, such as how you dress, who you hang out with, and what you say (pretty self explanatory - just try to go to a Bills game with a deluded Jets or cocky Patriot fan... you do that maybe once in the cheap seats) frequently humiliates you or makes you feel unworthy (for example, if you were a larger market team we would love you, not black you out, and maybe throw some calls your way at critical times in a game) threatens to harm you, or to self-harm, if you leave the relationship (we could move if you don't build that stadium) twists the truth to make you feel you are to blame for your partner's actions (if the 12th man shows up we will beat NE) demands to know where you are at all times (we now have a mobile app) constantly becomes jealous or angry when you want to spend time with your friends (we finally had folks openly admit that they did not stay to see the great Houston comeback playoff game)

What irritates me the most with many of these posts, and all of them that say things like "Allen has always been....", you are seeing what he has always been... Pure idiocy. What vast Allen football history are they drawing from - the multi-sport HS kid who did not go to QB camps where recruiters hung out and was considered too small to garner any college interest. Who spent a season at JUCO (Reedley College), grew to 6' 5" and finally got a shot with Wyoming. Perhaps the vast amount of film is the 2 games he played in his first year at Wyoming before getting injured (broken collarbone), or the his second year where he started before going in the 1st round of the NFL draft. Most everyone who evaluates QB talent, acknowledge Allen has the tools, but also was the most inexperienced QB of the 1st round draft class and would need a lot of time and NFL-level coaching to get up to speed. The good news is the book on Josh is he has always excelled at every sport he has participated in and picks things up quickly. Tossing around stats comparing Allen to NFL veterans and QBs who were recruited and featured at D1 schools is not the smartest thing (I am being kind), and pretty close to a waste of time. The only metrics I care about is Josh game 1 compared to Josh game 2... Josh game 3... you get the picture. Most of us know that Allen was the least ready (experience-wise) for the NFL. That there would be more than enough pundits more focused on ruining the kid with their lack of patience, and narrow-minded comparisons, than those willing to see the potential and understand the time and support needed to bring it all out. Recall what Trent Dilfer said about Josh Allen who he felt had the best raw skill set of the draft class: “Josh Allen is the one right now that’s ripping my heart out. Darnold should be playing, Rosen should be playing, Baker should be playing. I don’t think Josh Allen should be playing. He comes up, a very similar background as me, Central Valley California, smaller school.” “I don’t think he (Allen) is ready for the bigness that is the NFL and he’s not surrounded by enough good stuff, innovation, talent, whatever… the ten other things, that can make up for his lack of sophistication and experience.” “Every year I will identify a kid, that is like me, his background’s like me, you can see the writing on the wall, that we can ruin… the chances of ruining this kid, are better than making him become a superstar.” Dilfer sees a lot of similarities between his and Allen’s situations. “I went early, not because I wanted to, but because I was being told to. I had deep insecurity. I was overwhelmed moving across the country from California to Tampa, Florida to the worst organization in football (yes, I believe he is comparing Buffalo and the supporting cast to being one of the worst organizations in football) …I wasn’t ready. To be able to sit and watch and learn and have people teach me how to be a better pro, and then use their discretion on knowing when I was ready, would have been better for me.”

Here's the thing about the above: Anyone watching Allen knows he has had more very deep passes and deep passes for TD's dropped than any of his draft peers so I wont even debate that point as it would be silly. All teams use man to man, or some man with safety help over top, just a matter of degree. Those passes to Foster were not "broken coverages" if you are using that term as most do - to represent confusion by the defense and no one covering Foster. Those completions you reference were Foster beating his man on his route as well as beating safety help over top too (when its been there) with Allen throwing a perfect throw. With all due respect, if you do not realize that those were deep post routes by design then you do not know what you are looking at. Foster never breaks stride, takes his DB straight up the field and loses him as soon as he makes his break. Foster has really good speed. Turn over on downs versus TD's - fix the dropped passes and that changes like magic. Allen's efficiency in the red zone improves when we have a running game that can both occasionally score and also force teams to respect some play action. No need for drastic Allen changes here - just some support and balance in the offense. Allen's short game - one comment you made that I almost agree with, but I will add a twist. I think Allen can make most or all of the short throws, but is consistently looking beyond the sticks. He just needs some coaching and experience to shift to taking more of the easy shots that defenses are giving him underneath and that comes with experience making pre-snap reads, a better supporting cast so he doesn't feel like he has to do it all, and time.

Was going through all my thoughts about the value of aggregate stats vs. game by game metrics to show how rookie QBs are trending, what my eyes are telling me about Allen's progress, and the lack of any run game support.... and realized it was mostly all here in your post. I did think that pass protection held up reasonably well at NE, but that was probably more due to Belichick instructing his defensive line that they had to stay gap-disciplined and to not let Josh escape as their #1 priority vs some quantum leap in that group's collective ability. Allen looked like a rookie against NE and made some poor decisions and throws, but he also made some jaw-dropping good plays - and that is the story of most rookie QBs with talent. My eyes tell me that Josh is on a good learning trajectory, that he throws balls away now when he would never do that before. He rarely takes sacks for a loss which he did earlier in the year. He is recognizing defenses and although he misfired on some of his throws, it is amazing that he is recognizing where to go with the ball compared to how lost he was earlier in the year. He is even looking off the safeties more than he did earlier in the season when he tended to lock on one receiver the whole way. Does he still make those mistakes - yes, but they are trending in the right downward direction. The physical tools all seem to be there, and I do think he can make every throw, and will make more of them as the game slows down for him and his anticipation allows him to step into those throws with the right touch. Will add my beer to the one's you collected already.

I think we are in agreement on the personnel moves. The Bills also lose contain on the edges too, so some coaching or personnel changes need to happen there, or those may become less of an issue when they get some of their starters healthy again. When I say that our RZ defense is caused by our inability to stop the run I am just using the simple math of: The Bills are rated #1 overall in pass defense. They drop to 19th in run defense. In the RZ they drop even further to I believe 29th. If the Bills could get TFL on running plays they would probably not be 19th overall, but that only happens when the runner is met at the gap or behind the line. Obviously, the Bills front and linebackers are not getting in position or winning those battles (you can't put that all on Star). Our DEs have been a bit undisciplined with the gap control and containing the edges too which forces our first year DBs to come up in run support which can be painful to watch. When teams have shown run all the way in the Red Zone (2 TE and a FB) the Bills, more often than not, cannot stop them - it may take 2 runs or 3, but teams have been able to drive the ball into the end zone rather consistently - hence I use the term running the ball down our throat. I am sure there has to be one or two other times where they have made a stop, but I have only seen the Bills defend the run successfully in a red zone series once - and that was in Miami - where Lorax had a TFL, and they then put together a dominant defensive series even then they almost blew it because Jordan Phillips had a brain fart and drew a penalty show boating against his former team.

As much as I really like Milano's play, he was not tearing it up as a run stopper either. The Bills have been suspect all year - just look at our red zone stops when teams just run it down our throats. Milano is a guy who can play all over the field and who has great ball instincts, but if a blocker gets hands on him it is over. NE just decided to run the ball period - not just in the red zone. We need another space eater and that isn't Phillips - seems more in the penetrating mold like Kyle, but his feet need to grow a heck of a lot more before he fills those shoes. After that, they need to move Edmunds (who seemed to skip the basic classes of reading his triangle keys) outside and get a linebacker through FA or draft that can play the middle and has a nose for the ball. Do those two things and grandpa noodle-arm in NE wont be able to rely on running the ball at will like they did to us on Sunday. I like our pass defense, and for the most part it is the reason our defense is rated so highly. That being said, I saw a lot of whiffs by our safeties and corners on the edges where they should have had contain on NE's RB. Those secondary starters (a lot of them did not start the year as starters) need some coaching up on taking good angles, forcing a runner to change direction, and gang tacking. Get the right personnel and go back to the basics of reading, reacting, and execution.

Thanks Kyle - appreciate all the hard work you put in for the Bills. Best wishes to you and your family on your retirement.

This. There are worse candidates that have been handed the reigns, and Daboll has the connections to pull together a coaching staff and that is more than half the battle. Folks should be careful what they wish for - Daboll is far from the worst OC I have seen calling plays for the Bills. I would like to have him around for another year with a more capable o-line to see what he can do with it.