WideNine

One thing is they took Kelce away for the most part and stripped the ball from him on a key play down the stretch. No catches in the first half, and just 56 yards in the second with a fumble. Most teams just accept that Kelce is going to get his 100+ yards, but he is Mahomes safety blanket. No matter who the QB is, you take away their top target that they lean on, they get very uncomfortable and make mistakes.

All things considered, Von has been pretty durable. Some precaution to get a healthy Von back next season is the smart play.

We were a pretty good defense before the Von acquisition, but he is a closer that comes up big in key moments. Beane did a good job shoring up the soft middle of that DL, and our DE rotation could be worse. Next man up and wishing a speedy recovery for Von. That being said "F" Thanksgiving games - last year Tre this year Von.

Beane is cheap.

I thought he was seen practicing on 11/9. I think they had a 21 day practice window to decide if they were going to promote him to the 53. A bit slow on the announcement or had to move someone?

Can't recall the last time I saw us do a middle screen, but don't know if it is a good match with Morse and our guards vs. Quinnen and Sheldon. Was able to see that Spiller play. He did have wheels when he got into the clear. Just picture the current Jets interior smothering those and teams have been leaving one S/LB to spy Allen on a lot of reps so he would be there too. In general it would be nice to see the Bills incorporate more under center reps where they can do the middle screens and draw plays with the amount of focus Allen gets. With the wide and high DE rushes you would think we could double one of the DTs and have a gap to exploit. Just have to have the right matchups, but the way folks get after Allen there should be opportunities.

Yeah... all apologies to Romo, but that may have been a bit premature. Way too early to know where Dane's ceiling is at, but certainly getting targeted a lot for a reason and those reasons need to be corrected to justify getting more reps.

For a 2020 7th rounder he has shown some decent compete. Needs to get better reading and anticipating routes, and positioning himself to get his head turned around to make plays on the ball. If a db is consistently trailing wide receivers and running at a full sprint without tracking the ball, probably an issue getting regularly burned on routes and having to recover. But he does have that recovery speed to close on receivers albeit after the catch so that is one thing. So he is not fully baked yet, but will make a great depth guy and has room to grow his game.

That Elam story is interesting. If McD just wanted to get Rhodes some reps they could have split reps, but the bench? I doubt we will know the full story behind that. OBD used to leak info like no other org, but they have gotten better keeping inside business under wraps.

I agree. Allen was taking more than his fair share of late hits especially along the sideline early in his NFL debut. If it took flopping a bit to draw the flags and that gets defenders to ease up on those to avoid the 15 yards, then great. I have noticed fewer of those blatant late hits since Allen showed some decent ability drawing flags. And a bit of friendly banter with the refs never hurts

Yeah, started when Wyche and the Bengals minted the quick sugar huddle and the NFL had issues with that and kept changing the rules. The Bengals kept adapting till they had created the no huddle. The late 80's Levy going up against the Bengals No Huddle hated it and complained a lot about it to the league. "And don't think Wyche didn't notice what Levy did, "Marv Levy's headline is that 'The No-Huddle is No Fair,' and the next year they're running it and actually the next year is when they 'invented' it," Wyche said in America's Game: The Missing Rings.... As a result of the no-huddle, the NFL was forced to change several rules: If a player goes down injured, he must leave for the following play. Also, in a no-huddle situation, the defense is only allowed to substitute if the offense does." I liked Sam Wyche although he was famous for his meltdowns... especially against the Bills. Passed away in 2020 from cancer. Blast from the past and a game that started with 3 Kelly INTs before the Bills righted the ship against the Bengals and Sam blew his top.

I read somewhere that Josh did the Gillette commercial to troll NE. Priceless.

I think Dawkins has played in better shape than he showed up this year, but he is a Left Tackle all day and one of the better ones who has shown he can play at an elite level when committed to do so. This season I just noticed that he had lost a bit on his first step and was struggling and lunging a bit more with those outside speed rushers than he has in years past. A lot of those guys count on playing themselves into shape and maybe that was it, but I have seen him play at a higher level than he has and hoping we get that Dion back - the guy who can erase DL players. That being said he is the best we have and even when not at the top of his game he is very good and I would not want them to move him anywhere. The same goes for Brown at RT move-wise; you leave him where he is at. He has been wildly inconsistent in pass-pro sets. I am trying to decide if that is just who he is - streaky, or if that is just what happens when you have a second-year tackle who had back surgery over the offseason and needs time to get back into playing shape and find his groove. Brown does not seem to have any issues running folks over in the run game - so that is a benefit as long as we don't abandon that for long stretches.

Calling Dawkins out for not playing up to the potential we know he has is not bashing. He is very talented, but has not been playing this season at the elite level we all know he is capable of. Nothing wrong with that, and it is my hope is that he comes back with that mindset if erasing DL players and playing lights out. Allen needs to have that confidence in his line down the stretch and Dawkins and Morse are the guys that can lead by example. Dorsey calling more balanced games will help keep D-Linemen from pinning their ears back rushing Allen and help this OL too.

I think Groot has a lot of promise, and elite DEs don't fall out of the trees. I like his trajectory from last year to this year and I am pretty sure we have not seen what his ceiling is yet. You cannot teach that length he has or that bend and hand use. Considering where we were drafting I think he may have been a steal - we will see.

I think that is the lack of having an elite lock-down corner. Even one makes a lot of difference scheming up ways to take away one side of the field. Elam is probably a year away, but I think the ingredients are there. The rest not named White are cast-offs, UFAs, and late round selections. I think the Bills have done well with those selections like Benford, but it is asking a lot to have those guys cover the Hills, Waddles, Chases, or Jeffersons of the league without a lot of help. Fingers crossed for White, not just for the play he brings, but he was so much a part of this team's heart and soul on the field, and of course for his career too.

He's the real deal - one of those guys that does not look huge and but freaky-strong tossing large bodies out of his way.

I don't feel they are managing the clock very well. Burrow had an opportunity there to run for the sticks too I think. He's no Allen, but I think he could have done more than turtle for the sack.

Cinci hiking the ball with 11 ticks on the play clock.... Drain that down to the last second.... C'mon.

SF play design to fake the toss and have their backup QB run right into Nick Chubb on the boot leg. 😅

Swing and a miss KC.

Hated the holding on the Bengals Center. I cannot stand holding calls between the tackles on running plays as they happen on almost every one. They still got the score, but still a lot of game left... they have done a good job on Kelce so far.

I love our defense, but we have a history of giving up down and long distance, or going into pretty poorly performing prevent defenses. I think those work when you know you can bring pressure against a less mobile QB and force the early throw to keep those completions well short of the sticks, but we give up to many 3rd and longs or 4th and longs. We have a good solid defense, just think they are just a few pieces away from being great... a healthy White playing again at an elite level and Elam coming on would help. Getting a well-rested Von back down the stretch would be gravy too.

Just watching Hill torch a 49ers defense makes it all the more amazing what the Bills D was able to do against a Chiefs offense with Hill, Kelce, and Mahomes on the same team and Andy Reid calling plays.

Miami's offense is just Hill this or Hill that. It is a one man show. If it aint Hill it is Hill creating space for everyone else.