WideNine

Such a weak call... to reverse that big gain.

Giving up on the red zone running a bit early.... Texans had a great safety play on one, but are selling out down there to stop the pass. Probably can punch it in... I think the OL with Spencer is playing much better than when he is warming the pine. Rain is making things sloppy, and we just need to keep stopping their run and pressuring Mills.

Too funny. While the rest of us average humans have to get by with just scheduling time to talk with folks we know.

Focus on Ford on those clips and sheesh... he is really struggling. Folks just take for granted all the Allen does to avoid pressures on so many plays where he makes positive things happen, or when they ask how come he did not hit this or that guy quicker. Just count how many times he has to pull the ball down, avoid the rush, and reset. I actually thought our OL played pretty well, but looking closely at these plays I think it may have been more about Allen making escaping pressures look so pedestrian.

True, but thought Allen was pretty beat up during that Titan game. Just think I have less concerns with an NFL vet like Mitch filling in than some rookie or someone who struggled to make it onto an NFL roster. No offense to Barkley as he seemed to be a great locker room guy, but I don't think he was going to catch anyone other than the Jets that 1st game by surprise.

I think Mitch made the right move to take a year to heal and learn under Dabs on a team that is well-managed and getting a lot of prime time coverage. He should be able to find a few suiters out there especially if he has to spell Allen a few games. Never want to think about Allen getting dinged, but feel much better with Mitch warming the bench if our QB1 ever needs time to heal. Was thinking back to Allen's shoulder injury against Vegas last year that I think impacted the games where he played through the injury and how the staff now would likely give him a bit more time to recover with their confidence in Mitch able to take some snaps.

The Bills last season had a penchant for playing down to the level of the teams they were "supposed" to beat. I am with McD on his comments about having the right mindset or you get your asses kicked. Belicheat's stock is down right now, but he always talked up opposing teams even when the fanbases knew they were going to get torched again. He was fighting the complacency that comes with success on the field. If the Bills play responsibly, tough, and play the game with a take care of business approach there is no reason we lose against this team or fail to cover the spread. That being said, my gut feel is that we jump out to an early comfy lead, find some bone-headed ways to give up a few scores, or the zebras start guarding the spread to keep things close (my paranoia kicking in), then we light it up to coast to a win.

Because we hate NE and it is easier to apply the single-coat of douchebag paint with a wide brush - obviously

This staff has turned a franchise that could not even sniff the playoffs since 1999 into one that has made it each year under McDermott except for 2018 and has gone deeper each successive year since 2018. Look back on how the fanbase was with Wade Phillips. He was a pretty good coach for this franchise turning over an aging roster of fan-favorites while still keeping the team competitive, yet as fans we could not wait to move on. That really worked out well for the team as it ushered in another dark age for the franchise. The Bills drop one game and see how quickly the doom and gloom folks appear. I think even with SBs trophies in the display case we would still see the "what have you done for us lately" crowd as every team has them and we are no exception. Some of us fans take a more nuanced big-picture approach - they are not that hard to pick out of the crowd after a loss.

The ones that piss me off the most are when they are borderline calls because our DBs time it well and then it overturns an INT. If it is that close don't call it because not only did you negate a turnover you tacked on yards for the opposing team. That is a pretty big swing in game play. The others are like the few that were not called when WFT defenders were draped all over our receivers well before the ball and right near the goal line with no one else near. I think one happened with Reggie Gilliam, I believe there were a few more. You know that there are two Back Judges and a Field Judge and it is happening right in front of them yet they just swallowed the whistles.

Yep - my mistake.... now back to our regularly scheduled discussion of what to do with Williams. Thought he was at guard in that first clip from Yolo - lost track of 65 on that play. Was thinking we have ourselves a rock-star swiss-army knife for our offensive line. Swing tackle that can do that kind of stuff on the inside, but still love what I think this kid can bring to our line. We need that kind of punch and finish.

Let's just set the waaay-back machine to TBD the Monday after the Pittsburgh game right? 😈

Those clips being shared in this thread ARE Spencer Brown looking pretty good playing guard. So OBD appears to have already asked him to play guard a few times and he said yes Did not appear to be struggling too much filling in. If the kid is pushing for playing time that is a good thing. Love the upside.

Star has been playing solid and yes he played solid the last year he suited up for us too absorbing blockers and freeing up others. He does seem a bit leaner and quicker this year. The Bills have a better run defense when he is in the middle and Zimmer has been a pleasant surprise spelling him at NT too. When WFT's Gibson was ripping off his 70+ yd catch and run I was thinking who is that fat guy that damn near caught up to him before Gibson found another gear. Yep 61... you usually do not see NTs a zillion miles downfiled chasing a play. The kid has heart.

If he is tossing folks around like this at guard I don't mind seeing him play there for now. What's not to like? Nothing against Ford or Mongo, but if this kid is getting that kind of push and playing consistent you play him. Eventually I would expect to see him move to the T spot with his length and frame, but if he can upgrade our interior now and push our vets with great competition then more power to him.

So when he goes for a tackle on a run and does not miss or the runner does not break through an arm tackle these are his stats.... Interesting. Honestly trying to determine if I think it is meaningful and not just being difficult.

Honestly, many of those clips were in the Kingdome with a luxuriously comfy pocket. If Allen threw those rainbows in our Highmark we would be screaming about the balls dying midair and getting picked off. Kelly often mentioned that there is a specific way he had to throw the ball in the Ralph to cut through and under the wind on longer throws. Going to be hard comparing apples to oranges, but I just don't think he would be very successful throwing those rainbows in our windy stadium most days. That being said Russel is an awesome QB who has put up really good numbers over the years in regards to completion rate and average yards per attempt and not a bad bar for Allen to aim towards.

We are indeed spoiled when we have had years of QBs where a 30 yard pass IS the deep ball and now have one that we want to hit the 60 yarders more consistently. Sheesh

Interesting. Where are these tackling depth statistics coming from; Saw a Twitter mention, but interested in where the source data is coming from and how it is determined. Seems odd to me when the league average yards per carry is around 4 yards per carry each year with the lowest average usually around 3 yards. Last season we gave up an average of 4.3 YPC... with Edmunds in on the bulk of our tackles the numbers seem off. Of course Edmunds could be the statistical outlier on the team with all the TFLs or tackles for no gain, but my eyes tell me that was not the case last season. Perhaps I just am not getting what they mean by "tackling depth", but those numbers seem ambitious for just about any off-the-ball linebacker let alone Edmunds coming up to make stops.

Some of the best deep ball throwers I have seen do not play in the winds of a stadium like we have. They throw a ball with good arc that allows receivers to slightly adjust, but those would float in our newly minted Highmark Stadium - probably plays into why so many QBs dink and dunk on us when playing here and perhaps why they throw so many INTs when pressing from behind... A better gauge would be to watch Allen's throws in a dome. Allen has come a long way, but his early football foundation was likely using that strong arm to get the ball to a spot where his receiver was sitting stationary. The confidence of understanding what defenses are doing to know where he wants to go with the ball plays into the anticipation, touch, and timing needed to hit his receivers in stride. That is a work in progress, but trending in the right direction by what he is delivering on the field. Allen has that growth mindset of working to continuously improve his game and not settling for what worked before. He is probably a bigger critic of his game than we could ever be. I believe that Daboll has used the sideline out and comeback routes to help Allen keep the ball away from coverage - particularly with all the man coverage he saw his first two seasons. Those routes also factored heavily into our scramble drills, but I do like that he and Allen worked more on his deeper seam routes in the offseason, with Kumerow waiting in the wings and Knox coming on, those could be very productive plays for us when combined with a bit of play action to help split that two-high look or beat a single high safety if he loses a step. It is one that Brady and Gronk made a living off of leveraging the size/height mismatches.

This is true of both our backs I think... Those second and third efforts fighting for extra yards are somewhat dual-edged. We praise the relentless effort, yet those efforts often come with forced fumbles.

In the breakdown that Kubiak did of that game he explained how the slant to Diggs was likely a broken play based on how the oline was releasing and setting up for a screen and that likely caused the confusion and late delivery. "It appeared that either Daboll had his left side of the line releasing for a screen to make the Dolphins defensive linemen react differently, or something else was crossed up on the play that made Allen hesitate on his delivery. " I do recommend that folks give that Kubiak article a read before rushing to make judgements and dismissing the role of better game planning or understanding the smart, patient game Allen actually played. Folks do still hyper-focus on every incomplete Allen pass - a habit fans got into early with how raw and inaccurate he was coming out of Wyoming and it continues today - heck I catch myself still doing it. All QBs miss passes they should make...happens every week and even more so if they are forced off their spot and timing by pressures. I think Bills fans are conditioned to expect failure and it is far easier to expect Allen and the franchise to crash back down to earth than to believe and accept that this franchise has turned the corner and finally found their QB. This fragility of faith was on full display after week one.

Exactly. Teams had been getting a DT or looping defensive players with outside leverage on our RG pushing the pocket and keeping Allen from escaping or stepping up on that side. Our guards and Morse did a much better job holding their ground or getting some push to create space for Allen and seams for the running lanes.

In this past game it did feel like Moss was more decisive and was able to get more yards after contact than Devin. He has a more bruising style that I think is a bit more effective when our backs hit that second level of a defense. Devin is a bit more of a finesse RB that can make folks miss if he is given space. It is up to Dabs on how to best align what they bring and use them effectively.

With all the grief we piled onto the o-line the first few weeks it is only fair to acknowledge when they elevate their game. Pretty solid game all around - Williams draws some fierce pass rushers so a lot is riding on his play, but I felt he created space - often riding Sweat deep and out of the picture. Our interior o-line had a gritty performance and did a lot of unsung things both allowing Allen to step up and/or around the rush, and opening running lanes. Dawkins is gradually getting back to lockdown performance on Allen's blind side. Not that they have not played hard or been effective individually here and there in fits and starts, but they needed to play much better as a unit and they did. Nice job guys.