WideNine

Lessons learned at home Taken with them on the road Bills get back on track Squish the fish and go Bills!

I am a fan of going no huddle shorter passes and such to help QBs establish rhythm. Josh is pretty effective at 2 min drills and it gives the oline a break from dline shifts, rotations, and complex stunts they use when they are given more time. Just one method to help an offense find their rhythm.... The higher a team climbs in expectations the steeper the fall when they stumble. We will see how this team responds.

The oline needs to bounce back with all of them on the same page. Even when we had 4 blockers doing their job, too often there would be one on the ground rolling past Allen blown up and beat or standing around looking sheepish after missing their guy. Not every play, but often enough to keep the offense from finding any rhythm. With 11 and 12 personnel I wonder if the DEs take such a deep speed rush off the edges as they do on empty 5-wide sets.... Seems they would be vulnerable to RBs and TEs releasing into the flat behind that on either side. Will be interested in seeing that game broken down by better football minds. I know that 5 vs. 4-man rush should give our offense the blocking numbers advantage (on paper), but better teams were often able to pressure our front 5 last year with 4 too. That is on our oline coach and Daboll to counter better. We had our chances this game, Pittsburgh capitalized on more of theirs and some pretty sketch calls on our secondary at key moments. Allen plays well against Miami so have hopes for a more focused game from him and our oline.

Allen's lack of patience and trying to do too much is definitely a thing he just has to correct as most teams have decided to play him this way with 2 and 3 deep coverage shells. Some pretty spotty pass-pro today against mostly 4-man rushes, but we really did not do much to shore up our oline in the offseason. I do have hope for Spencer Brown's development at tackle over time, but the interior could use upgrades. Playing in front of a big home crowd and the Steelers rush creating a dirty pocket - forcing Josh off his spot and messing with his timing, amped up his frustration level. I thought for the most part our defense played pretty well and just had a few costly miscues. They should trend even better this year.

I missed most of the 2nd half, as I had to go to an awards banquet for my daughter's team that was held at a park with 0 internet. I was annoyed, but kept it in check for the fam's sake. Sounds like it was a small mercy as my boy said the 4th quarter was brutal. In the 1st half I felt like we had our chances. In the second I felt we had an INT that was reversed on a questionable that could of put us up a few scores and really put the screws on their offense. Allen was not sharp and played too tight, but credit the Steelers defense for having a good game plan. The sky is not falling, but they need to clean some things up and have a good bounce back performance.

Josh is getting a bit impatient... against this defense as they are dropping so many just deep of the sticks to keep it a patient chip away kind of game. He just needs to take what is there underneath... and then remember his fundamentals on the deeper ones when they actually open up. Sky is not falling.

Like the draws too as the Steelers have been threatening 5 and 6 man rushes and dropping guys - we should be able to catch them in transition on some of those.

I like running when defenses stand up and do not get low... always thought it should work for shorter yardage.

Yeah... Tre's coverage was fine both were fighting for position off the jam and Tre just took better leverage off the break and undercut his route. I have seen more sketchy coverage and hands on receivers this game with no call. That was a bit of a game changing call as we had the turnover and in good field position - never like it when ticky-tacky calls are used in those situations.

Really going after Wallace a lot this game when they do take chances

Bringing that TE across to block with the guard is something some teams did to us last season.... that did not look like much of a defensive hold compared to all the coverage I have seen this game.

Did I hear that right??? Pittsburgh with -2 yards for the 1st half.... if so, damn, defense has really shown up to play.

Our oline looked like a Tsunami of big bodies on that short yardage.... like to see that.

The very thing we love about Allen (that he is emotionally connected with this team and community) is the very reason he comes out so hyped and charged for these home games. He will settle down and they will get a better handle on the pressure packages that Pittsburgh is using - mostly seeing just a 4-man rush without really risking a 5th rusher. Sure they will throw in a few gambles, but that is the larger percentage of what they are using...

We need that Knox to show up this year...

True - it was a stellar defensive play, but there is a reason Allen was flushed from the pocket.... he was trying to buy time he was not getting by staying in it. You are on the right track that every play has a lot of nuances to it and Watt is having a good game.

Ahh... you are one of those who thinks that an oline should not give more than a second's worth of time against a 4-man rush.... ok

Good thing we invested in some young Tackles to groom - need better counters to the speed rushes that Williams struggles with...

Oline getting man handled and needs to give Allen a bit more time

Well.... true. That kind of thuggery and character flaws (that were seriously floating around before that draft) would give most humans not named Bill Belichick pause. I think it was Kelsay back in the day who had a knack for getting his hands in Brady's throwing lanes... someone with better memory van correct me. You are right that Groot and others trees on our line will need to make knocking down and tipping short passes a priority.

We will see. I used "optics" because no one knows for sure it just looks sketchy. BadOl seems pretty convinced whereas there are others that defend Star's decisions or are on the fence - the fan "churn" and grumbling I referenced earlier. It is in Star's wheelhouse to work to change fan perceptions and have a great year. That would be best for him and the team, so that is what I am hoping for.

Ok.... so he knows more now and what he learned is that it is better now to surround himself in close quarters with heavily-breathing team mates unvaccinated... Like I said, the optics are sketchy.

Fair enough... I will never claim to be a capologist by any stretch. The team will be better with a healthy motivated Star in the middle this year. I hope they get that out of him.

Not to beat a dead horse, but if you have read through the many pages of this post....opting out last year due to Covid concerns for himself and his family then showing up this year yet unvaxed against a more contagious strain... Such "decisions" are head scratchers for anyone trying to understand what is really going on in Star's head about his motivation and commitment to playing.

Bill also never undervalued the role of quality pass-catching TEs. Invested heavily this offseason in the areas that our defense was weakest. Covering TEs and stopping the run. The signing of Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith should give anyone a good idea of the kind of offense Bill is going to surround Jones with. NE has always had a great offensive line, but much of that was the stellar coaching of Scarnecchia who retired (I think for good this time). My bias, but I think their line also benefitted from the Brady treatment of blatant holds that went unflagged. Brady ain't there and Mac Jones is not going to get the same fan boy treatment from officials. Interesting read and some insight on what Bill values in his TEs: https://www.si.com/nfl/patriots/gm-report/belichick-scouting-notes-91-still-relevant