CincyBillsFan

Spot on here. We are now almost through season 2 of Allen and I've yet to see a WR make what I would call a great NFL catch. Sure Beasley & Brown are very efficient route runners, get open and have made some big, game changing plays but neither has made the type of circus catch or run after catch that you see a couple of times in almost every NFL game. I just saw a couple in the NE/KC game.

I would also add that it seemed like DaBoll forgot that we could have gotten another 1st down before scoring the TD. There was plenty of time and we had 2 TO's left. On 3 of the 4 plays they went for the end zone rather then try to get us into a 4th & 3 type situation. One thing that I admired about Baltimore was how they reduce each series into 10 yard segments. Throw an incomplete pass on 1st down or get stuffed for no gain they go all out on 2nd down to pick up 5 or 6 yards to get to 3rd & 4.

I also thought it was a tale of two Allen's in each half. In the first half Allen was bad, on par with the NE game but minus the INT's but in the 2nd half he had a solid outing that would have been very good: * had Knox held onto that throw giving us a 1st down in the Red Zone. We had to settle for a FG on that drive. * had Beasley caught that deep pass that would have given us a 1st down inside the Raven's 40 yard line. * had Singleterry run through rather then leap early for that deep pass down the sideline that would have been a 40 - 50 yard gain and it may have even gone for a TD. * had the ref done his job and thrown the flag on that obvious PI on Allen's deep shot to Foster that would have given us a first down at the Baltimore 25 yard line. BTW, that pass was well thrown and on target 50 yards downfield. The PI was the only play the DB could make to prevent the catch. I know I'm playing the "coulda, woulda, shoulda" game here but I think it's justified. Everything I listed above should happen in an NFL game. And if they happened today you could add 10 - 17 points to our score.

Great observation! The deep balls to Beasley & Singleterry were on target and as Fouts noted if Singleterry runs through the catch it might have gone for 6. I would also say that Allen had a 3rd accurate deep ball and that was the one he thew to Foster in which the Ravens DB clearly interfered. If the DB doesn't interfere that's a catch. Here's my problem with that route by McKenzie. A more seasoned WR might have taken one more step to the inside (knowing Allen was breaking to the right) drawing the defender in before switching directions and heading to the sideline. This would have gotten him another yard of room to work and made it impossible for the DB to close the distance and get a hand in there. My guess is that this is what they'll talk about after watching film tomorrow.

Bingo. It's not Smokes fault he isn't a big dude but that pass goes for a TD if the receiver was any number of the big bodied guys making catches in the NFL. Yes the defender made a great play on the ball but we are the only team in the NFL that doesn't have a big guy that can basically box out DB's.

It helps him to have a RB that scares the hell out of defensive coordinators. On our offense the only skill position guy that makes a D-coordinator a little nervous is Singleterry. As for today's games, even with our loss things went well for the Bill's playoff hopes today.

Sometimes taking a sack is the ONLY option you have champ. You know there is such a thing as grounding in the NFL.

Here's my take on a disappointing loss: * What made this game so disappointing was that we had a real chance to take it to OT. And a win today would have really set us up for a Division title push in the last 3 games. But the fact we were so disappointed today is a sign that this team is getting better. Tonight I feel like I used to after a Bills loss to a good team in the 1990's. And that's a big step in the right direction even if it sucks big time in the moment. * The reality check is that we lost to the best team in the NFL by a TD in December! * Today showed us all what this team needs to get to the next level: - we need to further upgrade the O-line. It's a lot better then it was last year but it can't handle the blitz and they're not athletic enough to get out in space and effectively block for screen passes. - we need play makers on offense. At the very least we need a pass catching TE, a BIG & dominating #1 WR & another RB. If we're lucky, Knox might grow into that TE for us but we have acute needs for a 2nd RB and a 1st WR. Fouts correctly pointed out that our passing options are limited without a big bodied WR that can go up and win a ball. * The defense is very good but still not elite. You just can't let a team come out of the 2nd half locker room and score as easily as the Ravens did. That TD pass to the TE was high school open. * The dropped passes have to stop. The Bills lead the league in this category and we probably widened our lead today. On 2 critical 2nd half possessions dropped passes cost us dearly. The first was by Knox. When your QB is running for his life and makes a fantastic throw that hits you between the #'s in the red zone YOU HAVE TO HANG ON TO IT. We had to settle for a FG on a drive that might have netted a TD had Knox caught that ball. The other bad drop was by Beasley where again Allen avoids a sack and throws a perfect long ball down the sideline. You have to make that catch. We likely get a FG at least on that drive. * Finally I'm sick & tired of NFL officiating. These guys suck. Not calling a PI on that deep throw to Foster is utterly incompetent. What a huge non-call. The only encouraging thing about this play is that the pass was on target and the Baltimore DB had to interfere to prevent the catch. But my goodness NFL officiating is making it almost impossible to watch the games. I mean look at the KC/NE game as a perfect example.

Why I watched the game. What did you do? Allen maybe had 2 sacks where he held on to the ball to long. And I suspect NO ONE was open on those plays. On the other 4 sacks Allen was under pressure almost as soon as he got the snap. Then you have the 3 or 4 sacks that didn't happen because of Allen's athleticism.

This is so key every Bills fan should read it, learn it and live it! Singleterry is almost this type of player but no one else on the Bill's O is. Our lack of big play makers on offense is killing us. Is it any surprise that in the face of all out blitzing ONLY Singleterry could make a play?

He didn't have plenty of time. The Ravens had 6 sacks and only Allen's ability to extend the play prevented a couple of more. Time after time Baltimore had immediate pressure on Allen. And as Fouts showed there wasn't a whole lot of separation by our receivers today. But I get that blaming Allen is easy because he definitely struggled in the first half and wasn't at his best. But today our O-line got blown up and our receivers dropped way to many passes.

Why so you can see what else breaks after he takes a beating like Allen did today? It's painfully obvious what we need on offense and it's NOT a new QB. In fact QB is the least of our offensive problems. Just watch a couple of NFL games and see what real offensive play makers do. So Allen was dropping all those passes? And it wasn't Allen who didn't throw the yellow flag on an obvious PI.

Not today, but during Allen's rookie year some of the "wrong Josh" folks kept saying that Allen had a better situation then Rosen!

And this is why I've been on the Allen train from the start. He had to overcome a bad situation that management placed him in and he did. Now the question is whether Darnold can do the same. I think he can based on what I've seen to date but it's comforting to know our guy already has.

I agree with you 100% here. They messed up with Allen big time last season and the fact he survived is probably the biggest indication that he will be a special QB. I like both McD and Bean and think they're doing a great overall job. But with Allen they couldn't have screwed up more if they were trying. * First they clearly intended to sit him for the 2018 season but didn't create a QB room that would allow that to happen. * Second, they gave Allen precious few first team reps during training camp & the preseason games and yet because they completely messed up the QB room Allen was starting in week 2! * Third, their original QB room was a joke if the idea was to develop a young QB. They had a 2nd year QB with some of the worst performances by a QB in the modern era and they traded away their veteran QB after the last preseason game. So there was NO ONE there during the first few games to help Allen as he transitioned into the starter. * The offensive talent around Allen was abysmal - every bit as bad as what Arizona surrounded Rosen with. As I recall, Benjamin dropped at least 2 Allen TD passes in the short time they played together. And the only thing good about last years O-line was that it enabled us to see how dangerous Allen was running for his life. Now to give Bean & McD credit they got things under control fast and provided Allen with a much better situation in the 2nd half of the season. But anyone who claims Allen had it "easy" out of the gate in Buffalo is flat out wrong. But I think that was his point - the plan to have McCarron start while Allen developed obviously wasn't well thought out. All's well that ends well but we should be even more impressed with what Allen had to overcome. As good as our management/coaching has been, and IMO they've been very good, they messed up a bit here.

Is it me or do sports writers in general just seem to be dumb as rocks? I mean these guys are paid to write about football and yet they seem more ignorant about the sport then a fan that chugged a fifth of whiskey and jumped through a table into a cook fire! A couple of points that this guy might consider before writing something so stupid: * Unless there is evidence that McD & Bean were willing to completely remake their offense into one that suited Jackson's special skill set this entire discussion is a moot point. And for the record I am aware of no such plans by the Bills. Had the Bill's traded down to take Jackson later in the draft they would have made the same mistake that every other NFL team not named Baltimore would have made: tried to have Jackson run less and throw more from the pocket. Give the Ravens & Harbaugh all the credit in the world for seeing what was possible with Jackson and doing what needed to be done to make it happen. But pretending that teams ahead of the Raven's could have drafted LJ and had the same production is ignorant. * The Bills passed on Marino to draft Kelly. Both teams were more then happy with their QB choice. To argue that the Bills regret passing on Jackson in favor of Allen is along the same lines. It's dumb and doesn't leave open the real possibility that both QB's will excel for their teams over their careers.

While it was pass interference it was nowhere near egregious and in fact I've seen reply NOT call that at least 25 times this year. So yea, you have to wonder about the leagues motivation in overturning that INT because they haven't come close to overturning non PI calls that were that weak.

Yea funny how that works. I think Mahomes is great and Allen is going to have a clunker - maybe this season, that will bring out the haters in force. It's just the week to week grind of a long NFL season. But yea it's nice to hear ow we could have had Mahommes!

So can we say that the rumors of Goff's demise have been greatly exaggerated? All week the so called national "experts" were burying this guy. Now last I looked he's over 400 yards with 2 TD's and his team is winning 34 - 0. Meanwhile I wonder what all those national "experts" who were saying that Kyler Murray was on the verge of becoming the next Lamar Jackson are going to say tomorrow? Why we seek the approval of these social media posting/pod casting/radio jabbering clowns is beyond me. We OVER analyze every play Allen makes and keep giving the so called experts a pass when they completely crap the bed on their analysis.

Jumping the route! Chiefs up 21 - 0. It's important for us that the Chiefs win.

Those big ratings on Turkey day exposed a lot of people to the Bills and they liked what they saw!

That was as bad of a throw by Mahomes as Allen has had in his first 2 seasons. It was classic hero ball and only by pure luck was it not intercepted. I'm actually surprised I just watched him try to make that throw. A 50% off coupon at an all you can eat Chinese buffet!

Ten wins gets us into the playoffs. And if we can't beat the Jets at home we don't deserve to make the post season.

Darnold throws 4 straight incompletions, Bengal's take over on downs and will win the game.

Jets gained a total of 3 yards in the 3rd quarter. Bengals doing their damnedest to let NYJ back into the game. Got lucky on a real screwy play by Dalton- no harm done though.