CincyBillsFan

We're starting to get some chatter. People are noticing the 4 - 1 start. My guess is that the national media is hoping the Bills fold. They know that not having a playoff contender on national TV is a bad look.

They have a lot of talent at the skill positions on offense but that O-line is weak.

The INT part of the throw was just bad luck - like Allen's INT against the Jets. But the throw was to low and he was reaching back - not an easy catch.

That was more on Mayfield then #11 to be fair. The ball was low and behind him.

IMO the 49's have blown an opportunity to put this game away. That's 2 TO's they've squandered. Could bite them in the butt. Meanwhile, that folks is a fine example of a WR getting separation by Landry.

Good luck Zay. This is good for all involved.

It's interesting to watch other young QB's. Both Mayfield & Garrafalo missed wide open receivers and Baker already has a bad INT. And we're only in the 1st quarter! Yet it doesn't occur to me to say either guy "sucks". It's just a reminder that not every pass is perfect. Maybe this is a lesson for some who view every Allen throw under an electron microscope.

You didn't think Mahomes struggled last night? Holy hell.

As you point out the offense is a work in progress. The Bills have focused their attention on the D and assembled a unit loaded with stars. The Bills offense is just now becoming a priority. My guess is that they had to figure out what kind of QB Allen was before spending a lot of money surrounding him with big play talent. Every type of QB can use a Brown, Gore & Beasley so there was no risk in signing those guys. In 2020 we'll see the Bills go after a dominant #1 RB and WR. With Singleterry likely to be our "3rd down RB" the Bills will look for a stud bruiser who they can pound an opponent with and make Allen's play action pass something to be feared. TE is up in the air because the Bills may have found a stud in Knox. We'll know better by the end of the season. They also need to add at least one top Tackle to the O-line. I also expect this unit to improve as the season goes on. It's taken a step back the last 2 games because of the quality of defense they've faced. But my sense is we'll feel a whole lot better about this unit by the last quarter of the season.

What a terrible read on Allen by these two guys. * Okay, so who among the Bills current stable of skill players does an opposing team HAVE to stop because they're a threat to break a long TD on any play? Yea, thought so crickets. * BTW, I'm not trashing the Bills skill players as we've seen a significant improvement from last year to this year. But if you're going to chide Allen for not making "huge" plays you have to consider the explosiveness & big play capabilities, or lack thereof, of the receivers/RB's. * They then ramble on about developing Allen like Newton. They claim that the Bills first surrounded Allen with big (6 ft 5) receivers and when that didn't work they went and got him little shifty WR's. But Allen's inaccuracy prevents him from hitting them so he's a total bust. What the hell? * First, are Holmes & Benjamin playing in the NFL this year? If I was going to go out and get BIG WR's they would be the last 2 guys in the sport I would bring in. * Not to mention that these 2 morons aren't aware that last years WR core was set up for McCarran and/or Peterman - NOT Allen who was expected to babysit a clip board his rookie year. * As a fan I get a lot wrong and by definition I'm emotionally biased. But I don't earn a living from rooting for the Bills. These guys are "professionals" who make a living from doing this kind of stuff. So what's their excuse for making simple factual mistakes & injecting personal bias into the discussion?

But, but , but , but, we could have! Just kidding.

Good points and I would add that in spite of Gore being a warrior out there lugging the rock at 36, he & Yeldon make for one of the worst 1/2 RB combos in the NFL. You need more explosiveness in the backfield to truly run a ball control offense. What we're getting and what makes us uneasy is that the Bills are running a hybrid by necessity. They don't have the horses in the backfield to execute a potent game long rushing attack; Allen & his receivers are not yet at the point where they can be explosive for the whole game; and the O-line is good but not great at either. So we get moments in a game where they run the ball well or execute a fast paced, explosive attacking passing offense. But both are short lived, hence our frustration. My guess is that as the season goes on they'll get better at both and it will be interesting to see what they morph into. But the bottom line is that the O still needs a few upgrades to be great as either a ball control or attacking unit. That should come in 2020.

The bottom line is that we'll never know whether Allen was throwing to Beasley or Yeldon. But what we do know IMO is: * The INT was NOT a terrible throw nor was it an example of hero ball. It was an aggressive throw of the type that most of our QB's over the last 20 years would not or could not make. IMO he should keep making those throws. * The Bills receivers need to improve their scramble drill. It looks like a fire drill out there. For the 2nd week in a row Knox brought his cover guys into the area Allen threw the ball to. Both Beasley & Yeldon come to full stops while NOT looking back at Allen. They're looking at each other. That's not good. * There is room for big improvements here by the receivers. A casual glance at other NFL games featuring mobile QB's shows receivers fanning out and getting open on these types of plays. With the Bills they seldom get open and look confused. * My expectation (hope) is that after the bye we're going to start seeing big plays in these scenarios. With the exception of Jones all the receivers on this team are either new guys or rookies. They haven't played much together and when things break down the rookies are probably more often then not going to the wrong place. You know like running up to Beasley to say hi during the play! * We should be excited because the odds of the players & Dabold fixing this are very good. In fact this is part of the price you pay for totally overhauling your offensive skill positions. It takes time for all involved to gel.

I agree 100% but 13 points at home is poor production. Mahomes has been blessed with a fantastic group of skill players. And they have been blessed to have him as their QB. But when injuries mount every QB will struggle to some degree. Even the elite.

This was my first full game watching him this season. There is no doubt that Mahomes is a great QB but clearly as his top skill players are lost to injury; his O-line struggles and his top target (Kelcy) has an off night he looks all to human out there.

My goodness the NFL is becoming unwatchable. That was NOT PI. The refs suck in almost EVERY game I watch.

I'll admit that I was scratching my head at all the Duke hoopla on 2BD. But I was wrong. Not only did he have a nice game today but you can see the advantage of his big body out there. Smurfs are fine but sometimes you need a Godzilla! I've got a hunch that before the end of the season Duke will be one of the best story's of the season. I think Dabold is going to love his new toy!

Fair enough. But you're point on knowing your QB is exactly right. The Bills receivers need to be among the best in the league in the scramble drill. Right now they look confused out there when Allen breaks out of the pocket. That needs to change NOW. I've got a hunch that Singleterry is going to be an explosive game breaker n these types of situations. I can't wait until he gets back.

Every time Duke caught a pass you could hear the crowd chant "Duke", "Duke", "Duke"! It reminded me of the "Bruce" chant of old. From the TV it looked like maybe 25% of the fans in the stadium were Bills fans. My guess is that will be surpassed when the Bills head down to Miami.

To be clear it's not about not wanting to hear anything negative about Allen. It's about unfairly claiming that today's INT was a terrible decision & throw and that it was another example of Allen playing hero ball to the detriment of his team. Hell, I screamed at the TV "why did you throw that ball Allen"! I was pissed off and couldn't believe Allen had made that kind of mistake again. But then after watching the video it clearly was not the bad pass I though it was watching the game in real time. In fact I want Allen throwing that pass every time he has the opportunity. IMO, what the BIlls need to do is better execute their pass patterns on scramble drills.

I would love to be a fly in the film study room for that play. But at the very least it's fair to say that this was not like the INT's last week. It sure looks to me like the receivers were confused. For example it didn't help that Knox brought his cover guy into the area - like he did last week on Allen's 3rd INT. When watching other games featuring mobile QB's the receivers seem to do a much better job of getting open during the scramble drill then the Bills guys do. At times it looks like all the Bills cluster together like a little kids soccer game. Part of the problem I suspect is that with Foster out, there isn't a lot of speed out there to stretch the field. On a positive note this is a very fixable problem. I bet they work on it during the bye week. With Allen's ability to break containment the Bills should be seeing more big plays here.

Go to page 1 of the Allen Report Card thread and watch the video. And it's not just Yeldon stopping on his route but Beasley and Knox also look lost out there. The Bills skill players must do better on the scramble drill.

I'm going to keep beating this dead horse until it's hamburger but over on the Allen Report Card thread is a video that convinced me the INT was NOT on Allen. It was an aggressive but great throw that had Yeldon NOT stopped on his route he would have caught the ball and the BIll's would have converted a 3rd & long. I bet in film study the Bills staff will agree with this assessment. In fact I suspect they will want Allen to continue making that throw as it will most often lead to big plays then INT's. It's fair to criticize Allen when he plays hero ball. But that pass was NOT an example of Hero ball. It was more an example that our receivers are not as smooth as they need to be during a QB scramble.

Yes we can. It's a ridiculous obsession. Every draft sees teams pass on studs. Do you think Jacksonville would have rather picked McCaffrey over Fournette in 2017? The Bills didn't even take a QB in 2017.

Forget about regretting not picking Mahomes. That's small potatoes compared to trading Daryle "the mad bomber" Lamonica to Oakland for Tom Flores! Now that's a QB decision I will never recover from.