Old Coot

Charlie Tolar at 5'6" & 210 lbs was the Houston Oilers fullback in the old AFL. His nickname: the Human Bowling Ball

I like Josh Allen but he still has work to do on his accuracy and decision-making. Compared to the cut ups of Mahomes' dropped interceptions, Mahomes was more accurate.

For those readers not familiar with the term "3-technique" here is a simple article explaining the concept: https://www.dawgsbynature.com/2011/4/11/2082375/draft-terminology-the-three-technique-and-the-five-technique Here is a much more advanced article on the 3 tech's role in the 4-3 defense: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/3-Technique--Block-Destruction-vs--Run-Blocking-Schemes.html?soid=1104030277664&aid=kBQJqIuy0Ug

The Big Nickle subs in a safety for the slot cover DB. From an X's & O's perspective how is the Big Nickle formation used? Obviously it gives up something against the slot receiver. Those guys are small speedy & shifty and can cut both ways. They are harder to cover than a WR flanked out wide because the DB can't use the sideline defensively. This is probably why the Big Nickle formation is usually a sub package used only against certain formations. I can see that a Big Nickle DB formation would be better against the run than the standard Nickle. Also better coverage matchups against the TE (hear that Travis) and an RB running a pass pattern. Apparently the Big Nickle S is also better at blitzing off the edge than a standard DB. In zone the Big Nickle can cover the middle for slants, low crossers and other shallow to medium routes. Are there any other strengths or weaknesses of the Big Nickle formation Here are some studies of the Big Nickle formation: https://www.footballstudyhall.com/2014/8/22/6052637/college-football-nickel-backs-lamarcus-joyner https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2014/6/23/5829794/will-the-cowboys-use-more-heavy-nickel-formations-in-2014

Some of the 1960 Bills held unofficial workout on the athletic field behind Amherst Central HS. I saw them.

The Cover 2 guys have an insightful analysis of the performances of Moss & Singletary during the 2020 season:

Agreed. But in the playoffs the opponents' D will have more talent and better coaching than the typical NFL defense & therefore is more likely to stymie our offense. It's difficult to conclude whether our poor execution was the result of poor play on our part or the Chiefs' disguising their D. At this level of competition a split second's hesitation is enough to get you beaten.

I agree that Thomas was a key (perhaps the most important) component in the K-Gun. But Kelly called the plays at the line in that no-huddle offense. Kelly's job after the hike (as he described it) was to find & hit the open man. BTW the K-Gun was called that after Keith McKeller, the speedy TE whose nickname was "Killer." (for his killer speed).

The Chiefs did something in the AFC Championship game that the Bills will need to address going forward because they'll see it from other teams: Our offense runs through Josh Allen. Therefor, if a defense can confuse him, it stands a good chance of shutting down the Bills' offense. One Josh looked over the Chiefs' D and after the communication to the sidelines was cut off, the Chiefs' D shifted to another D. Unless Josh's audible play was more effective against the new D, the Bills were running a play designed for the initial D. As an aside I recall a description of what Belichik did to us a the Giants DC in our first Super Bowl loss. Our offense ran through Kelly so they confused him. After every Bills' offensive series Kelly & Marchibroda would discuss what the Giants did on D for that series & decide on plays based on that. Belichik would call defenses on the next series that were unlike what he had called in the previous series. As a result, Kelly seldom got a defense he expected. AS to the Ravens game, I'm not sure what they did to stop us. Comments?

Interesting X's & O's study on Chief's play design that gets Kelce open: https://weeklyspiral.com/2021/01/28/how-the-chiefs-use-travis-kelce-to-make-him-unstoppable/

These re-signings say a lot about how the players view our team. The Bills are no longer a minor league club that develops players who go on to sign with competitive teams.

There's a name I haven't heard in many a year.

One of the Bill's games at the Rockpile in 1960. I went with my dad. We paid to park near the stadium on some guy's front lawn. I remember Mack Yoho returning kicks (the crowd would chant "Yo-Ho", Yo-Ho" just before the kick, Elbert "Golden Wheels" Dubenion playing flanker and Laverne "Tarzan" Torzcon on the DL. The QB was Tommy O'Connell, I think.

The Mad Bomber -- Darryl Lamonica

If you can fake it, you can make it.

Well I'll be hornswoggled. I never thought that the eagles would eat 33 mill in dead cap space. Looks like they plan on doing a complete tear-down and rebuild.

Played in high school. We ran the T Formation in the early '60s. Passing, what's that?

Early 70's, guy from the stands runs out & grabs the ball. Mike Curtis, the Colts' MLB hits the guy so hard he knocked him into next week.

I don't think we would have beaten Tampa. That said, its hard to judge because KCs OL was patchwork. The Chief's Grabby man defense did not work today I think in part because the refs game planned for it.

Point taken. He's better than I thought. I appreciate that you gave supporting facts rather than just an unsupported conclusion.

Brown had only 33 receptions but then he was hampered by that leg injury. He seemed to be a non-factor in several games. Perhaps someone who has studied the all 22's could comment on his performance. It's difficult to judge a WR's performance when he's not targeted all that much (52 times in 9 games but 4 games with 2 or fewer targets).

I pray for Andy Reid. His kids have been a mess for years. When Reid was in Philly both his kids had hard drug problems (one or both on heroin). Andy may have given Britt a job with the Chiefs to keep an eye on him but the high stress that comes with being an NFL coach can't be good for Britt's demons. I hope Britt gets the help he needs.

Wentz has a huge contract that someone will need to eat (either the Eagles or a new team) so I doubt that the Eagles will find any takes at 2 first rounders, especially with Wentz's poor play this year (much of which I attribute to his OL) as well as his injury history. It may be that the Eagles can't get out from under W's contract even if they trade him. I have seen reports that his dead cap hit would be something like $33 million.

The link to the Cover 1 video that I posted does an excellent job of analyzing the BIlls' run game. While they recognize Singletary's limitations they put most of the blame on the OL. Last year (when the run game was better) they used mostly a gap run game. This year it was mostly zone blocking because the line made too many error in the more complex gap blocking scheme. This was partly a talent issue and partly the result of injuries that forced a shuffling of the line. You can't have a good running game if the blocking isn't there. Most of the great runners (Thurman, etc) ran behind good O lines. Derrick Henry runs over people but even he would not have the success he's had if his OL had not been blocking for him. A question about Harris: How good is he at protecting the QB? Blitz pickup is pretty complex with the way D's disguise their blitzes and with our passing offense you need a back that can block for the QB.

Cover 1 video on the Bills' running game issues: