dave mcbride

7 solo tackles, one pass defensed, 4 assists, and two tackles for a loss, and basically all over the field. A dominant, all-pro level performance yesterday.

I didn't think so from the angle I watched, but I could be wrong. It would be good to get another view. In any event, you simply can't reverse that non-call given the way that PI challenges have been going so far.

I don't think you can call it if there's no contact. That's just me, though. I don't know the rule in any depth.

That's not what happened, and it's pretty clear on the replay. My question is, can you ever call OPI if the ostensibly offending receiver doesn't actually touch the defender? It certainly looked to me like they never actually contacted each other even though the Pats player got in his way. The Bills defender appeared to trip over himself as he tried to get around the receiver.

Statistically, almost everything about him is average, except for his ypa averages, which are pretty good. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MariMa01.htm He does have a nice TD-INT ratio this season (7-0). I'll grant him that. But his sack rate is too high.

In that SB, a hold on Faulk cost them 14 points - a pick 6 transformed into a Rams TD because McGinest was called for a hold on Faulk.

Hauschka's kick would have been good from 44 yards or 34 yards. It wasn't good from 49 yards, which is a spot where kicks become 50-50 affairs. If he hadn't taken the sack, it' would have been a 44 yard kick. My larger point is that when you're in that 25-30 yard-line range, you simply cannot take a sack on 3rd down. He does it way too frequently.

It's more about using your eyes and watching how he plays. It seems patently obvious to me that he gets through reads faster but suffers in the athleticism department.

I don't know. Every time I think he's lousy, he starts playing well, and vice versa. I think he's basically the epitome of league-average.

The last 3 times the Bills have played them, they have been 1-point games (13-12, 14-13, and 35-34) with the Bills winning twice and TN once. So basically, a coin flip.

The last three times the Bills have played the Titans, these have been the scores: 13-12, Bills 14-13, Bills 35-34, Titans

Basically, yes. He took a terrible sack that was totally unnecessary because he didn't read what was in front of him. It made the kick a lot more difficult.

We might be talking about different plays. The one I'm thinking of was way behind him. It was at the 15 or so yard line of NE.

How many times now has he gotten to the 30/25 yard line and then taken either a horrible sack or grounded it? I think it's five times now in four games. He did it twice yesterday, and it arguably cost the Bills 6 points.

Very good point, and nice differentiation. I agree.

The Bills offense now is 9th in yards overall but 27th in points per drive and 29th in turnovers given up (with 32nd being the worst). That tells you something.

I like Allen. But he simply has to be a lot more careful with the ball. That pick was a very bad throw into triple coverage, and it was an easy pick regardless of the weird rule that presumably should have nullified it. That non-fumble that should have been one is because he doesn't take care of it as much as he should on sack plays.

Daboll's offense presents qbs with a lot of options (the scheme is good and aggressive), and I do think that Barkley gets through progressions a lot faster than Allen at this point.

Oh, I don't know. I'm including college games here too, going back four decades. I can't offer a count. I have just seen it enough to not be surprised when it happens. I'm not saying it's common, btw.

Fumble recoveries rates are entirely a function of luck, but you do realize that he should have been called for a fumble vs the Giants that was picked up and returned for a TD in the first half, correct?

I'm talking about plays where the QB gets a free play because the D is offside, goes deep, and a penalty gets called on the offense (holding, hands to the face, whatever). It's hardly unheard of.

I'm an Allen backer, but through 4 games he has a woeful qb rating of 69.6, leads the NFL in INTs, has fumbled 5 times, and is averaging 6.5 ypa despite the huge arm. That's a problem.

yeah, agreed about that one, but I still feel like the Bills deserved that INT - he threw the ball into freaking triple coverage. Terrible play.

I've seen that happy a number of times over the years.

The PI flag that was picked up was picked up for the right reason. It was an awful throw (five yards behind the receiver) and unarguably uncatchable.