Virgil Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 (edited) For every good 2 plays/drives, we have 1 very bad play/drive. This seems to sum up the play of this team to me, especially on defense. They give you so many glimpses of hope, get teams in 3rd and long, get a sack, something good, and then they find a way to give it away. This was a game of who wanted it the least and was just tough to watch at time. Seems to be a theme when we play these guys 1. Rex – I'm starting in a place that I've tried to avoid for a while here, partially because of my old screen name. This was a very poor showing following a bye week and for a team who is grasping at playoff hopes. Going for it on 4th down on the last scoring drive said a lot to me about how Rex viewed this game. What bothered me the most about this game was the total lack of identity. We didn't seem to have any specific type of gameplan on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. I know Rex is letting his coaches do their job, but I really don't know what I was looking at out there. Overall, at this point, I don't really know what Rex brings to the table. This was a very misleading 12 points given up. A win is a win and this was needed, but I'm overall losing any argument besides continuity and other better options, for retaining him. 2. Defense - communication looks and pressure early, but that's about it. Pass rush was non-existent. So many players just didn't seem to show up. Lorax got double teamed a lot. I can't find our 1st round pick's impact anywhere. Dareus disappeared after the first drive. I know, 12 points. I have to keep reminding myself of this. Most of that was the Bengals being bad, not us being good 3. Hughes – Before, he would have great plays to offset his mistakes. Today, and overall lately, not so much. His personal fouls, offsides, and other fun mistakes really hurt the team at times when they should have been walking off the field. For the money he makes and as bad as this defense can be at times, we can't afford this from him. 4. I've grown tired of love You are the trouble with me I watch you walk right by I smile, you do not notice me Treat me recklessly All you do is toss me pennies out But the silence in me is screaming Won't you come and get me? 5. Kyle Willams - My defensive MVP of the game. He got good push up the middle, great jumps off the snap, and continues to be a solid player. He lost containment on Dalton, but he shouldn't be spying him in the first place. He also knocked the Bengals out of FG range on one of the drives in the 2nd half. 6. Offense - Groy is a BIG boy and held up well. Overall happy with how the line played. However, where was Goodwin? Especially on the INT. Are we a passing team or rushing team? Do we trust our RBs or is it meant to be the TT rushing show? I ask these questions because it didn't seem obvious out there. I don't understand the lack of McCoy carries. His vision was great today. You could see them wanting to go deep early, but still needed to run the ball. It's who we are. Very disappointed with Lynn today. Also, all of this speed with Goodwin and Percy and I don't see us trying to hit these guys on crossing routes. It was either deep our hitch routes. 7. Gilmore – credit where credit is due – quick eyes on that INT. However, as Gilmore does, gave up the Bengals 2nd TD. It was a tough play, but still his assignment. Second INT was right place at right time. This is the kind of game where the stats will make him look like a better player than he is and I'm sure he'll use it at contract time. 8. TT – I had high hopes for him coming off the bye week and based on how he played at Seattle. His first drive was great. Found the middle of the field. Found the open guy on busted plays. Looked deep, then checked down. After that, just a rough day. I'm giving him 50% of the blame for our offense because the playcalling was crap to me and didn't help get things going. There were also quite a few plays where the WR's let him down. Goodwin didn't even try for that INT. Harvin was very slow on that late 3rd down out route. Clay's drop in the endzone was inexcusable. Overall, like the game itself, a very forgettable Sunday for TT. However, because this arguments keep being made, Dalton couldn't make the game winning drive against us today, so I guess that means he sucks too. Brady couldn’t do it against the Seahawks last week either from the 1 yard line. I get needing to see that final drive to win a game from TT, but it's never a give-in with any QB. 9. 1st down/3rd down comparisons – Our inability to get off the field on 3rd down, regardless of yardage was horrific today. They were over 50% on offense against us. It was a combination of soft defense and penalties. We were very lucky to be playing against a Bengals without AJ Green. 10. Tate – I think he had his best game as a Bill today. Didn't have any huge returns, but played each one smart and gave us good position every chance he had to run. I've been hit or miss on him, but he earned it today and deserves the shout out. Sorry if this was too negative for a win. Back to .500 after a win that I had circled as a loss to start this season is reason for positivity. It's just hard to get excited about this team doing what they need to for the rest of the season with how they played today. Go Bills!!! Edited November 20, 2016 by Virgil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobobonators Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Why did we even pass the ball on that last offensive 3rd down? The bengals had 0 timeouts left and even if we dont make the 1st down we're in their territory and it wouldve put the game into the 2 minute warning with 0 timeouts left. Heck you coulda even gone for it on 4th down again if we failed on 3rd with the run. Horrible call imo. Ive noticed that when shady is out Lynn's playcalling goes to crap. Maybe its just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 0 points in the second half on the road against a guy who's feasted on this defense in the past? Ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 We have lost to this cinci team how many times in a row? Sometimes you just have to win it ugly....every week takes on a different identity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virgil Posted November 20, 2016 Author Share Posted November 20, 2016 We have lost to this cinci team how many times in a row? Sometimes you just have to win it ugly....every week takes on a different identity You're not wrong. This game just lulled me to sleep and it was hard to put this recap together. On paper, there were a lot of positives, especially our history on the road against these guys lately and the 0 points scored against in the second half. But watching the game felt VERY different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonborn10 Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 They gave up 12 points. Ok so maybe it should have been 14 but still. Hard to nit-pick the defense. Great tackles in-bounds on the last drive. If Clay hauls in the TD pass this board would have a whole different mind-set. The throw to Harvin was a play to win the game. TT blew it. He makes that throw and the worst is they punt the ball with 15 seconds on the clock. The smarter call was to run. But TT has to make that throw. The modern NFL uses the pass to kill the clock as much as it does the run. Why so silent on the first round pick barely playing this game? Dareus is ripped for being injured. He played a solid game today. Looked like Lawson was pretty much a healthy scratch all day. Who do you blame for the penalties? Should Rex sit Hughes for a quarter like it is HS? Should he cut Blanton? I would cut Blanton based on performance alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virgil Posted November 20, 2016 Author Share Posted November 20, 2016 Why so silent on the first round pick barely playing this game? Dareus is ripped for being injured. He played a solid game today. Looked like Lawson was pretty much a healthy scratch all day. Who do you blame for the penalties? Should Rex sit Hughes for a quarter like it is HS? Should he cut Blanton? I would cut Blanton based on performance alone. Penalties are always on the Head coach when it's a consistent issue, which it is. I made reference to Shaq and the overall lack of pass rush. We were healthy on our line for the first time in a while, but couldn't see the benefit outside of Kyle. With Lorax drawing double teams, the excuses for Shaq, Dareus, and Hughes are limited. These guys should be causing havoc by themselves and simply aren't getting it done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BmarvB Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 This was definitely a case of winning ugly as hell but we'll take it. This is not a playoff caliber team performing like that.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan_34 Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 I applaud your effort with these tribute posts but truthfully your all over the place. Maybe we can let the tribute die? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobobonators Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 This was definitely a case of winning ugly as hell but we'll take it. This is not a playoff caliber team performing like that.. Just win man. Look at New England right now in SF. A team we destroyed and NE is struggling bad. If they win you think theyre going to apologize? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 You're not wrong. This game just lulled me to sleep and it was hard to put this recap together. On paper, there were a lot of positives, especially our history on the road against these guys lately and the 0 points scored against in the second half. But watching the game felt VERY different. playoff teams do this.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeding Bills Blue Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 They gave up 12 points. Ok so maybe it should have been 14 but still. Hard to nit-pick the defense. Great tackles in-bounds on the last drive. If Clay hauls in the TD pass this board would have a whole different mind-set. The throw to Harvin was a play to win the game. TT blew it. He makes that throw and the worst is they punt the ball with 15 seconds on the clock. The smarter call was to run. But TT has to make that throw. The modern NFL uses the pass to kill the clock as much as it does the run. Why so silent on the first round pick barely playing this game? Dareus is ripped for being injured. He played a solid game today. Looked like Lawson was pretty much a healthy scratch all day. Who do you blame for the penalties? Should Rex sit Hughes for a quarter like it is HS? Should he cut Blanton? I would cut Blanton based on performance alone. That harvin one is tough. He throws it too far inside and it could be a pick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Greg Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 They gave up 12 points. Ok so maybe it should have been 14 but still. Hard to nit-pick the defense. Great tackles in-bounds on the last drive. If Clay hauls in the TD pass this board would have a whole different mind-set. The throw to Harvin was a play to win the game. TT blew it. He makes that throw and the worst is they punt the ball with 15 seconds on the clock. The smarter call was to run. But TT has to make that throw. The modern NFL uses the pass to kill the clock as much as it does the run. Why so silent on the first round pick barely playing this game? Dareus is ripped for being injured. He played a solid game today. Looked like Lawson was pretty much a healthy scratch all day. Who do you blame for the penalties? Should Rex sit Hughes for a quarter like it is HS? Should he cut Blanton? I would cut Blanton based on performance alone. Cutting seems extreme. The real cause for concern is that after Blanton came off after his penalty, not one Bills coach even came up and talked to him. Just awful from the Bills coaching staff. It can be a "hey man, come on now... Let's get smart" nice guy comment or a "You do that again and you won't play another snap this game" bad cop kind of comment, but someone has to say SOMETHING. My personal opinion is that this is emblematic of Rex and the undisciplined culture he creates, and that's why these penalties never get cleaned up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDH Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 0 points in the second half on the road against a guy who's feasted on this defense in the past? Ok. Until The last drive, where they were purposely giving them the middle of the field to run clock, they didn't give up a first down the entire 2nd half. The D was lights out after the half. Not sure how anybody can complain about the D today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobobonators Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Until The last drive, where they were purposely giving them the middle of the field to run clock, they didn't give up a first down the entire 2nd half. The D was lights out after the half. Not sure how anybody can complain about the D today. I cant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 (edited) For every good 2 plays/drives, we have 1 very bad play/drive. This seems to sum up the play of this team to me, especially on defense. They give you so many glimpses of hope, get teams in 3rd and long, get a sack, something good, and then they find a way to give it away. This was a game of who wanted it the least and was just tough to watch at time. Seems to be a theme when we play these guys 1. Rex I'm starting in a place that I've tried to avoid for a while here, partially because of my old screen name. This was a very poor showing following a bye week and for a team who is grasping at playoff hopes. Going for it on 4th down on the last scoring drive said a lot to me about how Rex viewed this game. What bothered me the most about this game was the total lack of identity. We didn't seem to have any specific type of gameplan on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. I know Rex is letting his coaches do their job, but I really don't know what I was looking at out there. Overall, at this point, I don't really know what Rex brings to the table. This was a very misleading 12 points given up. A win is a win and this was needed, but I'm overall losing any argument besides continuity and other better options, for retaining him. 2. Defense - communication looks and pressure early, but that's about it. Pass rush was non-existent. So many players just didn't seem to show up. Lorax got double teamed a lot. I can't find our 1st round pick's impact anywhere. Dareus disappeared after the first drive. I know, 12 points. I have to keep reminding myself of this. Most of that was the Bengals being bad, not us being good 3. Hughes Before, he would have great plays to offset his mistakes. Today, and overall lately, not so much. His personal fouls, offsides, and other fun mistakes really hurt the team at times when they should have been walking off the field. For the money he makes and as bad as this defense can be at times, we can't afford this from him. 4. I've grown tired of love You are the trouble with me I watch you walk right by I smile, you do not notice me Treat me recklessly All you do is toss me pennies out But the silence in me is screaming Won't you come and get me? 5. Kyle Willams - My defensive MVP of the game. He got good push up the middle, great jumps off the snap, and continues to be a solid player. He lost containment on Dalton, but he shouldn't be spying him in the first place. He also knocked the Bengals out of FG range on one of the drives in the 2nd half. 6. Offense - Groy is a BIG boy and held up well. Overall happy with how the line played. However, where was Goodwin? Especially on the INT. Are we a passing team or rushing team? Do we trust our RBs or is it meant to be the TT rushing show? I ask these questions because it didn't seem obvious out there. I don't understand the lack of McCoy carries. His vision was great today. You could see them wanting to go deep early, but still needed to run the ball. It's who we are. Very disappointed with Lynn today. Also, all of this speed with Goodwin and Percy and I don't see us trying to hit these guys on crossing routes. It was either deep our hitch routes. 7. Gilmore credit where credit is due quick eyes on that INT. However, as Gilmore does, gave up the Bengals 2nd TD. It was a tough play, but still his assignment. Second INT was right place at right time. This is the kind of game where the stats will make him look like a better player than he is and I'm sure he'll use it at contract time. 8. TT I had high hopes for him coming off the bye week and based on how he played at Seattle. His first drive was great. Found the middle of the field. Found the open guy on busted plays. Looked deep, then checked down. After that, just a rough day. I'm giving him 50% of the blame for our offense because the playcalling was crap to me and didn't help get things going. There were also quite a few plays where the WR's let him down. Goodwin didn't even try for that INT. Harvin was very slow on that late 3rd down out route. Clay's drop in the endzone was inexcusable. Overall, like the game itself, a very forgettable Sunday for TT. However, because this arguments keep being made, Dalton couldn't make the game winning drive against us today, so I guess that means he sucks too. Brady couldnt do it against the Seahawks last week either from the 1 yard line. I get needing to see that final drive to win a game from TT, but it's never a give-in with any QB. 9. 1st down/3rd down comparisons Our inability to get off the field on 3rd down, regardless of yardage was horrific today. They were over 50% on offense against us. It was a combination of soft defense and penalties. We were very lucky to be playing against a Bengals without AJ Green. 10. Tate I think he had his best game as a Bill today. Didn't have any huge returns, but played each one smart and gave us good position every chance he had to run. I've been hit or miss on him, but he earned it today and deserves the shout out. Sorry if this was too negative for a win. Back to .500 after a win that I had circled as a loss to start this season is reason for positivity. It's just hard to get excited about this team doing what they need to for the rest of the season with how they played today. Go Bills!!! To point 1. It's becoming clearer with each week. How long will ownership wait in hopes that what we keep seeing isn't the truth. That we just need more time to build this defensive masterpiece. Edited November 20, 2016 by Over 28 years of fanhood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prickly Pete Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 (edited) We have lost to this cinci team how many times in a row? Sometimes you just have to win it ugly....every week takes on a different identity Except Week 18. Edited November 20, 2016 by HoF Watkins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TroutDog Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 My girlfriend said this as we watched: "Both of these teams look sedated." She was right. Play calling seemed poor at best and TT is just too erratic to be 'the' answer. $27m next year? Wow. Rex, to be honest, seems like he's been in over his head for a number of years now. While I agree that a win is a win I also believe if the Bills were being coached by someone with roots in the 21st century we'd be far better off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhDozeBills Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Plain and simple, if Nugent can make an extra point the Bills lose this game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Listening to it on the radio might give a different perspective than watching it, but from my couch it sounded like: 1. A lot of bad penalties and poor play callling on a several occasions. That's on the coaching. When you're running well and have the ball on the 2yd line with 2 downs to score, why are you passing? When you need to run clock off and there's 2:30 on the game clock, why are you passing? 2. I really like Tyrod. He's easily the best QB we've had in more than a decade. But, he just misses his throws too much on 3rd down. It sounds like he's hesitant and has no timing with the receivers. 3. We got lucky, sure. But we played a full 60 minutes and won a tough road game. This was huge. Past teams would have given up and let the Bengals score with 30 seconds left. But this team played hard all afternoon, fought through injuries, and deserved to win. Let's not lose sight of that. 4. I hope they switch focus tomorrow ans get to business thinking about the Jags. Go Bills! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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