THE ROCKPILE REVIEW - Nightmare

[Shaw66]

The Rockpile Review – by Shaw66

 

Nightmare

 

The Bills opened the 2018 NFL season losing 47-3 to the Baltimore Ravens.

 

The Bills were horrible.  In all three phases, pretty much the entire game.

 

In the NFL, no teams are ready for opening day.  They haven’t installed enough, they haven’t practiced enough.  Still, the games count, and the mantra in the NFL at this time of year is “find a way to win.”  You won’t have your best game; some things will work for you, some won’t.  Some things will work for your opponent, some won’t. 

 

At least, that’s the way it’s supposed to be.  Not for the Bills on Sunday.  Nothing worked. 

 

If I’m not at the game, and if it isn’t on local TV, I watch the Bills at my local sports bar.  I buy my wife lunch, we watch the Bills and other games.  My wife likes football but isn’t a Bills fan, except through me.  Nevertheless, I get a running commentary during the games.

 

Before the end of the first quarter against the Ravens, over a vegetable quesadilla, my wife was calling for a change at quarterback.  She knows good quarterbacking when she sees it, and she wasn’t seeing it.  It looked the same to me, over nachos. 

 

Quarterback?  One thing we learned in this debacle is that Josh Allen needs to start for the Bills.  Not because he was lights out against the Ravens; he wasn’t.  But if you’re going to have a QB on the field with limited experience, and the Bills are, a QB who just doesn’t get everything that’s going on on the field yet, and neither Peterman nor Allen does, then you may as well play the guy who can make plays.  Allen throws better, Allen has better pocket presence, Allen runs better.  The Bills have two incomplete quarterbacks; they need to play the guy who can win games despite his inexperience. 

 

The Bills game was on a screen beside the Patriots game.  My wife complained.  “It isn’t fair to put them side by side.  The Patriots do everything right; the Bills do nothing right.”   By the time she made the comment I was well into my second beer, but I was still smart enough not to argue with her.

 

One thing I noticed on side-by-side screens:  Kelvin Benjamin is not Gronk.  As a rookie, Benjamin had good hands.   He seemed to catch everything around him.  Either my memory is faulty or Benjamin forgot something.  He’s gotta catch balls with his hands, and he doesn’t, not enough.  At least not against the Ravens. 

 

Oh, and Robert Foster was as billed – stone hands. 

 

Brian Daboll’s debut as offensive coordinator was, well, maybe it’s best not to search for an adjective.  Daboll’s job is to send his team onto the field with something that will work.  Nothing worked.  Running backs had no holes.  Quarterbacks had time to throw, sometime, but rarely could find open receivers.  Yellow flags flew.

 

If you don’t have overwhelming talent, and the Bills certainly don’t, then you have to win with scheme.  There was no scheme visible. 

 

The offense was unprepared.  Nothing worked.

 

Nothing worked for the defense, either.  The Ravens don’t have the best receiver corps in the league, not by a long shot.  But those guys were open, wide open, all afternoon.  The Bills looked confused, all afternoon.  Joe Flacco had no trouble. 

 

Tremaine Edmunds?  Long way to go against the run.  He should get some kind of award for standing beside the pile, after the tackle, more than any player in the league.  For heaven’s sake, can’t the guy HIT someone?   He can run with receivers, but he can’t be a middle linebacker in the NFL if he isn’t going to stick someone once in a while.  He needs to watch Milano fly to the ball and stick his shoulder into guys.   Milano was one of the few bright spots for the Bills. 

 

“It looks like the Bills aren’t trying,” my wife said.  “It looks like they aren’t running fast,”   That hurt.  McDermott’s team is supposed to heart, and it there wasn’t much heart on display against the Ravens.  Get mad, please, and hit someone!

 

What now? 

 

My wife has a theory:  McDermott started Peterman so that when he switches to Allen, whatever Allen does, no one will want Peterman back.  All part of the process? 

 

It starts with Allen on the field. 

 

We’ve seen this before.  Last season we saw a team that was just as bad, for three weeks.  That team figured it out and played some good football down the stretch.  They need to figure it out again this year. 

 

Everything needs to be fixed.  Does McDermott have a process for that?

 

 

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were everyday people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

[Happy]

19 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Everything needs to be fixed.  Does McDermott have a process for that?

 

Out of chaos comes stability.  We better hope this is the case with the Bills.

 

20 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

My wife has a theory:  McDermott started Peterman so that when he switches to Allen, whatever Allen does, no one will want Peterman back.  All part of the process? 

 

Sounds about right.  Peterman starting lead to chaos yesterday, like when he started against the Chargers.  The next week Buffalo improbably beat KC, in KC.  Can we beat the Charges in Buffalo next week?  Not an impossibility, but will they fix enough this week in order to do so is the question.

[1st Ammendment NoMas]

I hope that is the theory. I don't want to see Peterman on the field other than stretching during pre-game warmups. Personally, I think we need to go shopping and find a reliable vet who can help in the QB room and spot start. I think Peterman is PS eligible and believe me, no one would stash him on an active roster.

Edited September 10, 2018 by BillsRdue

[oldmanfan]

I think you're being too hard on Edmunds. 

[Royale with Cheese]

One thing I disagree with you Shaw is about Edmunds.  I saw Edmunds all over the field.  He was Joe B's MVP.  Not saying Joe B is say all be all but it's something he noticed too.

Our run defense outside of the first drive TD  was actually pretty good I thought.  

[nucci]

I saw many teams that were ready for opening day.

[1st&ten]

48 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

My wife has a theory:  McDermott started Peterman so that when he switches to Allen, whatever Allen does, no one will want Peterman back.  All part of the process? 

 

That's funny, I started to think the same thing.

[Shaw66]

26 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

I think you're being too hard on Edmunds. 

Yeah, maybe.   I was surprised to see his stats.   

 

I'm not a professional, so I don't see as much on the field as some might.   I do know, however, that when I watched him or saw him, he wasn't doing well in the running game.  

 

What is impressive about him is his speed.  A few times he closed beautifully.   

 

I'm fairly confident the problem is age and experience.   He has to have the experience to let himself go, to attack instantly as he sees the play develop.   It will come.   But yesterday it seemed to me that he wasn't contributing what he should.   He was in good company.  

35 minutes ago, nucci said:

I saw many teams that were ready for opening day.

I agree.   My point is that you saw NO teams that were close to mid-season form.   They just aren't.   And that's what makes the early season games so challenging.   It's like being a pitcher and having to find a way to get guys out when your best stuff isn't working.  

 

So, yeah, teams LOOKED ready, because the stuff they brought to the game worked.  And I'm not saying it was luck, but in some sense it was.  If those teams had had different matchups, they might not have looked so good.  

[row_33]

Thanks Shaw, you married wisely!

 

 

[outsidethebox]

11 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Yeah, maybe.   I was surprised to see his stats.   

 

I'm not a professional, so I don't see as much on the field as some might.   I do know, however, that when I watched him or saw him, he wasn't doing well in the running game.  

 

What is impressive about him is his speed.  A few times he closed beautifully.   

 

I'm fairly confident the problem is age and experience.   He has to have the experience to let himself go, to attack instantly as he sees the play develop.   It will come.   But yesterday it seemed to me that he wasn't contributing what he should.   He was in good company.  

I agree.   My point is that you saw NO teams that were close to mid-season form.   They just aren't.   And that's what makes the early season games so challenging.   It's like being a pitcher and having to find a way to get guys out when your best stuff isn't working.  

 

So, yeah, teams LOOKED ready, because the stuff they brought to the game worked.  And I'm not saying it was luck, but in some sense it was.  If those teams had had different matchups, they might not have looked so good.  

The Bills looked in mid season form.

[foreboding]

Well to be fair, one team looked in mid-season form yesterday. 

The one the Bills played. 

That's meaningful I am afraid.

[Cugalabanza]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

The Rockpile Review – by Shaw66

 

Nightmare

 

 

Nice post.  I think your wife has a good eye.

 

One thought I had while reading:  Josh Allen and Jack Eichel should have lunch together.  I think they would find a lot of common ground to talk about.

 

JA:  "Why did they bring me here?

 

JE:  "I know, right?!"

 

[Figster]

20 minutes ago, 1st&ten said:

 

That's funny, I started to think the same thing.

No coach should want to ruin a players confidence or trade value IMO. The way this scenario might play out two players could become damaged goods before all is said and done in my humble opinion. The team itself is not ready for Allen, but Buffalo doesn't have another option.

 

If Beane pushed for the McCarron trade and the way he talked his pro's pro up it wouldn't surprise me,  I would be close to sending the beane head packing especially considering the neglected Oline when you knew a 1st round rookie was being drafted.

 

Gruden is laughing his ass off right about now.

 

Thanks OP for an enjoyable read as always, much appreciated.

 

 

[Jay_Fixit]

1) Benjamin has never had “good” hands. It was one of his issues at Florida State.

 

Add his sloth like speed to the mix and we have an issue.

 

2) Edmunds

 

He didn’t play like he was a 7 year vet, because he isn’t. But he played well for the youngest LB in the NFL making his first ever start and made some good plays. Including a sack and a near interception.

 

If you’re picking on Edmunds from this game, you need to have another beer.

 

By Jay_Fixit.

[yungmack]

I didn't expect much from the Bills but I didn't expect this horror show. Too soon to write the season off completely (I will wait a month. Hopefully improvement is in the wind). Still, it is looking to me more & more like Beane and McDermott are in over their heads.

[sleeby]

28 minutes ago, row_33 said:

Thanks Shaw, you married wisely!

 

 

Because she's not a bills fan?  Ha

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

Last season we saw a team that was just as bad, for three weeks. 

I remember the first four games of 2017 as being a lot of fun to watch our defense though.  I think we had a +16 or +17 turn over ratio after only four games.  Then our D fell apart and was junk for four or five games before ending the last half or so of the season as fairly ok.

[Buddo]

I think the game plans across all 3 phases, were designed for the same outcome, which was let's make a season's worth of mistakes in our first game, and get them all out of the way.

 

It's about the only way I can rationalize how bad we were.

 

I thought yesterdays game was played between two teams, one of which played actual NFL football and were called the Ravens. The other team played the circus clowns version of NFL football, and were called the Bills.

 

I don't know how good the Ravens will be this year, but we currently are nowhere near them. The wet conditions had the Ravens looking like they were just having fun jumping around in puddles, whereas the Bills looked like they were drowning.

 

Offensively, whenever the O-Line actually gave time to the QB, there was nobody open. When they did get open, it didn't matter, as the QB was on his back. If they got open and the QB passed the football to them, they either dropped it, or the O-Line was conceding yet another penalty.

 

The D looked like they might be able to turn things around (eventually), as they did some good things, but too much other stuff broke down when it mattered.

 

STs did some decent things also, and created a couple of opportunities, that they couldn't take. The flip side being that they gave the Ravens chances, that they did take.

 

Hopefully we are going to cut a few this week, and sign a few, as the O-Line simply isn't good enough, and while Allen should remain the starter, we need a vet behind him, both for security, and assistance. Oh, and we need a CB.

[LeGOATski]

Yeah, I considered going to a Bills bar for this, but glad I didn't. Stayed at home watching a stream and hid in shame.

 

The only group that looked like they had a competitive fire was the DL. Run D was a bright spot, but it's not like the Ravens needed to run much, since they were mostly having their way in the passing game.

15 minutes ago, Jay_Fixit said:

2) Edmunds

 

He didn’t play like he was a 7 year vet, because he isn’t. But he played well for the youngest LB in the NFL making his first ever start and made some good plays. Including a sack and a near interception.

 

If you’re picking on Edmunds from this game, you need to have another beer.

Absolutely. The kid did well and the sky is the limit. I'm really excited for him.

[colin]

LJL @ midseason form!!!  hahaha, i chortled loud at that.  we really have a way of sucking extra hard it seems.

 

anyhow, good post opie, i think emdunds was hot trash to start with, was making sad mistakes and getting trucked, but got aggressive and came with it better late in the game tho.

 

if they start peterman again i won't be watching, i hope your theory is right.

[Mr. WEO]

Trump just tweeted:  "Thanks @Bills for keeping me out of the news cycle last night.  HUGE LOSS!!"