26CornerBlitz Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 How the Bills keep pulling off upsets QUICKLY Buffalo grabbed their second win of the season on Sunday, with a green rookie QB surrounded by the worst roster in football. How are they doing it? By ANDY BENOIT October 08, 2018 At 2-3, no one is saying the Buffalo Bills deserve a parade. But the team that’s widely regarded as the NFL’s least talented—including by yours truly—has now beaten the Super Bowl-contending Vikings on the road and AFC South-leading Titans at home. Head coach Sean McDermott, just like he did as a first-time head coach last year, is making chicken salad in Buffalo. His recipe is worth examining. Start by understanding Buffalo’s ingredients. Quarterback Josh Allen has mesmerizing arm strength and underrated athleticism. His accuracy is a work in progress. So is his field-reading, to a much greater degree. Allen does not yet understand how defensive fronts relate to potential pressure designs. He struggles to identify defensive looks that change after the snap. He sometimes predetermines downfield throws, which is to be expected given that he does not yet have a full grasp on how certain route concepts defeat specific coverages. This is not atypical of a rookie four starts into his career. We’ve seen equally raw but less gifted QBs go on to have nice careers. (McDermott tried to let Allen take the Patrick Mahomes path and learn from the bench, but Nathan Peterman wasn’t exactly Alex Smith.) 12 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCBills Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 (edited) Nice article, but I disagree with the Defense assessment. He’s basically saying it’s scheme over talent. I think scheme is big, but we also have some serious talent. He says we have no pass rush outside of Hughes. Well, Hughes is pretty dang good, and Murphy is starting to show signs of life after missing last year. He then compliments our DT’s.. Last time I checked, strong DT’s push the line back into the QB and disrupt/help edge rushers. Also goes on to say good things about all our linebackers. Calls Tre White our only good Corner, then talks about the great play of Taron Johnson (who’s balled out all year). Somehow leaves out that we have one of the best Safety tandems in the NFL. I agree with him that McDermott is a great defensive mind, but let’s no go overboard.. he’s got a lot to work with on that side of the ball. Edited October 8, 2018 by SCBills 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted October 8, 2018 Author Share Posted October 8, 2018 9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Wagon Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 If you look at kicking around the league, Hauschka is a VERY underrated part of our success. The Browns might be 5-0 and the Packers might be 4-1 with a kicker of his caliber. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted October 8, 2018 Author Share Posted October 8, 2018 5 minutes ago, Chuck Wagon said: If you look at kicking around the league, Hauschka is a VERY underrated part of our success. The Browns might be 5-0 and the Packers might be 4-1 with a kicker of his caliber. Good point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Wagon Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 15 minutes ago, 26CornerBlitz said: Good point. A quality kicker, a coach who can actually manage a game and a QB who doesn't actively lose you the game is the difference between a 10/11 win season and a 5/6 win season. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vorpma Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 Great post and departure from the usual found on this board, even after a win! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 47 minutes ago, Chuck Wagon said: If you look at kicking around the league, Hauschka is a VERY underrated part of our success. The Browns might be 5-0 and the Packers might be 4-1 with a kicker of his caliber. Yeah I was watching the Browns bonus coverage yesterday and then switched to watching it after they left and you just knew that kicker wasn't making that 55 yarder as time expired...he knuckleballed that kick through at the end of OT but it was not a great kick...kicking has gotten surprisingly bad this year all of a sudden 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDogg20 Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 51 minutes ago, Chuck Wagon said: If you look at kicking around the league, Hauschka is a VERY underrated part of our success. The Browns might be 5-0 and the Packers might be 4-1 with a kicker of his caliber. Without Hauschka the drought would still be going on. That dude is one of my favorites 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoHuddleKelly12 Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 1 hour ago, SCBills said: Nice article, but I disagree with the Defense assessment. He’s basically saying it’s scheme over talent. I think scheme is big, but we also have some serious talent. He says we have no pass rush outside of Hughes. Well, Hughes is pretty dang good, and Murphy is starting to show signs of life after missing last year. He then compliments our DT’s.. Last time I checked, strong DT’s push the line back into the QB and disrupt/help edge rushers. Also goes on to say good things about all our linebackers. Calls Tre White our only good Corner, then talks about the great play of Taron Johnson (who’s balled out all year). Somehow leaves out that we have one of the best Safety tandems in the NFL. I agree with him that McDermott is a great defensive mind, but let’s no go overboard.. he’s got a lot to work with on that side of the ball. That's news to the "fire everyone in the FO" crowd at TBD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacklabel Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 Would ya look at that... saying that the coaching and scheme plays a big role in their success. And I agree with some others that have said it, the defense does have some talented guys. If the coaching can get these types of performances out of mostly JAG plays (at least on offense) I can't wait to see what they can do with some real talent. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCBills Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 8 minutes ago, matter2003 said: Yeah I was watching the Browns bonus coverage yesterday and then switched to watching it after they left and you just knew that kicker wasn't making that 55 yarder as time expired...he knuckleballed that kick through at the end of OT but it was not a great kick...kicking has gotten surprisingly bad this year all of a sudden I actually laughed out loud when they showed the target zone for the Browns at the 26 yard line. I thought it had to be a mistake. Then saw the kick.... was not a mistake. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoHuddleKelly12 Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 10 minutes ago, matter2003 said: Yeah I was watching the Browns bonus coverage yesterday and then switched to watching it after they left and you just knew that kicker wasn't making that 55 yarder as time expired...he knuckleballed that kick through at the end of OT but it was not a great kick...kicking has gotten surprisingly bad this year all of a sudden Mason Crosby has been an institution in GB before yesterday, so that was the most surprising IMO. 80.3 FG % going into this 2018 season. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMF2006 Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 57 minutes ago, Chuck Wagon said: If you look at kicking around the league, Hauschka is a VERY underrated part of our success. The Browns might be 5-0 and the Packers might be 4-1 with a kicker of his caliber. He could have been . He was a FA all they had to do was pay him. Glad he chose to sign here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 (edited) 3 minutes ago, NoHuddleKelly12 said: Mason Crosby has been an institution in GB before yesterday, so that was the most surprising IMO. 80.3 FG % going into this 2018 season. Yeah he has been pretty good...the crazy part is how short a leash a lot of kickers are on even when they HAVE been productive and good players throughout their careers...it would be like Aaron Rodgers having to worry about getting cut if he went out and threw 4 INTs and had a bad game. Obviously he is not quite Aaron Rodgers, but still...the guy has been good for a long time, it's not like he just forgot how to kick all of a sudden Edited October 8, 2018 by matter2003 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoHuddleKelly12 Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 4 minutes ago, matter2003 said: Yeah he has been pretty good...the crazy part is how short a leash a lot of kickers are on even when they HAVE been productive and good players throughout their careers...it would be like Aaron Rodgers having to worry about getting cut if he went out and threw 4 INTs and had a bad game. Obviously he is quite Aaron Rodgers, but still...the guy has been good for a long time, it's not like he just forgot how to kick all of a sudden Good point. It may be because they are such afterthoughts during the course of a game, until the FG unit comes out on the field, and then suddenly it's a hyper focused spotlight of intensity with so much riding on just one swing of the leg with few do-overs, whereas the QB gets to toss over and over, so less pressure on each individual throw, to make up for any bad mistakes along the way (unless you're Peterman of course). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KennyDavisEyes Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 Bills D is talented. 14 straight quarters of darn good Defense now. We will be in most games because of it... especially at home. The writer certainly nails McD’s scheme but to underestimate the talent is a mistake imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Call_Of_Ktulu Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 Because they are evolving into a power defense and we have 1 great RB and 2 good ones. Allen is also making some amazing passes but is still sailing some way off target. I get the feeling like this team is so much more motivated to play the better teams. I feel like if we play at home in horrid weather conditions with our good defense and strong RB's that we have a chance to upset any team. Also add in that Bills fans in that stadium are loud, rabid and savage and you have a huge advantage in home games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bills Blog Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 The Bills won yesterday not because of talent but because of the other four factors of winning, three of which are more important than talent: schemes, luck, passion, and environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heavy Kevi Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 TEAM Really, it's a manifestation of the old saying "greater than the sum of it's parts" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts