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THE ROCKPILE REVIEW - So Funny I Could Cry


Shaw66

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1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

I think Allen is going to be great.   There's not much to watch until he gets back.  

Despite being a rookie that has a long way to go losing Josh Allen really took the air out of the team and the Bills fan base IMO.

 

Thanks for the good read Shaw, Virgil, much appreciated fellas.

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1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

I think Allen is going to be great.   There's not much to watch until he gets back.  

 

I like Allen also & think he has the potential to be great---I just wish we had an offensive minded coach to developed him. The modern NFL is about scoring & passing.

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One thing about Edmunds I forgot to note in the OP.  One of his problems - maybe it's what he's supposed to do, is that on runs he attacks his gap and gets right up in behind the defensive line.  When the running back changes direction, or when the play is a well-executed misdirection play, Edmunds can't move laterally, because he gets stuck in the mass of bodies, between his teammates and blockers who have gotten to the second level.   The result is that he can't pursue effectively.  Seems to me he needs to hang back a bit longer before he moves to plug the hole.   It means he gets to his gap a second later, but it also means he's in space where he can move laterally to make plays to his left or right.  

2 minutes ago, 1st&ten said:

 

I like Allen also & think he has the potential to be great---I just wish we had an offensive minded coach to developed him. The modern NFL is about scoring & passing.

I'll get bashed for saying this, but I didn't see Mahomes doing anything last night that Allen hasn't done or can't do.   Mahomes is blessed with a spectacular collection of talent and a brilliant head coach.   Allen has neither.

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42 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

One thing about Edmunds I forgot to note in the OP.  One of his problems - maybe it's what he's supposed to do, is that on runs he attacks his gap and gets right up in behind the defensive line.  When the running back changes direction, or when the play is a well-executed misdirection play, Edmunds can't move laterally, because he gets stuck in the mass of bodies, between his teammates and blockers who have gotten to the second level.   The result is that he can't pursue effectively.  Seems to me he needs to hang back a bit longer before he moves to plug the hole.   It means he gets to his gap a second later, but it also means he's in space where he can move laterally to make plays to his left or right.  

I'll get bashed for saying this, but I didn't see Mahomes doing anything last night that Allen hasn't done or can't do.   Mahomes is blessed with a spectacular collection of talent and a brilliant head coach.   Allen has neither.

Putting together the spectacular collection of talent takes time. Rookies also take time developing.

 

Players like White, Edmunds and Allen are a good start IMO.

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5 hours ago, billspro said:

It sucks when you wait so long for football season to start and it is over before Halloween.

 

I really hope Allen shows something when he gets back. That is the only chance at a. Bright spot this year.

 

At least the Sabres won’t be eliminated by Halowe’en

 

 

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1 hour ago, Figster said:

Putting together the spectacular collection of talent takes time. Rookies also take time developing.

 

Players like White, Edmunds and Allen are a good start IMO.

I agree.  And Phillips, probably Milano, Dawkins and probably Miller.   And they're a little older, but Poyer and Hyde play really well together back there and should be good for 3-4 more years.   It's not like there's no talent on the team.   Not enough, but they have guys to build on. 

 

As I said, it's the coaching that worries me. 

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7 hours ago, JaCrispy said:

I used to love going to games...unfortunately I haven’t been able to go in 3 years because the team is infuriating and unwatchable...I vowed not to go back until the team is good again...needless to say I’m not holding my breath.

I live in Houston and many of my friends asked if I was going to the game. No; too much money, too much emotional stress and far too predictable an ending. I'm not sure when I'll be going again. Took my son to his first Bills game last year against the Patriots. Ouch.

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6 minutes ago, Houston's #1 Bills Fan said:

I live in Houston and many of my friends asked if I was going to the game. No; too much money, too much emotional stress and far too predictable an ending. I'm not sure when I'll be going again. Took my son to his first Bills game last year against the Patriots. Ouch.

I can't agree.  I love being in the crowd.  Just like I loved being at Christians Tailgate.   All those Bills fans in one place.  It's a tribe, and I love being a part of the tribe.   I love the feeling.  And every once in a while they win, and that's great.  

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17 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I can't agree.  I love being in the crowd.  Just like I loved being at Christians Tailgate.   All those Bills fans in one place.  It's a tribe, and I love being a part of the tribe.   I love the feeling.  And every once in a while they win, and that's great.  

The last 2 years my wife and I have finally found a place financially that traveling and attending our first ever away games is an option.... We’ve had the displeasure of being able to plan 3 weekend long trips...... 

 

Jax for playoffs last year, crossed lambeau off my bucket list this year, and visited an old college friend in Indy this last weekend. 64 total hours on the road for a grand total of 8 Pts scored. That’s 1 pt for every 8 hours on the road. This is no joke. You can’t freaking make something like that up for a good book. I’ve tried convincing myself during the weekend and games that I shouldn’t let the final score deter my trip.... but that becomes much harder when you have hours of road in front of you on Sunday nights or Monday mornings. 

 

After getting back into the house today near Erie, Pa, disgusted and exhausted from another drive of shame, I’ve made up my mind I’m just not doing away games anymore. Or at least for the foreseable future. It’s just not worth it and I’m honestly just really pissed off at the franchise right now. 

 

Im sure I’ll come around. I ALWAYS do. But we’re talking 8 pts in 3 games!!!! I need some time. 

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10 hours ago, Stank_Nasty said:

The last 2 years my wife and I have finally found a place financially that traveling and attending our first ever away games is an option.... We’ve had the displeasure of being able to plan 3 weekend long trips...... 

 

Jax for playoffs last year, crossed lambeau off my bucket list this year, and visited an old college friend in Indy this last weekend. 64 total hours on the road for a grand total of 8 Pts scored. That’s 1 pt for every 8 hours on the road. This is no joke. You can’t freaking make something like that up for a good book. I’ve tried convincing myself during the weekend and games that I shouldn’t let the final score deter my trip.... but that becomes much harder when you have hours of road in front of you on Sunday nights or Monday mornings. 

 

After getting back into the house today near Erie, Pa, disgusted and exhausted from another drive of shame, I’ve made up my mind I’m just not doing away games anymore. Or at least for the foreseable future. It’s just not worth it and I’m honestly just really pissed off at the franchise right now. 

 

Im sure I’ll come around. I ALWAYS do. But we’re talking 8 pts in 3 games!!!! I need some time. 

You've had bad luck.   

 

I live in Connecticut and have a friend who lives in Cleveland but is a Giants fan.  He won't join me in Buffalo for games, but several years ago he told me he'd go to one away game a year with me.   So every year we pick one game, fly in on Saturday and fly out Sunday night (except lately my wife has been going with me, and she and I tack on a few days somewhere fun).

 

Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, the Giants, Tennessee, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Houston.  Crushed by the Packers who won the Super Bowl that year - it was Trent's last start - he was cut two days later.  Beaten badly by the Steelers, with EJ struggling to get one meaningless TD as the clock ran out, win in Cleveland, lost to the Giants with Freddy making a great long TD and Fitz underthrowing Stevie TWICE, each would have been a TD and each was intercepted.  Tyrod makes some great plays to beat the Titans.  Freddy's great run in overtime to beat the Bears.  Ajayai runs for 200 against the Bills.  Great win against the Falcons.  Peterman throws two picks to lose to the Texans.   4-5.  Not bad, and it sort of mirrors the Bills over-all record during that period.  

 

I don't know.  There have been times when driving home after another hopeless performance by the Bills in November I've decided I'm done, no more season tickets, no more driving to games.  But then I stick it out for one more season, and I get rewarded by some good games.  Sometimes I think a fitting end to my life would be a horrific one-car crash at 11 pm some Sunday night.  If my life story is a tragedy, it would be after a loss.  If it's a happy story, it would be after the Bills have crushed the Pats, I'm doing 70 on the Mass Pike, pull up next to a car with Pats decals on it, I'm singing the Shout song out the window to the losers next to me and -WHAM! - right into a bridge abutment, so my dying thoughts are all about the Bills, the win and joy in Bills-land.   

 

In other words, I'm nuts, and all my friends know it.  

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17 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

You've had bad luck.   

 

I live in Connecticut and have a friend who lives in Cleveland but is a Giants fan.  He won't join me in Buffalo for games, but several years ago he told me he'd go to one away game a year with me.   So every year we pick one game, fly in on Saturday and fly out Sunday night (except lately my wife has been going with me, and she and I tack on a few days somewhere fun).

 

Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, the Giants, Tennessee, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Houston.  Crushed by the Packers who won the Super Bowl that year - it was Trent's last start - he was cut two days later.  Beaten badly by the Steelers, with EJ struggling to get one meaningless TD as the clock ran out, win in Cleveland, lost to the Giants with Freddy making a great long TD and Fitz underthrowing Stevie TWICE, each would have been a TD and each was intercepted.  Tyrod makes some great plays to beat the Titans.  Freddy's great run in overtime to beat the Bears.  Ajayai runs for 200 against the Bills.  Great win against the Falcons.  Peterman throws two picks to lose to the Texans.   4-5.  Not bad, and it sort of mirrors the Bills over-all record during that period.  

 

I don't know.  There have been times when driving home after another hopeless performance by the Bills in November I've decided I'm done, no more season tickets, no more driving to games.  But then I stick it out for one more season, and I get rewarded by some good games.  Sometimes I think a fitting end to my life would be a horrific one-car crash at 11 pm some Sunday night.  If my life story is a tragedy, it would be after a loss.  If it's a happy story, it would be after the Bills have crushed the Pats, I'm doing 70 on the Mass Pike, pull up next to a car with Pats decals on it, I'm singing the Shout song out the window to the losers next to me and -WHAM! - right into a bridge abutment, so my dying thoughts are all about the Bills, the win and joy in Bills-land.   

 

In other words, I'm nuts, and all my friends know it.  

 

great post!

 

if you still enjoy it, keep going, you know that feeling ripped off is a big part of the experience with a struggling team

 

keep going until you just aren't able to do road trips any more.

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5 minutes ago, row_33 said:

 

great post!

 

if you still enjoy it, keep going, you know that feeling ripped off is a big part of the experience with a struggling team

 

keep going until you just aren't able to do road trips any more.

There's only one thing that feels better than standing and screaming with 70,000 Bills fans in New Era.  

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I have never been a McDermott fan, but I used to think that he was at least a decent game coach who could get the most out of the talent he had on hand.  I have come to the conclusion that that's simply not true.  His lack of recognition of offensive talent is bad enough, but his stubborn insistence on keeping Nathan Peterman on the roster, and his pursuit of Carolina cast-offs to the detriment of all other options (there is absolutely no other way to account for the Bills waiting a month to find a better back up QB than Peterman only to bring in Anderson) have to sink him to the very bottom of the Bills coaching barrel along with the likes of John Rauch, Jim Ringo, and Hank Bullough.  I think McDermott may even supercede my candidate for "worst Bills coach in this century", Dick Jauron, by a smidgen.  :bag:

 

I doubt that McDermott lasts until the end of the season, and if he does, he won't be back next season.  At some point, he's going to lose the locker room as the blow-outs pile up which will only lead to more uncompetitive games.   I think a number of players quit in the Indy game after the Clay fumble, and I think it will get worse.  The real question is how much embarrassment can the Pegulas tolerate.

 

After NE, which I can't realistically expect to be anything but another blow-out, the Bills play Chicago and at the Jets before their bye week.  I can't seeing the Bills winning either, but Chicago might be a defensive slugfest because Mitch Trubisky isn't even half as good as a healthy Deshaun Watson or ten percent as good as Patrick Mahomes.  If the Bills get blown out by the Jets, however, McDermott is probably not the Bills HC when the Bills face the Jags the week after the bye.

 

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31 minutes ago, SoTier said:

 

 

I have never been a McDermott fan, but I used to think that he was at least a decent game coach who could get the most out of the talent he had on hand.  I have come to the conclusion that that's simply not true.  His lack of recognition of offensive talent is bad enough, but his stubborn insistence on keeping Nathan Peterman on the roster, and his pursuit of Carolina cast-offs to the detriment of all other options (there is absolutely no other way to account for the Bills waiting a month to find a better back up QB than Peterman only to bring in Anderson) have to sink him to the very bottom of the Bills coaching barrel along with the likes of John Rauch, Jim Ringo, and Hank Bullough.  I think McDermott may even supercede my candidate for "worst Bills coach in this century", Dick Jauron, by a smidgen.  :bag:

 

I doubt that McDermott lasts until the end of the season, and if he does, he won't be back next season.  At some point, he's going to lose the locker room as the blow-outs pile up which will only lead to more uncompetitive games.   I think a number of players quit in the Indy game after the Clay fumble, and I think it will get worse.  The real question is how much embarrassment can the Pegulas tolerate.

 

After NE, which I can't realistically expect to be anything but another blow-out, the Bills play Chicago and at the Jets before their bye week.  I can't seeing the Bills winning either, but Chicago might be a defensive slugfest because Mitch Trubisky isn't even half as good as a healthy Deshaun Watson or ten percent as good as Patrick Mahomes.  If the Bills get blown out by the Jets, however, McDermott is probably not the Bills HC when the Bills face the Jags the week after the bye.

 

Honestly, I don't know what to think anymore. I was willing to give McDermott the benefit of the doubt as this is a depleted roster talent-wise (albeit largely self-inflicted.) I do think if the blowouts keep coming, there's a chance McDermott is gone.

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1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

There's only one thing that feels better than standing and screaming with 70,000 Bills fans in New Era.  

 

i heavily miss the gameday drive to the US and being at Bills games

 

health issues weigh far more heavily on the other side of the teeter-totter

 

and congrats on that other great thing  :D

 

 

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1 hour ago, SoTier said:

 

 

I have never been a McDermott fan, but I used to think that he was at least a decent game coach who could get the most out of the talent he had on hand.  I have come to the conclusion that that's simply not true.  His lack of recognition of offensive talent is bad enough, but his stubborn insistence on keeping Nathan Peterman on the roster, and his pursuit of Carolina cast-offs to the detriment of all other options (there is absolutely no other way to account for the Bills waiting a month to find a better back up QB than Peterman only to bring in Anderson) have to sink him to the very bottom of the Bills coaching barrel along with the likes of John Rauch, Jim Ringo, and Hank Bullough.  I think McDermott may even supercede my candidate for "worst Bills coach in this century", Dick Jauron, by a smidgen.  :bag:

 

I doubt that McDermott lasts until the end of the season, and if he does, he won't be back next season.  At some point, he's going to lose the locker room as the blow-outs pile up which will only lead to more uncompetitive games.   I think a number of players quit in the Indy game after the Clay fumble, and I think it will get worse.  The real question is how much embarrassment can the Pegulas tolerate.

 

After NE, which I can't realistically expect to be anything but another blow-out, the Bills play Chicago and at the Jets before their bye week.  I can't seeing the Bills winning either, but Chicago might be a defensive slugfest because Mitch Trubisky isn't even half as good as a healthy Deshaun Watson or ten percent as good as Patrick Mahomes.  If the Bills get blown out by the Jets, however, McDermott is probably not the Bills HC when the Bills face the Jags the week after the bye.

 

I share your feelings on a lot of this, except I don't expect him to get fired anytime this season.  I expect he'll be the coach on opening day, 2019, and he'll get all of 2019 unless the Bills look as bad next season as they have several games this season. 

 

Why?   A couple of reasons.  First, I think Beane feels gratitude and loyalty to McDermott for having gotten him the GM job.   Second, I think McBeane really do believe that they have a system that, in time, will work.   Third, I don't think the Pegulas want a coaching merry-go-round.   They bought McB's kool-aid, and they're going to savor every last drop before they head off in another direction.   I've always thought McB have three full years, minimum, and I still think that.  

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In 2 years the Rams assembled Suh/Whitworth/Cooks/Kupp/traded for an elite corner and completely revamped their entire offense and defense.  

 

We are not even close to doing what they have done in the past 18 months.   Turnarounds always seem to take time for us, but then we see other teams do it in a year and a half.   Now this should be a big offseason, we can get free agents in with big money and we can draft some good players with high draft picks.  

 

Should be no excuse in 2019

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21 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

One thing about Edmunds I forgot to note in the OP.  One of his problems - maybe it's what he's supposed to do, is that on runs he attacks his gap and gets right up in behind the defensive line.  When the running back changes direction, or when the play is a well-executed misdirection play, Edmunds can't move laterally, because he gets stuck in the mass of bodies, between his teammates and blockers who have gotten to the second level.   The result is that he can't pursue effectively.  Seems to me he needs to hang back a bit longer before he moves to plug the hole.   It means he gets to his gap a second later, but it also means he's in space where he can move laterally to make plays to his left or right.  

There was a play in which Milano had to chase the ball carrier out into the flats. It ended up as a pretty good gain for the Colts. He looked around at the end of the play as if to say, why am I out here all alone?  The announcers commented that Edmunds was stuck in the mass of bodies and couldn’t come to help. 

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4 minutes ago, Gray Beard said:

There was a play in which Milano had to chase the ball carrier out into the flats. It ended up as a pretty good gain for the Colts. He looked around at the end of the play as if to say, why am I out here all alone?  The announcers commented that Edmunds was stuck in the mass of bodies and couldn’t come to help. 

Yeah, I remember the play but not the look.   

 

Again, I don't know what his assignment is on running plays, but it seems that a lot of times when I watched him he gets caught in the wash.   I'd think that with his speed, given how much misdirection everyone runs, the Bills would benefit by having lay back a bit and not commit so quickly to his gap.   That way he would keep his ability to track plays laterally, which is where his strength is.   The problem with that, I suppose, is that if he lays back and the running back hits his gap, the back is going to get 2-3 yards, and occasionally more, than if Edmunds had attacked the gap.  The answer probably is that Edmunds has to learn to read the play quickly and to commit to the gap or not, depending on his read.  

56 minutes ago, Soda Popinski said:

In 2 years the Rams assembled Suh/Whitworth/Cooks/Kupp/traded for an elite corner and completely revamped their entire offense and defense.  

 

We are not even close to doing what they have done in the past 18 months.   Turnarounds always seem to take time for us, but then we see other teams do it in a year and a half.   Now this should be a big offseason, we can get free agents in with big money and we can draft some good players with high draft picks.  

 

Should be no excuse in 2019

McBeane have been absolutely clear they are not building in free agency.  Beane said that the fans shouldn't expect a big spending spree in 2019.  He said they may get a guy or two to plug gaps, but their focus is going to remain on the draft.   That's what makes we agree with the speculation that the Bills might unload Shady and Benjamin for picks.   

 

Essentially what they've said, in so many words, is that they're building like the Packers have done it for years.   A couple of years ago the Packers had a roster where NO player had ever been on the 53-man roster of any other team.  They were essentially all drafted or undrafted rookies, with a few guys plucked from other practice squads.   It sounds like that's what they want to do. 

 

And that's why I don't think anyone's getting fired anytime soon.   They've explained all of this to the Pegulas, and everything we've heard and seen suggests the Pegulas are on board.   

 

Bottom line: the 2019 roster will be the first where McBeane will have THEIR young guys on the team, so you shouldn't expect a Rams-type turn-around.

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