A Few Thoughts about the Bears Game, in no particular order

[Virgil]

There are contenders, rebuilders, and dumpster fires.  One is taken for granted, on gives you hope, and the other makes you wonder why you do it anymore.  As I watched the forums since over the past few weeks and moreso after our last blow-out, I can see posters sway between the last two.  I don't have an answer myself personally, but I know it was hard to keep the fire going yesterday.  With that....

 

1 - Peterman - Someone made a comment that I was surprised how I didn't review Anderson the previous weeks.  I knew Anderson was nothing more than a stop-gap who'd had a small handful of practices and isn't part of our future plans.  Peterman not only was part of the plan, but he was actually picked to be our season starter.  Our team felt strongly enough about him to trade McCarron and let him run our team.  As he started the game, I wondered how much his previous performers would affect his overall confidence.  It was a mixed bag result for me.  Peterman looked downfield often, but rarely took the shot.  I think I read that he broke an NFL record for 31 completed passes, but fewest overall yards.  The Bears defense baited him into dump off passes to which they closed on quickly.  But it was the tipped pass int's and fumbles that really showed where Peterman was at.  The frustration, but almost acceptance in realizing that he is just cursed as an NFL starter was all over his face.  I applaud his effort to try and shake off his past, but it was clear to me that his confidence is shattered and his performance all season is a scary indication of how our FO evaluates NFL talent.  For them to think this was their guy worries me the most about their ability to put together a successful offensive roster.

 

2 - Trubisky - As we are comparing our rookie Qb to other's, I found myself watching Trubisky to see if he could be one of the QB's of the future.  I left the game unimpressed.  For every crisp pass he completed, he equally had some passes that I don't think even he knew where they were going.  His pick to Tre was an absolute gift.  I will say that I didn't realize how well he could run because our defense apparently was terrified of him keeping the ball on the QB option keeper.  Overall, I still don't see what the Bears saw in him to give up the capital to move up one spot and I believe his performance this season is a great example of how an offensive coordinator schemes to meet his talent.  I know it's dumb to throw stones in a glass house, but I'll pass on the Trubisky train.

 

3 - Execution - A lot of people are starting to ask why Rex got the Axe in 2 seasons while McDermott seems to be getting a pass.  I'm going to both make my point and then counter it.  For those with a short memory, the team's execution under Rex was terrible.  It wasn't just that we lost, it's that we were heavy on penalties, blowing assignments, and players were leaking their frustrations anonymously to the media.  We haven't seen much of that out of McDermott as penalties and blown assignments seem dramatically better.  However, in this game I saw glimpses of a team that is starting to give up in the face of futility.  The offensive turnovers were rookie mistakes and inexcusable.  I almost feel bad for Peterman, who put together one of his better games (that's not saying much) only to have offensive players make stupid mistakes on the field that led to turnovers.  For our talent level, we need to be fundamentally sound, and we weren't that against the Bears.  The Logan Thomas late hit was a joke and he should have been pulled from the game.

 

4 - If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise don’t even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives, jobs. And maybe your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery, isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance. Of how much you really want to do it. And you’ll do it, despite rejection in the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine

 

5 - Read-Option Defense - The Bears game reminded me a lot of the Seahawks game we played in Toronto and we got gashed by Wilson.  The difference here was that the Bears actually let their tailback run it almost every time.  The amount of respect we gave to Trubisky was surprising to me as we gave up solid gains on most of the read options plays.  If I'm an opposing offense, I'm adding that play to our scheme when we play the Bills.  I don't know if it was an off game or a genuine flaw in our system, but it was alarming.

 

6 - Special Teams - I think I'm there on getting rid of Crossman.  I just don't know what to say anymore about it.  But the execution on Punts is mind blowing to me.  Not to be old school, but special teams are meant to be seen and not heard.  The NFL keeps making changes to the point where I'm surprised that aspect of the game isn't completely eliminated.  To that point, we find a way to create a negative gain at least once a game via punts.  I'm just over it.

 

7 - Dawkins - I've been overall impressed with our offensive line performance this season.  It was rough to start, but they aren't the dumpster fire we saw in the pre-season.  Some are complaining about the holes being created for the running backs, but I think they've done enough for the talent we have.  With that being said, Dawkins has made a few eye opening mistakes the past few weeks and I'm wondering if more is going on there.  His leg whip penalty was stupid and he has had more than a few guys absolutely blow past him.  I'm wondering if it's an injury or something more, but he usually isn't mentioned much in a game, meaning he did his job.

 

8 - Evaluating Talent - While McDermott won't come out and say it, we saw a lot of starters coming out of the game yesterday without injury.  It looks as though the 2-7 record is setting in and we are in player evaluation mode. Teller took some snaps, McCoy was out of the game a lot.  McDermott even said they wanted to see what some guys can do.  While I don't disagree entirely, the message to fans debating buying tickets for the rest of the season might be affected.  I also wonder what message that sends to the players who are looking for reasons to play their heart out. 

 

9 - Another Blow-Out - There's a bunch of stats out there about number of games lost by 15+ points.  It's a scary number for a team who's calling card is their passion and commitment to the process.  Even in making the playoffs last year, there were at least 3 solid blow-out losses.  This is an NFL team with multi-million dollar professionals.  Even the worst teams are made up of elite College players.  Teams have bad days, but has anyone suffered this many blow out losses in a 2 year span?  Even when we were 3-13, I don't think it was this bad.  There's something to that and the fact that it doesn't seem to be noticed by the Front Office is an issue.  I don't believe in sacrificing someone to appease the masses, but there's more going on here than a simple rebuild and it's in a historic fashion.

 

10 - Daboll - 10 carries.  McCoy, the man our offense is supposed to revolve around got 10 carries.  He was quiet after the game and seen despondent on the sideline.  To me, this sums up our offense.  When we can't figure out how to get our best offensive weapon more than 10 carries in a game, we are doing something wrong.  Who on our team is more deserving to make something happen.  Then, you have Zay Jones off the field for Pryor.  How has our most productive, young WR lost snaps to the guy who's been cut by half the league recently and made crucial mistakes?  I'm sorry, but sometimes it's that simple.  The guy doesn't know how to utilize our players.

 

 

On to next week where the board will come crashing down if Darnold lights us up. 

 

Go Bills!

[26CornerBlitz]

Good work, but there's a glaring omission in paragraph #1 which is the lack of mention of Peterman eschewing the Hail Mary throw into the end zone from the Bears 37 yards line only to run downfield and eventually out of bounds to end the 1st half.   

[Virgil]

2 minutes ago, 26CornerBlitz said:

Good work, but there's a glaring omission in paragraph #1 which is the lack of mention of Peterman eschewing the Hail Mary throw into the end zone from the Bears 37 yards line only to run downfield and eventually out of bounds to end the 1st half.   

 

You’re absolutely right.  What’s sad is that it didn’t even phase me. He was that gun shy with the deep ball that he couldn’t even do it when it was expected.   He’s just plain broken 

[Reed83HOF]

9 minutes ago, Virgil said:

There are contenders, rebuilders, and dumpster fires.  One is taken for granted, on gives you hope, and the other makes you wonder why you do it anymore.  As I watched the forums since over the past few weeks and moreso after our last blow-out, I can see posters sway between the last two.  I don't have an answer myself personally, but I know it was hard to keep the fire going yesterday.  With that....

 

1 - Peterman - Someone made a comment that I was surprised how I didn't review Anderson the previous weeks.  I knew Anderson was nothing more than a stop-gap who'd had a small handful of practices and isn't part of our future plans.  Peterman not only was part of the plan, but he was actually picked to be our season starter.  Our team felt strongly enough about him to trade McCarron and let him run our team.  As he started the game, I wondered how much his previous performers would affect his overall confidence.  It was a mixed bag result for me.  Peterman looked downfield often, but rarely took the shot.  I think I read that he broke an NFL record for 31 completed passes, but fewest overall yards.  The Bears defense baited him into dump off passes to which they closed on quickly.  But it was the tipped pass int's and fumbles that really showed where Peterman was at.  The frustration, but almost acceptance in realizing that he is just cursed as an NFL starter was all over his face.  I applaud his effort to try and shake off his past, but it was clear to me that his confidence is shattered and his performance all season is a scary indication of how our FO evaluates NFL talent.  For them to think this was their guy worries me the most about their ability to put together a successful offensive roster.

 

2 - Trubisky - As we are comparing our rookie Qb to other's, I found myself watching Trubisky to see if he could be one of the QB's of the future.  I left the game unimpressed.  For every crisp pass he completed, he equally had some passes that I don't think even he knew where they were going.  His pick to Tre was an absolute gift.  I will say that I didn't realize how well he could run because our defense apparently was terrified of him keeping the ball on the QB option keeper.  Overall, I still don't see what the Bears saw in him to give up the capital to move up one spot and I believe his performance this season is a great example of how an offensive coordinator schemes to meet his talent.  I know it's dumb to throw stones in a glass house, but I'll pass on the Trubisky train.

 

3 - Execution - A lot of people are starting to ask why Rex got the Axe in 2 seasons while McDermott seems to be getting a pass.  I'm going to both make my point and then counter it.  For those with a short memory, the team's execution under Rex was terrible.  It wasn't just that we lost, it's that we were heavy on penalties, blowing assignments, and players were leaking their frustrations anonymously to the media.  We haven't seen much of that out of McDermott as penalties and blown assignments seem dramatically better.  However, in this game I saw glimpses of a team that is starting to give up in the face of futility.  The offensive turnovers were rookie mistakes and inexcusable.  I almost feel bad for Peterman, who put together one of his better games (that's not saying much) only to have offensive players make stupid mistakes on the field that led to turnovers.  For our talent level, we need to be fundamentally sound, and we weren't that against the Bears.  The Logan Thomas late hit was a joke and he should have been pulled from the game.

 

4 - If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise don’t even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives, jobs. And maybe your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery, isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance. Of how much you really want to do it. And you’ll do it, despite rejection in the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine

 

5 - Read-Option Defense - The Bears game reminded me a lot of the Seahawks game we played in Toronto and we got gashed by Wilson.  The difference here was that the Bears actually let their tailback run it almost every time.  The amount of respect we gave to Trubisky was surprising to me as we gave up solid gains on most of the read options plays.  If I'm an opposing offense, I'm adding that play to our scheme when we play the Bills.  I don't know if it was an off game or a genuine flaw in our system, but it was alarming.

 

6 - Special Teams - I think I'm there on getting rid of Crossman.  I just don't know what to say anymore about it.  But the execution on Punts is mind blowing to me.  Not to be old school, but special teams are meant to be seen and not heard.  The NFL keeps making changes to the point where I'm surprised that aspect of the game isn't completely eliminated.  To that point, we find a way to create a negative gain at least once a game via punts.  I'm just over it.

 

7 - Dawkins - I've been overall impressed with our offensive line performance this season.  It was rough to start, but they aren't the dumpster fire we saw in the pre-season.  Some are complaining about the holes being created for the running backs, but I think they've done enough for the talent we have.  With that being said, Dawkins has made a few eye opening mistakes the past few weeks and I'm wondering if more is going on there.  His leg whip penalty was stupid and he has had more than a few guys absolutely blow past him.  I'm wondering if it's an injury or something more, but he usually isn't mentioned much in a game, meaning he did his job.

 

8 - Evaluating Talent - While McDermott won't come out and say it, we saw a lot of starters coming out of the game yesterday without injury.  It looks as though the 2-7 record is setting in and we are in player evaluation mode. Teller took some snaps, McCoy was out of the game a lot.  McDermott even said they wanted to see what some guys can do.  While I don't disagree entirely, the message to fans debating buying tickets for the rest of the season might be affected.  I also wonder what message that sends to the players who are looking for reasons to play their heart out. 

 

9 - Another Blow-Out - There's a bunch of stats out there about number of games lost by 15+ points.  It's a scary number for a team who's calling card is their passion and commitment to the process.  Even in making the playoffs last year, there were at least 3 solid blow-out losses.  This is an NFL team with multi-million dollar professionals.  Even the worst teams are made up of elite College players.  Teams have bad days, but has anyone suffered this many blow out losses in a 2 year span?  Even when we were 3-13, I don't think it was this bad.  There's something to that and the fact that it doesn't seem to be noticed by the Front Office is an issue.  I don't believe in sacrificing someone to appease the masses, but there's more going on here than a simple rebuild and it's in a historic fashion.

 

10 - Daboll - 10 carries.  McCoy, the man our offense is supposed to revolve around got 10 carries.  He was quiet after the game and seen despondent on the sideline.  To me, this sums up our offense.  When we can't figure out how to get our best offensive weapon more than 10 carries in a game, we are doing something wrong.  Who on our team is more deserving to make something happen.  Then, you have Zay Jones off the field for Pryor.  How has our most productive, young WR lost snaps to the guy who's been cut by half the league recently and made crucial mistakes?  I'm sorry, but sometimes it's that simple.  The guy doesn't know how to utilize our players.

 

 

On to next week where the board will come crashing down if Darnold lights us up. 

 

Go Bills!

 

 

Overall I can't disagree with much of anything. I have a hard time fully evaluating Dawkins when he is playing next to Ducasse, who is playing next to Groy/Bodine, who is next to Miller, who is next to Mills. 

 

[zow2]

Right about now, Chad "gonna spray this place with my AK" Kelly... is looking like a pretty good option.  

[Formerly Allan in MD]

15 minutes ago, 26CornerBlitz said:

Good work, but there's a glaring omission in paragraph #1 which is the lack of mention of Peterman eschewing the Hail Mary throw into the end zone from the Bears 37 yards line only to run downfield and eventually out of bounds to end the 1st half.   

Agreed.  He probably didn't want another interception.

[Virgil]

Just now, Formerly Allan in MD said:

Agreed.  He probably didn't want another interception.

 

I actually completely agree. 

[26CornerBlitz]

Just now, Formerly Allan in MD said:

Agreed.  He probably didn't want another interception.

 

Then he shouldn't be on the field because there was nothing to lose on that play at the end of the half.  It was cowardly and dumb. 

[Roundybout]

18 minutes ago, 26CornerBlitz said:

Good work, but there's a glaring omission in paragraph #1 which is the lack of mention of Peterman eschewing the Hail Mary throw into the end zone from the Bears 37 yards line only to run downfield and eventually out of bounds to end the 1st half.   

 

I believe that Allen doesn't hesitate to throw that. 

[nedboy7]

https://www.fieldgulls.com/2018/6/1/17415246/what-is-an-nfl-rebuild-anyway-seahawks-browns-cardinals-astros

[Formerly Allan in MD]

For the first time, McD looked dejected during the game.  And he wasn't clapping.

[dorquemada]

25 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

3 - Execution - A lot of people are starting to ask why Rex got the Axe in 2 seasons while McDermott seems to be getting a pass.  I'm going to both make my point and then counter it.  For those with a short memory, the team's execution under Rex was terrible.  It wasn't just that we lost, it's that we were heavy on penalties, blowing assignments, and players were leaking their frustrations anonymously to the media.  We haven't seen much of that out of McDermott as penalties and blown assignments seem dramatically better.  However, in this game I saw glimpses of a team that is starting to give up in the face of futility.  The offensive turnovers were rookie mistakes and inexcusable.  I almost feel bad for Peterman, who put together one of his better games (that's not saying much) only to have offensive players make stupid mistakes on the field that led to turnovers.  For our talent level, we need to be fundamentally sound, and we weren't that against the Bears.  The Logan Thomas late hit was a joke and he should have been pulled from the game.

 

 

I always enjoy reading your post mortem game analysis, but have to quibble with you here.  This team has been sloppy as hell all season.  The drive killing penalties are more reliable than completed forward passes at this point, all of which is 100% on coaching.  Obviously The Clapping Idiot has not made discipline a priority, and I think now it's safe to assume that discipline isn't part of the "culture" he's trying to build at one bills drive, otherwise we'd see  players getting benched for their junior league antics, but instead we get a big dumb idiot clapping on the sidelines when instead of a 1st down, we get 3rd and 20

[Fadingpain]

11 minutes ago, zow2 said:

Right about now, Chad "gonna spray this place with my AK" Kelly... is looking like a pretty good option.  

Not really. And I think every QB on this roster, including Allen, is terrible.

 

 

[Virgil]

3 minutes ago, dorquemada said:

 

I always enjoy reading your post mortem game analysis, but have to quibble with you here.  This team has been sloppy as hell all season.  The drive killing penalties are more reliable than completed forward passes at this point, all of which is 100% on coaching.  Obviously The Clapping Idiot has not made discipline a priority, and I think now it's safe to assume that discipline isn't part of the "culture" he's trying to build at one bills drive, otherwise we'd see  players getting benched for their junior league antics, but instead we get a big dumb idiot clapping on the sidelines when instead of a 1st down, we get 3rd and 20

 

Maybe I’m wrong, but I think we typically have less penalties than our opponent.  Our offense finds a way to get negative yards on first down too often, but I equally can’t stash’s Daboll. 

 

Either way, it was way worse under Rex.  

 

But hey, I’m wrong a lot 

[dorquemada]

1 minute ago, Virgil said:

 

Maybe I’m wrong, but I think we typically have less penalties than our opponent.  Our offense finds a way to get negative yards on first down too often, but I equally can’t stash’s Daboll. 

 

Either way, it was way worse under Rex.  

 

But hey, I’m wrong a lot 

 

we're 3rd worst in the league for penalties, so i'm not sure the math works on that, but yeah, it's not as bad as under rex, in the same analogized fashion that technically hitler killed fewer people than stalin

 

[Virgil]

2 minutes ago, dorquemada said:

 

we're 3rd worst in the league for penalties, so i'm not sure the math works on that, but yeah, it's not as bad as under rex, in the same analogized fashion that technically hitler killed fewer people than stalin

 

 

3rd worst?  Is that real?  Wow. I had no idea.  That’s honestly as scary to me as our offensive performance.  

 

Seriously.  That’s on McDermott and not very process 

 

edit - yup. That’s true. We went from being in the top 10 last year to bottom 3.  That’s alarming 

Edited November 5, 2018 by Virgil

[dorquemada]

2 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

3rd worst?  Is that real?  Wow. I had no idea.  That’s honestly as scary to me as our offensive performance.  

 

Seriously.  That’s on McDermott and not very process 

 

https://www.footballdb.com/stats/penalties.html

 

yeah, another site that I just closed the tab for showed trending too, which the Bills, if they keep up the last 3 games performance, will be league leading in penalties in another game or two.  The net is, they're undisciplined, and getting more undisciplined as the season goes on, which again, is indicative of coaching, and/or a team that has given up.

 

Let me blow your mind here for a moment, what if the process, is in fact fundamentally flawed, and if followed close to plan, actually makes the Bills worse?

 

 

[mjd1001]

I think McCoy is done being an Elite back. Right now (and next year also) he is a 'decent' back that can excel in certain situations.  Put him on a good offense that spreads the field, and he will be better than most.  But on this Bills offense, he might be a little worse running than other options.  

 

I'm not saying he has 'lost it', but he has lost a half step it appears.  When that happens with a back like him...the first thing you notice is he LOOKS like he is running the same way (his style) but the results fall off a bit.

[Shaw66]

41 minutes ago, 26CornerBlitz said:

Good work, but there's a glaring omission in paragraph #1 which is the lack of mention of Peterman eschewing the Hail Mary throw into the end zone from the Bears 37 yards line only to run downfield and eventually out of bounds to end the 1st half.   

You know, a top running QB, a Taylor or Wilson, might actually have scored on that play. 

 

However, you're right.  Talk about do your job!   Peterman has the most clearly confined job on that play - get out of the pocket, load it up and fire the ball downfield.   That's option 1, 2 and 3 on that play, and there was NOTHING to stop him from throwing it.   That is simply not doing the job - one more evidence of coaching failure.  

[corta765]

1 - Peterman - I am not as mad that they named him starter. Anyone watching preseason would say it looked like he improved and deserved at least to be on the roster. The issue is that he is still on the roster. It is incredibly unnerving they won't cut him and admit they messed up something they should've happened after Baltimore.

 

2 - Trubisky - Agreed. He isn't the trainwreck he was last year, but I see a very average guy long term who might do slightly better thanks to his good coaching and scheme.

 

3 - Execution - The Rex stuff is exhausting. The 2015 team was the most talent Buffalo had since 1999 and they went 8-8. Rex was said to have relished the spotlight but not the true X's and O's studying and video needed in todays NFL. The defense is certainly better and the offense just lacks talent straight up. I will wait one more year before I really make a true judgement. But I will say the goodvibes of last year are gone 2019 is a majorrrr prove it year in every sense for McD.

 

4 -OK

 

5 - Read-Option Defense - Not as worried here they didn't even gain 200 yards total, Edmunds was out, and in general everyone is RPOing now it will take time for defenses to find a solution to copy cat.

 

6 - Special Teams - Agreed. Crossman's special teams have generally been bad during his time here minus one good season. They are just bleeding bad plays when they have zero room to.

 

7 - Dawkins - I think for Dawkins he went from an incredibly solid group with strong veteran leadership to a bunch of scrubs that are actually playing above skill set given what I have seen. I think its just a matter of learning how to play with less talent. Still high on him long term.

 

8 - Evaluating Talent - I'm fine if they are in talent judge mode. I don't worry about effort because it is soo easy to lose your job in the NFL and be replaced. Regardless of record guys know they need to be at their best. 

 

9 - Another Blow-Out - There are two streets you can take here. 1. They knew they'd be bad this year and the talent would expose them so this is what it is. That's the hopeful path but it cannot ignore how bad they've been in blowouts. 2. This team really has some true flaws being exposed when luck, an easier schedule, and better talent isn't there to help. I think its a mix of both truthfully, but as someone there yesterday I am at the point of asking why even go. I love the tailgate, energy, atmosphere, etc.. its amazing..BUT why spend $80 to see us routinely curb stopped when I could stay at home and do the same.

 

10 - Daboll - 10 carries.  McCoy had 7 carries and it was 21-0 before the end of the second half. At that point you can't run when your down that much and the defense is going to stack the box because they don't fear McCoy. I have had no issues with Daboll because he has no talent and his rookie QB is out. I've actually liked his scheming and this season I really can't judge much on Allen or Daboll given the lack of parts for either to work with.