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10 observations Bills v. Panthers


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2 minutes ago, Ralonzo said:

 

You don't remember him because he did nothing.

On the first longer Sweeney pass he ran a fly pattern and cleared out the zone. Sweeney was wide open underneath. The play wasnt because of him but guys with speed like that cause defenses to react. They dont do that with Zay Jones.

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1 minute ago, Bray Wyatt said:

 

Nah I usually pay attention to who’s split out and stuff even if they don’t get targeted, must be preseason for me too haha

 

I mean, I'd be surprised if Zay and Foster even needed a shower after the game... and the punchline is, the offense MOVED when they were on the field. Are they decoys now? Who the hell knows? But Allen is making a concerted effort to use the slot, tight ends and RB's in the passing game this preseason.

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2 minutes ago, White Linen said:

 

I agree with this very good observation.  I was there at the game and was privy to seeing the FG attempt he missed from a side view.  His ball no longer penetrates.  It's like he's punching at the ball instead of kicking through it.  His leg looks weak at this point.  

Don't know why but I'm just not worried about Hauschka. He's a pro and IIRC hasn't cost us a game with a miss since he's been here.

 

Wade is very intriguing. Like to see him play against the starting opposing defenses to get a better feel. He's got great balance and runs like his hair is on fire. 

 

Josh has really taken his intermediate game seriously and it shows. Sweeney and Beasley will see a lot of targets with Brown and Foster keeping the safeties honest.

 

Singletary has surprisingly good hands for someone who didn't receive much in college.     

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2 minutes ago, DuckyBoys said:

Maybe  they shop Zay Jones?  John Brown and Robert Foster are speedsters and somewhat alike in skillset  Beasley is the slot have to think McKenzie comes closest to his skillset Is there a drop off to keeping Duke Williams over Zay?

Zay is the only one they could get anything for, even if it is a 4th or 5th rounder. I'm not a Zay fan, so I would love to keep Brown, Beasley, Foster, Roberts, McKenzie and Duke. I very much doubt they do it but I'm not sold on Zay at all. I think the Josh Reed comparisons have some merit.

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43 minutes ago, Virgil said:

In a preseason game on offense, I look for a QB to march down the field smoothly and take what the defense gives them, as they show a very vanilla scheme.  I saw that tonight from Josh and was happy to see it.  His first two throws were catchable, but off the mark. After that, he was solid.  

 

Oliver was double teamed every play and I was hoping. That would lead to more pressure as Hughes and Murphy got single coverage and was disappointed.  We only got pressure when we sent 5. 

 

McKenzie had the play of the night for me on that screen pass.  To have the patience for his blockers to catch up and let the play develop in front of him was beautiful.  

 

WR cuts are going to be very hard and I don’t envy the coaching staff.  

 

I see us running with 2 QB’s this year. 

 

I too am slightly concerned with Hausch-money

After today's game, WRs will be  Jones, Brown, Foster, Beasley, McKenzie, Roberts.   Unless they trade Jones and in which case it will be that they will carry 5 TEs or 5 RBs.

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Just now, LABILLBACKER said:

There's no way I want Morse to play till week 1.  Cut Tyree tomorrow and get a 3rd qb in camp asap. McD has to have a plan B in case Hauschka struggles. The wr selection will be brutal. Wade has to make this team somehow.

I think House Money will be fine but it's not a lock. The Panthers backup K was insane. His leg was like Josh's arm. 57 yarder he didnt even look like he put most of his leg into it. He was killing the ball.

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Good to see Duke take advantage of the opportunity.  Bills don't have anyone who provides size and physicality.  

 

If it's between him and Ray Ray, Duke should win out

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So what's up with Foster? Honest question I seriously don't know, was he hurt or just invisible? There's a lot of talk about Zay right now but I thought Foster was potentially the one on the outside looking in after last week, which definitely doesn't change now. McKenzie is a keeper, and I'd love to see Duke make this team.

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1 minute ago, GG said:

Good to see Duke take advantage of the opportunity.  Bills don't have anyone who provides size and physicality.  

 

If it's between him and Ray Ray, Duke should win out

The harder question is McKenzie. If they keep six, it's Cole, Brown, Foster, Zay, Roberts and one of McKenzie, Ray Ray and Duke. I think McKenzie has passed Ray Ray. But I want Duke to make it, too.

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1 minute ago, Nelius said:

So what's up with Foster? Honest question I seriously don't know, was he hurt or just invisible? There's a lot of talk about Zay right now but I thought Foster was potentially the one on the outside looking in after last week, which definitely doesn't change now. McKenzie is a keeper, and I'd love to see Duke make this team.

He only played a few snaps more because he is safe than he is in trouble. They still like him.

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McKenzie has to make it in case Beasley doesn't last.

 

Stanford, Neal helped themselves. Denzel Rice helped himself. Yeldon and Wade helped themselves. Shaq Lawson was noticeable in a good way, despite the BS penalty. All the punt returners helped themselves. There was so much more good than bad I'm reticent to point out one and forget the other.

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1 minute ago, Kelly the Dog said:

He only played a few snaps more because he is safe than he is in trouble. They still like him.

 

Ah ok thanks. I'm sure they love him, he's just starting to look expendable to me. I wouldn't think he's a natural lock to make it with all of this talent behind him but maybe he is that safe.

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10 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

There's no way I want Morse to play till week 1.  Cut Tyree tomorrow and get a 3rd qb in camp asap. McD has to have a plan B in case Hauschka struggles. The wr selection will be brutal. Wade has to make this team somehow.

Right on, with regards to Jackson...I hated that the Bills signed him...I just never thought he was an NFL talent and I think they are wasting their time, when they could be grooming a real QB to take over for Barkley some day.

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I am, admittedly, a homer-esque Josh Allen supporter.

 

I think the early incompletion to McCoy was a bad pass; not a drop.  I also think the completion to Beasley shortly before that was also a bad pass, but Beasley went down and got it.

 

Otherwise, I was very impressed with Allen's pocket awareness.  When he took the sack, he knew someone was on him, but couldn't get far enough away to avoid the sack.

 

The other time he took off running for a short gain also showed that he felt the presence and reacted accordingly.

 

I liked how they established very early that Beasley was the obvious target on 3rd and short plays.  Eventually, it opened up a nice pass to Sweeney for a nice gain and a first down.

 

Allen was decisive and didn't force the ball downfield ... both excellent signs of significant growth.

 

All in all, I really liked what the offense showed; especially Josh Allen.  The two underthrows early in the first quarter could have been jitters; who knows?  But he became more comfortable as the time passed and I was really impressed with his overall performance.

 

GO BILLS!

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1 hour ago, Patrick_Duffy said:

 

I wonder if maybe he is still getting used to a new holder? I don't know, he was money last season though. I believe he has a new holder this time if I'm not mistaken. Just a thought.

I believe this is an issue. The kicks have seemed off since they first switched holders last season. That was before the injury. They still don’t have a decent punter, and the chemistry seems off on the holds. I’d start getting Barkley some work as a holder and get this thing rectified. Then find a better punter as well. I know some want to attribute it to the injury, but things were off before that. 

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1 minute ago, Boatdrinks said:

I believe this is an issue. The kicks have seemed off since they first switched holders last season. That was before the injury. They still don’t have a decent punter, and the chemistry seems off on the holds. I’d start getting Barkley some work as a holder and get this thing rectified. Then find a better punter as well. I know some want to attribute it to the injury, but things were off before that. 

That's a good point. They should make Barkley the holder.

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1 hour ago, Happy Gilmore said:

Is Haushka really struggling?  This is the first I heard of this and am a bit surprised. 

Hauschka has missed 2 field goals in 2 games, it's an eye opener, but I would not say he is struggling.

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2 hours ago, Inigo Montoya said:

1.  Allen looked good on the short to mid range throws that have been his bugaboo.  Nice to see some improvement there.  He went 9-11 with his two incompletes a throw away and a drop. Don't know if he could have given a better performance tonight.  

 

2.  Cole Beasley is going to be my late round Fantasy Football league steal at wide receiver.  He is going undrafted in most leagues.  Expect to see a lot of the Josh and Cole Show this season and a completion rate for Allen north of 60% as a result.  Having a real slot receiving threat adds an element to our offense that was completely missing last season.  Daboll is going to have fun playing with his new toy.

 

3.  This defense is for real.  I don't want to hear about it's just preseason or Cam didn't play or Luck didn't play.  This unit is going to ball all year and take a lot of pressure off the offense.  Isn't that what they call "complimentary football"?  The Bills D just shut down the Panthers tonight.  

 

4.  I don't know who the hell McBeane cuts.  Do we keep an extra O-lineman or a WR or a LB or a DE.  What a fantastic problem to have.  This roster from top to bottom is a competitive NFL quality roster.  We are going to cut more than a few good players to get to 53.  Kudos to Beane, its the kind of problem that good franchises have.

 

5.  Glad to see the Duke getting his hands on the ball.  This one is an extension of #4 above.  Without an injury, does he have a path onto the final 53?  No one else is high pointing balls in the end zone.  Which WR do you cut to make room for him?  Can he do enough in the next two preseason games to really make a run at the roster?  It's going to be fun to watch.  McKenzie has really come on too.  All around solid performance from the wide receiver room tonight.

 

6.  Christian Wade.  There is no reason I should get so excited about this guy, but I can't help it.  When he gets the ball he runs like there is a velociraptor chasing him.  The guy is a beast.  What do you do with him?  Don't know how this International Program works.  I hope we can stash him on the practice squad.   

 

7.  Our kicking game looks like trash and it is something that will cost this team games unless we can get it figured out.  Fast.  How many games last year did the Chargers lose off the foot of their field goal kicker?  We have a double whammy when you look at our punters.  Right now it looks like our kicking game is the biggest weakness on our team and it may end up being a huge liability.

 

8.  Our pass rush looked better tonight.  Nice to see Murphy get in the box score.  It will be fun that first game they put Hughes, Murphy, and Oliver on the field at the same time and turn them lose.  

 

9.  Mitch Morse still riding the pine.  Not a good situation for the Bills O-Line to have our starting center out of the lineup.  We need to get him back into the saddle asap.  Feliciano can fill in but he doesn't bring what Morse does.  At this point I doubt he sees a single preseason snap.  I think the best we can hope for now is a Week 1 return.

 

10.  Most importantly, we survived another pre season game without a significant injury.  Prayers out to Cam Lewis for a speedy recovery.  Hopefully we can stay lucky on the injury front.  To win in this league you need a little bit of skill and a little bit of luck.  Let's hope the luck continues to hold.

 

 

Who will we blame now that Crossman is gone? The players?

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16 minutes ago, Kelly the Dog said:

That's a good point. They should make Barkley the holder.

 

They can't really do that since the CBA started limiting practice time.  Almost nobody has a Frank Reich holding for kicks anymore because the 2nd QB needs to spend his practice time actually QBing.

 

And, unless they bring somebody else in, they will only have 2 QB's on the roster w/ the 3rd on their practice squad.  So they can't make QB3 the holder either.   So, Cor(e)y it is for holder.

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2 hours ago, Inigo Montoya said:

9.  Mitch Morse still riding the pine.  Not a good situation for the Bills O-Line to have our starting center out of the lineup.  We need to get him back into the saddle asap.  Feliciano can fill in but he doesn't bring what Morse does.  At this point I doubt he sees a single preseason snap.  I think the best we can hope for now is a Week 1 return.

Who else thinks Feliciano is a beast who can be a starter at this level? 

 

For some reason I'm not as worried as I should be about Morse. First of all, he'll be back on the field any day now. Second of all, the Bills have contingency plans in case their starting center can't play. Feliciano is big and mean. Long can back up in the pivot. But the way Feliciano rallied to support whichever WR got hit out of bounds in the first quarter, getting right up in the defender's face...it showed a lot. He's part of the team's plans moving forward.

 

Of course let's hope Morse is able to play this season without complications from yet another concussion. But other NFL players have persevered through such histories; Luke Keuchly, for example, is a guy who has garnered mucho attention for head injuries in the past, but is not currently viewed as a high risk guy (by Bills fans, at least). 

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2 hours ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

Punting is not good.  Maybe start looking at the possible cuts and get ready to snag one for the PS if needed and keep him working.

It sucks using a PS spot but you really can't trust the 2 we got right now.

 

Not as worried about Hausch.

 

 

Actually, Hauschka is the guy I'm worried about. Bad punting sucks but it is far better than bad kicking. A bad kicker will cost a team games. I would feel a lot better if he had a preseason game where he just made all his kicks.

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3 minutes ago, vincec said:

Actually, Hauschka is the guy I'm worried about. Bad punting sucks but it is far better than bad kicking. A bad kicker will cost a team games. I would feel a lot better if he had a preseason game where he just made all his kicks.

 

So would I.

Hoping as a veteran he can get it all together before the real games start.

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3 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

I'm a pretty harsh Allen critic, but he looked as good as I've ever seen him tonight.

 

If he can keep this up, things are going to be looking up.

 

 

Maybe it's the surprise factor, but I feel like the skeptics were more impressed by what they saw tonight than the true believers. It's the little things; timing, delivery in stride, making the right reads, well placed balls. I'm really not swayed by the crazy runs or the occasional bomb. I'm swayed by the details. Agreed that this was the best we've seen from him. We'll see what happens, but that was encouraging.

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2 hours ago, JaCrispy said:

Right on, with regards to Jackson...I hated that the Bills signed him...I just never thought he was an NFL talent and I think they are wasting their time, when they could be grooming a real QB to take over for Barkley some day.

The only reason to have a competent 3rd qb is to have someone throw to your borderline wrs. How is McD supposed to evaluate them if Jackson is sailing balls everywhere. 

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2 hours ago, Gugny said:

I am, admittedly, a homer-esque Josh Allen supporter.

 

I think the early incompletion to McCoy was a bad pass; not a drop.  I also think the completion to Beasley shortly before that was also a bad pass, but Beasley went down and got it.

 

Otherwise, I was very impressed with Allen's pocket awareness.  When he took the sack, he knew someone was on him, but couldn't get far enough away to avoid the sack.

 

The other time he took off running for a short gain also showed that he felt the presence and reacted accordingly.

 

I liked how they established very early that Beasley was the obvious target on 3rd and short plays.  Eventually, it opened up a nice pass to Sweeney for a nice gain and a first down.

 

Allen was decisive and didn't force the ball downfield ... both excellent signs of significant growth.

 

All in all, I really liked what the offense showed; especially Josh Allen.  The two underthrows early in the first quarter could have been jitters; who knows?  But he became more comfortable as the time passed and I was really impressed with his overall performance.

 

GO BILLS!

Why don’t you marry him then?

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Looking at how well our O-line did, along with keeping Allen upright, and safe in the pocket (did he have to break from the pocket more than once?), they ran some absolutely textbook-perfect screens. And, not just the starters. The second string O-line ran a couple beauties, as well. Great to see them coming together, and working as a unit.

2 hours ago, Kelly the Dog said:

The harder question is McKenzie. If they keep six, it's Cole, Brown, Foster, Zay, Roberts and one of McKenzie, Ray Ray and Duke. I think McKenzie has passed Ray Ray. But I want Duke to make it, too.

I do too. That PI was heartbreaking!

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4 hours ago, Kelly the Dog said:

There is no such thing really as the first set of cuts. They go from 90 to 53 all in one day now. Sometimes teams will release guys a couple days before the deadline but for the most part, there used to be a first set but now there is only one.

 

In the 80's, it went to 70 players after the first game, 60 players after the second game, 50 players after the third game, and finally, 45 players after the fourth game. Things were more exciting back then. There was no practice squad and no 53-man roster. Training camp began in early July. The first week of the season was on Labor Day weekend. The Super Bowl was always in January. Players were tougher and less injury prone. The teams have it too good nowadays.

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4 hours ago, Ralonzo said:

McKenzie has to make it in case Beasley doesn't last.

 

Stanford, Neal helped themselves. Denzel Rice helped himself. Yeldon and Wade helped themselves. Shaq Lawson was noticeable in a good way, despite the BS penalty. All the punt returners helped themselves. There was so much more good than bad I'm reticent to point out one and forget the other.

That could be a thing if they ride Beasley like they did when Allen was in he might be pretty damn tired come the 4th Quarter.

 

2 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

Who else thinks Feliciano is a beast who can be a starter at this level? 

 

For some reason I'm not as worried as I should be about Morse. First of all, he'll be back on the field any day now. Second of all, the Bills have contingency plans in case their starting center can't play. Feliciano is big and mean. Long can back up in the pivot. But the way Feliciano rallied to support whichever WR got hit out of bounds in the first quarter, getting right up in the defender's face...it showed a lot. He's part of the team's plans moving forward.

 

Of course let's hope Morse is able to play this season without complications from yet another concussion. But other NFL players have persevered through such histories; Luke Keuchly, for example, is a guy who has garnered mucho attention for head injuries in the past, but is not currently viewed as a high risk guy (by Bills fans, at least). 

It's definitely a relief to have a backup with less of a drop off than Bodine has.

 

4 hours ago, JaCrispy said:

Right on, with regards to Jackson...I hated that the Bills signed him...I just never thought he was an NFL talent and I think they are wasting their time, when they could be grooming a real QB to take over for Barkley some day.

He seemed like a nice cheap shot in the dark for a project since his play style could be so similar to Allen's but he's played like hot garbage.

 

4 hours ago, Kelly the Dog said:

The harder question is McKenzie. If they keep six, it's Cole, Brown, Foster, Zay, Roberts and one of McKenzie, Ray Ray and Duke. I think McKenzie has passed Ray Ray. But I want Duke to make it, too.

That is harder though right now I'd say I like what McKenzie has done more than what Duke has(though hopefully he'll get more reps after today) but I like what Duke could potentially be with a unique skillset in the WR group.

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