A Few Thoughts about the Giants game, in no particular order

[Virgil]

I was looking forward to today's game as my 6 year old daughter kept reminding me how she wanted me to explain the game to her.  We went out and made football snacks, had our gear on, and were all set.  The moment the Bills kicked the ball off, she's laying on my legs, tablet out, Netflix on.  Oh well...

 

1 - Allen - If you are tracking each game of Allen's early career and trying to build your case for him to finally be our answer at QB, then this was the game for you.  Before I get to that though; I think it's easy to be too forgiving or too critical of players on your team.  When I watch other Pro Bowl QB's, I get reminded that they miss passes too.   When our defense shuts down an opposing QB, it's fine for them, but not for our guy.  With that, Allen was absolutely on point today.  Yes, he missed a wide open Brown for a TD, but we still scored a TD on that drive.  Avoiding the rush, Allen was his normal monster self, juking blitzers out of their shoes, buying time, and made some real money throws on the run.  For those on the 60% completion train, he was over that today, but not because of dump off passes to Beasley.  That was a legit mid 60% completion percentage and some of his misses were simply drops that hit guys right in the hands.  There was a 3rd quarter lull and I started to worry that we were taking our lead for granted, but Allen turned it on for the final TD drive and moved the team almost effortlessly today.  Allen handled an inferior defense exactly as you'd expect him too.  Side note:  Two weeks in a row they called that QB sweep play well.  Not a big fan of the QB draw plays.  Let's not hurt the guy

 

Stat curse:  How many of you knew the moment they threw up the graphic about Bills QB's not throwing for 300 yards that his momentum would slow down and not break it today either?

 

2 - Receivers - I'm going to include TE's on this as well, but wanted RB's to be separate.  I can't tell if the Bills are intentionally spreading the ball around to everyone, or if they haven't quite figured our their full identity on offense.  It seemed like we rotated McKenzie, Zay, and Foster all in at the #2/#3 WR spots as well as rotated our TE"s.  I can see the strategy against the opposing defenses, but I wonder how much that affects getting our guys in rhythm.  With that, everyone got their time to shine, but I feel like Brown and Beasley could be utilized more.  This isn't a criticism; just an observation.  Overall, the units played well.

 

3 - Backfield - Gore looked quicker than I've seen him since putting on a Bills uniform and made some solid catches out of the backfield.  I was surprised when I heard that today was his first rushing TD in over a year.  However, the quickness and elusiveness of Singletary is apparent on the field and I don't know why they took so long to get him touches.  Is this because he's a rookie?  Then, of course, he goes and gets hurt, so we might be seeing the Rugby player out there next week.   Either way, it was good to see the running game incorporated a little more this week, but it's still a clearly pass heavy offense.  

 

4 - If you want to win, do the ordinary things better than anyone else them day in and day out

 

5 - Special Teams - Like many on here, I've been quick to call out our need for a new punter.  Not today.  Bojorquez was booming balls downfield today.  One of them actually outkicked our coverage and gave the Giants decent field position.  Then, on the other side, we had Siran Neal handling business today, and not only on special teams.  Kid was flying the ball and laying hits.  Great day for this unit today.  However, in a game where McKenzie was used a little more, I still don't understand why he isn't returning punts

 

6 - Defensive Line - Maybe it's because they got shredded on the very first drive, but the front four pressure wasn't that great today in my opinion.  The got some pressure and Oliver showed some flashes, but Eli, for the most part, had time today.  Again, I'm assuming that a large part of this was because they were in run contain, as Barkley didn't do much after that first drive, which is a total win for the defense.  And ultimately, the Giants were overall held in check.  But with the money we've paid here and the QB's we have coming up, this is something I'm hoping to see improve.

 

7 - Everyone else on Defense - Let me just get the Micah Hyde hit out of the way now.  Wow.  That was the highlight reel play of the day.  Absolutely destroyed that guy and forced the incompletion, which led to the missed field goal.  After the first Giants drive, which I know still counts, we played a very strong game of rushing contain and bend, but don't break defense.  Levi Wallace got picked on a bit, but nothing major given up.  Tackling was MUCH better than last week.  Edmunds worked out the kinks early and Milano did a great job of playing the edges.  He actually tracked down Barkley and made a nice tackle around the line of scrimmage.  For a game where we only gave up two scoring drives, it wasn't flashy, but the job got done well.

 

8 - Offensive Line - The holding call on Morse was BS and stopped a good drive that might have put the game away a little earlier.  Dawkins and Ford had some brain fart moments that needs to get cleaned up.  Ford especially got ran around on a few plays.  I think Allen was under a little more pressure this week than last, but the Giants ran a lot more stunts and sent extra people a little more.  I did love how Ford backed up Allen on the drag down tackle. The defender even arm-barred Allen's helmet on the play and you could see some trash talking while Allen was down.  With that, Ford did exactly what I'd expect him to do.  So I'll take those 15 yards with pride.  With that being said, the running game was existent this week.  The called run with Allen for a TD was well executed as was Singletary's.  It was a decent day for them, but again, tough to tell with this pass happy offense.  

Side Note - Spain in open field blocking is simply unfair.  I can't remember the exact play, but he got out in space and you could see how massive he is.  He then just completely enveloped a dude.  Poor kid never stood a chance.  I'm loving Spain more and more each game.

 

9 - Giants - Maybe it's because I have a lot of family that roots for the Giants or I'll always have a soft spot for what they did to Brady twice, but I feel bad for that team right now.  If they are going to be this bad this year, they will probably be picking in the top 5 of what could be a strong QB class.  With that, why not take an Oliver, Allen (DE), in this years draft if you knew how this year was going to go.  Especially if these trade rumors are true.  With that, I'll say it again, I'd give up a first for Engram.  He's a special talent at TE and would be a nightmare weapon for Allen to have.  

 

10 - Coaching - I love how this team responded after going down 7-0 quickly.  If you couldn't see the score, you wouldn't have known it happened based upon the swagger of the team.  We seemed in control of this game from that point on with no real scares.  Hey, how often can you say that as a Bills fan?  With that, I don't like taking a knee with 40+ seconds left and two timeouts before Halftime.  We came out of the break a little light, but again, turned it on when needed.   But overall, we played this game like a good team does against a bad one.  Now, we are finally home to plays a Bengals team that got whooped on at their home opener, but has an emerging weapon in Ross.  I really hope we don't have a letdown game and I expect the fans to be rocking the Ralph.  We all know what's coming in week 4.  

 

16-0!  Go Bills!!!

[Big Turk]

Wade is NOT eligible for callup under the PS rules for International Pathway Players this year. I wish people would stop talking about him being called up.

 

But i agree with Allen...he looked really good and other than a few poor throws...the one to Zay when he was wide open and tried to sidearm the ball and it went way behind him really sticks in my mind...he was pretty money today and on point with the ball.

 

Going back to last year this was Allen's 3rd straight game of over 60% completion rate...he is starting to get it.

 

 

Edited September 16, 2019 by matter2003

[DrDawkinstein]

3 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

Stat curse:  How many of you knew the moment they threw up the graphic about Bills QB's not throwing for 300 yards that his momentum would slow down and not break it today either?

 

 

Great breakdown, Virgil.

 

WRT the stat curse, the one we all yelled about was when they showed Allen was 6/6. It's like talking to the pitcher during a no-hitter! Of course, the next pass he threw went incomplete!

[Reed83HOF]

RT is looking to still be an issue and I'm just not a Zay fan. Allen is showing good progress,I'm interested to see how he handles playing a good team. The conservative coaching BS has to go away, and I'm afraid that is part of McD's DNA - that is very concerning. Never should have kneeled at the end of the half and they should not have gone in a shell in the 3rd; it felt like they were trying to run the clock out in Q3 and that is a terrible idea, unless you are up like 40-0...

[Virgil]

3 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

Wade is NOT eligible for callup under the PS rules for International Pathway Players this year. I wish people would stop talking about him being called up.

 

 

So you're saying there's a chance?

 

Then what's the point of him being on the practice squad?  Or is that where we get the extra roster spot?

[Rc2catch]

I wasn’t too concerned with the pressure on defense, Eli was getting that ball out pretty fast, and the plays he didn’t I felt like they tortured him pretty well for not throwing it fast. 

Singletary for me anyways, is the key to this season. They need a running game, they need some explosiveness at that position and that kid can be a bit of a homerun hitter. 

I do like that they’re involving gore especially around the goal line and ball security situations. In order for this offense to be deadly though they’re going to need singletary. Great write up though, I especially agree with the 300 yard graphic. I literally said welp thanks for the jinx 

[CSBill]

Well done, Virgil. And, yes, when I saw that stat about the 300 yard passing game, I knew all hope pf that was gone for the day. ?

 

[Rc2catch]

1 minute ago, Reed83HOF said:

RT is looking to still be an issue and I'm just not a Zay fan. Allen is showing good progress,I'm interested to see how he handles playing a good team. The conservative coaching BS has to go away, and I'm afraid that is part of McD's DNA - that is very concerning. Never should have kneeled at the end of the half and they should not have gone in a shell in the 3rd; it felt like they were trying to run the clock out in Q3 and that is a terrible idea, unless you are up like 40-0...

I have been one of the biggest Zay supporters but the guy just can’t make plays. He’s had plenty of opportunities now and he still can’t make a play on a consistent basis. 

I think you might be a little hard on McDermott though. I think he can be aggressive, we just haven’t seen it much. 

I get the vibe watching games and listening to him he really values confidence and execution. If he can’t trust the team to execute he is extremely conservative. When they have momentum and things are flowing he doesn’t seem to mind taking his shots. I think a lot of the conservative stuff is protecting Allen, or trying to. If this is a team who plans on battling for a playoff spot I would be concerned as well with the conservative calls today if the trend continues when things get crazier 

[Big Turk]

7 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

So you're saying there's a chance?

 

Then what's the point of him being on the practice squad?  Or is that where we get the extra roster spot?

The rule is that for an International Pathway Player that you can put him on the PS and get an extra spot(an 11th PS spot) but that if you do that he is NOT eligible for callup that season and must remain there the whole year.

[1st Ammendment NoMas]

11 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

So you're saying there's a chance?

 

Then what's the point of him being on the practice squad?  Or is that where we get the extra roster spot?

It's the extra 11th man on the PS.  If Wade was designated for that spot, it meant he could not be picked up by another team nor could he be activated by us this year. 

[Coach Tuesday]

I like Spain fine, but Feliciano is hands-down our best lineman right now, followed by Morse.

Just now, BillsRdue said:

It's the extra 11th man on the PS.  If Wade was designated for that spot, it meant he could not be picked up by another team nor could he be activated by us this year. 

Oh Lord not this again.

[BADOLBILZ]

25 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

 

 

5. McKenzie isn't returning punts because he drops them.  Ray Ray was the same way which made it hard to justify keeping him around.......and fwiw he muffed 2 punts in the opener for the Panthers.  

 

Hyde is just a punt catcher like Chris Watson but he is a really good punt catcher.

[RiotAct]

22 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Great breakdown, Virgil.

 

WRT the stat curse, the one we all yelled about was when they showed Allen was 6/6. It's like talking to the pitcher during a no-hitter! Of course, the next pass he threw went incomplete!

hey at least they did it to the Giants too, when talking about how their kicker was perfect from within yadda yadda

[CLTbills]

I loved the effort from Dawson Knox blocking downfield on the Singletary RD run....

 

EDIT: I stand corrected.. it was the McKenzie TD... but still, my point is the same.

Edited September 16, 2019 by CLTbills

[fansince88]

21 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

So you're saying there's a chance?

 

Then what's the point of him being on the practice squad?  Or is that where we get the extra roster spot?

Yes. That is the extra spot. We cant call him up and neither can any other team.

[Kelly the Dog]

3 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

5. McKenzie isn't returning punts because he drops them.  Ray Ray was the same way which made it hard to justify keeping him around.......and fwiw he muffed 2 punts in the opener for the Panthers.  

 

Hyde is just a punt catcher like Chris Watson but he is a really good punt catcher.

McKenzie would probably still be on the Broncos if he didnt drop four punts. I have no problem with Hyde back there until Roberts returns.

[fansince88]

Also, as always great job.

[Virgil]

3 minutes ago, CLTbills said:

I loved the effort from Dawson Knox blocking downfield on the Singletary RD run....

 

Damn it!  I wanted to mention that.  Thank you for reminding me.  He destroyed that guy and pushed him all the way back into the endzone.  It was great

[Kelly the Dog]

Just now, Virgil said:

 

Damn it!  I wanted to mention that.  Thank you for reminding me.  He destroyed that guy and pushed him all the way back into the endzone.  It was great

It probably didnt matter but the only other possible tackler, Knox pushed his guy into that guy, too, effectively blocking two of them. That was a fantastic effort, technique and block, especially for essentially a pass catching rookie TE.

[CLTbills]

1 minute ago, Virgil said:

 

Damn it!  I wanted to mention that.  Thank you for reminding me.  He destroyed that guy and pushed him all the way back into the endzone.  It was great

Hell yes. Great effort from a rookie.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

31 minutes ago, Virgil said:

So you're saying there's a chance?

Then what's the point of him being on the practice squad?  Or is that where we get the extra roster spot?

 

That's where we get the extra roster spot.  We can't call him up this year, but neither can anyone else.

 

The point is to give an athletically talented guy who is new to football time to learn the game.

8 minutes ago, Kelly the Dog said:

McKenzie would probably still be on the Broncos if he didnt drop four punts. I have no problem with Hyde back there until Roberts returns.

 

Yep.  He literally muffed his way off the Broncs.  I have no problem with holding him back from punt return duties

[Big Turk]

9 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

Damn it!  I wanted to mention that.  Thank you for reminding me.  He destroyed that guy and pushed him all the way back into the endzone.  It was great

 

Not only that, he blocked him into another Giants player who looked like he might have an angle to cut Singletary off around the 1 or 2 yardline and effectively took them both out of the play...

4 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

That's where we get the extra roster spot.  We can't call him up this year, but neither can anyone else.

 

The point is to give an athletically talented guy who is new to football time to learn the game.

 

Yep.  He literally muffed his way off the Broncs.  I have no problem with holding him back from punt return duties

Well Im glad, he is a dynamic player in space and he fits our offense well as an "X" factor that needs to be accounted for when he is in there...its no coincidence once he started playing with Foster later in the year that Allen started playing much better and the offense started putting up points.

Edited September 16, 2019 by matter2003

[formerlyofCtown]

37 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

So you're saying there's a chance?

 

Then what's the point of him being on the practice squad?  Or is that where we get the extra roster spot?

To learn the game.

[TFBillsfan]

36 minutes ago, Reed83HOF said:

RT is looking to still be an issue and I'm just not a Zay fan. Allen is showing good progress,I'm interested to see how he handles playing a good team. The conservative coaching BS has to go away, and I'm afraid that is part of McD's DNA - that is very concerning. Never should have kneeled at the end of the half and they should not have gone in a shell in the 3rd; it felt like they were trying to run the clock out in Q3 and that is a terrible idea, unless you are up like 40-0...

I was okay with running out the clock to end the half knowing we were getting the ball to start the 2nd half. Leading 21-7 on the road, you didn’t want anything stupid to occur to give the Giants an opportunity.

[dhg]

Thanks Virgil for the always good wrap up. Funny about stat curse 300 yard passer. I thought the same thing.

[Virgil]

3 minutes ago, TFBillsfan said:

I was okay with running out the clock to end the half knowing we were getting the ball to start the 2nd half. Leading 21-7 on the road, you didn’t want anything stupid to occur to give the Giants an opportunity.

 

Is that you Jauron? ?

[DrDawkinstein]

4 minutes ago, TFBillsfan said:

I was okay with running out the clock to end the half knowing we were getting the ball to start the 2nd half. Leading 21-7 on the road, you didn’t want anything stupid to occur to give the Giants an opportunity.

 

When we got the ball at 1:49 with 2 TO, I wanted points. We should have had a nice 1:30 drive for any points, even a FG and gone into the half scoring and getting the ball back.

 

For some reason they opened that drive with a badly called QB draw that went no where and killed all momentum. We ended up punting, and having only taken 17 seconds off the clock.

 

Once we got the ball back I was ok running out the clock just because I didn't like the other option of doing something stupid.

 

But that second-to-last drive should have been the last drive, and it should have produced points. Not happy with the way that went at all. And only begrudgingly agreed with running out the clock when we did get it back.

[TFBillsfan]

2 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

When we got the ball at 1:49 with 2 TO, I wanted points. We should have had a nice 1:30 drive for any points, even a FG and gone into the half scoring and getting the ball back.

 

For some reason they opened that drive with a badly called QB draw that went no where and killed all momentum. We ended up punting, and having only taken 17 seconds off the clock.

 

Once we got the ball back I was ok running out the clock just because I didn't like the other option of doing something stupid.

 

But that second-to-last drive should have been the last drive, and it should have produced points. Not happy with the way that went at all. And only begrudgingly agreed with running out the clock when we did get it back.

In full agreement with you.

[zow2]

Allen played great today. But I hated when he stiff armed a defensive end while getting tackled.  Allen’s whole mantra should be to take off and avoid contact at all costs.  Eventually, all the running QBs get hurt and there’s also the cumulative effect.  Don’t speed up the process by taking on dudes.

 

as for punter,  Bujourquez would have to shank a bunch of 30 yarders to ever be in danger.  Half his value is that Haushka feels good about him as a holder. You don’t mess with that chemistry(see last season!)

 

 

[GottaRun]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

The defender even arm-barred Allen's helmet on the play and you could see some trash talking while Allen was down. 

re #8.  I was swearing a blue streak about it being taunting but they weren't even mentioning taunting in the review on TV.  The defender got up stood over Allen and looked straight down at him.  I'm sure he was just worried about Josh's health.

[poblano]

How long since the last 

98-99 TD drive for this team?

[Ethan in Cleveland]

1. Allen looked very good. He still had some misfires but he looks like he may be the franchise QB this team has been searching for two decades.  He had two bad balls - deep pass that he overthrew by 8 yards and the slant to Zay. A better throw to McKenzie on the crossing pattern and it is a TD but that is me being nit picky.   One topped ball for sure that Zay did a good job breaking up an INT. The other floater that almost got picked was hard to tell if that just slipped out of his hand or if the defender got it just as he released the ball.  

He looked good in and out of the pocket.

2. Knox - downfield block on the TD run was the highlight of the game for me.  He just mugged the DB with great technique.  Typically when they block that long you get a holding downfield flag. But her kept his hands inside and just buried the guy.  

3. Run blocking to the left- Dawkins and Spain are destroying the defense.  

4. Pass blocking - ugh. All three tackles are struggling.  Make the trade for Trent Williams.  Sooner or later the poor pass protection will catch up to them

5. Gore - very slow start but really helped the team today.  

6. ST's - I can't wait for Crossman to be let go.  The coverage units are still terrible.  Kicking game is solid so far.

7. White/Wallace - too much cushion today.  None of these WR's were good enough to get deep on them.  I know it is McD's defense and his style but had the corners played a little closer to the line today, I think the pass rush affects Manning a bit more.  Great tackles after the catch.

8. I did not see the Zay drop really well but it looked like a catch a NFL WR makes more often than not.  He won't be on the roster next year.

[youngjebrey]

8 minutes ago, poblano said:

How long since the last 

98-99 TD drive for this team?

This went under the radar for some reason and I don’t know why. 

[Kelly the Dog]

Crossman is already gone.

[Virgil]

1 minute ago, Ethan in Portland said:

1. A better throw to McKenzie on the crossing pattern and it is a TD but that is me being nit picky.   

 

I thought that too at first.  But, after watching the replay, I think he just lost his footing.  He could have stayed upright and possibly scored

[Protocal69]

1 hour ago, CLTbills said:

I loved the effort from Dawson Knox blocking downfield on the Singletary RD run....

That block is getting national attention in the comment section on youtube

[Kelly the Dog]

Just now, Virgil said:

 

I thought that too at first.  But, after watching the replay, I think he just lost his footing.  He could have stayed upright and possibly scored

I thought it was both. If he threw it so he didn't have to jump it was probably a TD, and if McKenzie just kept his balance after coming down with it, which wasn't all that hard it could have been a TD.

[Virgil]

15 minutes ago, poblano said:

How long since the last 

98-99 TD drive for this team?

 

We had an 80 and 85 yarder just last week.  But yes, it's impressive

[Kelly the Dog]

1 minute ago, Virgil said:

 

We had an 80 and 85 yarder just last week.  But yes, it's impressive

I think all six TD drives have been 70+ yards.

[HappyDays]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

 

Damn it!  I wanted to mention that.  Thank you for reminding me.  He destroyed that guy and pushed him all the way back into the endzone.  It was great

 

Knox has been a solid blocker but he needs to spend some time at the jugs machine. He has dropped a few passes the last two weeks.