Rational Thoughts 24 Hours-ish Later (Bengals)

[corta765]

I did this two weeks ago after the Jets game. Game day I can’t think rationally but next day after is a healthy reflection point. Here are my thoughts:

 

1. 3-0 is 3-0 regardless of how dirty or ugly. The goal with the first three games was 3-0 and they did it. They have a big test Sunday and the Titans are no joke but worst case scenario Buffalo is 3-2 opening up a three game home stand while 2-2 in conference. That still gives you a sizeable chance to make the dance. 

 

2. This was the worst game they played all year as a team. Even element of the team had its issue. On offense fumbles and Allen’s ball control, the defense got frazzled by play action, Dabol got far too cute in the 3rd quarter, and in general the team in the second half lightened up on the peddle. I don’t know if they read too much of their own headlines or had the Pats on their mind but the entire team had its hipcups. That said they deserve credit for not being rattled when they went down 17-14 and the entire team making the plays to win.

 

3. We Live and Die By His Arm. Allen has certainly established a new floor for what to expect from him. This was his worst game of the three yet I still found myself crediting Allen for getting the W. We have to accept that the bonehead Hero plays will never leave completely because the positives he makes when he is trying to make a play out weigh the bad. The Giants game showed I think a strong game by Josh where he can maintain from the  show risky plays and just dominate. I am fine with this being his new floor as long as the better games out weigh the ones like this. He has yet to have a game like Minnesota or Miami last year where he is the best player period which has me excited because it’s comjng.

 

4. Daboll overall has been good. I hated the focus on jet sweeps yesterday, it’s a gadget play not one we should do regularly. But I feel he has done a great job keeping defenses on their toes with formations and personal and really having a solid feel for what areas of a defense he can attack with the offense.

 

5. Is it me or has Ed Oliver been quiet? Perhaps it is hype in preseason or just that DTs aren’t always present but I feel maybe I expected more plays. The Jets game he was quite noticeable but since then I think he’s been an afterthought. He hasn’t been bad but I wonder if he is going through some early rookie adjustment.

 

6. Harrison Phillips has been tremendous at batting passes and altering the pocket. His growth is noticeable and he should be a great partner for Oliver long term.

 

7. The Offense is close to hitting over 30 pts plus. The offense is a work in progress but you can see the potential. In every game Buffalo has left points on the table for various reasons. If it was the end of the season it would be a real concern but right now compared to last year it seems like more of an offense finding it’s way. I expect we will have less penalties and turnovers that stop points and Josh will hit the downfield receiver more regularly.

 

8. Felicano is an important cog to on the offesnevie line. His absence was noticeable and I hope he is back for the Pats.

 

Go bills!

[CLTbills]

4 minutes ago, corta765 said:

 

7. The Offense is close to hitting over 30 pts plus. The offense is a work in progress but you can see the potential. In every game Buffalo has left points on the table for various reasons. If it was the end of the season it would be a real concern but right now compared to last year it seems like more of an offense finding it’s way. I expect we will have less penalties and turnovers that stop points and Josh will hit the downfield receiver more regularly.

 

 

This is the biggest thing. That game yesterday should've been at least 21-0, maybe 24-0 at the half. 

 

Cannot leave points on the field against Brady and Belichick

[corta765]

5 minutes ago, CLTbills said:

 

This is the biggest thing. That game yesterday should've been at least 21-0, maybe 24-0 at the half. 

 

Cannot leave points on the field against Brady and Belichick

 

Yep and they will lose to the Top 5 teams if they do. But for their worst game they still put up 21 and I have to believe they will be far sharper

[CLTbills]

Just now, corta765 said:

 

Yep and they will lose to the Top 5 teams if they do. But for their worst game they still put up 21 and I have to believe they will be far sharper

For sure. 28-31 should be enough, with our D, to beat the Pats**. Just comes down to, can we finish those drives with points, against a better quality defense.

 

I'm not worried about our defense this week.

[Ramza86]

I hate seeing hero ball fail....but i accept it because of how many more times we see it work.

 

We are close to being a very good offense. It does feel like something is missing. A big time WR to throw up 50/50 balls? A healthy Singletary become a 3 down back?

Just bigger plays? 

[klos63]

10 minutes ago, CLTbills said:

 

This is the biggest thing. That game yesterday should've been at least 21-0, maybe 24-0 at the half. 

 

Cannot leave points on the field against Brady and Belichick

while vastly improved, the line has weaknesses and the injury to Feliciano was significant. This will make it tough for Allen to stand in the pocket for long pass plays.  They are a tough line and can do some nice things, but still need improvement.

[YattaOkasan]

I think the jet sweeps are entirely because Singeltary was out and they didnt want to rely solely on Yeldon to replace those touches.  While it will continue to be used ~2 times a game I dont think we see as many as we did this week.

Edited September 23, 2019 by YattaOkasan

[atlbillsfan1975]

I would rather Allen throw one pick a game than have him play tentatively. 

[MiltonWaddams]

8 minutes ago, YattaOkasan said:

I think the jet sweeps are entirely because Singeltary was out and they didnt want to rely solely on Yeldon to replace those touches.  While it will continue to be used ~2 times a game I dont think we see as many as we did this week.

I know that every game is viewed as must-win in the NFL, but I feel like Daboll knows Bellichek well enough to Shift his playbook next week. The playbook was missing a few pages this week for more reasons than just Singletary 

Edited September 23, 2019 by MiltonWaddams

[ngbills]

This team is 3-0 and has yet to play a complete game. 

Our opponents record is 1-8

Bottom line is that it is not very clear how good this team is. This weeks game will give a much better gauge. Regardless, you need to win games you are supposed to win and sneak in a few you are not. 

 

Path to 11-5?

 

Easy:

Win 2 vs MIA (5)

Win at home v NYJ, DEN, WAS (8)

 

Doable:

Win on road v TEN, CLE, PIT (11)

 

Can lose:

Lose 2 v NE (2)

Lose at home to PHI, BAL (4)

Lose on road to DAL (5)

 

 

[whatdrought]

I don't think it can be overstated how much better this Offense really is from last year. Where we've struggled seems to be the areas that are "normal" for an adjustment period when you have what amounts to 9 new starters going through the off season together. I for one am happy with it and expect to see the growth continue. I think the Offense gets better as the year goes on, and I think Allen has consistently improved since his return from injury and that he will continue to do so... That being said, if all goes well, this team may actually be peaking in the back half of the season, which is great to think about. 

[JoshAllenHasBigHands]

The jet sweep worked all but once. On top of that, it makes the play action ten times more effective because it worked so well. I legitimately do not understand everyone’s problem with it. 

[klos63]

16 minutes ago, MiltonWaddams said:

I know that every game is viewed as must-win in the NFL, but I feel like Daboll knows Bellichek well enough to Shift his playbook next week. The playbook was missing a few pages this week for more reasons than just Singletary 

I think any shift in the playbook will be to exploit our strengths vs their weaknesses, that's the logical approach to any game. It should be interesting, hope Singletary is available.

[Ralonzo]

Jet sweep to McKenzie was largely effective. Jet sweep to Knox needs a different name, like street sweeper, or if you're an opposing corner, "oh HELL no."

[jletha]

31 minutes ago, Ramza86 said:

I hate seeing hero ball fail....but i accept it because of how many more times we see it work.

 

We are close to being a very good offense. It does feel like something is missing. A big time WR to throw up 50/50 balls? A healthy Singletary become a 3 down back?

Just bigger plays? 

Please god no. "Big Time" WRs are such a waste.  Whats missing is putting together 4 straight quarters. Defenses make adjustments in the 2nd half and we dont react quickly. Then Josh tends to get a little too much in his head; leaving the pocket, not trusting the line, etc.

 

I think its mostly playcalling adjustments which translates to Josh's confidence.

8 minutes ago, klos63 said:

I think any shift in the playbook will be to exploit our strengths vs their weaknesses, that's the logical approach to any game. It should be interesting, hope Singletary is available.

My wild card guess is that we run a lot more no-huddle than we have been. We have seen it a bit, especially late in this past game when we needed a score. My sneaking suspicion is that Daboll wanted to keep it under wraps but broke it out cause we needed a score. We will bring it out against the Pats since there is very little tape on it but they have probably been running it a lot in practice.

 

Just a guess.

[BillsfaninSB]

42 minutes ago, atlbillsfan1975 said:

I would rather Allen throw one pick a game than have him play tentatively. 

Exactly

[Reader]

20 minutes ago, jletha said:

 

My wild card guess is that we run a lot more no-huddle than we have been. We have seen it a bit, especially late in this past game when we needed a score. My sneaking suspicion is that Daboll wanted to keep it under wraps but broke it out cause we needed a score. We will bring it out against the Pats since there is very little tape on it but they have probably been running it a lot in practice.

 

Just a guess.

 

I've been wondering the same as to whether we'll see something new. I wonder if we'll take more deep shots, but no huddle is a good guess too.

[golfball323]

1 hour ago, corta765 said:

 

 

4. Daboll overall has been good. I hated the focus on jet sweeps yesterday, it’s a gadget play not one we should do regularly. But I feel he has done a great job keeping defenses on their toes with formations and personal and really having a solid feel for what areas of a defense he can attack with the offense.

 

 

I think the Jet sweep will be and should be continue to be a staple in this offense. Stretching the defense horizontally is a must in today's NFL and opens up the entire field. 

[Formerly Allan in MD]

I'm still waiting to hear from the poster (last week) who said Gore's legs were shot and he should retire.

[SCBills]

41 minutes ago, JoshAllenHasBigHands said:

The jet sweep worked all but once. On top of that, it makes the play action ten times more effective because it worked so well. I legitimately do not understand everyone’s problem with it. 

 

The one time we got stuffed on it was in our "dreaded" 3rd quarter on a 3rd down that led to a punt.  I think down and time left a bad taste in everyone's mouth about the jet sweeps.

[Uncle Joe]

46 minutes ago, Ralonzo said:

Jet sweep to McKenzie was largely effective. Jet sweep to Knox needs a different name, like street sweeper, or if you're an opposing corner, "oh HELL no."

 

Just run the the Knox sweep at Gilmore once!
Ah heck, twice.

[Coach Tuesday]

1 hour ago, JoshAllenHasBigHands said:

The jet sweep worked all but once. On top of that, it makes the play action ten times more effective because it worked so well. I legitimately do not understand everyone’s problem with it. 

I have a problem with the situation it was used in - third and short in a critical situation.  That’s just not the time to do it and it’s the kind of crap that Mike Mularkey used to pull.

[JoshAllenHasBigHands]

8 minutes ago, Coach Tuesday said:

I have a problem with the situation it was used in - third and short in a critical situation.  That’s just not the time to do it and it’s the kind of crap that Mike Mularkey used to pull.

 

One call. I agree, that wasn't the time, but really only because we moved the ball so well. He didn't need to be clever there.  That isn't a reason to even slow down on the jet sweep though. 

[Coach Tuesday]

2 minutes ago, JoshAllenHasBigHands said:

 

One call. I agree, that wasn't the time, but really only because we moved the ball so well. He didn't need to be clever there.  That isn't a reason to even slow down on the jet sweep though. 

I agree.  My concern is situational football and I also have a slight worry that Daboll is showing off with some of these calls in an effort to get HC interviews in the offseason.

[JoshAllenHasBigHands]

2 minutes ago, Coach Tuesday said:

I agree.  My concern is situational football and I also have a slight worry that Daboll is showing off with some of these calls in an effort to get HC interviews in the offseason.

 

That's a bit much . . .

[DCOrange]

1 hour ago, jletha said:

My wild card guess is that we run a lot more no-huddle than we have been. We have seen it a bit, especially late in this past game when we needed a score. My sneaking suspicion is that Daboll wanted to keep it under wraps but broke it out cause we needed a score. We will bring it out against the Pats since there is very little tape on it but they have probably been running it a lot in practice.

 

Just a guess.

 

My guess is we see more of two things:

 

1. Frank Gore and Allen running up the middle - New England seems to be favoring a defense where they only use 1 or 2 true linemen at a time and just flood the field with linebackers and DBs. Even when offenses go spread, New England is stacking the line with these guys because their DBs are good enough that they can all be on islands. So the adjustment to me (and the zig to Daboll's zag) is to narrow the field instead of spreading it the way we have. If they're going to stack the box anyways, but do it with relatively small defenders, we should put more size on the field and try to push them around and let Gore do his thing. If Kroft is available, I think we see a lot of 3 TE sets.

 

2. More bunch formations and screens - basically just to try to muddy the waters and make it more difficult for New England to jam receivers at the line. Screens might work against New England's stacking of the box, specifically bubble screens.

[Buffalo716]

I really don't think our defense was that bad outside 2 drives and Cincinnati was in 4 minute offense mode

 

Josh gift wrapped them the ball on like our 25 for a TD

 

Dalton is good and looked absolutely lost for the first half and part of the 3rd.. then they started max protecting and he made some throws and I think it took a few drives to fully adjust

[ILBillsfan]

The sweeps and misdirection runs where what has been the bengals nemisis so far this year and the bills were getting good positive yards from I’m fine with it good game planning 

 

bad game time management there at the end of the half as scenes of Jauron came to mind as I watched them play a bit reserved to make sure cinci did not get the ball back and then said oh we might be able to score.

 

secind week in a row third quarter seemed a mid but the injuries on the line seemed to be an issue as the bengals were getting to allen

 

 

[GunnerBill]

Just now, Buffalo716 said:

I really don't think our defense was that bad outside 2 drives and Cincinnati was in 4 minute offense mode

 

Josh gift wrapped them the ball on like our 25 for a TD

 

Dalton is good and looked absolutely lost for the first half and part of the 3rd.. then they started max protecting and he made some throws and I think it took a few drives to fully adjust

 

Out defense was better than not bad. It was very good. Cincy had one serious drive in 60 minutes. People who expect you to be able to stop an NFL offense for 60 minutes are deluded.

 

We still have some work to do in the redzone, for sure, but the defense won us this game. No question. 

[Buffalo716]

4 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Out defense was better than not bad. It was very good. Cincy had one serious drive in 60 minutes. People who expect you to be able to stop an NFL offense for 60 minutes are deluded.

 

We still have some work to do in the redzone, for sure, but the defense won us this game. No question. 

That was my point 

 

They had 1-2 drives all game. The defense was stout 

 

OP said our D was frazzled by play action and I didn't really see it.. Dalton was gonna make a few throws eventually

Edited September 23, 2019 by Buffalo716

[GunnerBill]

2 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

That was my point 

 

They had 1-2 drives all game. The defense was stout 

 

OP said our D was frazzled by play action and I didn't really see it.. Dalton was gonna make a few throws eventually

 

Yep. The defense played well. They had 1 first down in a half. They gave up one proper drive in the whole game. To an offense that had been putting up yards. We won this game because of defense. 

 

It was the offensive execution that was the worst all year.

[Solomon Grundy]

2 hours ago, atlbillsfan1975 said:

I would rather Allen throw one pick a game than have him play tentatively. 

Yes, but there is a time to be/play safe. Has to learn situational football

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

2 hours ago, corta765 said:

 

Yep and they will lose to the Top 5 teams if they do. But for their worst game they still put up 21 and I have to believe they will be far sharper

 

 

..they have to be.......we need that "killer instinct".....60 minutes of football....we are far from being in the position for a 3rd quarter snooze fest(a/k/a Dopey Dickie Jauron Ball) nor any offensive cutesies......we are still very young, feature an offense with Allen & Dawkins as the only returning starters, now experiencing injury bug (Phillips, Feliciano, Singeltary, etc)......although Allen has remarkably risen to the challenge of 4th quarter comebacks in LESS THAN a full season of starts, this gets worrisome if he is to be our long term franchise QB answer.....

[BuffaninSarasota]

1 hour ago, Coach Tuesday said:

I agree.  My concern is situational football and I also have a slight worry that Daboll is showing off with some of these calls in an effort to get HC interviews in the offseason.

 

huh ?

[Mikey152]

I will say this...

 

I don't like how slow they are to get to the line sometimes.  In the first game against the Jets, this didn't seem to happen and they ran quite a bit of motion...but the last two weeks they seemed to be a bit slower getting plays in and there was more than one rushed snap that just got off in time.  Might have contributed to Josh not seeing the whole field.

[Augie]

 

#6 makes me very sad. Get well, sir! 

52 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

That was my point 

 

They had 1-2 drives all game. The defense was stout 

 

OP said our D was frazzled by play action and I didn't really see it.. Dalton was gonna make a few throws eventually

 

I remember looking at the scoreboard at one point, and I believe we were up 18-2 in first downs. That’s domination, it just didn’t show up enough on the scoreboard. 

[Kelly the Dog]

1 hour ago, SCBills said:

 

The one time we got stuffed on it was in our "dreaded" 3rd quarter on a 3rd down that led to a punt.  I think down and time left a bad taste in everyone's mouth about the jet sweeps.

Wholly true. They worked, what, three times out of four? Four out of five if you count the forward one to McKenzie? Five out of six if you count Knox? 

That said, the one that didn't I don't mind people complaining about because it was gimmicky and more so, third and one. If you have Josh and Gore, you should not get too fancy in a close game IMO. And yes, we would have said great call if it worked, but it didn't. That was not the time to call it.

[TigerJ]

I been thinking too.  I also love where we are (3-0) and feel good about the season going forward.  I recognize that there are rough edges, especially on offense.  I expect that Josh Allen is going to continue to be a work in progress.;  Particularly when the blocking breaks down, there will be times when he thinks he sees a chance to make a big play, but it's not really there.  Hopefully, they will gradually become less frequent until they don't even happen every game, and eventually they are a rarity.  I am impressed with Frank Gore and disappointed with Yeldin.  I can see why he's third string when Singletary is healthy.  I don't know that the defense is going to ever be best in the league this season, but they are pretty solid just the same.  It's going to be a bit of a challenge replacing Harrison Phillips as I don't think his replacement is on the practice squad.  Checking the available free agents; two that the Bills might have an interest in are Mike Pennel, a big run stuffer who coincidentally last played for New England, and Willie Henry, a lighter, more athletic guy released at the end of August by Baltimore.

[Gugny]

3 hours ago, corta765 said:

6. Harrison Phillips has been tremendous at batting passes and altering the pocket. His growth is noticeable and he should be a great partner for Oliver long term.

 

 

Nice jinx, dude.

[The Wiz]

11 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

#6 makes me very sad. Get well, sir! 

 

I remember looking at the scoreboard at one point, and I believe we were up 18-2 in first downs. That’s domination, it just didn’t show up enough on the scoreboard. 

This was my take as well. I felt happy when we sealed the win but later on I was kind of down thinking "we dominated that game and barely won".

 

A bills win normally keeps me riding high for a few days but they snuck away with one. 

 

I'm curious, is how it feels to expect a win and barely get it?  To be happy we won but upset it wasn't by a bigger margin?  I'm not sure I know how to feel.