A Few Thoughts About the *Pats game, in no particular order

[TroutDog]

8 minutes ago, Binghamton Beast said:

 

Is Josh smart?

If you’d have watched since he’s first started and as he progressed you’d know that answer to this. 

[vorpma]

33 minutes ago, Virgil said:

Talk about an emotional day.  You could see it on the field, on TSW, on social media.  This game felt like a mini-series with plot twists, theme changes, and was just an overall rollercoaster. 
 

To be clear, there is absolutely no way I can cover everything that happened in this game and I’m just going to cover the big things that stood out to me.  
 

1 - Allen - Allen played against a great defense today who has shut down opposing teams so far.  With that, Allen had a really bad game.  This is a game of defense, field position, and points were at a premium.  I don’t care what the completion percentage was or total yardage in this game.  I care about not hurting the team and taking care of the football.   Allen turned the ball over 4 times and was wildly inaccurate to me on deep throws, which he also took too often.   He under threw Zay that could’ve been a touchdown.  He also was off on the shorter passes outside of the scoring drive.   
 

Worst of all, I don’t know what it’s going to take to get him to stop throwing off his back foot into traffic.  Of all teams, not against the Pats man.  Granted, one of them should have been overturned, but he still overall hurt the team more than he helped.  
 

Again, I don’t care if he had more 3 and outs and they punted.  It’s the short field position that gave them a TD and field goal.  You just can’t make these mistakes and it seems to be getting worse.  Also, add in the sack that knocked us back 5 yards with the ensuing missed FG, and it’s another play that hurts us. 
 

2 - Gore - Great game by him today, eclipsing the 100 and breaking 15k yards for his career.  He definitely showed up today, showing great field vision and power.  I would have liked to have seen him utilized more. 
 

3 - Lee Smith - I know you can’t write a guy off based off one game, but 4 penalties in a defensive battle just isn’t okay. Between that and some dropped passes this season, I really hope to see Knox take more of his snaps.  Speaking of Knox, he came up big twice and I look forward to seeing more from him.  
 

4 - “I know if I am going to have any life anymore it is because, I am still willing to fight, and die for that inch because that is what living is. The six inches in front of your face.”

 

5 - Overall defense - Another game where the stat box doesn’t tell the whole story.  If I told you we didn’t get a sack on Brady, you might think we got picked apart.  Quite the opposite.  Outside of the deep pass down the sideline to White, where we inexplicably only rushed 3, our defense was amazing.  I mean, absolutely amazing.  These guys never let up and Brady looked pedestrian.  The INT by Hyde was a beautiful play and they made this a game for us. It’s frustrating that we couldn’t reward them with a win, but you have to be inspired by how they played.  
 

6 - The Hit - I’m sorry, but personal fouls need to trump other penalties.  There’s just no way that hit shouldn’t be counteracted by a holding call.   On the stat sheet, the play never happened and it took out Allen.  In real speed, it’s hard to know true targeting. However, Allen was already wrapped up and he still took the shot.  Just add it to the list of reasons to hate those guys

 

7 - Daboll - This is hard for me because I’m not an Xs and Os guy.  It seems like the Pats ran the same defense they ran all season and what they did against us last year.  With that, it seems like we were completely unprepared for them today.  It’s not just getting shut down, it’s the way we were shut down.  We looked confused.  Also, where was McKenzie in this game and all the stretch/sweeps we’ve been running?  Then, we score via hurry up and then abandon it on the next drive.   The trick play was nice, and I don’t blame Yeldon there as it wasn’t an easy catch.  Overall, Daboll needs to be better in this game 

 

8 - Special Teams - Haven’t talked about these guys in a while.  That blocked punt for an INT proved to be the ball game.  That TD was the difference maker in points and probably changes future decisions.  The gunner came in free, which can’t happen.  Hausch’s miss also changed future decisions, even though it should’ve been 5 yards closer.  
 

Again, in a defensive battle like this, you need consistency, not a loss of 10 points. 

 

9 -  What If - There are so many things to talk about here.  Should they have taken the points on the short field goals vs going for it?  I say yes, besides the Allen TD. Allen on the field makes one yard seem like a given.  With Barkley, it’s different.  You never know what’s going to happen next based upon a decision, but in a defensive battle, I think you alway take the points.  We left 6 on the board that was the final difference maker, but then Allen did score.  Who knows. 
 

10 - McD - We lost 16-10 to a great team at home and could have won it on our last drive.  That’s the end result and that’s what you grade off of.  The challenges by McD hurt as we didn’t have any timeouts at the end.  Challenging offensive PI was tough for me and I think he needs to take his chances on more than 50/50 calls.  I get perspective, but neither were clear calls. 
 

While we didn’t win, you have to love how crap we make Brady look in these games.  I know there’s no morale victories and this sucks.  But these aren’t the same losses as the past decade.  If we have a turnover free offense, we win this game to me. 
 

Bonus:

-What happened to Ty on the last offensive play?   He left the edge unguarded 

-Let’s see how the league handles the hit on Allen

-How was that not intentional grounding by Brady?

 

 

Big day guys.  We beat the spread.  We gave up 3 points in the last 3 quarters. We didn’t blow up like in the past after a terrible first quarter.  Allen may be out next week and his continued poor choices have to make you hesitate.  But still 3-1 in a wide open season. 
 

Go Bills!

Thank you Virgil, this board really needed this post; right on regarding all! Still the MVP of TBD!

[Mark Vader]

2 minutes ago, transplantbillsfan said:

 

You speak in riddles, Sahib.

Edited September 29, 2019 by Mark Vader

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

3 minutes ago, Bill from NYC said:

This was a tough game to write about.

 

Essentially, our young, inexperienced, talented QB had a horrible game and then got hurt against the best team in football. There were a couple of bright and not so bright spots along the way, but the above is what happened.

 

No need for fans to panic imo.

 

 I'm with him. ^

[qwksilver]

No mention of the bad ZAY? Otherwise agree as usual. 

This was a winnable game. Good teams find a way to win when they are off. We were not the good team today.

[Airbornetrooper]

5 minutes ago, Mark Vader said:

This day was one of the few times that I wish that Josh Allen would have just tucked it and ran today.

 

As soon as the pocket was collapsing, which was quite often, Allen should have taken his chances with running.

Might have gotten knocked out even earlier then. 

[qwksilver]

Just now, qwksilver said:

No mention of the bad ZAY? Why is Lee smith running patterns? Otherwise agree as usual. 

This was a winnable game. Good teams find a way to win when they are off. We were not the good team today.

 

[Happy]

4 minutes ago, Mark Vader said:

You speak in riddles, Sahib.

 

It's an ironic tweet, but he has a point

[whatdrought]

Allen played dumb and scared (minus the time he probably should have been scared) all day which cost us big time. That being said, the offensive line can’t be let off the hook. They need to play better. 

 

Also, I’m not sure I love the offensive play calling... not sure if Allen was taking those shots on his own, or if the calls encouraged it, but the profecient Beasley attack was curiously missing.

[Mark Vader]

Just now, Airbornetrooper said:

Might have gotten knocked out even earlier then. 

He could have gotten knocked out while he was being sacked, too.

2 minutes ago, Happy Gilmore said:

 

It's an ironic tweet, but he has a point

Yeah, I get  what he's saying. I wish Allen could have been in on that last drive.

[LABILLBACKER]

This game had no particular order. As you mentioned where was McKenzie and why did we wait so long to get Knox involved? Allen refuses to learn from his mistakes. He just doubles down and makes the same ones the very next week.  It may take a long time for him to realize his head is as important as his canon arm. This kid scares the crap out of me. That intentional grounding was the most blatant in NFL history. The league has to look at that and discipline someone? Besides, my officiating theory before the game was WAY OFF. The offsetting penalties had Kraft dripping all over them. The wrs did a poor job today running crisp routes and some catchable drops late. Our punt team is awful. Sean has to say goodbye to some players that don't belong on this team. Finally our DEFENSE  is SPECTACULAR but will tire if this nonsense continues. 

Edited September 29, 2019 by LABILLBACKER

[Maine-iac]

I thought the offense "moved" the ball fine on the Pats.  As well as expected maybe better.  Certainly running the ball we moved it better than expected.  We could have scored several times and didn't.  What we can't do moving the ball or not is turn it over, throw interceptions, fumble the ball.  Some plays you are going to get beat or guys aren't open.  Get rid of the ball and play another down.

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

They have to take some freedom away from Allen. He is way to loose with the ball and this could be a pretty good team. We gots start limiting the chances of big mistakes. I know that’s the opposite of what most fans want to do, but it’s for the best. Allen is to aggressive and he needs to learn when to not take chances.

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

Gore is a nice story and had a good game but if Singletary hit that hole he was probably gone. Gore is just soooooooooooo slowwwwwwww, he can still run with some power and be used in short yardage but he is so damn slow with very little burst. Gore and Yeldon should definitely be upgraded after this year. 

 

 

[Maine-iac]

Funny thing is as much as I hated the interceptions I don't mind the mindset or throw.  Just miss long and don't get picked.  The sacks on 3rd down and in field goal range drive me nuts.  This is QB 101 type stuff.

[Coach Tuesday]

Isn’t the biggest takeaway from today’s game that Brady looks to be in decline?  Almost no downfield passing.  Every time he had to move and re-set, he was off.  He looks weaker and slower to me and it’s about time. This is HUGE.

[Mark Vader]

12 minutes ago, whatdrought said:

Allen played dumb and scared (minus the time he probably should have been scared) all day which cost us big time. That being said, the offensive line can’t be let off the hook. They need to play better. 

 

Also, I’m not sure I love the offensive play calling... not sure if Allen was taking those shots on his own, or if the calls encouraged it, but the profecient Beasley attack was curiously missing.

Allen had a bad game, no questioning that.

 

I still place blame on our offensive line's pass protection. It was awful. Josh Allen had good reason to be scared today. I was yelling for Allen to just run with the ball when the protection failed.

 

I agree with you on the play calling. Some strange stuff today. It was good to see Yeldon being used as a receiver, and he had a very good second half. But where was McKenzie today?

I also noticed that we sent Lee Smith out deep a few times. Why?! Shouldn't we be using Knox for that?

[Fixxxer]

The OL was atrocious on pass pro, you would think they were facing Reggie White, Bruce Smith and John Randle. Too many free rushers to the QB, bad blitz pick-ups, nothing worked.

Dawkins has been very disappointing so far this year, very unrealiable.

 

Allen was awful, too. To many bad decisions and he's careless with the ball,.

 

The offense as a whole should be ashamed of themselves today.

[Mark Vader]

2 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

I thought the same thing in last years meeting against them.

 

Hes definitely in decline, but he's still really good. Bills defense did a terrific job today. Unfortunately Daboll and Allen ***** the bed.

?

 

Dude was his holding the ball forever. Then he'd scramble and either try to improvise and get sacked or throw a stupid INT.

 

Maybe that had to do with recievers not getting open, I couldn't tell you. 

You are not telling me that our O-Line was perfect in pass protection, are you?

[Formerly Allan in MD]

47 minutes ago, Virgil said:

He just has to stop these back foot throws into coverage.  It’s scaring me how he isn’t learning 

If he's listening, he appears to have a short memory.  Last year he wouldn't slide on runs until they drilled it into him.  This year, no sliding.  How many times has he been coached to set his feet when he throws, not throw off his back foot, get the ball away quicker, and throw the ball away when no one's open.  He clearly had amnesia today.