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

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

7 minutes ago, thebandit27 said:

 

Yep, completely agree

 

 

We'll see with Ford. I think there's a fair chance he moves to LG (where he started for 2 seasons at Oklahoma) to replace Spain next season. I don't mind picking Ford if you realize that while he could end up a quality tackle he's almost certainly going to be a good guard.

 

As for Allen, the deep ball will be fine. He babies it a bit because he wants to throw it safe. When he decides to let it rip he's got no issues.

 

Spain's having a solid year and I know he's going to want a real pay day.  I'd look to upgrade the tackles if possible.

[BillsFanSD]

10 minutes ago, thebandit27 said:

As for Allen, the deep ball will be fine. He babies it a bit because he wants to throw it safe. When he decides to let it rip he's got no issues.

It's worth noting that when Allen misses on deep passes, he misses them in a very consistent way -- they're all overthrown.  There's nothing erratic about these passes.  It's not as if some are overthrown, some are overthrown, some are too far off to one side, etc.  I'm pretty confident that he's deliberately erring on the side of overthrowing deep balls to eliminate any chance of an interception.  I'm also pretty sure I read him saying that somewhere a few weeks ago.  If that's the case, then this is definitely fixable.

[Sundancer]

37 minutes ago, MAJBobby said:

One win out of 3 and we are in. 

 

That's the bottom line to focus on. Losing out would be a nightmare way to close the season but if they do that, they still have a 50% change of making it. 

[MAJBobby]

1 minute ago, Sundancer said:

 

That's the bottom line to focus on. Losing out would be a nightmare way to close the season but if they do that, they still have a 50% change of making it. 

And the sooner that win comes the easier it will be. Pressure will build with each loss. So do it on SNF. 

[Nihilarian]

17 minutes ago, D. L. Hot-Flamethrower said:

We have seen our best offensive performances when we come out and throw some short rhythm completions early in the series. I knew we were in trouble early yesterday because none of that happened. Josh looked really uncomfortable, especially at the start when he was 1-7. I was baffled by the approach to the start of the game.

Great post!

 

And exactly what I was attempting to articulate as this what took place in the previous three games that were wins. Besides not getting Allen working on short compilations I feel Daboll gave up on the run far too early and far too often.

 

I also think Daboll took a gamble to have Josh complete some of those deep passes early to put the fear of god in the Ravens defense so that they back off stacking the box and the result in those missed deep passes created the opposite effect of the Ravens pinning their ears back and going on jailbreak after jailbreak. 

 

My take, 

 

Daboll 40% if the Bills don't start the game the way they did its a completely different outcome.

 

Allen 30% Yes, Allen had a bad game and missed a bunch of throws. Its on him and he shouldn't be this hyped early or late on those overthrows. Still, when you see a player having difficulty, why keep calling his number?

 

Offensive line 20% certain players were manhandled this game and this can't happen again going forward and reminded me of the Eagles game.

 

Drops 10% The one that got me was the drop by Knox on 3rd and 8 as it killed that drive and if he catches it the Bills are at the Ravens 18 yard line. Beasley whiffed too.

 

Last question. Where were the adjustments to the line to help contain that Ravens pass rush? Where was the offensive innovation considering the team had extra time between games to work on things? No trick plays like with Dallas?? Singletary gets five yards on 1st down and the Bills go pass on 2nd and 3rd, why do this when the QB is having difficulty... keep freaking running it! 

 

What bothers me the most is the way the Bills defense played this game was very winnable. 

 

 

 

 

[Mrbojanglezs]

Offensive line/pass blocking didn't make your cut? LOL K

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

3 minutes ago, Nihilarian said:

Great post!

 

And exactly what I was attempting to articulate as this what took place in the previous three games that were wins. Besides not getting Allen working on short compilations I feel Daboll gave up on the run far too early and far too often.

 

I also think Daboll took a gamble to have Josh complete some of those deep passes early to put the fear of god in the Ravens defense so that they back off stacking the box and the result in those missed deep passes created the opposite effect of the Ravens pinning their ears back and going on jailbreak after jailbreak. 

 

My take, 

 

Daboll 40% if the Bills don't start the game the way they did its a completely different outcome.

 

Allen 30% Yes, Allen had a bad game and missed a bunch of throws. Its on him and he shouldn't be this hyped early or late on those overthrows. Still, when you see a player having difficulty, why keep calling his number?

 

Offensive line 20% certain players were manhandled this game and this can't happen again going forward and reminded me of the Eagles game.

 

Drops 10% The one that got me was the drop by Knox on 3rd and 8 as it killed that drive and if he catches it the Bills are at the Ravens 18 yard line. Beasley whiffed too.

 

Last question. Where were the adjustments to the line to help contain that Ravens pass rush? Where was the offensive innovation considering the team had extra time between games to work on things? No trick plays like with Dallas?? Singletary gets five yards on 1st down and the Bills go pass on 2nd and 3rd, why do this when the QB is having difficulty... keep freaking running it! 

 

What bothers me the most is the way the Bills defense played this game was very winnable. 

 

 

 

 

I think you can try that once, and not on third down, and remember the downside is not only missing the opportunity, but JA is removed from the formula that has been successful.

[djp14150]

As I said previously...

 

1 can’t give up 50+ yd tds

2. Can’t give them turnovers inside scoring range

 

other isdued....

 

1 just missed long passes early in the game

2. Should have challenge the PI play...this was before they got the last TD.  On that PI they may have gone down and scored changing game dynamics.

 

 

 

 

 

[BarleyNY]

28 minutes ago, BillsFanSD said:

It's worth noting that when Allen misses on deep passes, he misses them in a very consistent way -- they're all overthrown.  There's nothing erratic about these passes.  It's not as if some are overthrown, some are overthrown, some are too far off to one side, etc.  I'm pretty confident that he's deliberately erring on the side of overthrowing deep balls to eliminate any chance of an interception.  I'm also pretty sure I read him saying that somewhere a few weeks ago.  If that's the case, then this is definitely fixable.

He underthrows and even gets some off right/left too, though overthrows are the most common.  One of the early deep throws was obviously an overthrow but it was also off right.  He had one in the 2nd half where the WR was double covered over/under.  The pass was so underthrown that the under DB couldn’t get back to it.  That’s just off the top of my head.

 

I’d hope that it is fixable as he fixed his short/flat right side passes.  That was footwork related.  I worry that the long balls aren’t so easily fixed though.  Maybe it’s a matter of things slowing down for him so he isn’t feeling rushed when making those throws.  I dunno though.  I’m many cases he seems to have time and not be rushed.  It might just be who he is.

 

I’m sure the coaches are working with Allen on it and they see if it’s a consistent issue in both practice and games or if it just happens on Sunday.  That’s a big difference.  If it isn’t an issue in practice, then that sure would explain why they’re having him go deep early in games.  Or maybe he’s hot and cold regardless and they want to see if he’s on that day.

 

In any event, the Patriots, Browns and Ravens all looked to throw similar defenses against Allen.  Blitzing and man coverage is primarily what I’d expect to see from any defense that can competently do that until Allen shows that he can beat it. 

[Just in Atlanta]

1 hour ago, Freddie's Dead said:

 

Refs cost us the game on that missed 12 men call.  CBS has been abysmal all season, not showing replays for key penalties.  There wasn't a single replay yesterday of a key call or non-call that went against the Bills.  The Foster DPI call wasn't shown until AFTER the Bills punted, too late for us to challenge.  I can't fault McD for not throwing the challenge and saving the TO in a close game.  CBS's game production is absolutely terrible, but I think it's because the NFL fixed the game for the Ravens and CBS was in on it. 

The refs also threw some questionable flags on the Ravens at the end that put us in scoring position. EDIT: The Ravens had nine penalties. The Bills, five. If that's a conspiracy it's a really bad one.

 

Conspiracies are hard to pull off my friend. You need A) a compelling reason, B) Competent people to pull it off in mass and C) The assurance that none of them would squeal. The more reasonable explanation is that they're not that good. 

 

I would agree the production was bad. Even my GF, whose not a sports fan, asked why they didn't show those two penalties. 

Edited December 9, 2019 by Just in Atlanta

[Buffalo Junction]

14 hours ago, Virgil said:

 

Daboll runs an offense similar to the rest of the league.  The passing plays were well called, but poorly executed.  If Allen is accurate on 3 of his passes and Knox, Singletary, Brown, and Beasley all pull in one of their throws, we are talking about Daboll the genius. 

 

Daboll made adjustments when he realized Allen didn't have it and we went back to the rushing game. 

 

Show me all the drives where we stalled because the play called was bad vs bad throws or drops.  I promise you there aren't that many.

 

Allen needs to hit on at least one of those deep throws or he needs to not be a starting quarterback.  He will tell you all day he needs to make those throws

 

 

The Ravens have a good defense and two of the sacks came from Allen holding onto the ball for an eternity.  They sent a lot of zero blitzes that I can't fault the offensive line for breaking down against.  Allen has to see it and get it out quick.  Allen had just as many plays where he had a lot of time to throw and the running game was sound.  I think the offensive line did okay for the team they played, minus a few plays here or there (Knox and Ford whiffs)

 

 

Those play were on Allen. If he connected on those deep ones early then the Ravens wouldn’t have relied on the zero blitz all game. They need to figure out a way to get those completed or Allen’s ceiling will never be reached. 
 

Now, the blocking failures and Allen needing to get the ball out quickly.... Daboll has to take some of the blame here. They had 10 days and knew this defensive scheme was coming. I fault Daboll for not utilizing personnel groupings to counter their front and for not directly attacking the edges enough to slow down outside defenders. We know he has the plays because he’s called them earlier in the year. 

[Freddie's Dead]

16 minutes ago, Just in Atlanta said:

The refs also threw some questionable flags on the Ravens at the end that put us in scoring position. EDIT: The Ravens had nine penalties. The Bills, five. If that's a conspiracy it's a really bad one.

 

Conspiracies are hard to pull off my friend. You need A) a compelling reason, B) Competent people to pull it off in mass and C) The assurance that none of them would squeal. The more reasonable explanation is that they're not that good. 

 

I would agree the production was bad. Even my GF, whose not a sports fan, asked why they didn't show those two penalties. 

 

Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get me.

[Jukester]

2 hours ago, BillsFanSD said:

It's worth noting that when Allen misses on deep passes, he misses them in a very consistent way -- they're all overthrown.  There's nothing erratic about these passes.  It's not as if some are overthrown, some are overthrown, some are too far off to one side, etc.  I'm pretty confident that he's deliberately erring on the side of overthrowing deep balls to eliminate any chance of an interception.  I'm also pretty sure I read him saying that somewhere a few weeks ago.  If that's the case, then this is definitely fixable.

 

The frustrating part is he's had all season to 'fix' it.  He also needs to learn to put some air under those so his fast guys can run for them.  They usually have a step or 2 separation.  

[BuffaloBillsGospel]

My main concern which has pretty much been the concern since he was hired is with OC Brian Daboll, I see no creativity in most games which is why we let teams were supposed to beat back into games, this guy doesn't utilize Singletary nearly enough, I'm not saying i want a trick play on every other down but how about something creative once in awhile (flea flicker, Philly/Buffalo special) and does this team know how to run screen plays? 

It's clear to me we need a big WR who can catch not only for those first down plays but as a redzone target, we also need to upgrade the OL, it's much better than a season ago but still needs help especially on the right side.

[In Summary]

Like others have said, no short, quick passes yesterday.  Plays taking too long to develop. 

[Virgil]

6 hours ago, Just in Atlanta said:

The refs also threw some questionable flags on the Ravens at the end that put us in scoring position. EDIT: The Ravens had nine penalties. The Bills, five. If that's a conspiracy it's a really bad one.

 

Conspiracies are hard to pull off my friend. You need A) a compelling reason, B) Competent people to pull it off in mass and C) The assurance that none of them would squeal. The more reasonable explanation is that they're not that good. 

 

I would agree the production was bad. Even my GF, whose not a sports fan, asked why they didn't show those two penalties. 

 

Agreed that there were weird calls on both sides.  Even though the Ravens had more, I'd challenge that the 5 against Buffalo were more impactful to the game.

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

7 hours ago, MAJBobby said:

And the sooner that win comes the easier it will be. Pressure will build with each loss. So do it on SNF. 

 

 

....sure as hell need to avoid the 2004 debacle with Moo's club "win and we're in".....OR.....on the other side of the coin......Dalton and the "Immaculate Reception"......us "seasoned guys" do NOT need OBD Cardiac Tests......we're bound to lose some.......

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

Don’t watch the All 22 you will just get sick. Watched the replay of the game on The ticket and I’m surprised Hughes didn’t lose it. He was held so much in this game and not even a freaking call. 

 

I still think this was the worst officiating that I have seen so far. At the very least when we make the playoffs there is no way we see this horrid crew.

[Virgil]

15 minutes ago, Call_Of_Ktulu said:

Don’t watch the All 22 you will just get sick. Watched the replay of the game on The ticket and I’m surprised Hughes didn’t lose it. He was held so much in this game and not even a freaking call. 

 

I still think this was the worst officiating that I have seen so far. At the very least when we make the playoffs there is no way we see this horrid crew.

What’s your thought on Daboll’s gameplan after watching it?

 

 

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

I am a little disappointed in him. Considering the weather conditions and the Ravens slight weakness stoping the run, I cannot believe we didn’t pound the running game more. It’s not all on Daboll but it seemed like they were not ready for all the blitzing that the Ravens did. 

I will probably watch it 5 more times tonight after I get off work. I think Allen missed on a lot of big plays with some of the blitz packages the Ravens used. Knox needs to be better, I know TE/WR’s take time to gel and learn the game but a lot of offensive players had bad games.