Hapless Bills Fan Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 One of my favorite shows, Always a good listen! Came out a day early since we're playing a day early. Love me some 'Zo. https://www.buffalobills.com/video/the-lo-down-with-lorenzo-alexander-x1621 He has some Good Stuff about preparing to play the Patriots mentally and about Tre Edmunds development. Says the probowl needs a special category for Edge as the all-pro now has because guys like Matt Milano will never get in, the guys who get in are the OLBs who are really playing DE. The stuff about the refs is really laying it out there! One of his keys is "don't get mentally hijacked" which he explains means, 1) don't get caught up in the hype of playing all that the Patriots have accomplished through the years, just Do Your Job, win your matchups, focus on your keys 2) there's always controversy about the refs and calls, don't expect to get ANYTHING, and when it happens, don't let it hijack your focus. Understand where we're going and what we're about to encounter. There's an interesting exchange where 'Zo says just have an understand that probably nothing will go our way at all Murphy asks incredulously "because it's the Patriots?" ' Zo "Well, you know that, Yeah! Officiating? Just don't expect calls! It is what it is! It's not a secret. Is it a secret, Murph?" Murphy "I don't like to acknowledge it." Zo: "Oh, you don't, OK. Well, it happens. You need to acknowledge it so that when it happens, you're not like "oh, man, what is going on? So we're acknowledging it so we don't feed into it from a mental standpoint.". Murph: "so when they overturned the Kelvin Benjamin TD a couple years ago, you were thinking 'that's what happens here' 'Zo nods ; "that's about what happens, I can't allow that to hijack my next 2 series" Tasker (to Murph) "You're living in an alternate universe right now, I'm waiting for you to come back over here" [Murph says something under his voice, hard to catch, I think it was about he doesn't like to think about cheating] Zo: "I'm just saying what happens, you just can't allow yourself to get in to it" Tasker (looking at Murph): "this Patriots week always uncovers our true personalities" Murph: "what do you mean?" Tasker: "I think it does. Well, anyway...." (returns to discussing next key) It made me think that for all McDermott and Allen are saying the "best behaved" things in public about "it's just football, these things happen" blah blah about the knockout hit on Josh, maybe they are less naive in private and are saying to Josh "You better to be smart about how you expose yourself because if you give them the chance, they will take you out" along with saying to the team "just expect to be playing the Zebras and don't let it hijack your focus when it happens" 6 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TroutDog Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 I couldn’t believe he said that. It was my understanding that they could get fined for this type stuff. With that being said, Zo was spot on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted December 20, 2019 Author Share Posted December 20, 2019 1 hour ago, TroutDog said: I couldn’t believe he said that. It was my understanding that they could get fined for this type stuff. With that being said, Zo was spot on. I *think* Zo was very careful to avoid saying fineable stuff. He wasn't saying the refs are biased or the calls are bad, he was saying "be prepared mentally that you will encounter calls where you might think they are incorrect, don't let it hijack you" But he was certainly skating the edge of it. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BADOLBILZ Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Whether anyone wants to admit it or not the majority of the job of officiating is anticipating what you are going to see so that you can focus on the details of the play. Very good teams get the breaks because officiating tends to come into the game assuming that team will do their job better than the other. The Bills have an earned rep as a slouchy team that gets their asses kicked by the Patriots every time. They gotta' get to the point where they aren't AT BEST playing the Pats even...........they need to play better than the Patriots outright. Lorax knows that. Calling out the officiating is gamesmanship........ultimately they know that they just can't worry about officiating. Take the mentality that if one or two bad calls beats you then you didn't deserve to win outright anyway. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wiz Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said: Whether anyone wants to admit it or not the majority of the job of officiating is anticipating what you are going to see so that you can focus on the details of the play. Very good teams get the breaks because officiating tends to come into the game assuming that team will do their job better than the other. The Bills have an earned rep as a slouchy team that gets their asses kicked by the Patriots every time. They gotta' get to the point where they aren't AT BEST playing the Pats even...........they need to play better than the Patriots outright. Lorax knows that. Calling out the officiating is gamesmanship........ultimately they know that they just can't worry about officiating. Take the mentality that if one or two bad calls beats you then you didn't deserve to win outright anyway. I like this point because didn't that happen in the first Pats game where one of the Pats players or BB said something to the refs about watch for the illegal contact and the Bills got called for it like 4 times? Feels like calling them out saying they make bad calls when they play the Pats is kind of a way to see if they will keep the refs honest. Granted it could backfire very easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ogham26 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 john murphy is the worst Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebandit27 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 It's a smart approach to put this out there now. Make the league aware that you expect to get jobbed, and hope that officials will be on alert to make a call in your favor. Dallas did it before the Thanksgiving game, and Tre White gets nicked for 2 holding calls early and Dallas gets off with a warning for hitting a sliding QB in the head. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motorin' Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 I hope he can get in Jerry's head on this point, and help keep him cool when it happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. L. Hot-Flamethrower Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Essentially this is a boxing axiom at play, "you have to knockout the champ to be the champ!" Basically don't expect the decision, you need to be better. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Junction Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 25 minutes ago, D. L. Hot-Flamethrower said: Essentially this is a boxing axiom at play, "you have to knockout the champ to be the champ!" Basically don't expect the decision, you need to be better. The only way to ensure victory when the fix is in. Otherwise you get this.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
section122 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 2 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said: Whether anyone wants to admit it or not the majority of the job of officiating is anticipating what you are going to see so that you can focus on the details of the play. Very good teams get the breaks because officiating tends to come into the game assuming that team will do their job better than the other. The bolded is one of the first things they teach you NOT to do. However I won't disagree especially with the speed of the NFL that is what happens. The facemask on Edmunds is a perfect example of this. The ref saw the lunge and reaction and figured there must have been a facemask. Refs should only be calling things they specifically see but I get, again because of the speed, why they don't. Doesn't make it any less infuriating when it happens though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted December 20, 2019 Author Share Posted December 20, 2019 2 hours ago, The Wiz said: I like this point because didn't that happen in the first Pats game where one of the Pats players or BB said something to the refs about watch for the illegal contact and the Bills got called for it like 4 times? Feels like calling them out saying they make bad calls when they play the Pats is kind of a way to see if they will keep the refs honest. Granted it could backfire very easily. It certainly happened in the Cowboys game where Belicheck contacted the league office and said ‘watch for tripping’ and the Cowboys got called. The league said “shouldn’t have happened” but that horse had long fled the barn - hopefully having to apologize to the Cowboys will keep the league from falling for Belicheck again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haslett_Stomp Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 If they prepared for "Renegade" last week you have to think they're preparing to be screwed on a few calls this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTimeAFLGuy Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 ....hey...c'mon....all is fair in Foxboro............. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRA3196 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Zo was spot on and really candid about what can happen when you play in Foxboro. The team needs a "fearless" mentality when they play tomorrow. It won't be easy. But I like that the underlying expectation by the team is expect the unexpected and don't let it take you out of your game. Tremendous mindset for what the Bills are going to be facing tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Otreply Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 The truth is powerful, and Zo described the circumstances they will face very well, you can be damn sure in team meetings and practices this was heavily covered, and for good reason. The guys can’t those things “highjack” their concentration. Go Bills!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryPinC Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 12 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said: Whether anyone wants to admit it or not the majority of the job of officiating is anticipating what you are going to see so that you can focus on the details of the play. Very good teams get the breaks because officiating tends to come into the game assuming that team will do their job better than the other. The Bills have an earned rep as a slouchy team that gets their asses kicked by the Patriots every time. They gotta' get to the point where they aren't AT BEST playing the Pats even...........they need to play better than the Patriots outright. Lorax knows that. Calling out the officiating is gamesmanship........ultimately they know that they just can't worry about officiating. Take the mentality that if one or two bad calls beats you then you didn't deserve to win outright anyway. Speaking as a soccer referee who has interacted with football referees, you're on the right track but I feel your perspective is incorrect. The majority of the job is picking out what looks wrong about a play. Yes, knowing how competent teams are playing does bias you to a small degree coming in, but ultimately it's what unfolds in front of your eyes. Yes, you have to anticipate where the play is going, but it's far from the " majority" of your job. The very best games to ref are when two excellent teams play each other. They play smooth and fast, any infractions are unusual and stick out like sore thumbs, making calls easy. But with an excellent team vs a sloppy one, the sloppy team is usually half a step or more behind the good one, tends to get frustrated because they are out of position, and so more fouls tend to be committed. This sloppy play tends to start a pattern of fouls, thus drawing more of the ref's focus. So yeah the more disciplined team can often get away with some because of this. For the Patriots, factor in that Belichick probably knows the rulebook better than most of the officials so there's an intimidation factor also. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giuseppe Tognarelli Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 I "love" how Murph backs down when he has guests. So weak. He'll normally go on and on about how the refs aren't biased, how there's no cheating, etc., but when pressed by a guest, he retreats to "I don't like to acknowledge it." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted December 21, 2019 Author Share Posted December 21, 2019 Mark Sanchez: (0:45) "Something ALWAYS happens when you're playing Foxborough. You Guys know what I'm talking about. The headset goes out. The ipad doesn't work...the pictures, back when we had pictures.... "Are you saying they're CHEATING?" "I would NEVER say they're cheaters. What do we say? They're in relentless pursuit of a competitive edge" http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=28339954 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punching Bag Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 On 12/20/2019 at 12:01 PM, ogham26 said: john murphy is the worst I guess you never listen to UpChuck Dickerson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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