Figster Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 (edited) 16 minutes ago, mannc said: We played them tough last year, but the games weren't competitive? How's that possible? (I agree, BTW, that we weren't competitive v. NE last year.) But I do admit I was probably being overly harsh. I can't help it, though. I despise that franchise and it just sucked to see them dominate us on both sides of the ball on Saturday. I know it came down to the last series, but it was really discouraging to see their offense, which has been lousy the last six games, move the ball up and down the field against our vaunted defense. I'm sorry, but nothing less than putting our foot on the Patriots' throat and crushing them will make me happy. It's great to make the playoffs and all, but until that happens, we've fallen short. What I saw on Saturday didn't give me confidence that things will be different if we see them in the playoffs, and I really thought that wouldn't be the case. Dominate is a pretty strong word for a game the Bills were 8 yards away from taking into OT. Same can be said about the Ravens game. Slight edge is a better descriptiion IMO. Most sports analyst/commentators are in agreement. Buffalo has narrowed the gap... ...and are a force to be reckoned with... ...One Buffalo strong... Edited December 23, 2019 by Figster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojo44 Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 1 hour ago, Billsfan1972 said: And I expect them to beat Houston in the playoffs, which is a very favourable match up. For those satisfied with beating the dregs, a couple of .500 teams & close vs. playoff teams, so be it. I want to beat good teams & yes would love to be entertained by an offensive explosion every once in a while. It's been so long since the Bills played a dominating 60 minutes (primarily on offense)..... We all want to see an offensive explosion even more than every once in a while. But, you seem to be so laser focused on one too, at most two trees that you are entirely missing the forest. Your take has no sense of context and recent history.Everything is actually trending up for this team. That even includes the offense if you compare the beginning of the year to now for most games. Josh, in particular, is trending up in a big way. He needs more maturity and more weapons. You’re damn right I’m happy with 10 and very likely 11 wins. Way too much is being said about the schedule. That criticism is overrated. All things considered, this season has been successful already. A win in the playoffs would make it particularly successful. But even a loss doesn’t take away from the immense progress made. Sorry, I just find your takes off the mark and, in particular, unduly negative 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaw66 Posted December 23, 2019 Author Share Posted December 23, 2019 44 minutes ago, billspro said: he didn’t attempt one pass over 20 yards. It probably wasn’t 100% 2 deep but it was close. I hadn't noticed that. That certainly would seem to be a mistake against Brady. He doesn't have great deep threats to begin with, his arm is suspect and he can't always afford to wait in the pocket. This lends credence to the idea that McDermott didn't want to show the Patriots his best stuff in what was pretty much a meaningless game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaw66 Posted December 23, 2019 Author Share Posted December 23, 2019 31 minutes ago, mannc said: We played them tough last year, but the games weren't competitive? How's that possible? (I agree, BTW, that we weren't competitive v. NE last year.) But I do admit I was probably being overly harsh. I can't help it, though. I despise that franchise and it just sucked to see them dominate us on both sides of the ball on Saturday. I know it came down to the last series, but it was really discouraging to see their offense, which has been lousy the last six games, move the ball up and down the field against our vaunted defense. I'm sorry, but nothing less than putting our foot on the Patriots' throat and crushing them will make me happy. It's great to make the playoffs and all, but until that happens, we've fallen short. What I saw on Saturday didn't give me confidence that things will be different if we see them in the playoffs, and I really thought that wouldn't be the case. Your admission that you're overreacting because it's the Patriots is amusing, because I feel the same way. I just want to crush them. I wanted the Bills to be up by 10 with two minutes to go and then have Brady injure something so he couldn't play next week. Saturday gave me confidence. I don't think the Bills will get to Foxboro in the playoffs, and I don't think they'll win if they get there, but they'll have a shot. Mostly, as several of us have been saying, I like the progress, which is significant, and I think we'll see more progress next season. I've been saying all along that 2020 was the season for the Bills to begin playing for the championship, and I think that's been McBeane's target, too. If they turn out to be a year early, great, but I don't expect it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billspro Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 2 hours ago, Shaw66 said: I hadn't noticed that. That certainly would seem to be a mistake against Brady. He doesn't have great deep threats to begin with, his arm is suspect and he can't always afford to wait in the pocket. This lends credence to the idea that McDermott didn't want to show the Patriots his best stuff in what was pretty much a meaningless game. I definitely agree with this, they are saving some stuff for playoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott7975 Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 Save what for the playoffs? There is nothing these teams couldn’t see by watching previous games versus pats ravens etc. why not just stick with what worked agains NE the first go round? This was very vanilla. No pressure, I didn’t notice many if any blitzes. That makes no sense. What we do is already on tape. They aren’t going to suddenly 180 on a week of practice. Sure there might be a couple things but that’s not the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal Deek Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 Shaw, there are only so many plays in a football game. Fans and pundits can analyze things to death. All you can hope for is that defining moment when you have the ball and need a touchdown at the end. The Bills got that moment on Saturday but Allen overthrew the TE in the back corner of the end zone. It was there. The TE was open. Allen missed him. Does that mean Allen is trash? No, of course it doesn't. But it does make you wonder how things might be different if he hits that throw. In my opinion, it would have changed EVERYTHING in the larger arc of NFL history, just like we saw when Kelly ran that QB sneak/scramble so many years ago. Hit that throw and you mark the changing of the guard. I'm hoping Allen gets another change to bend that arc in three weeks or so. Go Bills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaw66 Posted December 24, 2019 Author Share Posted December 24, 2019 18 hours ago, SoCal Deek said: Shaw, there are only so many plays in a football game. Fans and pundits can analyze things to death. All you can hope for is that defining moment when you have the ball and need a touchdown at the end. The Bills got that moment on Saturday but Allen overthrew the TE in the back corner of the end zone. It was there. The TE was open. Allen missed him. Does that mean Allen is trash? No, of course it doesn't. But it does make you wonder how things might be different if he hits that throw. In my opinion, it would have changed EVERYTHING in the larger arc of NFL history, just like we saw when Kelly ran that QB sneak/scramble so many years ago. Hit that throw and you mark the changing of the guard. I'm hoping Allen gets another change to bend that arc in three weeks or so. Go Bills I have to say that I'm disappointed when Allen misses those throws. I say he's still learning, still growing, but I think there's something about winners that helps them rise to the occasion. I think that Mayfield, Mahomes and Darnold all make that throw by the end of their second season starting. Now, you can argue that they all played in big time programs and have had a lot more experience making big moment throws, but I think for some guys it comes naturally. It's as though he has an inferiority complex and he doesn't naturally believe he can do it. Brees and Rodgers and Favre and Brady all play like they know they can make any throw, and then they do it. Allen has to get himself there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billsfan1972 Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, Shaw66 said: I have to say that I'm disappointed when Allen misses those throws. I say he's still learning, still growing, but I think there's something about winners that helps them rise to the occasion. I think that Mayfield, Mahomes and Darnold all make that throw by the end of their second season starting. Now, you can argue that they all played in big time programs and have had a lot more experience making big moment throws, but I think for some guys it comes naturally. It's as though he has an inferiority complex and he doesn't naturally believe he can do it. Brees and Rodgers and Favre and Brady all play like they know they can make any throw, and then they do it. Allen has to get himself there. And again the timing of the misses is what hurts. The first to Knox was third down after nothing but runs. If that is on 1st down & then they get still have 2 more shots at either a first down or a TD it doesn't sting. I'll bet Brees, Brady, Watson & others have missed a throw on an early down, only to then recover the same series. That 1st & goal from the 8 were 3 bad plays & yep one that should have been completed, but the other three plays too were garbage. Heck I just checked the Baltimore sequence from the 18 on the last drive where they needed to score...... Guess what? A 2 yard run on first down & the next two plays "No Options"..... All on coaching again from what I see. Edited December 24, 2019 by Billsfan1972 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figster Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 26 minutes ago, Billsfan1972 said: And again the timing of the misses is what hurts. The first to Knox was third down after nothing but runs. If that is on 1st down & then they get still have 2 more shots at either a first down or a TD it doesn't sting. I'll bet Brees, Brady, Watson & others have missed a throw on an early down, only to then recover the same series. That 1st & goal from the 8 were 3 bad plays & yep one that should have been completed, but the other three plays too were garbage. Heck I just checked the Baltimore sequence from the 18 on the last drive where they needed to score...... Guess what? A 2 yard run on first down & the next two plays "No Options"..... All on coaching again from what I see. Even though Allen has the ability to change the play ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaos Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 21 hours ago, SoCal Deek said: Shaw, there are only so many plays in a football game. Fans and pundits can analyze things to death. All you can hope for is that defining moment when you have the ball and need a touchdown at the end. The Bills got that moment on Saturday but Allen overthrew the TE in the back corner of the end zone. It was there. The TE was open. Allen missed him. Does that mean Allen is trash? No, of course it doesn't. But it does make you wonder how things might be different if he hits that throw. In my opinion, it would have changed EVERYTHING in the larger arc of NFL history, just like we saw when Kelly ran that QB sneak/scramble so many years ago. Hit that throw and you mark the changing of the guard. I'm hoping Allen gets another change to bend that arc in three weeks or so. Go Bills The bold part is just wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billsfan1972 Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Figster said: Even though Allen has the ability to change the play ? Does he and to what extent? The red zone plays versus Baltimore and New England were terrible. Add to that playing for fgs in the red zone vs. Pitt and NE. Edited December 24, 2019 by Billsfan1972 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figster Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 15 minutes ago, Billsfan1972 said: Does he and to what extent? The red zone plays versus Baltimore and New England were terrible. Add to that playing for fgs in the red zone vs. Pitt and NE. Yes, we have all witnessed Josh call an audible. To what extent, I don't know, from a pass play to run perhaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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