PFF Refocused Week 1 - Bills vs Jets

[MAJBobby]

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-2020-week-1-refocused-buffalo-bills-27-new-york-jets-17

 

Some excerpts.

 

STORY OF THE GAME
The Bills' new-look receiving corps was as advertised. All three receiver additions from the past two seasons had impressive outings. Stefon Diggs hauled in eight of nine targets for 86 yards with, six of those catches going for first downs; John Brown caught six of eight for 70 yards with a score; and Cole Beasley had four catches on seven targets for 58 yards.

The receivers made life easy on Josh Allen, who picked up a good deal of his yardage without having to attack much down the football field. Allen’s 6.8 average depth of target was three yards shorter than his average from a season ago (9.8 yards).

 

 

 

[Scott7975]

Yes PFF it was all the receivers. Josh didn’t throw good passes. No other QBs get a chunk of their yards from YAC like Josh 

Edited September 14, 2020 by Scott7975

[SCBills]

6 minutes ago, Scott7975 said:

Yes PFF it was all the receivers. Josh didn’t throw good passes. No other QBs get a chunk of their yards from YAC like Josh 

 

I've noticed this... we rarely got YAC production other QB's get weekly for the first two years of Allen... Week 1, Year 3, we finally see a functional passing game and it needs to be emphasized by some that we didn't attack down the field....

 

Meanwhile, I hear the same people talk about Jimmy G's "hot start" against Arizona, which consisted primarily of a dump off pass to Raheem Mostert for 70 YAC TD.

 

Edited September 14, 2020 by SCBills

[Bulldog]

This is such a good sign! Josh is really mentally developing his game - he took what the Jets were giving him & realized that there was no need to force anything into coverage. He has better weapons now - just distribute the ball to them & let them do their thing. Hit on an occasional deep ball & we are in for  a very exciting season.  

[ngbills]

YAC comes from accuracy. The pass to Beasley that was off target was a ton of lost YAC. Watch the tape and dont just reject anything you dont like to hear. Many throws were checkdowns. Nothing wrong with that. That is why it took 46 attempts to hit 300 yds and total of 179 air yards on 33 completions. Watch the Ravens game - almost half the attempts for 275 yards. He had 202 air yards on only 20 completes. 

[Jauronimo]

6 minutes ago, SCBills said:

 

I've noticed this... we rarely got YAC production other QB's get weekly for the first two years of Allen... Week 1, Year 3, we finally see a functional passing game and it needs to be emphasized by some that we didn't attack down the field....

 

Meanwhile, I hear the same people talk about Jimmy G's "hot start" against Arizona, which consisted primarily of a dump off pass to Raheem Mostert for 70 YAC TD.

 

Its a funny stat.  Lack of YAC probably means that ball placement and accuracy were issues and that was certainly the case in Allen's first two seasons.  Too much YAC and it must be amazing individual performances by the WRs.  It couldn't be that Josh audibled into a great play that saw John Brown running one the distance.  Allen should have had even more YAC but he put the pass to Beasley low and behind and Cole had to stop.  If Brown keeps running his route maybe Diggs racks up some YAC on the 20 yard completion.

 

YAC supports whatever story you want to tell.

[ngbills]

1 minute ago, Jauronimo said:

Its a funny stat.  Lack of YAC probably means that ball placement and accuracy were issues and that was certainly the case in Allen's first two seasons.  Too much YAC and it must be amazing individual performances by the WRs.  It couldn't be that Josh audibled into a great play that saw John Brown running one the distance.  Allen should have had even more YAC but he put the pass to Beasley low and behind and Cole had to stop.  If Brown keeps running his route maybe Diggs racks up some YAC on the 20 yard completion.

 

YAC supports whatever story you want to tell.

Agreed. Saying that Allen suffers from lack of YAC while others benefit would be like some conspiracy theory. YAC comes from ball placement, timing and making the right read. This is the NFL. Any WR that catches the ball with room to run is going to make that play. Yes, some are clearly better than others but it is not as drastic as some try to imply. Like the Bills WR all just fall down or run out of bounds. We have seen tons of examples of a Bills catch being made but if the ball is thrown a bit better the guy picks up extra yards vs diving for a ball, etc. 

[NoSaint]

22 minutes ago, Scott7975 said:

Yes PFF it was all the receivers. Josh didn’t throw good passes. No other QBs get a chunk of their yards from YAC like Josh 

it’s a three sentence praise of our big ticket free agents. Let’s not freak out about lack of nuance for the many other positions involved in passing.

[Jauronimo]

The yards per attempt, like YAC, is another funny stat and mild dig at his performance.  Getting more offense while attempting passes closer to the LOS sounds like a great way to sustain drives.  There wasn't much need to go deep when guys were open 5 to 10 yards downfield and we were consistently in manageable down and distance.  Allen didn't have to convert 3rd and 12 all day long like he has needed to do in other games.  When Brady and that Pats did it was a precision offense.

[Blank Stare]

14 minutes ago, ngbills said:

The pass to Beasley that was off target was a ton of lost YAC.

So true on this. I rewatched the highlights last night, and it would be close on whether Beasley scores with the defense looking like they had a slight angle (or at least more speed) to potentially run him down, but a better throw there and you’re looking at a huge gainer. These are some of the hidden yards Josh has to get better with, but are often overlooked because he technically completed the pass. 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

11 minutes ago, ngbills said:

Agreed. Saying that Allen suffers from lack of YAC while others benefit would be like some conspiracy theory. YAC comes from ball placement, timing and making the right read. This is the NFL. Any WR that catches the ball with room to run is going to make that play. Yes, some are clearly better than others but it is not as drastic as some try to imply. Like the Bills WR all just fall down or run out of bounds. We have seen tons of examples of a Bills catch being made but if the ball is thrown a bit better the guy picks up extra yards vs diving for a ball, etc. 

 

There were a ton of dig routes in this game.  They're fearing diggs/brown over the top - and allens arm strength gets the ball there.  YAC there isn't important since you most likely moved the sticks or put you in a good position on 3rd.

[4merper4mer]

Is Duck Dodgers still better?

[ngbills]

1 minute ago, dneveu said:

 

There were a ton of dig routes in this game.  They're fearing diggs/brown over the top - and allens arm strength gets the ball there.  YAC there isn't important since you most likely moved the sticks or put you in a good position on 3rd.

This is true as well. You play what the defense is giving you. Then the CB inevitably tries to cheat the dig or hitch and the WR takes it deep. This will happen in time as Allen becomes a complete QB. 

[H2o]

The offense had 31 First Downs. 17 of those were on passing plays, 8 were rushing, and 6 from penalties. Two of those penalties were on PI calls and one a Holding call in the endzone. Josh took what the defense gave him all day, kept the chains moving, and showed improvement as a passer. Those who continue to nitpick at every single detail of his game, even when he is clearly improving and we are WINNING, will do so even if he ends up hoisting a Lombardi in a Bills uni. He's never going to be perfect. There will never be beautiful rainbows trailing off the back end of the football with every pass he throws. He will however end up being the best QB to ever don a Bills jersey other than Jim Kelly. 

[ngbills]

1 minute ago, H2o said:

The offense had 31 First Downs. 17 of those were on passing plays, 8 were rushing, and 6 from penalties. Two of those penalties were on PI calls and one a Holding call in the endzone. Josh took what the defense gave him all day, kept the chains moving, and showed improvement as a passer. Those who continue to nitpick at every single detail of his game, even when he is clearly improving and we are WINNING, will do so even if he ends up hoisting a Lombardi in a Bills uni. He's never going to be perfect. There will never be beautiful rainbows trailing off the back end of the football with every pass he throws. He will however end up being the best QB to ever don a Bills jersey other than Jim Kelly. 

Yes and no. We are mostly casual fans on here so I know this will not happen. But...watch the film and it was not as good of a performance as just the stats show. Not just the fumbles and couple of missed passes. Still too many plays that turn into improvisation which is good at times, but too much is a QB that still struggling a bit with reads and decisions. I guarantee you the coaches and Josh are watching films and even on a play were he scrambles one way and then goes another for a 22 yard run they are saying look at Diggs here and this is when you should have thrown the ball etc. They now you dont win consistently playing that way. In a big game that 22 yard run turns into a 10 yard loss or a bad pass attempt on the run or a fumble. It is finding that balance of scripted vs improv. 

[Buffalo Junction]

14 minutes ago, ngbills said:

Yes and no. We are mostly casual fans on here so I know this will not happen. But...watch the film and it was not as good of a performance as just the stats show. Not just the fumbles and couple of missed passes. Still too many plays that turn into improvisation which is good at times, but too much is a QB that still struggling a bit with reads and decisions. I guarantee you the coaches and Josh are watching films and even on a play were he scrambles one way and then goes another for a 22 yard run they are saying look at Diggs here and this is when you should have thrown the ball etc. They now you dont win consistently playing that way. In a big game that 22 yard run turns into a 10 yard loss or a bad pass attempt on the run or a fumble. It is finding that balance of scripted vs improv. 

But at the same time you cannot downplay some of the benefits. An example is the Moss TD.... The Jets dropped 8 into coverage, Allen rolled out, pressed the LOS, the LBers left their zones and Moss became an open target. 
 

It’s not always a good idea for Allen to scramble and run, but against zone he can open up holes in coverage. Against man he can move the chains with his legs. He’s got to start protecting the ball better though. 

[ngbills]

1 minute ago, Buffalo Junction said:

But at the same time you cannot downplay some of the benefits. An example is the Moss TD.... The Jets dropped 8 into coverage, Allen rolled out, pressed the LOS, the LBers left their zones and Moss became an open target. 
 

It’s not always a good idea for Allen to scramble and run, but against zone he can open up holes in coverage. Against man he can move the chains with his legs. He’s got to start protecting the ball better though. 

Exactly. I think you want that skillset to be the insurance policy to bail you out rather than your bread and butter. With the Bills it is still tilting more in the direction of Allen and "Superhero" ball. Josh is always going to have that "super power" but you want him to not rely on it so much. 

[H2o]

11 minutes ago, ngbills said:

Yes and no. We are mostly casual fans on here so I know this will not happen. But...watch the film and it was not as good of a performance as just the stats show. Not just the fumbles and couple of missed passes. Still too many plays that turn into improvisation which is good at times, but too much is a QB that still struggling a bit with reads and decisions. I guarantee you the coaches and Josh are watching films and even on a play were he scrambles one way and then goes another for a 22 yard run they are saying look at Diggs here and this is when you should have thrown the ball etc. They now you dont win consistently playing that way. In a big game that 22 yard run turns into a 10 yard loss or a bad pass attempt on the run or a fumble. It is finding that balance of scripted vs improv. 

If you're looking for perfection you will never find it. He's never going to make the perfect throw or perfect decision every time he drops back in the pocket. No QB ever has or ever will game in and game out. There were 33 completions on 46 passes and a lot of those came from him standing in the pocket. The fact that he is able to read the defense pre-snap, adjust protections, and audible into plays that attacked the weakness of the defense is light years ahead of where he was when he took the field as a rookie. Every QB sits in the film room on a weekly basis and sees what he could have done different. It's what you do and try to learn from it. His footwork is way better than it was two seasons ago, the touch he is putting on the ball is way better than it was two seasons ago, and his understanding of the NFL game is way better than it was two seasons ago. Once he cleans up the fumbles you have a legitimate MVP candidate. Like I said, you can nitpick every little detail you want, but even Stevie Wonder can see that Josh is getting better. 

[ProcessAccepted]

25 minutes ago, ngbills said:

Yes and no. We are mostly casual fans on here so I know this will not happen. But...watch the film and it was not as good of a performance as just the stats show. Not just the fumbles and couple of missed passes. Still too many plays that turn into improvisation which is good at times, but too much is a QB that still struggling a bit with reads and decisions. I guarantee you the coaches and Josh are watching films and even on a play were he scrambles one way and then goes another for a 22 yard run they are saying look at Diggs here and this is when you should have thrown the ball etc. They now you dont win consistently playing that way. In a big game that 22 yard run turns into a 10 yard loss or a bad pass attempt on the run or a fumble. It is finding that balance of scripted vs improv. 

Yea and no. Is the Ng shorthand for negative. If your take away from yesterdays game is that bad I don't know how to help you. Josh keeps making strides. The guy took what the vaunted Greg Williams defense game him and frankly took them to school. I'm expecting continues improvement from Josh as he gains experience. For your own sake just try and enjoy the season.

[Nihilarian]

This game was like a preseason game with some good and some bad and it might take a few games for things to settle down on offense. What struck me was the Bills could not get an effective run game working which usually takes some heat off the QB. Moss 9 attempt's for 11 yards a 1.2 YPC AVG. Motor 9 attempts for 30 yards a 3.3 YPC AVG. YIKES!

 

Josh Allen going 33 of 46 is something I'm hoping we don't see very often this season. I'm not going to complain very much because the Jets don't have a great secondary and the Bills took advantage of what they were seeing. Diggs was 17.9 in receiving yards per reception in 2019 and 10.8 in the Jets game. 

 

It was a win against a division opponent and I'm happy about it. 

[GunnerBill]

1 minute ago, Nihilarian said:

This game was like a preseason game with some good and some bad and it might take a few games for things to settle down on offense. What struck me was the Bills could not get an effective run game working which usually takes some heat off the QB. Moss 9 attempt's for 11 yards a 1.2 YPC AVG. Motor 9 attempts for 30 yards a 3.3 YPC AVG. YIKES!

 

Josh Allen going 33 of 46 is something I'm hoping we don't see very often this season. I'm not going to complain very much because the Jets don't have a great secondary and the Bills took advantage of what they were seeing. Diggs was 17.9 in receiving yards per reception in 2019 and 10.8 in the Jets game. 

 

It was a win against a division opponent and I'm happy about it. 

 

Whereas if I can get Josh Allen going 33 of 46 16 weeks out of 16 just without two fumbles when rushing I'd be dancing in the street. I have said it to you for over a year.... Josh is at his best when the game is put on him and he is asked to throw. I love that the Bills aren't trying to turn him into a glorified game manager.

[GoBills808]

3 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Whereas if I can get Josh Allen going 33 of 46 16 weeks out of 16 just without two fumbles when rushing I'd be dancing in the street. I have said it to you for over a year.... Josh is at his best when the game is put on him and he is asked to throw. I love that the Bills aren't trying to turn him into a glorified game manager.

Yeah averaging 72% completion of a season isn't an unreasonable ask or anything

[ngbills]

7 minutes ago, ProcessAccepted said:

Yea and no. Is the Ng shorthand for negative. If your take away from yesterdays game is that bad I don't know how to help you. Josh keeps making strides. The guy took what the vaunted Greg Williams defense game him and frankly took them to school. I'm expecting continues improvement from Josh as he gains experience. For your own sake just try and enjoy the season.

I dont think you have a good grasp of football. It is not only the outcome that matters. If you were sitting in the film room today with Josh and his coaches is this what you would be saying? "Come on guys, we won and Josh was super cool. Look at the play when he ran left and then back and then spun around two times before jumping over two people and going 40 yards for the TD." They know that wont always happen. You dont build a game plan around that. Yes, it is a skillset that factors into what you can do as an Offense but you still want designed plays. 

[ColoradoBills]

58 minutes ago, H2o said:

The offense had 31 First Downs. 17 of those were on passing plays, 8 were rushing, and 6 from penalties. Two of those penalties were on PI calls and one a Holding call in the endzone. Josh took what the defense gave him all day, kept the chains moving, and showed improvement as a passer. Those who continue to nitpick at every single detail of his game, even when he is clearly improving and we are WINNING, will do so even if he ends up hoisting a Lombardi in a Bills uni. He's never going to be perfect. There will never be beautiful rainbows trailing off the back end of the football with every pass he throws. He will however end up being the best QB to ever don a Bills jersey other than Jim Kelly. 

 

Nice poetry and worth bumping!

 

The next great long pass from Allen I will have this in my head.

[Scott7975]

1 hour ago, NoSaint said:

it’s a three sentence praise of our big ticket free agents. Let’s not freak out about lack of nuance for the many other positions involved in passing.

right. That site hates Josh. It’s no mistake they gave him zero credit

[GreggTX]

Allen was far from perfect, but he played pretty well overall. I wonder why everyone gets so emo when PFF tells the truth about him. I see the folks that are whining about it forgot to mention the next sentence which reads "While Allen showed numerous signs to be encouraged about, the same can’t be said for Darnold."

[Chuck Schick]

1 hour ago, ngbills said:

Agreed. Saying that Allen suffers from lack of YAC while others benefit would be like some conspiracy theory. YAC comes from ball placement, timing and making the right read. This is the NFL. Any WR that catches the ball with room to run is going to make that play. Yes, some are clearly better than others but it is not as drastic as some try to imply. Like the Bills WR all just fall down or run out of bounds. We have seen tons of examples of a Bills catch being made but if the ball is thrown a bit better the guy picks up extra yards vs diving for a ball, etc. 

What I saw yesterday was Josh putting the ball in pretty tight places, often times with the receiver right at the sideline.  Jets D wasn’t giving up the home run ball.  
Even that pass to Beasley down the middle, I think that was a great throw.  We needed to move the sticks, don’t hang the ball up over the tiny Beasley’s head or give a Jet DB a chance to make a play on it. 

[GunnerBill]

28 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

Yeah averaging 72% completion of a season isn't an unreasonable ask or anything

 

I am not saying he has to be at 72%. I am saying if we did get that game for 16 weeks I would be overjoyed. 

[ProcessAccepted]

33 minutes ago, ngbills said:

I dont think you have a good grasp of football. It is not only the outcome that matters. If you were sitting in the film room today with Josh and his coaches is this what you would be saying? "Come on guys, we won and Josh was super cool. Look at the play when he ran left and then back and then spun around two times before jumping over two people and going 40 yards for the TD." They know that wont always happen. You dont build a game plan around that. Yes, it is a skillset that factors into what you can do as an Offense but you still want designed plays. 

 

I can't figure if you are just being obtuse or if you truly just don't get it. Your comment that I've bolded above sums up what you are missing. We have a player that frequently makes those sorts of things happen. Most teams can not say this. When you have a special player you play to their strengths. He's a 3rd year player that missed out on top level coaching in high school and college. He has things to learn. He is learning and  improving quickly at the position. 

 

I don't think you have a good grasp on people or management. Celebrating wins leads to sustained improvement and higher team performance. Focusing on the negatives only leads to resentment. The culture and process are following the more positive and supportive philosophy and the results are speaking for themselves.

[ngbills]

24 minutes ago, ProcessAccepted said:

 

I can't figure if you are just being obtuse or if you truly just don't get it. Your comment that I've bolded above sums up what you are missing. We have a player that frequently makes those sorts of things happen. Most teams can not say this. When you have a special player you play to their strengths. He's a 3rd year player that missed out on top level coaching in high school and college. He has things to learn. He is learning and  improving quickly at the position. 

 

I don't think you have a good grasp on people or management. Celebrating wins leads to sustained improvement and higher team performance. Focusing on the negatives only leads to resentment. The culture and process are following the more positive and supportive philosophy and the results are speaking for themselves.

Hilarious. 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

1 hour ago, Nihilarian said:

This game was like a preseason game with some good and some bad and it might take a few games for things to settle down on offense. What struck me was the Bills could not get an effective run game working which usually takes some heat off the QB. Moss 9 attempt's for 11 yards a 1.2 YPC AVG. Motor 9 attempts for 30 yards a 3.3 YPC AVG. YIKES!

 

Josh Allen going 33 of 46 is something I'm hoping we don't see very often this season. I'm not going to complain very much because the Jets don't have a great secondary and the Bills took advantage of what they were seeing. Diggs was 17.9 in receiving yards per reception in 2019 and 10.8 in the Jets game. 

 

It was a win against a division opponent and I'm happy about it. 

 

They weren't having any success running under center so they went largely with motion and read-option.  The jets kept playing it to keep the ball in allen's hands.  Other's will do this if he keeps failing to secure it. 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

2 hours ago, ngbills said:

This is true as well. You play what the defense is giving you. Then the CB inevitably tries to cheat the dig or hitch and the WR takes it deep. This will happen in time as Allen becomes a complete QB. 

 

Right - if you give me cover 2, then the deep stuff to diggs and brown will always be tough to complete.  But it creates opportunity for bease and knox up those seams.  You can also work deep crossers and get those safeties making decisions side to side.  

[DCOrange]

2 hours ago, Scott7975 said:

right. That site hates Josh. It’s no mistake they gave him zero credit

They actually said Allen "showed numerous signs to be encouraged about", but the OP didn't include that part.

[RoyBatty is alive]

3 hours ago, ngbills said:

YAC comes from accuracy. The pass to Beasley that was off target was a ton of lost YAC. Watch the tape and dont just reject anything you dont like to hear. Many throws were checkdowns. Nothing wrong with that. That is why it took 46 attempts to hit 300 yds and total of 179 air yards on 33 completions. Watch the Ravens game - almost half the attempts for 275 yards. He had 202 air yards on only 20 completes. 

 

Yeah the Beasley throw had a high potential  for a TD had it been on target.

[Chuck Schick]

1 hour ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

 

Yeah the Beasley throw had a high potential  for a TD had it been on target.

He overthrows that ball by 6 inches and people are screaming that he didn’t just put it where it needed to be to get the first down (which is what he did) 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

4 hours ago, GoBills808 said:

Yeah averaging 72% completion of a season isn't an unreasonable ask or anything

🔥

[chris heff]

7 hours ago, Bulldog said:

This is such a good sign! Josh is really mentally developing his game - he took what the Jets were giving him & realized that there was no need to force anything into coverage. He has better weapons now - just distribute the ball to them & let them do their thing. Hit on an occasional deep ball & we are in for  a very exciting season.  

Are we related?

[CincyBillsFan]

6 hours ago, ngbills said:

Yes and no. We are mostly casual fans on here so I know this will not happen. But...watch the film and it was not as good of a performance as just the stats show. Not just the fumbles and couple of missed passes. Still too many plays that turn into improvisation which is good at times, but too much is a QB that still struggling a bit with reads and decisions. I guarantee you the coaches and Josh are watching films and even on a play were he scrambles one way and then goes another for a 22 yard run they are saying look at Diggs here and this is when you should have thrown the ball etc. They now you dont win consistently playing that way. In a big game that 22 yard run turns into a 10 yard loss or a bad pass attempt on the run or a fumble. It is finding that balance of scripted vs improv. 

 

We are?  I submit that people who post on a Bills message board are NOT casual fans.

 

If you can be this negative after yesterday's game I shudder to think how negative you will be after the inevitable Allen clunker.

 

 

 

[Simon]

7 hours ago, ngbills said:

YAC comes from accuracy. The pass to Beasley that was off target was a ton of lost YAC. Watch the tape and dont just reject anything you dont like to hear. 

 

And don't just accept anything you hear either. 

I know that whoever was calling that game said something about Beasley having a chance to take that to the house but that simply was not going to happen. 

The Jets had dropped into two deep and the Free was already closing on Beasley when Allen let it go.  The safety was on his way and had the angle and if Josh hangs that thing out there, there's a better chance the safety closes on it than anything else. Taking the 30yrds that were available was exactly the right thing to do.

[Mango]

7 hours ago, SCBills said:

 

I've noticed this... we rarely got YAC production other QB's get weekly for the first two years of Allen... Week 1, Year 3, we finally see a functional passing game and it needs to be emphasized by some that we didn't attack down the field....

 

Meanwhile, I hear the same people talk about Jimmy G's "hot start" against Arizona, which consisted primarily of a dump off pass to Raheem Mostert for 70 YAC TD.

 

Our YAC was actually pretty bad yesterday. Diggs had 10 YAC yesterday total on 8 catches. Brown lead the team with 28 YAC on 6 catches. Neither are good. 
 

It is still very much lacking in our offense. It’s been one of my larger criticisms of Allen the last two years. He makes things difficult on his receivers to both make the catch and make a ply after it. 
 

Granted this is a one week sample size so I have not jumped on it. He deserves a chance to prove he has gotten better this offseason. But I thought it was important to point out that yesterday showed no improvement on that front as you implied. 
 

Edit: wanted to add, Josh was better yesterday. Some of that is his improvements. Some of that is surrounding cast. Just was talking about this issue in particular. 

Edited September 14, 2020 by Mango