All-22 Grades for Bills/Rams (The Athletic)

[HappyDays]

 

If you don't already have an Athletic subscription, these weekly all-22 articles alone are worth it.

 

Some highlights:

 

The worst part of the Rams’ comeback, from a Bills perspective, had to be Allen’s temporary relapse into old habits that led to multiple negative plays. Perhaps it was complacency with a big lead, or Allen pressing to put the game out of reach because he saw the defense struggling. Whatever the case, Allen lost his poise and control of the offense. He was evading the pocket prematurely, occasionally throwing off his back foot and failing to “live to fight another day” on plays that called for either a dump-off pass or a throwaway. Though, fortunately for the Bills, it was only temporary.

 

He breaks the 3rd and 22 completion to Beasley in detail. Summarized:

 

The success of the play required Allen’s understanding of the defense and the play call, reading the pass-rushing defenders in front of him, manipulating the defenders with his eyes and legs, being on the same page with Beasley and, ultimately, a strong, accurate throw. That 3rd-and-22, in a clutch spot, was another sign of next-level quarterbacking from Allen.

 

were getting crushed against the run. While he missed some tackles in key moments, though, Edmunds wasn’t nearly the liability he was getting made out to be.

Edmunds was particularly noticeable on film, in a good way, for his work in coverage. He made Goff’s job difficult in the first half by clogging up passing windows, and even knocking away a pass. His speed from sideline to sideline was unaffected by his injury. Simply his presence on the field affected the game and was a big upgrade over the young Tyrel Dodson.

 

While there is plenty of blame to go around for the Bills’ defensive woes in the second half, the criticism starts and ends with the defensive line. Defensive end Mario Addison was the only player from that unit who received an above-average grade for his performance. He was the only one who was consistent in run defense and pressuring the quarterback. The play of the rest of the defensive line had to have made for a long film session on Monday.

 

The solution for the Bills could come internally. Vernon Butler, who mostly played as a backup three-technique defensive tackle, also took some reps at one-technique. He provided more of an anchor against the run than either Jefferson or Phillips did, and those efforts could be worthy of a start alongside Oliver. Butler does not provide nearly the type of pass-rushing ability as Jefferson does, but the Bills need to figure something out against the run. If it’s a simple fix of pairing Oliver with Butler and switching Jefferson back to his natural position of three-technique alongside Phillips, then it’s worth a shot. The Bills would still be able to substitute Jefferson in for Butler on obvious passing downs.

 

Against one of the best players in the league in Donald, Ford held his own. There were times when Donald used Ford’s body positioning against him or caught him at the precise second his head went down to blow past him, which led to some pressure in the backfield. Donald does that to everyone, though, including well-established players who aren’t making their first start at the position. Outside of those plays, Ford didn’t look out of place. He blocked well against the run, anchored well in some pass sets and worked together with Dawkins.

 

Top 3 grades - Milano, Singletary, Allen

Bottom 3 grades - Jefferson, Phillips, Winters

[Bangarang]

I know fans like him but Harrison Phillips is such a meh player to me. 

[WEATHER DOT COM]

Jefferson got tons of love in the off-season but I can see why he couldn't crack the starting lineup in Seattle.

 

Hope he improves

[HappyDays]

1 minute ago, Bangarang said:

I know fans like him but Harrison Phillips is such a meh player to me. 

 

I thought last year he looked good at 1-tech but this year he has been a disappointment. Might still be recovering from the ACL. I'm not giving up on him yet. But I like Joe's suggestion to pair Butler with Oliver on early downs.

 

Also I meant to mention the quotes I posted are less than half of the total content. There's a lot of really good stuff in these articles every week. I can't recommend The Athletic enough.

[jwhit34]

2 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

I thought last year he looked good at 1-tech but this year he has been a disappointment. Might still be recovering from the ACL. I'm not giving up on him yet. But I like Joe's suggestion to pair Butler with Oliver on early downs.

 

Also I meant to mention the quotes I posted are less than half of the total content. There's a lot of really good stuff in these articles every week. I can't recommend The Athletic enough.

As a late third round pick, if he can be a consistent rotational player getting around 35-40% of the snaps per game then that is a pretty good draft result. 

[Rc2catch]

I think Ford against Donald should 100% be one of the best things we’ve heard this young season. First start, here buddy take on the best defensive player in the league.. Oh and have fun. 
Donald was gonna flash regardless but it’s cool to hear Ford did his job well and held his own. 

[gobills404]

12 minutes ago, wAcKy ZeBrA said:

Jefferson got tons of love in the off-season but I can see why he couldn't crack the starting lineup in Seattle.

 

Hope he improves

He's 290 lbs and mostly played end last year for the Seahawks as well as some 3t. It really doesn't surprise me that he's struggled at 1t.

 

[oldmanfan]

Wonder if they’d consider putting Zimmer back in

[Doc]

18 minutes ago, Rc2catch said:

I think Ford against Donald should 100% be one of the best things we’ve heard this young season. First start, here buddy take on the best defensive player in the league.. Oh and have fun. 
Donald was gonna flash regardless but it’s cool to hear Ford did his job well and held his own. 

Yeah. Looks like they’re finally getting the pieces to the O-line in place.  Now they need to settle on a right guard.  Spain?  Boettger?  Bates?  Boehm?

And I agree that Phillips is probably still recovering physically and mentally from the ACL tear.  Hopefully they start Butler because they need to do some thing and quick.

[H2o]

I think the problem with the DL is Butler should be playing the 1-Tech, as they mentioned, and everyone else is actually a 3-Tech. Harrison Phillips is a 3-Tech in my opinion. He was much more effective going after the QB and disrupting plays in the backfield at Stanford than he was trying to take on a couple of blockers to clog up the interior. I think we, dare I say it, miss Star on the DL. 

Edited September 30, 2020 by H2o

[billsfan89]

38 minutes ago, Bangarang said:

I know fans like him but Harrison Phillips is such a meh player to me. 

 

He was looking like he was about to have a breakout in 2019 then he got hurt. He hasn't come back to that form in 2020.

[ILBillsfan]

Quote

The worst part of the Rams’ comeback, from a Bills perspective, had to be Allen’s temporary relapse into old habits that led to multiple negative plays. Perhaps it was complacency with a big lead, or Allen pressing to put the game out of reach because he saw the defense struggling. Whatever the case, Allen lost his poise and control of the offense. He was evading the pocket prematurely, occasionally throwing off his back foot and failing to “live to fight another day” on plays that called for either a dump-off pass or a throwaway. Though, fortunately for the Bills, it was only temporary.

 

If he is referring to the interception in the cover one analysis Kroft is open and the defense player coming free off the tackle prevents this from being an even bigger play as it was open and to say it was a hero ball.  Some of those throws off his back foot was due to the line being continually pushed back into him and funny how he gave praise to Ford for holing his own.  Did not like this analysis but to each there own.

 

39:36 is a good review and show of the play in regards to the interception

 

 

and as always these guys do a good job breaking it down some nice clips of Donald owning Ford in this but Josh gets the ball out quick enough 17:55 that swim move on Ford man taking advantage of the OL with his head down

[gordong]

47 minutes ago, Bangarang said:

I know fans like him but Harrison Phillips is such a meh player to me. 

 

it's going to take till the end of the year for him to fully recover just like everyone one else that has knee surgery. you won't see the same player (pre injury) until next year. 

[Lurker]

Lost a little respect for Joe B based on his analysis of Edmund's play.   Or Oliver, for that matter...

[HappyDays]

11 minutes ago, ILBillsfan said:

If he is referring to the interception in the cover one analysis Kroft is open and the defense player coming free off the tackle prevents this from being an even bigger play as it was open and to say it was a hero ball.  Some of those throws off his back foot was due to the line being continually pushed back into him and funny how he gave praise to Ford for holing his own.  Did not like this analysis but to each there own.

 

Here's an example of what he means:

 

 

Allen could have stayed in the pocket and hit Beasley for a solid gain.

 

No big deal, he is getting better all the time and I'm sure by the end of the season he will hit these. He was clearly getting flustered by Donald at this point and it caused him to make a few poor decisions.

[Coach Tuesday]

2 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

Here's an example of what he means:

 

 

Allen could have stayed in the pocket and hit Beasley for a solid gain.

 

No big deal, he is getting better all the time and I'm sure by the end of the season he will hit these. He was clearly getting flustered by Donald at this point and it caused him to make a few poor decisions.

He also could’ve run to his left and may have scored!

[Warcodered]

25 minutes ago, H2o said:

I think the problem with the DL is Butler should be playing the 1-Tech, as they mentioned, and everyone else is actually a 3-Tech. Harrison Phillips is a 3-Tech in my opinion. He was much more effective going after the QB and disrupting plays in the backfield at Stanford than he was trying to take on a couple of blockers to clog up the interior. I think we, dare I say it, miss Star on the DL. 

[ILBillsfan]

9 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

Here's an example of what he means:

 

 

Allen could have stayed in the pocket and hit Beasley for a solid gain.

 

No big deal, he is getting better all the time and I'm sure by the end of the season he will hit these. He was clearly getting flustered by Donald at this point and it caused him to make a few poor decisions.

That is pretty close as the line only gave him a bit over 2s on that play and it looks like his red was to the right based on the defense. Always easy after the facts that you need to be in the QB room to see what he was seeing by the defense and reading.

[HappyDays]

3 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Edmunds may have had a good first half but dude SUCKED in the 2nd half. Ridiculous Joe B said nothing about this.

 

He actually does talk about that and gave Edmunds one of the lower grades for the day. I just don't want to post the whole thing and cheat them out of money.

[TigerJ]

59 minutes ago, jwhit34 said:

As a late third round pick, if he can be a consistent rotational player getting around 35-40% of the snaps per game then that is a pretty good draft result. 

Yeah, sometimes you'll get a good starter on the D-line from a third round pick, but if you can get a rotational player of a decent backup, you ought not be too disappointed.

34 minutes ago, H2o said:

I think the problem with the DL is Butler should be playing the 1-Tech, as they mentioned, and everyone else is actually a 3-Tech. Harrison Phillips is a 3-Tech in my opinion. He was much more effective going after the QB and disrupting plays in the backfield at Stanford than he was trying to take on a couple of blockers to clog up the interior. I think we, dare I say it, miss Star on the DL. 

Harrison Phillips doesn't have the explosion to be effective pressuring the QB in pass defense.  He's a bit undersized for 1 tech but with his wrestling background he's got a good understanding of leverage.  He's also coming back from bilateral knee surgery.  That can't make things easy.  I still wouldn't want him to be my starting nose tackle.

[Malazan]

43 minutes ago, Doc said:

Yeah. Looks like they’re finally getting the pieces to the O-line in place.  Now they need to settle on a right guard.  Spain?  Boettger?  Bates?  Boehm?

 

The guards will be Ford and Feliciano. 

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

46 minutes ago, Doc said:

Yeah. Looks like they’re finally getting the pieces to the O-line in place.  Now they need to settle on a right guard.  Spain?  Boettger?  Bates?  Boehm?

And I agree that Phillips is probably still recovering physically and mentally from the ACL tear.  Hopefully they start Butler because they need to do some thing and quick.

 

Believe this same article also stated that wouldn't be shocked to see Ford back at RG this week as may decide they'd rather go with Spain than Winters.  Long term think it will be Ford at LG and Feliciano at RG

[Doc]

3 hours ago, jeremy2020 said:

The guards will be Ford and Feliciano. 

 

3 hours ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

Believe this same article also stated that wouldn't be shocked to see Ford back at RG this week as may decide they'd rather go with Spain than Winters.  Long term think it will be Ford at LG and Feliciano at RG

Yeah I think Feliciano will be back at RG, but that might not be for another month or so. I’m talking in the short term.

Edited October 1, 2020 by Doc

[Augie]

49 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

 

He was looking like he was about to have a breakout in 2019 then he got hurt. He hasn't come back to that form in 2020.

 

Yep. My son tore his ACL and MCL. Being declared “fully healed” and trusting it are different things. It took some time to “just play”. I’m hoping it’s just a matter of getting back to the old frame of mind is all it will take and that comes sooner than later. We sure need some help up the middle, as the Rams demonstrated! 

[GG]

28 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

He actually does talk about that and gave Edmunds one of the lower grades for the day. I just don't want to post the whole thing and cheat them out of money.

 

Did he bury the lede with the analysis?. 

 

Joe's point was that Edmunds was stellar in the first half in taking away Rams' passing game, but totally regressed in the second half.  Could it be that Rams felt they still had enough time to attack the Bills on the ground nd exploit the Bills weakness in the middle, of which Edmunds is a big part?  All signs still point to a big positional misfit for Edmunds on this defense.  

[HappyDays]

Ok here's more of what he wrote on Edmunds:

 

None of that is to say Edmunds didn’t struggle down the stretch. He did, and it looked like the shoulder injury was bothering him on tackle attempts and on plays where he needed to shed blocks. Still, he wasn’t more to blame than others for how the Bills’ defense let the game get away from them in the second half. On the surface, Edmunds has a lot of potential and comes with a big reputation as a former first-round pick. Reviewing the film offers a reminder that he’s playing through what looks to be a painful shoulder injury and is still a significant upgrade over his backup.

 

He also gave him the 4th lowest grade on the team. He wasn't trying to excuse his performance, just saying he wasnt the main culprit of the defensive collapse. Hopefully it's just the injury because so far this year he has definitely regressed.

[GG]

7 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

Ok here's more of what he wrote on Edmunds:

 

.. Reviewing the film offers a reminder that he’s playing through what looks to be a painful shoulder injury and is still a significant upgrade over his backup...

 

 

He also gave him the 4th lowest grade on the team. He wasn't trying to excuse his performance, just saying he wasnt the main culprit of the defensive collapse. Hopefully it's just the injury because so far this year he has definitely regressed.

 

I don't understand why Joe threw Dodson under the bus for this game, considering that Edmunds played 99% of the defensive snaps.

[HappyDays]

5 minutes ago, GG said:

I don't understand why Joe threw Dodson under the bus for this game, considering that Edmunds played 99% of the defensive snaps.

 

He means compared to what Dodson did last week. He didn't grade Dodson in this game because his snap count was so low. Last week he gave him a D+.

[LeGOATski]

definitely not paying for a Joe Buscaglia all-22 analysis. I can get a lot of fine info for free.....

Or Cover 1 was only $1 a month last I checked?

 

That "interception" was totally on Allen and the o-line. Mostly on Allen, I assume. I can't tell if Allen was calling out Kaiser and telling the o-line to shift, but they clearly didn't shift. They had 3 guys blocking the 2 left rushers and two guys blocking the 3 right rushers. Bad mix-up. You'd think it was easy to play the numbers game at the line, but it's not as clear when you're on the field in the middle of everything going on.

[Mr. WEO]

I don't see the Bass FG...

[GG]

20 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

He means compared to what Dodson did last week. He didn't grade Dodson in this game because his snap count was so low. Last week he gave him a D+.

 

That's a wholly unfair comparison, because Dodson didn't have Milano playing next to him.  Let's do a true apples to apples, with Milano in the game and Dodson getting some snaps.

[formerlyofCtown]

2 hours ago, billsfan89 said:

 

He was looking like he was about to have a breakout in 2019 then he got hurt. He hasn't come back to that form in 2020.

It takes time see: Murphy, Trent.

[Malazan]

3 hours ago, Doc said:

Yeah I think Feliciano will be because at RG, but that might not be for another month or so. I’m talking in the short term.

 

If they try to keep Feliciano out for another month with the offense rolling like this he will chew his way through a wall to get on the field. 

Edited October 1, 2020 by jeremy2020

[BillsFan130]

4 hours ago, Lurker said:

Lost a little respect for Joe B based on his analysis of Edmund's play.   Or Oliver, for that matter...

Ya I really don’t understand him giving Edmunds a bit of a free pass that game.

 

It definitely looked like the d line struggled and made Edmunds job tougher, but anyone watching that game could blatantly see missed tackle after missed tackle by him. Among many other things

Edited October 1, 2020 by BillsFan130

[Thurman#1]

5 hours ago, wAcKy ZeBrA said:

Jefferson got tons of love in the off-season but I can see why he couldn't crack the starting lineup in Seattle.

 

Hope he improves

 

 

Do yourself a favor and go look at the snap counts. They're at footballoutsiders.com

 

So, which Seattle defensive linemen last year had the most snaps? Throw in STs snaps and that would be Quinton Jefferson. OK, but take out STs snaps and count only DL reps? Clowney, with 624. Who was #2? Yup, that would be Quinton Jefferson with 602. So Clowney played 57% while Jefferson played 55%. More, Pro Football Reference says he started 12 of the 14 games he played last year with Seattle. I wouldn't call that not being able to "crack the starting lineup".

 

I personally always had doubts about how he'd do as a 1-tech, but as a 3 and especially as a DE, I think he's going to be quite good here.

Edited October 1, 2020 by Thurman#1

[Thurman#1]

18 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

And a guy completely fooled play after play, wrong gap play after play. 
 

Edmunds has been getting a lot of free passes. He played really well last season in spurts but he’s just too inconsistent to be a great player. 

 

 

Nonsense. Does he occasionally hit the wrong gap, particularly early in a year when there was little offseason work? Yeah.

 

But he's been very very good as he develops through the years... when not injured. Joe points it out and it's there to be seen anyway. 

 

The injury obviously had an effect in that game, as anyone would expect. He'll be fine as he recovers physically and the defense plays together.

Edited October 1, 2020 by Thurman#1

[{::'KayCeeS::}]

21 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

And a guy completely fooled play after play, wrong gap play after play. 
 

Edmunds has been getting a lot of free passes. He played really well last season in spurts but he’s just too inconsistent to be a great player. 

 

Okay.  So the question is: do you think he has what it takes to be a consistently great player?  Is he on that trajectory?  Because if he is, then it's worth it.  If not...

[Max Fischer]

Everyone should buy the Athletic. They need subscribers to survive. 

[GG]

38 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

And a guy completely fooled play after play, wrong gap play after play. 
 

Edmunds has been getting a lot of free passes. He played really well last season in spurts but he’s just too inconsistent to be a great player. 

 

Maybe the sages can explain this, but for the entire second half, Edmunds seemed totally confused by the Rams offense.  I can understand missing tackles because of his injury, but to be completely in the wrong zip code when the play went his way was inexcusable.

[billybrew1]

I’d say we got killed in the run more than the pass and it washere where Tremaine Edmunds stunk. He didn’t see where Henderson was going and seldom met him in the hole. It is debatable to fans whether his job is simply to watch a gap or find the ball but at some point you have to see the runner go right and he should go to meet him, he did not. He was also very easily taken out of plays by any type of blocking KC and he seemed to not try to beat it, he simply gave up.

Edmunds drove me crazy most of the game (when the Bills were on D).

i don’t care what anybody sez, You don’t need all-22 to watch Edmunds. Henderson just kept cutting back from the called hole, and no one was there, over and over. Edmunds would stand behind the pile as Henderson ran down feild.