ROCKPILE REVIEW - Big Win

[Shaw66]

On the way to becoming a good team, you beat the teams you should, and you struggle against the upper echelon.  On the way to becoming a good team, you must learn to win your share of the big games. 

 

The Bills beat the Rams and the Raiders earlier in the season, two teams that at least are in the discussion of good teams.  Then they stumbled against Tennessee and Kansas City, and the question arose again – can the Bills beat good teams?

 

Sunday against Seattle was the test.  The Seahawks are a certfiable good team.  They have the pedigree, they have the Hall of Fame coach, they have the true franchise quarterback, they have a couple of deadly wideouts.  Yes, they have a suspect defense (and “suspect” may be an understatement), but the Seahawks are winning a lot.  They came to Buffalo favored to win. 

 

The Bills handled Seattle.  They didn’t manhandle them – it was no blowout, but they handled Seattle.  A week after a grind-it-out win against the Patriots, a game in which the Bills relied on a solid ground game, they won an air-it-out shoot out with the Seahawks.  They jumped out to an early lead, 17-0, which in some games would have been enough.  But the Seahawks have one of the best offenses in the league, and the Bills defense isn’t shutting down good offenses this season.  It was predictiable that Seattle would come back, and they did.  The Bills were tested.  By late in the third quarter, the lead had shrunk to 27-20, but the Bills kept making plays and closed out the win, 44-34.

 

It was two great offenses against two defenses that have struggled.  The difference was that the Bills defense returned, at least in part, to its 2019 form.  Against the Seahawks the Bills defense made plays.  They took the ball from Seattle four times.  Each was a big play by a defender – Jerry Hughes forcing a fumble, Jordan Poyer dropping into the end zone after the pass rush had pinned Russell Wilson near the sideline, Tre’Davious White coming way off his man to undercut a Wilson throw, and A.J Klein sacking Russell and taking the ball from him.  In a statistically even game, those four plays maintained the Bills’ grip on the lead and the win. 

 

White’s interception was the kind of smart, opportunistic defense that Sean McDermott and Leslie Frazier got from White and the Bills last season but had been missing this year.  It was third and 25, at the Seahawks 10.   White’s man ran a shallow out route, and after covering the intitial cut, White didn’t just cheat, he abandoned his man altogether and dropped 15 yards downfield.  Wilson never saw White and threw the ball to a spot where he never expected to find a defender.  Why did White leave his man so far open?  Because he knew, no doubt he’s been taught, that if Wilson throws to the underneath receiver, there’s no way he’s going to make the first down.  White knew what to do, timed his break well, and made the play.

The Bills also blitzed – a lot.  Like everything else the Bills do on defense, the blitzes often were well-designed.  Guys coming from around the ends, guys coming from six yards behind the line of scrmmage, guys overloading one side, with defensive ends dropping into coverage.  The blitzing was relentless, and Wilson was pounded all afternoon. 

 

And then, at times, there was no bliitzing at all.  Wilson often seemed off balance.  Still, Wilson put up some good numbers – 28 completions and nearly 300 yards, with two TDs, including an inexplicable blown coverage that resulted in a 55-yard touchdown. 

 

This was a different version of the 2020 Bills defense.  Jerry Hughes continued his excellent play – he’s been creating problems for offenses for weeks now.  Micah Hyde returned to the lineup and seemed to settle everyone down.  Levi Wallace is playing like he did last season – not outstanding, but solid.  Tremaine Edmunds seemed revived – he was playing with quickness and anticipation, and he made some solid tackles.  A. J. Klein was active and didn’t look like a liability.  Mario Addison was getting good pressure. 

 

Maybe the Bills defense has turned the corner.

 

Josh Allen proved something Sunday that one would have thought the league already knew – you can’t let him stand in the pocket and throw the ball downfield.   Allen’s too good, and his receivers are too good.  By the time Seattle got serious about getting real pressure on Allen, and dropping him for a season-high seven sacks, it was too late.  Allen shredded the Seahawks defense for 400 yards and three TDs, then added a rushing touchdown, just for fun. 

 

Seven sacks is troubling, except for a young QB in a win.  The sacks didn’t cost the Bills the game, and sacks are how young QBs learn.  Allen protected the ball all afternoon, never flirting with interceptions and surviving plenty of hits without fumbling.  His growth continues.  Allen’s worst play was the overthrow of Diggs deep down the left sideline.  A well thrown ball would have been a big completion, an underthown ball probably would have drawn a pass interference call. 

 

After the game, Pete Carroll said the Seahawks had a lot of great plans for stopping the Bills running game.  Sorry, Pete, Brian Daboll had other plans. 

 

Now the Bills go to Arizona – another big game.   Those guys can play, and they have great playmakers.  You can’t win ‘em all, especially against good teams, but you can be sure the Cards know the Bills are for real.

 

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were everyday people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

 

 

[BuffBillsForLife]

Great writeup as always.  I feel like you're selling AJ Klein's performance short though.

[JoPoy88]

This is an excellent review @Shaw66

[Figster]

16 minutes ago, BuffBillsForLife said:

Great writeup as always.  I feel like you're selling AJ Klein's performance short though.

It was a game of many great performers with Edmunds near the top of the list for me.

 

Nice review OP

[MyDogLuvsPB]

One of the better posts I've seen here in years!  It isn't slanted in any way for/against players or coaches.

[HappyDays]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

Allen’s worst play was the overthrow of Diggs deep down the left sideline.  A well thrown ball would have been a big completion, an underthown ball probably would have drawn a pass interference call. 

 

This is the one thing our offense is missing. We don't have a great vertical threat at WR and that is the worst throw in Allen's arsenal. The Seahawks on the other hand make a living off throws like that. Allen needs to learn from what Wilson does, he never puts enough of an arc on the ball. I could tell right away that throw would be incomplete because it zipped out of his hand in a straight line. If he can somehow figure out that throw he'll be unstoppable.

[Shaw66]

11 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

This is the one thing our offense is missing. We don't have a great vertical threat at WR and that is the worst throw in Allen's arsenal. The Seahawks on the other hand make a living off throws like that. Allen needs to learn from what Wilson does, he never puts enough of an arc on the ball. I could tell right away that throw would be incomplete because it zipped out of his hand in a straight line. If he can somehow figure out that throw he'll be unstoppable.

Watching other games today caused me to think that the Bills need more speed. I think we will see Beane get more juice on the field next year. 

Edited November 9, 2020 by Shaw66

[QLBillsFan]

1 hour ago, HappyDays said:

 

This is the one thing our offense is missing. We don't have a great vertical threat at WR and that is the worst throw in Allen's arsenal. The Seahawks on the other hand make a living off throws like that. Allen needs to learn from what Wilson does, he never puts enough of an arc on the ball. I could tell right away that throw would be incomplete because it zipped out of his hand in a straight line. If he can somehow figure out that throw he'll be unstoppable.

I would argue and I think many would agree that Smoke is a pretty good deep threat? Agree JA needs a bit more air on those. I think he both knows that and needed a bit more protection. 

[stuvian]

when our offense and defense show up on the same day, it's magic

[machine gun kelly]

Shaw, every Monday morning, my high point on this board is you’re Rockpile Review, amd Virg’s post.  Both of you provide all of us with such thoughtful and fair balanced reviews from a true Bills fan.

 

Agreed on almost all points, but would add we don’t know it then, but Miami is a good team.  They played really well against Arizona.  You’re comments though on the ascension to playing like a good team was so on point.

Oh and Virg., haven’t seen yours yet.  You’re slipping buddy. 😂😏

[TroutDog]

7 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

Allen’s worst play was the overthrow of Diggs deep down the left sideline.  A well thrown ball would have been a big completion, an underthown ball probably would have drawn a pass interference call

Mentioned the following elsewhere: it was difficult to see from TV coverage but it looked like a safety was coming in to provide the DB help. Given this, I believe Josh was trying to put it on Diggs’ left side to keep it away from him. Once the All-22 comes out we’ll know. 
 

Appreciate the write up!!

[CSBill]

Thanks for taking the time to do this and for the perspective Shaw. Always a fun read--especially after a win 😎

[JMF2006]

Well done Shaw as usual  

[Billsfan1972]

I can't argue with anything you said this week....😉

 

Great write-up.

[Kwai San]

Well Done!  Thanks for the writeup Shaw.

 

@machine gun kelly Virg's write up has been done for awhile!  LOL!

[Big Turk]

Honestly I think they did manhandle them on both sides of the ball. This game never felt as close as it got when Seattle closed it to within 7 points briefly, it kind of felt like when the Bills were up 21 most of the game.

 

They attacked on both sides of the ball and for the most part dominated. Seattle was never really in the game. They never were even tied except for the first 1:23 of the game before the Bills took a 7-0 lead 3 plays after the opening kickoff. Before you blinked it was 14-0.

Edited November 9, 2020 by matter2003

[Shaw66]

1 hour ago, Kwai San said:

Well Done!  Thanks for the writeup Shaw.

 

@machine gun kelly Virg's write up has been done for awhile!  LOL!

Thank you both for the comments. 

 

Virg gets his up so fast, I don't know how he does it.  Maybe he writes it on Saturday and leaves a few blanks here and there, fills them in after game and he's done.  I'm watching other games, stuck in the couch, pissed about the loss or thrilled about the win.  Then about 8 pm I get started.  

[Kwai San]

4 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Thank you both for the comments. 

 

Virg gets his up so fast, I don't know how he does it.  Maybe he writes it on Saturday and leaves a few blanks here and there, fills them in after game and he's done.  I'm watching other games, stuck in the couch, pissed about the loss or thrilled about the win.  Then about 8 pm I get started.  

 

I dunno how EITHER of you do it.....I am enjoying the whole thing too much that I would have to watch tape of the game before writing anything that would be considered coherent and presentable enough to satisfy this crown here - they are a rough bunch.

 

Thanks for the work and insight each week @Shaw66 - it is appreciated as there are things I totally forget and get to relive again!!! 👍

Edited November 9, 2020 by Kwai San

[Figster]

58 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Thank you both for the comments. 

 

Virg gets his up so fast, I don't know how he does it.  Maybe he writes it on Saturday and leaves a few blanks here and there, fills them in after game and he's done.  I'm watching other games, stuck in the couch, pissed about the loss or thrilled about the win.  Then about 8 pm I get started.  

I enjoy the variation in writing styles. Virgils thoughts normally tend to bend more toward how the game is perceived from the eyes of the fan real time. The review tends to bend more towards the bigger picture. A more worldly look. Articulate and factual. Both writing styles entertaining in their own way IMO. I know both of you are also more accustomed to giving in person stadium accounts and I look forward to the time we can all enjoy them together again.

 

Thanks fellas 

[Shaw66]

1 minute ago, Figster said:

I enjoy the variation in writing styles. Virgils thoughts normally tend to bend more toward how the game is perceived from the eyes of the fan real time. The review tends to bend more towards the bigger picture. A more worldly look. Articulate and factual. Both writing styles entertaining in their own way IMO. I know both of you are also more accustomed to giving in person stadium accounts and I look forward to the time we can all enjoy them together again.

 

Thanks fellas 

I haven't written about not being in the stadium, and that's a good perception on your part.  It's easier to be funny if I saw the game live.  It's easier to report things that people didn't see on TV, the feel of the place, the activity on the sidelines, whatever.  Especially when I go on the road, which I'd been doing once or twice a year.   There's a certain sameness when all I can see is what's on TV.