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A Few Thoughts About the Chargers Game, in no particular order


Virgil

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I'm going to be really upfront and say that my brain capacity for this game and thoughts are not 100%.  I pulled an all-nighter for work and slept about 3 hours before kickoff, didn't take notes, and then slept again right after.  With that, I apologize for any blatant misses.

 

1 - Incomplete Games - If there's been one over-arching concern for most fans and the players this season, it's our inability to play 4 full quarters of NFL football.  Typically, we fall asleep in the 3rd quarter, but maybe the bye week has us practice transitioning to the 4th.  In an almost comically bad game of "Who wants to lose it more", the Bills coughed up multiple turnovers in the 4th quarter, with one being an inexcusable interception by Allen.  Fortunately, the Chargers were up to the task and gave the ball right back a few times and going for the 1st when a FG was right there for the taking to make it a one score game.  The refs even got in on the action with some really questionable calls.  This was a game where you have to be thankful we were playing a Chargers team who is still figuring out how to win, or else this could have been another heart breaker.  We are also really lucky we were up by 10 at the end, as defending the hail mary was something Frazier deemed irrelevant somehow after last games loss.

 

2 - Rushing attack - I want to take a moment and assume full responsibility for the Motor's fumble.  After having a couple of strong runs that broke the second level, I was in the process of thinking how great it is he doesn't seem to fumble anymore when....whammo.  That aside, Motor got stronger as the game went on and had one of his better games this season.  But while Motor had the most good runs, Moss had the run of the season in this game.  Moss split the left side of the line, got lost in the trenches, and then somehow emerged with a solid burst.  From there, he put the jets and the moves on for a really great rush.  If we can figure out how to maintain the 4th quarter rushing game, then we will be in much better shape closing out this season.

 

3 - Bosa - It was hard to watch this kid destroy his blocks and not wonder "what if" he were on the Bills.  His disruptive play was almost unfair to our unsuspecting innocent line and he was a terror on Josh too.  We can talk about win rates all we want, but Bosa was the kind of difference everyone wants on their team, and it was obvious all game.  For the offensive line, who had a rough day at times, you just have to tip your cap to the defensive line effort and move on.

 

4 - You keep me up just one more night, I can't sleep here no more.

Little Ben clock says quarter to eight; You kept me up 'till four.

I gotta get down, I gotta get down, Or I can't work there no more.

 

5 - Tre - While I understand that mixing up zone and man defense, and disguising your looks is important, I will always struggle not having Tre shadow the opposing team's #1 receiver.  I thought Tre did a great job when covering Keenan and he only saw success once we transitioned to zone.  Keenan made a few catches, but Tre didn't make them easy.  Of course, the play of the game, which brought the 4th quarter back in order, was the Tre pick.  Interceptions feel a little too rare on this team, and sometimes you need your money guys to make plays, so it was nice to see Tre get that done today.  Solid overall game

 

6 - Receivers - I'm curious to know if the game plan was setup this way, or if the Chargers just took them away from us, but our receivers were never really involved in the game during the first half.  Granted, if you want to count the PI as a passing gain, there was those yards, but there was little else.  Daboll clearly made Diggs a focus coming out of the half, but with Beasley also quiet, Davis ended up being the best receiver on the field.  He did a great job selling the block on the Beasley TD and made a great high-point catch on the deep ball from Josh.  But overall, really pedestrian day for the receivers and passing game today. 

 

7 - Klein - It looks as though Frazier finally figured out how to use Klein, and his skill set is showing because of it. Klein looks so much faster on the field and had a great open field pursuit and tackle on a toss play.  He was solid when rushing the QB and again, just looks a lot more comfortable out there.  When Milano comes back, I like the idea of a LB rotation that puts him on the field in situations that take advantage of his abilities.  I'm still not sold on him in coverage, but I think that's why he struggled to start the season.  Either way, in this new high-pressure defense we are running, Klein is earning that paycheck.

 

8 - Oliver - This might be the first week I've called Oliver out in a positive light.  I would have to see the PF replay again, but I didn't see what the flag was for on first glance.  Oliver was a true disruptor today and was shedding blocks consistently.  He made Herbert have to re-adjust his feed quite a few times and contributed to some negative plays.  I don't know the Chargers track record for their offensive line, but Oliver coming on strong down the stretch would also be a big win for us.

 

9 - McD - Our coach is now 4-0 when coming off the bye, and you could see the team was ready from the start.  The way this team's scheme has evolved throughout the season on offense and defense continues to impress me and I think McD's flexibility and giving autonomy to his coaches really goes a long way.  We've won 8 games in a variety of different ways and this one was no different.  Statistics on offense weren't great, but we still put up 27 points and our defense did well enough to never make the game feel uncomfortable, and more-so responded when the offense tried to give it away.  I'm very curious about a non-challenge though.  Mike William caught a 4th down pass on the sideline and appeared to come down on the ball.  I didn't see if the ball moved, as the camera replay was blocked by players, but I was really surprised that didn't get more attention.  Anyone else have thoughts on that?

 

10 - Beane - Follow me down this rabbit hole please :-).  They were showing highlights of Allen vs Hubert in college, where Oregon just destroyed Wyoming.  Then they were showing completion percentage stats and talking about Allen's development.  Long story short, I don't know of many other GM's and Coaching Staff who've taken a project like Allen who has very little college success and accuracy issues, found the raw talent AND were able to develop it, into the evolving product we have on the field today wearing 17.  It really is an impressive story that rarely works out.  I look at the Bears, who went through so many high pick QB's and still can't figure it out, or think about our last 20 years, and I'm really thankful and appreciative for how all of this played out.  Now if only Allen would stop throwing balls off his back foot into double coverage...I kid....a little...

 

 

Again, sorry for the quality of this one as I'm still not fully awake.  Thank you all for reading and I will see you next week at some time and some place against the Niners.

 

8-3!!!!

 

Go Bills!!!!!

Edited by Virgil
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re: #8, I can only assume the refs got the number wrong.  A DB blitzing (White?) hit the QB low, which I believe constitutes roughing the passer.  Though technically not a wrong call IMO, it was dubious as the QB was running away as he went low.

 

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Just now, eSJayDee said:

re: #8, I can only assume the refs got the number wrong.  A DB blitzing (White?) hit the QB low, which I believe constitutes roughing the passer.  Though technically not a wrong call IMO, it was dubious as the QB was running away as he went low.

 

 

Mentioned elsewhere, but I think that Herbert was out of the pocket which made Tre's hit legal.

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7 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 I'm very curious about a non-challenge though.  Mike William caught a 4th down pass on the sideline and appeared to come down on the ball.  I didn't see if the ball moved, as the camera replay was blocked by players, but I was really surprised that didn't get more attention.  Anyone else have thoughts on that?

 

 

This was the worst of a series of bad officiating issues in this game. McD couldn’t challenge because it was under 2mins. The booth ABSOLUTELY should have buzzed down. It was NOT a catch. Had the replay booth done it’s job there would have been no Hail Mary. 
uterly ridiculous 

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1 minute ago, eSJayDee said:

re: #8, I can only assume the refs got the number wrong.  A DB blitzing (White?) hit the QB low, which I believe constitutes roughing the passer.  Though technically not a wrong call IMO, it was dubious as the QB was running away as he went low.

 

 

One of those replays that mysteriously got lost.  From what I saw White dragged Herbert down by the ankles from behind as Herbert was running away which is absolutely not the same as illegally hitting the QB low in the pocket.

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3 minutes ago, eSJayDee said:

re: #8, I can only assume the refs got the number wrong.  A DB blitzing (White?) hit the QB low, which I believe constitutes roughing the passer.  Though technically not a wrong call IMO, it was dubious as the QB was running away as he went low.

 

The QB was out of the pocket so hitting him low was not illegal. They called it on Oliver because he came in "late" after White had already taken him to the ground. I think it was a bad call, or at least quite ticky-tack. I think refs sometimes don't understand how hard it is to arrest your momentum in situations like that. I'm not sure how Oliver could have avoided it hitting the QB there.

 

But I didn't get a great look at it.

 

But the unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on Allen and Moss were just head scratching.

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18 minutes ago, Virgil said:

But while Motor had the most good runs, Moss had the run of the season in this game.  Moss split the left side of the line, got lost in the trenches, and then somehow emerged with a solid burst.  From there, he put the jets and the moves on for a really great rush.  If we can figure out how to maintain the 4th quarter rushing game, then we will be in much better shape closing out this season.

This x1000!

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5 minutes ago, MJS said:

The QB was out of the pocket so hitting him low was not illegal. They called it on Oliver because he came in "late" after White had already taken him to the ground. I think it was a bad call, or at least quite ticky-tack. I think refs sometimes don't understand how hard it is to arrest your momentum in situations like that. I'm not sure how Oliver could have avoided it hitting the QB there.

 

But I didn't get a great look at it.

 

But the unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on Allen and Moss were just head scratching.

I'm a total Josh fan boy but he deserved his. I still love the attitude anyway.

 

But Moss, WTH did he do? 

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4 minutes ago, loyal2dagame said:

I can't agree here.  The team came out flat.  I thought they looked sluggish all game on both sides of the ball.


We were up 24-6. I disagree, but that’s allowed here 😀

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31 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

10 - Beane - Follow me down this rabbit hole please :-).  They were showing highlights of Allen vs Hubert in college, where Oregon just destroyed Wyoming.  Then they were showing completion percentage stats and talking about Allen's development.  Long story short, I don't know of many other GM's and Coaching Staff who've taken a project like Allen who has very little college success and accuracy issues, found the raw talent AND were able to develop it, into the evolving product we have on the field today wearing 17.  It really is an impressive story that rarely works out.  I look at the Bears, who went through so many high pick QB's and still can't figure it out, or think about our last 20 years, and I'm really thankful and appreciative for how all of this played out.  Now if only Allen would stop throwing balls off his back foot into double coverage...I kid....a little...

 

Great question.  Maybe we just got lucky ... like NE did picking Tom Brady.

 

Edited by DallasBillsFan1
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The Williams play was on 4th and 17 if I recall but they got a penalty to make it 4th and 27...I was surprised they didn't look at it also especially because it was within the last 2 minutes and it would have had to come from the booth. If they look at it and decide Williams doesn't make that catch the Bills then decline the penalty and game over.

 

As it is the next play I believe on 4th and 27 was that Hail Mary that was caught...this time with 5!!!! Bills players there...this is seriously starting to become a trend we need to get rid of.

3 minutes ago, CapeBreton said:

This game really makes me appreciate McDermott, hard to believe Lynn was in contention for the job. Lynn is an absolute joke of a coach, so happy he never ended up here.

 

Rex Ryan endorsing him is all we should have needed to know...

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33 minutes ago, MJS said:

The QB was out of the pocket so hitting him low was not illegal. They called it on Oliver because he came in "late" after White had already taken him to the ground. I think it was a bad call, or at least quite ticky-tack. I think refs sometimes don't understand how hard it is to arrest your momentum in situations like that. I'm not sure how Oliver could have avoided it hitting the QB there.

 

But I didn't get a great look at it.

 

But the unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on Allen and Moss were just head scratching.

 Oliver hit Herbert in the head I think that is what the flag was for .... would be nice if Josh would get some treatment as a few weeks he has been hit a bit late with no flag

 

As to number 6 it is still hard for me to believe that there are not guys open on the blitz where he threw the pick beasley was wide open as the blitzer vacated that area just not a good day of Allen diagnosing the D to me.  I'm guessing no threat really form the TE position helped the Chargers out in defensing the WR's

Edited by ILBillsfan
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1 minute ago, ILBillsfan said:

 Oliver hit Herbert in the head I think that is what the flag was for .... would be nice if Josh would get some treatment as a few weeks he has been hit a bit late with no flag

Bosa used his helmet to hit Allen square in the facemask on the incompletion/fumble review play.  No flag,  not a word from the commentators.

We all like buffalove, but others,  not so much.  

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