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


Virgil

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Just now, Virgil said:

Sorry everyone, long day at work

You get one more week of this slowness. In the playoffs we will have none of this. Would it help if we all signed a note for your boss?

 

Love it when we play an almost perfect game.

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3 minutes ago, qwksilver said:

You get one more week of this slowness. In the playoffs we will have none of this. Would it help if we all signed a note for your boss?

 

Love it when we play an almost perfect game.

 

If they could play all their games on Saturday or Sunday afternoon, that would be great....

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15 minutes ago, Virgil said:

Going into this game, there wasn't a doubt in my mind that we were going to win this game

 

I felt that way on Allen's last TD drive which started on the 5 yard line. No doubt in my mind Allen was going to score a TD on that drive and break Kelly's record before getting pulled.

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Great write up, as always. I’d add more, but I’m tired.

 

On #8 Special Teams I keep hearing that called a fake punt. I think of it as good coaching and awareness. Was it just last year or the year before we failed to recognize they had us outmatched and couldn’t block every guy going for the punter? A big factor in losing a game.

 

Just like Josh, our coaching is growing as we watch. If they had covered the gunner, I bet we punt. They bit us on the arse once, and we learned from it. It wasn’t a bold decision as much as it was awareness, and that is tremendously encouraging! Winning the coaching battle feels AWESOME! 

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18 hours ago, Warcodered said:

Dawson Knox seems to me to be like Allen last year. He starts off way too amped up and makes mistakes but once he settles in he's good.

 

He needs to start listening to Frank Sinatra before games!    :)

 

 

 

EDIT: For those unfamiliar, Josh said he used to listen to music to get him pumped up before games, and he got TOO pumped up, so he made the switch. Hey, it worked! Anything to get better, turn over every stone. Love that guy! 

Edited by Augie
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22 minutes ago, Virgil said:

9 - Knox - Going forward, all passes to Knox need to in traffic and away from his hands and center of body.  Knox continues to be an enigma as he dropped a wide open touchdown, but then proceeded to make two consecutive difficult catches.  Knox was great with blocking and made some great plays in the field.  The drops are killer, but he does seem to overall be getting better with the mental mistakes.  Fortunately, Allen is used to having to score multiple times on the same drive. 

 

10 - Class - One thing that really bothered me during the Pats 20 years of dominance was their complete lack of class in both running up the score and going after records.  In this game, while already have 38 points going into the 4th quarter, McD pulled the starters.  I don't believe for a moment that the Hoodie would have done the same.  The Bills easily could have score two more touchdowns with how they were playing and put up a similar blowout numbers that the Pats used to do to us.  That's not how McD works and I personally am grateful for it.  Like the hero against the bully in movies, the Pats just weren't worth it.  We didn't have anything to prove.  There was zero doubt who the superior team was and the Hoodie's visible frustration taken out on his phone was all we needed to see.  We walked off the field winners, with class, and having established dominance.

 

Great writeup as usual Virg.

 

9 - Featherstone simply can't handle room service.  JA has to make the catch tough so Knox will concentrate enough to make the catch.

 

10 - The Cheats have NEVER had class.  They showed their true colors at the end of the Fitz game when FredEx got tackled at the 1/2-yard line.  The Cheats knew the game was over, so they started fights, hit Fitz late, did everything they could to get the Bills to bite.  We just laughed at them, ran the clock down, and kicked the winning FG.

 

The win last night was even sweeter, as we blew out the Cheats at the Razor (something I thought would never happen in my lifetime).  Belicheat melted down, and threw up the white flag at the end of the 3rd quarter.  I wish we could have gotten one more TD before Barkley came in to hand off.  I really wanted to embarrass and humiliate the Cheats just to get a little of our own back.  We did, but I really wanted more.  Can't wait to beat the crap out of the Cheats again next year!

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We are 12-3 and a miracle catch away form 13-2.  Really think about that, considering the schedule we played.  This is real everyone. This is very, very real.

 

And while the media considers that we were slaughtered on those two other losses,  the games could have been lot closer with a healthy Allen,  Milano and Edmunds.  

 

This team is for real and they need to continue to work fixing the Run defense.   If we can fix that then we are going deep in the playoffs and possibly even the Super Bowl. 

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52 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

He needs to start listening to Frank Sinatra before games!    :)

 

I think he has baby hands. Not trying to be funny. His drops in slo mo always looks like 4 little fingers mashed into each other. I said the same thing last year. He needs to spread his hands and fingers apart more and let the ball go in, then clutch. Surprised it hasn't been fixed, seems like a routine adjustment. 

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Nice writeup as always, Virgil.

A few thoughts I would like to add:

 

Offensively:

  • I love Lee Smith. And, color commentators should stop referring to him as "blocking tight end Lee Smith." Lee Smith runs routes!
  • Gabriel Davis is in a slump, and has been for at least a few games. And he's still pretty good.
  • I mentioned in another thread that Knox's drops notwithstanding, McD, Daboll, and Allen all still trust him. He was not pulled the play after that egregious drop, and IIRC, it was only a few plays later that he was thrown to in tight coverage, and made a beautiful, contested catch. And, it wasn't all that long afterwards Allen trusted him on fourth down for another great catch. If only he could make the easy ones...
  • Dear God, please let Beasley's injury not be season ending! That being said, getting Smoke back lowers the anxiety level considerably.
  • I love Motor, and I love Moss. But, they aren't complimentary backs. Their styles are too similar. Whether it's Motor, or Moss, we need a more complimentary back next season.

Defensively:

  • Quinten Jefferson can be super disruptive when he steps on the field. The rotation in the front line has turned into a nightmare for opposing offenses. Especially late in the game, the rotation is so deep, it's gassing O-lines. It gassed the Steelers O-line, and it ether gassed, or just demoralized the Pats* young O-line. Fun to see.
  • I love seeing Hughs, and Addison closing in from both sides!
  • I feel like I saw a lot more 4-3 formations than usual, and I like it. Milano/Edmunds/Klein is a formidable trio.
  • A lot of hay was made by the announcers (several times, I believe) that Milano is essentially "playing for a contract." This is horse crap. From all the things I have read, and heard about, and from Milano, I feel entirely confident that both on, and off the field, he is not motivated by money. That's not to say that he won't want to get what he deserves, but the guy puts 110% on the field every single play. I don't think he even looks at the scoreboard. 
  • The issues we had at LB earlier in the season were really affecting every other defensive unit. The front four couldn't contain the run, and had to back off pressuring the QB. The backfield had to play closer to the LOS. Safeties had to play less on a string. Now that Milano is back, Edmunds is healthy, and Klein flipped that switch several weeks back, it is incredible to watch this D, with every unit clicking, work like a well-oiled machine. 

 

I do believe this is the first time I've ever seen Belichick* look befuddled. The Pats* weren't just out-played. They were out-coached. Watching the Bills pull their starters in the fourth was the perfect cap to this game. There was a point in the fourth that the camera showed a shot of Handyman Kraft in his box, and his mask couldn't hide his depression. Their reign is truly over.

 

 

 

Edited by Rocky Landing
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Yes the past 2 decades or so was absolutely miserable with the patriots, but they are officially has-beens now and will be for a long time. I loved the win like I do every other, but thats what it ended up being, a win like any other. This wasnt a bigger win- it was an expected win against the worst franchise in all of sports. The patriots dont mean ***** to me, and soon they wont mean anything to their lousy fanbase. We are fans of the best team and franchise in the AFC east. Its official.

 

LETS GO BUFFALO BABY

Edited by GETTOTHE50
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That was an excellent read.  In similar fashion, I really didn't think this game would mean that much to me, but man, did it.  It turns out that I NEEDED it, badly.  And not just the win.  How we won was so important.  Just dismantling that team, with each positive play taking away another bad memory.  

 

20 years is an awfully long time.

 

It felt a lot like what they used to do to us.  When there is such a disparity between the teams, there is literally nothing the bad team can do. They just have to watch it happen, helplessly - as we did so many times over the years.  I never thought I'd see the mighty Belichick on the other side of that.  

 

I became more of a fan of Knox last night, also - and I know opinions on that vary wildly.  He's a baller, just like his QB.  And resiliency is such an important quality.  He overcame that 1st drop to make some very key plays and really stand out as a contributor on offense.

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4 hours ago, BuffaloBillies said:

 

I think he has baby hands. Not trying to be funny. His drops in slo mo always looks like 4 little fingers mashed into each other. I said the same thing last year. He needs to spread his hands and fingers apart more and let the ball go in, then clutch. Surprised it hasn't been fixed, seems like a routine adjustment. 

The TD he dropped today was simply lack of focus.  He took his eyes off the ball before folding it into his chest.   You can't afford such silly loss of focus

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Virg, thanks as always.  I can never comment on all of you’re points, as too many, but just two.  First, I’ve been noticing for weeks how clean Allen’s pocket by outstanding line play, but then Allen is great with his escapability, but unlike years past doesn’t take off too many times.  
 

On a lighter note, I honestly believe Allen should start intentionally throwing it poorly to Knox (but don’t tell him).  He’ll be an automatic.  It sounds silly, but when the ball is thrown poorly, he can’t have his mind start racing about what to do next and just catches it.

 

Virg., lastly it was actually anti-climatic, and great.  It was great to go into this game knowing we already had the division locked up, and McD still played the starters until the 4th quarter.

 

Looking forward to next Monday Virg.  

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Two plays in this game, conducted in the Bills end of the field perfectly bookended the night.  

 

The first came when ST threw a left handed pass from Johnson to Neal on a punt formation where both gunners were left unblocked. A play formation NE used against Buffalo last year to block a punt for a tide-turning TD. 
 

The second was a deep pass to Davis when leading 31-9. A play reminiscent of the douchebaggery of Brady to Moss under the bright lights of SNF. A completion there would have been so epic. The message clearly sent there was the Bills were not done with the ass whooping. 
 

In two perfect weeks, first by the Dolphins eliminating the Patriots from the playoffs and followed up by the Bills finally beating down the Patriots in Primetime ensuring their first losing record in 21st century the peasants of the division rose up to dethrone the AFCEast kings. 
 

And yes the J*E*T*S are going to get their pound of flesh too this week completing a three straight game sweep of the Patriots. 
 

The reign of terror is now officially over and all the NFL is happy.  
 

!!!! so it is written, so it be done !!!!

Edited by wjag
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7 hours ago, Augie said:

Great write up, as always. I’d add more, but I’m tired.

 

On #8 Special Teams I keep hearing that called a fake punt. I think of it as good coaching and awareness. Was it just last year or the year before we failed to recognize they had us outmatched and couldn’t block every guy going for the punter? A big factor in losing a game.

 

Just like Josh, our coaching is growing as we watch. If they had covered the gunner, I bet we punt. They bit us on the arse once, and we learned from it. It wasn’t a bold decision as much as it was awareness, and that is tremendously encouraging! Winning the coaching battle feels AWESOME! 

 

It was appropriate that Jaquan Johnson threw that pass. He’s like the QB of the punt team.  Later in the game, the gunners were out wide and he noticed the Pats had nobody back so they were going for the block and he moved them back in.

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Virgil, i hope you understand how much I, and seemingly several others appreciate the work you and Shaw do each week.  Not to take ANYTHING against other posters re-capping.  Rockpile Report and  A Few Thoughts(which you seemlessly picked up from Bill).  But you two have done an outstanding job and I for one REALLY appreciate it

Edited by The Poojer
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To your last point on the class MCD had.

 

I percent agree.

 

At the end of the game I wonder if BB noticed it as well?

 

Usually he barely shakes the coaches hands and storms off.

 

But it seemed like he was showing MCD a lot of respect. Whether that was because he respect what he’s done with the bills, or cause MCD showed that class.

 

Either way, was cool to see.

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Spot on about the Special Teams.

 

In all the deserved hoop-la about the Offense, and growing confidence in the improved play of the Defense, the great season the Special Teams has put up almost goes unnoticed. But they have been, "special"! And to think, a few months ago there were plenty of TBD threads calling for a new punter and kicker. Ah, patience is such a great virtue, it usually pays off.

 

The one thing I kind of would like to see is a last second 50+ field goal to win the game--do that against the Fish just for fun and I would say this is a top asset of this Bills team.

 

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Good stuff. 
 

Regarding point #2. I hated it when people said Allen needed to stop rolling out and tossing back into the field. Over his first 2 years I can remember plenty of plays where we got huge conversions and gains from that ability. You are right. He’s now about perfected it. Making him roll to his left is a defenses only real hope for a pressure to rattle him. Even that’s not certain anymore. And I don’t even think Allen rolling to his right should be considered a “pressure” anymore. If he starts rolling that way opposing fans may as well kiss that play goodbye. He’s gonna drive a stake through you when he rolls that way. 
 

and then onto point #8. I read a really cool write up on “The Athletic” about how Beane went to Farwell going into last offseason and told him to make a wish list.  Top 2 guys on the list were Matakavich and Taiwan Jones. Beane went and got both and now here we are with a punter that is 5th in net average and a kickoff coverage unit that’s making stops inside the 20 look routine. Pretty cool. 

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The only concerning thing was why was Beasley still out there in the middle of the 4th quarter...now he is in danger of potentially missing the WC game for nothing.

 

It will be nice to have Brown back tho against Miami.

 

With this team it is actually funny because even when they get TDs called back I rarely get upset because I just figure they will score again. When it's 1st and 20 after a hold, I just assume they will pick up the first down.

 

The mindshift this team has created in me has been kinda crazy. It was the same type of mindshift the Sabres team out of the lockout created...its like OK...they are playing pretty good but how long will it last? Then it's like...wow these guys are actually really good...and then it became Holy *****!! These guys are good enough to win the SB!

 

Defense has now silently crept up to 10th in the NFL from being in the mid 20s at one point...teams no longer are able to creep back into games after we take big leads...they are putting it all together at the right time.

Edited by Big Turk
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On #2,  think that what you see is that on the first play Diggs WAS wide open so Josh knows that this is a situation where he can throw with bad footwork.  He has room for error.  The second was different.  The reason it is hard for a quarterback to throw when running to the left is because the throwing arm is downfield.  It's hard to get in proper position.  On this throw, Josh pivots in one smooth motion...as you mentioned, he barely stops...but he puts himself in perfect throwing position.  It was really a thing of footwork beauty.

 

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3 minutes ago, fergie's ire said:

On #2,  think that what you see is that on the first play Diggs WAS wide open so Josh knows that this is a situation where he can throw with bad footwork.  He has room for error.  The second was different.  The reason it is hard for a quarterback to throw when running to the left is because the throwing arm is downfield.  It's hard to get in proper position.  On this throw, Josh pivots in one smooth motion...as you mentioned, he barely stops...but he puts himself in perfect throwing position.  It was really a thing of footwork beauty.

 

Say what you want, Josh has arguably the best arm talent the league has ever seen.  In year 3, his mechanics might still not be perfect, but some of these throws, no one, including Mahomes can make.

 

Edited by BearNorth
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36 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

The only concerning thing was why was Beasley still out there in the middle of the 4th quarter...now he is in danger of potentially missing the WC game for nothing.

 

It will be nice to have Brown back tho against Miami.

 

With this team it is actually funny because even when they get TDs called back I rarely get upset because I just figure they will score again. When it's 1st and 20 after a hold, I just assume they will pick up the first down.

 

The mindshift this team has created in me has been kinda crazy. It was the same type of mindshift the Sabres team out of the lockout created...its like OK...they are playing pretty good but how long will it last? Then it's like...wow these guys are actually really good...and then it became Holy *****!! These guys are good enough to win the SB!

 

Defense has now silently crept up to 10th in the NFL from being in the mid 20s at one point...teams no longer are able to creep back into games after we take big leads...they are putting it all together at the right time.

I believe that they were trying to get Beasley his first 1000 yd receptions in one season. Unfortunately, their largess may cost them in the long run. One could only hope that he heals quickly after this weeks "bye".

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Great write up, thanks. I know it would have been classless, but I wish they’d hung 50+ on them. Just this one time, no need to do it again, but just once would have been nice.

 

Who called the fake punt? When they see Patriots in that formation did the call come from sideline? Or is that call made on the field?

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