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

[hemma]

Regardless of game outcome, always a good read.

It must be difficult to write this much, this well.

 

Good thing the season is getting shorter you'll only need to write five more....

[TheCockSportif]

I thought you bailed on us, @Virgil!  Glad to be able to read this today, and yeah, writing the same thing over and over about a really good team... is a great problem to have.  🙂

[Seasons1992]

8 hours ago, Rocky Landing said:

I love Lee Smith. And, color commentators should stop referring to him as "blocking tight end Lee Smith." Lee Smith runs routes!

 

I yell out "BIG FAT LEE SMITH!" in great excitement every time he gets a play/catch. 

I don't care, dude is helping this team get to February (God-willing).

[whatdrought]

Should be mentioned on point #8, special teams:

 

One of the best ST plays was Bass hanging the ball in the air for 25.3 minutes on a kickoff and having it drop at the 3, forcing the return. Led to a big tackle and a block in the back penalty that backed them up. If he can do stuff like that at will, it creates opportunities for our coverage team.

[Bob in STL]

Virgil,

 

Nice post.  Thoughtful as usual.  I am however, going to disagree with your points in item 1.  You describe the game as “Completely irrelevant” and state  “there wasn't even a concern for what the game results would mean.”   
 

True, we clinched the division two weeks prior but this was NOT an irrelevant game.  Using the term “completely irrelevant” suggests you are missing a key point.  We absolutely needed to slay that Patriots* dragon all by ourselves and we needed to kick their assets on National TV to make it even better.  After 20 years we needed that statement.  We poured water on the wicked witch and the whole country got to see her dry up and fade away.  
 

You can discount the playoff seeding implications all you want, even though they are important, but you cannot discount the importance of beating up the Pats* (including BB), in Foxboro, all by ourselves.  I think this was one of the most important wins we have had in two decades.   Even the Bills players and coaching staff, none of whom lived through the 20 years of pain that we have, all realized the relevance and importance of this game,  played in the Gillette House of Horrors, on MNF.  
 

Had we lost the game the tone on this forum, and in the locker room, and would be totally different.  This was an important win for the entire franchise and it could be a turning point for years to come.  Clearly we are the far better team on paper, we finally showed it on the battlefield.    
 

Completely irrelevant game?   I just cannot buy that.   This “W” is huge!   

[Einstein's Dog]

10 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! 

I think coaching deserved it's own bullet point.  It has improved and is now top level.  The aggressive 4th down calls.  The transition to the exuding confidence, that the team is dictating terms and making the opponent play to keep up.  For instance, what a joy it was to see NE have to concede to milking the clock at the end of the first half, coming to the decision that it was too risky to try and pass the ball vs the possibility of giving the ball back to us with some time on the clock.  And this was knowing we got the ball to start the second half.  Yeah, everyone knew who had the more potent offense- the announcers had to kind of mumble their way through it.  If our earlier 4th down decisions had not worked, I believe they would of handled this end of half differently.  Excellent early decisions leading to putting the game away early in the 3rd quarter.

 

Hope this top notch level coaching can continue.  It's harder to do when the stakes are higher but we've seen the top level coaching for several games now.  What a difference between the two NE games!  One holding on for dear life and the other wondering when the reserves will come in.

[The Wiz]

Point #8:

 

Really need to give a shoutout to Bojo for selling this fake punt.  I haven't seen a sell like that since Jay Culter in the wildcat formation.  I can't really blame him though.  I'd be a little upset too if the team wouldn't let me do my job.

 

 

 

[Rocky Landing]

1 hour ago, Seasons1992 said:

 

I yell out "BIG FAT LEE SMITH!" in great excitement every time he gets a play/catch. 

I don't care, dude is helping this team get to February (God-willing).

That's hilarious!

On Lee's second catch, Yelled out "nobody gets open like Lee Smith!" and then laughed really hard at my own joke. It's funny because it's (bizarrely) true!

[Ga boy]

12 hours ago, Virgil said:

For the first time since I've started writing these, I find myself struggling to talk about new thoughts that haven't come up in previous weeks.  I've had a few weeks over the past few years where I had similar struggles, but that was when we could barely put any points on the board.  The struggles now are for a reason I didn't see coming.  What do I write about when there really aren't many opportunities on the team and we just keep steamrolling opponents?  How many times can you talk about how great Allen and Diggs are?  Even more-so, when such high performance becomes an expectation, is it even worth mentioning?  Either way, here we go.....

 

1 - The Burn - Going into this game, there wasn't a doubt in my mind that we were going to win this game.  People talked up the Pats dominance of the Bills and how close the last game was.  In talking about it with my father, the closest scenario I could come up with was a single score victory because the Pats scored late and we benched ours starters.  Many of us were waiting for this epic moment where we defeated the Patriots to win the division and establish ourselves as the pride of the AFC East.  The problem is, if you can even call it that, we settled that weeks ago and before we even took the field.  To me, and I know there's a varying opinion on this, but the best thing we could have done is make this game completely irrelevant.  Yes, playoff seeding and playoff match-ups, blah blah blah.  But that's all icing on the cake.  That's after the fact concerns.  We played our week 16 game, on Monday Night Football, in Foxboro, against the Pats, and there wasn't even a concern for what the game results would mean.  Please let that sink in.  We, the Buffalo Bills, made this game not even matter.  However, we still went out and did what we've done the past few weeks and absolutely imposed our will. 

 

2 - Allen - One of the biggest knocks on Allen in his first two seasons was making throws across his body, into the middle of the field, and on his back foot to where he dangerously created a potential turnover.  Besides putting up over 300 yards and breaking the passing touchdown record, Allen's ascension can be described in two plays.  Allen rolls out to his right, throws completely across his body, and finds a wide open Diggs 15 yards downfield.  Later, Allen rolls to his left, barely stops and throws against his momentum 20 yards down field and perfectly into the covered hands of Diggs for a touchdown.  My point?  Allen didn't stop making those mistakes, he's perfected them and made them almost an expectation.  If Allen has a next level, the entire league should be very afraid.

 

3 - Diggs - Why?  Why would you talk trash to the NFL's leading receiver in receptions and yards?  In typical Diggs fashion, he was slow in the first half as the offense evaluated what the Pats were throwing at him.  I don't know if it was Jackson's trash talk or what, but Diggs subsequently put on an absolute clinic.  Diggs showed break away speed on his 50 yard TD catch and run.  He showed power on his double breaking tackle in the slot, to then walk into the end zone.  Lastly, he showed great hands on the previously mentioned "Allen" throw for his 3rd touchdown.  Diggs didn't just take back the receptions and yards lead, he made a statement in prime-time as to why he is one of the best receivers in the league.  Like Allen, to break these records before finishing the game and having a week left is nothing short of incredible.

 

4 - And 100,000 tons of steel, made to roll.

The brakes don't work and this grade's too steep, her engine's sure to blow.

And 100,000 tons of steel, out of control,

She's more a rollercoaster than the train I used to know.

 

5 - Offensive Line - For a line that hasn't played together healthy for an entire game, Allen's jersey looked awfully clean in this game.  By the end of the game, Allen only was hit one time, and had all day to throw.  The Pats showed numerous blitzes and brought more than 5 quite a few times.  Their results?  A whole lot of nothing.  This offensive line still has opportunities to run block early in games, but they show up at the end when it matters to close the game out and they overall give Allen enough time to do what he does best.  This unit has adjusted to injuries and a barrage of successful opposing team pass rushes.  Among all of that, this was still one of their best overall games, and that's saying something.

 

6 - Milano - Frazier said a few weeks ago that he didn't think Milano wasn't going to 100% for the rest of the season.  If this wasn't Milano at 100%, hide your children because he was a monster out there!  Milano played both coverage and at the line.  He has his obligatory destruction a halfback block into the quarterback.  He took up blocks that allowed other D-Lineman to get to the quarterback.  However, and to me this is the greatest sign of his strength coming back, he made multiple tackles in the flat and open field where he stopped the runner in his tracks.  He came at guys like a missile and took away the check down plays which the Pats normally heavily rely upon.  We need to find the money to bring Milano back.

 

7 - Poyer - While it wasn't a great look getting dinged up trying to lay a hit on Cam, Poyer also had a really solid game.  There were two play in particular where a pass was incomplete because of a perfectly timed his by Poyer as the ball arrived.  In typical Poyer fashion, he played all over the field and delivered multiple punishing blows.  Poyer being snubbed from the Pro-Bowl is a crime and I hope that motivates him to continue on his excellent performance into the playoffs.  Side note, when Marlowe came in, I don't know how Cam didn't fumble on his blitz.  Marlowe laid the wood on Cam.

 

8 - Special Teams - Besides Bass kicking a lot of field goals (sorry, we were to busy scoring touchdowns), this may have been one of our better Special Teams games of the season. The Pats did have a solid kickoff return to start the game, but there was a blatant block in the back penalty not called.  Beyond that, Bojo boomed his only punt, the fake punt was perfectly executed, Bass is right down the middle, and Roberts another huge kickoff return.  This unit doesn't get a lot of attention because they aren't needed, but to see them make the most of every opportunity is another reason why this team is poised to make a run.

 

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.

 

 

Absolutely dominating the Pats felt a lot better than I though it would.  I really thought the meaningless game against a broken Cam and Belly wouldn't resonate much with me.  I was wrong, very wrong.  When Diggs caught that 2nd touchdown, I yelled and jumped off the couch.  There's a lot of buried residual emotion towards the Pats and this felt like a cleansing.  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.

 

Go Bills!

 

Virg:  Were you grasping at straws with the lyrics “out of control”?  Just not feeling this goes with what I’m enjoying about our Bills right now.  Let’s go with “Every rose has its thorn, every night has its dawn!” or “Wash the sorrow from my skin, show me how to be whole again” or “I’m caught in a dream, and my dreams come true.  So hard to believe this is happening to me”.  I’d also suggest “good vibrations” but prolly not your style.  Just busting you a little.  Always appreciate your insights.  Don’t stop billieving with our Bills!!
 

[Virgil]

56 minutes ago, Bob in STL said:

Virgil,

 

Nice post.  Thoughtful as usual.  I am however, going to disagree with your points in item 1.  You describe the game as “Completely irrelevant” and state  “there wasn't even a concern for what the game results would mean.”   
 

True, we clinched the division two weeks prior but this was NOT an irrelevant game.  Using the term “completely irrelevant” suggests you are missing a key point.  We absolutely needed to slay that Patriots* dragon all by ourselves and we needed to kick their assets on National TV to make it even better.  After 20 years we needed that statement.  We poured water on the wicked witch and the whole country got to see her dry up and fade away.  
 

You can discount the playoff seeding implications all you want, even though they are important, but you cannot discount the importance of beating up the Pats* (including BB), in Foxboro, all by ourselves.  I think this was one of the most important wins we have had in two decades.   Even the Bills players and coaching staff, none of whom lived through the 20 years of pain that we have, all realized the relevance and importance of this game,  played in the Gillette House of Horrors, on MNF.  
 

Had we lost the game the tone on this forum, and in the locker room, and would be totally different.  This was an important win for the entire franchise and it could be a turning point for years to come.  Clearly we are the far better team on paper, we finally showed it on the battlefield.    
 

Completely irrelevant game?   I just cannot buy that.   This “W” is huge!   

I think I’m doing a poor job of explaining what I mean, and I agree with your points.  
 

To me, this wasn’t a must win besides for mental/morale purposes.  If not playing the second round at home is the reason we potentially lose, then that’s on the team not the situation and we didn’t deserve it anyways.  
 

Yes, there were reasons to win, but the overall essence the of needing to beat the Pats and worrying about seeding it behind me at this point.  We’ve been that good to where I just don’t care about either.  We can overcome it. 
 

I don’t know if that made any more sense 

[machine gun kelly]

5 hours ago, wjag said:

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 !!!!

That would truly be fun.  As much as I want the Jests to beat the Pats emotionally, the jests can’t move down on the draft position with a win, so I’d much rather have the Pats win so it could be anything from 7 to 14th spot.  Let’s hope closer to 14.  Screw the Cheats.  From what Sal said yesterday, they don’t have another pick until the 4th so yeah.  No replenishing anything.

They have an again team with an adjusted $175 cap of $44 mil.  That’s $, but they need way to much to make that work.  They desperately need a QB, WR’s, probably a TE, and much more on defense.

 

wish list...  Belichick is steeped by the Fins and us, and has another losing season so I can make my obligatory call to Coach Weiss on NFLR and say it was always Tommy.  🥵🙂👹

 

[Realist]

Awesome as usual Virgil!

 

One thing I noticed early in this game, when Bills were forced to settle for 3 points. I turned to my wife and said "We're going to slaughter them tonight". It was only 3-3, but the way they went down the field on the Pats, I just knew it was over almost before it started. Strange to have that feeling about the Bills.

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

Milano was absolutely amazing in this game. If for some reason we can’t keep him we need to franchise and trade him. Milano might be the best cover LB in the NFL. 

[ganesh]

17 minutes ago, Call_Of_Ktulu said:

Milano was absolutely amazing in this game. If for some reason we can’t keep him we need to franchise and trade him. Milano might be the best cover LB in the NFL. 

Agreed.  Only knock on him is his inability to play 16 games

[Punching Bag]

3 hours ago, MarlinTheMagician said:

One I would add a shout-out for who is rarely mentioned:  Ed Oliver.  I think our first round pick is rounding in to form.  He was consistently disruptive.

 

Eppenesa too - I thought he killed Stidham.  Kid is going to provide pass rush.

 

Every team needs a Samoan.  Eppenesa is ours.

2 hours ago, Bob in STL said:

Virgil,

 

Nice post.  Thoughtful as usual.  I am however, going to disagree with your points in item 1.  You describe the game as “Completely irrelevant” and state  “there wasn't even a concern for what the game results would mean.”   
 

True, we clinched the division two weeks prior but this was NOT an irrelevant game.  Using the term “completely irrelevant” suggests you are missing a key point.  We absolutely needed to slay that Patriots* dragon all by ourselves and we needed to kick their assets on National TV to make it even better.  After 20 years we needed that statement.  We poured water on the wicked witch and the whole country got to see her dry up and fade away.  
 

You can discount the playoff seeding implications all you want, even though they are important, but you cannot discount the importance of beating up the Pats* (including BB), in Foxboro, all by ourselves.  I think this was one of the most important wins we have had in two decades.   Even the Bills players and coaching staff, none of whom lived through the 20 years of pain that we have, all realized the relevance and importance of this game,  played in the Gillette House of Horrors, on MNF.  
 

Had we lost the game the tone on this forum, and in the locker room, and would be totally different.  This was an important win for the entire franchise and it could be a turning point for years to come.  Clearly we are the far better team on paper, we finally showed it on the battlefield.    
 

Completely irrelevant game?   I just cannot buy that.   This “W” is huge!   

 

The two worst losses of Billicheat's P*ts career have been to Buffalo.  

Next year I hope the four worst losses are.

[Punching Bag]

5 hours ago, ColeB said:

 

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.

 

They elevated Davis Webb but he was inactive.  Next week they could have him holder on FGs and throw a pass.

[Figster]

I think Shaw agrees with you Virgil,

 

We get it, and you guys are doing an awesome job getting it to us.

 

Its hard to find things to write about when the team seems to be doing everything right. The Bills are the talk of the football nation so where do you begin. Allen and Diggs are turning into household names and McD's D is turning up the heat. 

 

and the train it won't stop,

 

no way to slow down...

[Ralonzo]

14 hours ago, Virgil said:

However, we still went out and did what we've done the past few weeks and absolutely imposed our will. 

 

A really underrated component in setting the attitude, on the field, the bench and in the locker room, to physically dominate the opposition is: Lee Smith. He's one of those "sheriff" types or maybe something like an NHL enforcer. Just his presence increases the bully factor of the 10 other guys on the field.

[BillsFan619]

14 hours ago, Virgil said:

For the first time since I've started writing these, I find myself struggling to talk about new thoughts that haven't come up in previous weeks.  I've had a few weeks over the past few years where I had similar struggles, but that was when we could barely put any points on the board.  The struggles now are for a reason I didn't see coming.  What do I write about when there really aren't many opportunities on the team and we just keep steamrolling opponents?  How many times can you talk about how great Allen and Diggs are?  Even more-so, when such high performance becomes an expectation, is it even worth mentioning?  Either way, here we go.....

 

1 - The Burn - Going into this game, there wasn't a doubt in my mind that we were going to win this game.  People talked up the Pats dominance of the Bills and how close the last game was.  In talking about it with my father, the closest scenario I could come up with was a single score victory because the Pats scored late and we benched ours starters.  Many of us were waiting for this epic moment where we defeated the Patriots to win the division and establish ourselves as the pride of the AFC East.  The problem is, if you can even call it that, we settled that weeks ago and before we even took the field.  To me, and I know there's a varying opinion on this, but the best thing we could have done is make this game completely irrelevant.  Yes, playoff seeding and playoff match-ups, blah blah blah.  But that's all icing on the cake.  That's after the fact concerns.  We played our week 16 game, on Monday Night Football, in Foxboro, against the Pats, and there wasn't even a concern for what the game results would mean.  Please let that sink in.  We, the Buffalo Bills, made this game not even matter.  However, we still went out and did what we've done the past few weeks and absolutely imposed our will. 

 

2 - Allen - One of the biggest knocks on Allen in his first two seasons was making throws across his body, into the middle of the field, and on his back foot to where he dangerously created a potential turnover.  Besides putting up over 300 yards and breaking the passing touchdown record, Allen's ascension can be described in two plays.  Allen rolls out to his right, throws completely across his body, and finds a wide open Diggs 15 yards downfield.  Later, Allen rolls to his left, barely stops and throws against his momentum 20 yards down field and perfectly into the covered hands of Diggs for a touchdown.  My point?  Allen didn't stop making those mistakes, he's perfected them and made them almost an expectation.  If Allen has a next level, the entire league should be very afraid.

 

3 - Diggs - Why?  Why would you talk trash to the NFL's leading receiver in receptions and yards?  In typical Diggs fashion, he was slow in the first half as the offense evaluated what the Pats were throwing at him.  I don't know if it was Jackson's trash talk or what, but Diggs subsequently put on an absolute clinic.  Diggs showed break away speed on his 50 yard TD catch and run.  He showed power on his double breaking tackle in the slot, to then walk into the end zone.  Lastly, he showed great hands on the previously mentioned "Allen" throw for his 3rd touchdown.  Diggs didn't just take back the receptions and yards lead, he made a statement in prime-time as to why he is one of the best receivers in the league.  Like Allen, to break these records before finishing the game and having a week left is nothing short of incredible.

 

4 - And 100,000 tons of steel, made to roll.

The brakes don't work and this grade's too steep, her engine's sure to blow.

And 100,000 tons of steel, out of control,

She's more a rollercoaster than the train I used to know.

 

5 - Offensive Line - For a line that hasn't played together healthy for an entire game, Allen's jersey looked awfully clean in this game.  By the end of the game, Allen only was hit one time, and had all day to throw.  The Pats showed numerous blitzes and brought more than 5 quite a few times.  Their results?  A whole lot of nothing.  This offensive line still has opportunities to run block early in games, but they show up at the end when it matters to close the game out and they overall give Allen enough time to do what he does best.  This unit has adjusted to injuries and a barrage of successful opposing team pass rushes.  Among all of that, this was still one of their best overall games, and that's saying something.

 

6 - Milano - Frazier said a few weeks ago that he didn't think Milano wasn't going to 100% for the rest of the season.  If this wasn't Milano at 100%, hide your children because he was a monster out there!  Milano played both coverage and at the line.  He has his obligatory destruction a halfback block into the quarterback.  He took up blocks that allowed other D-Lineman to get to the quarterback.  However, and to me this is the greatest sign of his strength coming back, he made multiple tackles in the flat and open field where he stopped the runner in his tracks.  He came at guys like a missile and took away the check down plays which the Pats normally heavily rely upon.  We need to find the money to bring Milano back.

 

7 - Poyer - While it wasn't a great look getting dinged up trying to lay a hit on Cam, Poyer also had a really solid game.  There were two play in particular where a pass was incomplete because of a perfectly timed his by Poyer as the ball arrived.  In typical Poyer fashion, he played all over the field and delivered multiple punishing blows.  Poyer being snubbed from the Pro-Bowl is a crime and I hope that motivates him to continue on his excellent performance into the playoffs.  Side note, when Marlowe came in, I don't know how Cam didn't fumble on his blitz.  Marlowe laid the wood on Cam.

 

8 - Special Teams - Besides Bass kicking a lot of field goals (sorry, we were to busy scoring touchdowns), this may have been one of our better Special Teams games of the season. The Pats did have a solid kickoff return to start the game, but there was a blatant block in the back penalty not called.  Beyond that, Bojo boomed his only punt, the fake punt was perfectly executed, Bass is right down the middle, and Roberts another huge kickoff return.  This unit doesn't get a lot of attention because they aren't needed, but to see them make the most of every opportunity is another reason why this team is poised to make a run.

 

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.

 

 

Absolutely dominating the Pats felt a lot better than I though it would.  I really thought the meaningless game against a broken Cam and Belly wouldn't resonate much with me.  I was wrong, very wrong.  When Diggs caught that 2nd touchdown, I yelled and jumped off the couch.  There's a lot of buried residual emotion towards the Pats and this felt like a cleansing.  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.

 

Go Bills!

 

Love the thoughts, Virg! Thanks for sharing them.

 

Go Bills!

[RangerDave]

6 hours ago, bmur66 said:

Good write up. You know how a lion sinks it’s teeth into its preys neck. The prey squirms and wiggles but essentially it’s all over. That’s is how the Bills have been winning.

One thing that struck me toward the end of the game was how the Bills showed class by not running up the score.  But more so than class, it seemed to me like they were saying, "Yeah, I could continue to beat you into submission, but you're just not worth my time.  But if just try and get up, you will regret it!"

[Punching Bag]

50 minutes ago, RangerDave said:

One thing that struck me toward the end of the game was how the Bills showed class by not running up the score.  But more so than class, it seemed to me like they were saying, "Yeah, I could continue to beat you into submission, but you're just not worth my time.  But if just try and get up, you will regret it!"

 

Part of the reason was there were a number of New England players visibly giving up.

[Ralonzo]

17 minutes ago, Limeaid said:

 

Part of the reason was there were a number of New England players visibly giving up.

 

Reminded me of the end of Bloodsport.

 

"You stomped 'em real good!"

"Worse, they made 'em say Matei"

[Nihilarian]

I've been waiting for so long to see the Buffalo Bills sweep the Patriots and literally destroy them like they did on Monday night.

 

This regime is the best since Bill Polian and Marv Levy and perhaps even better as they have two playoff appearances in the first three seasons. Now, McD and Beane have built a powerhouse 12-3 team with a top 5 offense and a defense that is catching up to the offense. What a team!

 

This game meant so much to all Bills fans and the Bills beat them in Gillette stadium. The only thing that wasn't so great was with no fans we couldn't see the Pats fans streaming out in the second half or the Bills fans in the stadium singing Sha na na hey hey goodbye! 

 

 

 

Although I loved what the Bills did on offense in this game... the best part was ole Bill showing his frustration. Simply priceless! 

 

Edited December 30, 2020 by Nihilarian

[OrediggerPoke]

The play to Diggs wasn't some new invention..

 

Go to the 4:10 mark

 

[GaryPinC]

20 hours 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.  

 

I haven't paid attention to all his drops, but on more than one he tries to catch balls right at him by trapping against his body instead of extending his hands, catching, then cushioning back to his body.

That's why he has an easier time with away balls because it's all hands.

Thing is it should be easy to correct, I hope coaches have noticed and are trying.

[Artful Dodger]

22 hours ago, Virgil said:

If Allen has a next level, the entire league should be very afraid.

 

Great line and very true.

[BearNorth]

23 hours ago, Stank_Nasty said:

 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. 

Just never let Jones, who is the fastest guy [yes faster than smoke] on a pretty fast team ever go out for a pass unless on ST.  That drop had me throwing the remote.

[Heathcliff]

Another coaching detail that we should discuss is the last second DL shift after OL blocking call is made. I noticed this multiple times in the last games. It could add an element of confusion to result in blown/missed block. I like it!

[Kwai San]

On 12/30/2020 at 8:03 AM, The Poojer said:

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

 

I too would like to offer my thanks and admiration for both @Virgil and @Shaw66.  I look forward to your reads each week as it provides a nice recap to things that during the crazy of the game we forget or just need to be reminded of!  MANY THANKS!!!

 

Gentlemen - I look forward to 5 more write ups this season!!!

 

GO BILLS!!!!

[Rocky Landing]

2 minutes ago, Kwai San said:

 

I too would like to offer my thanks and admiration for both @Virgil and @Shaw66.  I look forward to your reads each week as it provides a nice recap to things that during the crazy of the game we forget or just need to be reminded of!  MANY THANKS!!!

 

Gentlemen - I look forward to 5 more write ups this season!!!

 

GO BILLS!!!!

I would also like to give a shoutout to @Dont Stop Billeiving for his weekly scouting reports. While it's great to read Virgil, and Shaw's write-ups after the game, it's great to read DSB's write-ups before the game. For those who aren't taking advantage of the work he is putting in on these, I highly recommend these posts. He looks at the three prior games for every team we face, and provides analysis. And whether you agree with his opinions, or not, they're very informative.

 

So, to Virgil, Shaw, and DSB: You guys really help make this the best fan forum in football.

[Kwai San]

7 hours ago, Rocky Landing said:

I would also like to give a shoutout to @Dont Stop Billeiving for his weekly scouting reports. While it's great to read Virgil, and Shaw's write-ups after the game, it's great to read DSB's write-ups before the game. For those who aren't taking advantage of the work he is putting in on these, I highly recommend these posts. He looks at the three prior games for every team we face, and provides analysis. And whether you agree with his opinions, or not, they're very informative.

 

So, to Virgil, Shaw, and DSB: You guys really help make this the best fan forum in football.

 

I will def seek this out!!!!

[The Poojer]

I will definitely check out the pre-scouting write ups.  Thanks for the tip!

 

21 hours ago, Rocky Landing said:

I would also like to give a shoutout to @Dont Stop Billeiving for his weekly scouting reports. While it's great to read Virgil, and Shaw's write-ups after the game, it's great to read DSB's write-ups before the game. For those who aren't taking advantage of the work he is putting in on these, I highly recommend these posts. He looks at the three prior games for every team we face, and provides analysis. And whether you agree with his opinions, or not, they're very informative.

 

So, to Virgil, Shaw, and DSB: You guys really help make this the best fan forum in football.