Round 1 Playoff: Colts at Bills - Sat. 1/9 1:05pm

[BananaB]

28 minutes ago, wjag said:

There is no fiber in my being that believes the Bills season is over at 1600 on Saturday.  None.  Of course the Colts will fight to the end.  That's what is expected.  I expect some anxious moments in the game.   Taylor had a decent year.  He's at 5.0 average for the season.  He played well last week against a bad run defense.  But take away that last game and he looks rather average.  He's averaging 73 yards a game WITH that 253 yard outlier.  Are we giving him too much credit?

 

after the game score, the stats are: attempts, yards, average/rush, TDs.  I've bolded and separated his weekly totals.  

 

Sun 1/3 vs JAX W  28-14 30    253    8.4 2

Sun 12/27 @PIT L 28-24 18    74    4.12 1

Sun 12/20 vs  HOU W 27-20 16    83    5.2 1

Sun 12/13 @ LV W 44-27 20    150    7.5 2

Sun 12/6 @ HOU W 26-20 13    91    7.00 2

Sun 11/22 vs GB W 34-31 OT 22    90    4.10 1

Thu 11/12 @ TEN W 34-17 7    12    1.7 0

Sun 11/8 vs BAL L 24-10 6    27    4.5 1

Sun 11/1 @ DET W 41-21 11    22    2.0 0

Sun 10/18 vs CIN W 31-27 12    60    5.0 0

Sun 10/11 @ CLE L 32-23 12    57    4.8 1

Sun 10/4 @ CHI W 19-11 17    68    4.0 0

Sun 9/27 vs NYJ W 36-7 13    59    4.5 1

Sun 9/20 vs MIN W 28-11 26    101    3.9

Sun 9/13 @ JAX L 27-20 9    22    2.4 0 

He’s been getting in the end zone a lot the last half dozen games. A lot of those games were against weak defences not just the last one, or  maybe it’s a just rookie building confidence. Either way our  D has got to be sharp tomorrow. 

[wjag]

5 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I'm not sure I can gear myself up to listen to it; got a synopsis?

 

Josh hasn't done it nor has his coach done it yet in the playoffs.  Show me.  He picks the Colts to win.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, Paul Costa said:

The Bills Offense and the Texans offense are really different. Starting with the O line. Ours is much better. They don’t have Diggs. They traded that guy away. Our overall receiver room with Beasley is much stronger. Let’s call the RB’s & TE’s a push. The other thing the Texans don’t have is a good defense or special teams. All three phases of the Bills work together. To compare Watson & Allen is a small part of this game.

 

Good point. 

[BillsFan619]

4 hours ago, JMF2006 said:

I get to watch the game live tomorrow

 

I switched shifts with guy at work who is more of a hockey fan than a football fan

 

He knows how much the Bills and this game means to me

 

What a great guy

Way cool, bro! That’s great that you’re able to watch it, you must be ecstatic. And, that is a great guy.

 

May we all enjoy watching our first playoff win in a long time. Go Bills!

[4BillsintheBurgh]

1 hour ago, Whkfc said:

https://youtu.be/mraBfrHIPDU

 

 

i didnt think it deserved its own thread but here is Nick Wrights take on tomorrow's game.

 

 

Nick reminds me of this guy:

 

 

"Hans, bubby, I'm your white knight."

―Ellis to Hans Gruber

 

Harry Ellis was a sleazy businessman working for the Nakatomi Corporation. A cocaine user, and stereotypical yuppie, Ellis arrogantly attempted to assist Hans Gruber in betraying John McClane to save his own life, only to get himself killed by Gruber in the process.

 

https://diehard.fandom.com/wiki/Harry_Ellis

 

[BillsFan619]

2 hours ago, bills6969 said:

I’m becoming increasingly worried for this game for the following reasons:

 

1) Phil Rivers is 17 year veteran,  he’s been here before,  won’t be phased by the moment. He’ll have that offense prepared for whatever we throw at them.

 

2) All the pressure is on us to win,  how will we handle it?  We know JA is a stud, but how will he handle the pressure of this game if things get tight?  Going back to last years debacle in the playoffs,  we were crushing Houston then Houston woke up and got things going and we folded like a cheap suit.   It’s been a awhile since this team has faced any adversity.  If we struggle early or get behind will the team play tight?

JA responds really well to adversity (he has for pretty much his whole career so far). You could even tell his rookie season that he had “it”.

 

I know he hasn’t had to do it in the last few games, but even this year he has responded to adversity well. He had them up in the Arizona game and he won the Rams game just to name a couple. Also, in the Houston game that you’re referring to, he brought them back and took it to overtime.

 

The moment is not too big for him.

[Patrick Duffy]

1 hour ago, TylerD said:

Rivers had a pretty special year in 2018... It was overlooked because the Chiefs and Ravens were so good.... The chargers had a really good team that year.

I know some have said Rivers isn't that good and he's old, his arm is weak etc. But he did have a pretty decent year this season. He may not be quite the Rivers of a few years ago but, he does have plenty of playoff experience and that's always a plus.

 

I happen to be one of the posters that think this game will be closer than those I have seen post that the Bills will steam roll the colts ( and I hope they do). You just never know in the post season. I'd love for the Bills to run away with this so I don't have heart failure or bite my nails down to nubs.

 

I don't know, I just kinda think the final score of this game will be within 7-10 points. FR has been a pretty good coach and I think he will have a game plan that gives them a chance. That's if Bills don't come out on fire and score on every possession before half time.

 

Then obviously that game plan will change.

[BillsFan619]

1 hour ago, wjag said:

 

The fact that Indy faced Watson is interesting.  So I went and looked at their most meaningful stats.

 

Game 1:  Colts win 26-20 

Watson: 343 yards passing, 0 TDS

Texans Rushing: <100

TOP: Colts 33m

Rivers: 285 yards, 2 TDs

Taylor: 93 yards rushing, team: 114 yards

Sacks: 5!! (Buckner 2, J Houston 3)

 

Game 2: Colts win 27-20

Watson: 373 yards, 2 TDs

Texans Rushing: <100

TOP: Texans 30.5m

Rivers: 228 yards, 2TDs

Taylor: 83 yards, team: 127 yards

Sacks: 5!! (Buckner 3, Autry 1.5, Lewis: .5)

 

 As I recall, there was also a late fumble in one  of these games near the goal line stopping a late Texans drive.

If JA has similar stats to Watson’s stats (I’ll think JA will have more TD passes though), we should definitely win this game.

 

Go Bills!

[Pokebball]

22 minutes ago, wjag said:

 

Josh hasn't done it nor has his coach done it yet in the playoffs.  Show me.  He picks the Colts to win.

Another thing he said, to support him picking the Colts, is that he thinks the Bills have played to well recently and they don't know how to play in a close game.

[Patrick Duffy]

3 minutes ago, Pokebball said:

Another thing he said, to support him picking the Colts, is that he thinks the Bills have played to well recently and they don't know how to play in a close game.

That's kinda silly. I mean they played close games, just off the top of my head, Rams, Raiders, Cardinals (fluke/luck win for them). and they closed those out.

 

Edited January 8, 2021 by Patrick_Duffy

[Not at the table Karlos]

1 hour ago, Whkfc said:

https://youtu.be/mraBfrHIPDU

 

 

i didnt think it deserved its own thread but here is Nick Wrights take on tomorrow's game.

 

 

Doesn’t deserve to be shared. Why give him more attention or money. Just ignore him

[Success]

I don't really have an issue w/ someone picking the Colts. It's a decent upset pick for the weekend. If they execute the kind of gameplan that we expect well (grinding out long drives w/ the run and keeping Allen off the field), they have a very good chance.

 

Of course, as Tyson said, everyone has a plan until they get hit.  Or something like that.

 

But to pick them because Josh & McD haven't "done it in the playoffs?"  or because they're not used to close games?  Pretty thin.

 

[Patrick Duffy]

7 minutes ago, Pokebball said:

Another thing he said, to support him picking the Colts, is that he thinks the Bills have played to well recently and they don't know how to play in a close game.

Just looked up thread a little and noticed the person you guys are talking about is Nick Wright. Lol, Yeah I expect nonsense from him. I don't even listen/watch that guy ever. I think he just talks nonsense a lot of the time just to get reactions and clicks/ratings.

 

Because a majority of things he says is down right off the wall stupidity.

[Buffalo4Life01]

5 minutes ago, Patrick_Duffy said:

That's kinda silly. I mean they played close games, just off the top of my head, Rams, Raiders, Cardinals (fluke/luck win for them). and they closed those out.

 

Not to mention close wins against the Patriots (1st game), Dolphins (1st game) and you could even argue the Seahawks game (competitive until late 3rd quarter) and 2nd Jets game were close as well.

[Figster]

The Bills have been very focused with the task at hand week in and week out since the bye ending the regular season on a high note. Its been a turbulent week and without getting into details making it very easy to lose that focus. I hope McD can find the right words to help settle his players as Buffalo begins its march to the Superbowl.

[Patrick Duffy]

Just now, Buffalo4Life01 said:

Not to mention close wins against the Patriots (1st game), Dolphins (1st game) and you could even argue the Seahawks game (competitive until late 3rd quarter) and 2nd Jets game were close as well.

Exactly, I just named the ones off the top of my head real quick. But yes, exactly.

[BillsFan619]

10 minutes ago, Pokebball said:

Another thing he said, to support him picking the Colts, is that he thinks the Bills have played to well recently and they don't know how to play in a close game.

Wow, he’s definitely wrong. The first half of the season was us winning close games.

 

The last quarter of the season was us winning against teams handily.

[Patrick Duffy]

1 minute ago, Figster said:

The Bills have been very focused with the task at hand week in and week out since the bye ending the regular season on a high note. Its been a turbulent week and without getting into details making it very easy to lose that focus. I hope McD can find the right words to help settle his players as Buffalo begins its march to the Superbowl.

Oh you know he will. Also so will Josh Allen. They are and have been a very focused and disciplined football team. I expect they will make it to the AFC champion ship game at the very least.

[whatdrought]

42 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

Wasn’t really sure where else to put this.

 

Its a fun Twitter thread. Tons of Josh Allen throws (40+)

 

 

(click on tweet to see full thread)

Josh Allen’s season needs to be split into two sections: with the black brace peaking out of his jersey, and without. Two different QB’s, and even then he’s still making some insane throws. 

[Buffalo4Life01]

4 minutes ago, Patrick_Duffy said:

Exactly, I just named the ones off the top of my head real quick. But yes, exactly.

It boggles the mind how someone can come up with something so blatantly wrong and stick by it like that.  Buffalo has come back to win, suffered through horrible 3rd quarters and rebounded in the 4th to pull out close games, and has only recently began to reach their full potential and slaughter teams as they have done over the course of the last month or so.  This team can win in a variety of ways and that has me very confident heading into the playoffs!  Go Bills!  

FYI, first time poster here and glad to be on board!  I've been a lurker since 1998-1999 and am happy to finally pop my cheery so to speak, lol.  

[Pokebball]

5 minutes ago, Patrick_Duffy said:

Just looked up thread a little and noticed the person you guys are talking about is Nick Wright. Lol, Yeah I expect nonsense from him. I don't even listen/watch that guy ever. I think he just talks nonsense a lot of the time just to get reactions and clicks/ratings.

 

Because a majority of things he says is down right off the wall stupidity.

He picked a position on Josh and the Bills and stubbornly dug in.  He moves the goalposts more than anyone in sports media.  There are enough facts these days for anyone to pick and chose and present facts, out of context, to support any position.  That is all he's left with anymore.

 

I dread the day he becomes a Josh and Bills supporter.  Nothing but bad juju can come from it.

[Patrick Duffy]

Just now, Buffalo4Life01 said:

It boggles the mind how someone can come up with something so blatantly wrong and stick by it like that.  Buffalo has come back to win, suffered through horrible 3rd quarters and rebounded in the 4th to pull out close games, and has only recently began to reach their full potential and slaughter teams as they have done over the course of the last month or so.  This team can win in a variety of ways and that has me very confident heading into the playoffs!  Go Bills!  

FYI, first time poster here and glad to be on board!  I've been a lurker since 1998-1999 and am happy to finally pop my cheery so to speak, lol.  

You are correct. I agree and welcome. I'm so freakin pumped up and excited for this game my wife said I'm acting as if the game is about to start right now lol.

[BillsFan619]

7 minutes ago, Patrick_Duffy said:

Oh you know he will. Also so will Josh Allen. They are and have been a very focused and disciplined football team. I expect they will make it to the AFC champion ship game at the very least.

That has been my thought as well. While anything can happen, we’re capable of at least making it to the AFC championship game.

[Whkfc]

54 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I'm not sure I can gear myself up to listen to it; got a synopsis?

yeah hes just trying to poke the bear.

[Pokebball]

14 minutes ago, Buffalo4Life01 said:

Not to mention close wins against the Patriots (1st game), Dolphins (1st game) and you could even argue the Seahawks game (competitive until late 3rd quarter) and 2nd Jets game were close as well.

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if his criticism of the Bills back then was that we weren't beating teams by enough to be considered a good team.

[Figster]

5 minutes ago, Patrick_Duffy said:

Oh you know he will. Also so will Josh Allen. They are and have been a very focused and disciplined football team. I expect they will make it to the AFC champion ship game at the very least.

McD's appears to come across like a big brother or father figure to allot of his guys. Its been said Josh also has a little brother to some, big brother to others relationship with many If not all of the players. Like one, big, happy, and very talented family. 

 

Standing one Buffalo strong...

[BillsFan619]

7 minutes ago, Buffalo4Life01 said:

It boggles the mind how someone can come up with something so blatantly wrong and stick by it like that.  Buffalo has come back to win, suffered through horrible 3rd quarters and rebounded in the 4th to pull out close games, and has only recently began to reach their full potential and slaughter teams as they have done over the course of the last month or so.  This team can win in a variety of ways and that has me very confident heading into the playoffs!  Go Bills!  

FYI, first time poster here and glad to be on board!  I've been a lurker since 1998-1999 and am happy to finally pop my cheery so to speak, lol.  

Welcome to the board as a poster.

 

I was the same as you. I came to this forum for years but finally signed up this year. It has been fun. There’s good people on here!

[Patrick Duffy]

1 minute ago, Pokebball said:

He picked a position on Josh and the Bills and stubbornly dug in.  He moves the goalposts more than anyone in sports media.  There are enough facts these days for anyone to pick and chose and present facts, out of context, to support any position.  That is all he's left with anymore.

 

I dread the day he becomes a Josh and Bills supporter.  Nothing but bad juju can come from it.

Yup, seems like he does nonsense like that because he knows that it gets at some Bills fans. Also he does it to get reactions, I assume because he is a so called "journalist". 

 

Guess that's about the only way he can get attention is to talk complete and utter nonsense, but yeah I don't pay him any mind. Only time I ever hear or see anything regarding him is when someone post it on here. Even then I usually don't respond to it or about it. Just so happens I didn't realize at first that he was the one in the couple of post that was being talked about that I responded to til I looked further up thread.

[Buffalo4Life01]

1 minute ago, BillsFan619 said:

Welcome to the board as a poster.

 

I was the same as you. I came to this forum for years but finally signed up this year. It has been fun. There’s good people on here!

I'm excited to finally contribute as I've enjoyed reading the back and forth on here for YEARS.  This is such an exciting time to be a Bills fan.  I can't wait for 1pm tomorrow to get here!

[Pokebball]

Just now, Figster said:

McD's appears to come across like a big brother or father figure to allot of his guys. Its been said Josh also has a little brother to some, big brother to others relationship with many If not all of the players. Like one, big, happy, and very talented family. 

 

Standing one Buffalo strong...

Something that stood out and made an impact to me was the game Josh spun the ball in the endzone and got flagged.  McD was mic'd up and had a discussion with the officials about the call and then told the officials he'd talk to Josh.  He went over, calmly told Josh that if he got flagged again he'd be tossed.  Josh's response was "yes sir".  McD turned to walk away, turned back to Josh and said something like, "I loved the passion".  That told me a lot about their relationship.

[Patrick Duffy]

2 minutes ago, Figster said:

McD's appears to come across like a big brother or father figure to allot of his guys. Its been said Josh also has a little brother to some, big brother to others relationship with many If not all of the players. Like one, big, happy, and very talented family. 

 

Standing one Buffalo strong...

Yes, and he always refers to the players on his team as men. Which I would like to think most coaches do, but it's just a respect kinda thing and these players have bought in. You can certainly tell that and that they believe in him and this staff and they have a ton of respect for him as well.

 

And that is ALWAYS a good thing and also one of the main things that builds a good, solid team.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

57 minutes ago, wjag said:

Josh hasn't done it nor has his coach done it yet in the playoffs.  Show me.  He picks the Colts to win.

 

Thanks for "taking one for the team".  I think that Nick Wright guy just lives to be a contrarian and I don't want to give him the click-os

[Penfield45]

1 hour ago, BillsFan4 said:

Wasn’t really sure where else to put this.

 

Its a fun Twitter thread. Tons of Josh Allen throws (40+)

 

 

(click on tweet to see full thread)

One thing this showed me was how important Beasley is in the passing game 

 

if he plays even at 70% it’s huge

[Success]

3 minutes ago, Penfield45 said:

One thing this showed me was how important Beasley is in the passing game 

 

if he plays even at 70% it’s huge

 

Beasley is like the "sure thing"/3rd down guy. He just has that knack for finding space, and he has great hands. He made some spectacular catches this year.

 

If our whole WR corps is healthy, I don't think the Colts can stop us. No disrespect to their D, but they just don't have the secondary to keep up w/ so many good receivers. 

 

I'd love to see a day where Bojo is the football equivalent of the Maytag repairman (for you old timers out there).

 

Edited January 8, 2021 by Success

[BillsFan619]

Just saw an incredible stat that I wanted to share with you guys.

 

Over our six game win streak we have been beating teams by an average of 19.83 points a game. Last year our offense only scored 19.6 points a game. Very impressive!

 

Here’s the link if you want to read the full article.

 

https://www.espn.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/35546/buffalo-bills-better-than-colts-on-paper-but-dont-believe-everything-you-see

[Slippery Rubber Mats]

Nick Wright picked these positions in particular because he knows he can antagonize you and make you talk about him. It has nothing to do with what he believes. The faster people realize this the quicker he will go away lol

[BillsFan619]

2 minutes ago, Success said:

 

Beasley is like the "sure thing"/3rd down guy. He just has that knack for finding space, and he has great hands. He made some spectacular catches this year.

 

If our whole WR corps is healthy, I don't think the Colts can stop us. No disrespect to their D, but they just don't have the secondary to keep up w/ so many good receivers. 

 

I'd love to see a day where Bojo is the football equivalent of the Maytag repairman (for you old timers out there).

 

Bojo is pretty close already, bro!

 

Love the analogy.

Edited January 8, 2021 by BillsFan619

[The Firebaugh Kid]

1 minute ago, Tuel Time said:

Nick Wright picked these positions in particular because he knows he can antagonize you and make you talk about him. It has nothing to do with what he believes. The faster people realize this the quicker he will go away lol

Exactly. Eff this guy. Just look at him for God's sake. His face screams "punch meeee". D-bag. 

[whatdrought]

Same exact feeling I had going into the Pats game... we should beat this team relatively easily; but I don’t know how to handle that feeling. I don’t know how to handle the idea of the Bills winning a playoff game (born in 96) so I am nervous as heck. Gonna be a long 24 hours.

[Rockinon]

2 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

So as I mentioned upthread, Colts DC Matt Eberflaus sounded really pretty unconcerned about Josh Allen, saying that it helped them to have faced Watson.

 

I know that from a high level, they look like similar players - Watson a bit faster 40 time, but I think Josh plays faster than his 40 time - Watson has had a great year as far as passing yards, high TDs, low INTs.  Both have similar rushes and rush YPG.

 

I just can't shake the idea that they aren't really that similar in how they play, but I can't put my finger on why I think that.  Would love other thoughts.

 

As for this article and us being ready for it, I think it's worth noting that the article heavily referenced a team we played, the Seahawks.  Allen said right after the impressive win "I've got a lot of things to clean up...I was sacked too much" or something like that.  This being a Copycat league, I believe we saw elements of those blitzes from AZ, the Chargers, the 49ers, and the Steelers.  Allen was sacked 0,2,1,and 1 times in those games and it's certainly NOT because those teams lack elite pass rushers and sack artists (though it's a fair point that some were out injured when the Bills played some of those teams).

 

The point stands that Allen was sacked less in the remaining 7 games of the season than he was in the Seahawks game, and it wasn't because the Seasnakes dial up more exotic blitzes than the rest of those teams do or disguise them better - quite the contrary.  It was because that game was Allen's "light bulb moment" that he better learn to start checking it down or throwing it away.

 

I think Allen has gotten better at changing plays at the line and calling out protections, but it seems that the entire offense is really keyed in lately. The OL is blocking better. The WRs are running routes better. Allen deserves some credit for sure, but I really think what we are seeing is the whole team getting better.  Recently, Josh has been standing back there with all kinds of time to find an open receiver, with the exception of the Pittsburgh game. They made some adjustments in protections in the second half and of course pulled away at the end of that game. The boys on that OL have really been doing a nice job lately.