What Did Indy do on D?

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

5 minutes ago, Not at the table Karlos said:

They got away with a ton of holding. Sucks that they’re allowing defenders to be tackled and blatantly held. There was a third down where our blitz beat their line and at least three OL held the defenders, rivers had time to get ball out and make a first down because of it

 

Yea thats been a league wide point of emphasis it seems where they've just stopped calling it in most cases.  Looks like we got a crew that was letting them play too which makes it even worse 

[Not at the table Karlos]

1 minute ago, Generic_Bills_Fan said:

Yea thats been a league wide point of emphasis it seems where they've just stopped calling it in most cases.  Looks like we got a crew that was letting them play too which makes it even worse 

I understand that there could be holding called on every play and all that but when it obviously stops a rusher that easily could get to the player with the ball it has to be called. 

[ALLEN1QB]

Someone please tell our special team players it's ok to kneel down and start at the 25 geeezzzz.

[ColoradoBills]

47 minutes ago, RiotAct said:

I noticed that Rivers seemed to have a LOT more time in the pocket than Allen did.  Our offensive line has to step it up next week.

 

Lot's of reasons posted but I agree we you, Allen had much less time than he did in recent games.

One thing I noticed was the pressure was coming from all over not just from one area (which seems the Bills can scheme around).

Colts DBs played a pretty good scheme too.

[Straight Hucklebuck]

50 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

I know the Bills scored 27 points, Josh threw for over 300 yards, and the Bills won.  Yet the every yard and every point seemed to be a struggle.

 

What did Indy do to slow down our offense?  Will we see more of the same next week?

 

I'm like a lot of fans - my eyes tend to follow the ball.  I never took the time to analyze or understand Indy's defensive game plan.  Whatever it was, it worked fairly well.  

We’re going to have to wait for some All-22 and some dissection of the formations.

 

To me, on first watch, the Bills moved the ball fine when they went 4-wide and threw the ball.

No John Brown today, no Isaiah McKenzie.

 

Gabe Davis came to play and made two impossible catches to save the first half. 

[Malazan]

53 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

I know the Bills scored 27 points, Josh threw for over 300 yards, and the Bills won.  Yet the every yard and every point seemed to be a struggle.

 

What did Indy do to slow down our offense?  Will we see more of the same next week?

 

I'm like a lot of fans - my eyes tend to follow the ball.  I never took the time to analyze or understand Indy's defensive game plan.  Whatever it was, it worked fairly well.  

 

Indy has one of the most evenly spread talented defenses. There's not a ton of easily exploitable matchups. Combine that with a confusing Bills gameplan that fed into their strengths.. and well.. 

[Big Blitz]

Allowed more then 26 points for only the 5th time this season.  

[Straight Hucklebuck]

7 minutes ago, ProcessTruster said:

ya think?

 

He was critical though, 7 catches, a few of them on critical 3rd downs.

 

With no McKenzie in the game plan, Beasley became even more critical.

[RobbRiddicksTDLeap]

8 minutes ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

We're talking about what they did on D, and yet:

 

This is a good point. But all those yards were hard fought. We haven’t seen that in a few weeks. We haven’t seen consistent pressure and sacks. We haven’t seen the middle of the field disappear for the offense. The Colts defense did a lot of things right today.
 

Frank Reich and his analytics coaches on the other hand. 

[Big Blitz]

John Brown had a ball go thru his hands.  

 

Allen took a bad sack.  

 

We had a sequence at the start of the 2nd half where we march down the field thru the air....a Colts player gets hurt.. then 3 straight garbage runs.  FG instead of a TD.

 

 

That's all I can think of.

 

Oh and avg drive start at the 7 in the first half.  

Edited January 9, 2021 by Big Blitz

[Golden]

36 minutes ago, Wayne Cubed said:

They played zone. That’s it, that’s what it was. 
 

They dared the Bills to run, with how high the safeties played. The Bills should have switched to the dink and dunk. I’m not sure why that wasn’t the adjustment.

Right on 👍

[Rew]

37 minutes ago, Process said:

They didn't do anything...

 

Josh could have put up 400 on them if we wanted too. He played great. 

 

But Daboll refused to let him cook, or get in any sort of rhythm.

 

 

This is an incredibly shallow take.  Most on this board are savvy enough to realize that individual plays aren't called in a vacuum.  Plays are sometimes called to beat what the other team is calling, or more importantly to setup a desirable matchup on future plays.  There were some great examples on the drive that had moss's injury and ended in the go route where we forced them into that play.  The touchdown probably doesn't happen without what came before.  Josh's outside scrambles and called outside runs forced the DLine into outside contain and then qb draws pulled the mid field coverage down to protect.  The runs that people are complaining about literally caused a touchdown. 

 

The point of the OP was to try and deduce what was going on that warranted all the runs.  To me it looked like overall the Colts had a great coverage game plan that took away alot of the shorter crossers and outs.  They did it by rushing only 4 most of the time.  We've been able to beat this in the past when the O line gives some time for guys to find a gap in coverage.  Today, the O line lost the battle.  The called runs were intended to slow down the outside pass rush and bring more into the box to open up the field.  They initially didn't fall for it which was why we kept going back to the draw.

[Meatloaf63]

Receivers looked a little beat up, but Smoke disappeared and let that ball go through his hands. Daboll was off overthinking half the game, defense was exposed. Quite  frankly we won because Reich blew it with going for it on a 4th down and a missed field goal....

1 minute ago, Rew said:

This is an incredibly shallow take.  Most on this board are savvy enough to realize that individual plays aren't called in a vacuum.  Plays are sometimes called to beat what the other team is calling, or more importantly to setup a desirable matchup on future plays.  There were some great examples on the drive that had moss's injury and ended in the go route where we forced them into that play.  The touchdown probably doesn't happen without what came before.  Josh's outside scrambles and called outside runs forced the DLine into outside contain and then qb draws pulled the mid field coverage down to protect.  The runs that people are complaining about literally caused a touchdown. 

 

The point of the OP was to try and deduce what was going on that warranted all the runs.  To me it looked like overall the Colts had a great coverage game plan that took away alot of the shorter crossers and outs.  They did it by rushing only 4 most of the time.  We've been able to beat this in the past when the O line gives some time for guys to find a gap in coverage.  Today, the O line lost the battle.  The called runs were intended to slow down the outside pass rush and bring more into the box to open up the field.  They initially didn't fall for it which was why we kept going back to the draw.

It was very obvious by the end of the first half this strategy wasn’t effective. Even though they took the short middle away,  outside the numbers was there. It should have been exploited further.

[Golden]

10 minutes ago, Rew said:

This is an incredibly shallow take.  Most on this board are savvy enough to realize that individual plays aren't called in a vacuum.  Plays are sometimes called to beat what the other team is calling, or more importantly to setup a desirable matchup on future plays.  There were some great examples on the drive that had moss's injury and ended in the go route where we forced them into that play.  The touchdown probably doesn't happen without what came before.  Josh's outside scrambles and called outside runs forced the DLine into outside contain and then qb draws pulled the mid field coverage down to protect.  The runs that people are complaining about literally caused a touchdown. 

 

The point of the OP was to try and deduce what was going on that warranted all the runs.  To me it looked like overall the Colts had a great coverage game plan that took away alot of the shorter crossers and outs.  They did it by rushing only 4 most of the time.  We've been able to beat this in the past when the O line gives some time for guys to find a gap in coverage.  Today, the O line lost the battle.  The called runs were intended to slow down the outside pass rush and bring more into the box to open up the field.  They initially didn't fall for it which was why we kept going back to the draw.

Well said

[Freddie's Dead]

1 hour ago, RiotAct said:

I noticed that Rivers seemed to have a LOT more time in the pocket than Allen did.  Our offensive line has to recognize that the refs are not calling holding and hold better next week.

 

FTFY

[HalftimeAdjustment]

1 hour ago, Buffalo Bills Fan said:

 

I think Beasely is playing injured. 

 

For sure. But hopefully he will be a bit more recovered next week.

[gonzo1105]

They play soft cover 2 defense , have a great front 7 and make you earn your yards. Plus the Bills had terrible field position in the first half 

[Max Fischer]

I think the Indy defense was “decent” but Buffalo “only” scoring 27 points had more to do with the Bills’ defense inability to get off the field. Two more offensive possessions could have put the game out of reach. 

[Buffalo Junction]

46 minutes ago, Not at the table Karlos said:

They got away with a ton of holding. Sucks that they’re allowing defenders to be tackled and blatantly held. There was a third down where our blitz beat their line and at least three OL held the defenders, rivers had time to get ball out and make a first down because of it

 

My favorite was Edmunds beating Veldheer at the goal line, and Veldheer trying to manhandle him from behind like a horny dog. 

[Buffalo Junction]

As far as what Indy did on D.... a lot of Tampa 2 and cover 3. They did an exceptional job of handing off routes, bracketing WRs in the intermediate areas, and got pressure with 4 rushers. They have the right personnel for that scheme and those players executed very well for most of the game. Couple that with slowing the game down, some odd play calling by Daboll, and a few injured WRs gutting it out and our point total dropped. 

On the plus side, the Bills won despite not bringing their A game and losing the battle in the trenches. 

[Helpmenow]

It helps the bills had horrible field position  starts in the first half.

[Scott7975]

My most hated Daboll playcall....  Their best corner is injured and goes out for the play.  Daboll schemed up a 3 yard run.  I mean WTF was he thinking.  He was like that most of the game.

[Green Lightning]

1 hour ago, Wayne Cubed said:

They played zone. That’s it, that’s what it was. 
 

They dared the Bills to run, with how high the safeties played. The Bills should have switched to the dink and dunk. I’m not sure why that wasn’t the adjustment.

Well that works if you can generate pressure with 4 DL and an occasional blitz, and they did all day.

[Buffalo Boy]

2 hours ago, Buffalo Bills Fan said:

 

I think Beasely is playing injured. 

  He was before last week even. If you watched him walk over the last four weeks he has had a major hitch in his step.

   I think the knee injury compounded the problem.

   Happy he got us what he did today.

Edited January 10, 2021 by Buffalo Boy

[streetkings01]

1 hour ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

I was a little surprised by Daboll's game plan.  The best way to beat a strong running team - especially when you have a questionable run defense - is to build an early lead and force the other team to pass.  Of course, you need the requisite firepower to make this work. 

 

We do.  I thought Daboll would be aggressive and have us passing on nearly every play.  

 

 

This is true. 

 

But the NFL is a copycat league.  I'm just wondering if Indy figured out something that other teams will emulate.  

 

You have to have the personnel to pull off what Indy did......and what they did was give up 27 points while trying to play ball control. 

[JohnNord]

2 hours ago, prissythecat said:

 

The Colts had 472  total yards while we had 397.     TOP was 34:17 Colts and 25:43 Bills.     Colts also had some misses .  Rivers missed over threw that open receiver in end zone and the missed field goal by the dude with the glasses.    Could have easily been a Colts win as well.  So hopefully the coaching staff takes a good look at film and plans better for next week.    

They’ve got a lot of soul searching to do for sure.
 

It’s not like they beat a pretty solid 11-5 team, led by respectable coaches, a top 10 offense and defense and a potential HOF QB.  

[97bills]

2 hours ago, PetermansRedemption said:

Daboll tried to force the run is what it seems like from the uninformed eye. When the Bills were passing they were doing it well. That’s been their game all year. No idea why we would try to get away from it. 

We had 10 carries by our running backs all game long. Not being able to run the ball is what hurt us the colts knew we were going to pass and it’s easier to tee off on the QB and play coverage when no one’s afraid of your running game. Just think how dangerous this team could be if we could run the ball. That’s why they were calling run plays for Allen up the middle to try and get those safety up a little bit more. 

[prissythecat]

4 minutes ago, JohnNord said:

They’ve got a lot of soul searching to do for sure.
 

It’s not like they beat a pretty solid 11-5 team, led by respectable coaches, a top 10 offense and defense and a potential HOF QB.  

 

Yup.   Indy is a solid team for sure.

 

Now to go off on a bit of a tangent,    you are Phil the Thrill reincarnated?    Why did you give up your other handle(s) on the date that you started posting on this one?  Wifey caught you posting again on football forums after losing that 5 k on the Vikings?

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

2 hours ago, BUFFALOBART said:

Indy might've won the game, if not for a missed field goal, failed 2 point conversion, and 4th down play. The Bills showed a lot of guts, overcoming being pushed around, for too long, in the contest. Allen carried the team...

So good to be on the good side of one of these. It’s been decades. 

[97bills]

12 minutes ago, streetkings01 said:

You have to have the personnel to pull off what Indy did......and what they did was give up 27 points while trying to play ball control. 

Your right and teams have played us like Indy the difference is they have a front 4 that can get pressure while dropping everybody. Teams we played this year just couldn’t get pressure with only 4 so Allen could wait until someone got open. Indy played the perfect game really and I’m happy we got the win. But with no run game and we can’t get pressure with just 4 it’s all on Allen. And that is incredibly this team will be unstoppable win we get a running game and a few Dline men that can get after the QB

[transient]

They convinced the Bills not to get Diggs, Beasley or Brown involved in the offense for the first 28 minutes of the game. 

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

They lost.

 

/thread 

[Captain Caveman]

I felt like the reason we only scored 27 had more to do with Indy's Offense controlling time of possession and our poor starting field goal position.  Someone posted about this in the last few days (thread was originally titled Otis Anderson and got changed I think) but they basically used the Super Bowl XXV game plan of controlling time of possession through long drives to keep our offense off the field.  We were able to make some key stops on 4th down that kept points of the board and had some big explosive plays in the passive game to pull it out.

 

Josh had a great day.

[CLTbills]

2 hours ago, PetermansRedemption said:

Daboll tried to force the run is what it seems like from the uninformed eye. When the Bills were passing they were doing it well. That’s been their game all year. No idea why we would try to get away from it. 

The one possession near the end of the first half, I believe, was absolutely aggravating. Three straight runs and punt. When in the hell did we become a running team?

[Kaenon]

3 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

I know the Bills scored 27 points, Josh threw for over 300 yards, and the Bills won.  Yet the every yard and every point seemed to be a struggle.

 

What did Indy do to slow down our offense?  Will we see more of the same next week?

 

I'm like a lot of fans - my eyes tend to follow the ball.  I never took the time to analyze or understand Indy's defensive game plan.  Whatever it was, it worked fairly well.  

Starting field position led to right play calling on the first five drives.

 

Give Allen some space and Daboll some breathing room and out offense shined.

 

We clammed up a bit backed into our own end a few times and had a drop or two.

[Sharky7337]

What they did was avoid the Tremaine Edmunds school of tackling for off-season workouts and it paid off.

[GreggTX]

They signed Buckner as a FA and we didn't. They have a highly disruptive force on their DL that makes life miserable for opposing offenses every week and we don't. Instead we have Lotulelei and Addison. I love what Beane has done (mostly), but a serious disruptor on the DL would put this team over the top.

[The Firebaugh Kid]

Too. Many. Designed. QB. Runs. 

[billsbackto81]

They didn't do anything to slow down the Bills offense, just limit their chances. Josh did what he wanted when the playcalling was on point. Maybe it seemed that way because Indy had more TOP and kept Rivers clean. They have a amazing O Line that run blocks and pass protects with equal proficiency. Our O Line is exceptional at pass protection. Run blocking? Not so much.

[billsbackto81]

1 hour ago, 97bills said:

We had 10 carries by our running backs all game long. Not being able to run the ball is what hurt us the colts knew we were going to pass and it’s easier to tee off on the QB and play coverage when no one’s afraid of your running game. Just think how dangerous this team could be if we could run the ball. That’s why they were calling run plays for Allen up the middle to try and get those safety up a little bit more. 

Couldn't agree more. Been saying it all season. Not easy to win playoff games without a run game and shoddy D. This team will go as far as Allen's arm takes them.