A Few Thoughts about the Steelers Game, in no particular order

[Nihilarian]

First off, the Steelers have a top 5 defense and were #3 overall last season.

 

They had time all offseason to dissect the Buffalo offense. The Steelers also looked a lot like the Chiefs in shutting down the Buffalo passing game. 

 

This season might be in trouble if the offense continues with this one dimensional offensive game plan. The passing game isn't working...no plan B...just keep throwing 51 times? Where was the innovation in the passing game? 

 

It's games like this that make me yearn for the Bills to build a power running attack to compliment that awesome passing attack (when it works) that can help take the game off the QB shoulders. Does Buffalo need two pro bowl offensive guards? Or can they go with who they have on the line and simply run the ball more often? 

 

Penalties 8-81...drive killers.

 

Will it be a long season...

 

 

[dave mcbride]

1 minute ago, 4BillsintheBurgh said:

Saw on  a highlight or two that Morse had to slide and help Ford on Alualu which left Feliciano alone on Heyward. Thought Ford should be able to handle single blocking and leave Morse to help with Heyward, just looked like Alualu came through quicker than Heyward on those plays.

Ford is not a good pass blocker. He probably needs the help. But so does Feliciano.

[MrSarcasm]

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

The Bills defense in general needs to be a bit more frenetic........when they were sharp and opportunistic early in 2017 under McDermott that was the style that made them better than the sum of their parts.

    

 

The D allowed 16 points. What exactly are you expecting? The D to only allow 7 PPG?

 

Good grief.

[GunnerBill]

2 minutes ago, Nihilarian said:

Does Buffalo need two pro bowl offensive guards? Or can they go with who they have on the line and simply run the ball more often? 

 

 

There is a lot of space between those two points. We don't need two pro-bowl guards.... but just running it more with the line we have isn't gonna bring us drastically better results IMO. 

[SectionC3]

18 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

Agreed 100 percent. It is unbelievable.

He should have made the throw.  I will say this, though.  The wind was significant and it oils have pushed the ball behind sanders.   Still, the pint remains: lead him away from the defender lay it out in front of him. 

2 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

There is a lot of space between those two points. We don't need two pro-bowl guards.... but just running it more with the line we have isn't gonna bring us drastically better results IMO. 

As much as I didn’t like the Breida call on fourth down, it’s much more of an indictment of the line than it is of daboll. 

[Coach Tuesday]

As I said in the game day thread, amazingly, it’s possible this roster is a Wyatt Teller away from being elite…

[dave mcbride]

6 minutes ago, SectionC3 said:

He should have made the throw.  I will say this, though.  The wind was significant and it oils have pushed the ball behind sanders.   Still, the pint remains: lead him away from the defender lay it out in front of him. 

As much as I didn’t like the Breida call on fourth down, it’s much more of an indictment of the line than it is of daboll. 

It's not a one-off, though - it's been an issue for years. If nothing else, throw it up there with more arc and draw the 35-yard PI if the d-back catches up and tackles Sanders. He's just giving his WR zero chance on those throws. They need to be pinpoint given the arc and velocity, and it's extremely hard for anyone to be pinpoint when you're throwing it 40+ yards on a throw with only slightly more arc than a rope. Mahomes always puts some air under those and allows his playmakers to catch up or adjust and make plays.

Edited September 13, 2021 by dave mcbride

[4BillsintheBurgh]

1 minute ago, dave mcbride said:

Ford is not a good pass blocker. He probably needs the help. But so does Feliciano.

Yeah, I guess my point is even though Feliciano looks bad against the top interior linemen of the opponent, it's a bigger problem that we can't win the other battle. I guess they did try Boettger for a few plays but he wasn't effective either so we'll have to see what the adjustment is. 

[Bob in STL]

10 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

Ford is not a good pass blocker. He probably needs the help. But so does Feliciano.

Agree.  We could see Boettger starting next week.  He is a stronger pass block than a run blocker.  
 

Looking at the personnel at LG-C-RG … they are not terrible players at all, but this is a soft spot in an otherwise very talented offense. 

[Nihilarian]

On a different note...its just one game out of 17. 

 

Just think, we could be the Green Bay Packers... who benched last seasons MVP in the 4th and lost to the NO Saints 38-3.🤪

[Success]

Great write-up!  I'm glad you mentioned both Oliver & Edmunds. They have turned into difference makers on that side of the ball.

 

I mentioned this yesterday, and I may be rationalizing - but the more I've reflected on the game, the more I tend to think that we'll look back on it like the "Hail Murray" game. That game was a low at the time, but it was also the moment that galvanized the team and led to that amazing run to end the season.

 

I think this team, and the coaches, 100% bought into the SB hype this year.  You could see it. On at least some level, they thought these games were just going to be dominoes on the way to a high playoff seed and SB contention.

 

I think that was most evident in some of Daboll's calls. They didn't seem to be taking the game seriously - almost like it was a scrimmage or preseason.

 

Yesterday was a bucket of ice cold water.  I think everyone is wide awake now, and realizes that it's going to be a slog & not a coronation.

 

 

[davefan66]

26 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

The Bills D-line wasn't drawing the holds, however. The Steelers D-line was because the Bills couldn't handle them. Felciano and Dawkins were horrible yesterday. Felciano is OK against JAGs but he's an utter liability against the Chris Joneses and Cam Heywards of the world. Simply not athletic or strong enough.

Was at the game, rewatched it just now.  Yeah, our offensive line was manhandled.  Had a couple of obvious holds that should have been called.  One was a takedown on Watt early on for what ended up in a first down for us.

 

My take is, call the penalties consistently.  If it’s not holding in the first quarter, it’s not holding in the 4th.  Same as PI.  If you “let them play” early on, don’t be surprised if they keep playing in that manner.  Don’t decide a non-call early on is suddenly a penalty, especially when it’s called on an important play.

 

Definitely a few of the “ticky tack” holding calls seemed to come after the above mentioned takedown of Watt.  Ticky tack meaning it could go either way based on how it was officiated to that point.  Seemed almost as if they tried to make up for the missed call.

 

Not entirely blaming the loss on the refs, the Bills did not have a good game.  The phantom PI on Tre though should have been an INT.  Could have changed the game.

Edited September 13, 2021 by davefan66

[SectionC3]

11 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

It's not a one-off, though - it's been an issue for years. If nothing else, throw it up there with more arc and draw the 35-yard PI if the d-back catches up and tackles Sanders. He's just giving his WR zero chance on those throws. They need to be pinpoint given the arc and velocity, and it's extremely hard for anyone to be pinpoint when you're throwing it 40+ yards on a throw with only slightly more arc than a rope. Mahomes always puts some air under those and allows his playmakers to catch up or adjust and make plays.

Agreed.  He just doesn’t throw well with arc.  His best deep balls are crossers and stuff to the left.  Deep to the right is a weak spot for him. Diggs (Denver?) is the first one to the right that I recall him hitting in awhile. 

Edited September 13, 2021 by SectionC3

[BADOLBILZ]

21 minutes ago, MrSarcasm said:

The D allowed 16 points. What exactly are you expecting? The D to only allow 7 PPG?

 

Good grief.

 

Can I make it ANY CLEARER.........turnovers.

 

The most decisive stat in the game..........and they lost that battle.

 

The defense produced none despite the opposing offense playing in the roar of a jet engine for most of the game.

 

Man there are some dense people on this board.

 

When defensive coaches preach about "tips and overthrows" what they are saying is remain alert and attentive to the football until the whistle is blown.

 

The Bills defense has gotten into a habit of not doing that.

 

Edmunds has NEVER done it.

 

It adds up..........people who still at this point think that it's a statistical anomaly that he doesn't make big plays are just being absurd.

 

 

[Mango]

19 minutes ago, Coach Tuesday said:

As I said in the game day thread, amazingly, it’s possible this roster is a Wyatt Teller away from being elite…

 

The total miss and talent evaluation by this staff on Wyatt Teller is always a head scratcher. I just don't get how we could be so wrong, so immediately on the guy. Traded and immediately a stud. I have a lot of difficulty wrapping my head around it. 

[dave mcbride]

5 minutes ago, SectionC3 said:

Agreed.  He just doesn’t throw well with arc.  His best deep balls are crossers and stuff to the left.  Deep to the right is a weak spot for him. Diggs (Denver?) is the first one to the right that I recall him hitting in awhile. 

Agreed, but that sorta confirms my point -- he has to be pinpoint, and every once in a while he will be because of the law of averages. But the approach is going to result in a very low completion percentage overall on bomb throws relative to other good NFL QBs. 

[MrSarcasm]

6 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

Can I make it ANY CLEARER.........turnovers.

 

The most decisive stat in the game..........and they lost that battle.

 

The defense produced none despite the opposing offense playing in the roar of a jet engine for most of the game.

 

Man there are some dense people on this board.

 

When defensive coaches preach about "tips and overthrows" what they are saying is remain alert and attentive to the football until the whistle is blown.

 

The Bills defense has gotten into a habit of not doing that.

 

Edmunds has NEVER done it.

 

It adds up..........people who still at this point think that it's a statistical anomaly that he doesn't make big plays are just being absurd.

 

 

This is a stupid take. 

 

They lost the turnover battle because the Offense and ST turned the ball over not because of the D.

[BADOLBILZ]

1 hour ago, dave mcbride said:

Minor point and I honestly could care less about the Edmunds debate, more or less. I find it tiresome and am sorry I even waded in. The far more important point I made was about the Allen throw. Worrying.  

 

I agree on the Allen throw.   I had flashbacks to Sanders running wide open in the SB against the Chiefs and Jimmy G overthrowing him.   I have been critical of Allen for those deep throws from the jump.   He's gotta' put more air under it.........but when you're receiving corps is on the smaller side and doesn't have that extra gear to go get an other throw like the Bills WR corps is........he has to be reasonably accurate and that starts with better trajectory.

 

But is the idea that Edmunds doesn't make big plays even debatable anymore?

 

Turnovers are such a critical function of good defense.........there is *some* randomness in high numbers of turnovers but they are generally a function of good pressure/coverage/awareness..........so when you generate zero in an environment like that it's unacceptable.

[dave mcbride]

3 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

I agree on the Allen throw.   I had flashbacks to Sanders running wide open in the SB against the Chiefs and Jimmy G overthrowing him.   I have been critical of Allen for those deep throws from the jump.   He's gotta' put more air under it.........but when you're receiving corps is on the smaller side and doesn't have that extra gear to go get an other throw like the Bills WR corps is........he has to be reasonably accurate and that starts with better trajectory.

 

But is the idea that Edmunds doesn't make big plays even debatable anymore?

 

Turnovers are such a critical function of good defense.........there is *some* randomness in high numbers of turnovers but they are generally a function of good pressure/coverage/awareness..........so when you generate zero in an environment like that it's unacceptable.

Like I said, not interested in the Edmunds debate. Re: Allen, I feel like I'm watching the football version of Stanton, with Allen's missed bombs the equivalent of Stanton's no-arc 121 mph singles that result in no runs.

[BADOLBILZ]

9 minutes ago, MrSarcasm said:

This is a stupid take. 

 

They lost the turnover battle because the Offense and ST turned the ball over not because of the D.

 

 

You can't win turnover differential with a ZERO in your column.

 

But good to see we have a turnover differential truther on the board...........takes wrong people to make for debate.

Edited September 13, 2021 by BADOLBILZ