Bills/Texans All-22 Review - The Athletic

[HappyDays]

 

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1. Spencer Brown’s more than encouraging debut

Much like he did in mop-up duty in the previous weeks, Brown popped on film for great reasons. His size (6-foot-8, 311 pounds) immediately stands out, but it’s his combination of movement skills and power that catches the eye. Brown is an effortless mover out of his stance. He can effectively take fluid steps to his kick-slide without it ever looking difficult. That foot quickness is rare for offensive tackles, and it gives him a chance against most speed rushers to the outside. His long arms (34 3/4 inches) also keep him in every pass-blocking rep, even if he’s initially slow to react to the snap. He’ll catch defenders as they try to turn the corner, use his strength to force them wide, and if the defender loses his edge, Brown always looks to bury his opponent into the ground. He did this several times against the Texans, and it’s not just a simple flop on the downed defender. Brown uses his body as a missile to punish the defender for going to the ground.

As a run blocker, Brown has the movement skills and power to reach the second level or control the defensive end and turn him the way he wants.

Regardless of some minor issues, this was an excellent debut for a rookie third-round pick — and an offensive lineman with a higher degree of difficulty to adapt, no less. If Brown can continue to show signs of this potential against more challenging opponents, the Bills might be on to something with an overlooked, small-school prospect. With how well he played, I wouldn’t expect Brown to come out of the lineup anytime soon.

 

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2. Star Lotulelei’s pass-rushing renaissance

Lotulelei has been one of the most consistent and impactful pass-rushing defensive linemen this season. He has the team’s second-highest season-long pressure percentage at 14.9, and with seven total pressures, he has almost doubled Ed Oliver’s total on 30 fewer pass-rushing snaps. He also posted the highest pressure percentage against the Texans and led the Bills in pressures.

He’s winning his one-on-ones quickly, as well, and it’s creating disharmony in the backfield. The Bills have caught wind of this more impactful version of Lotulelei and have started to give him snaps at three-technique defensive tackle.

 

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3. One game in, right guard a far better fit for Daryl Williams

One game in, it went pretty well for Williams. In his first three games at right tackle, he struggled considerably with speed to the edge — something that wasn’t a huge issue last season. He was a bit slow off the snap and can’t recover like some quicker offensive tackles. That is far less of an issue at guard, where Williams’ athleticism becomes above average and combats less twitchy opponents.

Unlike Brown, Williams did have a tough matchup against the Texans. Defensive tackle Maliek Collins is a highly underrated defender and will get some instant wins on pass-rushing snaps. He got the better of Williams on a handful of them early in the game. However, as the game continued, Williams settled in. He looked controlled, anchored well against some bull-rushing opponents, and had the side-to-side speed to combat Collins while working between the center and tackle “in a phone booth.”

 

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4. Boogie Basham’s disappointing debut
In his NFL debut Sunday, rookie defensive end Boogie Basham, the Bills’ second-round pick, caught the eye for registering a sack. However, after reviewing the film of his first game, Basham’s day left a lot to be desired.

Basham routinely got stonewalled against the Texans. He was a bit too slow off the snap on some reps and was easily controlled by his blockers. He was even ineffective against some one-on-ones with a tight end. He wasn’t powerful enough to bull rush and usually wasn’t quick enough to gain the edge.

 

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5. Zack Moss displays vision, physicality and explosiveness

Zack Moss ran with confidence and maximized most of his opportunities. Moss didn’t take only the obvious or settle for running out wide, which has been a characteristic of his early career. Against the Texans, Moss actively looked for and found the creases, setting up blocks as he went and slithered through tiny creases to get into open air. When he trusts what he sees, as he did Sunday, he shows good explosiveness at the beginning of the rep. Moss maximized yardage by the end of the attempts by fighting through contact — a staple of his game that the Bills depend on in short-yardage situations.

 

Top 5 grades:

1) Dawkins

2) Lotulelei

3) Brown

4) Moss

5) White

 

Bottom 5 grades (worst to 5th worst)

1) Basham

2) Epenesa

3) Rousseau

4) Zimmer

5) Beasley

[Max Fischer]

I hope everyone subscribes to the Athletic. It's small investment to ensure the generation of good content. 

[Royale with Cheese]

Star with 2nd best pressure percentage and got some snaps at the 3 tech.

 

To all the Star haters....

 

 

[Pete]

Great write up and Athletic does great sports journalism. 

 

What's up with Espensa?    He looked like he was going to take league by storm, but the last two games hes come back to earth.

I'm really liking the right side of the line now.  Great job Beane finding Brown in 3rd!

 

That is too bad to hear about Boogie.  I recall reading the Bills had a trade down in place(Denver?) unless one player was available at pick- that was Boogie-Bills had a much higher grade then rest of league on Boogie

 

[Kelly the Dog]

I take all of Joe’s ratings with a quarry of salt.

[RoyBatty is alive]

37 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top 5 grades:

1) Dawkins

2) Lotulelei

3) Brown

4) Moss

5) White

 

Bottom 5 grades (worst to 5th worst)

1) Basham

2) Epenesa

3) Rousseau

4) Zimmer

5) Beasley

What this exemplifies is the NFL is a game of match ups.

 

One week Rousseau and Epenesa look like future all pros, the next they are at the Bottom of the list.  Same with Beasley who what had 11 catches the prior week?

[GunnerBill]

I think he is harsh on AJ who had two pressures on limited snaps. Fairer on Groot, thought that was his worst game tbh. Houston handled him without much fuss (again small sample size, limited snaps). 

 

Not sure I am as overjoyed with Williams at right guard. There were two plays where the rush came on his inside shoulder and he tripped over himself trying to adjust and fell over leaving free rushers at Allen. 

 

Other than that and not being sure how Edmunds didn't crack Joe's top 5 I don't have a lot to disagree with this week.

[Kelly the Dog]

2 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

I think he is harsh on AJ who had two pressures on limited snaps. Fairer on Groot, thought that was his worst game tbh. Houston handled him without much fuss (again small sample size, limited snaps). 

 

Not sure I am as overjoyed with Williams at right guard. There were two plays where the rush came on his inside shoulder and he tripped over himself trying to adjust and fell over leaving free rushers at Allen. 

 

Other than that and not being sure how Edmunds didn't crack Joe's top 5 I don't have a lot to disagree with this week.

On the third play, Groot jumped up in Mills’ face as he was about to pass which caused him to bring it down and just lose the ball on that weird fumble. He should have been credited with a sack or half sack. 

[HappyDays]

5 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

Not sure I am as overjoyed with Williams at right guard. There were two plays where the rush came on his inside shoulder and he tripped over himself trying to adjust and fell over leaving free rushers at Allen.

 

I didn't post the full section on Williams, but he does mention some of the negative plays and said part of it may have been lack of chemistry between Williams and Brown. Like on the ridiculous throw Allen had to Diggs, the two free rushers ran a simple stunt that Williams and Brown misplayed. He also said Williams settled in as the game went on after working through early struggles.

 

8 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

Other than that and not being sure how Edmunds didn't crack Joe's top 5 I don't have a lot to disagree with this week.

 

He gave 13 players a B+, Edmunds was one of them. He had him ranked 10th overall. Since he didn't write anything on him I'm not sure why he was less impressed than others.

[nedboy7]

Wonder why Boosley was on that list. 

[GunnerBill]

1 minute ago, HappyDays said:

 

I didn't post the full section on Williams, but he does mention some of the negative plays and said part of it may have been lack of chemistry between Williams and Brown. Like on the ridiculous throw Allen had to Diggs, the two free rushers ran a simple stunt that Williams and Brown misplayed. He also said Williams settled in as the game went on after working through early struggles.

 

 

He gave 13 players a B+, Edmunds was one of them. He had him ranked 10th overall. Since he didn't write anything on him I'm not sure why he was less impressed than others.

 

Yea I have read the full version. I still think too high on Williams, too low on AJ and Tremaine compared to what I saw when I went through it. 

[Motorin']

5 minutes ago, Kelly the Dog said:

On the third play, Groot jumped up in Mills’ face as he was about to pass which caused him to bring it down and just lose the ball on that weird fumble. He should have been credited with a sack or half sack. 

 

Would it get down as a sack if it was a fumble recovery?

[GunnerBill]

3 minutes ago, Motorin' said:

 

Would it get down as a sack if it was a fumble recovery?

 

Nah. He would have to more physically cause the sack.

[Kelly the Dog]

2 minutes ago, Motorin' said:

 

Would it get down as a sack if it was a fumble recovery?

They counted it as a “team” sack. To me, Groot caused the fumble and then he or he and Milano fell on Mills’ as he recovered it. I would have given Groot a sack. He caused the fumble. 

Just now, GunnerBill said:

 

Nah. He would have to more physically cause the sack.

He physically caused the sack without hitting him.

[Max Fischer]

43 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Nah. He would have to more physically cause the sack.

 

If you give an opponent a heart attack, that should count for something. 

 

[Royale with Cheese]

11 minutes ago, Max Fischer said:

 

If you give an opponent a heart attack, that should count for something. 

 

 

 

[Einstein]

3 hours ago, Max Fischer said:

I hope everyone subscribes to the Athletic. It's small investment to ensure the generation of good content. 

 

Im subscribed (for over a year now) but i’m still on the fence.

 

Like most reporters, Buscaglia has no professional football experience. How do I have any idea if the way he is analyzing the film is correct? People bash PFF, who has analysts that watch thousands of hours of game film for every player in the NFL. Yet we trust local reporters that watch a few hours each week.

Edited October 6, 2021 by Einstein

[Max Fischer]

1 minute ago, Einstein said:

 

Im subscribed (for over a year now) but i’m still on the fence.

 

Like most reporters, Buscaglia has no professional football experience. How do I have any idea if the way he is analyzing the film is correct? People bash PFF, who has analysts that watch thousands of hours of game film for every player in the NFL. Yet we trust local reporters that watch a few hours each week.

 

For me, the difference is Buscaglia has earned my trust over the years. I don't always agree with him, but he's demonstrated in his reporting, analysis and podcasts to be a very level-headed, well-reasoned observer of the Bills. Unlike PFF and other outlets, I don't know the analysts, their backgrounds, how closely they follow a team, their analytical criteria, etc.  

 

On the other hand, Buscaglia (and, IMO, most of the Bills beat reporters - and quite a few "amateur" writers/commentators/podcasters), follows the team nearly every single day of the year and over time, I've learned to trust his judgement. Moreover, I like that he methodically explains his reasoning. Again, I don't always agree, but I appreciate the thought process. 

 

Others I like:

- Joe Marino. 

- Matt Parrino & Ryan Talbot

- Bruce Nolan (though his schtick often gets really thick)

- Gregg Tompsett (very good on capology) 

- Sal Cappaccio (I don't follow him as much but has some good nuggets)

 

Getting to know:

- Matt Bove

- John Fina.  I like his analysis but the show's production is a bit of a mess.

 

Last, I want The Athletic and other outlets to survive because I don't want to rely solely on national reporters checking-in on the Bills every once in a while. 

[LeGOATski]

Why does he leave the DPOTW out of his analysis and give him a B+ grade, you ask?

 

It's because Buscaglia doesn't actually know what he's talking about. He'd be right at home writing an analysis for PFF.

[dave mcbride]

3 hours ago, Pete said:

Great write up and Athletic does great sports journalism. 

 

What's up with Espensa?    He looked like he was going to take league by storm, but the last two games hes come back to earth.

I'm really liking the right side of the line now.  Great job Beane finding Brown in 3rd!

 

That is too bad to hear about Boogie.  I recall reading the Bills had a trade down in place(Denver?) unless one player was available at pick- that was Boogie-Bills had a much higher grade then rest of league on Boogie

 

Take the defensive grades from this game with a grain of salt. Houston had only 42 offensive snaps, and their last dozen or so were against backups. Moreover, they are so bad and the Bills blew them out so badly that I wouldn't be surprised if the Bills' defenders were in "injury prevention mode" after going 19-0 early in the third. That game was over relatively early. 

Edited October 6, 2021 by dave mcbride

[WideNine]

3 hours ago, Max Fischer said:

I hope everyone subscribes to the Athletic. It's small investment to ensure the generation of good content. 

 

Already do because I like their model and hope they can continue to build on it - I hesitate to post too much of their content here, but if we use it as teasers I think we should avoid the wrath of copyright.

 

It was folks posting snips from them last season that got me curious enough to invest in the subscription.

 

 

 

[Solomon Grundy]

3 hours ago, nedboy7 said:

Wonder why Boosley was on that list. 

Joe B better beware of Beasley’s Twitter thread😎

3 hours ago, nedboy7 said:

Edited October 6, 2021 by Solomon Grundy

[CSBill]

It is interesting that the bottom 4 were D-Linemen. Maybe the grading system is off?

 

Bottom 5 grades (worst to 5th worst)

1) Basham

2) Epenesa

3) Rousseau

4) Zimmer

  
 

 

 

Edited October 6, 2021 by CSBill

[FilthyBeast]

4 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top 5 grades:

1) Dawkins

2) Lotulelei

3) Brown

4) Moss

5) White

 

Bottom 5 grades (worst to 5th worst)

1) Basham

2) Epenesa

3) Rousseau

4) Zimmer

5) Beasley

 

Despite the final scores the last few weeks, the pass rush has definitely not been good outside of the Miami game and this is obviously a major concern heading into the Chiefs game because if we can't get there with just the front four we won't have much chance of stopping Mahomes and winning this game.

 

So really have to hope the veterans come through this week and it'd be the perfect for the vets like Hughes or Addision to make a big impact here.

[billybrew1]

6 hours ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

What this exemplifies is the NFL is a game of match ups.

 

One week Rousseau and Epenesa look like future all pros, the next they are at the Bottom of the list.  Same with Beasley who what had 11 catches the prior week?

While what you say about matchups is true, I also think McD/Frazier are tricky coordinators. They tell their players to do different things each week. Bringing along the defense, and our players along slowly and not burning out our team by week nine. We want to be our best in January and these are ways we are doing exactly that. Plus there is extra incentive this year using four or more very young players in key roles (Groot, Boogie, terminator and Spencer Brown.) We don't want these kids to hit a wall of any kind. In fact, we want the opposite. We want them playing their best ball in January..... With our ridiculously easy schedule hopefully we can pull out Spencer Brown a lot throughout the season. Don't forget, he played a lot in preseason as well. We have to closely monitor his mental and physical condition. He just became a highly valuable player... It looks like: Dawson - Feliciano- Morse - Williams - Brown could be the Super Bowl ticket. We can't have Brown hit the wall.

Im very interested to see our defense vs. the great Mahomes. You know he's going to score a few TDs at least but can we make him look worse than Josh? If Josh plays well I think we can. I can see theBills coming out extremely fired up for this game.  Josh looking super human. Our receivers tearing it up. Maybe Davis' return to the O? ( I think this depends on how comfortable Josh is) the OL playing well. The D fired up, kicking ass and taking names. It is certainly a very real possibility.

 

Go Bills!

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

6 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

I didn't post the full section on Williams, but he does mention some of the negative plays and said part of it may have been lack of chemistry between Williams and Brown. Like on the ridiculous throw Allen had to Diggs, the two free rushers ran a simple stunt that Williams and Brown misplayed. He also said Williams settled in as the game went on after working through early struggles.

 

 

Lack of chemistry? Williams got juked out a bunch 1 on 1 in pass protection.  I don’t think it had anything to do with chemistry. Maybe he did settle down more later though. But I was sort of alarmed by some of his pass protection, especially since he was getting beaten on speed moves by interior linemen. 

[ganesh]

7 hours ago, Pete said:

Great write up and Athletic does great sports journalism. 

 

What's up with Espensa?    He looked like he was going to take league by storm, but the last two games hes come back to earth.

I'm really liking the right side of the line now.  Great job Beane finding Brown in 3rd!

 

That is too bad to hear about Boogie.  I recall reading the Bills had a trade down in place(Denver?) unless one player was available at pick- that was Boogie-Bills had a much higher grade then rest of league on Boogie

 

It was his first game!!!!

[HappyDays]

4 hours ago, dave mcbride said:

Take the defensive grades from this game with a grain of salt. Houston had only 42 offensive snaps, and their last dozen or so were against backups. Moreover, they are so bad and the Bills blew them out so badly that I wouldn't be surprised if the Bills' defenders were in "injury prevention mode" after going 19-0 early in the third. That game was over relatively early. 

 

Also I'm pretty sure we were vanilla on both sides of the ball. Everyone was just trying to win their one-on-one matchup. They weren't trying to put anything new on tape. I rewatched the condensed version of the game and we gave ZERO respect to Houston with our game plan. It was practically a preseason game plan. Rest a couple starters with minor injuries, try a new o-line alignment, run the most vanilla plays in the book. McDermott knew what this game would be.

 

7 minutes ago, ganesh said:

It was his first game!!!!

 

The concern is that he is already going to be 24 by the end of the year. Usually with young players that are struggling you can focus on the upside but I'm not sure there's a long development track here. I didn't like the pick when it happened and I like it less now. Hopefully I'll be wrong.

Edited October 7, 2021 by HappyDays

[GunnerBill]

9 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

Also I'm pretty sure we were vanilla on both sides of the ball. Everyone was just trying to win their one-on-one matchup. They weren't trying to put anything new on tape. I rewatched the condensed version of the game and we gave ZERO respect to Houston with our game plan. It was practically a preseason game plan. Rest a couple starters with minor injuries, try a new o-line alignment, run the most vanilla plays in the book. McDermott knew what this game would be.

 

 

The concern is that he is already going to be 24 by the end of the year. Usually with young players that are struggling you can focus on the upside but I'm not sure there's a long development track here. I didn't like the pick when it happened and I like it less now. Hopefully I'll be wrong.

 

Agree with both parts of this. I said it the other day the playcalling in the redzone was super vanilla on offense. They finally did call something a bit more creative for Knox's second touchdown which felt like a "okay this is 19-0 just entering the 4th quarter, 3rd and 1 from the 1 yard line, time to put this game away" and they finally called something that wasn't uber vanilla. Similar on defense it was a simplified plan. I wonder how much having Jaquan and Cam Lewis in the secondary played into that and allowing them to just play fast and not have to overthink with lots of complicated coverage. 

 

On Boogie I am with you. I always felt like he was a low ceiling guy to take in round 2. I have said before I think the Bills have had a tendency to play the second round a little safe in recent drafts - they sort of shoot for the starts in round 1 and then reign themselves in a bit in round 2. Which when those guys reach their ceiling is fine - Dion Dawkins - but as soon as you have someone who doesn't hit what is already a comparatively low ceiling - Zay Jones, Cody Ford etc you have a bit of an issue for such a big investment. 

[2003Contenders]

So he gave Dawkins the best overall grade? IIRC Dion was beaten badly on a couple of rushes in the 1st quarter.

[GunnerBill]

3 minutes ago, 2003Contenders said:

So he gave Dawkins the best overall grade? IIRC Dion was beaten badly on a couple of rushes in the 1st quarter.

 

He was responsible for the one sack on Josh I think. He did have a strong game in general, but not sure I'd say our best player. 

Edited October 7, 2021 by GunnerBill

[Royale with Cheese]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

 

He was responsible for the one sack on Josh I think. He did have a strong game in general, but not sure I'd say our best player. 

 

How would you rate Oliver so far this year?

[GunnerBill]

3 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

How would you rate Oliver so far this year?

 

The same as last year. Up and down. He just hasn't been consistent. There are plays or little groups of plays where he really flashes and he blows things up, but there are plays where he just looks flat and reactive. He is much better when he is being the protagonist when he starts reacting he doesn't have the same burst. 

[Royale with Cheese]

Just now, GunnerBill said:

 

The same as last year. Up and down. He just hasn't been consistent. There are plays or little groups of plays where he really flashes and he blows things up, but there are plays where he just looks flat and reactive. He is much better when he is being the protagonist when he starts reacting he doesn't have the same burst. 

 

Do you think we decline his 5th year option?

[GunnerBill]

Just now, Royale with Cheese said:

 

Do you think we decline his 5th year option?

 

Tough question. I certainly don't think it is a lock that the Bills pick it up. 

[Patrick Duffy]

4 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

I wonder how much having Jaquan and Cam Lewis in the secondary played into that and allowing them to just play fast and not have to overthink with lots of complicated coverage

I wouldn't think that factored into it no more than any other time considering Texans offense couldn't move the ball hardly at all, especially with the way their QB2 was playing.

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

17 hours ago, CSBill said:

It is interesting that the bottom 4 were D-Linemen. Maybe the grading system is off?

 

Bottom 5 grades (worst to 5th worst)

1) Basham

2) Epenesa

3) Rousseau

4) Zimmer

  
 

 

 

 

I feel like they were all sort of handled for the most part.  None of those guys jumped out at me during the game.  Star seemed to be doing work inside, oliver made some plays, hughes and addison were visibile.  

[BillsFan4]

21 hours ago, Max Fischer said:

I hope everyone subscribes to the Athletic. It's small investment to ensure the generation of good content. 

I was a subscriber for 3 years and I tried to re-subscribe when my most recent subscription ran out.

 

Then this happened...

 

 

I just can’t bring myself to spend any more money with them. My issue was never resolved. I tried reaching out to them at multiple email addresses, on Twitter, and even through a couple of their writers and nobody ever got back to me.

There is no way to talk to an actual live person at the athletic. They have a bot that respond to all their emails and I couldn’t get it to understand my problem no matter how many different ways I tried to explain it.

 

Terrible customer service.

[GunnerBill]

3 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

I was a subscriber for 3 years and I tried to re-subscribe when my most recent subscription ran out.

 

Then this happened...

 

 

I just can’t bring myself to spend any more money with them. My issue was never resolved. I tried reaching out to them at multiple email addresses, on Twitter, and even through a couple of their writers and nobody ever got back to me.

There is no way to talk to an actual live person at the athletic. They have a bot that respond to all their emails and I couldn’t get it to understand my problem no matter how many different ways I tried to explain it.

 

Terrible customer service.

 

I agree that is poor customer service. I remain a big fan of their content though. 

[BuffaloBill]

Disappointing that Epenesa and Basham did not fare well. The Bills need these guys to play at a high level consistently.