Patriots at Bills: Game Week Thread (v2)

[BuffaloBillyG]

If the old adage still holds true and you get 3 points just for playing at home, the Bills need to view this as a slap in the face.

 

Neutral field and the the Bills would be .5 against a rookie QB? Insult. I know the Pats D is good. So is ours. Our offense is better and a Monday night game in OP against the Pats basically for the division lead? Place will be unhinged. This will be the most hostile environment Mac has played in. 

[Jrb1979]

27 minutes ago, No Place To Hyde said:

If the old adage still holds true and you get 3 points just for playing at home, the Bills need to view this as a slap in the face.

 

Neutral field and the the Bills would be .5 against a rookie QB? Insult. I know the Pats D is good. So is ours. Our offense is better and a Monday night game in OP against the Pats basically for the division lead? Place will be unhinged. This will be the most hostile environment Mac has played in. 

It's not a slap in the face at all. They are 2 evenly matched teams. It's going to be a close game. 

[YoloinOhio]

 

[YoloinOhio]

 

[YoloinOhio]

 

 

 

[YoloinOhio]

😭

 

[Success]

Just now, Sheneneh Jenkins said:

Yeah he's been playing great. Their Dline in general have been playing well for that matter. Good thing our OL will be back for this game. At least gives Bills a better chance

 

I mean, w/ the weather, what you just pointed out is absolutely huge - on both sides of the ball. Star is such a difference maker against the run, but having our O-line mostly healthy will make a real difference.

 

Pundits and Pats fans expect us to have no running game, and for that to be a big advantage in bad weather. They're not necessarily wrong, but we've hardly seen what we can do when the line is healthy.  Breida gave me some hope last week, also (which is a sentence I never thought I'd be writing this season).

 

 

[YoloinOhio]

 

[Einstein]

 

I find this very interesting.

[YoloinOhio]

17 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

I find this very interesting.

They practice outside on Fridays (this week it will be Saturday) if weather mimics expected game conditions.

[Boatdrinks]

Has this question been posed to McD in the past? I’d imagine the Bills are preparing in the same manner they have in the past. Do they typically practice outdoors in December and are deviating from that? My guess would be no. 

[YoloinOhio]

Just now, Boatdrinks said:

Has this question been posed to McD in the past? I’d imagine the Bills are preparing in the same manner they have in the past. Do they typically practice outdoors in December and are deviating from that? My guess would be no. 

Yes it has and he said they have a specific process of when and why they practice outside 

[YoloinOhio]

1 hour ago, stevewin said:

One thing Diggs mentions is the int at NO was his fault, he was supposed to run an in route and instead faded out thinking it was a scramble drill.  I think at the time Brees pointed out it was prob a miscommunication, but  I saw plenty of people and talking heads talking about what a "brutal" bad int that was by Josh afterwards

Everyone always and forever will put an INT on the QB because it’s the easy thing to do. there are INTs that happen because of miscommunication, WR ran wrong route, WR falls down,  QBs arm gets hit, ball gets tipped in the air, etc. Smart football people realize those are part of the game. They happen and need to be overcome. then there are poor decision INTs. Those are on the QB and should be part of the player evaluation. Two different things.

 

biggest thing I take from diggs comment  is the trust that these two have.  It is not the norm. We are very fortunate. 

Edited December 3, 2021 by YoloinOhio

[YoloinOhio]

1 hour ago, Stank_Nasty said:

hey look! Our finest troll chimed in! 

Absolutely no doubt in my mind that the team has provided this #content to Josh. 

[Stank_Nasty]

8 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

Absolutely no doubt in my mind that the team has provided this #content to Josh. 

Clean sweep on "Get up" this morning. Every single member went Pats... This is all so hilarious to me. It was 5 minutes about what Buffalo will have to do to try and beat NE. And thats been every segment on every outlet this week. I've never seen such skewed analysis involving 2 teams just a half game apart.

[YoloinOhio]

2 minutes ago, Stank_Nasty said:

Clean sweep on "Get up" this morning. Every single member went Pats... This is all so hilarious to me. It was 5 minutes about what Buffalo will have to do to try and beat NE. And thats been every segment on every outlet this week. I've never seen such skewed analysis involving 2 teams just a half game apart.

Its perfect 

[BringBackFlutie]

1 hour ago, YoloinOhio said:

Absolutely no doubt in my mind that the team has provided this #content to Josh. 

 

Did you see the NBC Sports Boston YouTube clip about who had the edge?  They were laughing Josh out of the league. Said he's a faster Big Ben who's half as smart. He's apparently greatly regressed. Just.... wow. 

 

https://youtu.be/9BvmQrvQOKs

Edited December 3, 2021 by BringBackFlutie

[YoloinOhio]

 

[YoloinOhio]

 

[Success]

1 minute ago, Stank_Nasty said:

Agreed. Aso, I'm so freaking tired of this whole "The Bills fans are uneasy and scared" deal the media and reporters are putting out. They can shove that crap up their ***. Anyone thats watched football for more than 5 minutes knew the Bills were gonna be in for some dog fights over the next couple years. And just because the Pats are back in as contenders doesnt mean they are gonna own the division for a freaking decade. This is all so ridiculous.... Scared? NOT A FREAKING CHANCE. We have a top 5 talent at QB and a talented core group of players. Bring it.

 

The bolded is actually the only truly annoying part for me.  Steve Young said it last week, and I've heard it countless times on various message boards & twitter over the past few weeks - the Bills & other AFC East teams had their "1 year," and now the Pats are back in charge of the division.

 

No. Even if the Pats are good or great - and like you said, with BB they'll always be competitive - the AFC East ain't gonna be the division it was for 20 years.  The Bills are here to stay w/ Allen & McD.  Miami is well run now, and I think even the Jets will turn it around w/ Saleh & Wilson.

 

And we're still a better team than the Pats, and I'd bet pretty good money that Allen will always be at least 1 tier above Mac Jones, if Jones even pans out.  

 

If BB retired after this season - that team would probably hover around .500.

 

[HappyDays]

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

And, we just had 32 rush attempts to 28 pass attempts against N'Orleans.  While you couldn't call it a splendidly successful run game, we generated 3.5 ypa, which moves the chains.

 

Running the ball isn't just about production, it's about making the defense think we are actually a threat to run the ball. Against the Saints there was a big 3rd and 1 completion to Davis that was successful because the Saints thought it was a run. Davis acted like he was going to run block, we faked the run, and when Allen rolled out with the ball in his hand Davis was wide open down the field. We totally fooled them. That is a play that doesn't show up in the rushing efficiency stats but only happened because we had made it a point to run the ball in that game.

[freddyjj]

Suit up, Mount Up and SHOW UP!

 

Bills Mafia and the Bills Players will be ready.  Should be a great game and come down to which team wants it more.  I like the Bills at home as believe the team reacts to being dissed and will play with a sense of urgency as this is biggest leverage point in determining who takes AFC East.

 

GO BILLS!

 

 

[Rockinon]

I'm not buying into any of the hype surrounding the *Pats. We'll see how awesome Mac Jones is when he faces a real defense this Monday. And we'll see how awesome that defense is with Josh Allen putting them on their heels. That team has had some very lucky breaks this year. I see a big let down for them coming. The media keeps talking about how the Bills are in trouble. They got the wrong team, I say.

[YoloinOhio]

6 minutes ago, Success said:

 

The bolded is actually the only truly annoying part for me.  Steve Young said it last week, and I've heard it countless times on various message boards & twitter over the past few weeks - the Bills & other AFC East teams had their "1 year," and now the Pats are back in charge of the division.

 

No. Even if the Pats are good or great - and like you said, with BB they'll always be competitive - the AFC East ain't gonna be the division it was for 20 years.  The Bills are here to stay w/ Allen & McD.  Miami is well run now, and I think even the Jets will turn it around w/ Saleh & Wilson.

 

And we're still a better team than the Pats, and I'd bet pretty good money that Allen will always be at least 1 tier above Mac Jones, if Jones even pans out.  

 

If BB retired after this season - that team would probably hover around .500.

 

Like Stef Diggs said yesterday about his thoughts on looking up to the Pats in the division, it doesn’t matter who is in first place now. It matters who is there at the end. 

[BADOLBILZ]

5 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

Running the ball isn't just about production, it's about making the defense think we are actually a threat to run the ball. Against the Saints there was a big 3rd and 1 completion to Davis that was successful because the Saints thought it was a run. Davis acted like he was going to run block, we faked the run, and when Allen rolled out with the ball in his hand Davis was wide open down the field. We totally fooled them. That is a play that doesn't show up in the rushing efficiency stats but only happened because we had made it a point to run the ball in that game.

 

 

Coming into this game there is a lot of hyperbole in the media about how bad the Bills run the football and defend against the run........and how great the Pats run it and play defense.    The numbers don't really support these positions.

[YoloinOhio]

 

[transplantbillsfan]

1 hour ago, HappyDays said:

 

Running the ball isn't just about production, it's about making the defense think we are actually a threat to run the ball. Against the Saints there was a big 3rd and 1 completion to Davis that was successful because the Saints thought it was a run. Davis acted like he was going to run block, we faked the run, and when Allen rolled out with the ball in his hand Davis was wide open down the field. We totally fooled them. That is a play that doesn't show up in the rushing efficiency stats but only happened because we had made it a point to run the ball in that game.

 

I loved Joe B's breakdown of this play and setting up this play with Davis in the All-22 analysis in The Athletic.

 

Can we please keep Davis on the field?

[YoloinOhio]

 

[YoloinOhio]

 

Looks like Cole’s ribs are off the injury report 

[Lothar]

Just as an aside. Which of these two teams had a better rush yards per game? Or better defense against the rush? Some folks may be surprised to learn that the Bills rush offense and defense are better than the Patriots. So let's not get too panicky here.

 

My only worry is turnovers. Need to win or stay even on that front and I think the Bills will be fine at home. Weather or no weather.

Edited December 3, 2021 by Lothar

[transplantbillsfan]

 

[x-BillzeBubba]

special teams will feature LARGE in this one

[stevewin]

12 hours ago, x-BillzeBubba said:

special teams will feature LARGE in this one

Agreed.  Under no circumstance can there be a game changing blocked punt, muffed kick, huge return etc that the Pats* so often pull out their butt

 

I also hope they are preaching ball security over and over.  Esp in poor conditions don't unnecessarily get stood up fighting for extra yards and get the ball ripped out.  Get down and move on

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Good news: Bills have Feliciano practicing and Brown/Lotulelei back

Brown is not even on the injury report.

Feliciano seen on a film clip hopping on injured calf while kicking with other leg up to chest height, which is promising.

 

Lotulelei is listed as "limited" with "illness" as of Friday.  Game Day status comes out today, so we'll see.

 

 

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

So I don't have a cool graphic, but I did some research for actual per-game defensive paramenters

 

DEFENSE: Current NFL Per Game Ranking

	Beloved Buffalo Bills	Patriots******
PPG against	2nd (16.5 ppg)	1st (15.8 ppg)
YPG against	1st (275.2)	4th (316.7)
Pass NY/A against	1st	3rd
Rush Y/A against	1st	23rd
Turnover %	19.1% (2.27 per game)	19.4% (2.08 per game)
Penalties/Game	7th	7th
Penalty yds/Game	23rd	23rd

 

I'd be happy to add rank for any metric anyone is interested in.  Just ask....

Data are from Pro-Football Reference, converted to per-game and ranked by Yours Truly using Excel

 

Edit: added actual # of turnovers per game (tied at 25 total but Pats played 1 more game)

Turnover % per PFR is "percentage of drives ending in an opponents offensive turnover"

[Draconator]

2 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

Excel

You evil person you

[RoyBatty is alive]

What is Turnover % mean, is that the % of drives your opponent has that they turn the ball over?

 

Net giveaways/takeaways would be helpful

[Paul Costa]

Thank you 🙏 Hapless.  Hopefully we can just focus on the game on this thread. It’s going to be a long 59 hours until kick off. 😳

Edited December 4, 2021 by Paul Costa

[Hapless Bills Fan]

15 hours ago, Lothar said:

Just as an aside. Which of these two teams had a better rush yards per game? Or better defense against the rush? Some folks may be surprised to learn that the Bills rush offense and defense are better than the Patriots. So let's not get too panicky here.

 

My only worry is turnovers. Need to win or stay even on that front and I think the Bills will be fine at home. Weather or no weather.

 

See above for my post on this topic.  Rush YPG, pass YPG, I got ya

3 minutes ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

What is Turnover % mean, is that the % of drives your opponent has that they turn the ball over?

 

Net giveaways/takeaways would be helpful

 

good question.  it's not turnovers per game.  I will research and respond.  I can't get net easily, but I can do turnovers per game

3 minutes ago, Paul Costa said:

Thank you 🙏 Yolo. Hopefully we can just focus on the game on this thread. It’s going to be a long 59 hours until kick off. 😳

 

That would be me.  Yolo and his posts getting moved around the board is just an Innocent Victim of Circumstance as I move actual game-week discussion over here.

[Stank_Nasty]

I’m up to 7 ways to milk a cow.