THE ROCKPILE REVIEW - Bills Take Care of Falcons

[jlgarsh]

I love aggressive McDermott 2+ games in a row. Going for it on offense to keep the other team off the field, and going for TDs instead of goalie FGs. Plus sticking with it even if they failed to convert one. The defense gets fired up from it too.

[Shaw66]

4 minutes ago, jlgarsh said:

I love aggressive McDermott 2+ games in a row. Going for it on offense to keep the other team off the field, and going for TDs instead of goalie FGs. Plus sticking with it even if they failed to convert one. The defense gets fired up from it too.

The great thing about McDermott is his dedication to all of the stuff he spouts, the growth mindset, continuous improvement, etc., etc.   He doesn't just spout it, he lives it.  He demands it of himself, and that's what we're seeing.  I'm personally not a fan of going for it - I often thing that taking the points is the way to go, but McDermott is the one studying this, watching other teams, listening to his players, all of it.  

 

Even his demeanor on the field has been evolving.  He used to be mocked here because of his hand-clapping rah-rah stuff, but I think there's less of that now.  The spirit, the tenacity, that he was encouraging with the rah-rah stuff is now part of the character of the team.  Everyone plays with that spirit now, and McDermott just as to remind them occasionally to stay with it.  

 

He's growing, just like the team has, and it's a good thing. 

[Einstein's Dog]

23 hours ago, ControllerOfPlanetX said:

1st and ten at the 12 and the Bills dial up some reverse pass by Diggs...idiotic...they were systematically driving down the field and Daboll goes high school...

But if Diggs had just tossed it to J Allen there would have been a nice gain on 1st down and changed the whole dynamic of the series.

 

IMO, It wasn't a bad play call as much as a poor decision by Diggs.  Diggs went for the TD instead of taking the easy 5-6 yards with Allen.

[Shaw66]

44 minutes ago, Einstein's Dog said:

But if Diggs had just tossed it to J Allen there would have been a nice gain on 1st down and changed the whole dynamic of the series.

 

IMO, It wasn't a bad play call as much as a poor decision by Diggs.  Diggs went for the TD instead of taking the easy 5-6 yards with Allen.

That's a coaching failure.  In my opinion, you do not run gadgets unless your guys are prepared.  It was an easy read for Diggs, and he should have been prepared to check down to Josh.   

[HappyDays]

12 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

Even his demeanor on the field has been evolving.  He used to be mocked here because of his hand-clapping rah-rah stuff, but I think there's less of that now.  The spirit, the tenacity, that he was encouraging with the rah-rah stuff is now part of the character of the team.  Everyone plays with that spirit now, and McDermott just as to remind them occasionally to stay with it.  

 

Thank you for saying this. I feel like everyone forgets the enormity of the the task that McDermott had when he took over. A hapless franchise that hadn't been relevant since the 90s that had just hit rock bottom with two years of the Rex Ryan clown show. The steady culture guys like Kyle Williams and Eric Wood were on the cusp of retirement and no young blood was there to step up and take their place. Rex Ryan pathetically walked into Terry Pegula's office and told him he didn't want to coach in a week 17 game after finding out it would be his last, two years after Doug Marrone opted out of his contract. Another decade-plus of failure seemed inevitable.

 

Then comes in McDermott and his clapping. I remember going to a training camp practice that offseason, as I always do, and the DBs were doing some kind of exercise where they were tossing tennis balls around and catching them one handed. I had never seen that before. I don't know why but it felt different in a good way, like somehow from that tiny detail I knew that McDermott knew what he was doing.

 

And then there is he on the sidelines of every game clapping like a madman. Good play, clap. Bad play, clap. Score a TD, clap harder. Give up a TD, clap even harder. As silly as it looked on TV that energy slowly permeated through the team over the next few years. Here we are almost 5 years later and that energy has become the identity of the team. Like all great leaders he's done such a good job that the team no longer needs his leadership because the players have adopted it for themselves. No matter how the rest of his tenure here goes I hope no one ever forgets the incredible job he did flipping our culture upside down.

[Scott7975]

22 hours ago, RunJoshRun said:

"Review" - can't we all remember what we saw just a few hours ago???  It really doesn't need an interpretation or explanation.  It's written like a historical paper about a silly football game.  

 

Then don't read it.  Shaw has been writing these every week for as long as I can remember.  I enjoy reading them.  If you don't then simply don't click on the thread.  It's that simple.

[Shaw66]

8 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

Thank you for saying this. I feel like everyone forgets the enormity of the the task that McDermott had when he took over. A hapless franchise that hadn't been relevant since the 90s that had just hit rock bottom with two years of the Rex Ryan clown show. The steady culture guys like Kyle Williams and Eric Wood were on the cusp of retirement and no young blood was there to step up and take their place. Rex Ryan pathetically walked into Terry Pegula's office and told him he didn't want to coach in a week 17 game after finding out it would be his last, two years after Doug Marrone opted out of his contract. Another decade-plus of failure seemed inevitable.

 

Then comes in McDermott and his clapping. I remember going to a training camp practice that offseason, as I always do, and the DBs were doing some kind of exercise where they were tossing tennis balls around and catching them one handed. I had never seen that before. I don't know why but it felt different in a good way, like somehow from that tiny detail I knew that McDermott knew what he was doing.

 

And then there is he on the sidelines of every game clapping like a madman. Good play, clap. Bad play, clap. Score a TD, clap harder. Give up a TD, clap even harder. As silly as it looked on TV that energy slowly permeated through the team over the next few years. Here we are almost 5 years later and that energy has become the identity of the team. Like all great leaders he's done such a good job that the team no longer needs his leadership because the players have adopted it for themselves. No matter how the rest of his tenure here goes I hope no one ever forgets the incredible job he did flipping our culture upside down.

This should be pinned somewhere. Outstanding capsule of what he has done.  

 

And Beane deserves his share of the credit, too.

[rockpile]

On 1/3/2022 at 2:44 AM, RunJoshRun said:

"Review" - can't we all remember what we saw just a few hours ago???  It really doesn't need an interpretation or explanation.  It's written like a historical paper about a silly football game.  

 

Not everyone saw the game.

Some of us were interrupted by our lives while trying to watch the game, so a thoughtful recap is worth reading.

I am not paying for other news media to read what I can read here for free in one forum, often written better.

I skip the threads I do not find interesting without criticizing the author, unless they really hit my funny bone. 

 

Nice read, "Shaw". I enjoy your threads.

[Shaw66]

On 1/2/2022 at 10:37 PM, RunJoshRun said:

why are we discussing all this in a thread that just re-caps a game we all saw with flowery words.  With so many game re-play options on the Internet this has all become a bit stale and boring.  You can read the Buffalo News reporters after a game and get the same drival.  

RJR -

 

I knew some folks would pile on when they saw this post, but I have to admit that I didn't have a problem with it.  I mean, I agree with others - what are you doing reading something that you don't like and then posting that you don't like it?  Just walk away.  

 

To tell the truth, I think some of my reviews this year have been "stale and boring," including this one.  So, I wasn't surprised to see your comment.  At the end of the day, all I do is watch the game and then write what I think about it.   It's just my thoughts, and if my thoughts were fresh and exciting every week, my hair would be on fire, or I'd be writing for SI, or something.   Instead, it's just one guy's thoughts.  

 

What I like best about writing the Review is not writing it, but the discussion that follows it.   I love it when Ayjent comes around, like he did this week, and adds his thoughts.   He usually has interesting things to say.  Plenty of other people, too.  And I like it when someone like you posts and says what I've written is boring or dumb or stale, because then other people come on and say nice things about me. 

 

All's good. 

 

Go Bills!!! 

[Shaw66]

I'm giving away one club seat for the Jets game.  It's listed in the Tickets and Gear forum.  

[Stank_Nasty]

On 1/2/2022 at 10:37 PM, RunJoshRun said:

why are we discussing all this in a thread that just re-caps a game we all saw with flowery words.  With so many game re-play options on the Internet this has all become a bit stale and boring.  You can read the Buffalo News reporters after a game and get the same drival.  

you seem like just...... the worst.

[Gugny]

On 1/2/2022 at 10:37 PM, RunJoshRun said:

why are we discussing all this in a thread that just re-caps a game we all saw with flowery words.  With so many game re-play options on the Internet this has all become a bit stale and boring.  You can read the Buffalo News reporters after a game and get the same drival.  

 

On 1/3/2022 at 2:44 AM, RunJoshRun said:

"Review" - can't we all remember what we saw just a few hours ago???  It really doesn't need an interpretation or explanation.  It's written like a historical paper about a silly football game.  

 

Bless your little heart.

 

[Figster]

Gugs has a way with words sometimes, lol

[Dr. Who]

9 minutes ago, Gugny said:

 

 

Bless your little heart.

 

[Figster]

34 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I'm giving away one club seat for the Jets game.  It's listed in the Tickets and Gear forum.  

 Heart of gold  ^^^ 

[WhoTom]

On 1/2/2022 at 9:37 PM, RunJoshRun said:

why are we discussing all this in a thread that just re-caps a game we all saw with flowery words.  With so many game re-play options on the Internet this has all become a bit stale and boring.  You can read the Buffalo News reporters after a game and get the same drival.  

 

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

I like it when someone like you posts and says what I've written is boring or dumb or stale, because then other people come on and say nice things about me.

 

25 minutes ago, Gugny said:

Bless your little heart.

 

I love how different people have different ways of saying "F*** off."

 

 

Edited January 4, 2022 by WhoTom

[jlgarsh]

On 1/3/2022 at 12:01 PM, Shaw66 said:

The great thing about McDermott is his dedication to all of the stuff he spouts, the growth mindset, continuous improvement, etc., etc.   He doesn't just spout it, he lives it.  He demands it of himself, and that's what we're seeing.  I'm personally not a fan of going for it - I often thing that taking the points is the way to go, but McDermott is the one studying this, watching other teams, listening to his players, all of it.  

 

Even his demeanor on the field has been evolving.  He used to be mocked here because of his hand-clapping rah-rah stuff, but I think there's less of that now.  The spirit, the tenacity, that he was encouraging with the rah-rah stuff is now part of the character of the team.  Everyone plays with that spirit now, and McDermott just as to remind them occasionally to stay with it.  

 

He's growing, just like the team has, and it's a good thing. 

I liked how he talked to Stevenson after the fumble but didn't freak out on him, then let him go back out there and have a couple decent returns. 

[Ayjent]

On 1/3/2022 at 12:01 PM, Shaw66 said:

The great thing about McDermott is his dedication to all of the stuff he spouts, the growth mindset, continuous improvement, etc., etc.   He doesn't just spout it, he lives it.  He demands it of himself, and that's what we're seeing.  I'm personally not a fan of going for it - I often thing that taking the points is the way to go, but McDermott is the one studying this, watching other teams, listening to his players, all of it.  

 

Even his demeanor on the field has been evolving.  He used to be mocked here because of his hand-clapping rah-rah stuff, but I think there's less of that now.  The spirit, the tenacity, that he was encouraging with the rah-rah stuff is now part of the character of the team.  Everyone plays with that spirit now, and McDermott just as to remind them occasionally to stay with it.  

 

He's growing, just like the team has, and it's a good thing. 

And that is a special trait of his.  Constant self reflection and self assessment while also having humility is a combination that many great leaders have - not necessarily present in modern politics but that’s a whole different conversation not suited for this forum. I want to follow people with those traits and model myself after them.  You can see that he takes criticism and failures as an opportunity for improvement, rather than taking a defensive posture and rationalizing his actions. We all want to see ourselves be like that, but walking the walk is tougher than it may appear.  It takes the right balance of so many things at once even though it seems simple.  McDermott is the right coach for this team and I have nothing but respect for him. 

[TheBrownBear]

You're the best, Shaw.  Thanks for the write up!

[Heathcliff]

Shaw I rarely post but always look forward to your and Virgil’s game recaps. Almost always you see something in the game I missed and it enlightens me 🤔. 
 

I also appreciate your patience to politely engage negative posters and explain to them so eloquently how the real world works. 
 

See you next week.
 

Be sure whom ever gets the free ticket that they are capable to assist with in game notes to earn that ticket.