Jets HC Robert Saleh: Bills are the best team he has faced.

[Greg S]

On Monday, Saleh reflected on his first season with the Jets and touched on one interesting topic: Who is the best team he faced in his first year in charge?

His choice was the Bills.

“They all present different challenges, right? Buffalo is probably the most complete team when you look quarterback, run game, pass game, their defense is ridiculous,” Saleh said via The Michael Kay Show. “I’d probably say Buffalo. They’re complete. They’ve got everything, heck of a coaching staff. They’re sound, they’re explosive. Really, really, talented group.”

[HOUSE]

This is a very smart man...

[BuffaloBill]

Nice compliment but the games are won on the field. The Bills have not always played up to their talent and have a couple of glaring weaknesses in their run game and stopping the run when they play bigger, physical teams. 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

A number of TSW members will be picketing Saleh's home.

[Beast]

2 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

Nice compliment but the games are won on the field. The Bills have not always played up to their talent and have a couple of glaring weaknesses in their run game and stopping the run when they play bigger, physical teams. 

 

Name a team in the NFL that has always played up to their talent level.

[Greg S]

Just now, Beast said:

 

Name a team in the NFL that has always played up to their talent level.

 

The Pats almost did until the Giants stopped them and they had to settle for an 18-1 season.

[Big Turk]

5 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

Nice compliment but the games are won on the field. The Bills have not always played up to their talent and have a couple of glaring weaknesses in their run game and stopping the run when they play bigger, physical teams. 

 

The run game is a glaring weakness even tho they are 6th in the NFL in rushing and average over 5.3 YPC per rush in between the 20s?

 

The only real issue with the run game statistically is they are poor rushing inside the RedZone and especially poor inside the 10, averaging 3.3 and 2.2 YPC there.

[eball]

4 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

Nice compliment but the games are won on the field. The Bills have not always played up to their talent and have a couple of glaring weaknesses in their run game and stopping the run when they play bigger, physical teams. 

 

Sorry, but I’ll disagree on your choice of the word “glaring.”  The Bills just finished #1 in just about every statistical category on defense, and the run defense was, at worst, middle of the pack.  That’s not a “glaring weakness.”  Further, Josh Allen IS a part of the run game, and when you look at what Motor has done over the past four weeks I think it’s quite a stretch to say the Bills’ run game is a “glaring weakness.”

 

Look, I get it that some of us still want to let the BBFS creep in, but it really is a different era now.  This team is, in my opinion, the most complete football TEAM in the league and nobody wants to play us.  Saleh is just saying out loud what most insiders already think.

 

 

[RiotAct]

I’ve always liked Rob Saleh.

[papazoid]

pro: bills are really good

 

con: he only played half the teams in the league..lol

[finn]

Someone send this comment to the real experts on TV who know far more about the quality of NFL teams that head coaches. Why, does Saleh check his Twitter feed before writing a column or getting his makeup done for his studio appearance? Probably not. 

 

I think after the Super Bowl, the football world--all of it--will realize that they didn't see the obvious all along: The Bills have always been the best team, by a healthy margin. The losses can be explained by COVID. End of story. Of course, the pundits will say they knew it all along. 

[SoCal Deek]

Wait. He didn’t even mention our punter? 😂

[Big Turk]

Probably still has nightmares from the game where the Bills almost singlehandedly destroyed his head coaching dreams when he was 49ers DC and Allen shredded then on prime time in front of the whole nation.

[Beast]

13 minutes ago, Greg S said:

 

The Pats almost did until the Giants stopped them and they had to settle for an 18-1 season.

 

Right.

 

But you know exactly what I'm saying. And I'm not picking on BuffaloBill but what he stated is a cliche. In a long NFL season, very very rarely does a team stay consistent throughout the whole season. The K-Gun teams didn't, last years team didn't and neither did this years team. Nothing shocking about that. You just hope tbey play their best football at the end of the season.

Edited January 12, 2022 by Beast

[BillsFanSD]

20 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

Nice compliment but the games are won on the field. The Bills have not always played up to their talent and have a couple of glaring weaknesses in their run game and stopping the run when they play bigger, physical teams. 

He didn't say they were perfect, and we know they're not 17-0.  Why not just be happy that we have an extremely good team and other people in the NFL acknowledge as much?

[Greg S]

Just now, Beast said:

 

Right.

 

But you know exactly what I'm saying. And I'm not picking on Buffalo ill but what he stated is a cliche. In a long NFL season, very very rarely does a team stay consistent throughout the whole season. The K-Gun trams didn't, last years team didn't and neither did this years team. Nothing shocking about that. You just hope tbey play their best football at the end of the season.

 

Realistically nobody wins every game as only the 72 Dolphins have done it. I would say if you win 13 or more games then you were consistent. Those Bills teams from the Super Bowl years had a couple of 13-3 seasons so I would say they were consistent in their play. 

[Hebert19]

18 minutes ago, Beast said:

 

Name a team in the NFL that has always played up to their talent level.

This. But we just need 4 games of >80% and we can win it. 

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

24 minutes ago, finn said:

Someone send this comment to the real experts on TV who know far more about the quality of NFL teams that head coaches. Why, does Saleh check his Twitter feed before writing a column or getting his makeup done for his studio appearance? Probably not. 

 

I think after the Super Bowl, the football world--all of it--will realize that they didn't see the obvious all along: The Bills have always been the best team, by a healthy margin. The losses can be explained by COVID. End of story. Of course, the pundits will say they knew it all along. 

Covid? Huh?

[teef]

he's just looking for a job for when he get fired by the jets.

[JESSEFEFFER]

I watched some of the end-of-season season presser he had along with Joe Douglas.  I like his demeanor.  He seems like a trust the process kind of leader.  In the 3 games he faced the Bills (2020 with SF) he got fully immersed in all the problems the Bills can create for an opponent.  His answer makes total sense to me based on those 3 games alone.

[finn]

8 minutes ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

Covid? Huh?

Uh, yeah. Because of COVID, Dawkins was awful for the first part of the season, leading directly to the losses to Pittsburgh and Titans. We also lost Feliciano for a long stretch to COVID, which gave us Cody Ford and his baker's dozen of pressures per game and the loss to the Jaguars. Ford continued his happy play when Spencer Brown was out with COVID and Williams had to kick out to tackle. All but one of the Bills losses was by a single score. So, yes, COVID is what stands between 11-7 and 16-1, or even 17-0. 

 

I'm surprised I have to make this case in a fan forum. Seems obvious to me. Are you in the camp that expects that Allen should regularly dodge two defenders on every pass play and make an incredible throw on the run while being chased by a linebacker? And call him "erratic" or "old Josh" when he doesn't succeed? The Bills lost those games because of awful line play, and the line play was awful because of COVID. 

[Royale with Cheese]

1 hour ago, BuffaloBill said:

Nice compliment but the games are won on the field. The Bills have not always played up to their talent and have a couple of glaring weaknesses in their run game and stopping the run when they play bigger, physical teams. 

 

I have concerns about our run defense but we are not anywhere near the worst.  Watch other games.  Most of the year, we were pretty decent against the run with a few games where we got gashed.

 

The games where we gave up a lot were against 3 very good running teams too that did this to a lot of teams.

[GunnerBill]

56 minutes ago, eball said:

 

Sorry, but I’ll disagree on your choice of the word “glaring.”  The Bills just finished #1 in just about every statistical category on defense, and the run defense was, at worst, middle of the pack.  That’s not a “glaring weakness.”  Further, Josh Allen IS a part of the run game, and when you look at what Motor has done over the past four weeks I think it’s quite a stretch to say the Bills’ run game is a “glaring weakness.”

 

Look, I get it that some of us still want to let the BBFS creep in, but it really is a different era now.  This team is, in my opinion, the most complete football TEAM in the league and nobody wants to play us.  Saleh is just saying out loud what most insiders already think.

 

 

 

I actually think the two biggest weaknesses on the Bills are a pad punter and a very inconsistent offensive line. Those two things cost us the game in week 1 and have remained, IMO, the biggest issues all year long. 

[Greg S]

Just now, Royale with Cheese said:

 

I have concerns about our run defense but we are not anywhere near the worst.  Watch other games.  Most of the year, we were pretty decent against the run with a few games where we got gashed.

 

The games where we gave up a lot were against 3 very good running teams too that did this to a lot of teams.

 

Also both Henry and Taylor are probably the two best RB's in the league. 

[Royale with Cheese]

4 minutes ago, Greg S said:

 

Also both Henry and Taylor are probably the two best RB's in the league. 

 

Yep.  Taylor gashed us all game.

 

Henry had 2 big runs...that impacted us a lot but most of the game, Henry was held in check.

[BhamBillsFan]

1 hour ago, Big Turk said:

 

The run game is a glaring weakness even tho they are 6th in the NFL in rushing and average over 5.3 YPC per rush in between the 20s?

 

The only real issue with the run game statistically is they are poor rushing inside the RedZone and especially poor inside the 10, averaging 3.3 and 2.2 YPC there.

The run game is not a weakness! Daboll's insistence on not using the run game, is a problem. He's in love with Josh's arm and calls too many pass plays. We have a good run game and a good O line, we just need to utilize it more!

[The Frankish Reich]

1 hour ago, RiotAct said:

I’ve always liked Rob Saleh.

And I think the Jets are finally on the right course. Of course a lot depends on whether Zach Wilson develops. Unless of course they get the other Wilson. Russell. I'm glad Miami pulled the plug on Flores, who also seemed to have them on the right course. Prediction: the AFC East will be a good division starting next season.

[eball]

21 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I actually think the two biggest weaknesses on the Bills are a bad punter and a very inconsistent offensive line. Those two things cost us the game in week 1 and have remained, IMO, the biggest issues all year long. 

 

But he's an elite holder!

 

The OL was inconsistent until 4 1/2 weeks ago.  They've now put together a nice little run.

 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

19 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

I have concerns about our run defense but we are not anywhere near the worst.  Watch other games.  Most of the year, we were pretty decent against the run with a few games where we got gashed.

 

The games where we gave up a lot were against 3 very good running teams too that did this to a lot of teams.

When fans criticize the run D, they also don’t understand our defensive scheme. We have quicker penetrating D-linemen, and the goal is to usually disrupt. So, we will generate a lot of TFL and stuffs.
 

But we just don’t have the beef to deal with the bruising gap style run teams, which have like 3 elite interior linemen and big power backs. For those teams, we are going to get those penetrating TFL’s, but we will also get pushed around too. That’s just the trade off. 
 

The thing is though our defensive scheme is a lot better against the best teams— teams with lots of speed, and elite and mobile QB’s. 

[Arkady Renko]

1 hour ago, SoCal Deek said:

Wait. He didn’t even mention our punter? 😂

 

Later in the program he said they were just a good punter away from a championship.  

[The Frankish Reich]

1 hour ago, papazoid said:

pro: bills are really good

 

con: he only played half the teams in the league..lol

They did play the following good teams in addition to the Bills:

- Titans (beat em)

- Bengals (same)

- Bucs (almost)

- Pats (if we consider them "good")

So there is that ...

[GunnerBill]

2 minutes ago, eball said:

 

But he's an elite holder!

 

The OL was inconsistent until 4 1/2 weeks ago.  They've now put together a nice little run.

 

 

I'd say they were flat bad until a 4 and a half weeks ago and now they are just inconsistent. Even against the Jets there were still more than 1 or 2 plays where Josh got flushed before he really had the chance to scan the field and get through his reads. The one guy that really has bounced back the past month is Dion Dawkins. We have our left tackle back to form and that makes a huge difference.

[Slippery Rubber Mats]

1 hour ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

A number of TSW members will be picketing Saleh's home.

 

"Hi Robert, Bills fan coming to your doorstep in peace. Jets have a great future. Just want to tell you Bills fans are deluded and make fun of me on our boards. You see the Bills are actually not that good, they are just homers. Weather splits, domes, run game efficiency, play calling, slippery rubber mats, I could go on and on Bob..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 12, 2022 by Tom Donahoe, GM

[eball]

Just now, GunnerBill said:

 

I'd say they were flat bad until a 4 and a half weeks ago and now they are just inconsistent. Even against the Jets there were still more than 1 or 2 plays where Josh got flushed before he really had the chance to scan the field and get through his reads. The one guy that really has bounced back the past month is Dion Dawkins. We have our left tackle back to form and that makes a huge difference.

 

I feel like there was an "a-ha!" moment along the way for the OL.  Losing Boettger in the Pats*** game and having Bates move in seamlessly was a huge step forward.  As you said, Dion is BACK.  They're using more heavy sets and showing different looks than they did earlier in the year.  Yes, Josh's athleticism allows him to get out of spots that might result in sacks for other QBs but that doesn't mean we disregard that he hasn't been sacked in how many weeks, and suddenly we have a viable running game with Motor.

 

[78thealltimegreat]

1 hour ago, Greg S said:

On Monday, Saleh reflected on his first season with the Jets and touched on one interesting topic: Who is the best team he faced in his first year in charge?

His choice was the Bills.

“They all present different challenges, right? Buffalo is probably the most complete team when you look quarterback, run game, pass game, their defense is ridiculous,” Saleh said via The Michael Kay Show. “I’d probably say Buffalo. They’re complete. They’ve got everything, heck of a coaching staff. They’re sound, they’re explosive. Really, really, talented group.”

Not to forget Saleh got the Bills last year as dcoordintor of the 49ers and was lit up like a Christmas tree 

[TheFunPolice]

I think he's correct, with the possible exception of the Packers the Bills have the best roster on paper. If you look at the playoff teams here's how I would rank the top 5 playoff team rosters ON PAPER:

 

1. Packers: they had the best record in the league all year, and right now not only are they healthy but they are getting back their top pass rusher, top OL, and top CB. That's like the Bills being where they are now but in walk Tre White, Mario Williams in his prime, and one of the top LT in the league to join the playoff push. 

 

2. Bills: they were talking on WGR about this on the morning show. Where is the weakness? Punter? Not having Tre White is huge now, though, which is why I put the Bills at #2. We tend to underrate them because we see them all the time, IMO. Allen is a top 5 QB, Singletary is plenty good enough at RB, the OL is good, the DL is good and starting to get more pressure as the young guys come into their own, secondary is stacked, and LBers are very good. WR group is very good, and our young TE is having a breakout season. Bills are at least good at every spot, and great at a few. 

 

3. Bengals: this team is loaded and very dangerous. They have (IMO) a top 5-7 QB who has played in huge games his entire college career, have 3 big time WR, a top RB and great running game, and a nasty defense. They're still young and somewhat unpredictable though, but in terms of raw talent on paper their roster is loaded. 

 

4. Rams: Pro Bowl roster, but they did lose Woods and their starting safety to injury. They just seem off, but the talent is there on paper at pretty much every position. 

 

5A. Buccaneers: they have a ton of key injuries, although some guys are coming back to play we'll see how healthy they are. They did lose their best 2 WR in Godwin and Brown, which is going to make it tougher. Still, another Pro Bowl team that is totally stacked at most positions. 

 

5B. Cowboys: good QB, great WR, great running game, lots of big time players on defense. When they click good luck stopping them. They are a weird team like the Rams in that they could score 50 on you or struggle to get to 20. 

 

 

Notable absences:

 

Chiefs: it's not that they're bad or anything (obviously) but they are amazing at a few spots and straight up bad in others. Very top-heavy and one dimensional, although it's a heck of a dimension when it's humming. Tyreek Hill having a "heel injury" is IMO a lot worse than they are making it out to be, and without him running 75 yards every play to take the top off they're not a top 5 threatening offense IMO.

 

Titans: Whatever. I'll never be impressed with them, no matter what they do. 

 

 

Edited January 12, 2022 by TheFunPolice

[BuffaloBill]

1 hour ago, Big Turk said:

 

The run game is a glaring weakness even tho they are 6th in the NFL in rushing and average over 5.3 YPC per rush in between the 20s?

 

The only real issue with the run game statistically is they are poor rushing inside the RedZone and especially poor inside the 10, averaging 3.3 and 2.2 YPC there.

 

Take JA out of the equation and what are you left with?

[TheFunPolice]

1 minute ago, BuffaloBill said:

 

Take JA out of the equation and what are you left with?

 

But that's true for any team with a dynamic weapon. 

 

Take Lamar Jackson out of the equation and suddenly Baltimore is just another team. 

[Greg S]

3 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

 

Take JA out of the equation and what are you left with?

 

To be fair the run game has improved these past few games with Singletary.

[78thealltimegreat]

5 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

 

Take JA out of the equation and what are you left with?

Let’s face it without Josh this team is second/third in the AFC East