All-22 Grades for Bills/Jets (The Athletic)

[HappyDays]

 

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2. Harrison Phillips becomes an absolute must re-signing

 

Among the standouts, one-technique defensive tackle Harrison Phillips stole the show. His running mate Ed Oliver also was excellent, but Phillips was a dominating force all game.

 

As a run defender, Phillips kept offensive linemen off his pads all game and timed up the precise moment to rip them away and assist on the tackle at the line of scrimmage. If he didn’t have the room to tear his blocker away, he would move the blocker in the way of the runner’s intended path and redirect the run to his teammates. As impressive as Phillips was as a run defender, he might have been even better as a pass rusher. He consistently broke free from his one-on-one opportunities to provide some pressure up the middle, or at the very least, to get Jets quarterback Zach Wilson moving backward. Phillips was an impact player, a driving force of the Bills’ success on Sunday and more than deserved his A grade.

 

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3. What to make of Ed Oliver at defensive end?

 

Oliver has been on fire all season and is drifting into the top tier of all Bills starters. He is arguably their most important defensive player because of how much pressure he provides. Against the Jets, Oliver was ridiculous. He had a total of five pressures on only 18 pass-rushing snaps for an uncanny pressure rate of 27.8 percent. You don’t typically see that high of a figure for any player, let alone an interior pass rusher. However, one sneaky thing the Bills did on a pair of snaps Sunday was to put Oliver at right defensive end. Oliver even came away with a sack on one of the reps. 

 

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4. Dawson Knox kept in to do a fair bit of blocking

 

Although the Week 18 Jets were nowhere close to the roster they began the season with, they still have some talent on the defensive line. That much was evident with three of the Bills’ starting offensive linemen — right tackle Spencer Brown, right guard Daryl Williams and left guard Ryan Bates — ending with below-average grades against the Jets. The Bills have been tinkering with some of their formations to help the offensive line. Early in the season, we saw a high number of plays that sent all five skill player options out as receivers, but recently that has been scaled back a bit. A big reason is how they’ve been using Dawson Knox.

 

Knox is still running a lot of routes as the Bills’ top pass-catching tight end. But they’ve been getting him more involved with chipping a pass rusher before heading out on his route, and sometimes, keeping him in as a blocker altogether. Against the Jets, Knox contributed to blocking on 12 of his 44 snaps on pass plays. Six as an outright blocker, and the other six used to chip a pass rusher before heading out on his route. It made up for 28 percent of his passing-down snaps, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but it’s been an evolving function of their offense.

 

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5. Tommy Doyle an under-the-radar asset to the run game

 

Doyle has boosted the offense for the last three weeks as their glorified blocking tight end. Doyle has done his best to maul his opponents and plays with a lot of intensity that sometimes extends past the whistle. He’s played a big role, including Sunday against the Jets, in sealing a block to spring a big run.

 

The stats back up Doyle’s impact as well. The rookie was on the field for 16 snaps that were not a kneel-down, and the Bills averaged 9.0 yards per play. Four of those 16 were highly successful pass plays that gained 61 yards on three completions, but the rushing stats were also impressive. The Bills averaged 6.7 yards per attempt with Doyle on the field, including the 2-yard loss on the final series with quarterback Mitchell Trubisky in the game. Doyle has effectively taken over tight end Tommy Sweeney’s role in the offense, with Sweeney a healthy scratch over the last three games.

 

Top 5 grades:

1) Phillips (A)

2) Diggs (A-)

3) Hughes (A-)

4) Oliver (A-)

5) Allen (A-)

 

Bottom 5 grades:

1) Williams (C+)

2) Davis (C+)

3) Rousseau (C+)

4) Brown (C+)

5) Bates (C+)

[Rico]

Phillips has been a total revelation. I can't remember the last time someone turned from a career JAG to an impact player overnight... a true Cinderella man.

[MrSarcasm]

Phillips is Kyle Williams Reincarnated.

[hemma]

Really appreciate your posting this info each week.

 

Interesting that after all the outcry about Josh having another ‘bad game’, he is awarded an A-.

Wind adjusted rating and I agree with that score.

[Victory Formation]

Phillips is okay. How much are we talking though?

[HappyDays]

35 minutes ago, hemma said:

Interesting that after all the outcry about Josh having another ‘bad game’, he is awarded an A-.

Wind adjusted rating and I agree with that score.

 

Also a few of his incompletions were miscommunications with the receiver, not bad individual plays by Allen. I get why option routes can be so valuable but they've too frequently become incomplete or turnover worthy passes this year. If Daboll can't get everyone on the same page I don't want those plays being called in the playoffs.

[billsfan89]

57 minutes ago, Rico said:

Phillips has been a total revelation. I can't remember the last time someone turned from a career JAG to an impact player overnight... a true Cinderella man.

The first 5 games of 2019 he was starting to look like a breakout player then he tore his ACL (which then followed with a mid season slump in run defense) and he hasn’t looked the same until recently. Now he looks to be back on track.

[Rico]

8 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

The first 5 games of 2019 he was starting to look like a breakout player then he tore his ACL (which then followed with a mid season slump in run defense) and he hasn’t looked the same until recently. Now he looks to be back on track.

I thought he appeared to have some potential, but I don't think he's ever looked this good.

[Freddie's Dead]

1 hour ago, HappyDays said:

Bottom 5 grades:

1) Williams (C+)

2) Davis (C+)

3) Rousseau (C+)

4) Brown (C+)

5) Bates (C+)

 

Groot gets the same grade as Gabe, who dropped like 6 balls?  I don't get that at all.

Edited January 13, 2022 by Freddie's Dead

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, Victory Formation said:

Phillips is okay. How much are we talking though?

He’s been much, much better than ok the last several weeks.  Availability is his drawback now.  His play has been stellar

[BADOLBILZ]

1 hour ago, Rico said:

Phillips has been a total revelation. I can't remember the last time someone turned from a career JAG to an impact player overnight... a true Cinderella man.

 

 

He really was trending this way before he hurt his knee though..........he was A LOT better than Star Lotulelei already at that moment in 2019.

 

Took a lot longer to get back there than expected...........but he was a tackling machine at Stanford even though he was a 0 tech nose tackle............his senior year at Stanford he had 98 tackles 17 TFL and 7.5 sacks.........which were basically Star's stats for his entire career at Utah.        

[BADOLBILZ]

1 hour ago, Freddie's Dead said:

 

Groot gets the same grade as Gabe, who dropped like 6 balls?  I don't get that at all.

 

 

He didn't cash in on the pass rush party.

 

It's my opinion that he has been dealing with turf-toe or something that's hindering his power.........he hasn't been the same since that KC game......I suppose it could also be a rookie wall.......he only played one season in college and if the Bills advance deep in the playoffs he will have played basically twice as many games as he did in that one season at Miami when you factor in all the preseason/regular/postseason games.

 

He hasn't been nearly as impactful rushing the passer since that KC/Tenn period............but by the same token Groot tied for the NFL lead with 32 run stops on the year so he's been very productive.   

[msw2112]

A lot of folks on this board were extremely impatient with Phillips while he recovered from his knee injury.  He's finally returning to the form he was starting to show pre-injury, plus he has more experience and more time in an NFL weight room since then.  Kudos to him and the team for sticking with the process.

Edited January 13, 2022 by msw2112

[BADOLBILZ]

1 hour ago, billsfan89 said:

The first 5 games of 2019 he was starting to look like a breakout player then he tore his ACL (which then followed with a mid season slump in run defense) and he hasn’t looked the same until recently. Now he looks to be back on track.

 

 

He only played 2 full games in 2019.........he was really showing out though.     Yeah they weren't the same front afterward.   

[Sherlock Holmes]

2 hours ago, Rico said:

Phillips has been a total revelation. I can't remember the last time someone turned from a career JAG to an impact player overnight... a true Cinderella man.

 

2 hours ago, MrSarcasm said:

Phillips is Kyle Williams Reincarnated.

I told you guys to give him some time

[Victory Formation]

23 minutes ago, NewEra said:

He’s been much, much better than ok the last several weeks.  Availability is his drawback now.  His play has been stellar

He looked great his rookie year too IIRC, he showed great promise and then he tore his ACL in 2019. In 2020, he didn’t look the same and in 2021, it seems like he’s gotten a lot better as the season has went along.
 

I’ll admit that he’s looked great at times and I’ll admit that I want him on the team but I’ll also admit that I would set a limit on how much I would be willing to pay him. He’s a good player, but he’s a streaky player. I could be wrong though and you could be right. PFF has an astronomically high grade on him this year so you don’t seem to be alone in your opinion.

 

I said he’s okay though because of the inconsistencies in his play. I figured great play followed by terrible play makes him “okay”, but I will also admit that there is enormous potential in his upside because he flashes great play at times to begin with, so that must conclude that he has a high ceiling.

[78thealltimegreat]

Harrison has grown on me he’s strong as anyone in the league and is really starting to use good technique to gain leverage on the olinemen he’s playing and I’ll tell ya what Eddie Oliver at defensive end could be an absolute nightmare for opposing defenses 

[HappyDays]

1 hour ago, Victory Formation said:

I said he’s okay though because of the inconsistencies in his play. I figured great play followed by terrible play makes him “okay”, but I will also admit that there is enormous potential in his upside because he flashes great play at times to begin with, so that must conclude that he has a high ceiling.

 

I don't know that he's been inconsistent. He was a rookie, then showed flashes in 2019 before his injury. His development never really had a chance to finish. I'm inclined to believe the player we've seen of late is for real. Just have to hope he doesn't suffer another knee injury and probably build his 2nd contract around that contingency. It's been a recurring issue for him since college.

 

One thing I know about Phillips is that he isn't the type of player to get lazy after getting paid. No question I'd pay him what he's earned as a reward for his hard work and dedication, and to show young players what can happen if they follow the same track that he did.

 

The emergence of Oliver and Phillips could bring this defense into the truly elite category even without Tre White on the field. I wish we had more from our DEs right now but quick interior pressure is the most consistent route to disrupting pass plays. The middle of our defense from front to back is as good as any in the league. Fast forward to next season, if Rousseau takes a big step and White returns to form by December we could be looking at one of the best defenses in Bills history (adjusted for era) heading into the 2023 playoffs.

 

Edited January 13, 2022 by HappyDays

[Doc Brown]

Since this is the last game here's the final overall players based on his rating system.

 

Top 10 in order starting from highest graded with at least 200 snaps: Diggs, Allen, Hyde, Poyer, White, Oliver, T. Johnson, Milano, Phillips, Star

 

Bottom 10 starting from lowest graded with at least 200 snaps:  Ford, Boettger, Sweeney, D. Williams, Butler, Brown, Jackson, Klein, Feliciano, Epenesa

 

[Sherlock Holmes]

9 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

I don't know that he's been inconsistent. He was a rookie, then showed flashes in 2019 before his injury. His development never really had a chance to finish. I'm inclined to believe the player we've seen of late is for real. Just have to hope he doesn't suffer another knee injury and probably build his 2nd contract around that contingency. It's been a recurring issue for him since college.

 

One thing I know about Phillips is that he isn't the type of player to get lazy after getting paid. No question I'd pay him what he's earned as a reward for his hard work and dedication, and to show young players what can happen if they follow the same track that he did.

 

The emergence of Oliver and Phillips could bring this defense into the truly elite category even without Tre White on the field. I wish we had more from our DEs right now but quick interior pressure is the most consistent route to disrupting pass plays. The middle of our defense from front to back is as good as any in the league. Fast forward to next season, if Rousseau takes a big step and White returns to form by December we could be looking at one of the best defenses in Bills history (adjusted for era) heading into our second Lombardi hoisting...

 

FIFY!

[Utah John]

As for Phillips not slacking off after getting paid, I have to think the Bills value his character highly -- he's been the team's NFL Man of the Year nominee two years in a row.  In other words this is probably not a problem.

 

Whoever said he's Kyle Williams v2, I'd say yes but Phillips probably has more basic talent.  Kyle worked his butt off to get as good as he was.  Phillips was starting from a higher level prior to his injury.  There's no telling how good he can be if he stays healthy.  

 

It's going to be a good headache to have, but still a headache, for McBeane to figure out how to pay Oliver, Phillips, White, Edmunds, Poyer, Hyde, Johnson, and Jackson.  And in a couple more years, the three recent defensive end draftees are going to get paid too.

[JohnNord]

https://theathletic.com/3067182/2022/01/12/the-bills-win-could-have-been-even-bigger-and-harrison-phillips-steals-the-show-all-22-film-review/?source=user_shared_article
 

According to his breakdown, the passing  inefficiency was likely due to Josh and the receivers not being on the same page.  Josh saw big plays to be had by Davis and Knox but they just read the routes differently.  Had they don’t this, there could have been some big plays.    
 

A few other interesting notes to watch for next week:

 

Harrison Phillips was excellent both as a run defense and pass rusher and scored an “A” grade.

 

Ed Oliver had a ridiculous pressure rate of 27% and even lined up at DE for 2 plays and had a sack on 1.  This could be a sign of what’s to come.

 

Daboll used Tommy Doyle as a 6th blocker to good success.  He’s been a mauler and the offense averaged 6.7 on plays when he essentially lined up at TE.  
 

So while they won by 17, it seems like the score could have even been more lopsided if it weren’t for the breakdowns in the passing game.  
 

Highest grades Bills:

1. Phillips (A)

2. Diggs (A-)

3. Hughes (A-)

4. Oliver (A-)

5. Allen (A-)

 

Lowest graded Bills:

27. Bates C+
28. Brown C+
29. Rosseau C+
30. Davis C+
31. Williams C+

 

 

 

Edited January 13, 2022 by JohnNord

[NewEra]

1 minute ago, JohnNord said:

https://theathletic.com/3067182/2022/01/12/the-bills-win-could-have-been-even-bigger-and-harrison-phillips-steals-the-show-all-22-film-review/?source=user_shared_article
 

According to his breakdown, the passing  inefficiency was likely due to Josh and the receivers not being on the same page.  Josh saw big plays to be had by Davis and Knox but they ran a different route.  They just read the routes differently.  Had they don’t this, there could have been some big plays.    
 

A few other interesting notes to watch for next week:

 

Harrison Phillips was excellent both as a run defense and pass rusher and scored an “A” grade.

 

Ed Oliver had a ridiculous pressure rate of 27% and even lined up at DE for 2 plays and had a sack on 1.  This could be a sign of what’s to come.

 

Daboll used Tommy Doyle as a 6th blocker to good success.  He’s been a mauler and the offense averaged 6.7 on plays when he essentially lined up at TE.  
 

So while they won by 17, it seems like the score could have even been more lopsided if it weren’t for the breakdowns in the passing game.  
 

Highest grades Bills:

1. Phillips (A)

2. Diggs (A-)

3. Hughes (A-)

4. Oliver (A-)

5. Allen (A-)

 

Lowest graded Bills:

27. Bates C+
28. Brown C+
29. Rosseau C+
30. Davis C+
31. Williams C+

 

 

 

The score could’ve been even more lopsided if we weren’t throwing into gale force winds in the 2nd and 3rd quarter. 
 

The end

[JohnNord]

Just now, NewEra said:

The score could’ve been even more lopsided if we weren’t throwing into gale force winds in the 2nd and 3rd quarter. 
 

The end

Maybe on a couple throws but on the ones the he highlighted wind wasn’t a factor.  It was Josh throwing the ball in one spot on the receivers anticipating he’d be throwing it in another.  

[Simon]

No surprises on Oliver at DE; they've been sneaking him snaps there since at least back in October.

 

Any comments on Boogie Basham?

I only had one eye on most of the game but I got the sense he may have played his best football as a pro.

[BADOLBILZ]

13 minutes ago, Simon said:

No surprises on Oliver at DE; they've been sneaking him snaps there since at least back in October.

 

Any comments on Boogie Basham?

I only had one eye on most of the game but I got the sense he may have played his best football as a pro.

 

 

I've quoted the ESPN article the other day in other threads about the best players of the year at any position where they gave Rousseau the nod as the best rookie edge/DE..........but they also noted that Basham finished second in pressure rate per snap among rookies(Rousseau ranked third).

 

PFF data of course so some will highly discount it.......but it's interesting at least and reflects that while Rousseau and Basham weren't overwhelming hits as rookies.........they seem to have scored extremely highly versus their peers,   including many players picked ahead of both of them.   

[HappyDays]

1 hour ago, Simon said:

Any comments on Boogie Basham?

I only had one eye on most of the game but I got the sense he may have played his best football as a pro

 

No comments on him but he graded him B+ and the 15th best player in the game. I believe that is the highest grade Joe has given him this season. He was in on 37% of defensive snaps.

[MJS]

Phillips has been playing really well. Hopefully he can keep it up, because he has had stretches of poor play in the past, and I don't know if we can put all of that on his injuries. If he has truly turned the corner, that is great.

 

Oliver has been tearing it up too. It would be amazing if we had our interior defensive line figured out.

[NewEra]

14 hours ago, msw2112 said:

A lot of folks on this board were extremely impatient with Phillips while he recovered from his knee injury.  He's finally returning to the form he was staring to show pre-injury, plus he has more experience and more time in an NFL weight room since then.  Kudos to him and the team for sticking with the process.

His emergence has really helped offset the loss of our Goalie.  He’s hit his ceiling for how good I thought he could become.  Looks like I misjudged him.  The push we’ve been getting from our DTs has been the key to our defensive success imo.  Ed is starting to live up to his draft position. He’s always been good, but top 10 players are drafted to be top 5 at their position.  He may not be top 5 yet (imo, there are several possible HoF DTs atm), but he’s knocking on the door.  The ends are sporadically all making plays as well. It seems like we’re able to get at least one guy in the QBs face.    Rousseau, Addison, Hughes, Basham and a Obada have all had their moments and one of them seems to beat their man quite often.  
 

Frazier and McD have done a just an outstanding job with this defense this year.  I’ll be shocked if Frazier isn’t hired. I feel that his age is the only thing that could keep him in Buffalo.  If we lose him, I feel that our D will likely take a slight step back next year (even with Tres return).  I don’t see us investing too much money on D other than retaining Harrison and Levi.  They should be priorities as long as the numbers aren’t too big.  
 

of topic- if we make a run to the SB and our OL continues to play solid ball, I wonder what our plan will be.  It all starts with Morse, does he retire or return?  If he retires, do we want Mongo to replace him or cut him and draft/sign an upgrade?  Resign bates or draft/sign some one better?  Keep Williams/brown on the right?

[billsfan89]

14 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

He only played 2 full games in 2019.........he was really showing out though.     Yeah they weren't the same front afterward.   

 

I stand corrected he got hurt in the third game of the season, for some reason I thought he got hurt in game 5. But in 2019 he was starting to come alive and then got hurt.

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

14 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

He didn't cash in on the pass rush party.

 

It's my opinion that he has been dealing with turf-toe or something that's hindering his power.........he hasn't been the same since that KC game......I suppose it could also be a rookie wall.......he only played one season in college and if the Bills advance deep in the playoffs he will have played basically twice as many games as he did in that one season at Miami when you factor in all the preseason/regular/postseason games.

 

He hasn't been nearly as impactful rushing the passer since that KC/Tenn period............but by the same token Groot tied for the NFL lead with 32 run stops on the year so he's been very productive.   

 

Think Groot may have somewhat hit the rookie wall squared.  Not only is the NFL a longer season, but he also didn't even play last season.  So could argue he's well rested, but not playing for two years, could be worn out and not playing last season amplifies it.

 

Is encouraging to see him playing better against the run than pass as more often it's the opposite for rookies, they are better at the pass rush than run stopping.  Was true even of Bruce Smith. 

 

Chicks love the long ball..... and sacks

[DabillsDaBillsDaBills]

Does the Athletic not grade punters ? 

 

Haack deserved a straight F and didn't even make their bottom 5.

 

Even if you want to curve his grade based on the conditions he still deserved a bottom 5 grade. 

[HappyDays]

5 minutes ago, DabillsDaBillsDaBills said:

Does the Athletic not grade punters ? 

 

Haack deserved a straight F and didn't even make their bottom 5.

 

Even if you want to curve his grade based on the conditions he still deserved a bottom 5 grade. 

 

Special teams players aren't graded.

[Magox]

18 hours ago, Rico said:

Phillips has been a total revelation. I can't remember the last time someone turned from a career JAG to an impact player overnight... a true Cinderella man.

 

He's been plagued with injuries throughout his career, every time it appeared he was beginning to get a hang of things he'd get hit with an injury.

 

Phillips for Stanford was not just good at run stuffing but he had lots of sacks as well and if he can remain healthy, I think what you've seen from him this last half of the season is not a fluke but rather the beginning of his ascension.

[ColoradoBills]

3 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

I've quoted the ESPN article the other day in other threads about the best players of the year at any position where they gave Rousseau the nod as the best rookie edge/DE..........but they also noted that Basham finished second in pressure rate per snap among rookies(Rousseau ranked third).

 

PFF data of course so some will highly discount it.......but it's interesting at least and reflects that while Rousseau and Basham weren't overwhelming hits as rookies.........they seem to have scored extremely highly versus their peers,   including many players picked ahead of both of them.   

 

I have to believe the pure statistics from PFF.  Basham has put up some really good numbers in just 200 snaps.

FWIW he stat line of sacks, tackles, pressures, TFL is the same as Jerry Hughes' while Jerry has had over 550 snaps.

I find it promising.

 

 

[Maine-iac]

I think the better the DT's play the more sacks the DE will get.  If there is a lot of penetration up the middle the guys coming around the edge will hit home way more often than if everyone in the middle is stood up and the QB can just step up.  If Phillips takes over where Kyle left off it will mean good things for the ends.

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

 

3 hours ago, DabillsDaBillsDaBills said:

Does the Athletic not grade punters ? 

 

Haack deserved a straight F and didn't even make their bottom 5.

 

Even if you want to curve his grade based on the conditions he still deserved a bottom 5 grade. 

 

2 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

Special teams players aren't graded.

 

In addition, you have to have played a minimum of 15 snaps