Bass didn't get the memo (Joe B All-22)?

[TPS]

In his weekly look at the film, Joe B suggests things point to Bass not getting the word on the kick-off, given the reaction of Johnson and Neal (I'm unable to include the photos):

1. The ’13 seconds’ meltdown and what the film shows

Quote

 

We’re still less than a week since the debacle at the end of regulation, but because the team didn’t provide direct answers to what specifically went wrong, we’re left to dig for clues. Head coach Sean McDermott gave a hint in his season-ending news conference, but that was the extent of it. That’s where the film comes in, and given McDermott’s hint, the kickoff with 13 seconds remaining was the natural place to begin.

When kicker Tyler Bass booted the ball, the right side of the Bills’ kickoff coverage unit immediately began sprinting to their left. Given those first steps, it was clear the call was to direct the ball to the left side. From there, after the coverage unit realized the ball had traveled through the end zone, there were a couple of unusual reactions from core special teams players.

(NFL Game Pass)

The first was from safety Jaquan Johnson, who as the outer-most coverage player primarily hangs back a bit if the returner gets through the first line of defense. In the middle of his run, Johnson immediately put his arms out as if to signal confusion for why the kickoff went through the end zone. He wasn’t the only one.

(NFL Game Pass)

Cornerback Siran Neal, who has played almost every core-four special teams snap this season, had the same reaction as Johnson only a few steps later. Neal looked like he was trying to figure out what had happened.

(NFL Game Pass)

Then one second later, Johnson and Neal both had their arms out in confusion, with Johnson looking toward Bass and Neal looking toward the sideline. Given these reactions, this must be part of the “execution” McDermott was referring to on Tuesday.

 

https://theathletic.com/3099135/2022/01/29/clues-to-the-bills-13-seconds-meltdown-and-josh-allens-remarkable-brilliance-all-22-film-review/

 

[VaMilBill]

If you’re a smart football player you would think you would QA with the head coach what he wants. 
 

if I were Bass and I wasn’t told to squib it I’d go over to the HC and confirm he wants me to kick it out of the EZ. And if he said no I’d recommend squibbing it anyway. Sometimes players need to think for themselves some too

[LABILLBACKER]

How does McDermott not physically call his entire ST, including Bass and scream to them at the top of his lungs exactly what he wants done?  Everyone heard it except Bass? Does Tyler need a hearing aid or did he just kick it too hard? He's been successfully doing that pop up kick all year. This play was so screwed up it's incredible how billsy it was.

[Nextmanup]

1 minute ago, LABILLBACKER said:

How does McDermott not physically call his entire ST, including Bass and scream to them at the top of his lungs exactly what he wants done?  Everyone heard it except Bass? Does Tyler need a hearing aid or did he just kick it too hard? He's been successfully doing that pop up kick all year. This play was so screwed up it's incredible how billsy it was.

The thing is, this sort of decision needs to be made every single time the kicker kicks off!  It happens several times in every game! 

 

You would think they would have a bullet proof ironed out method for selecting the type of kick and getting that information to the kicker.  Something that cannot fail.

 

The fact that it failed, in the worst possible moment, should be a firing offense for someone.

 

Mickey Mouse Hour!

 

 

[97bills]

Man if this is true that’s terrible in a big game like that I want my coach talking to the players his self no confusion. No matter what it all leads back to McDermott especially after those two timeouts. And I no we’ve talked about it over and over but I just can’t stop thinking about it we’re is our defensive leader screaming out watch kelce 

or fix the play ,I could see from my couch they were playing off to far. I think we need a leader on defense, hell Addison could of said watch kelce he’s talking about running up the seam. IDK 🤷‍♂️ man I just got to let it go lol 
 

[Mopreme]

Someone’s head needs to roll. This isn’t just a week 4 game.  As mentioned, a firing offense was committed.  

[LABILLBACKER]

9 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

The thing is, this sort of decision needs to be made every single time the kicker kicks off!  It happens several times in every game! 

 

You would think they would have a bullet proof ironed out method for selecting the type of kick and getting that information to the kicker.  Something that cannot fail.

 

The fact that it failed, in the worst possible moment, should be a firing offense for someone.

 

Mickey Mouse Hour!

 

 

If it was a middle of the season game in the 2nd quarter I can see something falling thru the cracks. This was as high a leverage situation McD has ever been in. He doesn't have the luxury of screwing up communication. No matter how it happened. And Tyler Bass also has to have some common sense or if he's not sure, ASK? I think the play call made it to the players but for some inexcusable reason McD & Bass were not on the same page.

[NoSaint]

12 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

The thing is, this sort of decision needs to be made every single time the kicker kicks off!  It happens several times in every game! 

 

You would think they would have a bullet proof ironed out method for selecting the type of kick and getting that information to the kicker.  Something that cannot fail.

 

The fact that it failed, in the worst possible moment, should be a firing offense for someone.

 

Mickey Mouse Hour!

 

 

I doubt bass went out there with zero play call

 

odds are he was told then it changed - perhaps because of the size of the moment the HC chiming in - and the audible didn’t get to everyone.

 

it would be the first time I’ve seen this exact scenario but the possibility of a routine and regimented execution getting gummed up because the routine was not followed in a high pressure moment would not be a rarity

[WotAGuy]

This is what I don’t understand about kickers and punters. Those knuckleheads are kicking balls into a net by themselves when the rest of the team is huddling up and making a plan for the kick.
 

Is it really necessary to kick a ball into a net until the moment you run onto the field of play?  

[BillsFan4]

25 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

How does McDermott not physically call his entire ST, including Bass and scream to them at the top of his lungs exactly what he wants done?  Everyone heard it except Bass? Does Tyler need a hearing aid or did he just kick it too hard? He's been successfully doing that pop up kick all year. This play was so screwed up it's incredible how billsy it was.

I was thinking the same thing.

Edited January 29, 2022 by BillsFan4

[BarleyNY]

1 minute ago, WotAGuy said:

This is what I don’t understand about kickers and punters. Those knuckleheads are kicking balls into a net by themselves when the rest of the team is huddling up and making a plan for the kick.
 

Is it really necessary to kick a ball into a net until the moment you run onto the field of play?  

I mean, that would be like a hitter in baseball taking on deck practice swings before stepping up to the plate or a pitcher warming up before an inning or a golfer taking practice swings before a shot or…………..

[WotAGuy]

Just now, BarleyNY said:

I mean, that would be like a hitter in baseball taking on deck practice swings before stepping up to the plate or a pitcher warming up before an inning or a golfer taking practice swings before a shot or…………..

The difference is you need to be present with your team while the play is being called. They have the entire prior possession to kick balls in a net; it’s not like the situations you cite. 

[BuffaloRebound]

If true, it just makes it look like McDermott is running a JV operation.  There’s 2 Special Teams coaches.  One of them didn’t have the sense to make sure the kicker knew what the plan was?  

[MJS]

With how loud that stadium is, perhaps it was as simple as Bass not hearing the call correctly, or him just incorrectly assuming he was supposed to kick it deep.

 

I think the worse offense was their defensive calls, though. When they kicked it into the end zone I thought "Ok, I guess they didn't want to risk a return. They had a big return earlier. Whatever."

 

But prevent defense? Leaving the middle of the field wide open? That is the true failure here. The Chiefs had three time outs.

[Coach Tuesday]

I missed it, how did the game end the other night?

[zow2]

The team was 0-6 in one score games.  That can’t be dumb luck, they were flawed. The entire offseason should be spent trying to correct it.

[MJS]

2 minutes ago, WotAGuy said:

The difference is you need to be present with your team while the play is being called. They have the entire prior possession to kick balls in a net; it’s not like the situations you cite. 

This team you are referencing is 50+ players, plus a bunch of coaches, sideline personell, random media people, etc. It's too many people for just the head coach to gather around, plus that stadium is really loud. You have to have a process for communication for each of the units that go out there. In this instance, that process of communication broke down somewhere.

 

You have coordinators for a reason. McDermott got the call to the coordinator, the coordinator got the call to the players. Somehow Bass did not hear or did not understand. It's a big failure of communication. I don't put this on McDermott except that he is the leader and the buck stops with him.

 

However, the defensive play calls afterward certainly he should be more accountable for. I'm sure he was involved more directly in those play calls. If he wasn't and he let Frazier just call it, that's a problem.

[WotAGuy]

1 minute ago, MJS said:

This team you are referencing is 50+ players, plus a bunch of coaches, sideline personell, random media people, etc. It's too many people for just the head coach to gather around, plus that stadium is really loud. You have to have a process for communication for each of the units that go out there. In this instance, that process of communication broke down somewhere.

 

You have coordinators for a reason. McDermott got the call to the coordinator, the coordinator got the call to the players. Somehow Bass did not hear or did not understand. It's a big failure of communication. I don't put this on McDermott except that he is the leader and the buck stops with him.

 

However, the defensive play calls afterward certainly he should be more accountable for. I'm sure he was involved more directly in those play calls. If he wasn't and he let Frazier just call it, that's a problem.

Apparently the players who were huddled up heard the play call.  The guy kicking balls in a net missed the call. Hmmmmm. You don’t see QBs missing play calls because they are warming up on the sideline. 

Edited January 29, 2022 by WotAGuy

[4_kidd_4]

6 minutes ago, Coach Tuesday said:

I missed it, how did the game end the other night?

 

Bills by a billion!

 

See you at the stadium tomorrow!

[Buffalo_Stampede]

When players don't know an assignment it's on the coaching.

[Nuncha]

34 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

This wouldn't have been an issue if Kansas City had built a dome.

Our "number 1" D couldn't get off the field in the 3rd quarter, gave up 552 yards with 182 of them on the ground......

[BarleyNY]

20 minutes ago, WotAGuy said:

The difference is you need to be present with your team while the play is being called. They have the entire prior possession to kick balls in a net; it’s not like the situations you cite. 

You think that it was difficult to get Bass the play because he warms up with the net when he’s not busy?  I’m pretty sure he is used to kicking an XP, then getting the play call for the kickoff.  He would not have been warming up between The XP and KO anyway.  The issue here is that a play call got made - which he got - and then it got changed - which he didn’t get.

Edited January 29, 2022 by BarleyNY

[Mr. WEO]

breaking news!!

 

 

Anyway..Bass will blame Bojo...

[Joe Ferguson]

Allen didn't get the ball for 3 straight plays in midfield. Dingleberry choked on 3 straight times. That sealed the loss.

[Redneck]

I wonder if KC, who is very well-coached, would have downed any ball not near the end zone, figuring their best shot was giving Mahomes 2 shots to get into FG range.  Easy to call that now, with a week to think/re-think about it.

[The Firebaugh Kid]

I believe the excitement of the moment may have impacted communication as well. These are human beings, after all. Tough to not be overwhelmed by the moment. Still.... no excuse. 

I believe the excitement of the moment may have impacted communication as well. These are human beings, after all. Tough to not be overwhelmed by the moment. Still.... no excuse. 

I believe the excitement of the moment may have impacted communication as well. These are human beings, after all. Tough to not be overwhelmed by the moment. Still.... no excuse. 

I believe the excitement of the moment may have impacted communication as well. These are human beings, after all. Tough to not be overwhelmed by the moment. Still.... no excuse. 

I believe the excitement of the moment may have impacted communication as well. These are human beings, after all. Tough to not be overwhelmed by the moment. Still.... no excuse. 

[BuffaninSarasota]

1 minute ago, The Firebaugh Kid said:

I believe the excitement of the moment may have impacted communication as well. These are human beings, after all. Tough to not be overwhelmed by the moment. Still.... no excuse. 

I believe the excitement of the moment may have impacted communication as well. These are human beings, after all. Tough to not be overwhelmed by the moment. Still.... no excuse. 

I believe the excitement of the moment may have impacted communication as well. These are human beings, after all. Tough to not be overwhelmed by the moment. Still.... no excuse. 

I believe the excitement of the moment may have impacted communication as well. These are human beings, after all. Tough to not be overwhelmed by the moment. Still.... no excuse. 

I believe the excitement of the moment may have impacted communication as well. These are human beings, after all. Tough to not be overwhelmed by the moment. Still.... no excuse. 

 

I'm gonna go get the papers, get the papers ....

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

3 minutes ago, Redneck said:

I wonder if KC, who is very well-coached, would have downed any ball not near the end zone, figuring their best shot was giving Mahomes 2 shots to get into FG range.  Easy to call that now, with a week to think/re-think about it.

that would have been great for us  if they started at the 15 or 10 instead of the 25. They would have likely been trying a Hail Mary at the 45 or 50 yard line instead of opting for a 63 yard Fg.

[Turbo44]

If they did, the pooch would have worked perfectly. Having to go 65 yards in 13 seconds instead of 45 would have worked greatly in our favor.

 

Bass lined up 7 steps back from the ball on the kickoff. When he was purposely pooching earlier in the season(very well so by the way), he would line up 3-5 steps back. He wasn’t communicated the call and that  is on the two ST coaches and on McDermott. Inexcusable.

 

[MafiaSouth]

You people here actually want someone fired over this? Clueless. Micro-managers. Always looking for a reason to blame someone else. It's over. It's a game. It's not life or death. For the last two plus years every time something wasn't perfect, you people here just post and complain. Miserable!

[WotAGuy]

31 minutes ago, BarleyNY said:

You think that it was difficult to get Bass the play because he warms up with the net when he’s not busy?  I’m pretty sure he is used to kicking an XP, then getting the play call for the kickoff.  He would not have been warming up between The XP and KO anyway.  The issue here is that a play call got made - which he got - and then it got changed - which he didn’t get.

So how come the other players got

the call and he did not?  Apparently he wasn’t present with everyone else. 

[bigK14094]

1 hour ago, Mopreme said:

Someone’s head needs to roll. This isn’t just a week 4 game.  As mentioned, a firing offense was committed.  

imho, the special  teams coach.....

[Magox]

1 hour ago, Nextmanup said:

The thing is, this sort of decision needs to be made every single time the kicker kicks off!  It happens several times in every game! 

 

You would think they would have a bullet proof ironed out method for selecting the type of kick and getting that information to the kicker.  Something that cannot fail.

 

The fact that it failed, in the worst possible moment, should be a firing offense for someone.

 

Mickey Mouse Hour!

 

 

What you are looking for is a sacrificial lamb, that’s not how good operations solve their problems.

[The Wiz]

5 minutes ago, bigK14094 said:

imho, the special  teams coach.....

Everyone know your assignment?

 

YES COACH!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile Bass picking daisies in right field.

[All_Pro_Bills]

Throwing Bass under the bus still doesn't explain sending out your defense in an alignment that allowed Mahomes to play 20 yard pitch-and-catch with Hill and Kelce on two consecutive plays in the middle of the field while you had the defense way too far off the LOS while also guarding the sidelines when the Chiefs had 3 timeouts in their pocket.  Starting at the 25 they still needed 40 yards give or take and McDermott/Frazier were so afraid of the big play they forgot about stopping two consecutive smaller chunk plays.  To boot they called a time out before each of those plays and still didn't adjust anything.  So if they missed communicating on the kick off that was probably the least of the mistakes they committed in those 3 plays. 

That's a situation that an NFL defense should never mess up.  Never.  Its unforgivable.  Especially in a playoff game, a 3 point lead, 13 seconds left, the opponent needing 40+ yards to attempt a game tying FG before time expires.  It's a 1 in a million shot to lose there and the Bills hit it.     

[WotAGuy]

12 minutes ago, All_Pro_Bills said:

Throwing Bass under the bus still doesn't explain sending out your defense in an alignment that allowed Mahomes to play 20 yard pitch-and-catch with Hill and Kelce on two consecutive plays in the middle of the field while you had the defense way too far off the LOS while also guarding the sidelines when the Chiefs had 3 timeouts in their pocket.  Starting at the 25 they still needed 40 yards give or take and McDermott/Frazier were so afraid of the big play they forgot about stopping two consecutive smaller chunk plays.  To boot they called a time out before each of those plays and still didn't adjust anything.  So if they missed communicating on the kick off that was probably the least of the mistakes they committed in those 3 plays. 

That's a situation that an NFL defense should never mess up.  Never.  Its unforgivable.  Especially in a playoff game, a 3 point lead, 13 seconds left, the opponent needing 40+ yards to attempt a game tying FG before time expires.  It's a 1 in a million shot to lose there and the Bills hit it.     

Agree with all this, however this is not the place for it. This is the place to light our pitchforks on fire over Bass being MIA for the playcall. 
 

[Bob in STL]

1 hour ago, WotAGuy said:

The difference is you need to be present with your team while the play is being called. They have the entire prior possession to kick balls in a net; it’s not like the situations you cite. 

The special teams captain, not the  kicker, should’ve involved in the coaches decision.  That player, or players, then relays it on the sideline to the others and AGAIN, on the field in the huddle.  I played on kickoff teams.  We know what the plan is BEFORE we trot onto the field.  
 

The kicker or punter warming up is fine, but he should know what to do before he gets on the field and this should be REAFFIRMED once again, on the field.  

 

If this didn’t happen then it is a massive PROCESS breakdown. 

[Reed83HOF]

1 hour ago, Turbo44 said:

All 22 on athletic came out this morning so not “old news”

All 22 review has been out, this is Joe bs article which is days late with this news...

 

FWIW, bass was kicking into the net, the other 10 guys heard the call for a pooch kick, no one told Bass. Neal threw his hands up like what the heck after, the Bills players usually run through the end zone on kickoffs through the end zone they stopped short blah blah blah.

 

 

[Old Man]

My guess is the default is if Bass is not told different he kicks it deep, apparently he didn't get the call.

[Niagara Dude]

3 hours ago, TPS said:

In his weekly look at the film, Joe B suggests things point to Bass not getting the word on the kick-off, given the reaction of Johnson and Neal (I'm unable to include the photos):

1. The ’13 seconds’ meltdown and what the film shows

https://theathletic.com/3099135/2022/01/29/clues-to-the-bills-13-seconds-meltdown-and-josh-allens-remarkable-brilliance-all-22-film-review/

 

The whole process is no good,  you tell me that don't have a system in place where players covering kicks don't talk at all with the kicker to know which side he is kicking towards?