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

[HappyDays]

As usual I will post snippets but not the whole article.

 

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1. The Bills took the pressure off their young CBs

 

Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and a revamped defensive line ran zone coverage a whopping 92.4 percent of the game. It was a 32.1 percent increase from the Bills’ regular season zone rate in 2021 (60.3).

 

The young cornerbacks played to differing degrees, but it’s hard not to be impressed by Dane Jackson. His interception stood out, but his comfortability in coverage and sure-handed tackling set his day forward. 

 

As for the rookies, Benford looked much more comfortable in the defensive scheme than Elam. Benford played to his instincts well and sensed when a big play was possible, fleeing his zone to pick up the receiver getting separation. On one play in particular, Kupp turned up the field as quarterback Matthew Stafford moved around. Benford spotted it, ran stride-for-stride up the field with Kupp and kept a big play from entering the equation.

 

Elam seemed a bit slower to react to the ball coming out and needed to have a little more awareness of down and distance on late downs. This zone-heavy look didn’t favor Elam at Florida, as he was at his best in man-to-man coverage. Elam’s best football could be ahead of him when White returns and the Bills feel more comfortable with a more even split between zone and man.

 

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2. The secret standout: DT DaQuan Jones

 

He was forced into a more significant role than likely anticipated once Ed Oliver suffered an injury, but they needed Jones on 69 percent of the defensive snaps. How he responded as a run defender and pass rusher shows why there’s such excitement about him inside the building.

 

Jones held up at the point of attack extremely well against double teams, to free up lanes to the running game, and pushed his way toward the ball carrier in some one-on-one chances. He also provided a better pass-rushing push than he’s given credit for at his position, which is usually considered a run-defending spot above all else. He helped collapse the pocket and, combined with his edge-rushing teammates, helped impact throws and bring down Stafford. Jones was on the field for five of the Bills’ seven sacks.

 

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3. James Cook’s potential big run that never was

 

When you go back and watch that fumble on the All-22, you’ll see a play in which Cook was his own worst enemy. In a debut-defining moment with a fumble, it could have easily been a huge, confidence-boosting gain had he just trusted what he saw ahead of him.

 

Partially due to the turnover, the Bills dedicated most of their rushing attack to Singletary and Zack Moss. But based on some of the ways they utilized those outside rushes all game, similar to this one, you have to wonder if Cook would have had a bigger say in the plan if his first carry didn’t go the way it did. The rushing lanes were there. The blocking was there. All they needed was a plus-athlete to maximize those gains. That plus-athlete is Cook. But with Singletary, they knew they were getting a consistent runner who would make the proper read and protect the ball, even if he lacked the speed to maximize those plays. So it would not be a shock if the Bills try to get Cook involved again in Week 2 rather than banishing him to the inactive list for one mistake.

 

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4. Dawson Knox made a huge impact

 

Knox made his presence felt numerous times as a run blocker, showing as much of an edge in that phase of the game as I’ve seen from him. You can tell he’s gotten so much more comfortable as a blocker, as he’s no longer just trying to sustain those blocks to pave a path for the runner. Now he’s looking to drive defenders out of the way completely. There were a handful of reps Knox drove his assignment multiple yards toward the sideline and brought it slightly past the whistle to assert his blocking dominance. It was as impressive as a run-blocking showing as I can remember from Knox.

 

Top 5 grades:

1) Josh Allen (A)

2) Jordan Phillips (A-)

3) Von Miller (A-)

4) Stefon Diggs (A-)

5) Dion Dawkins (A-)

 

Bottom 5 grades:

1) Ryan Bates (D+)

2) Kaiir Elam (C)

3) Rodger Saffold (C+)

4) Zack Moss (B-)

5) Spencer Brown (B-)

[jletha]

Re James Cook run here is the photo.

 

The blocking looks like he should take the red path to the outside, but he cut it up the blue path where he fumbled.

 

 

[LeGOATski]

Being the fastest guy out there won't help if you have poor vision.

[cage]

6 hours ago, LeGOATski said:

Being the fastest guy out there won't help if you have poor vision.

 

No kidding.... I could see the hole, but unfortunately run a 9.3 40-yd dash 🥴

Edited September 14, 2022 by cage

[BIGFOOTspaceman]

3 minutes ago, LeGOATski said:

Being the fastest guy out there won't help if you have poor vision.

Time to move on....Is Blackshear still available? 😅

[Son of a K-Gun]

I was waiting for Joe B's column specifically to hear his thoughts on Knox's blocking...happy to hear he did well.

[GunnerBill]

Again I think the Spencer Brown grade is harsh. I bave watched it back I think he played well. 

[Gambit]

7 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

Again I think the Spencer Brown grade is harsh. I bave watched it back I think he played well. 

To be fair, he did get a b-. Probably just not many players that graded poorly in that dominate game. I'd have Cook lower than Brown tho.

[Beck Water]

52 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

As usual I will post snippets but not the whole article.

 

 

 

 

 

Top 5 grades:

1) Josh Allen (A)

2) Jordan Phillips (A-)

3) Von Miller (A-)

4) Stefon Diggs (A-)

5) Dion Dawkins (A-)

 

Bottom 5 grades:

1) Ryan Bates (D+)

2) Kaiir Elam (C)

3) Rodger Saffold (C+)

4) Zack Moss (B-)

5) Spencer Brown (B-)

 

Thanks

Did Buscaglia give any information to justify his low grades on Bates and Saffold?  Because to my eyes, Bates was asked to handle Donald with minimal help on some snaps, and he really only got blown up once.

[HappyDays]

2 hours ago, Gambit said:

To be fair, he did get a b-. Probably just not many players that graded poorly in that dominate game. I'd have Cook lower than Brown tho.

 

Players with less than 15 snaps don't get graded at all. But like you said there were ton of players graded between B- and B+, so Brown's ranking is more about the quality play of others rather than his own failures.

2 hours ago, Beck Water said:

 

Thanks

Did Buscaglia give any information to justify his low grades on Bates and Saffold?  Because to my eyes, Bates was asked to handle Donald with minimal help on some snaps, and he really only got blown up once.

 

He didn't talk too much about the OL but he mentions that Bates was dominated in his matchup against Donald. It's obviously a tough matchup for even the best guards, but Joe doesn't grade it on a curve.

Edited September 14, 2022 by HappyDays

[billsfan1959]

56 minutes ago, jletha said:

Re James Cook run here is the photo.

 

The blocking looks like he should take the red path to the outside, but he cut it up the blue path where he fumbled.

 

 

 

If you watch the all 22, it appears that Cook is reading Spencer Brown's block. As he approaches, Earnest Jones gets slightly outside of Brown and Cook takes the inside lane. Gabe Davis is clearly going to seal off Nick Jones to the inside and looks as if he sets up for Cook to go outside of Brown. Nick Cook then comes up and Davis doesn't get in front of him and Nick Jones makes the takle. Earnest Jones then punches the ball out as Cook is prone in the air.

 

I think Cook could have gotten outside outside of Brown. But it sure looks like he is reading Brown's block and takes the inside lane accordingly. Had Davis been able to seal off Nick Jones, Cook would have been in the secondary.

 

I won't be too harsh on Cook for the play. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 14, 2022 by billsfan1959

[Beck Water]

19 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

Again I think the Spencer Brown grade is harsh. I bave watched it back I think he played well. 

 

What did you see from Ryan Bates?

48 minutes ago, jletha said:

Re James Cook run here is the photo.

 

The blocking looks like he should take the red path to the outside, but he cut it up the blue path where he fumbled.

 

 

 

I don't think that shows the keys that Cook is coached to use to choose his lane.

@billsfan1959 posted some good screen shots.

[GunnerBill]

Just now, Beck Water said:

 

What did you see from Ryan Bates?

 

So first half he was a flat mess. To be fair to him he drew #99 a lot and the Bills a few times because they were schemed quick hitters didn't double him so for a career backup turned starter to draw Donald 1v1 is a pretty tall order. Second half I thought he got it together a bit. Especially his run blocking but he managed a couple of decent pass blocks too. 

 

I thought he was the worst starter for the Bills last Thursday. But give him credit for getting himself together at half time and coming out and competing better 2nd half. He remains one to watch though. His good form late last year came when Dion Dawkins got back to his best and Mitch Morse had a nice end to the year too. Dion is our best OL and I think he and Mitch hid Bates a little bit or made his job easier. Next to a still developing second year right tackle we will see. Wasn't the best opening weekend but its a long season. 

[Beck Water]

1 minute ago, TBBills said:

I a B low nowadays?

 

? no idea what this means

[LeGOATski]

10 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

 

Thanks

Did Buscaglia give any information to justify his low grades on Bates and Saffold?  Because to my eyes, Bates was asked to handle Donald with minimal help on some snaps, and he really only got blown up once.

Joe B has close to zero knowledge of O line play, so I'm not sure why we'd even want his justification. Isn't that like the blind leading the blind?

 

I recommend the Locked On Bills podcast, which is available on YouTube because at least the host specializes in O line analysis. I'm not sure if he's going to talk specifically about how Bates and the rest of the line did in this game, but it would be interesting, and much more informative, if he did vs a guy like Joe B.

[Beck Water]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

 

So first half he was a flat mess. To be fair to him he drew #99 a lot and the Bills a few times because they were schemed quick hitters didn't double him so for a career backup turned starter to draw Donald 1v1 is a pretty tall order. Second half I thought he got it together a bit. Especially his run blocking but he managed a couple of decent pass blocks too. 

 

I thought he was the worst starter for the Bills last Thursday. But give him credit for getting himself together at half time and coming out and competing better 2nd half. He remains one to watch though. His good form late last year came when Dion Dawkins got back to his best and Mitch Morse had a nice end to the year too. Dion is our best OL and I think he and Mitch hid Bates a little bit or made his job easier. Next to a still developing second year right tackle we will see. Wasn't the best opening weekend but its a long season. 

 

Well, let's hope he gets himself together because I believe the Titans move Simmons around, and Vrabel will target Bates/Brown

[JDubya76]

45 minutes ago, cage said:

 

No kidding.... I could see the whole, but unfortunately run a 9.3 40-yd dash 🥴

Don’t feel bad, you could time me with a sun dial.

 

Edited September 14, 2022 by JDubya76

[KDIGGZ]

Elam looked lost out there in zone coverage. I remember a few plays where it was like why is Kupp so wode open and then here comes Elam into the screen from 10 yards away. Then there was that play where Elam got absolutely trucked by the smallest WR on the Rams. I think we will be seeing more Benford in week 2

[RoyBatty is alive]

42 minutes ago, Gambit said:

To be fair, he did get a b-. Probably just not many players that graded poorly in that dominate game. I'd have Cook lower than Brown tho.

Exactly, how can Cook be higher than Knox and especially Moss  unless Cook didnt get enough plays to qualify.

[GunnerBill]

26 minutes ago, KDIGGZ said:

Elam looked lost out there in zone coverage. I remember a few plays where it was like why is Kupp so wode open and then here comes Elam into the screen from 10 yards away. Then there was that play where Elam got absolutely trucked by the smallest WR on the Rams. I think we will be seeing more Benford in week 2

 

Elam only had the coverage assignment on 1 of Kupp's 13 catches. FWIW I agree he looks uncomfortable in pure zone looks, when we play the deep shell and he has to identify the route he is carrying and the route he is passing off to a safety he is not reading things well enough at this stage. But Kupp being open wasn't on Elam. The one play he had coverage responsibility he actually played it pretty well. We were in a soft zone look and he took away the deep route, let Kupp run the curl underneath and came up and tackled for minimal YAC. It was an 8 yard gain on the final Rams drive. 

 

I broke down the coverage responsibilities for Kupp's 13 catches HERE if you are interested. 

Edited September 14, 2022 by GunnerBill

[Rochesterfan]

1 hour ago, jletha said:

Re James Cook run here is the photo.

 

The blocking looks like he should take the red path to the outside, but he cut it up the blue path where he fumbled.

 

 

 

You might be correct at that exact moment, but as the All-22 photos posted a few posts later show - a split second later the Tackle starts to get outside leverage on Brown and the Keys call for him to read that block and cut off Brown.  
 

There was space, but I think he actually made the correct read as they forced him back inside.

 

 

[GunnerBill]

1 minute ago, Rochesterfan said:

 

You might be correct at that exact moment, but as the All-22 photos posted a few posts later show - a split second later the Tackle starts to get outside leverage on Brown and the Keys call for him to read that block and cut off Brown.  
 

There was space, but I think he actually made the correct read as they forced him back inside.

 

That play is designed as a cutback play. That is the first read. Sure if everything stays inside he should attack Spencer's outside shoulder but as you pointed out the dtackle goes there (which is what the Bills want him to do) and Cook's primary read is to cut that back up inside. Didn't work out but I don't have any issue with the read he made. 

[Rochesterfan]

38 minutes ago, KDIGGZ said:

Elam looked lost out there in zone coverage. I remember a few plays where it was like why is Kupp so wode open and then here comes Elam into the screen from 10 yards away. Then there was that play where Elam got absolutely trucked by the smallest WR on the Rams. I think we will be seeing more Benford in week 2

 

Maybe, but that is not what I saw really.  Elam did not have coverage of Kupp more than once or maybe a second time in the entire game.

 

He is not anywhere near as comfortable as Benford in zone, but that was known going in.  Just like once White returns and if the Bills decide to play more man - Elam will way outshine Benford in that setting.

 

Elam was not great, but he also wasn’t terrible and got 30 snaps where he was never a Stafford focal point.

[Dopey]

18 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Elam only had the coverage assignment on 1 of Kupp's 13 catches. FWIW I agree he looks uncomfortable in pure zone looks, when we play the deep shell and he has to identify the route he is carrying and the route he is passing off to a safety he is not reading things well enough at this stage. But Kupp being open wasn't on Elam. The one play he had coverage responsibility he actually played it pretty well. We were in a soft zone look and he took away the deep route, let Kupp run the curl underneath and came up and tackled for minimal YAC. It was an 8 yard gain on the final Rams drive. 

 

I broke down the coverage responsibilities for Kupp's 13 catches HERE if you are interested. 

Thanks for bringing this up. When KDIGGZ mentioned Elam coming from 10 yds away, it kinda sounds like when someone blames Edmunds for making a tackle down field, even when it wasn't his responsibility.  

[Rochesterfan]

7 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

That play is designed as a cutback play. That is the first read. Sure if everything stays inside he should attack Spencer's outside shoulder but as you pointed out the dtackle goes there (which is what the Bills want him to do) and Cook's primary read is to cut that back up inside. Didn't work out but I don't have any issue with the read he made. 

 

Agreed - I do have a major issue with the result - Cook has to read that play and protect the ball when players are coming from all sides, but Cook never had a fumbling problem at Georgia - so I will chalk this up to a learning experience.

 

Can I also say that for as much as Bates struggled - I think he handled Donald on this play by keeping him inside and allowing the hole to be there.  I think Donald helped by going inside, but Bates did not let him get back outside to the hole.

 

 

[Rochesterfan]

15 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

That play is designed as a cutback play. That is the first read. Sure if everything stays inside he should attack Spencer's outside shoulder but as you pointed out the dtackle goes there (which is what the Bills want him to do) and Cook's primary read is to cut that back up inside. Didn't work out but I don't have any issue with the read he made. 

 

The only thing I will disagree with is that I think ideally they want to hit that outside of Brown.  Knox and Gilliam double team outside with Gilliam peeling off to take the lone DB.  Gilliam was leading that rush to the outside of Brown.
 

Davis is settling in to keep the inside DB from getting to that outside hole.  The block is actually right in the middle of the hole inside Brown.  The LB on Brown makes a great play by stacking outside - which based on keys has Cook read to the inside shoulder of Brown, but the LB maintained leverage to fall inside and help make the play.

 

I think Cook read the play correctly, but he lacks a bit of nuance.  I think Devin on that play is a touch more patient and gives a look like he is cutting inside to try and help Brown (as the LB would begin to move inside allowing more leverage) and then Devin peels off to the outside.  That would also have given Gilliam another step to slide off his block and set up the last DB.

I give big props to the block by Knox - taking his guy way outside and Gilliam coming through to assist Knox and widen the potential hole.  The entire play was well blocked, but the defense found a way to make a play.

 

I will be a touch critical of the fumble, but Cook is a totally different runner and the timing was not quite right.

 

 

 

[34-78-83]

1 hour ago, KDIGGZ said:

Elam looked lost out there in zone coverage. I remember a few plays where it was like why is Kupp so wode open and then here comes Elam into the screen from 10 yards away. Then there was that play where Elam got absolutely trucked by the smallest WR on the Rams. I think we will be seeing more Benford in week 2

Kupp gets into the cover 2 holes better than most. Elam didn't really look lost, he was playing the underneath zone coverage assigned. What he at times didn't do was recognize and close the gap quickly enough. It was potentially equally as much the fault of the over the top zone  coverage man to come up sooner.

[jletha]

48 minutes ago, Rochesterfan said:

 

You might be correct at that exact moment, but as the All-22 photos posted a few posts later show - a split second later the Tackle starts to get outside leverage on Brown and the Keys call for him to read that block and cut off Brown.  
 

There was space, but I think he actually made the correct read as they forced him back inside.

 

 

I am not a tape guy,  I was only trying to add the context to what was posted from Joe's article that Cook was his own worst enemy. I have no idea what the read was.

[BuffaloBill]

3 hours ago, jletha said:

Re James Cook run here is the photo.

 

The blocking looks like he should take the red path to the outside, but he cut it up the blue path where he fumbled.

 

 

 

Based on that picture it is hard to say why he cut inside - maybe just first carry nerves. 

[Beck Water]

4 hours ago, Rochesterfan said:

The only thing I will disagree with is that I think ideally they want to hit that outside of Brown.  Knox and Gilliam double team outside with Gilliam peeling off to take the lone DB.  Gilliam was leading that rush to the outside of Brown.
 

Davis is settling in to keep the inside DB from getting to that outside hole.  The block is actually right in the middle of the hole inside Brown.  The LB on Brown makes a great play by stacking outside - which based on keys has Cook read to the inside shoulder of Brown, but the LB maintained leverage to fall inside and help make the play.

 

I think Cook read the play correctly, but he lacks a bit of nuance.  I think Devin on that play is a touch more patient and gives a look like he is cutting inside to try and help Brown (as the LB would begin to move inside allowing more leverage) and then Devin peels off to the outside.  That would also have given Gilliam another step to slide off his block and set up the last DB.

I give big props to the block by Knox - taking his guy way outside and Gilliam coming through to assist Knox and widen the potential hole.  The entire play was well blocked, but the defense found a way to make a play.

 

I will be a touch critical of the fumble, but Cook is a totally different runner and the timing was not quite right.

 

Good analysis, and I think ideally Gilliam might peal off and help Brown; Cover1's analysis of the run game pointed out another place where Gilliam was unable to release from his first block and take on the second assignment quickly enough.

 

I agree that Cook probably read it correctly as it was, but you analyzed the first intent of the play correctly.

 

[Beast]

Weird that three offensive linemen received the lowest grades when the team didn’t punt.

[BigAl2526]

2 hours ago, Beast said:

Weird that three offensive linemen received the lowest grades when the team didn’t punt.

I have nothing against the offensive line play, but I think it's obvious that Buffalo anticipated that the Rams would have a strong pass rush, especially with Aaron Donald.  The quick hit passing game was their way of scheming against it.  It worked like a charm.

[Big Blitz]

That's a really bad read by Cook on the fumble.

 

First, he doesn't follow his lead block that makes it clean to the hole...

 

A hole that's outside - you'd think a guy with his skill set would be itching to hit that edge and get wide - I like that he wasn't shy about cutting it back into the middle - but man that's just a bad read. 

 

Don't be surprised if Cook is a scratch Monday.  I like him and think he's going to be fine but of all the ways to make a mistake not following the block to a massive hole then fumbling is not what you want to do.     

 

Barkley just destroyed that Titans D behind a mess of an oline.  I'm expecting Singletary to be one of the key players of this game.  

[BillsShredder83]

Quote

Elam seemed a bit slower to react to the ball coming out and needed to have a little more awareness of down and distance on late downs. This zone-heavy look didn’t favor Elam at Florida, as he was at his best in man-to-man coverage. Elam’s best football could be ahead of him when White returns and the Bills feel more comfortable with a more even split between zone and man.

Serious question, not my first time seeing this but made me think of it.... and serious question, no sarcasm. In a league that is almost all zone, whats the advantage in drafting a man 2 man high like this? sure its great to have a guy that can do it situationally, but you dont draft 1st rd for situational ball. 

 

is it 100% his physical attributes and the belief we can coach him up? or do we see the % of man to man continuing to push closer and closer to even?

 

honestly im pretty sure i know the answer but wondering if im missing something

[Beck Water]

1 minute ago, BillsShredder83 said:

Serious question, not my first time seeing this but made me think of it.... and serious question, no sarcasm. In a league that is almost all zone, whats the advantage in drafting a man 2 man high like this? sure its great to have a guy that can do it situationally, but you dont draft 1st rd for situational ball. 

 

is it 100% his physical attributes and the belief we can coach him up? or do we see the % of man to man continuing to push closer and closer to even?

 

honestly im pretty sure i know the answer but wondering if im missing something

 

I think part of the Bills assessment of last season was that Levi Wallace and Dane Jackson simply could not offer them a reasonable option of playing press man.  They can get better and better and better at off-ball coverage but Wallace didn't have the speed  and I think Jackson lacks the size, to jam a receiver on the line and recover if they're beaten

 

So they wanted to draft a guy they thought had the physical traits to be able to play press man and and the smarts/work ethic to coach up as a zone corner.

 

The Bills did play a surprising amount of man coverage last season, especially before Tre Day got hurt.  But of course part of that was we couldn't get home with 4, so we needed 5 or 6 guys to pressure the QB.

[Sierra Foothills]

5 hours ago, BillsShredder83 said:

Serious question, not my first time seeing this but made me think of it.... and serious question, no sarcasm. In a league that is almost all zone, whats the advantage in drafting a man 2 man high like this? sure its great to have a guy that can do it situationally, but you dont draft 1st rd for situational ball. 

 

is it 100% his physical attributes and the belief we can coach him up? or do we see the % of man to man continuing to push closer and closer to even?

 

honestly im pretty sure i know the answer but wondering if im missing something

 

Some context from yesterday's The Athletic:

 

"While it’s true the Bills play zone most of the time, so does almost every other team in the NFL. As they have added defensive talent since the start of the McDermott era, the Bills evolved into calling man coverage at the 11th-highest rate from 2019 through 2021, according to TruMedia and Pro Football Focus.

 

(However against the Rams) Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and a revamped defensive line ran zone coverage a whopping 92.4 percent of the game. It was a 32.1 percent increase from the Bills’ regular season zone rate in 2021 (60.3%)."

 

As far as your concerns about drafting a situational player in the first round, the Bills obviously don't view Elam as a situational player. They view him as a player who will excel in the 40% of man coverage snaps and a player with elite traits who they can coach up to excel in zone schemes. Most Bills fans view McFrazier as "defensive back whisperers" who have a long track record of taking "average talent" and moulding that talent into productive secondaries.

 

As a first rounder the Bills expect to develop Elam into a starting shutdown corner who can excel in zone as well as "travel" with opponents top receivers and win that matchup.