A Few Thoughts About the Dolphins Game, in no particular order

[Nihilarian]

5 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

In Dorsey's defense, part of the reason for so many pass attempts was that every one of our drives other than the first one went on forever. In the drive starting from our 2 and the drive ending with the missed TD to McKenzie there were 37 combined plays on those 2 drives alone, and I'm sure most of them were passes. Miami's defense got us into a game that McDermott would have loved, forcing us to dink and dunk our way down the field without making mistakes and shutting us down in the red zone.

 

Dorsey needs to figure out ways to beat the blitz other than just 4 yard throws to Singletary. The defense blitzing shouldn't completely take away our downfield passing game that easily. We played right into their hands.

Funny thing, It wasn't the injury depleted defense that most were concerned about that lost that game! Buffalo down six defensive starters and then lost rookie CB Benford to a hand injury. 

 

In that oppressive Miami heat wouldn't it have been wiser to find a way to run the ball more with the RBs to wear out the opposing defense? The Buffalo RBs do get paid to...you know...run the ball.  Using toss sweeps, end arounds, misdirection plays to have the Dolphins defensive players needing to keep running sideline to sideline to make a tackle? By the fourth quarter that Miami defense is worn down and more susceptible to play action and the run game.

 

Yes, Miami was keying on Singletary and only allowing a 1.4 YPC AVG. The Bills still had Zack Moss and James Cook to work that run game. 

 

Because of all the injuries to the Bills offensive line the Buffalo QB was under duress most of the game. Four sacks, two fumbles. Buffalo QB Josh Allen was amazing as he accounted for 447 of the Bills 497 offensive yards. ToP 40:40 to 19:20. Buffalo 497 offensive yards vs 212. 

 

Clearly the Miami players were more accustomed to the heat and yet players on both teams were cramping and limping off the field, needing IV's and oxygen.

 

My take is the Buffalo OC simply wore out his offensive skill players with those 63 passes and by the end of the game they were exhausted both mentally and physically...QB included. This was on the coaching IMO. The guy is a rookie OC... so I suspect he will learn.

[BillsFan692]

8 minutes ago, Nihilarian said:

Funny thing, It wasn't the injury depleted defense that most were concerned about that lost that game! Buffalo down six defensive starters and then lost rookie CB Benford to a hand injury. 

 

In that oppressive Miami heat wouldn't it have been wiser to find a way to run the ball more with the RBs to wear out the opposing defense? The Buffalo RBs do get paid to...you know...run the ball.  Using toss sweeps, end arounds, misdirection plays to have the Dolphins defensive players needing to keep running sideline to sideline to make a tackle? By the fourth quarter that Miami defense is worn down and more susceptible to play action and the run game.

 

Yes, Miami was keying on Singletary and only allowing a 1.4 YPC AVG. The Bills still had Zack Moss and James Cook to work that run game. 

 

Because of all the injuries to the Bills offensive line the Buffalo QB was under duress most of the game. Four sacks, two fumbles. Buffalo QB Josh Allen was amazing as he accounted for 447 of the Bills 497 offensive yards. ToP 40:40 to 19:20. Buffalo 497 offensive yards vs 212. 

 

Clearly the Miami players were more accustomed to the heat and yet players on both teams were cramping and limping off the field, needing IV's and oxygen.

 

My take is the Buffalo OC simply wore out his offensive skill players with those 63 passes and by the end of the game they were exhausted both mentally and physically...QB included. This was on the coaching IMO. The guy is a rookie OC... so I suspect he will learn.

The bills ran completely out of gas on that one offensive drive, never seen nothing like it imo so yeah something went wrong

[HappyDays]

11 minutes ago, Nihilarian said:

The Buffalo RBs do get paid to...you know...run the ball.  Using toss sweeps, end arounds, misdirection plays to have the Dolphins defensive players needing to keep running sideline to sideline to make a tackle?

 

They need to find run plays that they are successful with and stick with them. This is what the 49ers under Shanahan have done. They know what their personnel can do, they don't care if defenses know what is coming they will still run it that way because they know they can execute it.

 

For example, take delayed handoffs out of the play book. The two Zack Moss runs to start the 2nd drive were delayed handoffs. Those are dead on arrival every time and they aren't setting anything up. Later on a normal run he picks up 40+ yards. I don't expect 40 yards every time, all I'm asking is that we give the play a chance to be successful.

 

I'd also take read option out of the play book. Allen isn't very good at making the right read on those and more often than not it ends with him on the turf after picking up maybe 1 yard. It's not worth him taking more hits to occasionally spring one of those loose. Designed QB runs I am okay with sparingly, just don't give Allen a handoff option on those.

 

We are at our best running normal runs from under center, end arounds, and pitches. Especially end arounds. Every time McKenzie gets one he is ripping off 6-7 yards but for some reason Daboll and now Dorsey has been afraid to call it. Same with QB sneak on 1 yard to go situations in critical game moments. I don't care if the defense knows it's coming. Make them try to stop it anyways. Everyone knew Derrick Henry was getting the ball at the goal line last week. That knowledge was worth -7 points.

 

It's going on 4 years now that this team lacks an identity in the run game. We've tried a little bit of everything instead of finding a niche or two and sticking with it. The passing offense has a clear identity. Defenses know what we want to do there and still struggle to stop us. I'm not asking for an elite run offense to pair with our elite pass offense. Just a competent run offense that can execute enough plays to keep defenses off balance and take some pressure off of Allen and the WRs.

[Scott7975]

Some of these handoffs seem to take forever too.  That doesnt help.

[PrimeTime101]

9 hours ago, Virgil said:

Well, if you're going to post angry, go big or go home.  If you are on team "we were injured," feel free to stop reading now.  This game was embarrassing in all aspects of the game, and even beyond to the NFL. 

 

1 - Everyone else - This whole week has been about the players we don't have on the field, yet it was the guys who stayed healthy that made some of the biggest impacts on the game.  In a game of "what if's", there were countless plays you could point to that could have sent this game in a different direction.  Milano with an inexcusable dropped pick 6, Josh with at least 4 passes that should have been easily intercepted, multiple lost yardage plays due to bad snaps, Brown getting just abused at RT until he also leaves the game sick, Bass with an short FG miss that could have been the game winner, and again Allen missing a wide open McKenzie for a touchdown. 

This is what happens in the NFL. One side of the line or the other is beat up and you ask the side that is not as beat up to be perfect and all of the sudden, drives don't get finished...  players miss plays because they think they have to be perfect. Games like this happen. I am already over it as sick as this made me feel 3 hours ago.

9 hours ago, Virgil said:

2 - Inevitable - If there were one thing that kept me up at night going into this game, it was fear of miscommunication and gap integrity between the safeties and corners.  In a game where the Bills did a great job of limiting Tua, Waddle, and Hill, they folded when it counted the most giving up an inexcusable 3rd and 22 to the Bills goal line.  Without that play, of all of them, the Dolphins stat line is pedestrian and pull off a miracle defensive performance.

I strongly disagree with this statement. Our defense did not hold up as good as it did cause of good communication, performance and or gameplay in our secondary... Tua Sucks. He had 1 lucky quarter. any other top 10 QB in this league with their weapons would of ripped us a new one. 

9 hours ago, Virgil said:

 

3 - Safety - I don't know enough about all of the medical protocols or options for teams in a game like this, but you really have to question the NFL after this game.  How Tua was able to clear concussion protocol so quickly makes absolutely no sense.  I haven't seen a QB stagger off the field like that since Joe Montana with the Chiefs against the Bills in the playoffs.  I don't care how well he passed tests in the locker room, there's no way he should have been allowed to play.  To be clear, this has nothing to do with the Bills losing and I don't think Tua beat us on any level.  Between that, the amount of play stoppages for dehydration and cramping, and the amount of players who left the game early, something needs to be done differently.

I think we all give you a thumbs up and agree with this. We should just have IV's ready in the tent.. might of solved some hydration issues quicker.

9 hours ago, Virgil said:

 

4 - Come and take a walk on the wild side
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain
You like your girls insane ("Louder!", "Alright")
So choose your last words, this is the last time
'Cause you and I—we were born to die

Holy heck what the flock is this?

9 hours ago, Virgil said:

 

5 - Allen - You are either a stat person or you aren't, and for this game, I don't care about Josh's stats.  He lost this game for us on offense and I think he would tell you the same thing.  Josh's accuracy on crossing routes was poor, throwing multiple passes behind the receivers.  He threw at least 4 passes that easily should have been picked off, plus the miss to a wide open McKenzie last goal line drive.  While he overcame it, the PF call to lose 15 yards was inexcusable.  Josh was clearly rattled in the second half and started to press too much.  Maybe it was the heat, frustration of some terrible snaps, or playing with only 3 active receivers at times, but Josh needs to be better than this.

Heat pays a toll on the body. the mind. While Miami was screwing it up, we were taking way to long on drives... in essence we dehydrated ourselves out there. I truly believe Heat had an effect on Josh just like everyone else. We had the ball for over 40 minutes on offense, Miami less then 20 minutes.. so in short while we were killing ourselves in drives that took to long... Miami was sitting on their fannies staying cool.

9 hours ago, Virgil said:

 

6 - Play calling - I have to hand it to the Dolphins as they had a very good game plan for our offense and did enough to keep the Bills offense at bay.  Again, you can look at stats all you want, but Diggs was relatively shut down in this game after the first quarter.  Howard left the game for a while and Diggs still couldn't do anything.  Davis was also quiet as we heard Gilly's name more than his.  As for the Bills, they continue to collapse on short yardage plays, can't run to save their life, and flirted with turnovers a lot.  Nothing ever felt fluid for the Bills on offense or defense, in a game that's almost impossible to describe to someone who didn't watch it.

This is the laughable part for me. Miami's game plan did not beat us.. we beat ourselves. Lets start with back to back runs by moss. near the goal line.  SAME PLAY back to back. WTH? with a big list of our bad play calling in the middle that finishes on a second and 2 at the one yard line, Josh Allen runs and drops to the ground immediately. like we were trying to kill time. Tight games is not the time to get cutesy. other then ONE PLAY, Moss could not get it done or Motor keeping in mind that they were hurting at the DT position and on top of all that... Running up the gut with backup C's is less then ideal. To be honest we would of been better off setting the edge with Cook in there. Our play callers lost situational awareness this game

9 hours ago, Virgil said:

 

7 - Motor - I understand that Moss had a big run in this game.  But beyond that, Motor was the only back doing anything on the field and it's been this way through three games.  Additionally, the running plays on the RPO or out of the shotgun were some of the slowest developing plays I've ever seen.  You would think the offense was running on quicksand and showed no push or burst up front.  And before you point to the loss of the entire right side of our line, this was before those injuries and were runs to the left side.  I know we are a passing team, but this is inexcusable.

I think we can all agree here.

9 hours ago, Virgil said:

 

8 - McKenzie - If there were one shining light on offense, it might have been that we finally saw a McKenzie jet sweep in this game.  McKenzie used his speed on quite a few plays to pick up nice chunks of yards, to the point that makes you wonder why he hasn't been used more up until now.  His 20+ yard catch was a beautiful touch pass by Josh, but an equally great catch by McK.  I also want to know why McK wasn't returned the free kick after the safety.  Was that because it was still a punt, in theory?

He also had 1 or 2 dropped passes in the 2nd quarter. McKenzie is our returner. i had no issues with it.

9 hours ago, Virgil said:

 

9 - Special teams - Between the Bass missed FG, being pinned inside our 20 a few times, and Crowder not even getting back to the 25 after the safety, the special teams was another group who found a way to not show up in this game.  Absolutely horrendous job by unit that was healthy coming into the game.

Man. name me a perfect punter that doesn't miss easy kicks now and then. it happens. We stopped a lot of drives and they pinned us. Thats NFL. happens.

9 hours ago, Virgil said:

 

10 - Bye Week - I'll be honest, I don't know what to expect through the next 3 weeks.  You can find some solace in how the defense held Waddle and Hill down, but I'm not one willing to crown the Dolphins as a top tier team yet.  Going into Baltimore next week is going to be brutal, and then we still have the Chiefs after that.  I know that it's early, and thankfully we get to play the Dolphins again.  But we may very well need the tie breakers for the Ravens and Chiefs, so it sucks to have these games coming up when we aren't even 50% healthy.  Out of everything, I just hate having a season be defined by injuries, and that's exactly what this season is shaping up to be.

Expect us to come back a bit more healthy and win the next 3 games. During this time we should get Tre, Morse, Poyer back and expect more gameplay from our rookie HB.. 

  

9 hours ago, Virgil said:

For those looking for more about the game, my apologies.  I'm not going to cool down from this game for a long time.  I can handle a loss and was expecting one.  But to lose like this is just pathetic to me.  The Dolphins were better prepared, had more energy, and played harder.  Lose, but don't get beat in those three phases.  That's on McD.

 

You're going to wake up to Media glowing over Miami's performance because they are the only undefeated team in the AFC. Flamers in the media will suggest a Miami/Philly SB and get laughed at later on.  Here are the facts

 

Tua still sucks

We are still a SB team when healthy (even with Hyde out for the year)

Kiss is still on Tour

 

and

 

You're going to realize in the long scheme of things? This game won't mean anything. 

 

cheers

[Richard Noggin]

1 hour ago, HappyDays said:

 

I'd also take read option out of the play book. Allen isn't very good at making the right read on those and more often than not it ends with him on the turf after picking up maybe 1 yard. It's not worth him taking more hits to occasionally spring one of those loose. Designed QB runs I am okay with sparingly, just don't give Allen a handoff option on those.

 

 

I think I actually agree with this paragraph. The RPOs were really bad today. 

[BobbyC81]

Having watched this game, if you do look at the stats, it is mind boggling that the Bills lost this game.  Big advantages in yardage and time of possession but they only score 17 pts?
 

The Bills had only 1 turnover (fumble) and punted only once.  They were 11 for 18 on 3rd downs and 2 of 3 on 4th down, the only failed 4th being the Allen pass into the ground.

 

That 3rd Qtr drive is 87 yards in 20 plays, using 9:28 off the clock and all they get is a FG.  That 4th Qtr drive is 73 yyards in 17 plays, using 8:19, and they don’t score a point.  You have 2 long impressive drives and get only 3 points out of it?
 

Hindsight is 20/20 but if they got 3 points on that long 4th Qtr drive, they still had the 2 timeouts so they could’ve got the ball back, as they did after the punt safety.  Main point, of course, is that a team’s play calling is different when they’re backed up to the goal line than if they’re at say the 25 so the Bills defense could’ve had a bigger challenge to stop them on 3 downs.  
 

Has anyone heard an explanation on the Bass missed FG?  It looked bad like the timing was off or did he just miss it?

[Gunsgoodtime]

I love your post every week, but I have to wonder if your emotions got the best of you in this post.  What I saw was a totally different team than I saw the 1st 2 weeks.  Thats because it literally was, I have never saw a team with so many devastating injuries in week 3, then during the game.  I dont feel the way my Bills buddy does, but he stated season over before the game.  I don't think he was too far off, when half your team is backups, thats a huge mountain to climb for any team.

Edited September 26, 2022 by Gunsgoodtime

[GunnerBill]

You can't run the ball without blocking. It is as simple and straightforward as that. If you want to blame someone for the lack of a run game it starts and ends with Brandon Beane. 

 

The willingness to go with olines that are just serviceable because Allen covers many sins is on him. 

[cle23]

3 hours ago, mannc said:

That’s not what we’re talking about.  The Bills play the Dolphins twice.  There is no reason this game (as opposed to the week 18 game) had to be in Miami in September at 1:00. Why schedule games in extreme weather when it can easily be avoided?

 

So no home playoff games in Buffalo in January?

3 hours ago, IronyAbounds said:

Normally, but when you're talking about teams in the same division and they have to play twice, it doesn't make sense to play the games at the time of year where weather is more likely to factor into the game.

 

But the weather is part of the game. So no home games in Mami or Jacksonville in September? Carolina? No home games in Green Bay or Buffalo in December or January? 

 

There are 32 teams to account for. You can't make the schedule purely based on what may happen. 

[mannc]

1 hour ago, cle23 said:

 

So no home playoff games in Buffalo in January?

 

But the weather is part of the game. So no home games in Mami or Jacksonville in September? Carolina? No home games in Green Bay or Buffalo in December or January? 

 

There are 32 teams to account for. You can't make the schedule purely based on what may happen. 

You’re missing the point: I’d be fine with fewer regular season home games in December/January in Buffalo.  Nothing you can do about the playoffs…

[corta765]

1 - Everyone else - Yep 100% agree. There are no moral victories that’s crazy. Reality is too many mistakes and your now 2-1 and 0-1 in division behind a team 3-0 and 2-0 in division with a cupcake a huddle after Thursday until week 12. At least the AFC is so crappy right now playoff wise your fine but you blew it.

 

2 - Inevitable - Because I’m so use to Josh and the guys eventually pulling away the longer it went the more I kept feeling like this ain’t right. It’s highly concerning that they are 0-7 going back to last year on closing games. If you want to be that team you gotta close even when it’s not been your day.

 

3 - Safety - I read something in twitter by a medical professional who said it was his back and the way it locked him up was on par for a back injury with everything. If I can find it I’ll let you know. That said I 100% understand and agree it still looks bad by the NFL.

 

5 - Allen - Yes and no. They weren’t in the game without Allen but I do agree the game got to him and he messed up a bit. This is what happens though when everything literally goes through the guy eventually you have games of non perfection. He had 90% of all yards yesterday and singe-handily put gained the Phins. Injuries def hurt and a little reprieve would help him on O.

 

6 - Play calling - Phins played well against it and injuries hurt but I would’ve gave Dorsey a C+. Not doing a designed QB running or sneak at the end on the goal line was inexcusable to me. Also felt too safe when Miami was banged up too.

 

7 - Motor - After Allen he was their second best player on offense I loved what he did.

 

8 - McKenzie - Agree 100%

 

9 - Special teams - D- grade. Horrendous across the board and the non fielding the punt at the 11 that caused a 99 yard drive was even worse. Sucks Bass missed his kick but not worried he’s usually money.

 

10 - Bye Week - 4-2 that’s all that matters into the bye. They weren’t gonna win them all but they need to get to 4-2 to stay on pace for 13-4 which will win the division and 1 seed. Anything less your removing almost any wiggle room.

[Straight Hucklebuck]

This team under Daboll, and now Dorsey, find it really hard to just run the ball straight forward out of a single back set. 

 

Turning around and handing the ball off is really hard for them. 

 

So instead we try gimmicky RPO handoffs that get blown up and lose yards every play, yet we keep trying it. 

 

Who doesn't appreciate what Allen does on broken plays running the ball? But this team acts like he is the Colin Kaepernick against the Packers kind of RPO runner, and nobody is fooled by that. 

 

Those plays take too long to develop, and it looks like again, our line is average at best. 

[npeartisgod]

JAs PF was the result of

retaliation. JA doesn’t eff around, you can clearly see him pointing to his groin while he lobbies the ref. Someone was grabbing at his junk, and he took offense.

 

First rule of hockey is the one who retaliates goes to the box. 

Edited September 26, 2022 by npeartisgod

[Lane Meyer K12]

The L sucks, but I was more concerned with someone dropping from heat exhaustion than much of anything else. The Dolphins barely hung on to win against a team that was decimated by injuries. Take the heat factor out of the game and it could be argued that it is a different outcome. The Dolphins beat the Bills second team secondary defense by 2 points. That really is not saying much. Hopefully the Bills get some guys back in time for the Ravens.

[Fan in Chicago]

5 hours ago, BobbyC81 said:

Having watched this game, if you do look at the stats, it is mind boggling that the Bills lost this game.  Big advantages in yardage and time of possession but they only score 17 pts?

So imo, it was a strategic mistake to focus so much on TOP and not on scoring. Few things which could have been done:

- Seeing the temperature, the early O strategy should have been to try extra hard, including risky throws, to build up a lead in the first half

- As players kept dropping off, the need for scoring should have been even higher. Send more WRs, spread sets to maximize scoring

- I am not an expert on conditioning, but could the players have been better prepared for the game in terms of hydration? I understand that we were in the sun all day but I would have expected their D to be totally gassed in the second half yet our OL wasnt holding their blocks and their was able to limit our scoring

[Virgil]

14 minutes ago, Lane Meyer K12 said:

The L sucks, but I was more concerned with someone dropping from heat exhaustion than much of anything else. The Dolphins barely hung on to win against a team that was decimated by injuries. Take the heat factor out of the game and it could be argued that it is a different outcome. The Dolphins beat the Bills second team secondary defense by 2 points. That really is not saying much. Hopefully the Bills get some guys back in time for the Ravens.

 

I have to blame the Bills a bit on this one.  The Dolphins play games at home in September all the time and the heat is similar, yet you don't hear about people dropping like flies the way you did in this game.  I don't know any of the science or what was done, but that was surreal

5 hours ago, Gunsgoodtime said:

I love your post every week, but I have to wonder if your emotions got the best of you in this post.  What I saw was a totally different team than I saw the 1st 2 weeks.  Thats because it literally was, I have never saw a team with so many devastating injuries in week 3, then during the game.  I dont feel the way my Bills buddy does, but he stated season over before the game.  I don't think he was too far off, when half your team is backups, thats a huge mountain to climb for any team.

 

Don't wonder, know that my emotions got the best of me.  But I did say that immediately in the post.  What's really interesting to me is that this post has now gotten more replies and views in 24 hours than the last two did in a week.  I knew the responses would be mixed, but to see all the trolls and people who only respond when something negative is put out there, has been very interesting. 

5 hours ago, BobbyC81 said:

Having watched this game, if you do look at the stats, it is mind boggling that the Bills lost this game.  Big advantages in yardage and time of possession but they only score 17 pts?
 

The Bills had only 1 turnover (fumble) and punted only once.  They were 11 for 18 on 3rd downs and 2 of 3 on 4th down, the only failed 4th being the Allen pass into the ground.

 

That 3rd Qtr drive is 87 yards in 20 plays, using 9:28 off the clock and all they get is a FG.  That 4th Qtr drive is 73 yyards in 17 plays, using 8:19, and they don’t score a point.  You have 2 long impressive drives and get only 3 points out of it?
 

Hindsight is 20/20 but if they got 3 points on that long 4th Qtr drive, they still had the 2 timeouts so they could’ve got the ball back, as they did after the punt safety.  Main point, of course, is that a team’s play calling is different when they’re backed up to the goal line than if they’re at say the 25 so the Bills defense could’ve had a bigger challenge to stop them on 3 downs.  
 

Has anyone heard an explanation on the Bass missed FG?  It looked bad like the timing was off or did he just miss it?

 

It's as if we played against our own defense.  The Dolphins bent, but didn't break.  The stats mean nothing when it translates to 17 offense points, 3 in the second half. 

 

Everyone keeps comparing it to the Bills playing the Pats during the Brady era, and I agree in many ways.  We'd out perform them, but make a mistake or two and that would be enough for them to win.  If that was a Bills/Pats game, you bet your ass that their LB returns that pick six and Brady hits McK on that last touchdown.  That's the difference between us and their domination of us

[cle23]

3 hours ago, mannc said:

You’re missing the point: I’d be fine with fewer regular season home games in December/January in Buffalo.  Nothing you can do about the playoffs…

 

Right, but I am saying you can't just change it because it may happen.  Is Florida typically very hot in September? Sure, but It was 88+ in Ohio a week or so ago too.  

 

If the temperature is insanely high, I get delaying the game until later that day or the evening, but you can't change how the entire 32 team schedule works because a couple stadiums could be hot, or cold.  Weather is a part of football and it always has been.  Rain, heat, cold, snow, wind.  It's all part of the game.  

[mannc]

12 minutes ago, cle23 said:

 

Right, but I am saying you can't just change it because it may happen.  Is Florida typically very hot in September? Sure, but It was 88+ in Ohio a week or so ago too.  

 

If the temperature is insanely high, I get delaying the game until later that day or the evening, but you can't change how the entire 32 team schedule works because a couple stadiums could be hot, or cold.  Weather is a part of football and it always has been.  Rain, heat, cold, snow, wind.  It's all part of the game.  

I was not there yesterday, but I understand that the conditions in Miami weren’t out of the ordinary for South Florida in September. I can remember plenty of other early-season Bills games in Miami where heat was a serious factor.  Why not just play the first game of the series in Buffalo every year? Or start the game at 4:30 instead of 1:00?

[Nihilarian]

6 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

You can't run the ball without blocking. It is as simple and straightforward as that. If you want to blame someone for the lack of a run game it starts and ends with Brandon Beane. 

 

The willingness to go with olines that are just serviceable because Allen covers many sins is on him. 

While I've always been an advocate for building the very best offensive line in the league and would love to see the Buffalo Bills with a line of all pros, pro bowlers. (I know, keep dreaming)

 

That said, Buffalo has had good line play and at the end of last season they looked very good In both running and pass blocking. I do believe I saw some actual pancakes at times.

 

I would agree that the current line is average at best. Not great, but not that bad either and not many teams have the depth that Buffalo currently has on that line. I think Brandon Beane has done a masterful job on building this team and it shows in every aspect. 

 

It is far easier for offensive linemen to run block over pass blocking (and they have a beast of a run blocker in OG Rodger Saffold)(Bills GM Brandon Beane brought in a really, really good run blocker) Mostly because they know where they are going and can put all their massive weight into opponent rather then trying to hold their ground. 

 

As @HappyDays mentioned the 49ers are a really good running team... and they are because they really work at it. The led the league in rush attempts in 2021. Practice does make perfect and in order to be good at something they need to practice it until they can own it. 

 

Buffalo is a passing team and they are really good at that. However, when teams (like the 2021 Jacksonville Jaguars) are shutting down the Buffalo passing game by putting so much pressure on the QB. The Bills need to work that run game so they aren't one dimensional. Like I said, the Buffalo offense did very well in running the ball near the end of last season.

 

So many Bills fans were calling for drafting better RBs for a lot of the 2021 season. Yet Singletary showed us he is more than good enough to get the job done. Moss is good. Cook is good. The Bills OC just needs to get back to what was working at the end of last season and not give up on the run game if it doesn't produce right away. 

[Billsfan1972]

15 hours ago, Virgil said:

I don’t know that.  But our defense overall played well minus the one deep pass to Waddle 

They were barely on the field and Miami converted 3 Redzone possessions.  I'd say they were okay (considering the injuries).

 

Miami had no interest in even getting a first down their last possession. 

 

And yes the 42 yard pass to Waddle was a backbreaker.

 

So Allen makes one terrible pass and he's to blame, but the Defense get's a pass?  Even after the pass, a stop and all is okay.

[Virgil]

57 minutes ago, Billsfan1972 said:

They were barely on the field and Miami converted 3 Redzone possessions.  I'd say they were okay (considering the injuries).

 

Miami had no interest in even getting a first down their last possession. 

 

And yes the 42 yard pass to Waddle was a backbreaker.

 

So Allen makes one terrible pass and he's to blame, but the Defense get's a pass?  Even after the pass, a stop and all is okay.

No quarterback, no matter what they did in the game, should get a pass for that play.   There’s no excuse to miss that throw.  Sometimes, yes, a play matters that much.  That’s what they make millions to do.  Every QB will tell you they need to make that pass, even if they are injured.  
 

Is he to blame for them losing the game?  No. Could he have won the game with that pass, yes.  So he owns a lot.  He is in control of the offense that scored 3 points in the second half.  
 

Let me put it to you this way, name a player or play that cost us more?

 

I would put Milano’s drop second, but there was still a lot of time left.  
 

I’ll say;

 

1 - Josh moss to McK

2 - Bass missed short FG

3 - Milano dropped pick 6

 

Those were all game changers and had zero influence from injuries or backups.  
 

 

[ngbills]

McK catches the ball with 13 seconds on the game clock. He doesn't go straight up field and get down. He cant get out of bounds. Bills cant get a play off. Game over.

 

KC has the ball kicked to them. Pass play for 19 yards. Pass play for 25 yards. FG to tie. 

 

Same 13 seconds. We could not finish a single play and get back to line to spike ball.

[Turbo44]

18 minutes ago, Virgil said:

No quarterback, no matter what they did in the game, should get a pass for that play.   There’s no excuse to miss that throw.  Sometimes, yes, a play matters that much.  That’s what they make millions to do.  Every QB will tell you they need to make that pass, even if they are injured.  
 

Is he to blame for them losing the game?  No. Could he have won the game with that pass, yes.  So he owns a lot.  He is in control of the offense that scored 3 points in the second half.  
 

Let me put it to you this way, name a player or play that cost us more?

 

I would put Milano’s drop second, but there was still a lot of time left.  
 

I’ll say;

 

1 - Josh moss to McK

2 - Bass missed short FG

3 - Milano dropped pick 6

 

Those were all game changers and had zero influence from injuries or backups.  
 

 

Bass's kick was tipped/blocked - blame the blocking not the kicker

[Nihilarian]

54 minutes ago, mannc said:

I was not there yesterday, but I understand that the conditions in Miami weren’t out of the ordinary for South Florida in September. I can remember plenty of other early-season Bills games in Miami where heat was a serious factor.  Why not just play the first game of the series in Buffalo every year? Or start the game at 4:30 instead of 1:00?

I can recall seeing those late 80's, early 90's Buffalo Bills go down to Miami in that stifling heat and outplay the Dolphins players. Those phins players would be heavily panting with their hand on their hips and Buffalo would be killing them with the hurry up offense!

 

Marv used to say "when its to tough for them, its just right for us!" Good ole Bills trainer Rusty Jones and his conditioning techniques. 

 

Anyway, Buffalo had time of possession for 40:40 vs 19:20. With 63 offensive pass attempts the Buffalo offensive skill players were gassed from running all over while being on the field so much in that heat, QB too.  

 

 

Fun fact, Drew Bledsoe did have 70 pass attempts in a 1994 game against Minnesota. 70 is the most ever in the NFL. 

[Turbo44]

14 minutes ago, ngbills said:

McK catches the ball with 13 seconds on the game clock. He doesn't go straight up field and get down. He cant get out of bounds. Bills cant get a play off. Game over.

 

KC has the ball kicked to them. Pass play for 19 yards. Pass play for 25 yards. FG to tie. 

 

Same 13 seconds. We could not finish a single play and get back to line to spike ball.

ughhh...KC had 2 timeouts left and used them both.  Buffalo had no timeouts left and McNasty could have run to the sideline (watch the replay), but chose to cut it upfield into the tacklers.

[Big Turk]

Was I alone in thinking the Bills would have been better off needing a TD to win starting around midfield or even on the Miami side of the field if he got a rushed punt off rather than having a safety followed by him being able to bomb a punt with no pressure and the Bills starting at their own 25 needing a FG?

 

Would have likely allowed Allen to take several shots to the endzone

 

6 minutes ago, Turbo44 said:

ughhh...KC had 2 timeouts left and used them both.  Buffalo had no timeouts left and McNasty could have run to the sideline (watch the replay), but chose to cut it upfield into the tacklers.

 

Do you know by rule that a player must be moving forward when going out of bounds to have the clock stopped?

 

There was a high probability McKenzie would have been moving backwards or at best sideways which meant the clock would have kept running even if he went OOB.

 

I think a lot of people need to brush up on rules that don't frequently come into play but have happened enough time over the years watching games that they should be familiar with them.

 

Edited September 26, 2022 by Big Turk

[mannc]

34 minutes ago, Nihilarian said:

I can recall seeing those late 80's, early 90's Buffalo Bills go down to Miami in that stifling heat and outplay the Dolphins players. Those phins players would be heavily panting with their hand on their hips and Buffalo would be killing them with the hurry up offense!

 

Marv used to say "when its to tough for them, its just right for us!" Good ole Bills trainer Rusty Jones and his conditioning techniques. 

 

Anyway, Buffalo had time of possession for 40:40 vs 19:20. With 63 offensive pass attempts the Buffalo offensive skill players were gassed from running all over while being on the field so much in that heat, QB too.  

 

 

Fun fact, Drew Bledsoe did have 70 pass attempts in a 1994 game against Minnesota. 70 is the most ever in the NFL. 

Funny, all I remember is Bills teams struggling mightily in early season games in Miami--and once or twice in Tampa. 

[Billsfan1972]

29 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

Was I alone in thinking the Bills would have been better off needing a TD to win starting around midfield or even on the Miami side of the field if he got a rushed punt off rather than having a safety followed by him being able to bomb a punt with no pressure and the Bills starting at their own 25 needing a FG?

 

Would have likely allowed Allen to take several shots to the endzone

 

 

Do you know by rule that a player must be moving forward when going out of bounds to have the clock stopped?

 

There was a high probability McKenzie would have been moving backwards or at best sideways which meant the clock would have kept running even if he went OOB.

 

I think a lot of people need to brush up on rules that don't frequently come into play but have happened enough time over the years watching games that they should be familiar with them.

 

Yes.....  Much rather have gotten the ball at midfield and need a TD.  Regardless, Mackenzie needed to go straight forward and get down.  Bass has we've been told a 60 yard leg.     

 

Oh and the hold to take them out of FG range didn't help in a game where few penalties were called.  I won't bother checking to see how egregious it was.

[Big Turk]

14 minutes ago, Billsfan1972 said:

Yes.....  Much rather have gotten the ball at midfield and need a TD.  Regardless, Mackenzie needed to go straight forward and get down.  Bass has we've been told a 60 yard leg.     

 

Oh and the hold to take them out of FG range didn't help in a game where few penalties were called.  I won't bother checking to see how egregious it was.

 

It was egregious...I remember watching it in real time thinking that had to be a hold...he got beat bad and basically reached around from behind and pulled him backwards where the defender ended up going down to one knee from it like he was being horsecollared almost.

Edited September 26, 2022 by Big Turk

[Virgil]

1 hour ago, Turbo44 said:

Bass's kick was tipped/blocked - blame the blocking not the kicker

Was that confirmed?

[Maine-iac]

I'm still of the mindset we missed Poyer and Hyde most of all.  Rewatching "highlights" and Waddle doesn't catch multiple deep passes and Edmunds doesn't run over a safety if Poyer is in there.    Also realized (and was mentioned already) we had two touchdowns by the beginning of the second quarter and ran probably 60 ish plays after that and only scored 3 more points.  Both our tackles literally got taken to the cleaners in the first couple of drives one resulted in a fumble and the other we overcame but both were pretty ugly.

[HappyDays]

3 hours ago, Virgil said:

Those were all game changers and had zero influence from injuries or backups.  

 

I was just thinking about how this game was really NOT lost by the backups, it was lost by the starters.

 

1) Missed Allen TD throw to McKenzie

2) Dropped Davis TD

3) Dropped Milano pick six

4) Spencer Brown abused by Melvin Ingram

5) Singletary and Dawkins both whiffing on a block on the fumble on the 2nd drive

6) Singletary to my eyes missed a couple cutback lanes in the run game

7) Von Miller was invisible pretty much the whole game

 

The backups, especially the safeties, made some mistakes but that was to be expected. We needed our starters to step up and make plays to bridge that talent gap and they couldn't get it done.

 

Edited September 26, 2022 by HappyDays

[Virgil]

10 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

I was just thinking about how this game was really NOT lost by the backups, it was lost by the starters.

 

1) Missed Allen TD throw to McKenzie

2) Dropped Davis TD

3) Dropped Milano pick six

4) Spencer Brown abused by Melvin Ingram

5) Singletary and Dawkins both whiffing on a block on the fumble on the 2nd drive

6) Singletary to my eyes missed a couple cutback lanes in the run game

7) Von Miller was invisible pretty much the whole game

 

The backups, especially the safeties, made some mistakes but that was to be expected. We needed our starters to step up and make plays to bridge that talent gap and they couldn't get it done.

 

Careful, not blaming the injuries, heat, or calling out the vets will get you in trouble 

[Big Turk]

Was it just me or did we not see very many RPO's yesterday?

[HappyDays]

Just now, Virgil said:

Careful, not blaming the injuries, heat, or calling out the vets will get you in trouble 

 

So I do think you were a little harsh in your post but if people can't handle some negativity after a loss they shouldn't come here after a loss... I've always found the discussion here to be the best way to decompress and get over a bad loss. Like many losses in the last couple years we just needed one core player to make one more play.

 

Where I feel you were especially harsh is with Allen's play, although admittedly I am and always have been a Bills QB homer. Allen made several exceptional plays in this game and most other core starters didn't even make one. In a game with around 70 called pass plays in the extreme heat with starters coming in and out of the lineup it is unrealistic to expect the QB to be perfect. The timing of his 4th down miss was obviously very unfortunate and it rises above a simple missed throw because of when it happened. But in context with the rest of his game he was the least of the offense's problems, and in fact he is the only reason we were able to move the ball at all. I believe Allen is one of the most clutch QBs in the game. If falling apart at the end of close games was a recurring them I'd be more concerned.

[BillsfaninSB]

18 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

I was just thinking about how this game was really NOT lost by the backups, it was lost by the starters.

 

1) Missed Allen TD throw to McKenzie

2) Dropped Davis TD

3) Dropped Milano pick six

4) Spencer Brown abused by Melvin Ingram

5) Singletary and Dawkins both whiffing on a block on the fumble on the 2nd drive

6) Singletary to my eyes missed a couple cutback lanes in the run game

7) Von Miller was invisible pretty much the whole game

 

The backups, especially the safeties, made some mistakes but that was to be expected. We needed our starters to step up and make plays to bridge that talent gap and they couldn't get it done.

 

And the Bass missed FG.

 

My heart sunk after that miss.   Felt the Bills were not going to win after that. 

[Nihilarian]

29 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

So I do think you were a little harsh in your post but if people can't handle some negativity after a loss they shouldn't come here after a loss... I've always found the discussion here to be the best way to decompress and get over a bad loss. Like many losses in the last couple years we just needed one core player to make one more play.

 

Where I feel you were especially harsh is with Allen's play, although admittedly I am and always have been a Bills QB homer. Allen made several exceptional plays in this game and most other core starters didn't even make one. In a game with around 70 called pass plays in the extreme heat with starters coming in and out of the lineup it is unrealistic to expect the QB to be perfect. The timing of his 4th down miss was obviously very unfortunate and it rises above a simple missed throw because of when it happened. But in context with the rest of his game he was the least of the offense's problems, and in fact he is the only reason we were able to move the ball at all. I believe Allen is one of the most clutch QBs in the game. If falling apart at the end of close games was a recurring them I'd be more concerned.

Agree with the whole post!

 

Take QB Josh Allen out of the equation and what kind of a team do you have? A bad team with a decent defense that would be worn out every game by being on the field so often. 

 

Clearly the Buffalo Bills can't run and don't even really much try besides the QB.  Allen being their leading rusher the last two games. This needs to change.

 

Any one of a half dozen things go the Bills way and they win that game. 

[flmike]

Virgil, I love your writeups, but this is not your best overall take. By halftime, half of our team is from the practice squad. Short week, down some really excellent players, and an obvious climate challenge (same as the fins will have in December). Some mistakes that could have turned things shows that we have good depth and almost took one from a confident team at home with some good players. I agree that Miami is kind of the like the Bills were some years ago. They will go 4-0 and then start the tumble. 

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

On 9/25/2022 at 5:26 PM, UKBillFan said:

 

It's a mentality issue which needs to be worked on. And that's across the franchise, for which Josh is part of. He made an error he shouldn't have made in a key siutuation, plus could have easily been intercepted four times.  He's played better, he'll play better, but when the pressure is on, in one score games, the choke seems to follow across the board. That needs to be sorted.

I think as the streak goes on of winning every game by two scores it’s becoming clear that when we have an off game josh is good enough to keep us in it.  He missed one throw sure but we had no business being in that game.  Our offensive line was getting obliterated which would’ve led to way more three and outs/opportunities for Miami to drive on our defense if josh wasn’t playing out of his mind.  That should’ve been a lopsided loss and we lost by 2 points…and at the same time were holding it against josh for losing a one score game?  Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. 
 

hard to blame one guy for missing a throw with an injured hand and after everything he went through that game when bass missed a short fg and Milano dropped a pick six and gabe couldn’t hang onto that perfectly thrown pass in the end zone and so on 

Edited September 26, 2022 by Generic_Bills_Fan