A Few Thoughts about the Chiefs Game, in no particular order

[Virgil]

Being a Bills fan, I think it can be very difficult at times to find a sustained "happy place" within the season.  There's always another game on the schedule against someone that could ruin your day, a recent loss that gives you doubts about how far the team can go, or just some devastating loss due to a dumb play that lives on national tv for a week.  However, for the first time in a long time, I'm at peace as a fan and don't see that changing until after the bye week.  I'm not foolish enough to believe that Chiefs win has any impact on how we play them again in the playoffs or if we will win it all, but I am able to take comfort in the fact that we can, and SHOULD, expect this team to win every single game they play.  That we have a balanced offense, MVP quarterback, bend but don't break defense, and coaching staff that has what it takes to be the best team in the league.  And for that, I can take comfort in knowing this is going to be a very good team for long time.  We may lose some games, but it's because we found a way to lose, not because we were beaten.

 

1 - Diggs/Dorsey - While I know there are so many other things to talk about, this is something I've wanted since the start of the 2021 season.  After Diggs breakout first season, teams really started to focus on him and he wasn't as explosive or game changing for us.  I always watch players like Kupp or Jefferson and wondered why our OC can't move Diggs around like that, to create mismatches and more opportunities.  Well, this was the game for that.  Considering how the Chiefs have neutralized Diggs in the past, it was even more special to see him put up a 10 catch day and come up big, over and over.  Dorsey had Diggs in motion, the slot, stacked, and just plain everywhere.   And as you see Diggs get fed the ball, you remember more and more how special of a talent he is, because he doesn't drop anything and makes the contested catches look easy.  Add a healthy Davis on the other side of the field, and watch out.

 

2 - Milano - I've never hidden my love for Milano as my favorite player on this defense.  But I don't think I'm being a homer here when I say that he was the best overall player on the defense, and was just as responsible for the game ending pick as Von was.  I'm not trying to take away from Von as he made two HUGE plays that helped steer the Bills to victory, but Milano was playing like a man possessed.  I don't know if he broke into Josh's locker and ate some of his sugar, but Milano was absolutely flying to the ball.  He looked as fast as I've ever seen him.  There were some RB swing passes that Milano tracked from the middle of the field and brought the ball carrier down with almost no gain.  I'm talking 25-40 yards of coverage and did it with authority.  His ability to watch that last defensive play, know when to switch from spy to blitzer was perfect.  He covered the middle lane enough for Pat to hesitate, Von comes up at him, then the moment Pat is distracted by Von, Milano rushes in and helps force the quick throw to TJ.  Milano is having an all-pro season to this point and was another player who really stepped up in a big game.

 

3 - Mahomes - Before the break, I did want to take a moment and really appreciate the talent we got to witness in Patrick out there.  No matter what happens, Josh is the perfect QB for the Bills and I wouldn't change a thing, but Mahomes operates in just a very different way.  Sometimes, I think his swagger is a little arrogant and he can have a punchable face.  But he almost dances with the ball behind the line.  Where Josh is a psychopath wrecking ball, Mahomes is a graceful ballerina (no pun intended).  All of his movements, throws, and overall stature on the field looks effortless and make you think anyone could do it.  The fact that we get one half of the new Brady/Manning era is amazing, and I'm almost appreciative that the other guy is Mahomes.

 

4 - You have the choice
To hear the noise
Or hear the sweet sound
Of your sweet voice
I know I've heard it
I heard it in my sleep

 

5 - Allen - The Bills are backed up against the goal line after one, of many, great punts by the Chiefs.  Someone, I honestly can't remember who, drops a pass and it's 3rd down I think.  The camera zooms in on Josh's face and there's a look on his face that is hard to describe.  He's not panicked.  He's not frustrated.  It's confidence, but determined while also being relaxed.  For me, beyond all the throws, that was when you could see that Josh was in complete control of this game.  You knew that, if we did lose, it wasn't going to be because of Josh.  The moment wasn't too big for him, the situation wasn't too daunting....Josh was going to win this game, it just hadn't happened yet.   Now, with that being said, holy ***** that throw to Knox.  I could watch that play all day.  Sometimes, you see receivers catch the ball with their outstretched hands and think "wow, what a throw, but the receiver equally made adjustments to the pass to make it happen.   On this throw to Knox, I'd love to see the sports science of it, because that was a 1 out of 100 throw to me.  It had the absolute perfect elevation and speed to get just over the outreached fingers of a defender.  But it also has the accuracy to hit Knox just as his toes got to the sideline, around the other defender, and thud into his chest.  I could talk about how perfect the deep balls to Diggs and Davis were, which is so damn refreshing, but this Knox pass was next level.  I remember them showing a stat of him going 0-8 in a row, and then almost like he heard the announcers, proceeded to hit his next 10 (I think?).  Josh is a MVP, make no mistake about it

 

6 - Mistakes - If there's one thing that worries me for the playoffs, is us making the dumb mistakes that we can't come back from.  The defense had two horrible tackles on Juju that allowed him to look like a real receiver again and break 100 yards.  I want to say Juju had almost 75 YAC thanks to poor tackling.  You could argue that those plays made the game closer than it should've been.  Same on the McK pitch play.  I'm not going to fully blame McK, but he really needed to be more ready if that was the call.  Josh also needed to look and realize McK wasn't ready.  In any case, we missed Hyde on those tackles and were able to overcome in the end, but this is now 3 games where dumb mistakes early put us in tough situations late.  If we can clean those up, none of these games are even close.

 

7 - Von - Let's be clear, games against the Chiefs are the reason we paid Von.  With that, I'd say Von is exactly as advertised and was huge in this game.  Von was a massive part in stop the Chiefs in the 4th quarter and seemed to know the exact moment to turn it on.  I was disappointed to not see him get more help from Groot or the rest of the line, but he clearly didn't need it at times.  Additionally, some of Mahomes best plays came when Von wasn't on the field.  The lack of speed rush threat hurt us, even moreso why we need other guys to step up.  Honestly, I wouldn't care if they reduced Von's snaps down to 40% the rest of the year to keep him fresh.  We need this man in the playoffs.

 

8 - Ref - I actually appreciate being able to talk about the refs after a victory because it doesn't come off as much of an excuse.  Holy ***** were these guys terrible.  Granted, it went both ways at times, but the lack of offensive holding calls were insane.  I'm all for letting people play, but wow.  You could see defenders getting tackled, spun around, and jerseys pulled within feet of the quarterback.  The missed tripping call was impossible to comprehend.  There was another obvious facemask penalty that makes you think all the refs blinked at the same time.  The offensive PI against Kelce felt like an apology call for the Bills.  I'm incredibly worried about this trend of no holds being called, as our front 4 being able to get to the quarterback is a massive piece of our overall defense,

 

9 - Motor - When I saw that Moss was a healthy scratch, I figured it was going to be time for the Cook show.  Nope.  What a game for Motor!  I mean, this might be the most usage I've seen out of him and he did an absolute smashing job.  There was only one play where he danced a little too much behind the line and cost himself a first down.  But outside of that, Motor was used often and was incredibly effective.  No turnovers, multiple 7+ yard runs.  He hit the hole hard, fast, and dragged guys with him.  I would argue this was the perfect balance of running in our offense.  The only thing missing was a goal line drive where Motor got to punch one in.  If teams have to start respecting our rushing attack, watch out.

 

10 - McD - Don't tell me this game didn't mean more than others.  The players can say it's just the next game on the schedule all they want, but watching the locker room speech after the game was all I needed to see.  McD was as fired up as I've ever seen him and it was amazing to see.  McD has done a fantastic job this season of leveling expectations, getting his team ready, not forgetting the past, but also not letting it define the future.  Like Allen, we have the perfect coach for this team.  He has the perfect coordinators and built a culture that's unparalleled in the NFL.  This could finally be his year to win Coach of the Year.  

 

Misc

-Can we please start using Shakir more.  I can't handle anymore McKenzie mistakes.  We aren't using him as a speed decoy anymore, so get the rookie some more reps

-Considering how well we shut down Mark Andrews, I wonder if there was a different plan for Kelce as he seemed to be left wide open a little too much.

-If that interception by Elam is a flash of things to come, get ready....

-Congrats to Knox on a moment that I'm sure meant a lot to him

-Is anyone more underappreciated on this team than TJ?  Dude just makes plays in the biggest moment of the biggest games.  

 

Enjoy the bye week everyone!  Go Bills!!!!!

Edited October 19, 2022 by Virgil

[Big Turk]

I would not call the Bills defense "bend but don't break".  That was like the Bills D during the Super Bowl years. That is typically a backhanded compliment for a team that's ranked like 25th in yards allowed but is 5th or 6th in points allowed.  The Bills are 2nd in yards and 1st in scoring.  More often than not they are shutting teams down and holding them to under 300 yards of offense.  Some offenses are just too good to do that with regularly and KC consistently gives the Bills trouble in that regard.  But for probably 25 of the teams in the NFL, I would expect a game against them to feature the Bills holding them under 300 yards total, which is pretty extraordinary.

Edited October 19, 2022 by Big Turk

[Virgil]

1 minute ago, Big Turk said:

I would not call the Bills defense "bend but don't break".  That is typically a backhanded compliment for a team that's ranked like 25th in yards allowed but is 5th or 6th in points allowed.  The Bills are 2nd in yards and 1st in scoring.  More often than not they are shutting teams down and holding them to under 300 yards of offense.  Some offenses are just too good to do that with regularly and KC consistently gives the Bills trouble in that regard.  But for probably 25 of the teams in the NFL, I would expect a game against them to feature the Bills holding them under 300 yards total, which is pretty extraordinary.

 

I don't disagree, but I'm using more of McD and Frazier's words than anything else.  I think we've been that way in the second half however.  Think about how many times we've let the opposing team into our redzone only to shut them down.  I'd be curious to see our rate of 3 and outs versus other defenses.

[Reed83HOF]

So are we keeping tre or trading him? Lol

 

Nice write up as usual!

[Virgil]

Just now, Reed83HOF said:

So are we keeping tre or trading him? Lol

 

Nice write up as usual!

 

Trading him.  He's trash

[Logic]

4 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

1 - Diggs/Dorsey

 

3 - Mahomes 

6 - Mistakes

 

9 - Motor 

 

10 - McD 

 

Thanks for the writeup.

Just wanted to comment on the quoted items above.

1 - This is my favorite part about Dorsey so far. The way he moves Diggs around and, unlike Daboll, basically doesn't allow defenses to take him out of the ball game. The way Dorsey has schemed up ways to isolate Diggs on a linebacker the past few weeks is a thing of beauty.

3 - Mahomes is amazing. In all of the dislike of other teams and the Bills-centric viewing habits, I hope Bills fans are able to step back every now and again and appreciate just how awesome Mahomes is and how great it is that we live in an era where we get to watch Josh Allen AND Patrick Mahomes. He will be Allen's primary rival throughout his career. There's no doubt about it.

6 - I agree that the Bills need to get over the dumb mistakes. The one silver lining is that it seems that for the first time in a long time, they're learning to do just that. A mistake-filled start like the one we saw against Baltimore or in moments against the Chiefs used to doom this team. Not any more. They FINALLY seem to be learning to consistently push through that adversity and come out on top. Still, it would be better if they didn't make the mistakes to begin with, obviously.

9 - I hope Motor's usage this week means that the running back by committee experiment is over and he'll be the bellcow going forward. Let Cook be the change of pace, and if you want a third back active, let's see what Duke Johnson's got.

10 - This game ABSOLUTELY meant more to McDermott. I think that beating his mentor gets him fired up, and I think that beating the other "best team in the league" gets him fired up. One need only watch the post-game speech he gave to see just how fired up he really was.

Enjoy the bye week, Virgil.

GO BILLS!!!

[dollars 2 donuts]

Virgil, great post.  Thank you.

 

Many good points, but the sentiment I want to point out, that I am very much with you on, is being at peace.

 

We are on break.  We've had devastating injuries that are healing.  Yet we are in first place in the conference.  Maybe the most difficult part of our schedule is over.  We have a head to head tie breaker with the #2 seed.  We have a head to head tie breaker with the #3 seed.  We have a head to head tie breaker with the #4 seed.  We have a two game lead on the only team that has beaten us this year.

 

I know who this team is.  More importantly they know exactly who they are and what they are doing. 

Nothing is going to change any of that in what will be the most relaxing Bills bye of my lifetime.  

 

This is like sweet nectar* from the football gods, who can be finicky, but are currently gracing us.

 

 

 

 

(* I have no idea what nectar tastes like.  I'll assume pretty darn good...kind of like the way we all feel right now)

 

 

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by dollars 2 donuts

[Warcodered]

3 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

I don't disagree, but I'm using more of McD and Frazier's words than anything else.  I think we've been that way in the second half however.  Think about how many times we've let the opposing team into our redzone only to shut them down.  I'd be curious to see our rate of 3 and outs versus other defenses.

Anytime the other teams offense makes it to our side of the field our defense is suddenly bend don't break. 🤷‍♂️

[Gugny]

10 minutes ago, Virgil said:

5 - Allen - The Bills are backed up against the goal line after one, of many, great punts by the Chiefs.  Someone, I honestly can't remember who, drops a pass and it's 3rd down I think.  The camera zooms in on Josh's face and there's a look on his face that is hard to describe.  He's not panicked.  He's not frustrated.  It's confidence, but determined while also being relaxed.  For me, beyond all the throws, that was when you could see that Josh was in complete control of this game.  You knew that, if we did lose, it wasn't going to be because of Josh.  The moment wasn't too big for him, the situation wasn't too daunting....Josh was going to win this game, it just hadn't happened yet.   Now, with that being said, holy ***** that throw to Knox.  I could watch that play all day.  Sometimes, you see receivers catch the ball with their outstretched hands and think "wow, what a throw, but the receiver equally made adjustments to the pass to make it happen.   On this throw to Knox, I'd love to see the sports science of it, because that was a 1 out of 100 throw to me.  It had the absolute perfect elevation and speed to get just over the outreached fingers of a defender.  But it also has the accuracy to hit Knox just as his toes got to the sideline, around the other defender, and thud into his chest.  I could talk about how perfect the deep balls to Diggs and Davis were, which is so damn refreshing, but this Knox pass was next level.  I remember them showing a stat of him going 0-8 in a row, and then almost like he heard the announcers, proceeded to hit his next 10 (I think?).  Josh is a MVP, make no mistake about it

 

 

In his first two years, drops - or anything that went wrong (especially INTs) - would rattle Josh Allen.  His growth in that area has been nothing short of remarkable.  He clearly has more confidence in himself and more confidence in the players around him.  It's great to see.

[Virgil]

2 minutes ago, dollars 2 donuts said:

Virgil, great post.  Thank you.

 

Many good points, but the sentiment I want to point out, that I am very much with you on, is being at peace.

 

We are on break.  We've had devastating injuries that are healing.  Yet we are in first place in the conference.  Maybe the most difficult part of our schedule is over.  We have a head to head tie breaker with the #2 seed.  We have a head to head tie breaker with the #3 seed.  We have a head to head tie breaker with the #4 seed.  We have a two game lead on the only team that has beaten us this year.

 

I know who this team is.  More importantly they know exactly who they are and what they are doing. 

Nothing is going to change any of that in what will be the most relaxing Bills bye of my lifetime.  

 

This is like sweet nectar* from the football gods, who can be finicky, but are currently gracing us.

 

 

 

 

(* I have no idea what nectar tastes like.  I'll assume pretty darn good...kind of like the way we all feel right now)

 

 

 

 

Nectar is the taste of the tears running down Brady's face after every loss

[Big Turk]

4 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

I don't disagree, but I'm using more of McD and Frazier's words than anything else.  I think we've been that way in the second half however.  Think about how many times we've let the opposing team into our redzone only to shut them down.  I'd be curious to see our rate of 3 and outs versus other defenses.

 

For the most part from the drive stats I have looked at, teams get 1 good drive per half on the Bills, usually the first one of the game and like the 3rd one of the second half. If they fail to score on them, or only kick FGs, they are in real trouble.

 

I think against the Steelers with such a big lead they were playing a very soft brand of defense in the 2nd half and keeping things in front of them allowing the Steelers to complete passes but keep the clock moving, so I am not sure that would be the best game to talk about with that.

 

Bills are very good at getting 3 and outs on the first drive out of half time and many times the 2nd drive out of the half also.

[mjpbills]

5- Josh named offensive player of the week two weeks in a raw.

 

row

[Big Turk]

3 minutes ago, Gugny said:

 

In his first two years, drops - or anything that went wrong (especially INTs) - would rattle Josh Allen.  His growth in that area has been nothing short of remarkable.  He clearly has more confidence in himself and more confidence in the players around him.  It's great to see.

 

Allen is like Neo from the Matrix after Morpheus tells him "Don't think you can do it...KNOW you can!" and once Allen started to believe that midway through last season it's been pretty much over for opposing teams on D.

Edited October 19, 2022 by Big Turk

[scuba guy]

Hello cow Virgil were you buried under a rock or did you house bail you out of jail.

[Big Turk]

12 minutes ago, Logic said:

Thanks for the writeup.

Just wanted to comment on the quoted items above.

1 - This is my favorite part about Dorsey so far. The way he moves Diggs around and, unlike Daboll, basically doesn't allow defenses to take him out of the ball game. The way Dorsey has schemed up ways to isolate Diggs on a linebacker the past few weeks is a thing of beauty.

3 - Mahomes is amazing. In all of the dislike of other teams and the Bills-centric viewing habits, I hope Bills fans are able to step back every now and again and appreciate just how awesome Mahomes is and how great it is that we live in an era where we get to watch Josh Allen AND Patrick Mahomes. He will be Allen's primary rival throughout his career. There's no doubt about it.

6 - I agree that the Bills need to get over the dumb mistakes. The one silver lining is that it seems that for the first time in a long time, they're learning to do just that. A mistake-filled start like the one we saw against Baltimore or in moments against the Chiefs used to doom this team. Not any more. They FINALLY seem to be learning to consistently push through that adversity and come out on top. Still, it would be better if they didn't make the mistakes to begin with, obviously.

9 - I hope Motor's usage this week means that the running back by committee experiment is over and he'll be the bellcow going forward. Let Cook be the change of pace, and if you want a third back active, let's see what Duke Johnson's got.

10 - This game ABSOLUTELY meant more to McDermott. I think that beating his mentor gets him fired up, and I think that beating the other "best team in the league" gets him fired up. One need only watch the post-game speech he gave to see just how fired up he really was.

Enjoy the bye week, Virgil.

GO BILLS!!!

 

I mean they did have that one Jets game in week 1 2019 they won like 17-16 where they were down 16-0 until Allen hit John Brown for the go ahead TD late in the game after they kept turning the ball over with 4 TOs the first half, including 2 fumbles by Allen inside the Jet 40 and 2 INTs, one of them a pick 6 by CJ Moseley.

 

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by Big Turk

[DrDawkinstein]

17 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

I would not call the Bills defense "bend but don't break".  That was like the Bills D during the Super Bowl years. That is typically a backhanded compliment for a team that's ranked like 25th in yards allowed but is 5th or 6th in points allowed.  The Bills are 2nd in yards and 1st in scoring.  More often than not they are shutting teams down and holding them to under 300 yards of offense.  Some offenses are just too good to do that with regularly and KC consistently gives the Bills trouble in that regard.  But for probably 25 of the teams in the NFL, I would expect a game against them to feature the Bills holding them under 300 yards total, which is pretty extraordinary.

 

When you see Pickett put up 300 yards but only 3 points, and Mahomes put up 340 yards and only 20 points... I'd say we're pretty close to bend but dont break. It's will always be the case in the cover-2 shell we run. Teams can move down the field to an extent, if they are happy to take what we give them. But once we get inside the 40-30 yard line, it naturally tightens up.

[Dan Darragh]

Juju looks like he had a few too many of Kelvin Benjamin's Popeyes biscuits.

[Logic]

3 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

I mean they did have that one Jets game in week 1 2019 they won like 17-16 where they were down 16-0 until Allen hit John Brown for the go ahead TD late in the game after they kept turning the ball over with 4 TOs the first half, including 2 fumbles by Allen inside the Jet 40 and 2 INTs, one of them a pick 6 by CJ Moseley.

 

 

True...but that was three years ago now.

Overcoming bad, sloppy starts hasn't consistently been a strong feature of this team in recent seasons.

[DrDawkinstein]

24 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

5 - Allen - The Bills are backed up against the goal line after one, of many, great punts by the Chiefs.  Someone, I honestly can't remember who, drops a pass and it's 3rd down I think.  The camera zooms in on Josh's face and there's a look on his face that is hard to describe.  He's not panicked.  He's not frustrated.  It's confidence, but determined while also being relaxed.  For me, beyond all the throws, that was when you could see that Josh was in complete control of this game.  You knew that, if we did lose, it wasn't going to be because of Josh.  The moment wasn't too big for him, the situation wasn't too daunting....Josh was going to win this game, it just hadn't happened yet.   Now, with that being said, holy ***** that throw to Knox.  I could watch that play all day.  Sometimes, you see receivers catch the ball with their outstretched hands and think "wow, what a throw, but the receiver equally made adjustments to the pass to make it happen.   On this throw to Knox, I'd love to see the sports science of it, because that was a 1 out of 100 throw to me.  It had the absolute perfect elevation and speed to get just over the outreached fingers of a defender.  But it also has the accuracy to hit Knox just as his toes got to the sideline, around the other defender, and thud into his chest.  I could talk about how perfect the deep balls to Diggs and Davis were, which is so damn refreshing, but this Knox pass was next level.  I remember them showing a stat of him going 0-8 in a row, and then almost like he heard the announcers, proceeded to hit his next 10 (I think?).  Josh is a MVP, make no mistake about it

 

 

 

It reminded me of the game-winning* throw Josh made to Diggs against the Cardinals last year. Hit Diggs low to the outside in the endzone just like that. Such a difficult throw to make, and we've seen Josh make it multiple times now.

 

*if not for some lucky bull####

[Virgil]

5 minutes ago, scuba guy said:

Hello cow Virgil were you buried under a rock or did you house bail you out of jail.

Just took my time enjoying the win.  Didn’t want to rush it 

[Royale with Cheese]

Milano is my favorite player on defense.  He's an All Pro right now.

 

However, PFF said he didn't play well against KC so my day is ruined.

[Virgil]

Just now, Royale with Cheese said:

Milano is my favorite player on defense.  He's an All Pro right now.

 

However, PFF said he didn't play well against KC so my day is ruined.

It’s okay to be wrong.  And they are wrong a lot

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

Good overall write up, couple comments:

 

#5 Allen   The TD pass to Knox was great and produced the winning score, but thought two other Allen passes were more amazing, both to Diggs, on in Q2 for about 30 yards and another think was on the game winning drive for close to 20 yards.  I put those two in the more amazing group only because both were more towards middle of field with more players around that could easily intercept if off even a little.  On the Knox TD, he had to make sure the underneath defender couldn't jump up and get a hand on it, but likely otherwise either Knox catches it or it goes incomplete.  Those other two to Diggs had more risk to them if not perfect IMO.

 

#6 Mistakes   From what I've read in couple of places the fault lies much more on Allen than McKenzie.  Sounds like the ball was supposed to McKenzie early as more a handoff once it didn't he wasn't expecting it at all.  Kubiak's column today called it a case of Allen trying to do too much.  But overall do think McKenzie is kind of having a meltdown and agree with playing Shakir more.  For that reason just dropped McKenzie from my FF team this morning!

 

[Ya Digg?]

26 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

 

3 - Mahomes - Before the break, I did want to take a moment and really appreciate the talent we got to witness in Patrick out there.  No matter what happens, Josh is the perfect QB for the Bills and I wouldn't change a thing, but Mahomes operates in just a very different way.  Sometimes, I think his swagger is a little arrogant and he can have a punchable face.  But he almost dances with the ball behind the line.  Where Josh is a psychopath wrecking ball, Mahomes is a graceful ballerina (no pun intended).  All of his movements, throws, and overall stature on the field looks effortless and make you think anyone could do it.  The fact that we get one half of the new Brady/Manning era is amazing, and I'm almost appreciative that the other guy is Mahomes.

 

 

 

-Is anyone more underappreciated on this team than TJ?  Dude just makes plays in the biggest moment of the biggest games.  

 

Enjoy the bye week everyone!  Go Bills!!!!!

In regards to these 2 points...as much fun it is to watch Josh, it's definitely a lot of fun to watch Mahomes as well.  I was not comfortable at all with any of the third down situations, no matter how far away from a first down it was.  He also had one throw that he made across the field (he was on the left side of the field, threw it all the way across to the right side on a guy cutting away from him) that was just outstanding

 

I've mentioned it a couple of times in other threads but I'll mention it again - Johnson had a flip switch a couple of years ago.  He was terrible - getting beat constantly for first downs and touchdowns, missing tackles....I wanted him gone.  Then it just flipped.  He had that pick 6 against Pittsburgh and ever since that game, he's been amazing.  Gladly eating crow about him and glad I was wrong!

[DrDawkinstein]

1 minute ago, Royale with Cheese said:

Milano is my favorite player on defense.  He's an All Pro right now.

 

However, PFF said he didn't play well against KC so my day is ruined.

 

Would you feel better if you... had a cookie?

 

[Shaw66]

Virgil -

 

One of your best.    Absolutely right on the money on many things - Allen, Mahomes, Diggs-Dorsey, officials, etc.   Excellent. 

 

A couple of places where I think there's more to be said.  

 

Mistakes.  There have been several comments about points left on the board, mistakes, etc.   There also have been several comments about how the Bills' margin of victory is becoming historic, and I think the two are related.   When you have an offense that can perform like this offense, and a defense that can perform like this defense, you can take more chances.   Even if you screw up, there's a good chance that the offense or the defense or both will bail you out.   So, the smart thing to do is to push the envelope and take more chances.   That necessarily will result in more mistakes.   In the face of a good pass rush, Tom Brady would fall to the ground, take the sack, move on to the next play, because minimizing mistakes was part of what made him great.   In the face of a good pass rush, like Chris Jones coming at him, Allen looks for ways to extend the play.   Does he get in trouble sometimes?   Yes, but he also makes some jaw-dropping plays that Brady only dreams about.   I think we'll always see some mistakes from this team. 

 

Kelce.  Everyone obsesses over Kelce.  Here's why you shouldn't:   Tight ends cannot and do not carry your passing offense.   If they do, like Mark Andrews, the defense can and does focus on them and stop them.   When the Bills play the Chiefs, Kelce is not the focus - Mahomes is.   The entire defensive game play was designed around containing Mahomes and limiting his effectiveness.   It was different last season, because beside Mahomes, the Bills needed to find a way to keep Hill from going off.   On top of the focus when they play the Chiefs, in general, the Bills defense is designed to stop the big plays and the runs, and that makes the Bills vulnerable over the middle.  It's been the nature of this defense for past few years.  The Bills allow a lot of completions over the middle, and they rely on their defenders to be in the vicinity and to make the tackles to keep those plays from turning into big plays.   That's why everyone complains about Edmunds' pass coverage, and it's also why Edmunds gets so many tackles.   So, when the Bills play the Chiefs, they're playing against the best tight end, a guy who's great at operating over the middle, and he catches a lot of balls.   The Bills know it's going to happen, but they also know it's Mahomes, not Kelce, who's going to beat them.  

 

Milano.  I don't disagree, at all.  He's amazing.  But let's recognize that both Milano and Edmunds are making the plays they do because of how much better the d line is this season.  Milano, Edmunds, Hamlin, Johnson are making plays at the line of scrimmage because the d line is occupying the blockers.  

 

By the way, I think I and maybe others fail to appreciate fully how magnificent this defense really is.   While writing the last paragraph, I decided I ought to look to see where the Bills linebackers stand in terms of total tackles, and I discovered something pretty amazing.   First, Edmunds (in one fewer game) has more tackles (36) than Milano.   He leads the team.  What's amazing is that while Edmunds leads the team in tackles, he is 59th in total tackles in the league.   59th!!!   How can the best tackler on the best defense be only 59th in total tackles?   This defense is a team defense.   It's not led by stars - it's led by a philosophy that says everyone does his 1/11th.   So, the tackles are spread around.   Taron Johnson has 35. 

[Shaw66]

13 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

It reminded me of the game-winning* throw Josh made to Diggs against the Cardinals last year. Hit Diggs low to the outside in the endzone just like that. Such a difficult throw to make, and we've seen Josh make it multiple times now.

 

*if not for some lucky bull####

Yes.   I agree with Virgil, that the throw to Knox was really special.  And that throw to Diggs (two years ago, I think) was special.   What's amazing about Allen is that in Allen's world, those throws are ordinary.  They're just special for every other QB.  

[Freddie's Dead]

Great post as usual Virg.  Motor should have had a TD.  2nd and goal from the 4, three INC passes later, Chefs ball.  Dorsey is still a rook, hope he learns from that.

[BillsFanSD]

39 minutes ago, Virgil said:

2 - Milano - I've never hidden my love for Milano as my favorite player on this defense.  But I don't think I'm being a homer here when I say that he was the best overall player on the defense, and was just as responsible for the game ending pick as Von was.  I'm not trying to take away from Von as he made two HUGE plays that helped steer the Bills to victory, but Milano was playing like a man possessed. 

Agreed on Milano overall.  On the interception, that was just great team defense and it's a play that probably doesn't happen with slightly weaker personnel.  Miller forced Mahomes to abandon the pocket.  Milano was there* to step up and force Mahomes to make an off-platform throw without being able to see the defense accurately.  And Johnson was there to do the needful.  That is how you play sustained winning defense. 

 

* Kudos to Frazier for scheming this up.  Milano may not be able to cover Kelse -- who can? -- but the guy was game-changing as a spy.  

[Lost]

1 minute ago, Shaw66 said:

Mistakes.  There have been several comments about points left on the board, mistakes, etc.   There also have been several comments about how the Bills' margin of victory is becoming historic, and I think the two are related.   When you have an offense that can perform like this offense, and a defense that can perform like this defense, you can take more chances.   Even if you screw up, there's a good chance that the offense or the defense or both will bail you out.   So, the smart thing to do is to push the envelope and take more chances.   That necessarily will result in more mistakes.   In the face of a good pass rush, Tom Brady would fall to the ground, take the sack, move on to the next play, because minimizing mistakes was part of what made him great.   In the face of a good pass rush, like Chris Jones coming at him, Allen looks for ways to extend the play.   Does he get in trouble sometimes?   Yes, but he also makes some jaw-dropping plays that Brady only dreams about.   I think we'll always see some mistakes from this team. 

 

 

 

I'd say very few of the Bills turnovers were from the Bills taking too much risk.  Almost all of them were just bad execution on routine plays.   Allen isn't like Brett Favre type who would almost regularly throw lazer balls into triple coverage.  Josh for the most part makes the correct open read and tries to hit that man.  

[DrDawkinstein]

1 minute ago, Shaw66 said:

Yes.   I agree with Virgil, that the throw to Knox was really special.  And that throw to Diggs (two years ago, I think) was special.   What's amazing about Allen is that in Allen's world, those throws are ordinary.  They're just special for every other QB.  

 

Oh yeah, 2 years ago. Tough to keep track nowadays since we basically lost a couple years. What even is time anymore?

[Royale with Cheese]

12 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Would you feel better if you... had a cookie?

 

 

That actually would be great.

[Rico]

Agreed that the Rat has a very punchable face, the fugliest player in the league. My favorite shot of him was after Josh’s hurdle, such seething jealousy.

[ProcessYaDigg]

45 minutes ago, Virgil said:

Misc

-Can we please start using Shakir more.  I can't handle anymore McKenzie mistakes.  We aren't using him as a speed decoy anymore, so get the rookie some more reps

 

As usual, fantastic write-ups.  I couldn't agree more with this statement.  I can't recall how many times I was screaming at the TV for them to bench McKenzie and keep Shakir in the game.  Believe me, I hate saying this cuz I'm a huge McKenzie fan.  Maybe it's his personality that wins me over instead of his play.  Starting with game one against the Rams when he caused Josh's first int of the season, McKenzie just hasn't been the guy we thought he'd be.  I really hope we come out of the bye with Shakir getting more playing time, because I feel that he has earned it.

[Teddy KGB]

Those perfectly thrown sidearm passes by Mahomes are something else.  
 

These two Qb’s are elite.  

[Shaw66]

5 minutes ago, Lost said:

 

I'd say very few of the Bills turnovers were from the Bills taking too much risk.  Almost all of them were just bad execution on routine plays.   Allen isn't like Brett Favre type who would almost regularly throw lazer balls into triple coverage.  Josh for the most part makes the correct open read and tries to hit that man.  

Actually, that's a good point.  I'd say the Allen-McKenzie fumble was a risky play - I don't think we've seen it before, and it clearly was a wrinkle, not a core play.   But in general, I think you're correct.  Allen still makes the occasional Favre-like throws, throws that suggest he thinks he can do ANYTHING, but he clearly has been getting that behavior under control.   It always amazed me that Favre never learned.  

[RangerDave]

I agree that the defense has been playing lights out.  We have some excellent players and coaches.

 

They do need to work on ine thing though:  third and long plays!  Man, are they frustrating at times.

Edited October 19, 2022 by RangerDave

[L Ron Burgundy]

35 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

When you see Pickett put up 300 yards but only 3 points, and Mahomes put up 340 yards and only 20 points... I'd say we're pretty close to bend but dont break. It's will always be the case in the cover-2 shell we run. Teams can move down the field to an extent, if they are happy to take what we give them. But once we get inside the 40-30 yard line, it naturally tightens up.

Once Tre is back and at 100% I hope we get more aggressive.   We've got the personnel I think to be even better than we currently are imo.  

 

I say this knowing we're near the top on D statistically.

[DCbillsfan]

Nice writeup Virgil.  Pretty sure that was McKenzie who dropped the pass backed up against the goal line.  Would really like to see Shakir get some more playing time.  

[ChevyVanMiller]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

Being a Bills fan, I think it can be very difficult at times to find a sustained "happy place" within the season.  There's always another game on the schedule against someone that could ruin your day, a recent loss that gives you doubts about how far the team can go, or just some devastating loss due to a dumb play that lives on national tv for a week.  However, for the first time in a long time, I'm at peace as a fan and don't see that changing until after the bye week.  I'm not foolish enough to believe that Chiefs win has any impact on how we play them again in the playoffs or if we will win it all, but I am able to take comfort in the fact that we can, and SHOULD, expect this team to win every single game they play.  That we have a balanced offense, MVP quarterback, bend but don't break defense, and coaching staff that has what it takes to be the best team in the league.  And for that, I can take comfort in knowing this is going to be a very good team for long time.  We may lose some games, but it's because we found a way to lose, not because we were beaten.

 

1 - Diggs/Dorsey - While I know there are so many other things to talk about, this is something I've wanted since the start of the 2021 season.  After Diggs breakout first season, teams really started to focus on him and he wasn't as explosive or game changing for us.  I always watch players like Kupp or Jefferson and wondered why our OC can't move Diggs around like that, to create mismatches and more opportunities.  Well, this was the game for that.  Considering how the Chiefs have neutralized Diggs in the past, it was even more special to see him put up a 10 catch day and come up big, over and over.  Dorsey had Diggs in motion, the slot, stacked, and just plain everywhere.   And as you see Diggs get fed the ball, you remember more and more how special of a talent he is, because he doesn't drop anything and makes the contested catches look easy.  Add a healthy Davis on the other side of the field, and watch out.

 

2 - Milano - I've never hidden my love for Milano as my favorite player on this defense.  But I don't think I'm being a homer here when I say that he was the best overall player on the defense, and was just as responsible for the game ending pick as Von was.  I'm not trying to take away from Von as he made two HUGE plays that helped steer the Bills to victory, but Milano was playing like a man possessed.  I don't know if he broke into Josh's locker and ate some of his sugar, but Milano was absolutely flying to the ball.  He looked as fast as I've ever seen him.  There were some RB swing passes that Milano tracked from the middle of the field and brought the ball carrier down with almost no gain.  I'm talking 25-40 yards of coverage and did it with authority.  His ability to watch that last defensive play, know when to switch from spy to blitzer was perfect.  He covered the middle lane enough for Pat to hesitate, Von comes up at him, then the moment Pat is distracted by Von, Milano rushes in and helps force the quick throw to TJ.  Milano is having an all-pro season to this point and was another player who really stepped up in a big game.

 

3 - Mahomes - Before the break, I did want to take a moment and really appreciate the talent we got to witness in Patrick out there.  No matter what happens, Josh is the perfect QB for the Bills and I wouldn't change a thing, but Mahomes operates in just a very different way.  Sometimes, I think his swagger is a little arrogant and he can have a punchable face.  But he almost dances with the ball behind the line.  Where Josh is a psychopath wrecking ball, Mahomes is a graceful ballerina (no pun intended).  All of his movements, throws, and overall stature on the field looks effortless and make you think anyone could do it.  The fact that we get one half of the new Brady/Manning era is amazing, and I'm almost appreciative that the other guy is Mahomes.

 

4 - You have the choice
To hear the noise
Or hear the sweet sound
Of your sweet voice
I know I've heard it
I heard it in my sleep

 

5 - Allen - The Bills are backed up against the goal line after one, of many, great punts by the Chiefs.  Someone, I honestly can't remember who, drops a pass and it's 3rd down I think.  The camera zooms in on Josh's face and there's a look on his face that is hard to describe.  He's not panicked.  He's not frustrated.  It's confidence, but determined while also being relaxed.  For me, beyond all the throws, that was when you could see that Josh was in complete control of this game.  You knew that, if we did lose, it wasn't going to be because of Josh.  The moment wasn't too big for him, the situation wasn't too daunting....Josh was going to win this game, it just hadn't happened yet.   Now, with that being said, holy ***** that throw to Knox.  I could watch that play all day.  Sometimes, you see receivers catch the ball with their outstretched hands and think "wow, what a throw, but the receiver equally made adjustments to the pass to make it happen.   On this throw to Knox, I'd love to see the sports science of it, because that was a 1 out of 100 throw to me.  It had the absolute perfect elevation and speed to get just over the outreached fingers of a defender.  But it also has the accuracy to hit Knox just as his toes got to the sideline, around the other defender, and thud into his chest.  I could talk about how perfect the deep balls to Diggs and Davis were, which is so damn refreshing, but this Knox pass was next level.  I remember them showing a stat of him going 0-8 in a row, and then almost like he heard the announcers, proceeded to hit his next 10 (I think?).  Josh is a MVP, make no mistake about it

 

6 - Mistakes - If there's one thing that worries me for the playoffs, is us making the dumb mistakes that we can't come back from.  The defense had two horrible tackles on Juju that allowed him to look like a real receiver again and break 100 yards.  I want to say Juju had almost 75 YAC thanks to poor tackling.  You could argue that those plays made the game closer than it should've been.  Same on the McK pitch play.  I'm not going to fully blame McK, but he really needed to be more ready if that was the call.  Josh also needed to look and realize McK wasn't ready.  In any case, we missed Hyde on those tackles and were able to overcome in the end, but this is now 3 games where dumb mistakes early put us in tough situations late.  If we can clean those up, none of these games are even close.

 

7 - Von - Let's be clear, games against the Chiefs are the reason we paid Von.  With that, I'd say Von is exactly as advertised and was huge in this game.  Von was a massive part in stop the Chiefs in the 4th quarter and seemed to know the exact moment to turn it on.  I was disappointed to not see him get more help from Groot or the rest of the line, but he clearly didn't need it at times.  Additionally, some of Mahomes best plays came when Von wasn't on the field.  The lack of speed rush threat hurt us, even moreso why we need other guys to step up.  Honestly, I wouldn't care if they reduced Von's snaps down to 40% the rest of the year to keep him fresh.  We need this man in the playoffs.

 

8 - Ref - I actually appreciate being able to talk about the refs after a victory because it doesn't come off as much of an excuse.  Holy ***** were these guys terrible.  Granted, it went both ways at times, but the lack of offensive holding calls were insane.  I'm all for letting people play, but wow.  You could see defenders getting tackled, spun around, and jerseys pulled within feet of the quarterback.  The missed tripping call was impossible to comprehend.  There was another obvious facemask penalty that makes you think all the refs blinked at the same time.  The offensive PI against Kelce felt like an apology call for the Bills.  I'm incredibly worried about this trend of no holds being called, as our front 4 being able to get to the quarterback is a massive piece of our overall defense,

 

9 - Motor - When I saw that Moss was a healthy scratch, I figured it was going to be time for the Cook show.  Nope.  What a game for Motor!  I mean, this might be the most usage I've seen out of him and he did an absolute smashing job.  There was only one play where he danced a little too much behind the line and cost himself a first down.  But outside of that, Motor was used often and was incredibly effective.  No turnovers, multiple 7+ yard runs.  He hit the hole hard, fast, and dragged guys with him.  I would argue this was the perfect balance of running in our offense.  The only thing missing was a goal line drive where Motor got to punch one in.  If teams have to start respecting our rushing attack, watch out.

 

10 - McD - Don't tell me this game didn't mean more than others.  The players can say it's just the next game on the schedule all they want, but watching the locker room speech after the game was all I needed to see.  McD was as fired up as I've ever seen him and it was amazing to see.  McD has done a fantastic job this season of leveling expectations, getting his team ready, not forgetting the past, but also not letting it define the future.  Like Allen, we have the perfect coach for this team.  He has the perfect coordinators and built a culture that's unparalleled in the NFL.  This could finally be his year to win Coach of the Year.  

 

Misc

-Can we please start using Shakir more.  I can't handle anymore McKenzie mistakes.  We aren't using him as a speed decoy anymore, so get the rookie some more reps

-Considering how well we shut down Mark Andrews, I wonder if there was a different plan for Kelce as he seemed to be left wide open a little too much.

-If that interception by Elam is a flash of things to come, get ready....

-Congrats to Knox on a moment that I'm sure meant a lot to him

-Is anyone more underappreciated on this team than TJ?  Dude just makes plays in the biggest moment of the biggest games.  

 

Enjoy the bye week everyone!  Go Bills!!!!!

Great piece, @Virgil. 
 

Two thoughts that I would like to add: another player that is greatly under appreciated is DaQuan Jones. He gets penetration on almost every play and ties up at least two players in the middle of the field giving plenty of space for Von, Groot, Shaq and company to make plays.

 

Von Miller has been a complete home run signing. If we had only gotten his play on the field that would have been enough. But every time I hear him interviewed his astute knowledge of the history of the game and his evolution as a senior player who understands the mental aspect of football is amazing. His “Don’t blink“ mantra has permeated the entire team. Even the head coach is quoting it in his press conferences. When we finally win a Super Bowl, Von Miller will be a huge reason for it, both for his on and off field personas.

Edited October 19, 2022 by ChevyVanMiller