Yes I know injuries on Defense... But they've been bad the last two weeks....

[DabillsDaBillsDaBills]

27 minutes ago, Bleeding Bills Blue said:

 

They were 5-13 on 3rd downs.  2/2 on 4ths. 

 

The game was 14-3 and they had the long drive to bring it back to 14-10.  Buffalo screwed up a chance to go up 7 there by not using their last timeout to really exploit the middle of the field (or to use the sidelines to stop the clock and get some free yards. 

 

They then had a decent drive aided by poor officiating a fake punt, and buffalo still stopped them when it counted.  Allen just gave it right back.  Now down 17-14 offense drove down for 3, and we immediately got a 3 and out.  With 12 and change left we got to midfield and just blew it.  You need to put pressure on the other team there.  Even so - Buffalo gave up 77 yards rushing on the last drive and still got a stop somehow and gave the offense one last chance. 

 

Before that last drive they had under 100 yards rushing and under 150 yards net passing.  If Buffalo scores on the first possession, or at the half, or when the game was tied... they win.  I don't care if they move up the field and kick field goals - we should beat a team that does that. 

 

In a tie game the Bills offense punting with 8 minutes left from mid-field is "blowing it", but the defense giving up an 84 yard 6 minute FG drive (including all 3 Bills timeouts and 2 minute warning) is "getting a stop and giving the offense another chance" ? 

 

Bills played pretty poorly on both sides of the ball. I don't know why people are bending over backwards to forgive the defense. 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

1 hour ago, DabillsDaBillsDaBills said:

 

In a tie game the Bills offense punting with 8 minutes left from mid-field is "blowing it", but the defense giving up an 84 yard 6 minute FG drive (including all 3 Bills timeouts and 2 minute warning) is "getting a stop and giving the offense another chance" ? 

 

Bills played pretty poorly on both sides of the ball. I don't know why people are bending over backwards to forgive the defense. 

 

The defense had one possession and gave up 3 points.  The offense had 2 possessions and scored 0 points.  

 

The defense didn't play well but to act as though they're the reason we lost is not really accurate. 

[SoCal Deek]

You get the ball to your MVP QB with two minutes to play and down by only three points there’s a clear expectation that he’ll get you into position for at least a look at a game tying field goal. It didn’t happen. 

[Airseven]

Poyer and Hyde out is absolutely killer. Season shifted right there. Hopefully Milano's annual injury is over and done with. The fact Epenesa and Basham remain zeroes isn't helping either.

[Alphadawg7]

23 hours ago, Billsfan1972 said:

At least 6 quarters.  Enough about points allowed, the opposition is moving the ball easily, which keeps the offense on the sidelines.

 

Pickett a rookie had over 300 yards passing (yes a blowout, but nonetheless).  Gashed by the run the last 6 quarters.

 

No way should they allow have allowed Zach Wilson 72% completion % and the Jets to control TOP.

 

Why over exaggerate?  Here are the facts:

• #1 Seed in the AFC - And 2 missed FG's by Bass in games we were decimated by injuries keeping us from probably being 8-0
• #1 scoring Defense in the NFL and by a wide margin of over 2 points per game to the next closest team
• #4 Defense in yards allowed
• #6th in rushing yards allowed

The D wasn't bad against the Packers, we gave up 17 points in a game our offense couldn't stay on the field in the 2nd half.  We played to stop the pass with a large multiple score lead in the 2nd half which opened up some rush opportunities which gave small plays and ate time.  We won by 2 scores still.  

 

Against the Jets, the D was missing 2 main anchors in Poyer and Milano, to go with already missing Tre and Hyde and then we had injuries during the game to guys who started the game like Elam and then of course Groot.  

 

And yet we still only gave up 20 points.  The issue was not the defense, it was the offenses inability to sustain drives and get anything going in the 2nd half.  Our D, already severely short handed, couldn't get off the field and gave Jets more opportunities to play ball control and wear down the defense further.  

 

So all this panic everyone has is completely lacking the context of the past two games.  I don't think people realize how close we are to being 8-0.  It took some rare and extreme circumstances to lose the Miami game even though we completely dominated that game by every measurable standard.  And then the Jets game, they made their long FG attempt, and we missed ours.  Not to mention the absolute dime Josh dropped on Davis on last pass of the game he flat out dropped and bounced off his face.  

 

When we were healthy, we were annihilating teams most week and went into KC and beat them again.  They guys we have been missing on D are not guys backups can just plug in and play up to their level...they are amongst the best at their positions in the league with guys like Milano, Hyde, Poyer, and Tre.  Not to mention our young talent has missed time too.  

 

Now we got an elbow situation to monitor with Josh which is the scariest of all the injury situations and just hope it doesn't get worse if he tries to play through it.  

 

Just get healthy for the playoffs.  We can do that, we will be the scariest team in either conference come playoff time.  

[Billsfan1972]

18 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

Why over exaggerate?  Here are the facts:

• #1 Seed in the AFC - And 2 missed FG's by Bass in games we were decimated by injuries keeping us from probably being 8-0
• #1 scoring Defense in the NFL and by a wide margin of over 2 points per game to the next closest team
• #4 Defense in yards allowed
• #6th in rushing yards allowed

The D wasn't bad against the Packers, we gave up 17 points in a game our offense couldn't stay on the field in the 2nd half.  We played to stop the pass with a large multiple score lead in the 2nd half which opened up some rush opportunities which gave small plays and ate time.  We won by 2 scores still.  

 

Against the Jets, the D was missing 2 main anchors in Poyer and Milano, to go with already missing Tre and Hyde and then we had injuries during the game to guys who started the game like Elam and then of course Groot.  

 

And yet we still only gave up 20 points.  The issue was not the defense, it was the offenses inability to sustain drives and get anything going in the 2nd half.  Our D, already severely short handed, couldn't get off the field and gave Jets more opportunities to play ball control and wear down the defense further.  

 

So all this panic everyone has is completely lacking the context of the past two games.  I don't think people realize how close we are to being 8-0.  It took some rare and extreme circumstances to lose the Miami game even though we completely dominated that game by every measurable standard.  And then the Jets game, they made their long FG attempt, and we missed ours.  Not to mention the absolute dime Josh dropped on Davis on last pass of the game he flat out dropped and bounced off his face.  

 

When we were healthy, we were annihilating teams most week and went into KC and beat them again.  They guys we have been missing on D are not guys backups can just plug in and play up to their level...they are amongst the best at their positions in the league with guys like Milano, Hyde, Poyer, and Tre.  Not to mention our young talent has missed time too.  

 

Now we got an elbow situation to monitor with Josh which is the scariest of all the injury situations and just hope it doesn't get worse if he tries to play through it.  

 

Just get healthy for the playoffs.  We can do that, we will be the scariest team in either conference come playoff time.  

Not disagreeing, but the Defense was not good vs. the Jets is my point.  Yes they allowed only 20 points but allowed Wilson & the Jets to control the ball & clock, which I'm convinced is the reason for Allen's second pick after sitting on the sideline for a 9 minute drive.

 

BTW you forgot to mention the phantom hold on fist down (finally watched the replay and absolutely no hold) and Diggs caught the ball inside the 50.

 

 

[Alphadawg7]

37 minutes ago, Billsfan1972 said:

Not disagreeing, but the Defense was not good vs. the Jets is my point.  Yes they allowed only 20 points but allowed Wilson & the Jets to control the ball & clock, which I'm convinced is the reason for Allen's second pick after sitting on the sideline for a 9 minute drive.

 

BTW you forgot to mention the phantom hold on fist down (finally watched the replay and absolutely no hold) and Diggs caught the ball inside the 50.

 

 

 

I agree on the first down.  My only point though was the offense was sputtering which kept putting our very short handed defense back on the field.  So I think the defense is fine, it was just getting worn down by being on the field a lot and missing 4 guys amongst the best in the NFL at their positions and two young starters we lost for parts of the game in Groot in Elam.  

 

I am not overly concerned moving forward, we are still the best team in the league in points allowed by a wide margin.  We just for the first time this year didn't get the offense going and score over 20 points ourselves.  

[Alphadawg7]

1 hour ago, SoCal Deek said:

You get the ball to your MVP QB with two minutes to play and down by only three points there’s a clear expectation that he’ll get you into position for at least a look at a game tying field goal. It didn’t happen. 

 

Not Josh's fault on that though...phantom holding penalty overturning a great throw to Diggs then Davis dropped an absolute monster dime on a 70 yard bomb that no only is a gimme FG from there, but they had a shot at the endzone still to win the game too if Davis catches that instead of bouncing it off his face.  

 

I think I was more sick about that drop than I was on the Hopkins hailmary loss.  To see our injured QB make that throw while rolling out to his left was mind blowing.  Then to see Davis drop it was sickening.  

 

Reminded me when Josh got that impossible ball to Charles Clay and he couldn't make the catch against Miami and we lost that game.  Except this throw was a dime, but both should have been caught and Josh should have 2 more wins on his resume.  

[SoCal Deek]

24 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

Not Josh's fault on that though...phantom holding penalty overturning a great throw to Diggs then Davis dropped an absolute monster dime on a 70 yard bomb that no only is a gimme FG from there, but they had a shot at the endzone still to win the game too if Davis catches that instead of bouncing it off his face.  

 

I think I was more sick about that drop than I was on the Hopkins hailmary loss.  To see our injured QB make that throw while rolling out to his left was mind blowing.  Then to see Davis drop it was sickening.  

 

Reminded me when Josh got that impossible ball to Charles Clay and he couldn't make the catch against Miami and we lost that game.  Except this throw was a dime, but both should have been caught and Josh should have 2 more wins on his resume.  

All true, but I didn’t like the strategy. Just pick up a couple of quick first downs, move the chains and kick the field goal. Assuming you’re in field goal range and there’s still time, take a single shot for the win.  While it’s of course not ALL on Josh, he’s the one getting the big bucks to win these games in the clutch. Watching Brady carve up the Rams bit by bit, to get his team across the finish line on the final drive Sunday was frustrating as a Bills fan, but is the standard of what’s expected. 

[Alphadawg7]

23 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

All true, but I didn’t like the strategy. Just pick up a couple of quick first downs, move the chains and kick the field goal. Assuming you’re in field goal range and there’s still time, take a single shot for the win.  While it’s of course not ALL on Josh, he’s the one getting the big bucks to win these games in the clutch. Watching Brady carve up the Rams bit by bit, to get his team across the finish line on the final drive Sunday was frustrating as a Bills fan, but is the standard of what’s expected. 

I’m just saying Josh hit Diggs, then OL holding penalty over turned it.  Josh hit Davis 70 yards down field he let it bounce off his face.  
 

Josh made the plays on that last drive, his teammates let him down on that drive was just my only point.  

[SoCal Deek]

11 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

I’m just saying Josh hit Diggs, then OL holding penalty over turned it.  Josh hit Davis 70 yards down field he let it bounce off his face.  
 

Josh made the plays on that last drive, his teammates let him down on that drive was just my only point.  

Again we agree. My problem was the plays in between the holding penalty and the long bomb. It was still 1st down after the holding penalty. Pick up the yards and move the chains. Really unfortunate ending. 

[UKBillFan]

It feels like blame has to be apportioned anywhere to keep it away from Josh. He was largely at fault for Sunday and, credit to him. he owned it.

 

I've said it before but for the first touchdown drive, the defense got off the field only for Specials Team to mess up.

For the second touchdown, Josh threw an interception which gave them good field position.

Basically our defense was at solely at fault for six points. I think that's fine.

[Albwan]

I dunno but I feel this season slipping away

[Nextmanup]

On 11/8/2022 at 3:16 PM, Billsfan1972 said:

At least 6 quarters.  Enough about points allowed, the opposition is moving the ball easily, which keeps the offense on the sidelines.

 

Pickett a rookie had over 300 yards passing (yes a blowout, but nonetheless).  Gashed by the run the last 6 quarters.

 

No way should they allow have allowed Zach Wilson 72% completion % and the Jets to control TOP.

If you look historically at TOS, you'll se that its' really not that important or a reliable indicator of who wins the game.

 

It's just one of those things that fans talk about over and over like home field advantage, trap games, and so on.

 

There hasn't been a home field advantage in the NFL the last 3 years; trap games don't exist; there's no data to support the concept, etc.

 

I agree we have been gashed on the ground though!  

 

If Josh had had a normal game (and not a terrible one) we would have won, regardless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BuffaloBillsGospel2014]

On 11/8/2022 at 3:16 PM, Billsfan1972 said:

At least 6 quarters.  Enough about points allowed, the opposition is moving the ball easily, which keeps the offense on the sidelines.

 

Pickett a rookie had over 300 yards passing (yes a blowout, but nonetheless).  Gashed by the run the last 6 quarters.

 

No way should they allow have allowed Zach Wilson 72% completion % and the Jets to control TOP.

 

Ed Oliver, Jordan Poyer, Matt Milano, Groot hurt towards the 2nd quarter there, That is alot to overcome for any team, yes it should be next man up but the next man up is not as good as our top players unfortunately.

[UKBillFan]

8 minutes ago, BuffaloBillsGospel2014 said:

 

Ed Oliver, Jordan Poyer, Matt Milano, Groot hurt towards the 2nd quarter there, That is alot to overcome for any team, yes it should be next man up but the next man up is not as good as our top players unfortunately.

 

If one side of the team has issues then it's up to the other side of the team to pick it up. We barely had any issues on offense and our defense had issues. Our defense needed our offense to step up and help them out.

[Billsfan1972]

1 hour ago, SoCal Deek said:

Again we agree. My problem was the plays in between the holding penalty and the long bomb. It was still 1st down after the holding penalty. Pick up the yards and move the chains. Really unfortunate ending. 

They picked up 18 yards on first & 20 and then imploded.

[SoCal Deek]

30 minutes ago, Billsfan1972 said:

They picked up 18 yards on first & 20 and then imploded.

You’ve got to be able to close. As they say, it’s hard to win in the NFL. The Bills have to get over this close-game hump if they want to reach their ultimate goal. There’s no two ways around it. 

[AllenDaBomb]

The game of football is not played in a vacuum. How the defense performs affects the offense and vice versa. 

 

Personally, I think the injuries are finally starting to take their toll and opposing teams are apt to game plan around positions we lack depth and/or have inexperience. 

[TFBillsfan]

The Bills have a good defense but not dominant. Injuries just continue to come at this team on a weekly basis and it’s very concerning. The Bills have invested heavily in the D line and rarely these past few weeks have they been imposing their will. 
 

Agree that the offense though is the primary cause for concern. EVERY game they have made self inflicted mistakes that have taken points off the board in thevRZ or given opponents the ball with a turnover inside the their own 20. MIA, BALT, KC, NYJ all had easy TD’s due to turnovers. You can’t continue to play that way and expect it not to bite you. The Bills are capable if healthy and play to their potential of winning it all but they have been consistently sloppy and undisciplined with protecting the ball this year. Sure we’re happy with 6-2 but we all know this team should be 8-0!!!!!!