The Ripoff Report: The Good, the Bad and the Irritating

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

Well that certainly was a game. It is the one that I've enjoyed the most in a month, but even that couldn't be clean. There was so much that I had to rattle off first impressions

 

The Good

• This was the gameplan that TBD members have been calling for. Josh was allowed to run in brief spots. They played with tempo. They had rhythm for the first time in a month. Wrinkles will be needed, but I think we have the general formula. 
• 1st TD for Dalton Kincaid! Today was the coming out party and he's earned it. He looked every bit what we hoped for in the offseason. We've needed a safety valve, and I think he looks the part once the Bills allowed him to be.
• Sam Martin. While I didn't love all the times the Bills punted away, Martin made it a smart call. 3 punts within the 10, 2 punts within the 5, and the last one should have been at the 2. I prefer not having him be a player of interest, but he's doing good work.
• Shakir looks like a viable #4 WR these last few weeks. It's good to know, if the Bills get David walk.
• Terrel Bernard was all over the field. While losing Milano is devastating, I was legitimately calling MLB our defensive position of weakness before the season started and Bernard is playing at a Pro Bowl level right now.

 

The Bad

• I need someone to run some analytics about out efficiency running out of shotgun. Because whenever I notice that we've done so, it's been a catastrophe. I'll give Dorsey flowers overall, but there was no reason not to tush push Josh at the goal line. If you worried about his health, hand it off to Harris, but don't make the distance longer.

 

 

The Irritating

• Once again, the refs seems to be the MVP of a game. I saw something like 20 penalties called, and a bunch were backbreakers. To me, the second drive extending 4th down penalty is inexcusable. Phillps has Mayfield, a QB who has shown that he will throw the ball away in the process of being sacked and have magic happen, wrapped up. Mayfield is being driven backwards. Forward progress has stopped. The play isn't blown dead. Phillips can either smash a defenseless QB, let him make a play or do his best to wrap him up. He chose 3, and had incidental facemask contact making the tackle. It had no effect on the play. It certainly had no effect on reversing a 4th and long and turning it into a 1st and 10. Again. Tonight is the 1st night in many years when the refs lost a game.
• Our time management. Why are we calling timeouts at the worst spots?
• My stream resolution was... To compare it to a virus filled pirate stream is an insult to the pirates 

Edited October 27, 2023 by WhitewalkerInPhilly

[Fixxxer]

The Irritating: the ball bouncing Tampa Bay's way, thankfully, nobody could find the ball in the dark sky in that hail mary pass

                       

                        

The Bad: tackling at times was atrocious. 

[PatsFanNH]

The 4th down call may be irritating  but it was TECHNICALLY the correct call.  Another game with way way to many flags.

 

Weird how the O is in Rhythm now but scored less points than last week. IMO the D played much better last night against a better O with definitely better WR.

 

 

[BuffaloBillyG]

1 hour ago, WhitewalkerInPhilly said:

Well that certainly was a game. It is the one that I've enjoyed the most in a month, but even that couldn't be clean. There was so much that I had to rattle off first impressions

 

The Good

• This was the gameplan that TBD members have been calling for. Josh was allowed to run in brief spots. They played with tempo. They had rhythm for the first time in a month. Wrinkles will be needed, but I think we have the general formula. 
• 1st TD for Dalton Kincaid! Today was the coming out party and he's earned it. He looked every bit what we hoped for in the offseason. We've needed a safety valve, and I think he looks the part once the Bills allowed him to be.
• Sam Martin. While I didn't love all the times the Bills punted away, Martin made it a smart call. 3 punts within the 10, 2 punts within the 5, and the last one should have been at the 2. I prefer not having him be a player of interest, but he's doing good work.
• Shakir looks like a viable #4 WR these last few weeks. It's good to know, if the Bills get David walk.
• Terrel Bernard was all over the field. While losing Milano is devastating, I was legitimately calling MLB our defensive position of weakness before the season started and Bernard is playing at a Pro Bowl level right now.

 

The Bad

• I need someone to run some analytics about out efficiency running out of shotgun. Because whenever I notice that we've done so, it's been a catastrophe. I'll give Dorsey flowers overall, but there was no reason not to tush push Josh at the goal line. If you worried about his health, hand it off to Harris, but don't make the distance longer.

 

 

The Irritating

• Once again, the refs seems to be the MVP of a game. I saw something like 20 penalties called, and a bunch were backbreakers. To me, the second drive extending 4th down penalty is inexcusable. Phillps has Mayfield, a QB who has shown that he will throw the ball away in the process of being sacked and have magic happen, wrapped up. Mayfield is being driven backwards. Forward progress has stopped. The play isn't blown dead. Phillips can either smash a defenseless QB, let him make a play or do his best to wrap him up. He chose 3, and had incidental facemask contact making the tackle. It had no effect on the play. It certainly had no effect on reversing a 4th and long and turning it into a 1st and 10. Again. Tonight is the 1st night in many years when the refs lost a game.
• Our time management. Why are we calling timeouts at the worst spots?
• My stream resolution was... To compare it to a virus filled pirate stream is an insult to the pirates 

In retrospect, there may have been a reason not to "tush push". Not sure if jamming Josh into that pile is a smart move with the shoulder bothering him. As a matter of fact, that's pretty reckless IMO depending on the severity. No reason for him to take those extra hits.

 

Being Harris is on IR I would assume you meant Murray getting that carry instead. They did hand it to him a few times inside the 5 at times and had no success with it. 

 

I would agree, though shotgun is rarely the formation Id use at the goal line. Maybe on a second down or something to spread it out and attempt a QB draw. But they need to use the next 10 days and figure out how to pinch it in when close. It's becoming a tad ridiculous at this point.

[Drew21PA]

11 minutes ago, PatsFanNH said:

The 4th down call may be irritating  but it was TECHNICALLY the correct call.  Another game with way way to many flags.

 

Weird how the O is in Rhythm now but scored less points than last week. IMO the D played much better last night against a better O with definitely better WR.

 

 

I think that’s an irritant for me

 

tes up 14 but still our coaches don’t go for a dagger to the heart drive

 

go up 31-10 it’s way over

 

instead?  They go conservative and punt 

[nucci]

22 minutes ago, PatsFanNH said:

The 4th down call may be irritating  but it was TECHNICALLY the correct call.  Another game with way way to many flags.

 

Weird how the O is in Rhythm now but scored less points than last week. IMO the D played much better last night against a better O with definitely better WR.

 

 

what was technical about it?

[PatsFanNH]

Just now, nucci said:

what was technical about it?

The face masks hit (you even said that) technically that makes it a penalty.  Helmet to helmet contact will always be called especially when a QB is involved. Annoying maybe but it’s always gonna be called. 

[Goin Breakdown]

55 minutes ago, PatsFanNH said:

The 4th down call may be irritating  but it was TECHNICALLY the correct call.  Another game with way way to many flags.

 

Weird how the O is in Rhythm now but scored less points than last week. IMO the D played much better last night against a better O with definitely better WR.

 

 

I think with the rythmn, McD choosing to punt slowed them down in the second half. If that was KC or Miami, I would hope that they go for those 4th and 2s in plus territory. BUT the Bills play down to competition and get conservative and let the other teams back into it. We punt the ball away just to let them drive right back to where we punted from. Why not just go for it and put the game away?

[PatsFanNH]

2 minutes ago, Goin Breakdown said:

I think with the rythmn, McD choosing to punt slowed them down in the second half. If that was KC or Miami, I would hope that they go for those 4th and 2s in plus territory. BUT the Bills play down to competition and get conservative and let the other teams back into it. We punt the ball away just to let them drive right back to where we punted from. Why not just go for it and put the game away?

Actually I think it be scarier to do it against a Mahomes led team. Miss it and I can almost guarantee he gets a TD.

[Dan Darragh]

2 hours ago, WhitewalkerInPhilly said:

It's good to know, if the Bills get David walk.

Is he available?  Can we get him for a late rounder?

[dorquemada]

All this Henry talk leading up to the game, i'd have liked him in Q4 to get a first down.  Cook played an amazing game, and the OL opened some holes but Cook isn't going to move a pile like Henry does

[BuffaloRebound]

7 minutes ago, dorquemada said:

All this Henry talk leading up to the game, i'd have liked him in Q4 to get a first down.  Cook played an amazing game, and the OL opened some holes but Cook isn't going to move a pile like Henry does

Agreed but you don’t think you need Henry to do that.  Harris needs to be replaced if he ain’t coming back soon.  Replacing dodson and Phillips/Ford/Settle probably more pressing 

[Wraith]

1 hour ago, Fixxxer said:

The Irritating: the ball bouncing Tampa Bay's way.

Think how much random good luck Tampa Bay had last night in order to keep that game close:

 

• Mayfield had at least 5 tipped/batted passes. None of them get intercepted and two of them go for scores (TD to off Benford's helmet, 2-point conversion tipped by Phillips). Meanwhile Allen is basically flawless with his passing all night except for one pass that gets tipped in the air directly to a defensive lineman.
• Tampa Bay fumbled twice and recovered them both.
• The facemask on Phillips on 4th down was bad luck. The play should've been blown dead already. I agree it looked like Phillips was trying to find a way to tackle Mayfield that wouldn't results in a roughing the passer penalty.
• The illegal contact penalty on Johnson on the prior 4thd down was a terrible call. Johnson made contact at the line of scrimmage and just ran side-by-side with him afterwards. It was a terrible call in a vacuum and even worse given the context of the game.

[sunshynman]

2 minutes ago, Wraith said:

• The illegal contact penalty on Johnson on the prior 4thd down was a terrible call. Johnson made contact at the line of scrimmage and just ran side-by-side with him afterwards. It was a terrible call in a vacuum and even worse given the context of the game.

It was awful! You could call that on any given play! They were grabbing Diggs all the way down the field and we didn't get a call. Johson had a push at the line and then just covered. It was in no way illegal contact!

[Trogdor]

Just now, Wraith said:

Think how much random good luck Tampa Bay had last night in order to keep that game close:

 

• Mayfield had at least 5 tipped/batted passes. None of them get intercepted and two of them go for scores (TD to off Benford's helmet, 2-point conversion tipped by Phillips). Meanwhile Allen is basically flawless with his passing all night except for one pass that gets tipped in the air directly to a defensive lineman.
• Tampa Bay fumbled twice and recovered them both.
• The facemask on Phillips on 4th down was bad luck. The play should've been blown dead already. I agree it looked like Phillips was trying to find a way to tackle Mayfield that wouldn't results in a roughing the passer penalty.
• The illegal contact penalty on Johnson on the prior 4thd down was a terrible call. Johnson made contact at the line of scrimmage and just ran side-by-side with him afterwards. It was a terrible call in a vacuum and even worse given the context of the game.

He threw it directly into a db about a foot shorter than him lol. I think tipped doesn't accurately describe how bad it was. He is both the problem and the solution in games like these. Overall though I think we see how much better he is when the clock isn't under 10 every play. 

1 minute ago, sunshynman said:

It was awful! You could call that on any given play! They were grabbing Diggs all the way down the field and we didn't get a call. Johson had a push at the line and then just covered. It was in no way illegal contact!

The last td was a straight arm push off of Benford that should be OPI. 

[dorquemada]

21 minutes ago, BuffaloRebound said:

Agreed but you don’t think you need Henry to do that.  Harris needs to be replaced if he ain’t coming back soon.  Replacing dodson and Phillips/Ford/Settle probably more pressing 

 

yeah agreed, fill the 1T and LB holes first, but if there's a way to rent Henry for the rest of the season it would be huge

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

38 minutes ago, Dan Darragh said:

Is he available?  Can we get him for a late rounder?

Thank you autocorrect.

 

Davis. I don't care if Davis leaves in free agency

 

 

[Trogdor]

2 hours ago, WhitewalkerInPhilly said:

Thank you autocorrect.

 

Davis. I don't care if Davis leaves in free agency

 

 

Davis can still be dangerous in middle distances over the middle and deep routes. He also blocks well, but he shouldn't be getting top pay. Who knows though, he could go perform like Robert Woods somewhere else if they use him in that role. 

[Big Turk]

Notice how Allen running early forced the LB to come up to the LOS to try and stop Allen on the Kincaid TD pass whereas in previous weeks teams have been largely ignoring that and sinking back into coverage because Allen hasn't been doing that hardly at all?

 

Exactly as I thought...him running opens up huge throwing lanes later in the game that have been shut when he has been doing his best Justin Herbert impression the last 3 weeks.

[Bruffalo]

2 hours ago, WhitewalkerInPhilly said:

Thank you autocorrect.

 

Davis. I don't care if Davis leaves in free agency

 

 

You can't pay him like a #2 WR. He's like Edmunds, he'll probably get a contract that we can't match and honestly that's okay. He's a good player but I truly think he's elevated by just how good Allen is. 

 

I'd like to replace him with a high draft pick if possible. 

 

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

16 minutes ago, Trogdor said:

Davis can still be dangerous in middle distances over the middle and deep routes. He also blocks well, but he shouldn't be getting top pay. Who knows though, he could go perform like Robert Woods somewhere else if they use him in that role. 

I don't hate him, but #2 we get stupid amounts of money thrown at them. I would not get in a bidding war

7 minutes ago, Bruffalo said:

You can't pay him like a #2 WR. He's like Edmunds, he'll probably get a contract that we can't match and honestly that's okay. He's a good player but I truly think he's elevated by just how good Allen is. 

 

I'd like to replace him with a high draft pick if possible. 

 

Precisely. He's a fantastic #4, and has been passable #2.

 

We need an upgrade not break the bank to keep him

[Sestak4ever]

2 hours ago, sunshynman said:

It was awful! You could call that on any given play! They were grabbing Diggs all the way down the field and we didn't get a call. Johson had a push at the line and then just covered. It was in no way illegal contact!

100% agree. Diggs was constantly getting mauled with no call. It looked to me like our defensive linemen were being tackled play after play. I also thought the ball placement on multiple plays was way off, including the shuttle pass to Kincaid at the goaline. That ball should have been inches from the goaline. Some of Cooks runs were poor placements also.

[Trogdor]

Just now, WhitewalkerInPhilly said:

I don't hate him, but #2 we get stupid amounts of money thrown at them. I would not get in a bidding war

I don't think they could even if they want to. They are stuck in so many bad contracts after all that ***** they talked about the Whaley regime. I really hoped they would've sold out a few years ago, but alas, here we are. 

[Dubie54]

It seems to me we blitzed less than we did in NE and covered the middle of the field a lot better. The downside was that Baker had time to throw.

 

We did a great job on Evans (at least based on his stats) and I don't know why he wasn't targeted more. A few of the replays showed Benford doing a great job on him so maybe that was the reason for not trying to get him the ball more. 

 

Taron Johnson holds virtually every play when the TE runs a crossing route. Who the hell is going to cover Kelsey?

 

 

[BADOLBILZ]

 

"Accidental face mask contact"?    Phillips grabbed on and yanked him to the ground by it.    That is going to get called every time.    Phillips just sucks dude.   Don't ruin a post of solid takes with a nonsensical homerism.    The refs were typical........they made a lot of the usual simp calls for the team down 2 scores in the second half.   That's the way it usually goes but the Phillips penalty was egregious stupidity by a player who is a master of it.