THE ROCKPILE REVIEW – Reflections on the Conference Championship Games

[Shaw66]

The Bills didn’t make it to the conference championship game this season – fell short by a field goal on the scoreboard, by a little more in the actual game.  Having watched the Chiefs beat the Ravens and the 49ers beat the Lions, I have a few thoughts about why the Bills weren’t quite good enough.

 

Defense wins championships.  It’s an old adage, but it’s repeated every season because it’s true.  Explosive, high scoring offenses thrive in September, but in January it’s about the defense.  There are several reasons for this phenomenon.  One is that everything’s new in September, so the defenses are at a disadvantage when the Dolphins come at you with two flashy wideouts and fancy new schemes.  Everyone’s healthy.  The high-flying offenses have an edge.  When the end of the season rolls around, defensive coaches have had three months to figure out how the big-time offenses work and how to stop them.  Plus, offenses usually have lost a skill player or two to injury, and everyone’s banged up.  They just aren’t quite as fast as they were in September.  The offensive edge has been dulled, if not neutralized altogether.

 

In January, the officials let everyone play.  Less offensive holding is called, it’s true, but what’s more important is that less defensive holding and pass interference is called.  Receivers are getting held up and, yes, held at the line of scrimmage.  Cover guys are hanging all over receivers, but the flags don’t come out of the pockets.  It’s better that way, there’s more flow to the game, but it’s an advantage to the defense.  Receivers have to make plays, instead of just catching cupcakes.

 

What did we see from defenses late this season?   The Bills defense shut down the Dolphins in what was essentially a playoff game.  The Chiefs did it again the following weekend.  Then in the conference championship games, the two high-flying offenses, the Lions and the Ravens, lost to the two methodical offenses.  The Lions looked great early against the 49ers, but in the second half, they went nowhere.  In the meantime, the slow but steady 49er offense took control.  The Chiefs, who have an outstanding defense, the defense that slowed the Bills down just enough the week before, locked down the Ravens.  The speed and quickness of the Ravens that absolutely blitzed teams all season suddenly stumbled as running lanes shrunk and receivers had defenders hanging on them. 

 

On offense, be good at everything.  The way to counter great playoff defense is to be able to do everything, because great defenses are not going to let the offense do what it wants to do.  When the defense takes away what you do best, and what you do second best, and even what you do third best, you have to have a fourth and a fifth option.  Mahomes’ fourth down conversion with a miracle catch by Kelce was not one of their go-to plays. 

 

The 49ers are the quintessential we-can-do-everything team.  They can attack every part of the field with quality playmakers, and their offense is designed to do it.  The Chiefs don’t have the same quality playmakers, but they play the same style.  Both offenses succeed because they are prepared to attack anywhere downfield where the defense is thin.  And, by the way, both have genius-level offensive coaching.

 

The Lions have that kind of offense, too, and as their defense improves they will be a force.  For this season, however, I think the moment got a little too big for them.  Going for it on fourth down in the third quarter probably was a mistake – take the points and force the 49ers to play with a long field.  The offense needed to deliver in a high-pressure situation, and it didn’t.  Giving the 49ers the short field put the defense under even more pressure, unlike anything they’d faced before – the price of failure wasn’t just a game, it was a trip to the Super Bowl. 

 

The Ravens had, and have, a different problem, the same problem they’ve always had – Lamar Jackson.  The problem with Lamar Jackson is that his talent is so special that the only way to take advantage of it is to shape the offense around his skills.  When he dictates the shape of the offense, by definition it is not a do-everything offense.  It can’t be.  The Ravens did a great job of upgrading their pass-receiving threats, coming at their opponents with amazing speed and elusiveness, but it didn’t matter.  In the end, they were the same old Ravens: neutralize Jackson and force him to run a multi-faceted offense and they’re in trouble.  When the time came to deliver the touchdown they needed, Jackson threw the game-ending interception into triple coverage because the Ravens and Jackson don’t know how to take what the defense gives them.  They can’t be a multi-faceted offense because the team is focused on one style – lightning speed from everyone, including the quarterback.  The truth is that Jackson is not the most valuable player; he’s the most exciting player, the most entertaining player.  Lamar is Michael before Phil Jackson figured out how to deploy that extraordinary talent in a team offense. 

 

What does that say about the Bills?  Well, obviously, the Bills didn’t have a defense good enough to win a championship this season.  We never will know if losing Milano and Bernard is explanation enough.  It’s almost certainly true that the Bills wouldn’t have been gashed by so many explosive plays by the Chiefs with Milano and Bernard playing.  Would it have been enough to make a difference?  Hard to say. 

 

One problem with the Bills defense is that they work so hard to have eight, or even nine, defensive linemen who can support their rotation that they neglect having the true difference maker on the defensive line.  Greg Rousseau isn’t a Bosa or a Watt or a Hutchinson.  Von Miller is more of a specialist, a difference maker of sorts, and he might have made a difference had he been able to return to form this season.  For me, the quintessential difference maker is Chris Jones – he was there on the critical play against the Bills, he was present against the Ravens, he just always seems make plays.  Does Ed Oliver have still another gear?

 

Offensively, the Bills can be good at anything.  They need to be a little better at everything, but they’re on the right track.  They could use a better #2 running back.  They will need to improve at wideout – they weren’t bad last season, but Davis likely will be gone, and they’ll need some talent upgrade.  It’s interesting to look at the receivers the Chiefs and 49ers deploy – neither team has a stud #1 wideout, but they always have one or two good tight ends and two or three talented wideouts on the field – weapons who don’t necessarily demand double teams but who will hurt you often enough when they’re left one on one.  (Samuels is great, of course, but not because he's a classic #1 like Hill or Chase or Jefferson, but because of his run-after-catch skills.)  Diggs is a #1.5, but he needs a guy like an Ayuk, a guy who just hurts the defense from time to time because he’s like Diggs – good speed, good route running, reliable hands.  

 

Allen showed this year that he is NOT Lamar Jackson.  The offense doesn’t have to be built around him; he is very good at running a varied, multi-faceted offense.  He knows how to make the decisions, he can make all the throws (another Jackson liability), and he plays within himself.  His running is a special added feature to the offense, but not a feature that must be the focus of the offense. 

 

What the Bills lack in January is the thing that McDermott has preached from day one but hasn’t been able to deliver: the mental toughness throughout the roster to win.  The Chiefs have it, and that’s why they’ve beaten the Bills regularly in the playoffs.  The Lions don’t have it, but that was to be expected, because this was their first rodeo.  The Bills improved in that regard this season – the winning streak at the end of the season showed that McDermott is doing something right, but they didn’t get all the way there.  Dawkins gave Jones one step too many, Bass wasn’t ready for the bright lights, Diggs and Cook had big drops (compare to Kelce’s miracle catch), and not enough guys stepped up on defense.  The Bills were tough, and they went about as far as they should have gone, but they need to take another step. 

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were every-day people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

[LABILLBACKER]

What's the point of rotating 8 or 10 fresh Dlineman if none of them can get home?  I still feel this is an offensive league. Neither SF or Detroit stopped each other. Last years SB was extremely high scoring.  Coaching still matters and Spags/ Reid outclassed McD as usual. Obviously injuries were devastating to us.  I don't run this team but if I did I'd emphasize O over D and give your elite qb every possible weapon known to man.  We've seen 3 top 5 defenses get shredded in the playoffs during McDermott's regime.  If you guys are dreaming of some legendary defense coming to Buffalo,  it's probably naive. 

[Shaw66]

19 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

What's the point of rotating 8 or 10 fresh Dlineman if none of them can get home?  I still feel this is an offensive league. Neither SF or Detroit stopped each other. Last years SB was extremely high scoring.  Coaching still matters and Spags/ Reid outclassed McD as usual. Obviously injuries were devastating to us.  I don't run this team but if I did I'd emphasize O over D and give your elite qb every possible weapon known to man.  We've seen 3 top 5 defenses get shredded in the playoffs during McDermott's regime.  If you guys are dreaming of some legendary defense coming to Buffalo,  it's probably naive. 

Well, obviously we disagree about whether the way to success is offense or defense.   I think it's clear that you rarely can win at this level without great defense.   So, I won't talk about that more.  

 

The thought you end with is really a very important question.   I'm not sure it's naive to think McDermott can do it.  After all, if you could dial the clock back to Reid coaching Donovan McNabb, you'd find all sorts of Eagle fans saying Reid never will win.   These guys learn and grow and develop, so, no it's not naive. 

 

However, just because Reid did it doesn't mean McDermott will do.  His mantra always has been get pressure with four, but he seemed to blitz more this season.  Will he stick with rushing four?  Will he stick with the rotation?   In general, is he wed to his philosophy in such a way that he'll never on?   I don't know.   If he sticks with his philosophy, will it always collapse in the playoffs, or will it succeed.  Will Beane draft a surprise d lineman who is just so good that MUST get more than 60% of the snaps, a guy who has to play every snap in the fourth quarter?

 

I don't agree that the Bills should move on from McDermott.  I believe in his growth mindset approach will win - he's not going to get stuck in some football dogma he believes in.   Instead, he's going to study the game, what teams are doing, he will understand what needs to change, and he will make changes.   He'll do it with Beane by coming to agreement about what kind of players they need on the roster, and that agreement will affect choices that Beane makes in the draft and free agency.  Coaches will be tasked with developing different plays, different skill sets, etc.   The whole organization will be invested in doing their jobs better to achieve specified objectives.   Sean McDermott will be different coach in five years, a better coach, because that's his personal objective.  The team will be a different team.  Given that's who he is and what he's doing, I think it would be a mistake move on from a coach who already has been very successful and will be better in the future.   There's always a better coach out there, but there are a lot more who are worse.    Chances are the team will be worse in five years with McDermott's replacement than with McDermott.  

[Mr. Irrelevant]

Watching the Ravens fall apart against the Chiefs only heightened my appreciation for the play of the Bills last week against Kansas City.

Reid did a masterful job of taking advantage of the Bills depleted LB corp.  For gosh sakes, A.J. Klein was semi-retired, headed to Key West with the family when the Bills called and pressed him into service.  

Despite that, if Josh makes that last minute throw to Shakir, or if Bass makes the FG and we go to OT, or if Diggs pulls in that 65 yd. bomb??  If, if, if. 

The Bills v. Chiefs was the Super Bowl for 2024, and the Bills are closer to getting to the Super Bowl than many realize.  

 

[LABILLBACKER]

28 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Well, obviously we disagree about whether the way to success is offense or defense.   I think it's clear that you rarely can win at this level without great defense.   So, I won't talk about that more.  

 

The thought you end with is really a very important question.   I'm not sure it's naive to think McDermott can do it.  After all, if you could dial the clock back to Reid coaching Donovan McNabb, you'd find all sorts of Eagle fans saying Reid never will win.   These guys learn and grow and develop, so, no it's not naive. 

 

However, just because Reid did it doesn't mean McDermott will do.  His mantra always has been get pressure with four, but he seemed to blitz more this season.  Will he stick with rushing four?  Will he stick with the rotation?   In general, is he wed to his philosophy in such a way that he'll never on?   I don't know.   If he sticks with his philosophy, will it always collapse in the playoffs, or will it succeed.  Will Beane draft a surprise d lineman who is just so good that MUST get more than 60% of the snaps, a guy who has to play every snap in the fourth quarter?

 

I don't agree that the Bills should move on from McDermott.  I believe in his growth mindset approach will win - he's not going to get stuck in some football dogma he believes in.   Instead, he's going to study the game, what teams are doing, he will understand what needs to change, and he will make changes.   He'll do it with Beane by coming to agreement about what kind of players they need on the roster, and that agreement will affect choices that Beane makes in the draft and free agency.  Coaches will be tasked with developing different plays, different skill sets, etc.   The whole organization will be invested in doing their jobs better to achieve specified objectives.   Sean McDermott will be different coach in five years, a better coach, because that's his personal objective.  The team will be a different team.  Given that's who he is and what he's doing, I think it would be a mistake move on from a coach who already has been very successful and will be better in the future.   There's always a better coach out there, but there are a lot more who are worse.    Chances are the team will be worse in five years with McDermott's replacement than with McDermott.  

Well if his "growth mindset" starts leaning more toward an offensive footprint then sign me up for a few more years.  Cause I'm not holding my breath that he'll ever figure out Patrick in the playoffs.  And don't expect Josh to just stand around  and watch his defense struggle against Mahomes/ Burrow every year. Players (people) have breaking points.

[GETTOTHE50]

1 hour ago, LABILLBACKER said:

What's the point of rotating 8 or 10 fresh Dlineman if none of them can get home?  I still feel this is an offensive league. Neither SF or Detroit stopped each other. Last years SB was extremely high scoring.  Coaching still matters and Spags/ Reid outclassed McD as usual. Obviously injuries were devastating to us.  I don't run this team but if I did I'd emphasize O over D and give your elite qb every possible weapon known to man.  We've seen 3 top 5 defenses get shredded in the playoffs during McDermott's regime.  If you guys are dreaming of some legendary defense coming to Buffalo,  it's probably naive. 

I agree. Plus, it seems like offensive players are injured less than defensive players nowadays. Especially if you look at how the rules are made to protect them.  Also, look at how the injuries on the defensive grew each week on this team as compared to offense.

 

so yes, build around your best player, aka JA17. You’ll get the most bang for your buck. 

[Shaw66]

21 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Well if his "growth mindset" starts leaning more toward an offensive footprint then sign me up for a few more years.  Cause I'm not holding my breath that he'll ever figure out Patrick in the playoffs.  And don't expect Josh to just stand around  and watch his defense struggle against Mahomes/ Burrow every year. Players (people) have breaking points.

Again, you're focused on offense.  I'm not.  If I know today that McDermott will not figure out Patrick (and Reid), then I'm moving on from McDermott.  The way to beat the Chiefs is with defense, not more offense.  Chiefs gave up 290 yards and just over 17 points a game this season, and the Bills put up 368 and 24 against them in Division round.  That's excellent offensive performance against a top-notch defense.  Expecting a lot more isn't reasonable.  

 

It's the other side of the ball that matters.  Bills D was almost as good as KC's during the regular season, but they were in serious trouble against the Chiefs.   Defense is what needs to improve.  

 

I think the Bills could have beaten the Ravens, but they'd be in trouble against the 49ers, for the same reason they can't get past KC - the Bills defense can't stop a top-of-the-league diverse offense.  

[LABILLBACKER]

Pts per game given up by defense. From 2019 thru 2023 we've been ranked 10th, 5th, 1st, 1st and 4th this year. McDermott's issues have never been stopping teams in the regular season. But once we enter the playoffs all these amazing numbers disappear.  Shaw it hasn't worked. We've entered 5 straight playoffs with a top 10 defense.  2 of those seasons we were ranked #1.  I mean if your waiting around for Sean to build the 85 Bears defense then we're in serious trouble. He's asked Beane to draft pass rushers and it didn't work. He rolled the dice on Von and it didn't work. 

 

Sean has had multiple opportunities to scheme a way to stop Reid & Mahomes.  I guess I don't require another 5 years of "chances" to see something I know now.  And no there's no guarantee that if we were to move on from McD and hire a Ben Johnson, it would work out.  But I just feel so many McD supporters are holding on forever to the hope that McDermott has that Reid momen....legacy finish.  Be patient,  it will happen.  Will it?  I bet Schottenheimer and Marvin Lewis also dreamed of that happening. 

Edited January 29 by LABILLBACKER

[Jrb1979]

51 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Pts per game given up by defense. From 2019 thru 2023 we've been ranked 10th, 5th, 1st, 1st and 4th this year. McDermott's issues have never been stopping teams in the regular season. But once we enter the playoffs all these amazing numbers disappear.  Shaw it hasn't worked. We've entered 5 straight playoffs with a top 10 defense.  2 of those seasons we were ranked #1.  I mean if your waiting around for Sean to build the 85 Bears defense then we're in serious trouble. He's asked Beane to draft pass rushers and it didn't work. He rolled the dice on Von and it didn't work. 

 

Sean has had multiple opportunities to scheme a way to stop Reid & Mahomes.  I guess I don't require another 5 years of "chances" to see something I know now.  And no there's no guarantee that if we were to move on from McD and hire a Ben Johnson, it would work out.  But I just feel so many McD supporters are holding on forever to the hope that McDermott has that Reid momen....legacy finish.  Be patient,  it will happen.  Will it?  I bet Schottenheimer and Marvin Lewis also dreamed of that happening. 

I agree. As I posted before, going back to last year, only 5 coaches of 35 winning head coaches have taken more than 5 seasons to win a title. History is going against him. 

[Chaos]

2 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

After all, if you could dial the clock back to Reid coaching Donovan McNabb, you'd find all sorts of Eagle fans saying Reid never will win

Our you suggesting that McNabb is a Mahomes level QB? 

[Shaw66]

54 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Pts per game given up by defense. From 2019 thru 2023 we've been ranked 10th, 5th, 1st, 1st and 4th this year. McDermott's issues have never been stopping teams in the regular season. But once we enter the playoffs all these amazing numbers disappear.  Shaw it hasn't worked. We've entered 5 straight playoffs with a top 10 defense.  2 of those seasons we were ranked #1.  I mean if your waiting around for Sean to build the 85 Bears defense then we're in serious trouble. He's asked Beane to draft pass rushers and it didn't work. He rolled the dice on Von and it didn't work. 

 

Sean has had multiple opportunities to scheme a way to stop Reid & Mahomes.  I guess I don't require another 5 years of "chances" to see something I know now.  And no there's no guarantee that if we were to move on from McD and hire a Ben Johnson, it would work out.  But I just feel so many McD supporters are holding on forever to the hope that McDermott has that Reid momen....legacy finish.  Be patient,  it will happen.  Will it?  I bet Schottenheimer and Marvin Lewis also dreamed of that happening. 

I agree with your first paragraph.  That's what my essay said - the Bills playoff defense hasn't been enough.  Yes, it's literally true that Von didn't work, but only because he hasn't had a chance.   Last year he wasn't in the playoffs, this year he wasn't recovered from his injury.  

 

There is no reason - zero - to think that Ben Johnson would have a better defense than Sean McDermott.  You can repeat the Schottenheimer/Lewis mantra over and over.   As a pure statistical matter, of course there are going to be a few long-tenured coaches who don't win, but that doesn't have anything to do with McDermott.  There are also some long-tenured coaches that eventually won.   Why is McDermott any more likely to have a Lewis moment than a Reid moment?  

5 minutes ago, Jrb1979 said:

I agree. As I posted before, going back to last year, only 5 coaches of 35 winning head coaches have taken more than 5 seasons to win a title. History is going against him. 

History is not a thing that affects the outcome of football games.   Lindbergh had "history going against him."   History isn't a head wind.  

[LABILLBACKER]

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on McDermott.  You're willing to give him more years to get that break- thru Andy moment.  I'm not.  I just don't see defenses winning championships anymore with the way scoreboards are lighting up.  

[Buffaloman]

great post! It all sounds good but i still think the Bills choke during the big playoff games. It is becoming their identity. Great defense or great offense - it doesn't matter if you choke in the biggest games - a "Billsy" thing to do.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

I had the opposite take re “defenses win championships.” Seems to Me elite QB play wins, and great defenses can’t do anything about that. 

[Gunsgoodtime]

Appreciate the post, disagree heavily about the defense though. McDermotts defense is barely noticeable in the playoffs.  All the high round draft picks, trades, FA $ tied up in the D.....completely useless come playoffs.  I'm so done with trying to focus on our defense, watching our WRs just drop balls all over the place because they have been the last line of focus for Beane/McDermott.  With Josh Allen as your QB, it goes against all common sense and even to the seasoned football watcher on the field

Edited January 30 by Gunsgoodtime

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

29 minutes ago, Gunsgoodtime said:

Appreciate the post, disagree heavily about the defense though. McDermotts defense is barely noticeable in the playoffs.  All the high round draft picks, trades, FA $ tied up in the D.....completely useless come playoffs.  I'm so done with trying to focus on our defense, watching our WRs just drop balls all over the place because they have been the last line of focus for Beane/McDermott.  With Josh Allen as your QB, it goes against all common sense and even to the seasoned football watcher on the field

was there any difference between our patchwork defense and the ravens #1 defense? Neither could stop Mahomes.
 

might as well invest in an explosive offense.

[Beck Water]

21 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

In January, the officials let everyone play.  Less offensive holding is called, it’s true, but what’s more important is that less defensive holding and pass interference is called.  Receivers are getting held up and, yes, held at the line of scrimmage.  Cover guys are hanging all over receivers, but the flags don’t come out of the pockets.  It’s better that way, there’s more flow to the game, but it’s an advantage to the defense.  Receivers have to make plays, instead of just catching cupcakes.

 

@Shaw66 as always, interesting write-up with a lot of good points.

 

As far as the officials "let everyone play", Hmmmm.  At the risk of derailing your thread, I must point something out: they don't. 

 

Houston at Baltimore

Houston 11 penalties for 70 yards, Baltimore 3 penalties for 15 yards.   Clearly the refs were not keeping flags in the pockets, and their choice of which penalties to call had the potential to heavily influence the game.  Houston was called for 5 False Starts, 1 delay of game, 1 offensive holding, an encroachment, and a NZ infraction on D.  These were for the most part, drive-stalling penalties.

 

KC at Baltimore

KC 3 penalties for 30 yards, Baltimore 8 penalties for 95 yards.  4 of the Baltimore penalties were unnecessary roughness/roughing the passser.  These were drive extending penalties for the offense.  KC was called 3 times for offensive holding.  Since Jawaan Taylor has been lined up illegally, false starting, and holding throughout the season, I find it a bit of a challenge to believe he didn't commit one illegal formation or false start in that game.

 

The Bills game was cleaner, KC 2 for 15 and Bills 5 for 28. 10 of these yards were Dalton Kincaid's potentially turnover saving illegal bat, but the Bills also had a key DH and DPI called.  And again - Jawaan Taylor, seriously not one penalty?

Anyway, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I don't think the game is fixed, but I will point out that referees are absolutely flinging laundry in a way that 1) influences the game 2) interrupts the flow of the game.  And it's not consistent - for example, yes, the refs were letting the DB hang all over our receivers during our AFCCG loss to the Chiefs.  The Superbowl against Tampa, DH and DPI were being called against the Chiefs for similar play.

 

It's a problem IMHO.

[Shaw66]

1 hour ago, Beck Water said:

 

@Shaw66 as always, interesting write-up with a lot of good points.

 

As far as the officials "let everyone play", Hmmmm.  At the risk of derailing your thread, I must point something out: they don't. 

 

Houston at Baltimore

Houston 11 penalties for 70 yards, Baltimore 3 penalties for 15 yards.   Clearly the refs were not keeping flags in the pockets, and their choice of which penalties to call had the potential to heavily influence the game.  Houston was called for 5 False Starts, 1 delay of game, 1 offensive holding, an encroachment, and a NZ infraction on D.  These were for the most part, drive-stalling penalties.

 

KC at Baltimore

KC 3 penalties for 30 yards, Baltimore 8 penalties for 95 yards.  4 of the Baltimore penalties were unnecessary roughness/roughing the passser.  These were drive extending penalties for the offense.  KC was called 3 times for offensive holding.  Since Jawaan Taylor has been lined up illegally, false starting, and holding throughout the season, I find it a bit of a challenge to believe he didn't commit one illegal formation or false start in that game.

 

The Bills game was cleaner, KC 2 for 15 and Bills 5 for 28. 10 of these yards were Dalton Kincaid's potentially turnover saving illegal bat, but the Bills also had a key DH and DPI called.  And again - Jawaan Taylor, seriously not one penalty?

Anyway, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I don't think the game is fixed, but I will point out that referees are absolutely flinging laundry in a way that 1) influences the game 2) interrupts the flow of the game.  And it's not consistent - for example, yes, the refs were letting the DB hang all over our receivers during our AFCCG loss to the Chiefs.  The Superbowl against Tampa, DH and DPI were being called against the Chiefs for similar play.

 

It's a problem IMHO.

Thanks for all of this.  It's interesting. 

 

I guess my reaction is that I wasn't talking so much about the number of penalties as I was talking about the quality of the penalties.  I didn't see many flags on plays where I thought there should have been no calls.  Houston's five false starts and delay of game, for example, penalties are all flags that should have been and were thrown.

 

Baltimore's roughness penalties all should have been called. 

 

What I liked was that all those defensive holding calls on plays that didn't really affect the outcome were gone.  The ineligible receiver downfield pretty much disappeared.   If pass interference was called, it was pretty much always on a play where the receiver had a legitimate chance to make the play; that is, the offense wasn't getting bailed out on cheap penalties.  

 

My point was only that when the officials stop calling penalties as closely as during the regular season, it tends to help the defense.   I think we saw that on Sunday.  

 

And I just took a quick look back at the last six playoff games.   During the regular season there were about 11 penalties per game.  In the last two weekends, there was I think one game over 11, one game at 11, and four at 8 or below.   So, even just on total penalties, it was lower.  

 

And, for sure, I'm not defending the officiating, except to say that the game flows better when there are fewer calls, and we tend to see fewer calls in the playoffs. 

Edited January 30 by Shaw66

[Figster]

2 hours ago, Beck Water said:

 

@Shaw66 as always, interesting write-up with a lot of good points.

 

As far as the officials "let everyone play", Hmmmm.  At the risk of derailing your thread, I must point something out: they don't. 

 

Houston at Baltimore

Houston 11 penalties for 70 yards, Baltimore 3 penalties for 15 yards.   Clearly the refs were not keeping flags in the pockets, and their choice of which penalties to call had the potential to heavily influence the game.  Houston was called for 5 False Starts, 1 delay of game, 1 offensive holding, an encroachment, and a NZ infraction on D.  These were for the most part, drive-stalling penalties.

 

KC at Baltimore

KC 3 penalties for 30 yards, Baltimore 8 penalties for 95 yards.  4 of the Baltimore penalties were unnecessary roughness/roughing the passser.  These were drive extending penalties for the offense.  KC was called 3 times for offensive holding.  Since Jawaan Taylor has been lined up illegally, false starting, and holding throughout the season, I find it a bit of a challenge to believe he didn't commit one illegal formation or false start in that game.

 

The Bills game was cleaner, KC 2 for 15 and Bills 5 for 28. 10 of these yards were Dalton Kincaid's potentially turnover saving illegal bat, but the Bills also had a key DH and DPI called.  And again - Jawaan Taylor, seriously not one penalty?

Anyway, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I don't think the game is fixed, but I will point out that referees are absolutely flinging laundry in a way that 1) influences the game 2) interrupts the flow of the game.  And it's not consistent - for example, yes, the refs were letting the DB hang all over our receivers during our AFCCG loss to the Chiefs.  The Superbowl against Tampa, DH and DPI were being called against the Chiefs for similar play.

 

It's a problem IMHO.

One of the main reasons I want the red flag challenge added for missed penalties or a wrong penalty called is to achieve consistency throughout the league. The penalty itself interrupts the flow of the game. Not being enforced properly with consistency increases penalties IMO. 

[LABILLBACKER]

4 hours ago, Beck Water said:

 

@Shaw66 as always, interesting write-up with a lot of good points.

 

As far as the officials "let everyone play", Hmmmm.  At the risk of derailing your thread, I must point something out: they don't. 

 

Houston at Baltimore

Houston 11 penalties for 70 yards, Baltimore 3 penalties for 15 yards.   Clearly the refs were not keeping flags in the pockets, and their choice of which penalties to call had the potential to heavily influence the game.  Houston was called for 5 False Starts, 1 delay of game, 1 offensive holding, an encroachment, and a NZ infraction on D.  These were for the most part, drive-stalling penalties.

 

KC at Baltimore

KC 3 penalties for 30 yards, Baltimore 8 penalties for 95 yards.  4 of the Baltimore penalties were unnecessary roughness/roughing the passser.  These were drive extending penalties for the offense.  KC was called 3 times for offensive holding.  Since Jawaan Taylor has been lined up illegally, false starting, and holding throughout the season, I find it a bit of a challenge to believe he didn't commit one illegal formation or false start in that game.

 

The Bills game was cleaner, KC 2 for 15 and Bills 5 for 28. 10 of these yards were Dalton Kincaid's potentially turnover saving illegal bat, but the Bills also had a key DH and DPI called.  And again - Jawaan Taylor, seriously not one penalty?

Anyway, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I don't think the game is fixed, but I will point out that referees are absolutely flinging laundry in a way that 1) influences the game 2) interrupts the flow of the game.  And it's not consistent - for example, yes, the refs were letting the DB hang all over our receivers during our AFCCG loss to the Chiefs.  The Superbowl against Tampa, DH and DPI were being called against the Chiefs for similar play.

 

It's a problem IMHO.

All I know is in every playoff game, KC had less calls then their opponent. 🤔