THE ROCKPILE REVIEW – At the One-Quarter Mark

[Big Turk]

1 hour ago, Walking Tall said:

I just don’t agree with the whole month of September and some of October are “pre-season games”. 
 

If they do away with the pre-season games and scrimmages during the month of August, will it then become September through November are pre-season games?

 

These teams have multiple mini-camps during the off-season that lead up to the official training camp. They didn’t do that in grandpa’s NFL. They also didn’t receive millions of dollars or were expected to know their playbooks inside and out like they are today when training camp arrives. Much less be in tip-top physical shape.

 

The teams with the best talent, coaching, and have less injuries and suspensions will always stand above the rest. Whether it be the first week in September or the last in December.

 

 

 

 

 

They also played a game that was far simpler and had to know far less than in today's NFL.  The game is complex in ways that didn't even exist back then let alone having to know all of the things they need to know now. Even looking at playbooks from 20 years ago compared to today's playbooks makes them look like learning 2nd grade math by comparison to calculus.

Edited Monday at 07:26 PM by Big Turk

[JP51]

Just now, chris heff said:

I sorry to have to tell you this, you have an affliction. I have a few questions.

 

1. Do you have ridiculous game day rituals?

2. Do you wear the same clothes on game day?

3. Do you have rituals during the game, like changing seats if things aren’t going well?

4. Do you pace around during commercials?

5. Do you read and watch anything and everything that might mention the Bills after a win? And grumble if they are not getting enough recognition?

6. Do you avoid anything or anyone that may mention the Bills after a loss?

7. Did you watch every game the season that Kyle Orton was the quarterback?

 

 

 

 

1. Do you have ridiculous game day rituals? - absolutely absurd rituals, like literally call the wagon rituals LOL 

2. Do you wear the same clothes on game day? - see above unwashed

3. Do you have rituals during the game, like changing seats if things aren’t going well? - no I stay in the same seat (see above regarding rituals) 

4. Do you pace around during commercials? - no I dont move during the game not even to go to the bathroom or get a drink (see above regarding rituals...LOL) 

5. Do you read and watch anything and everything that might mention the Bills after a win? And grumble if they are not getting enough recognition? - Yes and no, I read alot after a win, I would prefer to avoid the recognition, I like the under the radar thing... 

6. Do you avoid anything or anyone that may mention the Bills after a loss? - dom't you LOL 

7. Did you watch every game the season that Kyle Orton was the quarterback? Dude, I watched every game Clod Collins was QB actually, Vince Ferragamo too... and Nathan Peterman, of course Alex Van Pelt.. come to mention it Dennis Shaw... 

 

You have made me feel better though with it only being an affliction...  I was starting to think I was nuts ...LOL 

 

 

[Walking Tall]

1 minute ago, Big Turk said:

 

They also played a game that was far simpler and had to know far less than in today's NFL.  The game is complex in ways that didn't even exist back then let alone having to know all of the things they need to know now. Even looking at playbooks from 20 years ago compared to today's playbooks makes them look like learning 2nd grade math by comparison to calculus.

These guys know their playbooks. They know their assignments. They have millions of dollars on the line.  They are prepared.

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

32 minutes ago, AlCowlingsTaxiService said:

Am I missing something on Tre’s 4th down “tackle” of Kamera?  Seems to me Kamara was already falling down short of the sticks and Tre simply touched him down. Not to diminish Tre’s play thus far, but this play in particular didn’t move the needle for me 

 

16 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Maybe. I was in the stadium and saw it only once. But it looked to me like Tre had him around the shoulders and held him in place until help came. But as I said, I only saw it once.

 

The reason he may have been falling down was trying to cut around White and cut too hard so White's being there caused him to slip.

 

 

On NFL radio today they were talking about the same thing, that with limited pre-season, the first few weeks are like pre- season use to be and that causes the out of timing issues, penalties, etc.

 

I also think a team like Buffalo with all the established vets likely plays the starters even less than some other team would  that is turning over the roster like the Saints.

[FireChans]

3 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

A lot of fans are bashing him, but if he weren’t getting the job done as the number two corner, the Bills wouldn’t be leading the league in yards passing per game

We played Justin Fields, Tua and Spencer Rattler….

[Big Turk]

5 minutes ago, Walking Tall said:

These guys know their playbooks. They know their assignments. They have millions of dollars on the line.  They are prepared.

 

Except it's never that easy. They are constantly being put in binds now and having to decipher what they should be doing  and having to make some level of "no win choice" that didn't exist back in the day, not nearly to the degree it does today.  

2 minutes ago, FireChans said:

We played Justin Fields, Tua and Spencer Rattler….

 

Steelers played Justin Fields also, or did they get some special version of him that didn't exist when we played them?

[FireChans]

2 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

Except it's never that easy. They are constantly being put in binds now and having to decipher what they should be doing  and having to make some level of "no win choice" that didn't exist back in the day, not nearly to the degree it does today.  

 

Steelers played Justin Fields also, or did they get some special version of him that didn't exist when we played them?

The Steelers did play Justin Fields too.

 

Do you think the Bills have the best pass defense in the league (as their ranking suggests) or do you think they have been ungodly bad against the run (the second worst in the league) and also played some crappy passers that inflated their passer yard ranking?

 

I know what I’m picking lmao.

Edited Monday at 07:38 PM by FireChans

[Big Turk]

5 minutes ago, FireChans said:

The Steelers did play Justin Fields too.

 

Do you think the Bills have the best pass defense in the league (as their ranking suggests) or do you think they have been ungodly bad against the run (the second worst in the league) and also played some crappy passers that inflated their passer yard ranking?

 

I know what I’m picking lmao.

 

I believe the Bills sacrifice some level of being good at defending the run to ensure they don't get beat over the top and choose to "live with" not being as stout against the run.  Don't feel like they are happy with some of the run play obviously since there are too many sloppy run fits, poor tackling and players not in the right position as well as plenty of bad lane rush discipline against QBs that give them easy gains after being flushed out of the pocket.

 

That being said, not many teams are capable of beating the Bills by running the football. Simply won't be able to string together that many plays consistently on drives to keep up with them scoring wise. I also think the Bills know that and are essentially OK with giving teams "easier" yards on the ground because it is far less likely to hurt them than a 60 yard pass would. 

 

Additionally, the Bills are also near the top of the NFL every year in TFL's which are designed to get teams in bad down and distance situations that are favorable to the defense.  Their failure to capitalize on those frequently enough is the more maddening part and would stop most of the other things from being an issue, IMO.

Edited Monday at 07:44 PM by Big Turk

[FireChans]

2 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

I believe the Bills sacrifice some level of being good at defending the run to ensure they don't get beat over the top and choose to "live with" not being as stout against the run.  Don't feel like they are happy with some of the run play obviously since there are too many sloppy run fits, poor tackling and players not in the right position as well as plenty of bad lane rush discipline against QBs that give them easy gains after being flushed out of the pocket.

 

That being said, not many teams are capable of beating the Bills by running the football. Simply won't be able to string together that many plays consistently on drives to keep up with them scoring wise. I also think the Bills know that and are essentially OK with giving teams "easier" yards on the ground because it is far less likely to hurt them than a 60 yard pass would. 

 

Additionally, the Bills are also near the top of the NFL every year and TFL's which are designed to get teams in bad down and distance situations that are favorable to the defense.  Their failure to capitalize on those frequently enough is the more maddening part and would stop most of the other things from being an issue, IMO.

That’s not what I asked.

[Big Turk]

9 minutes ago, FireChans said:

That’s not what I asked.

 

I mean Tua just put up 315 yards the week before against the Pats and then had 146 against us and averaged 1.4 yards in the air per completion and at one point midway thru the 3rd quarter was averaging -0.5 yards in the air per completion.

 

Rattler had over 200 yards passing in every other game this year and put up 126 yards against us.

 

Fields just came off putting up 218 yards against the Steelers with a 72% completion rate and had 27 yards against us with a 27% completion rate. 

 

Seems a little odd all these players have better games against other teams since our D sucks so badly.

 

Also seems odd that since our D sucks so badly it's averaged allowing 16.5 PPG and 243 YPG over the last 3 weeks without any of the opponents ever reaching 300 yards of offense even when accounting for the poor run D.  

 

I mean that's baseline average in the NFL these days, really not even...around 320-330 is average. 

 

Seem like you might be overreacting to how "bad" the D has been because you don't watch other games which means you have no perspective of what is normal and what isn't around the NFL.

 

Is there room for improvement?  Sure.  Are they some sort of "worst in the NFL D" like many here think?  Not even close.

 

Edited Monday at 07:56 PM by Big Turk

[ren1701]

I rarely speak up as always love your takes.
I think, unless MCD gets a handle on this defense, we are headed for our 5th one and done in the playoffs when things get real. At some point, 17 won't be able to put on the cape and bail out that coaching staff (see last 5 playoff games). I am getting 1991 vibes again  - so much talent, terrible coaching. Give me a Parcels or Gibbs back then and I'm pretty sure some of those Lombardi's hit home. Now saying that, anyone who thinks you are going to blow out any NFL team on any given Sunday is crazy. They won by double digits and that's impressive against any NFL team but lets be real, the Bills sit in that base nickel (I think the number I saw was 57-60% of the time) with 2 undersized LB's at the point of attack, along with a 280 pound NT in Oliver, and rush 4 so they get gouged on the ground- a lot. Quiet frankly, I don't know why teams pass at all as it took that coaching staff in the Bal game until the 4th quarter to move into 4-3 with some beef and even yesterday, 3rd quarter until they added Williams and lets be honest here, Hamlin wouldn't start on a practice squad and Tre is not the Tre we all remember, he has been getting cooked religiously, which is why they sat him for the Strong yesterday. What's the saying? Offensive wins games but defense wins championships? We might have to admit we have become the definition of insanity, same thing every year and expect a different result.

 

I think there are no excuses this year, the stars have aliened - league MVP, easiest schedule in the NFL, ton of talent and an offense that is avg 30 points or more a game, with ease mind you. 

 

Some questions I ask now - 
Does 17 have a long enough cape this year that when they score 50 will he score 51? 
When is enough is enough for him? Is Allen the next Philip Rivers? best that never was? 
Is this a 6-12 team without 17? 
Can we get more then 2 games from Milano without injury?
Is it players on defense or scheme? Both?
When do the Bills go "all in"? - that, THAT right there is the biggest question and has been for the last 3 years for me. 
Would the Bills getting to the big game with a Belichick or a Reid? Say what you want about Brady (he is the GOAT) but there were a few of those rings because of that Pats defense if I recall. 

 

I hope this is THE year, but from what I saw last night with the Chiefs, I have doubts that it will be any different and I assure everybody here, if we end up playing the Ravens in the playoffs, they will not make the same mistake twice and they will pound Henry until his legs fall off.. I know I would

[GASabresIUFan]

If I had to point out the Bills weaknesses to this point it is containing mobile QBs.  The Bills have allowed nearly 170 yards rushing to Lamar, Rattler, and Fields.  

 

I also agree that we need more out of Johnson and Davis in the running game.  I know the Cook haters look pretty foolish right now, but we need Davis and Johnson to become effective and we especially need Johnson to reemerge in the passing game.  Johnson has 1 catch YTD on 5 targets.  

 

I'm less concerned about the defense than others, as I see Milano, Oliver and Hoecht returning pretty soon giving a huge lift to the D.  

 

I'd also like to see more explosion on the offense.  Palmer and Coleman aren’t making plays down the field.  So far they are averaging only 13.8 and 11.9 yards per catch.  

 

On the plus side, Hawes' emergence and the return to form for Kincaid have significantly helped the offense.  

Edited Wednesday at 06:30 PM by GASabresIUFan

[FireChans]

10 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

I mean Tua just put up 315 yards the week before against the Pats and then had 146 against us and averaged 1.4 yards in the air per completion and at one point midway thru the 3rd quarter was averaging -0.5 yards in the air per completion.

 

Rattler had over 200 yards passing in every other game this year and put up 126 yards against us.

 

Fields just came off putting up 218 yards against the Steelers with a 72% completion rate and had 27 yards against us with a 27% completion rate. 

 

Seems a little odd all these players have better games against other teams since our D sucks so badly.

 

Also seems odd that since our D sucks so badly it's averaged allowing 16.5 PPG and 243 YPG over the last 3 weeks without any of the opponents ever reaching 300 yards of offense even when accounting for the poor run D.  

 

I mean that's baseline average in the NFL these days, really not even...around 320-330 is average. 

 

Seem like you might be overreacting to how "bad" the D has been because you don't watch other games which means you have no perspective of what is normal and what isn't around the NFL.

 

Is there room for improvement?  Sure.  Are they some sort of "worst in the NFL D" like many here think?  Not even close.

 

The Bills are 12th in yards per drive and 22nd in points per drive on defense. They are 31st in rushing yards allowed.

 

They aren’t good and are definitely one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL, and the worst rushing defense Buffalo has had since 2017. 
 

Cool talk about lacking perspective lol

[Big Turk]

Just now, FireChans said:

The Bills are 12th in yards per drive and 22nd in points per drive on defense. They are 31st in rushing yards allowed.

 

They aren’t good and are definitely one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL, and the worst rushing defense Buffalo has had since 2017. 
 

Cool talk about lacking perspective lol

 

That's great. Luckily what matters is how many points the other team scores versus how many we score. Also, 12th in yards per drive is above average since there are 32 teams and 16th would be average. Or are we going to pretend math doesn't exist now either?

 

How's all that rushing working out for the other teams?  Outside of Baltimore the Bills have trailed for under 5 minutes of game time the other 3 games.

[FireChans]

Just now, Big Turk said:

 

That's great. Luckily what matters is how many points the other team scores versus how many we score. Also, 12th in yards per drive is above average since there are 32 teams and 16th would be average. Or are we going to pretend math doesn't exist now either?

 

How's all that rushing working out for the other teams?  Outside of Baltimore the Bills have trailed for under 5 minutes of game time the other 3 games.

What matters is points he says.

 

The Bills are 22nd points allowed per drive. Literally bottom 10 lol. 
 

after spending a whole offseason investing in defense, because they were below average at 18th last year.

 

I have perspective for days for you my friend.

[Big Turk]

2 minutes ago, FireChans said:

What matters is points he says.

 

The Bills are 22nd points allowed per drive. Literally bottom 10 lol. 
 

after spending a whole offseason investing in defense, because they were below average at 18th last year.

 

I have perspective for days for you my friend.

 

Well I guess it's lucky it's only 4 weeks into the season then. Not like there isn't 3/4 of the year to improve once they get significant pieces back on defense and a lot of younger players in key roles get more experience.  I know you think real life works like Madden where players are 100% at all times from game 1 but real life doesn't work that way.

[BigAl2526]

You'll have to wait until 9 PM or so on Sunday evening for the 1/4 mark, Shaw.  LOL.  In any case, I'm pretty happy with the way things have gone.  No losses, but the Bills have areas where they can (and need to) improve.  The problem with playing perfectly is it seems too much like a peak from which you will have to descend, probably sooner rather than later.  When there are still issues you have to fix, you can focus on getting better and not just holding on.

[FireChans]

11 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

Well I guess it's lucky it's only 4 weeks into the season then. Not like there isn't 3/4 of the year to improve once they get significant pieces back on defense and a lot of younger players in key roles get more experience.  I know you think real life works like Madden where players are 100% at all times from game 1 but real life doesn't work that way.

Yeah, my guess is the Bills don’t remain next to worst in the league in rushing defense for the whole season the further we get out from that Derrick Henry game, just like they don’t remain first in passing defense the whole season the further we get out of the QB murderer’s row of Tua, Rattler and Fields.

[Big Turk]

26 minutes ago, FireChans said:

Yeah, my guess is the Bills don’t remain next to worst in the league in rushing defense for the whole season the further we get out from that Derrick Henry game, just like they don’t remain first in passing defense the whole season the further we get out of the QB murderer’s row of Tua, Rattler and Fields.

 

Probably not...likely they will be somewhere between 10-15th, which is good enough to win a SuperBowl with Allen.

 

The key is that they simply play that way in the playoffs and not like they normally do which is worst defense in the NFL that can't even force a punt.

Edited Monday at 08:56 PM by Big Turk

[ticketssince61]

3 hours ago, TFBillsfan said:

Thanks for confirming Shaw. Iwas at the game and saw Tre lined up in the S role a few times and had to do a double take. Peaked my interest. Haven’t had a chance to watch the game but curious on their D alignment with Tre at S. 

 

"piqued" mine too!