A Few Thoughts about the Pats Game - Post yours as well

[ProcessTruster]

Putting aside the turnovers, which pretty much decided the game, in general it looks like the Pats are back.  They look good.  

[Sojourner]

6 hours ago, davefan66 said:

Josh had a bad game. Felt heat when it wasn’t there and rushed some passes.  It isn’t totally on him though.

 

Wide receivers were trash. Can’t get downfield. Can’t get open. When Josh saw an opening, receivers didn’t help him out.  Instead they were open a moment and quickly became covered.

 

Coleman made a couple good catches first quarter last week. Floated to the open spot a few times on one drive. Problem is, that is something he doesn’t do on a regular basis. Instead they use him as a guy for “contested catches”. Congested catches should be on your arsenal as a WR once or twice a game…not run purposeful routes to do so because you can’t get open.

 

Maye made Josh passes all day. Sideline, downfield. Had a decent rush on him at times but he easily stepped out of it and completed passes.

 

Defensive backs couldn’t keep coverage all game. As soon as maye got away from pressure, they were open most of the game.

 

Put Milano on IR and see ya. Stop wasting time on the guy. Sorry he’s been hurt, but putting effort into him and not heathy guys is useless.

 

We desperately need help at DB and WR. We are going nowhere if we can’t get plays more than 10 yards downfield. We need a WR that is taken seriously and can stretch the field.

 

If McD doesn’t take the team to a Super Bowl, he can go. We are 4-1 and very easily could of lost a few more games to “bad teams..

Your first point is it. 
 

When Josh has a bad game; by his standard. The team invariably loses. This team, as good as we are, can’t afford turnovers. 
 

Pats played a great game. Gotta give them credit where it’s due. Maye and Diggs showed up big time. 

[Nihilarian]

1 hour ago, Returntoglory said:

I'm Embarrassed by this pathetic performance. 

This a thousand times!

 

Getting beaten on a "rivalries" Sunday night game by an inferior team at HOME. The entire NFL world was watching to see a comedy of errors on home turf. 

 

This should have been an easy win... but, alas, the partially inept team showed up with 3 turnovers. Two by Allen and one by Coleman. What I can't get over are the penalties 11 for 90 yards. Undisciplined nonsense. That's coaching, and I've been defending McD and Babich, Brady since the start of the season...no more!

 

What we all watched was not a Super Bowl team, and the Patriots might just take the division! I feel bad for all the fans who wasted their money on those uniforms/colors.  

[Bill from NYC]

7 hours ago, Virgil said:

 

 

5 - Coleman - After a terrible start to the game with a fumble and penalty, Coleman went right back to being our 50/50 jump ball guy.  I just don't understand how that's the only thing we seem to think he is good for.  Can Coleman not run actual scripted routes and get open on his own?  Whatever we were hearing in the preseason about a next step from Coleman seems to be greatly exaggerated.  Since the 4th quarter of the Ravens game, he's been the same disappearing act in this offense until it's time to throw up prayers.

 

Well @Virgil, perhaps Coleman just isn't as good as we make him out to be. I have always thought that if McDermott really believed he was THAT good, he wouldn't have traded down not once but twice before ultimately drafting him.  I mean, he traded UP for Kaiir Elam because this is where his priorities lie.

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/xavier-worthy-keon-coleman-trade-nfl-draft-chiefs-bills/e5e244ae39309a97d3105cf4

https://billswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/bills/2022/04/28/buffalo-bills-trade-pick-23-baltimore-ravens-2022-nfl-draft-kaiir-elam/79261099007/

 

I wonder just how good Coleman would look without the most talented QB in football and if healthy, an all time great. How many balls would he catch from Tua, Justin Fields, etc.?

 

The Bills, despite the loss, have a great record and not much competition in their very weak division. I hope that they have what it takes to win a super bowl and who knows; this could be the year. That said, they have failed at providing weapons to an MVP, first ballot HOF QB. They need to get their priorities straight and sadly, our team leadership appears to be incapable of doing so.

 

Blast away but this is jmo.

[Sweats]

The NFL benefits from having adequate competition in the AFCEast........if Buffalo steamrolls every team in our division every year, then there is no real excitement or rivalry for any of the rest of the country to even tune in to watch the games.

 

The whole country will tune in to watch Bills vs. KC or Bills vs. Ravens, but there is no real viewership for the Bills vs. anyone else in the AFCEast, so if they build up some excitement and give the Pats a helping hand in a competent rivalry, then it's all for the greater good........as witnessed by those godawful penalty calls last night.

 

There were a few times where i thought the refs were watching a completely different game than the one i was watching.

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

7 hours ago, Virgil said:

If there's one benefit about adjusting the format of these "thoughts" in this new format, is that I don't feel the need to wait a day and let the emotions calm down.  Time to let it fly...

 

1 - Maye and Diggs - Credit where credit is due.  Diggs carved us up and Maye didn't make as many mistakes as Josh did.  Maye and Diggs sealed this game on the final drive with Maye eluding the Jones sack and Diggs getting the YAC.  It's tough for me to root for Diggs and his new "leader" mentality, because you know it's only a matter of time until he becomes the Diggs at the end of his Bills tenure.  It's also not great to see another QB develop in our division that will be around for a while. 

 

2 - Tre - I really hope Hairston is able to get on the field soon and be worthy of his 1st round status, because it's painful to watch Tre get abused out there.  I was hoping Strong would become another Benford, but his sudden IR stint and rumors about his neck have me worried.  Regardless, Tre gets lost out there too easily and opposing offenses are finding him.  This isn't to say that Benford has been lock down by any means, but Tre needs to get off the field.

 

3 - Brady - I understand having the occasional trick play or misdirection to keep the opposing defense honest, but they should not be in our scripted drives and we should not be seeing them as much as we are through five weeks.  We are maybe 50/50 successful with them and they've been drive killers as of late.  Also, why would you run a sweep with Knox of all people?  Just a terrible play call, execution, and a momentum killer early in the game.  I know we've been scoring 30 a game, but it really feels like our drive are all or nothing.  We need to get back to basics, let Josh and Jimbo Cook, and move adjust as needed.  We are playing way too cute.  Cook's rushing numbers in this game were abysmal, and I can't say that it's because the Pats defense shut him down.  

 

4 - Kincaid - If there's one bright spot on offense, it's been the emergence of Kincaid these past few weeks.  Not only has become a focus, but he's really shown some great route running and finding gaps in space.  Sadly, he's the only consistent pass catcher out there right now, minus maybe Shakir.  

 

5 - Coleman - After a terrible start to the game with a fumble and penalty, Coleman went right back to being our 50/50 jump ball guy.  I just don't understand how that's the only thing we seem to think he is good for.  Can Coleman not run actual scripted routes and get open on his own?  Whatever we were hearing in the preseason about a next step from Coleman seems to be greatly exaggerated.  Since the 4th quarter of the Ravens game, he's been the same disappearing act in this offense until it's time to throw up prayers.

 

6 - Josh - This was not a great game for him, and I'm not talking about the loss or stats.  Replays showed a lot of open guys for either check downs, or guys that got open after Josh bailed from the pocket too quickly.  I think the first quarter really got in Josh's head as you could see his body language on the sideline.  I think Josh starting getting impatient and became one dimension.  Roll to the right, look for someone to get open, or run with it.  I know Brady and those around him weren't doing him any favors, but he still needs to calm down.

 

7 - Milano - I would love to know what the actual status was of Milano's injury prior to this game, and if he was rushed back.  I would think not, missing four games, but to not even make it to halftime before leaving with another pectoral injury isn't a good look.  Either way, this has to be our last season relying on him as a starter.  I love Milano, I really do, but he's just not reliable out there anymore.  The defense was shell of itself once he left the game and we can't keep doing this year after year with him.

 

8 - McD - It's always tough for me to pin things on the head coach, because you don't know what the distribution of tasks are amongst the coaching staff.  However, penalties and how players get up for the game fall on the HC for me.  Granted, the refs were calling some pretty weak calls in the first half, but this is the 3rd straight game where the Bills just didn't have it going out the gate.  I don't doubt that we are getting the best effort from opposing teams, as you could see what this win meant to the Pats, but we are not coming out like a Super Bowl favorite, and it doesn't make any sense.  For that, it has to fall on McD.

 

9 - Groot - I really thought this was finally going to be his coming out game after the first drive, but then I never noticed him again.  Maybe the Pats made protection adjustments, but all of our pressure seemed to come up the middle or from blitzes in this game.  AJ did get a hand on a pass and Bosa got pressure a few times, but overall were ineffective.  I get that Oliver is hurt, but there is still no excuse for our DE's to be this ineffective with all the money and time we've invested there.

 

10 - 4-1 - While I'm not happy we lost, you had to know a loss was coming somewhere in this stretch with the way we've been playing.  I was hoping our slow starts and poor defense would have been a wake-up call sooner, but maybe we needed a loss to get going.  Who knows.  Either way, we are still in good shape, get defensive reinforcements after next week, and still have a relatively easy schedule.  It sucks to lose to the Pats and on a fun night with new uniforms (which will be forever tainted and a waste of money for a lot of fans), but all is fine.  The reality is, if this is the actual Bills team, as well as the team we saw for half against the Saints and Dolphins, then maybe we weren't the team we thought we were.

 

Go Bills!

 

1 - Ball control offense is nice when it works, but Buffalo needs to find the “big play” again. It’s severely lacking. And if you’re going to play conservatively then don’t abandon the run in the 2nd half in such a close game. Stick with your game plan & identity. I don’t get Brady’s logic. 
 

2 - Officiating was terrible as always. No flow to the game whatsoever. Every time the Bills would rip a nice play on 1st down there would be a holding or some other ticky tacky penalty. I feel like any game with a Hochuli is going to be a controversial loss. Actually, it seems like 90% of our close losses have heavy referee involvement and controversy. 
 

3 - Kincaid. You covered this already, but I wanted to agree. 6 receptions for 108 yards. The Bills should’ve gotten him more involved in the Red Zone. Give Beane credit where it’s due, a first round pick that panned out. 
 

4 - Drake Maye looks to be the future in New England. Great at protecting the ball, accurate, and athletic. Can’t really blame them after As much as I love dominating the AFCE every year, tough rivalry games are always the best. From a football perspective, it was a very entertaining game. Enjoyed the 5 years of easy wins. 
 

5 - Defense. Had some nice stops to allow Buffalo to get back into it, but the lack of talent at CB is glaringly bad. The Hairston injury had a lot more of an effect that I thought it would. And it’s not good foresight by Beane when your defense hinges on a rookie coming back from injury. Tre White held it down as best he could, but I think there’s a league-wide notice to target him.

 

6 - Josh Allen. This was his worst game this season, but still tied it up at the end. If you leave him any time on the clock then your team is going to lose. I think the NFL is finally starting to learn that. 
 

7 - Shaq Thompson. Too bad this guy is already 31. Guy was allover the field making sacks, TFL, pass breakups, etc. They should’ve kept him on Maye the entire game. 

[Southern Bills Fan]

6 hours ago, Paup 1995MVP said:

I don't think this coaching staff is smart enough to make the adjustments needed to make this a Super Bowl contending team.  The defense looks confused pre snap every week.  They don't know where to line up or who to cover.  This should not be happening in week 5. 

This is the point I think should be stressed. They seem to not be ready for the snap on a lot of plays. They seem confused and not sure what to do play to play. That and when we rush 4 they barely seem to get across the line of scrimmage. 

[oldmanfan]

Just a poor effort all around.  No one played particularly well outside of Kincaid, some of Brady’s calls were questionable, Babich took too long to put a spy on their QB, poor tacking, turnovers including Josh throwing a terrible pick.  We just seem to have a game like this every year for some reason.

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

7 hours ago, HappyDays said:

I understand every team has flaws, there are maybe no powerhouses this year, certainly not in the AFC. What annoys me is that I think we could have been the powerhouse. I was not a fan of the team building strategy this offseason, at all. We spent almost all of our resources on McDermott's side of the ball and left the MVP with scraps. Surprise surprise, the defense looks the same as it did last year and a historically mistake-free offense is reverting to the mean. That was an easy outcome to predict and the people in charge didn't see it coming.

 

I still think we are just one legit outside WR away from being an offense that can steamroll teams. That to me was the best chance we had of being a powerhouse team. Score 35+ every single game. The goal this year is to be the #1 seed. Don't look now but the Colts have an easy peasy schedule the rest of the year while we have some tough opponents after the bye. They and the Lions look like the best teams in the NFL right now and it's not with dominant defense, it's with offenses that are steamrolling their opponents and running up the score. That's how you win a Super Bowl in the modern era. I'm worried that we blew it in the offseason and I have no reason to think McDermott and Beane are going to learn from their mistake.

 

They still have a chance to rectify it. If they trade for a CB at the deadline I'll know they haven't learned. They need to make a trade at the only position that will make a legit difference to the outcome of games. When Maye got out of the pocket tonight he had his guy working open. Diggs turned back the clock tonight. When Allen got out of the pocket he was holding holding holding the ball and nobody was separating. That is where the biggest room for improvement still exists on the roster and I really hope Beane can see it, his little WGR rant notwithstanding.

 

lol Diggs is a joke. I guarantee you 100% of his motivation last night was about him beating Josh Allen. He could’ve been on the other side of the field making plays and guiding our young receivers, but he wants to be the big man and Allen is too big for him to overtake. F that guy. Seriously.
 

Good for New England. They won their SB this year and seem to be on the right path. 

[SunDSolar]

As bad as we played we were a OBVIOUIS PI call away from having a 1st and 10 inside the redzone

[Coach Tuesday]

My thoughts:

 

1.  The two young coordinators let the team down last night.  McD confirmed (angrily) that the first fumble legitimately was supposed to be a handoff to Knox - it wasn’t clear to me at the time but they actually did call that play.  Terrible.  And Babich is constantly being out-maneuvered by opposing OCs, it has happened in nearly every game this season.

 

2.  Diggs is still living rent-free in Josh’s head.  Zero coincidence to me that Josh reverted to hero ball during a prime time game where Diggs was balling out on the other sideline.

 

3.  Hilarious to me that McD is on the Competition Committee - that’s two weeks in a row where he’s been totally vexed and infuriated with the officiating.  Last week he didn’t think they were honoring substitution rules, this week they only called penalties on the Bills in the first half then let Gonzalez get away with a blatant PI to basically kill the final drive.  If anything the refs seem to be biased against McD and it used to be the thinking that getting onto the CC would at least help ensure a neutrally called game.

[SoCal Deek]

The game came down to turnovers…period. It’s been so long since Bills fans have experienced losing the turnover battle that we’ve all forgotten what a HUGE difference it makes in the outcome of a game. If you look at the Team Stats, we actually won across the board in virtually every stat. Just looking at the stat line you’d swear the Bills must’ve won that game.  Even penalties came out pretty darn close in the end. But, you cannot turn the ball over three times and expect to win many games in the NFL….period.

[Nihilarian]

On defense, a team either needs a top secondary or a great pass rush...Buffalo has neither! 

 

8 QB hits and 4 sacks on Drake Maye, and yet Diggs had 10 receptions for 146 yards. 

 

This game showed that, while not a bad team, the 2025 Buffalo Bills are not that good either. There are no gimmies, and every game could be a loss if they continue to play like they did against the Patriots. Seven road games ahead, along with some tough ones, Chiefs, Bucs, Texans, Steelers, at NE, and Eagles.  

 

4-1 and could end up 10-7. Meanwhile, the Patriots, 3-2, have the Saints, Titans, Browns, Falcons, Bucs, Jets, Bengals, Giants, Bills, Ravens, Jets, and Dolphins. 

 

You tell me! 

[Billsatlastin2018]

“Despite all that, we still won” And finally, we have come to the curve in the road, where that silly response sails over the cliff!

 

ALL the bad shite was exposed last night.

 

1) Let’s start with Beanie Boy. He can’t get it right. His all in Defense Draft has been badly exposed. Yes, we’re still awaiting the PED idiots, so my full vent will take place then. But, that strategy had proved foolish. Virtually, this entire D cannot rush, cannot cover and FFS- cannot tackle. Everyone runs on and through the Bills, especially anybody out of the backfield! The 3rd and longs are always auto catches by the opposition.

 

2) Poor Tre. He needs to be a fan in the stands, as he is of equal use on the field.

 

3) “Fine glass china” said someone of Milano here. Sad, but true.

 

4) It’s ok, when everybody eats- when they do. It’s not ok, that the scraps that Beanie Boy has chosen as WRs are simply not in the Top 25 and some ranked much lower than that. They simply cannot get open!
 

5) Coleman is not developing outside of jump ball pony. He and the rest, cannot get separation.

 

6) Knox is likely to get gassed. The $ is needed for a WR1 and the Georgia Tech kid is fine.

 

7) Brady: STOP, PLEASE STOP DOING STUPID ***** TRICKS! We don’t have the talent to accomplish any of that nonsense, especially with stone hands TEs.

 

8 McD… get a hold of your team. It was a stumbling, bumbling, fumbling effort, punctuated by embarrassing, untimely penalties. Was there a FS on a CONVERT? C’mon man. Atrocious.

[dcinmuncie]

Third straight year for an early October loss 

 

ironically last year it was to diggs’ Texans team 

[frostbitmic]

1. Every game I watched yesterday was a laundry fest on the field, except against the patriots. Our first Offensive play McGovern gets busted for holding putting the Offense back inside the 10, they played a lot inside their own 10 last night. We had 11 penalties, it felt like we had 50 as play after play yellow littered the field and it was ALWAYS against us.

 

2. Watching White getting abused time after time last night and it was clear we need to do something at CB #2 and soon. I'm starting to have my doubts that Hairston will play anytime soon.

 

3. Safety play is hot garbage. Where is Hancock ?

 

4. The team came out with little to no emotion in this one, Diggs had his team fired up, he was the MVP last night. Their coaching was better than ours top to bottom.

 

5. Enough of complimentary football, score early and score often and for **** sake take a deep shot every now and then, I know it'll put the Defense back on the field quicker but so what.

 

6. Look ugly play ugly.

 

[entropyrules]

Hopefully, this loss is a one-off and it shakes off the overconfidence that led to the Bills' meltdown in this game.

 

My Observations were as follows:

 

1. The penalty calls were incredibly egregious and that ultimately helped the Pats win the game-having said that the Bills' coaching staff had a really bad game plan

2. The Bill's D is average at best

3. Allen reverted to the Allen of the first 3 years of his career - note that had the Bills got to 31 pts they win the game - duh obviously - that's me making fun of me

4. Not sure why but the Bills seem to suffer injuries at positions they can least afford - yes all teams have injuries but the Bills seem to compound them for their DBs and DL.

5. As a corollary to 2 and 4, until the Bills start to draft players in the first three rounds that can actually contribute, they aren't getting to the promised land-yes i know Cook was taken early but he seems to be the exception - I look at Rousseau and Epenesa as wasted picks and with this year's 1st, 2nd and 3rd either injured or simply AWOL when on the field this last draft looks real bad. Not drafting a linebacker early in 2024  to replace Milano was a mistake IMHO; of course he would probably have been bust considering the Bills' record on early draft picks

6. The Bills' receivers, except for Shakir and Kincaid, are pretty mediocre - they really need a speed demon to make the other team's DBs provide more space

 

Last and not a game observation but if the Bills really think this is their year then trade for a speed receiver, a DB and a DE..yes they'll give up some draft capital but as noted above those early picks don't seem to contribute anyway.

 

and finally we can all look forward to successful season by the Sabres🤣

[50yrpatsfan]

1 hour ago, Nihilarian said:

This a thousand times!

 

Getting beaten on a "rivalries" Sunday night game by an inferior team at HOME. The entire NFL world was watching to see a comedy of errors on home turf. 

 

This should have been an easy win... but, alas, the partially inept team showed up with 3 turnovers. Two by Allen and one by Coleman. What I can't get over are the penalties 11 for 90 yards. Undisciplined nonsense. That's coaching, and I've been defending McD and Babich, Brady since the start of the season...no more!

 

What we all watched was not a Super Bowl team, and the Patriots might just take the division! I feel bad for all the fans who wasted their money on those uniforms/colors.  

"Inferior" is in the eye of the beholder, and most observers of last night's game would say that these two teams are more or less equal. NE actually seemed to have the slight edge in all 3 phases. 

[The Firebaugh Kid]

8 hours ago, BeastMaster said:

I think that Diggs has a negative affect on Josh.

 

His two worst games the past two seasons have been this one and the Texans game

 

I think Josh feels some sort of pressure when he sees him on the opposing team and it brings out the worst version of Josh

I was literally going to make a post just about this. He is absolutely in his head. I haven’t seen Josh force throws like that in a long long time. 

[Livinginthepast]

8 hours ago, Allen2Moulds said:

Lack of creativity on defense is killing us. Besides the one time we used Shaq as a spy, they just let Maye scramble to his right over and over. How about a corner blitz from that side, or do something to contain him. Babich right now doesn't seem to have enough answers.

Also, Tre White needs to get off the field and so does Rapp. Both are too slow and even when in position, they are unable to close on the ball. You need to either have size or speed. How do we manage to lack both?

Shaq right now is our best LB.

How did it take until the 4th Q for Babich to employ this strategy? Is he too scared to make a defensive adjustment without McD? or too dumb? Maye was breaking the pocket and rolling right with success all night. He also ran right up the middle at least 3 times. Why was there no Spy or another man on the Bills left side to cover and keep him in the pocket so maybe, just maybe one of our slow as molasses Dline could actually get to him before he released the ball. Just amateur hour coaching!