Running back play yesterday

[Captain_Quint]

105 KO return yards for Davis yesterday on 4 returns.

 

Ty Johnson 2 receptions for 61yds and a TD, bringing back the big play ability he showed last year.

 

Cook getting involved in the pass game for a TD, even though he was stuffed early in the run game.

 

And Josh with 3 rushing TDs. Good game for the horses. The wheel routes were open all day (for the Bucs, too). 

 

As the weather gets colder and playoffs approach, these guys need to be a big part of the gameplan.

[SCBills]

Ty Johnson looked like the guy we had last year.  Really good to see. 
 

Ray Davis was a beast on KO returns. 
 

Cook, not much in the running game, but we involved him in the passing game. 
 

Loved everything I saw from our 3 man RB room. 

[Bruffalo]

Pivoting the gameplan to get the RBs involved in the passing game after the running game was floundering is something the Bills have been missing all season. It lets the Bills be more dynamic and unpredictable, which is something I think we've really lacked in all of our losses. 

We've gotta get our playmakers the ball even if their traditional role is being shut down. Yesterday that meant Cook in the passing game, and that wheel route (was it actually a wheel route? I haven't watched the play over) for the TD was beautiful and created a perfect mismatch. 

[Captain_Quint]

2 minutes ago, Bruffalo said:

Pivoting the gameplan to get the RBs involved in the passing game after the running game was floundering is something the Bills have been missing all season. It lets the Bills be more dynamic and unpredictable, which is something I think we've really lacked in all of our losses. 

We've gotta get our playmakers the ball even if their traditional role is being shut down. Yesterday that meant Cook in the passing game, and that wheel route (was it actually a wheel route? I haven't watched the play over) for the TD was beautiful and created a perfect mismatch. 

Josh said that it took until the 3rd possession for them to pivot, and you could see the game shift at that point. Thankfully it didnt take until after halftime, or else the game probably would have been out of hand. 

 

 

[May Day 10]

Its like someone took the play calling away from "Tecmo Joe" Brady after the first 3 possessions.

[ganesh]

22 minutes ago, SCBills said:

Ty Johnson looked like the guy we had last year.  Really good to see. 
 

Ray Davis was a beast on KO returns. 
 

Cook, not much in the running game, but we involved him in the passing game. 
 

Loved everything I saw from our 3 man RB room. 

Was the Davis success due to the fear generated by Hardman's presence  (especially after the 61 yard return)

[SectionC3]

35 minutes ago, ganesh said:

Was the Davis success due to the fear generated by Hardman's presence  (especially after the 61 yard return)

Considering that Samuel was back with Hardman after hardman’s fumble,  I’d say no. 

[T master]

1 hour ago, Captain_Quint said:

105 KO return yards for Davis yesterday on 4 returns.

 

Ty Johnson 2 receptions for 61yds and a TD, bringing back the big play ability he showed last year.

 

Cook getting involved in the pass game for a TD, even though he was stuffed early in the run game.

 

And Josh with 3 rushing TDs. Good game for the horses. The wheel routes were open all day (for the Bucs, too). 

 

As the weather gets colder and playoffs approach, these guys need to be a big part of the gameplan.

All pieces that have ben sorely missing from the offense that was such a bigger part of last seasons strengths I hope Brady continues to keep this type of game plan moving forward !!

 

[Ralonzo]

1 hour ago, Captain_Quint said:

The wheel routes were open all day (for the Bucs, too). 

 

It looked like the Tampa coaches found a tendency where Milano has a key that influences him to the center of the field while the RB is slipping out for the wheel route. The TD, they used that and Milano totally took the cheese, the "oh *****" look on his face said it all, but they used it again later and it worked again.

[JGMcD2]

59 minutes ago, Bruffalo said:

Pivoting the gameplan to get the RBs involved in the passing game after the running game was floundering is something the Bills have been missing all season. It lets the Bills be more dynamic and unpredictable, which is something I think we've really lacked in all of our losses. 

We've gotta get our playmakers the ball even if their traditional role is being shut down. Yesterday that meant Cook in the passing game, and that wheel route (was it actually a wheel route? I haven't watched the play over) for the TD was beautiful and created a perfect mismatch. 

Pretty sure it was a variation of the play they ran against Miami last year on TNF, difference was that the LB didn't get lost in coverage so Cook wasn't wide open. 

[Pecker]

Yesterday, they finally moved Ty Johnson from exclusively the third down back to the second string back. Bout time 

[Jerome007]

It's the first time this year Cook had no lanes to run. He was tackled right away. I don't know why. They even used many pitches to the outside, all stuffed except one time they did it to the right. IDK why it didn't work this game, but as mentioned, the RBs still had a field day in other ways. 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

I would love to see them put Davis and cook out there together more. On that 2-point misfire, how about using Davis as the FB instead?

[SoonerBillsFan]

1 hour ago, Captain_Quint said:

105 KO return yards for Davis yesterday on 4 returns.

 

Ty Johnson 2 receptions for 61yds and a TD, bringing back the big play ability he showed last year.

 

Cook getting involved in the pass game for a TD, even though he was stuffed early in the run game.

 

And Josh with 3 rushing TDs. Good game for the horses. The wheel routes were open all day (for the Bucs, too). 

 

As the weather gets colder and playoffs approach, these guys need to be a big part of the gameplan.

3 things.

 

1. Use the pass to set up the run.  Teams are loading the box.

 

2. Get the RB's( esp. Cook) in the passing game.  Use him like Thurman was.

 

3. PASS ON 1ST DOWN!!!!   The Deep ball to Hardman was there.  The entire universe knows we run 99% on 1stdown. Change it up and keep them guessing.

Edited 8 hours ago by SoonerBillsFan

[GolfandBills]

It was good to see Brady scheme some throws to them.  Only took more than half the season 

[CincyBillsFan]

Cook didn't put up big numbers on the day running the football but on that last TD drive he had some of the best 7 - 8 yard runs I've seen.

Edited 8 hours ago by CincyBillsFan

[JGMcD2]

41 minutes ago, JGMcD2 said:

Pretty sure it was a variation of the play they ran against Miami last year on TNF, difference was that the LB didn't get lost in coverage so Cook wasn't wide open. 

 

[2003Contenders]

I'm glad you brought this up!

 

One of the big failings on offense this year versus last was the decline in the production we had seen out of the RBs on the roster NOT named James Cook. Davis was beginning to look like a cut candidate and Johnson, dubbed by Josh last season as the best 3rd down back in the league, had been a non-factor.

 

While Davis didn't do much on offense yesterday, he was remarkable returning kicks, and Johnson looked more like the 2024 version of himself.

 

I think the sudden RB activity in the passing game (remember, the Bucs have one of the best run defenses in the league) is just one more benefit of what happens when the downfield passing game is working and defenses cannot crowd the line of scrimmage.