A Few Thoughts about the Bucs Game - Community Edition

[Virgil]

Talk about a wild game.  This is the type of game that you could draw fifty different conclusions from and probably be equally correct with all them.  For my version of events, please understand that I had to watch half of the game on my phone because my daughter's dumb soccer team decided to make it to their championship game of their tournament, which was at 2p.  Thankfully, this was the last tournament of the season and they won.

 

1 - Josh - Between Josh's post game presser, comments we've heard from coaches, and plays within this game, I think I've decided that Josh's overall issue as of late has been a matter of trust, timing, and rushing.  In this game, we saw all the big throws, runs, and passion that makes Josh our MVP.  But we also saw some mental mistakes that could have sank us.  I'm only going to focus on the opportunities, because none of us need help glazing Josh more than we already do.  On the first interception, the smart play would have been to throw the ball at the receivers feet, in order to avoid the safety and intentional grounding.  But, more often than not, Josh's shuffle passes work out and we are so quick to praise his backyard football moves.  In that moment, Josh needs to understand that a weakly lobbed pass into traffic is most likely going to result in a negative play.  On the second interception, as we've seen reoccur over the past three weeks, Josh is late getting the ball to motionless receiver that has a defense on his back.  This to me indicates that Josh is looking for bigger plays, waits too long to take the easy pass, and allows the defenders to adjust.  This is confirmed to me by Josh and the coach's post game pressers where even Josh has said he saw guys earlier, but wants to keep looking downfield.  There's nothing wrong with that, and we finally saw where those big plays finally game to fruition and has sparked our success in the past.  Hopefully, this game is a sign of more of those big plays and Josh will get his timing and quick decisions back to where they've been.

 

2 - Shakir - As discussed in my previous thought, there were a few plays where Shakir was open underneath and Josh did not throw to him.  On one play specifically, Josh had Shakir and Shavers both wide open on crossers and Josh threw to Shavers.  Both were clearly visible to Josh and Shakir is known for his after catch abilities.  With that being said, I have to wonder if that was a conscious choice to keep a hit away from Shakir due to his injury.  Shakir didn't really have a stat line and I have to think he was more of a decoy or only to be thrown to in emergency situations.  Or I'm an idiot and completely wrong.

 

3 - Shavers - Really just wanted to take the time to congratulate this young man on his journey and all the hard work he's put into this team.  In a game where Palmer, Davis, and the RB's got more passes, Shavers still found a way to lead the team in yardage, all while contributing on special teams.  He earner his targets and his touchdown pass was beautiful both in the pass and in the way Shavers used his hands to secure the catch.  Well deserved game and I hope to see more of it.

 

4 - RB's - You could argue that the passing to RB's started two weeks ago, but it was really effective today.  Not only that, but Cook and Johnson looked fast AF out there.  I don't know if they've been running in mud lately, but both looked like olympic sprinters on their touchdown catches.  While the run game itself wasn't great overall, they made up for it in the passing game.  Great to see the Bills give opposing teams something else to worry about. 

 

5 - Run defense - I'm not an X's and O's guy, so I can never tell you why a specific part of the defense broke down.  My first thought is to blame the linebackers, but most of the post game analysis pointed out deficiencies with the defensive line.  What we do know is that injuries are not part of this, as Oliver and Hoecht are more pass rushers and our big guys were all there to play, including AJ.  Maybe credit is due to the Bucs offensive line, as our pressure rate seemed low as well as our ability to contain.  Either way, it was not great to see us get gashed on the ground, especially after the Achane experience and the possible JT one to come. 

 

6 - Secondary - I also read post game that Hairston had a large majority of the snaps during the game, but I honestly don't recall ever really seeing him out there.  Maybe that's a good thing?  Either way, I thought Lewis looked good out there in spots and Benford stepped up.  I definitely noticed Tre out there a lot and they overall seemed to do their jobs.  Bishop continues to impress and made a great interception.  Poyer's speed seemed to hurt at times, but also saw a lot more Hancock out there.  

 

7 - Milano - This hurts to say, but Milano needs to go the way of Poyer this offseason.  Sign with Miami, get cut, then join us back on the practice squad.  Whether it be injuries or age, Milano just can't get to the ball anymore and it's noticeable.  I was going to call him out for the run defense concerns, but I don't know that it was all him.  Either way, between him late to the tackle, getting taken out by second level blocks, or him coming off the field on passing downs, the signs of his glory days being over are there.

 

8 - Special Teams - If not for a questionable defensive holding call and fumble by Hardman, this might have been the best special teams performance of the season.  Like the RB's, our returners played fast and had solid overall gains.  The Bills were blessed with solid starting field position multiple times and the wind didn't seem to affect the kicking game too much.  Hardman's injury isn't great and hopefully we will get more details on that soon.

 

9 - Miami - Someone made a thoughts thread last week and I was out of town to comment.  But how in the actual ***** did we go from the Chiefs game to that, and now this?!  I mean, what the actual *****?

 

10 - Coaching - Do we know if McD called that game on defense?  Against a team missing their starting RB and top two starting WR's, we got ran through most of the game.  The Bucs had a lot of 3rd and shorts, which didn't help.  Baker looked like Lamar out there at times and we missed a lot of tackles.  With that being said, we did make some solid halftime adjustments and held our own in the second half.  The offense, minus the running game, was on fire and people were getting OPEN!  I don't feel right putting it on Coleman, but maybe not trying to force feed a guy and giving him the majority target share was a bad idea?  Either way, Gabe was probably more productive in the same role, has a better chemistry with Josh, and Palmer seemed to open up some lanes.  I also read that Shaver's separation was elite in this game.  Not sure if the fan/media comments finally got to them, but this is the offense of everyone eats that we've been wanting.  

 

 

 

Texans on the road with short rest isn't great, but the 10 days off after should be nice.  Hopefully we don't see Stroud, as the Texans usually play us hard.  

 

Go Bills!

[H2o]

11 minutes ago, Virgil said:

10 - Coaching - Do we know if McD called that game on defense?  Against a team missing their starting RB and top two starting WR's, we got ran through most of the game.  The Bucs had a lot of 3rd and shorts, which didn't help.  Baker looked like Lamar out there at times and we missed a lot of tackles.  With that being said, we did make some solid halftime adjustments and held our own in the second half.  The offense, minus the running game, was on fire and people were getting OPEN!  I don't feel right putting it on Coleman, but maybe not trying to force feed a guy and giving him the majority target share was a bad idea?  Either way, Gabe was probably more productive in the same role, has a better chemistry with Josh, and Palmer seemed to open up some lanes.  I also read that Shaver's separation was elite in this game.  Not sure if the fan/media comments finally got to them, but this is the offense of everyone eats that we've been wanting. 

Looked like he was calling the defense to me. He's had the play sheet in hand and talking into the mic in between every snap with the sheet guarding his mouth. 

[Wraith]

You're analysis on the play from Point #1 is not accurate. If anything, Allen locked in on Knox too early and/or for too long. As J.J. Watt mentioned during the game, the Tampa LB gets lost in coverage immediately, which Josh recognizes, but due to the nature of Knox's route and the cross-traffic, Allen has to wait several beats before pulling the trigger. Josh throws the ball with two defenders crossing in front of Knox but their momentum carries them out of the throwing lane. Unfortunately, the Tampa LB recovers and is able to cover a ton of ground to break up the pass.

 

 

[Freddie's Dead]

3 - Shavers.  Keon's benching led directly to the coming out party for Shavers.  I'm fine with Keon riding the pines until a WR injury forces him back into the lineup.  Tyrell "Earnie" Shavers is here to stay, and he just wrestled the #1 spot from Keon's cold, dead hand.  

[dave mcbride]

4 minutes ago, Wraith said:

You're analysis on the play from Point #1 is not accurate. If anything, Allen locked in on Knox too early and/or for too long. As J.J. Watt mentioned during the game, the Tampa LB gets lost in coverage immediately, which Josh recognizes, but due to the nature of Knox's route and the cross-traffic, Allen has to wait several beats before pulling the trigger. Josh throws the ball with two defenders crossing in front of Knox but their momentum carries them out of the throwing lane. Unfortunately, the Tampa LB recovers and is able to cover a ton of ground to break up the pass.

 

 

The interesting thing about that pick is that it may well have saved the Bills three points. It was effectively an 11-yard punt (given that it was 4th down), and TB got the ball at their own 32 instead of the 43. They then went 25 yards and punted from the Bills' 43 yard line (rather than attempting a 61-yard FG in windy conditions). If he had knocked it away and they had gone 25 yards after that, they're at the Bills 32 and in makeable FG range. Classic hidden yardage play. At the time, I said that while people will focus on the fact that he threw a pick, it was significantly better for the Bills that the defender caught it instead of letting it hit the ground. 

[corta765]

1. Ahha That Josh! - He has always been here and he certainly has had some good to heck great games (KC) this year, but yesterday felt like the return of quintessential Josh. Powerful, Chaotic, Unpredictable, Loosey Goose a little bit (wtf was that chest INT bro), but also a DemiGod who borders on unstoppable. For a list of reasons I am not getting into he has been far more a game manager this year and at times his attitude has been middling which he has said is to not get to high or low. But to be honest the best Josh is what yesterday was and it was nice to see it even if it just is a reminder it is there and don't worry. When people say the Bills will go as far as Josh takes them it is because of games like yesterday.

 

2. Passing Attack- I will be careful as it was one game and you need to be careful to not overreact too far... BUT that was the first time all year they passed with command and dictated the game when they passed. The Ravens game was fun and the numbers looked awesome... but Baltimore was also in a stupid prevent D & their secondary has stunk all year. Tampa Bay is not the best defense in football and their top CB went out, but finally the offense showed it can pass with command when the running game. That has been the major question for a while as when the Bills can run they can win, but when they have been asked to pass it has been not good (ATL/MIA). It is still one game and I would like to see this continue the remainder of the season, but it does give hope that the offense can roll far more like it did last year when it could run AND pass when needed.

 

3. Pass Catchers- I will get more in depth on Coleman, but yesterday felt like a burn the ships were doing what we need to do now for this passing group to work. Gabe Davis won't be a world beater but he made some very good plays and most importantly was a dependable catcher for Josh. Palmer had a nice moment or two showing when healthy it helps having him. Shavers was the big breakout and credit for him for how hard he worked to make the roster and get here. I was at training camp when he got hurt as it happened right in front of me. He was good all preseason even with that injury and it was so nice (and needed) to see him have the game he did. 

 

For the pass catching group one of the biggest things is Shakir only had one catch for -3 yards and yet the offense was rolling threw the air. That is something I did not think I would've have said before the game. Credit to Brady for finally get the RBs going on screens and plays out of the flat as that was a huge help and something missing for a while.

 

This pass catching group is never going to be great, but yesterday looked like a group that at least is serviceable so the passing game can go at a decent clip. Mix in Kincaid coming back, Shakir on his good days, and the RBs playing more a roll and for maybe the first time this year I feel decent about what they can do in the air.

 

4. Coleman- The point of no return has been hit. Third time he has been rocked for discipline within a year is really bad. His effort has already been questioned and it is a realllyyy bad sign when the headcoach after the game is saying "the ball finds those who work hard". Keon had a great week one and since then has had a miserable year by all account's. But the kid gloves are off now and no one is hiding him or his issues. He was always going to be a player that needed a lot of work to hit his maximum potential, but at this point guys like Shavers see to be passing him because they actually are putting the work in. With the season now at a point were they cannot afford a slip up if they hope to catch NE for the AFC East, they can no longer afford mistakes as players grow and if the effort issues are this bad it doesn't look positive long term either. Dion Dawkins is probably the biggest kid personality wise on the team and when he is saying stuff about a fellow player in public you know its really bad. Maybe the light finally hits for Keon, he turns it around and this is one of those great stories. Realistically though when you keep have to say "maybe the light will turn on" it means it is more likely not turning on. The offense having the day it did yesterday in the air is only going to hurt his case to return to the lineup even more. I do think he will get another chance to at least play, but I expect his workload to become very minimal moving forward. Sucks that your 2nd round pick from a year ago is probably a flame out, but better to admit defeat for the betterment of the team that keep harming yourself.

 

5. Cole Bishop- He is turning into a true foundational piece and that is really important in helping to overhaul and turn the defense around. Beane has had quite a few misses on defensive players in the last few drafts, but he is turning into a real gem and adds to a potentially nice young core with Walker & Hariston. I gotta believe Jordan Poyer is helping to train and teach Bishop as he is learning the ropes here.

 

6. Football Weather! - Yesterday was the type of game I wish I was able to go to. It feels like football with the cold and conditions, plus the game had some real meaning to it for both teams. It makes for a really fun experience that even as TV viewer gives off a good vibe. I understand why some like domes and not dealing with poor weather, but yesterday had that nice feel you can get in November that makes football unique with the elements.

 

7. Playoff Pace- Yesterdays win was important in keeping distance from the building log jam of wildcard teams. That KC tiebreaker is looming huge now and the same with the tiebreaker over Baltimore. A win Thursday would help to keep even more distance from those chasing us for the dance. Right now 10 wins may get you into the playoffs in the AFC but 11 is really the golden line. The way things are trending with teams like JAX/HOU/LAC all beating each other and PIT hanging in there also, you are going to see a few teams at 9-8 or 10-7 especially miss simply because a log jam is building with too many teams with similar records. The last thing Buffalo needs is to get close to that mess which is building up, division would be great if they can get it but playoff berth comes first regardless.

 

8. I Don't Think The Defense Was Awful (ducks and runs) - Watching the game yesterday my impression of the defense was some good, some bad, and mostly the same crap we've known all year. The defense had to deal with three turnovers with two of three inside Bills territory. They managed to hold TB to a FG on the first despite being so close to the endzone, forced TB to punt after the 4th down INT, and they had stopped TB before the fumble by Hardman which then TB did score a TD. 10 points allowed on 3 turnovers is not awful and I can guarantee Bowles was probably chewing his team out for only getting 10 points when they left a lot on the table. With that said the defense just struggles against the run mightily, partially because they have too many injuries partially because they are just not good especially at LB. Against the pass they are at least decent when healthy as some of their youth has really started to blossom. At best they are probably a middle of the road unit when at the best health they can be and that is enough. It is a shame that with all the resources they have invested into the defense that the best it can be is middling at this point and there are larger questions to be asked because of this. But for where things stand at this point, yesterday was probably an decent day all things considered and expectations being what they are.

[BuffaloBillyG]

A couple of seasons ago, the Bills let some vets walk on defense. It was time. They said goodbye to Poyer, White (who are both oddly back) and Hyde. 

 

This off season I feel it's time to do the same. It's time to shed some longtime guys who just aren't what they used to be. Obviously, Milano, Tre White and Poyer need to be upgraded. But, they need to take a serious look at Taron Johnson, Rapp and even the newcomer in Joey Bosa as guys that probably shouldn't return. 

 

It's really telling that once Rapp went out our secondary seems to have pulled it together, and is always stronger when White is on the side watching Mad Max play. It really speaks volumes that when Taron is out, the slot is covered just fine. No drop off at all. Games Milano have missed have actually had better LBer play. 

 

For as many assets that they have sunk in, the best thing they could do is to cut the dead wood off, let the young guys get experience and reboot that defense this off season 

[Steve O]

Thought there was finally going to be a game where McD's use of timeouts didn't have me screaming and pulling what little hair I have left out. Then he goes and uses one before the last play when the Bucs were clearly in loser formation. WTF.

[sullim4]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

9 - Miami - Someone made a thoughts thread last week and I was out of town to comment.  But how in the actual ***** did we go from the Chiefs game to that, and now this?!  I mean, what the actual *****?

 

It is absolutely 100% on coaching.  We've seen this a lot from McD coached teams - they step up when they absolutely have to and have a tendency to lay eggs against bad teams (like Urban Meyer's Jags).

 

I would hope the Miami game has jolted the team sufficiently to avoid doing this, but I really need to see consistency from week-to-week before I buy the argument that the team has turned the corner.

[Virgil]

42 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

A couple of seasons ago, the Bills let some vets walk on defense. It was time. They said goodbye to Poyer, White (who are both oddly back) and Hyde. 

 

This off season I feel it's time to do the same. It's time to shed some longtime guys who just aren't what they used to be. Obviously, Milano, Tre White and Poyer need to be upgraded. But, they need to take a serious look at Taron Johnson, Rapp and even the newcomer in Joey Bosa as guys that probably shouldn't return. 

 

It's really telling that once Rapp went out our secondary seems to have pulled it together, and is always stronger when White is on the side watching Mad Max play. It really speaks volumes that when Taron is out, the slot is covered just fine. No drop off at all. Games Milano have missed have actually had better LBer play. 

 

For as many assets that they have sunk in, the best thing they could do is to cut the dead wood off, let the young guys get experience and reboot that defense this off season 

 

Agreed.  Milano, Tre, Poyer, and Rapp need to not be starters or on the team in anything more than a vet min deal.  I like they idea of their presence to helping with new guys, but that's it.

16 minutes ago, Steve O said:

Thought there was finally going to be a game where McD's use of timeouts didn't have me screaming and pulling what little hair I have left out. Then he goes and uses one before the last play when the Bucs were clearly in loser formation. WTF.

 

All I can think is that McD was worried about a trick play.  I even thought that as I found it off the Bucs were conceding defeat.

[BuffaloBillyG]

3 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

Agreed.  Milano, Tre, Poyer, and Rapp need to not be starters or on the team in anything more than a vet min deal.  I like they idea of their presence to helping with new guys, but that's it.

 

All I can think is that McD was worried about a trick play.  I even thought that as I found it off the Bucs were conceding defeat.

Honestly, I dislike the idea. 

 

As we see this year, if any of these guys are on the roster, they are one play away from seeing significant snaps. I'd even throw Jordan Phillips on the list. I think having a guy or two like that could be a benefit, but if you're filling the bench with guys that have no business on the field anymore and injury bug hits .. you're in deep trouble. 

[Virgil]

4 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

Honestly, I dislike the idea. 

 

As we see this year, if any of these guys are on the roster, they are one play away from seeing significant snaps. I'd even throw Jordan Phillips on the list. I think having a guy or two like that could be a benefit, but if you're filling the bench with guys that have no business on the field anymore and injury bug hits .. you're in deep trouble. 

 

I'm with you.  However, the Bills don't seem to want to hire these guys to the staff.  If they want to be on the practice squad and a break in case of emergency situation, I'm okay with it.  It's overall worked out for us so far.  

[chris heff]

56 minutes ago, Freddie's Dead said:

3 - Shavers.  Keon's benching led directly to the coming out party for Shavers.  I'm fine with Keon riding the pines until a WR injury forces him back into the lineup.  Tyrell "Earnie" Shavers is here to stay, and he just wrestled the #1 spot from Keon's cold, dead hand.  

There is about a handful of people that are going to get the “Earnie” reference.

[Allen2Moulds]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

Talk about a wild game.  This is the type of game that you could draw fifty different conclusions from and probably be equally correct with all them.  For my version of events, please understand that I had to watch half of the game on my phone because my daughter's dumb soccer team decided to make it to their championship game of their tournament, which was at 2p.  Thankfully, this was the last tournament of the season and they won.

 

1 - Josh - Between Josh's post game presser, comments we've heard from coaches, and plays within this game, I think I've decided that Josh's overall issue as of late has been a matter of trust, timing, and rushing.  In this game, we saw all the big throws, runs, and passion that makes Josh our MVP.  But we also saw some mental mistakes that could have sank us.  I'm only going to focus on the opportunities, because none of us need help glazing Josh more than we already do.  On the first interception, the smart play would have been to throw the ball at the receivers feet, in order to avoid the safety and intentional grounding.  But, more often than not, Josh's shuffle passes work out and we are so quick to praise his backyard football moves.  In that moment, Josh needs to understand that a weakly lobbed pass into traffic is most likely going to result in a negative play.  On the second interception, as we've seen reoccur over the past three weeks, Josh is late getting the ball to motionless receiver that has a defense on his back.  This to me indicates that Josh is looking for bigger plays, waits too long to take the easy pass, and allows the defenders to adjust.  This is confirmed to me by Josh and the coach's post game pressers where even Josh has said he saw guys earlier, but wants to keep looking downfield.  There's nothing wrong with that, and we finally saw where those big plays finally game to fruition and has sparked our success in the past.  Hopefully, this game is a sign of more of those big plays and Josh will get his timing and quick decisions back to where they've been.

 

2 - Shakir - As discussed in my previous thought, there were a few plays where Shakir was open underneath and Josh did not throw to him.  On one play specifically, Josh had Shakir and Shavers both wide open on crossers and Josh threw to Shavers.  Both were clearly visible to Josh and Shakir is known for his after catch abilities.  With that being said, I have to wonder if that was a conscious choice to keep a hit away from Shakir due to his injury.  Shakir didn't really have a stat line and I have to think he was more of a decoy or only to be thrown to in emergency situations.  Or I'm an idiot and completely wrong.

 

3 - Shavers - Really just wanted to take the time to congratulate this young man on his journey and all the hard work he's put into this team.  In a game where Palmer, Davis, and the RB's got more passes, Shavers still found a way to lead the team in yardage, all while contributing on special teams.  He earner his targets and his touchdown pass was beautiful both in the pass and in the way Shavers used his hands to secure the catch.  Well deserved game and I hope to see more of it.

 

4 - RB's - You could argue that the passing to RB's started two weeks ago, but it was really effective today.  Not only that, but Cook and Johnson looked fast AF out there.  I don't know if they've been running in mud lately, but both looked like olympic sprinters on their touchdown catches.  While the run game itself wasn't great overall, they made up for it in the passing game.  Great to see the Bills give opposing teams something else to worry about. 

 

5 - Run defense - I'm not an X's and O's guy, so I can never tell you why a specific part of the defense broke down.  My first thought is to blame the linebackers, but most of the post game analysis pointed out deficiencies with the defensive line.  What we do know is that injuries are not part of this, as Oliver and Hoecht are more pass rushers and our big guys were all there to play, including AJ.  Maybe credit is due to the Bucs offensive line, as our pressure rate seemed low as well as our ability to contain.  Either way, it was not great to see us get gashed on the ground, especially after the Achane experience and the possible JT one to come. 

 

6 - Secondary - I also read post game that Hairston had a large majority of the snaps during the game, but I honestly don't recall ever really seeing him out there.  Maybe that's a good thing?  Either way, I thought Lewis looked good out there in spots and Benford stepped up.  I definitely noticed Tre out there a lot and they overall seemed to do their jobs.  Bishop continues to impress and made a great interception.  Poyer's speed seemed to hurt at times, but also saw a lot more Hancock out there.  

 

7 - Milano - This hurts to say, but Milano needs to go the way of Poyer this offseason.  Sign with Miami, get cut, then join us back on the practice squad.  Whether it be injuries or age, Milano just can't get to the ball anymore and it's noticeable.  I was going to call him out for the run defense concerns, but I don't know that it was all him.  Either way, between him late to the tackle, getting taken out by second level blocks, or him coming off the field on passing downs, the signs of his glory days being over are there.

 

8 - Special Teams - If not for a questionable defensive holding call and fumble by Hardman, this might have been the best special teams performance of the season.  Like the RB's, our returners played fast and had solid overall gains.  The Bills were blessed with solid starting field position multiple times and the wind didn't seem to affect the kicking game too much.  Hardman's injury isn't great and hopefully we will get more details on that soon.

 

9 - Miami - Someone made a thoughts thread last week and I was out of town to comment.  But how in the actual ***** did we go from the Chiefs game to that, and now this?!  I mean, what the actual *****?

 

10 - Coaching - Do we know if McD called that game on defense?  Against a team missing their starting RB and top two starting WR's, we got ran through most of the game.  The Bucs had a lot of 3rd and shorts, which didn't help.  Baker looked like Lamar out there at times and we missed a lot of tackles.  With that being said, we did make some solid halftime adjustments and held our own in the second half.  The offense, minus the running game, was on fire and people were getting OPEN!  I don't feel right putting it on Coleman, but maybe not trying to force feed a guy and giving him the majority target share was a bad idea?  Either way, Gabe was probably more productive in the same role, has a better chemistry with Josh, and Palmer seemed to open up some lanes.  I also read that Shaver's separation was elite in this game.  Not sure if the fan/media comments finally got to them, but this is the offense of everyone eats that we've been wanting.  

 

 

 

Texans on the road with short rest isn't great, but the 10 days off after should be nice.  Hopefully we don't see Stroud, as the Texans usually play us hard.  

 

Go Bills!

As always, great writeup.  I really appreciate your thoughts on the game, as you hit on all the key things.

 

On the coaching thing, I couldn't help but think to myself, who is calling this defense?   I know they showed McD with a playsheet, but Bobby is still in the booth, and I'm thinking that at the moment, both are involved.  I would love to see Bobby on the sideline and erase all doubt.  To me, the defensive calls felt a lot more like the 1st half against Atlanta.  Specifically remember a 3rd and 12, where we chose to sit back and play soft coverage, and allow the conversion.  It was a very vanilla look, no disguise, no pressure.  I thought to myself, was that McD?   McD is typically more aggressive in those situations.

I don't think we'll ever truly know.  They'll likely continue to say that it's a collaborate effort between the 2.

 

As for the run D, it always starts with the D-line, but Bernard playing with a bad wheel, and both Milano, and Poyer not having any wheels at this point, all contributes.  I was really surprised that Shaq Thompson was a full go at practice and was then inactive.  I'm wondering if that has to do with the short turnaround, and Bernard already being banged up. Maybe McD sits Bernard this week, and gives him a full 2 weeks to rest that ankle.

 

I would love to see a lot more of Shaq and Dorian.  If Bernard could get fully Healthy, Ideally, I would like to see Shaq and Bernard, assuming Shaq is able to play Milano's WLB role. 

[Rich Stadium Original]

As far as the run defense...think it always goes to the defensive tackles.  If you look at the history of the best run stuffing LBs in the history of the Bills and the NFL, they probably had a dominant DT in front of them.  Even if the Tackles weren't making the play themselves, they were occupying a double team that meant less pressure on the linebackers behind them.

 

Fridge Perry - Mike Singletary

Siragusa/Sam Adams - Ray Lewis

 

Bills just don't have THAT guy at the position since Kyle William

[stlbills13]

I know the whole idea that when you have a bad/injured defense you need to run the ball and shorten the game but IMO this defense is so bad that you just need to let Josh go wild and see what happens. 2 pretty poor turnovers yesterday and we still put up 44 in non optimal weather conditions. You gotta protect Josh from a health perspective so maybe you can't quite be like that the rest of the way but it's time to open it up and let the dogs eat. 

[Steve O]

38 minutes ago, Virgil said:

All I can think is that McD was worried about a trick play.  I even thought that as I found it off the Bucs were conceding defeat.

I mean, Bridgewater was in. There wasn't going to be a trick play. But okay, if there is an explanation I guess that's it. 

[gomper]

Congrats to your daughter!!!

[scuba guy]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

Talk about a wild game.  This is the type of game that you could draw fifty different conclusions from and probably be equally correct with all them.  For my version of events, please understand that I had to watch half of the game on my phone because my daughter's dumb soccer team decided to make it to their championship game of their tournament, which was at 2p.  Thankfully, this was the last tournament of the season and they won.

 

1 - Josh - Between Josh's post game presser, comments we've heard from coaches, and plays within this game, I think I've decided that Josh's overall issue as of late has been a matter of trust, timing, and rushing.  In this game, we saw all the big throws, runs, and passion that makes Josh our MVP.  But we also saw some mental mistakes that could have sank us.  I'm only going to focus on the opportunities, because none of us need help glazing Josh more than we already do.  On the first interception, the smart play would have been to throw the ball at the receivers feet, in order to avoid the safety and intentional grounding.  But, more often than not, Josh's shuffle passes work out and we are so quick to praise his backyard football moves.  In that moment, Josh needs to understand that a weakly lobbed pass into traffic is most likely going to result in a negative play.  On the second interception, as we've seen reoccur over the past three weeks, Josh is late getting the ball to motionless receiver that has a defense on his back.  This to me indicates that Josh is looking for bigger plays, waits too long to take the easy pass, and allows the defenders to adjust.  This is confirmed to me by Josh and the coach's post game pressers where even Josh has said he saw guys earlier, but wants to keep looking downfield.  There's nothing wrong with that, and we finally saw where those big plays finally game to fruition and has sparked our success in the past.  Hopefully, this game is a sign of more of those big plays and Josh will get his timing and quick decisions back to where they've been.

 

2 - Shakir - As discussed in my previous thought, there were a few plays where Shakir was open underneath and Josh did not throw to him.  On one play specifically, Josh had Shakir and Shavers both wide open on crossers and Josh threw to Shavers.  Both were clearly visible to Josh and Shakir is known for his after catch abilities.  With that being said, I have to wonder if that was a conscious choice to keep a hit away from Shakir due to his injury.  Shakir didn't really have a stat line and I have to think he was more of a decoy or only to be thrown to in emergency situations.  Or I'm an idiot and completely wrong.

 

3 - Shavers - Really just wanted to take the time to congratulate this young man on his journey and all the hard work he's put into this team.  In a game where Palmer, Davis, and the RB's got more passes, Shavers still found a way to lead the team in yardage, all while contributing on special teams.  He earner his targets and his touchdown pass was beautiful both in the pass and in the way Shavers used his hands to secure the catch.  Well deserved game and I hope to see more of it.

 

4 - RB's - You could argue that the passing to RB's started two weeks ago, but it was really effective today.  Not only that, but Cook and Johnson looked fast AF out there.  I don't know if they've been running in mud lately, but both looked like olympic sprinters on their touchdown catches.  While the run game itself wasn't great overall, they made up for it in the passing game.  Great to see the Bills give opposing teams something else to worry about. 

 

5 - Run defense - I'm not an X's and O's guy, so I can never tell you why a specific part of the defense broke down.  My first thought is to blame the linebackers, but most of the post game analysis pointed out deficiencies with the defensive line.  What we do know is that injuries are not part of this, as Oliver and Hoecht are more pass rushers and our big guys were all there to play, including AJ.  Maybe credit is due to the Bucs offensive line, as our pressure rate seemed low as well as our ability to contain.  Either way, it was not great to see us get gashed on the ground, especially after the Achane experience and the possible JT one to come. 

 

6 - Secondary - I also read post game that Hairston had a large majority of the snaps during the game, but I honestly don't recall ever really seeing him out there.  Maybe that's a good thing?  Either way, I thought Lewis looked good out there in spots and Benford stepped up.  I definitely noticed Tre out there a lot and they overall seemed to do their jobs.  Bishop continues to impress and made a great interception.  Poyer's speed seemed to hurt at times, but also saw a lot more Hancock out there.  

 

7 - Milano - This hurts to say, but Milano needs to go the way of Poyer this offseason.  Sign with Miami, get cut, then join us back on the practice squad.  Whether it be injuries or age, Milano just can't get to the ball anymore and it's noticeable.  I was going to call him out for the run defense concerns, but I don't know that it was all him.  Either way, between him late to the tackle, getting taken out by second level blocks, or him coming off the field on passing downs, the signs of his glory days being over are there.

 

8 - Special Teams - If not for a questionable defensive holding call and fumble by Hardman, this might have been the best special teams performance of the season.  Like the RB's, our returners played fast and had solid overall gains.  The Bills were blessed with solid starting field position multiple times and the wind didn't seem to affect the kicking game too much.  Hardman's injury isn't great and hopefully we will get more details on that soon.

 

9 - Miami - Someone made a thoughts thread last week and I was out of town to comment.  But how in the actual ***** did we go from the Chiefs game to that, and now this?!  I mean, what the actual *****?

 

10 - Coaching - Do we know if McD called that game on defense?  Against a team missing their starting RB and top two starting WR's, we got ran through most of the game.  The Bucs had a lot of 3rd and shorts, which didn't help.  Baker looked like Lamar out there at times and we missed a lot of tackles.  With that being said, we did make some solid halftime adjustments and held our own in the second half.  The offense, minus the running game, was on fire and people were getting OPEN!  I don't feel right putting it on Coleman, but maybe not trying to force feed a guy and giving him the majority target share was a bad idea?  Either way, Gabe was probably more productive in the same role, has a better chemistry with Josh, and Palmer seemed to open up some lanes.  I also read that Shaver's separation was elite in this game.  Not sure if the fan/media comments finally got to them, but this is the offense of everyone eats that we've been wanting.  

 

 

 

Texans on the road with short rest isn't great, but the 10 days off after should be nice.  Hopefully we don't see Stroud, as the Texans usually play us hard.  

 

Go Bills!

You know Virgil there is this new thing called a tablet the screen is about 4x as big as your phone, and you can plug an ear piece into it.  If not that a laptop works really well also.

 

 

So with that said I am going to call you out on this one.

 

Your daughter is family.  So grew up watch her grow and succeed it is all about them, enough said.

[GASabresIUFan]

Quick note of passes to the RBs

 

In 4 weeks starting with the NE game and ending with the KC game Josh threw only 9 passes to RBs (only 2 to Cook) for 6 catches for 63 yards and a TD

 

In the last 2 weeks 14 targets, 13 catches for 175 yards and 2 TDs.  Cook is 8 for 8 with 90 yards and a TD.  

 

Clearly something has changed in the game plan.  

 

In the TB game, I loved that we went down field more as well.  Having Palmer back clearly helps and Shavers is making a positive impact. Shavers in his limited career has 241 yards on 12 receptions (18 targets - I'll take 2/3 for a boundary receiver) with 2 TDs.  Maybe he needs more targets?  Hopefully he'll turn out better than Robert Foster (who had 3 100 yard games as a rookie).