Buffalo Bills 2018-2019

[shrader]

1 hour ago, Lanny said:

Last year Patriots lost to the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football 42-27

 

In 2003 they lost to the Bills in the opener 31-0, then beat the Eagles the following week 31-10 in Philadelphia. Went on to finish the season 14-2.

 

33 minutes ago, Eleven said:

They did not.  They were 14-2 with a week 4 loss against Washington.

Ahhh, so it was 2-2 as opposed to 0-2.  I knew there was something with the number 2 that year.

[Taro T]

25 minutes ago, WildCard said:

Allen had 3 fumbles and 2 should have been interceptions in this game. Just throwign it out there

He had 2 legit fumbles and an incompletion that inexplicably was ruled a fumble.

The bounces definitely went the Bills way yesterday.

But, IMHO, the play of the game was the 1st 3rd down when the 2nd guy to get to Allen went helmet on helmet with him.  Instead of 3 and out w/ the Vikes getting good field position, the Bills score a TD & then Cousins was a clutz their next 2 "drives."  Told the wife that I'd've believed her if she told me it was 27-0 with 6 left in the 2nd quarter.  Just wouldn't have believed it was the Bills in the lead.

[Randall Flagg]

28 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

I was only able to listen to the game.

I'm less inclined to be excited about the result (I've learned my lesson when it comes to games that seem to turn in large part on fumble recoveries), and I am more curious to hear what people saw with Allen's play. It's just one game, sure. But it sounded as though he showed really well -- not just with the goal line dive and hurdling stuff -- but with overall play (sounds like there were several bad drops).

Any feedback is appreciated, even if it's a link upthread.

I'm sure WC has the link of all of his throws, but the key point about Allen's game that we're looking for this season is, improvement. The main area of his improvement was decisiveness IMO. He moved through his reads to his checkdown target a few times and got us first downs because of it, in situations where he would take a sack last week waiting too long. And remember how he missed about 5 blatant blitzes last week? He still missed a couple, but also changed the blocking scheme pre-snap a couple of times when he saw it coming. 

The only almost-pick I remember was a deep shot he took to a WR that was 1 on 1, and he underthrew the ball, but the WR did a good job knocking the ball out I think. Or it was just dropped, but I'm pretty sure Foster got his hand in there. 

Allen also had  a perplexing sack and fumble where the ball was not in a protected spot, it was very, very rookie-like. 

My favorite drives of his were a few that didn't even end in TDs, there was one where he was excellent and got us to the long field goal to go up 27-0 from deep in our own zone, and the only reason that drive stopped was because of dumb penalties. He converted several third downs with perfect timing routes and ball placement. The accuracy issues from week one were, like, gone. He wasn't perfect in that regard, but no QB is, and it was like two different quarterbacks between this week and last w.r.t ball placement. It's almost as if he was a jittery rookie in week 1 or something. 

His pocket presence continues to be shocking even if he still sometimes misses pressure on his blind-side, which happened less this week too. 

He really did have an objectively good/efficient game against a stellar defense (yeah, yeah, they were probably missing a couple guys - they were still facing a rookie with a bad line and no WRs at home).

And yes, the drive that we went up 10-0 instead of 14-0, it was like 3rd and 8 or something from the 10, and he hit Benjamin in the hands with a perfect cross route pass and Kelvin dropped it. He would have fallen into the end zone if he hadn't dropped it. On Allen's second rush TD, a couple plays before he threw the perfect "fade" kind of pass to Clay, and it was also perfectly placed but Clay couldn't quite pull it in one-handed (the defender was holding his other arm...) but there was no chance of the D getting it. Then the pass that got them to the goal line for 4th and 1, if handled cleanly, was a TD, but Holmes didn't get control until he was pushed out of the end zone. Then, later, Allen's best deep throw he's thrown to a wide open streaking foster, was closed in his hands but kept falling right through and hit the ground, because Foster has zero ability to track or catch a ball, it's almost embarrassing. 

It was a promising performance that has me excited to tune in every week to see what way he's improved himself. It was the kind of game Darnold had in week 1. Just fun and exciting and hopeful, while understanding what a climb he still has to make. 

[shrader]

Did Vontae Davis salvage this defense?

[Randall Flagg]

Also, Minnesota never showed up. Trap game/injuries, for sure. But the NFL is weird. The Bills just beat them. "Lucky fumbles" or Hughes having one of the best pass rushing games of the last three years (according to some stat site, Hughes had more QB pressures in this game than any single player since they've existed). 

BOTH Fumble recoveries occurred on 3rd down sacks, so we were getting the ball back anyway. 

[WildCard]

4 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

I'm sure WC has the link of all of his throws, but the key point about Allen's game that we're looking for this season is, improvement. The main area of his improvement was decisiveness IMO. He moved through his reads to his checkdown target a few times and got us first downs because of it, in situations where he would take a sack last week waiting too long. And remember how he missed about 5 blatant blitzes last week? He still missed a couple, but also changed the blocking scheme pre-snap a couple of times when he saw it coming. 

The only almost-pick I remember was a deep shot he took to a WR that was 1 on 1, and he underthrew the ball, but the WR did a good job knocking the ball out I think. Or it was just dropped, but I'm pretty sure Foster got his hand in there. 

Allen also had  a perplexing sack and fumble where the ball was not in a protected spot, it was very, very rookie-like. 

My favorite drives of his were a few that didn't even end in TDs, there was one where he was excellent and got us to the long field goal to go up 27-0 from deep in our own zone, and the only reason that drive stopped was because of dumb penalties. He converted several third downs with perfect timing routes and ball placement. The accuracy issues from week one were, like, gone. He wasn't perfect in that regard, but no QB is, and it was like two different quarterbacks between this week and last w.r.t ball placement. It's almost as if he was a jittery rookie in week 1 or something. 

His pocket presence continues to be shocking even if he still sometimes misses pressure on his blind-side, which happened less this week too. 

He really did have an objectively good/efficient game against a stellar defense (yeah, yeah, they were probably missing a couple guys - they were still facing a rookie with a bad line and no WRs at home).

And yes, the drive that we went up 10-0 instead of 14-0, it was like 3rd and 8 or something from the 10, and he hit Benjamin in the hands with a perfect cross route pass and Kelvin dropped it. He would have fallen into the end zone if he hadn't dropped it. On Allen's second rush TD, a couple plays before he threw the perfect "fade" kind of pass to Clay, and it was also perfectly placed but Clay couldn't quite pull it in one-handed (the defender was holding his other arm...) but there was no chance of the D getting it. Then the pass that got them to the goal line for 4th and 1, if handled cleanly, was a TD, but Holmes didn't get control until he was pushed out of the end zone. Then, later, Allen's best deep throw he's thrown to a wide open streaking foster, was closed in his hands but kept falling right through and hit the ground, because Foster has zero ability to track or catch a ball, it's almost embarrassing. 

It was a promising performance that has me excited to tune in every week to see what way he's improved himself. It was the kind of game Darnold had in week 1. Just fun and exciting and hopeful, while understanding what a climb he still has to make. 

Indeed I do http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap3000000965556/Every-Josh-Allen-throw-vs-Vikings-Week-3

 

Good post too. I agree completely that although we're still seeing some very rookie things (that fumble being the big one), his progress is evident. He got a ton better at progressing through his reads and knowing where his safety valve was. Also, that drive where we went up 27-0 was great because we had a 3rd and very long and he got the ball right back into field goal position instead of trying to chuck it 60 yards for the 1st down

[Taro T]

2 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

Also, Minnesota never showed up. Trap game/injuries, for sure. But the NFL is weird. The Bills just beat them. "Lucky fumbles" or Hughes having one of the best pass rushing games of the last three years (according to some stat site, Hughes had more QB pressures in this game than any single player since they've existed). 

BOTH Fumble recoveries occurred on 3rd down sacks, so we were getting the ball back anyway. 

The bolded is true, but the emotion that gets imparted by making those plays is worth way more than the 35 yards the offense doesn't need to pick up to get to scoring range.

This game was the mirror image of the Baltimore game.  Hopefully they can come out against the Packers like the Chargers did in Rich.

 

Wondering who the frontrunner for 1st overall is now.  Maybe Houston or Tennessee?

[inkman]

10 minutes ago, Taro T said:

The bolded is true, but the emotion that gets imparted by making those plays is worth way more than the 35 yards the offense doesn't need to pick up to get to scoring range.

This game was the mirror image of the Baltimore game.  Hopefully they can come out against the Packers like the Chargers did in Rich.

 

Wondering who the frontrunner for 1st overall is now.  Maybe Houston or Tennessee?

San Fran?

[Randall Flagg]

Arizona is freaking terrible too. Don't count them out. 

Tennessee beat Jacksonville somehow, they'll win enough games to not be in last. 

[WildCard]

11 minutes ago, Taro T said:

The bolded is true, but the emotion that gets imparted by making those plays is worth way more than the 35 yards the offense doesn't need to pick up to get to scoring range.

This game was the mirror image of the Baltimore game.  Hopefully they can come out against the Packers like the Chargers did in Rich.

 

Wondering who the frontrunner for 1st overall is now.  Maybe Houston or Tennessee?

 

Just now, inkman said:

San Fran?

Arizona

[Taro T]

9 minutes ago, inkman said:

San Fran?

Without Garrapolo, very likely.

Arizona gave the game away against the Bears.  Should have won it until Bradford became a turnover machine.

[WildCard]

Just now, Taro T said:

Without Garrapolo, very likely.

Arizona gave the game away against the Bears.  Should have won it until Bradford became a turnover machine.

Mitch Trubisky is pretty bad

[Taro T]

3 minutes ago, WildCard said:

Mitch Trubisky is pretty bad

He is.

[That Aud Smell]

21 hours ago, inkman said:

 

This sort of got lost in the sauce.

It's a whole new aspect of Pegula family dipsh1ttery if one of the adult daughters is Kardashian-ing around with rostered studs. Nah?

[sabills]

2 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

This sort of got lost in the sauce.

It's a whole new aspect of Pegula family dipsh1ttery if one of the adult daughters is Kardashian-ing around with rostered studs. Nah?

She's an adult woman who can date whoever she wants.

[That Aud Smell]

Just now, sabills said:

She's an adult woman who can date whoever she wants.

Those are true statements. That leaves room for a lot of other things to be true, too.

For my own part: I don't like it. It just continues to make the Pegula ownership seem like a long, extended amateur hour.

[sabills]

1 minute ago, That Aud Smell said:

Those are true statements. That leaves room for a lot of other things to be true, too.

For my own part: I don't like it. It just continues to make the Pegula ownership seem like a long, extended amateur hour.

Because their daughter is dating a replacement level wide out TE? I don't really see how this reflects on their ownership at all.

Edited September 24, 2018 by sabills

[LGR4GM]

Tight End to be specific. I also don't currently care. If Croom is trash and keeps  getting contracts and playing time, then I will care. 

Edited September 24, 2018 by LGR4GM

[That Aud Smell]

1 minute ago, sabills said:

Because their daughter is dating a replacement level wide out TE? I don't really see how this reflects on their ownership at all.

It's part of the overall picture. Consider how PSE has gobs of resources, but put Kim's brother in charge of a major part of operations, how they feature generally terrible designs from their kids (remember the striped-propeller-beanies? (or whatever they were)), and how they provided a store-front for a Pegula-daughter-restaurant-concept that, as far as I can tell, has not caught on but is being propped up by PSE bucks.

I understand that pro sports franchises are proverbial "toys" for the owners. But the fact that it's becoming a playground/sandbox for the entire family is not to my taste.

[LGR4GM]

I don't disagree with that to be honest. Just that as long as Croom produces, it's not something I worry about. He looked good yesterday. 

What restaurant? 

[TrueBlueGED]

4 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

It's part of the overall picture. Consider how PSE has gobs of resources, but put Kim's brother in charge of a major part of operations, how they feature generally terrible designs from their kids (remember the striped-propeller-beanies? (or whatever they were)), and how they provided a store-front for a Pegula-daughter-restaurant-concept that, as far as I can tell, has not caught on but is being propped up by PSE bucks.

I understand that pro sports franchises are proverbial "toys" for the owners. But the fact that it's becoming a playground/sandbox for the entire family is not to my taste.

Being critical of family involvement (and effectiveness) with the business aspect of things is fair game. But I think it's about 300 bridges too far to try to connect that with who their daughter(s) choose to date.

[Eleven]

4 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I don't disagree with that to be honest. Just that as long as Croom produces, it's not something I worry about. He looked good yesterday. 

What restaurant? 

http://www.thehealthyscratch.com

[That Aud Smell]

Just now, TrueBlueGED said:

Being critical of family involvement (and effectiveness) with the business aspect of things is fair game. But I think it's about 300 bridges too far to try to connect that with who their daughter(s) choose to date.

It's mixing business matters with personal matters. Simple as that. Bad practice. Par for the course, though, I'm afraid.

[That Aud Smell]

8 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I don't disagree with that to be honest. Just that as long as Croom produces, it's not something I worry about. He looked good yesterday. 

As with most things, the fact that this particular situation is not currently problematic or might never prove problematic does not mean that, as a policy or practice, it's something that should be condoned. Just a bad look, imo. 

[pi2000]

On 4/26/2018 at 2:58 PM, LGR4GM said:

Josh Allen is not a good QB.  I have access to the games and throws and breakdowns. It tells me that. Keep beating this drum though. 

 

On 4/26/2018 at 3:04 PM, LGR4GM said:

Great. Good for them. I actually have watched about half of the throws Allen made this season. You know what I do not have? Any outside pressure or influence to take Allen. I don't have years of bias built into my thinking that a QB has to be a 6'5" white guy that can throw the ball 70yrds. I don't have that. Helps make me objective. Objectively, Josh Allen is not good at QB in college and after watching the throws he won't be good in the NFL either. Again, keep beating this drum. 

 

On 4/26/2018 at 3:13 PM, LGR4GM said:

He's a 6'5" guy with a canon arm. When scouts create their ideal QB on Madden they create a 6'5" guy with a canon arm. The fact he processes the game slowly and isn't good at reading defenses apparently doesn't matter. Allen needs 2 years of pro development to even hope to make it. 

...just for reference, ?

I get it tho, one half of football against an uninspired Viking defense, with drive starts deep in Viking territory, doesn't make a career.    But the idea that he needs 2 years of development to "even hope to make it" seems a bit far-fetched.