Archives for November 2022

‘“You always want veteran players who are good players out there, right? Just good players overall,” McDermott said. “As many of those guys as you can have out there, the better off you are normally, so we’ll see how Jordan trends this week, and we’ll just take it one day at a time, but I’ve been impressed with the way that the younger players have been ready. The coaches have had them ready and they’ve taken an active role in that themselves. We’ve done some things, we’ve had some injuries, and I’ve been impressed with the resiliency of our team and the way we’ve navigated through that.”‘

‘The question then is this: Should the Bills be concerned their run defense – which came into the game ranked No. 1 in the NFL – was exposed to such a degree, or was trading rushing yards for time off the clock in the second half a game defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier was more than happy to play?’

‘Against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Highmark Stadium, it was Kaiir Elam who had the edge in playing time over fellow rookie cornerback Christian Benford. Elam played 38 defensive snaps – 58% of the team total – compared to 28 snaps (42%) for Benford against Green Bay. On the opposite side, veteran Dane Jackson played all 66 defensive snaps.’

‘The linemen helped the Bills running backs rush 19 times for 102 yards, a 5.4-yard average. And the line did a respectable job pass blocking against a Green Bay front that entered the game ranked 10th in the NFL in sacks and fourth in ESPN’s pass rush win rate metric.’

‘Green Bay’s defense entered the game struggling against 21 personnel. While the Bills didn’t use the two-back set much, they did put bigger personnel on the field on 15 plays. Buffalo likely figured the Packers weren’t going to put a third linebacker on the field, even when the Bills went to bigger personnel, out of fear for Josh Allen’s passing. The Bills are powering up with an extra offensive lineman about the same amount as they did last year. They’ve done it on 28 plays this season, according to Buffalo News charting, and have run 19 times for 57 yards (a 5.7-yard average) with a sixth lineman.’

‘On the Packers’ first drive, Settle sacked quarterback Aaron Rodgers for a loss of seven, bringing up third-and-15. The Packers would punt two plays later. It was a solid start to the game for Settle, who had his best game yet with Buffalo.’

‘The Tennessee Titans are closing in on an agreement for a new stadium, and the City of Nashville and Tennessee could be pumping in up to $1.26 billion in public money for what will reportedly be between a $2.1 billion and $2.2 billion project to build a domed stadium.’