thebandit27

6.5 extra first downs per game! And folks wonder why the defense looks so much better

Macabre

I think they believe our pass game isn't Worthy of their time, so they'll Dareus to throw. If we can get out of the Woods, then it should be a Goodwin for our morale. Just follow the Manuel. This theme is getting ridiculous; someone pass me a Miller.

I would probably have Jerry Hughes above Z. Brown, but other than that, seems correct

I think it's entirely possible that they give Zack Brown a new contract and then let Preston Brown walk after 2017, with Ragland replacing him. I also think there's almost no chance that Shaq takes over the starting job until he's good and ready--until then just let him rush the passer and play situationally.

Rushing Offense 3.0 YPC (31st) vs. 4.6 YPC for Buffalo (5th) 16 rushing 1st downs (29th) vs. 29 for Buffalo (2nd) 1 run of 20+ yards (T-19th) vs. 4 for Buffalo (2nd) Passing Offense 6.8 YPA (22nd) vs. 6.7 YPA for Buffalo 34 passing 1st downs (tied with Buffalo for 30th) 77.3 team passer rating (25th)--Buffalo is 20th with 87.3 team passer rating Rushing Defense 3.7 YPC allowed (10th) vs. 3.6 YPC for Buffalo (7th) 27 rushing 1st downs allowed (26th) vs. 19 for Buffalo (T-7th) 2 runs of 20+ yards (T-13th) vs. 1 for Buffalo (4th) Passing Defense 6.6 YPA allowed (8th) vs. 7.8 YPA for Buffalo (22nd) 58 passing 1st downs allowed (24th) vs. 56 for Buffalo (22nd) 7 sacks (19th) vs. 13 for Buffalo (3rd) 80.5 team passer rating allowed (10th)--Buffalo is 9th with 79.2 team passer rating allowed

A few interesting stats on the Rams: Offense 30th in points/game (Bills are 17th) 32nd in yards/game 32nd in yards/play 32nd in first downs/game Defense Rank 9th in the NFL in points/game allowed (Bills are 6th) Rank 23rd in yards/game allowed Here's where it gets very interesting... Although they rank 10th in the league in yards/play allowed, they also rank dead last in first downs/game allowed. This is most likely due to the fact that they rank 26th in 3rd down conversion rate allowed (44%) Both teams protect the football well, as Buffalo ranks 2nd in the NFL with a +10 TO differential, and the Rams are tied for 4th with a +4 differential.

Absolutely. It's the same principle that Seattle uses on defense: they aren't going to throw the flag every play, so keep doing it; the benefit derived from the majority of the time that they don't call it far outweighs the detriment when they do. Yep...our corners played like they knew they couldn't be beaten by the QB. It made an enormous difference in the game.

Hmmm...and I've always thought that Rex was somewhat shallow.

I love the whole "well now NE is going to be pissed!" angle. Like they weren't going to try to win the game at all costs regardless Not picking on you guys; I just think it's silly. My most sincere hope is that they come in here emotional and upset--that's not when they play their best ball. The converse is 100% true--we get to play the "they don't respect us" card. Vis-a-vis: "Oh man, the Bills are gonna be so pissed because everyone's saying that they can't beat NE with Brady...and now they've got Dareus and Lawson back too!"

Oh, and here's the McCoy TD, which clearly shows that Woods' block was within 1 yard of the LOS, so totally legal: https://twitter.com/YardsPerPass/status/782939964153663488 Poor Pats* fans...how dare the NFL stop kowtowing to their every need!

YardsPerPass putting up a lot of content. My favorite note so far: YardsPerPass.com ‏@YardsPerPass 13h13 hours ago Amazingly... that's it for the 1H already. Pats only ran 17 non-punt plays in the 1st half Our corners were fantastic: https://twitter.com/YardsPerPass/status/783097598769070080 YardsPerPass.com ‏@YardsPerPass 14h14 hours ago Pats did not throw a pass on 3rd down until the 3rdQ w/ 12:47 left. And even then it was a one of those long handoff swing passes

One nice thing about having a guy like Shaq--at the lowest level of participation, he could simply be put in there as a fresh pass rusher when needed.

No surprise there--they got rid of one of their only passing game weapons (Cook) in the offseason, and don't really stretch the field. He's going to get bottled up until they can back people off--anyone else wondering why they chose to give Tavon Austin $10M per year if he can't back defenses off?

No offense--every team's fans say this when Buffalo beats them. Both Jets games last year were "our super bowl" according to Jets' fans. This game was apparently "our super bowl" according to Pats' fans. Green Bay fans were chirping about how beating them in 2014 was "our super bowl". Some fans may be too recent to understand this, but the Super Bowl is actually "our super bowl". This isn't our first rodeo; we actually used to be really, really good. Dominant even. 6 division championships in 7 years and 4 straight Super Bowl appearances. I can assure all of you of one thing: while we are always happy to beat our opponent, nothing will be "our super bowl" until we win the Super Bowl.

Here's where we disagree: It's likely that someone else would've taken him before our pick in round 2, and they truly couldn't come out of that draft without a prospect at the position. As I said (and you seem to agree), the EJ pick was a symptom of the problem (not using premium picks on the premium position); it wasn't the problem itself.

I still don't understand how anyone can call the drafting of EJ a mistake given the circumstances. The mistakes would be before and after that vis-a-vis: Not picking Dalton it Wilson Not grabbing another potential franchise QB in 2014 or 2015

Your condescension aside, yes, I'll call it an even game. Buffalo's D made a much better QB than either Janine Garrafolo or The Brisket Brigade look like a rookie last week, so let's not assume anything regarding what either guy could do in his first exposure to Rex's scheme. Even Tommy Boy struggled against it in Week 11 last year.

Indeed--hip issue

For the record: if Whaley was against the Rex hire he could've (and would've) made his push. He was on board...he most definitely had his crack at Rex during the process.

Good grief man, do I really have to spoon feed you? If you're that interested in refuting me then look them up.

I can count 7 off the top of my head without looking: 2014 Miami Minnesota NYJ Denver 2015 Miami KC Washington Houston NYJ Guess it's 9 without looking

Show me anything that I said that even remotely qualified as an excuse. It's not my fault that you refuse to apply basic analytical tools like context.

Organizational disconnect like you're talking about here is a totally reasonable criticism IMO, and it's probably the bets argument for a house-cleaning.

I'll never fault the organization for the EJ pick. They didn't have anything that resembled a possible franchise QB, so they took the guy they felt had the best chance. There are people on this board that absolutely skewer the team for not drafting QBs and taking as many bites at the apple as they need in order to get it right, yet the one time they do pick a QB they get flamed for that as well. The bigger fault, IMO, is not hedging their bet on EJ and bringing in another potential franchise guy in case he didn't work out.