Hapless Bills Fan

Agree with that last completely. My point was that Cosell wasn't one of these over-the-top pile-on types like Sam Monson of PFF or Football Outsiders' Aaron Schatz. Cosell had specific technical critiques of Allen's play as a QB and when the cause for criticism faded so did his critiques.

Not fined 😒

I may not understand what you guys have in mind by "fooling" or "disguise" , but on the surface for what I mean, I think these are bad takes. To me, "disguise" or "fool" here doesn't mean run some trickery dickery, it just means that the defense is left in doubt as to whether they're about to face a run or a pass play, so they need to remain in a reasonable position to defend both. Obviously the defense's job is easier if they can diagnose run vs pass ahead of the snap, so part of the Art of a top OC is to create doubt. When we run empty sets or split the back out wide, the defense has no doubt it's a pass and can pin their ears back. Even with an RB in the backfield, if the Bills are in Shotgun, the overwhelming odds are Bills are passing, they can pin their ears back. Allen under center, the overwhelming odds are Bills are running, so they can key on that. My guess is if I had the statistical tools to break down run/pass tendencies by down and distance, I could do even better, and if I had film breakdown on "tells" from the OL and from Allen, I'd nail it. The very best teams can execute when everyone knows what they're gonna do initially, but after a while defenses start to catch up and figure out how to defend it, and then they struggle. This happened to the K-Gun, this is happening to KC and to Baltimore, and it's happening to us. Then there needs to be a compensating adjustment or there's trouble.

https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/2021/11/13/steelers-lions-nfl-covid-ben-roethlisberger/

I think that's not representing Cosell's take accurately. He's not a fan; he's a film guru specializing in QB analysis, and he admits a bias towards technically sound mechanics and how a QB operates from structure (within the pocket). He openly admits he doesn't get into character or personality, he's just looking at the film. His choice was Rosen followed by Mayfield, and he points out that there's a difference in philosophies held by reasonable smart people. He evaluated Allen pretty accurately at the time (start at 13:30). He said Allen has phenomenal arm strength and is big and can move. He can make "wow" plays and his top 25 plays would be the best 25 plays of any of these guys. There's a difference between arm strength and arm talent (which means accurate placement). He said he's not a pace and touch thrower, and on a lot of the shorter and intermediate throws his ball placement is not very good (this was true, could be seen even at the Combine). The Browns guy offered up Deshone Kizer as a comparison and Cosell said Allen is more spectacular and (his word) "freakish" (in his athletic talent). Anyway I put this here because I thought it was interesting.

Don't know, but he says he's vaccinated (for reals, not like Aaron Rodgers) https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/13/sport/pittsburgh-steelers-ben-roethlisberger-reserve-list/index.html To my understanding, if Big Ben is vaccinated and a close contact, he would not have to go on the Covid list. But, he would then have to test daily for 5 days. That would usually be done first thing in the morning. At a guess from the timing, Roethlisberger developed a symptom that could be Covid so they tested him immediately and "whoops!" But it's also possible that he tested positive this am and they didn't announce it until now because they were re-checking a 2nd sample. HEY! They're not MY Lions!

I think there may be more meat on Big Ben's bones

Not at the time. I suppose technically, not at any time, but still the Big Boss of the NFL operation. My point is just that this isn't some modern phenomenon: insult Les Grands Fromages of your industry has always been a big AwShit! The modern twist is just that emails (and social media) are forever vs. speech you can deny or a paper letter you can (theoretically) burn That's really a nit. He wasn't employed in the NFL at the time, but he was at the time it came out, and Goodell is the Big Boss over the whole operation.

I think that just as McDermott believes strongly and fundamentally in an DL rotation, he believes strongly and fundamentally in an RB rotation. Whether that's mistaken or wise, can't tell ya but you asked "why?" and that's what I got. Source, stuff McDermott has said in interviews over the years. Yeah, I think the idea of that thread was to say "the blame is not ENTIRELY Dabolls" but 1) I really didn't hear anyone here taking that position 2) look, he gets his share.

I think this video speaks directly to what a number of people are saying in several different threads https://www.buffalobills.com/video/greg-cosell-josh-allen-will-play-better Cosell: "Every time I watch the Bills offense, it seems that my final notes involve two things. Number one, I say, they don't really have a viable run game, either in terms of volume or production. And number two, I always type that I think their offensive line is not one of the better OLs in the league in terms of pass protection" "I've always believed that any time you have a weakness, a flaw, an inconsistancy, whatever you want to call it...it can come up and bite you in any given game." "Then I'll add one more point. I love Josh Allen as a player. I think he's on his way to being one of the best QBs in the league. But it is very very difficult, every week, no matter how good your QB is, to pretty much say, even if you don't say it in so many words 'you have to be great every week or we don't have a chance to win'. That's a tough way to play." "They asked him to drop back more than 50 times in a game that was close. .....it's one thing if you're down 20 to nothing early in the 2nd quarter, but this was a normal game in terms of closeness...... .....I know people who know coaches very well, so I know for a fact that he's a very accountable young man, and he took full credit for the fact that he played poorly and he's got to play better, and he will play better" "I think the run game is a patience issue. If you're going to run the ball, you're going to have plays that gain 1, that gain 2, that lose 2. I think teams that really believe in the run game, don't give up on it if that happens. And we know the Bills are not one of those teams." Re Breida: "Outside zone is his baby, we saw that in San Francisco. And the Bills run outside zone, so they don't have to change anything if they play Matt Breida". Key Points: -The Bills have to commit to trying to run the football. Can't just run a couple times, lose yards, and say "oh that didn't work" -Put Josh under center for outside zone runs and to get the DL moving laterally, that helps the OL. -You also get the play action boot pass game, which you don't get with the same efficiency from the shotgun (my counterpoint is that I think sometimes our OL is so poor that putting Josh under center would just put the DL in his lap; keeping him in shotgun is designed to let him see and avoid)

Yeah, I can't remember seeing Beas block and thinking Whoa, Bam! Doesn't mean he can't, or won't block, just means anything I've seen isn't impressed on my memory. But need for better blocking is another reason to shift some snaps to Davis. I dunno about "lots more" as was said above, he's getting 36% (25-44% after week 1). I guess I'd like to see him shift up about 5-10 snaps, but not running more 4 WR, just nibble a few from Sanders

Looking at the snap counts and play of late, one of my conclusions was that we should dial back on Sanders (and possibly Beasley, at least until his ribs heal) and find more snaps for Davis and McKenzie. On the premise of "nothing is given, everything is earned", he simply hasn't been coming through the last couple weeks. 5 of 8 against Tenn, 0 for 4 against Miami, and 4 for 8 against Jax with a couple times he was open and Allen didn't try him, begging why? Yes, some are overthrows but some are "were you really where he expected you to be, when he expected it?" or "c'mon man, catch that" misses. Plus he's whiffed blocks. Less praise in the pressers and more delivery on the field, please, Sanders, and earn your 84% of the snaps.

Yeah, the Rammies were counting on "Both" not "Either, Or"

Well, I guess the starters are technically, Diggs and Sanders, so that's practically defined once you ding Sanders, yes? Davis is probably the best blocker of the WR who have started the last 2 seasons. 'lil Dirty is a fine blocker for his size. Sanders started out the season laying down some good licks in the blocking department but of recent games - nope. I personally think he's hurting and needs to be on a snap count.

Yeah, it really is. Never wish someone lasting concussion symptoms. So Moss gets more YAC than Singletary (click to embiggen) and breaks more tackles than Singletary: I'm not sure what you mean by "more consequential snaps", but if you mean "gets the ball when we need 2 yards", well..... Moss has also gotten more YAC as a receiver. I'm not sure anything but McDermott pinning him would force Daboll's hand, but have you considered that possibly, Breida is not the solution he's deemed to be by so many here? Perhaps there's a reason he hasn't been able to see the field..... he didn't in Miami, and SF moved on from him.

I think Diggs should hand out Snickers to the Bills offense.

Interesting, I had no idea. I guess that would be why Thurman Thomas went into the draft not knowing his was torn?

This topic is already under discussion in multiple other threads, including data on how often we actually run RPOs, how often we actually run play action, how successful we are with pass plays from both, etc etc.

Ugh! Think very highly of Woods as a WR and a guy. Can you imagine, you tear your ACL and don't notice? Kind of makes you wonder if he was using Toradol to practice

I dunno. There was a lot of talk about problems with the run game last season. Obviously, it has not been adequately addressed. Last year, we ran vs the Patriots, then very little next 2 games Lots of talk about fixing the run game over the Bye, ran vs the Chargers, then run game disappeared again vs. 49ers, Steelers, Dolphins, Colts, Ravens. Against the Ravens, we didn't even try. I think that McDermott and Daboll have a fundamental philosphical difference about the role of a rushing game in a modern offensive attack. IMO, Daboll views the run game as optional, and believes he can successfully and consistently attack defenses without it. I think he views the run game as something you dust off and bring out of the closet when you occasionally need it, not something you must execute successfully every game whether you need it or not. And I think he views it as something you try a handful of times, and if it's not working, you stop trying. I think this because Daboll has said in pressers "everyone wants a balanced offense, but when something isn't working, you better do more of what's working and less of the other thing" or words to that effect, several times now. This likely colors what he "bangs the table for" as an OC, both in terms of off-season talent and of weekly player activations. As a former defensive coordinator, McDermott views a capable run threat as integral to an offense on every down. He understands at a fundamental level how much easier his life as a DC becomes, if on the overwhelming majority of the plays, the opponent presents no credible run threat from the backs or if there's a giant "Tell" as to when they must concern themselves with the run and when they can pin their ears back and attack the pass. And that's really where we are. We are 63% of the time in shotgun (340 out of 538 run or pass offensive plays). We pass 74% of shotgun plays, and I'd bet that the majority of the 26% of the time (91 attempts) we rush, it's a Josh Allen scramble (Allen has 57 of our 216 rush attempts). So about 2/3 of the time, the DC can say "contain Allen, and attack the pass" For McDermott to say "I thought we'd be further along at this point" IMO indicates he believed he had conveyed to Daboll the need to adopt his philosophy, if not in the off-season then after the Pittsburgh game, and it was being addressed. I think McDermott prefers to "stay in his lane" and be hands-off the offense, and that may have blinded him to what was happening especially because overall, prior to Jax, our rushing stats have been up this season and you have to look under the hood to see how much of that is due to Josh and how many of Josh's yards are YAC. Bottom line, if he doesn't oversee Daboll on this issue, I don't think we're going to see much of a change. We'll see what we saw last year, where we focus on the run and run the ball down the throats of a couple of opponents, then another week back off and go pass pass pass.

Sorry, thought I had previously explained to you in PM. My bad. Click on the title and hold. A text box should open. This can be fussy from a phone or tablet, and work better from a computer. If you have problems PM me what you want to change it to and I'll edit it for you. Something like "Change on the offense, use two backs" would show what the thread content is. To get back to the content, problems with the suggestion include: 1) if you use two backs, who are you taking off the field? Both Singletary and Moss are good blockers, but have similar skills as RBs; if you use Singletary and Brieda or Moss and Brieda, their skills differ, but Brieda sucks as a blocker and you're probably taking Knox (excellent blocker and receiver) off the field. 2) if the problem with the run game is design and/or execution of run blocking, how will having 2 backs help?

I came here to post that and.....Late again!!!!!!!!! yolobot!

So.....Do you think Boomer would say, based on McDermott's press conference, that this is happening? https://billswire.usatoday.com/2021/11/13/cbs-sports-boomer-esiason-buffalo-bills-brian-daboll/?itm_source=parsely-api

I am reminded of the joke about the mule trained with Loving Kindness. For the 2.71828 of you who are unfamiliar with this joke, here it is: A man paid a premium price for a riding mule that was said to be especially reliable, because he'd been trained with loving kindness. After drinking a parting beer with the seller, the man saddled up the mule and mounted: "Gee up, Mule!" The mule stood there "Gee up, Mule!" The mule stood there. Finally the new owner went back in the tavern and confronted the seller. "I've got this" the seller said. "Mount up" The seller then smacked the mule between the ears with a 2x4 "I thought he was trained with loving kindness!" the buyer objected "Oh, he was" the seller explained. "But FIRST, you have to get his attention!"

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