starrymessenger

Baker has been truly brutal so far.

I like GC a lot and find his takes always informative. Something I would add to his comments about Brieda though is that imo his SF tape from a couple of years back shows that he is not necessarily limited to zone stretch playcalls and that he can run inside. When there is a hole he can hit it quickly wherever it happens to be. I don’t disagree with the fans calling for more sweeps, misdirection etc…in the run game but just as running the ball can set up the pass, being able to run inside is complementary to attacking the edge. The Jags did an excellent job of sealing the edge last week.

Whatever the reason Dion is half the man he was. If it’s COVID I sure hope he can regain his strength, at least by next year. Right now I see a scrub where before there was a franchise left tackle or at least a very reliable starter for the next 10 years.

Klien’s the backup I guess and good when the play is in front of him but I’d like to see Andre on passing downs.

Absolutely they are, or can be, very good on that side of the ball. But the Ravens made them look better than they are. They have assets on O too, but with no QB they aren’t going anywhere imo.

Andre Smith. One pic, one forced fumble.

Yep. And when the fish didn’t blitz the pocket just kept collapsing around LJ all day. Never seen that before. Can’t believe Miami is that good. Ravens need some adjustments on O too.

Wonder if he’s going to show up wearing an alligator uniform.

Never having played the game I’m more than a little hesitant to comment on the technical aspects of o-line play but I don’t see how these two play calls/design are at all comparable and if that is correct it helps, I think, confirm Hapless’ conclusion. There is optionality in the Colts play to where the back is meant, based on what he sees, to cut to the middle of the field (the more probable outcome and what actually happened) or take it outside if the WR has somehow managed to clear a path. No such decision is called for in the Bills play call. Motor never even looks to his left. I think he’s meant to hit the B (or C) gap quickly. Its a zone stretch where given the position of the last defensive lineman on the outside of Feliciano Motor’s read , and the place where the hole was supposed to be, was between Ford and Feliciano. Maybe that’s why Dawkins appears to give up. I get that the LG should have combod to help Dawkins but I thought Dion could still have laid into him better. Anyway the play design and the runners read in no way called for him to cut to the backside. if Reed had done as well as his line mates the Colts back would have had even more daylight. So nice to see well executed o-line play.

I’m all for prioritizing the interior o-line in the draft but honestly idk how folks reliably evaluate players at those positions. Ford and Risner were both highly touted and almost interchangeable as far as their desirability was concerned. Beane obviously met with both. Most observers felt that Risner was going to move inside. Maybe the Bills thought Ford could play tackle in the nfl. Except for Nelson who is on his way to the hall you’ve got supposed generational talents drafted high in the first round who busted. Greg Robinson most recently and then the 2013 fiasco with Cooper and Warmack. Then you’ve got a late round Teller whose in the discussion as amongst the best. There must be something about interior line play at the professional level that makes even apparently obvious picks risky even when experts are making them.

Dalvin should just be reaching for his check book around now if he can make it go away. Him the victim? Sure. And maybe Pee Wee Herman could take down Ali.

I hear you and can understand your frustration and it may be true that they might have stuck with him too long but based on general consensus pre-draft evaluations taking Ford where they did was probably not a dumb thing to do, not by any means. Everybody seemed to love him. I thought he was clumsy but all the experts insisted that for a guy his size his feet were very nimble and agile, plus he was a mauler. I don’t understand what the hell has happened to him or how he could have turned out so bad. I have to wonder if it’s not all in his head somehow.

I sort of hate to say it because everything makes perfect sense with retrospective analysis and it’s not necessarily fair to the guys calling the shots but Ford and Risner were very close together in the pre-draft evaluations. Some had Ford 3 and Risner 4 and some reversed that order. Thing is Risner had three years of solid production at tackle at Kansas and Ford only one at Ok. To me Ford sort of looked like a big clumsy guy in his bowl game and I was not surprised that he wound up not having the foot speed and slide to deal with nfl calibre edge rushers. Risner made the rookie team as a guard his first year. He is good. He went to Denver right after we took Ford. Again not bellyaching, just saying that the stars did not align for us. With Teller, Brown and Risner we would have had the makings of a really good line for the next 10-12 years. As you prolly know Teller can play either guard position.

I remember the Cleveland game. They showed close-ups of Trent warming up on the sidelines. His eyes looked dead. I honestly said to myself this guy is done. It was a totally crap game but between two bad teams. The Jags game bothers me more because we are supposed to be championship contenders and they are one of the worst, if not the worst team in the league. Maybe they did but I don’t recall Jauron’s teams lacking effort, just ability.

I’m not smart enuf to see much daylight between the Bills, Ravens and Titans at this point. They are pretty much neck & neck. Certainly the Bills are in the mix with their D and Josh Allen. When crunch time arrives they will not be easy to beat. I think its fair to say that there is no need to overreact to the Jags loss right now. It was certainly an unwelcome surprise. I think its the worse loss I’ve ever endured as a Bills fan. I don’t think any Jauron team ever handed in so pathetic a report card. They weren’t any good but they were always coached up to be ready to perform to the best of their limited ability. But I fully expect the coaches and players to regroup and figure some stuff out and I don’t think you will see another debacle quite like the one we’ve just witnessed. Will the adjustments be good enuf? Don’t know, but I certainly expect them to be better, including notably along the O line. Lots of good teams have endured surprise blowouts and gotten back on course. And the Bills remain a good team imo.

Correct. Like many things in life you need judgement, which seems totally lacking in nfl officiating. Makes the games unwatchable and damages an otherwise good product.

Wow. Really happy for Teller. Wonderful success story. The scuttlebut in Cleveland was that with Chubb’s deal and their corner and Baker coming up he was headed to FA. He said he was fine with that and had some nice things to say about Blo. Was hoping that Beane was listening. Oh well.

I agree. I think he would be more effective as the so called feature back.

You’re right. Moss is not at this level of play a big power back with a quick step and a move or two like say Dillon in Green Bay (a second round pick). But he is a tough runner and a very different back than Motor (who the poster I think was saying was the same). And I agree, and have said, that neither one is very good if compared with many others drafted around where they were, or later, so they have underperformed relative to where they were selected. They are far from Beane’s greatest accomplishments. And I think Beane knows this. Rumour is he was interested in Melvin Gordon. For sure he had discussions regarding leveon Bell and now (some say) Adrian Peterson. But, in my opinion both Moss and Motor can be serviceable, meaning that they are capable of doing just enough to keep opposing defences honest to where the passing game can progress. They don’t do that of course but the reason has more to do with an o line that can’t run block, either because the ability isn’t there or because Daboll is simply not good at scheming and play calling for a ground game. It looks completely underdeveloped. Daboll is no Greg Roman. It was especially ineffective yesterday as you say. Get a better back and yes you will get better production but behind the line we saw yesterday it’s not likely to be enough to materially change how opposing DCs plan for the Bills offence, which I think would remain too unidimensional. But hey maybe they will now get it together. We will see. While Beane wasn’t maybe at his best when he picked his backs, his bigger mistake imo was picking Ford instead of Risner (who went right after) and sending Teller to Cleveland.

When you show up with no fire in your belly it’s like not caring or maybe just not caring enough. Jags were psyched to play and win. Bills not so much.

Back up the truck. He’s gonna be a free agent. Speaks well of Buffalo and his time there. Moss is absolutely a bruiser.

I don’t know what was going through Jones’ mind. If it was intentional he’s a dirty player. If there was no fully formed intent to injure it sure looked like reckless indifference to the risk of injury. Either way not good. I’m a little surprised and disappointed. He struck me as a good kid. Player reactions to dirty plays in football always puzzled me. In hockey any dirty player not named Probert usually soon gets his comeuppance. And there is really nothing to compare with a good baseball dustup. In football guys don’t seem to go after the Burficts and Romanowskis. Nobody did anything when that Jets Dline scumbag took out our kicker and essentially ended his career. Just all stood around. Or Gronk on Tre.

The truth. Every nfl team has great players. Bills were flat for whatever reason. If you are not up to play even the Jags will clean your clock.

Yes Henry could run (better) behind this line. That’s because he’s the best RB on the planet. But clearly even he would not be nearly as good behind our line. But you don’t need a Henry to have an adequate run game. Franchise backs, being RBs around whom you might choose to build your offence are rarer than franchise QBs. Henry and Chubb? Motor was the centrepiece of his college O. He got like 50% of the snaps. And if you check the tape you will see that he got good support from his line. He’s probably also a guy who needs lots of carries to get going, touches he will never see at this level and on this O. Moss is a tough runner with soft hands. These guys aren’t great but they are good enuf to set up your passing game. The problem is the line. It is trash.

We can hate them all we want but that is a good organization. Coaching is excellent. Never once have I seen them trot out an O-line as pathetic as what the Bills did yesterday - and with a few exceptions, mid to late round guys. I like Jones. I don’t agree that he is Joe Burrow good, but he can execute that offence. He is prolly more than just a game manager. The key when playing them is to stop the run. Our secondary should be able to handle their passing game. With our O line issues I shudder to think what Judon will do to Josh.