starrymessenger

It seems clear to me that Duke should have been playing ahead of Foster. Some of our resident expert talent evaluators now (reluctantly) concede this but the new fallback position is that he is a mediocrity who won't be on the roster next year. IMO we don't know exactly what he may be capable of or what he might have added to this O had he played earlier. The upcoming draft is great for WRs. I'd like to see the Bills draft one early and another in later rounds if a really promising prospect is still on the board, which could easily happen in this year's draft. I expect Duke will compete for a spot and I'm certainly not assuming that he won't stick. I also think there is some duplication in our WR group. The punt/kick returner and the gadget play guy should be one roster spot, not two. That would create more space in staffing the WR corps. What completely puzzles me however is force feeding Duke reps yesterday after virtually ignoring him all year, and especially at Beasley's expense it would seem. Could be just another example of the team's disfunction on offence. I sometimes get the impression that some of Daboll's head scratchers are attempts to capitalize on the unexpected. So Romeo prepares for Beasley and gets Duke. That's not reason enuf to sit a good slot receiver who has some chemistry with Allen IMO.

I'm very impressed with Allen and with his development. It seems clear to me that his accuracy has improved. He still has a ways to go but he is more consistent than ever he was last year and he is improving relative to the types of throws that have been problematic- long balls and routine "gimmie" rhythm passes. His intermediate range throws have pretty much been consistently above average. I thought his first half yesterday was outstanding. His "on" and "off" switch was not in evidence on individual series. He was good on each possession. And when he's good he's actually a lot better than that. He trends towards the upper tier of QBs, and I would even venture "elite" (assuming full use of his toolbox, including his arm strength). Of course a half of great play is not a complete game (and far less than a series of games or a complete season) but if overall you see continuous improvement you chalk it up to development. Having said that the disastrous second half yesterday is hardly all on Allen. To the contrary, it was the failure of the O-line to adjust to or otherwise deal with the changes RC made to his D, especially the pass rush, that caused the problems. Like most QBs Allen is best when pass protected. Do that for him and he can beat you with his arm and his legs. When the bulk of passing downs feature D-Line jailbreaks his "bad habits" tend to resurface (not surprisingly) especially when out of desperation he tries to compensate by doing too much. JJ Watt is a great player. He's even better than that when he's unblocked. Bottom line Allen's toolbox is elite and he is showing progression in terms of translating all of that to the field. I agree with those who complain about the Bill's conservative philosophy. It is most obvious in the game planning and play calling on offence (esp when they go into a shell after taking the lead) but it also suffuces the defensive side of things as well, though with better results. I think McD is the reason for this but I am withholding judgement. When he and Beane showed up they had to build from the ground up. I suppose there is nothing necessarily wrong with prioritizing the D in advance of the O and one would have to agree that that part of the job has been successfully accomplished, even if there is still work to do and room for improvement. Clearly the O is much more a work in progress. Maybe if McD had trusted more in what Allen is able to do at this point in his career they would not have won 10 games and would have been less competitive in some of the games they lost. So maybe the brass saw this mindset as giving the team the best chance of winning and making the playoffs this year. But I think we can all expect a serious infusion of talent in the O-line and skill positions this off season in FA and in the draft. If after that happens the offence continues to play for FGs, is in effect relegated to a support group for a top defence on which you primarily rely to win, then I would begin to question McD's approach. I want to see a fully developed offence and not something that is not conducive to Allen's continued progression. Relegating him to game manager status and playing not to lose will not bring out the best in him or the team IMO.

I'm actually encouraged by Allen's play today. Houston made adjustments after the half and were able to bring pressure. That wasn't on Allen. Our O-line had no answer. He was accurate with most of his throws. The Bills need to prioritize the O-line, find a couple of playmaking WRs and another RB. Beane should be able to do that in FA and the draft. With more talent at those positions I think Allen could really shine. I assume that the conservative offensive philosophy we see largely derive from these limitations and the fact that the D is the team's strong suit. If however this approach continues after an infusion of talent during the offseason and we continue to play for fgs, them McD needs to go because I'm pretty sure he's the one setting the tone for the gameplan we see on O.

Bad spot

Morse missed

Could be wrong but I don't think that's coming from Daboll

Wrong read.

Josh has not had big pressure to deal with so far today. Give him time and he's dangerous. What's most impressive to me is his accuracy. This may be the sharpest I've seen him.

DB can have a hand on the WR as long as he does not alter his progress. TJ was great on that play.

Flat out outstanding coverage.

I give Coach credit for making this move, partly because it involves some assumption of risk. We don't know what his practices have been like but Duke doesn't have much if any game day live action experience with Allen.

I would not be saddened by Daboll's departure. But I would be concerned about the Bills ability to land a better replacement. Im not sure a lot of the conservative play calling we have seen is Daboll and I don't know that I would trust McD to contribute to making the best selection. You might have to exclude any creative candidate with a strong personality and a mind of his own, however talented/experienced he might be.

Speaking for myself, I'm with Bear Bryant. Act like you've been there before (and mean to be there again). But as long as he can make a play (which apparently Foster cannot) I would put up with some hotdogging. I don't consider that conduct detrimental, but maybe McD does.

JMO but at this point Foster over DW makes little sense. I get that STs are important but my take is that Williams would add more to this offence in particular (lacking a physical WR with good hands) than Foster adds to STs. Plus Williams plays with passion and football is that kind of game. As a presence on the football field Foster completely fades into impalpability by comparison. To me that right there is reason enuf to sit him if not release him outright. Coach is outsmarting himself here IMO. Can't get away from the notion that personalities might have something to do with it. If that is true it's more on Coach than the player. Williams would seem to have bought in and has kept his nose clean. I'm all for culture - except when it turns into dogma. Having said that Foster will probably rack up 100+yards and 2 TDs in Houston - but I'm not holding my breath.

Coach doesn't like him because he's a hotdog.

I agree. I was going to say that I could not remember ever having seen Yeldon break a tackle or run through a defender. That's why he never realized expectations. That's pretty much the Yeldon story. I'm ok with he and Williams seeing the field more. They are limited but they can make a play.

Pats were more physical. Bills tackling sucked. Hated the ultra conservative gameplan. Daboll or McCoach? Singletary has shown that he's capable (and potentially dangerous) receiving out of the backfield. On a positive note my sense of it is that this was another useful learning experience for Allen. He overthrew a few but he also connected on a few, two beautiful throws (smoke and Knox TDs). Not long ago he was overthrowing all of them. So he's starting to settle down I think. If we play NE again in the playoffs, a better effort on both sides of the ball, but within what the Bills are capable of, and I like their chances. If we are locked into the #5 seed I'd like to see Yeldon and Williams before it's over.

Thanks. I will check him out.

Not dressed anyway.

How about a big physical receiver with good hands in the red zone...nah. Daboll must go.

Daboll.

Lamar clearly deserves better marks as a passer than he was given credit for in the pre-draft process. Petrino and a handful of observers said so but the powers that be were not listening. Shame on them and kudos to the kid. Having said that he still has plenty to prove in the passing department. In the scheme he's running he is taking full advantage of good accuracy, ball placement, quick release and adequate arm strength. But everything, including the Raven's passing game, leverages off the run, including of course what he contributes to that personally. The test will be what happens when, as I believe is inevitable, he finally has to transition to a more fully developed conventional passing attack with more challenging throws and multiple downfield reads etc...I don't think that skill jumps out of his college tape, or such of it that I remember seeing. I'm sure Belly is thinking the way to beat him is still to force him to be less of a runner and more of a QB. I have no doubt that the next time the Pats and Ravens match up, Bill will be much better prepared. It is quite possible that the shelf life of the Raven's offence will start to expire fairly soon, like in the upcoming playoffs.

I'm hardly qualified to evaluate talent (except as a rank amateur, for what that's worth) but it looks to me that Duke doesn't dress largely because he does not fit in Daboll's offence. He prefers speedy smurfs, lots of them apparently, to a big possession receiver whose skillset relies more on physicality and good hands than it does on the ability to separate. Maybe that's entirely justified, idk. OTOH maybe if Anquan Boldin was on the roster he wouldn't get to dress either. Not saying Duke is Anquan, but Boldin's 40 time was 4.71, pretty much the same as Duke's. Boldin caught lots of balls in traffic when the D was in man and he was a good and smart enuf route runner to find the soft spots in coverage when facing zone. Is Daboll perhaps a little to dogmatic in adhering to his scheme? In the NFL the ability to adjust is generally necessary to avoid predictability.

Daboll really loves him some surfs. If Duke is no good so be it, but I hope the Bills don't opt for another diminutive receiver in the upcoming draft out of deference to Daboll's scheme. Like if Shenault is there in the second and we pass I think I'll wring my own neck.

I take nothing away from Lamar but this O he is running has a limited shelf life. It may well start to sour later this year in the playoffs when the game speeds up. If and when they next play the Pats I believe Belly will be ready. Ravens will more likely go as far as their D can take them. Comparisons of Lamar with Mahomes are very inaccurate IMO. Right now PM is capable of executing a fully diversified attack at a high level. Lamar is not, at least for now. Our D, which is disciplined and plays fast, was a good test, but McD and Frazier really are amongst the very best in the business when it comes to preparing/scheming for a specific opponent. Kudos to them.