billsfan1959

For what it is worth, I think the Miami defense has played better in the last two weeks than they have in almost a year. That is more of what I expected from them this year. I thought their offense would be bad, and it certainly has contributed somewhat to the demise of the defense by a drop in possession time and keeping them on the field so much. However, the last couple of weeks is what I thought they would be coming into the season.

And getting as abused there as he did here. For what it's worth, PFF grades: Overall Pass Run Hart 30.4 24.9 38.2 Dawkins 67.7 75 57 Brown 59.9 51.9 66.3

Or, just maybe, the way they played over all in their five wins and the Titans loss (which they probably should have won - but still played well on the road against a team that probably played their best game of the season, and has the best record in the conference) is the norm...

Absolutely right. When healthy and with everyone in the position they should be, the Oline is good enough - not great or even above average - but good enough with a QB like Allen (and a top 10 defense) to put up enough points to win any game they are in. I also do not think it is any coincidence that their best offensive performances, IMO, have come with Brown starting. This line just does not have the depth to overcome injuries. I also would say the absence of Knox at the same has hurt as well. Having him as a receiving threat would have been nice while Allen was running for his life on Sunday.

I understand what you are saying. I think it is more in celebration of being part of something noble in spirit and greater than one's self. I think there are certain professions, like the military, law enforcement, firefighters, etc., that embody a sense of selflessness and sacrifice for a greater good. The overwhelming majority of men and women in those professions do what they do for all the right reasons and understand there is always the potential for instances where the outcome isn't good, in terms of injury, loss of life, trauma, etc., (and some instances of dealing with the consequences of people themselves within these professions who aren't good). Yet they do it anyway. There is something special about that. I am happy to have been even a small part of that. And I know you weren't saying anything that was critical or disrespectful. I know what you meant. Just trying to put what I feel into words.

Honestly, I don’t know how you see that. To me, it looks like the play is supposed to go between the RG and RT. If so, why in the world would Ford block his man to the outside? He was supposed to seal him off to the inside, as Morse did with his man.

Happy Veterans Day! Best wishes to all the Vets out there and thank you for your service! Craig US Air Force

Right. Which is actually up from last year.

The end has containment and Williams naturally blocks him out and then back. Singletary should have been by him and into the hole before he could make a play. Except, there was no hole as Singletary ran into the back of Ford, who couldn't move even a yard off the line of scrimmage to block the LB. Instead, he moves laterally and lets the LB come to him. And, IMO, the backside defender did a great job getting down the line to meet Singletary.

To me, it doesn't matter whether or not he saw the defender (which, BTW, I think he did). That doesn't change my analysis. IMO, the play was designed to go between RG and RT and tha was where he was headed the entire time. Agree completely. There is no way Dawkins comes close to blocking the defender, unless Boettger chips him first. Even then, I'm not sure it would have allowed Dawkins to get inside of defender, but it would have slowed the him from getting down the line.

IMO, Singletary, from the snap, is headed to the hole between RG and RT. He would have had to make the cut pretty quickly and, even if he had, there is no way he makes that cutback without getting crushed before he could even get in the hole. You can see the difference with the Colts' back, as he is headed almost straight into the line and only has to make a slight cut to take advantage of a huge hole (incidentally, the Colts back fails to see the secondary hole. He could have cut slightly to his right and picked up more yardage). IMO, Singletary is focused on the hole he is supposed to go through. If he does see the hole to cut back, then he also has to see the defender closing that hole up. I don't blame this play on Dawkins. The defender is lined up on Boettger's outside shoulder and, to me, there is no way Dawkins is going to be able to get in front of him and block him. Dawkins moves straight to his right and the defender (who only has to move toward the backfield) already has the inside position. The only way this play works is for Boettger to chip the defender before he moves on to blocking the linebacker. That would have allowed Singletary to hit the hole between RG and RT cleanly. If Singletary had hit the hole cleanly, it really wouldn't have mattered, because, again IMO, Ford didn't get his job done properly. Williams kicks out the left end (who has to contain), Morse gets outside the DT and pushes him back, and Ford is supposed to block the LB. Instead of moving forward to meet the LB and move him back, Ford moves laterally. He doesn't even get a half yard off the line of scrimmage before contact with the LB. By not moving forward more quickly, he allows the LB to get outside of him by the time contact is made, which closes the hole. Great play on the defender's part to get inside of Dawkins and move down the line to make the tackle. Not so great communication between Bottger and Dawkins in how to handle the defender given where he lined up at. Bad play by Ford all the way around.

And his game last week doesn't tell us aything other than how he played last week. Let it go.

That his performance last week was worse than his other seven performances? That his stats through 8 games are now worse because of it? That his performance last week might have been an anomaly?

Not all of us

It was an awful game. But why on earth is it something you won't forget quickly? They have had so many good games over the last three seasons and this is the game some people want to hang on to? That absolutely baffles me.

I really think it is a small percentage of posters. However, they have absolutely taken over the board this week. I thought it would have started to subside by now...

I agree with most of this, except the part of expecting the offense to look pretty ineffective. I don't think what we saw on Sunday is going to be the norm.

Are you sure you are referring to the same press conference the rest of us watched? Because I didn't hear any of this...

You are exactly right. I have listened to almost all of his pressers this year and he sounded exactly how I expected him to sound. Which is one of the reasons I believe he will eventually get this team to where he wants them to be.

When you say things like they could turn it around "but I ain't betting on it," it sort of feels like you are. If not great. I absolutely agree that this Oline is the weakness of this team and the version that was on the field Sunday was atrocious. However, I do not believe it will keep this team from being competitive the rest of this year and into the playoffs. I believe, if the linemen they have can get and stay healthy, and consistently play in the right positions (not keep moving around), then this team is as good as any team in the NFL. As to the reality of the situation: Your reality doesn't necessarily translate into "the" reality. Nor does mine. Like I have said over and over, we can only wait and see.

The Oline sure isn't the strength of this team; however, that was not the Oline that had been on the field prior to Brown getting hurt. And what exactly are you betting they can't turn around? It is not as if they lost their first 8 games of the season and consistently had problems moving the ball and scoring points. They are 5-3, leading their division and had been averaging 35 points a game ove rtheir previous six games. Seriously, with everything you have seen from this team and coaching staff over the last year and a half and you give up on them like that? Whatever...

They valued Knox too when most people had completely given up on him. Sweeney missed a lot of time because of health issues. I'm willing to wait a little longer to see if he can take that big step forward.

My apologies, what I wrote was not called for. The Bills Oline on Sunday was a mess. Completely healthy with Brown back in the lineup - not great - but not a mess.

And your point is they couldn't beat the Jags on Sunday and, therefore, are incapable of winning the SB. Ahhh, must be heavenly to possess the powers of predicting the future, eh, Nostradamus? And I'm living in a fantasy land? We can go round and round on this point all day. The only way we will know which one of us is closer to the truth is to wait and see how it all turns out. So, check back in with me in a couple of months, my friend, and we will see. And don't mind me if I hope you are the one that is wrong. Cheers

To the tune of 28 - 16 1st downs (Bills), 417-362 Tot Yds (Bills), 33 min - 27 min Time of Possession (Bills), and the Bills falling one yard short of winning in a 34-31 loss on the road... I don't think the word "manhandled" means what you think it means...