Bleeding Bills Blue

I think the run defense does a decent enough job - i've been having more issues with our response to screen passes. The rousseau play was great but more often than not these are easy chunk plays. I think run wise we give up some chunks, but we also occasionally blow them up. The defense that started the last 2 games definitely struggles on 3rd downs (Where is spector? throw it to the TE near him. Where is elam? Throw deep, he's a penalty machine - etc.), but if that unit is healthier i like our ability to respond on some of these 3rd and longs.

My concern is i'm not sure dorians arm is ok either. Might be kinda using both for the rest of the year. Spector was an absolute liability in this one so some combination of williams/milano to hopefully keep one or both healthy might be in order.

Lets force allen to his... right? That doesn't seem right...

I think that it's ok to change your mind and bring attention to something you disagree with. I think that it's ok to change your mind and bring attention to something you disagree with.

I would think the purpose would be to... play football instead of retire. He's going to be 37, and while im sure its tempting to get paid not to play - if he does that he'll likely never play again. I don't think he earns some big contract elsewhere, but i think he can get that 27.5M into like 35 on a 2 year deal - they can then spread the hit over 4 years (3 years when void years trigger).

It's actually not that bad for an acquiring team. Part of why the contract was structured the way it was. 27.5M base salary - 10M roster bonus that triggers on the 5th league day so i could see an acquiring team wanting that to come out of Atlanta's end. Atlanta eats 47.5 - split it over 2 years. That 27.5 base can have the cap hit moved around so the acquiring team can lessen the blow in year 1. I think teams with either plans for drafting a raw rookie, or teams with players on rookie contracts can do a lot worse. He probably came back too quickly from the achilles injury, and would look a lot less stiff once in better shape. Previously worked with Stefanski (who i think deserves a mulligan for this watson debacle, but we'll see if he's scapegoated). Whereven Kubiak/dennison potentially ends up could also have interest in bringing in a QB they worked with in the past.

Baylon Spector played 18 snaps and... i felt like he was targeted on half, and missed tackles... it was really bad.

After the 66 yard TD on 3rd and long - that being the play that really got them back into the game - i wasn't shocked to turn a bit more prevent. With 2 minutes left in a 2 score game, i'd also play prevent. A big play is the only way they get back into it.

Bishop missed a ton of practice. You don't get any 1st team reps after that, and then you come out in relief and play a pair of terrible games against baltimore and houston and... yeah you sort of missed your shot to push people down the depth chart. Communication was an issue in his time playing, and you usually create that chemistry in practice.

Yeah, those trap plays tend to require an aggressive linebacker and that ravens game had spector in that spot who.. we'll say was "not aggressive enough" .

He's having a pretty rough year this year. The splash plays are what you have him for - be it pressures, sacks, stops, TFLs, whatever. And he just isn't doing it enough. Will he occasionally blow up a play and get.. basically no credit for it? Yes. But I've watched every snap this year and he's not doing it consistently enough. They dont bring back phillips and jefferson if they're happy with his performance.

The splits in 2024 alone would say you are incorrect. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/buf/2024_opp_splits.htm Yards per carry goes from 4.9 in the first half to 4.5 in the second. YPA passing goes from 7.4 to 6.5 in the 2nd half. 17 TDs given up in the first half to 11 in the 2nd. More INTs in the 2nd half. More sacks in the 2nd half. Fewer 1st downs in the 2nd half.

I don't understand why its all on Mcdermott here. Like questionable coaching and clock decisions i guess? But the defense playing like hot garbage is... on the dudes on the field. There aren't plays you can call that fix the teams performance. If anything, the blitzing and run blitzing in the 2nd half did cause some level of stress - and a few calls went their way. The punt block is because ferguson got absolutely blown up - how do you coach a player to not do that? I just... you're a professional football player. How do you touch that ball? If you don't see it touch one of their players, assume it didn't.

I feel like there's at least 2 examples of miller being mugged and held on long completions.

I'd say that... in spite of losing to KC in the playoffs in 3 of 4 years, and 1 year to cinci. They have by far the best record of any team against KC during Mahomes tenure. Someone needs to beat the guy in the playoffs, and so far the only team beating them at all seems to be buffalo. Does that mean they can win the big one? I don't know.

I'm not sure williams would have played well. His biggest issue is processing - and thats what killed our team in this one. All 3 linebackers were slow in processing the jet motion, we were tricked in play action all game long. I don't think plugging williams in helps in that regard.

I thought Oliver DQ and AJE probably played the worst on the defense, but i didn't think anyone played particularly well. Milano and Bernard were getting hammered up the middle in the first half and they didn't seem to need to double oliver or DQ to get linemen to the next level. Milano Bernard and Johnson were all also struggling with the motion all game long in one way or another. Either they were late to their run fits and got blocked, or they gave leverage to the outside for blocks on WR screens, or outside breaking routes. They started run blitzing, and just generally blitzing to pressure their offense, but that just leaves challenges on the back end, which... puts a lot of pressure on your safeties. Hamlin and Rapp did a lot of work keeping some of the big plays from being... really big plays. I thought benford covered and tackled fairly well. Groot was an afterthought, a lot of the play actions went away from his side. Miller was definitely held a few times, and made a couple plays. No one harrassed stafford all game so he played with quite a bit of confidence, and that is a group failure for the front 7.

One thing I'd like to see is... a more effective plan for kicking off short in poor conditions. High and long "can" work if you're kicking into the wind, its hard to catch the ball if its moving with wind and the higher it is the more it'll be affected. But I've seen some of those line drive short ones in that 10-20 yard range that once they hit are live balls, are really hard to catch in the air, and can cause panic in the return men. i hope we have something like that up our sleeves because that field position (in a singular game) can be the difference sometimes. Especially with a bend but don't break defense - it's that many more plays that exposes you to - sacks, penalties, turnovers.

After watching their guy kick in the snow and wind i was not expecting that. If he got the line right that might have been good from like 60.

I disagreed with the decline, but I think analytics probably say the value of potentially pushing them into a punt scenario adds more points than them going for it on 4th and 7. At the very least, its close enough to make a preference.

Arizona, Miami, SF, and Indy while all under .500, are not "bad teams". Thats 5 games against teams that are all 1 game under .500 and capable of flipping a switch and playing really well.

It wasn't always scheme though... like there's 2 guys there on Kupps 3rd down TD. Just a great throw, great play by the WR.

Taron johnson had multiple man coverage snaps against Puka and got worked. It's tough... The guy is really good, and he played really really well. The only problems the offense had were before and after the half. Those were the drives that can change the entire complexion of the game, and we punted on both. Dorian typically struggles more with misdirection and motion than bernard and milano. I think he would have had a really rough game in this one tbh.

We tried manning nacua and they'd motion him across the formation which all but exposes you since he's a free releaser with blockers. They tried pressure looks but they had answers with rub routes. It didn't help that stafford was hitting incredible boundary throws, and nacua and kupp made some great catches - nacuas toe tap and kupp catching a 3rd down TD with his leg? In the same game? I mean come ON! The run game made it look easy for them in the first half - in the 2nd half i felt like the rams earned the win with some key plays. I felt like ingram penalty was a bit ticky tack if by the book (and somehow the exact same infraction against cooper is... not a penalty), the 4th and 5 rock into your stance was a weird swallow your whistle moment, and kupp probably held on the last TD. Can't get too mad, the team battled - the offense kept them in it and the defense played a lot better in the 4th quarter even if the results don't show it. They ran it a lot, but most of the yards came in the first. And yes - Stafford played really well. Like well enough to understand why a healthy stafford was the trade piece, and goff was the throw in.

I think we had a lot of trouble with their rushing attack in the first half because of all the jet motion, and getting gashed on play action and boundary throws. They played really well on 3rd down for the entire game. Called good plays, executed to perfection, kupp and nacua played amazing. It's ok to say hats off to them.