26CornerBlitz

Orchard Park, NY - Brian Daboll grew up in West Seneca, minutes from New Era Field. He played football at St. Francis High and then the University of Rochester. A neck injury suddenly ended his career in college, but that same injury may be the reason he's in charge of the Bills offense now. Daboll recently sat down with News 8 Sports Director Thad Brown to discuss his childhood in Buffalo, how he ended up back in Buffalo and lessons learned from great coaches along the way. Thad: What were the goals and the dreams of high school Brian Daboll? Brian Daboll: That's a great question. I was one of those guys that just worked as hard as I could work, tried to do as good as I could do. I think that was instilled into me by my grandmother and my grandfather at a young age. Do it the right way. Work hard and have high goals. Was it to be a coordinator in the National Football League at such a young age? I just wanted to be a success. Do right by my family. Represent my family the right way.

There have been occasions in the last two games when he eschewed easier and shorter throws (Croom and Zay) looking for a bigger play that resulted in throwaways. It's not always a good thing when trying to sustain offense.

Roller-Coaster Seasons of Sam Darnold and Josh Allen Collide Rich Cimini and Mike Rodak - ESPN When the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills meet on Sunday at New Era Field, it will be the first meeting of starting quarterbacks drafted in the 2018 class: the Jets' Sam Darnold and the Bills' Josh Allen. (When the Jets and Browns met in Week 3, No. 1 pick Baker Mayfield replaced an injured Tyrod Taylor and finished the game, beating Darnold and the Jets.) Three weeks ago, when the Bills beat the Jets 41-10, Matt Barkley started for the Bills and Josh McCown for the Jets. Darnold, the No. 3 pick, had a strong start to the season but hit a midseason rough patch and has been out for the past month with a foot injury. He's expected to return Sunday. Allen, the No. 7 pick, also missed time -- four weeks -- with an elbow injury, but since coming back he's led the Bills to a home win over the Jaguars and was one pass away from upsetting the Dolphins last Sunday in Miami. NFL Nation writers Rich Cimini and Mike Rodak analyze the matchup and examine the roller-coaster seasons for both rookie quarterbacks:

5 Bills' Storyline to Watch vs. the Jets Levi Wallace Part 2 Against the Jets, Wallace got his first-career start in Week 10. Since then, he’s been OK. Wallace did allow Donte Moncrief to grab a long pass against him when the Bills faced off against the Jaguars, but most forget about that since a brawl erupted seconds later. In his last game, Wallace faced DeVante Parker and Kenny Stills from the Dolphins. To date, he probably has his toughest challenge in Week 14. The Jets feature Robby Anderson, Quincy Enunwa and Jermaine Kearse. Anderson didn’t play the last time these two met, just like Darnold. Keep an eye on the undrafted rookie corner this week to see if he’s up to the task.

Inside the NFL's Scoring Explosion: Flex Backs, First Downs, and Flags Kevin Seifert and Mike Sando - ESPN For the first time in the NFL's 99-year history, two teams scored 50 points in the same regulation game last month. The Los Angeles Rams' 54-51 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs underscored a season-long explosion of offensive production, a trend that has energized fans and coincided with a notable rise in television ratings. Through the first 13 weeks of the 2018 campaign, the NFL is averaging more points (47.8), yards (718.4) and passing touchdowns (3.5) per game than at any similar point in its history. Expected points added (EPA) -- a measure of each play's change in net point advantage for the offense, based on down, distance and yard line at each snap -- has increased nearly 1,200 points from 2017, a massive jump. The numbers represent a course correction after a one-year dip last season, but the roots reveal boundless opportunity for future expansion. NFL offenses have enjoyed a steady rise for 40 years, ever since the league adjusted a series of rules in 1978 to end the "dead ball" era and encourage more scoring. But 2018 has produced a sharp spike even beyond that trend. So how did it happen, and why now? A trip through the numbers reveals a combination of analytics-based playcalling, more rule changes and a fundamental pivot in the use of running backs among the key factors. Let's take a closer look, with figures culled from the ESPN Stats & Information database along with special research from senior statistics analyst Jacob Nitzberg.

Damn!

12-7: Greg Cosell on OBL (16:33) 12-7: Dan Leberfeld with Schopp & the Bulldog (19:52)

If you’re like me, you enjoy putzing around on the wealth of stats sites available for the NFL. I’m talking PFF, Football Outsiders, NFL Team Stats, SB Nation’s advanced stats, and more. I can’t watch every game — I don’t want to watch every game, for goodness’ sake — so I rely on secondhand information to get a feel for the weekly lulls and swells of the NFL. That includes the film analysts I trust, as well as the sites that present player and team performances numerically. It’s like metal detecting on the beach: mostly, you get what you expect. But when you get something you didn’t expect, it’s uncharted, exciting, and worthy of investigation. I’m wearing a deerstalker as we speak. Here’s a great example: I haven’t been watching the Bills recently because…well, because they’re the Bills. And as such, I had no idea that this was a thing: That piqued my interest immediately. You don’t just start hitting absurdly high numbers in intended air yards without a concerted offensive effort to do so. Put another way: this can’t just be Josh Allen deciding to bomb every single pass, regardless of what his offensive coordinator Brian Daboll wants of him. No, this must have been a deliberate move; a decision between the head coach, the offensive coordinator, the QB coach, and the quarterback. We’re going to start pushing the ball deep. A lot. But it’s even more than that!

The Buffalo Bills and New York Jets will wrap their season series on Sunday at New Era Field. The two franchises have a long history between each other, but one storyline will be brought out for the first time. With that, here’s five storylines to watch on Sunday when the Bills host the Jets: Allen vs. Darnold So long, Kelvin Levi Wallace part 2 Bye-bye Bowles? Defensive rebound?

There is.

Kelvin Benjamin: Joining the Chiefs "definitely a blessing" (2:49) WR Kelvin Benjamin speaks to the media for the first time as a Chief. Andy Reid: "It's gonna be a great day for football" (4:02) Head Coach Andy Reid speaks to the media about Eric Berry, the addition of Kelvin Benjamin and facing the Baltimore Ravens at Arrowhead Stadium this Sunday

Even more important is the pre-snap recognition by Allen to first change the play to a run followed by the post snap decision to keep the ball himself. That is growth from his 1st stint as a starter.

I doubt that, but we'll certainly see.

They did get paid $12/hour beyond getting free tickets.

NFL Week 14 game picks By Elliot Harrison Buffalo Bills 20, New York Jets 9 1 p.m. ET (CBS) | New Era Field (Orchard Park, N.Y.) One of the few games this weekend that are relatively meaningless. Draft positioning will dominate all the discussion with these two teams going forward, though we know that no real fans will be rooting for their precious Jets or Bills to lose. Yeaaaaaaah, maybe that isn't a totally accurate statement. Sam Darnold appears poised to return for this game, but those Buffalo fans will definitely make life miserable for Darnold (or Josh McCown, if Darnold's foot acts up again), as will the Bills' front seven. The Buffalo defense gave up 175 total yards in Miami last week. If the Jets are to sneak in a road win here and end their six-game losing streak, they must re-script their red-zone plays. Blow up what they've been doing. Do a 180. That overlooked area of pro football cost them a win last week in Tennessee -- and, from a macro view, the Jets are the worst offense in the NFL inside the 20. ESPN Nation and Expert Picks: Jets (3-9) at Bills (4-8): 1 p.m. ET, CBS Point spread: BUF -3.5 | Matchup quality: 14.4 (of 100) Rich Cimini's pick: This is a bad matchup for the Jets. Sam Darnold is coming off a one-month layoff, which means he'll be rusty in the first cold-weather game of his life. Buffalo's zone-based defense will cause problems for the Jets, who have only three offensive touchdowns in the past five games. Bills 23, Jets 12 Mike Rodak's pick: The Bills are favored by Vegas for the first time this season, and for good reason: They walloped the Jets 41-10 with fill-in quarterback Matt Barkley last month at MetLife Stadium. I would expect some regression by Josh Allen, whose 83.6 Total QBR in his two games since returning from an elbow injury has exceeded his 53.0 mark for the season. But the opportunity still exists for Allen to have another big game against a Jets defense that has given up an NFL-worst 450.7 yards per game since (and including) its loss to Buffalo. Bills 26, Jets 20 FPI win projection: BUF, 71.5 percent. After being favored just once in their first 12 games of the season, the Bills are favored in three of their final four games by FPI, with a 71.5 percent chance to win against the Jets on Sunday. That is the largest favorite the Bills have been since Week 1 of last season, when they were 75 percent favorites, also against the Jets. SI/MMQB Picks: NFL Week 14 Picks NFL Week 14 Against the Spread Gambling Picks Ultimate Betting Guide for Every Week 14 NFL Game SI Weekly Tip Sheet: The Complete Printable Betting Guide to NFL Week 14 Games CBS Sports Expert Picks: It's all Bills ATS and Straight Up NFL Picks - Against the Spread - Week 14 NFL Picks - Straight Up - Week 14 PFT’s Week 14 picks Jets at Bills MDS’s take: Neither of these teams is going anywhere, but the Bills seem to be trending in a better direction than the Jets. MDS’s pick: Bills 20, Jets 10. Florio’s take: Josh Allen quietly is blossoming into a star, and the Jets are loudly falling apart. Florio’s pick: Bills 27, Jets 17. NFLPickwatch - Every Pick from Every NFL Expert