Rocky Landing

I suppose it’s certainly possible. I was never really keyed in to Winters specifically. I just noticed that Allen had adequate protection for most of the game, with the exception of parts of the fourth quarter when Donald was playing with a fury. Truly, that guy looked like an angry grizzly in the fourth quarter, and if the biggest knock on Winters is that he occasionally got owned by Aaron Donald, we perhaps shouldn’t complain too much. But you’re right, there may certainly be things I missed. Really, as it was his first start as a Bill, in an already gelled unit, I would expect him to be the weakest link.

Nsekhe came in for Dawkins, and yeah, he was solid. I remember shortly after we acquired him last year watching an interview with him. He talked, in very technical terms, why he feels more comfortable, and is better at playing LT, rather than RT. I wish I could remember where I saw the interview, but I thought of that when I went back and rewatched his play in the fourth quarter. The O-line never missed a beat when Dawkins went down. I feel like this unit is starting to gel, again. Williams has been a solid upgrade, and I don't really have any complaints about Winters, either. Pass protection has been great, but run blocking has not been stellar. But it seems to me that they have been getting incrementally better from week to week at that. They afforded Motor, and Yeldon some nice holes through a stout Rams D-line.

Blocking ability is debatable, and hopefully, Knox would continue to improve in that category. Kroft's hands are certainly more reliable-- that's inarguable. But, equally inarguable is that Knox's YAC is superior to Kroft's. Be that as it may, Kroft would seem to be the better all-around TE at this moment. But, I'm not giving up on Knox's potential. If he gets the drops under control, he could develop into a top-tier TE, IMO.

Williams has been a clear upgrade at the position. I think (and hope) that with the addition of Williams, and now of Winters, and the shifting around of players, the O-line needs to gel a little bit more, and the run game will improve. EDIT: Continue to improve.

Maybe we could trade with the Raiders for Peterman?

Yes, he did.

What a great game! BOTH teams clawed their way to the finish. A few quick thoughts: After Stephon Diggs, Daryl Williams was our best offseason acquisition. He has been a solid upgrade.. The O-line held up against a good D. The weakest link on the O-line today was Winters, although considering he was up against Donald, we really shouldn’t complain. Speaking of Donald, he was on fire in the second half, playing with a rage. But, did anyone else notice that once Joseph-Day went down, his production dropped? Kroft straight up did his job. In Diggs TD reception, he ran around Ramsey like he was a maypole. For the few plays he was in, Yeldon did great. But, I still feel like we’re missing a legit #2 RB. Lee Smith was valuable today. The media often refers to the “trio of wide receivers” in Diggs/Brown/Beasley. From now on they should refer to the “quartet of wide receivers” in Diggs/Brown/Beasley/Davis. There were points when the Rams O-line absolutely dominated our D-line. Henderson had enormous holes to run through, and that’s not on Edmunds (although he wasn’t great against the run either). Allen’s nickname should be “Fire and Ice.”

Yes, Donald owned Winters for much of this game. But, it should not go unnoticed that when Joseph-Day went down, Donald's production went down as well. That D-line is built around Donald.

I'm fine with a bad call here and there. But, the fact that it was upheld is beyond the pale.

There were periods of play where the Rams O-line dominated the D-line in the run game. That needs to be fixed.

Infuriating that somehow Allen has an interception on his record.

Allen is Fire and Ice. Amazing. Came back to beat the Rams and Refs!

Allen is FIRE and ICE!!!

Please, McD/Daboll, don't take your foot off the gas!

Oooh, top ranked guard by PFF. Color me envious!

I'd say the odds aren't bad he gets another TD reception tomorrow.

That's charming.

We'll see. My thought is that with the amount of pressure Allen will be facing up the middle-- not just from Donald, and Joseph-Day, but from Kiser, as well-- that there will be far fewer 4, and 5 WR sets than the previous two weeks. And, with our lack of depth at RB, I think 10 personnel is unlikely. I'm not sure Yeldon will even be active. I assume Lee Smith will be. But to date we've seen a lot more of Gilliam than either of those guys. He was signed as a FB, and he may be the guy they view as more of a HB.

Del'Shawn Phillips is out, also. I wouldn't think this has any bearing on Milano's status.

So weird that they changed his position to TE (but, does that even matter?). He looked pretty good last week, and I wonder if he doesn't really start to fill a role on offense. He may be our best option as something like a power back (which Moss does not seem to be). He also seems to be talented as a receiver, and it's not like he needs a particularly complete route tree. Likely Allen will be facing a lot more pressure this week, and will need more short-yardage plays. Gillium could have a breakout game tomorrow.

I don't want to see Yeldon or Jones with the ball in their hands. I'd rather see end-arounds from McKensie (Rams edge rushers aren't the best), or check downs to a TE (Gillium?). Yeldon is a lousy ball carrier, and I remember how frustrating Jones was when he was a Bill. IMO, neither of those guys are reliable.

I think in this game Allen is going to need/use a check-down option that wasn't so necessary in the first two games. That could be Kroft. It could be Gillium, for that matter-- I posited that in another thread. I'll be shocked if Lee Smith isn't active for this game, and I would expect to see him on the field quite a bit. It would be surprising to see the heavy four or five WR sets we saw last week. With Moss out, and Gillium listed as a TE, I would think a fair number of 02 personnel sets, and lots of 11 sets with Singletary. But I would be surprised if there wasn't a TE on the field on almost every play, even with Knox out, so Kroft should get plenty of opportunities. That's my take, anyway.

Williams has been a solid upgrade. I can't imagine them benching him for either Ford or Feliciano.

I think you may be overstating this. It's really only a matter of dropped passes. If he were more reliable in receiving, everything else falls into place for him. He blocks well, and he gets great YAC. And, just to add to the frustration, he has occasionally made spectacular catches. All that being said, I don't think we're going to miss him this Sunday. I think (hope) we're going to see Gilliam used in a power back role on Sunday. It's certainly an element out run game is missing. I think he's also a good check down option, which was, so far, the one thing Moss was useful at.

I want to see McVay and McDermott wrestle.