Rocky Landing

Maybe this whole grading system thing is a little silly anyway. I mean, if there's only three questions on a test, and you answer all three of them correctly, you still get an "A," right? But as far as extrapolating goes, I don't think that's really a fair assessment, either. For one thing, it seems unlikely that Allen is going to pass for under 4,000 yards this season. But also, if you're going to extrapolate yards as a grading metric, why not extrapolate other stats? I think we'd all be pretty happy if the WR corps finished the season with an 85.7% completion rate, as they did Sunday (and that includes MVS's standard 50%). And it wasn't just Hollins who had a good game blocking. Even rookie Coleman looked pretty good at those assignments.

Nice write-up from our eternal optimist, @Alphadawg7. I hope you do these every week! A few thoughts: I can't give Allen an A++. That second rushing TD was dangerous. It came on the heels of a designed run play for a TD that was called back because a hold. Two plays later, on second down, Allen scrambles for a TD that injured him. And it just wasn't necessary, IMO. He still had good protection, and plenty of time for one of his receivers to get open, he had Cooke right there for a check-down with only one defender near him, and a good shot at a TD, and it was only second down. I really got the feeling he wanted that recalled rushing TD back. So, because of that play, his earlier fumble, and the fact that he got himself injured, I can only give Allen an A-. Unsurprisingly, the D-line is terribly uneven. Groot was elite, and it didn't matter which side he was on. Epenesa, unfortunately... was not. He was utterly helpless against the Cards' LT, and not much better against their RT. This game doesn't write the book on AJ, but he has to be better going forward. Oliver, and Jones were fine. Maybe not Oliver's best game-- he didn't look like the best defensive player on the field-- but the two of them were solid. But, after Groot/Oliver/Jones/Epenesa, our lack of depth was evident. I'm really not as high on Von Miller as some seem to be. He definitely made some nice plays, and he was definitely better than last season (when he was invisible), But I'm not in line with this "Von is back!" narrative. I don't think he's "proved people wrong," and I certainly don't think he's worth what he's getting paid. Ingram could have been called for DPI on that last play. But, he wasn't, and it was the right non-call, IMO. (on a day that saw a lot of really crappy officiating...) Whatever happened to all of that "extra attention" Shakir was supposed to be getting? He bounced off defenders, stayed on his feet, and made incredibly athletic plays just like he did at the end of last season. It's not a fluke-- that guy is incredible. Absolutely agree on Hollins. He is exactly what the FO wanted (and knew) him to be-- an exceptional blocker, ST player, and role WR with reliable hands, and a large catch radius. And his route on his TD catch was perfect. It's clear that he's in sync with Allen. I suspect there are some Bills fans who are a little upset that we ran the ball as often as we did, but dang... it worked. Cooke was 3/3 receiving-- that extended play where Allen hit Cooke in stride was art. And I really hope Ray Davis has earned his spot as the #2. He's the perfect compliment to Cooke. GO BILLS!

Well... one of them's been dead for over four decades, and the other one's an aged, alcoholic douchbag.

I watched the replay of the Fish vs Jags, and it really looks like they haven't changes their offensive scheme at all. And Tua hasn't changed a bit-- he's still extremely accurate, gets the ball out of his hands lighting fast, and is still terrible at extending plays. He gets utterly distracted by pressure, and as soon as he sees a defender break through the line, he loses his down-field vision. It's amazing to me that they didn't spend more resources on improving their O-line. But, if he gets the play off, and Hill, Waddle, and/or Achane are on their timing routes, he can be deadly. Very unfortunate to be missing Milano, and Taron J for this game. The most important element to defending the Fish, IMO, will be to disrupt their timing routes at the LOS, and Milano, and Taron were crucial for that. If we get Tua off of his timing, and get him to hold onto the ball long enough so he sniffs pressure, he folds like a lawn chair.

I've been saying this for years: Weird Al Yankovic would put on an amazing halftime show.

... you... are... stretching... Allens first rushing TD was a designed run. His second, in which he sustained the injury, was on second down. But, you're arguing that play, on second down, was the only way we win the game??? Come on now! And our receivers weren't consistent? Our #1, #2, #3, and #4 WRs (in whichever order you want to place them) were collectively 11/12 receiving. That's a 92% completion rate. Cooke was 3/3. Allen's completion rate was 72%. All this in a game where the offense barely saw the field in the first half, and Allen passed (I think it was) twice before the halftime two minute warning? I don't know how you come away from that game complaining that the receivers weren't consistent?

It doesn’t look like the Dolphins have done anything to change their identity, and they were figured out in the middle of last season.

Anyone who spent the last two months bitching about drafting defensive players, not investing enough on offense, not giving Allen weapons, etc., and is now bitching about the defense should really just shut their pie holes.

I would love to see Cline take advantage of his opportunity, and excel. Good to see him earning a shot. And Will Clapp is solid, IMO.

That was the gadget play I was referring to.

End of year PFF, I think EDIT: Also worth noting that the rankings for some of those years were low as a result of the poor run game, when we were a pure spread offense.

An interesting irony that as soon as he became the highest paid QB in the league, he'd snap his ACL.

And not for nothing, that TD gadget play was his first NFL regular season touch. There was exceptional blocking, sure, but the Ravens also didn't see it coming. It's going to be hard for someone with Worthy's limitations to last in the NFL. Not saying he can't-- his skillset is quite remarkable, and he's in the right place to succeed. But he's going to get knocked around a lot!

That has the look of an ACL. The bad news is that his season is likely over. The good news is that it looks to be a fairly clean snap, without a lot of extraneous soft-tissue damage. That would make the recovery prognosis a lot more optimistic.

In the past, Beane has gone out of his way in free agency to set us up to not have to draft for need past the first round, and be able to go BPA after that. This last draft was a departure from that strategy, IMO-- we had a lot of needs. Many fans were upset that we didn't draft more than one WR, but our first seven picks-- WR, S, DT, RB, C, LB, Edge-- were all positions of need, and it could be well argued that they were drafted in order of need. It's impossible to predict what will be our biggest needs by the time we draft in '25. If the combo of Coleman, Shakir, Samuel, Hollins pans out (in whatever order 1-4 they end up) then we might consider ourselves set at WR. It's also not unlikely that Beane engineers a trade for a star WR, like he did Diggs. Who knows? We've had drafts in recent years that were aimed at depth players-- that could happen again. But, probably not... If the '25 draft were tomorrow, WR, DE, S, CB would all be positions of need, perhaps in that order. But, maybe Coleman, Groot, Bishop, and even Elam all have breakout years? Of those four, I'd bet money that one of them will. Add Shakir, and Samuel to that list. And Kincaid. Or none of them. Maybe we suck? GO BILLS!

^^Someone with a memory!^^

Check your history. In 2018, the Bills' O-line finished in the bottom three. In 2019, they finished 21st, and in 2020, they finished 10th. They dipped in '21, but last season they finished 8th. If you think that the only thing Beane did to build a perennial division champion team was to add Diggs, and Davis, I'll say you are dead wrong.

I watched GMF this morning, and all those guys were slobbering over Worthy as if he were Taylor Swift running around in a bikini out there. You'd think he had caught ten passes. He caught two, on three targets. Everyone needs to pump the brakes on this guy. Yeah, he's crazy fast-- but if he runs that gadget play every week, he will get mashed. Tyreek Hill, he ain't.

I'm curious what you base this assessment on? He's only been in the league one season, and has only had two starts. "Quintessential JAG" seems a bit premature, at best.

This bears repeating: Does anyone else remember how bad our O-line was in 2018? Followup question: Does anyone think we would have dominated our division, and gone as far in the five years since if we hadn't addressed the O-line?

I'm generally of the opinion that games are won in the trenches. There is generally an agreement on here that Josh shouldn't rely open his legs so much. But if we don't give him proper protection, how does that help him not run? The alternative is to throw the ball away more. Having a true #1 receiver is important, and worth spending cap on, sure, and maybe a #2. But IMO, after that, having a top O-line is more important than the rest of the WR contracts. There's been a common narrative in the media regarding Josh Allen, that goes along the lines of "defending Allen means keeping him in the pocket." I've always thought that was absurd. Leave Allen in the pocket, and he will pick apart offenses all day.

Then you're just arguing that we shouldn't extend him. I disagree with that. I'm of the opinion that having a top tier O-line is important.

Does anyone else remember how bad our O-line was in 2018?

Point all you want. It's cheaper to extend him now rather than later.

Better wait until he would have been more expensive? And what do you mean by "forced?" Forced by whom?