GunnerBill

Orlovsky is the man. Great demonstration too of how you need the right call and the right execution to make a big play work. Great concept and a great job by the Bills players.

I mean I also think that was a great football game. Remember when that wild Chiefs - Rams game was being lauded as the best game ever... was it 54-51... ? I said man that is not my idea of a great football game. The best games are those 30-21 or 34-27 type games. When every drive feels like it ends in a touchdown... meh. Not enough jeopardy. That Sunday was a true battle between offense and defense, a fascinating strategy battle between two excellent coaching staffs and two all world QBs who were prevented from playing perfect but who each made 4 or 5 incredible plays over the course of the game. It had jeopardy, drama, lead changes and some great football plays. Maybe I only feel this way because we won - but actually I was saying it in the GDT at half time - that was my favourite Bills - Chiefs game of the rivalry. I loved it.

It was a massive coaching win for the Bills on Sunday. Of course the play of the year was Josh Allen pulling on the cape. But (with the exception of the dumb challenge) the previous 58 minutes that got us to that point was a Bills plan that had got the better of KC on both sides of the ball. Specifically: - found ways to pressure Mahomes with a front 4 without, for the most part, letting him escape the pocket. That takes such detailed planning and disciplined execution; - mixed in more man coverage than I have ever seen us use against the Chiefs. 30.8% according to the Athletic; - protection schemes that kept Allen clean for the most part - as @Buffalo716 mentioned - that doesn't just happen that is relentless planning all week "if we get this and we see that then this is our response in protection"; - attacked the blitz better than we ever have against KC. Said it yesterday but in previous meetings at times it felt like our plan when they blitzed Allen was survive. Just dump it off, or throw it away, live to play anothet down. On Sunday they saw Spags blitzes as a chance to attack the back end. Loved it from Brady and Josh. By contrast: - Spags struggled to create negative plays even when sending 5, 6 and on a couple of occasions 7 guys; - the Chiefs tried to confuse Josh on the backend by a lot of disguised zone - as Josh talked about on the 4th and 2. And the Bills were wise to it; - Andy Reid said himself he got away from the run too early and that was the Bills being brave enough to show a heavier box, even if they dropped out of it multiple times into cover 2; - the Chiefs could not get Kelce and Hopkins going at all who have been the big peices of the passing game the past 3 weeks. I give a ton of credit to McDermott and his young coordinators. I think in the 8 meetings of this Josh vs Pat series of Bills - Chiefs games that goes down with the 2021 regular season game as the second time the Bills coaches have conclusively won the coaching battle. I know for some they won't get credit until they do it in January, and I understand that. But man that was, as the thread says, a clinic from this staff.

It is like the year John Brown was the de-facto #1 and had 1,000 yards and people were arguing he is therefore a true #1. It's not about yards put up. It's about what they can do and what they can't. Shakir isn't a #1. He is a slot guy. John Brown was a boundary guy but also wasn't a #1.

0% chance it's the Redskins.

Haha. I'd have hated it but it would have been funny.

I hate to be that guy.... but I did like the Campbell hire. I liked him as far back as his interim stint in Miami after Philbin got canned. I am a "hire a leader" guy at Head Coach though. It's "in" this year apparently and teams are after leaders and culture setters. Presumably after watching such non-entities as Brian Callahan and Dave Canales get Head Coaching shots last time around teams have realised having called a few good offensive drives does not a Head Coach make.

Yea the Brady trick play was a momentum killer for sure.

I haven't properly looked at him to be honest. I've only seen tv highlights. I will let you know once I have got to work in the new year.

I don't think Babich will get a job in this round, but he will be a Head Coach at some point IMO. As for Joe, I think he gets interviews this year. He got interviews after one pretty average year with the Panthers and then was fired as an OC halfway through the next season. If I had to bet now I'd bet on him not getting a job this year but being one of the hot 3 or 4 names next year and getting a job in that round. I'm not as convinced as others that there will be 8-10 jobs. I see 5 or 6 and I think a) Belichik and Vrabel being FAs and b) teams thinking primarily about culture builders in this round means that there will only be 1 or 2 offensive hotshot type hires this year and if we work on the assumption Ben Johnson is one then it only leaves one of those spots.

RapSheet on GameDay Morning was indicating house cleaning is coming.

Nothing.

I just think the Ravens exposed our limitations on both sides of the ball. Reasons to be encouraged are Johnson, Bernard and Milano all missed that game and the Ravens attacked that "second level" of Lewis, Williams and Spector relentlessly. I counted it up and in the first half they called only 2 offensive plays not designed to attack that unit. And on the other side they, by their own admission, compressed the field because they didn't think the Bills could beat them outside down the field. I doubt they'd be so confident to do that with Amari Cooper on board.

I don't think he'd have knocked it down even if he tried. Jefferson had position, he caught the ball. Lewis is behind him and as they come down he has hands on the ball trying to push down on it. This "he could have just batted it down" he couldn't. Jefferson got hands on the ball first. Yes, Cam was trying to catch it, that was a mistake. But it would have made no odds to the play.

no, to mine.

He did but the defender already had leverage IMO. That play was on Josh who should have waited a split second longer for Samuel to uncover. Brady even said it yesterday in his presser. He wouldn't take back the playcall, Josh wants the execution back. They showed Josh on the sideline after in with the ipad kinda pounding his helmet I think he knew straight away that was a bad play.

They have played some bad offenses. Their last two wins are impressive but they are Jayden Daniels (rookie) and a divisional opponent they seem to have a Hex on. Bengals x 2, Eagles and Chiefs still to come, plus Ravens in Baltimore. We will know by the post season what that defense really is. I know. The sarcasm laced in the post obviously doesn't compute to everyone.

Haha, there have certainly been times in Dion's career where he has visibly been over his ideal playing weight

Against Houston it was simpler: 1. Josh played his worst half of the year in that first half, by far; 2. A rookie DB who missed camp making his first start was "got" for two touchdowns one through the air and one on the ground; and 3. Strange playcalling at the end. Against Baltimore more complicated but: 1. When Dorian Williams is the "senior" player at your second level you are struggling against a team like them and they went after our linebackers and nickel relentlessly with their gameplan; 2. I thought Babich made a really bad adjustment after the first drive to go bigger and play 4-3 base and they killed us with Justice Hill the rest of the first half; 3. They exploited our lack of outside receiver talent at that point by stacking the middle of the field and taking Shakir and Kincaid away. The two plays we made Sunday to Cooper make such a difference in that game. If we can just make a couple of those each big game it stops teams using the Ravens blueprint of "give the Bills the deep outside 'cos they can't beat you there." And actually, how many superman plays did Josh really have to make on Sunday? Sure, the amazing play at the end and the play to Cooper with a guy in his grill. There were a couple of others too I'm sure that aren't springing to mind, but there were also plays to Hollins and Knox and Shakir and Samuel in big spots that were just well schemed up, good plays that Josh made the throw and his receiver made the catch.

Yea if you don't think the Bills outcoached the Chiefs on Sunday you don't know what you're watching. Honestly the game probably shouldn't have been as close as it was but for one or two execution missteps. I accept the Bills staff have yet to show they can outcoach the Chiefs when it is all on the line in January. But the Bills coaching, 13 seconds apart, is not the main reason we haven't hoisted a Lombardi. And remember the Chiefs didn't make the Superbowl after 13 seconds. People talk as though win that game and it was a given. We'd still have had to beat Cincy.

Yea I like Vandy and he is plenty athletic enough himself. I think he was the favourite for that swing tackle competition going in - on the roster last year, probably a bit ahead of Grable as regards technical refinement, but Grable beat him out. That is no mean feat. They are in great shape for tackle depth IMO. They aren't the youngest, both stayed in school extra time with covid rules etc. Vandy is in year 3 and is 26, Grable is a 25 yr old rookie but they have potential to make the transition from Dion which is coming at some point more painless than it could be. I still say bad left tackles can sink seasons as fast as any other spot except Quarterback. Agree with that too. Though I still blame him for forcing me to watch Roger Saffold flub around my tv screen every Sunday for a year.

It's a real injury. Think he tore a stomach muscle on a special teams play vs the Jags.

The Chiefs definitely did not play vanilla. Indeed on defense this was as unique a plan as they've ever run against us. Now you can say "mmm maybe it didn't work" that's fine. But it wasn't "it didn't work because we just played our standard plays." That is far from what happened. As for did the Bills unload their full arsenal... no, but we called more shot plays than any other game this season. Obviously we took some of those shots and Josh came off some others and checked down because nobody was open so we pushed the envelope in that regard which someone might take as "emptying the bag" but it wasn't like they were particularly crazy new designs. It was some play action, a rollout they missed Morris on and a double move by Coop. Wasn't re-designing the wheel.

Not to mention the designed pressures where Chris Jones dropped to cover a crossing route so that their best DB could rush the passer on 3rd down. Or playing more zone defense than they have ever played against the Bills in these meetings. Nah. Just totes vanilla. Never got past page 1 of the playbook I'm sure.

Linked to this where are the GM vacancies? Definite House Cleanings (where GM will follow coach out the door) Jets - Joe Douglas is done IMO, house cleaning coming Jags - How Trent Baalke ever got a second crack is still amazing to me Possible - Bears - I think Ryan Poles survives because the perception is that Bears roster is solid, but he hired Eberflus and his decision to draft Odunze rather than try and fix the offensive line with his second first rounder looms large. I just think they will want someone committed to Caleb to stay and he will be told to hire an offensive Head Coach to develop him. GMs who are carrying the can Colts - A lot of the shrewd observers think Irsay is fed up of the QB carousel in Indy and that will land at Chris Ballard's door rather than Shane Steichen's. Browns - Someone's head will roll for the decision to move off Baker and give Watson that contract. Stefanski is fortunate, because he was the driving force behind the first part of that - moving off Baker - but I think the Browns know he is a pretty good coach who isn't easily upgraded so Andrew Berry might be the one who pays with his job Possible - Dolphins - they might yet make a playoff push and save everyone, but if they don't the Dolphins top brass are going to ask whether Mike McDaniel is failing to get the most out of this highly salary cap leveraged roster or if Chris Grier has pushed his chips in on the wrong bets. There is about to be serious salary cap pain coming and Grier has been GM for 8 years without a playoff win to show for it. He is the more likely casualty if the fins finish below .500