Freddie's Dead

The amount of Saffold hate during the Squeelers game convinced me to resurrect the concept of isolating on him to see how good or bad he really was. Like the Edmunds and Ford reports which preceded it, the Saffold report will state what I see on a play, then assign a point system -1, 0, +1, and keep a running total. So does Saffold suck and do we need a better LG at the trade deadline? Let's go to the tape. Bills 1st possession 1st and 10, BUF 25 - 76 holds up in PB, swing pass to Gilliam for -1 (0,0) 2nd and 11, BUF 24 - 76 stiffs his PB at the LOS, Josh complete to Gabe for 22 (+1,+1) 1st and 10, BUF 46 - 76 RB 91 down the LOS, Motor for 8 (+1,+2)_ 2nd and 2, KC 46 - 76 good PB, flat pass to Motor for 3 and FD (+2,+3) 1st and 10, KC 43 - 76 good RB on 95, Motor up the gut for FD (+3,+4) 1st and 10, KC 33 - 76 pulls left and traps 55, Motor for 8 (+1,+5) 2nd and 2, KC 25 - 76 solid PB, 8 yd pass to Diggs (+1,+6) 1st and 10, KC 17 - 76 solid PB on 95, stood up at LOS, 4 yd pass to Motor (+1,+7) 2nd and 6, KC 13 - 76 pulls left as the Bills fake motion that way, Josh laterals to McKittrick, you know the rest (0,+7) Bills 2nd possession 1st and 10, BUF 20 - 76 PB, Josh has all day, hits Diggs for 31 (+1,+8) 1st and 10, KC 49 - 76 PB, Josh throws a ground ball to Tupac INC (0,+8) 2nd and 10, KC 49 - 76 holds his PB at the LOS, Josh scrambles for 9 (+1,+9) 3rd and 1, KC 40 - 76 pulls right and traps, JA bootleg to the left, FD (+1,+10) 1st and 10, KC 36 - 76 with another solid PB, Josh to McKittrick for 5 (+1,+11) 2nd and 5, KC 31 - 76 straight ahead RB, Motor for 8, FD (+1,+12) 1st and 10, KC 23 - 76 blocks 95 down the LOS, Motor sweep for 12, holding on Gabe (0,+13) 1st and 13, KC 25 - 76 good PB on 95, Allen flushed right, throws INC (0,+13) 2nd and 13, KC 25 - 76 RB 95, then passes off and hits 32, Cook for 4 (0,+13) 3rd and 9, KC 21 - 76 PB on 32, Josh moves around, throws high to McKittrick, who gets jacked up, INC (0,+13) 4th and 9, KC 21 - 76 solid block on FG, kick good by Bass-o-Matic (+1,+14) Bills 3rd possession 1st and 10, BUF 25 - 76 RB and mauls two different guys upfield, Motor for 7 (+1,+15) 2nd and 3, BUF 32 - 76 pushes 99 four yards upfield, Motor for 2 (+1,+16) 3rd and 1, BUF 34 - 76 stands up 95, Josh gets the push from Gabe, FD (+1,+17) 1st and 10, BUF 37 - 76 stands up 95 at LOS, Josh scrambles for 6 (+1,+18) 2nd and 4, BUF 43 - 76 stands up 95 again, JA hits Diggs for 10, 76 hustles upfield to try to throw a block while Diggs getting tackled (+1,+19) 1st and 10, KC 47 - 76 stands up his block at LOS, Motor runs in behind him for 14 (+1,+20) 1st and 10, KC 33 - 76 combo pass block, chips 95, then picks up DB, JA into the ground at Cook's feet (0,+20) 2nd and 10, KC 33 - 76 combo pass block, chips then picks up DB, JA INC downfield, PI on KC (0,+20) 1st and Goal, KC 10 - 76 holds up 91 at LOS, Motor for 7 (+1,+21) 2nd and Goal, KC 3 - 76 PB at LOS, JA tipped, INC (0,+21) 3rd and Goal, KC 3 - 76 PB at LOS, DB blitz, JA pass knocked down, INC (0,+21) 4th and Goal, KC 3, - 76 PB on 95, 95 gets by, McKittrick trips, INC (-1,+20) first negative play by Saffold, Dorsey outsmarted himself here, he should have just kept running Motor Bills 4th possession 1st and 10, BUF 31 - 76 with combo PB, JA INC to Davis on the sideline (0,+20) 2nd and 10, BUF 31 - 76 RB takes his guy 4 yards upfield, sheds 76 and makes the tackle on Motor for 3 (0,+20) 3rd and 7, BUF 34 - 76 PB on 95, Josh flushed elsewhere, throws INC, ineligible downfield on Rick Bates, ticky tack (0,+20) Bills 5th possession 1st and 10, BUF 3 - False start on 76, half the distance to the goal (-1,+19) 1st and 11.5, BUF 1.5 - 76 PB on 95, stands him up, McKittrick drops the JA pass (0,+19) 2nd and 11.5, BUF 1.5 - 76 pulls, Josh has some daylight on the QB draw, but Bolton makes a helluva play (0,+19) 3rd and 11.5, BUF 1.5 - 76 double-teams 95, JA with the laser to Gabe for 18 (+1,+20) 1st and 10, BUF 19 - 76 combo PB, Josh for 3 to Dawesome (+1,+21) 2nd and 7, BUF 22 - 76 with weak PB on 51, rides him outside, JA hits Diggs for 30 (-1,+20) This is the first pressure given up by Saffold 1st and 10, KC 48 - 76 blocks air, Josh to Tupac for 14 (0,+20) 1st and 10, KC 34 - 76 stands up his block, JA to GABE DAVIS FOR THE TOUCHDOWN!!! (+1,+21) 1st half observations I didn't see the LG described in the Squeelers GDT. Saffold was solid in the first half, gave up one pressure and only had two negative plays. He was strong in both running and pass blocking. His run blocking both straight ahead and pulling was strong. I'm interested to see what will unfold in the 2nd half. Bills 6th possession 1st and 10, BUF 41 - 76 goes to 2nd level, misses 32, toss sweep to Motor, 32 makes the TFL -1 (-1,+20) 2nd and 11, BUF 40 - 76 stands up 95 and keeps him away from Josh, who throws a strike to Dawesome down the left sideline for 19 (+1,+21) 1st and 10, KC 40 - 76 RB on 99, swing pass to Motor for 5 (+1,+22) 2nd and 5, KC 35 - 76 block, swing pass to Diggs for 13 (+1,+23) 1st and 10, KC 22 - 76 walls off 95, Motor run right for 5 (+1,+24) 2nd and 5, KC 17 - 76 stones his guy on the LOS, Josh lobs to Diggs for the TD (+1,+25) Bills 7th possession 1st and 10, BUF 25 - 76 good PB, Josh to McKittrick for 4 (+1,+26) 2nd and 6, BUF 29 - 76 pulls for PB, Josh rolls out the other way to Sweeney for a FD (+1,+27) 1st and 10, BUF 36 - 76 with another strong PB, Josh with play action to Gilliam for a FD (+1,+28) 1st and 10, BUF 47 - 76 blocks air, screen to Diggs for 5 (0,+28) 2nd and 5, KC 48 - 76 blocks 95 to a stalemate, Cook run for 4 (0,+28) 3rd and 1, KC 44 - 76 blocks his guy 4 yards upfield, but 47 sneaks in past Knox and drops Motor for a 2 yard TFL (0,+28) 4th and 3, KC 47 - 76 stands up his guy, pressure elsewhere, Josh throws a duck to Diggs (0,+28) Bills 8th possession 1st and 10, BUF 24 - 76 stands up 95, Josh screen to Motor for a FD (+1,+29) 1st and 10, BUF 35 - 76 pulls, misses 55 who makes the tackle on Motor for no gain (-1,+28) 2nd and 10, BUF 35 - 76 combo blocks air, Josh INC on slant to Diggs (0,+28) 3rd and 10, BUF 35 - 76 stands up 56, Quessenberry lets 95 trip Josh Allen, ref says "play on" (+1,+29) Then the no call for the blatant block in the back on Wrap on the PR (refs boned us two plays in a row) Bills 9th possession 1st and 10, BUF 24 - 76 PB's air, JA pass to Gilliam in the flat for 8 (0,+29) 2nd and 2, BUF 32 - 76 pushes his block 4 yards upfield, Motor shakes and bakes for 1, should have had the 1st down (+1,+30) 3rd and 1, BUF 33 - 76 pushes forward, seals off 91, Motor sweep right, does not get first down (0,+30) 4th and inches, BUF 33 - JA goes right over 76 for the first down, with a nice push from Gabe (+1,+31) 1st and 10, BUF 35 - 76 pushes delayed blitzer outside, Josh to Diggs for 5 (+1,+32) 2nd and 5, BUF 40 - 76 nice pull block, Josh rollout for 3 (+1,+33) 3rd and 2, BUF 43 - 76 stands up 95 at the LOS, Josh to Diggs for FD (+1,+34) 1st and 10, KC 46 - 76 blocks 95, Dunlap with the rejection (0,+35) 2nd and 10, KC 46 - 76 and 60 combo 95, Josh hits Diggs deep down the middle for the FD (+1,+36) 2:00 warning 1st and 10, KC 28 - 76 goes 2nd level, seals off the backside on Josh sweep, and the HURDLE FOR THE FIRST DOWN!! (+1,+36) 1st and 10, KC 12 - 76 stands up 95 at LOS, Josh run left, 2 yd TFL (+1,+37) 2nd and 12, KC 14 - 76 stones 95 on the pass rush, Josh throws a dagger to Dawesome FOR THE TOUCHDOWN!!! (+1,+38) Bills 10th possession 1st and 10, KC 30 - 76 drives his guy 4 yards upfield, Motor for 6 (+1,+39) 2nd and 4, KC 24 - Victory formation (0,+39) 3rd and 8, KC 28 - Victory formation (0,+39) 4th and 12, KC 34 - Clock runs out Conclusions 1. Saffold was superior at both run blocking and pass blocking in this game. 2. Chris Jones only got the best of him once, but whenever Saffold blocked him, he was a non-factor in the game. 3. I have him with only one pressure, given up to 51, not 95. 4. The bad running plays he had was when he had to do reach blocks when pulling or getting to the 2nd level. 5. I thought he was an astute pick up in the off season, and nothing here changes my mind. 76 grades overall: Chefs - A

Great post as usual Virg. Motor should have had a TD. 2nd and goal from the 4, three INC passes later, Chefs ball. Dorsey is still a rook, hope he learns from that.

Chump don' wan' da he'p, chump don' get da he'p.

More like Jonesin' from football withdrawal...

Damn, beat me to it. I'll delete mine.

Judy Judy Judy.....

Can't argue with you there, they should have stayed away from him. He was an expensive mistake.

PED Murphy wasn't caught while on the Bills. And don't call me Shirley...

Hey Spags, see you in 3 weeks at the Jimmy Hoffa Invitational....

LOL, good enough!

FTFY, now you fix the title.

The refs were trippin'.....

THIS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Three incomplete passes on 2nd and goal from the 4, when Motor was tearing up that ass.

Gameshow is a huge reason for the NJG success this year. That defense is gnarly.

Saw this coming. This ain't the Cheats, we don't stand for that PED *****.

The open field tackle on The Fight Doctor was the best defensive play of the game. Milano made a nice recovery from a rough first half.

Motor should have had a lot more yards, but Dorsey inexplicably went away from him on those drives where the Bills stalled or turned the ball over on downs. 2nd and goal from the 4 with three straight incomplete passes was just brutal.

It's still 16 hours in a tin can, God there's got to be a better way.....

I did the drive from Rochester to Branson, MO once. Not exactly the same, but boring AF up to St.Louis, and looonnnggggg. Props to JoPo for gutting out that nightmare.

No idea. I was in Buffalo and drove back to Rochester just in time for the kickoff. No time to get pizza or Chinese, just ate what was in the house. Go Bills!

TFO - Too old, and not on Marcia's cheatin' health regimen.

That catch by Kelvin Benjamin that we ruled INC? It was really a TD. Our bad. That TD in Houston that we called a touchback? It was really a TD. Our bad. That crackback block in Houston that we called on Cody Ford? That was really legal and you should have won that playoff game. Our bad. That contract that Indy gave Wolford? We're gonna let them do it, but that kind of contract will be illegal from now on. Our bad. We have more apology letters from the NFL than any other team in NFL history.

Watch the replay again. Jones fully extends his leg in Josh's direction, as the photo in @ExiledInIllinois's post shows. It was clearly deliberate and the incompetent reffing crew we had today let it go. An egregiously bad non-call.

Just....wow. The McKittrick hate is off the charts for a guy that just makes plays, game in, game out. First down catches, tough TD's, solid runs, he's made dozens of good plays for the Bills in his time here. He had a bad game today, but the haterz were out immediately after the lateral, they didn't wait for the dropped TD and the dropped pass. How many good plays does a guy have to make before he gets a little slack? The Miami game with 3TD's and an 84-yard PR TD didn't convince you? His 11-catch, 125YD game against the Cheats week 16 last year didn't convince you? Apparently not, because you're holding a few bad plays against him: The KR fumble against the Colts last year - I was told in the GDT that this was the "turning point" in the game, and McKittrick is why we lost. We were down 17-7 and went down 24-7, then were outscored 21-8 the rest of the way, but it was all McKittrick's fault, got it. The INT against the Rams that bounced off him. Not getting OB in the Miami game. The lateral and the other bad plays today (no argument, he had a very bad game today). He also has 3 TD's and 10 first downs this year. In contrast, Siran Neal got abused all day long, missing the tackle on the spin-o-rama TD by JuJu, and getting two defensive holding calls to keep KC drives alive. But I didn't see a single post in the GDT about running him outta town. Why does Wrap get the slack and McKittrick get the hate? I just don't get it.