HappyDays

One team looks like they just made a cross-Atlantic trip two days ago, one team looks like they've been here for two weeks. Totally ridiculous scheduling by the NFL, and counting it as a home game for us.

It was a great call, Cook was schemed open. He just has to catch it.

Diggs could have had a 1st down there too. Two missed opportunities.

He's one of the least graceful NFL players I've ever seen. He looks good dropping into zone coverage, but anything he's asked to do just looks so awkward.

Embedding for you: Not feeling good about Rousseau for this one, but it appears everyone else is good to go.

Bills 27 Jags 16

McGovern had an MCL sprain and was expected to miss the first couple weeks. Instead he wore a brace. You could tell he was uncomfortable with the knee against the Jets but it hasn't been a problem since them. Every time my source has told me about an injury or a signing it has turned out correct. Injury recovery is fluid so it's impossible for anyone to know for sure exactly what to expect, but I'll always pass along what I hear.

This is what I said in early August: It was not always guaranteed that he would start on PUP. It was a clean ACL tear with no MCL damage and his recovery went as well as it could have. There was some optimism he could come back earlier than expected, until he suffered that upper leg injury.

I have not heard anything on either of them.

Not later in the season. I was told it was definite Von would be out at least the first 4 games because he suffered a compensation injury in the hamstring on the opposite leg as the ACL tear. It was a minor setback but it made it a sure thing that he would be on PUP. This source told me on Monday about Rousseau's foot injury which I posted in the Tre White thread. Today we got a little more clarity and luckily it doesn't appear to be anything serious.

Yeah my source thinks it is more pain tolerance than anything else. McDermott mentioned in his presser today that Rousseau was very sore today. There are a lot of small bones in the foot so my best guess is one of them got bruised or sprained.

Correct, with about 4 minutes left in the 2nd quarter and he played the rest of the game without issue. You can see it happen in this video, and you see Rousseau shake off his foot at the end: https://www.veed.io/view/d002ac3f-27c1-4dbc-ac5f-87e4e9f2c082?panel=&sharingWidget=true The injury is considered day to day and Rousseau’s status for Sunday is unknown.

Top 10 run blocking too:

I bet McDermott right now is secretly thankful for the 2021 Jags loss. However much these guys are feeling themselves after an epic beatdown, he can show them that tape and humble them. No concerns in my mind that they are going to be unfocused in this one.

It was a cool protection except for the fact that Morse never got his feet set and got driven back into Josh's lap. Diggs was open for a deep curl about 20 yards downfield but Josh couldn't get a good platform. Luckily he is a magician and created a big play out of nothing.

Oh my God this gave me flashbacks. Only 4 games in and I had forgotten that LBs could look like they're on ice skates. I sincerely think he was even worse than a lot of his biggest detractors thought.

Yeah and I think that Patriots team today wouldn't come close to winning it all. That was the end of an era for the NFL where a strong running game and a good defense was enough to win a Super Bowl. Then in quick succession Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, Herbert all came onto the scene. The NFL collectively decided to let offensive lines hold. We're in a new era now. If you don't have the horses on offense, you're on the outside track. And that Patriots team probably wouldn't have made it to the Super Bowl to begin with if Dee Ford hadn't jumped Offside. I know you can find those examples in every game, but that year was a good example of the transition I'm talking about. A young Mahomes with an elite offensive supporting cast almost knocked off a dynasty at the end of its run.

2000 is ancient history. So is pretty much every year before the latest generation of elite QBs. In 3 of the 4 seasons the Super Bowl winner has had a pass catcher in the top 8 of receptions. 2022 - Chiefs - Kelce #3 2021 - Rams - Kupp #1 2020 - Bucs - Evans #33 2019 - Chiefs - Kelce #8 These days there are too many elite QBs. An offense needs an edge somewhere else. In recent years that edge has been pass catchers, and to somewhat of a lesser extent the offensive line.

That's what I addressed in the last part of my post. I don't know if it's feasible to pay a true WR1 and WR2 at the same time. But irrespective of that it is hard to argue with the evidence that a very good and versatile #2 is seemingly a necessity for a Super Bowl contender. It's hard to figure out a solution to that problem in October. I hope Beane will try though.

I'm a huge fan of Kincaid and I think he has a great future here. But I want our #2 to be someone that can be relied upon if a defense takes away Diggs. Not to the same caliber as Diggs obviously, just enough so that our offense isn't totally handicapped in those situations. I haven't seen anything from Kincaid so far that makes me think he can be that guy yet. Right now he is a role player, not someone we can funnel the offense through.

So JuJu was somewhat of an outlier in the group I'm talking about. I went back and found my examples of #2 pass catching targets in the last 6 Super Bowls: JuJu Smith-Schuster Devonta Smith Tee Higgins OBJ Chris Godwin (in an almost dead heat with Rob Gronkowski) Tyreek Hill Tyreek Hill Deebo Samuel Julian Edelman Brandin Cooks Zach Ertz Rob Gronkowski Again, I don't think there's any reasonable disagreement that the above players were better pass catchers than Gabe Davis in those respective seasons. The difference with JuJu is he was a cheap FA signing. Most of the players on that list were drafted by that team. The Chiefs kind of got lucky, because of course they did. They signed a previously very good but oft-injured WR to a 1 year prove it deal and it paid off big time. We signed Jamison Crowder and got nothing. I hear you on the big WR2 contract. With Allen and Diggs it probably isn't feasible. We have simply neglected the position in the draft. But my point has been that every team who makes it to the Super Bowl in recent history has had not just a top tier #1 pass catcher, but a very good #2 as well. We are lagging behind in that area.

Tyler Boyd, Josh Palmer, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Diontae Johnson all finished top 40 in yards last year. I would classify all of them as #3 WRs. Davis's TDs are what elevate him to high-end #3 for me. I'm not trying to trash him as player, I understand his skill set is valuable especially with Josh at QB. But he isn't versatile enough to be a full time #2. He is getting 4.5 targets per game this season. Those are #3 target numbers, not #2, especially in a high volume passing offense. JuJu isn't a top receiver. But he can run all of the routes. He can separate in different ways. He was not a high end #2 last year but he was playing like a true #2. Davis at this point is very boom or bust. High YPC, high TD per catch, low separation efficiency, low catch percentage (although it has been better this year as a result of his lower targets per game). I think next year Davis will get the Edmunds treatment. He'll be overpaid by a dumb team and within a few weeks he'll be putting up very modest production and have that team's fans questioning his contract.

I said in the game thread both of the first two drives were great defensive scheme and play calls. We got our hands on a few balls and made Tua go past his first read. The players just didn't take advantage of those opportunities at first. Once they did, the defensive onslaught began. I have criticized both McDermott and Dorsey at various times over the past couple years. This was by far the best coached game either one of them have ever had. P.S. This was your best "Few Thoughts" yet. Thank you for doing these whenever the mood strikes.

With respect to the DL, I think Milano and Bernard are far and away the #1 reason for our defensive shutdowns over the past 3 weeks. Honorable mention to Taron Johnson. Our 2nd level is the best in the league and it isn't close. They're getting their hands on a lot of balls and they aren't letting anyone get past them.

I've posted the examples before, not gonna go back now and find them again. But if you look at the #2 target pass catcher on each of the last 12 teams to participate in the Super Bowl, every one of them has been a better player than Davis. JuJu Smith-Schuster is probably the worst of that group and he had a 1,400 yard season not that long ago. By the time playoff football rolls around you're bound to face a defense that takes away your #1 guy. So who steps up? Right now for the Bills I'm not confident in anybody to be that answer. But Allen and Diggs individually and as a combo are playing the best football of their lives right now. If they keep it up and the pass protection continues to impress, I could see us being the exception. January is a long way away though. It's still a nagging concern in my mind.