Rochesterfan

I have not seen one shot where the defender had possession of the ball. I see Kroft make a catch and go down on his knees - the defender at hat point doesn’t have the ball. I see Kroft fall on top of the defender and the 2 of them fighting for the ball, but in no shot can they show the defender with sole possession of the ball. This was an easy play that the Refs blew and NY was to stupid and rigid to accept it was a blown call on the field and call it correctly.

I also think a distinct lack of tackling in preseason is playing a huge part. Even when they let them finally practice it was with such limited contact - very hard to get a rhythm on defense and conversely allowed offense time to gel.

Except it was conclusive that Kroft caught the ball and was tackled by a guy grabbing the ball. It should have been an easy call as Perria stated.

Except after Knox went out with both Gilliam and Kroft active - Kroft filled Knoxs role for the rest of the game. Kroft was in as the HB several times including 2 of the biggest plays in the fourth quarter - the Diggs catch and the Brown TD. I don’t expect that to change much this week. I would assume they move Kroft around and use him to help pick up Donald as an extra blocker. It should be fun to see.

I wouldn’t imagine a break out game for Gilliam. Kroft got most of the snaps after Knox went out and blocked well and was open on a couple of patterns. I expect the Bills to run a lot of 10 personnel- with no TEs and 11 personnel with Kroft as the HB. I don’t expect them to run a ton of 12 personnel with Kroft and Gilliam, but we will see. I would expect some close to the goal line to make the Rams think big/base, but then spread them out.

Great, but if we had kept him for the last year and a half - where does he slot on the Bills guard depth chart? His strength is and was run blocking and we are a pass first team. He is an average to below average pass blocker. My feeling is if he had progressed exactly the same (so if you put him on the Bills right now) - he is 4th or 5th on the depth chart at best. Spain, Feliciano, and Ford are all better and I think Winter beats him out also. I think he is competing with Boettger for a roster spot. I am not really surprised - he showed some talent in his limited time starting, but he showed his greatest strength in run blocking and a nastiness that was replaced by Feliciano who is also a better pass blocker. I look at it as the Bills FO got something for a guy that would not really fit their long term vision of the team and I am fine with that.

The premise of the OP is do the Jets take Lawerence and trade Darnold or do the Jets trade the rights to Lawerence for a bunch of future picks and build around Darnold - so ask the OP. They could keep Darnold, but then you risk lose him for nothing. If you are drafting Lawerence, it is because Darnold struggled again this year - so you are not exercising his fifth year option - so next year would be his last year. If he is the better man and beats out Lawerence - then it becomes the Chargers and Drew Brees all over again. It just seems if you can get another 2nd or 3rd - get it and find and pay a veteran that has a more similar style to Lawerence to install an offense built around his mobility and arm strength. Someone that understands his role and isn’t playing for a future starting role on another team and might be there a year or 2 to help the development and growth. Someone like an RG3 from Baltimore for example on a 2 year 6-8 million contract to provide stability and a cushion. .

Not sure why you think Kroft can’t fill that role. He did it just fine after Knox went out against Miami. Watch the Cover 1 highlights - at 43 and 53 minutes you see the long pass to Diggs and the TD to Brown both used Kroft as the HB and on the Diggs play he blocked the end 1:1 just fine. He was also wide open on the Brown TD - along the sideline. I assume - although that play was not included - that Kroft was also on the field on the misread with Brown that was almost picked. I believe they used the same personnel on the next play which was the TD. There did not seem to be any issues. He looked just fine and would expect that to continue.

I am not as worried about Knox because they had Kroft filling the HB role and he was fine on several plays. I think Gilliam can fit in to that also. I do worry a bit about Moss only because I believe we do not great RB depth and I think activating TJ Yeldon helps the pass game, but I get concerned about the running game.

I saw several on the 4th quarter cover 1 plays. Not sure if it was as much as Knox, but he was in that role. @Hapless Bills Fan I quickly reviewed the Cover 1 film and you can see at least 2 plays with Kroft at the HB position (43:00 minutes and 53:00 both - long pass to Diggs and TD to Brown). I would assume the play before (mis-read with Brown) Kroft was also in at HB. Other plays they were in 10 personnel with no TE at all.

They used Kroft in that role a bunch at the end of the Dolphins game. My guess is we see a lot of Kroft and Gilliam in that role.

Additionally, I think it was in the Athletic- there was an excellent article about how the Jets window has been screwed up and how important that is to winning. The critical winning windows look at Coach contract length, GM contract length, and QB Contract length. The Bills screwed this up for years also, but the Jets have been in Hell with this the last decade. You retain a GM and let them hire a coach - the GM wants to be more aggressive as his seat is getting hot, but the coach wants his own guys and QB. They start to build, but then the GM is fired in 2 years and a new GM comes in. Now the coach is getting on the hot seat, but the GM wants to build and therefore trades for more picks and basically sets the Coach and QB up for 1-2 bad years and then you reset the coach. Now the new coach wants his players and the GM has wasted his safe years and you see the cycle repeat. The Jets are still in that cycle as Gase does not seem sold on Darnold nor Bell - so Joe Douglas has to move on. If they fire Gase and draft Lawerence/Fields - they have a chance to set up a 5 year plan where the GM, Coach, and QB all have about 4 years to make it work. I believe they screw this up by retaining Gase after this year (lots of term left on his contract) and try to let him and Joe Douglas build together until the fans totally revolt (as Bills fans did with Jauron as HC). Just my opinion, but I think the hardest thing to do is to get the Coach/GM/QB window aligned and set so that everyone has enough time to implement a plan and grow a team.

Unless they are idiots - the Jets have to take the QB - just because of the contract. After this season it is 5th year contract decision and then long term contract time for Darnold and they have wasted his cheap years. Yes they could get a boat load of picks for Lawerence, but if you figure those spread out over several years - you are to the point of paying your QB 40 million and it will impact who you can retain. Lawerence resets that window and let’s you spend on FA to build around him and use your draft picks on future talent to grow with him. I just don’t see the Jets as getting a top 3 pick. They are terrible right now, but I think around game 6-7 when the pressure is off - they will start to stack a few wins and end up with 4-6 wins by the end. Darnold will get hot and some teams will overlook them and bam. I expect Carolina, Jacksonville, Cincinnati, NYG, Detroit, and/or Minnesota to all be in the 2-5 win range with shots at picking before NYJs.

Totally disagree with this. My opinion on Spain is going to be - what do you want from that position. Since he was signed - he is easily the best pass blocking o-lineman the Bills have had. He is not dominant, but he is always in a great position and battles to the end. He picks up Stunts and tricks and is very good at stopping a rusher - passing him off - and picking up the delayed blitzer coming through the middle. He has excellent feet to get into a position to protect Allen. He is not a dominant run blocker - he will occupy guys, but he is not going to drive them off the ball. To me - he and Morse at Center are very similar- they both have great technique in pass blocking and move around well, but neither are going to drive guys on run blocking. I am ok with that as we have been transitioning to a more pass oriented offense to move the ball. Mongo on the other hand is exactly like his handle states - he is very physical and much more powerful in the run game than either Spain or Morse, but his aggression and his power also cause him to get out of position more on the pass blocking side and to miss things like stunts more frequently. He tries to bury his guy and on more than one occasion last year - that caused him to get out of position and leave an opening for the defense to attack. Spain is paid appropriately for what he does and he continues to be one of the best pass blockers on the team and that is crucial for this team going forward. I have no issues with the Bills trying to shift a few guys around. If you are looking to run late in the game - Mongo and Ford at guards are most likely giving you the biggest push. Heck even Mongo at Center last year replacing Morse got huge push in the running game. If you want to pass and protect the QB - Spain, Morse are both going to be in there. The other guard that has shown some pass blocking could be Winters - although it was tough to judge based on the day. Ford and Mongo both also can fill that 2nd guard spot.

This is ridiculous since they never mentioned the AC joint and if it was 3+ weeks they would have IRd him to get the additional body. It is not like years passed where IR was 6 weeks minimum and you could only bring back 2. I expect Edmunds back probably this week as he was practicing last week with the Red jersey. Milano - the Bills tend to go more cautious- my guess is he could play this week, but they will try to let him sit one more week. They already saw Norman re-aggravate his Hamstring and cost him additional weeks .

What a week for Josh: AFC Offensive Player of the Week GMFB Angry Run Scepter winner Top 15 QB Ranking by PFF for the week. 🙄 Man which award to highlight.

The throw to Diggs was definitely Cover 0, but it is hard on a few of the others - the run they had a deep safety that was so deep on that view you couldn’t see him until Allen slides. I really need to have time to watch the All-22 - it did appear they were running with a deep safety most of the game and were still getting beat over the top. So we will need to see how many times they ran a true cover 0, but at least once on the big Diggs completion to the sideline was a classic.

I will wait for the All-22, but just watching his NFL player of the week highlights - several of the big throws came against what appeared to be Cover 0 with tight man. I think the difference between this year and last year is the formation. Last year they ran a lot of 21 and 12 personnel because they only had 2 legitimate WRs. So when teams played Cover 0 - they did not have the athletes to win - so many throws were long throws that were overthrown. Against Miami - they ran cover 0 and had everyone at the line of scrimmage and brought pressure, but the Bills spent a bunch of time in 10 personnel with 4 WRs and suddenly you had crossing routes to Diggs and Beasley open and he was completing the passes. It sure looked to me like he beat Cover 0 against the Dolphins a lot more than he struggled - even in the Red Zone for TDs. I know the Dolphins pass rush is not great, but they have what was supposed to be some of the top cover CBs in the NFL and that was going to be their strength. Allen even beat what looked to be Cover 0 by spreading the field and running a delayed draw for a first down. It wasn’t perfect, but it has to give some pause to teams that watched the Pats and Ravens destroy us with that. It appears the Bills are going to counter with 4 WRs and challenge the defense to cover 4 guys right from the snap and not many teams have the CB horses to match that - especially if Diggs beats his man right off the line.

What really matters to me is yes it was the Jets and the Dolphins, but the Jets have typically run a bunch of zone coverages with pressure packages and Josh read that and beat it. The Dolphins on the other hand run Man coverage with and including some 0 coverage blitzes that have given Josh issues in the past. He read both styles of D and found the open guys - that bodes well for the future as we see him beating all types of coverages. Now neither team is overall elite, but the Dolphins spent big on DBs and had perhaps 2 of the top 5 CBs and a 1st round pick (so no slouches), but Josh beat them all over the field. If Josh can get a read on the defense and beat the coverages that hurt him last year (all out man blitzes - zone/man combos) he will be tough to beat. The addition of guys that go and get the ball is also so evident. There have been probably 10 passes that in years passed get dropped and now guys are making plays. Several throws to Diggs that are sweet throws where he goes an gets the ball - in years passes those are incomplete because the DBs would out physical the WRs. The TD throws to Davis, Moss, and Gilliam - all thrown to places to allow the receiver to make the only play on the ball - those are not catches in other years. They were all good throws with placement to keep the player away from the defense, but if they are all dropped - the issue is why didn’t the ball go right to the bread box or something to that effect. The fact is Josh has improved leaps and bounds and his receiving talent has improved and together they make the offense fun to watch.

The explanation in part 2 is perfect. That is how they play and it may be frustrating to fans, but they do not hate the way Wallace plays in this D. That does not mean they are not looking for better, but they know what they have in Wallace and it is good enough to run their defense. I think they brought extra pressure for 2 reasons - mostly because I think they wanted to force Fitz to throw it quickly and allow the troops (CBs and Safeties) to rally and tackle. They did not want to get beat longer on double moves - like what happened to Tre’. I think they felt like pressure him - get the ball out and tackle and maybe once or twice Tre’ will get a shot. I think they also hoped it would throw a little confusion and maybe get a few drive stops. If they could blitz and stop the run - it would give less exposure to the back-up LBs and maybe having them a bit closer to any receiver. I think Fitz is just darned good at handling that and he made some great throws to guys that had Bills defenders draped all over them. The TD against Tre by the TE - that was classic Fitzmagic. Tre was right there on the TE forced him to the inside and reacted perfectly- Fitz just beats him with a throw. If it was a different QB that reacted a second slower or like Darnold in week 1 - Tre either gets a hand on it or a pick, but sometime when Fitz is on - he just beats you.

Not sure he is late, I believe he is a better Zone than Man Corner and he plays as the Bills expect - keep the guy in front of you and make the tackle. The problem is he gets exposed by QBs that aren’t afraid of tight windows. A guy like Fitz isn’t scared to go after a CB like Tre’ and has no qualms about a guy like Wallace - who even with good coverage is more focused on making sure he gets his man to the ground rather than jumping a route. Wallace seems much more comfortable when he can play zone - see the QB and the WR and knows he has safety help over the top. With the Milano and Edmunds injuries and Fitz attacking the middle of the field with zone coverage - it pulled the safeties into coverage there. Then when the Bills would throw a wrinkle and go man - Fitz was unfazed - even with pressure- and attacked the outside - sometimes it was Tre, but many times it was Wallace. I get people wanting him to be better, but the dude balls as much as he can, makes solid tackles, and is a solid CB - he just is not Tre White and therefore is going to face a lot of throws. Fitz attacked Wallace with several throws where Wallace was right there - Darnold was to scared to make those throws or tried to finesse them and was off target. It is a huge difference between those 2 QBs.

I think McKenzie was fine right up to the block, he didn’t just tense up for the hit - He lunged right along the yard and hit him directly with his shoulder. He needed to do the old Ole’ block - just pushing the guy slightly. The size of the guys don’t matter - the NFL is working to outlaw this type of block and have been regularly calling this.

Brand new - just put in and it is supposed to be really good, but the 49ers said the turf was long and caught on their cleats. It may be they were wearing the wrong cleats, but we will see - the 49ers get to play the NYG on the same field next week also.

You either trade him for lesser value or you let him be the veteran year one and let him walk. At this point the Jets would be insane to give him a 5th year option and another contract along with passing on Lawerence - for even a ton of picks. The cost on Darnold would hurt any plans to build easily around him. Now if they are sitting at pick 5 or 6 - then you have to look at keeping Darnold and building around him, but only if you miss out on the top QBs.

If they don’t take Lawerence and try to trade Darnold - the GM should be fired and I think Douglas is pretty smart. It has nothing to do with production, but contract. If they keep Darnold - they have to pay a true QB salary upper 20 - 35 million per season. With Lawerence you reset the contract to rookie base and have 4 years to build with that rookie deal.