Rochesterfan

I agree there is a major level of paranoia, but it also must have some potential impact. If film study was solely enough - then teams would struggle to disguise blitz packages and QBs with 5+ years would not be tricked by coverages or blitzes or spy’s, etc. It can have an impact even beyond a single game. For example: KC lined up to go for it on 4th down and “acted” like they were trying to get the Bills to jump Offside, but with around 10 seconds left on the play clock - Mahomes just started walking toward the sidelines. The Bills had a player following him and KC took the delay of game, but they may have been looking for something to see if they could sneak him out for a quick pass. Now that is not on film as nothing happened and the play gets sorted by penalty and is not “categorized” as a play, but if Romo (or any analyst) saw KC practicing that for a specific look and then casually mentions during the game on the 4th down - you know watch for this - it might be a good time for a trick and then if it doesn’t happen point out that - well they were setting up something, but this player followed him - that specific play that a coordinator was holding could get ruined because even though it was not on film - it was discussed durning the game as an option and people now move that to a potential trick play. Now does the NFL take that to an extreme - yes definitely, but at the same time you have coaches like McD or Belicheck that won’t even share real injury information or allow media to talk about practices and players positions in preseason - my guess is they hate having production teams scouring their building and watching their specific game planning practices and talking to the coaches about the approach as they look for every edge possible - even slight perceived edges.

I think a lot of it can be chalked up to the KC defensive game plan. 1.) It is a strong unit normally as they are giving up less than 60 yards to any RBs over the course of the game. They can do this because they are not afraid to pressure and blitz both run and pass gaps and play tight behind it. 2.) They were not afraid to match our “big” man package with even more D-Line/LB - several times they had a true 4-3 with a DB off and McDuffie covering as a slot/outside DB. They have good sized and fast LBs that help fill gaps. The Bills countered that with a few double moves and sneaking TEs out deep - Josh unfortunately missed a couple of throws that would have killed the plan. 3.) Several times they brought extra rushers in the middle gaps from tackle to tackle to stop the run and if it was play action or a pass call - try to get quick pressure and force Josh into a mistake. I understand people’s frustration with the short runs especially on first down, but even getting 1-2 yards still keeps the defense honest and forces them to keep trying to stop it - which opened up the TE down field that should of gone for a TD. The defensive gameplan also is what allowed Cooper to get behind the defense a couple of times and make amazing catches. KC has done that several times over the years - they are taking away short to mid quick throws and hoping to pressure and force mistakes, but Josh and Brady were showed patience and stuck to runs that slowed the rush down enough that the OL could handle the DL and give Josh the needed lanes. It also helped this game the WRs that won like Cooper caught the ball - unlike Diggs and James Cook last year that both dropped the shot plays. It was more like a few years ago in the regular season where Knox got behind the D a few times for big gains and TDs and made the catches.

He was told to stop - not because he was a former player diagnosing these plays and telling us what may come - but because he had inside knowledge based upon discussion with the team and watching practices that are closed to media - he was telling us what they actually gameplanned. The teams were complaining to the NFL that he was talking about their “secrets” for specific looks and teams threatened to shut down any info for Him and Nance if it continued. It is the same reason the Brady owning a part of LV and being a broadcaster took so long to happen - there was a ton of stipulations that had to be addressed to ensure information wasn’t passes to other teams. Romo was so great early because he was breaking norms by sharing info on how teams installed a gameplan for that opponent, but that info is then available for other teams to exploit as they see concepts. If he shared thoughts based upon just what he saw on the field it would be one thing, but when he would talk about what “triggered” a blitz based upon formation - that was info gleaned from the discussions with the team and watching specific practices where the gameplan is installed.

That is not correct. They lost to Denver last year 24-9 in week 8. No one was even close to the Bills record before Baltimore won. It was the Bills and everyone else was less than 1 season without a 2 score loss including KC.

They can’t really “refuse”, but they can not report and force the team to cut or put them on a did not report list - which may get your wish for a release. It has happened a limited number of times in the past. It just would not happen with Dodson because the claiming means he gets the rest of his 4.6 million dollar contract - rather than signing for vet minimum or a PS position to help Buffalo. In the end - you report and if things are not great - the agent can make it known he wants released as there are usually a handful of veterans released the last few weeks of the season. He is an interesting fit with Miami as he will help the around the LOS game, but where the Dolphins are terrible is pass coverage and he is not that kind of LB.

Nope - if he is cut and clears waivers there is no contract. If a team claimed him they would be on the hook for the money, but I highly doubt he gets claimed for that reason. It is too much for a back-up player at LB At this time of year for most contenders and no reason for a non-contender to bother with his age. I would expect once he clears the Bills talk to him after the Chiefs game and he gets signed for the minimum as needed.

Agreed and in this case it was not a LB, but a safety that was moving laterally and got sucked in and allowed Taylor to hit the hole. There was a great shot of Hamlin coming up and staying level to the RB and then Taylor bursts 2 more players to the outside and Hamlin reacts slowly and can not get to the hole. I think he lost sight of Taylor behind the larger players and was just a step or two late in getting going and that with his lack of burst - made him 3 steps behind and trailing. We have seen the Bills do that formation shift several times and if Hamlin plays it correctly it is a small gain or a tackle for a loss as we saw other times, but in this defense - if 1 guy is out of play or makes the wrong read - there was a gap to be exploited and no speed for others to recover. We saw something similar on the Henry TD run to start the Baltimore game - Hamlin being a step or 2 slow to his spot and that allowing a huge gain. I don’t think it was wrong - I think 1 player misplayed it and left a hole that could not be filled and that happens - that is what explosive plays usually are. You can’t just excuse the mistake, but to be fair other than that mistake - they gave up 56 yards on 20 carries for a 2.8 average. I think they are still finding their way with lots of new parts. Hyde and Poyer had several games like this their 1st year in this defense as they all learned to play together and react to things.

Great and you don’t think the 2 trades offset for trade costs and Dane is not as good of a player. So you weaken the team for almost no benefit as neither player is worth anything in trade value. A STARTING LT was just traded from a team that thought they were a contender for a swap of late round picks in 2026. Elam and Dane Jackson are worth swapping 7th round picks in 2027 and Elam is still the better player and provides more to the Bills - so why waste it. Yes of course - if you find a sucker offering a 2nd great swap Elam and go get Dane, but don’t make the trade to make the trade.

Great, but once again - the move of cutting Evans has absolutely nothing to do with anything. He was NOT ON THE ROSTER - so his getting released did not open up a spot and has absolutely nothing at all to do with any rumors. He got better - they activated him and if anything had happened to other RBs he would have been promoted and since nothing happened - they let the time expire and cut him from the IR slot and will work to re-sign him in a couple of week to the PS if there is an opening. I think a lot of the buzz was created by internet morons that thought this move symbolized the Bills opening a spot to make a move and not having a clue it did not do that. If the Bills make a move - it will not be because they released Evans. The Bills have an open spot since putting Carter on IR (they played 1 roster spot short on Sunday) because they needed a spot for Von this week and it save them some money and having to promote and cut a PS player.

Come on man - you are better than this. Almost no 3rd string players have value. Those are not the guys teams trade. Teams trade for starting level players - Cooper, Adams, Hopkins, Cam Robinson, etc. - and those starting level players return 5th and 6th round picks - so no Elam does not have value - neither does Ingram or Lewis. That fact does not change the fact that Elam is a fine depth piece as @NewEra has said. He is our #3 depth corner at the boundary - it has been great that he has not had to play because it means the starters are healthy. Lewis was filling in for Johnson and only saw snaps as the dime inside DB the last 2 games. Ingram was filling in for Lewis as Dime and has not played defense the last 2 weeks with people healthy - they have specific roles. Whether they trade Elam or not ends up irrelevant- if they trade him - the Bills would need to find another boundary corner because Ingram and Lewis are not that and they need depth at that spot. He provides depth and the fact that he is not worth anything on the trade market also is consistent because anything beyond top end starter have little value, but they have more value to their current team with playbook knowledge and specific roles.

It doesn’t open a spot. He was never on the roster. They have an open spot from Carter going on IR and that is for Von. Evans was in his IR windows and had to either be activated and put on the roster or cut.

Another way to look at this is not why was Cooper traded twice, but is it a fairly common thing for WRs. Why was Diggs traded twice in his Prime? Why was Devante Adams traded twice in his Prime? Why was Hopkins traded twice? Why was Brandon Cook traded 3 times so far and people continue to look at him as a potential trade target still? How about why have Hill, Hardman, AJ Brown, DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Jerry Jeudy, etc. all been traded in their prime at least once? I think it is a WR and fit thing - they seem to get paid big time money and then get moved to free up space. It rarely has anything to do with passion and more to do with player/return on investment and current fit. I think receiver in general is a position that when teams are struggling- you can find ways to move on and try to find replacements elsewhere. There are always 20-30 replacement level players to find every year in the draft. Additionally you see several CBs traded throughout various years - not as many as WRs, but as both are sort of 1:1 positions outside the main formation they are easier positions to incorporate newly into a team during the season. Other positions,: QB, OL, DL, LB - they are so dependent upon the others around them working as a unit that you see few starter levels traded in general during the year. Just my opinion, but it seems many starter level WRs are available for trade every year and sometimes teams make the trades and other times they don’t. WRs have always been a bit of a high end maintenance position and sometimes they wear out their welcome, but I am not sure that is always the case when guys are traded.

I agree and although I also think it would be nice to see some major tendency breakers early in games - I do wonder if some of that is on purpose and something that they have learned over the years. I think the staff believes if they play base normal defense early - they can see exactly how teams want to attack their defense and how they will react and then exploit that later. If they break tendencies early - they do not see the response to things like simulated pressure and then have to adjust later. I believe that is what happened to the team years ago. With Dabol and Frazier - experienced coaches - they broke tendencies early and then hit lulls as they and teams adapted - see 3rd quarter struggles. I believe they have now overcompensated and that has lead to early game struggles. Neither approach is great against top tier teams and that has lead to struggles, but the current approach is really bad if they are outplayed and out muscled like against Baltimore.

I totally agree with this. I will also add that it is not even a halftime adjustment for all the people that say the coaches don’t adjust during the game - you see them making adjustments and honing in on other teams starting by the end of the first quarter and the second quarter. The same issue occurs on offense where they have a set run of plays scripted, but it looks like Josh wants it to happen similar to what he is expecting and doesn’t follow his check down rules and the offense struggles for the first quarter until he gets into the flow reading the defense. You can’t really even say this is a McD issue because a few years ago it was exactly the opposite. The Bills would come out and score nearly 100% of the time on the first couple of drives build a lead and stop other teams most of the first half. Then everyone complained because after halftime the adjustments made by other teams worked for the 3rd quarter and the games would tighten up - both the offense and defense struggled and then the 4th quarter hit and boom they would salt the game away. I think it is really just the NFL - Most games teams have flow and then lose it and other teams look lost and then move forward. I don’t think it is as pronounced with other teams because with the Bills when both the offense and defense are working close games become blowouts quickly and that is what you are seeing.

🤦‍♂️. Nice view - you can clearly see his had is already off the ball by step 2. It perfectly shows why it is not a catch. If he had control wouldn’t the ball stay where it was - it is moving and therefore not a catch. If you think this is a TD - show me other examples where a guy bobbles the ball as he is in the process and gets the completion. This is 100% incomplete as at no time does he have full control because the defender did his job.

The coaches can tell them what they are challenging, but during review they are looking for other reviewable aspects and in this case which is rare - they realized not that Kincaid failed to make the catch, but that he fumbled before he was down. They made a change to the ruling and therefore - even though the it did not prove to be what was challenged- the play was changed and therefore technically the Titans are not penalized. This is a rare occurrence and is typically seen on challenges to spotting of the ball where the ball is moved either forward or backwards a few inches and therefore the challenge is acceptable, but the outcome may not be changed - such as the guy was still short of getting a first down. It is not something to really take advantage of - it is just a minor outcome of a play.

Yes you are wrong because he needs to complete the catch - it is total different than a runner at the goal line. The 2 steps for a completion do not start until the player has control of the ball. He gets it in 1 hand, loses control as the ball slides down into his mid section - regains control and gets 1 foot in and one foot out of bounds. It is not a catch anywhere on the field of play since he did not get both feet down in bounds with control of the ball. The goal line only matters if the player has control - such as a running play. A passing play still requires the player to make the catch. I feel for Coleman because it was a great effort and he literally made a superb attempt, but the defender looked to just free up the ball and force him to regather and his toe was just out of bounds. Sucks, but it was the right call and the same reason the Kincaid catch last week was not challenged - you must maintain that control and get your feet down. It was also why the Kincaid catch today was a catch and fumble as he got 2 feet down and dove forward completing the play as the ball was knocked out and ruled a fumble.

I guess I am not seeing his Elbow hit in bounds for sure. The spot the video is stopped - the pellets flying up are not from his elbow, but from the defenders back foot. His elbow is still in the air - it comes down and connects to the ground just as his forearm and lower body is hitting out of bounds. It is also difficult to tell, but at 0.01 seconds on that video his toe hits right on the sideline in bounds, but slides - does it touch out of bounds? At 0:02 seconds his arm comes down and the elbow and forearm hit simultaneously with his arm out of bounds. It was not going to be overturned because even as a homer of a Bills fan - it was the correct call. The Dalton catch by the sidelines also would not be overturned in my opinion - not because of a small bobble, but because it is not a catch until he demonstrates control and control means not grabbing and having the 2 bobbles before he hits the ground. He did not show control until he was out of bounds. If Dalton makes the catch clean at first with both hands and controls it until he hits the ground and it moves the small wobble that it did - then I could see the challenge, but he clearly loses control right after the catch as he is going down as the ball moves while falling and that to me is why the Refs called it correctly incomplete. They were correctly not challenged - although you could use the Cook challenge as a timeout, but the effect was going to be the same - a play stoppage and incomplete.

Watching Cook over his time - I think that throw is very hard for him to catch. That particular throw - over the top/shoulder with the receiver going straight away - is a WR style catch and Cook has missed on several of those over the last 2 years - especially last year. I don’t think they are really drops as those are going to be very low percentage catches for him. Cook is much better on the quick sideline routes and the crossing the middle style routes - where he can turn and get eyes on the ball and look it in. I think Brady and Josh need to recognize that and adjust because Ty Johnson and Ray Davis seem better at that route. It does not mean the Bills should not utilize Cook in the passing game or limit his plays, but maybe they need to look as his personal route tree and limit that specific type of throw and move him to something where he can really see the entire pass. He is a good receiver out of the backfield and has shown that at every level he has played, but he looks very awkward when trying to catch that type of pass and he seems to misjudge and not make a hands catch like he does elsewhere on the field.

Well - the team with the 2nd longest streak - the Rams got blown out today after 9-10 weeks. It shows just how difficult it is to be in every game or be blowing people out. The streak is pretty amazing overall and I think is a testament to coaching, team build, preparation, and the players commitment to this staff that they give everything each week to try and win.

I am sorry, but 30 posts - poor topic recognition - just plain stupid with no real stats to back things up - my god - hang it up. 🤦‍♂️ McD has been repeatedly praised for being one of the best at using analytics to determine go for it - versus punt/FG tries in relation to outcome impacting wins. The data shows that he is among the best at being aggressive at the correct times and situations. Raw numbers mean nothing - the Bills are amongst the highest scoring teams meaning they face fewer 4th down in general and are ahead many of the times and it is inappropriate to go for it. It also boasted Tyrod as the starting QB and a strong defense. McD was conservative in his first season - 100% based upon the team. He loosened up a bit in year 2 with a rookie QB and has learned ever since. I 100% agree with this post.

I totally agree - the first time through I was using over 8 which moved Baltimore to all of last year, but after re-reading it moved Baltimore to week 18 of last year. I also think it just goes to show how incredible this is.

I think it is the Rams at 10 weeks - with week 9 of 2023. They lost week 13 in 2023 to GB by 8 - so 6 games ago Even if you include the Bengals game - we have the longest streak by far. Nearly 1/2 of the teams have lost by 7 either week 18 of 2023, week 1, or wk 2 of 2024. The longest outside the Bills - looks like the Rams in the middle of last year - 10 games ago. The Bills still have all of last year and this year as longer than every other team. You can spin McD any way you want, but the preparation of the Bills can not be questioned. Not only do they rarely lose, but even when they do - it is an intense close competition. Meanwhile the coaches some of our fans slobber over have weeks that there teams just are not prepared and it gets worse if you include the playoffs for teams not better. The fact that people point to Cincinnati like that is so much closer ends up as a joke. The Bills are still very dominant in this category.

Thank you for a nice write up. First - I will say in regards to the running game and I have not seen it mentioned really - I believe the weather played a lot with gameplan and play calls. The Bills - especially in the first half - spent the majority of the time going into the wind. The wind caused issues with deeper and outside throws - therefore you saw more running and short passes and more focus around the line of scrimmage. I will be very interested as the games move along to see how the JA passing chart expands, but I think they had an Arizona team they felt they could run on and a wind that impacted throws down the field and to the sidelines. Second - and maybe it will change, but I can’t stand the kickoff rules. Really other than the Bills game nearly every kick was still a touchback and the only kicks that weren’t - were caused by the wind. Yes those 4 kicks ( 2 returns and 2 penalties) had an impact, but I would prefer they just get rid of it and move on. We will see as it will be a bigger impact all year on the Bills than the majority of the teams, but I also think that is unfair - it is not an even impact on teams due strictly to weather.

There were 2 - 1 was #99 I believe on the outside - very minor but as he is crashing down the Cardinal player is pushing him in the back with one hand. Again that is minor. #2 is pretty egregious- Bills # 30 something right in the hole. He is going to be double teamed by Cards #3 (2nd deep man) and #44. The Bills guy is past #44 at the 30 and is breaking down near the 25 - he looks to be sandwiched by the 2 Cardinals players, but fights through. #3 looks to whiff and as the Bills player reaches out at the 25 - you can clearly see #44 driving him from behind. #44 never gets him from the front or side everything is him pushing from behind and that opens the gap to run through. Even with that - the Bills are still in pretty good shape - 95, 5, and 41 are all converging on the runner right in the hole. Both Gilliam and Elam have him in their arms at the 35, but fail to make the tackle. An outside DB also has him lined up as they are making the tackle near the 37 and ducks and ends up giving him the O’le - allowing the TD. It was bad tackling, but a block in the back also.