Straight Hucklebuck

These franchises are ridiculous

In some respects, if the Bills and Bengals are not forced to finish this game, haven't they received a "soft-bye week". They played an 1/8 game.

That’s why every team in the league pays PFF and their grading. Again, I didn’t use it as “proof”. I put that together to show relative performance, and said YOU were right. Rhodes is among the lower performers in our room albeit on 1.5 games. It probably is a moot point anyways because our coaching staff isn't going to play him. I just think at times this FO/Coaching Staff overthinks these fringe players and puts them on the active roster, and keeps them there for too long. It’s been mentioned before how McDermott has an affinity for Special Teamers only, or how we haven’t cross trained our secondary well enough to play multiple positions. I think Rhodes a player, could help us more than Mayden. He’s just been in the NFL and starting for years, Mayden is undrafted and trying to latch on.

Tre White 58.1 PFF 15/28 targets 53.6% completion 14.4 yards/completion 90.8 rating Dane Jackson 56.7 PFF 43/75 57.3% completion 11.6 yards/completion 79.8 rating Kaiir Elam 59.3 PFF 31/45 68.9% completion 10.5 yards/completion 86.1 rating Christian Benford 55.7 PFF 17/28 60.7% completion 13.6 yards/completion 84.1 rating Taron Johnson 64.9 PFF 61/90 67.8% completion 9.4 yards/completion 102.6 rating Xavier Rhodes 51.1 PFF 5/7 71.4% completion 9.8 yards/completion 90.8 rating Siran Neal 57.4 PFF 5/12 41.7% completion 5.0 yards/completion 49.3 rating Cam Lewis 47.9 PFF 2/3 completion 66.7% completion 23.0 yards/completion 109.7 rating I would keep Rhodes because he has 9-years starting experience in the NFL. I think the stats prove your point some, he is around the lowest rated corner we had, but if you look at the grades, with the exception of Elam who needs to be on the field over Tre White, these guys are interchangeable. None of them are rating all that highly. The start the Bengals game, and the Dolphins game would indicate Tre doesn't have long speed at the moment. I don't think the coaches will make the change though.

Bills have not earned that. To me, this is not acceptable. The NFL did the right thing by suspending the game. But that doesn't mean the Bills are entitled to neutral AFCCG games, and not playing the Patriots this weekend if they don't want to and so forth.

Marlowe is on the Active Roster.

Or keep giving Tre 100% of the snap count.

We have: Dean Marlowe, Cam Lewis, Jordan Poyer, Jaquan Johnson, and now this guy. I just think Rhodes is a better player to hold onto because he has some size, and has started 127 games in the league. Tre White means a lot to us because he is a lifelong Bill, but he is struggling. Dane Jackson has had balls plucked off his head, Elam is always on the bench, Benford has been hurt all season. I think a rotation at corner could be beneficial.

Because the NFL doesn't miss games. They set that precedent in the lockout that resulted in only the HOF Game cancelled. And they found a way to get all of the 2020 season in. So, I get why the other teams want an official result on the field, not some math determination.

Thoughts are it's a little late for that now, it's Wednesday night with no announcement made. Teams are already preparing for this week. The train is leaving the station here soon. Agree. Bengals don't get Hubbard. Bills can not suddenly call up Benford.

I think it's fair to resume the game. The Bengals earned that score.

Do not understand this move. The Bills dabbled with this move awhile ago and Mayden is a fringe NFL player. Benford must be getting closer to a return, but Mayden is not going to see the field, he’s a journeyman. Waste of a roster spot.

What do the Bengals get out of that arrangement?

I also think the player callups will be kept the same. No Hubbard for the Bengals, Bills not able to elevate Rhodes or Benford after the fact.

I find it hard to believe that' the NFL won't jam the Bills/Bengals game in somehow. I can't see how they will do a coin flip or partial victories, or taking a no-contest game away from the Chiefs. I think they will restart that game 7-3 with the Bengals having the ball at the Bills 48 yard line with 6 minutes left in the first quarter in Cincinnati.

I don't think it was dirty. He was going for maximum psychological intimidation. Try and hurdle, and if not, create a collision. And you could see that when he got up screaming. Hamlin, if it was his responsibility, came towards the LOS and Hurst just ran past him. So just a blown coverage either way. Bills started this game immediately on the backfoot by playing man and having Tre on Chase. No matter who you are, what team you play for, Burrow sees one on one with no over the top help? He's chucking deep. Hopefully the Bills learned that, because that only got that crowd into it even more.

I wish I had more faith in this coaching staff to adjust based on what they are seeing in games. They don't have to live like this with Tre White without trying something else, but they don't seem to change at all. #27 will be out there for 100% of snaps? I think Dane Jackson will be our #2 corner, they won't take him off the field. Elam is riding the bench 65%-70% of most games. Siran Neal is still our slot corner when Taron Johnson is out. We seem to only activate 4 corners per game, so that means Xavier Rhodes is a healthy-scratch. I'm not sure where Christian Benford fits in when he clears IR. Then Safety is another mystery. I just don't have much faith in this coaching staff to adjust, and it seems clear in this situation, they could be better by not putting Tre out there 100% of the time, and can we do better than Neal at back-up slot corner, especially with a 1st-Rounder sitting on the bench?

I would still be on the more surprised side if the league didn’t reschedule and play the game as opposed to some math model.

Definitely Hurst's attempted hurdle was akin to the Antonio Brown punt return against the Browns years ago. That was an attempt to show physical dominance. Him getting up and screaming. That was you can't handle us, you can't handle our intensity.

Everything about that was frustrating. From them lining up late, you could see in the screen no Safety so it was going to be Tre one on one. They tried some blitz off the edge that had no chance. And for all the Bills always adjust, I don’t understand why they had to learn that lesson in person to convince ourselves that the tape and stats are wrong about the Bengals. Like you I was screaming at the TV, you knew as soon as they lined up what was going to happen and I did too. But really it started around 6:45 PM - 7:00 PM hearing that Rhodes was inactive, knowing Benford was not activated either. Going against the Bengals your plan was four healthy corners?

Thanks Cam. What is most disappointing to me was that first play. How does Leslie Frazier and Sean McDermott with 46-years combined NFL experience think that Tre White on an island with Chase is going to work? When again, Bengals after Bengals analyst (Goodberry on WGR for instance, National guy like Greg Cosell as well) said the same thing: as soon as you go man, no matter what else is on the table, Burrow is going deep to Chase or Higgins. And on that play you send some blitz that had no chance of getting there. That leaves me feeling hollow about this defensive coaching staff when playing A1 type offenses. We saw it against Kansas City. How are you playing 20 yards off the line and still rushing 4 when you know the Chiefs have to get rid of the ball in 2 seconds or less? Why are you playing 1978 prevent defense against three HOF players? How does Kelce get a free release into the secondary? Tyreek immediately ripped off 25-yards and what do the coaches do? Play the exact same way the next play. Insane. And this year against Jefferson. Just over and over one WR is destroying you. Everyone in the stadium knows it’s coming, 4th-18 and you know exactly where Cousins is going, and just nothing from this staff. Offensively, Dorsey is doing his job and getting the more explosive Cook on the field. But defensively against good passing teams (not the Patriots or Ravens), maybe it’s a combination of the type of players we draft, but is this scheme good enough? Are the Coaches going to figure out that Tre is a liability, or how to use Elam, or develop a real corner for the slot if Johnson goes down? Maybe there is nothing we can do. Hyde is out and so the coverage is going to suffer, it’s just the pressing because we all know on sports you don’t get endless chances.

We all own a TV. We all saw it. We all follow the NFL and have a general feel for who the good players are. I think this game should be a neon sign to the coaches that they have to play bonafide #1 WRs different. The more enlightening discussion given the events of the game, to me, would be a discussion amongst Bills fans on how to best approach the secondary going forward. You have: Hyde still out Hamlin out Tre is slow and has a giant “throw it here” sign taped to his back Elam sitting on the bench Rhodes starts one game, now inactive Marlowe inactive every week Cam Lewis has pushed Johnson out of the backup Safety position? Against the Bears, with no Claypool, Mooney or St. Brown we could sit comfortably in our base nickel and eat any big plays against us. But that approach hasn’t worked against Hill/Waddle, Jefferson, Chase. So my questions would be: 1. Do fans have faith in this coaching staff to change anything against teams with top flight passing games? 2. PFF has rated all of our corners approximately the same (50’s overall) with Taron Johnson in the low 60’s. Given that, what can the Bills do? Seems to me that the 2-deep shell works against teams that can’t score. But logistically would it work if the Bills took a below average Safety (Johnson, Cam Lewis) off the field, and employed true double coverage on a #1 in a dime arrangement? Leaving just Poyer as the veteran deep-Safety?

Yeah, we know newcam2012.…..

I don’t understand the Bills with 5 years of experience with Allen don’t have a designed Allen run call built into every possession <8 yards and in.

This is 100% right. Great post. Elam runs a 4.39 and was all SEC. Our coaches always are talking about how the best players earn playing time, but Neal playing slot??? Rhodes made inactive? He’s a 8+ year veteran. The Bills are still playing like it’s 2017 in their secondary. Tre in man first play of the game? ALL the Bengals reporters this game said the same thing, you run man against Chase or Higgins, Burrow doesn’t hesitate or do anything else, he immediately throws deep. Tre is going to cost us Playoff games if he is out there 100% of the time and we keep benching Elam, making Rhodes inactive. Our Coaches never change, but against a team like this, we might need to play Dime and get more speed on the field. Of course you might give up more runs, but that was Vikings Jefferson all over again.