CincyBillsFan

Not to mention that Baltimore is the best Team in the NFL. After watching them the last few weeks they really do have the best offense and the best defense in the NFL. I mean look at what they did to NE & the LA Rams.

He had fantastic touch on the deep throws to Knox, Singelterry & Beasley - Bease dropped his pass, Suingleterry left his feet a half second to soon and Knox made a nice one handed catch on a ball that literally landed on his bicep. And don't forget the deep shot to Foster. That was on target and the only way the Ravens could prevent the completion was to commit PI. I would also argue that a bigger, more physical WR easily high points that ball and makes the catch.

This is so true I'm a little surprised that everyone doesn't see it. In fact Fouts made exactly this point when describing how the physical make-up of our receivers severely limits our passing options. The lack of a big receiver means that we lose a lot of blocking potential on the WR screens. It also means that our WR's get out muscled for the ball on almost EVERY throw into tight coverage. And worst of all it means we almost never catch 50/50 balls. There is also a cascade effect. Brown is a very good receiver but can be taken out of a game when the opponent has a shut down corner. If we had another receiving threat, teams would have to use their 2nd best corner to cover Smoke and their 3rd best cover guy to deal with Beasley. And with a back like Singleterry this team should be running screen passes left & right. But we don't and the reason has to be that our O-line isn't athletic enough to get out and block someone in space. I believe that over 13 games this offense has only executed ONE freaking screen pass that has gone for over 10 yards. The other limitation is that for whatever reason we don't trust our TE's to be hot reads on the blitz. Either they can't get open or the possibility they'll drop the ball worries Daboll. In some ways this offense has used smoke & mirrors to be successful. When we match up with a defense athletically we can move the ball decently. But when we face a good defense we struggle big time because it's easy for a defense to take away the couple of things our offense does well. And as much as I admire Gore, the drop off in the fear we can put into a defense when he replaces Singleterry is obvious.

Not to mention that the passing schemes utilized by the two QB's are completely different. Comparing one to the other yesterday is like comparing apples & oranges. By my count, Jackson threw only one pass more then 20 yards down field and that was the long throw to Andrews that was incomplete. The "61 yard" TD pass was caught about 15 yards past the LOS by a TE who was high school open. Every other Jackson pass was a 5 - 10 yard throw to a TE over the middle; a screen pass; a swing pass to the RB or a WR screen. There were a couple of 10 - 15 yard throws to the sideline but I believe they were all incomplete. Now don't get me wrong. I love how Baltimore utilizes Jackson and Lamar should be the MVP this year. The threat of his running makes those short passes to his sure handed TE's very dangerous. But he's not asked to throw the ball in the same way Allen is and Jackson has a much better O-line and much better weapons (pass catching TE's & RB's) for what he's asked to do. The Bills lost the game because the Baltimore defense outplayed the Bills offense by a wide margin. And IMO in the 2nd half only Singleterry and Allen played well. Yes, I said Allen, who while playing poorly in the first half had a good 2nd half. Especially if his receivers had held onto a a couple of his throws and the ref had thrown a flag on an obvious PI.

To me this is the kind of game where the Bills should be very conservative on offense. As others have pointed out the Steeler's are winning games with defensive & ST scoring. We have to limit the TO's, especially early in the game. If we want to attack them the 2nd half might be the better time if we're up like 10 - 6. There is NO way the Steeler's O should move the ball much against our D. If the Bills O can score 17 - 20 points we win this game and are in the playoffs. And for the record, I don't think the Steeler's defense is as good as the Raven D is.

Or maybe he just doesn't have the personnel yet on Offense that can handle a team loaded with defensive talent. IMO the Ravens since getting that CB a month ago are the best defense in football.

That was a good catch but not the type of jaw dropper I'm talking about. Just watched a replay of it and the ball literally falls into his bicep! But for all his drops yesterday's catch by Knox and one he made against NE are probably the only 2 catches that could be classified as special in any way. Note, the WR's haven't made one yet. One final report on the Knox one handed catch. if you watch the reply Knox is clearly being held by the DB before the ball arrives. And yet no flag was thrown. Meanwhile against Dallas they flagged White twice in the 1st quarter for the slightest bit of contact beyond the LOS. I truly despise NFL officiating.

This probably is the Bills most critical need on offense. Yesterday I believe TE's caught only one pass. And it's not a case of Allen not targeting them as they were targeted 4 times. Watch a Bills game, almost any Bills game, and the TE's don't get open. Compare a Bills game to almost any other NFL game and what stands out to me in the passing game are: * Very little TE production. * Dropped passes * The inability to effectively execute a screen pass. Outside of the one Singleterry took for 49 yards against the Redskins have we run another successful screen? * The complete lack of ESPN level awesome pass catches. When was the last time a Bills receiver caught a 50/50 ball or made a grab that had you yelling at the TV - "I can't believe he caught that". All of these things matter in executing an NFL passing game. I just don't see Allen as the problem here.

I disagree with this. Allen missed one and maybe two deep throws in the first quarter but after that was accurate on the throws he made down the field: * His deep throw to Beasley was dropped. * Singleterry misjudged Allen's well placed deep throw to him down the sideline. if he runs through the ball rather then jump it's likely a catch. * The deep throw to Foster in which the Ravens DB committed PI was accurate. If the DB doesn't interfere that's a 50 yard plus catch. That PI wasn't called there is a joke. Allen played poorly in the 1st half. But what seems to be riding a bit under the radar is that he played very well in the 2nd half even though his O-line was a sieve. Several dropped and misplayed passes and one egregious non-call on PI doomed the Bills. had those plays been made we win. And as I said earlier I know it's a case of coulda, woulda, shoulda but in honestly judging Allen you can't ignore those plays.

Spot on here. We are now almost through season 2 of Allen and I've yet to see a WR make what I would call a great NFL catch. Sure Beasley & Brown are very efficient route runners, get open and have made some big, game changing plays but neither has made the type of circus catch or run after catch that you see a couple of times in almost every NFL game. I just saw a couple in the NE/KC game.

I would also add that it seemed like DaBoll forgot that we could have gotten another 1st down before scoring the TD. There was plenty of time and we had 2 TO's left. On 3 of the 4 plays they went for the end zone rather then try to get us into a 4th & 3 type situation. One thing that I admired about Baltimore was how they reduce each series into 10 yard segments. Throw an incomplete pass on 1st down or get stuffed for no gain they go all out on 2nd down to pick up 5 or 6 yards to get to 3rd & 4.

I also thought it was a tale of two Allen's in each half. In the first half Allen was bad, on par with the NE game but minus the INT's but in the 2nd half he had a solid outing that would have been very good: * had Knox held onto that throw giving us a 1st down in the Red Zone. We had to settle for a FG on that drive. * had Beasley caught that deep pass that would have given us a 1st down inside the Raven's 40 yard line. * had Singleterry run through rather then leap early for that deep pass down the sideline that would have been a 40 - 50 yard gain and it may have even gone for a TD. * had the ref done his job and thrown the flag on that obvious PI on Allen's deep shot to Foster that would have given us a first down at the Baltimore 25 yard line. BTW, that pass was well thrown and on target 50 yards downfield. The PI was the only play the DB could make to prevent the catch. I know I'm playing the "coulda, woulda, shoulda" game here but I think it's justified. Everything I listed above should happen in an NFL game. And if they happened today you could add 10 - 17 points to our score.

Great observation! The deep balls to Beasley & Singleterry were on target and as Fouts noted if Singleterry runs through the catch it might have gone for 6. I would also say that Allen had a 3rd accurate deep ball and that was the one he thew to Foster in which the Ravens DB clearly interfered. If the DB doesn't interfere that's a catch. Here's my problem with that route by McKenzie. A more seasoned WR might have taken one more step to the inside (knowing Allen was breaking to the right) drawing the defender in before switching directions and heading to the sideline. This would have gotten him another yard of room to work and made it impossible for the DB to close the distance and get a hand in there. My guess is that this is what they'll talk about after watching film tomorrow.

Bingo. It's not Smokes fault he isn't a big dude but that pass goes for a TD if the receiver was any number of the big bodied guys making catches in the NFL. Yes the defender made a great play on the ball but we are the only team in the NFL that doesn't have a big guy that can basically box out DB's.

It helps him to have a RB that scares the hell out of defensive coordinators. On our offense the only skill position guy that makes a D-coordinator a little nervous is Singleterry. As for today's games, even with our loss things went well for the Bill's playoff hopes today.

Sometimes taking a sack is the ONLY option you have champ. You know there is such a thing as grounding in the NFL.

Here's my take on a disappointing loss: * What made this game so disappointing was that we had a real chance to take it to OT. And a win today would have really set us up for a Division title push in the last 3 games. But the fact we were so disappointed today is a sign that this team is getting better. Tonight I feel like I used to after a Bills loss to a good team in the 1990's. And that's a big step in the right direction even if it sucks big time in the moment. * The reality check is that we lost to the best team in the NFL by a TD in December! * Today showed us all what this team needs to get to the next level: - we need to further upgrade the O-line. It's a lot better then it was last year but it can't handle the blitz and they're not athletic enough to get out in space and effectively block for screen passes. - we need play makers on offense. At the very least we need a pass catching TE, a BIG & dominating #1 WR & another RB. If we're lucky, Knox might grow into that TE for us but we have acute needs for a 2nd RB and a 1st WR. Fouts correctly pointed out that our passing options are limited without a big bodied WR that can go up and win a ball. * The defense is very good but still not elite. You just can't let a team come out of the 2nd half locker room and score as easily as the Ravens did. That TD pass to the TE was high school open. * The dropped passes have to stop. The Bills lead the league in this category and we probably widened our lead today. On 2 critical 2nd half possessions dropped passes cost us dearly. The first was by Knox. When your QB is running for his life and makes a fantastic throw that hits you between the #'s in the red zone YOU HAVE TO HANG ON TO IT. We had to settle for a FG on a drive that might have netted a TD had Knox caught that ball. The other bad drop was by Beasley where again Allen avoids a sack and throws a perfect long ball down the sideline. You have to make that catch. We likely get a FG at least on that drive. * Finally I'm sick & tired of NFL officiating. These guys suck. Not calling a PI on that deep throw to Foster is utterly incompetent. What a huge non-call. The only encouraging thing about this play is that the pass was on target and the Baltimore DB had to interfere to prevent the catch. But my goodness NFL officiating is making it almost impossible to watch the games. I mean look at the KC/NE game as a perfect example.

Why I watched the game. What did you do? Allen maybe had 2 sacks where he held on to the ball to long. And I suspect NO ONE was open on those plays. On the other 4 sacks Allen was under pressure almost as soon as he got the snap. Then you have the 3 or 4 sacks that didn't happen because of Allen's athleticism.

This is so key every Bills fan should read it, learn it and live it! Singleterry is almost this type of player but no one else on the Bill's O is. Our lack of big play makers on offense is killing us. Is it any surprise that in the face of all out blitzing ONLY Singleterry could make a play?

He didn't have plenty of time. The Ravens had 6 sacks and only Allen's ability to extend the play prevented a couple of more. Time after time Baltimore had immediate pressure on Allen. And as Fouts showed there wasn't a whole lot of separation by our receivers today. But I get that blaming Allen is easy because he definitely struggled in the first half and wasn't at his best. But today our O-line got blown up and our receivers dropped way to many passes.

Why so you can see what else breaks after he takes a beating like Allen did today? It's painfully obvious what we need on offense and it's NOT a new QB. In fact QB is the least of our offensive problems. Just watch a couple of NFL games and see what real offensive play makers do. So Allen was dropping all those passes? And it wasn't Allen who didn't throw the yellow flag on an obvious PI.

Not today, but during Allen's rookie year some of the "wrong Josh" folks kept saying that Allen had a better situation then Rosen!

And this is why I've been on the Allen train from the start. He had to overcome a bad situation that management placed him in and he did. Now the question is whether Darnold can do the same. I think he can based on what I've seen to date but it's comforting to know our guy already has.

I agree with you 100% here. They messed up with Allen big time last season and the fact he survived is probably the biggest indication that he will be a special QB. I like both McD and Bean and think they're doing a great overall job. But with Allen they couldn't have screwed up more if they were trying. * First they clearly intended to sit him for the 2018 season but didn't create a QB room that would allow that to happen. * Second, they gave Allen precious few first team reps during training camp & the preseason games and yet because they completely messed up the QB room Allen was starting in week 2! * Third, their original QB room was a joke if the idea was to develop a young QB. They had a 2nd year QB with some of the worst performances by a QB in the modern era and they traded away their veteran QB after the last preseason game. So there was NO ONE there during the first few games to help Allen as he transitioned into the starter. * The offensive talent around Allen was abysmal - every bit as bad as what Arizona surrounded Rosen with. As I recall, Benjamin dropped at least 2 Allen TD passes in the short time they played together. And the only thing good about last years O-line was that it enabled us to see how dangerous Allen was running for his life. Now to give Bean & McD credit they got things under control fast and provided Allen with a much better situation in the 2nd half of the season. But anyone who claims Allen had it "easy" out of the gate in Buffalo is flat out wrong. But I think that was his point - the plan to have McCarron start while Allen developed obviously wasn't well thought out. All's well that ends well but we should be even more impressed with what Allen had to overcome. As good as our management/coaching has been, and IMO they've been very good, they messed up a bit here.

Is it me or do sports writers in general just seem to be dumb as rocks? I mean these guys are paid to write about football and yet they seem more ignorant about the sport then a fan that chugged a fifth of whiskey and jumped through a table into a cook fire! A couple of points that this guy might consider before writing something so stupid: * Unless there is evidence that McD & Bean were willing to completely remake their offense into one that suited Jackson's special skill set this entire discussion is a moot point. And for the record I am aware of no such plans by the Bills. Had the Bill's traded down to take Jackson later in the draft they would have made the same mistake that every other NFL team not named Baltimore would have made: tried to have Jackson run less and throw more from the pocket. Give the Ravens & Harbaugh all the credit in the world for seeing what was possible with Jackson and doing what needed to be done to make it happen. But pretending that teams ahead of the Raven's could have drafted LJ and had the same production is ignorant. * The Bills passed on Marino to draft Kelly. Both teams were more then happy with their QB choice. To argue that the Bills regret passing on Jackson in favor of Allen is along the same lines. It's dumb and doesn't leave open the real possibility that both QB's will excel for their teams over their careers.