CincyBillsFan

Not to mention that IF Singleterry is the explosive, game breaking RB we think (and hope) he is getting him the ball in space along the sideline is always a good move. I mean wouldn't you want your QB to get the ball on that play to Cook or McCaffrey or Chubbs or Elliot..................................... How many times in that situation do we see NFL RB's make the guy miss or break the tackle and gain another 10 yards? At worst it would have been a 6 yard gain setting up 3rd & 4 and more importantly getting out of bounds to stop the clock.

Some good comments on this thread: * I agree with others that the Bills coaches may be over emphasizing not turning the ball over at the expense of making big plays by being aggressive. On the positive side Allen has learned as he hasn't thrown an INT in 4 straight games and only 1 in 5 games. On the negative side we may be asking Allen to play with one hand tied behind his back. * I think McD's basic premise in emphasizing limiting TO's is that the Bills have an elite defense and the first commandment of the Bills O is to NOT PUT THE D IN A TOUGH SPOT. The problem with this is that our D is not close to being elite. It's a good D but in no way can it take over and dominate a game in the way that elite defenses can. The lack of 3 & outs and forced turnovers is a real limitation. * The reality is that for all intents & purposes McD is saying I'm okay winning games 14 - 7. Well if that's the case you can't B word when your O doesn't score 20 points now can you? * There has to be a sweet spot where Allen and the O take more chances throwing the ball. One INT is not bad if you throw 3 TD's. But then when you look at our skill players who is going to make those great catches we see in every game? Brown runs great routes , gets open and Allen gets him the ball for some nice gains. But how many amazing catches has he made? And who is going to win those 50/50 balls so critical to generating chunk plays? Why would a defense fear our play action pass when we don't have an explosive RB? And while I'm hopeful for Singleterry until he busts one up the middle for a 50 yard gain he AND Gore represent nothing worse then a 10 yard gain if a D misplays the run. We just aren't there yet on Offense. We're in the middle of an offensive rebuild and we'll have to accept that offensive production will be choppy the rest of the season.

Why? They need to get the ball more to Singletery in space. The play was also along the sideline and the Brown's defender made a great play (or Singleterry didn't make a great play) that it gave the RB a decent chance to get out of bounds.

Agree 100%. Watching a replay of the highlights and you can see Allen making some terrific throws for chunk yardage. And let's not forget that his first deep ball was on target and drew a 40 yard pass interference penalty.

They overvalue the 300 yard passing game because they're trying to win Fantasy Football games and it's easy to mistake reality with fantasy as a football fan. I do it every year as a Bills fan when I think that this might be the year we win a Super Bowl!

And we close out the week with the eleventh game won by a QB who didn't get anywhere near 300 yards and had FIVE quarters to do it in.

Yep and that Damn Allen didn't throw two balls directly at Cleveland players. Instead he threw a couple of great passes to get us to the 35 and then when he tried to win the game he wasn't on the same page with Brown.

And that looked like it would have been good from 52 yards - on grass - just saying.

You mean like throw the ball to the opponents players TWICE and count on them dropping the easy INT?

As an aside does anyone think that teams employ lip readers?

And I wouldn't have any problem with that. Just like I would be very happy today had Buffalo beat Cleveland 16 - 12 yesterday!

But there is such a thing as being to critical. And there is such a thing as losing all perspective in that criticism. Watching other NFL games provides perspective on what we should expect from our team, it's coaches and players.

Like they did to Cincinnati's offense? Every game is different. For all we know our O would have a better game against Seattle then it had against Phily.

I disagree. Since his name isn't Allen he would probably get a pass. Commenting on how players perform in other games isn't meant to excuse Allen but it is meant to provide PERSPECTIVE on the expectations we have for Allen. Tonight Jimmy G's mistakes with ball security have led directly to 21 Seattle points. As you note KD if Allen ever had a game like this heads would explode on 2BD. And Sal Meanyiola would have a conniption.

Yea it's almost like the skill players matter. Who would have thunk it?

Okay can we stop talking about Allen's fumbles? You know the ones he doesn't lose!

Don't we all. But this year we probably won't see it happen. What we have to focus on are the little victories on O. We have to focus on and celebrate the things we're doing better today then we did the last couple of years. I can think of 2: 1) Our Red Zone offense has been excellent this year. 2) When we face 2nd or 3rd & long I feel like we can convert. Yesterday there were several times in the game where penalties forced us into 1st & 2nd and long and we still got the 1st down. Next year, we should see further improvements in scoring and yards gained. I trust Beane & McD but for me Daboll is on the hot seat.

I guess that where this all leads is that we're just not there yet and that's okay. We're in the middle of a partial rebuild. The D has been ahead of the O and didn't need a rebuild. But the O was a disaster in 2017 & 2018. We all watched that playoff game where Tyrod & company scored 3 points. That was the low point of our O. We are currently coming out of the offensive rebuild and next year we should see a big improvement in the O after seeing a decent improvement this year over the disastrous offenses of 2017 & 2018. So it bugs me when the geniuses that write for the WNY sports media aim their venom at the O - knowing full well that this unit is being rebuilt - while letting the D off the hook. At 6 - 3 we're overachieving this year as a team. And with a break here or there 10 - 6 and a playoff spot is still possible. But getting there will not be pretty and reading the ignorant & lazy takes by some in the WNY media only makes things worse.

Do they? We don't seem to have a lot of 3 & outs. Our problem is that our "drives" stall after a couple of 1st downs. And over the last 5 games, where we have gone 3 - 2, the O has turned the ball over only twice with only one being on our side of the field (against Philly). In fact I think we've only lost one TO in our red zone the entire year (the pick 6 against the Jets). It's true that the O puts our D in a tough spot by not scoring a lot of points but it hasn't seemed like excessive 3 & outs or TO's on our side of the field have been a big problem - particularly over the last 5 games.

Whose fault is that? Our O actually does move the ball on most possessions for at least a couple of 1st downs. We tend to stall out around midfield. In contrast our D has given up a lot of 3rd & long recently.

I disagree. Sure points & yards allowed are important metrics but some D coordinators view takeaways as the most important measure of a D's effectiveness. Field position is also an important metric and our D has allowed teams to get out of trouble to often. We have a good but not a great D and combined with a below average offense and 6 - 3 is a very good record.

I guess my point is that we can't really rely on the D because while it's good it's not top 10 if you look at all the factors that makes a D great. Pair that with an O that's still a work in progress and a record of 6 - 3 is actually pretty amazing - no matter who we've played!

I don't disagree. But if we are to compete THIS YEAR the D has to carry us. Beating on an offense that has 9 new starters and not a single game breaker among the skill position players is missing the target. Now next year Allen has to have improved and we have to have improved the quality of the O-line and the explosiveness of the skill players. Last year we had the 30th rated offense. This year if we can get it to #22 we'll have made a big improvement but at #22 it will still be below average. That's what bugs me about the WNY media stories this morning. They're trashing the O but seem to ignore the very real issues with the D. Let's not forget that over the last two years, 2 out of our 3 first round draft picks have been defensive guys.

Talking about the importance of FORCED TO's...................................One got the Seahawk's a TD and one by the 49's took a Seahawks TD off the board. The more I think about it the more the lack of forced TO's by our D is a problem for the Bills that is going under the radar. And of course the morons that cover the Bills in Western NY don't seem to notice while they focus on Allen's fumbles.

Two observations of tonight's game as it relates to the Bills: 1) QB's fumble. It happens. The more a QB is sacked or runs with the football the more they fumble. Why some folks on this board obsess over Allen's fumbles while ignoring all the other fumbles is beyond me. From the Giants rookie QB who has had 2 of his fumbles returned for TD's to Carolina's Kyle Allen who has lost 5 fumbles to Jimmy G tonight who just fumbled the 49's momentum away. 2) I think we have a good defense but I also think they do some things very poorly. One is getting the opposing O off the field and the other is that they don't force TO's. But all I've read today from the Western NY sports media is how bad the Bills O is and it's "unfair" to expect the D to carry us. And I respond why the hell can't we expect the D to carry us? That's the Bills strength. Tonight the Seahawk's D forces a TO and makes it a game. When you have a struggling O the best way a D can help is force a lot of 3 & outs and TO's. Our D doesn't do either. How many defensive TD's have been scored this year? And we have only ONE forced TO in the opponents red zone. I bet that's worst in the league.