Buffalo Junction

Which is entirely reasonable. I’m not as down on the future as many in here happen to be. I honestly expected Allen to basically suck for three years anyways since he was so raw coming out. If the kid fixes one major flaw every off-season for his first 3-4 years he’s going to be a top 10-15 QB... We’ll see if he gets there. As for reading defenses... He’s still seeing new looks because the Mountain West ... well... it kind of sucks. I share the opinions of Daboll. I think he’s been throwing a bit to much at Allen with this offensive system. The offense is built to morph week to week and change... Allen doesn’t have the experience to pull that off without serious talent. As a result we have an offense that lacks identity instead of Patsie Lite. Allen simply cannot make the pre-snap reads and adjustments to control games right now. Which brings me to McD.... He needs to identify the problems and reign them in, especially Daboll getting cute with gameplan and playcalling. As HC that is his primary responsibility and he’s dropping the ball there. He also needs to figure out why this team has a 2-4 game slump in the middle of EVERY SEASON. All that said... I thought this was an 8-8 or 9-7 team that could hit 10 wins with lucky breaks before the season. They’re on track for that. They fix the run D down the stretch (again?) and someone like Knox starts seriously balling the rest of the season could be exciting.

It’s about money. LA and Chicago might garner the same ratings. As a fan, I’d rather not change my expected routine.

I think people neglect the amount of talent Cleveland has in the secondary. Particularly when that talent is combined with Garrett’s pass rushing.... Those guys can make plays and excel in man coverage.

?. Nice. The biannual Kaep thread re-emerges and once again there is a Mass Debate with everyone firing the same loads.

For the most part. Although one could argue that Beasley and Brown are an improvement because they’re available, and Wood was out the door no matter what. Knox is flashing talent, so he might be an upgrade as well... If he didn’t drop the ball as much we’d all agree that he’s a definitive upgrade over Clay. I want to see if they add some blue chip talent in FA this year. I’m not sure if there are any RTs available, but letting Spain go and replacing him with Scherff would be a move. Dallas likely isn’t going to be able to sign Dak, Cooper, and Byron Jones... Either of the latter two would be a massive upgrade, and I could see Dak getting franchised. Ngakoue or Clowney would also be an upgrade... I just want at least one position group to be settled and above average across the board. Most of these players will get massive contracts, so it will be telling if Beane makes a play for any of these guys. Heck, I’d be happy with Suh on a decent deal because he’d bring some edginess to our DL.

I feel like Daboll has gotten more predictable over the season. Perhaps it’s to keep turnovers down, but it’s been counter productive. It really doesn’t matter if he hits on those throws. It’s the simple fact that it could happen that helps. Now.... if the could connect on a few it would definitely open things up. Can’t rely on that though.... hope in one hand and _____ in the other. I would like to see some more seams, deep crossers and digs. I feel like Daboll has kind of gone away from intermediate and deep routes to the middle of the field after the NE game.

Interesting that you used that play... The one guy that I could consciously recall making a catch like that for us was Knox.. https://www.buffalobills.com/video/highlight-dawson-knox-makes-great-catch-for-21-yards . Sadly, he’s also good for an untimely drop. Pretty sure Garrett didn’t actually get a sack either... Just a “strip” which was ruled an incompletion. Aside from that I think the only other game he didn’t get a sack in was Baltimore (could be wrong).

Correct. It’s more important on all intermediate passes, deep crossers, and deep outs..... not go routes. Completing a pass that goes 60 yards in the air comes down to loft and the WR being able to track the ball. In contrast, throwing the ball on a rope is valuable for squeezing the ball in on a 15 yard dig.

I’d actually be content with just rolling with Sweeney, Croft, and Knox. Foster has been playing well on ST so I think he stays active. I think an issue is that none of these guys have separated themselves from the other talent. Knox’s drops keep him from being the guaranteed starter. As for Duke, he’s big and he catches everything.... Use him. I’ve said it elsewhere... They’ve run every McKenzie gadget play effectively with other personnel. If he’s not killing it on teams swap him out for Duke and get some catch radius out there. It’s definitely a rarity in Buffalo. More talent would definitely be nice. Although, I do wonder if it’s coaching too since there are college receivers who won’t get drafted making those types of plays.

Funny you mention that.... When Daboll was in Cleveland they brought in an “offensive consultant” to “assist” him with west coast concepts.

Pretty much. The NFL is phasing it out due to bias. Although, it seems that a lot of GMs just use a baseline, and (IIRC) add 6-10 points to the score of prospects from poor socio-economic backgrounds.

^^^^^ This is actually my contention. This offense lacks an identity and there really isn’t anything one can point to and say “that’s what they do well.” In a way it’s intentional. Daboll wants to morph the gameplan week to week and exploit matchups and tendencies... Which is great when you have a QB that has the experience and ability to follow through and adapt on the fly. Allen isn’t that guy right now. He’s a 2nd year QB that’s still honing his mechanics and footwork while learning to read coverages and set protections. It seems as though Dabolls offense is a little too ambitious for Allen’s current developmental level right now. Particularly when there’s nothing else this offense can hang it’s hat on.

I’m not so sure it’s a McD lovefest so much as Daboll running the same play every time all three of those guys are on the field.... The one time Daboll deviated Lee Smith caught a touchdown pass. I feel like his playcalling with that personnel was less predictable earlier in the season when his only TE options were Sweeney and Smith. Now he’s tipping his hand with personnel groupings....

They already had Roman in a lesser capacity. It may have factored in to drafting Jackson. No way to know for sure.

My issue here is that the combination of Gore and Smith is functioning as a key for the defense.... It’s why Smith was wide open on that TD pass earlier in the season. Sadly, Daboll hasn’t really gone back to that or much else when both players are in the game at the same time. On the slight chance that Daboll call that play 3/4 of the defense can chase Smith down in the open field.

Any one else ever glue quarters on the sidewalk in a bad part of town to see what crackheads do???? This thread has that vibe. Allen and Barkley are both here next year. No GM will give up on a 2nd year top 10 draft pick unless they get caught raping a child and shooting up a zoo while high on cocaine. Ain’t gonna happen.

I was gonna say Gore’s running for 2 yards, but the penalties work too.

Chicago and Philly both stuffed him... or rather, they trashed the Oline on outside zone runs. I love Cook, but all these guys are stoppable if their Oline is overmatched.

Kind of like a 16 year old that got a mustang as old as he is for a first car.

Roman is a genius at designing run plays and coordinating blocking schemes for the rushing attack. There isn’t anyone better. However, his passing game is dependent upon the pressure applied by the rushing attack. He currently has the most talented QB prospect he’s ever had, and Jackson’s skill set and Romans offense are a perfect marriage. Roman has also adapted and improved his organization and playcalling. I’m interested to see how/if the offense evolves over 2-3 seasons as previous QBs have faltered as the league catches up to the rushing concepts and the QB starts taking hits. By contrast Daboll is basically running Charlie Weiss’ EP offense with some west coast and college concepts (RPO, etc) integrated into it. It’s not a simple system and is kind of an amoeba based on exploiting matchups. With a young and inexperienced QB this style of offense isn’t going to look good. Instead of being advantageous, this offense just looks like it lacks an identity right now. All the pressure for offensive improvement is on Allen to get better. The kid needs more help with both talent and playcalling.

Are we just going with first team all-pro? I ask because Moulds, Jason Peters and Rueben Brown made 2nd team all-pro while Bills. Point still stands though as it’s been a decade since any of those guys were Bills. The biggest issue has been poor talent at QB which drags down all of the other skill position players. Get your hands on an all-pro QB and a WR or two is likely going to the probowl.

Hughes!

Only because we’re playing the Browns.

Wow.