finn

It didn't hurt their effort that Brady, in his wisdom, declined to order up more protection, which was like putting out an "Open season on Josh Allen" sign to this defense. Adapting on the fly is not one of Brady's strengths. (Remind me: What are his strengths again?)

Yes, Allen doesn't get enough blame for his part on missed throws. Although he's done miracles with his accuracy overall, he's still no Brady or Marino, whose ball placement were things of beauty. I wouldn't say Allen is inaccurate by any means, but his strengths lie elsewhere. What I don't get is why his receivers can't get open even when Allen buys them enormous amounts of time. You see them out there running INTO coverage or just jogging around aimlessly. How hard can it be to run to the open field or come back to your quarterback or just sprint upfield?

I don't think that's right. I saw a chart--will post it if I can find it again--that shows the Pats as one of three teams whose EPA is far lower than its win-loss record indicates it should be, compared to other teams. In other words, they're not as good as their record, much like KC last year. That doesn't mean they can't continue the good play and stupid luck (e.g., playing the Bengals without Burrow or Chase, playing the Bills after their bye), but they very well fall flat on their face. If I'm walking by, I won't avoid stepping on them, either. You live in New England, you either love or despise the Patriots.

A receiver being "open" is not as simple as it appears. It's not enough to "be open" at some point; you have to be open when the quarterback is looking your way. Very often, Allen appears to be looking at Coleman, even waiting for him, then turning to his next read because Coleman is glued to the receiver or not looking back (or both). In those cases, it doesn't help if Coleman breaks free two beats later because Allen has already made his decision. That's why timing and being in synch with your quarterback is so critical. Remember all those back-shoulder throws to Diggs that were virtually impossible to defend? Allen threw half a dozen of them to Coleman early in the season, and I think he caught just one. The other times he wasn't looking back, hadn't made his break, allowed the DB to make the play, or dropped the ball. The only thing I've seen Coleman to well is climb the ladder for the ball. Throw it way above his head and he'll go get it. Route-running, slants, comeback routes, even jump balls with DBs, he's at best mediocre. Blocks ok, I'll give him that. And sometimes--not usually--he can get open on fire drills. I'm not giving up on him because who knows? But he has an awful lot of work to do.

This is why I'm at peace with this game, instead of feeling anxious or confident or resigned. If they lose, it will confirm that this just wasn't their year; even with they squeak into the playoffs, I'll know it's just a matter of time before they're beat, since a Super Bowl team does not lose to Cincinnati at home with this much at stake. Resignation, in short. If they win? Well, I go back to the twin peaks of anxiety and confidence. But for now, I'm just plain curious. Ah, the life of a fan!

You forgot wide receiver. Beane must be sleeping next to the waiver wire.

Oh, come on. Whatshisname has been here for ages! At least since that other guy (forgot his name) drafted ahead of him out of that college somewhere in the Midwest. (Or was it the Southwest?) Now that he's gone, we'll miss him every day, good old... whathisname.

Might go the way of Rapp and Bass in the end.

Forgive my ignorance on the subject, but why not turn him into a tight end or H-back? He would have to put on at least 15 pounds, and take some blocking lessons, but he's certainly not doing anything at the WR position. With Kincaid turning out to be made of bamboo sticks and glue, we could use someone who could block effectively and slip out for some RAC.

My fear is they'll rush four as usual, giving Burrow all the time he wants in the pocket waiting for one of the best WR corps in the league to get open against Poyer, White, and Taron, none of whom can cover for long anymore. My hope is that they regularly blitz Dorian or Bishop, both of who can get home, so that Burrow has to unload quickly, and use Hairston's speed to help shut down Chase, and (no choice) take their chances with Higgins. They'll adjust, but so can the Bills, maybe with a full suite of unpredictable blitzes. Whether they win or lose, I can see us all seeing the outcome a part of pattern we've seen all season.

Agreed on all counts. If ever there was a game we need inclement weather, this is it. Wind, heavy snow, freezing temperatures.... anything to stop the Burrow to Chase/Higgins pitch and catch show and allow us to grind it out. Otherwise, with no pass rush to worry about, Burrow might have a field day, even against an improving secondary. Just checked: Looks like light snow with no wind. Oh, well.

Who gave it to you? That's the key question. 😉

I was about to make the same point. If Elam > Ingram, and Ingram > Dane Jackson, we're in trouble if one of the top three CBs go down.

They might realize the Bills wide receivers mostly block because it's pretty much all they're capable of doing. You don't use a hammer as a screwdriver unless you have to.

Of all these, I'm most glad Reader is gone, along with Anarumo. Both of them had our number. Without having to face them, I don't see why the Bills wouldn't plan another Pittsburgh job. I mean, the Bengals are giving up 160 ydg rushing, the worst in the league. It's not brain science, especially with the incentive to keep an explosive offense off the field. (Imagine Allen throwing to Chase and Higgins instead of the cast of Gilligan's Island. Now THAT would be an explosive offensive.) The hard part will be to keep the run game going if Burrows quickly scores TDs on every possession. What a weird game that would be: lightning drive/plodding drive, lightning drive/plodding drive. BEANE! Couldn't you have found Allen even ONE wide receiver?