THE ROCKPILE REVIEW - Off and Running

[Charlottebillsfan2]

Shaw nice post, Mathews does look big! Its clear that this team is building an identity of who they are and what they want to do.

[Shaw66]

Have to think the playoff drought and inept teams the Bills have fielded has a lot to do with that.

No question at all. It was as though people were thinking, "oh, no, you're not going to fool me again. I'm not getting excited today only to watch them get their butts kicked next week." You can't lose for as long as the Bills have lost without it affecting the fans' attitude.

 

A lot of fans aren't willing to buy in just yet. Win in Carolina and things will be different when the Broncos come to town. Lose in Carolina and I think the fans will still be waiting for some real evidence that things are different. Yesterday was nice, but not enough to convince most fans.

[Stank_Nasty]

No question at all. It was as though people were thinking, "oh, no, you're not going to fool me again. I'm not getting excited today only to watch them get their butts kicked next week." You can't lose for as long as the Bills have lost without it affecting the fans' attitude.

 

A lot of fans aren't willing to buy in just yet. Win in Carolina and things will be different when the Broncos come to town. Lose in Carolina and I think the fans will still be waiting for some real evidence that things are different. Yesterday was nice, but not enough to convince most fans.

I was there and I didn't really notice it until you pointed it out in your initial post. definitely just 60,000 people basically racing to their cars to get out of there and get home.... very business trip like.

 

for me though it had more to do with the fact that we played what looks to be an awful team. I went in knowing there wasn't really much they could do while beating them that would get me all too excited.

[Shaw66]

Good job as always Shaw.

 

I love the way you start out with a softball "Rex Ryan wasn't stupid" but with your 5 bullets, point by point annihilate Rex, subtle, masterfully done. You nailed many of his coaching flaws, to bad there were no challenges to contrast McD versus Ryan.

 

I would like to see how we the defensive crispness and substitutions stand up to a hurry up offense, like the Pats,

 

One thing I disagree with is Tolbert, he is very mediocre, the long runs he had were more to do with gaping holes buy the O Line, I think had J Williams been here the first long run Williams would have been hard to stop.

Hard to know what Williams would be doing. But that isn't the point. The point is that fans thought Tolbert was an old Booby Dixon, but he isn't. He's a real running back who happens to be big. If McCoy were to get hurt, Williams might have been a better guy to be a full-time player, might not, but as a guy to spell Shady on 15 plays a game, Tolbert will do fine.

 

Fans also have forgotten that Tolbert joined the Bills immediately after McDermott signed on, and the reason it happened is because McDermott believes Tolbert is a special guy to have in the locker room and Tolbert believes McD is a special coach to play for. That relationship is important to the team.

I was there and I didn't really notice it until you pointed it out in your initial post. definitely just 60,000 people basically racing to their cars to get out of there and get home.... very business trip like.

 

for me though it had more to do with the fact that we played what looks to be an awful team. I went in knowing there wasn't really much they could do while beating them that would get me all too excited.

No doubt the Jets had something to do with it. Had it been the Pats or the Packers or the Seahawks or the Cowboys or the Raiders or a few others, the place would have been rocking, and fans wouldn't have left early. They would have stayed for the celebration. But five years ago, the fans would have been celebrating even a win over a crap team. No more. The fans are saying they aren't buying until they've seen something more than new slogan.

[bobobonators]

Yes, but saying the Bills should be one of those teams that can get pressure rushing four is like saying the Bills should be one of those team with a QB like Aaron Rodgers.

 

Of course we want to get pressure rushing four, but it's VERY hard to do. You need some special talents, like a JJ Watt or a Von MIller. Most teams don't have them.

 

Bills' front four might be in the top 10 in the league, but like other quality front 4s can't get pressure regularly.

 

Expecting Dareus to get a lot of sacks makes little sense - DTs don't get a lot. The right comment was Hughes is getting all the attention and Shaq has to step up.

I disagree. Dareus had 7.5 sacks and 10 sacks at the DT position before he fell off the face of the earth. As such, he was paid like a DT that should get 7-10 sacks each season. And not just as another space eating DT. Dareus isnt wilfork who is just there to stuff the run. Hes not paid to do that.

 

2 of the 3 highest paid players (17% of our salary cap) on this team are on the DL. That alone dictates that we SHOULD have a DL that can step up and get pressure without having to blitz.

 

Including Kyle Williams, 3 of our top 8 highest paid players (vs the cap) are on the DL. Almost 23% of our entire cap to 3 players. We need more production from Dareus and Hughes.

[WhoTom]

The biggest difference between the last couple of years and what we saw yesterday really comes down to the coaching. The team was prepared, the game-plan was solid, and the guys played with discipline. I haven't seen that from the Bills in quite some time. It's a refreshing change.

[teef]

Have to think the playoff drought and inept teams the Bills have fielded has a lot to do with that.

that's the obvious answer, but i've been to other, recent openers during this nightmare, and typially they're so much more energetic.

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

The Rockpile Review – by Shaw66

 

Off and Running

 

Pro football coaches aren’t stupid. For all his faults, Rex Ryan wasn’t stupid, and Sean McDonough isn’t stupid, either. When you have LeSean McCoy, you run the football. When you need insurance, you call Geico.

 

The Bills came out of the 2017 starting gate doing what they’ve done best since 2015 – give the ball to Shady. Run it left, run it right, run it up the middle. And when you need to pass, fake the run, look downfield, then throw it to the running back. And why not? Until the opponent stops it, it’s a good way to win some football games. Not enough to win a lot, but it’s a start.

 

The Bills handled the Jets easily at New Era Field Sunday to record their first win of the season. A couple of first-half mistakes kept the game closer than it should have been, but there was little doubt that the Bills were in control of the game from the start. The only question was whether the Bills would make enough mistakes to let the win slip away. This is a new season and a new era, and answer, at least on Sunday, was “we don’t make mistakes.”

 

So what’s new with the new-era Bills? Not the fundamental offensive approach, that’s for sure. The Bills are going to run until they can’t.

 

Beyond that, a lot was new. For instance:

 

· Offensive crispness. The Bills get into and out of the huddle, get to the line, get set and go. No confusion about where to line up, no wasted timeouts. Just call the play, run the play, move the chains. It’s football without the screw-ups.

 

· Short-passing game. Finally, a passing attack that works, that forces the defense to make choices and allows the quarterback to take advantage of the choices the defense makes. All day long, Tyrod Taylor could find open receivers and make throws.

 

· Penalties. What happened to all the penalties? These new-era Bills seem to have decided they want to lead the league in something other than going backward.

 

· Defensive crispness. No more defenders confused about who’s on the field and who’s off (except Shaq once), no more defenders scrambling to get into position before the snap, no more defenders looking at each other and saying “I thought you had him.” These guys know what the defense is and where to go.

 

· Defensive execution. Missed assignments? Very few. Missed tackles? Very few. Gang-tackling? A lot of it. In the NFL, offenses are too complicated and the players are too good for the defense to stop the offense all the time, but this was a defense that played under control, didn’t give up the big play and forced the offense to work for everything it got.

 

Of course, there’s no reason to get carried away, because this was the New York Jets, and only time will tell if the Jets actually are an NFL football. The Jets did have a pretty effective defense last season, and the Bills moved the ball consistently against the Jets all day. So that’s a good sign. Still, it was the Jets, with a McCown at quarterback (you think offensive coordinator John Morton saw Taylor making plays and didn’t wish he had Geno Smith?).

 

Some observations from New Era Field:

 

1. The Bills are all about One Buffalo. The message was clear from the player introductions, which didn’t happen. When it was time to take the field, the entire team came through the tunnel, whooping it up together. One team, One Buffalo.

 

2. Jordan Matthews is BIG. Looks almost like a tight end. If you want a sign that the Bills are committed to the short passing game, one look at him will do it. The Bills will go deep, not with deep speed but by forcing the defense to play so close to the line of scrimmage that I could get deep.

 

3. Kind of ironic that each of Ronald Darby and the guy the Bills got to replace him, EJ Gaines, were injured week one. I hope both get back soon.

 

4. As predicted, we didn’t see a lot of blitzing. Four guys trying to get to the QB. They got only occasional pressure, the best forcing the game-ending interception. Bills could use some improvement there, but it’s a tough job.

 

4a. How about Kyle Williams on the stunt around the left defensive end, looping around to pressure the QB then continuing upfield to tackle the receiver for a short gain? That man has been one special football player for a long time.

5. The run defense was excellent. The Jets gave up trying to run the ball. It’s a passing league for a reason, and almost any team can have some success throwing it. The Jets had some success, but having forced the Jets into a one-dimensional game, the Bills made more than enough plays in the passing game to keep the Jets under control.

 

6. Nice half-time show honoring the players from the comeback game. Lots of video highlights (and not just at half-time), a taped presentation from Frank Reich. The Bills singled out Kenneth Davis and Don Beebe for getting the TDs that got things going. Then Andre Reed, who gave a nice little talk about how it was One Buffalo then and One Buffalo now. They closed with Steve Christie saying all the players love Buffalo and thanking Buffalo for loving them. It was well done, and a far cry from the darkest days, when the Bills canceled a half-time Hall-of-Fame ring presentation for Ralph Wilson for fear that he’d be booed off the field.

 

7. Tyrod Taylor. Let the debate begin. What happened to the guy who can’t or won’t throw over the middle? What happened to the guy who can’t or won’t throw to tight end? What happened to the guy who is indecisive and won’t get the ball out quickly? What happened to the guy who isn’t accurate on short passes? What happened to the guy who can’t play from the pocket? Coaching and effective offensive game planning, that’s what. Taylor did it all Sunday. He’s an excellent athlete, he can make all the throws, and his running ability made him particularly effective. He didn’t leave the pocket early, but when it was time to go, his athletic ability got him out of the pocket, usually to buy time for a throw downfield, sometimes for a nice gain running it himself. There was a lot of good decision-making on display (except trying to force the ball into Clay when he was double covered). Some will say he’s no more than a game manager, but when he plays like he did on Sunday and the Bills win, it’s hard to complain too much.

 

8. I guess plenty of fans came into the game misunderstanding who Mike Tolbert is. They looked at his size and concluded he’s a short-yardage back. Well, yesterday they were introduced to Mike Tolbert, running back. The guy is a player, not necessarily every down, but he can move and he can make cuts. He’s a nice change of pace to Shady.

 

9. Did I mention Shady? Bills fans have had plenty of disappointment over a half century, but they haven’t been disappointed at running back. What franchise has put on the field the likes of Cookie Gilchrist, OJ Simpson, Joe Cribbs, Thurman Thomas and now LeSean McCoy. He got stuffed a lot of times on Sunday, but he was already to take another shot. As usual, he and we were rewarded. I think he missed a few opportunities to cut back behind the wide zone blocking, but he won’t miss them for long. Love it.

 

10. Not to close on a downer, but the Bills haven’t won the fans back, not yet. The stadium was loud occasionally but not consistently. There wasn’t a lot of vocal support for the defense, not the every-play kind of support we used to hear. Once in a while in big situations, but none of the persistent noise that really upsets opposing offenses. Post-game, it seemed like the Bills had lost. Very little celebrating, cheering or chanting as the fans left the stadium. Walking through the parking lots, I had to wonder whether these were Bills fans after a win or a bunch of folks heading home from Topps with the groceries. (In some ways it’s a shame the NFL and the Bills cracked down on raucous tailgating in the Bills’ lots.) If the Bills win in Carolina next week, there should be some old-school fandemonium at New Era when the Broncos come to town. We need it and this team deserves it.

 

Yes, it was the Jets, but you play the schedule you were given. The Bills did a lot right, and showed they have a lot to work on. It was a good start to a new era.

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were everyday people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

I agree with almost everything you said. Good post! However, I don't agree he forced the ball to Clay on the pick. TT has been criticized for not trying to make that kind of a throw and taking off running, It may be that in the bigger picture making a few more attempts throwing will help him even if it leads to a couple more picks. I mean the ball either hit Clay in the mask or shoulder, he makes that catch and its not even a game on another day.

Edited September 11, 2017 by horned dogs

[PIZ]

Can you replace Jerry Sullivan please?

[Jerry Jabber]

Shaw, on 4.a., I was also very impressed with Kyle Williams on that play. The way he moved and hustled on that play, you would have thought he was a LB.

 

Dareus played 59% of the game and was virtually non-existent. I hope it was just the game plan and not his attitude for the lack of big plays from him.

Can you replace Jerry Sullivan please?

 

+1

 

And Bucky Gleason as well!

Edited September 11, 2017 by Jerry Jabber

[berg1029]

8. I guess plenty of fans came into the game misunderstanding who Mike Tolbert is. They looked at his size and concluded he’s a short-yardage back. Well, yesterday they were introduced to Mike Tolbert, running back. The guy is a player, not necessarily every down, but he can move and he can make cuts. He’s a nice change of pace to Shady.

 

9. Did I mention Shady? Bills fans have had plenty of disappointment over a half century, but they haven’t been disappointed at running back. What franchise has put on the field the likes of Cookie Gilchrist, OJ Simpson, Joe Cribbs, Thurman Thomas and now LeSean McCoy. He got stuffed a lot of times on Sunday, but he was already to take another shot. As usual, he and we were rewarded. I think he missed a few opportunities to cut back behind the wide zone blocking, but he won’t miss them for long. Love it.

 

 

Always enjoyed reading your write ups on BBMB! Thanks for the good stuff as usual.

 

As for the RB play-I can't help but wonder if Buffalo might be better served by another 2nd choice RB. Would Banyard, Jones, or even JWill (had he remained on the team) do more with those carries than Tolbert? The fact that Tolbert CAN cut doesn't mean he should be granted the 2nd RB spot. I understand the desire to keep him on the roster for short yardage situations, but I don't understand why they are forcing him into the 2nd RB slot when the other backs played so well during the preseason.

 

Shady had a great game. Little bit of a worrying moment when he was being inspected.. but he ended up coming back the next series I believe. If he goes down, the offense will look significantly worse. Here's to hoping that he remains healthy the rest of the year and gives us a shot at the playoffs.

[CardinalScotts]

this post is good stuff, well thought out and I seem to totally agree

[Coach Tuesday]

9. Did I mention Shady? Bills fans have had plenty of disappointment over a half century, but they haven’t been disappointed at running back. What franchise has put on the field the likes of Cookie Gilchrist, OJ Simpson, Joe Cribbs, Thurman Thomas and now LeSean McCoy. He got stuffed a lot of times on Sunday, but he was already to take another shot. As usual, he and we were rewarded. I think he missed a few opportunities to cut back behind the wide zone blocking, but he won’t miss them for long. Love it.

 

You know, not to quibble, but Fred Jackson in his prime was an absolute joy to watch - don't forget about him.

[bobobonators]

this post is good stuff, well thought out and I seem to totally agree

I agree. Great thread overall.

[BadLandsMeanie]

They were a little "Off"

 

They did do some good running.

 

Fans subdued because we are beating the team that will have the #1 pick next year, pushing them further up ahead of us in the draft. Its bittersweet and conflicting.

[yungmack]

Fine job of reporting.

[Shaw66]

 

You know, not to quibble, but Fred Jackson in his prime was an absolute joy to watch - don't forget about him.

Right you are. He isn't quite up to the level of the others I named, but close, and he deserves to be there as much for his inspirational value.

 

What's interesting is that Jackson is without question not in the top 5 Bills running backs of all time, and he'd be in the top 5 for sure, on probably 20 teams in the league., including probably three in the Bills' division.

I agree with almost everything you said. Good post! However, I don't agree he forced the ball to Clay on the pick. TT has been criticized for not trying to make that kind of a throw and taking off running, It may be that in the bigger picture making a few more attempts throwing will help him even if it leads to a couple more picks. I mean the ball either hit Clay in the mask or shoulder, he makes that catch and its not even a game on another day.

I looked at the replay - looks like the throw was above his head. He was coming back for the ball and probably wouldn't have scored if he caught it. And there were two defenders on him.

 

If Taylor's going to throw to Clay on that play, it had better be low. Taylor paid the price.

[yungmack]

Right you are. He isn't quite up to the level of the others I named, but close, and he deserves to be there as much for his inspirational value.

 

What's interesting is that Jackson is without question not in the top 5 Bills running backs of all time, and he'd be in the top 5 for sure, on probably 20 teams in the league., including probably three in the Bills' division.

I looked at the replay - looks like the throw was above his head. He was coming back for the ball and probably wouldn't have scored if he caught it. And there were two defenders on him.

 

If Taylor's going to throw to Clay on that play, it had better be low. Taylor paid the price.

 

Not a perfect throw but we don't know if that's on Clay or TT. In any case, he should have caught it.

[NewEra]

One of a few redeeming aspects of bbmb. Thanks Shaw. Glad you're here.

[Alphadawg7]

 

7. Tyrod Taylor. Let the debate begin. What happened to the guy who can’t or won’t throw over the middle? What happened to the guy who can’t or won’t throw to tight end? What happened to the guy who is indecisive and won’t get the ball out quickly? What happened to the guy who isn’t accurate on short passes? What happened to the guy who can’t play from the pocket? Coaching and effective offensive game planning, that’s what. Taylor did it all Sunday. He’s an excellent athlete, he can make all the throws, and his running ability made him particularly effective. He didn’t leave the pocket early, but when it was time to go, his athletic ability got him out of the pocket, usually to buy time for a throw downfield, sometimes for a nice gain running it himself. There was a lot of good decision-making on display (except trying to force the ball into Clay when he was double covered). Some will say he’s no more than a game manager, but when he plays like he did on Sunday and the Bills win, it’s hard to complain too much.

 

 

Good write up..but I disagree here greatly with the Clay INT.

 

Clay had zero defenders between him and Taylor. Taylor did not force anything into double coverage, its a short field being in the redzone, almost impossible to not have 2 defenders near a player unless they have isolated only player to one side of the field and its man coverage only. The player covering Clay was trailing, and the second defender was behind Clay...thats open in the NFL, its a throw that should be made, its a throw that was put right where Clay should have caught it as it hit him in both his hands in front of his face. This is a throw all the top QB's attempt, but people are getting on TT as if it was a bad decision when it clearly wasn't as Clay was open and in the end zone where TT threw it.

 

Clay let it go through his hands and it ends up being an INT. I will let TT throw that pass 100% of the time, and when you are among the highest paid TE's in the NFL, there is literally not a single excuse for not catching it. If anyone thinks the coaches are going to review that tape and get on TT for throwing it, you are sorely mistaken. They will be all over Clay for not making a play he HAS to make.

 

For all Clay's athletic gifts, his mental game is weak and always has been. Watched him dog routes too often, make marginal efforts on plays we needed, too many focus lapses, etc. If this guy could up his focus and effort more consistently then I think he could be one of the better TE's in football. And with a heavier focus on him this year, hopefully that will translate into him being more focused and ready when TT throws his way moving forward.

Edited September 11, 2017 by Alphadawg7