THE ROCKPILE REVIEW - A Day to Remember

[Shaw66]

If true, what McDermott said publicly in the preseason about our Franchise QB already being on the roster and Tyrod being it might have been much more than the "coach speak" most made it out to be

believe it. When your qb's passer rating is in the mid 90s and you're a conservative coach, you aren't desperate to replace him.

[BuffaloHokie13]

Thanks for this morning's entertainment Shaw!

[billsfan60]

I still miss "Ten things I think I think"

Forgot that one, you're absolutely right, but at least we still have savioredwards for comic relief.

[BadLandsMeanie]

Great write up here Shaw. Thanks I enjoyed it.

 

“I hoped the rain would stop before night set in.”

 

Pure poetry. Here you use the rain is a symbol for decades of piss poor performance and night of course, is the symbol of death.

I hope the rain stops before my night sets in too Shaw.

 

“They're all gone, and they have not been replaced with household names. And yet, the Bills look like they're better now than they have been any time since the Bills started acquiring that talent.”

 

I think it is partly the Team mind-set as you say, and partly that our perception of how good these players were was altered by the publicity machine.

 

“The rain kept coming, but at least beyond Syracuse the traffic thinned out. Passing trucks was tough, with all that spray clouding my vision of the road.”

 

I liked all this rain stuff. It was real to me because I was in that same rain yesterday, albeit loading and unloading my groceries. But I know it was a cold and rotten gloomy rain. And that part where it clouds your vision of the road on a long drive, I know that exact feeling. And that stuff drew me right onto the story with you.

 

“I think the people in the lower bowl stood for the entire second half. And they made noise. That was impressive.”

 

I actually hate it when the people in the lower bowl stand the whole time. Jump up when something cool happens or when in defense on third down I say. Different strokes.

 

“The mens room was empty except for one kid wearing Raiders gear. I know how it feels to drive through five hours of crap after your team has gotten stomped. Ive done it for years. I didnt feel sorry for him.”

 

I laughed out loud at the punchline there.

 

“Holmes, by the way, seems to live with his toes inside the sideline. “

 

The weird thing for me is, of everything that happened, Holmes bopping his toes down like he did there was the single most healing thing for my soul in this game.

 

I loved the look and the win and I am confused about how good this teams seems to be and that has unsettled me in a positive way.

But the toes down inside bounds. We practiced that as kids my friends and I, imitating what our player heroes did. And for at least the last 15 years now I have watched Bills receivers not do that, or maybe do that, or maybe not, or act like maybe they never heard of that. They just keep running and turn a completion into an incomplete. We have lost games because of that. Because of something my pals and I understood and practiced when we were 10 years old.

 

I didn’t even get angry about it any more. I guess I had thought the part of my soul that had hope the receivers would be willing to fall down to get a completion nowadays, had died. But Holmes and this new bunch who do actually do that, brought that tiny part of my dead soul back to life.

It made me happy. Like your post here. Thanks Shaw.

[Shaw66]

Great write up here Shaw. Thanks I enjoyed it.

 

“I hoped the rain would stop before night set in.”

 

Pure poetry. Here you use the rain is a symbol for decades of piss poor performance and night of course, is the symbol of death.

I hope the rain stops before my night sets in too Shaw.

 

“They're all gone, and they have not been replaced with household names. And yet, the Bills look like they're better now than they have been any time since the Bills started acquiring that talent.”

 

I think it is partly the Team mind-set as you say, and partly that our perception of how good these players were was altered by the publicity machine.

 

“The rain kept coming, but at least beyond Syracuse the traffic thinned out. Passing trucks was tough, with all that spray clouding my vision of the road.”

 

I liked all this rain stuff. It was real to me because I was in that same rain yesterday, albeit loading and unloading my groceries. But I know it was a cold and rotten gloomy rain. And that part where it clouds your vision of the road on a long drive, I know that exact feeling. And that stuff drew me right onto the story with you.

 

“I think the people in the lower bowl stood for the entire second half. And they made noise. That was impressive.”

 

I actually hate it when the people in the lower bowl stand the whole time. Jump up when something cool happens or when in defense on third down I say. Different strokes.

 

“The mens room was empty except for one kid wearing Raiders gear. I know how it feels to drive through five hours of crap after your team has gotten stomped. Ive done it for years. I didnt feel sorry for him.”

 

I laughed out loud at the punchline there.

 

“Holmes, by the way, seems to live with his toes inside the sideline. “

 

The weird thing for me is, of everything that happened, Holmes bopping his toes down like he did there was the single most healing thing for my soul in this game.

 

I loved the look and the win and I am confused about how good this teams seems to be and that has unsettled me in a positive way.

But the toes down inside bounds. We practiced that as kids my friends and I, imitating what our player heroes did. And for at least the last 15 years now I have watched Bills receivers not do that, or maybe do that, or maybe not, or act like maybe they never heard of that. They just keep running and turn a completion into an incomplete. We have lost games because of that. Because of something my pals and I understood and practiced when we were 10 years old.

 

I didn’t even get angry about it any more. I guess I had thought the part of my soul that had hope the receivers would be willing to fall down to get a completion nowadays, had died. But Holmes and this new bunch who do actually do that, brought that tiny part of my dead soul back to life.

It made me happy. Like your post here. Thanks Shaw.

Thanks, Meanie.

 

Other people see things in written words that writers didn't necessarily intend. (One time I saw Bob Dylan quoted saying he wished people would stop asking him what some song meant, because he doesn't know.) I really like and appreciate your comments about the rain. I didn't intend the metaphor, but you're absolutely right about it.

 

And I didn't know exactly why Holmes's toe-tapping impressed me. You nailed it. High-end, detailed professional competence has been missing on this team for a long time. And thinking about it, that's why I was so impressed with Taylor on Sunday. He seemed to be doing all of the little things, without fanfare.

 

Thanks for the comments.

[Stank_Nasty]

Thanks, Meanie.

 

Other people see things in written words that writers didn't necessarily intend. (One time I saw Bob Dylan quoted saying he wished people would stop asking him what some song meant, because he doesn't know.) I really like and appreciate your comments about the rain. I didn't intend the metaphor, but you're absolutely right about it.

 

And I didn't know exactly why Holmes's toe-tapping impressed me. You nailed it. High-end, detailed professional competence has been missing on this team for a long time. And thinking about it, that's why I was so impressed with Taylor on Sunday. He seemed to be doing all of the little things, without fanfare.

 

Thanks for the comments.

think it may have been early 4th or maybe on that long drive in the 3rd you had mentioned. 3rd and mid range from about mid field. he stands in the pocket strong and for a good while waiting for the route to come through. took a little hit and delivered a strike to Mathews across the middle to keep the drive going and the clock running. commentators didn't talk much about it. havnt read anything about it on here and I just sat there thinking how huge a play that was. "the little things". things we didn't see in the past.

[UB2SF]

Beautiful, Shaw!

[Shaw66]

think it may have been early 4th or maybe on that long drive in the 3rd you had mentioned. 3rd and mid range from about mid field. he stands in the pocket strong and for a good while waiting for the route to come through. took a little hit and delivered a strike to Mathews across the middle to keep the drive going and the clock running. commentators didn't talk much about it. havnt read anything about it on here and I just sat there thinking how huge a play that was. "the little things". things we didn't see in the past.

It wasn't the long drive. It was the 9-play drive in the middle of the 4th quarter, the drive that started with 10 minutes left. If Bills go 3 and out, Raiders have a shot. Instead, the Bills got two first downs and almost the third and ran five minutes off the clock. That drive ended the game. The throw to Matthews was the second third down conversion of the drive.

 

That drive was a professional drive. The offense knew what they had to do and went out and did it. The throw to Matthews was one of the key plays in the drive.

[DrDawkinstein]

Excellent write-up, Shaw. We need more posts like this around here. Thanks for taking the time to put those thoughts and observations down.

[toto8]

Great read Shaw66 love your reviews. Thank you.

 

In regards to TT when we got him I thought he was going to go through growing pains even though he's been in the league for so long. He was riding the bench at Baltimore since he was drafted and yes you can learn some but you get more experience by playing rather than studying/watching.

 

I think he will continue to get better. It's funny; I listened to the interview that John Murphy had with Mike Vick and Vick said that he wanted Taylor to use his skills not to just be a pocket passer, this was before the Bucs game and the last 2 games he has been scrambling a little more at the right time I guess he is doing it in a smart way so it shows that he is still learning.

 

I was reading an article in regards to the drought seasons and week 9 seems to be a critical point. If we win we have a good chance of making the playoffs but if we lose we drop to about %50 or less. Good teams keep the pedal to the metal, mediocre or bad teams begin to slide out of the playoffs. We will see which of the two teams the bills will be.

[JMF2006]

Thanks for another great read.

 

Fantastic write up.

[Shaw66]

Thanks to all of you for the nice comments. I appreciate it.

[JPP]

Great write up Shaw.....always enjoyed your weekly commentary on the BBMB......keep it going Thoughts on our new acquisition?

Edited November 1, 2017 by JPP