First Half wasn't as awful as everyone is saying

[mjt328]

 

In review of yesterday's game, I keep reading how terrible and ineffective the Bills offense was until the 4th Quarter.  I completely disagree.

Were they mistake prone and sloppy at times?  Absolutely.

But when you really break it down, the offense was consistently putting together strong drives for a good chunk of the day.

 

On the day, the Bills had the ball a total of 12 times. 

- One possession was the kneel down at the half. 

- One possession was running out the clock at the end of the game.

- Then you have the Cole Beasley bounce (pretty much a fluke), which was returned for a touchdown.  This drive was one play.

- Then you have the safety (bad call by the refs), which also lasted one play.

 

That leaves 8 true possessions for the Bills offense.

1.  Drive #1 (7 plays, 37 yards):  They easily marched down the field to the Jets 26 yard line.  Then Dion Dawkins missed a block, resulting in the sack/strip.

2.  Drive #3 (9 plays, 35 yards):  Another drive into scoring position, until the Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty on Jon Feliciano.

3.  Drive #4 (3 plays, 7 yards):  This was a really bad series, which also included the INT that was overturned by penalty.

4.  Drive #5 (9 plays, 58 yards):  Yet another very strong drive, ended by the botched snap on the QB sneak.

5.  Drive #6 (5 plays, 30 yards):  The offense was starting to move again.  Then we have the tipped pass, which was also intercepted.

6.  Drive #9 (9 plays, 50 yards):  Ended in our first 3 points of the day.

7.  Drive #10 (8 plays, 85 yards):  Touchdown

8.  Drive #11 (8 plays, 80 yards):  Touchdown

 

 

Bottom line... On a snap-by-snap basis, I felt like the Bills controlled the game on both sides.  Defense was outstanding all day.  The offense had some really bad bounces and bad luck.  They had some really bad mistakes at the wrong time.  The narrative is that something "woke the offense up" during the 4th quarter.  In reality, I think we just figured out how to finish our drives.

 

[Ramza86]

We moved the ball almost every drive....but they got stalled by penalties or turnovers. 

 

So thats a positive takeaway. 

[JoshAllenHasBigHands]

I have been shouting this on twitter.  It is crazy how people can become so emotionally invested in a game that they lose all sense of what is really happening. The turnovers, in some peoples minds, completely erased how well we were moving the ball.  The offense was great all game. 

[zevo]

Lots of criticism...I though Allen looked fairly sharp...he took some gambles because that’s what he does...overall I came away pretty damn impressed.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

5 minutes ago, mjt328 said:

In review of yesterday's game, I keep reading how terrible and ineffective the Bills offense was until the 4th Quarter.  I completely disagree.

Were they mistake prone and sloppy at times?  Absolutely.

But when you really break it down, the offense was consistently putting together strong drives for a good chunk of the day.

 

 

No it wasn't IMO.

 

The Bills were controlling the game from the get go until A Series of Unfortunate Events happened

[Dr. K]

2 minutes ago, mjt328 said:

 

In review of yesterday's game, I keep reading how terrible and ineffective the Bills offense was until the 4th Quarter.  I completely disagree.

Were they mistake prone and sloppy at times?  Absolutely.

But when you really break it down, the offense was consistently putting together strong drives for a good chunk of the day.

 

On the day, the Bills had the ball a total of 12 times. 

- One possession was the kneel down at the half. 

- One possession was running out the clock at the end of the game.

- Then you have the Cole Beasley bounce (pretty much a fluke), which was returned for a touchdown.  This drive was one play.

- Then you have the safety (bad call by the refs), which also lasted one play.

 

That leaves 8 true possessions for the Bills offense.

1.  Drive #1 (7 plays, 37 yards):  They easily marched down the field to the Jets 26 yard line.  Then Dion Dawkins missed a block, resulting in the sack/strip.

2.  Drive #3 (9 plays, 35 yards):  Another drive into scoring position, until the Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty on Jon Feliciano.

3.  Drive #4 (3 plays, 7 yards):  This was a really bad series, which also included the INT that was overturned by penalty.

4.  Drive #5 (9 plays, 58 yards):  Yet another very strong drive, ended by the botched snap on the QB sneak.

5.  Drive #6 (5 plays, 30 yards):  The offense was starting to move again.  Then we have the tipped pass, which was also intercepted.

6.  Drive #9 (9 plays, 50 yards):  Ended in our first 3 points of the day.

7.  Drive #10 (8 plays, 85 yards):  Touchdown

8.  Drive #11 (8 plays, 80 yards):  Touchdown

 

 

Bottom line... On a snap-by-snap basis, I felt like the Bills controlled the game on both sides.  Defense was outstanding all day.  The offense had some really bad bounces and bad luck.  They had some really bad mistakes at the wrong time.  The narrative is that something "woke the offense up" during the 4th quarter.  In reality, I think we just figured out how to finish our drives.

 

This is the first half that I saw, too. The Bills moved the ball effectively on most drives until they shot themselves in the foot. The Jets played hard on defense and benefited from tipped passes or Bills miscues, but it wasn't because they stopped the Bills from moving the ball. 

 

Add in the bad field position the Bills had for most of their drive starts, and it's easy to over-react and say the offense did not work. Not to say they don't have to clean up those mishaps that they can clean up. They know that themselves, and I expect them to as the season progresses. 

[Jerome007]

I thought the same too. That the Bills had bad flukes and some legit mistakes that were almost half bad lucks too. Basically. that they were the better team but playing a little confused and having not the ball roll their way. Later, they did get lucky breaks on bad passes, so Josh's stat sheet became real in a way over time. Are you really gonna blame him for that pick 6? Stats tell you so much.

 

Anyway, I agree. There weren't sharp, and it come down to lack of execution and some weird bounces, but overall I liked what I saw in terms of POTENTIAL. It's just that we are all getting impatient and want to see that potential becoming reality. A first game of the season with so many new players might not be the best time to judge them yet, impatient doomsday fans...

[teef]

it was just bad mojo/luck in the first half.  nothing seemed to be in the bills favor at all, but not once did they roll over and give up.  they kept it a game, and things finally starting swinging in their direction.  it was such a game of momentum.  

 

allen certainly made some mistakes.  i just don't think they should lean on him so heavily this early.  his mistakes are correctable, but help the guy out a bit.

[mjt328]

3 minutes ago, Dr. K said:

This is the first half that I saw, too. The Bills moved the ball effectively on most drives until they shot themselves in the foot. The Jets played hard on defense and benefited from tipped passes or Bills miscues, but it wasn't because they stopped the Bills from moving the ball. 

 

Add in the bad field position the Bills had for most of their drive starts, and it's easy to over-react and say the offense did not work. Not to say they don't have to clean up those mishaps that they can clean up. They know that themselves, and I expect them to as the season progresses. 

 

I've also noticed a lot of criticism towards Brian Daboll's playcalling.  I thought it was great.

 

The Jets defensive strength is run defense.  Their weakness is pass defense.

And before the game, their players were throwing jabs at Josh Allen, saying they just needed to "make him play quarterback."

 

The pass-heavy approach was the right one.  And if not for the dumb mistakes that killed our drives and kept points off the board, everybody would be praising Daboll this morning.  He can't control everything.

 

[CincyBillsFan]

10 minutes ago, mjt328 said:

 

In review of yesterday's game, I keep reading how terrible and ineffective the Bills offense was until the 4th Quarter.  I completely disagree.

Were they mistake prone and sloppy at times?  Absolutely.

But when you really break it down, the offense was consistently putting together strong drives for a good chunk of the day.

 

On the day, the Bills had the ball a total of 12 times. 

- One possession was the kneel down at the half. 

- One possession was running out the clock at the end of the game.

- Then you have the Cole Beasley bounce (pretty much a fluke), which was returned for a touchdown.  This drive was one play.

- Then you have the safety (bad call by the refs), which also lasted one play.

 

That leaves 8 true possessions for the Bills offense.

1.  Drive #1 (7 plays, 37 yards):  They easily marched down the field to the Jets 26 yard line.  Then Dion Dawkins missed a block, resulting in the sack/strip.

2.  Drive #3 (9 plays, 35 yards):  Another drive into scoring position, until the Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty on Jon Feliciano.

3.  Drive #4 (3 plays, 7 yards):  This was a really bad series, which also included the INT that was overturned by penalty.

4.  Drive #5 (9 plays, 58 yards):  Yet another very strong drive, ended by the botched snap on the QB sneak.

5.  Drive #6 (5 plays, 30 yards):  The offense was starting to move again.  Then we have the tipped pass, which was also intercepted.

6.  Drive #9 (9 plays, 50 yards):  Ended in our first 3 points of the day.

7.  Drive #10 (8 plays, 85 yards):  Touchdown

8.  Drive #11 (8 plays, 80 yards):  Touchdown

 

 

Bottom line... On a snap-by-snap basis, I felt like the Bills controlled the game on both sides.  Defense was outstanding all day.  The offense had some really bad bounces and bad luck.  They had some really bad mistakes at the wrong time.  The narrative is that something "woke the offense up" during the 4th quarter.  In reality, I think we just figured out how to finish our drives.

 

 

This is the BEST post I've seen describing the 1st half.  I would also add that:

 

*  99 out of 100 times the Jet's pick 6 play would have ended either as a 5 yard Bill's gain or an incomplete pass.  That it resulted in a pick 6 is the very definition of a FLUKE PLAY. 

 

*  The Allen "fumble" on 4th down was likely a direct result of Morse not seeing any contact under game situations during the preseason.  It's unreasonable to think a center can just go out and excel in the 1st half of the opening game after missing the entire preseason.  Did anyone else notice how much better Morse played in the 2nd half?  I mean he looked like a beast out there.  I suspect that had Morse gotten in some game reps during the preseason there isn't a fumble on that play. 

 

 

[Real McClappy]

10 minutes ago, JoshAllenHasBigHands said:

I have been shouting this on twitter.  It is crazy how people can become so emotionally invested in a game that they lose all sense of what is really happening. The turnovers, in some peoples minds, completely erased how well we were moving the ball.  The offense was great all game. 

Agree, was just telling my buddy the same and he disagrees. The multiple turn-overs basically skew everything, this game should have been a blow out IMO.  Gotta shake the rust off and they did in the 2nd half.

 

So I popped him this -

[mushypeaches]

I had very little issue with the first half play-calling or schemes.  I liked how Daboll was attacking the Jets defense.  

 

Obviously the first half results were poor, but it wasn't for lack of imagination or creativity.  And that was also why it never felt like the Bills were out of the game, even down 16-0.  Lots of fluke plays and poor execution.  They just needed to wake up, shake off the mistakes, and make things happen.  Which they did

 

[mjt328]

3 minutes ago, Jerome007 said:

I thought the same too. That the Bills had bad flukes and some legit mistakes that were almost half bad lucks too. Basically. that they were the better team but playing a little confused and having not the ball roll their way. Later, they did get lucky breaks on bad passes, so Josh's stat sheet became real in a way over time. Are you really gonna blame him for that pick 6? Stats tell you so much.

 

Anyway, I agree. There weren't sharp, and it come down to lack of execution and some weird bounces, but overall I liked what I saw in terms of POTENTIAL. It's just that we are all getting impatient and want to see that potential becoming reality. A first game of the season with so many new players might not be the best time to judge them yet, impatient doomsday fans...

 

In my opinion, none of Josh Allen's turnovers were his fault.

BUT... he probably had 3 incompletions that could have been picked off.

 

So far, the narrative around Allen is completely off.

I'm not seeing a QB that struggles with accuracy.  I'm not seeing a QB that struggles with pocket presence, or one that takes off running too quickly.  I'm not seeing a QB that struggles to read defenses.

 

Allen's biggest problem is decision-making.  He's got what I call "Jay Cutler Disease.  There are times he's trying to do too much.  Usually when the play breaks down, and he's forced to make a throw outside the pocket.  This is fairly common among young QBs, so I'm not really worried yet.  He just needs to learn when to let a play die, and live to fight another day.

 

[billsfan1959]

Are you sure, OP? If so, then that is going to upset a number of posters. I read over and over, right here on this forum, that Daboll didn't know what he was doing and that Allen was so bad, that he was unwatchable...

[PromoTheRobot]

24 minutes ago, mjt328 said:

 

In review of yesterday's game, I keep reading how terrible and ineffective the Bills offense was until the 4th Quarter.  I completely disagree.

Were they mistake prone and sloppy at times?  Absolutely.

But when you really break it down, the offense was consistently putting together strong drives for a good chunk of the day.

 

On the day, the Bills had the ball a total of 12 times. 

- One possession was the kneel down at the half. 

- One possession was running out the clock at the end of the game.

- Then you have the Cole Beasley bounce (pretty much a fluke), which was returned for a touchdown.  This drive was one play.

- Then you have the safety (bad call by the refs), which also lasted one play.

 

That leaves 8 true possessions for the Bills offense.

1.  Drive #1 (7 plays, 37 yards):  They easily marched down the field to the Jets 26 yard line.  Then Dion Dawkins missed a block, resulting in the sack/strip.

2.  Drive #3 (9 plays, 35 yards):  Another drive into scoring position, until the Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty on Jon Feliciano.

3.  Drive #4 (3 plays, 7 yards):  This was a really bad series, which also included the INT that was overturned by penalty.

4.  Drive #5 (9 plays, 58 yards):  Yet another very strong drive, ended by the botched snap on the QB sneak.

5.  Drive #6 (5 plays, 30 yards):  The offense was starting to move again.  Then we have the tipped pass, which was also intercepted.

6.  Drive #9 (9 plays, 50 yards):  Ended in our first 3 points of the day.

7.  Drive #10 (8 plays, 85 yards):  Touchdown

8.  Drive #11 (8 plays, 80 yards):  Touchdown

 

 

Bottom line... On a snap-by-snap basis, I felt like the Bills controlled the game on both sides.  Defense was outstanding all day.  The offense had some really bad bounces and bad luck.  They had some really bad mistakes at the wrong time.  The narrative is that something "woke the offense up" during the 4th quarter.  In reality, I think we just figured out how to finish our drives.

 

 

Thank you! Too many people only see the end results, not the process. A 50+ yard drive that ends in a turnover is not anemic.

10 minutes ago, Real McCoy said:

Agree, was just telling my buddy the same and he disagrees. The multiple turn-overs basically skew everything, this game should have been a blow out IMO.  Gotta shake the rust off and they did in the 2nd half.

 

So I popped him this -

 

Make sure @GG sees this.

[stosh64]

1 minute ago, billsfan1959 said:

Are you sure, OP? If so, then that is going to upset a number of posters. I read over and over, right here on this forum, that Daboll didn't know what he was doing and that Allen was so bad, that he was unwatchable...

The haters sure loved the first half yesterday.  The number of times I read we need to pull Josh for Barkley, or reminding us we could have had Mahomes or Jackson.

I had to take a break from the GDT, the hot takes are unreal.

 

Thanks for the thread OP, I couldn't agree more!  

[CincyBillsFan]

4 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Thank you! Too many people only see the end results, not the process. A 50+ yard drive that ends in a turnover is not anemic.

 

Make sure @GG sees this.

 

I guess the accuracy bar for Allen has been raised to 75%. 

Just now, stosh64 said:

The haters sure loved the first half yesterday.  The number of times I read we need to pull Josh for Barkley, or reminding us we could have had Mahomes or Jackson.

I had to take a break from the GDT, the hot takes are unreal.

 

Thanks for the thread OP, I couldn't agree more!  

 

The hot takes during the game are simply an accurate representation of the huge amount of alcohol consumed. 

 

 

 

 

[SoCal Deek]

Excellent breakdown. I mentioned the same thing in Virgil’s thread, but your details make it even clearer. This should have been a blowout. Another interesting point is that Jets scored on an interception, a safety, a two point conversion, and a touchdown....but NOTHING from a kicker. I’ve gotta wonder if that’s ever happened before.

[JoshAllenHasBigHands]

8 minutes ago, billsfan1959 said:

Are you sure, OP? If so, then that is going to upset a number of posters. I read over and over, right here on this forum, that Daboll didn't know what he was doing and that Allen was so bad, that he was unwatchable...

THIS is why you shouldn't come here on game day.  Its a mess of people that don't spend much time on the message board, don't pay a ton of attention outside of game day, and have no idea what they are talking about. 

[TPS]

mark gaughan of the BNews thought it was impressive too: