THE ROCKPILE REVIEW - An Emotional Loss

[IgotBILLStopay]

Very nice writeup. Adding my thoughts:

 

1. Frank Gore man! He kept us in that game.

 

2. OK JA messed up on the INTs- but his non-Gore supporting cast did him no favors. More than the passing miscues, the thing I will be hard on JA is the sacks he took. Three of them when Bills were in FG range. One did not matter, but the other two led to a punt and missed FG. These were bonehead plays and shows he was rattled by the Pats defense. But no cause for alarm - he will learn from this. But he did let one get away there. And make no mistake, much as I like Barkley, he is just not in the same caliber as JA. We just gotta roll with JA as he matures. But Barkley shd be adequate against the next few opponents if JA has to sit.

 

3. That hit: You cant tell me that a teeny turn of Jones' head means he is trying avoid a helmet to helmet. Ya gotta kick him out. If the league puts the onus on the defender to avoid the helmet to helmet especially when the offensive skill player is defenseless and being tackled by another defender. Al Riveron trying to justify the hit as "not rising to a level of an ejection" is garbage and makes the NFL's claim about making the game safer a load of bull crap.

 

4. Coaching: There were a bunch of miscues - blocked punt, calls on 1st and goal etc. but do want to give them credit for 2 things - a. brilliant defensive game plan - rarely do you see a QB so uncomfortable and yet have no sacks. and b. halftime adjustments on offense - involving TJ Yeldon was brilliant

 

5. Man, that defense again - Levi Wallace was flying, Milano was everywhere, Edmunds was rocking - cant find anything to complain except that Tre PI penalty, where it was his first play returning and Belicheat was smart to target him. If the only thing on defense that we can complain about was a Tre White play, I think the defense is in great shape.  A great defensive gameplan only looks good if the players execute.

 

6. OK Zay Jones, Patrick DiMarco and Lee Smith have no business being on the field. Enough has been said about Zay's inability or unwillingness to jump, run or catch, but if you dont even make an effort - I doubt it can ever be taught. DiMarco - I have heard so much about how he is an extension of the coach in the locker room - but hell, then hire him as an assistant and let the guys who can perform on the field stay on the roster. And Lee Smith, I know he is a veteran, but his stupid penalties were drive killers for us. And he is taking time away from Dawson Knox and Sweeney.

 

7. Was also a teensy bit disappointed in Haushka. That kick from 49 yards out was not really unmakeable and may have been the difference between a W and an L.

 

[Thunderstruck]

Great write up, as always.

 

Maybe I am wrong on this, but one thing that continues to bother me is that that the plays seem to come in fairly late much too frequently. By the time they were at the line of scrimmage, there was frequently less than 10 seconds on the play clock. This just doesn't leave enough time to make any adjustments or audibles. When they did get to the LOS early enough, Josh was using longer snap counts to try to draw them off, but almost always snapped it with 1 or 2 on the play clock. It seems to me that this was making things easier on the Pats defense and not more difficult. They were able to time a lot of the snaps because the play clock was about to expire.

Edited September 30, 2019 by Thunderstruck

[Bring it]

Best write up in awhile Shaw! I always look for them every Monday. You sum up my feelings on both Allen and Zay! Josh has all the competitive fire that Zay sure could use. Now Allen needs to catch up in the experience department and I think he will! 

This loss isn’t as hollow as past ones. This team can play with anybody!!!

[yungmack]

Your second point is dead on. As it turns out, that was the ball game. Inexcusable incompetence. Your takes on Josh and Zay are fair and accurate. Surprised you didn't also go after the O-line's poor pass blocking. In any case, another fine report.

[BillsWest]

Great write-up!

I do have one question regarding a flag thrown and then being picked up.  There was an obvious face mask on a wr by a cb and the flag was thrown.  After the play, the ref's discussed and picked up the flag.  I saw the coach was pretty frustrated, but I missed the reason why the flag was picked up. 

[Haslett_Stomp]

Excellent synopsis, thanks Shaw.  I always look forward to your reviews.

 

34 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

Excellent write up as always.  I can't count the number of times yesterday I yelled two phrases:

 

Get rid of the ball!

Stupid mistakes!

 

Josh was bad yesterday, and all we can do is hope he learned a really good lesson from the master in Belichick.  The kid has all the potential in the world, and we have seen he can do it, but my exact text to my daughter yesterday was " too big a moment for him right now".  When he plays within himself, takes the shorter throws, etc. he looks great, but he reverts to trying to put the entire game on his shoulders and make huge plays down field, tries to buy too much time backing up scrambling.  They have to coach that out of him. 

 

Stupid mistakes are what killed them yesterday, and not all from Allen.  You cannot have a veteran TE take four penalties in such an important game.  You cannot have a LT hold when you have a defensive offside that gives you a first down.  You cannot allow them to block a punt, someone has to recognize what's happening and either adjust blocking or call time out.  You have to have your spotters give the HC better input on challenges so time outs aren't wasted, and so you have challenges when you really can use them.  You can't drop passes you should catch.  And so on.

 

For the first time in a long time, I think we can say the Bills have enough raw talent on both sides of the ball to compete with New England.  But against a Belichick-coached team you cannot make dumb mistakes.  We did and it lost the game.

 

@ oldmanfan - I did the same thing all game! 

 

Did anyone else notice how Tommy Boy's uneasiness increased after the cheap shot on Allen?  He couldn't get rid of the ball fast enough.

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by Haslett_Stomp

[Thunderstruck]

3 minutes ago, BillsWest said:

Great write-up!

I do have one question regarding a flag thrown and then being picked up.  There was an obvious face mask on a wr by a cb and the flag was thrown.  After the play, the ref's discussed and picked up the flag.  I saw the coach was pretty frustrated, but I missed the reason why the flag was picked up. 

For the same reason as "Just give it to 'em" and "Hey- Stay off Tom"

 

They have been picking up flags for years. Pats fans, league officials, etc will always point to total number of flags / yardage being similar for both teams, but everybody knows that they throw a few meaningless flags the Pats way at the beginning of the games and save all the calls that go their way for the critical plays. It has always been that way.

[I'm Spartacus]

Spot on regarding Zay Jones. Time to cut bait with him. Replace him with someone who tries harder.

[Shaw66]

38 minutes ago, I'm Spartacus said:

Spot on regarding Zay Jones. Time to cut bait with him. Replace him with someone who tries harder.

Think about it this way:  You have two 11 year olds on your soccer team, one named Josh and one named Zay.   Josh is running all over the field, sometimes out of position, always trying to get the ball away from the other team.   Zay's always in position, but when the ball comes his way, the defender always beats him to it.   

 

If you're thinking about it realistically, which kid has a future at soccer?  Josh.   I have a much better chance of dialing Josh's enthusiasm back than getting Zay energized enough to actually make plays.  Now, with 11 year olds, both of them stay on the team and you work to improve both of them.   On a professional team, you move on from players and work with the next man up.  

[NoHuddleKelly12]

3 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

 

 

Going into the game I thought that the Bills being competitive was more important than the win.   They had to show themselves they could play with the Pats, and they did.  After the game, of course, the Bills still have a loss and still looking at the mistakes that cost them the game; they have to live with the disappointment and learn from it.  But to a man they know now that they can play with the best.   Now it’s time to get better and beat the best. 

 

 

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.

^^^^^Great post OP, and this imho, is the best part of your post. This is where the coaching staff comes into play this week, to help the guys effectively process the good and the bad from this week, and come out Sunday to play with as much intensity as they brought yesterday, and clean up the bad in the process. I hope our staff is up to the challenge. 

[billspro]

3 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

The Bills lost to the Patriots on Sunday, 16-10.  It’s never good to lose, and it’s never good to lose to the Patriots.  They always do something that makes you angry. 

 

It was a day full of highs and lows, and it was the kind of day that makes the NFL perhaps the most successful entertainment vehicle of all time. 

 

I stood in the mob of people waiting to get through security at gate 2.  It was partly cloudy, the temperature was in the high 60s.  I was struck by how happy people were; hundreds and hundreds of people around me, smiling and laughing, enjoying the fact that they had tickets to the big game, enjoying the thrill of just being part of it.  You don’t often see that many people that happy. 

 

Every time there’s a flyover at the stadium, I think it’s kind of hokey and what’s the big deal, and every time there’s a flyover, I really enjoy it.  There’s nothing hokey about four F-16s in formation!   That was great!   And there was a football game, too, and what a game!

 

You want hokey?  How about a couple getting married at halftime on the 50-yard line?  But even that was fun, Kyle Williams presiding over the ceremony and Kim Pegula presenting a football signed by all the Bills and two tickets to the Super Bowl to the happy couple. 

 

Putting aside for a moment that the Bills lost and their quarterback got knocked out of the game, just looking at it from a fan’s perspective, that was a really entertaining game.  The defenses were outstanding.  There were big plays – interceptions, including Hyde’s dramatic interception in the end zone, a blocked punt, a couple of great runs from scrimmage by Gore, momentum shifts, and drama from beginning to end.   I almost wished I wasn’t a Bills fan, so I could have enjoyed the entertainment without having to be so disappointed in the outcome.

 

All right.  I’ve postponed talking about the game long enough, in part because I don’t know exactly what to say, so I’m just going to spill it out and we’ll see how it goes:

 

1.  The Bills’ defense was amazing.   Just amazing.  My friend at the game commented about how uncomfortable Brady was in the pocket, and it was true.  He didn’t get hit much, but it was clear that he didn’t like being back there.  He was antsy.  Making him uncomfortable is the key to controlling Brady, and that’s what we saw yesterday.   He missed some easy throws, he threw too hard to Edelman one time and it went through Edelman’s hands.   He wasn’t exactly confused, but he wasn’t able to do what he wanted.   The pass rush was just aggressive enough, and the back seven covered up receivers all day long.  I heard that Brady’s passer rating on Sunday was the lowest one-game passer rating he has had since 2006!

 

There were times during the game when I wondered whether Levi Wallace is the best corner back on the team. 

 

I have growing appreciation for Milano.  His open field tackling is great.  Brady likes to throw to his receiver who is one-on-one with a linebacker, and late in the game when he desperately a completion for a first down, Brady tested Milano up the sideline.   Nothing doing.   Great defense. 

 

2.  As usual, the game turned on a half dozen plays.  One of them was the blocked punt, which was a huge mistake by the Bills.  How could the Bills not be prepared for a 10-man rush?   Haven’t they practiced that?   When the teams lined up it was obvious the punt was going to be blocked – there simply weren’t enough blockers to handle all the rushers, and you knew the Patriots were doing it because they had identified something on film.   Someone needed to recognize the problem and call time out.  It turned out to be the most important play of the game, and the Bills blew it. 

 

3.  Most of the other big plays were Josh Allen interceptions, which leads to a general discussion of Josh Allen.  I didn’t do a game-by-game analysis, but that had to be Allen’s worst game as a pro.  He was more or less terrible, right from the beginning, when he made an ugly overthrow in the right flat, followed immediately by an ugly wide overthrow in the left flat.   He never misses two throws in a row like that.  

 

Looking at the game as a whole, and taking into consideration McDermott’s post-game comments, I’d say the moment was too big for Allen.   Put another way, he choked.  McDermott said that Allen didn’t do the things he’s been taught to do.  He didn’t recognize the double coverage on McCourty’s interception, and he threw the ball up for grabs on his other two interceptions.   McDermott said, and it was true, that Allen settled down at half time and came out doing what he’d been taught to do.   Then he lost it again.

 

Comparing Allen’s performance to Brady’s, they both struggled against really good defenses.  The difference was that Brady knows that things going bad doesn’t mean he should start doing stupid things.  Allen obviously doesn’t.   Brady knows that there’s always another play, and Allen doesn’t.

 

A case in point was Allen’s scramble and injury.   I haven’t seen a replay and won’t comment on the hit other than to say that a QB needs to expect to get hit when he’s running for an important first down.   First, the first down was important only because Allen had played so poorly for the first three quarters; if he’d done his job, he wouldn’t have felt he needed those extra yards, and he would have gone down to avoid the contact.  But, second, even under the circumstances, what Brady understands and Allen doesn’t is that there’s always another play.   Go down, and if you’re two yards short of the line to gain, so be it.  Let the coach decide whether to go for it or punt.  Would you rather get the first down and let Barkley play the rest of the game, or punt and have Allen continue to be your QB?   The Bills needed Allen, and he put himself in a position that resulted in his being unavailable the final possessions. 

 

Josh Allen just has to get better. 

 

4.  I try not to beat up players too much in these reports, but I have to make an exception in the case of Zay Jones.  I’ve never been a big Zay booster, but I’ve watched him some this season and been impressed by his size and speed and willingness to run routes.   He’s looked to me like a threat on the field, even if the production isn’t there.

 

After the Patriots game, if it were up to me, he would be off the team.   McDermott is a big believer in second chances, teaching opportunities and all that, and McDermott may take that attitude with Zay, but I wouldn’t.

 

I’ve bought McDermott’s process, and it starts with accumulating players who are intense, relentless competitors.  When Tre’Davious White got his second interception last week, the play that clinched the win over the Bengals, McDermott praised him for continuing to run, which put him position to make a play when Hyde tipped the ball.  Natural competitors, guys who fight for everything on every play, are at the core of what McDermott is trying to do.  Against the Patriots, Zay was exposed as a guy who doesn’t want to compete.  

 

On three plays, Zay showed he doesn’t want to fight for the ball:  The interception down the right sideline in the first quarter, when Zay kept running on a slightly underthrown ball instead of stopping and making an aggressive play on the ball.   The interception on the right sideline in the third quarter, when Zay completely gave up on a ball he could have caught and allowed the Patriots to take it.  The incompletion on fourth down in the end zone with ten minutes left.  I would have kicked the field goal, but the Bills had a play, Barkley made the throw and Zay must win the fight for that ball.

 

Three plays, two interceptions and a missed touchdown, all because Zay Jones didn’t compete.   I’m a believer in the McDermott process, and Zay doesn’t fit the mold. 

 

5.  Is there more to say?  Sure.  Frank Gore.  Jerry Hughes.  Tremaine Edmunds.  John Brown.  Cole Beasley.  Matt Barkley, who did an excellent job under really difficult circumstances.

 

 

The national press seems to be reporting this game as another mail-in Patriots win over the Bills, but I’ll tell you this:   No NFL teams are going to look at the film of that game without concluding that the Bills have an awesome defense.  The Pats were averaging over 400 yards per game; the Bills held them to 225.  They were averaging over 30 points a game; the Bills held them 16 and 7 came on a blocked punt.  No NFL teams are going to think the Bills offense is impotent.   The Pats were giving up 190 total yards per game; the Bills gashed them for 375 and it would have been much worse if Allen hadn’t decided to throw INTs all over the field. 

 

Going into the game I thought that the Bills being competitive was more important than the win.   They had to show themselves they could play with the Pats, and they did.  After the game, of course, the Bills still have a loss and still looking at the mistakes that cost them the game; they have to live with the disappointment and learn from it.  But to a man they know now that they can play with the best.   Now it’s time to get better and beat the best. 

 

 

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.

 

Great post as usual. I completely agree with you, Allen need to learn how to be patient. He needs to play more like a good boxer, take the jabs and body blows when they are open, those plays add up. When he learns to do that the big hay makers will work more often. He can’t go for a knockout punch every play. I think that analogy makes sense haha. 

[Formerly Allan in MD]

Allen will only get better if he learns from his mistakes.  The jury clearly remains out on that count.

[jkeerie]

Excellent write up as always, Shaw!  Totally agree, especially about Zay.  I used to be a Zay advocate, but no more.  Too many things happen when Josh is throwing in his direction...and just for the reasons you state.  He's not competitive.  (He reminds me a bit like Lee Evans in that respect.)

 

I'm disappointed after yesterday's game, but not disheartened.  On the other hand, I'm totally disillusioned and disgusted with the NFL in general...particularly in the officiating and Riveron's reviews.  There is no consistency from game to game...except that certain teams and players seem to be favored sons.

[Shaw66]

52 minutes ago, Formerly Allan in MD said:

Allen will only get better if he learns from his mistakes.  The jury clearly remains out on that count.

Of course the jury is out.  It's impossible to say with certainty that anyone will get better.   

 

Having said that, I have a high degree of confidence that Allen will get better.  I think yesterday he just lost his head.  

[MTBill]

3 hours ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

If I wanted to be charitable about it, almost from the beginning, it looked like the moment was "too big " for Josh.  This game was a national spotlight, one of the most important games the bills have players in a long time.

 

As for Barkley, i was really disappointed me,  I thought J Allen had accuracy problems  

Agree x2, however it is a very small sample size and is obviously top of mind as it happened yesterday.  How many big games has he really had as a Bill?  This is hopefully one poor performance and he'll get better in this situation.  Bill B also didn't make it easy on him at all. What we can hope is that he learns from this experience.  I fully expect him to bounce back from this AND to learn from it so he does not make the same mistakes the next time he has a big game - which is going to happen this season.

 

He certainly didn't have big games at Wyoming.  I guess I am just not going to overreact based on one game.  Not trying to be a homer.

 

EDIT - I forgot to say this earlier, but unlike many of the past games vs. the Patriots, it was competitive.  That is a start, when we can consistently play well we will get our share of wins.  Sure we've had some fluke wins over the years, but I felt like we did a great job as a team yesterday compared to prior games against them.

Edited September 30, 2019 by MTBill

[GoBills808]

I like Milano a lot too but he gave up the big completion to White that set up their only TD...he had solid coverage but needs to be able to make that play against an RB. That's one of the reasons he's in there.

[Shaw66]

55 minutes ago, MTBill said:

Agree x2, however it is a very small sample size and is obviously top of mind as it happened yesterday.  How many big games has he really had as a Bill?  This is hopefully one poor performance and he'll get better in this situation.  Bill B also didn't make it easy on him at all. What we can hope is that he learns from this experience.  I fully expect him to bounce back from this AND to learn from it so he does not make the same mistakes the next time he has a big game - which is going to happen this season.

 

He certainly didn't have big games at Wyoming.  I guess I am just not going to overreact based on one game.  Not trying to be a homer.

 

EDIT - I forgot to say this earlier, but unlike many of the past games vs. the Patriots, it was competitive.  That is a start, when we can consistently play well we will get our share of wins.  Sure we've had some fluke wins over the years, but I felt like we did a great job as a team yesterday compared to prior games against them.

All of this.  

 

Allen now has the opportunity to grow up.   All he needs to do is watch the film of Brady in a tough game and himself in the same tough game, and see what he did that Brady didn't.  

[Figster]

4 hours ago, I'm Spartacus said:

Spot on regarding Zay Jones. Time to cut bait with him. Replace him with someone who tries harder.

I think most players know their limitations.  Fighting over errant throws might be something Jones doesn't excel at or feels vulnerable to injury.

 

I have a better idea, stop with the bad mechanics Allen.

 

Awesome review Shaw...  

[Beast]

Nice write up and I agree about Levi Wallace. I believe he may be our best CB and I have a high opinion of Tre White.

[LABILLBACKER]

Another excellent accurate synopsis Shaw....I was done with Zay during camp and was convinced Duke would make the team and Jones would be cut. It's like McB are giving him more time and chances solely on his draft spot. If I'm Josh or Matt I would never waste a target on him again. 

You mentioned being angry. As a crazed fan for 50 years this was a huge game. I can understand why so many were happy & optimistic. As far as Josh goes Ive said he's going to take much longer than some of these other young qbs to develop.  What pissed me off about  yesterday was his inability to learn from previous mistakes.  Whether its ints or scrambling he's gotta use his Brain! He's just playing dumb. He might be able to throw a ball out of New Era but if he doesn't become more cerebral  his fate will be that of EJ.

As far as the officiating I mentioned in many threads before the game I thought the league might be ready to move on from the incessant NE narrative.  That we might get a few calls that we would never get in years past. Boy was I wrong. The officiating was disgraceful right on schedule. I won't even mention the several calls. 

Finally this might just be the BEST DEFENSE IN BILLS HISTORY.  No time to panic, on to Tennessee.....