Virgil Posted November 3, 2019 Author Posted November 3, 2019 1 minute ago, thurst44 said: You said "it doesn't seem to be getting any better." That is simply not true based on the second half. They did something hopeful against run and you didn't acknowledge it because it did not fit your narrative. And the logic "only referring to those plays where we got gashed" does not make sense b/c it does not count plays where we could have got gashed but did not. You could say the pass defense is terrible based only on the plays where the DB got beat. Yes, you say some positives, but the balance definitely seems a bit ridiculous for a team that is 6-2, no matter how they got there. There are more positives than you lock on to. Also, watching the Browns. Yes, they could beat us (any given sunday and billsbrowns days are nightmares), but the Browns really don't look "better than on paper." Touche. The any better was more in reference to it being 3 straight games, but I'll give it to you. I agree that we should beat the Browns based on what they are actually doing and I would view it as an upset to lose. I'm merely saying that if you just look at the rosters and overall body of work, it could be seen as a trap game.
3rdand12 Posted November 3, 2019 Posted November 3, 2019 27 minutes ago, Virgil said: I don't even know why I write the opening statement anymore... dude I love your efforts. read every word. you are fairly fantastic, and certainly appreciated by most all here. never mind the minor snips and snipes. keep on keeping on Virgil ! 2 2
John from Riverside Posted November 3, 2019 Posted November 3, 2019 I thought the OL was very bad today......so many stops on 4th down on short yardage......that should NOT happen. Allen with his usuall 3 or more houdinini's to get away from a sack STOP CALLING DESIGNED RUNNING PLAYS WITH ALLEN Robert Foster is done......whatever magic he found in the 2nd half of last year.....its gone....dont make Duke inactive again 1
3rdand12 Posted November 3, 2019 Posted November 3, 2019 18 minutes ago, WideNine said: I would not say the OP is negative, just pointing out some concerns that need to be corrected if we are going to hang with better opponents. I will take any win, and am sure Virgil will too. I liked Oliver and still do, but his game is quickness and hitting gaps to pressure the pocket. At this point in his development he can be exposed trying to defend the run. I would expect his rotation reps to go down and the Bills to put in some bigger bodies against teams that are determined to run up the gut on us. It is a bit early to grade this kid because I think he has some foundational elements that cannot be taught, but he will need to get stronger and perfect his use of leverage and technique when teams look to move him on running plays. That pass on the run from Allen that hit Brown in the hands was amazing and wish Brown could have reeled it in, but they made up for it with that laser catch on the sideline. good post
Haslett_Stomp Posted November 3, 2019 Posted November 3, 2019 Always appreciate your "thoughts" Virgil. Thanks for posting. 1
Virgil Posted November 3, 2019 Author Posted November 3, 2019 1 minute ago, John from Riverside said: I thought the OL was very bad today......so many stops on 4th down on short yardage......that should NOT happen. Allen with his usuall 3 or more houdinini's to get away from a sack STOP CALLING DESIGNED RUNNING PLAYS WITH ALLEN Robert Foster is done......whatever magic he found in the 2nd half of last year.....its gone....dont make Duke inactive again I'd like to more about him being inactive this game. Was it for his special teams?
3rdand12 Posted November 3, 2019 Posted November 3, 2019 1 minute ago, John from Riverside said: I thought the OL was very bad today......so many stops on 4th down on short yardage......that should NOT happen. Allen with his usuall 3 or more houdinini's to get away from a sack STOP CALLING DESIGNED RUNNING PLAYS WITH ALLEN Robert Foster is done......whatever magic he found in the 2nd half of last year.....its gone....dont make Duke inactive again i may not agree with the O line as Singletary got some . and Washington was playing the run more often than not But yes and yes about Foster ( i think that was McD doing and acid test, he failed) he should be gone and put Duke back on the field for now. and i get too stressed when Allen has the ball and running. part because of injury, but more because of what he did again. Letting the ball get away from him. Those mistakes by him are game changers. and must be corrected fully. not cool Josh
RyanC883 Posted November 3, 2019 Posted November 3, 2019 23 minutes ago, Virgil said: Read what I wrote. I talked about why I thought they had issues when they did regarding stopping the run. I didn't talk about the entire game. I was only referring to those plays were we got gashed. I also commented that it was different when Oliver was on the field in the first half as well as the Skins changing things up to more outside runs in the second half. The point was about just the plays gashed up the middle and a point of concern in recent weeks. it's to the point where anyone who points out what the Bills need to do to improve is labeled as "negative." It really shows a lack of critical thinking. Your OP post was fantastic. I don't agree with it all, but pointed out some shortcomings of the team and also what they did well (start Motor). 3 1
3rdand12 Posted November 3, 2019 Posted November 3, 2019 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Virgil said: I'd like to more about him being inactive this game. Was it for his special teams? see above ^^ I think they wanted to see if Foster had his sheets together yet. he did not Edited November 3, 2019 by 3rdand12
entropyrules Posted November 3, 2019 Posted November 3, 2019 39 minutes ago, Virgil said: I don't even know why I write the opening statement anymore... there is a definitive loss of reading comprehension among the youth in our nation or the comment was meant to be sarcastic and the poster was just too darn clever for us to figure it out..I hope its the latter as I always like to get fooled (can you say masochist)
John from Riverside Posted November 3, 2019 Posted November 3, 2019 3 minutes ago, 3rdand12 said: see above ^^ I think they wanted to see if Foster had his sheets together yet. he did not To me that long ball that Allen threw that Robert Foster didnt track correctly was inexcusable.....he does that (and catches it) that is a huge play 3 1
thurst44 Posted November 3, 2019 Posted November 3, 2019 30 minutes ago, Nextmanup said: Some folks like to actually discuss the team and other football related topics, not simply give each other high fives and say "Go Bills!". That's not the point. There's a difference between not "giving high fives" and going to a fan site and making a point to say almost everything is terrible after a win and you know it.
LSHMEAB Posted November 3, 2019 Posted November 3, 2019 39 minutes ago, thurst44 said: Admitting something is overly negative in the opening statement does not make an overly negative commentary less overly negative. The statement was not that the post was overly negative; the statement was that many of the takes would be perceived as negative by folks who want to believe everything is great. The team still has some issues and discussing them honestly is not generally well received; that's fine. Everyone has their perspective and everyone is entitled to their opinion. I'm going to need a whole lot more to believe this is a high quality team. They're winning the games they're supposed to win and that's important. W/L's are always the most important aspect of any particular game, metrics be danged. BUT, there should be room for honest, intellectual discussion. I will say this; Singletary was pretty impressive. I still have some questions, but his performance was the most positive development from my perspective. This offense desperately needs him to consistently perform. He's not gonna put up the kind of numbers he put up weekly, but they need those pop plays. 2 1
thurst44 Posted November 3, 2019 Posted November 3, 2019 8 minutes ago, RyanC883 said: it's to the point where anyone who points out what the Bills need to do to improve is labeled as "negative." It really shows a lack of critical thinking. Your OP post was fantastic. I don't agree with it all, but pointed out some shortcomings of the team and also what they did well (start Motor). It wasn't framed as a list of things "needed to improve" but thoughts about the game, that was a 24-9 win (against admittedly a terrible team). I honestly did not react to the original post. Fine. I've seen it all before. I have my issues with the game. It definitely had an agenda against players he does not like, but whatever. It was the smug, sarcastic why-do-I-even-bother to write an intro (that whole what-me-negative? attitude) when he knew exactly what he was doing. It was obnoxious.
ChicagoRic Posted November 3, 2019 Posted November 3, 2019 Best record we've had since 1993. That's 26 years. While I would love to see a complete game in all facets, I'll take "win ugly" over and over again. The offense did enough. 24 points is just fine by me. The defense did enough--yes we got gashed by the run, but it was mostly between the 20's. We shut Washington out of the endzone. Josh Allen did enough. 14 of 20 and some well placed balls. People are griping about 3 missed passes. Yeah, I'd like to see an 85% completion rate too, but come on. No dumb passes. No hero ball. Connected when he needed to. Singletary did more than enough on an off day for Gore. I'll take it. Just to reiterate, best season so far in 26 years. 1 loss to a dominant NE. 1 bad loss to Philly, a team that is starting to come to life and has a winning record. I'll take it. 1 3
thurst44 Posted November 3, 2019 Posted November 3, 2019 2 minutes ago, LSHMEAB said: The statement was not that the post was overly negative; the statement was that many of the takes would be perceived as negative by folks who want to believe everything is great. The team still has some issues and discussing them honestly is not generally well received; that's fine. Everyone has their perspective and everyone is entitled to their opinion. I'm going to need a whole lot more to believe this is a high quality team. They're winning the games they're supposed to win and that's important. W/L's are always the most important aspect of any particular game, metrics be danged. BUT, there should be room for honest, intellectual discussion. I will say this; Singletary was pretty impressive. I still have some questions, but his performance was the most positive development from my perspective. This offense desperately needs him to consistently perform. He's not gonna put up the kind of numbers he put up weekly, but they need those pop plays. OK, this I mostly agree with, but we can at least enjoy the game for a few hours. There's a lot that is good about this team; the arrow is almost certainly pointed up on the team, so I'll forgive them a bit and hope it gets better (b/c I'm pretty sure no coaches are looking here to make decisions) and be happy they are racking up the wins and hopefully can go into Dallas 8-3 or 9-2 as they work out the kinks. However, there are things that concern me. Oliver is not one of them, fwiw. He's a rookie who most experts seem to be impressed by. However, there was some bizarre play calling on offense and the defense broke down containment more than a top defense should. Yes, it does seem silly to me to run to a comment board right after to dis a team after a win by 15 pts., but that's not what I was commenting about. It was the whole did-I-do-that comment that I found annoying. The OP was mostly negative, own it! It amazes me how much of this fanbase seems to get more excited about pointing out what's wrong than actually enjoying a win. I'm not saying don't point out the negative, but right after a win -- that's a choice. One he has a right to make, but if you're going to act like people are overreacting, that should warrant a response. 1
hemma Posted November 3, 2019 Posted November 3, 2019 - I think Singletary just became our lead back. Offense should perk up going forward. - My guess is that McDermott watched the 1st and goal from the 2 devolve into a 42 yard field goal and told Daboll 'cut the crap', which led to Gore, Gore, Gore, Gore, etc. Somewhere in-between would be better. I think the offense has finally started to come together. Fewer mistakes, fewer penalties, 6 of 12 on 3rd downs + a handful of big plays. Trending up. 3
JohnC Posted November 3, 2019 Posted November 3, 2019 1 hour ago, Virgil said: I don't even know why I write the opening statement anymore... Just ignore the inane comments. They will always exist. Your summary is accurate. You did an excellent job in giving a fair representation of the game. 1
BuffaloBillies Posted November 3, 2019 Posted November 3, 2019 Thanks for the post. I don't think you're being overly negative, just pointing out some pretty troubling trends we've seen the last three weeks in particular. Pointing them out hoping the team can improve on them for the tough games ahead. Keep posting. Whoever doesn't like it, doesn't have to read it. Some additional, related thoughts... Oliver was great in college... but played in a very weak conference. I'm assuming teams (and Bills) factored that in when analyzing him, but maybe not enough. I'm still holding out hope for him but it might take a coach's decision to use him differently somehow. Might need to flex him around the line maybe even standing up at times. OL and/scheme was not working today on the inside runs. Gore was running into walls. Our line is not imposing it's will at all. I'd like to see more off-tackle and outside runs, especially with Singletary (which they did some). Not sure that would make a difference, but to continue to get stuffed up the gut isn't that smart. Maybe more of a spread at times too, to open things up for a back. Knox was not down on that play. He was on top of the defender and rolled for the first down. Surprised they didn't challenge that. At first and goal from the 2, those next 3 plays were comical. Only thing worse would have been if Hauschka missed that kick. Thankfully he didn't. 2 weeks in a row Foster struggles to track the ball and adjust to give him a chance to catch it. Allen looked a little frustrated for once. Star doesn't do much for me. Twice on the same drive today he was facing the other way as the RB ran right past him. Odd. Loved that pass play to mckenzie for 8 yards. Would like to see more "quick-strike" plays like that. What a bullet pass. Go Bills! 2
itaos Posted November 4, 2019 Posted November 4, 2019 Sold analysis, thank you for trying to stay objective. The extremes of homerism and pessimism on this board can make it tough to read. Keep it up!
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