Joe B All-22 vs Baltimore from The Athletic

[transplantbillsfan]

https://theathletic.com/1445380/2019/12/10/bills-all-22-review-what-was-up-with-josh-allens-processing-time-and-that-final-fourth-down?source=shared-article

1) Allen’s processing time drifts back to early-season levels

...

Allen salvaged his average processing time on the Bills’ final two offensive series. He looked more like the quarterback we saw in the team’s previous three outings and less like the player we saw in the first three quarters. Those first three quarters, however, are where the damage was done and the game was lost. The Bills were begging for anything from their passing offense. The Ravens caught Allen in a cycle of decisions that took far too long. Through the first three quarters, Allen took an average of 3.03 seconds to throw, run or get sacked on his first 33 dropbacks. Over his final 17 dropbacks on the last two drives, that time dropped to 2.71 seconds on average.

...

2) What went wrong on the final fourth down?

 

Allen tried to force the ball into John Brown in one-on-one coverage, with cornerback Marcus Peters on Brown’s back running step-for-step with him. While there’s a slight case to be made for defensive holding here, it wasn’t blatant enough for the officials to make a potentially game-changing call. They had been letting that type of contact go all game long. What could have changed the outcome is Brown running a better route against man-to-man coverage.

 

Brown is the best outside route runner the Bills have had since Stevie Johnson, but his execution on this play was lacking. Brown’s deception tactics — trying to get Peters to bite with three non-threatening stutter steps — were insufficient.

...

Additionally, the offensive line protected well enough against an eight-man blitz that Allen had time to come off his first read. On the left side of the formation, the Bills used a route combination with Cole Beasley and Isaiah McKenzie to clear out the entire side of the field for Beasley. McKenzie took a deeper and delayed slant toward the middle of the field so that he wouldn’t infringe on Brown’s area and bring another defender with him, while also giving Beasley enough room to run his inside-out route. Beasley’s executed his route well against Marlon Humphrey. Beasley got Humphrey moving toward the middle, stuck his foot in the ground and cut back outside, giving him 2-3 yards of separation. Even though Allen thought he’d be under duress, more poise in that situation could have helped him get the first down, at least. If Allen sees he has time, spots Brown’s lack of separation and gets to his second read, an on-target throw likely has Beasley running into the end zone and a game heading into overtime. It was a massive opportunity for the Bills and they didn’t get the job done.

3) The unsung hero of the Bills defense vs. Lamar Jackson

But one defender who made a ton of impact plays went relatively unnoticed. Cornerback Levi Wallace — and his run support, tackling and pass coverage — was one of the many reasons the Bills were able to limit Jackson’s impact.

...

 

Some of his best plays were a result of his body positioning and taking away Jackson’s outside lane. While Jackson does his most damage as a rusher from the edge, Wallace helped redirect the quarterback inside to his teammates and limit the quarterback’s rushing yards.

 

In pass coverage, Wallace didn’t fall for the receivers’ traps, even going move-for-move with Seth Roberts (sixth play in the video).

4) In one area, the Bills need more from Tre’Davious White

the Bills needed more out of him in run support. There were too many instances when the Ravens got the ball to the edge and White effectively gave himself up to the blocking wide receiver. On a handful of those plays, White squared up against the blocker 15-to-20 yards down the field and didn’t make an over-the-top effort to get off the block or push the receiver back into the oncoming runner.

...

To be a complete cornerback, especially in coach Sean McDermott’s scheme, White needs to pitch in on run support. Against Baltimore, he didn’t follow through on that defensive principle.

5) Dawkins’ season has been an overwhelming success

The 2019 season is now 14 weeks old, giving us enough of a sample size to determine who is and isn’t having a good season. Through 13 games, we’re past the point of qualifying statements for left tackle Dion Dawkins, who’s completely turned around his career trajectory in his third year. 

...

On Sunday, he limited Matt Judon’s impact with his one-on-one blocking. The Bills feel comfortable enough with him in those situations that they can send help elsewhere. As a run blocker, Dawkins continues to show the ability to turn his opponent, which has led to some substantial gains on the ground. Dawkins will be entering the final year of his rookie contract next year, and with nearly a full season of assessment, the Bills shouldn’t delay. They should reward his great season with a long-term extension to make him the left tackle of the foreseeable future.

Edited December 11, 2019 by transplantbillsfan

[ILBillsfan]

I did se Beasley on the final play coming open but Josh had already made the decision to go to Brown.  I agree whole heartedly with that analysis of the final play.  Beasley would of had the first and possibly a TD as well still not sure why he has not become the number one place to look for when Josh needs critical yardage the guy gets open because Brown is drawing the top DB as team are really focusing on eliminating him form Buffalo's passing game imo.

[Codyny13]

Good analysis. Josh def made the decision to go to JB before he even snapped the ball. I agree that smoke’s route was lacking, he never flashed Peters outside or anything and made it easy to decipher what he was doing. It wasn’t Josh’s best game, the nonstop blitzing paired with routes that seemed too long to develop really set us back early.  I understand the blitzing on the part of the Ravens leaves them open for shots on the back end, a few plays were def left on the field, but our short passing game always seems to be there for the taking. Brady has made a career of this, and although i still want the Bills to take advantage of Allen’s arm, we need to sustain these drives and score points. I hope we can adjust this weekend so we can get this W and rest easy the last 2 weeks.

[JoshAllenHasBigHands]

11 minutes ago, ILBillsfan said:

I did se Beasley on the final play coming open but Josh had already made the decision to go to Brown.  I agree whole heartedly with that analysis of the final play.  Beasley would of had the first and possibly a TD as well still not sure why he has not become the number one place to look for when Josh needs critical yardage the guy gets open because Brown is drawing the top DB as team are really focusing on eliminating him form Buffalo's passing game imo.

 

They ran the same play earlier.  Josh was sacked waiting for Beasley to get open. Brown was wide open.  This time Josh went to Brown, it just didn't work out. 

[Locomark]

13 minutes ago, ILBillsfan said:

I did se Beasley on the final play coming open but Josh had already made the decision to go to Brown.  I agree whole heartedly with that analysis of the final play.  Beasley would of had the first and possibly a TD as well still not sure why he has not become the number one place to look for when Josh needs critical yardage the guy gets open because Brown is drawing the top DB as team are really focusing on eliminating him form Buffalo's passing game imo.

Sorry but Josh had no time all game so he should have sat there and assumed he would have 4 seconds against a blitz so Beasley could do his usual 3 moves to get open? Sorry I stand by his decision that the best WR is supposed to win 1 on 1. He didn’t and that is why the play didn’t work. We need a real WR1 and that showed on that play. I like Beasley but anything beyond 5 yards usually takes him 3 seconds to swirl loose and that’s not a good route for an all out blitz. 

[GG]

2 minutes ago, Locomark said:

Sorry but Josh had no time all game so he should have sat there and assumed he would have 4 seconds against a blitz so Beasley could do his usual 3 moves to get open? Sorry I stand by his decision that the best WR is supposed to win 1 on 1. He didn’t and that is why the play didn’t work. We need a real WR1 and that showed on that play. I like Beasley but anything beyond 5 yards usually takes him 3 seconds to swirl loose and that’s not a good route for an all out blitz. 

 

Hyperbole much?   Beasley made one great move and had clear separation.  But that wasn't the point of his piece.

 

Joe B wasn't faulting Allen.  He's rightly calling out Brown's feeble triple step in his pattern as the primary culprit.  If Brown ran a better pattern, it's a TD.   

 

Joe's commentary on Allen was that with more seasoning, Allen would recognize that the rush wasn't severe, Brown is covered well and he should progress to his next read.

[ILBillsfan]

12 minutes ago, JoshAllenHasBigHands said:

 

They ran the same play earlier.  Josh was sacked waiting for Beasley to get open. Brown was wide open.  This time Josh went to Brown, it just didn't work out. 

Brown was not wide open Peters never bit on the move and played the slant perfectly.

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

6 minutes ago, ILBillsfan said:

Brown was not wide open Peters never bit on the move and played the slant perfectly.

 

Brown was open on the previous one where he waited for beasley to uncover.  It was a sack.

[The Jokeman]

Dawkins got praise? Is this sarcasm? Judon was all over Allen in that game and made two or three key hits in the backfield. 

[JoshAllenHasBigHands]

11 minutes ago, ILBillsfan said:

Brown was not wide open Peters never bit on the move and played the slant perfectly.

 

I am talking about the previous time the Bills ran that play, when Beasley did not get open and Josh took a sack. 

2 minutes ago, The Jokeman said:

Dawkins got praise? Is this sarcasm? Judon was all over Allen in that game and made two or three key hits in the backfield. 

 

Wasn't one of Judon's sacks against Knox? 

[colin]

the thing that keeps getting hammered into my brain as i read these and watch the film is that our O is needlessly at a higher level of difficulty.

 

our RT is TRASH wrt consistency.  he will just randomly miss a block in pass pro or the run game (remember the stretch run to the right that had mad daylight but he just straight went the wrong way and blocked a blade of grass?  yeah, that kinda stuff) our qb is (and obviously so) jittery at times and has been cheeks on the long ball, our WRs are smurfs who have trouble getting open vs m2m w pressure.  Oh, and we only have 2 actual wr's and our TE will drop random passes.

 

this isn't to say these guys aren't good at all, but these are the limitations we are working with, so why on earth are we trying to beat a top 3 D's cover zero blitz with these precise deeper passes so often?  we clearly didn't practice any formations or combos that would good at beating these, or the coach just didn't want to call them.

 

the one screen to roberts went for a mile AND WAS NEVER SEEN BEFORE OR AFTER.

 

i dunno, i just think the d has the philosophy of don't think too much, play fast and hard, while our o seems to think "always be clever and drop back 50 times vs baltimore".

[DrDawkinstein]

43 minutes ago, The Jokeman said:

Dawkins got praise? Is this sarcasm? Judon was all over Allen in that game and made two or three key hits in the backfield. 

 

Two hits in the backfield, one against Knox. So one against Dawkins all day. Yeah, Dawkins gets praise.

[BringBackFlutie]

19 minutes ago, colin said:

the thing that keeps getting hammered into my brain as i read these and watch the film is that our O is needlessly at a higher level of difficulty.

 

our RT is TRASH wrt consistency.  he will just randomly miss a block in pass pro or the run game (remember the stretch run to the right that had mad daylight but he just straight went the wrong way and blocked a blade of grass?  yeah, that kinda stuff) our qb is (and obviously so) jittery at times and has been cheeks on the long ball, our WRs are smurfs who have trouble getting open vs m2m w pressure.  Oh, and we only have 2 actual wr's and our TE will drop random passes.

 

this isn't to say these guys aren't good at all, but these are the limitations we are working with, so why on earth are we trying to beat a top 3 D's cover zero blitz with these precise deeper passes so often?  we clearly didn't practice any formations or combos that would good at beating these, or the coach just didn't want to call them.

 

the one screen to roberts went for a mile AND WAS NEVER SEEN BEFORE OR AFTER.

 

i dunno, i just think the d has the philosophy of don't think too much, play fast and hard, while our o seems to think "always be clever and drop back 50 times vs baltimore".

Yeah.  This is obvious to me.  However, I'm torn between fixing it to win now, or continuing it to teach our young QB.  I suppose there's an argument for, "continue to teach our young QB while making things a bit easier on him, and thus winning more games," but the idea of throwing a Tom Brady-level offense at him every week until he gets it is somehow tantalizing to me.

[The Jokeman]

5 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Two hits in the backfield, one against Knox. So one against Dawkins all day. Yeah, Dawkins gets praise.

Fair enough I usually don't focus on one on one battles live in game so trust those that analyzed it. Yet his slow gallup in to the line of scrimmage in the 4th quarter was the only memorable thing for me. Granted I never fault a guy for injury but man I wonder how things be different if he was at the line and Josh wasn't force to wait for him. 

[colin]

34 minutes ago, BringBackFlutie said:

Yeah.  This is obvious to me.  However, I'm torn between fixing it to win now, or continuing it to teach our young QB.  I suppose there's an argument for, "continue to teach our young QB while making things a bit easier on him, and thus winning more games," but the idea of throwing a Tom Brady-level offense at him every week until he gets it is somehow tantalizing to me.

 

i hear you, but the thing is tom brady's O of old was never high difficulty.  lots of screens, short passes, pre snap reads, and well designed runs.  they usually made it easy and always reduced pressure.

 

our O just assumes to have Ford block blitzers while our four foot WRs go deep over the top of cover 0.  I don't think there is any need for the O to be so silly hard.

 

 

[dave mcbride]

1 hour ago, GG said:

 

Hyperbole much?   Beasley made one great move and had clear separation.  But that wasn't the point of his piece.

 

Joe B wasn't faulting Allen.  He's rightly calling out Brown's feeble triple step in his pattern as the primary culprit.  If Brown ran a better pattern, it's a TD.   

 

Joe's commentary on Allen was that with more seasoning, Allen would recognize that the rush wasn't severe, Brown is covered well and he should progress to his next read.

My issue with your take and with Joe B's is that it doesn't factor in the quality of the CB. Marcus Peters is really, really good. As I've said elsewhere, there's a reason why good organizations covet him despite the fact that he's one of the biggest a-holes in the league.

1 hour ago, The Jokeman said:

Dawkins got praise? Is this sarcasm? Judon was all over Allen in that game and made two or three key hits in the backfield. 

I think you're confusing Knox with Dawkins.

[Boatdrinks]

I think Joe B assumes a lot watching the slowed down all 22. There is pressure bearing down on the 4th down play that’s about to break through and force Josh out of the pocket. He wasn’t going to risk waiting for Beasley to make a move and having the ball batted down , getting hit etc. He decided to throw to Brown on the slant and Brown didn’t do much to get open. He still probably should have caught the ball as it hit him in the hands. A more physical WR makes that play a good percentage of the time. The Bills offense has very limited weapons in its arsenal when trying to beat a high caliber defensive unit like Baltimore. I didn’t like the play selection by Daboll in that final sequence. First and ten at the 18 with plenty of time and an opportunity to get another first down is a good situation. I want my OC to have an answer there, and he didn’t. The db was waiting on the slant, and the Bills don’t have superior athletes that can just make a play even when you know what’s coming. 

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

Not that it's a big deal but Tyler Krofts grade was missing, and wasn't listed as players under the min snap count to be rated number either.  I was looking for him as was curious as to how many snaps he actually took, but wasn't listed anywhere.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

Brown is the best Bills route runner since Stevie? 

 

C’mon now. Woods? Sammy? 

 

Then also I remember Stevie didn’t run routes that well at all. He’d toast guys like Revis because no one knew what the hell he was gonna do.  

 

Then washed out of the league because neither did the coaches or QBs.  Fitz was the only guy on earth that could figure out what he was gonna do. 

 

 

[GG]

2 hours ago, dave mcbride said:

My issue with your take and with Joe B's is that it doesn't factor in the quality of the CB. Marcus Peters is really, really good. As I've said elsewhere, there's a reason why good organizations covet him despite the fact that he's one of the biggest a-holes in the league.

 

 

I'm sure that was part of Allen's presnap decisions.  But if you look at the totality of options on that play, all Brown has to do is run a better route, and it's a virtual tie game.