Improving the O right now.

[Nicabills321]

Apologies if already mentioned...if I recall correctly in an early season presser either McD or daboll stated their belief in execution coming from repetition.  I would like to see what would come of some of the suggestions the op mentioned.  I've been waiting all season for the secret weapon to be activated.  I don't expect any changes.  I did not like the route john brown ran on the last play of the ravens game, but it's my belief they called it because they felt really good about it and have had success in the past.  I do expect some wrinkles (obviously) but during the Pitts game I told my myself this looks like the last 6 weeks to my novice eyes. Same stuff, if we don't turn the ball over, good chance we put up points. Again, I would be surprised with any personnel changes excluding injury.

Edited December 18, 2019 by Nicabills321

[Boca BIlls]

22 hours ago, Happy Gilmore said:

Have someone other than Daboll call the plays; a lot will get fixed with this alone.

No matter who the OC is it is always their fault... I love how you just want a revolving door which never will work in your mind.

[LeGOATski]

7 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Sure, but what's that say about their confidence in Allen??

 

They really felt the need to run the ball with a 38 YO Frank Gore into a wall? 

I think they saw (not just in this game but previous ones) that he's a threat to give up a big sack. They also knew the Steelers have a great secondary. They also knew Hauschka is kicking well now.

 

Tying the game was a must.

[Pokebball]

10 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Sure, but what's that say about their confidence in Allen??

 

They really felt the need to run the ball with a 38 YO Frank Gore into a wall? 

Confidence in Allen, the OL, the WR, the TEs, or perhaps even the Pitt defense?

[blacklabel]

Bench Ford and start who? Ryan Bates? Nothing against the guy, but if he was the better player, he'd be starting. 

 

Again I ask... what exactly are the expectations for these players? Especially rookies and younger players. It seems like if these guys aren't performing like All-Pros right away then people are calling for them to be benched or even cut. Right now, OL positions are some of the toughest to adjust to for young players. College offenses rarely ask their OL to put their hand in the dirt and they limit the blocking schemes. Just takes time for these guys to adjust. Has he struggled? Sure, but that's part of the learning experience. And these guys are still in the midst of a crazy whirlwind point in their lives where they've just left college, prepared for the draft, did the combine, met with countless teams, getting poked and prodded by doctors, grilled with questions, challenged mentally as well as physically, then they become a pro, need to attend all sorts seminars on what being in the NFL is all about, there are off-field obligations required by their team, OTAs, workouts, practices, training camp, film review, play installation, learn all their schemes, adjust to how your teammates play, adjust to your new surroundings, adjust to your new coaches, work on your technique, etc. etc. etc. There's just a whole lot of stuff for an NFL rookie to deal with. Now, I'm certain some fans look at this and think, "So? They're professionals, I expect excellence!" Yeah, well, expect it all you want, they aren't machines and no player is perfect and no player wins every single rep. 

 

Sometimes I'm reminded of a dude I used to work with in a place where we would turn on Sabres games in the winter. Anytime a goal was allowed he'd be yelling for the goalie to get pulled. Didn't matter if the goal was a defensive breakdown or even if their own player accidentally scored the goal, he would think the solution would be replacing the goalie.

 

I dunno, the grass isn't always greener is what I guess I'm trying to say. Obviously there's always room for improvement and the entire staff knows that. But at this point in the season, you got who you got. You can try to make some minor tweaks but you're not going to get anywhere if you just start going, "Eh, let's try this guy. Nope, he didn't work, how's about this guy?" I trust the coaches to start the right players and put them in positions to succeed. 

 

That said, I think they do need to find room for Yeldon. Nothing against Gore, he's a legend, we all know that, but it's clear that he's lost a step. I don't know if they hold allegiance to him out of respect or if they prefer him to be in the game based on his presence and the example he sets as a pro, but right now the production just isn't there. I wouldn't even care if they chose to dress all three backs and bench a player from a different position. They've shown that they like throwing to Singletary, which is great, the more he gets the ball the better, but Yeldon is known for catching the ball out of the backfield, plus I think at this point he probably has a bit more juice in his legs than Gore. 

 

Lastly, nothing against Duke but I figured his impact would be minimal given his difficulty in separating. The guy I'd really like to see get going is Foster. I'm not sure if he's grounded or in timeout or what but last season he showed out several times and you'd think he would've carried that into this season but he hasn't. As for off-season stuff, I would like to see them add a receiver with some size and a big catch radius. Seems like that would make sense when you have a QB who's ball placement is a little off sometimes.

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

I will say that Ford and Dawkins have had more than a few horrible games. I think Dawkins projects more to LG or maybe RT and Ford to RG. If we can hit on a LT in the draft we will have a ton of depth on the O-Line for once.

[123719bwiqrb]

23 hours ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

I'm expecting Gore to get the Jets game off and Yeldon to be active.

 

If anything, this is the game where Gore plays and gets plenty of carries to rack up the stats.

[ColoradoBills]

4 minutes ago, ScotSHO said:

 

If anything, this is the game where Gore plays and gets plenty of carries to rack up the stats.

 

Gore doesn't need stats anymore.  He is #3 on the all time rushing yards list and will not get to #2.

Having him take a week off before the playoffs makes a lot of sense.

[Comebackkid]

23 hours ago, MAJBobby said:

Ahhh Duke Williams. The slow WR that can’t separate that Bills fans fall in love with. After this year he will be added to all the other PS Gems we have had over the years. 

I don't care if he is slow or not. He can win jump balls,  catches the ball and can go to the ground with out dropping the ball.    

[egd]

On 12/17/2019 at 12:36 PM, ColoradoBills said:

 

It's clinched as the 5th seed at worse.  Bills have beat both the Steelers and Titans.

 

WRONG! The Bills still could finish 6th, if Houston finished 10-6 and gets the WC.

[MAJBobby]

9 minutes ago, Comebackkid said:

I don't care if he is slow or not. He can win jump balls,  catches the ball and can go to the ground with out dropping the ball.    

Really?  Then why hasn’t he been active?  He isn’t better than what is. And doesn’t play ST

[Comebackkid]

1 minute ago, MAJBobby said:

Really?  Then why hasn’t he been active?  He isn’t better than what is. And doesn’t play ST

Why did we run Gore outside?   Why did we have two runs and a option for Gore to pass the ball (all for negative yard) Not everything we on offense makes sense.   

How many tds has Mckenzie dropped in the endzone?  One game and Duke was 5 for 6 and a td.  Not saying he's a three down wide out but he's a lot better option in the red zone and some other situations than  others we have tried to use there. 

[MAJBobby]

2 minutes ago, Comebackkid said:

Why did we run Gore outside?   Why did we have two runs and a option for Gore to pass the ball (all for negative yard) Not everything we on offense makes sense.   

How many tds has Mckenzie dropped in the endzone?  One game and Duke was 5 for 6 and a td.  Not saying he's a three down wide out but he's a lot better option in the red zone and some other situations than  others we have tried to use there. 

good so he isn’t a three down WR. That means he is your WR5 or WR6. They NEED to play ST. He doesn’t. McKenzie, Foster, Roberts Do. 

[Comebackkid]

5 minutes ago, MAJBobby said:

good so he isn’t a three down WR. That means he is your WR5 or WR6. They NEED to play ST. He doesn’t. McKenzie, Foster, Roberts Do. 

Well that's great , but they still all suck at being a wide receiver

[ColoradoBills]

26 minutes ago, egd said:

 

WRONG! The Bills still could finish 6th, if Houston finished 10-6 and gets the WC.

 

I'm not going to argue with you.

If the Texans win one game (10-6) they win the division.

They have the tie breakers over the Titans.

[707BillsFan]

1 hour ago, ScotSHO said:

 

If anything, this is the game where Gore plays and gets plenty of carries to rack up the stats.

 

I'm not sure that's possible anymore. His last 23 carries, 31 yards. Of course many of those carries were at the goal line (where he isn't good) and running out the clock (stuffed at the line and falling down). I'd like to see more Yeldon myself, but Gore has earned his status. 

[Happy]

2 hours ago, Boca BIlls said:

No matter who the OC is it is always their fault... I love how you just want a revolving door which never will work in your mind.

 

I'm not saying that Daboll should be fired, but rather someone else should call the plays.  I don't think play calling is Daboll's strong suit.  I do think he has drawn up some good plays and I don't want to blow up the offense, that would only set the team back.  

[ngbills]

39 minutes ago, egd said:

 

WRONG! The Bills still could finish 6th, if Houston finished 10-6 and gets the WC.

HOU only goes to wild card if they go 9-7. Bills have 10 wins. Not possible. 

[TigerJ]

I think there are times when using Gore is the right choice.  Do you know what the stat line was for Gore in the last game versus the Patriots?  16 carries, 109 yards, 6.4 yards per carry.  I think there are times when Buffalo has used Gore in ways they should not have.  You NEVER want to run Gore outside.  He just can't get to the edge fast enough to avoid containment.  You don't want to run him inside against elite defensive tackles.  That means some weeks you don't want to run him at all,  Keep him inactive and activate Yeldon instead for the pass receiving threat he can present a defense.  But, if you know your offensive line is playing pretty well, and you're facing an ordinary defensive line, Gore can be very useful as a short yardage back, an occasional chunk play up the middle and in the four minute offense late in a game when you're ahead.   

 

I'd like to see Duke Williams a little more, but I don't know that playing him is a sure solution for increasing offensive output.  Same thing with McKenzie for Beasley.

 

Cody Ford has been improving at right tackle, probably because he's play the last several games in their entirety, often against elite defensive ends.  I like Nsekhe, but going forward, I don't think Ford is the huge liability that some think.

 

Tyler Kroft has been targeted 9 times this season and has 5 receptions, a 55% catch rate.  Dawson Knox has been targeted 46 times and has 27 receptions.  That works out to a 58 % catch rate.  I don't mind getting Kroft some more touches, but Knox is going to get better as he gains experience, and he has the tools to be special.

[Billsfan1972]

BTW Duke seemed plenty fast enough on his TD catch & also made a great contested catch on a 30 yard throw.  Small sample size but did more on those two catches then Foster has done all season.