Was it a Vanilla Gameplan?

[SCBills]

I’ve seen this come up a bit after the game.  Knowing we have the WC locked up, and the chances of NE losing to Miami extremely slim, did we go vanilla?

 

I tend to think New England just made a statement, wishful thinking being that statement was their last stand.   They haven’t looked that determined, that methodical, that flawless in execution all year.  They’re offense came out on a mission to bully our defense, run it down our throats, screen us and do what Tom Brady still does.... dink, dunk, mid-range strike his way down the field with deadly accuracy.  They were clicking yesterday, they were focused...our defense, what was that!?

 

We looked unprepared, zero aggression, missed tackles and basically vanilla.  Gone were the exotic looks, blitzes from all over and swagger defense we’ve seen as of late.  One can say you can’t blitz Tom, but teams have been.  This isn’t Tom of 2016. We made zero adjustments to the power run game and just looked like we were going through the motions. 
 

It’s very plausible that NE just made us look that way in their execution and physicality.  
 

On offense.  First down runs were the name of the game.  It was the most predictable offense I’ve ever seen.  Daboll schemed up 4 potential TD’s, of which Allen was 2/4, so I don’t want to pile on the OC, but it was just bizarro world watching us run Singletary into a wall every first down.  
 

It looked vanilla.  I didn’t see much urgency or scheme, but NE’s offense took it to us and perhaps being reactive and conservative equates to what we saw.  
 

The OL and Defense were terrible.   I’m sure everything looks vanilla when the trenches are lost, but i also can’t shake the feeling that this team was holding back.  
 

 

Edited December 22, 2019 by SCBills

[US Egg]

3 minutes ago, SCBills said:

It looked vanilla.

Let's hope.

 

Maybe that's why Philips got the misconduct, cursing the Bills defensive play calling.

[Boatdrinks]

19 minutes ago, SCBills said:

 

 

We looked unprepared, zero aggression, missed tackles and basically vanilla.  Gone were the exotic looks, blitzes from all over and swagger defense we’ve seen as of late.  One can say you can’t blitz Tom, but teams have been.  This isn’t Tom of 2016. We made zero adjustments to the power run game and just looked like we were going through the motions. 
 

 

You answered your own question. On to the playoffs.

[Your Brown Eye]

Nope, just out classed yet again by the Pats. There's no magic playbook hiding in the bowels of New Era stadium just waiting to be unleashed in the playoffs.  Say what you want, the Bills coaching staff is afraid of the Patriots staff, that's my only explanation. The Pats coaches make the Bills coaches second guess themselves and out-smart themselves. 

 

Once the Bills took the lead into the 4th quarter, they went straight into super conservative kill clock mode with 10-12 minutes left. They called off the dogs and did not even try to score points. It was 2-3 straight 3 and out run up the middle series, give the ball right back to NE who subsequently used those quick 3 and outs to score and take the lead in the game. Then when NE got the go-ahead TD when Burkehead ran over Alexander, the Bills pushed the ball down the field but it was too little too late.

 

Good/great teams go for the jugular. That's not the Bills M.O. You can't just shut it down and lose all momentum against great teams and QB's. The Bills could have and should have won that game. But the Bills coaching staff does not have the stones to beat NE.

[Success]

I didn't like the gameplan overall.  While I've been screaming for more running, starting out w/ 6 consecutive runs was a bit much, and in general, it seemed like they want back to treating Allen like a rookie.  No team calls a designed QB run on 3rd & 4 in that situation - you have to trust him to make a throw there.

 

And on D, we went back to treating Brady like he was in 2007 mode or something.  We should have blitzed that guy all game.  The lack of pressure on him was the most disappointing aspect of the game.

 

Tough, tough loss.  Ultimately, meaningless as far as what happens in the postseason - but could have been so meaningful in terms of making a statement and flipping the script.  And we gave that team a bye, which I'm sure all of America mourns today.

 

I swear - watching Brady hoist yet another Lombardi might break me for good....

 

[Mike in Horseheads]

might have been french vanilla?

[Aireskoi]

I look forward to Greg Cosell on OBL, if they have him this Holiday week.

 

My gut says they dialed it back on the scheme, and tried to beat them straight up.

[fansince88]

Last game we played them they molested Josh pretty badly. Perhaps vanilla and protection was the name of the game for that reason. Other than bragging rights what do we have to gain?  If not putting it all out there and keeping plays under the vest was the reason Im ok with that. Lets move on. At this point I dont mind looking past the Jests.

7 minutes ago, Success said:

I didn't like the gameplan overall.  While I've been screaming for more running, starting out w/ 6 consecutive runs was a bit much, and in general, it seemed like they want back to treating Allen like a rookie.  No team calls a designed QB run on 3rd & 4 in that situation - you have to trust him to make a throw there.

 

And on D, we went back to treating Brady like he was in 2007 mode or something.  We should have blitzed that guy all game.  The lack of pressure on him was the most disappointing aspect of the game.

 

Tough, tough loss.  Ultimately, meaningless as far as what happens in the postseason - but could have been so meaningful in terms of making a statement and flipping the script.  And we gave that team a bye, which I'm sure all of America mourns today.

 

I swear - watching Brady hoist yet another Lombardi might break me for good....

 

This game would not have affected the outcome of that. If we play them again it could.

[KE Bulldog]

Vanilla ?...What I saw was an admission that they had no game plan at all ! And in the 1 play, we almost lost Josh with a reckless QB dive head first into the ground !

Blame lies clearly on the Coaches and Coordinators...even the announcer stated that Edelman should have 2 on him and when have we got away from teaching  men 

how to tackle ?...if they had been taught properly, they would not have scored on that last drive as they did.

Good coaching wins games...

[ToGoGo]

I disagree with some of the posters here who believe this was practically a meaningless game. Maybe in terms of standings and probabilities. But in terms of intangibles, something I weigh 100x more than stats (unpopular opinion today but whatever), this was practically the AFC championship game for what it mean to the players, coaches, organization, fans, and city. It's a dragon that must be slayed to begin a difficult healing process. That graphic at the beginning of the game that compared the two team's successes since 2001 is all you need to know. It's very painful. 

 

The Golden Era doesn't truly begin until we beat them in an important game. Yesterday was our chance, and we came up short.....again. The moral victories don't have the impact they used to. We needed to beat them yesterday. So unless we play them and beat them in the playoffs this year, we carry this pain onto next year.

[CircleTheWagons99]

Nobody is allowed to hold Like NEs online.... 

[SCBills]

Just now, ToGoGo said:

I disagree with some of the posters here who believe this was practically a meaningless game. Maybe in terms of standings and probabilities. But in terms of intangibles, something I weigh 100x more than stats (unpopular opinion today but whatever), this was practically the AFC championship game for what it mean to the players, coaches, organization, fans, and city. It's a dragon that must be slayed to begin a difficult healing process. That graphic at the beginning of the game that compared the two team's successes since 2001 is all you need to know. It's very painful. 

 

The Golden Era doesn't truly begin until we beat them in an important game. Yesterday was our chance, and we came up short.....again. The moral victories don't have the impact they used to. We needed to beat them yesterday. So unless we play them and beat them in the playoffs this year, we carry this pain onto next year.

I just don’t know if the coaches or team view it this way.   
 

These guys have been here 3 years, not 20.  They know about the history, but aren’t really part of it. 
 

Playoffs >>> Beating the Pats in this spot

[ToGoGo]

Just now, SCBills said:

I just don’t know if the coaches or team view it this way.   
 

These guys have been here 3 years, not 20.  They know about the history, but aren’t really part of it. 
 

Playoffs >>> Beating the Pats in this spot

 

I hear you, but I believe they might hate them more than fans do. They play them twice a year and lose both times and then watch them raise trophies at the end of the year. They see their cheating up close, needing to always be on guard in the hotel room, during walkthroughs, etc. Even worse, they need to go out there in the cold and get hit and watch the refs side with the Pats game after game, year after year. Watch Brady get what he wants, and then get treated like a hero before, during, and after the game. 

 

I'm willing to bet if you had a drink with someone like Jerry Hughes, he'll let you know how much these games mean to them. 

[SCBills]

1 minute ago, ToGoGo said:

 

I hear you, but I believe they might hate them more than fans do. They play them twice a year and lose both times and then watch them raise trophies at the end of the year. They see their cheating up close, needing to always be on guard in the hotel room, during walkthroughs, etc. Even worse, they need to go out there in the cold and get hit and watch the refs side with the Pats game after game, year after year. Watch Brady get what he wants, and then get treated like a hero before, during, and after the game. 

 

I'm willing to bet if you had a drink with someone like Jerry Hughes, he'll let you know how much these games mean to them. 

Someone like Jerry Hughes, absolutely.   
 

I just think that this coaching staff knows winning in the playoffs is way more important than a symbolic win over the Pats. 
 

Maybe that was the gameplan they thought would win the game, but it just doesn’t make sense.  On defense they were a completely different team than we’ve seen lately.  Both physically and schematically.  
 

On offense, it’s a bit more believable, because we do what we did, just maybe not as extreme. 

[Reality Check]

I agree with the OP that it was a vanilla game plan. The score was 24-17, not a blow out. The Pats ran formations and plays that they haven't run all year, and the Bills played a lot of bend but don't break zone concepts. In the game film, the Bills, if they meet the Pats in the playoffs where it means something, will have a clear understanding of exactly what they need to do to attack them and how they truly match up position by position. It felt like a scouting expedition or a simulation by the Bills more than a win at all costs sort of game. Offensively, the Bills showed absolutely nothing new that they haven't run all year, and saw how well they matched up with predictable running plays. I personally could care less about this game as long as the Bills are in the playoffs. Being a young team, a bye week would only hurt them any way. The first weekend of the playoffs will be the greatest Christmas gift I could ask for. One and done, I don't think so. Go Bills and Merry Christmas!

[CardinalScotts]

yes....with no middle pressure not even and attempt at middle pressure on defense and extreme vanilla on offense

I thought going in why IF you believe you have one waste a great game plan in a meaningless game

18 minutes ago, CircleTheWagons99 said:

Nobody is allowed to hold Like NEs online.... 

its maddening 

[SCBills]

7 minutes ago, CardinalScotts said:

yes....with no middle pressure not even and attempt at middle pressure on defense and extreme vanilla on offense

I thought going in why IF you believe you have one waste a great game plan in a meaningless game

its maddening 

Exactly!  Nevermind that you can blitz Brady this year, the tape on him had been the up the middle pressure... We are phenomenal at that with Oliver, Phillips and a LB walking up amongst them.  
 

Where on earth was that yesterday?.... It’s a staple of our defense that perfectly aligns with pressuring Brady. 

[2003Contenders]

I think it was very vanilla. Indeed, there were times where I wondered whether the coaches were intentionally trying to keep things close to the vest and not give away too much with the playoffs looming in a two weeks. The reality is that this game REALLY meant something to the Pats (playing for a bye), whereas even a victory here still made the likelihood of the Bills improving their playoff positioning far-fetched, given that the Pats would also have to lose at home to the Dolphins next week. 

 

But then I reminded myself that this is who the Bills are under McD -- which is not necessarily a bad thing. He and his coaches preach ball control, shortening the game -- and bend-but-don't break defense.

 

The bend-but-don't break philosophy works against many offenses, because it is so hard to consistently finish 10-15 play drives without making mistakes. Alas, when you face an opponent like Brady, who rarely makes mistakes (and is aided by the officials), that bend-but-don't break philosophy can lead to death by a thousand paper cuts. That is largely what happened yesterday as evidenced by the glaring distinction in time-of-possession and yardage. Even so, that disparity did not equate to what was on the scoreboard, as the Bills were in position to tie the game inside of 2 minutes. In a way, the fact that they were in the game despite the lop-sided play counts, somewhat justifies McD's philosophy, no? 

 

Putting aside the play-calling, this was one of the defense's weaker efforts of the season in terms of execution. Way too many missed tackles -- and from usually reliable players like Milano.  Stopping the run continues to be a thorn in the side for this defense, when opposing teams are smart enough to stick with it.  Also, I don't want to hear anyone complain if the Bills invest an early pick on a CB in the next draft. Aside from Tre, the other corners (the Johnsons and Wallace) are just not good enough. It's no wonder that slot WRs tend to be the ones that light us up each game.

 

Now, I will say that I was NOT happy with the lack of imagination on the offensive play calling, especially  once the Bills took the lead late in the 3rd quarter. They still could have been careful with the ball -- but at the same time mixed in some things that would have kept the Pats defense off balance rather than the run-run-run-punt crap.

 

In the end, the game did not come down to the vanilla play-calling -- but, rather, the Patriots' playing better in the trenches. On a play-for-play basis, the Pats owned the line of scrimmage. That said, I never felt like the Bills were being dominated -- and they went toe--to-toe (now in 2 games) with the defending champs. Yes, I know, there is no such thing as a moral victory -- but this has to help a young team's level of confidence heading into the playoffs.

[Tesla03]

Texans oline is a mess. 

 

lets hope McD blitzes the living hell out of Watson 

[LABILLBACKER]

This is a good team. But it will never be a great team capable of winning the SB with candy ass coaches. It's as simple as that. McDermott,  Daboll and Frazier do not have the stones to attack once they establish a lead. They simply curl up in fetal position. There is no magic secret plays and they are intimidated by Belichick.