The three primary goals vs the *Patriots

[Simon]

The Bills knew darned well that game had virtually no meaning to them other than the potential to be a nuisance to the *Pats. They're the #5 seed and that's the way it was going to be regardless of what happened on Saturday. With that in mind I think they entered that game wanting to accomplish three things:

 

1) Nobody gets hurt

2) Don't put anything on tape

3) Don't turn the ball over on offense, play some bendy defense to shorten the game and if they're hanging around late, see if 4thqrtr Josh can steal a game you have no business winning.

 

How did it go?

 

1) Aside from Morse with a minor gimp late and Allen continuing to take a couple more shots than he needs to, they got it right. Mission Accomplished

2) I wish they hadn't kept going back to their TE's when they needed a play; that might be the only area where the *Pats defense doesn't excel and I'd have rather they kept that stuff completely out of the gameplan in case they see these guys again in 3 weeks. And Daboll needs to knock off the gambit where he's setting up a play by going off-tackle to the same side on the previous down; if it's getting predictable to some guy sitting at home on his couch, a smart backer is going to take one away in the redzone in a playoff game when he tries it again. So knock it off, Brian. But for the most part they got this one right too. Mission Accomplished

3) They didn't turn it over, they shortened the game and kept it close late and 4th qrtr Josh was about 6" from giving them a shot at a 2pt conversion to steal a game they had no business winning. Mission Accomplished

 

I don't think anybody in the locker was crying in their beers after that game, and I don't think anybody around here needs to be either.

In fact, I wouldn't be stunned to see the exact same "gameplan" next week. If the Bills come out half-stepping and the game vs the Jets turns out to be a loss that looks suspiciously similar to the one they took yesterday, I'm not going to worry about it and neither should you.

 

[Dablitzkrieg]

No, they wanted and tried to win the game.  Put your tin foil hat away

[row_33]

They prepped their best to win

 

they did their best out there

 

it wasn’t good enough 

 

no surprise at all

 

and no chicken little stories about how it didn’t matter, okay?

 

 

 

 

[Simon]

1 minute ago, Dablitzkrieg said:

No, they wanted and tried to win the game.  Put your tin foil hat away

 

Of course they want to win and of course they tried to win; they just did so with a particular set of parameters in mind.

There's nothing tin foily about protecting yourself in a meaningless game

 

[row_33]

2 minutes ago, Simon said:

 

Of course they want to win and of course they tried to win; they just did so with a particular set of parameters in mind.

There's nothing tin foily about protecting yourself in a meaningless game

 

Why keep score

Edited December 23, 2019 by row_33

[Simon]

2 minutes ago, row_33 said:

go away 

 

If it was your thread I'd probably honor your request.

But since I can't imagine taking the time to open one of your threads, I suppose we'll never know....

 

 

[US Egg]

Hey, no fighting now.

 

Who needs a drink ?

 

But go get your own.

Edited December 23, 2019 by I am the egg man

[Iron Maiden]

25 minutes ago, Simon said:

 

Of course they want to win and of course they tried to win; they just did so with a particular set of parameters in mind.

There's nothing tin foily about protecting yourself in a meaningless game

 

Could it be you're protecting yourself....that way, it's easier to deal with the loss....NE is still the better team......it's hard to admit for some....

[Aussie Joe]

 

47 minutes ago, Simon said:

In fact, I wouldn't be stunned to see the exact same "gameplan" next week. If the Bills come out half-stepping and the game vs the Jets turns out to be a loss that looks suspiciously similar to the one they took yesterday, I'm not going to worry about it and neither should you.

 

Jets game is now completely meaningless...

 

No one will be giving a rats arse about that game...

[1st&ten]

No I think they wanted  to win the game but I think they might have had a limit of Josh running the ball so he won't be hurt for the playoff run----or so he won't be cheap shoted by NE

[Thurman#1]

3 hours ago, Simon said:

The Bills knew darned well that game had virtually no meaning to them other than the potential to be a nuisance to the *Pats. They're the #5 seed and that's the way it was going to be regardless of what happened on Saturday. With that in mind I think they entered that game wanting to accomplish three things:

 

1) Nobody gets hurt

2) Don't put anything on tape

3) Don't turn the ball over on offense, play some bendy defense to shorten the game and if they're hanging around late, see if 4thqrtr Josh can steal a game you have no business winning.

 

How did it go?

 

1) Aside from Morse with a minor gimp late and Allen continuing to take a couple more shots than he needs to, they got it right. Mission Accomplished

2) I wish they hadn't kept going back to their TE's when they needed a play; that might be the only area where the *Pats defense doesn't excel and I'd have rather they kept that stuff completely out of the gameplan in case they see these guys again in 3 weeks. And Daboll needs to knock off the gambit where he's setting up a play by going off-tackle to the same side on the previous down; if it's getting predictable to some guy sitting at home on his couch, a smart backer is going to take one away in the redzone in a playoff game when he tries it again. So knock it off, Brian. But for the most part they got this one right too. Mission Accomplished

3) They didn't turn it over, they shortened the game and kept it close late and 4th qrtr Josh was about 6" from giving them a shot at a 2pt conversion to steal a game they had no business winning. Mission Accomplished

 

I don't think anybody in the locker was crying in their beers after that game, and I don't think anybody around here needs to be either.

In fact, I wouldn't be stunned to see the exact same "gameplan" next week. If the Bills come out half-stepping and the game vs the Jets turns out to be a loss that looks suspiciously similar to the one they took yesterday, I'm not going to worry about it and neither should you.

 

 

 

 

They worked as hard as they possibly could to win that game.

 

Let's not work very hard ... not really something you'll hear much in someone who believes in "the process."

 

They had a ton to win in that game, the division was still up for grabs.

 

If they did have a top three, it probably looked something like this:

 

1) Win

2) See #1

3) No injuries

 

Mission very much not accomplished, but it was good there didn't seem to be too many major injuries, though I haven't checked the reports yet, and don't know how Morse is feeling.

Edited December 23, 2019 by Thurman#1

[row_33]

10 hours ago, Aussie Joe said:

 

Jets game is now completely meaningless...

 

No one will be giving a rats arse about that game...

 

nice to have a meaningless week17 and FOR ONCE a meaningful one after that (maybe 2 or 3...)

 

 

11 hours ago, Simon said:

 

If it was your thread I'd probably honor your request.

But since I can't imagine taking the time to open one of your threads, I suppose we'll never know....

 

 

 

they tried their best and lost, no surprises or horrible shock or disappointment

 

they pick up the pieces and relax this week and come out to give hell on the road

 

 

[fansince88]

13 hours ago, Simon said:

 

Of course they want to win and of course they tried to win; they just did so with a particular set of parameters in mind.

There's nothing tin foily about protecting yourself in a meaningless game

 

This is how I felt all along. You dont post often but when you do you are spot on....once again.

[row_33]

4 minutes ago, fansince88 said:

This is how I felt all along. You dont post often but when you do you are spot on....once again.

 

so you feel the Bills gave less than their best in this meaningless game?

 

you watched the last 5 minutes of the game shrugging it all off because it was meaningless?

 

uh huh.....

 

[thebandit27]

14 hours ago, Simon said:

The Bills knew darned well that game had virtually no meaning to them other than the potential to be a nuisance to the *Pats. They're the #5 seed and that's the way it was going to be regardless of what happened on Saturday. With that in mind I think they entered that game wanting to accomplish three things:

 

1) Nobody gets hurt

2) Don't put anything on tape

3) Don't turn the ball over on offense, play some bendy defense to shorten the game and if they're hanging around late, see if 4thqrtr Josh can steal a game you have no business winning.

 

How did it go?

 

1) Aside from Morse with a minor gimp late and Allen continuing to take a couple more shots than he needs to, they got it right. Mission Accomplished

2) I wish they hadn't kept going back to their TE's when they needed a play; that might be the only area where the *Pats defense doesn't excel and I'd have rather they kept that stuff completely out of the gameplan in case they see these guys again in 3 weeks. And Daboll needs to knock off the gambit where he's setting up a play by going off-tackle to the same side on the previous down; if it's getting predictable to some guy sitting at home on his couch, a smart backer is going to take one away in the redzone in a playoff game when he tries it again. So knock it off, Brian. But for the most part they got this one right too. Mission Accomplished

3) They didn't turn it over, they shortened the game and kept it close late and 4th qrtr Josh was about 6" from giving them a shot at a 2pt conversion to steal a game they had no business winning. Mission Accomplished

 

I don't think anybody in the locker was crying in their beers after that game, and I don't think anybody around here needs to be either.

In fact, I wouldn't be stunned to see the exact same "gameplan" next week. If the Bills come out half-stepping and the game vs the Jets turns out to be a loss that looks suspiciously similar to the one they took yesterday, I'm not going to worry about it and neither should you.

 

 

The nugget about the off-tackle stuff buried in point #2 deserves a thread unto itself.

 

It's darn nice to read tidbits like that from people that really do study the game.

[SectionC3]

15 hours ago, Simon said:

The Bills knew darned well that game had virtually no meaning to them other than the potential to be a nuisance to the *Pats. They're the #5 seed and that's the way it was going to be regardless of what happened on Saturday. With that in mind I think they entered that game wanting to accomplish three things:

 

1) Nobody gets hurt

2) Don't put anything on tape

3) Don't turn the ball over on offense, play some bendy defense to shorten the game and if they're hanging around late, see if 4thqrtr Josh can steal a game you have no business winning.

 

How did it go?

 

1) Aside from Morse with a minor gimp late and Allen continuing to take a couple more shots than he needs to, they got it right. Mission Accomplished

2) I wish they hadn't kept going back to their TE's when they needed a play; that might be the only area where the *Pats defense doesn't excel and I'd have rather they kept that stuff completely out of the gameplan in case they see these guys again in 3 weeks. And Daboll needs to knock off the gambit where he's setting up a play by going off-tackle to the same side on the previous down; if it's getting predictable to some guy sitting at home on his couch, a smart backer is going to take one away in the redzone in a playoff game when he tries it again. So knock it off, Brian. But for the most part they got this one right too. Mission Accomplished

3) They didn't turn it over, they shortened the game and kept it close late and 4th qrtr Josh was about 6" from giving them a shot at a 2pt conversion to steal a game they had no business winning. Mission Accomplished

 

I don't think anybody in the locker was crying in their beers after that game, and I don't think anybody around here needs to be either.

In fact, I wouldn't be stunned to see the exact same "gameplan" next week. If the Bills come out half-stepping and the game vs the Jets turns out to be a loss that looks suspiciously similar to the one they took yesterday, I'm not going to worry about it and neither should you.

 

agreed.  The objective is to win the super bowl.  
 

I felt differently going into the NE game - my thought was why not throw the kitchen sink at them and try to slay the dragon.  But in hindsight McDermott played it right.  I think we’ll see more of the same this week.  Offense should work on whatever it feels it needs to tighten up and then get Allen/brown/singletary/Dawkins/Morse out of there.  D should mothball tre white, edmunds, and maybe Milano and Hyde and show absolutely nothing.  It’s on to Houston. 

[row_33]

1 minute ago, SectionC3 said:

agreed.  The objective is to win the super bowl.  
 

I felt differently going into the NE game - my thought was why not throw the kitchen sink at them and try to slay the dragon.  But in hindsight McDermott played it right.  I think we’ll see more of the same this week.  Offense should work on whatever it feels it needs to tighten up and then get Allen/brown/singletary/Dawkins/Morse out of there.  D should mothball tre white, edmunds, and maybe Milano and Hyde and show absolutely nothing.  It’s on to Houston. 

 

played it right as in getting beaten by the better team?

 

yeah, and that's okay....

 

 

[SectionC3]

Just now, row_33 said:

 

played it right as in getting beaten by the better team?

 

yeah, and that's okay....

 

 

If you think we were creative on D you’re wrong.  We were very basic.  Offense was pretty dull, too, save for the Dawkins trickery and the brown reverse, which played off of the brown pass in game 1.  
 

Realistically that game would have had no bearing on our playoff seeding.  So what’s the best way to accomplish the objective in January? By holding the cards until the playoffs start.  
 

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

15 hours ago, Simon said:

The Bills knew darned well that game had virtually no meaning to them other than the potential to be a nuisance to the *Pats. They're the #5 seed and that's the way it was going to be regardless of what happened on Saturday. With that in mind I think they entered that game wanting to accomplish three things:

 

1) Nobody gets hurt

2) Don't put anything on tape

3) Don't turn the ball over on offense, play some bendy defense to shorten the game and if they're hanging around late, see if 4thqrtr Josh can steal a game you have no business winning.

 

I think the Bills wanted to win most sincerely. 

 

But I do think you had a point that they didn't want to show every wrinkle and gadget they've been working on. 

 

I don't think our OL or DL executed as well as they'd hoped, and the tackling was abhominable.

 

I actually feel that's a bit part of being a young team.  Since the bye week, we've been alternating pretty convincing wins with losses. 

 

I think it's something akin to what flight instructors call "Party Hat Syndrome".  In training, you shoot one practice instrument approach and just NAIL it.  Then you go missed and fly the next approach and blow it.  Even though you know the good job on one won't help with the next one, it's hard to put your Party Hat away completely.  In your head, you're still flexing.  I'm sure the coaches preach it, but the reasons for it as a mindset just have to be driven home by experience.

 

15 hours ago, Simon said:

2) I wish they hadn't kept going back to their TE's when they needed a play; that might be the only area where the *Pats defense doesn't excel and I'd have rather they kept that stuff completely out of the gameplan in case they see these guys again in 3 weeks. And Daboll needs to knock off the gambit where he's setting up a play by going off-tackle to the same side on the previous down; if it's getting predictable to some guy sitting at home on his couch, a smart backer is going to take one away in the redzone in a playoff game when he tries it again. So knock it off, Brian.

 

Daboll just puzzles me.  He can design really clever, genuinely solid plays.  But sometimes it's like we do no self-scouting at all, or if we do, we don't pay attention.

 

I also think Belicheck OWNS Dabolls soul.  I'd like to see a ceremony involving a bag of goat hair, two highway flares, and an octopus trap performed to free it. 

[eball]

The OP is an interesting premise and while I'm not buying in 100% I think there are parts of it that make sense.  I DO think the Bills wanted badly to win the game, for the psychological lift it would give them if nothing else.  I agree with what others have said about not showing every wrinkle because there is at least a chance these teams will meet again in a few weeks.

 

Daboll is a bit confounding.  I do think he's smart and has designed some very good game plans, but the overly conservative 1st down play calling the other night was maddening.

 

There's a part of me that hopes the Bills were purposely not getting exotic on offense or defense in order to save something for the playoffs.  Of course, that doesn't excuse the shoddy tackling all night long.

 

If McD plays any starter more than cursory minutes against the Jets he should be publicly flogged.  We've stayed remarkably healthy all year and this is no time to put that to the test.  The game literally means nothing.