BigDingus Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 When reading ESPN's game preview, it ended on a note about Josh's slow starts and the team's inability to score out of the gate. In explaining why Allen is still getting the start, they say:"One reason McDermott isn't sitting Allen entirely is to see if his young quarterback can shake a season-long trend of slow starts. Allen has twice over the past month acknowledged experiencing early-game jitters, including a 24-17 loss at New England last week. The Bills have scored a touchdown once, in a 24-9 win over Washington on Nov. 3, and added four field goals on their opening drives this season. Otherwise, they've punted seven times, turned the ball over twice and also had one end on downs." * * * So all together our opening drives have resulted in points 5 times, and the other 10 times we've either turned it over or punted. I knew it was pretty bad, but didn't realize it was THIS bad. Even though I'm not a Daboll hater in any way, this is where I think he deserves more of the blame than Allen does. As we all know, the opening drive is scripted, and many teams put together some of their best drives in the first 2 sequences. I don't have the stats in front of me, but in previous years, I remember being pretty confident in our ability to move the ball & put up points on the opening drive, just not so much anything afterwards. I could be wrong, but our scripted drives used to feel so much more productive. This issue also presents itself coming out of the half, as the offense has been slow to non-existent in 3rd many games this season. Again, my feeling is this has to do with coaching, and both McDermott & Daboll are doing something wrong when game planning & making adjustments. Thoughts? I know Allen has had trouble sometimes missing open receivers, but if there's any point where the spotlight can be shined clearly on coaching, I firmly believe it's the opening drives & coming out of halftime. I'm not sure starting Allen in this game is really going to change anything this late in the season. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 10-5 and with the backups playing 10-6 WC playoff team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott7975 Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Likely a little of both. I think the entire team has a focus problem coming out of the gate. I don't think playing this week will change much either, but it will keep him in whatever routine they have him in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motorin' Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Then I hope McD is specifically calling on Allen to improve on opening drives. One of the things I like about Allen, he seems to have the ability to fix specific areas of his game when he puts his mind to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTimeAFLGuy Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Just now, Scott7975 said: Likely a little of both. I think the entire team has a focus problem coming out of the gate. I don't think playing this week will change much either, but it will keep him in whatever routine they have him in. ....historically and if (A BIG IF I remember correctly), Moo's 2004 club set a team record for scores on opening drives......then the opposition would adjust and we floundered to counter..no need to revisit "just win and we're in" for that club....sure opening drives are important, but not mission critical IMO.....I'd prefer to focus on what seems to be Frazier's D in slow start mode, but more often than not rebounding.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westside Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 I think it's the fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aristocrat Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Been saying it all year. Even the defense gets scored on first and then adjusts. Something about the game plans is off 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDingus Posted December 29, 2019 Author Share Posted December 29, 2019 6 minutes ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said: ....historically and if (A BIG IF I remember correctly), Moo's 2004 club set a team record for scores on opening drives......then the opposition would adjust and we floundered to counter..no need to revisit "just win and we're in" for that club....sure opening drives are important, but not mission critical IMO.....I'd prefer to focus on what seems to be Frazier's D in slow start mode, but more often than not rebounding.... I definitely agree with you that there's more than just the opening drive of a game, the entire body of work throughout the game matters (it's why I don't care much for the hyped 4th quarter passer rating stuff when the rest of the game nothing happens). At the same time, look how close so many of our games are. If we were more of a threat to score on our opening drive we'd not only set up our defense in a better position from there on out, we'd have more breathing room for the offense to figure itself out while it meanders around for long stretches (as they do on occasion). One more TD against some of these teams could do wonders, and it should be easiest right out of the gate. I think McDermott & Daboll need to really hunker down & analyze why what they've been doing is so completely ineffective. Just ONE TD? And against the Redskins? C'mon...we're better than that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatdrinks Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Has to be some of both. I believe a couple weeks ago I heard announcers say the Texans finally scored an opening drive TD for the first t8me in a ridiculous amount of games ( longer than the Bills by a lot). That just shows this can happen, even to teams that are thought to have good offenses and good WRs, etc. Probably a little bit of play design/ calling ( Daboll has mixed things up; remember passing 15 straight plays or something ? ) and some poor execution on the part of the players. I view Daboll as a good play designer at times, but often lacking the feel of what to call in certain game situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmanfan Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 I think Josh comes out too pumped up sometimes. Scripting the first 15 plays worked well for Walsh; maybe we should try it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTimeAFLGuy Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 5 minutes ago, BigDingus said: I definitely agree with you that there's more than just the opening drive of a game, the entire body of work throughout the game matters (it's why I don't care much for the hyped 4th quarter passer rating stuff when the rest of the game nothing happens). At the same time, look how close so many of our games are. If we were more of a threat to score on our opening drive we'd not only set up our defense in a better position from there on out, we'd have more breathing room for the offense to figure itself out while it meanders around for long stretches (as they do on occasion). One more TD against some of these teams could do wonders, and it should be easiest right out of the gate. I think McDermott & Daboll need to really hunker down & analyze why what they've been doing is so completely ineffective. Just ONE TD? And against the Redskins? C'mon...we're better than that. ...BUT...I have NO problem setting the tone early on with a "statement drive"....actually my preference....this is OUR HOUSE............... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CardinalScotts Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 players its always players Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRA3196 Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Maybe Renegade needs to be played when they are coming out of the tunnel during home games 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Blitz Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 (edited) "When the starters score on the opening drive that means they got points. If they didn't score, they don't get points." ---Booger McFarland Edited December 29, 2019 by Big Blitz 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Yep, they need to get better. But let's cool it a bit on all the criticism for the best team we've had in 20 years. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 4 minutes ago, Jaraxxus said: How horrible. Makes you wonder how we made the playoffs. Not sure, but I think it's because we beat our opponents 10 times. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boca BIlls Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 You forget Josh Allen only gets better as the game goes on. That is the answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjt328 Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 The offense as a whole is inconsistent. It's easier to pinpoint the first drive of the game, or the first drive of the half. But in truth, they usually only put together 3-4 good drives per game. And the rest of the time, they struggle. It's a combination of things. Josh Allen has improved dramatically from his rookie season, but still has plenty of things to work on. Our offensive line is light-years better than in 2018, but still has moments where blocking is bad. Our receiving corps has also been significantly upgraded, but there are still too many drops and times where nobody gets open. The running game seems to roll with Devon Singletary, but stalls with everyone else. Another offseason of Allen developing, our skill players working together, and talent additions through the draft/free agency will hopefully push this offense up a couple notches. If the defense can maintain and our offense start putting another 5 points per game on the board, I have no doubts we can win the AFC East and push for a Super Bowl next season. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 1 hour ago, BigDingus said: When reading ESPN's game preview, it ended on a note about Josh's slow starts and the team's inability to score out of the gate. In explaining why Allen is still getting the start, they say:"One reason McDermott isn't sitting Allen entirely is to see if his young quarterback can shake a season-long trend of slow starts. Allen has twice over the past month acknowledged experiencing early-game jitters, including a 24-17 loss at New England last week. The Bills have scored a touchdown once, in a 24-9 win over Washington on Nov. 3, and added four field goals on their opening drives this season. Otherwise, they've punted seven times, turned the ball over twice and also had one end on downs." * * * So all together our opening drives have resulted in points 5 times, and the other 10 times we've either turned it over or punted. I knew it was pretty bad, but didn't realize it was THIS bad. Even though I'm not a Daboll hater in any way, this is where I think he deserves more of the blame than Allen does. As we all know, the opening drive is scripted, and many teams put together some of their best drives in the first 2 sequences. I don't have the stats in front of me, but in previous years, I remember being pretty confident in our ability to move the ball & put up points on the opening drive, just not so much anything afterwards. I could be wrong, but our scripted drives used to feel so much more productive. This issue also presents itself coming out of the half, as the offense has been slow to non-existent in 3rd many games this season. Again, my feeling is this has to do with coaching, and both McDermott & Daboll are doing something wrong when game planning & making adjustments. Thoughts? I know Allen has had trouble sometimes missing open receivers, but if there's any point where the spotlight can be shined clearly on coaching, I firmly believe it's the opening drives & coming out of halftime. I'm not sure starting Allen in this game is really going to change anything this late in the season. I think the opposite. I put most of the blame on Allen as IMO he is to hyped up at the start of every game. It takes him some time to settle down it seems every game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTimeAFLGuy Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 47 minutes ago, Big Blitz said: "When the starters score on the opening drive that means they got points. If they didn't score, they don't get points." ---Booger McFarland ,,,hmmm...gonna have to do some heavy rumination and get back to you on this...Booger is deep...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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