THE ROCKPILE REVIEW - Oh, Yeah!

[Shaw66]

I say it often.  It isn’t original to me.  Sean McDermott says it.  Others say it. 

 

It’s tough to win in the NFL. 

 

It’s tough to win in the NFL because of parity – the league is full of good players, and they’re spread around the league.  It’s tough to win because there are a lot of good coaches, and there are plenty of good quarterbacks.  It’s tough to win because everyone competes; everyone is desperate to win. 

 

And so it was that the Bills let the Jets hang around last week, making the end of the game less comfortable than it should have been.  Again this week, the Bills let the Dolphins hang around, and the game came down to an onside kick.  It shouldn’t be that way; the Bills should have put those games away.  Sean McDermott knows that.  He also knows it’s hard to win in this league, so he prepares his team to play every play and to win.

 

The Bills didn’t play defense as well as they wanted against Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Dolphins.  They went without Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano, and as many had predicted, the Bills had trouble defending the passing game over the middle.  Had trouble is an understatement; Fitzpatrick is a pro’s pro, and he lived over the middle.  He threw often and accurately, and he reeled off first downs and extended drives all afternoon. 

 

Fitz was just short of brilliant all day.  He had little trouble figuring out the Bills defense.  He scrambled effectively.  He did enough to win some games.  But this wasn’t just some game.  This was the 2020 Buffalo Bills, this was the 2020 Josh Allen, and a good performance from a good journeyman quarterback wasn’t enough to win.

 

Allen was superb.  400 yards, 4 TDs, no interceptions, no fumbles.  A fourth quarter come-from-behind touchdown drive and second fourth quarter touchdown drive to put the game out of reach.   Spectacular throw after spectacular throw.  Beyond all that, everything about Allen said he was in control.  No confusion, no unnecessary timeouts.  You could see it in his eyes: “I got this.” 

 

Was every throw perfect?  No, but come on!  So many were perfect that no one cares about the few others.  Pick any one. How about the fourth-quarter scramble to his right, change the ball from right hand to left and back to make the TD throw to Gabriel?  Spectacular. 

 

How about the fourth quarter throw to Diggs on the right sideline?  How about the deep crosser to Beasley on the left?  Fabulous. 

 

And Allen was making the right reads, which resulted in a lot of easy throws and uncontested catchs.  Allen was special, but if you’ve been watching Allen grow up in the NFL, it wasn’t surprising.   He didn’t make any throws that he hasn’t made many times in the past two years.  All that’s happened is that he’s making them more consistently, and that’s what happens when a young quarterback matures. 

 

Of course, Allen didn’t do it alone.  He had Stefon Diggs.  STEFON DIGGS.  Are there any doubters now?  My goodness!  Any pattern out of any formation, he gives his QB a chance, and if he’s close to open, he catches it.  He outplayed the defender nicely on Allen’s big throw on the right sideline, used his body to beat him to the ball, and then made a tough catch.  Fans haven’t seen a receiver like that in a Bills uniform in a decade and more.  And, as we already knew, Beasley and Brown are right behind him  What a trio!  Oh, and Gabriel Davis.  What was he doing on the board in the fourth round of the NFL draft?

 

The defense clearly missed Milano and Edmunds.  Those guys make important individual plays, usually in the passing game, and those plays were noticeably absent.  The Bills looked vulnerable.  On the other hand, Klein and Dodson made plays in the running game – they’re solid tacklers.  The defense had some three and outs, and they made the big stop after the Bills had scored the go-ahead touchdown.  They also had what is becoming the customary goal-line stand; they really are tough with their backs against the wall.  By the way, I haven’t changed my mind yet – teams are foolish not to take the points the game is giving them.  Chargers should have taken that field goal, and it cost them in the end. 

 

Ford left the game, maybe the heat, maybe because the Bills are looking for more than he’s giving them.  Knox got a concussion.  Moss left the game.  The defense didn’t dominate.  Who knows when Edmunds and Milano will be back?  The defense needs to toughen up. Next week a real football team comes to town, homecoming for Robert Woods.  But forget all of that.  Sean McDermott will deal with it. 

 

For now, just find the best video highlights package of Josh Allen’s afternoon and watch those throws.  Then watch it again. 

 

And smile.

 

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were everyday people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

[Dragoon]

It’s tough to win, especially against a divisional opponent....Miami beat the Pats last year. I wanted a stress free game...I didn’t get it...but got the W!

[Inigo Montoya]

Nice write up Shaw!  Allen sure looked like the real deal today.  500+ yards of offense?  Crazy!  Now we need the Seahawks to clobber the Patriots!

[Houston's #1 Bills Fan]

It's always nice to read Shaw's assessment of the game, but after this victory, even sweeter!!

Edited September 21, 2020 by Houston's #1 Bills Fan

[Airbornetrooper]

Great write up, as always. I didn’t notice that Ford left the game, who replaced him?

[Shaw66]

4 minutes ago, Airbornetrooper said:

Great write up, as always. I didn’t notice that Ford left the game, who replaced him?

Turns out there were a lot of substitutions on the offensive line.  Speculation is that it was the heat and humidity.  There's a thread about it. Cody Ford Benched

Edited September 21, 2020 by Shaw66

[Sherlock Holmes]

25 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I say it often.  It isn’t original to me.  Sean McDermott says it.  Others say it. 

 

It’s tough to win in the NFL. 

 

It’s tough to win in the NFL because of parity – the league is full of good players, and they’re spread around the league.  It’s tough to win because there are a lot of good coaches, and there are plenty of good quarterbacks.  It’s tough to win because everyone competes; everyone is desperate to win. 

 

And so it was that the Bills let the Jets hang around last week, making the end of the game less comfortable than it should have been.  Again this week, the Bills let the Dolphins hang around, and the game came down to an onside kick.  It shouldn’t be that way; the Bills should have put those games away.  Sean McDermott knows that.  He also knows it’s hard to win in this league, so he prepares his team to play every play and to win.

 

The Bills didn’t play defense as well as they wanted against Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Dolphins.  They went without Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano, and as many had predicted, the Bills had trouble defending the passing game over the middle.  Had trouble is an understatement; Fitzpatrick is a pro’s pro, and he lived over the middle.  He threw often and accurately, and he reeled off first downs and extended drives all afternoon. 

 

Fitz was just short of brilliant all day.  He had little trouble figuring out the Bills defense.  He scrambled effectively.  He did enough to win some games.  But this wasn’t just some game.  This was the 2020 Buffalo Bills, this was the 2020 Josh Allen, and a good performance from a good journeyman quarterback wasn’t enough to win.

 

Allen was superb.  400 yards, 4 TDs, no interceptions, no fumbles.  A fourth quarter come-from-behind touchdown drive and second fourth quarter touchdown drive to put the game out of reach.   Spectacular throw after spectacular throw.  Beyond all that, everything about Allen said he was in control.  No confusion, no unnecessary timeouts.  You could see it in his eyes: “I got this.” 

 

Was every throw perfect?  No, but come on!  So many were perfect that no one cares about the few others.  Pick any one. How about the fourth-quarter scramble to his right, change the ball from right hand to left and back to make the TD throw to Gabriel?  Spectacular. 

 

How about the fourth quarter throw to Diggs on the right sideline?  How about the deep crosser to Beasley on the left?  Fabulous. 

 

And Allen was making the right reads, which resulted in a lot of easy throws and uncontested catchs.  Allen was special, but if you’ve been watching Allen grow up in the NFL, it wasn’t surprising.   He didn’t make any throws that he hasn’t made many times in the past two years.  All that’s happened is that he’s making them more consistently, and that’s what happens when a young quarterback matures. 

 

Of course, Allen didn’t do it alone.  He had Stefon Diggs.  STEFON DIGGS.  Are there any doubters now?  My goodness!  Any pattern out of any formation, he gives his QB a chance, and if he’s close to open, he catches it.  He outplayed the defender nicely on Allen’s big throw on the right sideline, used his body to beat him to the ball, and then made a tough catch.  Fans haven’t seen a receiver like that in a Bills uniform in a decade and more.  And, as we already knew, Beasley and Brown are right behind him  What a trio!  Oh, and Gabriel Davis.  What was he doing on the board in the fourth round of the NFL draft?

 

The defense clearly missed Milano and Edmunds.  Those guys make important individual plays, usually in the passing game, and those plays were noticeably absent.  The Bills looked vulnerable.  On the other hand, Klein and Dodson made plays in the running game – they’re solid tacklers.  The defense had some three and outs, and they made the big stop after the Bills had scored the go-ahead touchdown.  They also had what is becoming the customary goal-line stand; they really are tough with their backs against the wall.  By the way, I haven’t changed my mind yet – teams are foolish not to take the points the game is giving them.  Chargers should have taken that field goal, and it cost them in the end. 

 

Ford left the game, maybe the heat, maybe because the Bills are looking for more than he’s giving them.  Knox got a concussion.  Moss left the game.  The defense didn’t dominate.  Who knows when Edmunds and Milano will be back?  The defense needs to toughen up. Next week a real football team comes to town, homecoming for Robert Woods.  But forget all of that.  Sean McDermott will deal with it. 

 

For now, just find the best video highlights package of Josh Allen’s afternoon and watch those throws.  Then watch it again. 

 

And smile.

 

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were everyday people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

[Figster]

 What a football game. My hats off to the bearded one for protecting the ball well and making it real interesting.

 

I'm still smiling ear to ear from Josh's performance today. ( most smiling I've done in months)

 

Great review OP 

 

 

Edited September 21, 2020 by Figster

[Kelly the Dog]

Nice write up, as usual, Shawshank. This is a fun team. 

[HappyDays]

We would have lost this game every time with any other Bills team of the last 20 years, last year's included. Fitzpatrick played out of his mind and for once didn't throw a last minute stupid interception. But Allen proved in this game that at his best, he's better than Fitzpatrick at his best. Last year that wasn't true. That's another huge step forward for Allen.

 

You said earlier in the year that trading for Diggs was a challenge to Daboll and Allen to contend for a championship right now and so far they've met the moment.

 

Hopefully Edmunds is back next week. The defense can survive without Milano but the middle of the field is wide open when Edmunds isn't out there. Gesicki is a special talent and we needed a special talent to contain him.

 

But hey I'll take an offense carrying victory.

[WideNine]

50 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I say it often.  It isn’t original to me.  Sean McDermott says it.  Others say it. 

 

It’s tough to win in the NFL. 

 

It’s tough to win in the NFL because of parity – the league is full of good players, and they’re spread around the league.  It’s tough to win because there are a lot of good coaches, and there are plenty of good quarterbacks.  It’s tough to win because everyone competes; everyone is desperate to win. 

 

And so it was that the Bills let the Jets hang around last week, making the end of the game less comfortable than it should have been.  Again this week, the Bills let the Dolphins hang around, and the game came down to an onside kick.  It shouldn’t be that way; the Bills should have put those games away.  Sean McDermott knows that.  He also knows it’s hard to win in this league, so he prepares his team to play every play and to win.

 

The Bills didn’t play defense as well as they wanted against Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Dolphins.  They went without Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano, and as many had predicted, the Bills had trouble defending the passing game over the middle.  Had trouble is an understatement; Fitzpatrick is a pro’s pro, and he lived over the middle.  He threw often and accurately, and he reeled off first downs and extended drives all afternoon. 

 

Fitz was just short of brilliant all day.  He had little trouble figuring out the Bills defense.  He scrambled effectively.  He did enough to win some games.  But this wasn’t just some game.  This was the 2020 Buffalo Bills, this was the 2020 Josh Allen, and a good performance from a good journeyman quarterback wasn’t enough to win.

 

Allen was superb.  400 yards, 4 TDs, no interceptions, no fumbles.  A fourth quarter come-from-behind touchdown drive and second fourth quarter touchdown drive to put the game out of reach.   Spectacular throw after spectacular throw.  Beyond all that, everything about Allen said he was in control.  No confusion, no unnecessary timeouts.  You could see it in his eyes: “I got this.” 

 

Was every throw perfect?  No, but come on!  So many were perfect that no one cares about the few others.  Pick any one. How about the fourth-quarter scramble to his right, change the ball from right hand to left and back to make the TD throw to Gabriel?  Spectacular. 

 

How about the fourth quarter throw to Diggs on the right sideline?  How about the deep crosser to Beasley on the left?  Fabulous. 

 

And Allen was making the right reads, which resulted in a lot of easy throws and uncontested catchs.  Allen was special, but if you’ve been watching Allen grow up in the NFL, it wasn’t surprising.   He didn’t make any throws that he hasn’t made many times in the past two years.  All that’s happened is that he’s making them more consistently, and that’s what happens when a young quarterback matures. 

 

Of course, Allen didn’t do it alone.  He had Stefon Diggs.  STEFON DIGGS.  Are there any doubters now?  My goodness!  Any pattern out of any formation, he gives his QB a chance, and if he’s close to open, he catches it.  He outplayed the defender nicely on Allen’s big throw on the right sideline, used his body to beat him to the ball, and then made a tough catch.  Fans haven’t seen a receiver like that in a Bills uniform in a decade and more.  And, as we already knew, Beasley and Brown are right behind him  What a trio!  Oh, and Gabriel Davis.  What was he doing on the board in the fourth round of the NFL draft?

 

The defense clearly missed Milano and Edmunds.  Those guys make important individual plays, usually in the passing game, and those plays were noticeably absent.  The Bills looked vulnerable.  On the other hand, Klein and Dodson made plays in the running game – they’re solid tacklers.  The defense had some three and outs, and they made the big stop after the Bills had scored the go-ahead touchdown.  They also had what is becoming the customary goal-line stand; they really are tough with their backs against the wall.  By the way, I haven’t changed my mind yet – teams are foolish not to take the points the game is giving them.  Chargers should have taken that field goal, and it cost them in the end. 

 

Ford left the game, maybe the heat, maybe because the Bills are looking for more than he’s giving them.  Knox got a concussion.  Moss left the game.  The defense didn’t dominate.  Who knows when Edmunds and Milano will be back?  The defense needs to toughen up. Next week a real football team comes to town, homecoming for Robert Woods.  But forget all of that.  Sean McDermott will deal with it. 

 

For now, just find the best video highlights package of Josh Allen’s afternoon and watch those throws.  Then watch it again. 

 

And smile.

 

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were everyday people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

 

 

It is nice to see these young players come into a Bills organization that knows how to win games. We have had so many good players that have spent most or all of their career toiling for a pretty dysfunctional that could not get out of its own way to create a winning product on the field.

 

Now we have these young players coming in expecting to win, expecting to turn a game around in the 4th if behind. That kind of confidence and experience cannot be understated as part of growing a winning culture for a team. Just looking at the poise that Davis and Moss have been showing - amazing to me.

 

We need to tighten up that 3rd quarter defense, becoming a bit of a pattern even when Milano and Edmunds were in the games and I am sure McD and Frazier know this.

 

We have a good team and a very promising QB - have not had this much fun watching our Bills for a long time. Lets go Buffalo!

 

 

 

 

 

[BillsM@fia]

Its tough to win in the NFL.

[Rocky Landing]

As much as it is Fitz's wheelhouse, it made sense for us to force Fitz into those quick, short-yardage, mid-field throws. It allowed out backfield to cover for our LBs, and contain the field. 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

And so it was that the Bills let the Jets hang around last week, making the end of the game less comfortable than it should have been.  Again this week, the Bills let the Dolphins hang around, and the game came down to an onside kick.  It shouldn’t be that way; the Bills should have put those games away.  Sean McDermott knows that.  He also knows it’s hard to win in this league, so he prepares his team to play every play and to win.

just a comment on a portion 

 

300 and 400 yards of offense is awesome and I won’t complain 

 

Close games in division games is a normality. 
Again I won’t complain with a WIN. 

 

 

 

[Rk_Bills86]

The Jets and Phins were basically our Pre-Season/Warm up games.... We have a brutal schedule with the easiest remaining games being Jets/Phins again. That's it

[Shaw66]

4 minutes ago, SlimShady'sSpaceForce said:

just a comment on a portion 

 

300 and 400 yards of offense is awesome and I won’t complain 

 

Close games in division games is a normality. 
Again I won’t complain with a WIN. 

 

 

 

Yeah, that's a different take on what I said.   It's tough to win in the league.  But what you say is correct, too.  Division games always seem to be tough.  

 

Still, it would be nice to coast through a win once in a while.  McDermott's D gets very passive, and it gives up scores quickly at the end of the game. 

 

And end of the half.  They have trouble keeping the opponent off the board on their last possession of the half.  

[TFBillsfan]

2-0 feels good but I want so much more this season! Need to go at the minimum 2-2 in the next four games, but go 3-1 and this season starts to look special. Love the talent at WR as we have 4 legit playmakers. Haven’t seen QB play like that since the days of Kelly. All in all hard to have any significant complaints with this game. Prior Bill’s teams lose this game.

 

Bills gave 3 points to the Phins right before the end of the half on bad playcalling. 
They continue to do nothing in the 3rd quarter which is now a trend and very concerning.

TE TD today but want more consistency from Knox and Kroft.

Now let’s take care of the Rams!

 

[RiotAct]

I think I’m more impressed with this season’s 2-0 start than last season.   They beat the Jets soundly to start off last week, and then went into Miami and weathered their entire LB corps being injured, as well as the heat and humidity (and some weird stuff happening during the game with the lightning delay and whatnot), and came out with another important division win.

 

If we can beat a tough Rams team next week, too... man oh man.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

8 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Yeah, that's a different take on what I said.   It's tough to win in the league.  But what you say is correct, too.  Division games always seem to be tough.  

 

Still, it would be nice to coast through a win once in a while.  McDermott's D gets very passive, and it gives up scores quickly at the end of the game. 

 

And end of the half.  They have trouble keeping the opponent off the board on their last possession of the half.  

 

lol. Yes it would.  
 

they still do seem to struggle in the 3rd QRT. 

 

Might be the storm delay had something to do with it.  
 

But in his short career Josh has 6 IIRC game winning drives 

[Figster]

24 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Yeah, that's a different take on what I said.   It's tough to win in the league.  But what you say is correct, too.  Division games always seem to be tough.  

 

Still, it would be nice to coast through a win once in a while.  McDermott's D gets very passive, and it gives up scores quickly at the end of the game. 

 

And end of the half.  They have trouble keeping the opponent off the board on their last possession of the half.  

I think the heat may have started to wear down the Bills D in the 2nd half. 

 

Fitzy and the fiesty fish made some big plays.. They deserve some credit.

 

I feel like despite not having preseason most teams in the league have came out in mid season form.

 

Amazing...

 

Perhaps 18 game regular season ( no preseason) is the way to go IMO. 

Edited September 21, 2020 by Figster