A Few Thoughts About the Rams Game, in no particular order

[WideNine]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

I've come to realize that BBFS is similar to addiction, in the way that once it's in your system, you may never fully get it under control.  After the Bills made the playoffs last year and broke the 10 win mark, I felt cleansed of my 20 year torture.  I believed, and still do, in McD and Beane.  But BBFS is clearly still buried deep within me, like a Tammy waiting around a corner for Ron Swanson.  I had my doubts about this game because the Rams offense seems to have bounced back and Goff was playing pre-contract solid.  You never know what you're going to get with a west coast traveling team that you haven't seen each other's systems and our defense was suspect after the Miami game.  With that being said, by the time the Rams took a 4 points lead, my stomach was twisted in knots in ways that I haven't felt since the kickoff return fumble against the Pats or the Music City Miracle.  Like watching a train wreck in slow motion, my brain flash forwarded to the rest of our tough schedule, the media saying how the Bills ended up being just the Bills, and all the other little brother beatings we are used to taking.  But then Josh, being the ice-veined specimen he is, just kept taking those steps and you know the rest.  After the game, I just kinda sat there for a bit, taking it all in.  Then I took my daughter home, drove home listening to WGR, and then passed the ***** out for the night.  Seriously, the game took that level of an emotional toll on me.  To have written this last night would have been a disservice to Bill from NYC and anyone who reads this.  The rule is to never write these while still in my feels about the game.  Well, here you go....

 

1 - Milano/Edmunds - Like most of the things I'm going to talk about, this is a story of two halves.  Milano showed us exactly what this defense missed against the Dolphins in the prior week.  He was playing fast, sideline to sideline in coverage (blew up a screen play perfectly), and also did a great job picking an open lane for an early sack; which led to a longer miss field goal.  My notes to myself were literally "find a way to pay this man."  Edmunds played about 5 yards off the LOS and also showed good closing speed and hesitation to feel out the run/pass.  Both of them were in on most tackles and you could feel the defense elevate it's game with them on the field.  Then the second half kicked in...and I don't know if it was adjustments (more on this later), their injuries flaring up, or conditioning due to missing a week, but these guys (Edmunds more so) just looked gassed.  I was surprised how out of breath both of them looked just halfway through the 3rd quarter.  And as the Rams kept running the ball, Edmunds kept creeping up closer and closer to that line, to the points where he was useless if he lined up in the wrong slot.  How Edmunds ended up covering Woods on one of his big gains makes no sense to me.  The collapse was complete when Edmunds got absolutely bowled over on the goal line for a touchdown, not long after missing a tackle on Woods' first TD. 

 

2 - Gabriel D - With so many fan favorites on the fighting for roster spots this off season, I was curious to see how the rookie fit into the Bills plans.  Not only has he made a lot of fans forget about Foster and Duke, he is quickly taking snaps from Beasley.  The size, speed, hands, and ability to find soft spots in the zone shows more and more each week.  After an fantastic touchdown catch last week, Davis was the first half MVP as he showed great field awareness with a toe-tap deep sideline catch from Josh.  I think he had 80 receiving yards in the first half.  He was also trusted as the go-to man on 4th and game, which drew the PI call (Also, more on this later).  I love that we have 3 solid receivers in front of him, so he can learn the game and be called upon when needed.  But I think we are starting to see someone that will easily slide into a predominant role as one of our receivers eventually moves on. 

 

3 - Beasley - If Davis was the MVP of the first half, Beasley was the MVP of the second.  It's been easy to forget about Beasley in the first few weeks with Josh, Diggs, and Smoke just running circles around everyone.  But when it mattered most on a crucial 3rd and long, Beasley came up clutch finding a spot in the open zone and just getting his body past the down marker.  Beasley quietly had a 100 yard game and really reminded us how he's the bailout option for Allen as everything comes crashing down around him.  Just a clutch game from a guy who has accepted his role as the number 3 and watches the rookie slowly eat away at his snap count.  Good on you Beasley, you are still very appreciated and part of this offense.

 

4 - Black throated wind, keeps on pourin' in,

With it's words of a life where nothing is new,

Ah, mother american night, I pass from the light,

Ah, I'm drownin' in you.

 

5 - Singletary - If you are one who believes a that a running back needs to take a few hits like our QB does to feel mentally into the game, then this was the game for you.  In easily Singletary's best game of the season, he showed not only the burst and ball security we want to see, but an amazing juke move that left more than a few defenders looking for their cleats.  I believe Motor ended the game with 120+ all purpose yards by games end and, left many and myself wondering, why wasn't he used more when up 28-3; but I digress.  Singletary played low to the ground, showed great patience, good hands, and really looked like a guy who can be the bell cow for this potent offense.  I don't know if the split with Moss was hurting him or not, but after this game, Moss can take his time coming back.  Credit to Yeldon for showing well in a small sample size.

 

6 - Secondary - I'm really not sure how to evaluate the secondary in this game and am waiting on the All-22 review to validate some of my suspicions.  But, in watching a lot of the replays, I'm not convinced this unit was put in the best position to win.  To start with the positives, Johnson had a strong showing in his first game back with some solid open field tackles while Wallace got himself an Int.  However, in the second half and against a team that you know can't be held down offensively for long, Woods and Cupp began to eat.  Yes, the run game for the Rams was strong enough that made their play action that much more efficient (also more on this later).  However, on multiple 3rd and long plays for the Rams, I saw the Bills line up in the exact same zone formation defense that made absolutely zero sense to me.  Tre would be on the weak side, pressed at the line, where none of the receivers were lined up.  Wallace would be on the other side showing a large cushion.  In each of these plays, the Rams would run some kind of slow crossing route that lost the coverage in the middle of the field, leaving them fairly wide open for big gains.  On the last TD, which looked like White got beat, watch it again and see that Tre was actually the only player to recognize the play and try to adapt to it.  But with that....

 

7 - Frazier - Blowing a 25 points lead is completely unacceptable, win or lose.  In the second half, we stopped sending more than 4 rushers, even when the game got close and even though it showed great success early in the game.  I'm not asking for all out blitzes, but at least send 5 or 6 man!  We had Edmunds covering Woods on a deep pass.  We had our defense pressing up on the line worried about the run when the Rams needed to score points quickly.  We didn't react to their line shifts where they created overloaded rushing lanes.  These are all things that we saw last season before McD took the play calling away from him.  For a top 5 Defense last year, we haven't looked that way in the second half two weeks in a row.  I don't know if this is Frazier's version of a prevent with a 25 point lead, but it was the wrong call and I really hope we see some adjustments in both the defensive line fronts and mixing of zone and man.  This schedule isn't getting any easier and we can't, and shouldn't even need to, rely on the offense for 30+ points a game.

 

8 - Offensive Line - If there were one conversation I wish I could listen in on, it's that of the offensive line rotation.  For starters, credit to Daboll for settling on Ford at Guard.  I know it's been three weeks, but Ford has looked good in the role and Williams has been holding it down at RT.   Even with that, I was surprised to see Ford take over for Spain at LG in this game.  I heard on the radio this morning that Spain got benched prior to the start of the game.  How does that even happen?  Either way, until late in the second half, the offensive line looked good again as Allen had plenty of time to throw.  Yes, Donald eventually got some pressure, but if that's all twhe damage he did, then I consider that to be a successful effort.  I'm also not sure who came in for Dawkins, but they held up okay.  Hopefully we get some good news about him soon.

 

9 - Allen - Don't buy a Porsche if you care about good gas mileage.  Allen is an absolute baller who is never going to get dragged down easily and will kick and scream all the way to the dentist.  Yes, that might result in plays where he fumbles.  But it's also going to result in plays where he almost rips the head off a defender by the helmet.  I don't want Allen to lose any of his edge so long as he stays healthy.  I mean c'mon, did you see his fake option toss that made a defender fall over sideways?  I wouldn't trade Allen for anyone right now.  Oh yeah, he also put up 300 yards again, accounted for 5 total touchdowns, and spits in the face of adversity.  There is no "lull" in Allen.  The kid is always on.  Even when my BBFS was in full effect, Allen just went our there on that last drive and got it down.  3rd and long?  Who cares.  Defense in his face? Find Kroft.  Smoke out?  Hit Beasley deep down the sideline.  Ramsey wants to talk trash? Hit Diggs for a TD and put the game away on the last drive.  I have absolutely zero reason to believe that the Josh Allen we've seen these past 3 weeks isn't the permanent Josh Allen we are going to see for the next 15 years, and I wouldn't change a thing about him.

 

10 - Kroft - Tyler has taken a lot of abuse from this fan base.  We clamored for a receiving threat TE and we signed Kroft.  He gave us the game winning TD against the Steelers last season, but little else.  He saw his snaps drop significantly to Knox and it felt like a forgone conclusion that he will be gone next season.  Then, as if he'd been doing it all along, Kroft catches not one, but TWO touchdowns, including the game winner.  And honestly, that wasn't even the best part of his game.  Kroft was an absolute monster with his blocking game.  One one rushing play to the outside by Motor, I saw Kroft know THREE dudes out of the way by himself.  He was fantastic in this game, without being too flashy.  If this is a healthy Kroft and how he can perform when called upon, there might be hope for him yet. 

 

Extra Thoughts - Officiating/Rules - That was not PI at the end.  I'm glad it went for us, but it was illegal contact to me at best.  If I was a Rams fan, I'd be pissed.  However, they apparently got away with one to win against the Cowboys in week one and they definitely got a free interception from us (Seriously, I don't know how that got upheld).  More so, I'm more concerned with the non-call against Allen that led to the 15 yards Unsportsmanlike.  I saw where the rule states you can't horse tackle within the box, but how is that a rule?!  Horsecoller tackles became an issue due to safety after multiple injuries as a result of them.  Why is that any less dangerous against always-protected QB?  I can fully understand why Allen complained and didn't know that rule and I guess props to the ref for holding to it.  Regardless, that's a stupid rule.

 

Misc Thoughts:

-Players were slipping all over the field

-Congrats to Epensa for the increased snap count and first sack of his career

-Bojo had two solid Punts and hasn't given anyone a reason to curse his name this season

-Is Poyer the MVP of the defense so far?

-Commentators made a point to say that McV never has come back from 25 points in his career (twice!)

-Feels like it's a matter of When, not IF, Roberts returns a kickoff for a touchdown this season

 

 

Sorry again for the delay everyone.  I didn't even get to all of my notes  There was just so much to this game.  But here's my final thought:  If a perennial winning team was to walk away with this win, no one would really talk about the blown lead, they would instead talk about how they found a way to get it done.  This is a game that a non-McD team would have lost.  This is a game that brought up all those 20 year drought feelings. But that's the thing, we aren't that team anymore.  Allen won't let us be.  This is how you know we've made that leap.  We're 3-0 and there isn't a game on this schedule, no matter how hard it looks, that we don't have a legit opportunity to win.  Yes, they will study the film and I have full confidence that McD will step in where he needs to and address the defense.  Daboll and this offense can just keep doing what they are doing.  This was a great win.  There is no asterisks.  There is no "buts".  It was a great win by a 3-0 team heading to Vegas next week.

 

Go Bills!!!!

 

Thanks Virgil - always appreciate your thoughts about the games.

 

Understand taking a while to find your happy place... I was still buzzing last night and not hard to put my finger on it.

 

I really did not overthink the PI call near the end as the Rams got more than their fair share of calls, it was illegal contact so the refs screwed that up, but either way we would have gotten a fresh set of downs close to the end zone. Allen got us down there with some amazing tosses and still had to get us in the EZ and the Rams D choked plain and simple. Not a good look for them to whine about it. I had a feeling that it was going to be a last possession wins kind of game.

 

But the collapse of the D losing that lead and it just felt like deja vu, like why can't my Bills just put a damn game away. Allen took it upon himself and apparently several of the sports world talking heads seem to think Allen did not do enough by giving his defense a 25 point cushion early in the 3rd, like he was somehow responsible for protecting the lead?

 

Seriously? Does Allen have to score 40 points to keep the defense from pissing it away? 

 

So yeah, I was angry. I like that we were scoring fast, but our defense was gassed and we may have wanted to really start to milk the clock late in the 3rd and early in the 4th and mix in more runs when it was clear the Rams hurry, up-temp offense was beating our defense like a tired rented mule so I guess there are things Daboll can do scheme-wise and Allen can execute better to help these guys limp through the rest of the games.

 

Up next another big-bodied run-team. I don't know if the Raiders can keep up with our offense, but I think our best bet is to just have our offense go balls to the wall the whole game and don't look back till the fat lady packs up and takes the bus home.

 

Go Bills!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Virgil]

3 minutes ago, Warcodered said:

I mean it was technically a face mask

 

I could be wrong, but if you watch it all the way through, he pulls him down by the collar or spends a few seconds holding onto it. 

[Warcodered]

1 minute ago, Virgil said:

I could be wrong, but if you watch it all the way through, he pulls him down by the collar or spends a few seconds holding onto it. 

Yeah I didn't like that aspect either but once he hits Allen in the helmet it's a penalty.

[HappyDays]

I don't have anything to add, just wanted to let you know you're getting better at writing these every week. Thanks.

[BornAgainBillsFan]

Great post, Virg! I usually skip past the manifestos, but yours was a keeper.

 

Everybody learns from their mistakes. But if you can learn from them, and still get the win...? That's even better!

[HappyDays]

2 hours ago, dave mcbride said:

That was PI. Textbook.

 

Yeah I am utterly confused by the number of people in the media saying the Rams lost the game on a "ticky tack" penalty. The DB was making contact more than 5 yards past the line of scrimmage and impeded Davis's path to the ball. What are these analysts looking at? Are the refs supposed to let DBs do whatever they want on important plays?

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

This was talked about on the morning show a lot where people called that the momentum swinging play.  
I agree with you, but also feel like it’s hard for one play to swing momentum in a 29 point comeback.  So many things have to happen and people keep pointing out that one turnover.  
I’d challenge that Allen’s fumble and 15 yard penalty was bigger as they were almost close enough to put points on the board and it was a potential 10-14 point swing 

 

I've pointed this out in the Postgame thread, but if you look at the TOP for each drive, I think the Allen INT kind of broke the back of our D.  They had just gotten a huge turnover on downs. We got a TD.  The Rams got a TD.  Then, just when they needed a bit of time to breathe and regroup, our D was back on the field with crap field position after only 30 seconds. 

 

It was the beginning of a sequence of possessions that gassed them.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

 

 

Great writeup as always Virgil, and I just want to dwell on a couple points.  Most important first:

 

Quote

7 - Frazier - Blowing a 25 points lead is completely unacceptable, win or lose.  In the second half, we stopped sending more than 4 rushers, even when the game got close and even though it showed great success early in the game.  I'm not asking for all out blitzes, but at least send 5 or 6 man!  We had Edmunds covering Woods on a deep pass.  We had our defense pressing up on the line worried about the run when the Rams needed to score points quickly.  We didn't react to their line shifts where they created overloaded rushing lanes.  These are all things that we saw last season before McD took the play calling away from him.  For a top 5 Defense last year, we haven't looked that way in the second half two weeks in a row.  I don't know if this is Frazier's version of a prevent with a 25 point lead, but it was the wrong call and I really hope we see some adjustments in both the defensive line fronts and mixing of zone and man.  This schedule isn't getting any easier and we can't, and shouldn't even need to, rely on the offense for 30+ points a game.

On this, I agree completely.  I don't know if it affects anyone else this way, but when I listen to Frazier's press conferences I almost want to scream.  They're all about how the guys they have just have to do better at what they're being asked to do and he's seeing a lot of poor gap control and missed tackles. 

 

But I never hear any ownership.   I never hear anything about how he has some defensive calls he'd like to have back, or how we need to do a better job putting our players in the right position to succeed and making better calls for them. 

 

I recognize that what Frazier says to us and what the coaches say in private may differ substantially, but I find the apparent lack of accountability infuriating.

 

3 hours ago, Virgil said:

2 - Gabriel D - With so many fan favorites on the fighting for roster spots this off season, I was curious to see how the rookie fit into the Bills plans.  Not only has he made a lot of fans forget about Foster and Duke, he is quickly taking snaps from Beasley.  .....

3 - Beasley -   Just a clutch game from a guy who has accepted his role as the number 3 and watches the rookie slowly eat away at his snap count. 

 

I believe you are mistaken that Davis is "eating away at Beasley's snap count".  This is sort of a nit, but I think it's a serious misconception about what's going on with our offense so worth putting right.

 

A more realistic perspective is Diggs and Brown have assumed the #1 and #2 roles and are on the field (when healthy) for >90% of the snaps. Beas has moved from being the de facto #2 WR who was always on the field, to being the #3 WR who goes on and off the field if we're running a RB/TE set that sums to 3 (2 RB 1 TE, 1 RB 2 TE, 0 RB 3 TE etc).  It's fundamentally Diggs who has decreased Beasley's snap count by effectively bumping him down the depth chart.  Bease is now getting the snap counts that our #3 WR last year got (McKensie or Foster)

 

In the first 3 games, Bease has been on the field 63, 67, and 61% of the snaps.  I don't see Davis "gradually eating away" there.  There's going to be some variation in the frequency of different sets depending upon Daboll's game strategy.  There's also some variation in who the #3 WR is depending on what play Daboll dials up (Jet sweep, that kind of thing)

 

Davis has been on the field 49, 36, and 74% of the snaps. That latter was because Brown went out injured and was only on the field 47% of the snaps.  Davis subbed into his role and played very capably - his extra snaps came for the injured Brown.

 

[NoHuddleKelly12]

@Virgil, one of your best column write ups ever. Fantastic job, and I love your description that we aren’t that old drought team anymore, ‘cause Allen won’t let us be! Like you so aptly point out, screw the gas mileage, we want the pedal to the metal QB play over what we’ve had since Kelly...

[GreggTX]

I guess I'm not the only one that thinks McDermott should start calling the plays for our defense. Chan seemed to know what our defense was going to do more often than not and Frazier fared no better against LA. We'd better get that sorted out quickly. Our DT's aren't helping much either. Oliver has only 6 tackles so far. He can't do it alone and our offseason FA acquisitions don't impress me.

[Rocky Landing]

4 hours ago, Virgil said:

 

 

8 - Offensive Line - If there were one conversation I wish I could listen in on, it's that of the offensive line rotation.  For starters, credit to Daboll for settling on Ford at Guard.  I know it's been three weeks, but Ford has looked good in the role and Williams has been holding it down at RT.   Even with that, I was surprised to see Ford take over for Spain at LG in this game.  I heard on the radio this morning that Spain got benched prior to the start of the game.  How does that even happen?  Either way, until late in the second half, the offensive line looked good again as Allen had plenty of time to throw.  Yes, Donald eventually got some pressure, but if that's all twhe damage he did, then I consider that to be a successful effort.  I'm also not sure who came in for Dawkins, but they held up okay.  Hopefully we get some good news about him soon.

 

 

Nsekhe came in for Dawkins, and yeah, he was solid. I remember shortly after we acquired him last year watching an interview with him. He talked, in very technical terms, why he feels more comfortable, and is better at playing LT, rather than RT. I wish I could remember where I saw the interview, but I thought of that when I went back and rewatched his play in the fourth quarter. The O-line never missed a beat when Dawkins went down.

 

I feel like this unit is starting to gel, again. Williams has been a solid upgrade, and I don't really have any complaints about Winters, either. Pass protection has been great, but run blocking has not been stellar. But it seems to me that they have been getting incrementally better from week to week at that. They afforded Motor, and Yeldon some nice holes through a stout Rams D-line. 

[Buffalo716]

3 hours ago, Golden Goat said:

We've been smoking schwag for decades -- all of a sudden, KIEF! Rehab can wait a bit.  

 

 

 

All of a sudden, dabs!

[Virgil]

39 minutes ago, Rocky Landing said:

Nsekhe came in for Dawkins, and yeah, he was solid. I remember shortly after we acquired him last year watching an interview with him. He talked, in very technical terms, why he feels more comfortable, and is better at playing LT, rather than RT. I wish I could remember where I saw the interview, but I thought of that when I went back and rewatched his play in the fourth quarter. The O-line never missed a beat when Dawkins went down.

 

I feel like this unit is starting to gel, again. Williams has been a solid upgrade, and I don't really have any complaints about Winters, either. Pass protection has been great, but run blocking has not been stellar. But it seems to me that they have been getting incrementally better from week to week at that. They afforded Motor, and Yeldon some nice holes through a stout Rams D-line. 

I saw a tweet where someone was saying Winters was terrible and this was game was an example of why the Jets let him go.  
 

I didn’t see it, but maybe something the All22 will reveal.  Unless he was somehow single handed my responsible for the pressure they got on Allen in those two drives, I don’t get what the comment was about. 

[GETTOTHE50]

I don’t know how many times the Bills sent extra men on 3rd down, but it didn’t seem like they did it often. 
 

In my mind, it makes more sense to blitz atleast two extra defenders on a 3rd and long so those longer routes dont get developed. Tre, Hyde, and Poyer can really be ball hawks cause they have tremendous awareness for the game. They just don’t have the opportunity bc the pressure hasn’t been there. 
 

they gotta find a way to generate pressure on those 3rd downs.

[ganesh]

4 hours ago, Stank_Nasty said:

This right here. I’m really confused at how he came on the broadcast and explained it and yet nobody refers to that statement and the media is running rampant with it being a 100% bogus call. Could it have gone uncalled? Sure. Was it technically an okay call? YES. 

Because the team that lost was from LA and the team that won was from Buffalo!

[CSBill]

4 hours ago, Warcodered said:

I mean it was technically a face mask

 

 

When I saw this on Sunday, I thought he had the face mask, the announcers said nothing and they didn't show a replay .... my suspicion confirmed, no wonder Josh was so upset.

 

Virgil, thanks for the write-up, it's now officially over. I can put this game to bed and on to Vegas.

[BringMetheHeadofLeonLett]

Nice write-up and I wholeheartedly agree on needing some time away from this game to get one's head extricated from one's behind to see anything objectively.

 

I have never been so pissed about a Bills win in my life... and I think that's actually true

 

I decided to take a look at a Rams message board to see what they thought, and after some(40% maybe) comments about the PI being the correct call, and I started to cool down.

 

1.  Good call on GDBTW

 

Beyond that, I don't think our Oline is giving Josh Allen time.  That boy is ducking and dodging and buying half or more of everything he gets.  They're setting up lanes pretty well, but the design feels less than sustainable.  It's all fine, until it ain't.  Something... either his style, or the talent/scheme of the OL needs to change for the sake of his longevity.

 

I'm watching Singletary's legs, and I tell ya he's a mix of 85% OJ with a bit of Roger Craig.  Maybe a small part is that he's wearing the same color leggings, but there's something in the leg shape, hip width to burst/hip setup angle, and cadence to burst which reminds me of OJ...  not saying he'll make for an excellent sidekick in Frank Drebin films, but he looks like he can move a football in some pretty ways.   And I haven't even seen him in stockings

 

In the I don't know everything department, I'd like to see us open with a #1 front 4, then split out into a 1A and 1B rotation on the DL.  Finish the game with a, reasonably rested, #1 front 4 unit to close out the game. 

 

When we were up 28-3, and even 28-17, I'd say rest the D starters for the most part.  We're winning.. save those guys for if the Rams make a serious threat.  In the meantime, in week 3, give the starters some rest, make the Rams expend themselves, and get our second units some experience.

 

 

Lovin' this team... GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!

[CSBill]

1 hour ago, Rocky Landing said:

Nsekhe came in for Dawkins, and yeah, he was solid. I remember shortly after we acquired him last year watching an interview with him. He talked, in very technical terms, why he feels more comfortable, and is better at playing LT, rather than RT. I wish I could remember where I saw the interview, but I thought of that when I went back and rewatched his play in the fourth quarter. The O-line never missed a beat when Dawkins went down.

 

I feel like this unit is starting to gel, again. Williams has been a solid upgrade, and I don't really have any complaints about Winters, either. Pass protection has been great, but run blocking has not been stellar. But it seems to me that they have been getting incrementally better from week to week at that. They afforded Motor, and Yeldon some nice holes through a stout Rams D-line. 

 

My suggestion to the coaches, get your best five guys out there! We'll see what they say about it 🤪

 

LT - Nsekhe, LG - Ford, C - Morse, RG - Dawkins, RT - Williams

[Rochesterfan]

5 hours ago, Warcodered said:

I mean it was technically a face mask

 

 

This is technically the reason they allow the collar tackles in the pocket.  Unlike out in the field where the defensive guys have the ability to tackle anyplace - including getting  pieces of the helmet.  In the pocket they try to limit the zone of hitting.  
 

You have to be below the helmet and above the knees and thigh area.  Typically a tackle like Donald’s get called for roughing because as they grab up high they contact the head area (as we see here).

 

How they did not call roughing with the way he grabbed and threw him down - I will never understand - plus live you could see initial contact was in the helmet and then on replay.  Huge missed call.

[Rochesterfan]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

I saw a tweet where someone was saying Winters was terrible and this was game was an example of why the Jets let him go.  
 

I didn’t see it, but maybe something the All22 will reveal.  Unless he was somehow single handed my responsible for the pressure they got on Allen in those two drives, I don’t get what the comment was about. 

 

I will defer completely until I can see the All-22, but I believe the Rams made a change to Donald that threw the Bills off.  Early in the game he was attacking from DT or occasionally DE and moving straight ahead.  The Bills guards (mostly) stopped the initial surge and then they got help - Morse or Kroft or Tackle or even RB to slow him down.  Plus they ran quick hitters into the gap he would create - getting some running lanes.

 

Late in the game - when Donald took over - they lined him up at DE on Williams with the DE inside.  They then ran stunt after stunt - with Donald looping to the inside on Winters.  This gave Donald leverage on Winters and allowed him to just throw Winters out of the way and made it difficult to set up double teams.

 

I think Winters really struggled with the speed and power (as almost anyone would) and the Bills couldn’t seem to counter the loop.  Not sure I totally blame Winters, but it was the guy attacking him a bunch.