ROCKPILE REVIEW - Evolution

[Big Turk]

1 hour ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

Looked to me like the Bills coverage was working really well, just as well as the Chiefs coverage was. But Mahomes had tons and tons of time back there on most plays and eventually someone got open. Whereas Allen had much less time. 

 

The 5 yard passes are because defenses are taking away the longer passes, which they will continue to do, as it's working and we can:t find an effective counter yet.

 

They can't take away the deep AND the intermediate passes. There has to be players open at one of those 2 levels. 

[Billever76]

4 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

The Bills lost to the Chargers on a raw, rainy Monday night in Orchard Park, 26-17.  The Bills are now 4-2, a game ahead of the Dolphins in the AFC East, and they look like they’re headed to the middle of the NFL pack.

 

We tend to want to make definitive statements about teams – “they’re good,” “they’re bad,” “they’re building” – but the most that can be said today about the Bills is that they are evolving.  It’s survival of the fittest in the NFL, and if the Chiefs game is any indication, the Bills need to adapt.   

 

What happened in the NFL in the early part of the 2020 NFL season is now clear:  Several teams, including the Bills, were able to throw the ball all over the field, any time they wanted, wherever they wanted.  It was exciting, but we should have realized it wasn’t going to last.  Teams adjusted.  The adjustment was to play coverage; keep one or two safeties back, flood the defensive backfield with defenders.  Defenses said “you will NOT beat us with that passing game.  You may beat us some other way, but not throwing the ball like that.”  The Raiders did it to the Chiefs last week, the Titans did it to the Bills, everyone’s doing it to the Cowboys. 

 

The Bills did it to the Chiefs, and the Chiefs did it to the Bills.  Each said to other, “Find a different way to win.”  If you can’t win throwing, all that’s left is running.  Running means controlling the line of scrimmage.  The Chiefs totally controlled the line of scrimmage against the Bills.  The Chiefs found a way to win.  The Bills need to adapt.

 

There’s not much to say about the game that wasn’t obvious to anyone who saw it, but I’ll give you my take aways.

 

1. The front four was dominated by the Chiefs all night.  The game film could be used as a training film for offensive linemen.  It truly was a clinic.  It wasn’t simply that the Chiefs over-powered the Bills; they out-finessed the Bills.  They knew exactly how the Bills defense attacked the run, and they took advantage of the Bills strategy.  Chiefs linemen consistently took the correct angles to create running lanes, and there was nothing the Bills could do about it.   Every upcoming opponent will see it on film.   The Bills have to adapt, quickly, or they will get run over.

 

2.  Edmunds made some poor decisions in the middle, often getting caught in the wash, choosing bad angles, but it’s tough to blame much on him.  He led the team in tackles, primarily because it would have been hard not to – running backs were coming at him all night.

 

3.  Singletary and Moss would have gone for over 200 yards running behind the Chiefs’ offensive line; unfortunately, they had to run behind the Bills line.  It was tough yardage all night.  It’s easy to tell when the Bills running game isn’t working – they resort to running Josh Allen.  When Allen gets designed runs, it means Brian Daboll has run out of answers.   Allen led the team in rushing, not because he had a couple of 30-yard scrambles, but because he took the pounding that running backs ordinarily are asked to take.  That’s not a formula for success.

 

4.  Despite the numbers, Allen wasn’t bad passing.  Yes, he missed badly on a couple of throws early in the game.  (Troy Aikman was classic.  He blamed the early misses on the reeemergence of Allen inaccuracy, but as soon as Mahomes, the golden boy, missed badly, it was because of the weather.)  After the early misses, Allen had bad drops by Brown and Kroft, and then he got going.  He threw two spectacular deep balls to Diggs, one that almost drew a penalty and one that did.  His touchdown pass to Diggs was a pinpoint throw after a good scramble out of the pocket.  In fact, Allen worked well in the pocket all night, avoiding the rush and finding the right targets  His inteception was a desperation throw with the clock running out.  The Bills still have their franchise quarterback.

 

5.  The Bills didn’t play with the poise that Sean McDermott expects of his team.  The successive unnecessary roughness penalties from White and Poyer were surprising, two veterans trying to fire up their team with physical play, two veterans out of control.  Diggs taking a penalty after dawdling back to the line of scrimmage late in the game was ominous; the first sign this season of the Diggs who frustrated the Vikings.

 

6.  And yet, with all that went wrong, with all that was so disappointing, the Bills were in this football game from start to finish.  They were the lovable losers of the Dick Jauron era. The Bills scored first. The Bills escaped the first half down only three (and would have been tied, but for Bass’s bad misfire on the last play).  They held the Chiefs to a field goal in the second half when a TD would have ended the game.  They answered immediately with a six-play 75-yard drive to get back within 6.  That was not a garbage-time score; that was the time of the game when Andy Reid asked his team to win the game with a stop; instead, the Bills blew away the Chiefs for the score.  Then the Bills forced a fumble, and for thirty seconds, until we saw the replay, it seemed like the Bills would steal the win, despite the Chiefs’ dominance.  The fumble was overturned, the Chiefs marched downfield one more time and kicked the field goal to end it. 

 

The Bills must adapt.  On the fly. 

 

 

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.

Frazier needs to adapt...he cannot expect the tampon 2 to be successful anymore without a dominant front 4....he uses edmunds like a 3rd safety on passing downs effectively neutralizing his strengths....our cbs get no jams on receivers bc they have to give 10 yard cushions bc of Fraziers scheme.......Frazier needs to adapt period with what we have..and running the tampa 2 is not going to cut it without an aaron donald type penetrating DT

[Shaw66]

4 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

The Chargers?

Thanks.  

[HappyDays]

The Bills have a talent problem. I blame Beane for our struggles the past two weeks more than McDermott. The first 4 weeks Allen played at an MVP level which hid the talent disparity. Now that he's played at an average level for 2 weeks the lack of other talent is putting us behind. I give McDermott a lot of credit for keeping it close against the Chiefs in a game where the offense couldn't get anything going.

 

Let's look at what top end talent we have. Allen CAN be a top end talent but the past 2 weeks he hasn't been. Diggs is a top end WR but he also hasn't been his usual self either, I think he is struggling through an injury. Morse and Dawkins might be at that level, it's close.

 

On defense it's White and maybe Poyer. That's it. Milano can play at that level but he's injury ridden.

 

The rest of the starting roster outside of those players has been below average. Our draft picks haven't been hits. Edmunds, Oliver, Ford, Phillips, Epenesa, Knox, Singletary, Moss. That's an entirely mediocre class of players in the first 3 rounds. The one saving grace this year might be Gabe Davis. Can't sustain a winning team with drafts like that.

Edited October 20, 2020 by HappyDays

[Figster]

"The Bills must adapt on the fly"  I think says it all OP

 

Another one of more football savy patrons made the observation Buffalo lacked size and physicality at the point of attack. Buffalo had become more of a speed , high motor , finesse team and If the play calling didn't match the personnel on the field the end result is what we are seeing. I think he is spot on. This worries me because of the outdoor playing conditions Buffalo faces.

 

So I'm not sure how you fix the problem without some changes in player personnel on the football field.

 

On a side note I'm becoming more and more convinced Matt Milano is the Buffalo Bills MVP on D.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Figster

[Scott7975]

5 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

 

 

6.  And yet, with all that went wrong, with all that was so disappointing, the Bills were in this football game from start to finish.  They were the lovable losers of the Dick Jauron era. The Bills scored first. The Bills escaped the first half down only three (and would have been tied, but for Bass’s bad misfire on the last play).  They held the Chiefs to a field goal in the second half when a TD would have ended the game.  They answered immediately with a six-play 75-yard drive to get back within 6.  That was not a garbage-time score; that was the time of the game when Andy Reid asked his team to win the game with a stop; instead, the Bills blew away the Chiefs for the score.  Then the Bills forced a fumble, and for thirty seconds, until we saw the replay, it seemed like the Bills would steal the win, despite the Chiefs’ dominance.  The fumble was overturned, the Chiefs marched downfield one more time and kicked the field goal to end it. 

 

 

 

I love all your after game articles Shaw, but I really like this one for some reason.  Especially because of the bolded.  I screamed at the top of my lungs when I seen that "fumble."  I felt we were going to win this thing even after everything that happened. 30 seconds later I saw the replay and said  F@&* under my breath.

 

Also because of the talk about needing to adjust.  This team seems to lack that.  They seem to lack the capacity to make in game adjustments and sometimes week to week adjustments.

 

Anyone know how much 11 personnel they ran this week?  Thats when Josh was hot.  When they went to 11 personnel and spread the field.  They did it a ton the first four weeks.  The personnel and formations seemed way different this game.  I might just be imagining things though.

 

 

Edited October 20, 2020 by Scott7975

[Figster]

19 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

The Bills have a talent problem. I blame Beane for our struggles the past two weeks more than McDermott. The first 4 weeks Allen played at an MVP level which hid the talent disparity. Now that he's played at an average level for 2 weeks the lack of other talent is putting us behind. I give McDermott a lot of credit for keeping it close against the Chiefs in a game where the offense couldn't get anything going.

 

Let's look at what top end talent we have. Allen CAN be a top end talent but the past 2 weeks he hasn't been. Diggs is a top end WR but he also hasn't been his usual self either, I think he is struggling through an injury. Morse and Dawkins might be at that level, it's close.

 

On defense it's White and maybe Poyer. That's it. Milano can play at that level but he's injury ridden.

 

The rest of the starting roster outside of those players has been below average. Our draft picks haven't been hits. Edmunds, Oliver, Ford, Phillips, Epenesa, Knox, Singletary, Moss. That's an entirely mediocre class of players in the first 3 rounds. The one saving grace this year might be Gabe Davis. Can't sustain a winning team with drafts like that.

The Buffalo Bills have plenty of talent IMO.

[HappyDays]

26 minutes ago, Figster said:

The Buffalo Bills have plenty of talent IMO.

 

Not that we've drafted. What picks has Beane hit on? So far it's Josh Allen and no one else. Edmunds and Oliver have shown potential but they aren't hits until they show a lot more. We can't get by on free agency alone.

[Saxum]

5 hours ago, matter2003 said:

It was frustrating to watch because it was almost like the Bills tried to reel Allen in and made him play conservatively or called the game conservatively...as if they were trying to win the game 20-17. 

 

What's the point of having all these weapons when you throw 5 yard passes every play? You can't take everything away. If they are dropping 8 into coverage players are gonna be open in zones...Bills drop 8 and people are wide open all over the place...like seriously WTF is up with these 5 yard passes every play the last 2 weeks?

 

Let Allen loose. Let him throw it and make a few mistakes. If you want him playing conservative and timid then why bother getting Diggs? You didn't get Diggs to get into a 20-17 game with the Chiefs you got him to get into a game like the Raiders did with them last week and win.

 

I just don't get the gameplan at all on offense. Stop acting like we don't have the firepower to keep up with teams anymore. We clearly do, so use it.

 

Titans DBs were grabbing all game and announcers barely mentioned it - arm bars, face guarding, late hits, etc and only a few were called.  I think it was what got defense frustrated but hits out of bounds do not help.  Defense needs to see what referees are allowing and whether it was rain or their decision they were not making all of the calls on Chiefs' defenders.  Players also need to learn to use referees as picks and maybe if referees get hit enough by opponents' hits they will start making calls on them.

[Coffeesforclosers]

34 minutes ago, Scott7975 said:

 

I love all your after game articles Shaw, but I really like this one for some reason.  Especially because of the bolded.  I screamed at the top of my lungs when I seen that "fumble."  I felt we were going to win this thing even after everything that happened. 30 seconds later I saw the replay and said  F@&* under my breath.

 

Also because of the talk about needing to adjust.  This team seems to lack that.  They seem to lack the capacity to make in game adjustments and sometimes week to week adjustments.

 

Anyone know how much 11 personnel they ran this week?  Thats when Josh was hot.  When they went to 11 personnel and spread the field.  They did it a ton the first four weeks.  The personnel and formations seemed way different this game.  I might just be imagining things though.

 

 

 

I agree, it seemed like we were packing it in much tighter than usual, except when Josh audibles to spread KC out.  This isn't an in your face offense, so don't try to be, spread them out and throw all over.  If the offensive talent is being misused, that's on Daboll outfoxing himself.  And Daboll seems to have caught very little flak in this thread so far.

[bobobonators]

6 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

The Bills lost to the Chiefs on a raw, rainy Monday night in Orchard Park, 26-17.  The Bills are now 4-2, a game ahead of the Dolphins in the AFC East, and they look like they’re headed to the middle of the NFL pack.

 

We tend to want to make definitive statements about teams – “they’re good,” “they’re bad,” “they’re building” – but the most that can be said today about the Bills is that they are evolving.  It’s survival of the fittest in the NFL, and if the Chiefs game is any indication, the Bills need to adapt.   

 

What happened in the NFL in the early part of the 2020 NFL season is now clear:  Several teams, including the Bills, were able to throw the ball all over the field, any time they wanted, wherever they wanted.  It was exciting, but we should have realized it wasn’t going to last.  Teams adjusted.  The adjustment was to play coverage; keep one or two safeties back, flood the defensive backfield with defenders.  Defenses said “you will NOT beat us with that passing game.  You may beat us some other way, but not throwing the ball like that.”  The Raiders did it to the Chiefs last week, the Titans did it to the Bills, everyone’s doing it to the Cowboys. 

 

The Bills did it to the Chiefs, and the Chiefs did it to the Bills.  Each said to other, “Find a different way to win.”  If you can’t win throwing, all that’s left is running.  Running means controlling the line of scrimmage.  The Chiefs totally controlled the line of scrimmage against the Bills.  The Chiefs found a way to win.  The Bills need to adapt.

 

There’s not much to say about the game that wasn’t obvious to anyone who saw it, but I’ll give you my take aways.

 

1. The front four was dominated by the Chiefs all night.  The game film could be used as a training film for offensive linemen.  It truly was a clinic.  It wasn’t simply that the Chiefs over-powered the Bills; they out-finessed the Bills.  They knew exactly how the Bills defense attacked the run, and they took advantage of the Bills strategy.  Chiefs linemen consistently took the correct angles to create running lanes, and there was nothing the Bills could do about it.   Every upcoming opponent will see it on film.   The Bills have to adapt, quickly, or they will get run over.

 

2.  Edmunds made some poor decisions in the middle, often getting caught in the wash, choosing bad angles, but it’s tough to blame much on him.  He led the team in tackles, primarily because it would have been hard not to – running backs were coming at him all night.

 

3.  Singletary and Moss would have gone for over 200 yards running behind the Chiefs’ offensive line; unfortunately, they had to run behind the Bills line.  It was tough yardage all night.  It’s easy to tell when the Bills running game isn’t working – they resort to running Josh Allen.  When Allen gets designed runs, it means Brian Daboll has run out of answers.   Allen led the team in rushing, not because he had a couple of 30-yard scrambles, but because he took the pounding that running backs ordinarily are asked to take.  That’s not a formula for success.

 

4.  Despite the numbers, Allen wasn’t bad passing.  Yes, he missed badly on a couple of throws early in the game.  (Troy Aikman was classic.  He blamed the early misses on the reeemergence of Allen inaccuracy, but as soon as Mahomes, the golden boy, missed badly, it was because of the weather.)  After the early misses, Allen had bad drops by Brown and Kroft, and then he got going.  He threw two spectacular deep balls to Diggs, one that almost drew a penalty and one that did.  His touchdown pass to Diggs was a pinpoint throw after a good scramble out of the pocket.  In fact, Allen worked well in the pocket all night, avoiding the rush and finding the right targets  His inteception was a desperation throw with the clock running out.  The Bills still have their franchise quarterback.

 

5.  The Bills didn’t play with the poise that Sean McDermott expects of his team.  The successive unnecessary roughness penalties from White and Poyer were surprising, two veterans trying to fire up their team with physical play, two veterans out of control.  Diggs taking a penalty after dawdling back to the line of scrimmage late in the game was ominous; the first sign this season of the Diggs who frustrated the Vikings.

 

6.  And yet, with all that went wrong, with all that was so disappointing, the Bills were in this football game from start to finish.  They were the lovable losers of the Dick Jauron era. The Bills scored first. The Bills escaped the first half down only three (and would have been tied, but for Bass’s bad misfire on the last play).  They held the Chiefs to a field goal in the second half when a TD would have ended the game.  They answered immediately with a six-play 75-yard drive to get back within 6.  That was not a garbage-time score; that was the time of the game when Andy Reid asked his team to win the game with a stop; instead, the Bills blew away the Chiefs for the score.  Then the Bills forced a fumble, and for thirty seconds, until we saw the replay, it seemed like the Bills would steal the win, despite the Chiefs’ dominance.  The fumble was overturned, the Chiefs marched downfield one more time and kicked the field goal to end it. 

 

The Bills must adapt.  On the fly. 

 

 

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.

Very well said. I enjoyed reading this. 

[Roundybout]

5 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

#5 concerns me alot. The roughing penalties and Diggs lack of urgency will have to be monitored. Edmunds getting lost in the wash is a weekly/ yearly occurrence. We're used to it by now. Sean is too stubborn to move him outside. Our trenches are Terrible.  The OL is completely incapable of run blocking.  Its almost comical. And the DL is not even worth mentioning. 

 

I'm not sure if it's Sean being stubborn or if it's just that we literally have no one else to replace him. You want AJ Klein at MLB?

[Coffeesforclosers]

Wasn't there a change in Dline coaches this off-season?  If there was, bring back.whiever left and can whoevers got the job right now.  Hell what's Pepper Johnson doin these days?

[Figster]

13 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

Not that we've drafted. What picks has Beane hit on? So far it's Josh Allen and no one else. Edmunds and Oliver have shown potential but they aren't hits until they show a lot more. We can't get by on free agency alone.

Not many players drafted turn into a superstar right out of the gate. I think when you hit on one or two a draft you did a good job. Gabe Davis is Beanes big hit on our last draft. Considering the maneuvering Beane did to land Allen and secure Diggs I'm very happy with our Bills GM. Buffalo is looking to draft smart, high character players and I appreciate the thought effort they've put into every draft choice.

 

We have a difference of opinion when it comes to the amount of good talent drafted by Beane. 

[Nextmanup]

This sort of "evolving" occurs every year as the season unfolds.

Early results/records/stats tend not to tell the full story.

The full story will emerge over time.

 

Right now we have the 20th best point differential in the league; that's who we are at the moment.

 

 

[CincyBillsFan]

4 hours ago, matter2003 said:

 

They can't take away the deep AND the intermediate passes. There has to be players open at one of those 2 levels. 

 

They can if they get consistent pressure with just rushing 4 D linemen.  Allen took a beating last night.  It reminded me of the Bengals games I watch down here where Joe Burrow is treated like a pinata.

 

And to be clear Allen was off at times.  But if Allen is a bit off whether due to the weather conditions or he's just not having a good day the Bills have nothing to fall back on.  Their best players on offense are the QB and the WR's.  Arguably the Bills are bottom 5 at TE & RB.  I know Shaw66 likes Moss & Singleterry but I'm not sold.  Neither seems to have great speed or power.  And while Singleterry can be elusive neither have showed great pass route running or pass catching ability.

 

 

 

 

[HappyDays]

2 minutes ago, Figster said:

Not many players drafted turn into a superstar right out of the gate. I think when you hit on one or two a draft you did a good job. Gabe Davis is Beanes big hit on our last draft. Considering the maneuvering Beane did to land Allen and secure Diggs I'm very happy with our Bills GM. Buffalo is looking to draft smart, high character players and I appreciate the thought effort they've put into every draft choice.

 

We have a difference of opinion when it comes to the amount of good talent drafted by Beane. 

 

I like the way Beane handles the salary cap and structures contracts but you can't look at his draft classes and be too happy. I'm not asking for superstar level, just above average play from any one of his draft picks. So far the best he's found is solid contributors but no game changers. Eventually that catches up to you. Gabe Davis is still a maybe but yes the early returns are promising.

[Figster]

Just now, HappyDays said:

 

I like the way Beane handles the salary cap and structures contracts but you can't look at his draft classes and be too happy. I'm not asking for superstar level, just above average play from any one of his draft picks. So far the best he's found is solid contributors but no game changers. Eventually that catches up to you. Gabe Davis is still a maybe but yes the early returns are promising.

For me, the Josh Allen pick alone has already achieved something no other GM in Buffalo has accomplished in decades. Draft a franchise QB.

 

 

[Scott7975]

11 minutes ago, CincyBillsFan said:

 

They can if they get consistent pressure with just rushing 4 D linemen.  Allen took a beating last night.  It reminded me of the Bengals games I watch down here where Joe Burrow is treated like a pinata.

 

And to be clear Allen was off at times.  But if Allen is a bit off whether due to the weather conditions or he's just not having a good day the Bills have nothing to fall back on.  Their best players on offense are the QB and the WR's.  Arguably the Bills are bottom 5 at TE & RB.  I know Shaw66 likes Moss & Singleterry but I'm not sold.  Neither seems to have great speed or power.  And while Singleterry can be elusive neither have showed great pass route running or pass catching ability.

 

 

 

 

 

Singletary and Moss are not stars but there aren't many RBs that are going to do well behind Cody Ford and Brian Winters.  They are absolutely terrible.

[CincyBillsFan]

Just now, Scott7975 said:

 

Singletary and Moss are not stars but there aren't many RBs that are going to do well behind Cody Ford and Brian Winters.  They are absolutely terrible.

 

I can't argue with this.  Feliciano can't get back soon enough.