ROCKPILE REVIEW - Tough

[Shaw66]

The Rockpile Review – by Shaw66

 

“Tough”

 

The Bills beat the Steelers, 26-15, Sunday night in Orchard Park.  It wasn’t pretty.  It was a slugfest.

 

It was playoff football.

 

The Bills and the Steelers are two of the best teams in the NFL, at the top of their divisions in the AFC, and on their way to the playoffs. A win was important to both teams, for the division race and for playoff seeding. 

 

A win was important, too, because a game like this, a late-season matchup with a team you may face in the playoffs, often is a dogfight.  It’s time to establish psychological seeding as well as playoff seeding.  It’s a chance to look a quality opponent in the eye and say “I’m the big dog here.” 

 

The Bills came out of the game bloody, but there’s no question they are the big dog.  The Bills are tough.

 

The Bills and Steelers snarled and growled, clawed and snapped at each other for most of the first half.  Neither gave much ground.  It was supreme football toughness.  First downs were really hard to get, and when the ball was in the air, it was as likely to be a punt as a forward pass.  It was a nasty, give-no-ground fight. 

 

The Steelers made the first big play, hitting Josh Allen as he released a pass and intercepting.  The Bills responded forcing a three and out. 

 

The Steelers made another play, forcing a Dawson Knox fumble (gotta be better kid, this is playoff football) and this time putting together a three-play, thirty-yard drive for a touchdown on the 11^th possession of the first half.  First blood. 

 

A couple of punts, and then the Bills responded with a field goal.  The biggest gain on the drive came on a close roughing the passer penalty. Everything else was dinking and dunking, mostly throws to Beasley and Diggs. The Bills had clawed back into the game. 

 

Ben Roethlisberger, the quintessential big dog, knew it was time to take charge of the game, to put up a drive and touchdown before the end of the half.  Two passes and a penalty got the Steelers close to midfield.  When Ben threw slightly behind JuJu Smith-Schuster, Taron Johnson pounced, snatching the ball away and sprinting to the end zone.  Tyler Bass missed the extra point, but it didn’t matter.  The Bills, not the Steelers, had taken charge.  The Steelers were wounded. 

 

After halftime, the Bills mercilessly drove for two consecutive touchdowns and forced two three-and-outs. The drives weren’t pretty – the Bills fought for yards on every play.  Allen and Diggs led the fight.  It was the middle of the third quarter.  There was still some football to play, but that was just football.  The dogfight was over. 

 

If there were any questions at all among football fans around the country, there are no questions now.  The Buffalo Bills are for real.  And if that wasn’t enough to make Bills fans happy, there’s also this:   The win mathematically eliminated the New England Patriots from the AFC East race.  Two dogs with one stone!  In a couple of weeks, the Bills will play another more-or-less meaningless late-season game in Foxboro, but this time it will be the Patriots licking their season-long wounds.

 

You win a dogfight by being tough.  Who was tough?

 

1.  The offensive line.  Those guys were getting beaten up, badly, for most of the first half.  They were getting pushed into the offensive backfield.  They were unable to move the Steelers off the line of scrimmage.  They were in trouble.  But they fought, they regrouped, and in the second half they took control of the line and game.  Tough.  Toughest of all may have been Daryl Williams, who held up all night, sometimes with help, against TJ Watt, the Steelers’ sackmeister. 

 

2.  Josh Allen.  Pressured and pounded from the start, Allen could have squealed and limped way into the darkness.  Instead, he took the beating and stood in, always looking downfield and delivering completion after completion during the two third-quarter drives that put the game away.  It was fun watching Allen bomb away last week against the 49ers, but his game against the Steelers showed he’s an NFL winner.   

 

One of Allen’s best plays will be forgotten in all of the other highlights. The Steelers had managed a touchdown and two-point conversion to make it a one-score game early in the fourth quarter.   The Bills needed a drive and a score.  After one first down, Allen threw incomplete deep to Davis.  It was a low probability throw at a bad time.  On second and ten, under pressure Allen threw incomplete to Moss.  Now it was third and ten, and the Steelers were threatening to take the ball back and take charge.  Pressured once more, Allen hit McKenzie on the run over the middle, and McKenzie made the run after catch to get the first down.  Seven plays later, Bass’s field goal iced the game. 

 

3.  Diggs and Beasley.  Diggs had the better numbers, but both of them are scrappers. Play after play they come back for more. 

 

4.  Andre Roberts.  He’s no ballerina wanna-be, tiptoeing around field.  He’s all “gimme the ball, gimme a seam and get out of my way!”  He wanted every yard he could get.  Toughness is contagious; tough players feed off tough players around them.  Roberts is tough, and his teammates see it. 

 

5.  Special teams are tough.  Kickoff and punt coverage has been solid all season, but the last few games they’ve cranked up the intensity.  It’s a big mistake to take kickoffs out of the end zone against the Bills.    

 

6.  The Bills defense is some special kind of tough.  Their stats won’t be great this season, because they gave up a lot of yards and points early in the season, but game by game this defense has been coming together to become one nasty unit.  There isn’t a star – not a JJ or a TJ or a Bosa or a Honey Badger.  Just eleven guys doing their jobs.  The announcers made a big deal about Smith-Schuster plowing into Edmunds, but the real point was that Edmunds was in position and made the tackle.  Then he got up and did it again.  The Bills defense is like that – not pretty, not spectacular, but they make the tackle and come back for the next play.  You have to be good to get yards against the Bills, and then you have to be good again, and again.  The Bills give you nothing.  It’s quintessential toughness.

 

One play it’s White on a delayed blitz and knocking down a pass.  Then it’s Poyer on a blitz and making a tackle.  Then it’s Hughes chasing down a ball carrier.  Then it’s Milano, then Klein.  The whole defensive line kept collapsing the pocket and pressuring Ben.  Play after play, relentless toughness.   

 

Not just play after play.  It’s game after game.  Everyone in the league knows it now.  You might beat the Bills, but it isn’t going to be easy.  The Bills are tough.

 

On to Denver.

 

 

 

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.

 

 

[Aplusfool]

Excellent read Shaw. I truly enjoy reading your game write ups. This one was right there near the top of all of them.

[bmur66]

THE ROCKPILE REVIEW IS TOUGH!

 

[Inigo Montoya]

Great write up as always Shaw.

 

Couldn't agree more about Andre Roberts and what he has meant to the team this year.  He is sure handed and consistently gives the Bills the best starting field position possible.  Can't help but feel he is going to take one to the house before this season is over.   I hope it's in the playoffs.  Roberts is a real weapon and another feather in Beane's cap for going out and making special teams a priority.  Beane's attention to teams is paying big dividends now.

 

 

[TheCockSportif]

Great write up, as always.  Unlike times and teams past, I went into the second half feeling pretty good, pretty optimistic, that the Bills would win.  Why?  The first half, albeit being hard fought, i.e. tough but with mistakes, would've buried so many past Bills squads.  The quarterback would regress, mental errors would crop up, the penalties would start piling up, there would be injuries, and the Bills would be guaranteed to lose those games handily.  This team has most definitely exceeded my expectations this year (even though I thought they were going 10-6 or 11-5 and with a playoff win).

Edited December 14, 2020 by Groin

[WhoTom]

23 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

It’s a chance to look a quality opponent in the eye and say “I’m the big dog here.” 

 

 

"Look at me. I'm the big dog now."

 

 

[scuba guy]

Wow Shaw great read as always and i,guess you slept in,a little to write this

[Shaw66]

7 minutes ago, WhoTom said:

 

 

"Look at me. I'm the big dog now."

 

 

Perfect!  

 

McDermott is the lead dog on the team.  And Tomlin has been the Steelers' lead dog for a long time.  Two tough, tough guys.  

 

I love the quote from Tomlin that they made a big deal about last year and mentioned only briefly last night.  Tomlin was a senior on offense at William and Mary and McD was a sophomore on defense, I think.  Tomlin said something about how he knew he was in a fight whenever he had to go head-to-head with McDermott.  Well, he was in a fight last night. 

[NoHuddleKelly12]

My favorite column of the year from you so far, OP. Great work, thank you!! The nugget you threw in there, "The win mathematically eliminated the New England Patriots from the AFC East race" = icing on the cake for us!   

[Bulldog]

18 minutes ago, Inigo Montoya said:

Great write up as always Shaw.

 

Couldn't agree more about Andre Roberts and what he has meant to the team this year.  He is sure handed and consistently gives the Bills the best starting field position possible.  Can't help but feel he is going to take one to the house before this season is over.   I hope it's in the playoffs.  Roberts is a real weapon and another feather in Beane's cap for going out and making special teams a priority.  Beane's attention to teams is paying big dividends now.

 

 

 

Thank you for the great write up Shaw - I always look forward to & enjoy your contribution each week.

 

I also greatly appreciate Andre Roberts contributions to the cause this year. He is not only consistently dangerous with his returns (hoping that he takes at least one to the house before all is said & done) - my favorite aspect of his kick returning is his quality decision making back there - he knows when to make a return, when to take a touchback, and when to fair-catch. His mental mistakes back there are rare. Remember the days of guys like Leodis or Chris Watson ("the punt catcher"). I don't miss holding my breath every kick - now It is such a relief not be worried about some bone-head play by our returner on every kick! Now I am excited to see what will happen when Roberts gets the ball in his hands (just don't let him play wide receiver, please, lol).    

[mabden]

55 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

The win mathematically eliminated the New England Patriots from the AFC East race.

 

Goodbye and good riddance!

 

"It’s a big mistake to take kickoffs out of the end zone against the Bills. "

 

I have noticed this from the beginning of the year.  Bill's kickoff coverage has been excellent. 

Edited December 14, 2020 by mabden

[Buddo]

Good write up Shaw. That was definitely football at it's hard-nosed best, when it came to defense, on both sides. There was a point in the first half where I was starting to think it could be scoreless, so tough were both defenses.

 

McDermott often uses the term 'resilient' in respect of this team. He hasn't been indulging in coach-speak, they are, alongside their toughness, both mentally and physically.

 

Taron and Levi, just making plays, after so-so, seasons, and general media criticism.

 

Morse, after getting benched, then getting banged up this game, being taped up, and going back into the fray, and playing better.

 

Diggs is simply amazing. He takes hit after hit, bounces back up, and goes back to humiliating DBs with nary a beat missed.

 

After the dog-fight that was the first half, the Bills came back out, with adjustments on offense, and proceeded to shift the game away from the Steelers. They found solutions to the problems that the Steelers D had been giving them. The Steelers found no solutions to the problems that the Bills D was giving them.

 

A note of caution about this terrific win, because it was, make no mistake about that, is that the Steelers appeared to be fairly 'gassed' in the last Quarter. A function, no doubt of their horrible schedule over the last couple of weeks. Tbh, I think we had them sorted out before that became a factor, but nonetheless, within the euphoria, I think it's something to bear in mind, especially as nobody seems to be mentioning it in the media etc. atm.

 

I want us to now win out the rest of the way. basically to re-enforce the superiority of this team, over the division, and most of the rest of the AFC.

[Heathcliff]

Much of the credit for kick off coverage goes to Bass. He is kicking them high and dropping them at the 1 yard line. Gives time for guys to get down there in position and no choice but return it. 

[Thurman#1]

So totally agree with you on that play where Smith-Schuster hit Edmunds. Edmunds put him into the ground. That was a nice play on both sides and the announcers only mentioned Smith-Schuster.

 

Nice writeup.

Edited December 14, 2020 by Thurman#1

[Kwai San]

1 hour ago, WhoTom said:

 

 

"Look at me. I'm the big dog now."

 

 

 

WOOF!!!  Hand over that bone!

[LeGOATski]

There is a legit star on the defense: Tre

[Hapless Bills Fan]

@Shaw66  one of your best write-ups IMO

 

Part of what defines a successful team is in a dogfight, what do the little dogs do?

 

Taron Johnson and Levi Wallace have both been "picked on" in various games and have taken some heat from fans and the media.

Last night, they both answered the bell.

 

And finally, not a little dog, but I leave you with Micah Hyde's ecstatic cry after Milano came blasting through the line last week against the '9ers:

LANO!  LANO!  MILANO's Back!. 

 

In addition to the sack he's credited with, he was making himself felt all game.   The play where he basically threw a back or TE backwards into Ben just as he threw the ball was special.

[Forward Progress]

Great write-up @Shaw66!!

 

In addition to everything you said above, I also loved the last Bills' possession that consumed the final 7:11 with 14 plays and 4 gut-punching 1st downs to close out the game.  When Pittsburgh was desperate for another possession and a chance for a miracle, the Bills would not let that happen.  

 

 

 

 

Edited December 14, 2020 by Forward Progress

[CorkScrewHill]

2 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

The Rockpile Review – by Shaw66

 

“Tough”

 

The Bills beat the Steelers, 26-15, Sunday night in Orchard Park.  It wasn’t pretty.  It was a slugfest.

 

It was playoff football.

 

The Bills and the Steelers are two of the best teams in the NFL, at the top of their divisions in the AFC, and on their way to the playoffs. A win was important to both teams, for the division race and for playoff seeding. 

 

A win was important, too, because a game like this, a late-season matchup with a team you may face in the playoffs, often is a dogfight.  It’s time to establish psychological seeding as well as playoff seeding.  It’s a chance to look a quality opponent in the eye and say “I’m the big dog here.” 

 

The Bills came out of the game bloody, but there’s no question they are the big dog.  The Bills are tough.

 

The Bills and Steelers snarled and growled, clawed and snapped at each other for most of the first half.  Neither gave much ground.  It was supreme football toughness.  First downs were really hard to get, and when the ball was in the air, it was as likely to be a punt as a forward pass.  It was a nasty, give-no-ground fight. 

 

The Steelers made the first big play, hitting Josh Allen as he released a pass and intercepting.  The Bills responded forcing a three and out. 

 

The Steelers made another play, forcing a Dawson Knox fumble (gotta be better kid, this is playoff football) and this time putting together a three-play, thirty-yard drive for a touchdown on the 11^th possession of the first half.  First blood. 

 

A couple of punts, and then the Bills responded with a field goal.  The biggest gain on the drive came on a close roughing the passer penalty. Everything else was dinking and dunking, mostly throws to Beasley and Diggs. The Bills had clawed back into the game. 

 

Ben Roethlisberger, the quintessential big dog, knew it was time to take charge of the game, to put up a drive and touchdown before the end of the half.  Two passes and a penalty got the Steelers close to midfield.  When Ben threw slightly behind JuJu Smith-Schuster, Taron Johnson pounced, snatching the ball away and sprinting to the end zone.  Tyler Bass missed the extra point, but it didn’t matter.  The Bills, not the Steelers, had taken charge.  The Steelers were wounded. 

 

After halftime, the Bills mercilessly drove for two consecutive touchdowns and forced two three-and-outs. The drives weren’t pretty – the Bills fought for yards on every play.  Allen and Diggs led the fight.  It was the middle of the third quarter.  There was still some football to play, but that was just football.  The dogfight was over. 

 

If there were any questions at all among football fans around the country, there are no questions now.  The Buffalo Bills are for real.  And if that wasn’t enough to make Bills fans happy, there’s also this:   The win mathematically eliminated the New England Patriots from the AFC East race.  Two dogs with one stone!  In a couple of weeks, the Bills will play another more-or-less meaningless late-season game in Foxboro, but this time it will be the Patriots licking their season-long wounds.

 

You win a dogfight by being tough.  Who was tough?

 

1.  The offensive line.  Those guys were getting beaten up, badly, for most of the first half.  They were getting pushed into the offensive backfield.  They were unable to move the Steelers off the line of scrimmage.  They were in trouble.  But they fought, they regrouped, and in the second half they took control of the line and game.  Tough.  Toughest of all may have been Daryl Williams, who held up all night, sometimes with help, against TJ Watt, the Steelers’ sackmeister. 

 

2.  Josh Allen.  Pressured and pounded from the start, Allen could have squealed and limped way into the darkness.  Instead, he took the beating and stood in, always looking downfield and delivering completion after completion during the two third-quarter drives that put the game away.  It was fun watching Allen bomb away last week against the 49ers, but his game against the Steelers showed he’s an NFL winner.   

 

One of Allen’s best plays will be forgotten in all of the other highlights. The Steelers had managed a touchdown and two-point conversion to make it a one-score game early in the fourth quarter.   The Bills needed a drive and a score.  After one first down, Allen threw incomplete deep to Davis.  It was a low probability throw at a bad time.  On second and ten, under pressure Allen threw incomplete to Moss.  Now it was third and ten, and the Steelers were threatening to take the ball back and take charge.  Pressured once more, Allen hit McKenzie on the run over the middle, and McKenzie made the run after catch to get the first down.  Seven plays later, Bass’s field goal iced the game. 

 

3.  Diggs and Beasley.  Diggs had the better numbers, but both of them are scrappers. Play after play they come back for more. 

 

4.  Andre Roberts.  He’s no ballerina wanna-be, tiptoeing around field.  He’s all “gimme the ball, gimme a seam and get out of my way!”  He wanted every yard he could get.  Toughness is contagious; tough players feed off tough players around them.  Roberts is tough, and his teammates see it. 

 

5.  Special teams are tough.  Kickoff and punt coverage has been solid all season, but the last few games they’ve cranked up the intensity.  It’s a big mistake to take kickoffs out of the end zone against the Bills.    

 

6.  The Bills defense is some special kind of tough.  Their stats won’t be great this season, because they gave up a lot of yards and points early in the season, but game by game this defense has been coming together to become one nasty unit.  There isn’t a star – not a JJ or a TJ or a Bosa or a Honey Badger.  Just eleven guys doing their jobs.  The announcers made a big deal about Smith-Schuster plowing into Edmunds, but the real point was that Edmunds was in position and made the tackle.  Then he got up and did it again.  The Bills defense is like that – not pretty, not spectacular, but they make the tackle and come back for the next play.  You have to be good to get yards against the Bills, and then you have to be good again, and again.  The Bills give you nothing.  It’s quintessential toughness.

 

One play it’s White on a delayed blitz and knocking down a pass.  Then it’s Poyer on a blitz and making a tackle.  Then it’s Hughes chasing down a ball carrier.  Then it’s Milano, then Klein.  The whole defensive line kept collapsing the pocket and pressuring Ben.  Play after play, relentless toughness.   

 

Not just play after play.  It’s game after game.  Everyone in the league knows it now.  You might beat the Bills, but it isn’t going to be easy.  The Bills are tough.

 

On to Denver.

 

 

 

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.

 

 

I loves this sentence .. so on target "In a couple of weeks, the Bills will play another more-or-less meaningless late-season game in Foxboro, but this time it will be the Patriots licking their season-long wounds."

 

[Saxum]

1 hour ago, WhoTom said:

 

 

"Look at me. I'm the big dog now."

 

 

 

Those dogs need muzzles (masks)!

26 minutes ago, Forward Progress said:

Great write-up @Shaw66!!

 

In addition to everything you said above, I also loved the last Bills' possession that consumed the final 7:11 with 14 plays and 4 gut-punching 1st downs to close out the game.  When Pittsburgh was desperate for another possession and a chance for a miracle, the Bills would not let that happen.  

 

13 plays and 7:11.  13 is Steelers unlucky number.