ROCKPILE REVIEW - Tough

[Shaw66]

1 hour ago, Heathcliff said:

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. 

You know, I have noticed how high he kicks it, but I hadn't put it together with the excellent kick coverage.  That's a really good point.  And it may also explain why the Bills were so quick to move on from Hauschka - they may have realized that Bass was going to be worth 30 or 40 yards of field position every game, even though they might have to suffer through some rookie inconsistency.  

 

Thanks for pointing that out. 

[TroutDog]

Fantastic as always! It is fantastic that the Bills are rounding in to shape in December. The D has stepped up, the O is pushing forward with a clear identity and Teams has been stellar. 
 

I also appreciate how the team rarely lets a guy go into the doghouse after a ‘miss’. Knox has had his issues but he made up for them last night. Same with Gabriel Davis. Love it. What a win!!!

[Shaw66]

53 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.  

 

 

 

 

Yes, this, too.  While I write, I keep referring to the play-by-play.  I kept notincing that drive at the end of the game.  Among all the other things the Bills did well, they also drained the life out of any Steelers' hopes.  Collinsworth called it Steeler-like, how the Bills running game came alive when they needed to run clock.   Moss, by the way, was pretty impressive in that drive.   Great determination, run after run.  And that's not to take anything away from Singletary, who was really tough in the face of the relentless Steeler D earlier in the game.

[NickelCity]

3 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

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. 

 

Just a MASSIVE play. I was maybe more fired up/relieved with that play than any other. We needed it bad.

[RoyBatty is alive]

2 hours ago, mabden said:

 

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. 

 

 

I agree and I know is is asking a lot of a rookie kicker, but i wonder if he can kicker it very high and just in the field of play and force them to return it.  Belichek when he has a good kicker often does this.  

[RoyBatty is alive]

44 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

You know, I have noticed how high he kicks it, but I hadn't put it together with the excellent kick coverage.  That's a really good point.  And it may also explain why the Bills were so quick to move on from Hauschka - they may have realized that Bass was going to be worth 30 or 40 yards of field position every game, even though they might have to suffer through some rookie inconsistency.  

 

Thanks for pointing that out. 

 

I think Bass in the 6th round was a real steal, I NEVER thought i would ever think that.  He has transformed our kicking game.  We dont have to punt when we are at the 35 anymore.  He has incredible range and after he first few weak games he has been the model of consistency.  Even his two missed PATS were debatable as they sailed clear over the posts.

[WhoTom]

19 minutes ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

 

I think Bass in the 6th round was a real steal, I NEVER thought i would ever think that.  He has transformed our kicking game.  We dont have to punt when we are at the 35 anymore.  He has incredible range and after he first few weak games he has been the model of consistency.  Even his two missed PATS were debatable as they sailed clear over the posts.

 

We went from Hausch Money to Bass-o-Matic.

 

[inthebuff]

This seems to fit this thread and is from the Athletic 

 

Sequence of the game
Asked which aspect of the game made him proudest, McDermott cited the way the offense drained the clock.

“The one thing that sticks out right away is the last drive by our offensive line and backs and tight ends,” McDermott said. “That’s a big-time drive with seven minutes left and to not give them the ball back when we were pretty much one-dimensional. It was very impressive.”

Cornerback Levi Wallace intercepted a deep pass by Roethlisberger at Buffalo’s 29-yard line with 7:11 to play. On the next play, center Mitch Morse was called for holding to move the Bills back to the 19-yard line.

Thirteen plays later, the clock struck 0:00 with the Steelers never getting on the field again.

Bills tailback Zack Moss ran six times for 26 yards on the drive. Allen completed two of three passes for 25 yards and ran twice for 13 yards, not counting two victory-formation genuflections.

McDermott wanted to see Moss respond. McDermott benched Moss for much of last week’s game after the rookie fumbled to set up a point-blank San Francisco 49ers touchdown.

“That’s so important,” McDermott said. “Mistakes are going to happen. All I care about, all his teammates care about, is that he can reset as quickly as possible. That’s being a team player, and I thought he did a phenomenal job of that.”

 

[ILBillsfan]

Great write up as usual Shaw was surprised you didn't mention the final drive it was beautiful

 

Bills got the Ball back with 7:11 on the clock ...teams say get within a score to get back in it.  The Bills who are not know to be a running team just chewed up that final 7:11 as the Steelers fight was gone and any signs of forcing the Bills offense of the field was small as Moss and Allen just kept the chains moving to a great win.

[Shaw66]

4 minutes ago, ILBillsfan said:

Great write up as usual Shaw was surprised you didn't mention the final drive it was beautiful

 

Bills got the Ball back with 7:11 on the clock ...teams say get within a score to get back in it.  The Bills who are not know to be a running team just chewed up that final 7:11 as the Steelers fight was gone and any signs of forcing the Bills offense of the field was small as Moss and Allen just kept the chains moving to a great win.

As you'll see, we've been having a little discussion about that drive.  You probably read the OP and then just commented, so you hadn't seen it. 

 

The principal reason I didn't mention that drive, as good as it was, was that I thought the game turned late in the third quarter.  The game wasn't over then, but the play sort of reverted to ordinary play, not the intense, grind-it-out game we saw earlier.  For one thing, for reasons that I didn't understand, the Bills stopped blitzing.  It may have been that when Pittsburgh fell behind, they went to more spread formations, which forced the Bills out of the tight defensive formations they were blitzing from.  Whatever the reason, the instense smash-mouth play changed, and that intensity was what I was writing about.  

 

But that's just an excuse.  It's, true, the Bills played, as they always do, right to the final whistle, heads up, intense, and focused.  That drive was great.  

[ILBillsfan]

2 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

As you'll see, we've been having a little discussion about that drive.  You probably read the OP and then just commented, so you hadn't seen it. 

 

The principal reason I didn't mention that drive, as good as it was, was that I thought the game turned late in the third quarter.  The game wasn't over then, but the play sort of reverted to ordinary play, not the intense, grind-it-out game we saw earlier.  For one thing, for reasons that I didn't understand, the Bills stopped blitzing.  It may have been that when Pittsburgh fell behind, they went to more spread formations, which forced the Bills out of the tight defensive formations they were blitzing from.  Whatever the reason, the instense smash-mouth play changed, and that intensity was what I was writing about.  

 

But that's just an excuse.  It's, true, the Bills played, as they always do, right to the final whistle, heads up, intense, and focused.  That drive was great.  

yep just read it form Lime ...love it

[Don Otreply]

Excellent Shaw, 

 

Go Bills!!!

[Figster]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

As you'll see, we've been having a little discussion about that drive.  You probably read the OP and then just commented, so you hadn't seen it. 

 

The principal reason I didn't mention that drive, as good as it was, was that I thought the game turned late in the third quarter.  The game wasn't over then, but the play sort of reverted to ordinary play, not the intense, grind-it-out game we saw earlier.  For one thing, for reasons that I didn't understand, the Bills stopped blitzing.  It may have been that when Pittsburgh fell behind, they went to more spread formations, which forced the Bills out of the tight defensive formations they were blitzing from.  Whatever the reason, the instense smash-mouth play changed, and that intensity was what I was writing about.  

 

But that's just an excuse.  It's, true, the Bills played, as they always do, right to the final whistle, heads up, intense, and focused.  That drive was great.  

The final drive is what good teams do after the fight has gone out of the opposing dog and you chase them away with their collective tails between their not so dancing legs. I can understand why it might be an afterthought in the grand scheme of things. The fight was over by then.

 

What an awesome review OP, after waiting until the wee hours of the morning for it I thought to myself Shaw66 is just taking the time to do this game justice.

 

My most favorite review ever to match one of the most enjoyable Bills games I have seen in ages.

 

Well done my friend.

Edited December 14, 2020 by Figster

[Jauronimo]

4 hours ago, Limeaid said:

 

Those dogs need muzzles (masks)!

 

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

That picture is from the game last year at Heinz Field.

[oldmanfan]

One of your best in a series of great reviews, my friend.  Could not agree more with everything you wrote.

Edited December 14, 2020 by oldmanfan

[machine gun kelly]

Shaw, you are the Rock!

 

Thanks as always.  I always look forward to the review and Virgils no particular order.

[FLFan]

One of my favorite plays of the game was the opening kickoff.  I loved the way Matakevich came flying down the field and racked up Ray Ray.  Set the tone.  Talk about tough.

Edited December 15, 2020 by FLFan

[billspro]

Nothing better than a victory Monday Rockpile Report!

[Shaw66]

7 hours ago, Figster said:

 

 

What an awesome review OP, after waiting until the wee hours of the morning for it I thought to myself Shaw66 is just taking the time to do this game justice.

 

I'm an old man. I'm not sitting at the keyboard after an 8 pm game.  It's already past my bedtime.  

[Augie]

11 hours ago, TroutDog said:

Fantastic as always! It is fantastic that the Bills are rounding in to shape in December. The D has stepped up, the O is pushing forward with a clear identity and Teams has been stellar. 
 

I also appreciate how the team rarely lets a guy go into the doghouse after a ‘miss’. Knox has had his issues but he made up for them last night. Same with Gabriel Davis. Love it. What a win!!!

 

THIS is the time of year to peak. A good run and we could be extremely dangerous!