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

[Virgil]

For the first time since I've started writing these, I find myself struggling to talk about new thoughts that haven't come up in previous weeks.  I've had a few weeks over the past few years where I had similar struggles, but that was when we could barely put any points on the board.  The struggles now are for a reason I didn't see coming.  What do I write about when there really aren't many opportunities on the team and we just keep steamrolling opponents?  How many times can you talk about how great Allen and Diggs are?  Even more-so, when such high performance becomes an expectation, is it even worth mentioning?  Either way, here we go.....

 

1 - The Burn - Going into this game, there wasn't a doubt in my mind that we were going to win this game.  People talked up the Pats dominance of the Bills and how close the last game was.  In talking about it with my father, the closest scenario I could come up with was a single score victory because the Pats scored late and we benched ours starters.  Many of us were waiting for this epic moment where we defeated the Patriots to win the division and establish ourselves as the pride of the AFC East.  The problem is, if you can even call it that, we settled that weeks ago and before we even took the field.  To me, and I know there's a varying opinion on this, but the best thing we could have done is make this game completely irrelevant.  Yes, playoff seeding and playoff match-ups, blah blah blah.  But that's all icing on the cake.  That's after the fact concerns.  We played our week 16 game, on Monday Night Football, in Foxboro, against the Pats, and there wasn't even a concern for what the game results would mean.  Please let that sink in.  We, the Buffalo Bills, made this game not even matter.  However, we still went out and did what we've done the past few weeks and absolutely imposed our will. 

 

2 - Allen - One of the biggest knocks on Allen in his first two seasons was making throws across his body, into the middle of the field, and on his back foot to where he dangerously created a potential turnover.  Besides putting up over 300 yards and breaking the passing touchdown record, Allen's ascension can be described in two plays.  Allen rolls out to his right, throws completely across his body, and finds a wide open Diggs 15 yards downfield.  Later, Allen rolls to his left, barely stops and throws against his momentum 20 yards down field and perfectly into the covered hands of Diggs for a touchdown.  My point?  Allen didn't stop making those mistakes, he's perfected them and made them almost an expectation.  If Allen has a next level, the entire league should be very afraid.

 

3 - Diggs - Why?  Why would you talk trash to the NFL's leading receiver in receptions and yards?  In typical Diggs fashion, he was slow in the first half as the offense evaluated what the Pats were throwing at him.  I don't know if it was Jackson's trash talk or what, but Diggs subsequently put on an absolute clinic.  Diggs showed break away speed on his 50 yard TD catch and run.  He showed power on his double breaking tackle in the slot, to then walk into the end zone.  Lastly, he showed great hands on the previously mentioned "Allen" throw for his 3rd touchdown.  Diggs didn't just take back the receptions and yards lead, he made a statement in prime-time as to why he is one of the best receivers in the league.  Like Allen, to break these records before finishing the game and having a week left is nothing short of incredible.

 

4 - And 100,000 tons of steel, made to roll.

The brakes don't work and this grade's too steep, her engine's sure to blow.

And 100,000 tons of steel, out of control,

She's more a rollercoaster than the train I used to know.

 

5 - Offensive Line - For a line that hasn't played together healthy for an entire game, Allen's jersey looked awfully clean in this game.  By the end of the game, Allen only was hit one time, and had all day to throw.  The Pats showed numerous blitzes and brought more than 5 quite a few times.  Their results?  A whole lot of nothing.  This offensive line still has opportunities to run block early in games, but they show up at the end when it matters to close the game out and they overall give Allen enough time to do what he does best.  This unit has adjusted to injuries and a barrage of successful opposing team pass rushes.  Among all of that, this was still one of their best overall games, and that's saying something.

 

6 - Milano - Frazier said a few weeks ago that he didn't think Milano wasn't going to 100% for the rest of the season.  If this wasn't Milano at 100%, hide your children because he was a monster out there!  Milano played both coverage and at the line.  He has his obligatory destruction a halfback block into the quarterback.  He took up blocks that allowed other D-Lineman to get to the quarterback.  However, and to me this is the greatest sign of his strength coming back, he made multiple tackles in the flat and open field where he stopped the runner in his tracks.  He came at guys like a missile and took away the check down plays which the Pats normally heavily rely upon.  We need to find the money to bring Milano back.

 

7 - Poyer - While it wasn't a great look getting dinged up trying to lay a hit on Cam, Poyer also had a really solid game.  There were two play in particular where a pass was incomplete because of a perfectly timed his by Poyer as the ball arrived.  In typical Poyer fashion, he played all over the field and delivered multiple punishing blows.  Poyer being snubbed from the Pro-Bowl is a crime and I hope that motivates him to continue on his excellent performance into the playoffs.  Side note, when Marlowe came in, I don't know how Cam didn't fumble on his blitz.  Marlowe laid the wood on Cam.

 

8 - Special Teams - Besides Bass kicking a lot of field goals (sorry, we were to busy scoring touchdowns), this may have been one of our better Special Teams games of the season. The Pats did have a solid kickoff return to start the game, but there was a blatant block in the back penalty not called.  Beyond that, Bojo boomed his only punt, the fake punt was perfectly executed, Bass is right down the middle, and Roberts another huge kickoff return.  This unit doesn't get a lot of attention because they aren't needed, but to see them make the most of every opportunity is another reason why this team is poised to make a run.

 

9 - Knox - Going forward, all passes to Knox need to in traffic and away from his hands and center of body.  Knox continues to be an enigma as he dropped a wide open touchdown, but then proceeded to make two consecutive difficult catches.  Knox was great with blocking and made some great plays in the field.  The drops are killer, but he does seem to overall be getting better with the mental mistakes.  Fortunately, Allen is used to having to score multiple times on the same drive. 

 

10 - Class - One thing that really bothered me during the Pats 20 years of dominance was their complete lack of class in both running up the score and going after records.  In this game, while already have 38 points going into the 4th quarter, McD pulled the starters.  I don't believe for a moment that the Hoodie would have done the same.  The Bills easily could have score two more touchdowns with how they were playing and put up a similar blowout numbers that the Pats used to do to us.  That's not how McD works and I personally am grateful for it.  Like the hero against the bully in movies, the Pats just weren't worth it.  We didn't have anything to prove.  There was zero doubt who the superior team was and the Hoodie's visible frustration taken out on his phone was all we needed to see.  We walked off the field winners, with class, and having established dominance.

 

 

Absolutely dominating the Pats felt a lot better than I though it would.  I really thought the meaningless game against a broken Cam and Belly wouldn't resonate much with me.  I was wrong, very wrong.  When Diggs caught that 2nd touchdown, I yelled and jumped off the couch.  There's a lot of buried residual emotion towards the Pats and this felt like a cleansing.  We are 12-3 and a miracle catch away form 13-2.  Really think about that, considering the schedule we played.  This is real everyone. This is very, very real.

 

Go Bills!

 

[BruceVilanch]

I was wondering where this was! Good write up, Go Bills!

[NickelCity]

Thanks Virg! Was watching for this.

[Virgil]

Sorry everyone, long day at work

[qwksilver]

Just now, Virgil said:

Sorry everyone, long day at work

You get one more week of this slowness. In the playoffs we will have none of this. Would it help if we all signed a note for your boss?

 

Love it when we play an almost perfect game.

[Virgil]

3 minutes ago, qwksilver said:

You get one more week of this slowness. In the playoffs we will have none of this. Would it help if we all signed a note for your boss?

 

Love it when we play an almost perfect game.

 

If they could play all their games on Saturday or Sunday afternoon, that would be great....

[HappyDays]

15 minutes ago, Virgil said:

Going into this game, there wasn't a doubt in my mind that we were going to win this game

 

I felt that way on Allen's last TD drive which started on the 5 yard line. No doubt in my mind Allen was going to score a TD on that drive and break Kelly's record before getting pulled.

[Augie]

Great write up, as always. I’d add more, but I’m tired.

 

On #8 Special Teams I keep hearing that called a fake punt. I think of it as good coaching and awareness. Was it just last year or the year before we failed to recognize they had us outmatched and couldn’t block every guy going for the punter? A big factor in losing a game.

 

Just like Josh, our coaching is growing as we watch. If they had covered the gunner, I bet we punt. They bit us on the arse once, and we learned from it. It wasn’t a bold decision as much as it was awareness, and that is tremendously encouraging! Winning the coaching battle feels AWESOME! 

[Warcodered]

Dawson Knox seems to me to be like Allen last year. He starts off way too amped up and makes mistakes but once he settles in he's good.

[Augie]

18 hours ago, Warcodered said:

Dawson Knox seems to me to be like Allen last year. He starts off way too amped up and makes mistakes but once he settles in he's good.

 

He needs to start listening to Frank Sinatra before games!    

 

 

 

EDIT: For those unfamiliar, Josh said he used to listen to music to get him pumped up before games, and he got TOO pumped up, so he made the switch. Hey, it worked! Anything to get better, turn over every stone. Love that guy! 

Edited December 30, 2020 by Augie

[Freddie's Dead]

22 minutes ago, Virgil said:

9 - Knox - Going forward, all passes to Knox need to in traffic and away from his hands and center of body.  Knox continues to be an enigma as he dropped a wide open touchdown, but then proceeded to make two consecutive difficult catches.  Knox was great with blocking and made some great plays in the field.  The drops are killer, but he does seem to overall be getting better with the mental mistakes.  Fortunately, Allen is used to having to score multiple times on the same drive. 

 

10 - Class - One thing that really bothered me during the Pats 20 years of dominance was their complete lack of class in both running up the score and going after records.  In this game, while already have 38 points going into the 4th quarter, McD pulled the starters.  I don't believe for a moment that the Hoodie would have done the same.  The Bills easily could have score two more touchdowns with how they were playing and put up a similar blowout numbers that the Pats used to do to us.  That's not how McD works and I personally am grateful for it.  Like the hero against the bully in movies, the Pats just weren't worth it.  We didn't have anything to prove.  There was zero doubt who the superior team was and the Hoodie's visible frustration taken out on his phone was all we needed to see.  We walked off the field winners, with class, and having established dominance.

 

Great writeup as usual Virg.

 

9 - Featherstone simply can't handle room service.  JA has to make the catch tough so Knox will concentrate enough to make the catch.

 

10 - The Cheats have NEVER had class.  They showed their true colors at the end of the Fitz game when FredEx got tackled at the 1/2-yard line.  The Cheats knew the game was over, so they started fights, hit Fitz late, did everything they could to get the Bills to bite.  We just laughed at them, ran the clock down, and kicked the winning FG.

 

The win last night was even sweeter, as we blew out the Cheats at the Razor (something I thought would never happen in my lifetime).  Belicheat melted down, and threw up the white flag at the end of the 3rd quarter.  I wish we could have gotten one more TD before Barkley came in to hand off.  I really wanted to embarrass and humiliate the Cheats just to get a little of our own back.  We did, but I really wanted more.  Can't wait to beat the crap out of the Cheats again next year!

[LeGOATski]

Pretty much sums it up. This is everything Bills fans have been hoping for.

 

***** the Pats.

[Shaw66]

Good stuff, again.  Loved the conclusion.

 

Thanks, Virg

[ganesh]

> We are 12-3 and a miracle catch away form 13-2.  Really think about that, considering the schedule we played.  This is real everyone. This is very, very real.

 

And while the media considers that we were slaughtered on those two other losses,  the games could have been lot closer with a healthy Allen,  Milano and Edmunds.  

 

This team is for real and they need to continue to work fixing the Run defense.   If we can fix that then we are going deep in the playoffs and possibly even the Super Bowl. 

[ALLEN1QB]

Always enjoy the read. TY

[BuffaloBillies]

52 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

He needs to start listening to Frank Sinatra before games!    

 

I think he has baby hands. Not trying to be funny. His drops in slo mo always looks like 4 little fingers mashed into each other. I said the same thing last year. He needs to spread his hands and fingers apart more and let the ball go in, then clutch. Surprised it hasn't been fixed, seems like a routine adjustment. 

[Bad Things]

Cheers for that, Virgil!

 

I always appreciate reading your weekly thoughts.

(I also appreciate you keeping up the tradition with Grateful Dead lyrics.)

[Rocky Landing]

Nice writeup as always, Virgil.

A few thoughts I would like to add:

 

Offensively:

• I love Lee Smith. And, color commentators should stop referring to him as "blocking tight end Lee Smith." Lee Smith runs routes!
• Gabriel Davis is in a slump, and has been for at least a few games. And he's still pretty good.
• I mentioned in another thread that Knox's drops notwithstanding, McD, Daboll, and Allen all still trust him. He was not pulled the play after that egregious drop, and IIRC, it was only a few plays later that he was thrown to in tight coverage, and made a beautiful, contested catch. And, it wasn't all that long afterwards Allen trusted him on fourth down for another great catch. If only he could make the easy ones...
• Dear God, please let Beasley's injury not be season ending! That being said, getting Smoke back lowers the anxiety level considerably.
• I love Motor, and I love Moss. But, they aren't complimentary backs. Their styles are too similar. Whether it's Motor, or Moss, we need a more complimentary back next season.

Defensively:

• Quinten Jefferson can be super disruptive when he steps on the field. The rotation in the front line has turned into a nightmare for opposing offenses. Especially late in the game, the rotation is so deep, it's gassing O-lines. It gassed the Steelers O-line, and it ether gassed, or just demoralized the Pats* young O-line. Fun to see.
• I love seeing Hughs, and Addison closing in from both sides!
• I feel like I saw a lot more 4-3 formations than usual, and I like it. Milano/Edmunds/Klein is a formidable trio.
• A lot of hay was made by the announcers (several times, I believe) that Milano is essentially "playing for a contract." This is horse crap. From all the things I have read, and heard about, and from Milano, I feel entirely confident that both on, and off the field, he is not motivated by money. That's not to say that he won't want to get what he deserves, but the guy puts 110% on the field every single play. I don't think he even looks at the scoreboard. 
• The issues we had at LB earlier in the season were really affecting every other defensive unit. The front four couldn't contain the run, and had to back off pressuring the QB. The backfield had to play closer to the LOS. Safeties had to play less on a string. Now that Milano is back, Edmunds is healthy, and Klein flipped that switch several weeks back, it is incredible to watch this D, with every unit clicking, work like a well-oiled machine. 

 

I do believe this is the first time I've ever seen Belichick* look befuddled. The Pats* weren't just out-played. They were out-coached. Watching the Bills pull their starters in the fourth was the perfect cap to this game. There was a point in the fourth that the camera showed a shot of Handyman Kraft in his box, and his mask couldn't hide his depression. Their reign is truly over.

 

 

 

Edited December 30, 2020 by Rocky Landing

[GETTOTHE50]

Yes the past 2 decades or so was absolutely miserable with the patriots, but they are officially has-beens now and will be for a long time. I loved the win like I do every other, but thats what it ended up being, a win like any other. This wasnt a bigger win- it was an expected win against the worst franchise in all of sports. The patriots dont mean ***** to me, and soon they wont mean anything to their lousy fanbase. We are fans of the best team and franchise in the AFC east. Its official.

 

LETS GO BUFFALO BABY

Edited December 30, 2020 by GETTOTHE50

[Success]

That was an excellent read.  In similar fashion, I really didn't think this game would mean that much to me, but man, did it.  It turns out that I NEEDED it, badly.  And not just the win.  How we won was so important.  Just dismantling that team, with each positive play taking away another bad memory.  

 

20 years is an awfully long time.

 

It felt a lot like what they used to do to us.  When there is such a disparity between the teams, there is literally nothing the bad team can do. They just have to watch it happen, helplessly - as we did so many times over the years.  I never thought I'd see the mighty Belichick on the other side of that.  

 

I became more of a fan of Knox last night, also - and I know opinions on that vary wildly.  He's a baller, just like his QB.  And resiliency is such an important quality.  He overcame that 1st drop to make some very key plays and really stand out as a contributor on offense.