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

[Turbo44]

Barkley hasn't played in over a year - I don't mind him getting extra reps like the bomb to Davis.  Especially with Miami calling timeouts with 5 minutes left, down 720,000 points.  And Flores is a former Patriot, once a Patriot always a Patriot. Fck them

[BillsfaninSB]

8 minutes ago, bills6969 said:

In regards to Tua,  I think the Dolphins FO and coaching staff royally f’d up the management of Tua.  The dude wasn’t really supposed to see the field this year.  He’s one year removed from significant hip injury/surgery.   Instead,  their stupid FO wanted to see Tua on the field (mostly I think due to how well Herbert was playing).  Fitz was playing well at that point in the season,  but FO forced coaching staff hand to change QBs which is a big no-no.

 

jury is still out on Tua obviously,  but his FO did him no favors by forcing out there before he was ready.  If they would’ve just stuck with Fitz,  they’re in the playoffs now.

I think it comes down to priorities.   If the FO felt the focus was 2021 then getting Tua as much time as possible was key.   How much is Allen ahead today since he got significant playing time in 2018?  Granted, NP was bad so the Bills had no choice to throw Allen to the dogs so the situation was different.  If Tua is the future then play him.   Where they messed up is not starting Fitz against Denver.   They would have won that game and would be in the playoffs.   Would have had their Cake and eat it too. 

[RyanC883]

8 minutes ago, Turbo44 said:

Barkley hasn't played in over a year - I don't mind him getting extra reps like the bomb to Davis.  Especially with Miami calling timeouts with 5 minutes left, down 720,000 points.  And Flores is a former Patriot, once a Patriot always a Patriot. Fck them

 

agreed, esp. on the need for Barkley to get more playing time and throw all types of passes.    

28 minutes ago, timekills17 said:

As bad/petty as this sounds, I was more mad about running up the score because it showed we could do it without JA17 out there - which might influence MVP voters.

 

I hated the Pats for running up the score on us (and others) but do agree with Belichick in that this is the NFL. It's the other team's job to stop the offense.

 

interesting point.  And I have no issue running up the score, esp. when your backups are in, it's the week before the playoffs.  They need the reps, not just to hand it off.  We already know Barkley can hand it off very well

[Malazan]

48 minutes ago, Virgil said:

I do take issue with his deep ball late to Davis, no matter how beautiful that play was.  We were up big and the game was over.  Let's be better there.  Barkley had one terrible interception, but was overall suitable as a backup in the game.  It was interesting to see the change of pace out there, but you could tell Matt was excited to make play and had no intention of just handing off the ball.

 

Go Bills!

 

Scuttlebutt is that the Bills took issue with some of the Dolphins actions. The Miami herald reported that the Bills were running the ball to run out the clock and got upset by the Dolphins calling timeouts with the game out of reach so they dialed up a deep ball.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

34 minutes ago, Virgil said:

I could be wrong, but I think there was still 5 minutes left in the game.  I didn’t think Flores did anything wrong.  We could have take knees on 4 straight drives and won the game.  
 

After being on the other side of the disrespectful Pats for 20 years, I’m probably sensitive to it. 
 

Once you are up by 3+ scores with less than 7 minutes left, run it out 

i felt the same way, probably for the same reasons you do. Throwing a bomb up 4 TD’s isn’t a great look. 
 

BTW, re Bojo— That may have been the best punt I have ever seen from any Bills’ punter. 54 yards AND out at the 1/2 yard line?!  His prior punt was a touchback, but also Hit right on the 1-yard line. He is dialed in! 

[CapeBreton]

I remember how Miami fans would have revolted if they picked Justin Herbert over Tua. Miami looks to have missed the mark with the Tua pick. They royally mishandled him this year but he also doesn’t look very good to me. 

[Simon]

19 minutes ago, jeremy2020 said:

 

Scuttlebutt is that the Bills took issue with some of the Dolphins actions. The Miami herald reported that the Bills were running the ball to run out the clock and got upset by the Dolphins calling timeouts with the game out of reach so they dialed up a deep ball.

 

That's probably exactly what it was. The Bills are just trying to get out healthy at that point and probably didn't appreciate the Phish stopping the clock and creating extra meaningless snaps. I've got no problem with a shot across Flores' bow there.

[The Gravytrain]

Well written, thank you.

 

The only person I think you missed was Antonio Williams. That kids was a beast. Talk about making the most of an opportunity. Here's a kid that was on the practice squad early this week, now out there running all over people. The power of Moss but with a quick burst. Get him off the practice squad and we'll have a scary 1-2-3 punch. Either that or Devin or Zach had better start being a little more productive. 

 

Another weapon in an already potent offensive arsenal.

[ticketssince61]

1 hour ago, HOF4LOU said:

Spot on. I am giddy. It's incredible. We go for it on 4th. Fake punts. Bombs when we are up by 30. I think i am in some alternate universe star trek episode. 

 

Every other year, we are always scratching our heads and thinking "I can't believe they called that play? What were they thinking!" 

 

This year, it is: "I can't believe they called that play? What an INCREDIBLE Call!

[Redneck]

3 minutes ago, ticketssince61 said:

 

Every other year, we are always scratching our heads and thinking "I can't believe they called that play? What were they thinking!" 

 

This year, it is: "I can't believe they called that play? What an INCREDIBLE Call!

 

Thats Exactly how I feel.  Very well said!

[Malazan]

7 minutes ago, Simon said:

 

That's probably exactly what it was. The Bills are just trying to get out healthy at that point and probably didn't appreciate the Phish stopping the clock and creating extra meaningless snaps. I've got no problem with a shot across Flores' bow there.

 

It's an aggressive mindset that's been missing from this team for like 20 years.

[Big C]

59 minutes ago, timekills17 said:

As bad/petty as this sounds, I was more mad about running up the score because it showed we could do it without JA17 out there - which might influence MVP voters.

 

I hated the Pats for running up the score on us (and others) but do agree with Belichick in that this is the NFL. It's the other team's job to stop the offense.

 

On the flip side, it might push McDermott to win coach of the year over Flores. 

[Albany,n.y.]

I don't have a problem with Barkley throwing long passes with the Bills way ahead.  He's a free agent when the Bills season ends this February and everything he did today was for his NFL future.  If it was Allen doing this in the 4th quarter then you could blame the Bills, but when the backups are playing and trying to stay in the NFL, anything they do goes.  Pulling the starters is enough, you don't have to handcuff the backups in one of their few chances to shine.

[HalftimeAdjustment]

The Barkley passes may have seemed like piling on but the fact is, the offense probably has the option to go to that route against certain defenses/calls. There is value in Barkley operating the "real" offense... even if it looks ugly - especially this year.

[MJS]

1 hour ago, Big Turk said:

@Virgil I take no issue with Barkley to Davis late in the game. That was a message sent to Flores to stop playing games and calling timeouts when they are trying to run the clock out on the ground.

 

You want to keep calling timeouts to try and get the ball back? Fine. We will just put up another 7 and now you can have the ball back.

And they are backups. If you can't beat backups you deserve to get deep balls thrown on you and the score run up on you.

 

Those guys don't get to play a lot and you know they want to put good tape out there of what they can do.

 

I wouldn't change it for anything.

[Cash]

2 hours ago, Virgil said:

It wasn't supposed to be like this.  Yes, quite a few locked playoff teams played their starters to gain better seeding positioning and we did pull the majority of our guys by halftime.  We were playing a playoff hopeful team that had many fans worried could surge mid-way through the season and threaten as AFC East champions.  With that, there was no way we would absolutely humiliate and destroy the Dolphins, right?  We aren't that level of elite team, are we? 

 

1 - Knox - In all that occurred in this game, one thing that stuck out to me a lot was the amount of plays designed to go to Knox.  He didn't have a big game and a lot of the plays were either poor throws or blown up by the Dolphins defense, but the focus was still there.  I'm not quite sure why Knox was a focal point, and it may not be worth the time to understand any offensive philosophy in a meaningless week 17 game, but it was still a note multiple times today.

 

2 - Tua - I'll give him credit, he throws a great sideline deep ball to the back-shoulder.  Other than that, the Bills absolutely demoralized the kid.  Yes, he threw for the illustrious 300+ yards, but our defense intercepted him three times, could have easily been five, and eliminated his effectiveness once he had to become a pure passer.  This is not an indication of the type of player is going to be, but it does go to show that the question is still out there.  He isn't Herbert or Burrow and the offense is still very much tailored to bringing him along as a rookie.  Like the Steelers a few weeks back, the Dolphins play their game within 10 yards of the line and don't know how to adapt beyond that.

 

3 - Marlowe - Making the most of his extra playing time, Marlowe almost had three interceptions today as he was all over the field.  He was great in coverage as he was used almost Poyer-esqe in this game.  He was at the line, deep in coverage, and did a great job of holding his zone; which resulted in one of his interceptions.  Marlowe, like many others, showed the depth of this team and just how scary this defense can be.

 

4 - Well I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life

Run me out in the cold rain and snow

Rain and snow, run me out in the cold rain and snow

 

5 - Barkley - No offense to Matt, but if you want to understand just how strong Allen's arm is, watch some of Matt's throws.  First off, I think Matt is one of the biggest cheerleaders on the team.  He was losing his mind on the punt return and the Smoke sideline catch.  I do take issue with his deep ball late to Davis, no matter how beautiful that play was.  We were up big and the game was over.  Let's be better there.  Barkley had one terrible interception, but was overall suitable as a backup in the game.  It was interesting to see the change of pace out there, but you could tell Matt was excited to make play and had no intention of just handing off the ball.

 

6 - Smoke - How good was it to see him back out on the field?  If you wondered how his speed would be affected by the injury, the perfect deep ball from Josh answered that.  He showed his typical cross route and side-line awareness.  If this game only served the purposed of getting his feet wet and letting Josh find his rhythm with him, then mission accomplished.

 

7 - McKenzie - With Roberts and Beasley out, our #5 receiver had a career first half.  The punt return for a touchdown was all him, with jukes, stutter steps, and field awareness.  His touchdowns were just pure speed and tiring out the defenders.  If Beasley is unable to return for the playoff, I think it's safe to say that McKenzie can handle the pick-up duty.  He's a great compliment of speed with Diggs and Brown out there and can handle the limited calls he gets.  Great game for the kid and you have to be happy for him.  If you're an opposing defense, you have to just shake your head at another Bills weapon scoring points

 

8 - Bojo - I really debated making just a special teams thought, but Bojo's punt inside the 1 yard line was as beautiful a punt as I've ever seen.  For a kid who many wanted cut last season, Bojo has gone on to lead the lead in YPP this season.  Granted, he's well rested with this offense, but it has to make you feel better knowing how well we can flip fields in a possession game. 

 

9 - Matakevich - I'm not spelling that name, so he will be Tyler going forward (sorry Kroft), but I may have a new favorite back-up player.  Tyler was an absolutely missile out there today.  Kid just made a decision and just ran.  He also did the one thing that consistently drives me nuts about Edwards, and that's initiate contact on catches over the middle.  It seemed like every time someone tried to make a catch over the the middle, Tyler was there.  This kid was playing like he had red bull flowing through his veins.  Just another player who shows the depth this team has.

 

10 - Bass - To be honest, I don't understand how points are assigned to players.  Do offensive players not get 6 points for touchdowns?  Either way, Bass now owns the record for most points in a season.  Here's the thing, he did it on mainly extra points.  Seriously, besides the Jets game, the kid is barely out there for field goals.  I'm not taking away from his progress this season, as he's come a really long way, but it's just amazing to me that he set this record knowing his usage.

 

 

Honestly, I don't even know what to say about this team anymore.  I wasn't expecting this game nor the back-half of this season.  If, at the beginning of the season, I told you to pick one of the following to be true, which would you pick:

-Bojo leads the NFL in yards per punt

-Bass breaks teams single season point record

-Allen breaks the single season passing record

-Allen breaks the single season TD record

-Allen has almost 5k total yards and 46 total touchdowns

-Diggs leads the NFL in total receptions

-Diggs leads the NFL in total yards

-Bills score over 500 points

-Bills are 13-3, easily could have been 14-2

-Allen is a legitimate MVP candidate

 

The fact that all of those are true is simply astounding.  We are the team that no one wants to face in the playoffs.  We are the offensive juggernaut with a defense that creates turnovers and a special teams that flips field position.  It's amazing.  Just amazing.

 

Go Bills!

Thanks, Virgil - great read as always!

 

 Regarding the scoring rules: yes, players who score touchdowns get 6 points for each. But remember that scoring a TD means possessing the ball in the end zone. So passing TDs are irrelevant to the scoring leaders, and kickers usually lead the league unless an RB (or very rarely WR) has a historical season like scoring 25 or so TDs. 

[Saxum]

2 hours ago, Virgil said:

I could be wrong, but I think there was still 5 minutes left in the game.  I didn’t think Flores did anything wrong.  We could have take knees on 4 straight drives and won the game.  
 

After being on the other side of the disrespectful Pats for 20 years, I’m probably sensitive to it. 
 

Once you are up by 3+ scores with less than 7 minutes left, run it out 

Remember Flores is used to making plays on defense and special teams so I am guessing he still did not think game was out of reach but even our backups were better than he expected.

[downunderbill]

2 hours ago, Big Turk said:

 

I just don't see Tua as having any elite traits. Maybe he can be similar to Brees but that is a big ask to become that good.

 

So you don't agree with this remarkable Tua and Allen Evaluation.

 

 

[Saxum]

2 hours ago, Virgil said:

9 - Matakevich - I'm not spelling that name, so he will be Tyler going forward (sorry Kroft), but I may have a new favorite back-up player.  Tyler was an absolutely missile out there today.  Kid just made a decision and just ran.  He also did the one thing that consistently drives me nuts about Edwards, and that's initiate contact on catches over the middle.  It seemed like every time someone tried to make a catch over the the middle, Tyler was there.  This kid was playing like he had red bull flowing through his veins.  Just another player who shows the depth this team has.

 

It is not a hard name to spell (Russian I believe) but I grew up in household where many of my relatives had non-Americanized German and Polish last names.

I have always been a special teams fan and hate it when it seems teams just use depth players on special teams and then complain about results.

Tyler" Dirty Red" Matakevich is a very good tackler so this does not surprise me. 

Quote

https://www.mcall.com/sports/college/mc-temple-linebacker-matakevich--20151221-story.html

"He was good as anybody on the field when we played Notre Dame," Rhule said of Matakevich's 13-tackle night in a devastating 24-20 October loss to the Fighting Irish. "I'd love to try to take credit for it but really he's built himself. He's gotten better and better each and every day. Not many people can do that.

"Tyler has shown everybody, the kids in our program and the kids we're recruiting, that anything you want to get done, you can get done at Temple."

He was person Special Teams coach wanted to be first in priority as free agents. 

When we signed him I went and looked for film on him and his technique is so solid Winfield would have complemented him.

He is not just special teams but defense depth and should be looked at in substitutions for goal line and short yardage plays.

 

[TUBSTER]

3 hours ago, Big Turk said:

@Virgil I take no issue with Barkley to Davis late in the game. That was a message sent to Flores to stop playing games and calling timeouts when they are trying to run the clock out on the ground.

 

You want to keep calling timeouts? Fine. We will just put up another 7 and now you can have the ball back.

I was thinking the same exact thing.  Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.  The game was over at halftime, no need to call timeouts with 8 minutes to go when you're down by 30 points