Milano should have been benched

[Mike in Horseheads]

From the Buffalo News....   

Linebacker Matt Milano was at his versatile best in Saturday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Milano led the Bills with 11 tackles. He used his range to make three tackles for 1 yard less in pass coverage. He had four run stuffs for limited yards. He added one pass breakup and one hurry on a blitz against Colts quarterback Philip Rivers.

 

https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/position-grades-matt-milanos-versatility-shined-vs-colts/article_2ba7fe7a-537d-11eb-940b-1755b67a8bb4.html

[Frat-Train]

Just now, Mike in Horseheads said:

From the Buffalo News....   

Linebacker Matt Milano was at his versatile best in Saturday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Milano led the Bills with 11 tackles. He used his range to make three tackles for 1 yard less in pass coverage. He had four run stuffs for limited yards. He added one pass breakup and one hurry on a blitz against Colts quarterback Philip Rivers.

 

https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/position-grades-matt-milanos-versatility-shined-vs-colts/article_2ba7fe7a-537d-11eb-940b-1755b67a8bb4.html

Aw man...   I just finished my second helping of hot takes though!!!

 

Ah well, binge and purge I guess.

[Solomon Grundy]

13 hours ago, Simon said:

 

I think he's good every week (or has been since he recovered from that early season knee injury).

The problem is he can't control 4 gaps by himself.

Simon, is there anybody you see in FA or draft that can help solve this problem?

[Hapless Bills Fan]

2 hours ago, Buftex said:

Not for nothing, but there is an article in yesterday's Buffalo News (sorry can't link it) "Matt Milano's Versatility Shines Against the Colts"

 

 

https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/position-grades-matt-milanos-versatility-shined-vs-colts/article_2ba7fe7a-537d-11eb-940b-1755b67a8bb4.html

 

Mark Gaughan article:

Linebacker Matt Milano was at his versatile best in Saturday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Milano led the Bills with 11 tackles. He used his range to make three tackles for 1 yard less in pass coverage. He had four run stuffs for limited yards. He added one pass breakup and one hurry on a blitz against Colts quarterback Philip Rivers.

The biggest sequence for Milano came on the Bills’ goal-line stand late in the second quarter. Milano stopped a shuffle pass to tight end Trey Burton for 2 yards on a first-and-goal play from the 4. On second and goal from the 2, he filled a hole to stop Nyheim Hines for 1 yard on a direct-snap run off left guard.

 

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, Solomon Grundy said:

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/6-studs-5-duds-bills-143007161.html
Buffalo News article says he “shined”, this article calls him a dud. I’m so confused 🤷🏽‍♂️ 

 

I guess you gotta decide who you think knows more about football, Nick Wojton of TheBillsWire or Mark Gaughan of The Buffalo News.

 

Personally I go with Gaughan here.  Wojton says: "Jack Doyle, Mo Alie-Cox, and Trey Burton combined for 14 catches for 136 yards, a touchdown, and a two-point conversion catch. Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds did give up his fair shake as well, but Milano is the usual reliable player in coverage." 

 

The problem with tagging Milano for giving up the pass plays on TE is we don't know the details of the zone coverage responsibilities.  If I were guessing, I would guess that Reich/Sirianni did a masterful job of designing plays to exploit the edges of the zones.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

58 minutes ago, Mike in Horseheads said:

From the Buffalo News....   

Linebacker Matt Milano was at his versatile best in Saturday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Milano led the Bills with 11 tackles. He used his range to make three tackles for 1 yard less in pass coverage. He had four run stuffs for limited yards. He added one pass breakup and one hurry on a blitz against Colts quarterback Philip Rivers.

 

https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/position-grades-matt-milanos-versatility-shined-vs-colts/article_2ba7fe7a-537d-11eb-940b-1755b67a8bb4.html

 

dammit  we need a MOON reaction......      

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

9 minutes ago, Mike in Horseheads said:

Nice job reposting what I did 2 post up

 

I was responding to a post from 3 hrs ago.  Why is this a concern to you if something gets reposted?

Here, let me lift you up, King:

 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

12 minutes ago, Mike in Horseheads said:

Nice job reposting what I did 2 post up

 

SEE 🌝

1 minute ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I was responding to a post from 3 hrs ago.  Why is this a concern to you if something gets reposted?

Here, let me lift you up, King:

 

 

 

hakuna matata

 

 

[Shaw66]

2 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

The problem with tagging Milano for giving up the pass plays on TE is we don't know the details of the zone coverage responsibilities.  If I were guessing, I would guess that Reich/Sirianni did a masterful job of designing plays to exploit the edges of the zones.

I have stayed out of this thread and just popped in to see what people are talking about.  

 

It seems to me there are one points to be made here and only one.  I would guess the only point that matters is the what you're saying here, Hap.. 

 

Does anyone really think that the Bills coaches watched film of the game on Saturday night and said, "Milano made the wrong reads, took the wrong angles, and was late to the ball all game long"?   It is much more likely that most of the time he was doing exactly what he was supposed to do as well as he could, but for a variety of reasons he was in positions on the field where he couldn't quite execute.  As you say, Hap, some of it probably was the Colts having found some weaknesses in the coverage schemes.  Some of it probably was that the Bills coaches thought that the defensive scheme could do the job and were wrong - they misjudged the effectiveness of parts of the Colts offense and didn't prepare for it.   

 

It's just really hard to believe that overnight MIlano became a bad player.   He's smart, fast, quick to the ball, and diagnoses plays and situations well.   That's who he is.  Everyone has good games and bad games, to be sure, but Milano is not a problem - we've seen what he can do over and over.  

 

I had the same thought over the past few days about QBs, and it was reaffirmed last night.  We all love Allen and how great he is, but the fact is that the coaches find ways to get receivers open consistently.   Allen just has to find them and do what he does best, which is to deliver the ball.  Allen is not asked to throw into a lot of tight windows. 

 

Last night Big Ben looked horrible.   I kept asking myself why he was making such bad decisions, throwing into coverage, throwing INTs and all.  Well, Ben didn't get stupid over night.   We've seen him for too many years to think that Ben doesn't know when a guy is open and when he isn't.   Ben was throwing into tight coverage because his coaches aren't running a scheme that gets guys open.  Some of it's talent of the receivers, but more of it is scheme.  

 

There's nothing wrong with Milano.   

 

[Thurman#1]

9 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

 

Last night Big Ben looked horrible.   I kept asking myself why he was making such bad decisions, throwing into coverage, throwing INTs and all.  Well, Ben didn't get stupid over night.   We've seen him for too many years to think that Ben doesn't know when a guy is open and when he isn't.   Ben was throwing into tight coverage because his coaches aren't running a scheme that gets guys open.  Some of it's talent of the receivers, but more of it is scheme.  

 

 

 

I would point out another possibility, which is that Ben's arm isn't what it used to be, and that he's now having a lot of troubles throwing long, so he throws mostly short, which allows other teams to notice this problem and attack it. 

And if Ben doesn't start throwing long at a high degree of proficiency, he will be left throwing into coverage, tight windows and making bad decisions regardless of the schemes the coaches dream up.

 

You don't have to "get stupid overnight" to suddenly start looking bad as a QB around Ben's age. It happened to Flutie, and it had nothing to do with stupidity. Or offensive schemes, but the defenses we played behind Flutie sure noticed quick and adjusted their own schemes.

[Shaw66]

33 minutes ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

I would point out another possibility, which is that Ben's arm isn't what it used to be, and that he's now having a lot of troubles throwing long, so he throws mostly short, which allows other teams to notice this problem and attack it. 

And if Ben doesn't start throwing long at a high degree of proficiency, he will be left throwing into coverage, tight windows and making bad decisions regardless of the schemes the coaches dream up.

 

You don't have to "get stupid overnight" to suddenly start looking bad as a QB around Ben's age. It happened to Flutie, and it had nothing to do with stupidity. Or offensive schemes, but the defenses we played behind Flutie sure noticed quick and adjusted their own schemes.

Good points, but I dont think Ben is having much trouble getting the ball downfield.  He's made a lot of good deeper throws when I've seen him. 

 

But maybe you're right. 

 

 

[Simon]

8 hours ago, Solomon Grundy said:

Simon, is there anybody you see in FA or draft that can help solve this problem?

I don't watch enough football anymore to answer that with any degree of knowledge; but there's a pair of warriors in the middle of this Bama defense that would like very handsome in a Bills uni. That kid wearing the 58 is something else, but he ain't falling to us. 

Anybody that can make an occasional play and draw some of the constant doubles and combos off Oliver would be an instant upgrade.

[batmanfreek]

9 hours ago, FormerlyPT5P said:

I'd still ride or die with Milano. Not faulting him for the 4th quarter TD either. Someone missed an assignment, maybe Milano, but Milano was clearly expecting Tre or a safety on that route, and that's a tough ask for him to cover that whole side of the field.. I doubt that was the playcall. I also thought that should-be forced fumble at the end was clutch.

 

Sounds like the consensus is he had an off day. Even so, he's such a playmaker at his position I wouldn't consider benching him at any point myself. Case in point him coming up with that forced fumble. Always been a fan.

 

FTR I even thought he played well. IMO. I always get surprised to see posts every few games knocking him. He's so consistent.

People don’t notice unless he makes a mistake. That means he’s usually performing. 

[Solomon Grundy]

1 hour ago, Simon said:

I don't watch enough football anymore to answer that with any degree of knowledge; but there's a pair of warriors in the middle of this Bama defense that would like very handsome in a Bills uni. That kid wearing the 58 is something else, but he ain't falling to us. 

Anybody that can make an occasional play and draw some of the constant doubles and combos off Oliver would be an instant upgrade.

Maybe we can call on Blokestradamus, GunnerBill or some of the other knowledgeable posters to give some info. The Alabama guys Christian Barmore(58) and Labryan Ray. I’ve been reading up on others like Marvin Wilson(Fla.St), Jordan Davis(Georgia), Daviyon Nixon(Iowa), and Lorenzo Neal Jr.(Purdue)

[Hapless Bills Fan]

9 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

Last night Big Ben looked horrible.   I kept asking myself why he was making such bad decisions, throwing into coverage, throwing INTs and all.  Well, Ben didn't get stupid over night.   We've seen him for too many years to think that Ben doesn't know when a guy is open and when he isn't.   Ben was throwing into tight coverage because his coaches aren't running a scheme that gets guys open.  Some of it's talent of the receivers, but more of it is scheme. 

 

Part of Big Ben's problem last night was making bad throws to open receivers - throws that were high enough that they went off the receiver's hands and were deflected where the DB could make a play on them.  Or just plain missing throws to open receivers, throwing long or throwing short (IIRC one INT was a throw that was short)

 

I can think of one INT off the top of my head where Ben made a throw that was clearly a bad read - the DB was in position to jump the route and rob it and he did.  Now maybe Ben thought he could rifle it in there and his arm let him down, or maybe he felt he had no alternative at that point than to take some chances, but it *was* a bad read/decision as far as I could tell.

 

It's possible that Big Ben, like Allen mid season, is playing hurt.   But my point is you can't just blame scheme.

 

Milano did make some mistakes.  He missed some tackles.  He had an encroachment penalty called.  He also made some great plays.  The problem I have is with people making claims to justify their bad take like "he was blitzing from the wrong lane" which they clearly can't know.  I mean, it would be great if we could bench Milano and bring in Von Miller or Luke Kuechly, but that's not happening.

[NewEra]

On 1/10/2021 at 4:49 AM, Back2Buff said:

I'm not sure I have ever seen a worse performance from a LB.  Every single play the Bills were beat on was because of him.

 

The guy was blitzing the wrong lane, missing tackles, not staying with his man in coverage, and consistently out of position.

 

They needed to make the switch early to go to Klein and Milano should have been glued to bench.

The guys at cover1 couldn’t disagree with you more.  

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

38 minutes ago, NewEra said:

The guys at cover1 couldn’t disagree with you more.  

 

 

I'm watching this too.

 

I give you this sequence of beautiful near goal line tackle from Milano (clipped from above).  First and 4 near our goal line.

Milano in man coverage on #80

Milano says: It's You or Me, Guy.  And it's Gonna be Me.

Milano finishing the tackle, to our R of Q Jeff and in front of Poyer

Boom goes the dynamite.

 

The Cover1 guys do a great job of pointing out the role Jefferson plays in taking on the pulling guard and forcing the play inside to where Milano is waiting.  Sound team defensive play, as was the next play (also a run/tackle by Milano and stout, pushing the pile back and keeping them out of the endzone).

 

People want to finger the missed throw by Rivers as the reason they didn't score and forget or don't notice it would never have gotten to 4th down without this kind of sound, solid play.

 

 

[NewEra]

9 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I'm watching this too.

 

I give you this sequence of beautiful near goal line tackle from Milano (clipped from above).  First and 4 near our goal line.

Milano in man coverage on #80

Milano says: It's You or Me, Guy.  And it's Gonna be Me.

Milano finishing the tackle, to our R of Q Jeff and in front of Poyer

Boom goes the dynamite.

 

The Cover1 guys do a great job of pointing out the role Jefferson plays in taking on the pulling guard and forcing the play inside to where Milano is waiting.  Sound team defensive play.

 

 

That play was probably my favorite play that they broke down.  That spin move to keep his gap was on point.  Hopefully our boys can stay in their lanes this week

 

Cover 1 guys are my favorite watch every week. Never miss a show with Erik, Anthony or Nate.  They do such a great job.  We’re lucky to have them. Not many other teams fans have this kind of access.  I do fear that our opponents can use their work to game plan against us.  This is pro level work

Edited January 12, 2021 by NewEra

[Real McClappy]

18 hours ago, colin said:

 

and both of those teams have legit pass rushers.

 

it just shows how bs that comment the dude from the nfl made during our game was, that they don't call it different in the playoffs.

 

they called it so so different, just put the whistles away.

also, aside from when our d got just trucked in two consecutive drives for 75 yard TDs with like 5 min total take off the clock (i know i know) they were actually good.

 

i really think the colts played great on those two drives, and found something wrong with us schematically (along w some misses by the d).  because we lost all momentum after the O had to punt after the terrible allen sack and fumble, but then the D got a fumble, got robbed, and still shut these guys down.

 

maybe im being a homer, but i think the film room is the key to our D getting itself in order

Yup, and why I'm not sold on high draft capital for a DE. If the refs will no longer call holding what is the point? 102 drop backs and not a single sack must be a NFL record no? I'm all for the refs letting the game play our but when I see our DEs getting tackled on pass rushes and running plays it's not acceptable.  It's been like this all year as well and worse in the playoffs. I'm curious to see how many Offensive holding calls were made this year versus say 2 years ago. 

 

Edited January 12, 2021 by Real McNasty

[colin]

2 hours ago, Real McNasty said:

Yup, and why I'm not sold on high draft capital for a DE. If the refs will no longer call holding what is the point? 102 drop backs and not a single sack must be a NFL record no? I'm all for the refs letting the game play our but when I see our DEs getting tackled on pass rushes and running plays it's not acceptable.  It's been like this all year as well and worse in the playoffs. I'm curious to see how many Offensive holding calls were made this year versus say 2 years ago. 

 

 

you make a good point, but it seems to be game to game.  i think sick rushers still have value, but i hear you on like 2 1sts and 25mm a year for one might not make sense