Key to beating the Ravens- beating the blitz

[M. Wrotto]

I would think the key to winning this game is forcing Jackson to pass. Keep 7 in the box often, play man to man on the outside and dedicate a spy on Jackson at all times.

 

[PrimeTime101]

1 minute ago, M. Wrotto said:

I would think the key to winning this game is forcing Jackson to pass. Keep 7 in the box often, play man to man on the outside and dedicate a spy on Jackson at all times.

 

now your talking..

[longtimebillsfan]

4 hours ago, NewEra said:

Stopping the Ravens run game will obviously be crucial in coming away with a win, but I that as secondary. 
 

The Ravens defense is better than their offense. It’s the reason they win 11 games. Their D is predicted on the blitz, where they led the league in blitz% at over 45%.  It’s the reason they beat us last season.  Our offense couldn’t deal with the pressure and was inept.  
 

Josh has been one the best, if not the best, QB in dealing with the blitz this season. He has made the opposition pay when they bring extra rushers all season.  
 

Unfortunately for us, the ravens are loaded at cornerback.  Humphrey, Peters and Smith are the most physical CB group in the league.  How does that matchup vs the smaller and quicker WRs that we employ?  Will they be able to disrupt their routes at the LOS and throw off the timing while the blitzers bear down?  Will Martindale be able to confuse JA and force him into bad decisions?  Has Josh improved enough where he can decipher what the ravens are doing?  Can Daboll put together the proper game plan to beat the blitz?  
 

IMO- we win if we score 27+ and we’ll only do that if we can have success vs the blitz.  

I am confident that our receivers can get separation.  Josh just has to do his magic and escape the pocket long enough to allow the receivers to run their routes.  Beasley is a key in this game.

 

I am more concerned about our defense stopping the Ravens ground game.  Many have referenced our success in controlling the Ravens ground game in 2019.  This is not the same defense as we all know.  They have improved in the second half of the year, but they are still vulnerable vs an effective ground game.

 

Go Bills!!!

[biggerdaddynj]

2 minutes ago, PrimeTime101 said:

watching it. Our Offense is way way better today then that game. So is our Line. Josh is also doing better on pre-snap reads and we are not going to run run pass lol

NFL Network is replaying the game tomorrow, Friday, at 3:00pm EST.  
 

Interesting to try to extrapolate the current team and how they’re playing with last year’s (call me naive but I discount the Indy game because based on my limited expertise, I think they played an “A” in regard to technical proficiency). Would like to hear the opinion of you folks who have the ability to “try” to do that to the best of your ability.  

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

1 hour ago, NewEra said:

Meanwhile he led the league in passing TDs last season. Pretty good for a RB

we stopped him last season.  And still lost

Not from throwing 3 TDs, to your point...  Lol... 

 

 

[Penfield45]

1 hour ago, PrimeTime101 said:

Isn't Josh one of the best QB's in the league against the Blitz? how come this isn't the main conversation.

Hasn't Diggs and Beasley beaten some of the best CB/SCB in the league? Why isn't this the main conversation.

Hasn't our Line given Josh a ton of time even against the blitz? 

 

Sorry guys I could go on but I think you get the point.

 

I'm tired of this doom and gloom fearing other teams. 

It is , but we have yet to face a secondary as good as the ravens this year 

 

 

[NewEra]

4 minutes ago, longtimebillsfan said:

I am confident that our receivers can get separation.  Josh just has to do his magic and escape the pocket long enough to allow the receivers to run their routes.  Beasley is a key in this game.

 

I am more concerned about our defense stopping the Ravens ground game.  Many have referenced our success in controlling the Ravens ground game in 2019.  This is not the same defense as we all know.  They have improved in the second half of the year, but they are still vulnerable vs an effective ground game.

 

Go Bills!!!

if he does that, we win imo.  He wasnt able to do that last year. he had 2 rushes for 9 yards and took 6 sacks.  I realize that our weapons are MUCH better this year.  After watching a video from Mark Schofield, i'm worried that the ravens will continuously bring pressure from Joshs' right and force him to scramble and buy time to his left.  While he has the ability to do just that, the degree of difficulty is higher and Campbell and Ngakoue will be coming from his left.  Just have to hope our boy blue is on his game!  I billieve, I'm just nervous.

[PrimeTime101]

3 minutes ago, biggerdaddynj said:

NFL Network is replaying the game tomorrow, Friday, at 3:00pm EST.  
 

Interesting to try to extrapolate the current team and how they’re playing with last year’s (call me naive but I discount the Indy game because based on my limited expertise, I think they played an “A” in regard to technical proficiency). Would like to hear the opinion of you folks who have the ability to “try” to do that to the best of your ability.  

this is easy for me.. We were a run first team with a struggling Josh Allen with Bad WR's this could turn into a shootout

[NewEra]

2 minutes ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

Not from throwing 3 TDs, to your point...  Lol... 

 

 

this is why I think that our offense is the key tomorrow, as opposed to stopping Lamar

[PrimeTime101]

1 minute ago, Penfield45 said:

It is , but we have yet to face a secondary as good as the ravens this year 

 

 

Subjective reply I like It. and I agree... Yet.. we have come close to that in other teams we played this year yes? 

Just now, NewEra said:

this is why I think that our offense is the key tomorrow, as opposed to stopping Lamar

I agree with this statement in its fullest. I just don't think its a white or black. do or don't do. there are going to be times we struggle and times they struggle.  I am watching the last time we played then witch is darn close to how they play now many of same players.  We were run run pass last time with not so great targets.

 

The beast is hungry. Josh is Hungry. Josh is mr. 4thquarter and I trust that be just as good as the defense we are playing against

[Cheektowaga Chad]

Things I'm pretty confident will happen

 

Bills score more than 24 points

 

Ravens rush for 200 yards

 

The key will be how long it takes the ravens to score and if they score tds or fg's or turn it over on downs

 

[PrimeTime101]

Just now, Cheektowaga Chad said:

Things I'm pretty confident will happen

 

Bills score more than 24 points

 

Ravens rush for 200 yards

 

The key will be how long it takes the ravens to score and if they score tds or fg's or turn it over on downs

 

Exactly.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

5 hours ago, NewEra said:

Stopping the Ravens run game will obviously be crucial in coming away with a win, but I that as secondary. 
 

The Ravens defense is better than their offense. It’s the reason they win 11 games. Their D is predicted on the blitz, where they led the league in blitz% at over 45%.  It’s the reason they beat us last season.  Our offense couldn’t deal with the pressure and was inept.  
 

Josh has been one the best, if not the best, QB in dealing with the blitz this season. He has made the opposition pay when they bring extra rushers all season.  
 

Unfortunately for us, the ravens are loaded at cornerback.  Humphrey, Peters and Smith are the most physical CB group in the league.  How does that matchup vs the smaller and quicker WRs that we employ?  Will they be able to disrupt their routes at the LOS and throw off the timing while the blitzers bear down?  Will Martindale be able to confuse JA and force him into bad decisions?  Has Josh improved enough where he can decipher what the ravens are doing?  Can Daboll put together the proper game plan to beat the blitz?  
 

IMO- we win if we score 27+ and we’ll only do that if we can have success vs the blitz.  

 

It's not just the blitz, it's their pressure looks in general.  They fake the blitz then drop into coverage and try to bring pressure with 4 or 5 - but which 4 or 5 is the question?  Figuring out the right protections, who to block and who should block them, was a test Josh and the OL (not sure who most responsible) failed repeatedly last year.

 

And it's not just Daboll.  Earlier in the year, Josh continued to behave as though taking a checkdown was an affront to his QB man-card and he'd rather donate his left nut to science than check it down to an RB or TE in the flat or short yardage.  After the KC game, he seemed to "get over" this, but he still reverts at times and will take a 9.99/10 difficulty pass downfield over a wide open Singletary (or even Stefon Diggs) all alone and lonely, waving to him.

 

Selling the PI will also be key, as will the WR actually fighting to come back for the ball at need (which is how you sell the PI).  Very disappointed in John Brown last game letting himself get boxed out and outplayed - perhaps he is still hampered?

 

1 hour ago, NewEra said:

this is why I think that our offense is the key tomorrow, as opposed to stopping Lamar

 

Can I vote for "both"?

[WideNine]

2 hours ago, Big Turk said:

 

Indy played their A+ game and we played our C game and we still won. Against a team that was in the top 10 in the NFL in Offense, Defense and Special Teams. Let that sink in for a minute. You have to be a REALLY REALLY good team to do that.

 

Honestly, I have thought about this a lot and have let it sink in as much as I can

 

I also have to recognize that we won by 3 points, the Colts had a field goal doink of the post, came incredibly close to recovering a fumble deep in our territory, and inexplicably pulled their stellar running back on a 4th and goal play that we stuffed. I think the best way to look at that game is to acknowledge the great plays we made, but also be realistic that we were damn lucky too.

 

Humble and hungry does not mean playing scared or being too down on your team. I think it means being humble enough to acknowledge looking back at games that there are things each player, the coaches, and the FO can work on to improve their performance, it means respecting what the next opponent can do, and being hungry enough to not be satisfied and work at the things they need to work on that translate into success on the field.

 

They keep that growth mindset up and down the organization chain and the wins will continue to come for this franchise.

 

 

[Big Turk]

9 minutes ago, WideNine said:

 

Honestly, I have thought about this a lot and have let it sink in as much as I can

 

I also have to recognize that we won by 3 points, the Colts had a field goal doink of the post, came incredibly close to recovering a fumble deep in our territory, and inexplicably pulled their stellar running back on a 4th and goal play that we stuffed. I think the best way to look at that game is to acknowledge the great plays we made, but also be realistic that we were damn lucky too.

 

Humble and hungry does not mean playing scared or being too down on your team. I think it means being humble enough to acknowledge looking back at games that there are things each player, the coaches, and the FO can work on to improve their performance, it means respecting what the next opponent can do, and being hungry enough to not be satisfied and work at the things they need to work on that translate into success on the field.

 

They keep that growth mindset up and down the organization chain and the wins will continue to come for this franchise.

 

 

 

If luck played no part in sports then New England probably only wins 3 Super Bowls.  Every team that wins the Super Bowl or any Championship for that matter has some luck involved. The Bills played better situationally than the Colts did. That matters a lot.  That is when points are scored or not scored. 

 

Colts got a few lucky calls themselves throughout the game...how many times did Rivers allow the play clock to go well past zero and yet they only got a single delay of game penalty. 

 

Obviously they are not going to be happy with the way they played for large parts of that game, but that doesn't mean they can't play a great game this Saturday. There usually isn't a lot of carryover between games in the NFL. They are too far apart and there are too many individual differences between games for that. In my mind, getting this first win as a team under McDermott and Allen should have done a lot to ease any pressure they may have felt. 

[Fan in Chicago]

1 hour ago, M. Wrotto said:

I would think the key to winning this game is forcing Jackson to pass. Keep 7 in the box often, play man to man on the outside and dedicate a spy on Jackson at all times.

 

Spy implies that he needs to keep up with Jackson if the latter breaks contain. Thats a daunting proposition and if the spy misses, it will set up LJ for a big gain due to the disproportionate number of hats. Instead, limiting LJ will be about gap control and containment. 

[PrimeTime101]

3 minutes ago, Fan in Chicago said:

Spy implies that he needs to keep up with Jackson if the latter breaks contain. Thats a daunting proposition and if the spy misses, it will set up LJ for a big gain due to the disproportionate number of hats. Instead, limiting LJ will be about gap control and containment. 

Agree.. Contain Jackson in the pocket. Force him to be a passer (where have we heard this before lol) and don't let Jackson gouge you

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

1 hour ago, Penfield45 said:

It is , but we have yet to face a secondary as good as the ravens this year 

 

 

Im sure my perception is skewed but it was like their defense wasn't even on the field against the browns last time those teams met lol we played a lot of top 10 defenses and I've never seen any of them get victimized like that.  Of course they still won the game because the browns refused to play defense either 🤣

[WideNine]

1 minute ago, Big Turk said:

 

If luck played no part in sports then New England probably only wins 3 Super Bowls.  Every team that wins the Super Bowl or any Championship for that matter has some luck involved. The Bills played better situationally than the Colts did. That matters a lot.  That is when points are scored or not scored. 

 

Colts got a few lucky calls themselves throughout the game...how many times did Rivers allow the play clock to go well past zero and yet they only got a single delay of game penalty. 

 

Obviously they are not going to be happy with the way they played for large parts of that game, but that doesn't mean they can't play a great game this Saturday. There usually isn't a lot of carryover between games in the NFL. They are too far apart and there are too many individual differences between games for that. In my mind, getting this first win as a team under McDermott and Allen should have done a lot to ease any pressure they may have felt. 

 

Have thought about that too, and good points. Those DOG missed penalties torqued me a lot as it was clear they were trying to milk the clock and keep Allen and the offense cooling their heels on the sideline.

 

I am hopeful that Allen and the offense were able to get that "first playoff win" monkey off their back and will play a bit less tight on offense and be able to execute better. I also can acknowledge that so many games in that long drought we had playing NE came down to just one play, or one bounce that always seemed to go their way.

 

I am glad that we have had luck on our side, but I don't think I will ever be comfortable relying on our good luck. We need to play the run better and tackle better, and we need to move the football better with our RBs, and Allen will need his receivers to continue to come up big and also score.

 

Can tell it is playoff time - been a long time since we had these kinds of threads on the Wall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PrimeTime101]

30 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

It's not just the blitz, it's their pressure looks in general.  They fake the blitz then drop into coverage and try to bring pressure with 4 or 5 - but which 4 or 5 is the question?  Figuring out the right protections, who to block and who should block them, was a test Josh and the OL (not sure who most responsible) failed repeatedly last year.

 

And it's not just Daboll.  Earlier in the year, Josh continued to behave as though taking a checkdown was an affront to his QB man-card and he'd rather donate his left nut to science than check it down to an RB or TE in the flat or short yardage.  After the KC game, he seemed to "get over" this, but he still reverts at times and will take a 9.99/10 difficulty pass downfield over a wide open Singletary (or even Stefon Diggs) all alone and lonely, waving to him.

 

Selling the PI will also be key, as will the WR actually fighting to come back for the ball at need (which is how you sell the PI).  Very disappointed in John Brown last game letting himself get boxed out and outplayed - perhaps he is still hampered?

100% agree there's so much to it. good stuff Hapless. And I think your right.. maybe Brown was not 100%. Having Brown, Beasley and Diggs Brown not at 100% could have been in part what hurt us last game.