Jimmy Johnson Halftime Adjustment Against the Bills in SB XXVIII

[P Riv]

16 hours ago, just1hugheser said:

I F'ing LOVED those golden years teams(88-99), I was especially awed by the Front Office/Polian and how they were able to amass so much talent, also was inspired by how close those players became with each other after some initial adversity which points toward efficient and smart leadership and management(captains and coaches). 

 

When I looked back some years later the thing that really I still have trouble reconciling is how poorly those teams/coaches were at the X's and O's of the game, superb leadership, good time management, good organization, middling to poor at scheming and counter scheming.

 

1990 Bills- HC> Marv Levy  DC> Walt Corey  OC> Ted Marchibroda

 

         nyg- HC> Bill Parcells  DC> Bill Belichek  OC> Ron Erhardt (also Ray Handley, Charlie Weis, Al Groh, Tom Coughlin, Romeo Crennel)

 

-anyone who argues they weren't out coached by a mile in this game is just not facing reality, easily the worst of the 4 especially with the talent differential

 

The next year they get a Charlie Casserly built Redskins led by Joe Gibbs whose staff was not nearly as loaded as the giants and who were more on par with the Bills staff, I actually thought the refs had a huge affect on this game when I re-watched it years later but I'd also say Marv and them got out gameplanned in this one too though not as bad.  Really that Redskins teams hammered everyone that year, their only close games were against two good ass teams in the Bengals and Cowboys.

 

Then of course the two vs dallas both times we looked like we were tired of going and afraid to lose again especially in the 4th where they had a lead at halftime but still looked and acted like they had already lost then they don't even try and counter dallas halftime adjustments i meam c'mon tim tim

 

For the record  1992/3 cowboys- HC> Jim Johnson  DC> Dave Wannestedt/Butch Davis  OC> Norv Turner  (dave campo, jim eddy, cant seem to find any other position coaches).

 

Coaching matters a lot, a lot a lot      

 

Agreed on all.  I haven't seen it pointed out yet, but to me the most obvious coaching issue was the overall gameplan going in to all 4 match ups.  If you have a smaller, fast defense that is going against the road grader O-lines of the NFC East... WHY TF do you run a no huddle offense and leave your defense out there????????????  The Bills O-line was just as good, just as big and just as capable of smash mouth as the NFC East teams and Levy couldn't identify the obvious.  The obvious being in the Giants game, we got in the red zone and ran a conventional offense with a FB (Mueller) and deliberately rammed it down the Giants throats and they couldn't do a damn thing about it.  We should have beat them at their own game and forced them to pass to keep up.  

The Redskins game....They were on a different level of physicality than us, not talent.  They punched us in the mouth and we complained rather than punch back harder.  Again, coaching and preparation.

Go to YouTube, see for yourselves.

Edited July 29, 2021 by P Riv

[Gugny]

Marv Levy = overrated.

 

 

[RobbRiddick]

5 minutes ago, Gugny said:

Marv Levy = overrated.

 

 

 

He was a better coach than he was author.

 

When does the End Zone Justify the Means?The Los Angeles Leopards and the Portland Pioneers are on a collision course toward the Super Bowl Championship. One team is led by a take-no-prisoners head coach; the other by a cerebral, slow-and-steady coach who has been thrust into the spotlight because of a tragedy. A tense showdown is about to unfold before the world's football fans.But along the way to the championship game, something bad happens: the very integrity of the game comes within a yard of ruin!

 

 

[Gugny]

21 minutes ago, RobbRiddick said:

 

He was a better coach than he was author.

 

When does the End Zone Justify the Means?The Los Angeles Leopards and the Portland Pioneers are on a collision course toward the Super Bowl Championship. One team is led by a take-no-prisoners head coach; the other by a cerebral, slow-and-steady coach who has been thrust into the spotlight because of a tragedy. A tense showdown is about to unfold before the world's football fans.But along the way to the championship game, something bad happens: the very integrity of the game comes within a yard of ruin!

 

 

 

And a better author than a GM.

[sherpa]

8 hours ago, Marvlevydraftdaygenius said:

I have been a Bill's fan for years. If  only Ted Washington,was in the middle next to Bruce in those Super Bowls we would have trashed the Giants, Red skins, and at least 1 ounce to the cowboys. 263 Pound Jeff Wright, and swizzle sticks Walt Corey, cost us but also having a stingy owner like Ralph not wanting to pay players really hurt a team that could have been a dynasty.

 

Strongly disagree.

The Bills were better than the Giants and should have never lost that game.

 

They were clearly inferior to the Redskins, who led the league in scoring, were the second fewest in points allowed, and blew through the playoffs with an average 20 point margin of victory. 

The Bills were not close to that level.

Tasker himself has stated that was the best team he'd ever seen.

 

Cowboys were better both years as well, just not by as much, but better coached and disciplined.

[bmur66]

11 hours ago, Marvlevydraftdaygenius said:

I have been a Bill's fan for years. If  only Ted Washington,was in the middle next to Bruce in those Super Bowls we would have trashed the Giants, Red skins, and at least 1 ounce to the cowboys. 263 Pound Jeff Wright, and swizzle sticks Walt Corey, cost us but also having a stingy owner like Ralph not wanting to pay players really hurt a team that could have been a dynasty.

Right. As I recall Emmitt ran thru Wright and Bruce in the 2nd half. His legs were weapons and he was not to be denied. They couldn’t stop him. Whatever they did worked and the Bills had no answer.

[just1hugheser]

9 hours ago, P Riv said:

 

Agreed on all.  I haven't seen it pointed out yet, but to me the most obvious coaching issue was the overall gameplan going in to all 4 match ups.  If you have a smaller, fast defense that is going against the road grader O-lines of the NFC East... WHY TF do you run a no huddle offense and leave your defense out there????????????  The Bills O-line was just as good, just as big and just as capable of smash mouth as the NFC East teams and Levy couldn't identify the obvious.  The obvious being in the Giants game, we got in the red zone and ran a conventional offense with a FB (Mueller) and deliberately rammed it down the Giants throats and they couldn't do a damn thing about it.  We should have beat them at their own game and forced them to pass to keep up.  

The Redskins game....They were on a different level of physicality than us, not talent.  They punched us in the mouth and we complained rather than punch back harder.  Again, coaching and preparation.

Go to YouTube, see for yourselves.

 

 

I agree about the physicality and washington, the giants secondary did the same thing in the first one at least according to our wr's.

[Marvlevydraftdaygenius]

14 hours ago, bmur66 said:

Right. As I recall Emmitt ran thru Wright and Bruce in the 2nd half. His legs were weapons and he was not to be denied. They couldn’t stop him. Whatever they did worked and the Bills had no answer.

With Shan Conlan and Ted Washington nobody would have gotten 3 yards against us.

[dave mcbride]

15 hours ago, bmur66 said:

Right. As I recall Emmitt ran thru Wright and Bruce in the 2nd half. His legs were weapons and he was not to be denied. They couldn’t stop him. Whatever they did worked and the Bills had no answer.

They ran away from Smith all second half. On the decisive drive that made it 20-13, they ran behind Eric Williams right at Phil Hansen 6 plays in a row. On the crucial third down inside the red zone, Wright broke through the line and had Smith for a loss, but Smith broke the tackle and rumbled in 15 yards for a score. Should have been 4th and 5 from about the 17. 

 

But with regard to that game, this is all missing the big picture. After the Bills started the second half with a run of 6 yards and a pass to Brooks for 9 yards, Kent Hull got beaten badly by Leon Lett, who punched the ball out, after which the ball went into the middle of the freaking LOS area. Yet despite being surrounded by a sea of humanity, the ball was not only picked up by James Washington; he ran it in for a score from near midfield. How often does that happen??? After that, the wheels came off on the offense. Kelly played terribly after a mostly crisp first half (in which the Bills had a pretty good game plan against an uber-fast defense) and the line got beaten on play after play after winning at the LOS in the first half (and of course the first two plays of the second half). The offense cost them that game with the turnovers and complete lack of production in the second half. 

 

My advice: Watch the first half of that game, declare victory, and get the hell out. That's been my modus operandi regarding that game for 27 years.  It works.

Edited July 30, 2021 by dave mcbride

[dave mcbride]

On 7/27/2021 at 8:53 PM, BUFFALOBART said:

We were outcoached in ALL four Superbowls.

Disagree to an extent about the final one. The Cowboys were FAR superior talent wise to that 1993 Bills team, which wasn't all that great and feasted on a huge turnover differential plus the benefit of absolutely brutal weather at Rich in their two playoff games. Kelly was never the same physically after rupturing his bursar sac in the second half of the 1992 season, and the production numbers bear that out. The Bills, despite being worse, outplayed the Cowboys in the first half and had a better game plan. They collapsed not because of coaching, but because the players played terribly and made mistake after mistake in the second half. Marv didn't miss that block on Leon Lett that led to the crucial fumble, Walt Corey didn't miss what should have been an easy tackle in the backfield on Emmitt Smith on 3rd down from the 15 with the score tied 13-13, and Jim Shofner didn't throw a really bad pick into double coverage (to James Washington, who Kelly should have known to avoid by that point) when the game was still within reach (still 20-13). That's ALL on the players. To be fair to the players, they were an inferior unit to the Cowboys. But the coaches did what they had to do that game. Talent won out in the end. Enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpC8Z-oGd4c

Edited July 30, 2021 by dave mcbride

[dave mcbride]

19 hours ago, sherpa said:

 

Strongly disagree.

The Bills were better than the Giants and should have never lost that game.

 

They were clearly inferior to the Redskins, who led the league in scoring, were the second fewest in points allowed, and blew through the playoffs with an average 20 point margin of victory. 

The Bills were not close to that level.

Tasker himself has stated that was the best team he'd ever seen.

 

Cowboys were better both years as well, just not by as much, but better coached and disciplined.

The Cowboys were a LOT better, especially in 1993. That team from 1992-1995 is one of the better ones in league history. The Bills were better than the Giants, and they were outcoached. The Redskins blew them out because they were that much better. They also blew out the Bills in the final game of the 1990 season, and while the stars mostly rested for the Bills, the matchup problems were on display in that game too.

[stuvian]

I still say that Jimmy Johnson was the best combination coach/GM of all time

[Joe Ferguson]

That forced fumble by Leon Lett on Thurman Thomas started the downward spiral for the Bills. Thurman also hurt the team by him being a head case and moping and pouting the rest of the game. His negative attitude affected his teammates mindset and thus the team played like turd and lost.

[NoHuddleKelly12]

On 7/30/2021 at 1:09 PM, dave mcbride said:

They ran away from Smith all second half. On the decisive drive that made it 20-13, they ran behind Eric Williams right at Phil Hansen 6 plays in a row. On the crucial third down inside the red zone, Wright broke through the line and had Smith for a loss, but Smith broke the tackle and rumbled in 15 yards for a score. Should have been 4th and 5 from about the 17. 

 

But with regard to that game, this is all missing the big picture. After the Bills started the second half with a run of 6 yards and a pass to Brooks for 9 yards, Kent Hull got beaten badly by Leon Lett, who punched the ball out, after which the ball went into the middle of the freaking LOS area. Yet despite being surrounded by a sea of humanity, the ball was not only picked up by James Washington; he ran it in for a score from near midfield. How often does that happen??? After that, the wheels came off on the offense. Kelly played terribly after a mostly crisp first half (in which the Bills had a pretty good game plan against an uber-fast defense) and the line got beaten on play after play after winning at the LOS in the first half (and of course the first two plays of the second half). The offense cost them that game with the turnovers and complete lack of production in the second half. 

 

My advice: Watch the first half of that game, declare victory, and get the hell out. That's been my modus operandi regarding that game for 27 years.  It works.

Couldn’t agree more! Also try the same thing for SB XXVII, 1st quarter. Some of the best SB performance the Bills ever showed! We had it all, high energy, blocked punts, touchdown, kicking game, a passing attack, and defensive stops! Based on that, it’s almost impossible for the game to have turned the way it did—seriously, watch just the 1st quarter on YouTube and tell me I’m wrong. 

 

[97bills]

On 7/27/2021 at 10:08 AM, Jauronimo said:

This just underscores how badly we were outcoached in at least 2 of the 4 trips to the Super Bowl.

That’s the truth and I think the one we lost to the Gmen was being out coached at its finest. Buffalo was the superior in that game and they had a back up Qb. Oh the nightmare