A Few Thoughts about the Steelers Game, in no particular order

[B-Large]

A gritty battle that was pretty much decided by a special team blunder.  The officiating was a bit lopsided, and while that isn’t an excuse, unfortunately it often saps momentum and rhythm.  I think it was just enough to slow down a very talented Bills offense.
 

seems like a lot of people expected star wars from Allen and his offense.  Against the Queefs, Squeelers and other top tier teams, the Bills offense will have to be patient and systematic to win these tight games.  A yard or two better placed and a few of those long throws are pay dirt and we’re all talking super bowl again.

 

Contenders lose their first games sometimes, it happens.  A whole week to prepare to go pound Miami and get back on track.  Wouldn’t read to much into Sunday… clean up your game and move on to the next.

[BigBuff423]

For all of this, I'd also add I think the Pre-Season, or lack thereof for certain players, is being underrepresented. Allen had a single half of Pre-Season football with fans in the stands against Packers' second unit. Levi didn't play much in Pre-Season, nor did Jackson, and it showed. Last year Offenses were at a historic clip mainly because Defenses weren't in game shape and it took some time to adjust to the heavy Offensive onslaught that ensued. Even Aaron Rodgers struggled in his first real game of the season after sitting out all of the Pre-Season and that's the Offense that led the entire league last year in Offense. 

 

Pre-Season is a time when we hold our breaths and curse the gods when players get hurt, but it has a true purpose beyond just evaluating your team's 5th Linebacker. It has to do with game shape, being able to respond with quickness, having the muscle memory of your key responses, etc. IMHO, Josh needed more playing time in Pre-Season, the Offensive Line did as well because they didn't play much together as a whole unit and the Taron Johnson and Levi Wallace didn't play much either and it showed. Moreover, Dawkins' time on COVID list showed why it's such a difficult thing to manage in pro sports. You can take all of the medical precautions and treatments, but due to the ardent demand on the body, the physical effects are severe and IMO, it showed yesterday on the field as well. Other players have openly discussed the longer term effects (i.e. Myles Garrett for several months) of COVID and how it impacted their ability to play the game. I don't think this should be overlooked either. 

 

On the whole the Offensive Line needs to improve, the secondary needs to quickly get all of their rust off their game and get healthy (Wallace and T. Johnson), Allen has to find a way to keep the ice in his veins and receivers need to catch the balls thrown to them. I'll take the blocked punt as an anomaly because even in poor STs, it doesn't happen often. I think there was a confluence of events for the team today and they still nearly won the game. Meaning, most of what we're discussing are fixable issues in the immediate and isn't a season-long concern. IF, and that's a pretty big IF, the coaching staff and players can adjust and re-set, the season will be a tremendously successful one. On to Miami....Go Bills!

[Wo-Bah]

7 minutes ago, TAinLA said:

and Josh running with one hand on the ball, mind boggling.  

Still.  After all of the games he's played.  He was lucky to recover his fumble.

[Thurman#1]

7 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

3. Tremaine still doesn't play thru the whistle.........he let up on a play where the ball was tipped and the delayed reaction cost him a much better chance of intercepting the ball.    He always seems caught off guard when opportunity knocks.  The big plays are what they need to start getting from him.

 

 

Nonsense. Your confirmation bias is showing.

 

Stopping play wasn't a problem. It's very arguable that a guy with better hands makes the play, though. It was a hard catch, but could have been made.

 

He had a good game, though.

[Bob in STL]

8 hours ago, Virgil said:

For months, fans, radio announcers, and players have all talked about the Bills home opener as being the place to be.  Being at the game today, the fans did not disappoint.  The lots filled up early, traffic was heavy, and the music was loud.  In all my years attending games, that was easily the most electric of a tail gate experience as I can remember seeing.  The weather held off, the Bills are Super Bowl favorites, and they were favored by almost a touchdown.  All that was left was to take care of business...

 

1 - Stadium Experience - I've attended Bills games since the early 90's, attended multiple playoff games, and witnessed huge comebacks.  I write that to give context when I saw that this was the loudest Bills game I've ever been to.  I literally couldn't hear the announcers or the people talking beside me when it was at it's loudest.  At kick-off, there wasn't a single fan trying to find their seats as the stadium was 100% full and rockin.  All of the pre-game hype and ticket prices for this game lived up to the billing.  The rain never came, the wind was rarely a factor, but the food was terrible.  I can only speak for the visitors side on the lower deck, but the only food options were pizza and hot dogs.  This is the first Bills game I've ever attended where I couldn't get an italian sausage inside the stadium. 

 

2 - Defensive Line - Of everything going on in the game, I watched the defensive line rotation as closely as possible.  The rotation of the defensive ends appeared to go by series.  Groot was out there for the first two, rotated on the other side by Hughes and Addison.  Groot and Addison appeared to be the most effective.  Oliver played a hell of a game, disrupting the inside and getting pressure quite a few times.  Addison showed good speed on the strip sack and Groot didn't hit home, but got good pressure against a quick pass release and chased a few runs down from behind.  Granted, against a weak offensive line, I expected a bit more production, but the loss of this game cannot be put on the core guys up front.  Harris didn't get anything going on the ground and Frazier did start sending some more guys in the second half.  I'm still not a fan of having so many active lineman, especially when it means keeping Groot off the field.  I can't say I noticed Obada on the field at all.

 

3 - Edmunds - As a player I'm usually pretty hard on, I thought Edmunds had a great game.  He was quick, decisive, and in the backfield on quite a few runs.  His coverage over the middle was strong too.  On the one somewhat deep pass down the middle, the TE slipped and appeared down, only to get up and then sneak down the seem for a catch.  Overall, for those looking for a positive sign that Edmunds might turn it on this year, today was a good first step.

 

4 - I take a walk outside, I'm surrounded by some kids at play
I can feel their laughter, so why do I sear
Mm, and twisted thoughts that spin 'round my head
I'm spinning, oh, I'm spinning, how quick the sun can drop away

 

5 - Allen - When you get paid the second most of NFL quarterbacks, the expectations go through the roof.  Call it sugar high Allen or whatever you want, but Allen was not on his game today and you could see it in his body language.  The pressure was there from Watt and Gordon sometimes, but that was not an excuse for some of the missed throws and poor decisions.  He missed Sanders on a wide open deep ball, but also made some questionable throws downfield to guys double/triple covered.  While playing man in the first half, the Steelers relaxed into zone in the second.  On a few drives, there were receivers being covered on one side of the field by a linebacker in zone, but Allen never looked their way for the easy first downs, as he seemed locked in on his guy.  While not trying to take away from the Steelers defense, the opportunity was there for Allen to deliver and he just wasn't the player we saw most of last year.

 

6 - Wide Receivers - When I think of a stubborn coach, I always think of Mike Martz and his compulsion to prove what he could and couldn't do.  I say that because I feel like Sanders is being force fed down our throats as an offensive weapon.  While he worked downfield on a few plays, he overall acted in the same role as Beasley.  In the red zone, we had Diggs, Beasley, and Sanders out there and I couldn't figure it out.  In the first half, I only counted a few plays where Davis was even out on the field.  The fact that he was on the bench, Kumerow didn't see the field in the red zone, led me to believe that we ran a very stubborn game plan.  The Steelers secondary is one of their biggest weaknesses, and we never really pushed the ball downfield.  It was either a deep shot or something underneath.  The deeper crossing routes were nowhere to be seen and the usage of our 2020 TD receiving leader was abysmal. 

 

7 - Refs - Each official has a specific assignment on the field.  The head ref watches the quarterback, the line judge watches the line of scrimmage.  On deep plays, the deep side judge watches the receivers and plays downfield.  On the pass interference call, please help me understand why the female ref threw the flag from 20 yards behind the play when there was another ref right next to the play and didn't throw a flag?  In watching the replay on the big screen, I did not see pass interference, so I definitely don't know how she saw it from where she was standing.  That was a game changing play (so was the blocked punt), and McD was furious about it.  Even after the Steelers scored a touchdown, McD was in her ear about it until the white hat came over.  The officiating wasn't terrible overall, but it did feel like some of those holds were one sided.  I also argue the hold against Tre.  While contact was made, it felt like hand fighting and didn't affect the play.  Ben through a bad pass and Tre broke on it.  Another call that hurt us badly.

 

8 - Dawkins - For all the focus on Watt, and rightfully so, Dawkins got abused by Gordon on the other side.  Two of his holds were survival holds and he wasn't able to get any push ass they tried to power run to his side.  I don't know if he's not fully recovered and in shape from his bout from COVID, but that was not a good look for him and we will need better protection from him on Allen's blindside.

 

9 - Special Teams - One play shouldn't define a unit, but when it leads to a touchdown, it's hard to not give this unit a failing grade.  McKenzie had a great opening kick off that we squandered into a field goal and Bass is just money.  Haak booted his first punt into the end zone and settled down after that.  On the blocked punt however, our line just crumbled to the Steelers.  I don't know what the miss was, but it seemed like we just got dominated and the game was over from there.  Be prepared for that highlight every time we punt for a few weeks.

 

10 - Coaching - Can someone please get a hold of 2020 McD and tell him we need him back as a coach, because 2019 McD is going to get us in trouble.  If you are going to be cautious, then at least be consistent with it.  The decision to punt on our out 40 in the first half, but then go for it in the second half from further out made zero sense to me.  Allen even tried to keep the offense on the field and was overturned.  The trick play on 4th and one was a travesty and should never be ran again.  Overall, this team was not ready for this game and McD was out-coached by Tomlin.  Daboll had some terrible play calls and didn't seem to know how to use his guys out there.  He was getting great runs out of Motor from the shotgun, and then proceeded to try again later in power formations.  Yes, Allen didn't execute well and that blocked punt was a killer, but I put this loss on our McD and Daboll as much as anyone else.  It was embarrassing and the fans deserved better. 

 

 

One week down and it's not what everyone wanted to see, but it is only one week.  If Allen needs to have a bounceback game, what better team to face than the Dolphins next.  It's frustrating to kill the hype train at our first regular season home game in over 18 months and when the fans showed up like they did, but it's a long 17 game season and there were a lot of positive take aways from today.  I look forward to a new week and a strong season from this team.  We will find out rhythm and get this party started, it's just going to be a little later than we thought.

 

Go Bills!

A man of your stature and experience should be grilling his Italian Sausage outside the stadium, before the game.  The food inside is always bad, it’s stadium food.  
 

I agree with most of this except your comment on Pittsburgh DBs. They are big, fast, and physical.  They were everywhere,  and It seemed like there were 3 DBs near every receiver that was designated.  Both Allen and Beasley commented on it. They absolutely knew what we were doing. 

In addition, your comments on Edmunds are off base.  He played a good game as did the entire defense. 
 

Tomlin won the coaching battle by a mile, to the point of scouting our preseason games and seeing how we used a FB in short yardage.   Their scheme on the blocked punt was brilliant.  
 

Pittsburgh had the majority of calls go their way ( both pass interference call to be exact) and  they were the more physically dominant team.  Our OL was beaten badly and Pittsburgh did not have to blitz.   The holding calls were real.  Our reliance on an empty backfield set with 4 WRs made us predictable and helped their front 4 to tee off even more.  Daboll gets a big 0 for this game. 

Edited September 13, 2021 by Bob in STL

[RiotAct]

Agree on the crowd… they brought it!!!  Not many Steelers fans either (even in Section 112), which was a nice surprise.

[GunnerBill]

56 minutes ago, SectionC3 said:

What hurts about this loss is that it’s probably the first time with McDermott that we lost a game we were expected to win.  I felt like we were out coached yesterday.  Josh was off and we simply had no answers.  I still don’t understand the offensive game plan, and we simply got too cute at times.  
 

But behind all of that, I frankly feel like the offense was rusty and I suspect McDermott is not happy with some of the preparations.  In hindsight, skipping the Thursday practice was not a good plan.  And from what I heard, they had players arriving late to the stadium because of traffic (which was a nightmare even in the back roads).  All of that adds up to not ready to play. 

 

Agree. Fundamentally we looked unprepared and that has happened very, very rarely under this regime. 

[SoCal Deek]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Agree. Fundamentally we looked unprepared and that has happened very, very rarely under this regime. 

Put this one squarely on Daboll. Our defense played really well. Our special teams gave up a big play but also made big play. Our offense was nothing short of awful.

[Beast]

4 hours ago, BobbyC81 said:

One other thing not mentioned yet in this thread:  why do they keep bringing Levi Wallace back as the starting CB when he has games like this?  He was horrible.

How was he horrible? 
 

7 hours ago, Process said:

The Sanders signing made 0 sense from the beginning. But you are correct, McBeane is very stubborn and it is a huge flaw of theirs. 

 

This offense needed to add another playmaker. Not a poor man's version of what we already have. 

 

7 hours ago, Freddie's Dead said:

Re-sign SmokeY and cut Sanders.  Problem solved.

 

Why is Sanders getting beat up here? He should have had over 100 yards receiving and a TD if Allen could hit he broad side of a barn on a deep throw.

 

Sanders is a great addition.

Edited September 13, 2021 by Beast

[dave mcbride]

7 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

3. Tremaine still doesn't play thru the whistle.........he let up on a play where the ball was tipped and the delayed reaction cost him a much better chance of intercepting the ball.    He always seems caught off guard when opportunity knocks.  The big plays are what they need to start getting from him.

Enh … I watched that a couple of times and that’s not what I saw at all. Watch it again. 
 

Also, a worrying sign: Allen’s bomb to a WIDE-open Sanders was yet another low-arc missile that gave his receiver zero chance to adjust/catch up. How that hasn’t been coached out of him yet is beyond me. Put some air under it, for chrissake.

3 minutes ago, Beast said:

How was he horrible? 
 

 

 

Why is Sanders getting beat up here? He should have had over 100 yards receiving and a TD if Allen could hit he broad side of a barn on a deep throw.

 

Sanders is a great addition.

The Sanders hatred here is laughable. He was excellent yesterday, consistently getting open.

[GunnerBill]

I would just add to the gameplan and execution debate on the oline. I think Daboll had a strange day playcalling, not sure why we didn't try some play action (don't recall one play action pass, did I miss one?) or going to 10 personnel and using Breida as a pass catcher (which was often what New England running the same offense used to do with James White against defenses that were teeing off). However, the way the oline was totally demolished really reminded me of the Jets game in McDermott's first year when Rick Dennison was the OC. We got beat pretty bad up front that day too and Dennison's response was to bring more big bodies onto the field and try to run it and then boot Tyrod out and move the pocket. It didn't work and I remember clearly the debate on this board being why didn't he spread it out get the big bodies off the field, lighten the box and try and make it an outside game? Well yesterday with an oline getting equally demolished Daboll stayed spread out and tried that approach and it failed too.

 

My point is not really to say either Dennison or Daboll was wrong or right, or that in either case the playcalling couldn't have been better (clearly it could) but my conclusion in my years watching the game is that when you offensive line is getting beaten like a drum play after play then personnel and system and even playcalling become secondary. There are not many calls on the call sheet that work when multiple linemen are blown up right at the snap every single down. You can't lose the trenches that badly and still win many football games. 

 

If I was ranking reasons for the defeat I go:

 

#1 - offensive line

#2 - whoever decided to sign Haack

#3 - play calling on offense

#4 - macro level coaching / 4th down decisions

#5 - Quarterback play

 

Edited September 13, 2021 by GunnerBill

[BuffaloRebound]

Josh is human.  And it’s only human nature that a guy who just got paid the way he did to prove to everyone he deserves that money.  Seems like the way to win games like yesterday is to take the underneath stuff, keep moving the chains and  matriculate the ball down the field.  It’d be nice if the Bills gave him more weapons to do that like a physical Tight End and RB, but you gotta take what the defense is giving you.  That’s 3 straight sub-par games from Josh and the offense.  

[zow2]

Josh not taking the easy dump-off plays to get positive yardage was bad.  Turned out to be drive killing on a few occasions.  I mean on 3rd and 3 or 4th and 8, whatever...why are you throwing downfield into coverage when guys are not wide open.  Just take the easy underneath stuff.  Josh is just dying to hit chunk plays but against Pittsburgh they needed to adjust.

[dave mcbride]

4 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

I would just add to the gameplan and execution debate on the oline. I think Daboll had a strange day playcalling, not sure why we didn't try some play action (don't recall one play action pass, did I miss one?) or going to 10 personnel and using Breida as a pass catcher (which was often what New England running the same offense used to do with James White against defenses that were teeing off). However, the way the oline was totally demolished really reminded me of the Jets game in McDermott's first year when Rick Dennison was the OC. We got beat pretty bad up front that day too and Dennison's response was to bring more big bodies onto the field and try to run it and then boot Tyrod out and move the pocket. It didn't work and I remember clearly the debate on this board being why didn't he spread it out get the big bodies off the field, lighten the box and try and make it an outside game? Well yesterday with an oline getting equally demolished Daboll stayed spread out and tried that approach and it failed too.

 

My point is not really to say either Dennison or Daboll was wrong or right, or that in either case the playcalling couldn't have been better (clearly it could) but my conclusion in my years watching the game is that when you offensive line is getting beaten like a drum play after play then personnel and system and even playcalling become secondary. There are not many calls on the call sheet that work when multiple linemen are blown up right at the snap every single down. You can't lose the trenches that badly and still win many football games. 

 

If I was ranking reasons for the defeat I go:

 

#1 - offensive line

#2 - whoever decided to sign Haack

#3 - play calling on offense

#4 - macro level coaching / 4th down decisions

#5 - Quarterback play

 

Well said. Too often, fans blame “coaching” when it’s players not making plays.

[davefan66]

So much went against the Bills on Sunday.  Yet, they could have won this game.  Not blaming the loss totally in the refs, but many bad calls against the Bills changed the flow of the game.  Not just the bad PI calls, but some of the holding calls.  One or two were not holds, a couple others were at bad times for the Bills.  You can probably call holding on every play in the NFL.  Yet, they are called at times it hurt the Bills.  Not calling it a conspiracy, just hate how that happens.

 

Overall, Steelers were the better team yesterday.  You could see it in their play.  Ultimately, Bills could have won the game and need to remember this loss.  It should motivate them to get back to what got them to the AFC Championship game.

[GunnerBill]

3 minutes ago, davefan66 said:

So much went against the Bills on Sunday.  Yet, they could have won this game.  Not blaming the loss totally in the refs, but many bad calls against the Bills changed the flow of the game.  Not just the bad PI calls, but some of the holding calls.  One or two were not holds, a couple others were at bad times for the Bills.  You can probably call holding on every play in the NFL.  Yet, they are called at times it hurt the Bills.  Not calling it a conspiracy, just hate how that happens.

 

Overall, Steelers were the better team yesterday.  You could see it in their play.  Ultimately, Bills could have won the game and need to remember this loss.  It should motivate them to get back to what got them to the AFC Championship game.

 

They could have called holding on Buffalo's oline on practically every snap. We got away with a ton. I'd have actually considered saying to them at HT if I was coach "hold on every single play, all 5 of you, hold for dear life, let's see how many they are willing to call" because trying to block legally was going very, very badly. 

 

I have heard the "false start, entire offensive line" call a few times in recent years.... but not sure I have yet heard the "holding, entire offensive line" call. It could have been called yesterday. 

Edited September 13, 2021 by GunnerBill

[GunnerBill]

Just now, ScottLaw said:

I think they had two play action calls the entire ***** game. Ridiculous. 

 

Yea, the gameplan was odd. But the oline play was worse. It was absolutely brutal. You are not gonna win many games blocking that badly. 

[davefan66]

3 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

They could have called holding on Buffalo's oline on practically every snap. We got away with a ton. I'd have actually considered saying to them at HT if I was coach "hold on every single play, all 5 of you, hold for dear life, let's see how many they are willing to call" because trying to block legally was going very, very badly. 

 

I have heard the "false start, entire offensive line" call a few times in recent years.... but not sure I have yet heard the "holding, entire offensive line" call. It could have been called yesterday. 

Then call the penalty, on both teams.  Just be consistent.  
 

I get refs allow holding, hand fighting, sometimes a little PI...”let them play”.  Just don’t suddenly call the penalties on plays that kill a drive, or wipe out an INT.

[WhoTom]

Good post, Virg. If you're referring to the PI against Levi, it was the right call. The holding on Tre was totally bogus, and even worse, Jerry Hughes got mugged by the OT on that play, just a foot away from the QB. I don't know how they missed the obvious offensive holding on that play. It looked exactly like one of the holding calls against Dawkins.

 

Bad calls aside, this loss is on the coaches, the O-line, and Josh. Yeah, Levi got torched a few times, but the D only gave up 16 points. That's a game we should win.

 

Last year, the last-second AZ loss served as a wake-up call to the Bills. Hopefully, this has the same effect.

Edited September 13, 2021 by WhoTom

[BillsVet]

8 hours ago, Virgil said:

10 - Coaching - Can someone please get a hold of 2020 McD and tell him we need him back as a coach, because 2019 McD is going to get us in trouble.  If you are going to be cautious, then at least be consistent with it.  The decision to punt on our out 40 in the first half, but then go for it in the second half from further out made zero sense to me.  Allen even tried to keep the offense on the field and was overturned.  The trick play on 4th and one was a travesty and should never be ran again.  Overall, this team was not ready for this game and McD was out-coached by Tomlin.  Daboll had some terrible play calls and didn't seem to know how to use his guys out there.  He was getting great runs out of Motor from the shotgun, and then proceeded to try again later in power formations.  Yes, Allen didn't execute well and that blocked punt was a killer, but I put this loss on our McD and Daboll as much as anyone else.  It was embarrassing and the fans deserved better.

 

Season 5 of McD (and I'm not going to isolate all yesterday down to him) but this is who he is.  He's a conservative coach, both in crucial game-day moments but more in the predictability of their game-planning.  

 

People act surprised when he talks about post-game about field position, but even with Josh and a much better offense versus 2017-18, he's going to play it safe  as a rule.

 

The other thing is he's slow on the draw sometimes in adapting to what the other team's doing.  I didn't see much change in the 2nd half despite being bottled up offensively.  It's as if he and Daboll fall in love with their game-plan and will not yield it may need to be tweaked to get the desired result.  Look, I know all NFL HC's are type A personalities, but McD has rarely if ever showed a willingness to modify his approach when it's not working.  Resistance to that is going to hurt this team now that they're top tier.