THE ROCKPILE REVIEW - And, We're Off!

[Shaw66]

The Bills opened the 2021 NFL season on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers and well, can we get a do over?  

 

The day didn’t start well for Bills fans in Orchard Park.  Traffic into Highmark Stadium was a nightmare – a one-hour drive from home to first beer was two hours or more on Sunday.  The crush of fans entering the stadium was as big as on the worst of days.  To their credit, the Bills knew it was coming and urged ticket holders to get there early and enter the stadium early.   Everyone will know better next time. 

 

Once in the stadium, the fans were ready for a party.  The stadium was amped like Monday night against the Cowboys several years ago.  The noise as the offense was introduced made it impossible to hear the names of any players being announced.  It got louder as Emmanuel Sanders came out of the tunnel, even louder for Beasley, louder still for Diggs, and when Allen appeared, Highmark literally rocked.  Fred Jackson asked the fans, “Where would you rather be than right here, right now?”  We all knew the answer.  By the time Isaiah McKenzie took the opening kickoff back for 75 yards, the fans were in an absolute frenzy. 

 

Then the Bills offense went three and out, settling for a field goal.  That was all we needed to know about how the game would go – a lot of noise, then nothing.

 

I know it’s a long season, I know there will be ups and downs, I know no one wins them all.  Still, is it too much to ask that the team be ready to play when the season starts?   2020 wasn’t a mirage; the Bills actually were a good team.  So what happened on Sunday?  Josh Allen was human, that’s what happened.   He wasn’t sharp.  He threw some short balls into the dirt, he missed guys deep, he threw into tight coverage where there was little or no hope.  He made multiple bad cuts on designed runs.  He fumbled twice. 

 

Ben Roethlisberger was the better quarterback on Sunday, consistently shrugging off tacklers to make plays, consistently throwing more accurately than Allen.  Ben’s showed Allen how MVPs win games.

 

Josh didn’t play like MVP candidate, and Brian Daboll didn’t coach like a head-coaching candidate.  It’s axiomatic in the NFL that whatever worked for you last season is not going to work so well this season.  Why?   Because the other coaches are as smart as you are, and they aren’t going to continue to get beat by last year’s offense.  

 

The Steelers had all summer to look at film of the 2020 Bills passing game, and they didn’t waste the opportunity.  The Steelers completely blanketed the Bills’ mid-range passing game; those deadly 15- to 25-yard completions that Josh dropped on defenses all last season were gone.   Allen found Diggs and Sanders on out patterns that looked nice but can’t be the staple of any offense, and he found Beasley over the middle on classic short balls.  Too many of those completions resulted in the receivers getting pounded by Steelers.   Not much of what worked in 2020 was working in the first half on Sunday, and nothing changed in the second half.  Daboll’s offense was flat on Sunday, and he didn’t know what to do about it.

 

The Bills weren’t horrible, just not good enough to win the kind of games championship teams win.  Ed Oliver was the slashing defensive tackle the Bills hoped he would be when they drafted him.  Micah Hyde made tackles all over the field, and he had one spectacular pass defensed.  Tre’Davious White shone.  Gabriel Davis’s touchdown catch was even better than Allen’s throw.  Singletary worked hard and took advantage of the holes the offensive line gave him. 

 

It was very much a field position game.  Up and down the stat sheet, the Bill’s won the statistical battle, but the Bills kept giving Pittsburgh short fields, and the Steelers took advantage.  McDermott’s decision to go for it on 4th and 8 instead of punting or trying the field goal gave the Steelers a short field and a field goal.  Then, on fourth and one the Bills tried a modest trick play and failed – if your man can’t execute the block, don’t run the play.  Pittsburgh got a short field and a touchdown.  And then the blocked punt, the instant change of field position, ended the game.  The Bills defense, which played well enough, needed to be a little better.

 

At the end of the day, what bothered me most was Josh Allen’s body language when he began the final drive with a couple of incompletions.  A Steelers fan behind me kept saying, “it’s not over, it’s not over,” but Allen’s body language said it was.  He was lackadaisical coming back to the huddle, had a “whatever” kind of manner about him, as though he was mailing in the last few plays.  Sanders had a false start, as if he didn’t care too much, either.  Diggs strolled back to the line of scrimmage.  Then Motor popped a couple of runs, and the Bills seemed to have a last gasp in them.  Alas, Allen had no magic, and the Bills lost. 

 

It’s a long season, there will be ups and downs, no one wins them all.  Still, it would have been nice if the Bills hadn’t spoiled their own party.  They have plenty of work to do. 

Edited September 13, 2021 by Shaw66

[oldmanfan]

Always good stuff Shaw.  Josh wasn’t his best, true, but this game reminded me of the first SB loss.  Steelers beat up on our receivers when they touched the ball, and instead of going with an effective running game (Singletary had over 6 ypc) we kept trying to throw against a D committed to stopping us from doing so.
 

Plus some of Josh’s struggles came from an O line that was overmatched.  Dawkins doesn’t be appear to be in game shape yet.  And we may need to think about getting Bates in to solidify the interior.  
 

Given all that, the D played well and even with the offense issues we lost because of a special teams gaffe.  Which you can bet won’t be repeated.

 

On to Miami.  My concern there will be the heat and how it affects the O line.

[WhoTom]

39 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Everyone will know better next time. 

 

Good post, Shaw. Although the above quote was referring to the traffic, I'm hoping that it also applies to the team. As I said in Virgil's thread, this loss should serve as a wake-up call, just like the Hail Murray pass did last year.

 

 

[HOUSE]

I thought the fans were louder for Sanders , Beasley kind of got cheered & booed ...lol

[Bleedbuffaloblue]

Great post as usual Shaw. Pretty much nailed it spot on.

JA surely wasn’t the guy we saw last season. Don’t know what the real reason(s) was, but just hope it was more of a mirage than a glimpse into the future. Personally, I’m confident he and the offense will bounce back it a big way next week against the Fish. Hope this smack in the mouth will remind some of these guys they need to do more than just show up if they expect to gain a W.

[Apocalypse Nuts]

Maybe it was good for them to get shellacked like that on the first game. Aa good wake up call that they aren’t as good as they thought they were and they’re going to have to really work for it.

 I’m at least encouraged by the defensive performance .

[US Egg]

The game was reminiscent of many of the Bills '18/'19 games.

 

"D" keeping Bills in the game and offense not finding a rhythm.

 

.....and some head scratching coaching decisions. It was ugly.

[TampaBillsJunkie]

Good write up. I love seeing fan takes on here. I pretty much felt the same way. I'm hoping we dont Fitz up Allen with big money. He definitely did not have that winners fire yesterday.  Your point about using the same offense is excellent. It did seem like Pitt knew what we wanted to do and shut it down.

 

I honestly thought that we were going to come out in the second half with adjustments on what we saw in the first half and Allen was going to take over the game in a route. I figured the defense would continue to bottle up Harris and Ben wouldn't hit much downfield. 

 

The blocked punt was unforgivable and basically changed the game. After that happened, the way the offense was playing, I actually for the first time since 2019 had doubts. It was obvious that Daboll was not the genius we thought and he couldn't scheme his way out. When he tried it was a miserable fail, especially the 4th and 1 lateral.  

 

To me a big blame goes to the OL also. Heyword and Watt were just eating them alive and it was pathetic to watch. No plays were designed to neutralize them or throw double teams at them. 4 and 5 wide sets expose the OL and Allen was not quick enough to compensate. Horrible offensive coaching and game-planning. 

 

Overall, I think the defense played well, not spectacular. Surprisingly, the big play came from Addison, who seemed to be on the TBD chopping block. The rest of the DL didn't do much outside a few splash plays from Oliver. If you can't knock Big Ben down, how are they going to get to faster, more mobile QB's.

 

All said, there are definite areas of concern going into Miami. Perhaps this team read too many news articles. I expect "humble and hungry" next week. Hopefully this is lesson learned. I hope the OC and DC learn from this and realize you can't force a game plan down someone's throat based on perceived talent. You need to make adjustments to expose weak areas. 

 

On to Miami, GO BILLS!!

 

 

Edited September 14, 2021 by TampaBillsJunkie

[BRH]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

At the end of the day, what bothered me most was Josh Allen’s body language when he began the final drive with a couple of incompletions.  A Steelers fan behind me kept saying, “it’s not over, it’s not over,” but Allen’s body language said it was.  He was lackadaisical coming back to the huddle, had a “whatever” kind of manner about him, as though he was mailing in the last few plays. 

 

I didn't want to make a lot out of it, but prior to that final drive the cameras showed Josh sitting on the sidelines and not saying anything, just sort of taking it all in.  I don't go in for the fake rah-rah stuff, but in past years I would have expected to see Josh talking to his receivers, his O-line, his coaches, whatever, either just to prepare for the next possession or to get them fired up and remind them that the game isn't over until we say it is.

 

The look in his eyes told me the game was already over.  I tried to ignore it and hope for the best, but then he went out and proved it.  

 

I'm not accusing him of giving up.  I think he just knew that they didn't have the answers yesterday.  Not in Daboll's playcalling, not in his receivers' ballcatching, and certainly not in his line's blocking.  

 

That said, I still expect things to be very different next Sunday.

[jaybee]

Good review, and one of the few I've seen that evaluated Allen honestly. Many ignored his performance, or blamed everything else but the QB performance.  That play early on where Sanders was wide open and Josh over threw him reminded me of his 1st two seasons.  And, he needs to protect the ball.  I'm not here to blame this loss on him.  It was a team effort in all three phases, mostly offense and ST.  However, giving a contract that huge to our QB based on one good season is questionable practice.  IMHO. 

 

With a stellar dominating performance next week of course, all of yesterday will be forgotten.  Lets hope so because that was a lackluster performance fer sher.

[davefan66]

2 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

 

 

At the end of the day, what bothered me most was Josh Allen’s body language when he began the final drive with a couple of incompletions.  A Steelers fan behind me kept saying, “it’s not over, it’s not over,” but Allen’s body language said it was.  He was lackadaisical coming back to the huddle, had a “whatever” kind of manner about him, as though he was mailing in the last few plays.  Sanders had a false start, as if he didn’t care too much, either.  Diggs strolled back to the line of scrimmage.  Then Motor popped a couple of runs, and the Bills seemed to have a last gasp in them.  Alas, Allen had no magic, and the Bills lost. 

 

It’s a long season, there will be ups and downs, no one wins them all.  Still, it would have been nice if the Bills hadn’t spoiled their own party.  They have plenty of work to do. 

Just rewatched the game.  I was there yesterday and didn’t notice his body language.  
 

Watching on TV you could see it, and in his face.  Definitely wasn’t the Josh we had at the end of last season.  Seemed out of it.  Not sure what the issue is.  Maybe he expects so much from himself, coupled with the new contract and he took on too much.  Hopefully he can settle down for next week. 
 

Biggest issue is getting that offensive line to play better.  Maybe it was the Steelers knowing we weren’t going to run the ball, but pass over 50 times and they just pinned their ears back and rushed.  Need to mix it up more, take some of the load off Josh and run the ball.  Singletary had a good game and should have ran the ball more to control the LOS.

[Figster]

3 hours ago, davefan66 said:

Just rewatched the game.  I was there yesterday and didn’t notice his body language.  
 

Watching on TV you could see it, and in his face.  Definitely wasn’t the Josh we had at the end of last season.  Seemed out of it.  Not sure what the issue is.  Maybe he expects so much from himself, coupled with the new contract and he took on too much.  Hopefully he can settle down for next week. 
 

Biggest issue is getting that offensive line to play better.  Maybe it was the Steelers knowing we weren’t going to run the ball, but pass over 50 times and they just pinned their ears back and rushed.  Need to mix it up more, take some of the load off Josh and run the ball.  Singletary had a good game and should have ran the ball more to control the LOS.

I agree 100% with your last comment, from 1 davefan to another

 

Thanks Shaw for a great review

Edited September 13, 2021 by Figster

[Turbo44]

I didn't watch a game on Sunday where Bib Ben was good??  He hit for 56%, had one INT called back on a phantom hold and nearly had two other deflected INTs.  He led Pittsburgh to 3 first downs in the first half.  He looked shot to me.  Pittsburgh didn't win because of Ben

[Success]

Great write-up. Good observations on the body language.

 

Everything just seemed off.  It felt like the whole team & coaching staff didn't get enough sleep, or all broke up w/ their girlfriends.  Just out of sync.

 

And I don't think there is any doubt:  they fell for the hype.  The hype may have been justified - but the players can't fall into that.  This is a season like any other, and they have to earn every single win.

 

[Shaw66]

6 minutes ago, Turbo44 said:

I didn't watch a game on Sunday where Bib Ben was good??  He hit for 56%, had one INT called back on a phantom hold and nearly had two other deflected INTs.  He led Pittsburgh to 3 first downs in the first half.  He looked shot to me.  Pittsburgh didn't win because of Ben

He was 5 for 7 and a TD in the fourth quarter.  He made some lights out throws.  

4 minutes ago, Success said:

Great write-up. Good observations on the body language.

 

Everything just seemed off.  It felt like the whole team & coaching staff didn't get enough sleep, or all broke up w/ their girlfriends.  Just out of sync.

 

And I don't think there is any doubt:  they fell for the hype.  The hype may have been justified - but the players can't fall into that.  This is a season like any other, and they have to earn every single win.

 

RIght.  Everything just seemed off.   Hence, the title. 

[appoo]

10 minutes ago, Turbo44 said:

I didn't watch a game on Sunday where Bib Ben was good??  He hit for 56%, had one INT called back on a phantom hold and nearly had two other deflected INTs.  He led Pittsburgh to 3 first downs in the first half.  He looked shot to me.  Pittsburgh didn't win because of Ben

That's where I disagree with the OP. He was awful outside a few throws in the 4th. Got bailed by out by the ref twice on bad calls, and got lucky with a tip ball for a TD. 

Edited September 13, 2021 by appoo

[Shaw66]

4 hours ago, appoo said:

That's where I disagree with the OP. He was awful outside a few throws in the 4th. Got bailed by out by the ref twice on bad calls, and got lucky with a tip ball for a TD. 

Bottom line, Ben produced and Allen didn't.  

[appoo]

17 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

Bottom line, Ben produced and Allen didn't.  

 

Which is fine, but there's a lot of context to that. The Steelers really didn't ask much of Ben. He averaged 2.1 seconds to release the ball, which is basically 1 read and chuck it. That meant it was literally impossible to get pressure on him. They built a run-heavy, quick passing game plan that was basically reliant on everything else going right - and even then Roethlisberger needed two pretty bad pass interference calls, and a lucky tip ball - to get points. He basically made a single great throw - the 3rd down in the 4 minute offense that got them into FG range. 

 

I think the better conclusion is that the Steelers were able to hide Ben while the Allen couldn't carry the bills to victory on his own.  Ben didn't "win" this game - he just didn't lose it. 

Edited September 14, 2021 by appoo

[RiotAct]

21 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

 

RIght.  Everything just seemed off.   Hence, the title. 

you sly dog!

[Shaw66]

15 minutes ago, appoo said:

 

Which is fine, but there's a lot of context to that. The Steelers really didn't ask much of Ben. He averaged 2.1 seconds to release the ball, which is basically 1 read and chuck it. That meant it was literally impossible to get pressure on him. They built a run-heavy, quick passing game plan that was basically reliant on everything else going right - and even then Roethlisberger needed two pretty bad pass interference calls, and a lucky tip ball - to get points. He basically made a single great throw - the 3rd down in the 4 minute offense that got them into FG range. 

 

I think the better conclusion is that the Steelers were able to hide Ben while the Allen couldn't carry the bills to victory on his own.  Ben didn't "win" this game - he just didn't lose it. 

Good points.  Steelers may be built to win by hiding Ben, but the Bills are built win by putting the ball in Josh's hands.  Limited role or not Ben produced, and he's going to the Hall of Fame because he produced for nearly two decades.   Josh has to produce.   If the Bills want to win by hiding Josh, then they should trade him and keep Trubisky - he's cheaper.  

 

Right now, it's live by the Josh or die by the Josh.