ROCKPILE REVIEW - Bills Roll Over WFT

[Rochesterfan]

10 minutes ago, BubbaT said:

Only if you are Hank Bullough

 

If it is the play I think it is, it looked to me like Diggs was supposed to rub/pick the lb Davis. Davis avoided him, and  Allen's pass, while right to Singletary, didn't lead him so that he could turn it up field and try to outrun Davis to the sticks. I wasn't thrilled with the play call or the result but some credit to Davis for reading it right.

 

That is the play - the issue is the WR would normally make that rub because the LB takes a step off the ball as the first step.  That would put him right in line with where Diggs was and how typically the defense would play it on 2nd or 3rd down and short.  Which my guess is how they have practiced that play.

 

Because it is 4th down - the LB doesn’t take that step back as he can’t afford to with the down and distance.  He reads Singletary cutting out - stays flat and Diggs can’t rub him.

 

If Singletary had taken an aggressive step forward and got to the marker - that puts the LB in the line with the WR allowing the rub and ensures on the catch - even if tackled exactly as he was - you have the first down.

 

It was bad execution all around for the team and a really nice play by Washington and sometimes the bad guys makes plays also.

 

 

[sherpa]

Two comments, one on the game and another, far more complicated.

The Bills defensive line got good pressure from the outside, but nothing from the inside.

Heinicke stepped up repeatedly to avoid the outside, but nothing pressure wise inside.

 

I am getting tired of the wind at that stadium. It seems to have become far more influential on game days. The last two years especially, it is impacting games.

There are ways to mitigate it, and I think its time to consider engineering solutions.

Ultimately it effects not only the team's performance, but free agent signings, especially kickers and QB's.

Just a thought, but I think it's time.

 

[Saxum]

3 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

Good write up of a pretty uneventful game. (Which are hard to come by in today’s competitive NFL.) Having noticed the Steelers losing two since the opener it makes me wonder what happened? 

 

What happed is Steelers spent most of off season on first opponent and not enough on other things.

Mike Tomlin wanted to beat his fellow college teammate Sean McDermott more than anything.

[uninja]

2 minutes ago, Limeaid said:

 

What happed is Steelers spent most of off season on first opponent and not enough on other things.

Mike Tomlin wanted to beat his fellow college teammate Sean McDermott more than anything.

 

They were also (relatively) at full strength against us. Since that game they've lost Alualu for the season, TJ Watt, Highsmith, Haden and Bush are also all dinged up and have missed time. They're a very flawed team that needs masterful defensive performances to win close games because their line is very meh and their offense is kind of anemic. It's just unfortunate that they caught us with that perfect storm in week 1, that being said I think the team learned a lot from that loss and it's showed in the games against MIA and WFT.

[Jumpsuit Jim]

5 minutes ago, Limeaid said:

 

What happed is Steelers spent most of off season on first opponent and not enough on other things.

Mike Tomlin wanted to beat his fellow college teammate Sean McDermott more than anything.

I see no lies. The Steelers peaked with their first game. They will be this season’s “one pump chump”. 

[Shaw66]

8 hours ago, Rochesterfan said:

 

That is the play - the issue is the WR would normally make that rub because the LB takes a step off the ball as the first step.  That would put him right in line with where Diggs was and how typically the defense would play it on 2nd or 3rd down and short.  Which my guess is how they have practiced that play.

 

Because it is 4th down - the LB doesn’t take that step back as he can’t afford to with the down and distance.  He reads Singletary cutting out - stays flat and Diggs can’t rub him.

 

If Singletary had taken an aggressive step forward and got to the marker - that puts the LB in the line with the WR allowing the rub and ensures on the catch - even if tackled exactly as he was - you have the first down.

 

It was bad execution all around for the team and a really nice play by Washington and sometimes the bad guys makes plays also.

 

 

Great stuff.  Thanks to those who explained what was going on there.  

 

Still, I don't like the call.  When you're on the goal line, the defense can pack way in and try to take away plays just like this without risking a mid-range to deep ball.    But the Bills weren't on the goal line.  They still had the whole field to attack.  I think the question shouldn't change - what play do we have that offers the best opportunity to gain 2 yards?   So, you have to ask if the defense will be a goal-line defense, are there pass plays that are really high probability completions?   The answer has to be yes.   Why attack at the line of scrimmage when that is exactly the place the defense is selling out to defend?   You have three great short-route receivers - Diggs, Sanders, and Beasley.  You must have something that's very high percentage.  Play action, crossing routes, escape routes for Josh.  

[dakrider]

meh, Wash. is garbage.  The Miami win was much more impressive imo even though everyone only harped on Allen's inconsistent play.

[Shaw66]

41 minutes ago, dakrider said:

meh, Wash. is garbage.  The Miami win was much more impressive imo even though everyone only harped on Allen's inconsistent play.

I can't really argue with that.  But they played a different style of defense against WFT.  They were less aggressive, more bend don't break.  That's less impress in ve football.  Effective against WFT, if not so much fun to watch.  I'm not saying one style is better than another, just that McDermott likes to play multiple defenses.  

[Figster]

23 hours ago, sherpa said:

Two comments, one on the game and another, far more complicated.

The Bills defensive line got good pressure from the outside, but nothing from the inside.

Heinicke stepped up repeatedly to avoid the outside, but nothing pressure wise inside.

 

I am getting tired of the wind at that stadium. It seems to have become far more influential on game days. The last two years especially, it is impacting games.

There are ways to mitigate it, and I think its time to consider engineering solutions.

Ultimately it effects not only the team's performance, but free agent signings, especially kickers and QB's.

Just a thought, but I think it's time.

 

It appears the new stadium design will help block most of the wind and remain open air IMO.

 

With that being said wouldn't you think having the strongest armed QB in the NFL gives Buffalo an advantage?

 

Thanks Shaw for another great review

[Ayjent]

The Bills did what a good team does.  They exerted their dominance at will, even with a couple of things going against them in succession leading to the game tightening up.  I also saw what the Offense was leaving on the field the first two games in the passing game being taken advantage of finally and it made all the difference in how well Josh looked.  He took what was there (the jabs) rather than the big play (the uppercut).  I wasn't particularly worried about the passing game, because it looked very correctable.  However, I was concerned that maybe Sanders being part of the team had changed the dynamic in the passing game and was looking for Gabe Davis to be more involved and hope that he is more involved moving forward.  He is more physical and bigger bodied than most of the other receivers and is someone that we will need in the playoffs as defenses get "sticky" (i.e., get away with more illegal contact and holding).

 

I would like to see more emphasis on using the RBs and it does seem like they are working in Moss more and more especially in the red zone.  I do think an effective screen game is still missing from this offense and think that it could make them even more potent.  Daboll hasn't really utilized it much in his time as the OC for the Bills.  The McKenzie motion wrinkle has also been noticeably absent.  But I think the Offense still is moving towards its best games and they haven't reached anywhere near their potential yet.

Edited September 28, 2021 by Ayjent

[BringBackFlutie]

16 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

Great stuff.  Thanks to those who explained what was going on there.  

 

Still, I don't like the call.  When you're on the goal line, the defense can pack way in and try to take away plays just like this without risking a mid-range to deep ball.    But the Bills weren't on the goal line.  They still had the whole field to attack.  I think the question shouldn't change - what play do we have that offers the best opportunity to gain 2 yards?   So, you have to ask if the defense will be a goal-line defense, are there pass plays that are really high probability completions?   The answer has to be yes.   Why attack at the line of scrimmage when that is exactly the place the defense is selling out to defend?   You have three great short-route receivers - Diggs, Sanders, and Beasley.  You must have something that's very high percentage.  Play action, crossing routes, escape routes for Josh.  

 

The thing is, this IS a high percentage play against that defense.  It forces the LB to cover a lot of ground fast, and he usually has to navigate traffic to get there.  We've run this play on multiple 3rd/4th and shorts in different packages (Beasley, Diggs, and I think Brown) with 100% success.  I agree with your skepticism about getting open against a goal line defense with all those great WRs, but the package was Singletary in the slot, and he effed it up.  Sometimes Daboll likes to send FBs out on 9 routes 🤷 

 

...but the play and route are great for that situation.

 

15 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

I can't really argue with that.  But they played a different style of defense against WFT.  They were less aggressive, more bend don't break.  That's less impress in ve football.  Effective against WFT, if not so much fun to watch.  I'm not saying one style is better than another, just that McDermott likes to play multiple defenses.  

 

It's really pretty cool.  Some could look at a run against bad teams and say it doesn't really mean anything, but it's the WAY we beat these teams.  Like last year we ripped off that huge win streak at the end of the year and really just used the time to show multiple looks and tweak things.  What I really enjoy is when there's nothing special or flukey about our blowouts.  We really just straight up outplay the other team.  Like you said- not a super exciting defense- just our defense, playing their typical bend but don't break game, and still smothering WFT.  I think those blowouts are so much more impressive than back when we'd start out on win streaks during the drought through a series of smoke, mirrors, improbable defensive turnovers, and catching everyone on a bad day.

Edited September 28, 2021 by BringBackFlutie

[NoHuddleKelly12]

Thanks OP, always look forward to your review of the action! 

[Shaw66]

24 minutes ago, BringBackFlutie said:

 

The thing is, this IS a high percentage play against that defense.  It forces the LB to cover a lot of ground fast, and he usually has to navigate traffic to get there.  We've run this play on multiple 3rd/4th and shorts in different packages (Beasley, Diggs, and I think Brown) with 100% success.  I agree with your skepticism about getting open against a goal line defense with all those great WRs, but the package was Singletary in the slot, and he effed it up.  Sometimes Daboll likes to send FBs out on 9 routes 🤷 

 

...but the play and route are great for that situation.

 

 

It's really pretty cool.  Some could look at a run against bad teams and say it doesn't really mean anything, but it's the WAY we beat these teams.  Like last year we ripped off that huge win streak at the end of the year and really just used the time to show multiple looks and tweak things.  What I really enjoy is when there's nothing special or flukey about our blowouts.  We really just straight up outplay the other team.  Like you said- not a super exciting defense- just our defense, playing their typical bend but don't break game, and still smothering WFT.  I think those blowouts are so much more impressive than back when we'd start out on win streaks during the drought through a series of smoke, mirrors, improbable defensive turnovers, and catching everyone on a bad day.

Thanks for both comments.  Makes sense if the explanation is just that Singletary screwed it up.   

 

And you're right about just beat teams.  Nothing special.   Just be better most of the time over 60 minutes.   Something always will go wrong.  Just get up and do it better. 

[Bob in STL]

On 9/27/2021 at 7:28 AM, Shaw66 said:

Ha ha ha ha!!!

 

Ha ha ha!!!

 

Ha ha ha ha ha!!!

 

The Bills beat the Washington Football Team on Sunday.  In a word, it was a laugher.  Final score: 43-21, but as they say, it wasn’t that close. 

 

When the Patriots recovered after a disastrous first half to beat Atlanta in the Super Bowl, someone asked Bill Belichick after the game if the coaches were worried at halftime.  He answered that they didn’t feel too badly, because they were competitive on the field, they just weren’t competitive on the scoreboard.  Well, late in the first half against the Bills, WFT was competitive on the scoreboard, 21-14, but they weren’t competitive in the game.  In fact, the game was over shortly after the opening kickoff; we just didn’t know it yet.  Washington couldn’t stop the Bills, and Washington couldn’t move the ball against the Bills. 

 

Everyone knows that WFT made exactly two plays in the game, two that resulted in two touchdowns.  Other than those two plays, the Bills completely dominated from start to finish.  The first was a picture-perfect screen pass and run on second and eight from their own 27.  Antonio Gibson’s catch and run, finished off when he reached for the pylon following Tre’Davious White’s spectacular downfield sprint and hit, was a beautiful football play. 

 

The second was the ensuing kickoff, when Dustin Hopkins (remember Dustin Hopkins?) lifted the kick high into the fierce wind.  Isaiah McKenzie at first looked like he played it well, but the ball stopped in the wind.  Stopped.  And drifted left, falling to the ground in the great no-man’s land that the Bills’ special teams unit leaves between two rows of blockers upfield and McKenzie.  McKenzie didn’t get close to catching it, and after WFT batted it around a bit, Hopkins recovered one of the odder, albeit unintentional, on-side kicks even seen.  A few plays later, Washington scored, and suddenly it was 21-14 – competitive on the scoreboard, maybe, but not on the field.  Late in the half, two Bills field goals made it 27-14, confirming that the game was over.

 

Washington’s offense isn’t very good, especially with Ryan Fitzpatrick not on the field, and their defense is worse.   They give up passing yards in big chunks, and they were just what the doctor ordered for Josh Allen’s early-season passing ills.  Beasley, Sanders, and Diggs each caught a bunch of passes, long, short, and in-between.   Josh’s touch returned on several passes.  None was better than the touchdown pass to Sanders, when Allen got rid of it in a hurry but still somehow floated a catchable ball low and away.  He dropped a perfect long ball into Sanders later in the game.  He found Beasley with multiple fireballs, and Beasley thrives on balls coming in hot. 

 

The defense didn’t miss out on the fun.  But for that 73-yarder, the Bills would have given up a total of 217 yards.  75 of those 217 came on WFT’s meaningless final drive of the game.   The Bills defense simply gave Washington nothing.  The Bills had one sack for zero yards, and it didn’t matter.  They showed none of the exotic pass-rush schemes we saw a week ago – they rushed four down linemen over and over, generating very little quick pressure.   The Bills knew they didn’t need pass rush – their back seven allowed pretty much nothing except one screen pass. 

It was an odd game in a few ways. 

 

The wind was brutal again Sunday.  It blew from hard to very hard.   Justin Tucker may have kicked a 66-yarder to win on Sunday, but given the opportunity to kick to the closed end of Highmark Stadium, Tyler Bass would have been good from 70.   He crushed it in warmups and on kickoffs in that direction. 

 

There weren’t any big plays, because by definition a big play is a game-changing play, a play that may determine the outcome of the game.  Plenty of guys made good plays – Taron Johnson, Dawson Knox, Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde, Matt Milano, McKenzie, but if they hadn’t made their plays, someone else would have.   There was no way Washington was winning that game.

 

On fourth and two, how did Josh Allen manage to complete a pass for zero yards?  I mean, I get that on third and seven or fourth and eight, the only thing the defense may give you is short of the sticks.  But really, why are the Bills throwing short of the sticks on fourth and TWO?  No matter though, because just like there were no big plays, there were no bad plays.  The Bills went for it on fourth and two because, well, it just didn’t matter. 

 

It was a good day.  The Dolphins lost, the Patriots lost, the Jets were the Jets, the Chiefs lost, and the Bills threw another win on the pile.   They’re on their way. 

 

 

 

Good review 

 

On the 4th and 2 play the first responsibility goes to the receiver, in this case Singletary, to get past the sticks.   After that it is up to the QB to read it.   I am amazed at how many times I see receivers run patterns that are too short.  

[sherpa]

18 hours ago, Figster said:

It appears the new stadium design will help block most of the wind and remain open air IMO.

 

With that being said wouldn't you think having the strongest armed QB in the NFL gives Buffalo an advantage?

 

 

That new stadium is a ways off.

There are things that could be done now to mitigate the situation at the current facility.

 

Of course having a stronger arm that results in higher velocity throws helps, but nobody can overcome winds once they get in the 20 knot range, and the swirling inside there truly impacts both the passing and kicking games.

[CSBill]

1 hour ago, sherpa said:

 

That new stadium is a ways off.

There are things that could be done now to mitigate the situation at the current facility.

 

 

I'm genuinely curious what you think could be done? Some type of barriers around the top rim?

[Ayjent]

18 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

Thanks for both comments.  Makes sense if the explanation is just that Singletary screwed it up.   

 

And you're right about just beat teams.  Nothing special.   Just be better most of the time over 60 minutes.   Something always will go wrong.  Just get up and do it better. 

That 4th down play in my view wasn't a great call no matter how you slice it.  A fairly horizontal attack where a lot could go wrong and not a lot can go right.  A tipped or bobbled pass has pick 6 potential, you give a defense that is definitely geared toward protecting the chains and tight on the LOS a lot of opportunity to attack the ball.  I get the concept and why it should work, but it's got risks and its not taking advantage of the situation.  4th down plays are always a chess match, but attacking with quick hitting intermediate routes they couldn't cover all day was probably a much better strategy.  But better to figure that out when it doesn't really matter in a game pretty clearly decided by that time.

 

I also read an ESPN excerpt that questioned the Bills' pass rush and inability to get to Heiniecke.  I really don't think that was the gameplan at all.  Sure they wanted to create pressure and get sacks, but the edge rushers seemed to be focused on containing him in the pocket more than coming in hard on the edges and leaving running lanes for him to scramble.  They weren't exactly successful in containing him from getting out on the edge and making plays with his feet, but they did their job for the most part and I think they were perfectly fine with the way they played him.  He made throws he shouldn't have turning it over because he was being contained in the pocket.  I would have liked to see more push on the interior, but as you pointed out Shaw, they didn't generate much offense outside of garbage time and a nice screen play.  Bottom line is that it worked and the staff knew it would.  Not to take anything away from the Bills defense, but I don't think Washington is very talented on the offensive side of the ball,  The Bills asked them to beat them playing pretty vanilla Defense and they couldn't muster much.  Gibson is a nice back, but not necessarily a feature back, McLauren is a decent receiver, and Logan Thomas has really improved as a TE - but these guys are at best role players on a more talented team.

 

Washington's Defense has taken a huge step backwards and their line didn't create much pressure or problems for the Bills.  Maybe they just found their stride last year and had momentum, but what I see is that they aren't a very good Football Team and that they are unlikely to be anywhere near .500, unless they sweep their division and get lucky.

[sherpa]

3 hours ago, CSBill said:

 

I'm genuinely curious what you think could be done? Some type of barriers around the top rim?

 

That's the obvious solution.

Decades ago US Navy figured out figured out how to mitigate 700 degree, 500 mph exhaust from jets on the catapults at full power. They use jet blast deflectors, and the guy who's next to launch is 20 feet behind those tail pipes, with no influence other than noise.

 

The winds in that area are predominately from the southwest. That's why the long runway is 5/23. 23 is 230 degrees, southwest.

What I would do is start there, but I'd suggest placing six anemometers on the top and compile data during a season on strength and direction of flow.

Using that data, I'd consider building an angled structure and deflecting the wind up and away. 

I was up there last Thurs-Sat last week for the first time in about twelve years. Stayed in a hotel not far from the stadium and it was windy as hell. 

I think the wind is too big of a factor at that location to not be dealt with and I think it would make Allen and Bass better which has some free agent ramifications, including wideouts. 

Edited September 29, 2021 by sherpa

[Shaw66]

16 minutes ago, sherpa said:

 

That's the obvious solution.

Decades ago US Navy figured out figured out how to mitigate 700 degree, 500 mph exhaust from jets on the catapults at full power. They use jet blast deflectors, and the guy who's next to launch is 20 feet behind those tail pipes, with no influence other than noise.

 

The winds in that area are predominately from the southwest. That's why the long runway is 5/23. 23 is 230 degrees, southwest.

What I would do is start there, but I'd suggest placing six anemometers on the top and compile data during a season on strength and direction of flow.

Using that data, I'd consider building an angled structure and deflecting the wind up and away. 

I was up there last Thurs-Sat last week for the first time in about twelve years. Stayed in a hotel not far from the stadium and it was windy as hell. 

I think the wind is too big of a factor at that location to not be dealt with and I think it would make Allen and Bass better which has some free agent ramifications, including wideouts. 

Interesting thoughts.   Clearly, they aren't doing any more improvements at Highmark, but there definitely should be some wind-planning for the new stadium.   It seems to have gotten worse the last couple of years.   There have been multiple games a year where the wind is a big factor.  

 

The fundamental problem is that the wind comes from the open end of the stadium.   If the easterly end were closed, it wouldn't be so bad.   The old Giants stadium in the Meadows was completely closed.  The wind blew a lot there, but it blew across the top of the stadium.  It caused a lot of swirling on the field, and it was tricky to throw there.  But it wasn't a wind that forced tactical decisions on pass plays and kicks.  

[PrimeTime101]

To top it all off, the announcer made a mistake and instead of saying WFT (Washington Football Team) He said WTF lol.