The Ford Report - Week 11, Colts v. Bills, 11/21/21

[Freddie's Dead]

The Edmunds Report is no more.  I started it because I wanted to see if Edmunds was really as bad as many here (including myself) claimed.  Turns out he wasn't, and in fact, was quite the opposite, an excellent cover LB and adequate run defender.  I've satisfied myself with Edmunds's worth, so it's time to move on, since it's clear that his loverz and haterz are dug in deep, and will not let anything persuade them otherwise.

 

I was struck in the GDT about the nearly universal condemnation of Ford.  I decided to do a mini Ford Report during the game.  Much to my surprise, I saw Ford doing a good job in both pass blocking and run blocking.  So much in the same vein as Edmunds, I decided to take on The Ford Report.   I will state what I see on a play, then assign a point system -1, 0, +1, and keep a running total.  Let's go to the tape.

 

Bills 1st possession

1st and 10, BUF 25 - 74 pulls and traps, Josh rolls the other way, complete to Sanders for 7 yds (+1,+1)

2nd and 10, BUF 32 - 74 brushes by Buckner (chip?) and gets to second level, Motor 3 yd run 1st down (+1,+2)

1st and 10, BUF 35 - 74 pushes Buckner past Josh, screen to Knox for 11, 1st down (+1,+3)

1st and 10, BUF 46 - 74 pulls, picks up blitz by 51, Josh complete to Sanders for 9 (+1,+4)

2nd and inches, IND 45 - 74 pushes 90 inside, Josh sweep for 10 and 1st down (+1,+5)

1st and 10, IND 35 - 74 stands up his man on a pass block, pressure elsewhere, Josh INC (+1,+6)

2nd and 10, IND 35 - 74 combo pass block, Josh complete to Gilliam for 7 (+1,+7)

3rd and 3, IND 28 - Refs call FS on 74, but replay shows that both 74 and 75 (Williams) get our of their stance just a split second before Morse snapped the ball.  Where's the Jags crew when you need them? (-1,+6)

3rd and 8, IND 33 - 74 PB, pressure elsewhere, Josh throws INC, holding call on Morse (+1,+7)

3rd and 18, IND 43 - 74 combo PB, Josh throws INT when blatant hold on Gabe Davis is ignored.  On the overhead replay, Gabe tried to square in, and the DB also blocks him before he holds him.  Brutal non-call by the refs, clearly IC or DPI, and it's downhill from there. (+1,+8)

 

Bills 2nd possession

1st and 10, BUF 27 - 74 pulls, gets to second level, Motor run for no gain.  This was the play where Morse got turned around and Motor ran right into his face (+1,+8)

2nd and 10, BUF 27 - 74 PB, blocks two different guys, Josh with a howitzer to Gabe for 20 (+1,+9)

1st and 10, BUF 47 - 74 pulls on PB, seals off backside, Josh complete to Diggs for 2 (+1,+10)

2nd and 8, BUF 49 - 74 with PB, gets away with rear naked choke, Josh complete to Knox for 19 (-1,+9)

1st and 10, IND 33 - 74 chips Buckner, gets to 2nd level, Z Mo run for 3 (+1,+10)

2nd and 7, IND 30 - 74 PB, Josh runs through hole next to 74 for 8 and FD (+1,+11)

1st and 10, IND 22 - 74 pulls and traps LB, Josh INC (this was the interception that wasn't, after review) (+1,+12)

2nd and 10, IND 22 - 74 pulls and traps, Motor runs through hole where 74 used to be for 9 (+1,+13)

3rd and 1, IND 13 - 74 PB, Josh complete to Beas, FD (+1,+14)

1st and Goal, IND 10 - 74 pulls and traps LB, Breida outside run for 3 (+1,+15)

2nd and Goal, IND 7 - 74 PB, Josh to Diggs for TD (+1,+16)

 

Bills 3rd possession

1st and 10, BUF 25 - 74 PB, swing pass to Motor for 14 FD (+1,+17)

1st and 10, BUF 39 - 74 combo pass block, Josh to Knox for 12 FD (+1,+18)

1st and 10, IND 49 - 74 PB, Josh to Knox for 7 (+1,+19)

2nd and 3, IND 42 - 74 PB, Josh quick slant to Diggs for 6 FD (+1,+20)

1st and 10, IND 36 - 74 with nice PB, pressure elsewhere, Josh fumble, Motor recovers for the dead ball (+1,+21)

2nd and 22, IND 48 - 74 PB, Josh throws to Moss, who drops it, starting the dropsies (+1,+22)

3rd and 22, IND 48 - 74 combo PB, Josh to Sanders for 10 (+1,+23)

4th and 12, IND 38 - 74 holds up block on FG, Bass-(not s)o-Matic doinks it (+1,+24)

 

First half observations

Based on the GDT, I thought that Cody Ford was the worst Bills OG since Ed Wang.  Instead Cody Ford was actually having hisself a game.  He had two bad plays, the FS and the PB where he had to throw a rear naked choke.  Again, if you read the GDT, you'd think he was a turnstile getting pwned by the Colts DL.  On the contrary, he erased DeForest Buckner completely when he faced him.  Ford's pass blocking and run blocking were very good to excellent.  Any pressure on pass plays, or tackles on run plays came from elsewhere.  Final observation, it is WAY easier to diagnose Ford's play than Edmunds's play.  You can clearly see Ford winning the one-on-one battles on each and every play.  He's not the reason the Bills were getting spanked by the Colts.

 

Bills 4th possession

1st and 10, BUF 27 - 74 ends up PBing air, as the Colts go outside and crash down inside, Josh gets rejected, for 74's first 0 play of the day (0,+24)

2nd and 10, BUF 27 - 74 starts by blocking air, then helps Williams late with a double-team, Josh to Knox for drop #2 (0,+24)

3rd and 10, BUF 27 - 74 with a nice combo PB, Josh to Gabe for drop #3 (+1,+25)

 

Bills 5th possession

1st and 10, BUF 10 - 74 blocks LB into the 2nd level, Breida with outside run for 28, tack on 15 yds for late hit OB (+1,+26)

1st and 10, IND 47 - 74 lunges at Buckner and falls when Buckner pushes him down, Breida run for 3 (-1,+25)

2nd and 7, IND 44 - 74 pulls, blocks DB, Breida off tackle for 8 FD (+1,+26)

1st and 10, IND 36 - 74 blocks straight ahead, pushes LB 7 yds downfield, Singletary for 5 (+1,+26)

2nd and 5, IND 31 - 74 pulls right and seals off, Josh rolls left, shotput to Knox for drop #4 (+1,+27)

3rd and 5, IND 31 - 74 PB, pushes Buckner past Josh, Beas with drop #5 (+1,+28)

4th and 5, IND 31 - 74 holds the line on the FG, Bass hooks it way right (+1,+29)

 

Bills 6th possession

1st and 10, BUF 21 - 74 pulls, gets to 2nd level, Moss for 2 (0,+29)

2nd and 8, BUF 23 - 74 PB, stones his guy, Josh airmails it to Sanders INC (+1,+30)

3rd and 8, BUF 23 - 74 PB, pressure elsewhere, Josh throws it up for grabs, and Sanders just watches the volleyball match on the Colts INT (+1,+31)

 

Bills 7th possession

1st and 10, BUF 23 - Buckner bull rushes 74 almost into Josh, who completes to Beas for 6 (-1,+30)  First pressure I've seen 74 give up all game

2nd and 4, BUF 29 - 74 stands up Buckner, Josh INC to Colts DB (+1,+31)

3rd and 4, BUF 29 - 74 PB, Josh to Beas for 7 and FD (+1,+32)

1st and 10, BUF 36 - 74 PB, lets Buckner go, screen to Breida, 74 hustles downfield blocking, Breida gets 16 and FD (+1,+33)

1st and 10, IND 48 - 74 combo pass block, complete to Beas for 7 (+1,+34)

2nd and 3, IND 41 - 74 stands up his guy, Josh to Knox for drop #6 (+1,+35)

3rd and 3, IND 41 - 74 with another combo pass block, Josh to Knox for 31, DPI declined (+1,+36)

1st and Goal, IND 10 - 74 mauls his guy downfield, Josh rolls right with 1 yd throw to Knox, not sure why this wasn't illegal man downfield (+1,+37)

2nd and Goal, IND 9 - 74 pushes Buckner outside, arguably second pressure given up by 74, Knox in the EZ with drop #7 (-1,+36)

3rd and Goal, IND 9 - 74 PB, pushes Buckner outside, Josh scrambles and hits Diggs for the TD (+1,+37)

Bills go for 2 - 74 pulls and traps LB inside, Josh runs right for the deuce (+1,+38)

 

Bills 8th possession

1st and 15, BUF 19 - 74 PB, Mitch to Motor for 7 (+1,+39)

2nd and 8, BUF 26 - 74 pushes Buckner past Mitch, pass to Motor for drop #8 (+1,+40)

3rd and 8, BUF 26 - 74 with combo PB, Mitch to Davis for FD (+1,+41)

1st and 10, BUF 36 - 74 with combo, PB, Mitch to Motor for 4 (+1,+42)

2nd and 6, BUF 40 - 74 with good PB, Mitch throws the bad INT (+1,+43)

 

Conclusions

1.  In this game, Cody Ford played very well.  He gave up 2 pressures, and had two other bad plays, but he won the vast majority of his one-on-one battles.  The guys he blocked did not impact the game at all.

2.  DeForest Buckner stat line - 1 assisted tackle, 0's everywhere else.

3.  Ford's trap blocking today was a thing of beauty.  Every time he pulled, he mauled the guy in front of him.  He also consistently got to the 2nd level.  Would love to see Breida running behind Ford instead of Z Slow.

4.  Ford's pass blocking was solid.  When he didn't get an assignment due to the defensive alignment, he consistently flowed to combo another guy.  

5.  On a day where the Bills were physically dominated, I didn't see anything in Ford's play today to justify the hate.  I'm interested to hear from the haterz.

 

74 grades overall:

Colts - A-  

Edited November 23, 2021 by Freddie's Dead

[HOUSE]

We need to extend him now before he slips away

[nucci]

No one gets a passing grade yesterday

[NY Nole]

[dorquemada]

 

I'll say this about him - he wasn't the worst player on the field for the Bills yesterday, and does seem to acquitted  himself in context of being a backup.  "Not the worst OL man yesterday" isn't exactly praise, though credit where credit is due

[CSBill]

Generally, except for the terrible 1st drive penalty, he wasn't noticeable, which is normally a good thing for online-men.

[Roundybout]

Credit where credit is due. 

 

 

Of course, didn't he have the brutal holding penalty that wiped out Allen's long run? 

[Freddie's Dead]

22 minutes ago, BillsEnthusiast said:

Credit where credit is due. 

 

 

Of course, didn't he have the brutal holding penalty that wiped out Allen's long run? 

 

I went back and looked at the play by play, and the only holding was on Mitch Morse on an incomplete pass from Josh.

[Roundybout]

4 minutes ago, Freddie's Dead said:

 

I went back and looked at the play by play, and the only holding was on Mitch Morse on an incomplete pass from Josh.

 

You're right, IIRC Ford had the one random false start penalty. 

[34-78-83]

it sounds kinda crazy, but the O-line actually held up pretty adequately yesterday, much to our surprise (those that were with me). Even Ford, after a rough Q1 played pretty well. They may have been (Eeeek!!) the best position group on the team yesterday!??!??!!?? Wow yeah, I actually do feel that way.

[dave mcbride]

4 hours ago, 34-78-83 said:

it sounds kinda crazy, but the O-line actually held up pretty adequately yesterday, much to our surprise (those that were with me). Even Ford, after a rough Q1 played pretty well. They may have been (Eeeek!!) the best position group on the team yesterday!??!??!!?? Wow yeah, I actually do feel that way.

 

[34-78-83]

14 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

 

no doubt. More meaning like adequately considering the 2 starters being out.

[Success]

Man, if Ford could pull it together & play w/ some consistency, it would really solve some problems. Here's hoping that he's turning a corner.

 

Outstanding, detailed analysis.  Thank you, OP.

 

[Freddie's Dead]

43 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

 

 

I was focused on Ford, so I didn't look specifically at other OL, but two bad plays that stand out to me are when Morse got turned around to face Motor, and Williams giving up the Kwity Paye strip sack.  The pressures I awarded Ford came much later in the game.

 

I think Breida would help tremendously.  He's outplayed both Motor and Z Slow, and deserves to start.  A good RB can make the run blocking look better, just like a good QB like Josh can make the pass blocking look better.  Time for McClappy to bite the bullet and start Matt Breida.

[BillsfaninSB]

6 hours ago, BillsEnthusiast said:

 

You're right, IIRC Ford had the one random false start penalty. 

Williams moved at the same time.  Could have easily been called on him.

 

Makes me wonder if that was a lineman issue or Josh messed up the count slightly. 

[BuffaloRebound]

Seeing how this coaching staff couldn’t find playing time for the best Guard in the game and gave up on him after a year, it wouldn’t be preposterous to think Ford might actually be a decent player.  

[dave mcbride]

53 minutes ago, Freddie's Dead said:

 

I was focused on Ford, so I didn't look specifically at other OL, but two bad plays that stand out to me are when Morse got turned around to face Motor, and Williams giving up the Kwity Paye strip sack.  The pressures I awarded Ford came much later in the game.

 

I think Breida would help tremendously.  He's outplayed both Motor and Z Slow, and deserves to start.  A good RB can make the run blocking look better, just like a good QB like Josh can make the pass blocking look better.  Time for McClappy to bite the bullet and start Matt Breida.

Williams to my eye looked pretty bad yesterday. Man, he has really regressed as a RT. He was a solid player last season.

[Freddie's Dead]

Just now, dave mcbride said:

Williams to my eye looked pretty bad yesterday. Man, he has really regressed as a RT. He was a solid player last season.

 

Next time, I'll try to see who on the OL is f'ing up.  That's assuming Ford starts.  If Brown is back, it'll likely be Williams Brown at RG RT.  Personally, I think Ford has earned another start.

17 minutes ago, BillsfaninSB said:

Williams moved at the same time.  Could have easily been called on him.

 

Makes me wonder if that was a lineman issue or Josh messed up the count slightly. 

 

Really hard to tell, but I had the same question since they both moved.  Funny, the Jags did this on like 5 or 6 plays, only got called once 😜

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

Not sure there are any other players on the Bills roster who've been jerked around as much as he has in his 3 seasons here.

 

In 2019 as a rookie played most of training camp and preseason at guard, think I recall even both guard positions due to injuries, then switched to tackle for the entire season.  He played in all but one game, in 4 games less than 50% don't recall if that was due to getting nicked up or was he not starting yet early in the season.  To expect a rookie to play guard all off season than move him to tackle is kind of amazing he did even half as well as he did.  Not the best way to say welcome to the NFL. 

 

In 2020, they switched him to guard, but no off-season workouts, no preseason games, and a reduced training camp to start with.  Judging by snap counts and a little memory he played:

 

Week 1, played entire game

Week 2, got hurt in Q3??

Week 3,4,&5  played all game

Week 6 played a little more than half the game then got hurt

Week 7 & 8 still out

Week 9 played q1, got hurt and was out for rest of year

 

2021

Played 1st 3 games of season

Week 4 played 10 snaps against Texans, did he get hurt or benched or are stats wrong??

Week 5 thru 7 DNP

Week 8 played against Jax and struggled

Week 9 DNP except at end

 

Added up he's played a little over the equivalent of 10 games at guard, some missing time due to injury, some of his own making.  Even in college played 1st and 2nd year at guard., then switched to tackle his senior year

 

Overall IMO hard to really say he's a bust when played so little.  He may never live up to 2nd round draft status, but that's not uncommon either, but may  be salvageable too.

 

 

42 minutes ago, BillsfaninSB said:

Williams moved at the same time.  Could have easily been called on him.

 

Makes me wonder if that was a lineman issue or Josh messed up the count slightly. 

 

The next play was the holding call, the play after was the Int, but looked like snap count was messed up on that one too as Morse snapped it, looked like before anyone else was expecting it.

 

 

36 minutes ago, BuffaloRebound said:

Seeing how this coaching staff couldn’t find playing time for the best Guard in the game and gave up on him after a year, it wouldn’t be preposterous to think Ford might actually be a decent player.  

 

Best guard in the game may be a bit much.  Tellers rookie year the Bills line was complete mess, they wanted experience and brought players in so weren't going to likely keep him over some of the other players they had.  Best they could have done was cut him and hopped to sneak him onto PS.

 

Believe the picks they got in return became Tyler Bass and part of the Diggs trade so not bad there either

Edited November 22, 2021 by Ed_Formerly_of_Roch

[Freddie's Dead]

3 minutes ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

Not sure there are any other players on the Bills roster who've been jerked around as much as he has in his 3 seasons here.

 

In 2019 as a rookie played most of training camp and preseason at guard, think I recall even both guard positions due to injuries, then switched to tackle for the entire season.  He played in all but one game, in 4 games less than 50% don't recall if that was due to getting nicked up or was he not starting yet early in the season.  To expect a rookie to play guard all off season than move him to tackle is kind of amazing he did even half as well as he did.  Not the best way to say welcome to the NFL. 

 

In 2020, they switched him to guard, but no off-season workouts, no preseason games, and a reduced training camp to start with.  Judging by snap counts and a little memory he played:

 

Week 1, played entire game

Week 2, got hurt in Q3??

Week 3,4,&5  played all game

Week 6 played a little more than half the game then got hurt

Week 7 & 8 still out

Week 9 played q1, got hurt and was out for rest of year

 

2021

Played 1st 3 games of season

Week 4 played 10 snaps against Texans, did he get hurt or benched or are stats wrong??

Week 5 thru 7 DNP

Week 8 played against Jax and struggled

Week 9 DNP except at end

 

Added up he's played a little over the equivalent of 10 games at guard, some missing time due to injury, some of his own making.  Even in college played 1st and 2nd year at guard., then switched to tackle his senior year

 

Overall IMO hard to really say he's a bust when played so little.  He may never live up to 2nd round draft status, but that's not uncommon either, but may  be salvageable too.

 

Excellent points Ed.  After watching the Colts tape, it's too soon to give up on Ford.  I learned from The Edmunds Report that it's tough to go against the established legend, but I'll believe my lying eyes from this point on.  I'm looking forward to seeing more of Cody Ford.