THE ROCKPILE REVIEW - Stand and Deliver

[Shaw66]

It was the two-minute warning.  The Bills trailed the Patriots 14-10 and were fourth and 14 from the Patriots’ 18 yard line.  The Bills needed a big play.

Josh Allen trotted to the sideline.

 

“Kid,” Bill Belichick said, “I’m coming after you with everything I have.  Let’s see if you can stand and deliver.”

 

Wait, what?  Josh Allen was talking to Bill Belichick on the sideline?   Of course not, but that is exactly what Belichick was thinking, and Allen knew it.

The Patriots came with their zero blitz, playing straight man-to-man.  Allen didn’t have all day to study his options, but he had time.  He stood but he didn’t deliver, and the Patriots won.   

 

That’s not a knock on Allen.  It’s simply what happened.  In any sport, the star gets the ball and is asked to win the game.  The star doesn’t always make the play, but if a guy wants to be the star, he has to make it more often than not.  Monday night, Allen didn’t make the play.  That’s all.

 

Of course, Allen was the primary reason the Bills were in the game in the first place.  In fact, Allen may be the only person on the planet who could have made the Bills competitive in that game.  Why?  Because Allen is just about the only person on the planet who can pass effectively in wind like that.  Belichick’s not stupid; he had been watching the forecasts, and when he stepped on the field Monday night he knew – Mac Jones could not pass in that wind.  Jones threw three times all night.

 

Allen is a different animal altogether.  He throws with exceptional velocity, velocity that allowed him to be effective in the short passing game on Monday night.  Well, sort of effective.  He still had passes affected by the wind, and he threw some fastballs that his receivers, who are used to catching Allen’s throws, couldn’t handle.  Dawson Knox, in particular, dropped a couple of incoming rockets. 

 

In a game when it was assumed no one could pass, Allen could.  He could pass with the wind, and he could pass against the wind.   On top of that, Allen can escape the pass rush, and he can run.  Put it altogether, and the Bills had a guy on offense who said, “damn the weather, LET’S GO!”   And go they did, up and down the field, before repeatedly stalling in the red zone, where the Patriot defense is extraordinary. 

 

So, it came down to one play, on fourth down with two minutes left in the game.  And on that play, after a night full of on-target throws, Allen missed badly.  He wasn’t beaten by a great defensive play, as the television announcers said.  He badly underthrew Gabriel Davis in the end zone; a well-thrown pass would have been out of reach of the poaching defender.  Was the moment too big for Allen?   Did he misjudge the wind?   Whatever, the ball was short and the defender knocked it away.  And Allen had Beasley streaming across the middle, with certain first-down yardage and maybe the touchdown.  Did Allen not see him?  Did Allen decide that that throw would be in a cross wind and tougher to complete?   Whatever happened, Allen didn’t get the ball someplace it had to be, and the Patriots won.

 

This was a great football game, old-fashioned football, two teams fighting it out in whatever the weather happened to be.  It was the kind of football we played as kids in December.  It was, as others have said, a heavyweight fight, two teams slugging their way to the finish.  Defenses dominated.  Both defenses held their opponents below their league leading averages in points and yards.  The Patriots, not surprisingly, ran the ball well and often.  The Bills, not surprisingly, couldn’t run that well, but their balanced offense had equal success – or lack of success – moving the ball.

 

Mistakes were even more or less even.  Each team turned it over once, and each turnover was followed by a touchdown, the only touchdown each team scored.  Penalties were even enough, and penalties didn’t determine the outcome. 

 

Big plays were the difference in the game.  The Patriots had one, a 64-yard burst by Damien Harris early in the game.  In fact, but for that one play, the Bills did a good job controlling the Patriot running game.  If the Bills had made the stop on that play, the outcome could very well have been different. One play.

 

The Bills, on the other hand, were 0-for-2 in the big play category.  Allen’s misfire on fourth and 14 to end the game was one.  The other was Stephon Diggs’ “drop” in the end zone in the third quarter.  It hit him in the arm, so I guess it was a drop, but in those conditions it would have been a great catch.  Diggs was running full speed downfield, tracking a ball that was on a flight path that Diggs had never seen before and probably never will again. Most receivers would have misjudged the ball, slowed and had no chance to catch it as it carried into the end zone.   And Allen’s throw on that play was borderline miraculous.   Given the wind, Allen was uncannily accurate most of the night.  No throw was better than that ball to Diggs, 50+ yards in the air, hitting Diggs pretty much in stride, despite the wind pushing the ball downfield and to the left.

 

A few miscellaneous observations:

 

1.  The Bills couldn’t have asked for a better situation to start Dane Jackson in place of Tre White – Jones attempted only three passes.  Bills will need a hurricane in Tampa Bay next week, so Jackson won’t have to worry about Brady.

 

2.  Tremaine Edmunds looked to me to be overrunning gaps for the entire first half, running to chase down the sweep while the back was cutting upfield off tackle.  Maybe that was his assignment, but it looked like the play was right in front of him and he simply didn’t react. 

 

3. Harry Phillips was hard to miss.  He was a major disruptor. 

 

4.  It looked like the fumble was on Allen, but who knows?  Either way, it was a bad mistake in a game where there was no room for error.

 

5.  I thought the unnecessary roughness call on Allen on the sideline was the correct call.  Sure, Allen technically was not out of bounds and the play was not over yet, but the play also is not over when a receiver catches the ball and falls down.  A defensive back can’t explode on the receiver while he’s on the ground, and that guy can’t blow up Allen on the sideline, either.  The tackler was out of bounds when he hit Allen, so the instant he touched Allen, the play was over; a touch was all that was needed.

 

6.  I can’t wait for the day they have a chip in the ball and determine its location.  Jones was short of the line to gain on his fourth down quarterback sneak, but there is absolutely no way (1) any official could see it or (2) the call could be overturned on replay, because you couldn’t see the ball.  But we all could see Jones’s helmet, and his helmet didn’t get to the line.   The ball certainly was behind his helmet.   That play cost the Bills three points.

 

7.  Winning a game like that is all about making the play you need to make.  Bass needed to make that kick, wind or no wind.  He’ll be better next time.

 

8.  It’s fun to see the evidence of how the coaches’ brains are working.  Belichick clearly decided, in advance of the game, that he wasn’t likely to try any place kicks into the wind.   He also knew that he had to be in desperation mode before he’d let Jones pass; fortunately for him, his run game delivered just well enough.   McDermott knew he wanted no part of anyone returning punts except Hyde – get a sure-handed, smart guy back there. 

 

That game was championship-level competition – put it all on the line every play.  It was great to watch.  The Bills showed they can play at that level; they still have to show they can win at that level.  Allen has to make the throws, Diggs has to make the catches, Bass needs to make the kicks. 

Right now, the Bills need a win in Tampa.  Then a win in New England.  That’s what champions do.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[Stroke 17]

Nice job again Shaw. I have been at this for over 50 years as a season ticket holder. Seen some good, seen a lot of average and a fair share of just bad football. Last night may have broke me. The all around coaching was below average at best. Running into the middle of their line was a plan for success? No screen passes, no tight end screens, two pass plays back to back to Diggs to start the 3rd Qtr that had no chance to succeed, pre snap penalties. Hard to watch, again. I'm tired, cold and pi***d today. The season is slipping away like so many others. Go Bills, quietly. 

[Chaos]

I appreciate your optimism.  The Bills failed.  Full stop.  From Knox killing the first drive with an easy drop. To letting the Patriots get out as front runners by being blown off the ball, to let them get up 8-0, to the worst set of play calls in NFL history on first and goal from the 6 yard line, the Bills demonstrated they can't deliver.  There is zero evidence to suggest that if the Bills put more points on the board early, that that Patriots would not have been able to deliver more points on their end.   The Pats didn't throw only 2 passes because they were afraid to throw more, they threw exactly the number of passes they needed to win the game. 

Edited December 7, 2021 by Chaos

[Shaw66]

1 minute ago, Chaos said:

I appreciate your optimism.  The Bills failed.  Full stop.  From Knox killing the first drive with an easy drop. To the Patriots getting out as front runners by being blown off the ball, to let them get up 8-0, to the worst set of play calls in NFL history on first and goal from the 6 yard line, the Bills demonstrated they can't deliver.  There is zero evidence to suggest that if the Bills put more points on the board early, that that Patriots would not have been able to deliver more points on their end.   The Pats didn't throw only 2 passes because they were afraid to throw more, they threw exactly the number of passes they needed to win the game. 

I agree with most of this.  Particularly that we don't know how well New England would have passed if they had chosen to, except that I know that Jones has, at best, an average NFL arm.  We also don't know how much trouble he would have had reading the Bills' defense, which surely would have been the most complex pass defense he's encountered this season.  

 

And, yes, they failed.   The NFL is strictly a pass-fail league, and your grade is determined by the final score.   Pats pass, Bills fail.   Got it. 

 

However, the Bills also played one of the very best teams in the league head-to-head, and one play was the difference in the outcome.  

 

The Bills have a good team. 

[Chaos]

Just now, Shaw66 said:

I agree with most of this.  Particularly that we don't know how well New England would have passed if they had chosen to, except that I know that Jones has, at best, an average NFL arm.  We also don't know how much trouble he would have had reading the Bills' defense, which surely would have been the most complex pass defense he's encountered this season.  

 

And, yes, they failed.   The NFL is strictly a pass-fail league, and your grade is determined by the final score.   Pats pass, Bills fail.   Got it. 

 

However, the Bills also played one of the very best teams in the league head-to-head, and one play was the difference in the outcome.  

 

The Bills have a good team. 

Yep.  The Bills have a good team. So do 10 to 13 other teams. Arguably last years Bills team was better.  There is a legitimate concern on whether or not the Bills under current management have hit their ceiling. 

[prissythecat]

24 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

It was the two-minute warning.  The Bills trailed the Patriots 14-10 and were fourth and 14 from the Patriots’ 18 yard line.  The Bills needed a big play.

Josh Allen trotted to the sideline.

 

“Kid,” Bill Belichick said, “I’m coming after you with everything I have.  Let’s see if you can stand and deliver.”

 

Wait, what?  Josh Allen was talking to Bill Belichick on the sideline?   Of course not, but that is exactly what Belichick was thinking, and Allen knew it.

The Patriots came with their zero blitz, playing straight man-to-man.  Allen didn’t have all day to study his options, but he had time.  He stood but he didn’t deliver, and the Patriots won.   

 

That’s not a knock on Allen.  It’s simply what happened.  In any sport, the star gets the ball and is asked to win the game.  The star doesn’t always make the play, but if a guy wants to be the star, he has to make it more often than not.  Monday night, Allen didn’t make the play.  That’s all.

 

Of course, Allen was the primary reason the Bills were in the game in the first place.  In fact, Allen may be the only person on the planet who could have made the Bills competitive in that game.  Why?  Because Allen is just about the only person on the planet who can pass effectively in wind like that.  Belichick’s not stupid; he had been watching the forecasts, and when he stepped on the field Monday night he knew – Mac Jones could not pass in that wind.  Jones threw three times all night.

 

Allen is a different animal altogether.  He throws with exceptional velocity, velocity that allowed him to be effective in the short passing game on Monday night.  Well, sort of effective.  He still had passes affected by the wind, and he threw some fastballs that his receivers, who are used to catching Allen’s throws, couldn’t handle.  Dawson Knox, in particular, dropped a couple of incoming rockets. 

 

In a game when it was assumed no one could pass, Allen could.  He could pass with the wind, and he could pass against the wind.   On top of that, Allen can escape the pass rush, and he can run.  Put it altogether, and the Bills had a guy on offense who said, “damn the weather, LET’S GO!”   And go they did, up and down the field, before repeatedly stalling in the red zone, where the Patriot defense is extraordinary. 

 

So, it came down to one play, on fourth down with two minutes left in the game.  And on that play, after a night full of on-target throws, Allen missed badly.  He wasn’t beaten by a great defensive play, as the television announcers said.  He badly underthrew Gabriel Davis in the end zone; a well-thrown pass would have been out of reach of the poaching defender.  Was the moment too big for Allen?   Did he misjudge the wind?   Whatever, the ball was short and the defender knocked it away.  And Allen had Beasley streaming across the middle, with certain first-down yardage and maybe the touchdown.  Did Allen not see him?  Did Allen decide that that throw would be in a cross wind and tougher to complete?   Whatever happened, Allen didn’t get the ball someplace it had to be, and the Patriots won.

 

This was a great football game, old-fashioned football, two teams fighting it out in whatever the weather happened to be.  It was the kind of football we played as kids in December.  It was, as others have said, a heavyweight fight, two teams slugging their way to the finish.  Defenses dominated.  Both defenses held their opponents below their league leading averages in points and yards.  The Patriots, not surprisingly, ran the ball well and often.  The Bills, not surprisingly, couldn’t run that well, but their balanced offense had equal success – or lack of success – moving the ball.

 

Mistakes were even more or less even.  Each team turned it over once, and each turnover was followed by a touchdown, the only touchdown each team scored.  Penalties were even enough, and penalties didn’t determine the outcome. 

 

Big plays were the difference in the game.  The Patriots had one, a 64-yard burst by Damien Harris early in the game.  In fact, but for that one play, the Bills did a good job controlling the Patriot running game.  If the Bills had made the stop on that play, the outcome could very well have been different. One play.

 

The Bills, on the other hand, were 0-for-2 in the big play category.  Allen’s misfire on fourth and 14 to end the game was one.  The other was Stephon Diggs’ “drop” in the end zone in the third quarter.  It hit him in the arm, so I guess it was a drop, but in those conditions it would have been a great catch.  Diggs was running full speed downfield, tracking a ball that was on a flight path that Diggs had never seen before and probably never will again. Most receivers would have misjudged the ball, slowed and had no chance to catch it as it carried into the end zone.   And Allen’s throw on that play was borderline miraculous.   Given the wind, Allen was uncannily accurate most of the night.  No throw was better than that ball to Diggs, 50+ yards in the air, hitting Diggs pretty much in stride, despite the wind pushing the ball downfield and to the left.

 

A few miscellaneous observations:

 

1.  The Bills couldn’t have asked for a better situation to start Dane Jackson in place of Tre White – Jones attempted only three passes.  Bills will need a hurricane in Tampa Bay next week, so Jackson won’t have to worry about Brady.

 

2.  Tremaine Edmunds looked to me to be overrunning gaps for the entire first half, running to chase down the sweep while the back was cutting upfield off tackle.  Maybe that was his assignment, but it looked like the play was right in front of him and he simply didn’t react. 

 

3. Harry Phillips was hard to miss.  He was a major disruptor. 

 

4.  It looked like the fumble was on Allen, but who knows?  Either way, it was a bad mistake in a game where there was no room for error.

 

5.  I thought the unnecessary roughness call on Allen on the sideline was the correct call.  Sure, Allen technically was not out of bounds and the play was not over yet, but the play also is not over when a receiver catches the ball and falls down.  A defensive back can’t explode on the receiver while he’s on the ground, and that guy can’t blow up Allen on the sideline, either.  The tackler was out of bounds when he hit Allen, so the instant he touched Allen, the play was over; a touch was all that was needed.

 

6.  I can’t wait for the day they have a chip in the ball and determine its location.  Jones was short of the line to gain on his fourth down quarterback sneak, but there is absolutely no way (1) any official could see it or (2) the call could be overturned on replay, because you couldn’t see the ball.  But we all could see Jones’s helmet, and his helmet didn’t get to the line.   The ball certainly was behind his helmet.   That play cost the Bills three points.

 

7.  Winning a game like that is all about making the play you need to make.  Bass needed to make that kick, wind or no wind.  He’ll be better next time.

 

8.  It’s fun to see the evidence of how the coaches’ brains are working.  Belichick clearly decided, in advance of the game, that he wasn’t likely to try any place kicks into the wind.   He also knew that he had to be in desperation mode before he’d let Jones pass; fortunately for him, his run game delivered just well enough.   McDermott knew he wanted no part of anyone returning punts except Hyde – get a sure-handed, smart guy back there. 

 

That game was championship-level competition – put it all on the line every play.  It was great to watch.  The Bills showed they can play at that level; they still have to show they can win at that level.  Allen has to make the throws, Diggs has to make the catches, Bass needs to make the kicks. 

Right now, the Bills need a win in Tampa.  Then a win in New England.  That’s what champions do.

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

Thanks for the nice write-up .   I read on another thread though that the game was horrible to watch and that bad weather should result in postponement of football games.

[appoo]

Fumble was 100% on the runner. I've never seen a runner try to a receive a ball quite that way before

[Hapless Bills Fan]

35 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

4.  It looked like the fumble was on Allen, but who knows?  Either way, it was a bad mistake in a game where there was no room for error.

 

I was watching the Manning cast.  Peyton Manning thought it was all on Breida.  He had Aqib Talib as a guest and he thought so too.

 

For whatever it's worth, but Manning ought to know a thing

[Shaw66]

16 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I was watching the Manning cast.  Peyton Manning thought it was all on Breida.  He had Aqib Talib as a guest and he thought so too.

 

For whatever it's worth, but Manning ought to know a thing

I'm don't disagree.  I thought it was on Breida.

 

Not that it has anything to do with it, but I saw a clip of Manning, maybe from his show last night, in which he said that in his entire football career he NEVER took a handoff.   I suppose it's understandable - I mean, what pee wee coach is going to tell Archie Manning that his son isn't playing QB?   

[Success]

Good write-up, but I disagree w/ the focus of this take overall.  

 

4th & 14 is not a winning down, in any situation.  The game was lost in the plays & penalties prior to that.  The game was lost when we couldn't figure out how to get in the endzone w/ a 1st down on the 6.

 

[Shaw66]

1 minute ago, Success said:

Good write-up, but I disagree w/ the focus of this take overall.  

 

4th & 14 is not a winning down, in any situation.  The game was lost in the plays & penalties prior to that.  The game was lost when we couldn't figure out how to get in the endzone w/ a 1st down on the 6.

 

Sure.  Red zone lost the game.  That's what McDermott said after the game. 

 

I find in writing these things, I'm getting away from trying to explain why things happened, and what's wrong with the Bills.   I'm just a fan; I'm no expert.  

 

I just have observations about the game.   In this case, you're correct that 4th and 14 is not a winning down, and yet, on 4th and 14, 10 players on the field did their jobs well enough for the Bills to win the down and win the game.  It was an opportunity, an open opportunity, and the Bills didn't execute.  If Allen makes a better throw, we're all celebrating today. 

[bmur66]

Thanks man. You put the game in the correct light and feels a little better.

[Buddo]

Nice job Shaw.

 

I'm pretty down on the team atm, and it's nice to have a somewhat different perspective, which actually isn't far wrong.

 

One thing I am somewhat incredulous about, is the fact that the Bills cannot seem to run block, at all.

 

The Cheats only used really, about 3 or 4 serious run plays all game, but they executed them at a high level, as a unit. The play that got them the TD, was evident all through the game, and quite regulaly got decent yards, for example.

 

Surely it isn't beyond the ken of man, for someone on the Bills coaching staff, to get our O-Line to block a few run plays efficiently, as a unit, and just use those plays.

 

While I don't necessarily think this game was one of them - it was closely fought - I believe we have too many instances where our coaches try to be the 'smartest kid in the room' with their gameplans, and it can result in some right clunkers.

 

People have discussed before that this is a 'finesse' team, and there's obviously some truth in that.

 

Thing is, it shouldn't be.

 

It isn't just that when the time comes around to push for the playoffs, it's autumn going into winter, but also the fact that the Bills play home games out in the open, in an area somewhat notorious for 'changeable' weather. Oh, and add in that two of our divisional rivals also play often in adverse conditions (Jest and Cheats), and being a 'finesse' team, simply isn't going to cut it.

 

I still believe we will get to the playoffs, and we might win in the wild card game, or our first game but I don't see us either getting to, or beyond, the AFC Championship game, again, this year. Well, not unless we suddenly discover some sort of running game.

[LABILLBACKER]

Sorry Shaw but I needed a little more vitreal out of you on this one. Our 3 primary coaches failed miserably in many areas. Why Leslie didn't go to an extra DL player earlier in the game is inexcusable. Daboll insisting on 1st down runs that produced little or nothing.  Especially on our last red zone 1st down. Sean burning 2 timeouts early. Notice Belichick ALWAYS  has 3 TO's in his pocket at the end of every game. Belichick dominated our 3 coaches as he surgically dismantled them. Yes the players have to execute and stop making careless mistakes like Breida & Knox. Yes our trenches suck and it will probably take 2 full offseasons to fix that.  We are not a SB caliber team this year. Beane has alot of work to do.

[muppy]

its easy to cherry pick this player or that from yesterdays game  I will say edmunds was disappointing and stood out to me. .

 

Old fashioned great football game deal with the elements Clearly they did and had to... we all saw how crazy the winds were at Highmark inside the stadium Insane wind.....its not an excuse whatsoever dont get me wrong, Im saying a wind dipped ball here and a slight miscalculation for a kicker who is usually dead spot on and we would have had a different ballgame.

 

im bummed my bills mafia brethren had to endure that debacle of weather and then Bills lose....boooooooooooo

 

melancholy muppy

[Hapless Bills Fan]

10 minutes ago, Success said:

Good write-up, but I disagree w/ the focus of this take overall.  

 

4th & 14 is not a winning down, in any situation.  The game was lost in the plays & penalties prior to that.  The game was lost when we couldn't figure out how to get in the endzone w/ a 1st down on the 6.

 

 

This.

 

4th and 14 is was "Hail Mary".  Yeah, the distance was shorter, 18 yds, but this was a night when a normally-rock-steady FG kicker missed from 33 yds.

 

When you have the ball 1st and goal on the opponent's 6 yd line, you MUST come away with points. 

 

This was not novel to the Patriots.  It wasn't even novel to the games we've lost.  We've gone from being one of the better red zone teams in the league, to the last 3 games 50% and this past game 25%.

[TampaBillsJunkie]

I agree except for the "it was fun to watch."  This game was unbearable for me to watch. I couldn't sit still and my nerves were on end. It was excruciating to watch NE run the ball when we knew damn well that's what they were going to do. I hated watching a second wave of defenders get dragged as the first wave got blown off the line. 

 

Watching Suckletarry run into a mob for one yard while a gimpy Harris found holes for 10 was painful. Knowing Allen needed to throw and watching Daboll waste downs on useless 1/2 yard plunges pissed me off.  Seeing bullets get dropped when they needed to be caught, sucked.  

 

Having that horrible gut feeling by the end of the first quarter that you knew exactly how the game was going to go and then seeing it play out exactly as imagined also really, freaking sucked. 

 

Calling plays from my couch and being 90-95% on exactly who the ball was going to, "Sucked." Surprise me. Have some unpredictability on offense please. That also. you guessed it" SUCKED. 

 

Watching the team I hate with a deep rooted passion once again and Brady-less getting the best of us. Sucked.  The worst part was knowing we had the talent to win and not doing it. Not using all the tools at our disposal sucked.  Being out-coached again. Sucked.  I did not enjoy this game.  I'm still venting today and the only thing that's going to get rid of this pain is a win in Tampa and then REVENGE in NE.  Nothing else can ease the pain of "it sucked"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JohnBonhamRocks]

Thanks as usual!

 

Agree: unnecessary roughness call was correct & I can’t wait for chips in balls

 

Disagree: we sucked at run defense & Diggs drop should not be in quotes (he and Knox gotta come down with those balls in the end zone as supposed WR1 & TE1)

 

Part of what makes this game so frustrating is that Allen gave us a huge advantage of being able to throw as opposed to NE* with Jones, but we failed to use that advantage both with poor play calling and execution. 
 

Another part is that we regularly get outmuscled on both lines. 

[TampaBillsJunkie]

4 hours ago, Muppy said:

its easy to cherry pick this player or that from yesterdays game  I will say edmunds was disappointing and stood out to me. .

I have a few groans on this one.  Edmonds definitely over pursued a few times and was out of place for big gains. 

 

Wallace can not defend the run either. He got blown by a few times and when I saw guards pulling and throttling him and the edge for 10 yards it was disheartening.  

 

I hated seeing a big guys getting pushed around in the middle. Surprisingly Phillips looked stronger holding down the fort. I also didn't like seeing Basham playing inside on the DL. He was getting blown back. When he got penetration, the running back was past him. It wasn't until late in the game that Milano found the gaps and made plays.  Epenesa looked weak and got hammered trying to hold the edge multiple times.

 

On offense,  Singletary sucked outside of one run. He was useless.

 

Breida is fumble prone. As much as he is dynamic, he is careless which is why he was on the bench all year. If the other backs weren't so bad, he wouldn't see the field. He's a great weapon but also one that misfires at the wrong times. 

 

Sanders dropped a couple balls that absolutely should have been caught.  Knox needed to fight to possess the ball. He had it knocked out of 2 sure fire receptions. 

The entire OFFENSIVE LINE  is offensive to watch right now.

 

Josh was great but he missed open receivers mostly due to inept guard play, so he gets a pass for fighting through bad conditions. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 8, 2021 by TampaBillsJunkie

[Stuartjohn]

17 minutes ago, TampaBillsJunkie said:

I agree except for the "it was fun to watch."  This game was unbearable for me to watch. I couldn't sit still and my nerves were on end. It was excruciating to watch NE run the ball when we knew damn well that's what they were going to do. I hated watching a second wave of defenders get dragged as the first wave got blown off the line. 

 

Watching Suckletarry run into a mob for one yard while a gimpy Harris found holes for 10 was painful. Knowing Allen needed to throw and watching Daboll waste downs on useless 1/2 yard plunges pissed me off.  Seeing bullets get dropped when they needed to be caught, sucked.  

 

Having that horrible gut feeling by the end of the first quarter that you knew exactly how the game was going to go and then seeing it play out exactly as imagined also really, freaking sucked. 

 

Calling plays from my couch and being 90-95% on exactly who the ball was going to, "Sucked." Surprise me. Have some unpredictability on offense please. That also. you guessed it" SUCKED. 

 

Watching the team I hate with a deep rooted passion once again and Brady-less getting the best of us. Sucked.  The worst part was knowing we had the talent to win and not doing it. Not using all the tools at our disposal sucked.  Being out-coached again. Sucked.  I did not enjoy this game.  I'm still venting today and the only thing that's going to get rid of this pain is a win in Tampa and then REVENGE in NE.  Nothing else can ease the pain of "it sucked"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 minutes ago, JohnBonhamRocks said:

Thanks as usual!

 

Agree: unnecessary roughness call was correct & I can’t wait for chips in balls

 

Disagree: we sucked at run defense & Diggs drop should not be in quotes (he and Knox gotta come down with those balls in the end zone as supposed WR1 & TE1)

 

Part of what makes this game so frustrating is that Allen gave us a huge advantage of being able to throw as opposed to NE* with Jones, but we failed to use that advantage both with poor play calling and execution. 
 

Another part is that we regularly get outmuscled on both lines. 

I agree 100% what you are saying- 10 minutes into the Game I knew it was a loss!!