NE Ran 40+ Times Yet only Won TOP by 2 minutes - How did the Bills Lose?

[Billl]

Just now, warrior9 said:

Brian Daboll

In your opinion, did McDaniels call better plays than Daboll, or did the Patriots simply execute better?

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 minute ago, T master said:

Didn't Williams also do some really good things against the Fins in a fairly recent game if my memory serves me correct which does fail me quite often .

 

Williams played in the season finale against the Dolphins, primarily in the 2nd half.  He looked good, but he was also playing against a shoulder-slumped team that was already heading for the bus, not the NE Patriots with the bit in their teeth.

[warrior9]

Just now, Billl said:

In your opinion, did McDaniels call better plays than Daboll, or did the Patriots simply execute better?

Both.

 

Our running plays are sooo vanilla and everyone watching the game knows when we are running the ball. I formation? run. Josh under center? 80% chance we're running it. There's no creativity to our run game. Patriots create space with their run game. They had a game plan. They put 6 offensive linemen on the field for a TON of snaps and dared the Bills to stop them.. they didn't... so yeah McDaniels called a better game than Daboll. If you don't think so, I think you're incredibly football illiterate. 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

4 minutes ago, warrior9 said:

Brian Daboll

 

I feel certain that Daboll designed the play for Breida to mis-handle the exchange and fumble, for Knox to drop a pass that hit him in the numbers for a first down, for Diggs to fail to haul in a pass that hits him on the wrists,  for delay of game penalty, for offensive holding and false start penalties at bad times etc etc

[nucci]

1 hour ago, HardyBoy said:

This narrative that the Bills defense didn't control the game, or should be embarrassed is crazy.

 

New England winning time of possession by only two minutes in a game they ran like 44 times for over 200 yards is really not impressive. How is that even possible? Bills just couldn't finish drives. Yes, some of that is great red zone scheme I'm sure, but the wind impacted a sure back shoulder td to Diggs late in the game that busted that scheme dead to rights.

 

Agree with McD here 100%, they should have won that game and it wasn't good coaching by the Pats, it was poor execution by the Bills o

and bad luck for the Bills due to weather in key moments. The long td to Diggs that he just couldn't track, that back shoulder where Diggs had the guy dead to rights, plus the missed fg by Bass...all three plays doomed by the wind.

 

Though I will say, I think Belichick just showed ATL how to not blow a 28-3 lead, while only having a 1 point lead!

we didn't score enough. Bass missed FG was killer

[Hapless Bills Fan]

3 minutes ago, warrior9 said:

Our running plays are sooo vanilla and everyone watching the game knows when we are running the ball. I formation? run. Josh under center? 80% chance we're running it. There's no creativity to our run game. Patriots create space with their run game. They had a game plan. They put 6 offensive linemen on the field for a TON of snaps and dared the Bills to stop them.. they didn't... so yeah McDaniels called a better game than Daboll. If you don't think so, I think you're incredibly football illiterate. 

 

There's no need to call anyone who disagrees with you "incredibly football illiterate".  That doesn't add to the discussion here.

 

The thing is, in a couple of recent games (Jets I think) we actually DID show some creativity with the run game.  We also operated from under center in the passing game with play action, and used the threat of a run game to set up the pass.  Here's one article about the Jets game detailing how we did this:

https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/jim-kubiak-how-play-action-fakes-helped-unleash-josh-allen-bills-offense/article_0f127800-46d7-11ec-ab1e-b76cbdd50fb5.html

 

I don't know why Daboll didn't run more heavy formations OR try to create flow.  He did use 2 TE (with Sweeney) 22% of the time, 13 snaps, and an extra lineman (Bates) 7% of the time, 4 snaps.  Since we only had 55 offensive snaps that weren't punts, that's almost 1/3. 

 

IMHO Sweeney is ineffective - that play where Josh Allen sprawled on the turf then jumped up and tried to make a play?  That was Sweeney getting shoved back into him immediately.  I don't know why we didn't use him less, and Bates more, or go with an extra man more for better blocking, especially since we did run 25x (45%)

 

6 minutes ago, nucci said:

we didn't score enough. Bass missed FG was killer

 

Bass missed field goal was the result of the real killer - 1st and 6 on the NE 6, and neither a 1st down or a TD.  Run for no gain, 9 yd sack, and an incomplete pass to Knox. 

[Thurman#1]

1 hour ago, Rigotz said:

In a 10-14 game you can't do this:

 

- Fumble a handoff on 1st and 10 at the Opponent's 29 yard line, with the wind at your back.

- Go from 1st and goal at the Opponent's 6 yard line to 4th and 14 with the game on the line.

- Miss a 33 yard field goal.

- Drop several easy first downs.

- Drop touchdowns.

 

That's why we lost. Not because Bill Belichick is a genius. Not because we are a worse team than the Patriots.

We shot ourselves in the foot in a game where the weather favored the Patriots style of play.

 

Simple as that.

 

 

 

Ouch. 

 

19 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I feel certain that Daboll designed the play for Breida to mis-handle the exchange and fumble, for Knox to drop a pass that hit him in the numbers for a first down, for Diggs to fail to haul in a pass that hits him on the wrists,  for delay of game penalty, for offensive holding and false start penalties at bad times etc etc

 

 

Ow, dammit.

 

Edited December 8, 2021 by Thurman#1

[NewEra]

We made more mistakes.

[Thurman#1]

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

To McDermott, it's very simple and it's pretty hard to argue.  We had 4 trips to the red zone and we only scored a TD on 1 of them, any points on half.

That has been a consistent problem for us this year.  In the Tennessee game, 2 of 5.  3 of 5 we win.

 

The reasons are varied - offensive penalties, sacks, drops, incompletions.  Offensive penalties have been killer.

 

But IMO it comes down to, we have the talent and we're kicking ourselves in the nuts.

 

 

 

 

Aaaargh!

 

This hurts so damn much, all this truth.

 

1 minute ago, NewEra said:

We made more mistakes.

 

 

Gyaaaah! This too!

Edited December 8, 2021 by Thurman#1

[Solomon Grundy]

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

That guy on the practice squad" is always the fan favorite to "fix" the team, but the coaches see these guys every day.  I have to think if they felt the PS guy could play more effectively than the guy on the field, they'd get their shot.

I question this based in the Vernon Butler example

[warrior9]

21 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I feel certain that Daboll designed the play for Breida to mis-handle the exchange and fumble, for Knox to drop a pass that hit him in the numbers for a first down, for Diggs to fail to haul in a pass that hits him on the wrists,  for delay of game penalty, for offensive holding and false start penalties at bad times etc etc

I feel very certain that the Diggs catch was incredibly easy, the Knox pass had no defenders making a great play, the refs called the delay of game early. 

Daboll called a great game.... wonderful. Our run plays were very well designed. 

[Solomon Grundy]

According to Skip Bayless, had Josh thrown to Beasley instead of Davis this Belichick "genius" narrative would be a moot point. Skip is not on Belichick fan wagon

[warrior9]

27 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I feel certain that Daboll designed the play for Breida to mis-handle the exchange and fumble, for Knox to drop a pass that hit him in the numbers for a first down, for Diggs to fail to haul in a pass that hits him on the wrists,  for delay of game penalty, for offensive holding and false start penalties at bad times etc etc

The Knox drop early was atrocious though, when he would have gotten a first. 

[Joe Mama]

One good red zone offensive play McD is genius, and BB is senile

Edited December 8, 2021 by Joe Mama

[JohnBonhamRocks]

FWIW I believe NE* were +4 minutes in TOP. 

[Billever76]

1 hour ago, ScottLaw said:

Considering once they started chucking the ball in the 4th against the wind they had their best two drives of the game…. Sure the wind had an affect on his passes but he was still able to demonstrate he can throw through it …. Why they waited to the 4th to get into passing mode is really infuriating and more proof McD was coaching scared of the weather. 

Exactly....Let your 250million dollar qb throw that ball all game long...if we did that then we win simple....100% coaches loss

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 minute ago, warrior9 said:

The Knox drop early was atrocious though, when he would have gotten a first. 

 

Agree.  And on a windy night, Diggs is one of the best WR in the league, he can make circus one-hand catches, and he can't bring in a ball that hits him on the wrist?

 

I don't wholly disagree with the people who finger Daboll as the source of the problems.  I think he has been a source of the problems at times. 

 

I think when it comes to the run game, he has a "low interest rate", and honestly believed "who needs a run game when we have a Cadillac Passing System?"  He talks about Week-to-Week opponent matchups, but the Bills had effectively become a Spread Offense, with or without his conscious intent and without (to my understanding) one of the key ingredients that make a spread offense work to whit, a speed threat or two at WR to push the safeties deep. 

 

And for whatever reason, we simply have not been disciplined enough on penalties and mistakes (smaller ones like dropping catchable passes or sacks, or drive ending ones like big sacks or turnovers) to make a dink-n-dunk long drive work.  There has to be some coaching aspects there, in terms of how players are coached, and how practice is conducted. 

 

Bottom line: If you can't sustain a drive with a short passing game, you can't blow by defenders with an effective deep game, and you can't run, you can be stopped.  So lacking all those things, is in part on coaches and the FO.

 

But even so, we have had game plans good enough and play calling good enough THAT WE COULD HAVE WON EVERY GAME, without costly mistakes in execution by the players.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

6 minutes ago, Billever76 said:

Exactly....Let your 250million dollar qb throw that ball all game long...if we did that then we win simple....100% coaches loss

 

How many times did the Bills pass in the first half?  How many times did the Bills pass in the 2nd half?  Thanks. 

 

Bear in mind that one of the Bills first half drives was curtailed by a fumble, and one of them was short because it started on the NWE 14

 

Of the 2nd half passes, how many were visibly or by the player's account affected by wind?

[Billever76]

6 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

How many times did the Bills pass in the first half?  How many times did the Bills pass in the 2nd half?  Thanks. 

 

Bear in mind that one of the Bills first half drives was curtailed by a fumble, and one of them was short because it started on the NWE 14

You are not seeing the entire picture...when the wind was in our face in the 2nd quarter we became safe and didnt trust our 250m dollar man to make the plays..we forced the run...now had our backs seen the multiple wide open cut back lanes i still think we win.....but id rather trust our qb to win the game than moss or singletary

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

2 hours ago, HardyBoy said:

This narrative that the Bills defense didn't control the game, or should be embarrassed is crazy.

 

New England winning time of possession by only two minutes in a game they ran like 44 times for over 200 yards is really not impressive. How is that even possible? Bills just couldn't finish drives. Yes, some of that is great red zone scheme I'm sure, but the wind impacted a sure back shoulder td to Diggs late in the game that busted that scheme dead to rights.

 

Agree with McD here 100%, they should have won that game and it wasn't good coaching by the Pats, it was poor execution by the Bills o

and bad luck for the Bills due to weather in key moments. The long td to Diggs that he just couldn't track, that back shoulder where Diggs had the guy dead to rights, plus the missed fg by Bass...all three plays doomed by the wind.

 

Though I will say, I think Belichick just showed ATL how to not blow a 28-3 lead, while only having a 1 point lead!

 

They ran the ball every play but 3 out of 49 and had three long scoring drives. 
 

while we are on mistakes, the Bills lone TD was an absolute gift and lucky break, otherwise it’s 14-3. 
 

the defense stunk, the offense stunk and the coaching  stunk. 
 

Such A one dimensional offense should have been shut out by a competent nfl defense. They never forced NE to need to throw. That’s just as much on them as anyone. 
 

Puffing your chest about an nfl defense only allowing 14 point to Army’s offense is pathetic, well except army’s offense at least has an athlete at qb… Mac handed off on every down then pats 10 dominated bills 11

Edited December 8, 2021 by Over 29 years of fanhood