The Great Squib Kickoff Controversy - Have reviewed the film like it was Zapruder

[Billsfan1972]

I have posted in other threads so apologies.  And yes still pissed at all the mistakes in the last 13 seconds.

 

I can accept (though inexcusable) that there was miscommunication (and that is an epic fail), but not that Bass was not trying to kick it out of the endzone.

 

Yes in another thread....  I had to go back and watch every kick......  

 

Bass was kicking into the endzone.  His approach was 7-8 yards.....

 

The 29-26 kick, same approach 7-8 yards, After the 75 yard TD, he actually did a 5-6 yard approach and in the end zone.   After HT, 5-6 yards and through the endzone.....  

 

Just before HT and the TD, 7 yard approach and touchback.  At 7-0, again 7 yards and he did not catch it clean and would have bounced in the endzone but Pringle fielded the line drive and returned it to the 25.  

 

No chance he was told to kick it short and blew it!!!!!! 

 

A good pop up or squib kick goes to the 5-10 yard line.  Squibs are often muffed & pop up kicks usually means defense is downfield to defend.

 

You want to know how many short kicks (to the 5-15 yard line) were returned for TD's in 2021 in the NFL (I counted 1,200 kick returns)????

 

0!!!!!!! 

 

Kicks returned were all line drives to the goal line and returned 98-102 yards.

 

Bass was so proficient that the Bills were third in Kickoff defense & the longest return was 31 yards.  That would have eaten 7 seconds minimum.  

 

When he did those short kicks he approached them as FGs, has a 60+ yard leg, and would take a 3 or less step drop.  A 60 yard kick goes to the 5 yard line.  

 

So let's say Bass does kick it to the 5, best return is to the 36 & 7 seconds off the clock.  That gives KC one play to get to the 32 (which is where they ended up) or another 32 yards in 6 seconds.

 

If an average return they are at the 22-25 yard line and 7-8 seconds left.

 

The math is simple, you kick it to the 5 or squib it and eat clock.

 

 

Edited January 25, 2022 by Billsfan1972

[DapperCam]

Special teams coach blew the call I bet and McDermott is pissed.

[Billsfan1972]

Just now, DapperCam said:

Special teams coach blew the call I bet and McDermott is pissed.

That's McD's responsibility to tell them to kick it short.  ST coach is to ensure that they play it right and tackle.

 

If I'm wrong as to their responsibility let me know.

[Steptide]

I'd like to see the all 22 and see bass's reaction when it went into the endzone. That might tell us something. Either way though, I don't think it really matters. Starting at the 25 yard line with 13 seconds gives little to no chance of getting in fg range. This was an epic fail for the defense. 

[mannc]

10 minutes ago, Billsfan1972 said:

I have posted in other threads so apologies.  And yes still pissed at all the mistakes in the last 13 seconds.

 

I can accept (though inexcusable) that there was miscommunication (and that is an epic fail), but not that Bass was not trying to kick it out of the endzone.

 

Yes in another thread....  I had to go back and watch every kick......  

 

Bass was kicking into the endzone.  His approach was 7-8 yards.....

 

The 29-26 kick, same approach 7-8 yards, After the 75 yard TD, he actually did a 5-6 yard approach and in the end zone.   After HT, 5-6 yards and through the endzone.....  

 

Just before HT and the TD, 7 yard approach and touchback.  At 7-0, again 7 yards and he did not catch it clean and would have bounced in the endzone but Pringle fielded the line drive and returned it to the 25.  

 

No chance he was told to kick it short and blew it!!!!!! 

 

A good pop up or squib kick goes to the 5-10 yard line.  Squibs are often muffed & pop up kicks usually means defense is downfield to defend.

 

You want to know how many short kicks (to the 5-15 yard line) were returned for TD's in 2021 in the NFL (I counted 1,200 kick returns)????

 

0!!!!!!! 

 

Kicks returned were all line drives to the goal line and returned 98-102 yards.

 

Bass was so proficient that the Bills were third in Kickoff defense & the longest return was 31 yards.  That would have eaten 7 seconds minimum.  

 

When he did those short kicks he approached them as FGs, has a 60+ yard leg, and would take a 3 or less step drop.  A 60 yard kick goes to the 5 yard line.  

 

So let's say Bass does kick it to the 5, best return is to the 36 & 7 seconds off the clock.  That gives KC one play to get to the 32 (which is where they ended up) or another 32 yards in 6 seconds.

 

If an average return they are at the 22-25 yard line and 7-8 seconds left.

 

The math is simple.

 

 

Or they fair catch it inside the 10 and have to go 50 yards in 10 seconds...

[Captain_Quint]

3 minutes ago, DapperCam said:

Special teams coach blew the call I bet and McDermott is pissed.

If this is the case, he needs to come out and say it at some point. The questions will continue and he can't just keep dodging it. 

 

Fire the guy, come out and say he screwed up, whatever McD needs to do. In the end, Special teams had some glaring errors this season as well as some very strong play so it's tough to just fire the coordinator.

 

Bass and our punt/KO coverage were top notch. 

 

Haack was just average, and we all know about the punt/kickoff return issues. 

[Billsfan1972]

8 minutes ago, Steptide said:

I'd like to see the all 22 and see bass's reaction when it went into the endzone. That might tell us something. Either way though, I don't think it really matters. Starting at the 25 yard line with 13 seconds gives little to no chance of getting in fg range. This was an epic fail for the defense. 

All season long when Bass wanted it returned he did a shorter approach.  He was easily sailing it in the endzone all game.  7-8 yard full steam run and a booming kick.  He has a 60 yard+ leg for FGs we know, so again why if he is only trying to kick it 60 yards is he doing a full wind-up.

 

Sorry need to get this out of my system......😜

Edited January 25, 2022 by Billsfan1972

[MJS]

10 minutes ago, Billsfan1972 said:

That's McD's responsibility to tell them to kick it short.  ST coach is to ensure that they play it right and tackle.

 

If I'm wrong as to their responsibility let me know.

The head coach tells the coordinator. The coordinator gets the message to the players.

[st pete gogolak]

I hope someone more technologically savvy then myself can put together a video of Bass' "short" 2021 kickoffs.  Just from memory, I believe Bills were extremely successful doing this strategy this year.  Again, from memory, I can't recall many returns past the 20.   I'd also be curious where the kickoffs  were caught assuming KC would fair catch the pop up kick.  Even starting at the 20 instead of the 25 would have helped.

[Billsfan1972]

Just now, st pete gogolak said:

I hope someone more technologically savvy then myself can put together a video of Bass' "short" 2021 kickoffs.  Just from memory, I believe Bills were extremely successful doing this strategy this year.  Again, from memory, I can't recall many returns past the 20.   I'd also be curious where the kickoffs  were caught assuming KC would fair catch the pop up kick.  Even starting at the 20 instead of the 25 would have helped.

 

Here's the Kickoff Defence.

 

https://www.footballdb.com/stats/teamstat.html?group=D&cat=KR&yr=2021&lg=NFL

[SoCal Deek]

I’d expect this thread in any message board other than the Buffalo Bills. The kickoff was NOT the big mistake! Don’t ANY of you remember the Music City Miracle? The mistake was not holding the receivers when KC got the ball at the 25 yard line.

End thread! 

[Da webster guy]

This is interesting.  We know that the right call was a high short kick, we practice covering it and use this now and then.  It will bring the clock to 8/9 seconds, maybe less.  They aren't going to fair catch a kick that lands at the 5-10 yard line and if they do, we just gained 15-20 yards on them which is huge in that scenario.

 

If McD had called for it, which he obviously should have, then we know from experience that Bass lines up differently in the pre-kick steps as the OP said.  At this point the special teams coach and McD AND Bass should all be on the same page, and if there is any issue whatsoever it would have been a timeout from our sideline as they watched Bass take his 7-8 yard walk back.  We have people on the sideline with headsets, people upstairs in the booth with headsets, everyone in the world is watching Bass line up his steps, there is no way we aren't going to notice he is lining up to kick out of the end zone, which he did.

 

Bass did exactly as he was told.  

 

Just brutal game coaching and mishandling the entire sequence from the kick mistake to the way they had our safeties playing BEHIND the imaginary red field goal line, as if we were so scared of them getting a touchdown we had our best two Dbacks 40 yards deep.  Kelce running wide open with no help for Levi, having Addison and Oliver NOT rush Mahomes and just stand there as spies (ridiculous).  Cost us the season and maybe a title.

 

I hope McD stands up soon and explains everything.  We can handle honest mistakes, but don't go Tom Donahoe "we'll give the fans as much info as WE think they need"  I love the guy as a head coach, he's learning slowly about game coaching, getting better but definitely not there yet.  It's a hard thing to do even for the veteran coaches, we understand stuff like this happens, just don't lie about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ControllerOfPlanetX]

So, are we to believe that no player, Bass nor any of the kick-off team, nor any of the captains didn’t at least ask the special teams Coach or McDermott...”hey, are you sure you don’t want to squib it?”....when every  Bills fans watching the game is saying we are going to squib it?

[theRalph]

51 minutes ago, Steptide said:

Either way though, I don't think it really matters. Starting at the 25 yard line with 13 seconds gives little to no chance of getting in fg range.

Less than "little or no" chance if you take at least a cpl seconds off the clock. OF COURSE IT MATTERS

[Steptide]

Just now, theRalph said:

Less than "little or no" chance if you take at least a cpl seconds off the clock. OF COURSE IT MATTERS

Yes it matters. But let's say they squib it, kc grabs the ball and runs to the 40 with 9 seconds left, then Mahomes throws to kelce and they get in fg range. The end result is the same. My point was starting at the 25 with 13 seconds is an almost near impossible task to get down field. It was and epic fail on the defense to allow it to happen. 

[Billsfan1972]

6 minutes ago, Steptide said:

Yes it matters. But let's say they squib it, kc grabs the ball and runs to the 40 with 9 seconds left, then Mahomes throws to kelce and they get in fg range. The end result is the same. My point was starting at the 25 with 13 seconds is an almost near impossible task to get down field. It was and epic fail on the defense to allow it to happen. 

If they returned it to the 40 yep an epic fail, but I showed empirical evidence that the Bills didn't allow it all year.

[SoCal Deek]

7 minutes ago, Billsfan1972 said:

If they returned it to the 40 yep an epic fail, but I showed empirical evidence that the Bills didn't allow it all year.

MUSIC CITY MIRACLE 

 

Enough said.

[BuffaloMatt]

I love you all . .. .  and like you I have dissected and dissected and reran the last two plays over and over and my head is going to explode with the thoughts of what if or what could have been. Nothing is going to change the result and that is what really sucks. Big bite of a sh#t sandwich with the musty taste lingering until at least the draft or a KC loss in the next two weeks.  

Edited January 25, 2022 by BuffaloMatt

[Billsfan1972]

 Just needed to review in detail. It's my way.

 

I'm not over it, but yup, this obsessing is therapeutic for me.😜

[WhoTom]

Does anyone remember how well the squib kick worked 22 years ago? SoCalDeek remembers.

 

Edited January 25, 2022 by WhoTom