Looks like the call to squib may not have made it to Bass

[Niagara Dude]

10 minutes ago, frostbitmic said:

How much time are you going to take off the clock on a squib kick, one second maybe. The clock doesn't start on a kickoff until the receiving team touches the ball, so if someone falls on it at the 30 it might take a second off the clock.

 

The problem was with the defense called.

If were talking about what was the real problem,  no question it was how they were lined up to defend final two passes and that was totally on Sean & Frazier.  They took timeouts and still could not get it right.

[JohnBonhamRocks]

1 hour ago, NewEra said:

Bye bye Heath!  

Yeah it’s not like our ST were a source of confidence or stability this year.
 

Had to hold our collective breath most punts - both hoping our punter wasn’t blocked and that our returner wouldn’t muff it.

[SectionC3]

3 minutes ago, Livinginthepast said:

Ive been to many games and you dont have to go to games to see that specialists are off to the side a lot practicing but Bass had just kicked a PAT, the first place he goes is to the sidelines and checks in with the coach about the upcoming KO. He simply ISNT off to the side staring at clouds getting zen at that moment.   Even if that doesnt happen it doesnt change anything about what I said in the post. If Bass doesnt think it necessary to confirm what the KO call is he must be either incredibly stupid or have an almost autistic detachment from reality. If the ST coach doesnt tell Bass what he is supposed to do and assumes he knows then HE must be the same. If McD makes the same mistake then same thing. It just beggars belief that any of it is true.

 

I don’t discount anything you say.  If the call was pooch, it’s simply inexcusable that it wasn’t communicated to Bass.  I totally agree with you, too: in warm weather, Bass runs to the sideline, gets the tee, and huddles.  I’m going to guess he stopped at the heater here because of the cold.  And, if that’s the case, it explains the FUBAR communication.   No matter what happened, it’s inexcusable. 

[ArtVandalay]

1 hour ago, Reed83HOF said:

This is based off of a Cover 1 video last night. I haven't had a chance to watch it yet

 

 

 

 

 

 

This isn't possible.  McDermott said they pride themselves on being prepared and detail oriented. 😐

Edited January 26, 2022 by ArtVandalay

[SectionC3]

10 minutes ago, Frostbite said:

I agree the coverage team knew when bass was going to kick short during the season and when he was going to kick it out. But, regardless of what was happening, they had to cover b/c of the chance it's actually shorter than planned or the returner takes it out, which is why it's not as important to convey the kick plan to the coverage team. Bass is really the only person that absolutely needed to know. I think they were worried Hill might be back there and wouldnt be able to stop him, hence the touchback. 

That’s even worse because I believe Pringle returned the kick. 

 

EDIT: was positioned to receive the kick. 

Edited January 26, 2022 by SectionC3

[Niagara Dude]

1 minute ago, Reed83HOF said:

Without a doubt always need to make sure the right calls are mad and everyone knows what to do.

 

This is what wins in the playoffs and the SB and why as much as I despise bellicheck, he is great at. I have no doubt McD will never let this happen again, it was unfortunately a big gap that was missed by many people...

I was thinking about that,  Bill gets totally involved and speaks directly to his players on what he wants.  

[st pete gogolak]

6 minutes ago, Livinginthepast said:

Ive been to many games and you dont have to go to games to see that specialists are off to the side a lot practicing but Bass had just kicked a PAT, the first place he goes is to the sidelines and checks in with the coach about the upcoming KO. He simply ISNT off to the side staring at clouds getting zen at that moment.   Even if that doesnt happen it doesnt change anything about what I said in the post. If Bass doesnt think it necessary to confirm what the KO call is he must be either incredibly stupid or have an almost autistic detachment from reality. If the ST coach doesnt tell Bass what he is supposed to do and assumes he knows then HE must be the same. If McD makes the same mistake then same thing. It just beggars belief that any of it is true.

Then why wouldn't McD just say that the KO was executed as intended?  Clearly Bass' intent was to hammer the ball.  So the only explanation for a "screw up" is if Bass was told to kick short or squib and he doesn't do it?  That seems ridiculous as well.  

[BuffaloRebound]

On a side note, how does Reid not put Hill back there to return that kick?  I think that threw everything off.  You expect Hill so you’re gonna kick it deep through end zone.  He’s inexplicably not back there, so you change it last second and the word doesn’t get to Bass.  And you don’t take timeout because then Reid will smarten up and put Hill back there.  

[Niagara Dude]

1 minute ago, st pete gogolak said:

Then why wouldn't McD just say that the KO was executed as intended?  Clearly Bass' intent was to hammer the ball.  So the only explanation for a "screw up" is if Bass was told to kick short or squib and he doesn't do it?  That seems ridiculous as well.  

Not surprised Bills PR guys are releasing stuff to media guys to cover this debacle up which only makes it worse.  Just come clean and admit the final 3 plays were not good for this franchise.  Learn from it and make sure you spend time to improve so it does not happen again

 

 

[OldBillsFan]

I saw it last night, I think it is in the first 10 or so minutes, they show the clip of the kickoff and halfway through the coverage team is looking around like what just happened?

[TheFunPolice]

Hill returning that kick would be best case scenario. 

 

It increases the chance that he tries to be a hero, running around doing Tyreek things.  Running sideways, juking, twisting and turning. Meanwhile, 7-8 seconds or more burns off the clock. Say he gets all the way to the 40. There's probably time for one hail mary at that point and that's it. 

 

Of course he could break one. But you trust your coverage team there. 

Edited January 26, 2022 by TheFunPolice

[Livinginthepast]

4 minutes ago, st pete gogolak said:

Then why wouldn't McD just say that the KO was executed as intended?  Clearly Bass' intent was to hammer the ball.  So the only explanation for a "screw up" is if Bass was told to kick short or squib and he doesn't do it?  That seems ridiculous as well.  

Thats a great question! Is McD protecting his young kicker? His coaches or his own reputation by not telling the media what happened? Maybe it actually didnt occur to anyone to squib it or pop it up. Maybe it didnt occur to McD that he would be even asked this question after the game? or he could just tell the truth and be done with it. 

[TheFunPolice]

Gotta be more buttoned up than that, because we'll be right back in the playoffs next year and it's going to be time to kick that door down. 

 

Learn from this, have a plan for this next time that makes sense. 

[st pete gogolak]

1 minute ago, Niagara Dude said:

Not surprised Bills PR guys are releasing stuff to media guys to cover this debacle up which only makes it worse.  Just come clean and admit the final 3 plays were not good for this franchise.  Learn from it and make sure you spend time to improve so it does not happen again

 

 

Yeah, agree and I know that it's not their job to satisfy the curiousness of the fanbase but I'm genuinely curious now as to what the hell happened.  Was the intent to kick it deep or was something else called and it wasn't conveyed to Bass or was it conveyed to Bass and Bass screwed up?  To me, it's looking like one in the middle.

[Buffalo Ballin]

Oh no let's not do this, guys. This is conspiracy theory grave yard. What's next? McDermott made a call to get spaghetti and marinara sauce, but ended up egg noodles and ketchup?

[Mango]

1 hour ago, Big Turk said:

I would have rather seen a high pop up kick to the 5...they would have had to run it back and it likely would have taken at least half the time off the clock if not more. Pringle was back there not Hill. Bills have been phenomenal at pinning those kicks inside the 20 all year

 

I have been wondering, with Pringle back deep, was Hill on the field at all? Could Tyreek have been shallow in the event of a squib or short kick?

[Solomon Grundy]

1 hour ago, mannc said:

Yeah, the MCM was just really great execution by the Titans…this was just an epic fail by the Bills on three straight plays…and I’m pretty sure this one cost us a Lombardi Trophy.

Let’s not give Daryl Porter a pass. Had he stayed in his lane, play may not have succeeded 

[Reed83HOF]

19 minutes ago, ArtVandalay said:

This isn't possible.  McDermott said they pride themselves on being prepared and detail oriented. 😐

 

 

[Niagara Dude]

2 minutes ago, Buffalo Ballin said:

Oh no let's not do this, guys. This is conspiracy theory grave yard. What's next? McDermott made a call to get spaghetti and marinara sauce, but ended up egg noodles and ketchup?

Unnamed sources to throw Bass under the bus is not cool,  either way even if Bass screwed up which I don't believe it does not exonerate the stupid coaching decisions on two plays that followed.  So unless our players are complete dummies and don't understand English,  you either told them to get up on the line and obstruct any free releases or you didn't.  I would say Frazier & Sean decided it was safer to play 10 -15 yards off the line and still rush 4 guys who have no chance of getting to Mahomes

[Billl]

38 minutes ago, Niagara Dude said:

Coverup,  I would prefer Sean just saying they decided to just kick off and defend from 25.  The problem is,  they crapped the bed on the two following plays and the Chiefs had 3 sec left to kick FG.

 

So had they done some squid or pop up kick than Chiefs don't have time to make that second pass completion. You could have defended the way they did,  give up 19 yard and clock is down to maybe 3-4 secs rather then 8 secs.  That most likely would have meant either a Hail Mary pass or quick out and 60plus yard FG

This is the correct answer.  
 

With :13 seconds left and a 3 point lead, you really just want to avoid a catastrophe.  Here’s what we know to be true…

 

Kansas City has fast players.  Byron Pringle has returned multiple kickoffs for TDs.  Tyreek Hill in the 2 playoff games against the Bills has a 71 yard catch and run on a short pass, a 64 yard TD catch and run on a short pass, and a 45 yard punt return while Mecole Hardman had a 50 yard run and an ankle breaking 26 yard TD run.  These are facts.  
 

So the question the coaches have to ask themselves is who do they want on the field defending those guys?  Do they want it to be a bunch of special teams guys who are fringe roster players, or do they want their starting defense?  It’s 100% reasonable to decide that they want to trust their big money players and that kicking it through the end zone checks the “avoid a catastrophe” box.

 

If they’d squibbed it and an up-man fell on it at the 40, that would have been a disaster.  If they’d pooched it and Hardman, Hill, or Pringle had housed it, that would have been a bigger disaster.  The narrative would have been “just kick it through the end zone instead of trying to burn 2 seconds”.  Instead, people are blaming the special teams for not getting cute and burning 3 seconds off the clock.  Seriously, if your mentality is that the defense can defend for 10 seconds but not 13 seconds then you don’t belong on an NFL sideline.

 

The special teams did their job.  They put the defense on the field with a 99% chance to win.

Edited January 26, 2022 by Billl