A Few Thoughts About the Titans Game, in no particular order

[34-78-83]

Whole lotta points in this one I don't necessarily agree with/ aren't quite accurate but that's fine - I really like to read the reports just the same and appreciate the effort you take and am glad you enjoyed the game!

 

We were so hyped by the Bruce/Jim/Levy combo intro. That crowd was rockin' big time! The noise usually dissipates once it gets up to 335 where we are, but it sure didn't on Monday night!

[RiotAct]

2 minutes ago, 34-78-83 said:

Whole lotta points in this one I don't necessarily agree with/ aren't quite accurate but that's fine - I really like to read the reports just the same and appreciate the effort you take and am glad you enjoyed the game!

 

We were so hyped by the Bruce/Jim/Levy combo intro. That crowd was rockin' big time! The noise usually dissipates once it gets up to 335 where we are, but it sure didn't on Monday night!

Right after Marv spoke, I yelled over to my wife “game’s over, we won”.

[Shaw66]

And I'll make couple of comments about Gilliam.   First, Gilliam's touchdown was simply a great play.   He should have been on the ground, probably after the first hit and certainly after the second, but he stayed and saw the daylight.  It as another big-time play from a guy we tend not to think of as a big-time player.   He is a serious contributor to this team.  Scored the touchdown, then lines up on special teams. 

 

I was amused by the long ball that Gilliam couldn't catch up with.  He looked like a typical weekend-warrior sandlot player, running full speed way downfield, tracking the ball, and simply not having the confidence to catch the ball in his outstretched hands in exactly the way Diggs did on his long one.  Instead, he turned so he could be facing the ball as it arrived and so that he could use his chest to held cradle the ball, hoping he could backpedal enough to get it.   Allen, on the other hand, threw it with the expectation that he had a guy like Diggs or Davis or Knox running down the field.  I'm guessing that, given that the game was a laugher, people had a good time ribbing Gilliam about his effort on that play. 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Did Virgil take his points from Peter?

 😆 

I kid 

 

 

[Warcodered]

15 minutes ago, SlimShady'sSpaceForce said:

Did Virgil take his points from Peter?

 😆 

I kid 

 

 

6'6" ? At some point Josh is going to be 7 feet tall and 300 pounds.

[SCBills]

Agreed on Shakir.  He looked way out of his element Monday Night.  Doesn't mean he won't be good, but he was noticeable... and not for good reasons.  Mainly just an inability to get himself properly aligned pre-snap.

 

Cook isn't Breida/Mostert... he has speed, but is more of a glider.  A huge piece of his speed element is the ability to stop & go/change direction while maintaining speed.  

[TFBillsfan]

Great write up. Only one minor thing to add. I wouldn’t say he disappeared after the 1st qtr. He was directly responsible for the 3rd qtr interception by Poyer.

[davefan66]

41 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

On Diggs's long TD, I was watching the receiving on the near side of the field (for me), and the guy next to me said, "He's got him!" just as Josh was beginning to throw.  I looked up and saw Diggs beyond his defender.   I remember thinking, "this is a touchdown," because I knew Allen would hit him and I knew Diggs would catch.  Then, with the ball in the air, I thought, "Is it too long?"  Then Diggs had what looked like just two steps that amount to an extra speed burst - it looked like he turned on the afterburners to make up a little ground, then turned them off again and just settled into getting under the ball and finding a comfortable way to catch it.  The two of them together already are masters at what they do, and they have several more seasons to do it.   It's really special.  

 

 

Diggs was spectacular Monday. I sit upper deck and can watch plays develop. The long TD was awesome for sure. Others he seemed to just be open, made it look effortless.
 

I believe it was rhe first drive, if not first quarter Josh threw a sideline pass to Diggs.  Seemed like a simple play.  What was special is how fast the ball got there, and how Diggs watched the ball in, turned himself downfield, got his feet right and made a 3-5 yard gain.  Not a huge gain, but shows how quick he can catch the ball and become a runner getting yards, instead of taking what the defense gives him.  So quick.  

[Virgil]

2 minutes ago, TFBillsfan said:

Great write up. Only one minor thing to add. I wouldn’t say he disappeared after the 1st qtr. He was directly responsible for the 3rd qtr interception by Poyer.

was that Edmunds?   I thought Hyde tipped it

[Warcodered]

8 minutes ago, Virgil said:

was that Edmunds?   I thought Hyde tipped it

It was double tipped, not sure if Edmunds tipped it but he was covering that pass really well.

[Gugny]

10 minutes ago, Virgil said:

was that Edmunds?   I thought Hyde tipped it

 

1 minute ago, Warcodered said:

It was double tipped, not sure if Edmunds tipped it but he was covering that pass really well.

 

Edmunds got a hand on it, then Hyde.

[Patrick Duffy]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

As for Cook, he may have broken off one good run in the 4th against back-ups, but he was still a non-factor in the game and looked kind of slow to me.

 

Kinda have to keep in mind that his opportunities came at a point in the game when Tenn knew the run was coming and not passing. So I mean obviously with a big lead you're going to hand it off and take time off clock.

 

Having said that, can also add that the OL was all back-ups beside Dawkins I believe. In any event, he did just fine against a stacked D that was playing the run every down.

[Warcodered]

6 minutes ago, Sheneneh Jenkins said:

 

Kinda have to keep in mind that his opportunities came at a point in the game when Tenn knew the run was coming and not passing. So I mean obviously with a big lead you're going to hand it off and take time off clock.

 

Having said that, can also add that the OL was all back-ups beside Dawkins I believe. In any event, he did just fine against a stacked D that was playing the run every down.

Also it's not preseason anymore there are like 48 guys active on game day or something kind of hard to rest all of your starters.

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, Lost said:

 

 

To me Cook always seems like he's playing while...cooked.   He just seems to be moving in slow motion somehow.  

Agreed.  I’m not impressed with Cook at all. Highly disappointed tbh.  Rb is the one position where it’s easy to gauge “juice”.  I don’t see it with cook.  I think he’s a nice target in the passing game due to his route running and hands.  I don’t see him ever averaging more than 6 carries per game for any team.  He’s a bigger, less elusive version of sproles.  Another version of James White.

 

i hope my opinion on this changes.  He’s nowhere near the RB that motor is right now. 

[Patrick Duffy]

Just now, Warcodered said:

Also it's not preseason anymore there are like 48 guys active on game day or something kind of hard to rest all of your starters.

 

True, but the main thing is he was running against a stacked D knowing the run was coming every attempt and even with the back ups at OL, he still did manage to get a good run on that play that Dawkins "boom-shaka-locka-ed" blocking the defender that sprung it

[Shaw66]

39 minutes ago, davefan66 said:

Diggs was spectacular Monday. I sit upper deck and can watch plays develop. The long TD was awesome for sure. Others he seemed to just be open, made it look effortless.
 

I believe it was rhe first drive, if not first quarter Josh threw a sideline pass to Diggs.  Seemed like a simple play.  What was special is how fast the ball got there, and how Diggs watched the ball in, turned himself downfield, got his feet right and made a 3-5 yard gain.  Not a huge gain, but shows how quick he can catch the ball and become a runner getting yards, instead of taking what the defense gives him.  So quick.  

You're right about all of this.  And the timing he has with Allen.  Presnap, they know what is going to happen, and when Diggs turns out or turns in on his break, the ball is there.   He knows it's going to be there, and he's ready.   

 

On the first touchdown, that play looked all screwed up, but I think it was either designed that way, or Diggs and Allen know that they have this option.  All the receivers had taken the DBs to the back line, and Allen just threw the ball to an open space that no defender could get to.   Diggs knew that Allen might do that, so he was prepared to step up into the open space for a simple catch.  

 

Then, on the second touchdown, he double caught it, something we rarely see from him, but you could see how even that was effortless.  He was so zeroed in on the ball that when it popped up, nothing in this body language suggested anything out of the order.   He just stayed with the ball and pulled it in.  He was already coasting, because he knew it was a score. 

 

The guy is phenomenal.   He knew he was good when  he came to Buffalo, and he knew Allen could fling it, but I doubt that either he or Allen imagined that they'd have this kind of magic.   It's truly elite.  

[Patrick Duffy]

5 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Agreed.  I’m not impressed with Cook at all. Highly disappointed tbh.  Rb is the one position where it’s easy to gauge “juice”.  I don’t see it with cook.  I think he’s a nice target in the passing game due to his route running and hands.  I don’t see him ever averaging more than 6 carries per game for any team.  He’s a bigger, less elusive version of sproles.  Another version of James White.

 

i hope my opinion on this changes.  He’s nowhere near the RB that motor is right now. 

 

I mean I understand disappointment from the fumble, but he really hasn't had enough chances for any disappointment for me. Other than that what have you seen that makes you feel that way?

 

I will ad one thing though, to me he doesn't seem quite as fast as he was made out to be . But then again haven't really gotten the chance to see enough so 

[Son of a K-Gun]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

Virgil -

 

Thanks for posting these.  They're great.   I haven't finished this one, because I got stuck on #1.  

 

I didn't think of Henry's lack of success being attributable to his finally hitting the wall - which makes me sad for him, because he has been absolutely magnificent for several years, but I think you may be right.  I'd like to think the Bills had the perfect defense, and they did play the run really well. 

 

What I notice about Henry was that everyone was taking him down at the knees and below.   Poyer early on, I think the time Miller got him in the backfield, Elam, and one or two other guys.   If they got close to him, they went low and did a good job wrapping up his legs.  Henry went down almost immediately when that happened.  He'd get the yard or two from falling forward, but he didn't break any of those tackles.  I think in years past, he'd stay upright, pull his legs out of the tackle and keep going.  

 

He definitely didn't look like the guy we've seen previously. 

I noticed that they were wrapping Henry up low as well and commented on it specifically on Elam's tackle since he came into the draft with a bit of a reputation for not liking big contact...good run support there by the rook.  However there was one tackle of Henry that stood out for me as a bit of a wow moment, and it was when Edmunds went high on him and took him down with ease.  That is something which simply doesn't happen often at all.  Big boy tackling right there.

[Shaw66]

16 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Agreed.  I’m not impressed with Cook at all. Highly disappointed tbh.  Rb is the one position where it’s easy to gauge “juice”.  I don’t see it with cook.  I think he’s a nice target in the passing game due to his route running and hands.  I don’t see him ever averaging more than 6 carries per game for any team.  He’s a bigger, less elusive version of sproles.  Another version of James White.

 

i hope my opinion on this changes.  He’s nowhere near the RB that motor is right now. 

Yes to this.  I hoped we getting someone really special, and he seems just ordinary.   He's confirming the fears I had watching his college replays, which is that if you give him a really nice hole, he can run through it.  But if you need to him beat a man in the hole, he doesn't have it, at least not yet.   He tried a couple of quick moves in the hole the other night, but they didn't work.  

 

As for his pass catching ability, we haven't seen it.   In fact, in this offense, if you're a running back, you have to be a running back first.   You have to be a real threat in the run game.  Bills are not going to put him in the game if all he can do is catch passes.   

 

Maybe he's still learning, but as you say, he plays a position where it's relatively easy to see if he has it, and we haven't seen it.  

[Billsatlastin2018]

“I remember thinking, "this is a touchdown," because I knew Allen would hit him and I knew Diggs would catch. “

I know… we’re on to Miami! 😂

 

But, really isn’t this the TOTAL ESSENCE of the Offensive Dynamo this 2022 Bills’ version has become?

 

When could we EVER be certain of EITHER thing happening during all the wretched years of this century?

 

Our GBs had terrible precision and location skills.

And the WRs? I assumed that if they weren’t going to clod hop their way out of bounds or over the end line, then they absolutely were going to drop easy catches!

 

We were discussing both in the bar Monday night.

Allen is relentlessly on target and the Receivers rarely drop anything at all!

 

SOOOOO REFRESHING! 
SOOOOO SUPER BOWL INSPIRING!

Edited September 21, 2022 by Billsatlastin2018