THE ROCKPILE REVIEW - First Draft, Second Draft

[Shaw66]

18 hours ago, RunJoshRun said:

Elam stunk today even with the INT.  How many times were passes thrown at him??

I really don't get this.   I don't have the advanced splits on the Steeler game, so I don't know what his defensive passer rating was, but it had to be pretty good.  Why?   Because he gave up 0 TDs and had one pick.  

 

So far as I remember, he didn't get beat for a completion deep the entire game.  That's his number 1 objective.   He was around the ball all the time.  That's why he had ten tackles.   What he didn't do well enough is find the ball when it was arriving, because if he'd done that he would have had some passes defended.   He missed a few tackles, but he always slowed the ball carrier down or got him to change direction, both of which make it easier for others to make the tackle.  

 

If he had stunk, they would have scored on him.  They didn't come close to scoring on him.  

 

Look at it this way:   When his man caught the ball, he was closer to the receiver than Levi Wallace used to be, and then he made the tackle.  That's doing his job, not stinking.  

[Dr. Who]

32 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I really don't get this.   I don't have the advanced splits on the Steeler game, so I don't know what his defensive passer rating was, but it had to be pretty good.  Why?   Because he gave up 0 TDs and had one pick.  

 

So far as I remember, he didn't get beat for a completion deep the entire game.  That's his number 1 objective.   He was around the ball all the time.  That's why he had ten tackles.   What he didn't do well enough is find the ball when it was arriving, because if he'd done that he would have had some passes defended.   He missed a few tackles, but he always slowed the ball carrier down or got him to change direction, both of which make it easier for others to make the tackle.  

 

If he had stunk, they would have scored on him.  They didn't come close to scoring on him.  

 

Look at it this way:   When his man caught the ball, he was closer to the receiver than Levi Wallace used to be, and then he made the tackle.  That's doing his job, not stinking.  

You're replying to a fella for whom intellect is his kryptonite.

[Shaw66]

6 minutes ago, Dr. Who said:

You're replying to a fella for whom intellect is his kryptonite.

I don't pay much attention to personalities here.  If I did, I'd put myself on the ignore list. 

[Don Otreply]

That was great! Thanks for the read, 👍

 

Go Bills!!!

[LeGOATski]

54 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I really don't get this.   I don't have the advanced splits on the Steeler game, so I don't know what his defensive passer rating was, but it had to be pretty good.  Why?   Because he gave up 0 TDs and had one pick.  

 

So far as I remember, he didn't get beat for a completion deep the entire game.  That's his number 1 objective.   He was around the ball all the time.  That's why he had ten tackles.   What he didn't do well enough is find the ball when it was arriving, because if he'd done that he would have had some passes defended.   He missed a few tackles, but he always slowed the ball carrier down or got him to change direction, both of which make it easier for others to make the tackle.  

 

If he had stunk, they would have scored on him.  They didn't come close to scoring on him.  

 

Look at it this way:   When his man caught the ball, he was closer to the receiver than Levi Wallace used to be, and then he made the tackle.  That's doing his job, not stinking.  

That's a good way to look at it. He struggled making a play on the ball against Pickens, but I think it was a good learning experience.

[Bob in STL]

19 hours ago, RunJoshRun said:

Elam stunk today even with the INT.  How many times were passes thrown at him??

Is your goal to make this comment in every thread?

 

He was introduced to the NFL in this game.  Every cornerback has a few bad games in their career, even Pro Bowlers.   If this was one of his then he will be just fine.  Listen to his post-game interview and learn about the player.  This kid will work very hard, and he has the potential to be a shutdown corner.  

[FLFan]

20 hours ago, RunJoshRun said:

Elam stunk today even with the INT.  How many times were passes thrown at him??

Are you planning to post this in every thread this week?

[NC Lifelong Bills fan]

Thanks for being back the past few weeks. Didn’t know trolling could be so much fun, and how incredible it is to watch our team almost make it boring. After all the lean years, it’s amazing to have no drama for most of the game. I’m curious what you might think about a McCaffrey trade, since he’s on my radar (moved to Winston-Salem NC from Buffalo in 1982.) Panthers are such a mess, reminiscent of the past 20 or so years before Josh. I really liked your two tales.

[Shaw66]

1 hour ago, NC Lifelong Bills fan said:

Thanks for being back the past few weeks. Didn’t know trolling could be so much fun, and how incredible it is to watch our team almost make it boring. After all the lean years, it’s amazing to have no drama for most of the game. I’m curious what you might think about a McCaffrey trade, since he’s on my radar (moved to Winston-Salem NC from Buffalo in 1982.) Panthers are such a mess, reminiscent of the past 20 or so years before Josh. I really liked your two tales.

Thanks for your comments.  

 

Frankly, I don't want McCaffrey.  Apparently, he'll cost a lot, so that's one reason I'm not interested.   But that's for Beane to figure out. 

 

Second, he seems to be injured a lot.   But, I don't care about that much either. 

 

The real reason I don't want him is that I think running backs are overrated.  If the offensive line was good enough, Motor, Moss, and Cook would be good enough.   If the line isn't good enough, McCaffrey will be neutralized.   More importantly, the Bills are never going to give a running back enough touches to be a real star.  With Allen's passing ability, the Bills are going downfield with the ball.  Sure, they'll throw it to McCaffrey once in a while, but he is not going to be the feature guy in the offense.  

 

Titans have been trying to win with Henry, Panthers try to win with McCaffrey, Giants have had four seasons with Barkley.   Cowboys and Elliott.  Featuring a running back is simply the wrong way to go in the NFL these days, and paying a lot to get a fragile all-purpose back seems like a bad idea.  

 

 

[Ayjent]

Good stuff Shaw. It really is surreal watching these Bills have games like this and Titans. They aren’t even playing clean, mistake free games.  Turnovers, miscues, dropped passes still happened as you pointed out but only changed the margin of victory.   This team is also fiery and feisty which hasn’t really been their DNA in the previous years.  I think with a few exceptions (namely 17) this team was a bit soft against physical teams, especially defensively in the past few seasons.  Not anymore.  They played hard all game even when it was long decided.

 

I’m sure the coaches aren’t thrilled with Lawson and Epeneza letting their emotions get out of control, but as a fan what I saw were guys taking exception to Pickett being a punk, especially after kicking Epeneza as he was coming off the pile.  They wanted to dominate and they didn’t want to give the coaches any reason to limit snaps.  The refs missed an easy call on Pickett kicking and it escalated over the next few plays, which is why I’m sure Epeneza was irritated with the ref ( no excuse for what everyone knows is off limits).  Pickett was getting hit hard and he seems like competitor but he also seems like pretty overconfident A-hole.  The Bills had some nasty bang bang plays on Pickett but they don’t give you red Jersey for game day (at least not yet) and if you try extending plays or running for yards good luck.  If you don’t like getting hit then don’t take those chances.  
 

The offense looks more dynamic with Shakir out there and I think it opens up the field more for everyone.  That kid looks like a mix between Woods (his slight and deceiving cuts) and Reed (long upper body with good body control) but he has a long way to go before being in the conversation with anything other than physical traits. A healthy Gabe is a huge difference maker as well.  He is so good on the deep ball and you can see how much work he has done over the years to become the player he is. 
 

I’d love to see the Bills get more going on the ground but seeing Cook finally have a big play to totally ice it was really nice.  Motor had a few good runs.  They aren’t really committed to running but I thought we’d see more runs in the fourth quarter.   I think they know running is not their bread and butter but I’d like to think they are going to try to evolve as the seasons change. 

[FTLBillsfan]

On 10/9/2022 at 11:26 PM, GETTOTHE50 said:

i dont get the point of the first draft

Simple. Even in a blowout there are things that can be improved. Love the 2 opposing glass half empty glass overflowing views.

How many fans on both sides thought Tomlin was a genius for deferring when it was 3rd and 10 at the 2?

[Shaw66]

2 hours ago, Ayjent said:

Good stuff Shaw. It really is surreal watching these Bills have games like this and Titans. They aren’t even playing clean, mistake free games.  Turnovers, miscues, dropped passes still happened as you pointed out but only changed the margin of victory.   This team is also fiery and feisty which hasn’t really been their DNA in the previous years.  I think with a few exceptions (namely 17) this team was a bit soft against physical teams, especially defensively in the past few seasons.  Not anymore.  They played hard all game even when it was long decided.

 

I’m sure the coaches aren’t thrilled with Lawson and Epeneza letting their emotions get out of control, but as a fan what I saw were guys taking exception to Pickett being a punk, especially after kicking Epeneza as he was coming off the pile.  They wanted to dominate and they didn’t want to give the coaches any reason to limit snaps.  The refs missed an easy call on Pickett kicking and it escalated over the next few plays, which is why I’m sure Epeneza was irritated with the ref ( no excuse for what everyone knows is off limits).  Pickett was getting hit hard and he seems like competitor but he also seems like pretty overconfident A-hole.  The Bills had some nasty bang bang plays on Pickett but they don’t give you red Jersey for game day (at least not yet) and if you try extending plays or running for yards good luck.  If you don’t like getting hit then don’t take those chances.  
 

The offense looks more dynamic with Shakir out there and I think it opens up the field more for everyone.  That kid looks like a mix between Woods (his slight and deceiving cuts) and Reed (long upper body with good body control) but he has a long way to go before being in the conversation with anything other than physical traits. A healthy Gabe is a huge difference maker as well.  He is so good on the deep ball and you can see how much work he has done over the years to become the player he is. 
 

I’d love to see the Bills get more going on the ground but seeing Cook finally have a big play to totally ice it was really nice.  Motor had a few good runs.  They aren’t really committed to running but I thought we’d see more runs in the fourth quarter.   I think they know running is not their bread and butter but I’d like to think they are going to try to evolve as the seasons change. 

McDermott's approach continues to amaze me. He wants a lot of players who can play all styles.  The result is the Bills o and d lines aren't as powerful as some and aren't as quick as some others.  The running backs aren't the biggest or the fastest, but they're big enough and fast enough.  

 

There are only a few constants.  Competitiveness, commitment to team and winning, intelligence.  And so, he expects his team to fight like hell on every play, because they aren't the biggest or the fastest.  That fight has been emerging over the past three seasons.  The hitting and tackling has improved season after season, and the never-back-down attitude has emerged.  

 

What's so unusual about this team is the QB is the leader when it comes to that tenaciousness.  Brady may tell his guys to be tough.  Allen doesn't have to tell them anything. - they're all motivated to keep up with him. 

 

I always think about how Mike Tomlin said he hated lining up against McDermott in college practices, because McD did everything he could every play.   I thought of it Sunday when Davis ripped the ball from Fitzpatrick.  Pure, endless determination.