A Few Thoughts about the Vikings game, in no particular order

[Big Turk]

3 minutes ago, CEN-CAL17 said:

I was yelling QB power or QB sweep at my TV!!!! Bills needed to get to the 10 yd line and take 3 shots from there. Use the damn timeouts, run the ball!!!! Bad decision and bad throw by Josh, play call was worse!!!

 

How can the playcall be worse when he has 3 viable options for successful plays? There are a lot of teams that are happy when they have ONE gimme on a play...Allen had THREE!!  They were not close enough to the endzone for a QB Power to be effective.  Those are most effective inside the 10.

[B-Large]

22 minutes ago, ProcessYaDigg said:

Us abandoning the run game is absolutely blowing my mind.  Motor is running extremely well, why do we try to fix what isn't really broken.  These second half meltdowns has me concerned.  I'm still a believer in Dorsey, but he needs to expand his options.  We have playmakers outside of Allen and Diggs.  For the love of God, please get Shakir and Hines involved more.

the wounds are all self inflicted.  while I agree you put the ball into the hands of your best player, JA, it’s okay to let other guys take some of the burden, and not every drive has to be a score or a TD.  
 

Easy stuff to fix, if the staff doesn’t have their heads up their asses.

[AlfaBill]

Just a comment on Josh. He played well BUT there were quite a few passes that the receivers had to really stretch and dive for. His passing has been off for 2.5 games now and that includes red zone INTS. I am officially worried about him. 

[Repulsif]

20 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

It made sense based off his upward trajectory through last season.  I would argue that Dorsey isn't using him like he should and it's on him.  Knox actually had a decent game and helped when it mattered, making it even more frustrating that we don't use him more often

He had a decent game yes.

But I remember also the play before the very last play of the game (josh int), where he dropped the GW touchdown

Wasn't an easy catch to do, but he 's paid as a very good / elite TE

(Josh starred at him right after the play, then threw the game ending INT right after this)

[Seventeen]

35 minutes ago, Virgil said:

1 - Josh - For all the mystery surrounding his elbow, you never would have thought for a moment he was injured in this game.  Allen was making all the throws with ease.  Josh made some amazing throws and even more amazing runs.  On the first red zone interception, I can't fault him for trying to make a play.  It was 4th down, so they Vikings would get the ball unless it was a touchdown.  The fumble, I still don't know who it was on, but it looked like a good snap from the replay I saw, albeit a tough replay to see.  The last interception is really my only concern with Josh in this game.  We had taken all the momentum back, were moving down the field at ease, and Josh throws it right into a defenders chest, same as he has the past few weeks.  What worries me the most is that I couldn't see anyone he was trying to throw to.  This wasn't a matter of receiving running the wrong route or an anticipation throw, he just made a terrible throw.  We are going to be in more games like this, that come down to the last drive, and Josh needs to be better here.  The fact that this was the only throw I questioned makes me a feel a little better about his decision making from the past 2 games, but still a concern.

 

 

 

Probably discussed a few times in other threads, but why not go shotgun here ?

 

Bad snap in that case, Josh has time to fall on it for only a safety with minimal time remaining. 

Best case, he runs to either side  or throws it away 3 times.

[Simon93]

8 minutes ago, billieve420 said:

 

Bills have been terrible at long down and distances what seems to be forever now. If it is not a conversion it is 4th and short type situation. Something they have to correct. I rather team be aggressive and lose than play soft coverage.

They have found new, ridiculous ways to lose games they have won in incredible fashion under McD the past three years. It’s not bad luck or a coincidence at this point…. Wish someone in the media would ask him his thoughts on it because obviously their focus and/or practice habits in certain game situations are not where they need to be….and that’s almost ALL on the staff. 

[Virgil]

1 minute ago, Roy Hobbs said:

 

Probably discussed a few times in other threads, but why not go shotgun here ?

 

Bad snap in that case, Josh has time to fall on it for only a safety with minimal time remaining. 

Best case, he runs to either side  or throws it away 3 times.

 

Analytically, shotgun is a higher risk for a bad snap.  Hindsight is 20/20, but that was the "Safest" play call at the time

[Seventeen]

1 minute ago, Virgil said:

 

Analytically, shotgun is a higher risk for a bad snap.  Hindsight is 20/20, but that was the "Safest" play call at the time

 

True, but everyone knew what was coming with Josh under center.

[Virgil]

Just now, Roy Hobbs said:

 

True, but everyone knew what was coming with Josh under center.

 

Even still, second to worst case scenario is a safety and we still have the lead.  Take those two worst case scenarios out of the equation and the Bills are taking a knee the next play to seal it.

[Bob in STL]

19 minutes ago, JayBaller10 said:

What were the rushing numbers by half? In the 1st half they were successful, but seems every run in the 2nd half gained a yard.

You cannot run it one or two times and then give up on it like we did in the 2nd half.  We especially fail to run inside the red zone and we put everything on Allen all the time.  It is ridiculous.  

 

Minnesota had just one great run, an 81 yard TD run.  It came immediately after we took a 17 point lead.  That play gave them a running game.  Without that play Cook was 38 yards for 13 carries.  

 

Motor earned more carries but in the 2nd half he didn't get them.   Why we needed to dress 5 RBs is quite bizzare.  

[transient]

25 minutes ago, CEN-CAL17 said:

I just find it funny McD in his press conference post game said something like Lewis needed to swat the ball…,

 

Well coach… was your staff or the players or anyone talking during the game??? That kind of stuff should have been yelled out multiple times before the snap by everyone!!!!!

 

Sounds like nobody said crap!!! 

I was beside myself when Lewis tried to intercept it instead of knocking it down. I didn't hear the post-game pressors, but the fact that McDermott actually said that is even more infuriating. I've not been a huge critic of his, but his teams are the worst prepared team in the league in critical moments and this falls squarely on his head.

[Niagara Dude]

40 minutes ago, zevo said:

can beane go back in time and not hand Dawson knox that contract. I will forever not understand that contract.

Knox is an average TE,  not sure why he gave him so much money.

[Brand J]

Just now, Bob in STL said:

You cannot run it one or two times and then give up on it like we did in the 2nd half.  We especially fail to run inside the red zone and we put everything on Allen all the time.  It is ridiculous.  

 

Minnesota had just one great run, an 81 yard TD run.  It came immediately after we took a 17 point lead.  That play gave them a running game.  Without that play Cook was 38 yards for 13 carries.  

 

Motor earned more carries but in the 2nd half he didn't get them.   Why we needed to dress 5 RBs is quite bizzare.  

Not saying the Bills should have kept throwing, I said in another post on the drive the Bills went for the TD instead of the FG, 2nd and 2, at least one of those play calls has to be a rushing attempt. I was just wondering what the splits were by half because they had no success the few times they attempted to run in the 2nd half. Why was MIN able to take that away all of a sudden? While still putting clamps on the passing game? That was not a great defense the Bills were playing against, as has been the excuse the past two weeks.

[Seventeen]

4 minutes ago, transient said:

I was beside myself when Lewis tried to intercept it instead of knocking it down. I didn't hear the post-game pressors, but the fact that McDermott actually said that is even more infuriating. I've not been a huge critic of his, but his teams are the worst prepared team in the league in critical moments and this falls squarely on his head.

 

Even bigger to me is why was Lewis the only one contesting the catch with Jefferson ? And why does Dane Jackson refuse to look back and find the ball - very evident of a few of Jefferson's catches.

[Westside]

54 minutes ago, Virgil said:

Hey everyone, sorry for the hiatus these past few weeks, but taking some time off here and there was always the plan.  In all honesty, I didn't plan to write this game either, but a few  people asked and I didn't want to break my word.  However, these recaps are going to become less frequent as I continue to lean towards overall retirement.  It's not so much a the commitment to writing as I feel like there's less to say.  I'm either talking about the same positive types of performance or a let down.  Also, the few days after a loss on this board can be painful and I don't envy the mods.  With that, this might be a different style and not as in depth, but I tried to enjoy the game as much as I could.

 

1 - Josh - For all the mystery surrounding his elbow, you never would have thought for a moment he was injured in this game.  Allen was making all the throws with ease.  Josh made some amazing throws and even more amazing runs.  On the first red zone interception, I can't fault him for trying to make a play.  It was 4th down, so they Vikings would get the ball unless it was a touchdown.  The fumble, I still don't know who it was on, but it looked like a good snap from the replay I saw, albeit a tough replay to see.  The last interception is really my only concern with Josh in this game.  We had taken all the momentum back, were moving down the field at ease, and Josh throws it right into a defenders chest, same as he has the past few weeks.  What worries me the most is that I couldn't see anyone he was trying to throw to.  This wasn't a matter of receiving running the wrong route or an anticipation throw, he just made a terrible throw.  We are going to be in more games like this, that come down to the last drive, and Josh needs to be better here.  The fact that this was the only throw I questioned makes me a feel a little better about his decision making from the past 2 games, but still a concern.

 

2 - Coaching - The ONLY coaching issue I have from this game is the abandoning of the run game in the second half.  Motor was the offense for the first two drives until he fumbled.  Which, if you are going to have 3 other active running backs, then don't punish all of them for Motor's fumble (which I'm still not convinced was a fumble).   Going one dimensional in the second half is a large part of our second half scoring issue.  I don't understand why it keeps happening.  But on the goal line fumble, the going for it instead of the field goal, all of the coverages and decisions, I completely agreed with all of them in the moment.  They were the analytical right thing to do and made sense if the PLAYERS didn't keep getting beat.

 

3 - Pass Rush - If I'm not mistaken, the Vikings have one of the better offensive tackle tandems in the league.  With Groot out and Oliver possibly still not at 100%, it was going to be a rough day.  Credit to Von for getting home in the 4th, but you have to credit the Vikings offensive line in this game.  Besides the OT drive and the big run by Cook (to the outside again), the Bills defensive line did a decent job.  There were more than a handful of plays were I was surprised Cousins could even get the ball out, but he was just a split second faster with his release.

 

4 - Jefferson - Yes, the defender should have tried to knock the ball down on 4th and long.  However, Jefferson simply made some amazing plays in this game.  He's arguably the best receiver in the game right now.  His catch near the goal line was also a thing of beauty.  I can't blame coaching because players were on him both times, but couldn't make the play.  And credit to Cousins for making those throws.  Now, if Tre were back is it a different outcome, I hope so.

 

5 - Special Teams - I'm really curious to know why the Vikings kept bringing KO's out of the end zone and why they kept kicking to us short.  Did I miss something?  I don't remember seeing so many kick returns in a single game in years.  Also, why was Duke Johnson activated for this game?  Both sides played well for these units and Bass was back to being automatics.  Hines showed some nice punt return skills off the bounce as well.

 

6 - Super bowl - In the closing moments of the Jets game, you could see the Jets sidelines celebrate like they just won the Super Bowl.  In this game, I believe the Vikings played out of their minds.  There's no doubt to me that we got their 110% effort.  Even though we haven't won anything, we've been deemed the best team in the league all season and this is what the Bills need to expect each and every week.  If there's a silver lining, the Bills absolutely should have won all the games they lost.  We haven't gotten "beaten" per say.  So if there's a silver lining in this, we are preparing ourselves for the playoffs each week and will be greatly battle tested.  

 

 

Like I said, abbreviated version this week.  Hopefully you all get the point of what I'm trying to say.  Trust me, I'm pissed off too.  I'm tired of being on the losing end of these "game of the weeks."  But, we are only one game out of the one seed, get the chance to play everyone ahead of us again, minus the Chiefs, and are overall getting more healthy.  Hyde and Poyer being out is going to hurt us in these games.  Poyer might be 50/50 the rest of the way. but we have to get better there.  Hopefully, these back-ups can figure it out in time.  But come playoffs, regardless of our path, I expect us to be ready.

Go Bills

i don't expect much of a long playoff run if they continue to play the way they have. I'm trying to be positive, but does this team have the ability to play and act professional? So much damn trash talking and showboating going on, I hate when the players act like they won the superbowl after picking up a first down. Very immature. Act like a damn professional and keep the trash talk in the streets. 

[fergie's ire]

43 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

It made sense based off his upward trajectory through last season.  I would argue that Dorsey isn't using him like he should and it's on him.  Knox actually had a decent game and helped when it mattered, making it even more frustrating that we don't use him more often

Yeah, I feel like it's not just the run game that was abandoned in the second half.  This offense works best, becomes scary, when it uses all its weapons.  We have a ton, but have to spread it around to them to be effective.  It's not like KC in the past years that had Kelce and Hill and would always go to them when they needed to get going.  In the first half, the offense used McKenzie effectively, Knox effectively, Davis effectively, in addition to Motor.  We were the multi-headed monster.  In the second half they didn't seem to be using everyone anymore...and I am not sure.  Does Allen start to lock on Diggs?  Does the play calling become less creative?  It reminds me of the way this team was prior to last year.  They would play tight in the second half with a lead rather than continuing to play loose and putting a team away.

[LABILLBACKER]

Well as so many have said earlier this year, "the only team that can beat the Bills are the Bills". And so far this season that has been 100% true.

[JerseyBills]

Great post

 

I definitely feel we should have won all 3 losses. Just have to have better ball security..

I still think we're the best team in the game. Poyer , White and even Elam will help the defense tremendously 

[DCBongo]

Maybe just write these up when the team loses or wins a super bowl.  You and Bill From NY were awesome with these and as a fan I found them rather cathatric. Thank you for writing this one!

[TheWei44]

35 minutes ago, AlfaBill said:

Just a comment on Josh. He played well BUT there were quite a few passes that the receivers had to really stretch and dive for. His passing has been off for 2.5 games now and that includes red zone INTS. I am officially worried about him. 

That's a great point that will go largely unnoticed given all the eye-popping crap that happened yesterday.  On multiple occasions in the first half, I thought to myself, wow, these receivers are making amazing catches!  They were making Josh look better than he was - But, throughout the first half, I was generally thinking the Bills are back to their usual good form on offense.