Cook & Singletary last night

[smuvtalker]

I know I have been one of many on here clamoring for Cook to get more touches, in hopes of one day being our featured back, but I gotta say last night I was thoroughly impressed with how both Cook and Singletary performed.  IMO, they made one heckuva one-two punch, and at least to me, for the first time last night I felt like their running styles complimented one another to perfection.  Credit to Dorsey for calling a great game, and sticking with the run the entire evening.  I know that alot of it had to do with the fact that we were up double digits, and was simply trying to eat up the clock, but NE's defense simply had no ability to shut down our running game.  Loved seeing the balance in carries as well. Cook finished with 14 carries, 64 yards with a 4.6 ypc average.  He also had 6 catches(on 6 targets) for an additional 41 yards.  Singletary finished with 13 carries for 51 yards.  Both guys ran hard, ran smart, and held on to the football.  

 

A solid, efficient all-around effort by both, and I love seeing them be this efficient running the ball because that's less pressure on 17 having to run as much.  Hope I'm not reaching when I say watching Cook and Singletary last night brought back fond memories of seeing Thomas and Davis in the backfield....Thunder and Lightning anyone?  

 

Incredibly pumped for the Jets game next week.  Let's go Buffalo!

[elroy16]

Last week Cook almost caused an INT because he didn't find the throwing lane for Allen. This week he found the passing lanes and did a very good job of catching the check downs and moving the ball.

 

I like how they used Hines to stress the LB's horizontally and that helped free up creases for Cook.

 

Last night was a nice step for Cook and the run game. The offense looks much, much better when they're in 2nd and 5's instead of 2nd and 9's all game.

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

Motor is the great forgotten man on this team.  He’s on pace for 1,200 yards from scrimmage and is even racking up TDs lately.

[Brand J]

Just stop throwing Singletary the ball. 

[SCBills]

Just now, SageAgainstTheMachine said:

Motor is the great forgotten man on this team.  He’s on pace for 1,200 yards from scrimmage and is even racking up TDs lately.

Hes very solid.. good player, but James Cook is - far and away - the most talented RB on this team.   
 

Hoping we start seeing a 60/40 Cook/Motor split. 
 

The Hines horizontal/misdirection stuff will start hitting when we get timing down better and Dawkins back in the lineup.  

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

11 minutes ago, JayBaller10 said:

Just stop throwing Singletary the ball. 

 

Definitely a bad night for his hands.

 

Cook had a great game. But was it just me or did it seem like every catch Cook made he hesitated a bit too much after catching the ball. He acted like there was defender immediately about to crash down on him when there almost never was. Instead of a bit of hesitation it seemed like every time the better play would have been to just turn and go straight down field quickly.

[Shaw66]

I've been down on Cook all season long, and I still have some complaints, but last night was the first time the Bills got good, consistent production from him, production that came from his particular skill set.   He was hitting holes (at least most of the time) with authority, and he was breaking tackles not with power but with consistently good speed that caused him to run out of tackles before he could be wrapped up.   He also made a couple of nice catches, the kind of catches he was supposed to be good at but we hadn't seen. 

 

He seems to be learning what Singletary always knew, which is that in this league you absolutely have to hit it upfield at the very first opportunity available, because running laterally looking for a better opportunity rarely works.   Cook simply isn't fast enough - pretty much no one is - to be able to beat the pursuit going wide.   He had some runs where he failed to take the upfield route, and he paid for it.   But I was really pleased that on several others he DID just pound it into the first little bit of daylight he saw.  And I think he'll learn, because the more he takes it upfield, the more he'll see that it doesn't work when he doesn't.  

 

I was really pleased.   Last night I saw some consistent positive production that I expected earlier in the season.   Last night was the first game where his production was better than what the Bills were getting out of Moss, which was more or less nothing.   If what we got last night was what we will see in the coming weeks, then the Bills' running game will be a factor.  

[Dillenger4]

Loved the run game! Cook and Dev looked strong and fast! We will need them in our SB run. Cold weather most likely.... running sure helps.

9-3 baby!!!!

Bring on the JESTS

[RiotAct]

18 minutes ago, JayBaller10 said:

Just stop throwing Singletary the ball. 

passes to the flat were brutal last night!   Not just to Singletary either.

[Shaw66]

Just now, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

 

Cook had a great game. But was it just me or did it seem like every catch Cook made he hesitated a bit too much after catching the ball. He acted like there was defender immediately about to crash down on him when there almost never was. Instead of a bit of hesitation it seemed like every time the better play would have been to just turn and go straight down field quickly.

This is exactly what I was talking about.  Cook waits to look over the scene before he makes a cut.   That doesn't work, except maybe from Derrick Henry or Chubb.  For most guys, like Singletary, the only way to succeed to take the ball upfield as soon as you can and then deal with whatever comes at you.  And in Cook's case, that strategy is very important, because every once in a while that quick burst upfield will get him away from tacklers and into the open field.  Once that happens, Cook's big-play ability will open up. 

[Big Turk]

27 minutes ago, elroy16 said:

Last week Cook almost caused an INT because he didn't find the throwing lane for Allen. This week he found the passing lanes and did a very good job of catching the check downs and moving the ball.

 

I like how they used Hines to stress the LB's horizontally and that helped free up creases for Cook.

 

Last night was a nice step for Cook and the run game. The offense looks much, much better when they're in 2nd and 5's instead of 2nd and 9's all game.

 

Had a similar play and kept moving the same direction into Allen's field of vision...made the catch and turned upfield.

 

He's learning.

 

Betting we start seeing more explosiveness from him the last few games of the year.

Edited December 2, 2022 by Big Turk

[SCBills]

My biggest takeaways from Cook:

 

1) You can see the receiving talent, but he does seem like he’s taken longer to transition that skill set to the NFL.   Last night, even with the constant slipping, he looks like a guaranteed 8-15 yards anytime he catches it in the flat. 
 

2)  For someone who the worry was “can he run between the tackles”, he runs between the tackles fairly well.  Still has some improvements to make adjusting to the NFL, but he has legit speed and elite acceleration, falls forward very well for a smaller back.  
 

All in all, James Cook looked every bit the part of a RD2 RB last night.  He’s a big time talent, and while Singletary is a reliable/good player, and Hines is a nice chess piece… Cook is the guy.  Sooner that change happens, the better. 

[T master]

When the Bills get the Motor running smoothly they usually have a good game but he needs to have more carries like last night to get into the game both running and catching the ball i think he is a very important piece to the Bills offense if they want to make a run at the SB .

 

Now is the time of year they need to get healthy & have every one hitting on all cylinders . With Bottger, Tre, back on the field letting Miller take 4 games to heal Tremaine back (which he did a great job last night making plays) it would be awesome if Hyde said he was coming back if he was healed enough to do it .

 

It's coming down to the stretch i hope all the bad play & injuries can be put behind them to play their best ball now ...

[Airseven]

Bottom line: 27 carries, 115 yards, TD

[Solomon Grundy]

36 minutes ago, SCBills said:

Hes very solid.. good player, but James Cook is - far and away - the most talented RB on this team.   
 

Hoping we start seeing a 60/40 Cook/Motor split. 
 

The Hines horizontal/misdirection stuff will start hitting when we get timing down better and Dawkins back in the lineup.  

I'd like to see Hines get some counters and pitches too

[Logic]

Last night was a strange experiece for me.

I'm normally Mr "pass the ball!", because it's clear that's how you win in the 2022 NFL, and because not passing the ball means taking it out of the hands of the best player on our team.

That said, last night was the first time in a while that I really WANTED them to hand the ball off on most snaps, because it was WORKING! It seemed like the running game was getting between 2 and 5 yards on every play. Keeping the offense in manageable down and distance and controlling the clock was such a sight for sore eyes.

Kudos goes to the offensive line for its run blocking (the OL was awful at pass blocking in this game, but exceptional at run blocking) and to Dorsey for sticking with the run game, which he has failed to do at times this year. 

I was really encouraged to see Cook be essentially the featured back for most of the night. I'm not sure what lead to it. Maybe Motor dropping that pass on the first drive? Maybe Cook had "that look in his eye" all week in practice? Whatever it was, it was awesome to see. 

As much as I've loved seeing the Bills be one of the pass heaviest teams in the league the past couple years, I am more than okay with them morphing into a balanced offense with a good running game this year -- ESPECIALLY in a season where our quarterback's throwing arm is not at 100%.

[BullBuchanan]

I really liked what i saw from cook last night. I hope heavy usage continues for him down the stretch and we find more creative ways to involve him in the passing game.

[hemma]

Slap another 10 lbs of muscle onto Cook in the off season and he’ll be seriously dangerous.

 

[dorquemada]

The other thing I saw last night was that our OL did a much better job in run blocking than in pass pro. 

[Success]

We have a run game!  At long last!

 

I love how Cook is developing.  He has really good instincts out there - and what a burst when he spots a hole.