Isaiah McKenzie Show 12/12 - discusses drops, his role, and offensive malaise

[BADOLBILZ]

5 hours ago, buffalostu2 said:

How do you know he is not meeting McBeane's $2 million dollar expectations?

 

Do you think McKenzie believes that McBeane are satisfied with his performance?

 

[Pete]

9 hours ago, Dopey said:

If you’re referring to the Jets game, I’m rewatching now and the scoring drive just before halftime was basically Josh and McKenzie making plays. Other than the Knox td. 
No one in the team is as bad as they’re made out be here. 

Slot receiver Isaiah McKenzie had two drops. Going into the game against the Jets, McKenzie had been charged with three drops this season, according to Pro Football Reference. Both Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis had seven drops each, again according to Pro Football Reference, to lead the team. Diggs’ drop percentage, however, was just 5.3%, compared to 9.9% for Davis.

[Beck Water]

 

 

On 12/14/2022 at 8:03 PM, Einstein said:

 

 

This is a really interesting clip to watch. 

[GETTOTHE50]

On 12/14/2022 at 6:03 PM, Einstein said:

 

maybe he didn’t see him over the Morse? McKenzie is small 

[Buftex]

On 12/13/2022 at 11:39 AM, LeGOATski said:

This the first time listening to him where he sounds too self-centered to me; borderline narcissistic with the Twitter stuff.

 

I've always felt like he has a great sense of humor, but he's taking fan comments/criticism personally.

Agreed. If Beasley is as contrite as he sounded upon his return, perhaps he will advise his friend not to get too caught up in the "internet world". More than anything, that is what derailed Beasley's career. I don't say it as a criticism, but many of these guys have very fragile confidence. You see a first round NBA draft pick retiring after two years because the constant scrutiny of his play by experts, and armatures got to him. No matter how much money they make, in the end they want to succeed and be loved by the fans. I think so many athletes could help themselves immeasurably by just staying off social media. 

[Bills!Win!]

11 minutes ago, Buftex said:

Agreed. If Beasley is as contrite as he sounded upon his return, perhaps he will advise his friend not to get too caught up in the "internet world". More than anything, that is what derailed Beasley's career. I don't say it as a criticism, but many of these guys have very fragile confidence. You see a first round NBA draft pick retiring after two years because the constant scrutiny of his play by experts, and armatures got to him. No matter how much money they make, in the end they want to succeed and be loved by the fans. I think so many athletes could help themselves immeasurably by just staying off social media. 

Many players don’t like big markets like NY, Boston, LA, Dallas because of the media 

 

I think our problem here is the fans can be overbearing and are too passionate and involved (social media) for players comfort 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Bills!Win!

[Joe Ferguson]

34 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

 

 

 

This is a really interesting clip to watch. 

JA17 knows that McKenzie is going to drop it.

[Buftex]

1 minute ago, Bills!Win! said:

Many people don’t like big markers like NY, Boston, LA, Dallas because of the media 

 

I think our problem here is the fans can be overbearing and are too passionate and involved (social media) for players comfort 

 Part of the reason so many guys seem to genuinely love playing for the Bills is that "family" feeling that the community extends toward the franchise and its players. I think it really stings when it comes from fans. Beasley said something to the effect that hearing criticism from fans, when he never had before was an eye opener. Granted, I don't think criticism Beasley faced was performance based, but Isaiah is no different. The internet gives a forum to millions to take shots at one individual, legit or not. They just have to learn to ignore it. 

[GoBills808]

43 minutes ago, GETTOTHE50 said:

maybe he didn’t see him over the Morse? McKenzie is small 

Pocket didn't hold up

 

He had decided to run before McKenzie got his head around

[LyndonvilleBill]

55 minutes ago, GETTOTHE50 said:

maybe he didn’t see him over the Morse? McKenzie is small 

Basically the same size as Beasley. 😉

[Beck Water]

1 hour ago, GETTOTHE50 said:

maybe he didn’t see him over the Morse? McKenzie is small 

 

I think it's more complicated than that.  I'm pretty sure this is 3rd and 15 from the Buffalo 25, early in the 2nd Q.  The result of the play was 1D on a 16 yd run by Allen.  So the Bills have to get to the Buffalo 40.

 

It's hard for me to tell where Allen is looking initially but DL John Franklin-Myers shedding his block by Bates and stunting around the end would loom pretty large in my field of vision if I were Allen.  It appears to me (where's someone who knows their OL?  @HoofHearted?  ) that Knox stayed in to block, but when it appeared that Bates and Brown had Franklin-Myers and the DE (Jermaine Johnson) handled, Knox releases to run a route.  It appears to me that Franklin-Myers could *probably* beat Bates and come right at Allen with a chance to get him, but to me, he seems to be watching Knox.  The minute Knox starts his route, F-M ditches Bates like a bad Tinder date and stunts around the end.  Brown reacts by shoving his guy over to Bates and handing him off to Bates so he can block, but it looks like that's gonna be too late

(First pic)

 

Allen can almost certainly see McKenzie in the gap between Brown and F-M, but McKenzie is headed for the line of gain and is not looking at Allen yet - he may want the defender parked on the 37 yd line to shift his focus to Knox, which he wouldn't if McKenzie turns his head (the universal DB signal for "I better get in this guy's pocket").  I think he could sneak a peak at Allen though, to let Allen know he will adjust if Allen throws it early.  I think that's what Beasley would do.

 

McKenzie's first window is past the 40 yd line over the middle, and he raises the mail flag and looks at Allen. The defender on the 37 yd line appears to have been lulled to sleep, and there doesn't seem to be a soul anywhere near McKenzie.  Spoiler: Brown has in fact managed to pick up F-M and is doing a good job of getting in his way, so Allen has time. (2nd pic)

 

But, Allen has decided the vicinity of F-M is unhealthy to our chances for a first down and drifted L.

 

It appears to me that Allen has a clear passing lane to McKenzie if he just takes another step to his L, though it is possible Cook would think it's intended for him and jump for it or deflect it.  But I think by then, Allen has gone all Sebastian the Crab from the Little Mermaid: "if you want something done, you got to do it yourself", and has decided to run for it.

 

McKenzie is tuned in to Allen and when Allen moves further to the L, McKenzie moves with him to find another clear line of sight, but I think by that time Allen may have crossed the LOS. (3rd pic)

 

1 hour ago, Buftex said:

Agreed. If Beasley is as contrite as he sounded upon his return, perhaps he will advise his friend not to get too caught up in the "internet world". More than anything, that is what derailed Beasley's career. I don't say it as a criticism, but many of these guys have very fragile confidence. You see a first round NBA draft pick retiring after two years because the constant scrutiny of his play by experts, and armatures got to him. No matter how much money they make, in the end they want to succeed and be loved by the fans. I think so many athletes could help themselves immeasurably by just staying off social media. 

 

I think the clamor of fan and media criticism is starting to damage McKenzie, and I think he's delighted to see Beasley in part because he feels Beasley understands what he's trying to do and will give him feedback + or -, that will bolster his confidence and that Josh will trust.

 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Beck Water

[Beck Water]

46 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

Pocket didn't hold up

 

He had decided to run before McKenzie got his head around

 

I think Allen is looking at Cook at the point where McKenzie puts the mail flag up, and I think Allen assesses that Cook's chances of making the catch and evading the defender for the 1D are low.  But another QB might give Cook a chance.

[Straight Hucklebuck]

I am at the 20:00 mark and wow he has nothing to say.

 

You know?

 

It is what is it is.

 

At the end of the day get a W

 

But at the same time it’s like I don’t know, but you know?

 

And the host? Might want to write down some questions so the whole thing has some sort of structure? 

[BigAl2526]

On 12/13/2022 at 12:28 PM, YoloinOhio said:

Lots of excuses so far about the weather - I’m about 15 min in. Garrett Wilson didn’t seem to have a problem catching the wet balls, just saying 

I agree.  I was seeing a lot more drops from Bills receivers than I was from Jets receivers.

[Beck Water]

23 minutes ago, BigAl2526 said:

I agree.  I was seeing a lot more drops from Bills receivers than I was from Jets receivers.

 

Do you think the way their respective QB throw the ball might make a difference there?  I'm not saying it excuses it - if you wanna play WR for the Bills, you got to hang on to the footballs our QB throws.  But I can see where it might make it harder.

 

I don't know how many drops Jets receivers were charged with, but it's a fact that White's completion % was only a teeny bit better than Allen's (59.5% vs 59.3%)

Edited December 17, 2022 by Beck Water

[Buftex]

5 hours ago, Beck Water said:

 

 

 

 

I think the clamor of fan and media criticism is starting to damage McKenzie, and I think he's delighted to see Beasley in part because he feels Beasley understands what he's trying to do and will give him feedback + or -, that will bolster his confidence and that Josh will trust.

 

 

Could be too, if Beasley returns as a reasonable semblance of himself, it takes some pressure off of McKenzie. Isaiah may just be more comfortable in that gadget role, with the occasional high volume game, when nobody is expecting it. 

[Beck Water]

6 hours ago, Buftex said:

Could be too, if Beasley returns as a reasonable semblance of himself, it takes some pressure off of McKenzie. Isaiah may just be more comfortable in that gadget role, with the occasional high volume game, when nobody is expecting it. 

I could be wrong, I often am.  But I think anyone expecting Beasley to walk on and return McKenzie to 2021 will be disappointed.  
 

I think we may see a shift back to the first 4 weeks if Beas is healthy, which is McK going from 60 to 50% snaps, Diggs playing less in the slot, and Beasley getting 20-33 %

Edited December 17, 2022 by Beck Water

[Einstein]

16 hours ago, GETTOTHE50 said:

maybe he didn’t see him over the Morse? McKenzie is small 

 

As the QB, Allen knows where all the receivers are on the field from the play call. Unless it’s an options route.

[Beck Water]

45 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

As the QB, Allen knows where all the receivers are on the field from the play call. Unless it’s an options route.

 

He knows where they're supposed to be, but there's always a chance that the guy gets jammed, held, slips, etc and isn't where he's supposed to be.

 

But Allen had two, possibly 3, windows where he could see McKenzie, that wasn't the issue.  The Jets DL got of his block by Bates and stunted around Brown, so Josh (understandably) felt he needed to bail to his L.  I think he could have taken another step L and found a throwing lane to McK, or ideally if he could stay behind the LOS hit him in his 2nd window. 

 

It was really a protection breakdown at core, but another QB who has less belief in himself as the person on the team best able to convert 3rd and 15 would probably have thrown to McKenzie or to Cook (giving him a chance to evade the tackler and convert)

[stevestojan]

He hates the bad weather. 
Said the obvious that Josh hates the weather, in particular wet ball drills. 
 

But let’s keep rooting for snow games!! Yay! Blue collar football weather!! 😒