THE ROCKPILE REVIEW - Demons

[Shaw66]

In the playoffs, only one thing matters:  Survive and advance.  That’s it.  No style points. 

 

The Bills survived and advanced against the Dolphins in the Wild Card round.  If style points had mattered, they may have been one and done.

 

Commentators said the Bills struggled against the Dolphins, but that really wasn’t the story.  The Bills dominated and won the game.  The Dolphins offense was ineffective for almost the entire game.  The Bills beat the Dolphins, 34-7.  The game seemed like a struggle only because the Bills’ demons, the demons that seem to haunt this team, repeatedly gave the Dolphins short fields to work with, and the Dolphins moved the ball just enough to put points on the board.  Consider the Dolphins’ scoring drives:

 

After a Tyler Bass kickoff went out of bounds, the Dolphins drove 38 yards for a field goal. 

 

After a Josh Allen interception, the Dolphins drove 18 yards for a field goal.

 

After a 50-yard punt return, the Dolphins drove 8 yards for a field goal.  

 

After a Josh Allen interception, the Dolphins drove 18 yards for a touchdown.

 

After a Josh Allen fumble, the Dolphins returned the fumble 5 yards for a touchdown. 

 

Add it up.  24 points.  82 total yards of offense. 

 

That’s 24 points that more or less ANY team in the NFL would have scored.  24 points that the Bills’ demons gave to the Dolphins. 

 

The Dolphins had one real scoring drive – 11 plays, 75 yards.

 

In a sense, the final score was Bills 34, Dolphins 7, Demons 24.  It won’t show up that way in the records of NFL but really, that’s what happened.

 

The stats pretty much prove that there were demons on the field.  The Bills outgained the Dolphins, 423 to 231.  The Bills were 9 of 16 on third down; the Dolphins were 4 of 16.  Skylar Thompson, the Dolphins’ rookie quarterback, finished the game with a very un-Tua-like passer rating of 44.7. 

Demons.  No other way to explain it.

 

Random comments:

 

A beautiful day in Orchard Park.  Fans were asking what that bright yellow thing in the sky was. 

 

Remember Kair Elam?  The first-round pick who seemed to be doing his best to become Mr. Irrelevant, of a sort?  Well, he wasn’t irrelevant on Sunday.  An interception on a perfect drop into deep coverage on the sideline, two passes defensed, including a critical pass break-up on 4th and five on the Dolphins last possession, and nice work in the run game.

 

The offense just looks better with Cole Beasley on the field. 

 

The Bills sacked Thompson four times, but only two sacks came from the down linemen, who struggled to get pressure on the QB most of the day.  Ed Oliver had his moments.  Von Miller would have looked good out there.

 

Sometimes, it seemed like I was watching Josh Allen in his second season.  He was in love with the deep ball.  It didn’t matter who was running deep – Diggs or Brown or Shakir or Davis (did I forget anyone?) – Josh threw to him.  He connected just enough to get the win, once to Diggs to set up a score, once to Davis for a TD, and once, almost miraculously, on third and one to Shakir to extend a late drive.  Still, the Bills didn’t need a homerun on every play; a few more singles and doubles would be nice.

 

Josh also missed, often.  He air mailed one over Shakir, he tossed a short out over Beasley’s head, he forced Davis to make a circus catch over the middle, and he often threw behind receivers.  He wasn’t the deadly accurate guy we’d seen the last couple of years. 

 

Devin Singletary’s final run, for an improbable first down to end the game, was simply amazing.  Yes, he got some help from his linemen but really, third and seven, everyone knows the Bills will keep it on the ground, and he should have been on the ground yards short.  The Bills do what they need to do to win and on that play, it was Motor’s turn. 

 

Tremaine Edmunds was fun to watch.  A monster hit, some passes defensed, and solid tackles.

 

Tre White looks like he needs some injections of speed juice, but no one’s better playing defense as the ball arrives.  A hand on the ball, a hit on the receiver, a distraction, something. 

 

Tyreek Hill is a certifiable talent.  You can just feel it when he’s on the field, but not Sunday.  69 yards on seven receptions, five yards on two carries.  Hats off to Taron Johnson, Tre White, Dane Jackson, Kair Elam. 

 

Survive and advance.  Can the Bills bury the demons?

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were everyday people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

 

Edited January 16, 2023 by Shaw66

[Heathcliff]

Demons!  I like the analogy. They’ve been fighting them for weeks and keep beating them off. 

Edited January 16, 2023 by Heathcliff

[Dr Krentist]

You can subtract 3 pts if Milano makes that 4th and 8 tackle

[US Egg]

Take on demons one at a time. 
 

It’s the only way.

[TFBillsfan]

Love Josh but far too many mistakes today. You can’t have your franchise QB throw two interceptions and even more worrisome THREE fumbles. Josh acknowledges it seemingly every game and then still reverts back to making careless plays.

 

He can make every throw but has to start taking the layups when the big play isn’t there.

[LABILLBACKER]

16 minutes ago, TFBillsfan said:

Love Josh but far too many mistakes today. You can’t have your franchise QB throw two interceptions and even more worrisome THREE fumbles. Josh acknowledges it seemingly every game and then still reverts back to making careless plays.

 

He can make every throw but has to start taking the layups when the big play isn’t there.

Problem is JA is always going to have that Favre gunslinger persona and Dorsey's feeding it right now.

[flmike]

I get your point, but all those things are part of a football game. The Bills have won games with turnovers as well. I don't discount them at all. The Dolphins played their hearts out and our D made a 3rd string QB look good. Style points don't matter, but the manner in which a game played can be somewhat predictive for how they will play in the next one. That worries many. 

[Beck Water]

48 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

In the playoffs, only one thing matters:  Survive and advance.  That’s it.  No style points. 

 

The Bills survived and advanced against the Dolphins in the Wild Card round.  If style points had mattered, they may have been one and done.

 

Commentators said the Bills struggled against the Dolphins, but that really wasn’t the story.  The Bills dominated and won the game.  The Dolphins offense was ineffective for almost the entire game.  The Bills beat the Dolphins, 34-7.  The game seemed like a struggle only because the Bills’ demons, the demons that seem to haunt this team, repeatedly gave the Dolphins short fields to work with, and the Dolphins moved the ball just enough to put points on the board.  Consider the Dolphins’ scoring drives:

 

After a Tyler Bass kickoff went out of bounds, the Dolphins drove 38 yards for a field goal. 

 

After a Josh Allen interception, the Dolphins drove 18 yards for a field goal.

 

After a 50-yard punt return, the Dolphins drove 8 yards for a field goal.  

 

After a Josh Allen interception, the Dolphins drove 18 yards for a touchdown.

 

After a Josh Allen fumble, the Dolphins returned the fumble 5 yards for a touchdown. 

 

Add it up.  24 points.  82 total yards of offense. 

 

That’s 24 points that more or less ANY team in the NFL would have scored.  24 points that the Bills’ demons gave to the Dolphins. 

 

The Dolphins had one real scoring drive – 11 plays, 75 yards.

 

In a sense, the final score was Bills 34, Dolphins 7, Demons 24.  It won’t show up that way in the records of NFL but really, that’s what happened.

 

The stats pretty much prove that there were demons on the field.  The Bills outgained the Dolphins, 423 to 231.  The Bills were 9 of 16 on third down; the Dolphins were 4 of 16.  Skylar Thompson, the Dolphins’ rookie quarterback, finished the game with a very un-Tua-like passer rating of 44.7. 

Demons.  No other way to explain it.

 

Random comments:

 

A beautiful day in Orchard Park.  Fans were asking what that bright yellow thing in the sky was. 

 

Remember Kair Elam?  The first-round pick who seemed to be doing his best to become Mr. Irrelevant, of a sort?  Well, he wasn’t irrelevant on Sunday.  An interception on a perfect drop into deep coverage on the sideline, two passes defensed, including a critical pass break-up on 4th and five on the Dolphins last possession, and nice work in the run game.

 

The offense just looks better with Cole Beasley on the field. 

 

The Bills sacked Thompson four times, but only two sacks came from the down linemen, who struggled to get pressure on the QB most of the day.  Ed Oliver had his moments.  Von Miller would have looked good out there.

 

Sometimes, it seemed like I was watching Josh Allen in his second season.  He was in love with the deep ball.  It didn’t matter who was running deep – Diggs or Brown or Shakir or Davis (did I forget anyone?) – Josh threw to him.  He connected just enough to get the win, once to Diggs to set up a score, once to Davis for a TD, and once, almost miraculously, on third and one to Shakir to extend a late drive.  Still, the Bills didn’t need a homerun on every play; a few more singles and doubles would be nice.

 

Josh also missed, often.  He air mailed one over Shakir, he tossed a short out over Beasley’s head, he forced Davis to make a circus catch over the middle, and he often threw behind receivers.  He wasn’t the deadly accurate guy we’d seen the last couple of years. 

 

Devin Singletary’s final run, for an improbable first down to end the game, was simply amazing.  Yes, he got some help from his linemen but really, third and seven, everyone knows the Bills will keep it on the ground, and he should have been on the ground yards short.  The Bills do what they need to do to win and on that play, it was Motor’s turn. 

 

Tremaine Edmunds was fun to watch.  A monster hit, some passes defensed, and solid tackles.

 

Tre White looks like he needs some injections of speed juice, but no one’s better playing defense as the ball arrives.  A hand on the ball, a hit on the receiver, a distraction, something. 

 

Tyreek Hill is a certifiable talent.  You can just feel it when he’s on the field, but not Sunday.  69 yards on seven receptions, five yards on two carries.  Hats off to Taron Johnson, Tre White, Dane Jackson, Kair Elam. 

 

Survive and advance.  Can the Bills bury the demons?

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were everyday people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

 

 

I love the analogy and the detailed breakdown of the Dolphins scoring drives.

 

What do you suggest against the Demons?  Some people seem to feel sprinkling salt, burning sage and prayers are enough, but others believe sacrificing a rooster is necessary.  

 

The deep throw deep throw deep throw thing has been a pattern all season.  Josh moved away from it for the KC game.  It isn’t helped that we’re often running a 11 personnel, so a back and a TE kept in to block and then releasing on short outlet routes.  Josh hates to take those outlet routes.

 

How much was Beasley actually out there?

 

I think after the season we’re going to learn that Josh’s elbow injury was worse than anyone let on, but to be fair today Josh was under a huge amount of pressure.  Pressure causes poor throws

 

We better exorcise those demons quickly because Cincy has had a lucky horseshoe up its butt with regards to Ravens miscues all night

[Big Turk]

Bills seem to just love making things as hard as possible on themselves to win.

[US Egg]

Just now, Big Turk said:

Bills seem to just love making things as hard as possible on themselves to win.

Yeah, they do it on purpose.

[Simon]

48 minutes ago, Heathcliff said:

 They’ve been fighting them for weeks and keep beating them off. 

 

[NickelCity]

49 minutes ago, Heathcliff said:

Demons!  I like the analogy. They’ve been fighting them for weeks and keep beating them off. 

 

Finally, a kink positive post.

[Shaw66]

4 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

How much was Beasley actually out there?

 

I think after the season we’re going to learn that Josh’s elbow injury was worse than anyone let on, but to be fair today Josh was under a huge amount of pressure.  Pressure causes poor throws

 

 

Beasley played a lot.  Receivers were on and off the field almost every play.  Diggs, Davis, Beas, Shakir, with Brown sprinkled in.  And Hines was used wide some of the time. 

 

I've ignored the noise about his elbow all season, in part because there's no way for us to know how bad it is, and in part because he has to play through it.  You could be right, though, because his inaccuracies this season are puzzling.  (Elbow doesn't seem to bother him on the deep ball.  The two in a row to Davis were well thrown, as was Gabe's TD.  Hit Diggs perfectly on the completion and didn't miss by much when he missed Diggs on the first play, the long interception was well thrown but a bad decision, and the throw to Shakir was fine, too.)

 

As for the demons, who knows?  Know any witches?

[seattlebillsfan]

I am hoping the Bills have been secretly working up a great screen game and saving it up for the Bengals. Seriously; I feel like there is something special in the offing for next week. And something else for the AFCCG….

[Fleezoid]

I love the breakdown Shaw, but "No style points" in my opinion is another way to say, to many mistakes. But yes, in the playoffs, just win!!

 

And Josh did look like "2nd season Josh." A bit concerning. I watched the Giants/Vikings game, and something more concerning to me is how the Dorsey offense isn't as effective as the Daboll offense. The Giants offense was pretty darn good. it had Daboll fingerprints all over it with the creativity and effective play calling.

 

If the mistakes happen next week, we're done!

 

P.S. Defense still needs to tackle better.

 

 

[ganesh]

And this is the playoffs...Teams increase their intensity level.   Look at the Bengals...they got a 14 point swing that literally booked their tickets to Orchard Park.  There are no gimmies in the NFL when it comes to the playoffs.  Everything will be hard earned. 

 

The Bills OL continues to have problems.   Dorsey should have run the ball more after going 17-0.  Instead, the team let slip that momentum.  I was hoping today was going to be Cook's coming out party and he almost did !

[VaMilBill]

1 hour ago, Dr Krentist said:

You can subtract 3 pts if Milano makes that 4th and 8 tackle

Looked like Tremaine got blocked in the back on that play. I think he makes that tackle if that didn’t happen. Refs were letting a lot of penalties go today

[BruceVilanch]

1 hour ago, Big Turk said:

Bills seem to just love making things as hard as possible on themselves to win.

Adding to the adversity to make the next game easier!

[Virgil]

The lack of pressure without the blitz is alarming.  Oliver finally got a sack, but was otherwise quiet.  And this was with 2 starters out on the Dolphins line.  
 

It’s beyond infuriating considering the money and draft capitol we’ve poured into that unit 

[GreggTX]

Great write up. Motor and Gabe redeemed themselves today. Most of all though, we really miss Von! Hats off to Shaq for playing well, but he can't replace Von Miller. I sure hope #40 comes back at full strength. Every opponent we face going forward will be good enough to win the SB unless Baltimore beats KC. We need to clean it up. No more fumbling the ball all over the yard along with 2 picks. That won't work any more.