A Few Thoughts about the Raiders Game, in no particular order

[Virgil]

Growing up as a kid, you remember those moments where your parents saying they were disappointed in you was sometimes worse than any real punishment.  Until I had a kid of my own, I always wondered if that was an intention form of mind game that parents did when they realized standard punishment wasn't getting the job done.  As my daughter gets older, and her actions and behaviors become more intentional, I see more and more what she's capable of, versus when she is just figuring out life.  With that, your expectations as a parent changes and you know when to be supportive versus critical.  You learn when to let them fail, push them, or challenge them on decisions.  It's an interesting dynamic that leads to you making the same comments to your kid that you hated when you were younger of "you'll understand when you are older."

 

1 - Conservative Josh - If you could write a script for what you needed to see from Josh after what was arguably his worst game as an NFL star, the Raiders game was it.  It started with an opening drive that was so vanilla, that I almost wonder if it wasn't called intentionally to make sure Josh understood the message for the game.  After the game, Josh made comments that showed he was very aware of the social commentary from last week and almost felt like a frustrated "can we move past this now" kind of statement.  Josh had a TD to Shakir that made me audibly gasp, but was pretty tame for the rest of the game.  Now, by tame, I mean he didn't have his normal Superman plays or moments where you held your breath because Josh might hurt himself.  He did have one hurdle, that ended with a smile and a helmet grab, but I'll let that one slide.  Instead, Josh played a game with a high completion percentage, waited for the defense to adjust to his play while also fearing what he's capable of, and went on to beat down an inferior team.  The Raiders defense isn't the Jets and we had the lead midway though the 2nd quarter, so there was no need to press.  So, for me, this doesn't mean all is forgiven.  I've been as big a Josh fan as anyone.  I have 5 different jerseys for Josh and appreciate he's the best thing to happen to WNY in over 20 years.  But with that, comes a much higher expectation.  I still need to see Josh keep calm under pressure, when losing, or when the team isn't rallying around him.  If we want that ring, I need to see him be that guy consistently.  We need 13 seconds Josh.  The Raiders game was a good step in that direction and showed that Josh didn't feel like he had to come out an prove a point that Superman Josh is the only way to win.

 

2 - What's a good rotation? - I can't believe I'm going to say this because I hate rotations at positions.  I feel like NFL players need to find their groove and big rotations take up active roster spots on game days.  Also, I don't want to come off like Cook didn't have a great day yesterday, because he absolutely did.  But man, the acceleration that Murray showed behind the line and the power getting low that Harris showed was really impressive yesterday.  I don't know what the answer is here, but I wanted to see more of Murray yesterday.  I almost feel like should use Harris at the goal line (which they did), but rotate Cook and Murray 2-1, with Cook still being the 3rd down back on Murray's series.  We have a very diverse half back room, and I love it.  I almost would like to see Murray out there with Cook, maybe as a blocker from time to time.  Just really give the opposing defense some looks.  Either way, this might be our best running back group in quite a while.

 

3 - Middle zone defense - Before the game was in hand, the Raiders had a few passes to the middle of the field, right where a certain MLB use to cover, and I remember thinking it was going to be a long day.  However, after those first two drives, I never though about it again.  I'm not here to say that Bernard is the answer.  Bernard had a great interception that I initially thought was Benford (Bernard is that small), and overall has done a solid job in not making me think about his existence out there.  That's not meant to be an insult, but if you aren't going to be a super star, the next best compliment I can give is that you didn't do anything to be a liability.  Long story short, through two games, do we really feel like we miss Edmunds?  We still have a long way to go and I know McD is handling that area of the field in a variety of ways, but so far, so good to me.  

 

4 - Yeah, I'm goin' back to that shack way across that railroad track,

Uh huh, that's where I think I belong.

And that's where I'm gonna make my happy home.

 

5 - Scripted plays - Remember the old Malarkey days when we would score every single time to open a game?  Of course, we couldn't score after that to save our lives, but it was still a cool streak.  The Raiders absolutely crushed us with their scripted plays on the first two drives, creating that uneasy feeling for me on the couch.  Most of the plays were some form of misdirection, that also make me worry that we were out of position and not prepare for this game.  Now, that all went away after that second drive and life was good.  But I feel like the scripted plays, at the start of both halves, is not something that Dorsey has figured out yet.  We've had two sluggish starts so far, and I'm really hoping this is something we can turn around with the difficult schedule we have coming up.

 

6 - Red Zone - Again, this is going to sound negative for a team that scored 38 points and was 75% in the red zone, but did anyone else feel like we made it a lot harder on ourselves than we needed to?  Granted, most of our goal line drives started around the 10, which is a fair consideration.  With that, the Davis and Shakir TD's weren't exactly easy, and the missed touchdown seemed way more complicated than it needed to be.  I get it, gimmick plays and misdirection are great if they work, and stupid if they don't.  But it does feel like we are behind the curve here still.

 

7 - Defensive Line - It only took 6 years, but do we finally have the defensive line we've been waiting for under McD?  Floyd is an absolute monster.  Groot is starting to live up to his first round status.  Oliver hasn't gotten home yet, but you can see the impact.  McD even has them running stunts!  While it may not show up in the stat column for sacks, our pass rush has been fantastic so far, and we don't even have Von back.  The only thing I found surprising was AJ out there instead of Groot on some obvious passing third downs.  AJ did great, just wasn't what I was expecting.  If you had to make a list of the positions that win championships, I would argue that getting pressure with your front four is in the top 3 and we are nailing it so far.  Our line was the third best part of this game to me.

 

8 - 3rd quarter close out - I know I just talked about our lack of scripted plays, also referring to how we come out in the second half, as an opportunity.  However, I have to give credit for the 3rd quarter drive that sucked up half the clock.  You want to talk about imposing our will?  That drive was painful if you're a Raiders fan and I would argue led to Cook's big rush to end the game.  We absolutely gassed the Raiders defense in a way that we haven't seen here in a long time. There's been moments of it over the years, but this felt more intentional and well within our capacities as an offense.  Doing this against a Cincy, KC, or Miami team will be huge for us.  Keeps the other offense off the field, kills the clock and morale.  That drive might was the second best part of this game for me.  

 

9 - Rush Defense - Now for the real MVP of this game.  Listening to the pregame report, the Raiders ran more 21 personnel than any other team in week one and they brought with them the 2022 rushing champ.  We held him to negative yards.  Let that sink it.  The Bills defense held the best running back in the league last season to negative yards in this game.  No Edmunds, down early, and heavy packages galore, and McD and the defense all showed up.  That is a message sent to the entire league and something I hope our guys take a lot of pride in. 

 

10 - Milano - I'm really hoping Milano doesn't get randomly drug tested or we find out that someone John Wick'd his dog.  Milano is playing like an angry, angry man out there.  That wasn't just another interception Milano had.  That was a man who was willing to rip the head off another player to get an interception.  I mean, c'mon now.  If you can't get excited about that interception, you might want to check your pulse.  Milano is playing like a man possessed out there and I love it.  I'm already a Milano homer, but he has really stepped it up a level this so far.  I can't wait to see his final season stat line at this rate.

 

 

Overall, good game against a sub .500 team, but a needed performance by many.  I expect the same next week before Miami comes to town.  I'm very curious to see if Elam gets activated for that game, as he is truly our fastest DB and can somewhat keep up with Waddle or Hill.  Either way, should be fun.

Go Bills!

[Big Turk]

I'm more excited by Bernard's performance...dude is a whirling dervish(my Turkish reference for the day! 😂) out there...he is everywhere. Both games so far.

 

Could this be why the Bills were so confidant in handing him the job even tho he missed most of training camp?

 

Dude has been a revelation for us on D.

 

It's looking like this linebacker duo is going to be very solid and not the weak spot everyone thought.

 

Edited September 18, 2023 by Big Turk

[Augie]

My highlight of the day was Josh trying to hurdle the guy who was standing tall near the goal line. Needless to say, I don’t think that was how it played out in Josh’s mind in the moment.  Is it true he was a safety on Josh’s team in college? I guess he saw that one coming. It’s OK to get a chuckle out of that after a comfortable win. 

 

Great to have a bounce back game like that. Get that first drive out of the way on D, and take what they give you on offense. 

 

 

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Edited September 18, 2023 by Augie

[boyst]

My thoughts from the game physically

 

1) Josh didn't take many chances. Davis was open A LOT.

 

2) others were open deep and Josh didn't go there.

 

3) I think Josh earned the trust that 4th and goal opportunity by his play and efficiency

 

4) the raiders gave up on what got them started. Their scripted plays in the beginning killed us and they abandoned the strategy completely!

 

5) the ol had an up week. Good for them

 

6) diggs before the game was focused. He took time to himself, acknowledged the crowd. He was dialed in. 

[Blackbeard]

Great write up.

 

What impressed me most about this game, other than Josh's ability to calm down and just play conservative, was the running back stable.

 

We have 3 impressive backs, each equipped to handle different situations.  

 

You have a power back/beast in Murray.  A grinder in Harris, and a speedy, take it to the house back in Cook.

 

This group is good.   Damn good.  Super versatility and it will pay off in the passing game.  And a hats off to the OL for making it possible.

 

Excited.

Edited September 18, 2023 by Blackbeard

[corta765]

7 minutes ago, Virgil said:

If we want that ring, I need to see him be that guy consistently.  We need 13 seconds Josh.  The Raiders game was a good step in that direction and showed that Josh didn't feel like he had to come out an prove a point that Superman Josh is the only way to win.

 

Great write up as always, I have one comment on this. Josh hadn't had a day were it was HIS FAULT since that 2019 Pats game week 4 until Monday. He has had 2-3 uh oh what is Josh doing games the last 2 years where he toed the line between pure stupidity with some awful decisions like the ATL 2021 game or last years Vikes game (although hurt), but the MNF game was really a different level that harkened back to week 4 in 2019 where he just did too much. Difference was he was a 2nd year QB then, year 6 QBs can't do that. It feels like he is/was at a movie crossroads after that MNF game where "just because you have the power does not mean you always should or need to use" type of thing is being said. Yesterday was what I hope and we all hope is moving forward where Josh finally understands this whole heartedly. There will be 13 seconds type days where we will need Josh like that and it will be on him to do super things which he will because he can. But days like yesterday are just as valuable if not more. Peytons first SB win in a rainstorm he was quite good because of staying within himself that day. Rex Grossman was not going to light it up and as long as Peyton just did his thing they were good. One great day down hopefully more to come.

[RiotAct]

6 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

I'm more excited by Bernard's performance...dude is a whirling dervish(my Turkish reference for the day! 😂) out there...he is everywhere. Both games so far.

 

Could this be why the Bills were so confidant in handing him the job even tho he missed most of training camp?

 

Dude has been a revelation for us on D.

 

It's looking like this linebacker duo is going to be very solid and not the weak spot everyone thought.

 

it’s early, but rumors of our LB corps’ demise seem to have been greatly exaggerated!

[Virgil]

14 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

I'm more excited by Bernard's performance...dude is a whirling dervish(my Turkish reference for the day! 😂) out there...he is everywhere. Both games so far.

 

Could this be why the Bills were so confidant in handing him the job even tho he missed most of training camp?

 

Dude has been a revelation for us on D.

 

It's looking like this linebacker duo is going to be very solid and not the weak spot everyone thought.

 

 

Maybe it shouldn't matter as much, or I'm used to seeing Edmunds out there, but Bernard being so tiny out there always worries me a little.  I just envision him getting a piggy back ride into the endzone.

[Mango]

35 minutes ago, Virgil said:

1 - Conservative Josh - If you could write a script for what you needed to see from Josh after what was arguably his worst game as an NFL star, the Raiders game was it.  It started with an opening drive that was so vanilla, that I almost wonder if it wasn't called intentionally to make sure Josh understood the message for the game.  After the game, Josh made comments that showed he was very aware of the social commentary from last week and almost felt like a frustrated "can we move past this now" kind of statement.  Josh had a TD to Shakir that made me audibly gasp, but was pretty tame for the rest of the game.  Now, by tame, I mean he didn't have his normal Superman plays or moments where you held your breath because Josh might hurt himself.  He did have one hurdle, that ended with a smile and a helmet grab, but I'll let that one slide.  Instead, Josh played a game with a high completion percentage, waited for the defense to adjust to his play while also fearing what he's capable of, and went on to beat down an inferior team.  The Raiders defense isn't the Jets and we had the lead midway though the 2nd quarter, so there was no need to press.  So, for me, this doesn't mean all is forgiven.  I've been as big a Josh fan as anyone.  I have 5 different jerseys for Josh and appreciate he's the best thing to happen to WNY in over 20 years.  But with that, comes a much higher expectation.  I still need to see Josh keep calm under pressure, when losing, or when the team isn't rallying around him.  If we want that ring, I need to see him be that guy consistently.  We need 13 seconds Josh.  The Raiders game was a good step in that direction and showed that Josh didn't feel like he had to come out an prove a point that Superman Josh is the only way to win.

 

 

I don't think this was conservative play. Maybe by Josh's standards and definitely by last weeks. But ultimately I think this is just quality and play from the position. I think we sort of expect these high's and lows play to play, drive to drive, and game to game. Josh was Josh start to finish. That leap was funny. Got lucky it was his college teammate. 

 

38 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

 

2 - What's a good rotation? - I can't believe I'm going to say this because I hate rotations at positions.  I feel like NFL players need to find their groove and big rotations take up active roster spots on game days.  Also, I don't want to come off like Cook didn't have a great day yesterday, because he absolutely did.  But man, the acceleration that Murray showed behind the line and the power getting low that Harris showed was really impressive yesterday.  I don't know what the answer is here, but I wanted to see more of Murray yesterday.  I almost feel like should use Harris at the goal line (which they did), but rotate Cook and Murray 2-1, with Cook still being the 3rd down back on Murray's series.  We have a very diverse half back room, and I love it.  I almost would like to see Murray out there with Cook, maybe as a blocker from time to time.  Just really give the opposing defense some looks.  Either way, this might be our best running back group in quite a while.

 

 

We have 3 backs with 3 skill sets. I agree rotation for rotation isn't good. Ride the hot hand. But I think we did an "OK" job at using our RB's situationally. 

 

40 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

 

4 - Yeah, I'm goin' back to that shack way across that railroad track,

Uh huh, that's where I think I belong.

And that's where I'm gonna make my happy home.

 

 

 

Way to bring this back to its roots!  Funny enough I have my headphones on listening to a Bobby and the Wolf Bros w/Wolfpack show as I read this post. 

 

42 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

 

8 - 3rd quarter close out - I know I just talked about our lack of scripted plays, also referring to how we come out in the second half, as an opportunity.  However, I have to give credit for the 3rd quarter drive that sucked up half the clock.  You want to talk about imposing our will?  That drive was painful if you're a Raiders fan and I would argue led to Cook's big rush to end the game.  We absolutely gassed the Raiders defense in a way that we haven't seen here in a long time. There's been moments of it over the years, but this felt more intentional and well within our capacities as an offense.  Doing this against a Cincy, KC, or Miami team will be huge for us.  Keeps the other offense off the field, kills the clock and morale.  That drive might was the second best part of this game for me.  

 

 

 

That drive to open the 3rd won the game. That was an impressive drive that won TB a lot of games over the years. 

Great post, great game. Thanks for your work and carrying the torch on these. 

[Coach Tuesday]

25 minutes ago, Mango said:

 

I don't think this was conservative play. Maybe by Josh's standards and definitely by last weeks. But ultimately I think this is just quality and play from the position. I think we sort of expect these high's and lows play to play, drive to drive, and game to game. Josh was Josh start to finish. That leap was funny. Got lucky it was his college teammate. 

 

 

We have 3 backs with 3 skill sets. I agree rotation for rotation isn't good. Ride the hot hand. But I think we did an "OK" job at using our RB's situationally. 

 

 

Way to bring this back to its roots!  Funny enough I have my headphones on listening to a Bobby and the Wolf Bros w/Wolfpack show as I read this post. 

 

 

 

That drive to open the 3rd won the game. That was an impressive drive that won TB a lot of games over the years. 

Great post, great game. Thanks for your work and carrying the torch on these. 

Consistently throwing short of the sticks is conservative.

[BillsFan130]

Good post man.

 

one thing I seem to disagree on though:

 

AJ Epenasa.

 

Joe Marino said he did awesome as well.

 

What am I missing? To me he looked super quiet, and didn’t he have an offside penalty as well?

[hondo in seattle]

I've been criticizing the OL for, well, much of my long life.  Yesterday, the backs had more room than I'm accustomed to seeing.  That was great to see.  

 

And I really liked the way Dorsey mixed up formations, personnel groups, and plays.  

 

 

Edited September 18, 2023 by hondo in seattle

[Coach Tuesday]

5 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

I've been criticizing the OL for, well, much of my long life.  The backs had more room than I'm accustomed to seeing.  That was great to see.  

 

And I really liked the way Dorsey mixed up formations, personnel groups, and plays.  

 

 

 

They also seemed to hit the holes quickly yesterday.  None of the dancing around we've been accustomed to over the past few years.

[Virgil]

27 minutes ago, BillsFan130 said:

Good post man.

 

one thing I seem to disagree on though:

 

AJ Epenasa.

 

Joe Marino said he did awesome as well.

 

What am I missing? To me he looked super quiet, and didn’t he have an offside penalty as well?

 

You didn't miss much.  There was one play in particular that AJ blew up on third down, but I can't remember the specifics.  Overall, he held his own when called upon.  

[boyst]

Was it brought up a lot that we used a lot of sets with 3 tight ends?

[frostbitmic]

16 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

You didn't miss much.  There was one play in particular that AJ blew up on third down, but I can't remember the specifics.  Overall, he held his own when called upon.  

Epenesa got some air to knock down a Jimmy G pass attempt. I t was a nice play. He was being disruptive his time in there yesterday which was good to see. Wait a couple weeks til we face the phish. AJ seems to have had a few close meetings with Tua, causing Tua to miss some time.

[Shaw66]

1 hour ago, Augie said:

My highlight of the day was Josh trying to hurdle the guy who was standing tall near the goal line. Needless to say, I don’t think that was how it played out in Josh’s mind in the moment.  Is it true he was a safety on Josh’s team in college? I guess he saw that one coming. 

 

Great to have a bounce back game like that. Get that first drive out of the way on D, and take what they give you on offense. 

 

Josh has to begin to recognize when guys are going to stay up to stop the leap, because he has the size just to drive those guys downfield.  Josh had the TD there if he had gone low.  

[Success]

More Murray!  More Harris!  

 

Cook is great, but for any north/south situations, Dorsey should use the other guys more.  Harris made a splash w/ every opportunity he had yesterday. I actually thought he might be RB1 heading into the season, and think he is being underutilized so far.

 

Great write-up & insights..

 

[Virgil]

18 minutes ago, boyst said:

Was it brought up a lot that we used a lot of sets with 3 tight ends?

I noticed a lot of 12 personnel, but honestly didn’t track on a lot of 13.  
 

I had no intention of writing a recap, so my notes were non-existent. 

[Toyo321]

 

 

This one statistic alone is the most important way this team will improve this year.  If you continue to play the short game strategy and control the clock, this will happen for a lot of the remaining games on our schedule. 

 

This formula = many more W's