Let's talk about that Hail Mary

[ngbills]

There is a lot of this or that about this play. My main issue is not one Bill made a play to knock the ball down. That is the priority but they all seemed to be more concerned with covering a guy than locating the ball. 

[Billsatlastin2018]

I don’t trust ‘13 Seconds’- at all, to ever make the correct, end of game decisions. That game should have been long over. But the Clapper’s ridiculous decision to not go on 4th & 2, a buffoon like Face Mask Penalty on Phillips that would have made it 5th & 18- if he simply kept wrestling Mayfield to the turf and his coup de stupid Time Out call, as Mayfield is about to be sacked!

 

On the ridiculously defended and never shoulda happened Hail Mary,this is definitely what I saw:

 

https://youtu.be/AoOzPhE7i3I?si=mBWBNGIZECoBuzR1

 

[Aussie Joe]

Just now, ngbills said:

There is a lot of this or that about this play. My main issue is not one Bill made a play to knock the ball down. That is the priority but they all seemed to be more concerned with covering a guy than locating the ball. 

They probably didn’t know what to do because they haven’t been in this situation before right?

 

 

[May Day 10]

That was probably the most clown shoes "defense" of a hail mary I have ever seen.  We had 3 players on the ground with Hyde off balance and stumbling.  Godwin could have caught the ball cleanly.  Unreal that these things happen to this team when the game is on the line.

[ngbills]

2 minutes ago, May Day 10 said:

That was probably the most clown shoes "defense" of a hail mary I have ever seen.  We had 3 players on the ground with Hyde off balance and stumbling.  Godwin could have caught the ball cleanly.  Unreal that these things happen to this team when the game is on the line.

Not to mention two of our defenders were on Cade Otten outside of the end zone. 

[HomeskillitMoorman]

1 hour ago, ngbills said:

Teams should blitz a DB on hail mary's. The trade of having one less guy vs pressuring the qb to throw sooner works for me. You need a certain amount of time for wr to get downfield so it either forces an early throw, shorter throw, or disrupts the ability to make a clean throw. 

 

I'm in, it works for me in Madden! 

[Bangarang]

Yesterday game should never have come down to a Hail Mary attempt. The offense sputtered in the 2nd half again and the defense couldn’t get stops.

[ngbills]

What is the downside of having all 4 of your rushers on the edge as well on a hail mary? There is no need to defend the middle so rush only the edge and see if the tackles can each block two guys. 

[Saint Doug]

1 hour ago, Zag20 said:

Also shouldn’t Davis and maybe Kincaid be in in that play?

True. Davis would make sure nothing is caught. 

[zow2]

28 minutes ago, ngbills said:

There is a lot of this or that about this play. My main issue is not one Bill made a play to knock the ball down. That is the priority but they all seemed to be more concerned with covering a guy than locating the ball. 

 

That's what Hyde, Taron and especially Poyer said after the game.  They were out there to box out guys and make sure they could not get to the ball.  There was no mention of knocking down or even watching the ball come down.  I mean that's egregious.  If McDermott is teaching that style on hail mary's we can definitely expect the Bills to get a DPI and a walk off opportunity for an opponent of ours down the road.  Because if the refs see Buffalo do that again, there's a very good chance they will flag it.

[BufBills83]

1 hour ago, Big Blitz said:

Why are we rushing 4 guys in these situations is absurd to me.  
 

Put 9 guys back there.  Rush 2.  Should have been doing that from play 1 of the Bucs last possession.  

 

I totally agree with this strategy.  When on defense in a situation like the last drive last night, or 13 seconds against KC, we should rush 1 or 2 guys and drop the rest.  The offense has to throw the ball quickly, so the pash rush isn't going to get there, and since they have to throw quick, you can have more defenders in coverage.  I would say almost go to the point of not rushing anyone, but not sure about that.

[Saint Doug]

Would love the see an arial view of their formation on that last play. Did they not have players line up in the end zone, and if so, why didn’t they see an incoming pass?

 

Nevermind, just saw it. How did our players standing there facing Mayfield not see that ball coming in?

Edited October 27, 2023 by Saint Doug

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

1 hour ago, Aussie Joe said:

Josh’s interception was a killer too…

 

It’s not just on Dorsey 

 

I mean it was a tipped ball. Wasn't a bad pass or decision.

 

[Aussie Joe]

1 minute ago, Pine Barrens Mafia said:

 

I mean it was a tipped ball. Wasn't a bad pass or decision.

 

He should have thrown it away…

[Wraith]

13 minutes ago, zow2 said:

 

That's what Hyde, Taron and especially Poyer said after the game.  They were out there to box out guys and make sure they could not get to the ball.  There was no mention of knocking down or even watching the ball come down.  I mean that's egregious.  If McDermott is teaching that style on hail mary's we can definitely expect the Bills to get a DPI and a walk off opportunity for an opponent of ours down the road.  Because if the refs see Buffalo do that again, there's a very good chance they will flag it.

Boxing out is not against the rules.

[Bob Jones]

1 hour ago, ngbills said:

Teams should blitz a DB on hail mary's. The trade of having one less guy vs pressuring the qb to throw sooner works for me. You need a certain amount of time for wr to get downfield so it either forces an early throw, shorter throw, or disrupts the ability to make a clean throw. 

So it would be 5 rushers vs 5 O linemen, with 1 of those rushers being a DB? What makes you think that a DB is a sure thing to beat an O lineman? I like the rush 2 and drop back 9 scheme much better.

[JohninMinn.]

We learned nothing from the Arizona Cardinals debacle.

[Wraith]

Donte Stallworth (former NFL receiver, current analyst) says the Bills played the hail mary "perfectly." Here a few snippets from his thread on Twitter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 27, 2023 by Wraith

[Jauronimo]

1 hour ago, nedboy7 said:

The fact that we could have lost that game easily at the end speaks volumes for how bad they played in the second half.  That ball was completely catchable.  it was only luck that won us that game. 

Successfully defending the lowest percentage play in the playbook really is luck when you think about it.

2 minutes ago, Wraith said:

Donte Stallworth (former NFL receiver, current analyst) says the Bills played the hail mary "perfectly." Here a few snippets from his thread on Twitter.

 

https://x.com/DonteStallworth/status/1717939385713262925?s=20

 

 

https://x.com/DonteStallworth/status/1717939387609088314?s=20

 

https://x.com/DonteStallworth/status/1717939391308464165?s=20

 

 

 

 

WTF is Taron doing?  He had the best shot at making the catch.

[Wraith]

11 minutes ago, JohninMinn. said:

We learned nothing from the Arizona Cardinals debacle.

I disagree. If anything they overcompensated for the Hail Murray and did the exact opposite. In Arizona, all three defensive backs tried to out jump each other for the ball and Hopkins outjumped them all. None of them played for positioning. This was the exact opposite, every defensive back went for the box out to the point that none of them played the ball. It seemed to be a deliberate strategy.

 

https://youtu.be/8rEOlSzxrhM?si=WW_dXjR6CS9wOCjA&t=41

Edited October 27, 2023 by Wraith