Wandering thoughts on the Bills season and game vs. Chiefs

[Magox]

- Von Miller was playing without his brace this game and even though he started off the game vs the Chiefs ineffective, he was a difference maker in the latter parts of the game.  He had a key pressure which should have been an in the grasp sack against Mahomes, he also an extremely important pressure on a 3rd and 7 near the goal line where he almost caused a fumble, which ended up leading to a FG.   I would argue the Von Miller that we saw in the 4th quarter was the Von Miller that we brought in to close out games.

 

- Even though the Offensive line was gashed by pressures by the Chiefs, they were still effective in run blocking and this is the best offensive line we have had in well over a decade.  I like this O-line and I don't believe we need to look to actively upgrade it next year.

 

- James Cook is becoming the real deal, it is a bit of a mystery that we stopped using him midway through the 3rd quarter, but Brady has brought out the reason why he was seen as a potential blue chip NFL prospect.  His elusiveness, speed, vision, route running and his ability to break tackles tells me that he can get 15-20 touches a game and the Bills should look to take advantage of that.

 

- Something seems off with Diggs.  I have never seen him ask to be taken out for breathers/or what have you as much as I have seen over the past month.  His productivity has dropped and he was not able to get himself open against Sneed.  Maybe he has an undisclosed injury but he's not been the same Diggs we have seen over the past year. 

 

- Gabe is way too inconsistent, even though Josh totally missed him on a play that was setup with those WR bubble screens and he had an easy TD.  Aside from that, when he plays against top end DB's, he is a non factor.  I think part of it is on Josh where he just doesn't even look his way because I believe he's lost confidence in him.

 

- The Bills need to draft a WR with their top pick, lots of really good WR's are available to be had and we not only need a #2 but an eventual replacement to Diggs and now is the time.

 

- McDermott actually changed up the aggressiveness of the D late in the game and it paid off, so kudos for him for that. However, the clock management was terrible.  With that said, a big reason for that debacle near the 2 minute warning was Diggs fault. That bubble screen was viewed like a handoff and if he catches that he probably gets a few yards and it goes to the two minute warning.  It probably impacted the next call as well.  Brady had to make the decision after the drop, they are facing a 2nd and 10, he's probably thinking if we can get the 1st down we win, Chiefs won't get the ball back.  With that 2nd and 10 he calculated the best way to close out the game was to get that 1st down and passing was the best option and it didn't work out.

 

- The Bills could easily be a 10-3 team right now, but we've allowed games to slip through our fingers too much.  With that said, if we can beat the Cowboys, there is a good chance that the Bills could actually win the division and be one of the AFC favorites to reach the Super Bowl.  None of the AFC teams scare me, the Ravens I think are probably the best of the bunch but they are beatable.

[boyst]

2 minutes ago, Magox said:

- Von Miller was playing without his brace this game and even though he started off the game vs the Chiefs ineffective, he was a difference maker in the latter parts of the game.  He had a key pressure which should have been an in the grasp sack against Mahomes, he also an extremely important pressure on a 3rd and 7 near the goal line where he almost caused a fumble, which ended up leading to a FG.   I would argue the Von Miller that we saw in the 4th quarter was the Von Miller that we brought in to close out games.

 

- Even though the Offensive line was gashed by pressures by the Chiefs, they were still effective in run blocking and this is the best offensive line we have had in well over a decade.  I like this O-line and I don't believe we need to look to actively upgrade it next year.

 

- James Cook is becoming the real deal, it is a bit of a mystery that we stopped using him midway through the 3rd quarter, but Brady has brought out the reason why he was seen as a potential blue chip NFL prospect.  His elusiveness, speed, vision, route running and his ability to break tackles tells me that he can get 15-20 touches a game and the Bills should look to take advantage of that.

 

- Something seems off with Diggs.  I have never seen him ask to be taken out for breathers/or what have you as much as I have seen over the past month.  His productivity has dropped and he was not able to get himself open against Sneed.  Maybe he has an undisclosed injury but he's not been the same Diggs we have seen over the past year. 

 

- Gabe is way too inconsistent, even though Josh totally missed him on a play that was setup with those WR bubble screens and he had an easy TD.  Aside from that, when he plays against top end DB's, he is a non factor.  I think part of it is on Josh where he just doesn't even look his way because I believe he's lost confidence in him.

 

- The Bills need to draft a WR with their top pick, lots of really good WR's are available to be had and we not only need a #2 but an eventual replacement to Diggs and now is the time.

 

- McDermott actually changed up the aggressiveness of the D late in the game and it paid off, so kudos for him for that. However, the clock management was terrible.  With that said, a big reason for that debacle near the 2 minute warning was Diggs fault. That bubble screen was viewed like a handoff and if he catches that he probably gets a few yards and it goes to the two minute warning.  It probably impacted the next call as well.  Brady had to make the decision after the drop, they are facing a 2nd and 10, he's probably thinking if we can get the 1st down we win, Chiefs won't get the ball back.  With that 2nd and 10 he calculated the best way to close out the game was to get that 1st down and passing was the best option and it didn't work out.

 

- The Bills could easily be a 10-3 team right now, but we've allowed games to slip through our fingers too much.  With that said, if we can beat the Cowboys, there is a good chance that the Bills could actually win the division and be one of the AFC favorites to reach the Super Bowl.  None of the AFC teams scare me, the Ravens I think are probably the best of the bunch but they are beatable.

the OL didn't let us down in pass pro. it was josh holding too long and not moving appropriately.

[Rico]

I've noticed that whenever Von Miller can get a hand on the Rat, the Rat gets an extremely painful look on it's face.

[FireChans]

39 minutes ago, Magox said:

- Von Miller was playing without his brace this game and even though he started off the game vs the Chiefs ineffective, he was a difference maker in the latter parts of the game.  He had a key pressure which should have been an in the grasp sack against Mahomes, he also an extremely important pressure on a 3rd and 7 near the goal line where he almost caused a fumble, which ended up leading to a FG.   I would argue the Von Miller that we saw in the 4th quarter was the Von Miller that we brought in to close out games.

 

- Even though the Offensive line was gashed by pressures by the Chiefs, they were still effective in run blocking and this is the best offensive line we have had in well over a decade.  I like this O-line and I don't believe we need to look to actively upgrade it next year.

 

- James Cook is becoming the real deal, it is a bit of a mystery that we stopped using him midway through the 3rd quarter, but Brady has brought out the reason why he was seen as a potential blue chip NFL prospect.  His elusiveness, speed, vision, route running and his ability to break tackles tells me that he can get 15-20 touches a game and the Bills should look to take advantage of that.

 

- Something seems off with Diggs.  I have never seen him ask to be taken out for breathers/or what have you as much as I have seen over the past month.  His productivity has dropped and he was not able to get himself open against Sneed.  Maybe he has an undisclosed injury but he's not been the same Diggs we have seen over the past year. 

 

- Gabe is way too inconsistent, even though Josh totally missed him on a play that was setup with those WR bubble screens and he had an easy TD.  Aside from that, when he plays against top end DB's, he is a non factor.  I think part of it is on Josh where he just doesn't even look his way because I believe he's lost confidence in him.

 

- The Bills need to draft a WR with their top pick, lots of really good WR's are available to be had and we not only need a #2 but an eventual replacement to Diggs and now is the time.

 

- McDermott actually changed up the aggressiveness of the D late in the game and it paid off, so kudos for him for that. However, the clock management was terrible.  With that said, a big reason for that debacle near the 2 minute warning was Diggs fault. That bubble screen was viewed like a handoff and if he catches that he probably gets a few yards and it goes to the two minute warning.  It probably impacted the next call as well.  Brady had to make the decision after the drop, they are facing a 2nd and 10, he's probably thinking if we can get the 1st down we win, Chiefs won't get the ball back.  With that 2nd and 10 he calculated the best way to close out the game was to get that 1st down and passing was the best option and it didn't work out.

 

- The Bills could easily be a 10-3 team right now, but we've allowed games to slip through our fingers too much.  With that said, if we can beat the Cowboys, there is a good chance that the Bills could actually win the division and be one of the AFC favorites to reach the Super Bowl.  None of the AFC teams scare me, the Ravens I think are probably the best of the bunch but they are beatable.

I curiously enough did not hate the clock management.  I agree that the Diggs drop really messed them up.

 

Had the Chiefs marched down the field and scored, like they did, the Bills would have had 1 minute plus with some TO's to drive back down.  Not the worst situation to be in.

 

I also thought 10 straight passes after the Josh INT was curious.  Felt like that was a really good time to take the ball out of his hands a bit.

 

 

[Beck Water]

38 minutes ago, Magox said:

- Von Miller was playing without his brace this game and even though he started off the game vs the Chiefs ineffective, he was a difference maker in the latter parts of the game.  He had a key pressure which should have been an in the grasp sack against Mahomes, he also an extremely important pressure on a 3rd and 7 near the goal line where he almost caused a fumble, which ended up leading to a FG.   I would argue the Von Miller that we saw in the 4th quarter was the Von Miller that we brought in to close out games.

 

- Even though the Offensive line was gashed by pressures by the Chiefs, they were still effective in run blocking and this is the best offensive line we have had in well over a decade.  I like this O-line and I don't believe we need to look to actively upgrade it next year.

 

- James Cook is becoming the real deal, it is a bit of a mystery that we stopped using him midway through the 3rd quarter, but Brady has brought out the reason why he was seen as a potential blue chip NFL prospect.  His elusiveness, speed, vision, route running and his ability to break tackles tells me that he can get 15-20 touches a game and the Bills should look to take advantage of that.

 

- Something seems off with Diggs.  I have never seen him ask to be taken out for breathers/or what have you as much as I have seen over the past month.  His productivity has dropped and he was not able to get himself open against Sneed.  Maybe he has an undisclosed injury but he's not been the same Diggs we have seen over the past year. 

 

- Gabe is way too inconsistent, even though Josh totally missed him on a play that was setup with those WR bubble screens and he had an easy TD.  Aside from that, when he plays against top end DB's, he is a non factor.  I think part of it is on Josh where he just doesn't even look his way because I believe he's lost confidence in him.

 

- The Bills need to draft a WR with their top pick, lots of really good WR's are available to be had and we not only need a #2 but an eventual replacement to Diggs and now is the time.

 

- McDermott actually changed up the aggressiveness of the D late in the game and it paid off, so kudos for him for that. However, the clock management was terrible.  With that said, a big reason for that debacle near the 2 minute warning was Diggs fault. That bubble screen was viewed like a handoff and if he catches that he probably gets a few yards and it goes to the two minute warning.  It probably impacted the next call as well.  Brady had to make the decision after the drop, they are facing a 2nd and 10, he's probably thinking if we can get the 1st down we win, Chiefs won't get the ball back.  With that 2nd and 10 he calculated the best way to close out the game was to get that 1st down and passing was the best option and it didn't work out.

 

- The Bills could easily be a 10-3 team right now, but we've allowed games to slip through our fingers too much.  With that said, if we can beat the Cowboys, there is a good chance that the Bills could actually win the division and be one of the AFC favorites to reach the Super Bowl.  None of the AFC teams scare me, the Ravens I think are probably the best of the bunch but they are beatable.

 

Good stuff.  Hope you're right on Von Miller.

 

On the OL, question: are you sold on Spencer Brown?  Also, Mitch Morse is 31.  IMHO we need to be looking at RT and C.

 

Re: Diggs, over Nov and this past game, Diggs has played 95%, 98%, 80%, 92%, and 79% of the snaps.  In 2022, he played 74%, 92%, 66%, 78%, 73% in the same time period.  So I think that may be an impression that he's asking for more breathers than ever before, and not reality (or he wouldn't be logging so many snaps)

[MJS]

There was nothing egregious about the clock management. There were just execution issues.

[BuffaloBillyG]

47 minutes ago, Magox said:

- James Cook is becoming the real deal, it is a bit of a mystery that we stopped using him midway through the 3rd quarter, but Brady has brought out the reason why he was seen as a potential blue chip NFL prospect.  His elusiveness, speed, vision, route running and his ability to break tackles tells me that he can get 15-20 touches a game and the Bills should look to take advantage of that.

You bring up a lot of good and valid thoughts but this is one I want to address primarily.

 

In the last 3 games that Brady has called the offense Cook has had 15, 22 and 20 touches. Right in the wheelhouse of what you suggested. In the 3 games prior Cook had 14, 10 and 15 touches....so a bit lower. Brady has done a good job of making him a priority especially in the pass game.

 

The trend I'm seeing around the NFL lately is that a RB with the traits that Cook has is becoming the hot trend. The draw ack to these type backs however is that you really need to give them limited touches for fear of wearing them down, especially early in the season. Many of these guys weren't a primary RB even in college, so they may need a bit to acclimate to the constant physicality. Guys like Achane, McLaughlin out in Denver and Keaton Mitchell in Baltimore do more with less carries if used properly.

 

Cook also needs to work on his pass protection to see the field more as well. I have hope for him, I remember when Singletary was pretty bad at pass pro his first few years as well before coming on well in years 3 and 4. 

[Warcodered]

Overall I'd say we definitely need to look at upgrading at RT and as for Diggs I am a little worried on the other hand Spags has always been somewhat good at taking him out of the game.

[BearNorth]

28 minutes ago, Warcodered said:

Overall I'd say we definitely need to look at upgrading at RT.

Brown has played 99.7% of the offensive snaps, is graded in the top half of tackles in the league and his cap hit is $1.2MM.  You have a quarterback with an $18MM Cap hit [scheduled to be $48MM next year],  you have 3 guys with a combined cap hit of $32MM on IR.  Our capologist better be a wizard.

 

Of the 7 current playoff teams, Chiefs, Jags, Browns, & Steelers all have starting tackle sets ranked below Dawkins and Brown.

[Saxum]

3 hours ago, Magox said:

- Something seems off with Diggs.  I have never seen him ask to be taken out for breathers/or what have you as much as I have seen over the past month.  His productivity has dropped and he was not able to get himself open against Sneed.  Maybe he has an undisclosed injury but he's not been the same Diggs we have seen over the past year. 

 

Diggs in percentage of snap counts has been down for last two years.  Part of the reason is been Davis has been the blocking back and there are games where Davis is in 100% of the offense snaps.  Since Diggs is heavily covered I think it is very tiring for him and he comes out for a breather just as DEs are rotated to make them more effective.

[DrDawkinstein]

3 hours ago, Magox said:

 

- Something seems off with Diggs.  I have never seen him ask to be taken out for breathers/or what have you as much as I have seen over the past month.  His productivity has dropped and he was not able to get himself open against Sneed.  Maybe he has an undisclosed injury but he's not been the same Diggs we have seen over the past year. 

 

 

What are the real stats on that? Because it was made into a big deal in the Eagles game but it turned out he was in for something like 87 out of 95 snaps.

[Magox]

4 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

What are the real stats on that? Because it was made into a big deal in the Eagles game but it turned out he was in for something like 87 out of 95 snaps.

 

Apparently he's been playing the normal amount of snaps.  Idk, it just seemed that way, maybe I never paid attention to it until recently.  

[Shaw66]

3 hours ago, Magox said:

- Von Miller was playing without his brace this game and even though he started off the game vs the Chiefs ineffective, he was a difference maker in the latter parts of the game.  He had a key pressure which should have been an in the grasp sack against Mahomes, he also an extremely important pressure on a 3rd and 7 near the goal line where he almost caused a fumble, which ended up leading to a FG.   I would argue the Von Miller that we saw in the 4th quarter was the Von Miller that we brought in to close out games.

 

- Even though the Offensive line was gashed by pressures by the Chiefs, they were still effective in run blocking and this is the best offensive line we have had in well over a decade.  I like this O-line and I don't believe we need to look to actively upgrade it next year.

 

- James Cook is becoming the real deal, it is a bit of a mystery that we stopped using him midway through the 3rd quarter, but Brady has brought out the reason why he was seen as a potential blue chip NFL prospect.  His elusiveness, speed, vision, route running and his ability to break tackles tells me that he can get 15-20 touches a game and the Bills should look to take advantage of that.

 

- Something seems off with Diggs.  I have never seen him ask to be taken out for breathers/or what have you as much as I have seen over the past month.  His productivity has dropped and he was not able to get himself open against Sneed.  Maybe he has an undisclosed injury but he's not been the same Diggs we have seen over the past year. 

 

- Gabe is way too inconsistent, even though Josh totally missed him on a play that was setup with those WR bubble screens and he had an easy TD.  Aside from that, when he plays against top end DB's, he is a non factor.  I think part of it is on Josh where he just doesn't even look his way because I believe he's lost confidence in him.

 

- The Bills need to draft a WR with their top pick, lots of really good WR's are available to be had and we not only need a #2 but an eventual replacement to Diggs and now is the time.

 

- McDermott actually changed up the aggressiveness of the D late in the game and it paid off, so kudos for him for that. However, the clock management was terrible.  With that said, a big reason for that debacle near the 2 minute warning was Diggs fault. That bubble screen was viewed like a handoff and if he catches that he probably gets a few yards and it goes to the two minute warning.  It probably impacted the next call as well.  Brady had to make the decision after the drop, they are facing a 2nd and 10, he's probably thinking if we can get the 1st down we win, Chiefs won't get the ball back.  With that 2nd and 10 he calculated the best way to close out the game was to get that 1st down and passing was the best option and it didn't work out.

 

- The Bills could easily be a 10-3 team right now, but we've allowed games to slip through our fingers too much.  With that said, if we can beat the Cowboys, there is a good chance that the Bills could actually win the division and be one of the AFC favorites to reach the Super Bowl.  None of the AFC teams scare me, the Ravens I think are probably the best of the bunch but they are beatable.

This is all really good.   I agree, more or less, with all of it.  A few comments. 

 

Miller, he didn't look to me to be all the way back.  He used to be even better than he was on Sunday.   But having said that, in the second half it was plain that he's now made real progress recovering.  He had an impact.

 

Yes to the Oline. 

 

Yes to Cook. 

 

When you write two paragraphs side by side saying there's something wrong with both wideouts, I think something different.  I think Brady needs to go back to the drawing board, because some the Bills should be springing a free runner in the defensive backfield at least once in a while.   It simply isn't possible to cover everything - someone has to be getting open somewhere.   I mean, the Bills are throwing Diggs, Davis, Shakier, Harty, Sherfield, Cook, Murray, Kincaid, and Knox at teams.  NOBODY can get open?   Seems like scheme to me.   Still, I agree that Diggs is in an odd funk.   I'm fine with Davis.  

9 minutes ago, Limeaid said:

 

Diggs in percentage of snap counts has been down for last two years.  Part of the reason is been Davis has been the blocking back and there are games where Davis is in 100% of the offense snaps.  Since Diggs is heavily covered I think it is very tiring for him and he comes out for a breather just as DEs are rotated to make them more effective.

Actually, this makes me wonder whether Diggs isn't banged up in some way that they're not talking about.   He's not a big guy, and the way he plays, he takes a lot of punishment.   I think he gives himself up often just to avoid the wear and tear.  

[juno999]

2 hours ago, Warcodered said:

Overall I'd say we definitely need to look at upgrading at RT and as for Diggs I am a little worried on the other hand Spags has always been somewhat good at taking him out of the game.

Sneed had a real strong game defending Diggs.

[Saxum]

14 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Actually, this makes me wonder whether Diggs isn't banged up in some way that they're not talking about.   He's not a big guy, and the way he plays, he takes a lot of punishment.   I think he gives himself up often just to avoid the wear and tear.  

 

Maybe he is using it as a teaching moment to Josh.

[Virgil]

3 hours ago, Magox said:

- Von Miller was playing without his brace this game and even though he started off the game vs the Chiefs ineffective, he was a difference maker in the latter parts of the game.  He had a key pressure which should have been an in the grasp sack against Mahomes, he also an extremely important pressure on a 3rd and 7 near the goal line where he almost caused a fumble, which ended up leading to a FG.   I would argue the Von Miller that we saw in the 4th quarter was the Von Miller that we brought in to close out games.  I think he's close, but still not there.  He still takes those wide angles to the QB and can't seem to overpower anyone.  On some level, AJ being hurt made him get more snaps and that seemed to benefit him

 

- Even though the Offensive line was gashed by pressures by the Chiefs, they were still effective in run blocking and this is the best offensive line we have had in well over a decade.  I like this O-line and I don't believe we need to look to actively upgrade it next year.  I personally think this is more about the Chiefs being crap against the run.  Josh was getting a ton of pressure in his face because the Chiefs seemed to focus all their energy on the pass rush.

 

- James Cook is becoming the real deal, it is a bit of a mystery that we stopped using him midway through the 3rd quarter, but Brady has brought out the reason why he was seen as a potential blue chip NFL prospect.  His elusiveness, speed, vision, route running and his ability to break tackles tells me that he can get 15-20 touches a game and the Bills should look to take advantage of that.  The lack of usage of him in the second half, especially as a pass catcher, was maddening!

 

- Something seems off with Diggs.  I have never seen him ask to be taken out for breathers/or what have you as much as I have seen over the past month.  His productivity has dropped and he was not able to get himself open against Sneed.  Maybe he has an undisclosed injury but he's not been the same Diggs we have seen over the past year.  I haven't watched the All-22, but he was either doubled or blanketed all game.  All of our receivers were.  I would love to see the all-22 and wonder if KC was just playing more physical again and the refs let them play.  In most of the replays I saw, it looked like basic man coverage, but the receivers just couldn't separate.  Now, we know they are capable of getting open, so why was this game different?  I don't know.

 

- Gabe is way too inconsistent, even though Josh totally missed him on a play that was setup with those WR bubble screens and he had an easy TD.  Aside from that, when he plays against top end DB's, he is a non factor.  I think part of it is on Josh where he just doesn't even look his way because I believe he's lost confidence in him.  I'm over Gabe.  That's been documented.  

 

- The Bills need to draft a WR with their top pick, lots of really good WR's are available to be had and we not only need a #2 but an eventual replacement to Diggs and now is the time.  I would be okay with them grabbing two WR's, because who knows if Shorter will pan out.  Sherfield, Davis, and Harty can all go after this season.

 

- McDermott actually changed up the aggressiveness of the D late in the game and it paid off, so kudos for him for that. However, the clock management was terrible.  With that said, a big reason for that debacle near the 2 minute warning was Diggs fault. That bubble screen was viewed like a handoff and if he catches that he probably gets a few yards and it goes to the two minute warning.  It probably impacted the next call as well.  Brady had to make the decision after the drop, they are facing a 2nd and 10, he's probably thinking if we can get the 1st down we win, Chiefs won't get the ball back.  With that 2nd and 10 he calculated the best way to close out the game was to get that 1st down and passing was the best option and it didn't work out.  It's hard to give him credit here because he did the same thing in most of our games, but it didn't work out for us.  He kept sending extra guys and they couldn't hit home.  On the last drive, the best plays were when we only rushed 4.  Oliver and Floyd did their jobs and coverage was better. 

 

- The Bills could easily be a 10-3 team right now, but we've allowed games to slip through our fingers too much.  With that said, if we can beat the Cowboys, there is a good chance that the Bills could actually win the division and be one of the AFC favorites to reach the Super Bowl.  None of the AFC teams scare me, the Ravens I think are probably the best of the bunch but they are beatable.  Agreed, hence all the frustration.  12 on the field and Bass makes one FG, and we are in first place.  

 

Nice job boss.  Just a few comments in bold

[hondo in seattle]

7 hours ago, Magox said:

- Von Miller was playing without his brace this game and even though he started off the game vs the Chiefs ineffective, he was a difference maker in the latter parts of the game.  He had a key pressure which should have been an in the grasp sack against Mahomes, he also an extremely important pressure on a 3rd and 7 near the goal line where he almost caused a fumble, which ended up leading to a FG.   I would argue the Von Miller that we saw in the 4th quarter was the Von Miller that we brought in to close out games.

 

- Even though the Offensive line was gashed by pressures by the Chiefs, they were still effective in run blocking and this is the best offensive line we have had in well over a decade.  I like this O-line and I don't believe we need to look to actively upgrade it next year.

 

 

 

I gasped and my heart momentarily stopped when I read: "we don't need to actively upgrade it [the OL] next year."

 

I don't care about analytic ratings which I don't believe.  In my eyes, this line improved from bad to average.  That's progress and I'm grateful.  But you don't win a Lombardi with average position groups.  When our best player is our QB, I want a line that keeps him upright & healthy while giving him time to find an open receiver.  

[AuntieEm]

8 hours ago, Magox said:

- Von Miller was playing without his brace this game and even though he started off the game vs the Chiefs ineffective, he was a difference maker in the latter parts of the game.  He had a key pressure which should have been an in the grasp sack against Mahomes, he also an extremely important pressure on a 3rd and 7 near the goal line where he almost caused a fumble, which ended up leading to a FG.   I would argue the Von Miller that we saw in the 4th quarter was the Von Miller that we brought in to close out games.

 

- Even though the Offensive line was gashed by pressures by the Chiefs, they were still effective in run blocking and this is the best offensive line we have had in well over a decade.  I like this O-line and I don't believe we need to look to actively upgrade it next year.

 

- James Cook is becoming the real deal, it is a bit of a mystery that we stopped using him midway through the 3rd quarter, but Brady has brought out the reason why he was seen as a potential blue chip NFL prospect.  His elusiveness, speed, vision, route running and his ability to break tackles tells me that he can get 15-20 touches a game and the Bills should look to take advantage of that.

 

- Something seems off with Diggs.  I have never seen him ask to be taken out for breathers/or what have you as much as I have seen over the past month.  His productivity has dropped and he was not able to get himself open against Sneed.  Maybe he has an undisclosed injury but he's not been the same Diggs we have seen over the past year. 

 

- Gabe is way too inconsistent, even though Josh totally missed him on a play that was setup with those WR bubble screens and he had an easy TD.  Aside from that, when he plays against top end DB's, he is a non factor.  I think part of it is on Josh where he just doesn't even look his way because I believe he's lost confidence in him.

 

- The Bills need to draft a WR with their top pick, lots of really good WR's are available to be had and we not only need a #2 but an eventual replacement to Diggs and now is the time.

 

- McDermott actually changed up the aggressiveness of the D late in the game and it paid off, so kudos for him for that. However, the clock management was terrible.  With that said, a big reason for that debacle near the 2 minute warning was Diggs fault. That bubble screen was viewed like a handoff and if he catches that he probably gets a few yards and it goes to the two minute warning.  It probably impacted the next call as well.  Brady had to make the decision after the drop, they are facing a 2nd and 10, he's probably thinking if we can get the 1st down we win, Chiefs won't get the ball back.  With that 2nd and 10 he calculated the best way to close out the game was to get that 1st down and passing was the best option and it didn't work out.

 

- The Bills could easily be a 10-3 team right now, but we've allowed games to slip through our fingers too much.  With that said, if we can beat the Cowboys, there is a good chance that the Bills could actually win the division and be one of the AFC favorites to reach the Super Bowl.  None of the AFC teams scare me, the Ravens I think are probably the best of the bunch but they are beatable.

 

Don't know where I got the impression that Diggs hurt his back a bit recently and that could be why he is off.   

 

 

Could be I get that impression after seeing him get rough housed a few times past few games.

Edited December 12, 2023 by AuntieEm

[JerseyBills]

Diggs is in a lull. He was solid vs Philly- 6-74-1 but ya we need him back to that elite player. 

 

I was going to start a Von thread but no need now, i 100% agree he played his best game all year and will only continue to be a difference maker

 

Cook is awesome 

 

D did a helluva job , losing more pieces in Hyde/AJE

 

Looking eerily similar to 2021 

[Magox]

19 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

I gasped and my heart momentarily stopped when I read: "we don't need to actively upgrade it [the OL] next year."

 

I don't care about analytic ratings which I don't believe.  In my eyes, this line improved from bad to average.  That's progress and I'm grateful.  But you don't win a Lombardi with average position groups.  When our best player is our QB, I want a line that keeps him upright & healthy while giving him time to find an open receiver.  

 

I hear ya, I don't see it that way.  Run blocking has been good this year and so has the pass blocking, at least the way I see it.