The offense is better without Gabe Davis

[zow2]

I said before the Steelers game that the only pass catchers for Buffalo should be: Diggs, Kincaid, Knox, Shakir and Cook.  Turns out those guys did catch 18 of his 21 completions.  Harty did have one nice catch and i didn’t include him.

 

I think against KC it’s the same 5 pass catchers for the most part.  I don’t know where Gabe fits in.  He had that one sick game vs KC. Maybe he can resurrect that magic for one game or at least a nice catch or two.

 

 

[Dr.Sack]

Gabe gets 3 or 4 deep shots per game and we are good. James Loftin role.

[balln]

27 minutes ago, Dr.Sack said:

Gabe gets 3 or 4 deep shots per game and we are good. James Loftin role.

Prob is he plays 100% of the snaps and it keeps better matchups for us off the field 

[Dr.Sack]

5 minutes ago, balln said:

Prob is he plays 100% of the snaps and it keeps better matchups for us off the field 

Problem is solved by mixing him in and treating him as a #4 or 5 option, behind Diggs, Kincaid and Shakir. Cook and Davis should get a few designed targets per game. 

[balln]

1 minute ago, Dr.Sack said:

Problem is solved by mixing him in and treating him as a #4 or 5 option, behind Diggs, Kincaid and Shakir. Cook and Davis should get a few designed targets per game. 

They/ coaches won’t do that. If he plays he’s playing the whole game. Which is another problem. Gabe is a bad habit for Josh. He uses Gabe as a crutch / throw it have faith in my guy way too much. Instead force Josh to read and find the open guy - Kincaid / Shakir for the first or TD.

[Dr.Sack]

2 minutes ago, balln said:

They/ coaches won’t do that. If he plays he’s playing the whole game. Which is another problem. Gabe is a bad habit for Josh. He uses Gabe as a crutch / throw it have faith in my guy way too much. Instead force Josh to read and find the open guy - Kincaid / Shakir for the first or TD.

Forcing the ball to anyone is a bad crutch. Gabe has a role it just needs to be more defined. Without Gabe we lose to the Chargers and a few other teams. We just need to reduce the scope of his usage and keep the defense guessing. We are more predictable with Sherfield in there as we run 80% of the time. It’s more a game of being unpredictable and Brady/Allen throwing in new wrinkles to the offense, like the Cook wheel route up the seam vs KC in week 14. 

[WideNine]

2 hours ago, Dr.Sack said:

Gabe gets 3 or 4 deep shots per game and we are good. James Loftin role.

 

I don't feel the need to pile onto an injured Bill, but you nailed it role wise.

 

Brady features a more balanced offense and more short routes to the flats. Quick answers for Allen to keep the chains moving, get him into a rhythm, keep us in manageable down and distance situations, and maintain the threat of running the ball. That is just not Gabe's forte. That is more suited to Shakir and Harty (who seems to have recovered from that nagging turf toe). Both those guys can get open on those quick routes. 

 

We still take shots when those open up and need to keep that threat, but have a few options that we can lean on for that.

 

Gabe is able to uncover deep, but Allen rarely has that 3.8 second luxury and clean pocket to step up and deliver a lot of those. Trying too many of those shots were kind of a hallmark of Dorsey's 3-and-out offense. Also, no easy answers for Allen so he would just go off script, get in trouble and chuck it.

 

Running the ball was random and was not really baked into the game plan either. 

 

Folks have twisted others comments about Gabe's blocking being his only redeeming quality.  What was said was that many of our plays often require our WRs to block and it is a thankless task that Gabe performed well. Sherfield and our TEs also provide this on the edges so we don't really lose that ability if he is out. 

 

Lastly, Allen was off a lot on his his throws this year and especially the deep shots to both Davis and Diggs. I think that factors into the productivity issues too considering where Gabe does excel. Allen has said that the ball is coming off his hand really good the past two games and you can see that in how he is accurately slinging the rock all over the field with a lot of confidence.

 

A great time for his throwing arm to get back into form. I have some theories around that and what can happen when an athlete plays most of a season compensating for an injury, but another thread for another time.

 

 

Edited January 17 by WideNine

[HappyDays]

15 hours ago, Meatloaf63 said:

No, they should be scheming Shakir to be a target more often. It’s a shame he’s not seeing more targets.

 

I don't know that Shakir can really be a high volume target machine. This season he has been excellent catching the ball and racking up YAC, both very important traits. But he is not a consistent down to down separator. I think his small size and more specifically his short arms will make it difficult for him to ever be a primary target. He is shifty but not truly elite in that area like Beasley was in his prime. And his measureables just naturally give him less ways to win against physical coverage... That being said his measurables also make him a slippery SOB and he has quickly learned to use that to his advantage with the ball in his hands. I am happy with him in his current role as an infrequently targeted pass catcher with an extremely high catch percentage and a knack for creating explosive plays. It should be Diggs, then Kincaid, then Shakir, and everyone else can fight over the remaining scraps. Ideally next year it's a 1st round (or splash free agent) WR sitting in the pecking order before Kincaid or Shakir.

[jaybills]

On 1/15/2024 at 6:51 PM, Einstein said:

Is refreshing.

Gabe being out allowed us to get our playmakers like Hardy and Shakir on the field more often (more snaps to go around). And they both delivered at key times!

 

And it’s not just the opponent. That Steelers defense was #6 in the NFL in points against, and that was the MOST points the Steelers gave up all season (and that’s even with TWO missed field goals).

 

Let Gabe walk after this year?

Addition by subtraction now that Kincaid and Shakir have been becoming cornerstones in this offense?

[machine gun kelly]

I’m not happy about Gabe as he just doesn’t do enough.  He was better as a 3rd option a couple of years ago.

[Meatloaf63]

5 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

I don't know that Shakir can really be a high volume target machine. This season he has been excellent catching the ball and racking up YAC, both very important traits. But he is not a consistent down to down separator. I think his small size and more specifically his short arms will make it difficult for him to ever be a primary target. He is shifty but not truly elite in that area like Beasley was in his prime. And his measureables just naturally give him less ways to win against physical coverage... That being said his measurables also make him a slippery SOB and he has quickly learned to use that to his advantage with the ball in his hands. I am happy with him in his current role as an infrequently targeted pass catcher with an extremely high catch percentage and a knack for creating explosive plays. It should be Diggs, then Kincaid, then Shakir, and everyone else can fight over the remaining scraps. Ideally next year it's a 1st round (or splash free agent) WR sitting in the pecking order before Kincaid or Shakir.

He’s fast and gets separation. Probably not a number 2 but deserves more looks. Our problem is our coordinators have done a poor job scheming people open, play design and or execution has not been consistently where it needs to be. If you can’t get a receiver like Shakir open,you are a poor coordinator. 

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

I’ll be more than fine with Gabe leaving, but I’d really like him as an option against KC, given his history against them in the playoffs 

[Warriorspikes51]

11 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Net negative… team will be so much better with him else where… hope he’s out on Sunday again.

 

I hope his mamma shows him this post and he goes crazy on the field.   

[Joe Ferguson]

It's not a coincidence that Allen was not intercepted all game  when Wrong Way Davis is not on the field. 

[eme123]

I think the fact that davis is not on the field really helps josh. Maybe davis was getting alot of joshs time going through progressions with diggs seeing double teams. Davis just seems really clunky and nothing with him ever seems that smooth. He should be beating alot of one on ones and present a huge target for josh to hit. It never seemed that easy.