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

[NewEra]

19 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

It won't hurt as much when we get off the Von contract.  We need another stud pass rusher to replace AJE.  I've always hated the DL rotation. Play your best 4 DLine 60% of the game. Josh should finally get his mvp if he can reduce the ints.  The D & ST still need work.  Don't panic about Kincaid,  he'll eventually eat.

Ed played 81%
Daquan 73%

AJ 62%

Von 47%

 

A Johnson- 21%

D Carter- 11%

C Toohill- 11%
 

we player our best the majority of the game.  I wouldn’t play von over 50% of the snaps until the playoffs even though I think he’s better than AJ again.
 

I agree, we need another stud to pair with GR (who’s probably going to get 22-30M).  I don’t think Aj will ever be anything more than a good depth DE.  I do think that Von will be adequate for this season.  I trust him to make plays on 3rd down and in the 4th.  He’s special in that way-  just stay healthy.

 

Eager to see what Smoot can bring to the table 

 

 

 

[Virgil]

20 minutes ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

Not a criticism, just an observation...didn't you used to sneak in a bit of a song's lyrics that were germane to the review? 🤔

 

The tradition comes from @Bill from NYC who used to always use Grateful dead lyrics.  I then started using a variety of lyrics and one year did movie quotes.  This time, and if I continue, I'm going to use quotes from a very specific source that I think matches perfectly with the season

[corta765]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

1 - Under 200 yards - 

 

3 - Clenched for no reason - If there's one thing I don't miss about the NFL season, it's that feeling of inevitable doom.

 

5 - Von Miller - 

 

8 - Billsy - 

 

10 - MVP - The Josh Allen 

 

Moving on - I'm still very worried about our defense (depth and size). 

1. I have wondered if teams are switching back (A BIT) to a more ball control lower number of position style of game approach. If you do not have an alien at QB like Allen/Mahomes/Lamar the best way to keep pace is keeping the ball and limiting positions. Additionally I saw a stat on twitter that TDs thrown was in the mid 30s yesterday total league wide and in the past 5-6 years it had been 50-60 a week until 2023. I really think the next evolution of defense from the 2 shell look people jumped on is now limiting the game itself in terms of possessions and time.

 

3. I fully expected the Bills to blow it at the end when up by 6. I told my buddies it was the worst 34 pt performance I have seen lol. Playing for the FG when a 1st down wins the game OR then the other team is playing to tie not win made zero sense to me.

 

5. Give me 9-10 more games at that level and his contract isn't a complete disaster. Best I can view it is like that. He did look productive and fresher then he has since injury.

 

8. YES IT IS OUR WAY OF LIFE

 

10. He seems the most poised and controlled at QB that he has been since 2020. Maybe the offseason hype of training and work is really at the max we have hoped.

 

Moving On- If the defense starts like this most weeks we are going 9-8. They did tighten up in the 2nd half big time and shut the door... BUT teams are better then ARZ and will not let you back in like that either. CBs were good though and D-line, need the middle to tighten up more.

[Virgil]

Just now, NewEra said:

Ed played 81%
Daquan 73%

AJ 62%

Von 47%

 

A Johnson- 21%

D Carter- 11%

C Toohill- 11%
 

we player our best the majority of the game.  I wouldn’t play von over 50% of the snaps until the playoffs even though I think he’s better than AJ again.
 

I agree, we need another stud to pair with GR (who’s probably going to get 22-30M).  I don’t think Aj will ever be anything more than a good depth DE.  I do think that Von will be adequate for this season.  I trust him to make plays on 3rd down and in the 4th.  He’s special in that way-  just stay healthy.

 

Eager to see what Smoot can bring to the table 

 

 

 

 

That is honestly surprising to me, but thank you for finding it.

 

Maybe on those redzone drives we implemented a bigger set and it stood out to me more.  I don't know.  

What was Groot's snapcount.  AJ and Von equal about 100% for one side. 

 

I felt like I saw Toohill and Carter out there way more than 11%, but that's why I'm wrong a lot 

[boater]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

4 - Most of the time change is a good thing and I think that’s what it’s all about–embracing change, being brave, doing whatever you have to so everyone in your life can move forward with theirs, and maybe it’s the only way you can truly make her be happy.

Well, that was life advice from an unexpected source. Thanks.

 

Speaking of change, how about:

That's a sign of a good football team, where we can adjust and adapt to our surroundings.

Sean McDermott

Or:

If You Don’t Like Change, You’re Going to Like Irrelevance a Lot Less.

General Eric K. Shinseki

 

[Freddie's Dead]

1 hour ago, Solomon Grundy said:

Kaiir Elam missed the tackle on KO return. IJS

 

The refs missed the block in the back at the point of attack.  JS.

[GunnerBill]

On the rotation yesterday is one of the least heavy rotations Iv seen from a McDermott team here. Ed played 82% (and I agree didn't impact the game, though in part that was the Cardinals plan was to stay away from the middle of our D and attack the edges) and Groot wasn't far behind. 

[turbo044]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

Hey everyone, it's been a minute.  I honestly didn't know if I was going to write one of these this year, as they started to feel a bit stale to me over time.  But after seeing our final depth chart and watching the game yesterday, I found myself with a lot of things to say.  Now, I didn't take notes like I have in the past, nor did I look anything up to confirm what I think I saw out there, so I may be horribly wrong on some things.  As for the writing style and commitment to writing these every week, I can't comment on either right now.  So for those who weren't a fan in the past, feel free to move along now.

 

1 - Under 200 yards - This really isn't so much about the Bills game, as it is a reminder that it's only week 1.  I was really surprised at how few quarterbacks did not throw for more than 200 yards yesterday.  I was honestly surprised to see that Murray didn't break that mark either.  I bring it up because, we know that type of performance isn't going to hold up over time and many teams are working out the kinks.  Additionally, we have no idea how good the Cardinals will be this season.  We could have beaten a decent playoff team for all we know.  Basically, it's week 1 and there's still a lot to learn.  I mean hell, Baker Mayfield scored the most fantasy points in some leagues.  

 

2 - The damn rotation - Let's get my first potential fact check gone wrong out of the way now.  Is it me, or on the first two Cardinal touchdowns occur when we had 3 out of 4 backups playing on the defensive line?  I understand that the Cards had long drives and our guys were getting tired, but c'mon McD/Babich, we can't commit to the rotation THAT much.  One of my biggest concerns about our team going into this year is the lack of depth at key defensive positions and I felt like that showed up in moments today.  However, when the game was on the line, it looks like our main guys were in and you could see a difference.  

 

3 - Clenched for no reason - If there's one thing I don't miss about the NFL season, it's that feeling of inevitable doom.  Maybe it's the BBFS still alive in me, but I could feel my cheeks clench every time Cook carried the ball, Bass lined up for a field goal, Hamlin dropped deep in coverage, and Cam Lewis was on the field.  I kept waiting for one of them to make a huge mistake, and was pleasantly surprised when it never happened.  I think Cam took some bad angles a few times, but nothing that really overall hurt us.

 

4 - Most of the time change is a good thing and I think that’s what it’s all about–embracing change, being brave, doing whatever you have to so everyone in your life can move forward with theirs, and maybe it’s the only way you can truly make her be happy.

 

5 - Von Miller - While I have to give credit where it is due, as he did push the lineman into Murray at the end of the game that led to him tripping for a sack, I was concerned about his lack of impact and playing time in this game.  I don't know if Von is still being conditioned back into playing shape or if it's all part of the rotation, but AJ seemed to be taking more snaps by a bit.  I know it's not my money, but I just see millions of dollars going to waste with him on the bench.  But if this is his output level, then oh well.

 

6 - Groot - I can't help but feel pessimistic when I write this, but I just watched this monster earn 20+ a year this game.  Groot was a game wrecker in so many ways today and, while I loved it, couldn't help but think about yet another cap hit coming up.  But seriously, he impacted so many plays and was easily the defensive MVP out there.

 

7 - Hello? - While I loved the ball distribution on offense, anyone else surprised at the lack of catches/targets to Kincaid?  I say targets more so because Josh did not miss much, so I'm surprised we didn't utilize him more.  And speaking of players I'm surprised I didn't hear their name more, Ed Oliver anyone?  And last on my, "what was that?" parade; I really hope O'Cyrus isn't taking a step back.  I think he had a rough game today.

 

8 - Billsy - Be honest, was anyone surprised that we were the first team to allow a kick-off return for a touchdown in this new format.

 

9 - TJ - Has anyone heard an injury update on Taron yet?  This might be the biggest dark cloud from this victory to me.  TJ is a absolute anchor in our ability to run a nickel defense and I think his absence would absolutely force some adjustments to our scheme.  The idea of Hill and motion next week seems a lot scarier without him.

 

10 - MVP - The Josh Allen MVP conversation started yesterday and I'd say he overall lived up to the billing.  Not just because of his play, but by his comments after the game as well.  Josh acknowledged that he had Coleman open on his first TD run, but made the decision to keep it for himself.  Beyond that, he did hold onto the ball too long on the fumble, just missed the deep shot to MVS, and then had one bad throw at the feet of someone on a third down play.  Other than that, Josh was an absolute monster.  We only had 3 points going into the last 2 minutes of the first half and still hung up 30 points.  That's incredible if you think about it.  If the defense could have gotten off the field at all in the first half (thanks refs O'Cyrus), I think this game is out of hand much quicker.  

 

Side note - Did anyone else feel like we got the C squad to support this game?  The refs, announcers, and even the camera crew all seemed shaky to me.

 

Moving on - I'm still very worried about our defense (depth and size).  I think Miami will be a very interesting test for us, but as long as the offense is humming like it did, we will be in every game.  However, like last year, I believe McD will improve the defense as we go alone and the team will gel.  It was fantastic to see the offense gel well so early on.

 

Go Bills!!!!

 

Yep josh was great.  On the ball thrown at Johnson's feet, he did have Keon open deep for a potential TD (Keon was clear by 5 yards).  Keon was actually 2 good throws for going 6-115-2tds (the other throw was the endzone one where Josh didn't put it in the correct back shoulder spot.

 

As for Von, he did play fewer snaps than Epenesa, but, he had the 2nd best QB pressure rate of any defensive player in the league.  So, he played very well.

[Coach Tuesday]

Re: Groot, I said last year he would be a $100M man on defense and that hasn't changed for me.  He is putting it all together and I've been high on him since he was drafted, just like I was high on Oliver.  He is going to get a MASSIVE contract and it'll be worth it.  There are a few notable posters on this board who routinely criticize Groot, Oliver and Allen - those posters are idiots.

Edited September 9 by Coach Tuesday

[ColoradoBills]

3 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

On the rotation yesterday is one of the least heavy rotations Iv seen from a McDermott team here. Ed played 82% (and I agree didn't impact the game, though in part that was the Cardinals plan was to stay away from the middle of our D and attack the edges) and Groot wasn't far behind. 

 

You know that last bit of data makes me think there is a change of thought at OBD.

 

There is some mounting evidence that this is indeed a new era for the team.

Seems to be a change in a lot of the old "Beane and McDermott" methods.

 

Running more.  Pass distributions.  Coleman (a rookie) with a lion share of reps and targets.

Lots of younger players instead of old "used up" vets.

Even things such as only 2 captains, seem there is a concerted effort to try something different.

 

The only thing I still don't like is the special teams.  I'll say it again, they need to keep things simple.

Don't try to win on special teams, just make sure you don't lose because of them.

[The Jokeman]

1 hour ago, zow2 said:

Cowherd just said the Bills are too Josh Allen-centric again.  He knows Allen is great but asks where's his help?  I guess he doesn't watch Cook, Knox, Shakir, Keon, Hollins, Kincaid, Samuel, etc...

Apparently he missed the first half when Josh had 6 pass attempts sure he rattled a few runs but we were running with Cook at almost 6 yards a clip at one point. 

[NewEra]

20 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

That is honestly surprising to me, but thank you for finding it.

 

Maybe on those redzone drives we implemented a bigger set and it stood out to me more.  I don't know.  

What was Groot's snapcount.  AJ and Von equal about 100% for one side. 

 

I felt like I saw Toohill and Carter out there way more than 11%, but that's why I'm wrong a lot 

Sorry, though I listed it.  Groot was 78%

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Biggest takeaway for me was McDermott didn’t call timeout before the Cardinals 4th down play.

 

It’s part funny and part interesting because he always calls timeout in that situation. 

[Alphadawg7]

1 hour ago, zow2 said:

Cowherd just said the Bills are too Josh Allen-centric again.  He knows Allen is great but asks where's his help?  I guess he doesn't watch Cook, Knox, Shakir, Keon, Hollins, Kincaid, Samuel, etc...

 

Yeah, I don't get this either.  Josh is Josh.  If he makes great plays, people say its too Josh Centric.  Are the Chiefs too Mahomes centric?  I mean it makes no sense.

 

Every one of his weapons both catching and running made big plays yesterday and some in big moments for their only play like Knox did.  If anyone thinks yesterday was all Allen they only watched the highlights of his TD's and not the whole game.  

[Buffalo716]

7 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Biggest takeaway for me was McDermott didn’t call timeout before the Cardinals 4th down play.

 

It’s part funny and part interesting because he always calls timeout in that situation. 

He Doesn't always call a time out in that situation

 

He calls a time out in that situation a lot to make sure his defensive alignment is perfect for what the offense brought out... 

 

He's playing chess.. he wants to match his personnel to what they're going to do

 

But he was bringing the heat so calling a time out would have just given the offense a look at his pre snap package.. if he was playing coverage probably would have called the time out

[NeverOutNick]

1 hour ago, zow2 said:

Cowherd just said the Bills are too Josh Allen-centric again.  He knows Allen is great but asks where's his help?  I guess he doesn't watch Cook, Knox, Shakir, Keon, Hollins, Kincaid, Samuel, etc...

He’s not wrong. But honestly, that’s what we built this team to be this year. We go as far as Allen takes us and I’m OK with that.

 

But starting this off-season, we really need to take the burden off of him with some serious effort, getting wide receiver talent in the draft so we’re not putting together wide receiver room with spare parts left over from other teams. (This is not a slight on Shakir or Coleman who will be here for the long haul)

[nucci]

# 2. Oliver was on bench was Connor scored. Don't understand

[dave mcbride]

1 hour ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

Yeah, I don't get this either.  Josh is Josh.  If he makes great plays, people say its too Josh Centric.  Are the Chiefs too Mahomes centric?  I mean it makes no sense.

 

Every one of his weapons both catching and running made big plays yesterday and some in big moments for their only play like Knox did.  If anyone thinks yesterday was all Allen they only watched the highlights of his TD's and not the whole game.  

I do actually get it in the sense when it came to third and fourth and short plays, it's always Josh's ball. They can't hand the ball off and expect success like some other teams in those situations. Either he runs it or throws it. Goff and Purdy, in contrast, can just hand it off. And when they get near the goal line, the default now is to have Josh punch it in. It's not necessarily a bad thing, though, given how successful he is.

[Alphadawg7]

Just now, dave mcbride said:

I do actually get it in the sense when it came to third and fourth and short plays, it's always Josh's ball. They can't hand the ball off and expect success like some other teams in those situations. Either he runs it or throws it. Goff and Purdy, in contrast, can just hand it off. And when they get near the goal line, the default now is to have Josh punch it in. It's not necessarily a bad thing, though, given how successful he is.

 

I get that, but also to be fair, Josh said he had Coleman for a TD on his first TD run, but he had the run there and took off and scored.  So some of that is Josh Allen making those decisions out there too.  In fact, Josh made it a point to say he just has to trust the kid is ready after seeing him win his route for a TD and not throw him the ball and its why he let it fly later in the game for Keon's big catch.  As the season goes on, I think Allen will trust he make more throws down low as well as he builds more timing and trust with this new group of weapons.  

 

I also expect Ray Davis will start to mix in more on the goal line too and short yardage.  But the thing is too, Allen is such a weapon with such a high degree of success on running the ball in short yardage situations, it's hard to go away from him as you are not likely going to find other plays with same high level of success you have with Allen.

[dlonce]

3 hours ago, Virgil said:

Hey everyone, it's been a minute.  I honestly didn't know if I was going to write one of these this year, as they started to feel a bit stale to me over time.  But after seeing our final depth chart and watching the game yesterday, I found myself with a lot of things to say.  Now, I didn't take notes like I have in the past, nor did I look anything up to confirm what I think I saw out there, so I may be horribly wrong on some things.  As for the writing style and commitment to writing these every week, I can't comment on either right now.  So for those who weren't a fan in the past, feel free to move along now.

 

1 - Under 200 yards - This really isn't so much about the Bills game, as it is a reminder that it's only week 1.  I was really surprised at how few quarterbacks did not throw for more than 200 yards yesterday.  I was honestly surprised to see that Murray didn't break that mark either.  I bring it up because, we know that type of performance isn't going to hold up over time and many teams are working out the kinks.  Additionally, we have no idea how good the Cardinals will be this season.  We could have beaten a decent playoff team for all we know.  Basically, it's week 1 and there's still a lot to learn.  I mean hell, Baker Mayfield scored the most fantasy points in some leagues.  

 

2 - The damn rotation - Let's get my first potential fact check gone wrong out of the way now.  Is it me, or on the first two Cardinal touchdowns occur when we had 3 out of 4 backups playing on the defensive line?  I understand that the Cards had long drives and our guys were getting tired, but c'mon McD/Babich, we can't commit to the rotation THAT much.  One of my biggest concerns about our team going into this year is the lack of depth at key defensive positions and I felt like that showed up in moments today.  However, when the game was on the line, it looks like our main guys were in and you could see a difference.  

 

3 - Clenched for no reason - If there's one thing I don't miss about the NFL season, it's that feeling of inevitable doom.  Maybe it's the BBFS still alive in me, but I could feel my cheeks clench every time Cook carried the ball, Bass lined up for a field goal, Hamlin dropped deep in coverage, and Cam Lewis was on the field.  I kept waiting for one of them to make a huge mistake, and was pleasantly surprised when it never happened.  I think Cam took some bad angles a few times, but nothing that really overall hurt us.

 

4 - Most of the time change is a good thing and I think that’s what it’s all about–embracing change, being brave, doing whatever you have to so everyone in your life can move forward with theirs, and maybe it’s the only way you can truly make her be happy.

 

5 - Von Miller - While I have to give credit where it is due, as he did push the lineman into Murray at the end of the game that led to him tripping for a sack, I was concerned about his lack of impact and playing time in this game.  I don't know if Von is still being conditioned back into playing shape or if it's all part of the rotation, but AJ seemed to be taking more snaps by a bit.  I know it's not my money, but I just see millions of dollars going to waste with him on the bench.  But if this is his output level, then oh well.

 

6 - Groot - I can't help but feel pessimistic when I write this, but I just watched this monster earn 20+ a year this game.  Groot was a game wrecker in so many ways today and, while I loved it, couldn't help but think about yet another cap hit coming up.  But seriously, he impacted so many plays and was easily the defensive MVP out there.

 

7 - Hello? - While I loved the ball distribution on offense, anyone else surprised at the lack of catches/targets to Kincaid?  I say targets more so because Josh did not miss much, so I'm surprised we didn't utilize him more.  And speaking of players I'm surprised I didn't hear their name more, Ed Oliver anyone?  And last on my, "what was that?" parade; I really hope O'Cyrus isn't taking a step back.  I think he had a rough game today.

 

8 - Billsy - Be honest, was anyone surprised that we were the first team to allow a kick-off return for a touchdown in this new format.

 

9 - TJ - Has anyone heard an injury update on Taron yet?  This might be the biggest dark cloud from this victory to me.  TJ is a absolute anchor in our ability to run a nickel defense and I think his absence would absolutely force some adjustments to our scheme.  The idea of Hill and motion next week seems a lot scarier without him.

 

10 - MVP - The Josh Allen MVP conversation started yesterday and I'd say he overall lived up to the billing.  Not just because of his play, but by his comments after the game as well.  Josh acknowledged that he had Coleman open on his first TD run, but made the decision to keep it for himself.  Beyond that, he did hold onto the ball too long on the fumble, just missed the deep shot to MVS, and then had one bad throw at the feet of someone on a third down play.  Other than that, Josh was an absolute monster.  We only had 3 points going into the last 2 minutes of the first half and still hung up 30 points.  That's incredible if you think about it.  If the defense could have gotten off the field at all in the first half (thanks refs O'Cyrus), I think this game is out of hand much quicker.  

 

Side note - Did anyone else feel like we got the C squad to support this game?  The refs, announcers, and even the camera crew all seemed shaky to me.

 

Moving on - I'm still very worried about our defense (depth and size).  I think Miami will be a very interesting test for us, but as long as the offense is humming like it did, we will be in every game.  However, like last year, I believe McD will improve the defense as we go alone and the team will gel.  It was fantastic to see the offense gel well so early on.

 

Go Bills!!!!

Nice observations.

Regarding Ed Oliver, you’ll see he was double teamed for much of the game.