Three bad plays. Thats it. Three bad plays in three games. Prove me wrong.

[DCofNC]

17 hours ago, Rochesterfan said:

 

 

Watching Cook over his time - I think that throw is very hard for him to catch.  That particular throw - over the top/shoulder with the receiver going straight away - is a WR style catch and Cook has missed on several of those over the last 2 years - especially last year.  I don’t think they are really drops as those are going to be very low percentage catches for him.

 

Cook is much better on the quick sideline routes and the crossing the middle style routes - where he can turn and get eyes on the ball and look it in.  I think Brady and Josh need to recognize that and adjust because Ty Johnson and Ray Davis seem better at that route.  
 

It does not mean the Bills should not utilize Cook in the passing game or limit his plays, but maybe they need to look as his personal route tree and limit that specific type of throw and move him to something where he can really see the entire pass.  
 

He is a good receiver out of the backfield and has shown that at every level he has played, but he looks very awkward when trying to catch that type of pass and he seems to misjudge and not make a hands catch like he does elsewhere on the field.  
 

 

This is so spot on. He’s been very good in the ones he can look in, that wheel route is just not for him.   I have been a critic of him/the pick of him, but he’s been really good this year, can’t deny it.  He has a hole in his hands when he has to make the over the shoulder catch, easiest solution is to not put him in that situation.

[msw2112]

 

It looks to me like his back leg is off the ground and his body is fully extended.  It's a great throw, but also would have been a great catch if he made it.  Maybe it wasn't a "leap," but it was certainly a full stretch/extension.  Do I think a professional football WR should make this catch?  Yes.  A RB, maybe. 

 

I don't think this one is the same as the one in Philly, where it hit him right in stride.  I found an image of that, but can't paste it in because it's too large of a file and I don't have time and/or the tools to modify the file size....An interesting side note is that on the Philly play, the guy he beat is current Bill Nicholas Morrow.  (Side note: I'm a little surprised that they're playing Spector over Morrow, but Spector seems to be doing OK.)

 

 

 

 

Edited September 25 by msw2112

[Chaos]

6 hours ago, Matt_In_NH said:

 

Since Special teams has failed should they fire the OC?

 

Seriously I get the season has started well but there have been other bad plays, a bit too much rose colored glasses for me.

Of course. Any time the other team scores there was "a bad play".  But that is oridnary course. The Bills are averaging 1 turnover per three games, and about 1 dropped pass per game.  Turnovers and drops are ordinary parts of the game.  The bad plays i pointed out are things, not actually expected to happen during the course of a whole season.

[frostbitmic]

5 minutes ago, Chaos said:

Of course. Any time the other team scores there was "a bad play".  But that is oridnary course. The Bills are averaging 1 turnover per three games, and about 1 dropped pass per game.  Turnovers and drops are ordinary parts of the game.  The bad plays i pointed out are things, not actually expected to happen during the course of a whole season.

The three you mentioned plus Bass kicked one out of bounds on a kickoff.

[Beach]

were they all by Bass?

[Matt_In_NH]

1 hour ago, Chaos said:

Of course. Any time the other team scores there was "a bad play".  But that is oridnary course. The Bills are averaging 1 turnover per three games, and about 1 dropped pass per game.  Turnovers and drops are ordinary parts of the game.  The bad plays i pointed out are things, not actually expected to happen during the course of a whole season.

You don’t expect a missed fg during the coarse of a season 

[Orlando Buffalo]

20 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

I have been on Cook about his drops but that is a very tough catch for a RB. It is nothing like some of the lollipops he was dropping last year. That's the only one he's dropped this year so I really can't complain. Just keep catching the easy ones.

This is my thoughts also, Cook is now a reliable catcher of simple throws. His weakness will likely always be though difficult catches he can't look into his hands. If he ever gets good at those catches he will be CMC quality.

[buffalo2218]

The one thing that bothered me more than anything up to this point was on Shakir's TD, Coleman didn't maintain his block, which allowed that defender to plow in to Shakir low. I was very concerned when I saw that, I thought for sure Shakir was hurt

[Cash]

4 hours ago, Einstein said:

 

Is it really that tough of a catch for an NFL caliber player?

 

I know it’s over the shoulder but my goodness it went right through his hands.

 

 

Not like he had to dive for it or make a circus one-handed grab.

 

There was no leap.

I dunno, what does “that tough a catch” mean? I already said it has to be considered a drop; there’s no disputing that. But Saquon’s drop on that 3rd down last week? That was way worse. Saquon’s drop came on a a catch like Cook’s 4th down conversion last week - wide open; just jogging; and a quick but soft throw that the receiver could see the whole time.

 

Compare that to Cook’s drop on Monday: still wide open, sprinting all out for 5+ yards, not knowing if he’d get there or not; and having to spot a much faster ball over his shoulder. There’s no disputing that’s a harder catch than the one Saquon should’ve caught. If Cook has another one of those drops this year, I’ll be way more worried than I am right now. As long as he keeps making the easy ones every single time, I can forgive the hard ones. 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

Very few bad plays but far more than just 3

 

1. Allen fumble

2. Torrence face mask taking away a TD run

3. Two overthrown passes to wide open MVS

4. Cook drop

5. Douglas getting lost in coverage and giving up TD pass against Jags

6. Coleman showing up late and getting benched

[ganesh]

1 hour ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Very few bad plays but far more than just 3

 

1. Allen fumble

2. Torrence face mask taking away a TD run

3. Two overthrown passes to wide open MVS

4. Cook drop

5. Douglas getting lost in coverage and giving up TD pass against Jags

6. Coleman showing up late and getting benched

KR for TD

Missed FG

[DCofNC]

16 hours ago, msw2112 said:

 

It looks to me like his back leg is off the ground and his body is fully extended.  It's a great throw, but also would have been a great catch if he made it.  Maybe it wasn't a "leap," but it was certainly a full stretch/extension.  Do I think a professional football WR should make this catch?  Yes.  A RB, maybe. 

 

I don't think this one is the same as the one in Philly, where it hit him right in stride.  I found an image of that, but can't paste it in because it's too large of a file and I don't have time and/or the tools to modify the file size....An interesting side note is that on the Philly play, the guy he beat is current Bill Nicholas Morrow.  (Side note: I'm a little surprised that they're playing Spector over Morrow, but Spector seems to be doing OK.)

 

 

 

 

I would expect a player who is known as a “receiving back” to make that play.  It’s a fundamentals issue.  Elbows need to stay together so you have maximum leverage at the hands, when they are out wide, you have to hope to stop the whole force by timing a perfect pinch of the ball.  He CAN clean that up, but will he?  Thats another question all together.  Until he gets it sorted out, I’d just try to keep that off his route tree.

[msw2112]

1 hour ago, DCofNC said:

I would expect a player who is known as a “receiving back” to make that play.  It’s a fundamentals issue.  Elbows need to stay together so you have maximum leverage at the hands, when they are out wide, you have to hope to stop the whole force by timing a perfect pinch of the ball.  He CAN clean that up, but will he?  Thats another question all together.  Until he gets it sorted out, I’d just try to keep that off his route tree.

 

 

I don't know if it's realistic to expect him to have his elbows together when he's running full speed and his body is fully extended.  But I have not played professional football and when I played at the amateur level, I was lineman and only got to touch the ball if someone fumbled it and it was on the ground.  I have zero training the fundamentals of pass catching.  I'm simply making a practical assessment based on what I see.  I agree that some of the great, highly skilled receivers and pass catching RBs would make that catch and that Cook, at this point is not one of them.  Thankfully for the Bills, he's been contributing greatly in other areas.