Bills vs Ravens Divisional Round

[BillsFan130]

16 minutes ago, mjt328 said:

 

Weather has the potential to have a much bigger impact that people are giving it credit for.  Especially if Jackson has some trouble gripping or throwing the ball.

 

It's easy to say that weather favors the better running team.  But I'm not sure that's really the case.

What makes Baltimore especially dangerous is them being a dual threat.  You can't just focus on Jackson or Henry.  Anything that pushes them into being more one-dimensional is a huge win for us.

 

We already know that our QB can throw the ball fine in snow and heavy winds.  

 

Yep exactly-( per the bolded)

 

In the 2020 playoff game everyone said the wind would favour Baltimore cause they are the better running team. Which wasn't the case.

On Sunday if the weather effects Lamar, the bills can just sell out against the run and take away the middle of the field 

Edited 8 hours ago by BillsFan130

[CaseyatBat]

Allen doesn't get hit anymore. And if he does in any way, it is a 15 yard penalty. So yeah, if they want to use Ed Reed's strategy we will take the free first downs

[SCBills]

18 minutes ago, mjt328 said:

 

Weather has the potential to have a much bigger impact that people are giving it credit for.  Especially if Jackson has some trouble gripping or throwing the ball.

 

It's easy to say that weather favors the better running team.  But I'm not sure that's really the case.

What makes Baltimore especially dangerous is them being a dual threat.  You can't just focus on Jackson or Henry.  Anything that pushes them into being more one-dimensional is a huge win for us.

 

We already know that our QB can throw the ball fine in snow and heavy winds.  

 

I agree with this.  
 

As people above have pointed out, when we’ve gone up against a good running team and focused on stopping the run, we typically do.  The game we get get gouged are usually a random “Week Whatever” game where Henry or Taylor run all over us in the regular season as we enter/are in the midst of our 2-3 game swoon. 
 

With the extreme cold and Lamar having never played in cold like this, I think you load the box to limit the run and tell Lamar he has to beat us throwing to Andrews, Likely, Koehler, Bateman and Agholar. 

If he does, more power to him.  But at least this creates the opportunity for Lamar to struggle.  Because right now you can tell he’s feeling himself by putting defenses on skates with the read option run and wide open receivers down field. 

 

 

Edited 8 hours ago by SCBills

[Cray51]

Every player and former player thinks they can lay enough lumbar on Allen to get him off his game.  When he was younger, yeah you could lay some hits because he would run much more often.  With Allen having 4-6 runs a game now (not designed), teams dont have the chance to really lay wood to get Allen off his game.

 

Reed has never played in this NFL trying to get after 6'5 240 Allen.  If you try to hit him, its 15 yards for the Bills, and Allen has proven to take multiple hits in a game and keep going.

 

If I'm trying to get Allen off his game, I'm GIVING him running lanes to the left and asking him to run 15-20 times this game away from his strong side. Rush heavy on the right, and hope that Allen is too stubborn to take what's given to him.  The trouble is, Allen's growth this year is his ability to take whats given and not over complicate the offense.

[Rich Stadium Original]

3 minutes ago, BillsFan130 said:

Yep exactly-( per the bolded)

 

In the 2020 playoff game everyone said the wind would favour Baltimore cause they are the better running team. Which wasn't the case.

On Sunday if the weather effects Lamar, the bills can just sell out against the run and take away the middle of the field 

You obviously didn't watch GMFB this morning...question was posed whether or not the cold was a disadvantage to the Ravens...and Akbar repeated the comments from 2020 almost exactly.

He thought the cold would force the Ravens to run more where they have a distinct advantage..so it was to their ADVANTAGE to actually be playing in such cold weather....WOW...if that were the case the Bills management better offer the Ravens all kinds of complimentary sideline heaters!!

[CaseyatBat]

10 minutes ago, buffblue said:

Another reason why the Ravens historically have just been unlikeable. Ray Lewis, Bart Scott, Marcus Peters, et al. Their fan base is flat out arrogant and they think they are the greatest franchise in pro sports.

 

I'll be honest, and most Bills fans will probably disagree with me, but I dislike the Bengals/Ravens/Steelers much more than the Chiefs. And it's mostly because of the fans of those respective teams.

 

yeah.. I disagree with you.

 

Ravens are a lot like us, small market, working class town, passionate about football. Even the configuration of their stadium, downtown, right on the water off of I395 reminds me what we could/should have with a Bills stadium downtown. and its even named M&T Bank stadium - a Buffalo company

 

Steelers have too much of a bandwagon fanbase. And if your problem is with arrogance, they invented that. Cincy is okay. KC fans harder to identify now cause of the bandwagon aspect too

[Straight Hucklebuck]

The defense has been scrutinized a ton in this matchup - I mean @HoofHearted is probably the most knowledgeable person on this site to offer suggestions for how schematically the Bills can slow down the Ravens rushing attack. 

 

Can the Bills play some 5-2, how much will the Bills play base 4-3, can Douglas keep up with anyone in man coverage, will the Bills play 1-high Safety and keep Taron Johnson on the field, how much can the Bills crowd the line of scrimmage. 

 

As this game gets closer I find myself thinking about the Bills offense. Joe Brady/Aaron Kromer has optimized the efficiency of the players in this offense. The Bills finished first in points/drive with an offense that in my opinion didn't add a whole lot of quality this offseason/season. I mean Mack Hollins is a great blocker with size. He's more tenacious than Gabe Davis, Curtis Samuel was used in a gadget role for 85% of the season, Cooper has been a part time player for the Bills. Allen has squeezed explosive passing plays from Cook, Johnson and Davis. 

 

All season WGR pined for more Dalton Kincaid, but after the knee injury and his return, maybe an acceptance that he's not going to be the focal point of the offense (and in my opinion its clear he's not the physical mismatch to carry that much usage) and Knox is a nice Tight End for 1-2 catches a game 

 

That leaves Shakir - the most dependable WR on the Bills (4-6 for 40-60 yards) and Keon Coleman. When you watch these games, Coleman is the new Gabe Davis. He's a black hole. He can't separate. He played 61% of snaps last week against Denver. Samuel played 39%. With how little Cooper and Coleman are giving the Bills right now intermediate and deep, the only other lever here to beat people on the outside is Samuel. 

 

So, I was wrong about the Bills offense this year - 30.9 ppg. By Game 3 you could see Brady has answers. And maybe Sunday will be another game where Allen throws for 238 yards, the leading WR has 56 yards and the Bills win. But in these big games, I just find myself wanting more investment in skill talent. 

[BADOLBILZ]

4 minutes ago, CaseyatBat said:

Allen doesn't get hit anymore. And if he does in any way, it is a 15 yard penalty. So yeah, if they want to use Ed Reed's strategy we will take the free first downs

 

 

He's been hit more than enough this season.   He didn't respond with effective play after that big hit in the Ravens game so Reed could surely site that as proof.  And Allen had his worst game since his rookie year the following week and got hit hard and concussed again.   But pretty much all of his biggest hits were taken on the road this season.   And both teams have changed significantly since that game but his point stands based on recent history.  

[Mango]

8 hours ago, Scott7975 said:

 

Yep I think he is going to regret not practicing with one because I think he gonna be putting one on. His hand is going to be frozen solid.

 

The guy you hear say "if the Bills go to the playoffs, Josh Allen needs to win MVP" is the same guy that argued passionately all season that its Lamar.

I could be wrong, but I don’t think Allen plays with one either. 
 

If he can’t throw the ball with a glove he can’t. He isn’t the first and wont be the last. I think this is blown way out of proportion. This isn’t the GB/Giants game. It’ll be cold but I think manageable with hand warmers for the QB. 

[CaseyatBat]

2 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

He's been hit more than enough this season.   He didn't respond with effective play after that big hit in the Ravens game so Reed could surely site that as proof.  And Allen had his worst game since his rookie year the following week and got hit hard and concussed again.   But pretty much all of his biggest hits were taken on the road this season.   And both teams have changed significantly since that game but his point stands based on recent history.  

 

he didn't get concussed. If he did and they passed him through the protocol then they broke the rules

[T.E.]

Allen played arguably the most efficient game ever when it was 0⁰ outside and Lamar Jackson starts wearing a ski mask under his helmet the minute the temperature drops below 55.

 

I think I have a pretty good idea who is at an advantage in freezing weather.

Edited 4 hours ago by T.E.

[boyst]

23 minutes ago, buffblue said:

Another reason why the Ravens historically have just been unlikeable. Ray Lewis, Bart Scott, Marcus Peters, et al. Their fan base is flat out arrogant and they think they are the greatest franchise in pro sports.

 

I'll be honest, and most Bills fans will probably disagree with me, but I dislike the Bengals/Ravens/Steelers much more than the Chiefs. And it's mostly because of the fans of those respective teams.

the chiefs can't help themselves. they think they're the bees knees. and they have won two straight.

 

the steelers fans can also admit they're not relevant because they have no other choice. 1 and done, bounced in the playoffs year after year.

 

the ravens and bengals are big bullies that always end up getting theirs.

[zow2]

54 minutes ago, mjt328 said:

 

Weather has the potential to have a much bigger impact that people are giving it credit for.  Especially if Jackson has some trouble gripping or throwing the ball.

 

It's easy to say that weather favors the better running team.  But I'm not sure that's really the case.

What makes Baltimore especially dangerous is them being a dual threat.  You can't just focus on Jackson or Henry.  Anything that pushes them into being more one-dimensional is a huge win for us.

 

We already know that our QB can throw the ball fine in snow and heavy winds.  

 

 

 

Hot take, but i think James Cook will have more yards rushing than Derrick Henry...and certainly more total yards.

[DapperCam]

1 hour ago, klos63 said:

Detroit didn't have to run,  they passed for 500 yards. 

It was a 3 score game at the beginning of the 4th quarter. Over 200 of those passing yards came in garbage time.

 

Now, to be fair, the Bills may have gone into a soft shell a little bit too early and I hope they learned from that…

[CaseyatBat]

4 minutes ago, zow2 said:

 

 

Hot take, but i think James Cook will have more yards rushing than Derrick Henry...and certainly more total yards.

 

Idk if you heard but its supposed to be cold. James Cook grew up in Miami and played college ball in Georgia

[pennstate10]

Dude in Sirius radio just said Bills fall apart if they get behind early. As example use the Texans game and said Bills had “no chance” in that game after falling behind. 
 

Bills lost that game on a 59 yd walk off field goal. 
 

The talkers in these shows know less about the Bulls than does the average TBD poster

[FLFan]

7 minutes ago, zow2 said:

 

 

Hot take, but i think James Cook will have more yards rushing than Derrick Henry...and certainly more total yards.

I would not be at all surprised.

[zow2]

2 minutes ago, CaseyatBat said:

 

Idk if you heard but its supposed to be cold. James Cook grew up in Miami and played college ball in Georgia

 

But unlike Lamar, James Cook actually relishes the cold.  We just watched him run for 100 yards vs NE (9.1 avg per carry in 15 degrees) and 107 yards vs San Fran in snow (7.6 avg per carry).

[FLFan]

2 minutes ago, pennstate10 said:

Dude in Sirius radio just said Bills fall apart if they get behind early. As example use the Texans game and said Bills had “no chance” in that game after falling behind. 
 

Bills lost that game on a 59 yd walk off field goal. 
 

The talkers in these shows know less about the Bulls than does the average TBD poster

That is a particularly ignorant take.

[CaseyatBat]

Just now, zow2 said:

 

But unlike Lamar, James Cook actually relishes the cold.  We just watched him run for 100 yards vs NE (9.1 avg per carry in 15 degrees) and 107 yards vs San Fran in snow (7.6 avg per carry).

 

true yeah we got this. I'm thinking we beat them by 20 points at least