Bills vs Ravens Divisional Round

[Straight Hucklebuck]

2 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

So league year starts when can Beane get on the phone and trade for Maxx Crosby? 

[Kelly to Allen]

28 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

 

Does anyone (who knows anything) think they need a scheme overhaul?  I think the questions are:

1) Johnson is one of the best nickel corners in the league.  If we pull him off the field and put in a 3rd backer, what are we giving up in pass defense?

2) We would pull Johnson for Dorian Williams, who has had problems at times diagnosing his assignment in the run game.  Will Dorian chose the right gap and maintain discipline?

3) All of our LB are relatively small.  On paper, Matt Milano is 2 inches shorter and 25 lbs lighter than Henry.  Bernard 1 inch and 23 lbs.  Williams 17 lbs lighter.  That means tackling him all game will wear them down.  Are they "up to" it?

 

 

Henry won't get north of 70 yds in this game. 

 

[ganesh]

This game is the opportunity for Sean McDermott to exorcise his demons with regards to his defense holding up against one of the best offense in the NFL this year.  

 

The Bills win is going to be determined by how well Sean is going to contain Henry and keep Lamar in the pocket.  They would have to come up with the best possible scheme.   The last time they played....they had a light box allowing Henry to run untouched and man handle that undersized DL.  

 

However, this time he has all his starters back on Defense including Von playing his best over the past several games. 

 

It is game on for Sean....Don't need Josh to play hero ball like he tried in Week 4.

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

8 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

Am I the only one, but Maxx Crosby seems like he should be a Buffalo Bill?

[Beck Water]

1 minute ago, Bob Chandler's Hands said:

I definitely do NOT know anything, but it seems like there would be a scheme within the existing defense to take Damar out for Dorian and leave Taron in the game. From a pure skill set perspective, this seems like the "obvious running down" lineup. That said, the Bills defense is highly Safety dependent so perhaps there is no such scheme, and it would constitute an 'overhaul', which I think is not wise to do within a week. 

 

I don't think you take Damar out for Dorian.  Not meaning to dunk on Dorian but I think he is still "progressing" in learning his role as an off-ball LB and asking him to learn to be a safety would be a "Bridge too Far".

 

As I commented in another thread, against NE in the 2nd game a couple years back, the Bills started taking out a CB (Dane Jackson) and substituting Siran Neal in a kind of variant of a "dime" defense.  Jackson was 5 11 and 180 lbs, Neal was 6 ft 206 lbs and could bring the wood.  He was also said by a fast WR to be "the fastest guy on the Bills roster".  Neal was the backup nickel as well as the dime back, and they had him playing on the boundary some in training camp, so they could bring him in for more "Umph" in the backfield without losing too much in pass coverage. 

 

And it worked.

 

I'm not sure if the Bills 1) have a guy on the roster right now who can fill that role though, or 2)  if it's a need with this lineup.  Rasul Douglas and Christian Benford are both 6'1", 6'2" 210 lb ish CBs.  As long as they bring it and don't make "career decisions" we should be OK.

It's possible we see Bishop instead of Hamlin.  

[RobbRiddick]

4 minutes ago, D. L. Hot-Flamethrower said:

Am I the only one, but Maxx Crosby seems like he should be a Buffalo Bill?

He definitely looks like a Bill, no idea why they named him Maxx

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

Just now, RobbRiddick said:

He definitely looks like a Bill, no idea why they named him Maxx

I'd love to pick him up this offseason!

[JerseyBills]

32 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

 

Does anyone (who knows anything) think they need a scheme overhaul?  I think the questions are:

1) Johnson is one of the best nickel corners in the league.  If we pull him off the field and put in a 3rd backer, what are we giving up in pass defense?

2) We would pull Johnson for Dorian Williams, who has had problems at times diagnosing his assignment in the run game.  Will Dorian chose the right gap and maintain discipline?

3) All of our LB are relatively small.  On paper, Matt Milano is 2 inches shorter and 25 lbs lighter than Henry.  Bernard 1 inch and 23 lbs.  Williams 17 lbs lighter.  That means tackling him all game will wear them down.  Are they "up to" it?

 

 

37 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

 

Does anyone (who knows anything) think they need a scheme overhaul?  I think the questions are:

1) Johnson is one of the best nickel corners in the league.  If we pull him off the field and put in a 3rd backer, what are we giving up in pass defense?

2) We would pull Johnson for Dorian Williams, who has had problems at times diagnosing his assignment in the run game.  Will Dorian chose the right gap and maintain discipline?

3) All of our LB are relatively small.  On paper, Matt Milano is 2 inches shorter and 25 lbs lighter than Henry.  Bernard 1 inch and 23 lbs.  Williams 17 lbs lighter.  That means tackling him all game will wear them down.  Are they "up to" it?

 

With no Flowers, If I'm Buf, I'm doing everything to shut down Henry and Lamar running 

Even with Flowers, they attempted to get another weapon with Dionte Johnson, make Lamar with his arm beat you throwing to Bateman and Co. 

I feel very confident with that, especially in these elements , would expect a couple turnovers 

The thing that worries me is can we stop that run game even if we sell out?

[zow2]

2 minutes ago, ganesh said:

This game is the opportunity for Sean McDermott to exorcise his demons with regards to his defense holding up against one of the best offense in the NFL this year.  

 

The Bills win is going to be determined by how well Sean is going to contain Henry and keep Lamar in the pocket.  They would have to come up with the best possible scheme.   The last time they played....they had a light box allowing Henry to run untouched and man handle that undersized DL.  

 

However, this time he has all his starters back on Defense including Von playing his best over the past several games. 

 

It is game on for Sean....Don't need Josh to play hero ball like he tried in Week 4.

 

From their regular season stats, it appears almost impossible to stop both Henry and Lamar from getting their numbers.  If you manage to stop one, the other goes off. Takeaways by the Bills defense would solve everything, but we can't count on that.  

 

Based on how wildly successful the Ravens are when Henry goes for 100+ yards,  I think I'd key on him first.  Try to take that away and put Baltimore in more 3rd and 5's.  

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

28 minutes ago, klos63 said:

Not everyone is picking against the Bills.

How often have we been underdogs recently?

It seems that everyone is searching for reasons other than the game itself as to why we'll win. 

 

The weather. 

Playing at home

Bulletin board material 

Can't lose playoff games at home 3 years in a row.

Lamar isn't that good

 

I get it,  I'm nervous,  but it's pretty silly. 

 

 

Just to be fair I think being more familiar with the conditions and home crowd noise type stuff is directly related to the game 

 

your criticism of stuff like ‘we can’t lose 3 in a row’ is def spot on though lol 

[Logic]

14 minutes ago, D. L. Hot-Flamethrower said:

Am I the only one, but Maxx Crosby seems like he should be a Buffalo Bill?

Crosby has stated (recently) that he thought the Bills were going to draft him.

I also remember talk that the Bills had spent a bunch of time on him pre-draft that year and really liked him. The Bills draft visit researchers at the time had him on the short list of guys to keep on eye on, based on the Bills interest in him. The Bills closest pick to Crosby was Dawson Knox, who they selected in the 3rd round. Crosby went in the 4th, and the Bills didn't have another pick until well after Crosby was gone.

It's fun to imagine an alternate timeline where the Bills had drafted Crosby, but I think the only way it realistically could've happened is if they had taken him instead of Dawson Knox.

[PaattMaann]

12 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

 

I don't think you take Damar out for Dorian.  Not meaning to dunk on Dorian but I think he is still "progressing" in learning his role as an off-ball LB and asking him to learn to be a safety would be a "Bridge too Far".

 

As I commented in another thread, against NE in the 2nd game a couple years back, the Bills started taking out a CB (Dane Jackson) and substituting Siran Neal in a kind of variant of a "dime" defense.  Jackson was 5 11 and 180 lbs, Neal was 6 ft 206 lbs and could bring the wood.  He was also said by a fast WR to be "the fastest guy on the Bills roster".  Neal was the backup nickel as well as the dime back, and they had him playing on the boundary some in training camp, so they could bring him in for more "Umph" in the backfield without losing too much in pass coverage. 

 

And it worked.

 

I'm not sure if the Bills 1) have a guy on the roster right now who can fill that role though, or 2)  if it's a need with this lineup.  Rasul Douglas and Christian Benford are both 6'1", 6'2" 210 lb ish CBs.  As long as they bring it and don't make "career decisions" we should be OK.

It's possible we see Bishop instead of Hamlin.  

 

not to be disrespectful, but no, it isnt.

[klos63]

34 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

We have Allen

 

that's why we'll win

That's what I'm going with. 

[Dukestreetking]

2 hours ago, CincyBillsFan said:

I've noticed that a lot of these "experts" fail to mention that fact.  Which is surprising given that it's probably the most important factoid of that game beyond the final score.

 

To his credit, Jim Nantz noted this during his one bills live interview.

 

Parenthetically, he also mentioned, en passant, that 17 has been to his house at Pebble and Tennessee. There's a bit of a bromance going on, me thinks.

[TwoFlocksofFury]

25 minutes ago, Kelly to Allen said:

 

Henry won't get north of 70 yds in this game. 

 

I love your optimism; been seeing it in every thread regarding this game. I don't see them holding Henry under 70 though. I also don't see him getting close to the yards he did the first meeting.

[JerseyBills]

2 hours ago, Kelly to Allen said:

It's truly crazy.

 

They're essentially a 10-6 team going against a 14-2 juggernaut team.

 

The entire media is picking the 10-6 road team. It's weird. 

 

It's even more bizarre that they beat one of the worst teams in the NFL the past month of the season 28-14.... Ummm okay 

 

And Watt/ heyward were banged up clearly 

 

The biggest talking point is 😱 omg how on earth will the bills stop the read option??? 😳

 

Idk its just bizarre. 

Vegas is going to make a Killing off this game,from the casual fan, hammer the Bills, the sharp bettors are already having an impact,  changing the line 1.5 points 

[Pete]

13 minutes ago, TwoFlocksofFury said:

I love your optimism; been seeing it in every thread regarding this game. I don't see them holding Henry under 70 though. I also don't see him getting close to the yards he did the first meeting.

I’ll take the under on Henry rushing for 70 yards.

[CaseyatBat]

1 hour ago, YattaOkasan said:

  

 

Youre essentially saying that 29 teams have a good rushing attack.  If you think the league should run more then I think youre gonna have a long discussion with some analytics people.  yards per rush versus yard per pass attempt is pretty decisively in favor of yards per pass attempt.

well duh yeah yards per pass attempt is more. But an attempt isn’t a completion 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

35 minutes ago, RobbRiddick said:

He definitely looks like a Bill, no idea why they named him Maxx

he is the heir of the TJ Maxx family dynasty. 

[RobbRiddick]

 

I always pick against the Bills out of superstition but I really am having a hard time imagining the Bills winning this. I hope more than anything I'm wrong and I think if they do win I will probably be up all night because there's no way I'll be able to sleep, I'll just be too wired and having too much fun reading Twitter (and the anger on Finheaven).

 

But I've definitely prepared myself mentally for a bad loss. It works for me, if we get obliterated I won't be shocked, if we win I'll be dancing around the house (possibly not fully clothed)

2 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

he is the heir of the TJ Maxx family dynasty. 

In that case we definitely need to sign TJ Watt as well

Edited 3 hours ago by RobbRiddick