Logic Posted January 30 Posted January 30 While I am as disappointed as everyone else in the outcome of the game... ...I continue to shake my head a little bit at how surprised everyone is that rookie offensive coordinator Joe Brady got outcoached in key moments by one of the greatest to ever coordinate defense in Steve Spagnuolo. Or how surprised everyone is that rookie defensive coordinator Bobby Babich got outcoached in big moments by first ballot Hall of Fame offensive mind Andy Reid. I'm not excusing it, by any means. But if the hypothesis is "our coordinators each got outcoached in big moments", well...yeah. Look at their respective experience levels as playcallers, and look at that of Steve Spagnuolo and Andy Reid. 1 Quote
transplantbillsfan Posted January 30 Posted January 30 20 hours ago, Returntoglory said: One of the more head-scratching decisions was that when the Bills got the ball back with 3:33 left in the game to try to win it, Cook was nowhere to be found. Even if the first play wasn't designed for him, the running back didn't take the field the entire final drive. Cooks stats vs Chiefs 13 carries 85 rushing yards 2 rushing TDs 3 receptions 3 targets 49 yards Cook was Buffalo's leading rusher in the game. He averaged 6.5 yards per carry, and his longest run was for 33 yds. So please, someone explain to me why he was not used? This was my gut reaction as well. However, I think maybe we should consider that our final drive was ultimately going to be more of a passing drive than running drive. Or at the very least there needed to be more freedom on the drive for the team to run or pass. I think James Cook is a fantastic RB and I've changed my tune on the idea of re-signing a RB. I hope we keep him in Buffalo beyond next year on a deal that is both fair to him and fair to us. I'm sure whatever it is some are going to react that we've overpayed him, but he's clearly so valuable to our offense. HOWEVER... Cook is a detriment to the offense in one critical aspect: pass blocking. That's really the reason I think they had Ty Johnson on in that final drive. If you listen to Joe Marino's All-22 breakdown he actually describes one play (and I think it was one of those plays on the last drive Cook came in for) where Cook was on the field for a passing play and he totally whiffed on his block, causing pressure to get in Allen's face forcing a bad throw. Love Cook. Hope he spends some time with Ty Johnson in the offseason to get better at that one critical part of his game. 1 Quote
NewEra Posted January 31 Posted January 31 7 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said: Goldilocks needs to learn how to pass block so he doesn't have to come off the field all year for Ty Johnson. I'm not absolving Brady of choking in the moment, it's been my biggest criticism of him. But Cook is a dumb player and it's understandable to not want him on the field in critical situations. Beyond blown blocking assignments we saw his buffoonery in the pass game last year when he dropped some critical TD passes when they leaned on him late in down sequences. It's not like replacing Thurman Thomas with Carwell Gardner........Ty Johnson is plenty good as a runner AND a better pass catcher in addition to the blocking element. Yeah I know- I get what you guys are laying down. I’m not talking about Cook in pass protection. I wish they had handed cook the ball. I’m not sure why he would’ve been out there in pass protection to begin with. Quote
artmalibu Posted January 31 Posted January 31 9 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said: That belief is what led to us getting stuffed on 4 of 5 QB sneaks. Remember last week when everyone said we should have snuck twice against Baltimore? Brady took that advice and "stuck with what worked." What belief? I dont understand what your trying to say. Quote
Breakout Squad Posted January 31 Posted January 31 On 1/29/2025 at 7:11 PM, Ethan in Cleveland said: Brady choked. He kept letting Allen run QB sneaks when simple runs woukd have worked just as well. The whole season we screamed for more play action and he never delivered. Remember the narrative before the season on Cook?? Could we get a 2nd? He can't catch? He can't break tackles? People on this board look a bit foolishness now...but they will never own up to it If Allen is getting stuffed at the line, what makes you think Cook would be able to get yardage? Quote
AlCowlingsTaxiService Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Cook is not good at pass pro or blitz pickup, so … Quote
PromoTheRobot Posted January 31 Posted January 31 2 hours ago, artmalibu said: What belief? I dont understand what your trying to say. The belief that because you saw a play or player do something good, that always doing the same thing will work. All people said after the Ravens game was how stupid the Bills were not to sneak Josh twice from the 2 yard line. This week we saw the Bills commit to only sneaking Josh on short yardage and he got stuffed. So what changed? One week it's a no brainer, this week that becomes "stupid." Quote
LABILLBACKER Posted January 31 Posted January 31 On 1/29/2025 at 5:09 PM, Pete said: Cook blew his blocking assignment and got Josh clobbered. Ty is a much better pass blocker, and KC was bringing heavy pressure. That’s why The Cook was not playing Then teach his ass how to block. He had 21 tds this season. Develop your damn players or get out. 1 Quote
Pete Posted January 31 Posted January 31 1 hour ago, LABILLBACKER said: Then teach his ass how to block. He had 21 tds this season. Develop your damn players or get out. You dont think the Bills have tried? Cook is a speed back, who runs with power. He is 5'11 190. Thats not the ideal size to block blitzing LBs. Im not asking Cook to bulk up to 220 Quote
ChronicAndKnuckles Posted January 31 Posted January 31 On 1/29/2025 at 7:11 PM, Ethan in Cleveland said: Brady choked. He kept letting Allen run QB sneaks when simple runs woukd have worked just as well. The whole season we screamed for more play action and he never delivered. Remember the narrative before the season on Cook?? Could we get a 2nd? He can't catch? He can't break tackles? People on this board look a bit foolishness now...but they will never own up to it Huh? Maybe I’m missing something. Cook was rusher for 1100+ and was the first Bill to crack 1K since Lesean McCoy. I thought his approve rating was an all time high Quote
BADOLBILZ Posted January 31 Posted January 31 14 hours ago, NewEra said: Yeah I know- I get what you guys are laying down. I’m not talking about Cook in pass protection. I wish they had handed cook the ball. I’m not sure why he would’ve been out there in pass protection to begin with. Well Brady probably believed that Spags would empty his playbook of blitzes(and he did) on the final drive and Cook being Cook would ruin it for them. It's funny how people know that Cook isn't anywhere near Ty Johnson in blitz pickup or as receiver (particularly downfield) and that Johnson is often even brought in to convert short yardage......he's basically THE high leverage back of the team.........and yet it's inexplicable to them why he is on the field during a critical drive and not James Cook. The notion that if Cook had been in there they could have just plowed over an amped up Chiefs defense in their biggest drive of the year is illogical, IMO. They hadn't even worn the Chiefs defense down. Even in the divisional round game last year when the Bills had the ball for nearly 40 minutes the Chiefs weren't relenting the run on the final drive. Do we remember why it was 2nd and 9 at the 2 minute warning? Because they were still playing the run tough. That game and this game were going to be won in the passing game. Cook isn't the guy for that. I hope like hell they don't extend him this offseason and then feel compelled to leave him on the field on 3rd downs to miss blitzes and drop wide open TD's. Quote
BADOLBILZ Posted January 31 Posted January 31 On 1/29/2025 at 7:11 PM, Ethan in Cleveland said: Remember the narrative before the season on Cook?? Could we get a 2nd? He can't catch? He can't break tackles? People on this board look a bit foolishness now...but they will never own up to it Well, he certainly didn't get the opportunity to prove that he can catch the ball downfield so I don't know where you are going with that. They drafted James Cook to be a weapon in a pass-heavy offense and it turned out he's just a 2 down RB who isn't trustworthy on 3rd downs or in the passing game unless it's a screen. Those people who thought he was going to be a 3 down RB........or at least a great 3rd down RB........do look foolish. 19 hours ago, Logic said: While I am as disappointed as everyone else in the outcome of the game... ...I continue to shake my head a little bit at how surprised everyone is that rookie offensive coordinator Joe Brady got outcoached in key moments by one of the greatest to ever coordinate defense in Steve Spagnuolo. Or how surprised everyone is that rookie defensive coordinator Bobby Babich got outcoached in big moments by first ballot Hall of Fame offensive mind Andy Reid. I'm not excusing it, by any means. But if the hypothesis is "our coordinators each got outcoached in big moments", well...yeah. Look at their respective experience levels as playcallers, and look at that of Steve Spagnuolo and Andy Reid. That was actually Brady's 4th season as an NFL OC. He was fired late in his second season as OC in Carolina and took over about halfway thru last year but he was not new to calling plays. Inexperienced compared to Spags for sure, but not even close to being a rookie. 1 1 Quote
2020 Our Year For Sure Posted January 31 Posted January 31 (edited) 13 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said: Well Brady probably believed that Spags would empty his playbook of blitzes(and he did) on the final drive and Cook being Cook would ruin it for them. It's funny how people know that Cook isn't anywhere near Ty Johnson in blitz pickup or as receiver (particularly downfield) and that Johnson is often even brought in to convert short yardage......he's basically THE high leverage back of the team.........and yet it's inexplicable to them why he is on the field during a critical drive and not James Cook. The notion that if Cook had been in there they could have just plowed over an amped up Chiefs defense in their biggest drive of the year is illogical, IMO. They hadn't even worn the Chiefs defense down. Even in the divisional round game last year when the Bills had the ball for nearly 40 minutes the Chiefs weren't relenting the run on the final drive. Do we remember why it was 2nd and 9 at the 2 minute warning? Because they were still playing the run tough. That game and this game were going to be won in the passing game. Cook isn't the guy for that. I hope like hell they don't extend him this offseason and then feel compelled to leave him on the field on 3rd downs to miss blitzes and drop wide open TD's. It's always going to come down to Josh Allen with the ball in his hands, no matter how hard McDermott tries to force them to be a running team. Romo spent the 2nd half imploring the Bills to live and die with their best player, perhaps football's best player. This is why failing to make every effort to be stacked in the receiving core will always be malpractice. Stop sending him with a knife into a gunfight. Edited January 31 by 2020 Our Year For Sure 1 Quote
GoBills808 Posted January 31 Posted January 31 1 minute ago, BADOLBILZ said: Well, he certainly didn't get the opportunity to prove that he can catch the ball downfield so I don't know where you are going with that. They drafted James Cook to be a weapon in a pass-heavy offense and it turned out he's just a 2 down RB who isn't trustworthy on 3rd downs or in the passing game unless it's a screen. Those people who thought he was going to be a 3 down RB........or at least a great 3rd down RB........do look foolish. they haven't gone to him ALL SEASON in high leverage situations...because he's not that kind of RB and when push comes to shove they don't trust the run game to convert why people are saying he should have got the ball here is beyond me 1 Quote
Logic Posted January 31 Posted January 31 59 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said: Well, he certainly didn't get the opportunity to prove that he can catch the ball downfield so I don't know where you are going with that. They drafted James Cook to be a weapon in a pass-heavy offense and it turned out he's just a 2 down RB who isn't trustworthy on 3rd downs or in the passing game unless it's a screen. Those people who thought he was going to be a 3 down RB........or at least a great 3rd down RB........do look foolish. That was actually Brady's 4th season as an NFL OC. He was fired late in his second season as OC in Carolina and took over about halfway thru last year but he was not new to calling plays. Inexperienced compared to Spags for sure, but not even close to being a rookie. Good call. You're right. I forgot about the previous Carolina stint. I don't know that it changes my overall point about the non-surprising nature of his and Babich's being outcoached in big moments by far more tenured coaches, but...yeah. It's true. Decidedly NOT a rookie. Quote
nedboy7 Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Cook played his usual snap percentage. I believe they wanted Ty in there for his better blitz pickup ability. Marino was talking about Cook getting blown up prior to that drive. I dont think it was Brady panicking. I suspect there is usually more to whats happening than most including me understand. Quote
TurfToeJam Posted January 31 Posted January 31 (edited) Outcoached. Experienced vs inexperienced. Let's not overthink this.* *Feel free to copy/paste this post as it applies to almost every thread on this forum Edited January 31 by TurfToeJam 1 Quote
The Firebaugh Kid Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Sucks in pass pro. That being said, be more creative. Quote
Matt_In_NH Posted January 31 Posted January 31 On 1/29/2025 at 7:44 PM, PromoTheRobot said: You conveniently forget how Cook got blown up trying to block for Allen. That's why he wasn't playing there. Ty Johnson is the better blocker. Why didn't the thread just end after this? Quote
harmonkillebrew Posted January 31 Posted January 31 On 1/30/2025 at 9:45 AM, Julio Hopkins said: My guy, Johnson wasn't even blocking on the final drive. he should have been! Nah, no way Josh knew that CB was going to blitz, but he could have called in Ty to block. Cook was out there during the drive, but on 3rd and 10, Ty was in b/c he's much better at pass protection Quote
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