Buffalo Bills AFCCG: (2) Buffalo at (1) Kansas City; Sunday 1/26 @ 6:30 PM ET, CBS
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Jim Bob
RIP RJ
Jim Bob
RIP RJ
Man...I just went through watching the highlights from last year's game against the Chiefs, just to remind myself of who was on the field in key moments...
Seeing names like AJ Klein, Trent Sherfield, Dane Jackson, Tyrel Dodson, Latavius Murray etc. was just a reminder of how dire it really was. It seemed like the guys making plays were players still on this roster like Ty Johnson, James Cook, Shakir, Kincaid, etc.
A few thoughts in relation to this coming Sunday's game:
-For as bad as he was at times, they missed Gabe Davis big time in this game. Sherfield fell flat on his face as the WR2 on the outside, while Diggs wasn't much better as the WR1. We truly need someone to step up from this group. Last year the top receiver only had 45 yards.
-AJ Klein really was a bad as you all remember, and he's a lowlight on basically ALL of the Chief highlights. There's a play in the 3rd where we blitzed with AJ Klein and Tyrel Dodson and they both fail miserably in lane discipline and let Mahomes easily side-step both of them, honestly embarrassing to watch. It shows how important it is to have Milano healthy and in the lineup on Sunday. The drop-off is extreme when you get beyond Dorian. I also still think Milano is a much better all around player than Dorian at this point. Milano plus Bernard is about as good a Linebacking duo as there is in the league, especially in coverage.
-While KC's WR are better on paper this year, we were getting killed by Rice, Kelce and MVS of all people. MVS came up clutch in the second half with 2 x 30+ Yd. bombs, while Kelce and Rice killed them all game. Having Benford will be absolutely crucial in this game, let us pray. The trickle down effect of losing him would be huge and would require a huge game from Elam, while is not impossible but unlikely. Also, we need Douglas to shore things up. He's been quietly terrible for most of the season and has no splash plays to make up for it. At least we didnt' re-sign him yet. They're going to look to Hollywood Brown and the little speedster a lot IMO, so need to have good play from the outside corners.
-The Chiefs ran all over us in key moments. Pacheco was a beast, averaging 6.5 yards per carry. That cannot happen again as the Chiefs will kill you if they stay in short yardage situations all game. Pacheco and Hunt don't look explosive so don't let them get going. Need Jones and Oliver to have a similar game as last week.
-They've got to have a plan for Kelce, obviously. Having Bernard and/or Milano available will help but they still need a plan as Kelce is still much larger and so smart out there. He basically had the same game against us last season as he just had again Houston. Wide open on numerous occasions and many key first downs/catches.
-The Chiefs tend to bottle James Cook up. 3.4 yards per carry in the playoff game, and only 2.2 in this year's regular season matchup. I'd like to see Brady pivot relatively quickly if it's not working with Cook. In the playoff game Ty Johnson had 7 carries for 40 yards (5.7 avg.). Use him a lot in this game in both run and pass game. He's a great blocker to combat Spags' blitzes and is a weapon all over the field. He's the type of guy the Patriots rode to many championships. Don't beat your head against the wall this weekend Joe Brady.
All in all, looking at last year's game was a bit therapeutic for me. I'm nervous as all hell for this game due to it will do to this version of the Bills and their legacy win or lose. Realistically, the Chiefs are better on offense (better depth at WR) this year and maybe a tad worse on defense without Sneed as CB2. However, the Bills going into this game even if a guy like Rapp can't play should be better on paper. We have three very good RB's, a better o-line, WRs that can make plays and the wild card of the TEs that have yet to be a feature in the game plans this season. Maybe this is the week for that. Something tells me a guy like Hollins, Knox or Samuel will have some key plays in this game. Chiefs will take away Shakir and Cooper and make us beat them elsewhere.
The defense should be better at least getting some stops or key plays. Having a healthy Von Miller, Linebacking Core and Corners alone should make a huge difference, especially considering the trickle down effect of not having Bernard/Milano, Benford/(healthy) Douglas was huge in last year's game. The players that had to play (Klein, Specter, Rooking Dorian, Dane Jackson) just make it so hard to beat Mahomes. He knows where those players are and destroys them like Brady used to do.
Seeing names like AJ Klein, Trent Sherfield, Dane Jackson, Tyrel Dodson, Latavius Murray etc. was just a reminder of how dire it really was. It seemed like the guys making plays were players still on this roster like Ty Johnson, James Cook, Shakir, Kincaid, etc.
A few thoughts in relation to this coming Sunday's game:
-For as bad as he was at times, they missed Gabe Davis big time in this game. Sherfield fell flat on his face as the WR2 on the outside, while Diggs wasn't much better as the WR1. We truly need someone to step up from this group. Last year the top receiver only had 45 yards.
-AJ Klein really was a bad as you all remember, and he's a lowlight on basically ALL of the Chief highlights. There's a play in the 3rd where we blitzed with AJ Klein and Tyrel Dodson and they both fail miserably in lane discipline and let Mahomes easily side-step both of them, honestly embarrassing to watch. It shows how important it is to have Milano healthy and in the lineup on Sunday. The drop-off is extreme when you get beyond Dorian. I also still think Milano is a much better all around player than Dorian at this point. Milano plus Bernard is about as good a Linebacking duo as there is in the league, especially in coverage.
-While KC's WR are better on paper this year, we were getting killed by Rice, Kelce and MVS of all people. MVS came up clutch in the second half with 2 x 30+ Yd. bombs, while Kelce and Rice killed them all game. Having Benford will be absolutely crucial in this game, let us pray. The trickle down effect of losing him would be huge and would require a huge game from Elam, while is not impossible but unlikely. Also, we need Douglas to shore things up. He's been quietly terrible for most of the season and has no splash plays to make up for it. At least we didnt' re-sign him yet. They're going to look to Hollywood Brown and the little speedster a lot IMO, so need to have good play from the outside corners.
-The Chiefs ran all over us in key moments. Pacheco was a beast, averaging 6.5 yards per carry. That cannot happen again as the Chiefs will kill you if they stay in short yardage situations all game. Pacheco and Hunt don't look explosive so don't let them get going. Need Jones and Oliver to have a similar game as last week.
-They've got to have a plan for Kelce, obviously. Having Bernard and/or Milano available will help but they still need a plan as Kelce is still much larger and so smart out there. He basically had the same game against us last season as he just had again Houston. Wide open on numerous occasions and many key first downs/catches.
-The Chiefs tend to bottle James Cook up. 3.4 yards per carry in the playoff game, and only 2.2 in this year's regular season matchup. I'd like to see Brady pivot relatively quickly if it's not working with Cook. In the playoff game Ty Johnson had 7 carries for 40 yards (5.7 avg.). Use him a lot in this game in both run and pass game. He's a great blocker to combat Spags' blitzes and is a weapon all over the field. He's the type of guy the Patriots rode to many championships. Don't beat your head against the wall this weekend Joe Brady.
All in all, looking at last year's game was a bit therapeutic for me. I'm nervous as all hell for this game due to it will do to this version of the Bills and their legacy win or lose. Realistically, the Chiefs are better on offense (better depth at WR) this year and maybe a tad worse on defense without Sneed as CB2. However, the Bills going into this game even if a guy like Rapp can't play should be better on paper. We have three very good RB's, a better o-line, WRs that can make plays and the wild card of the TEs that have yet to be a feature in the game plans this season. Maybe this is the week for that. Something tells me a guy like Hollins, Knox or Samuel will have some key plays in this game. Chiefs will take away Shakir and Cooper and make us beat them elsewhere.
The defense should be better at least getting some stops or key plays. Having a healthy Von Miller, Linebacking Core and Corners alone should make a huge difference, especially considering the trickle down effect of not having Bernard/Milano, Benford/(healthy) Douglas was huge in last year's game. The players that had to play (Klein, Specter, Rooking Dorian, Dane Jackson) just make it so hard to beat Mahomes. He knows where those players are and destroys them like Brady used to do.
Dubi Doo
Registered User
- Aug 27, 2008
- 20,642
- 14,783
Milano looking ok.
Good news! This would be the first time in a while we're meeting the Chiefs in Jan, and not missing an impact player on defense.
I'd love to see Cover1 do a breakdown of Milano's game against the Ravens. I noticed he was getting pressure up the middle on Lamar on the INT.
The Bills played a ton of man against the Ravens, and blitzed more than usual. Anyone with deeper knowledge than me believe that will be the game plan against Mahomes?
Jim Bob
RIP RJ
I am not expecting Rapp to play on Sunday after he missed practice yesterday and today.
Hate to say it, but missing Rapp could be big. Mainly because Cole Bishop simply isn't good yet and they'll likely have problems guarding the deep ball with he and Hamlin as the duo. It's just not their strong suit. I'm not saying Rapp is some stud but he's an NFL-average safety and a punishing hitter that has some big play/clutch ability.
But I agree with your overall premise. Having the middle of our defense healthy is probably the most important thing for this game. We'll rely on our big, physical corners to handle their speedy receivers. We should able to coach the safeties up and minimize how much they're picked on. Hopefully they learn from their mistakes in the deep passing game last week.
I wouldn't be shocked if they play some man, depending who's on the field. I think if they come at us with Worthy and Brown on the outside, you'd want some safety help over the top. We don't want to let the Chiefs get huge chunks or Tyreek Hill style plays again us. But yes, they could try using Milano as a spy/blitzer on big downs. Please no more Hamlin blitzes, please!
I am not expecting Rapp to play on Sunday after he missed practice yesterday and today.
Would it be unprecedented?
Something tells me that given the Day to Day prognosis that he'll give it a go and perhaps they'll do some sort of pain management to get him through. It cannot be something too bad if McDermott is calling it D2D, so my hope is they're letting him take it easy to be as ready as possible. Wishful thinking, I know.
Zman5778
Moderator
Eh, I honestly don't think that Bishop is that much worse than Rapp.....if any. One of Bishop's calling cards out of college was his run defense/physicality/sure tackling......and he's already shown that in flashes. As long as Hamlin stays deep, it really shouldn't be an issue subbing Bishop in for Rapp.
Jim Bob
RIP RJ
A DNP on Wednesday and Thursday for the Bills means like a 5% chance they play on Sunday.
And if he goes DNP Wed-Thu-Fri, it's all but certain he's out.
Bishop is still a rookie who hasn't played a ton. There is a sizable gap between Rapp and Bishop right now. Especially when you are talking about going up against Mahome, Kelce, and company.
DolanPlsGoSabres
スカンデッラ
I think this week is a "if there's a chance to go, they'll push through it and go" week. There's no real "saving" or thinking about risk of aggravation, obviously because it's the playoffs so if you lose you go home, but also if you win you get 2 full weeks.
Jim Bob
RIP RJ
If Rapp can't participate in a walk through practice, I highly doubt he can play in a game.
SundherDome
I'm tired, Boss.
Jim Bob
RIP RJ
brian_griffin
"Eric Cartman?"
RE: AJ Klein.
I firmly believe he was signed off the couch last year for Chiefs game because of his familiarity with the Bills Def. system and players and the need to either replace or augment the on-field defensive calls and adjustments from that role/position. He wasn't signed because the Bills coaching staff and Beane felt there was no better athlete available for them to plug in at MLB.
Doesn't detract from the "man, we're better off now than last year" sentiment, just giving context to the rationale for the signing in Jan 2024.
I firmly believe he was signed off the couch last year for Chiefs game because of his familiarity with the Bills Def. system and players and the need to either replace or augment the on-field defensive calls and adjustments from that role/position. He wasn't signed because the Bills coaching staff and Beane felt there was no better athlete available for them to plug in at MLB.
Doesn't detract from the "man, we're better off now than last year" sentiment, just giving context to the rationale for the signing in Jan 2024.
I'm midweek confident currently. Thinking we'll be able to run on them consistently and keep our defense fresh.
Just get a 2-3 score lead and play downhill the whole second half. Easy peasy right?
Just get a 2-3 score lead and play downhill the whole second half. Easy peasy right?
