Buffalo Bills Week 4: Bills @ Ravens

[Deep Blue Metallic]

I don't really have an opinion on whether they should have called more in that particular game, but I think anyone who is strongly against having some called runs for Allen should look at the shots he took in the pocket against Miami. I would say he is at greater risk of getting injured trying to make a throw than on a run.

Might be an antidote to a banged-up o-line as well. Some designed rollout passes, for the same reason.

 

[KiwiGriff]

the fact that the dolphins sideline is in the shade for the whole game and the visitors sideline is in direct sun for the whole game is a tremendous competitive advantage on days like this.

Does Buffalo have heaters on their side of the field and none on the other? Seems only fair.

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[Jim Bob]

Bills OC Ken Dorsey on late-game situations and "missed opportunities" to win in Miami

www.buffalobills.com

Head coach Sean McDermott acknowledged Monday that he had seen the video of Dorsey expressing his frustrations and told the media that the two of them had a conversation about the situation.
"I think it's something that A) we've got to keep our poise and he's well aware of that and knows that. And B) I love the fact that he cares that much about doing his job and putting his players in a position to be successful. I think that says a lot about him as a coach and how hard he works at it and how important it is to him. But again, it's important that we as leaders keep our poise and that we model that to our players."

Dorsey went on later to add that it's a teaching moment for everyone involved, including him, and that he intends to grow from the experience moving forward.

Coachspeak translator: if you are going to do that, don't do it on camera.

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[Dubi Doo]

Elam becoming a good #2 would bring something we've lacked for a long time.

 

[TehDoak]

Honestly, how I feel about next weeks game really depends on if Mitch Morse is healthy. Feels like the whole offense went haywire with him gone.

 

[Dirty Dog]

The offense moved the ball damn near every drive. The drives kept sputtering out at the end…but you can hardly blame them because at the end of every drive they looked completely gassed.


Anyone acting like our offense didn’t move the ball at will…or that our defense stopped them almost the whole game…saw a different game than me.

 

[Buffalo Norsemen]

Cover for Benford, Jackson, and season ? Was drafted when Frazier was in Mn

 

[Fezzy126]

On the Buffalo Beat podcast they made a great point about how the Bills are really paying the price for majorly ignoring oline (interior in particular) in the draft under the McBeane era. Imagine if we had taken Humphrey instead of Basham...

I haven't listened yet, but this is interesting to read because every year at the draft Joe B is pounding the table for skill position players while devaluing the offensive line. Him and Jeremy White are perhaps the two biggest cheerleaders in the Buffalo media when it comes to "just get a guy" to fill the offensive line positions, taking the stance that "it doesn't matter because the QB makes the line better".

For what it's worth I think our o-line is actually pretty good, no team in the league can withstand 4-5 injuries (i.e. Morse, Bates, Brown, Doyle, Van Roten) and not miss a beat, no matter how much they invested in the line. Despite the injuries, heat, and a bunch of mistakes we still racked up almost 500 yards of offense.

I'll chalk this up as a flukey loss without making any judgements about their team building abilities.

 

[SundherDome]

I wouldn't count on it based on how Beane sounded at the end of the preseason. He said Boettger had a setback in his recovery, but there was still a chance he could play this season.

The tone of the comment sounded like maybe late in the season to my ears.

Ahh, didn't catch that. Thx

 

[Fezzy126]

Buffalo still needs to get a consistent run game. I know, when you have a weapon like Allen, you like to use it. But....not being able to get a 1st and goal on the two vs a gassed miami defense is a problem.

This is one thing that kind of stood out to me, the Phins defense didn't look gassed to me. Those guys were still flying around and making plays. Howard was the only player I remember hearing that went off for cramps on their side.

I mean FFS Wilkins was chasing down plays from behind and making huge hits. Ogbah and Ingram were in Allen's face on nearly every dropback. Their dbs were always right with our WRs, constantly contesting catches.

Full credit to their defenders, the heat and massive amount of plays on the field didn't seem to wear them down.

 

[Jim Bob]

This is one thing that kind of stood out to me, the Phins defense didn't look gassed to me. Those guys were still flying around and making plays. Howard was the only player I remember hearing that went off for cramps on their side.

I mean FFS Wilkins was chasing down plays from behind and making huge hits. Ogbah and Ingram were in Allen's face on nearly every dropback. Their dbs were always right with our WRs, constantly contesting catches.

Full credit to their defenders, the heat and massive amount of plays on the field didn't seem to wear them down.

They are likely more used to it since they practice in that environment regularly. It's similar to the thin air in Denver.

 

[Dubi Doo]

Honestly, how I feel about next weeks game really depends on if Mitch Morse is healthy. Feels like the whole offense went haywire with him gone.

They certainly missed Morse, but they were putting up points that first half. They were still driving in the second half, but would sputter out at the end because, imo- they were down to their 3rd string center and cycling guys in and out due to heat exhaustion and cramping. I saw the breakdown of snaps- and the O line was a complete mess in that regard. I believe only Saffold and Dawkins played a majority of the O line snaps.

The offense moved the ball damn near every drive. The drives kept sputtering out at the end…but you can hardly blame them because at the end of every drive they looked completely gassed.


Anyone acting like our offense didn’t move the ball at will…or that our defense stopped them almost the whole game…saw a different game than me.

Exactly right.

Also, that holding penalty on the final drive likely cost them the game. I can't believe how many times the offense shot itself in the foot, but then I remember the logistical f***ery that occurred due to the heat and injuries- and I can understand why they sputtered so many times. Just wish we had a running game to lean on- because Allen must've been gassed by the end of that game.

Still, if we were healthy on offense- we likely end a couple of those long drives with TDs.

 

[Dubi Doo]

This is one thing that kind of stood out to me, the Phins defense didn't look gassed to me. Those guys were still flying around and making plays. Howard was the only player I remember hearing that went off for cramps on their side.

I mean FFS Wilkins was chasing down plays from behind and making huge hits. Ogbah and Ingram were in Allen's face on nearly every dropback. Their dbs were always right with our WRs, constantly contesting catches.

Full credit to their defenders, the heat and massive amount of plays on the field didn't seem to wear them down.

Dolphins D played their hearts out. I give them props for that, but I think the reason they didnt look gassed compared to Buffalo's offense is because Buffalo's O was more gassed due to the heat.

During that 9 minute drive- I know McKenzie and Knox had to be hooked up to IVs in the locker room, and Im sure some of the OL also needed to take breaks. It's not normal for the offense to wear itself down when they have the ball for 40 mins, so there were definitely some unique variables at play this game.

 

[missingmika]

Tickets are getting expensive:

Ticket prices for Packers-Bills game climbing to London game range

Green Bay Packers fans looking for a bargain in next five weeks could consider Washington. Other games are more costly.

www.greenbaypressgazette.com

 

[Husko]

I haven't listened yet, but this is interesting to read because every year at the draft Joe B is pounding the table for skill position players while devaluing the offensive line. Him and Jeremy White are perhaps the two biggest cheerleaders in the Buffalo media when it comes to "just get a guy" to fill the offensive line positions, taking the stance that "it doesn't matter because the QB makes the line better".

For what it's worth I think our o-line is actually pretty good, no team in the league can withstand 4-5 injuries (i.e. Morse, Bates, Brown, Doyle, Van Roten) and not miss a beat, no matter how much they invested in the line. Despite the injuries, heat, and a bunch of mistakes we still racked up almost 500 yards of offense.

I'll chalk this up as a flukey loss without making any judgements about their team building abilities.

I think you might be conflating Joes! Joe Dibiase at WGR in fact does that. Joe Buscaglia at the athletic who runs the buffalo beat podcast with Fairbairn has been very concerned about the bills offensive line depth all offseason.

I think our offensive line is ok, but has some holes and a general lack of depth. I think Van Roten and Mancz are very bad. I think Saffold has been a big dissapointment (I think far too many took for granted that he would be good). Most concerningly, RT has been a really big problem. That said, it's a really big problem for 2/3 of the league, but still.

 

[Rowley Birkin]

Dolphins D played their hearts out. I give them props for that, but I think the reason they didnt look gassed compared to Buffalo's offense is because Buffalo's O was more gassed due to the heat.

During that 9 minute drive- I know McKenzie and Knox had to be hooked up to IVs in the locker room, and Im sure some of the OL also needed to take breaks. It's not normal for the offense to wear itself down when they have the ball for 40 mins, so there were definitely some unique variables at play this game.

If this is the case then you could argue that Miami's gameplan deserves credit. They managed to win by having their offense out there for the absolute minimum amount of time necessary.

I'm not panicking from the Bills' POV - losses will always happen. So will injuries. They should still be in fine shape come the playoffs so long as Allen is healthy - although I'd still like to see more of the reserve safety duo.

Neither am I going to jump on the bandwagon of trashing Miami - calling them cheaters, calling them lucky or whatever else. I had them marked down as a dark horse contender this year & so far they are backing that up @ 3-0.

Has @Ace shown up in this thread recently? I haven't checked most of it...

---

I think you might be conflating Joes! Joe Dibiase at WGR in fact does that. Joe Buscaglia at the athletic who runs the buffalo beat podcast with Fairbairn has been very concerned about the bills offensive line depth all offseason.

I think our offensive line is ok, but has some holes and a general lack of depth. I think Van Roten and Mancz are very bad. I think Saffold has been a big dissapointment (I think far too many took for granted that he would be good). Most concerningly, RT has been a really big problem. That said, it's a really big problem for 2/3 of the league, but still.

I totally agree with you on this. I was one of the loudest voices here for drafting OL high & often.

 

[Dubi Doo]

If this is the case then you could argue that Miami's gameplan deserves credit. They managed to win by having their offense out there for the absolute minimum amount of time necessary.

I'm not panicking from the Bills' POV - losses will always happen. So will injuries. They should still be in fine shape come the playoffs so long as Allen is healthy - although I'd still like to see more of the reserve safety duo.

Neither am I going to jump on the bandwagon of trashing Miami - calling them cheaters, calling them lucky or whatever else. I had them marked down as a dark horse contender this year & so far they are backing that up @ 3-0.

Has @Ace shown up in this thread recently? I haven't checked most of it...

---

I totally agree with you on this. I was one of the loudest voices here for drafting OL high & often.

I like McDaniel. I think he'll be their coach for a while. He got the W, but the circumstances worked out really well for his team. I believe the logistical f***ery that occurred with the injuries impacted the outcome of the game more than anything McDaniel did, and I don't think that's an outlandish take at all given how much the Bills dominated ToP and yards but couldn't put up points, which is rare for this offense.

If the Dolphins beat Buffalo straight up, then I'd give them more credit, but I can't ignore all the variables at play here. It's not really trashing the Dolphins as much as it is just stating facts- it was a wonky game. I didn't read all that much into the Pats Monday night game for the same reason.

And, just to be clear- I've had Miami as a WC contender since training camp, so I think they're a solid team as well, but they've been very lucky to face two teams depleted by injuries two weeks in a row. Small sample sizes can make solid teams look like contenders early on.

 

[Jim Bob]

I like McDaniel. I think he'll be their coach for a while. He got the W, but the circumstances worked out really well for his team. I believe the logistical f***ery that occurred with the injuries impacted the outcome of the game more than anything McDaniel did, and I don't think that's an outlandish take at all given how much the Bills dominated ToP and yards but couldn't put up points, which is rare for this offense.

If the Dolphins beat Buffalo straight up, then I'd give them more credit, but I can't ignore all the variables at play here. It's not really trashing the Dolphins as much as it is just stating facts- it was a wonky game. I didn't read all that much into the Pats Monday night game for the same reason.

And, just to be clear- I've had Miami as a WC contender since training camp, so I think they're a solid team as well, but they've been very lucky to face two teams depleted by injuries two weeks in a row. Small sample sizes can make solid teams look like contenders early on.

Plus, it is just one game.

Pats fans were feeling it after the win in the wind last season. And we all saw how the playoff game played out.

If the Bills injury situation resolves itself between now and week 15, I would expect the Bills to boat race the Dolphins at home barring more crazy weather.

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[brian_griffin]

I’ll worry about corner back the moment the unit gives me a reason to worry about it. At this point I’m convinced McDermott could plug and play a Canisius High School grad and be fine. Much much much more worried about the oline.

There are a couple Canisius HS grads on this board... as long as it's not them...

This is one thing that kind of stood out to me, the Phins defense didn't look gassed to me. Those guys were still flying around and making plays. Howard was the only player I remember hearing that went off for cramps on their side.

I mean FFS Wilkins was chasing down plays from behind and making huge hits. Ogbah and Ingram were in Allen's face on nearly every dropback. Their dbs were always right with our WRs, constantly contesting catches.

Full credit to their defenders, the heat and massive amount of plays on the field didn't seem to wear them down.

Dolphins shaded sideline is a huge advantage. The temperature of surfaces exposed to the black body radiant energy of direct sunlight (like skin, jerseys, grass, etc.) is typically 10 degrees minimum, as much as 15 degrees or more, higher than air temperature. Also, with no wind in the stadium, as was reported, there is essentially minimal convective cooling occurring.

They are likely more used to it since they practice in that environment regularly. It's similar to the thin air in Denver.

Definitely also factor. It takes me a while to warm up to summer gardening here. But the shade vs. exposed sun is HUGE.

Has @Ace shown up in this thread recently? I haven't checked most of it...

I imagine he is being held hostage in Hannibal Lecter-like restraints and mask, by a murder of crows** fearing for their collective lives.
(**yes, a "murder" is the term for a group of crows - oh, the irony in @Ace 's case)

 

[Mike McDermott]

Not surprised by this but man does it suck to see in context/comparison to others.

 

[Zman5778]

I've been paying half attention to the Giants to see how Jones is developing under Daboll. Jones has kinda looked like Allen year 2 so far this year -- some OUTSTANDING passes (had 2 Allen-like passes that were flat-out dropped last night) and then some WTF moments.

There might be something there. Let's see how the rest of the season goes.

 

[Taro Tsujimoto]