Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills - Week 9: Bills (5-2) @ Jaguars (1-6)

[Dubi Doo]

I complained about interior line play all offseason, lost my mind during the draft when we took Basham over Humphrey, and was not happy seeing them bring the same mediocre group back.

Me watching yesterday:

Maybe JW can suggest trading for another skill position weapon, I'm sure that's still the answer to our problems

I remember talking to @TalkingProuder in an older thread asking if there were any mean and nasty interior guards we could draft in the first two rounds. The issue was obvious to a lot of us, but Beane wanted consistency on the line, which hasnt seemed to make a difference since the line consistently looks confused as to whonto block.

That being said, I was happy they addressed the d line as heavily as they did, but they shouldve added some bodies in FA at the very least.

It's also salt in the wound that they got rid of two very good guards in Spain and Teller. Teller may not have been a fit, but Spain showed a lot in 2019. I thought he'd be a core piece of the line for the foreseeable future.


Also, Dawkins and Williams havent been nearly as good this year. Morse has been the only lineman playing consistent this year. Sad to see, and *may* cost us later in the year when the games really matter.

 

[Fezzy126]

I remember talking to @TalkingProuder in an older thread asking there were any mean and nasty interior guards we could draft in the first two rounds. That being said, I was happy they addressed the d line as heavily as they did, but they shouldve added some bodies in FA.

It's also salt in the wound that they got rid of two very good guards in Spain and Teller. Teller may not have been a fit, but Spain showed a lot in 2019. I thought he'd be a core piece of the line for the foreseeable future.

Also, Dawkins and Williams havent been nearly as good this year. Morse has been the only lineman playing consistent this year. Sad to see, and *may* cost us later in the year when the games really matter.

The tackle play has been a big problem too, no doubt. It's funny I saw this tweet right before reading your post



The common response is that a good QB can overcome a bad oline. This is one of the most misused line of thoughts in football. A generational/HoF QB can consistently overcome a bad oline or poor supporting cast. Everyone other QB will have games like yesterday from time to time.

That being said, I think there's some truth to what's being said about yesterdays game, I don't think the Bills got up for it or were ready to play. They took took the Jags for granted.

 

[SundherDome]

Oline needs a shakeup

Dawkins Douglass Morse Williams Doyle/Brown.

Keep a tight end in to block and a RB to pick up a blitz and if not there, release.

I don't know if that line will be better but that was embarrassing.

 

[Zman5778]

Oline needs a shakeup

Dawkins Douglass Morse Williams Doyle/Brown.

Keep a tight end in to block and a RB to pick up a blitz and if not there, release.

I don't know if that line will be better but that was embarrassing.

Oline needs to get healthy in order to have a shakeup. I feel like there's a reason that we haven't seen Doyle in any games so far this year.

The guy I'm a little surprise that hasn't gotten any run is Bates. I know he's Morse's main backup, but I thought he could play guard too.

Keeping a TE and/or RB to block seems something that's obvious to us. But apparently not Daboll.

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[Fezzy126]

Oline needs to get healthy in order to have a shakeup. I feel like there's a reason that we haven't seen Doyle in any games so far this year.

The guy I'm a little surprise that hasn't gotten any run is Bates. I know he's Morse's main backup, but I thought he could play guard too.

Keeping a TE and/or RB to block seems something that's obvious to us. But apparently not Daboll.

I agree with the bolded, while they haven't been good, they've at least been adequate when healthy.

I think Bates is only being kept because of his position flexibility, he can play center, guard, and tackle. However, I don't think he plays any of those positions very well.

The real time for shakeups is during the offseason, it's not like good linemen are just hanging out on practice squands. So yeah, scheme adjustments are pretty much our only option.

 

[joshjull]

 

[Zman5778]

Hey, if there's one thing he's good at is marketing/business. Should help the XFL there.

 

[Dubi Doo]

When the Jags can trash talk you, you deserve all the smack talk you get:

 

[valet]

Stop it. Blaming the refs is the thing that loser teams do. We had a bunch of penalties but we earned 75 percent of them. AJ Klein hits a guy well after the play is over. Gonna be a penalty. Some layman on the OL can't stop Josh Allen (the better one today). Gonna be a penalty. Hyde admits he made a penalty. (Gonna be a penalty).

We lost because we were so badly outcoached that we should have left Daboll in Jax. Blaming it on the refs is such a 2011 Bills fan move.

i’m not saying it was all refs, but the refs played a big roll in the outcome of this game. and the nfl clearly has an agenda with the way many games have been officiated in the last several years. it is obvious week to week across the entire league

 

[stealth1]

Oh man. I love overreaction Monday.

Overreaction???? They lost to a 2-6 team and for the number 1 offense only scored 6 points. Even Miami held them in check for the first half last week. I won't be surprised when the Jets do well against them next week. Not being able to run the ball consistently is going end up biting them in the end.

 

[OkimLom]

Overreaction???? They lost to a 2-6 team and for the number 1 offense only scored 6 points. Even Miami held them in check for the first half last week. I won't be surprised when the Jets do well against them next week. Not being able to run the ball consistently is going end up biting them in the end.

At this rate, I'm expecting Buffalo to get shutout.

 

[Harry Kakalovich]

Overreaction???? They lost to a 2-6 team and for the number 1 offense only scored 6 points. Even Miami held them in check for the first half last week. I won't be surprised when the Jets do well against them next week. Not being able to run the ball consistently is going end up biting them in the end.

I was hoping the Bills would run the ball better this year. I wish the Bills would commit to the run more. If you can run over teams, that helps to beat those teams and dominate time of possession. But the Bills seem married to the pass, so hopefully they figure something out.

 

[Buffaloed]

Emmanuel Sanders is a better WR than John Brown, but Brown was good enough for how the Bills used him. It seems like the distribution of pass targets isn't balanced since Sanders was added. If it isn't broke don't try to fix it.

 

[Husko]

Emmanuel Sanders is a better WR than John Brown, but Brown was good enough for how the Bills used him. It seems like the distribution of pass targets isn't balanced since Sanders was added. If it isn't broke don't try to fix it.

Sanders doesn't command the over the top respect Brown did, making it easier for teams to cramp the short field. Diggs is the only legitimate deep threat, and he's getting doubled regardless. Sanders is definitely better at beating the press man, as seen by our success against the Chiefs, but it's a downgrade in deep passing.

 

[Zman5778]

Sanders doesn't command the over the top respect Brown did, making it easier for teams to cramp the short field. Diggs is the only legitimate deep threat, and he's getting doubled regardless. Sanders is definitely better at beating the press man, as seen by our success against the Chiefs, but it's a downgrade in deep passing.

That's something I thought of Sunday as we were being Cover-2'ed to death -- we need a legit deep threat. One who will actually demand the attention of a safety.

I wonder how Marquez Stevenson is healing...............

 

[kirby11]

I'd maybe try going back to Davis a bit more as a different option in place of Sanders and see if he can win downfield with his speed and height. He's not a traditional burner, but Allen had some success taking shots down the sidelines with him last year.

Agreed with the comments on Sanders and targets this season--I feel like they're treating him as a 1B option and it's taken touches away from Diggs, Davis, and McKenzie (when's the last time we even ran a fake jet sweep or motion on offense?)

 

[Rowley Birkin]

Damn - Wyatt Teller just got PAID!

Also re John Brown - he seems not even able to hold down a regular practice squad role anywhere. He's not a huge loss imo.

I said it during this past draft as well as others - they need an offensive weapon. X-factor type guy. Rondale Moore would have worked well.

 

[misterchainsaw]

I'd maybe try going back to Davis a bit more as a different option in place of Sanders and see if he can win downfield with his speed and height. He's not a traditional burner, but Allen had some success taking shots down the sidelines with him last year.

Agreed with the comments on Sanders and targets this season--I feel like they're treating him as a 1B option and it's taken touches away from Diggs, Davis, and McKenzie (when's the last time we even ran a fake jet sweep or motion on offense?)

I was thinking about that 2nd part yesterday. The misdirection stretch plays have just completely disappeared from the offense. We don't even seem to run screens where we fake one way and throw the other (not that those have really been particularly effective even last year) - the screens are always just immediately out to the side we've overloaded to, and now they don't work at all.

 

[Husko]

Damn - Wyatt Teller just got PAID!

Also re John Brown - he seems not even able to hold down a regular practice squad role anywhere. He's not a huge loss imo.

I said it during this past draft as well as others - they need an offensive weapon. X-factor type guy. Rondale Moore would have worked well.

He might not be, but the role he occupied and giving it to someone that has decidedly not a burner, in Sanders, has certainly changed the completion of the offense.

I agree with others that have said we should get Gabe more involved, he was effective when Brown was hurt last year. Also I would like to see them jack up McKenzie's snap share. I wonder if lining him up in the backfield on passing downs could add something. I still think the fact that the Bills don't have to be respected at all coming out of the backfield is a big problem.

 

[kirby11]

I was thinking about that 2nd part yesterday. The misdirection stretch plays have just completely disappeared from the offense. We don't even seem to run screens where we fake one way and throw the other (not that those have really been particularly effective even last year) - the screens are always just immediately out to the side we've overloaded to, and now they don't work at all.

The McKenzie pop pass last year was often good for a handful of yards. I think they tried it once this year in the first game or ran a reverse and he got stuffed. I've said it before, but idk why they completely froze him out of the offense in the playoffs after he killed the Dolphins in week 17 and have seemingly continued with that trend this year. He's no world beater, but he offers short area quickness/burst and RAC ability that none of our other WRs have.

For whatever reason, the offense is collectively terrible at running screens. Allen doesn't sell it well enough and the RB usually gets jumbled up with the o-line.

 

[Zman5778]

The McKenzie pop pass last year was often good for a handful of yards. I think they tried it once this year in the first game or ran a reverse and he got stuffed. I've said it before, but idk why they completely froze him out of the offense in the playoffs after he killed the Dolphins in week 17 and have seemingly continued with that trend this year. He's no world beater, but he offers short area quickness/burst and RAC ability that none of our other WRs have.

For whatever reason, the offense is collectively terrible at running screens. Allen doesn't sell it well enough and the RB usually gets jumbled up with the o-line.

In order to run screens well, you need a halfway decent O-line and/or a fantastic running game. We have neither.

 

[K8fool]

I remember talking to @TalkingProuder in an older thread asking if there were any mean and nasty interior guards we could draft in the first two rounds. The issue was obvious to a lot of us, but Beane wanted consistency on the line, which hasnt seemed to make a difference since the line consistently looks confused as to whonto block.

That being said, I was happy they addressed the d line as heavily as they did, but they shouldve added some bodies in FA at the very least.

It's also salt in the wound that they got rid of two very good guards in Spain and Teller. Teller may not have been a fit, but Spain showed a lot in 2019. I thought he'd be a core piece of the line for the foreseeable future.


Also, Dawkins and Williams havent been nearly as good this year. Morse has been the only lineman playing consistent this year. Sad to see, and *may* cost us later in the year when the games really matter.

second guessing beane and McDermott.. interesting task that may not age well. as teller and that line got mayfield injured and chased and block for three rbs better thqn ours that can hit the line abd cut.. it amazes me the willingness to say our guys blow we can do bettr greener grass elsewhere after a team loss w matchups.. players dinged up etc. Amazing.. .. we arw fine if we trounse bellicheat and the division .

hope we try our entire play book qnd still get a bye..and are so kind we hire readers to stand on ladders reading playoff articles to those that hung themselves over early losses

 

[Dubi Doo]

second guessing beane and McDermott.. interesting task that may not age well. as teller and that line got mayfield injured and chased and block for three rbs better thqn ours that can hit the line abd cut.. it amazes me the willingness to say our guys blow we can do bettr greener grass elsewhere after a team loss w matchups.. players dinged up etc. Amazing.. .. we arw fine if we trounse bellicheat and the division .

hope we try our entire play book qnd still get a bye..and are so kind we hire readers to stand on ladders reading playoff articles to those that hung themselves over early losses

If the O line sorts out their issues, then we'll be good. Can probably make a good run, but if they don't- then we're going to struggle to make the run we did last year. I still have hope, of course. Fluky games happen, but there are worrying trends that can't be ignored, either.

Hopefully they pull it all together. There's still time to workout the kinks.

 

[Dubi Doo]

Gore's the homie. I'm rooting for the dude.