And, We're Off!

[Shaw66]

Image Credit: © Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

 

The Bills opened the 2021 NFL season on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers and well, can we get a do over?  

 

The day didn’t start well for Bills fans in Orchard Park.  Traffic into Highmark Stadium was a nightmare – a one-hour drive from home to first beer was two hours or more on Sunday.  The crush of fans entering the stadium was as big as on the worst of days.  To their credit, the Bills knew it was coming and urged ticket holders to get there early and enter the stadium early.   Everyone will know better next time. 

 

Once in the stadium, the fans were ready for a party.  The stadium was amped like Monday night against the Cowboys several years ago.  The noise as the offense was introduced made it impossible to hear the names of any players being announced.  It got louder as Emmanuel Sanders came out of the tunnel, even louder for Beasley, louder still for Diggs, and when Allen appeared, Highmark literally rocked.  Fred Jackson asked the fans, “Where would you rather be than right here, right now?”  We all knew the answer.  By the time Isaiah McKenzie took the opening kickoff back for 75 yards, the fans were in an absolute frenzy. 

 

Then the Bills offense went three and out, settling for a field goal.  That was all we needed to know about how the game would go – a lot of noise, then nothing.

 

© Jamie Germano via Imagn Content Services, LLC

I know it’s a long season, I know there will be ups and downs, I know no one wins them all.  Still, is it too much to ask that the team be ready to play when the season starts?   2020 wasn’t a mirage; the Bills actually were a good team.  So what happened on Sunday?  Josh Allen was human, that’s what happened.   He wasn’t sharp.  He threw some short balls into the dirt, he missed guys deep, he threw into tight coverage where there was little or no hope.  He made multiple bad cuts on designed runs.  He fumbled twice. 

 

Ben Roethlisberger was the better quarterback on Sunday, consistently shrugging off tacklers to make plays, consistently throwing more accurately than Allen.  Ben’s showed Allen how MVPs win games.

 

Josh didn’t play like MVP candidate, and Brian Daboll didn’t coach like a head-coaching candidate.  It’s axiomatic in the NFL that whatever worked for you last season is not going to work so well this season.  Why?   Because the other coaches are as smart as you are, and they aren’t going to continue to get beat by last year’s offense.  

 

The Steelers had all summer to look at film of the 2020 Bills passing game, and they didn’t waste the opportunity.  The Steelers completely blanketed the Bills’ mid-range passing game; those deadly 15- to 25-yard completions that Josh dropped on defenses all last season were gone.   Allen found Diggs and Sanders on out patterns that looked nice but can’t be the staple of any offense, and he found Beasley over the middle on classic short balls.  Too many of those completions resulted in the receivers getting pounded by Steelers.   Not much of what worked in 2020 was working in the first half on Sunday, and nothing changed in the second half.  Daboll’s offense was flat on Sunday, and he didn’t know what to do about it.

 

© Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

The Bills weren’t horrible, just not good enough to win the kind of games championship teams win.  Ed Oliver was the slashing defensive tackle the Bills hoped he would be when they drafted him.  Micah Hyde made tackles all over the field, and he had one spectacular pass defensed.  Tre’Davious White shone.  Gabriel Davis’s touchdown catch was even better than Allen’s throw.  Singletary worked hard and took advantage of the holes the offensive line gave him. 

 

It was very much a field position game.  Up and down the stat sheet, the Bill’s won the statistical battle, but the Bills kept giving Pittsburgh short fields, and the Steelers took advantage.  McDermott’s decision to go for it on 4^th and 8 instead of punting or trying the field goal gave the Steelers a short field and a field goal.  Then, on fourth and one the Bills tried a modest trick play and failed – if your man can’t execute the block, don’t run the play.  Pittsburgh got a short field and a touchdown.  And then the blocked punt, the instant change of field position, ended the game.  The Bills defense, which played well enough, needed to be a little better.

 

At the end of the day, what bothered me most was Josh Allen’s body language when he began the final drive with a couple of incompletions.  A Steelers fan behind me kept saying, “it’s not over, it’s not over,” but Allen’s body language said it was.  He was lackadaisical coming back to the huddle, had a “whatever” kind of manner about him, as though he was mailing in the last few plays.  Sanders had a false start, as if he didn’t care too much, either.  Diggs strolled back to the line of scrimmage.  Then Motor popped a couple of runs, and the Bills seemed to have a last gasp in them.  Alas, Allen had no magic, and the Bills lost. 

 

It’s a long season, there will be ups and downs, no one wins them all.  Still, it would have been nice if the Bills hadn’t spoiled their own party.  They have plenty of work to do. 

 

Bilsfans.com - Shaw66

 

Related Articles:

Buffalo Bills vs Steelers 9/12/2021- A Few Thoughts, in no particular order

Bills Allow 17 Fourth-Quarter Points, Lose Season Opener 23-16

Buffalo Bills vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Week 1 game preview

 

View full article

[LB3]

Josh needs to play better for certain. I disagree with you holding up Roethlisberger as an example of how Allen could have played better. Roethlisberger was not good. He was actually pretty bad and did it without his line looking completely overmatched.

 

Josh definitely needs to figure out a way to calm himself down earlier. I'll need to rewatch the end of the game. I didn't notice the bad body language and lack of hustle.

 

 

 

 

[Ann]

13 minutes ago, LB3 said:

Josh needs to play better for certain. I disagree with you holding up Roethlisberger as an example of how Allen could have played better. Roethlisberger was not good. He was actually pretty bad and did it without his line looking completely overmatched.

 

Josh definitely needs to figure out a way to calm himself down earlier. I'll need to rewatch the end of the game. I didn't notice the bad body language and lack of hustle.

Yeah, I agree. Ben looked terrible yesterday. Both offenses looked bad. Both offenses scored 16 points. Does that mean both defenses were good? Why, yes they were, but as I said in another thread I expect the Bills to gel and get over the yips and bad coaching of yesterday and become a great offense. I think what we saw from Pittsburgh yesterday might be their offensive high.

 

[Figster]

First of all I want to thank one of my favorite posters of all time for joining us. Generally on ATOP I would wait to leave any thoughts or comments I have of the game until Shaw has posted. Something that originated in BB.com. I'm happy to carry on the same tradition here on Billsfans.com. A classy site with some class act posters.

 

Shaw in a nutshell it appears to me the Buffalo Bills O resembles more and more the Houston Oiler run and shoot O of the 90's IMO. For the most part finesse and one dimensional by way of WR usage. Very low TE receptions or plays from the RB position. The Bills WR's have been man handled 2 games in a row. Chiefs and now the Steelers. Josh Allen is showing very little movement in the pocket making him easy to defend IMO. Be it by design or Allen trying to become a Tom Brady stand in the pocket passer is beyond me. Its not working.

 

My solution to the problem is becoming a more balanced attack run and pass. Make Dawson Knox a bigger part of the game plan. I view Allen as a stronger armed and more athletic John Elway. Ball distribution spread out to all of Elways play makers including a strong run game was key to winning two Championships in my humble opinion.

 

Thanks again Shaw and I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

 

Go Bills!!!

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

1 hour ago, Figster said:

First of all I want to thank one of my favorite poster of all time for joining us.

 

You're welcome.

[Figster]

2 hours ago, Ann said:

Yeah, I agree. Ben looked terrible yesterday. Both offenses looked bad. Both offenses scored 16 points. Does that mean both defenses were good? Why, yes they were, but as I said in another thread I expect the Bills to gel and get over the yips and bad coaching of yesterday and become a great offense. I think what we saw from Pittsburgh yesterday might be their offensive high.

 

Ben did not look terrible to the terrible towel wavers. Standing behind a new make shift Oline. Coaching new players and rookie RB and facing what I believe is a top 3 D in Buffalo. On the road. Hostile environment. Big Ben got the job done.

 

My hats off to them... 

[GG1]

9 minutes ago, Figster said:

Ben did not look terrible to the terrible towel wavers. Standing behind a new make shift Oline. Coaching new players and rookie RB and facing what I believe is a top 3 D in Buffalo. On the road. Hostile environment. Big Ben got the job done.

 

My hats off to them... 

 

They did that, but realistically he threw 3-4 decent passes.  Too bad they all came at the most unfortunate times for Buffalo.

[Arm of Harm]

2 hours ago, Figster said:

A classy site with some class act posters.

Thank you! But, I’d like to point out I am not the sole reason this is a classy site with some class act posters. Others have contributed as well. It would be wrong to award me 100% of the credit. 

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

39 minutes ago, Arm of Harm said:

Thank you! But, I’d like to point out I am not the sole reason this is a classy site with some class act posters. Others have contributed as well. It would be wrong to award me 100% of the credit. 

 

What, you can't just say "You're welcome?"  

[Arm of Harm]

5 minutes ago, Crap Throwing Monkey said:

 

What, you can't just say "You're welcome?"  

Glad you liked my post. 🙂 You’re welcome. 

[Ann]

It’s gettin’ deep in this thread. I need to find some waders. 🙄

[TakeYouToTasker 2.0]

4 hours ago, Ann said:

It’s gettin’ deep in this thread. I need to find some waders. 🙄

I already have my scuba gear on.

[CarpetCrawler]

14 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

© Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

The Bills opened the 2021 NFL season on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers and well, can we get a do over?  

 

The day didn’t start well for Bills fans in Orchard Park.  Traffic into Highmark Stadium was a nightmare – a one-hour drive from home to first beer was two hours or more on Sunday.  The crush of fans entering the stadium was as big as on the worst of days.  To their credit, the Bills knew it was coming and urged ticket holders to get there early and enter the stadium early.   Everyone will know better next time. 

 

Once in the stadium, the fans were ready for a party.  The stadium was amped like Monday night against the Cowboys several years ago.  The noise as the offense was introduced made it impossible to hear the names of any players being announced.  It got louder as Emmanuel Sanders came out of the tunnel, even louder for Beasley, louder still for Diggs, and when Allen appeared, Highmark literally rocked.  Fred Jackson asked the fans, “Where would you rather be than right here, right now?”  We all knew the answer.  By the time Isaiah McKenzie took the opening kickoff back for 75 yards, the fans were in an absolute frenzy. 

 

Then the Bills offense went three and out, settling for a field goal.  That was all we needed to know about how the game would go – a lot of noise, then nothing.

 

© Jamie Germano via Imagn Content Services, LLC

I know it’s a long season, I know there will be ups and downs, I know no one wins them all.  Still, is it too much to ask that the team be ready to play when the season starts?   2020 wasn’t a mirage; the Bills actually were a good team.  So what happened on Sunday?  Josh Allen was human, that’s what happened.   He wasn’t sharp.  He threw some short balls into the dirt, he missed guys deep, he threw into tight coverage where there was little or no hope.  He made multiple bad cuts on designed runs.  He fumbled twice. 

 

Ben Roethlisberger was the better quarterback on Sunday, consistently shrugging off tacklers to make plays, consistently throwing more accurately than Allen.  Ben’s showed Allen how MVPs win games.

 

Josh didn’t play like MVP candidate, and Brian Daboll didn’t coach like a head-coaching candidate.  It’s axiomatic in the NFL that whatever worked for you last season is not going to work so well this season.  Why?   Because the other coaches are as smart as you are, and they aren’t going to continue to get beat by last year’s offense.  

 

The Steelers had all summer to look at film of the 2020 Bills passing game, and they didn’t waste the opportunity.  The Steelers completely blanketed the Bills’ mid-range passing game; those deadly 15- to 25-yard completions that Josh dropped on defenses all last season were gone.   Allen found Diggs and Sanders on out patterns that looked nice but can’t be the staple of any offense, and he found Beasley over the middle on classic short balls.  Too many of those completions resulted in the receivers getting pounded by Steelers.   Not much of what worked in 2020 was working in the first half on Sunday, and nothing changed in the second half.  Daboll’s offense was flat on Sunday, and he didn’t know what to do about it.

 

© Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

The Bills weren’t horrible, just not good enough to win the kind of games championship teams win.  Ed Oliver was the slashing defensive tackle the Bills hoped he would be when they drafted him.  Micah Hyde made tackles all over the field, and he had one spectacular pass defensed.  Tre’Davious White shone.  Gabriel Davis’s touchdown catch was even better than Allen’s throw.  Singletary worked hard and took advantage of the holes the offensive line gave him. 

 

It was very much a field position game.  Up and down the stat sheet, the Bill’s won the statistical battle, but the Bills kept giving Pittsburgh short fields, and the Steelers took advantage.  McDermott’s decision to go for it on 4^th and 8 instead of punting or trying the field goal gave the Steelers a short field and a field goal.  Then, on fourth and one the Bills tried a modest trick play and failed – if your man can’t execute the block, don’t run the play.  Pittsburgh got a short field and a touchdown.  And then the blocked punt, the instant change of field position, ended the game.  The Bills defense, which played well enough, needed to be a little better.

 

At the end of the day, what bothered me most was Josh Allen’s body language when he began the final drive with a couple of incompletions.  A Steelers fan behind me kept saying, “it’s not over, it’s not over,” but Allen’s body language said it was.  He was lackadaisical coming back to the huddle, had a “whatever” kind of manner about him, as though he was mailing in the last few plays.  Sanders had a false start, as if he didn’t care too much, either.  Diggs strolled back to the line of scrimmage.  Then Motor popped a couple of runs, and the Bills seemed to have a last gasp in them.  Alas, Allen had no magic, and the Bills lost. 

 

It’s a long season, there will be ups and downs, no one wins them all.  Still, it would have been nice if the Bills hadn’t spoiled their own party.  They have plenty of work to do. 

 

Bilsfans.com - Shaw66

 

Related Articles:

Buffalo Bills vs Steelers 9/12/2021- A Few Thoughts, in no particular order

Bills Allow 17 Fourth-Quarter Points, Lose Season Opener 23-16

Buffalo Bills vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Week 1 game preview

 

 

View full article

 

 

Nice seeing you here Shaw.

 

I fully agree about the body language, but I was seeing it the whole game. He just wasn't comfortable at all, I think the rush shook him and when his passes were't going where he wanted then to go he had a rookie flashback. It was definitely a JA season 1 performance and we needed to see him maintain last year's level.

 

Someone said it yesterday, I can't remember who, but the starters should have had more work during the preseason. After all the talk of continuity and cohesion, they didn't look much like they were all on the same page. 

 

Hopefully this was their "stinker" game of the year, and now they regain their focus. 

[Jabba The Hutt]

9 hours ago, CarpetCrawler said:

 

Nice seeing you here Shaw.

 

I fully agree about the body language, but I was seeing it the whole game. He just wasn't comfortable at all, I think the rush shook him and when his passes were't going where he wanted then to go he had a rookie flashback. It was definitely a JA season 1 performance and we needed to see him maintain last year's level.

 

Someone said it yesterday, I can't remember who, but the starters should have had more work during the preseason. After all the talk of continuity and cohesion, they didn't look much like they were all on the same page. 

 

Hopefully this was their "stinker" game of the year, and now they regain their focus. 

This is what happens when TJ Watt has a good game

[Ninety-4]

And we're off.

 

Like a herd.

 

Like a herd of turtles. 

[Figster]

1 hour ago, Ninety-4 said:

And we're off.

 

Like a herd.

 

Like a herd of turtles. 

The tortoise and the hare approach ;  )

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

11 minutes ago, Figster said:

The tortoise and the hare approach ;  )

 

"Slow and steady wins the race."

 

Also gets caught by the predators.

[You Dirty Rat]

Nice job Shaw

[GG1]

4 hours ago, HOUSE said:

Nice job Shaw

How was your retirement party ATOP?

[Cinga]

Good to see you here @Shaw66! Welcome aboard!