Long Yardage and Other Things

[Alaska Darin]

One of my favorite things about the offense this year is we're just never dead on a drive.  A couple of examples from the Seahawk game:

 

1.  First drive in the 3rd quarter.  2nd and 27 from the Seattle 40.  BILLS beat deep Cover 2 shell by easily getting Davis behind Dunbar.  Josh floats in a perfect pass and hits Davis in stride at about the 15.  David did what a baller does and goes in the the TD.  Problem:  The officials flat out missed it and once again the McDermott regime doesn't challenge a play they should.  I will grant that the ball was at the one and this team is essentially money at that spot on the field with 3 downs BUT you never let a clear TD get put aside.

 

2.  4th Quarter on a critical drive as the Chickens had closed the lead to a TD:  3rd and 16 from the Seattle 35.  Daboll pulls a New England and calls a WR screen to John Brown that is executed to perfection.  Seattle sends the house and Josh throws a dart to Brown, who blazes a trail to the 2 yard line.  2 plays later the lead is back to 14 and Seattle starts panicking because these guys in blue are for real.

 

Other Things:

1.  Moss is the real deal.  He needs to get better at blitz pickup but few rookies are good at that skill.  He is fast, tough as nails and has surprisingly good hands.  I didn't know he used to be a WR "when he was smaller" but that tip toe on the sideline for a first down on a perfect "hands" catch made me a believer.

2.  Feliciano is a monster.  We missed his sandpaper.

3.  We got some quality OLine depth.  We lost both starting guards on a drive and went right down the field for a TD.  In years past that would have started the domino affect on the way to a huge blowout loss.

4.  Jerry Hughes is still balling.  He ain't getting any younger but boy does he do some things.

5  Johnson's hit on the kickoff return was THUNDEROUS.

6.  The most important play of the game might have been the opening kickoff.  Seattle got punched right in the grill and never really recovered.

7.  I loved the compete in this game, especially late.  Even with TreDay out, the DBs were WORKING and did some hitting all the way to 4th down.

8.  This may have been the best overall coached game of the McDermott era with the glaring exception of not challenging Davis' TD.

9.  Gabe Davis is going to be a star in the NFL.  He looks like a 10 year vet already.

10.  Brandon Beane is awesome.

[IDBillzFan]

First, it's great having you post about football more purposefully again. I know ATOP got top heavy quickly after BBMB went down, and I forgot how much you used to contribute back then.

 

Speaking of things I forgot that I liked: its been since the Kelly years that things like field position and down/distance didn't bother me much. I have to credit Dabol with no going into a shell just because a 3rd and 5 became a 3rd and 15 because of a holding penalty. He suddenly has a quarterback that can make any throw, and that throw to Davis is a perfect example. Some of Josh's best throws are while he's rolling to his right, and that was a perfect example. Up and over the coverage, and let Davis do the rest.

 

One other things I noticed this past week was Josh resigning himself to being sacked. There were a couple of sacks where you could see him processing the 'live to fight another day' concept, and in the process, pull the ball down to protect it. So yes, he was sacked 7 times, but as @BuffaloHokie13pointed out, it was 29 sack yards, and I'd expect that number to be much higher on 7 sacks. I think part of it was Josh just taking it on a three-step drop and not running backwards trying to play hero ball.

 

The Seattle game may be my favorite Josh Allen game so far.

[GG1]

One nit though, the 3 & 16 play to Brown was all Allen audible when he saw the hawks’ coverage.

[KD in CA]

1 minute ago, GG1 said:

One nit though, the 3 & 16 play to Brown was all Allen audible when he saw the hawks’ coverage.

 

Which made it even better.  That's the kind of recognition and execution I've watched other teams pull off for years while the Bills where running 4 yard outs on 3d and 8. 

It was my favorite play of the game.

[BuffaloHokie13]

On point 3 - That's also down our starting center (the 2nd highest paid in the league IIRC). Really telling.

Brown and Beasley are good, but you can really tell how much Josh trusts Diggs & Davis. Makes me really excited to see what we also got in Hodgins next season since he also flashed in camp.

This rookie class was icing on the cake it seems. Epenesa has flashed some ability, but is clearly adjusting physically, Moss looks to be the real deal, Davis is looking like a complete steal, and Dane Jackson has impressed in his limited play.

Edited November 12, 2020 by BuffaloHokie13

[leh-nerd skin-erd]

I’m not sure that challenge results in the TD.  I think it should, but many some crazy stuff happens when the officials need to man up.  
 

Great write up.  I’ve been saying similar things to my son since early in the year—Josh backs up to throw on 3rd and long, I see his release when comfortable and think “First fing down!” and I’m usually right. 

[Nanker]

Great writing folks. This is the best Bills team we’ve had in decades. They may not have all of the pieces in place just yet, but their turnaround is turning heads all over the football world. 
 

We’ll look back one day and think, “These are the good old days.”  Enjoy the ride. I know I am. 

[3rdnlng]

Good discussion by posters that see the overall picture. Seems like the football discussion ATOP usually defaulted to some self appointed expert arguing about technical points that mattered little in the big picture. We have a real leader in Josh Allen and it's good to see that there are people here who recognize that. 

[IDBillzFan]

19 hours ago, Alaska Darin said:

2.  4th Quarter on a critical drive as the Chickens had closed the lead to a TD:  3rd and 16 from the Seattle 35.  Daboll pulls a New England and calls a WR screen to John Brown that is executed to perfection.  Seattle sends the house and Josh throws a dart to Brown, who blazes a trail to the 2 yard line.  2 plays later the lead is back to 14 and Seattle starts panicking because these guys in blue are for real.

 

Shoulda put this here, not the other thread, because it's all about this play being the turning point.