A Few Thoughts About the Dolphins Game, in no particular order

[Virgil]

It wasn't supposed to be like this.  Yes, quite a few locked playoff teams played their starters to gain better seeding positioning and we did pull the majority of our guys by halftime.  We were playing a playoff hopeful team that had many fans worried could surge mid-way through the season and threaten as AFC East champions.  With that, there was no way we would absolutely humiliate and destroy the Dolphins, right?  We aren't that level of elite team, are we? 

 

1 - Knox - In all that occurred in this game, one thing that stuck out to me a lot was the amount of plays designed to go to Knox.  He didn't have a big game and a lot of the plays were either poor throws or blown up by the Dolphins defense, but the focus was still there.  I'm not quite sure why Knox was a focal point, and it may not be worth the time to understand any offensive philosophy in a meaningless week 17 game, but it was still a note multiple times today.

 

2 - Tua - I'll give him credit, he throws a great sideline deep ball to the back-shoulder.  Other than that, the Bills absolutely demoralized the kid.  Yes, he threw for the illustrious 300+ yards, but our defense intercepted him three times, could have easily been five, and eliminated his effectiveness once he had to become a pure passer.  This is not an indication of the type of player is going to be, but it does go to show that the question is still out there.  He isn't Herbert or Burrow and the offense is still very much tailored to bringing him along as a rookie.  Like the Steelers a few weeks back, the Dolphins play their game within 10 yards of the line and don't know how to adapt beyond that.

 

3 - Marlowe - Making the most of his extra playing time, Marlowe almost had three interceptions today as he was all over the field.  He was great in coverage as he was used almost Poyer-esqe in this game.  He was at the line, deep in coverage, and did a great job of holding his zone; which resulted in one of his interceptions.  Marlowe, like many others, showed the depth of this team and just how scary this defense can be.

 

4 - Well I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life

Run me out in the cold rain and snow

Rain and snow, run me out in the cold rain and snow

 

5 - Barkley - No offense to Matt, but if you want to understand just how strong Allen's arm is, watch some of Matt's throws.  First off, I think Matt is one of the biggest cheerleaders on the team.  He was losing his mind on the punt return and the Smoke sideline catch.  I do take issue with his deep ball late to Davis, no matter how beautiful that play was.  We were up big and the game was over.  Let's be better there.  Barkley had one terrible interception, but was overall suitable as a backup in the game.  It was interesting to see the change of pace out there, but you could tell Matt was excited to make play and had no intention of just handing off the ball.

 

6 - Smoke - How good was it to see him back out on the field?  If you wondered how his speed would be affected by the injury, the perfect deep ball from Josh answered that.  He showed his typical cross route and side-line awareness.  If this game only served the purposed of getting his feet wet and letting Josh find his rhythm with him, then mission accomplished.

 

7 - McKenzie - With Roberts and Beasley out, our #5 receiver had a career first half.  The punt return for a touchdown was all him, with jukes, stutter steps, and field awareness.  His touchdowns were just pure speed and tiring out the defenders.  If Beasley is unable to return for the playoff, I think it's safe to say that McKenzie can handle the pick-up duty.  He's a great compliment of speed with Diggs and Brown out there and can handle the limited calls he gets.  Great game for the kid and you have to be happy for him.  If you're an opposing defense, you have to just shake your head at another Bills weapon scoring points

 

8 - Bojo - I really debated making just a special teams thought, but Bojo's punt inside the 1 yard line was as beautiful a punt as I've ever seen.  For a kid who many wanted cut last season, Bojo has gone on to lead the lead in YPP this season.  Granted, he's well rested with this offense, but it has to make you feel better knowing how well we can flip fields in a possession game. 

 

9 - Matakevich - I'm not spelling that name, so he will be Tyler going forward (sorry Kroft), but I may have a new favorite back-up player.  Tyler was an absolutely missile out there today.  Kid just made a decision and just ran.  He also did the one thing that consistently drives me nuts about Edwards, and that's initiate contact on catches over the middle.  It seemed like every time someone tried to make a catch over the the middle, Tyler was there.  This kid was playing like he had red bull flowing through his veins.  Just another player who shows the depth this team has.

 

10 - Bass - To be honest, I don't understand how points are assigned to players.  Do offensive players not get 6 points for touchdowns?  Either way, Bass now owns the record for most points in a season.  Here's the thing, he did it on mainly extra points.  Seriously, besides the Jets game, the kid is barely out there for field goals.  I'm not taking away from his progress this season, as he's come a really long way, but it's just amazing to me that he set this record knowing his usage.

 

 

Honestly, I don't even know what to say about this team anymore.  I wasn't expecting this game nor the back-half of this season.  If, at the beginning of the season, I told you to pick one of the following to be true, which would you pick:

-Bojo leads the NFL in yards per punt

-Bass breaks teams single season point record

-Allen breaks the single season passing record

-Allen breaks the single season TD record

-Allen has almost 5k total yards and 46 total touchdowns

-Diggs leads the NFL in total receptions

-Diggs leads the NFL in total yards

-Bills score over 500 points

-Bills are 13-3, easily could have been 14-2

-Allen is a legitimate MVP candidate

 

The fact that all of those are true is simply astounding.  We are the team that no one wants to face in the playoffs.  We are the offensive juggernaut with a defense that creates turnovers and a special teams that flips field position.  It's amazing.  Just amazing.

 

Go Bills!

Edited January 4, 2021 by Virgil

[Ann]

Excellent write-up @Virgil

 

 

pssst typo on easily could have been... you wanted 14-2

[Virgil]

9 minutes ago, Ann said:

Excellent write-up @Virgil

 

 

pssst typo on easily could have been... you wanted 14-2

Fixed.  Good catch and thank you 

[Uncle Joe]

39 minutes ago, Virgil said:

I do take issue with his deep ball late to Davis, no matter how beautiful that play was.  We were up big and the game was over.  Let's be better there.  Barkley had one terrible interception, but was overall suitable as a backup in the game.  It was interesting to see the change of pace out there, but you could tell Matt was excited to make play and had no intention of just handing off the ball

Listening to Tasker call he game on WGR. He said we basically had our whole 2nd string out there on offense so let them play. I agree.

[Robs House]

I figured we'd likely win, but had no idea we'd curb stomp a division rival playing to get into the playoffs who were 9-2 in their last 11 games.

 

These Bills are for real. Maybe the best Bills team ever. Nobody wants to face them in the playoffs.

[Chandemonium]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

 

 

10 - Bass - To be honest, I don't understand how points are assigned to players.  Do offensive players not get 6 points for touchdowns?  Either way, Bass now owns the record for most points in a season.  Here's the thing, he did it on mainly extra points.  Seriously, besides the Jets game, the kid is barely out there for field goals.  I'm not taking away from his progress this season, as he's come a really long way, but it's just amazing to me that he set this record knowing his usage.

 

 

 

Go Bills!

I could be wrong, but I believe they do but only for the player who actually possesses the ball in the end zone, so passing TD’s don’t count as points but rushing and receiving ones do. 

[Nanker]

After 0 for the 1970s, the final score could have been 100 - 26 and I wouldn’t accuse The Bills of running up the score on the Fins. 
 

Would loved for them to hang that on the *Patriots who are notorious for running up the score, oh and now for throwing their phones. 

[mead107]

Awesome as always. 
 

[BuffaloHokie13]

That game was pure bliss.

[Just Joshin]

On point #2 - I was listening so could not see the play you are referencing.  Was it a good back shoulder or under thrown?  A bad pass can often look like a back shoulder when the receiver comes back to the ball.

 

As always, a nice write-up.  Looking forward to Saturday's after a Bills win over Indy.

[GG1]

Almost perfect summary, because I'm still shaking my head at Allen's no look TD to McKittrick 🙂

[GG1]

18 minutes ago, Just Joshin said:

On point #2 - I was listening so could not see the play you are referencing.  Was it a good back shoulder or under thrown?  A bad pass can often look like a back shoulder when the receiver comes back to the ball.

 

As always, a nice write-up.  Looking forward to Saturday's after a Bills win over Indy.

 

It was a little bit of both, and many good QBs know that a slightly underthrown pass on that pattern is a good option, as it's likely to be caught or draw OPI.

[IDBillzFan]

13 hours ago, Virgil said:

I do take issue with his deep ball late to Davis, no matter how beautiful that play was.  We were up big and the game was over.  Let's be better there. 

 

Go Bills!

 

Terrific write-up as usual, and I just wanted to add two quick thoughts.

 

First, as it pertains to the note above: I understand where you're coming from, but I've spent countless years being told something I ultimately gave in to and agreed with: if you don't want teams running up the score on you, figure out how to stop it. Likewise, I also spent those years listening to Bills fans banging the drums on being too conservative.

 

After all this time, I have no issues leaving tread marks on the backs of our divisional opponents. I chuckle listening to Fish fans whine about how disrespectful the Bills were for letting a running back brought up from the practice squads 24 hours earlier to score on them. By the time Barkley was hitting Davis for a couple of 50-yard bombs in garbage time, it took me all of three minutes to turn into Brigitte Nielson in Rocky V watching her husband kill Apollo Creed.

 

Second is something I've noticed as a stat in the past few games that hasn't gotten a lot of discussion: the Bills opponents on 3rd down seems to be ridiculous. The Steelers were 1 for 10 on 3rd down conversions vs. the Bills. Somewhere in the fourth quarter yesterday, the Fish were 0'fer 9 or 10. Not sure the final number, but this strikes me as a really, really good metric to keep an eye on going into the playoffs.

 

Go Bills.

 

 

 

 

[Seasons1992]

12 hours ago, Robs House said:

These Bills are for real. Maybe the best Bills team ever. Nobody wants to face them in the playoffs.

 

I've been around since 1988. I completely agree.

[RochesterRob]

1 minute ago, Seasons1992 said:

 

I've been around since 1988. I completely agree.

  Yeah, the defense may be lacking the big names that the SB era Bills had but they play as one unit.  

[Alaska Darin]

15 hours ago, Virgil said:

I5 - Barkley - No offense to Matt, but if you want to understand just how strong Allen's arm is, watch some of Matt's throws.  First off, I think Matt is one of the biggest cheerleaders on the team.  He was losing his mind on the punt return and the Smoke sideline catch.  I do take issue with his deep ball late to Davis, no matter how beautiful that play was.  We were up big and the game was over.  Let's be better there.  Barkley had one terrible interception, but was overall suitable as a backup in the game.  It was interesting to see the change of pace out there, but you could tell Matt was excited to make play and had no intention of just handing off the ball.

The last TD was in response to Miami calling 2 time outs on our previous offensive drive, stacking the box, and blitzing.  If they're going to keep playing to win the game, then they get what they're asking for.  It was also poetic justice for a buncha cheap shots the Fish were taking against our best players earlier in the game.

 

&#%$ Miami.  &#%$ 'em.  No one on our sideline needs to apologize for anything.

[Seasons1992]

1 minute ago, Alaska Darin said:

&#%$ Miami.  &#%$ 'em.  No one on our sideline needs to apologize for anything.

 

I honestly believe this..........but Buffalo people are too nice. So that's why we feel that way.

 

I don't, but others clearly do.

[Alaska Darin]

Just now, Seasons1992 said:

 

I honestly believe this..........but Buffalo people are too nice. So that's why we feel that way.

 

I don't, but others clearly do.

I'm nice unless you disrespect me.  You wanna play the "Unwritten Rules" game, then fine.  But you don't get to come after my backup QB and try to stop the clock with more than half the 4th quarter left and think you're not answering for it.

[Alaska Darin]

4 minutes ago, DC Tom said:

 

I wanna play the "unwritten rules" game. 

 

And it's an unwritten rule that Miami must be pummeled, hard, at every opportunity, because the '70s.

You and I are on the same page.  It may take us 40 years to pay you back appropriately but pay you back we will.

 

[Alaska Darin]

Just now, DC Tom said:

 

One of the best things this season was getting back to pitying the **Patriots while hating the Dolphins more than any other organization on the planet.

 

It's the most normal things have felt in 20 years.

I was literally going to say the same thing.  Even throughout the "drought" against New England, I still hate the Dolphins more because they basically ruined my football childhood.  I didn't think I could be more stoked than I was after kicking the shit outta the *Patriots in Foxboro and it only took me one week to be wrong about that.

 

The most satisfied I've ever been after a game was the AFC Championship against the Raiders.  The second most might be when Barkley threw the last TD to Davis.  &#%$ Miami.  &#%$ their fans.  &#%$ Shula, Csonka, Kiick, Warfield, AJ Duhe, Nick Buoniconti, Louis Oliver, Keith Jackson, Brian Cox, and every other Fish ever (except Thurman - &#%$ your Ralph for that ever happening).