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Game Balls, Game Goats & FU's......Week 1 @ Buffalo.....

bermudasteel

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I have one more observation...

I was made at the HC/OC/Ben when we had the ball w/ 2:40 something seconds left. The Bills had two timeouts left and we could have took the clock down to under 2 minutes with 3 consecutive runs.

We ran it on first down - good. The Bills spend a TO.

Then someone got stupid and we elect to throw a come back dig that DJ forgot to run and it stops the clock - WHAT?!?!

Anyway, the Bills eventually get the ball back w/ no TO's and nearly two minutes on the clock.

We need to fix that.
 

black and gold apex

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After watching a replay without all the emotion Norwood for a rookie played a good game and had some physical play as well. Would be nice to see more passes to the TE's, hardly anything down the middle, is it our receivers can't run this route or what.
 

SteelBuckeye

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I have one more observation...

I was made at the HC/OC/Ben when we had the ball w/ 2:40 something seconds left. The Bills had two timeouts left and we could have took the clock down to under 2 minutes with 3 consecutive runs.

We ran it on first down - good. The Bills spend a TO.

Then someone got stupid and we elect to throw a come back dig that DJ forgot to run and it stops the clock - WHAT?!?!

Anyway, the Bills eventually get the ball back w/ no TO's and nearly two minutes on the clock.

We need to fix that.
Part of the fix is DJ running the correct route. Ran the wrong route twice on the same type of play (opp sides of the field) yesterday. Was waiting for Ben to get in his ***, but Ben just looked at him like that kindly uncle who gives you that "Boy, you know you done ****** up and I know you done ****** up, so let's talk about it" look.
 

Steeltime

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Thinking about the offensive line a bit more ... two rookie starters, a 2nd year guy, and two vets showed improvement DURING THE FIRST GAME. I think it reasonable they will improve week-to-week, particularly if Banner can replace Chuks at RT. (Chuks had a tough game.)
 

Steeltime

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Staying healthy.....ALWAYS the X factor.

Yep. No doubt. One of the reasons health is so important is because a lot of the guys on the roster are elite talent - Watt, Minkah, Heyward, Ben, and I think soon Najeh. Teams that have a lot of "ehh" talent don't lose much with injuries.

FU to the league for our 7th straight season opening on the road.

Yeah, I read about that, but personally I think it better to play road games early, before the in-season injuries and before a lot of teams have figured it out. I would not mind having 4 of the first 6 games on the road, instead of 4 of the first 6 at home and with 5 of the last 8 on the road.
 

madinsomniac

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I hate to say it but Cam Sutton played a very good game. I really hate to say it but Tomlin did do something at half was a completely new game. Cam outstanding game.

Goats offensive line, Offensive coordinator...play calls seemed so much as always ,
After a Coordinator change, a team still typically has a lot of the previous playbook available for the first season…. Looking back at our recent oc changes, Arians ran whiz offense and Grimms blocking scheme in 07… but we saw a whole different setup in 08 (and ben running for his life for the duration of the arians stay) when Haley took over, yeah there were tweaks, but he ran a boatload of arians deep passing stuff that first season…

when Fitchner took over, that first season for like 12 games it seemed like Haleys offense was still going strong, but as he worked more and nore of his stuff in the run game dried up and the offense withered….

canada is pretty well known for figuring out what works for tge personnel and fitting the playcalls to that… im fine if we didn’t see everything 100% different game 1…. Its a process…
 

Steeltime

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canada is pretty well known for figuring out what works for tge personnel and fitting the playcalls to that… im fine if we didn’t see everything 100% different game 1…. Its a process…

@#$% that. I'm giving Canada one more play. If the first play from scrimmage next Sunday does not go for 102 yards, I'm out

"But Steeltime, a play literally cannot gain 102 yards."

Bullshit. What about Canadian football?!? I demand to see Canada implement Canadian football, BOOM! 102 yards, TD.
 

SteelerinMD

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I also expect to see Joseph and Witherspoon to get more up to speed this week. Could effect Edmunds (maybe not but hoping) and Norwood. I would like to see a RT push Chunks, he was obvious the weak link. Moore and Green got better as the game went on and will continue. IMO we have seen the best of Chunks. Hopefully someone is out there ready to play (Schwartz?)
 

Steeltime

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I also expect to see Joseph and Witherspoon to get more up to speed this week. Could effect Edmunds (maybe not but hoping) and Norwood. I would like to see a RT push Chunks, he was obvious the weak link. Moore and Green got better as the game went on and will continue. IMO we have seen the best of Chunks. Hopefully someone is out there ready to play (Schwartz?)

Banner is ready, I hope, by week 4.
 

TDX27

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Still can't believe all the Ben hate today after he led the comeback. In the 1st half, the entire O sucked and the play calling sucked. They opened it up in the 2nd half and Ben shined. Ben only really had a couple misfires early on. Then you had Najee not turn around on one pass and Johnson run the wrong route on 2 plays. Other than that, Ben was on target. His arm looked good, especially in the 2nd half.
 

Steelworth

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After watching a replay without all the emotion Norwood for a rookie played a good game and had some physical play as well.

Yeah I was pleasantly surprised by Norwood. The whole secondary for that matter. Allen could've had 6 on that bomb to Sanders (who did leave Norwood in the dust there) and he definitely overthrew some other guys, but very solid outing from the secondary to start the season. The pressure the front 7 got certainly helped.
 

SteelBuckeye

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Still can't believe all the Ben hate today after he led the comeback. In the 1st half, the entire O sucked and the play calling sucked. They opened it up in the 2nd half and Ben shined. Ben only really had a couple misfires early on. Then you had Najee not turn around on one pass and Johnson run the wrong route on 2 plays. Other than that, Ben was on target. His arm looked good, especially in the 2nd half.
If Ben doesn't light it up to the tune of at least 275 yards, some folks are going to hate.
Was ragging my uncle about the Browns loss and how he was swearing that Mayfield had a good day because of all the passing yards he had. So, I asked him "Where were the TDs? I mean yards are great, but if your QB is accumulating **** tons of yards and no TDs, is that really a good day."
His response was something about letting the RBs score the TDs. He then got on Ben's day and his lack of yards. To which I replied: "Yep, under 200 yards, 1 TD, no INTs ..... And a win. Which QB do you think is sleeping well tonight?"
 

Shane Falco

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Sutton and Shobert seemed to have also been X factors and should both have game balls and appear to be what the defense needed to allow them to only rush 4 guys for the majority of the snaps. Shobert's ability to cover the middle of the field and opposing tight ends and lower tiered receivers. Something that has been exploited over and over again. Yeah, Buffalo still hit the defense in the middle at times, but it wasn't like it has been in years past.
Sutton in the nickel. Hilton was an amazing pass rusher but sucked in coverage. Sutton is clearly better at playing man/zone from the nickel/slot. It'll be fun to watch the next few weeks unfold with this defense.
 

steelcan58

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I loved our defense especially our LBs. If they stay healthy we should generate good pressure all season keeping them fresh with the rotation.

Biggest concern is the lack of separation our receivers are getting. Not sure if it's talent, play design or lack of time due to protection.
 

Stryker

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I have one more observation...

I was made at the HC/OC/Ben when we had the ball w/ 2:40 something seconds left. The Bills had two timeouts left and we could have took the clock down to under 2 minutes with 3 consecutive runs.

We ran it on first down - good. The Bills spend a TO.

Then someone got stupid and we elect to throw a come back dig that DJ forgot to run and it stops the clock - WHAT?!?!

Anyway, the Bills eventually get the ball back w/ no TO's and nearly two minutes on the clock.

We need to fix that.
In that situation, after that 1st down in FG range. The correct clock mgmt is run-run-run kick the GW FG.
 

MB47

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Hard for the WArs to get separation if the ball is coming out in just over 2 seconds.
 

TDX27

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Hard for the WArs to get separation if the ball is coming out in just over 2 seconds.
That is just a dumb comment when those were the plays being called in the 1st half. In the 2nd half, it was a different story because they started throwing beyond 5 yards. Watch the game and maybe learn something. There was rust in the 1st half and piss poor play calling. Not so much in the 2nd half. They looked much better but still have room to improve, especially in the play-calling department. They have too much talent to not put up 30 points a game.
 
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