Week Twelve: Buffalo Bills (7-3) @ Detroit Lions (4-6)

[KL2]

18 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

Is anyone starting to rethink our need for a QB? With all these draft picks, we could really build some depth. Unless the Goff contract is too high? The guy plays decent with a very good coach calling the plays.

They still need one. Goff can't throw thr ball 20 yards and he's not gonna win you a championship. That's why the rams upgraded him.

You also see what having an elite qb with great arm strength does. 23 seconds in field goal range. No way Goff does that.

He a game manager, fine. But it's darn hard to win a superbowl with those guys. 

And the real problem with hanging Goff too long is that you have all these young guys and rookies for 4 years. If you stick with Goff and mayne make the divisional round once or twice they all leave as free agents and your back to square 1 in 2027 with no much to show for it. Get an elite qb that window then goes open to 2037 cause guys take less to stay around or the qb is good enough to make up for personnel losses

[Motown Bombers]

It wasn't the play call, it was the read.

 

[Motown Bombers]

Even with that said, Chark was open and had his guy beat.

[MichiganCardinal]

FWIW Campbell looks better than either McCarthy or Daboll right now.

[Cruzer1]

16 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

Even with that said, Chark was open and had his guy beat.

I think he looked the wrong way. I'm not going to complain too much. The Lions played a great game against a great team.

[Motown Bombers]

 

[Motown Bombers]

 

[MichiganCardinal]

Probably need to go 5-1 the rest of the way to be a playoff team. 4-2 might do it with some luck elsewhere.

Jaguars, Vikings, Jets, Panthers, Bears, Packers

I am pretty confident they are better than at least 4 of those teams. Still a tall task.

[Jason_R]

And let’s not forget we missed a FG. 

[RandyMarsh]

 

[holygoat]

1 hour ago, RandyMarsh said:

I still don't think the clock management was bad it was just that 3rd down decision. We had our timeouts so time was never going to be factor, if we sneak it and pick up that 1st down we would've been in perfect position time wise. 

I agree. They're trying to bleed the clock to leave the Bills as little time as possible to respond. The 3rd-and-1 incomplete pass was a killer, especially when you have Williams in the backfield. 

[MichiganCardinal]

I think Goff is who we thought he was. He’s putting together a body of work that the expectations are clear.

He’s not going to carry the team on his back. He’s not going to win you the game. He won’t make a ton of mistakes. And with a good supporting cast, you’ll probably win a fair number of games.

As others have said, if Chark catches that pass, we aren’t thinking about how it was a poor decision. And frankly, if the receiver on the other end was someone better than Chark, they probably catch it anyway.

I set my expectations before the game that I wanted a competitive game. Doesn’t make the sting less, but we definitely got a competitive game.

I think - if they continue on this trajectory - this could be one of the best teams in franchise history next year. Holmes is really impressive.

[RandyMarsh]

Also I think it's worth pointing out yeah the defense let us down on that last possession(even though I would argue that it took a throw that 2 people on this planet could've made to get it done) but think about where we were a month and a half ago? We couldn't force Geno Smith to punt once yet we forced a Josh Allen Bills team to punt 4 times in one half today. The defense and team is playing better as the year goes on and that is what you want to see. 

Edited November 24, 2022 by RandyMarsh

[holygoat]

14 minutes ago, RandyMarsh said:

 

That graphic is misleading. Goff had a blitzer in his face and St. Brown was about to run behind an engaged lineman. Hitting him was no gimme. Goff had to get rid of it immediately or get crushed for a sack.

[Motown Bombers]

8 minutes ago, RandyMarsh said:

 

I'm not sure it was a bad read by Goff. 52 is coming through untouched. Goff didn't have time to go through his progressions.

[RandyMarsh]

Just now, holygoat said:

That graphic is misleading. Goff had a blitzer in his face and St. Brown was about to run behind an engaged lineman. Hitting him was no gimme. Goff had to get rid of it immediately or get crushed for a sack.

That is true also it doesn't give you a good idea of what Goff actually saw, since St. Brown is like 5'10 and he has 6'5 linemen right in front of him, he may have not even had a view of him but it also shows how wide open Chark was on the outside and why he took that risk. 

[djhutch]

Goff should have never been given the opportunity to make a read or throw the ball.  It's 3rd & 1.  You're in FG range.  There are seconds left.  Run the ball.  If you don't get the first, let the clock run & kick.  If you get it, you can call TO & set up another pass play.  

[holygoat]

Just now, djhutch said:

Goff should have never been given the opportunity to make a read or throw the ball.  It's 3rd & 1.  You're in FG range.  There are seconds left.  Run the ball.  If you don't get the first, let the clock run & kick.  If you get it, you can call TO & set up another pass play.  

Totally.

[RandyMarsh]

3 minutes ago, djhutch said:

Goff should have never been given the opportunity to make a read or throw the ball.  It's 3rd & 1.  You're in FG range.  There are seconds left.  Run the ball.  If you don't get the first, let the clock run & kick.  If you get it, you can call TO & set up another pass play.  

That's what I would've done and it was definitely the safer play but if you truly want to go for the win you're not going to get a better look at a TD than that play right there. That should've been an easy pitch and catch. 

[Motown Bombers]

Buffalo was selling out for the run. You have backup guards. I don't think a run gets it done. I would maybe go with a WR screen to St Brown and you may even get out of bounds.

[djhutch]

Just now, RandyMarsh said:

That's what I would've done and it was definitely the safer play but if you truly want to go for the win you're not going to get a better look at a TD than that play right there. That should've been an easy pitch and catch. 

Statistics show teams blitz a lot more on 3rd down than they do on 1st.  If you run & get the 1st, you'd probably have a better look if you decide to "go for the win."

[RandyMarsh]

1 minute ago, Motown Bombers said:

Buffalo was selling out for the run. You have backup guards. I don't think a run gets it done. I would maybe go with a WR screen to St Brown and you may even get out of bounds.

Yeah a straight run was no guarantee, I can't remember how far a way it was but I probably would've went for a sneak, keep in mind that earlier in the drive on a 3rd or 4th and short(can't remember what down) they gave it to St. Brown on the sweep instead of handing it off. Without our starting guards we just weren't creating much holes inside. 

[djhutch]

5 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

Buffalo was selling out for the run. You have backup guards. I don't think a run gets it done. I would maybe go with a WR screen to St Brown and you may even get out of bounds.

True enough - but it's not only about getting the first, it's about clock management.  A run keeps the clock moving.

[RandyMarsh]

I was genuinely surprised that he went for the FG, looking back I think if I had to question anything that decision may have been it. Yeah Badley made it but it's not like he is Jason Hanson or Tucker, that was a 51 yard FG with all the pressure on you. I'd give him 50/50 chance at best of making it and even if he does best case scenario is OT. 

[mtutiger]

3 hours ago, NYLion said:

It was poor. They left no choice but to play for the field goal at the end with only 30 seconds left and still not over the 30 yard line. It made going for a TD a lot more difficult even if they converted the 3rd down.

The flip side is that if you don't bleed clock, you could end up settling for a field goal with too much on the clock.

The strategy of trying to be the last one to possess the ball at the end is the correct one. It was just poorly executed.