Game Day Thread Official Post Game Thread- Bills beat the Pats

[40yrpatsfan]

We don’t know the direct impact, but the missed offsides TFL that gave the Pats 2nd and 16 instead of 1st and 5 was brutal too.

yes that was such a joke - it was our first play of the game but ruined that series.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

The difference in the game was the 2 KO returns and the two long plays from Allen. Allen can keep a play alive backing away from the rush and throw a 65 yard pass off his back foot where only the WR can catch it. Stunning to watch but i wish we could do anything even approaching it. We aren't far away as a team. WE need a WR that worries defenses, an OT or two and a number 1 corner. We also need to change the special teams and offensive coaches. Tbh that is a lot of change. Mac will possibly be on his 3rd offensive system in 3 yrs. We are now one of those teams.

I would like a faster LB and someone to pair with Barmore. If we could push the pocket more, the DEs could stay outside to contain mobile QBs like Allen. Sign Payne in FA. And the #1 CB you mention.

 

[patsinthesnow]

The part that should be encouraging & discouraging at the same time was the roster was competitive yesterday:

pats

OL
DL
RB

bills

QB
WR
LB

wash

CB
S
TE

The difference in the game was allen, diggs & a competent coaching staff. Considering the bills are already over the cap for next year & they could lose edmunds & poyer the pats should be able to close the gap.

Also, the pats gave up two long TDs in zone coverage. The DL was kicking ass most of the game. An outside CB allowing them to return to man is a big need IMO.

 

[masterbouncer]

I would like a faster LB and someone to pair with Barmore. If we could push the pocket more, the DEs could stay outside to contain mobile QBs like Allen. Sign Payne in FA. And the #1 CB you mention.

Hargreaves or Cox from Philly? both are FA, I'd take any of them and it immediately strengthens the DL

 

[jdlboot14]

I hated Romo saying on the telecast multiple times that Mac has finally learned the new system these last 2 weeks and that's why it's better.
That's so stupid. It's not like the offensive system was so complex or dynamic that he needed to "figure it out". He had "figured out" JMD's system by the end of training camp last year and did much better all last season.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Hargreaves or Cox from Philly? both are FA, I'd take any of them and it immediately strengthens the DL

Payne is 25, Hargreaves is 29, Cox is 32. I want Payne.

 

[sb1]

Feels like that was the Mac Jones from the Ravens game.

Never pegged Mac as a gunslinger QB but maybe he is. Picks will happen with QB's like that but so will big plays.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

We have over $50m in cap space, 4th most in the league. We pick in the middle of rounds 1-2-3 (14, 46, 76), have three 4th rounders (106, 116, 134), and also four 6th's & a 7th).

 

[Stu Pidassle]

I agree the two QBs are in similar situations.

Did you watch the Jags/Titans game? Mac looked better in the Bills game then Lawrence looked in the Titans game. Why do you say Mac looks much worse?

I was reacting to the poster saying that Lawrence looked better this year. The optics of having a good year followed by a regression are worse than having a bad rookie year followed by an improved second year. On field results are not that different, both have the potential to be good QBs. The rest of the draft class is kind of a mess.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

Feels like that was the Mac Jones from the Ravens game.

Never pegged Mac as a gunslinger QB but maybe he is. Picks will happen with QB's like that but so will big plays.

The picks weren't egregious. The last one to Henry at the goal line was desperation, plus Henry really should have made that play. The one that deflected also could have been caught, plus Mac was getting hit as he threw. The first one was Agholor getting cut off on his route and he stopped.

Mac played really well, it reminded me of the Ravens game too.

 

[Tottie]

Feels like that was the Mac Jones from the Ravens game.

Never pegged Mac as a gunslinger QB but maybe he is. Picks will happen with QB's like that but so will big plays.

Big play quarterbacks make big time plays at important moments of the game to swing momentum and win games. Has Mac done that even once in 2 years? I'm not sure. He's a poor man's Kirk Cousins without the luxury of a Jefferson on top of it. You have to stick with him because he's going to be the best option and he's a good QB but they will need to bring in talent and a great coach to run the offense. All year we've read here about how Josh Allen sucked the first year or so and people trying to compare Mac to that, but for every INT Allen throws he can also end the game with 1 throw. The upside is insane with him and Mac Jones basically has no upside.

 

[p8ryts]

Sorry if this has already been posted.

View attachment 48952

I immediately said after the opening kick-return touchdown that there was an obvious hold in the hole. Not only was there one hold, but there were 2-3 extremely egregious holds within a couple yards of the returner, just before he broke outside. There is no excuse for none of those being called.

I mean, we all knew the circumstances going into this game and some predicted imbalanced officiating, but this is absolute horsesh*t. Officials should be constantly working on eliminating conscious bias and this was a great opportunity for it. It doesn't matter what the circumstances are around the game; a fair and fundamental expectation of -ALL- fans who choose to invest their time (and sometimes money) in this league, should be unbiased, objective officiating and enforcement of the rules. What a tremendous failure in this regard.

This Patriots team was not good enough to overcome the officiating (at any point this season) but they have suffered multiple calls that ranged from "really bad" to "completely inexplicable". Dugger hold on KR against Minnesota. Henry catch against Minnesota. Cole non-catch against Vegas. Stevenson forward progress against Cincy. "Forward progress" negating fumble against Miami. I'm sure there are some more I'm missing.

Hell, take the Meyers' touchdown catch today as another example. They looked at that play for as looooooooooong as they possibly could, searching for anything that would allow them to overturn the on-field ruling of touchdown. Despite the fact there were two clear and obvious replays showing Meyers' second foot came down inbounds, the NY review room still ultimately settled on "stands as called", as opposed to confirmation. Why was that play not confirmed? One angle showed a poof of black pellets kicking up from the turf, and the other angle (pylon cam) unequivocally showed the second foot touching inbounds. That should have been "confirmed" as called. WTF?

Yes, bad/blown calls are part of the game and always will be. What I find more concerning than the occasional blown call (in real-time) is seeing multiple blown calls following a formal review.

I can live with an official getting a bang-bang judgment in real-time wrong, fine. I cannot live with blown rulings following a video review, and I don't think it's conspiratorial or far-out to be skeptical of NY's review room, given the fact they have full, complete, 100% autonomy in ruling on formal reviews (it's not a collaborative process with the on-field official; the NY review room can decide whatever they please, they have the final say). This is a huge violation of fairness/integrity and needs to be addressed (the process should be collaborative, with the on-field official ultimately having the final say in the event the NY review room and on-field official cannot agree).

NFL officiating as a whole - from the on-field calls and communication, game management, the review process, etc, needs to be revamped and overhauled next season. Get standardized, universalized cameras in all stadiums (including pylon cams), pay these guys full-time and give them extensive training. Take away full autonomy from the NY review room and make that process collaborative with on-field officials. For such a tremendous league, with tremendous history, prestige, and essentially unlimited financial resources, this is a f*cking disgrace.

Like you I can live with bang bang misses. There are calls you could make every play. Hands to face, holding, helmet to helmet, interference, they are all a judgement on severity or just not seen. The one call that really frosted my derriere was the off sides for a sack that interrupted some early game momemtum. There is an official standing on the sideline facing the LOS. All he has to do is watch the snap. Was he on his phone or what? The guy was entering our line when the ball was snapped and made this great sack for a big loss. Yegads. The fix was in.

 

[Ross12]

Feels like that was the Mac Jones from the Ravens game.

Never pegged Mac as a gunslinger QB but maybe he is. Picks will happen with QB's like that but so will big plays.

I remember saying something like this back during the early games, ultimately culminating in the Ravens game. Mac played like a “gunslinger” early this year and then again looked like one yesterday. They seemed to put the clamps on it in the middle of the season. It seems to me like that’s who he wants to be. Last year he was a cog in the wheel of the McDaniels offense, and it was fine, but I don’t know - it just seems like he wants to be that “gunslinger” type QB. My concern with that is that he doesn’t have a huge arm so I don’t know if that play style is the best fit for him, but it seems like that might be who he is mentally. I’m not sure though, that’s just my feeling.

 

[Lagaffe_07]

We have over $50m in cap space, 4th most in the league

Maybe you are right but where do you get those numbers?

Miguel has them at 36.6M now for 2023.

With some free agents of our own.

 

[archstanton543]

Like you I can live with bang bang misses. There are calls you could make every play. Hands to face, holding, helmet to helmet, interference, they are all a judgement on severity or just not seen. The one call that really frosted my derriere was the off sides for a sack that interrupted some early game momemtum. There is an official standing on the sideline facing the LOS. All he has to do is watch the snap. Was he on his phone or what? The guy was entering our line when the ball was snapped and made this great sack for a big loss. Yegads. The fix was in.

It was a tackle for a loss not a sack.

 

[ashley]

We have over $50m in cap space, 4th most in the league. We pick in the middle of rounds 1-2-3 (14, 46, 76), have three 4th rounders (106, 116, 134), and also four 6th's & a 7th).

Where are you getting your cap information from, I wish you were right, but see below:

 

[ashley]

The part that should be encouraging & discouraging at the same time was the roster was competitive yesterday:

pats

OL
DL
RB

bills

QB
WR
LB

wash

CB
S
TE

The difference in the game was allen, diggs & a competent coaching staff. Considering the bills are already over the cap for next year & they could lose edmunds & poyer the pats should be able to close the gap.

Also, the pats gave up two long TDs in zone coverage. The DL was kicking ass most of the game. An outside CB allowing them to return to man is a big need IMO.

I think the difference in the game was the special teams. As you said, I think we played them very equal and that's with Allen making two incredible throws. Not sure if anyone else in the league makes those.

 

[SlowGettingUp]

Sorry if this has already been posted.

View attachment 48952

I immediately said after the opening kick-return touchdown that there was an obvious hold in the hole. Not only was there one hold, but there were 2-3 extremely egregious holds within a couple yards of the returner, just before he broke outside. There is no excuse for none of those being called.

I mean, we all knew the circumstances going into this game and some predicted imbalanced officiating, but this is absolute horsesh*t. Officials should be constantly working on eliminating conscious bias and this was a great opportunity for it. It doesn't matter what the circumstances are around the game; a fair and fundamental expectation of -ALL- fans who choose to invest their time (and sometimes money) in this league, should be unbiased, objective officiating and enforcement of the rules. What a tremendous failure in this regard.

This Patriots team was not good enough to overcome the officiating (at any point this season) but they have suffered multiple calls that ranged from "really bad" to "completely inexplicable". Dugger hold on KR against Minnesota. Henry catch against Minnesota. Cole non-catch against Vegas. Stevenson forward progress against Cincy. "Forward progress" negating fumble against Miami. I'm sure there are some more I'm missing.

Hell, take the Meyers' touchdown catch today as another example. They looked at that play for as looooooooooong as they possibly could, searching for anything that would allow them to overturn the on-field ruling of touchdown. Despite the fact there were two clear and obvious replays showing Meyers' second foot came down inbounds, the NY review room still ultimately settled on "stands as called", as opposed to confirmation. Why was that play not confirmed? One angle showed a poof of black pellets kicking up from the turf, and the other angle (pylon cam) unequivocally showed the second foot touching inbounds. That should have been "confirmed" as called. WTF?

Yes, bad/blown calls are part of the game and always will be. What I find more concerning than the occasional blown call (in real-time) is seeing multiple blown calls following a formal review.

I can live with an official getting a bang-bang judgment in real-time wrong, fine. I cannot live with blown rulings following a video review, and I don't think it's conspiratorial or far-out to be skeptical of NY's review room, given the fact they have full, complete, 100% autonomy in ruling on formal reviews (it's not a collaborative process with the on-field official; the NY review room can decide whatever they please, they have the final say). This is a huge violation of fairness/integrity and needs to be addressed (the process should be collaborative, with the on-field official ultimately having the final say in the event the NY review room and on-field official cannot agree).

NFL officiating as a whole - from the on-field calls and communication, game management, the review process, etc, needs to be revamped and overhauled next season. Get standardized, universalized cameras in all stadiums (including pylon cams), pay these guys full-time and give them extensive training. Take away full autonomy from the NY review room and make that process collaborative with on-field officials. For such a tremendous league, with tremendous history, prestige, and essentially unlimited financial resources, this is a f*cking disgrace.

Someone should really make a tape of all the times Judon gets held with no call. Send it to Football Zebras for their comment - all the refs read that blog.

Of course it's very hard to be dispassionate about close refereeing calls - the ones that go against you have much greater salience than the ones that go in your favor (and there have actually been a few of those, but they are very hard for us to recall).

Injuries played a huge part in the Special Teams debacle yesterday - our best ST player (Schooler) was missing, and of course not having a proper kickoff specialist was huge - Folk simply can't do it any longer - it wasn't just the two returnable kicks but also the squib kick that went out of bounds.

 

[Lagaffe_07]

The first one was Agholor getting cut off on his route and he stopped.

White was always on top of Agholor and thought the play screamed back shoulder pass but Mac threw it like Agholor had a step

 

[Stu Pidassle]

I think the difference in the game was the special teams. As you said, I think we played them very equal and that's with Allen making two incredible throws. Not sure if anyone else in the league makes those.

And at least one incredible catch by the WR.