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

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Not through yet but going forward, every single team is going to force Mac to beat them and if the Defense can't make some complimentary stops, its not going to end well.

Correct, we have to be better across the board. All starts with fundamentals though. Cant lose the turnover battle or have special teams breakdowns. Limit the killer penalties. That would be a great start and those itself would have made a world of a difference the last 2 weeks.

 

[Bill Lee]

we could draw buffalo in a snowstorm

We very well may...

 

[Patsgofor4]

Those of you here who are suddenly giving up on Mac and stating with confidence that he “is not the guy” are morons.

The first INT was not a good decision or throw, but it was tipped by the linebacker and never would've happened if Harry had caught the pass that hit him right in the hands the play before that. The second INT doesn't bother me at all. That was a desperation heave when the game was over already. Mac was uncharacteristically inaccurate and looked nervous at times. Maybe the moment was a little too big for him at this point in his career or perhaps the D showed him looks that he was not expecting. I also think that Agholor was a bigger loss than many expected, including myself and Bourne did not seem to play much at all, despite the fact that he was asymptomatic throughout the week. I know that Bill doesn't like to play people who did not practice during the week. Mac has been so poised for a rookie for the most part this year that he gets more criticism than he deserves when he plays like....a rookie.

Having said that, if the defense had managed to get one goddamn stop on that late fourth-quarter drive by the Bills (or definitely if JC had not pulled an Asante, I would have been confident that Mac would drive them down the field for a score, especially given that they would have had multiple timeouts and a two minute warning to work with, if they have been able to stop the Bills early in their drive.


Let's take a look at Brady's last 5 games in 2001....


not good, but all were wins, because the defense was rolling at that point in the season. That is the difference between late regular season 2001 and what is going on right now.

 

[VectorPrime]

We very well may...

Pats are stuck in the 6 seed unless some craziness happens. Bengals hosting the Chiefs next week is in all likelihood gonna determine who the Pats face in the wild card round. If the Bengals win they will be the 3 seed and be the Pats opponent.

 

[amfootball]

It's absurd. We aren't talking about a 10 year vet who suddenly sucks

Instead we are talking about a player who is 14 games into his career and is still figuring out NFL defenses

You are correct BUT what is also true is there is 14 games on Mac and defenses have figured him out and our offense to a large extent. The next season is critical to determine if Mac can make the necessary adjustments to his body and game to start to have the upper hand and be a guy that can lead this team when the defenses is faltering. IMO that is what it is going to take for any QB to be THE guy for our team or any team for that matter. I feel good that he is a smart kid who will do whatever necessary to improve. I hope he stays up here in the offseason and throws in the cold so he can get used to it and in turn figure out what he needs to do to get stronger so he can play better in NE weather.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

We can still win the division too, if Atlanta or the Jete helps us out.

Crazy enough the #1 seed is still on the table too. And of course so is missing out on the playoffs altogether.

Most likely we’re looking at the #6 seed, but stranger things have happened. Like how we snuck up from #5 to #2 unexpectedly on the final day of 2001.

 

[Rob0729]

Brown is a FA and I have to imagine is gonna command another large contract

I think Brown is going to be on a year to year contract for the rest of his career. Too much inconsistency in his career. Too many injuries. The guy has been in the league seven years and changed teams four times. He has only played a full 16 game schedule twice in seven years.

When Brown is on and healthy, he is a dominant force. The problem is he cannot stay on the field and he has a tendency to get lazy. He cannot play on a team that isn't disciplined like the Patriots or you see what he does like when he was with the Raiders.

 

[RobertWeathers]

You are correct BUT what is also true is there is 14 games on Mac and defenses have figured him out and our offense to a large extent. The next season is critical to determine if Mac can make the necessary adjustments to his body and game to start to have the upper hand and be a guy that can lead this team when the defenses is faltering. IMO that is what it is going to take for any QB to be THE guy for our team or any team for that matter. I feel good that he is a smart kid who will do whatever necessary to improve. I hope he stays up here in the offseason and throws in the cold so he can get used to it and in turn figure out what he needs to do to get stronger so he can play better in NE weather.

I agree with this.

At this point Mac is Andy Dalton in his prime which is a functional NFL QB who needs a strong supporting cast. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[PaulThePat]

What gets me with some posters are comments like "all you Mac lovers". Aren't we all Mac lovers? Don't we all want the kid to succeed? If not, why not? Genuinely confused. Are there still some on here who think we should have sold the future for Trey Lance? Why? What's he done? What will he do? Get behind the current QB or take your pink hat and get outa here.

 

[Rob0729]

We very well may...

Even after yesterday, I would rather draw the Bills than any of the other division leaders in the first round. I think if the Pats stick to running the ball and are more aggressive on defense, they can beat the Bills. The Bills were the better team yesterday, but it was because the Pats let them dictate the game. The Pats gave up on the run far too quickly in the first half and they allowed to Allen sit back there all game allowing players to get free in the zone.

I think if the Pats play the Bills a third time, they will commit to the run far more and do things to put more pressure on Allen while keeping him in the pocket. At least I would hope so.

I think the Titans and Chiefs are more built to beat the Pats. And the Bengals when they are on are tough to beat too.

 

[Rob0729]

I agree with this.

At this point Mac is Andy Dalton in his prime which is a functional NFL QB who needs a strong supporting cast. Nothing wrong with that.

What more do you expect from a rookie anyway? Justin Herbert had a freak rookie season last year, but he still had some great receivers to throw to. Most rookie QBs need a strong cast to succeed. I think the last rookie QB who succeeded with marginal receiving talent might have been Russell Wilson.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

I think if the Pats play the Bills a third time, they will commit to the run far more and do things to put more pressure on Allen while keeping him in the pocket. At least I would hope so.

We'll have Rhamondre back for the next game, which would help our running game a lot.

 

[RobertWeathers]

What more do you expect from a rookie anyway? Justin Herbert had a freak rookie season last year, but he still had some great receivers to throw to. Most rookie QBs need a strong cast to succeed. I think the last rookie QB who succeeded with marginal receiving talent might have been Russell Wilson.

Exactly.

As crazy at it sounds i'm really stoked that when they get down, Mac brings them back within striking distance.

The larger issue is getting down (defense, Mac mistakes, etc) in the first place and not completing the comeback.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

We very well may...

yeah that is the matchup im getting on most simulations. Its a tough one but we’ll see what adjustments we come up with

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

I agree with this.

At this point Mac is Andy Dalton in his prime which is a functional NFL QB who needs a strong supporting cast. Nothing wrong with that.

I think the team needs to stop playing around and bring in a true #1 receiver, tight end, or whatever alpha is needed. Having a bunch of #2 options works when everything is working perfectly…strong run game, playing with a lead, etc. It makes it a lot tougher for a young QB when his “security blanket” is Agholor or Henry, two guys who are solid role players on most teams. Unfortunately a lot of money is tied up now in the guys they brought in. Hoping they can figure out a way to make it happen. It’s not like it’s unprecedented: they traded a first for Cooks just a few years ago, a second for Sanu, a second for Welker, and a fourth for Moss.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

I agree with this.

At this point Mac is Andy Dalton in his prime which is a functional NFL QB who needs a strong supporting cast. Nothing wrong with that.

At the moment I kind of view him as Brian Hoyer without the diaper dump when faced with pressure. He could have a very solid and lucrative 15 year career being called “the best backup QB in the NFL” by all the broadcasters when his team is playing, and a SB contender roster could win it all with him starting if needed. That said, this would ultimately be a big disappointment if that’s all he winds up being.

I keep reading that he’s a film junkie and a very smart QB. He needs to take all he learned this year and process it to minimize the mistakes next year. “Knowing all the answers to the test” as Brady says (knowing the NFL hasn’t yet given Mac all the questions, but knowing the answers to the questions he’s seen). Meanwhile he needs to build an NFL QB body and gain just a couple mph on his fastball. That combination could take him from Brian Hoyer+ to top 10 NFL QB pretty quickly. We’ll see how truly dedicated he is to his craft this offseason. Hopefully he gets good advice to make this transformation. He should reach out to Brady himself who did exactly that.

 

[Bill Lee]

Thats the thing and people forget that. Bill went on a spending spree. He went out like never before and grabbed 1st day skill positions, which I cannot remember him ever doing before. The money he spent the most on was the two guys that have been the most disapointing. We always grabbed receivers off trash heaps and throw aways, usually on the 20th day of free agency. lol

I agree. Bill typically does not spend big on offensive skill positions. He had his pick of the talent that was available. The result was an improvement over last year IMO but not a big one. We grabbed two B or B+ level tight ends. Being honest, the 'A' level TEs don't hit FA, this was about the best scenario one could hope for, yet we see them making little impact. Seems Bill needs to retune his offense or calm down on thinking that he's just a good TE away from having a great offense. Also he has not found a true slot receiver to fill the Edelman/Amendola/Welker role. Seems they need to take a break in the off season and evaluate where they are and where they want to be.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

I think the team needs to stop playing around and bring in a true #1 receiver, tight end, or whatever alpha is needed. Having a bunch of #2 options works when everything is working perfectly…strong run game, playing with a lead, etc. It makes it a lot tougher for a young QB when his “security blanket” is Agholor or Henry, two guys who are solid role players on most teams. Unfortunately a lot of money is tied up now in the guys they brought in. Hoping they can figure out a way to make it happen. It’s not like it’s unprecedented: they traded a first for Cooks just a few years ago.

I agree. A #1 option doesn’t necessarily mean a deep threat like it does for many people. It just means a guy who’s excellent at what he does. Troy Brown would have been the #1 for many teams, as would Julian Edelman. We don’t have that right now. All of our WRs are NFL capable — even Harry — but Agholor is a #2 type, Bourne and Meyers are really 3 types and Harry a #4. They really need someone Mac can rely on. Bledsoe found Coates right away and Brady found Brown. Mac really hasn’t found anyone truly reliable like that yet.

 

[patsinthesnow]

I’ve been thinking of what could be the main culprit from the last two games. I’ll give it a go:

1)



2)

Judon has a combined two pressures & no sacks the last two games. He’s went from a DPOY candidate to a non factor as a pass rusher.

3)

Hightower is PFF’s 83rd graded LB since the road bills game. We know he’s not the same player but he was still making plays earlier this season.

Three of the teams top players have either run out of gas or are playing injured - Judon in particular may be limited. He can probably end two drives on his own if he was playing to his abilities.

This can be taken one of two ways. The pats are one and done with this level of play from them or the they could make a run if they can turn it around. Hard to see a comeback with no bye though.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I think the team needs to stop playing around and bring in a true #1 receiver, tight end, or whatever alpha is needed. Having a bunch of #2 options works when everything is working perfectly…strong run game, playing with a lead, etc. It makes it a lot tougher for a young QB when his “security blanket” is Agholor or Henry, two guys who are solid role players on most teams. Unfortunately a lot of money is tied up now in the guys they brought in. Hoping they can figure out a way to make it happen. It’s not like it’s unprecedented: they traded a first for Cooks just a few years ago, a second for Sanu, a second for Welker, and a fourth for Moss.

I've never been a WE NEED A PLAYMAKA AT WIDE RECEIVAH! guy but I am getting to that point.

Additionally we don't have anyone who can get open quickly. WW, JE, Brown, DA, etc. Mac needs that desperately

I'd need to a rewatch to confirm but BUF played us 8 in the box and flooded the middle of the field. They left their DBs in single coverage on the outside vs our WRs, Rinse, repeat.

..and Jonnu with only 21 snaps. Alleged playmaker...Jesus.