← Buffalo Plus: A Buffalo Bills podcast
Buffalo Plus: A Buffalo Bills podcast
Bills beat Jets but.......the offense needs to be better
00:17:22
The Bills won but they need more from the offense
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- [00:00]
A
Foreign. Hey, everybody, I'm Mike Catalano. Thanks for joining us here on the Buffalo plus podcast. I'm going to be joined by Dan Fates. In a moment, we'll be talking about what went on in yesterday's Bills game at home against the New York Jets. A Bills victory. And look, the Bills are the number one seed, right? Things are going well in terms of wins and losses, but the bar is high. What we talk about all the time, this is not about a team making the playoffs. This is not about a team winning the division, all those things they have to do. This is about a football team that can win the Super Bowl. We know it. No matter how they're playing at the moment, we know they can win the Super Bowl. They have the talent to do it. They have Josh Allen, Stefan Diggs and many other talented players. But, you know, when we say the bar is set high, I mean, we saw the way they played last year in the playoffs and should have made the Super Bowl. I mean, that's what it is. So they come into this year and it has been a struggle, especially offensively. Great start of the year. And then, you know, in addition to Josh Allen's injury, it just hasn't been easy the whole time. And I think that's what really we saw in that game against the Jets. Now they got the win, ended up being by eight points, a victory. But if the Bills are going to be that team and they have to deal with Kansas City, and we'll see where they are with the Dolphins this week. And you look at the Bengals, right? Those are the teams and who knows who else might pop up there, but they're really the ones. Can the Bills do that with the way they're playing offense now? I know last year they were seven and six at one point and they got rolling. And then in the playoffs, I mean, Josh Allen was spectacular. Some of the best quarterback play we've ever seen in the league. You know, seven possession, seven touchdowns against Bill Belichick and the Patriots, and then the phenomenal performance he put up when he should have won the game in Kansas City. I don't know if you need that always to win. You know, who knows, they could be the home team in the playoffs and the defense playing well. And, you know, there's a lot of things that can happen, but at the moment, when you watch the Bills offense play, it just doesn't seem easy. And there are some reasons around that, too. Some is the opponents, some is the Bill's own injuries, some is the Bill's play Calling. That's many of the things we discuss here on the Buffalo plus podcast. So here we go. My discussion post game with Dan Fates. Let's talk about this offense. 232 yards, trouble protecting the quarterback, penalties, drop passes. They won. But this did not look like a championship level offense today.
- [02:56]
B
And before people comment in, oh, come on, they won. They're. They're 10 and 3. All these things. The bar is set differently and I think that that's a good thing. We have moved the goalpost back on Josh Allen. We need to move it back on the entire offense. It just hasn't looked smooth. Ryan Bates left this game. Deion Dawkins first game back. He really struggled with penalties. Josh got knocked around in the first half, only scored seven points and luckily that was thanks to a CJ Mosley play that we can get to in a little bit. But yeah, I'm like, nothing seems easy again. And this is a good jets defense. Yeah, but they need, Josh needs more than 140 yards.
- [03:31]
A
Yeah, look, and I didn't think Josh Allen was bad in the game. I didn't think he threw it poorly. They had some drops again. He was running and there were times when he's running out of the pocket because guys are coming on each side. Sauce Gardener lit him up on a blitz one time and he got the ball. So that was the issue. And look, you are right. You can say 10, three. That's great. Whatever it takes to win. You know, you don't get style points. But if you're looking at what you're going to need to do to close out this season, beating the Dolphins, beating the Bengals and then getting in the playoffs and maybe seeing the Chiefs or those other teams again, they're going to need more out of the offense. So I ask you this, how much is on the guy calling the plays upstairs?
- [04:15]
B
I think a lot. And I have been critical of Ken Dorsey a lot this season since he's gotten the job. I think he's struggling. I think they're struggling to find their identity. And we asked Dawson Knox about his lack of production and you've made a great point. He's been asked to do more in the pass blocking game and run blocking game because of their offensive line injuries and issues. But Dawson says, oh, that's fine because we're a different team. We have a different identity than in years past. I would argue they don't have an identity. I would argue they don't know what they do extremely well. I think Sean McDermott, just like he did Last year, butting heads with Brian Dabel at time, wanting to be this physical team, but they can't run. They struggled to run the ball. They didn't do a great job of it today. And to me, Mike, what was most baffling was the fourth quarter. They go three and out. And I know there were some drops when they were backed up in their own end. They went three and out. And then in the final drive, when you thought all they needed to do was run the ball three times, they take a shot on first down. I'm okay with the shot because you're trying to be aggressive and you want the first down to end it, but then you run it and you run it. Are you going for it or are you trying to make them use their timeouts? That was indecisiveness. That really drove me nuts.
- [05:24]
A
Yeah, I'm agreeing with you that they don't. I guess their identity would be Alan to Diggs. Right. Because that's whatever it works.
- [05:30]
B
That's what they'll say. Whatever it takes.
- [05:32]
A
Yeah. And that is true. Whatever it takes. If this was like the AFC title game and you figured out a way to win 17 14, I'm just looking down the line and saying what's going to. What's going to stop them? Because you're already missing Hyde and you're missing Von Miller on defense and the defense is still good. Third downs were a problem. We'll get to the defense there. But offensively there are times and you know, that first half was crazy. I'm going to just punt, punt, punt, punt, punt. And what scared me a little bit watching it was they didn't look better than the jets for a good portion of the game.
- [06:04]
B
No. And like I said, I know we have to. Every season you kind of turn the page. But the offense that we have grown accustomed to seeing here in Buffalo since Stefan Diggs got there was a high powered offense that, that instilled fear in defenses that they were the ones that were dictating the game. And that really hasn't been the case lately. It has been. Don't turn the ball over. And that's okay. And that just to me is surprising when you have 17 and 14. And I know the conditions, but still, you have to find ways to get more creative with Stefan Diggs and Josh Allen because it's just. It's boring right now.
- [06:39]
A
Yeah. And I look at it and say it seems to be a little bit was because he had that stretch of turnovers, but I think a little of Josh Allen is Not there right now. And I think it's because he knows these are tight games. He's got to worry about making bad decisions. I don't think he made any bad decisions with the football today. I think he held on to the ball. He took some hits in this one. He did have another leap. He does throw his body out there, doesn't he?
- [07:04]
B
Puts it all on the line. It just again, is he. You need to set him up for success more to have more than 140 passing yards. And I said that I think this jets defense is the best defense in the league. I think they have the top two corners, the top corner duo in the league. But it's still Josh Allen.
- [07:22]
A
Yeah.
- [07:22]
B
And that's what's frustrating concerning to me.
- [07:26]
A
Yeah, look, the offensive line did not play well. Deon Dawkins, I don't, you know, I don't know. You know, sometimes you got to go back and look at what they called on holding. But he was called for it three times and he had a false start. Spencer Brown struggles on that right side. Pressure kept coming from there. We don't always know what the protections are called.
- [07:43]
B
Correct.
- [07:43]
A
But there are times when there's a lot of pressure coming that way, so. And then there were drops. Isaiah had a rough day, dropped a few, had a nice catch early, but then dropped a few. Dawson Knox had one that was in his hands. Gabe Davis did hold on to that one and made the play. But those guys were players in this game. They weren't stars in this game. And I think you need more out of that because, I mean, Stefan Diggs, outside of Josh Allen is your best player.
- [08:09]
B
And also thinking about this, where you talk about moving forward and where you see this team going, obviously still the number one seed, all those things, that's great. But the games aren't going to get easier. You're not going to face easier defenses because there are a lot of playoff caliber defenses that you will see in the postseason.
- [08:25]
A
Well, even if you do, let's say next week and we have plenty of time to talk about the Dolphins, you may see a defense that isn't as good as the jets, but you got.
- [08:32]
B
To score with them.
- [08:33]
A
You got to score, you got to score more points. So look, you can make everybody feel better by lighting it up next week, but it's going to be a different kind of game. Let's talk about this defense. Let's talk about the one negative. I'll get the one negative out of the way. I thought third downs and third and long was a Problem for them. But you give up one touchdown in the game. And they were good.
- [08:52]
B
Yeah, they were really good. And we talked about it on the podcast. We talked about it all week. That the loss of Von Miller can galvanize a group and say, hey, look, Von, we got you. You know, he's not dead. He's. We always talk about these guys like, we're doing it for Von.
- [09:09]
A
He's in the meetings, he's hanging out, he's on Instagram.
- [09:12]
B
So, like, he's not dead. He's going to be okay. So. But I thought Shaq Lawson was dominant. He celebrated so hard on that sack that he had to come out because he was running and celebrating and pointing to the jets bench and, you know, took it personally that they cut him back in Week 17 last year. All of those things. To me, he was the star. And obviously Greg Rousseau, a guy that Von Miller had talked so highly about, two sacks from him. You have the strip sack of Flacco. I thought he was great.
- [09:40]
A
Matt Milano was fantastic. He's the best player on this defense. I'll tell you this. I think he's the best player on this defense when everybody's healthy.
- [09:47]
B
I agree.
- [09:47]
A
I think he's that good. So somebody said to me, oh, that's not so difficult. I go, what are you talking about? I mean, you have Micah Hyde, you have Jordan Poyer, you have Von Miller. This is one we're talking about all the time. Tremaine Edmunds, who's been good this year. Trey White, you got all those guys. I think Milano is so important, and he's a guy who has spent a lot of time in the training room this week getting himself ready. He hit Mike White so hard a couple of times. Mike White, you are one of the toughest quarterbacks in this league because he got violently hit and left the field and came back.
- [10:17]
B
No wonder that team loves him.
- [10:20]
A
Yeah.
- [10:21]
B
And is galvanized by him instead of Zach Wilson, who wouldn't take any accountability. Yeah. Mike White left the game twice from. I thought neither time he was going to get up.
- [10:29]
A
I almost tweeted, there's no way that guy's coming back. And then I saw him walk off the second time. I'm like, he's not coming back. And then somebody's like, he's back on the field. That almost surprised me more than when I saw Tua come back on the field in Miami.
- [10:41]
B
Actually, you're right. No, 100%, because it was.
- [10:45]
A
He was in so much pain. And Mike Giardi of NFL Network said He saw him and he was wincing and wincing in pain and then comes back on the field. That being said, the Bill's defense hit him and hit him a lot.
- [11:00]
B
Shout out to Jenna. I think she had a great tweet. She said Matt Milano hit Mike White like cracking a glow stick. That was what his body looked like.
- [11:10]
A
Jenna, that's almost mean.
- [11:11]
B
Yeah, she asked for approval from us and I gave it to her. I said that was great. That's a great tweet.
- [11:18]
A
Dane Jackson struggled. Yeah, he gave up a lot. They keep going back to him again. McDermott's got his reasons. You know, they, you know, Kyr Elam.
- [11:32]
B
Didn'T really see the field.
- [11:33]
A
Didn't see it. I mean, he's a number one pick and he's not seeing the field. Trey played 100% of defensive snaps and.
- [11:39]
B
Xavier Rhodes, who started last week, was inactive. A healthy stretch this week. There are big issues at the number two corner position. Unlike in years past where you kind of knew what you had. Levi Wallace and Dane was a nice piece to fill in, that's not the case this year. And Dane's getting picked on.
- [11:55]
A
Yeah, he's getting picked on.
- [11:56]
B
He didn't make a few plays late. He did. He did make a few plays late. Like, let's not just bash Dane the whole time. He did make a few plays late and that is a credit to who he is.
- [12:04]
A
He makes a play and I tweet Dane needed that. The very next play, he misses a tackle and gives up a first down. I'm like, he didn't need that. I like Dane Jackson. I like that he plays hard. I like that he's that guy. Yeah. But you got to be better. And, you know, next week with the Dolphins, it's got to be better. I do want to say this, special teams, the block punt, that that's not how you close out a game. You got to get that ball out. But how about Tyler Bass? I mean, you said it wasn't terrible out here nailing that 49 yard field goal. He was good the whole time. You need all those points. I mean, they're not scoring like they used to. I thought Bass was really good.
- [12:39]
B
I thought it was when the first half, when they went for. When they punted it on the 48 on 4th and 1. To me, it made sense. This game was going to be this rock fight going back and forth, play the position game until the jets make a mistake. And they eventually made mistakes, but when they kicked the field goal, I went, really? And then they had the safety on the block punt. And I said, boy, that field goal was huge. Boy, that was a huge field goal. So, yeah, I thought he was nails and the confidence in. Again, it wasn't terrible conditions, but, you know, 49 yarder in this was showing some faith in.
- [13:09]
A
Yeah, you missed that field goal. They get good field position and it changes things around a little bit.
- [13:14]
B
And Sam Martin was the bill best player offensively in the first half.
- [13:18]
A
Yeah.
- [13:18]
B
Okay. Like, let's just be real. He was dialed in with punts.
- [13:22]
A
Yeah.
- [13:22]
B
So.
- [13:22]
A
And that's what they needed because it was going back and forth until Dawson Knox, with the outstanding job at quarterback making the phenomenal call.
- [13:32]
B
Knox gets. Gets credit for the cadence and all those things. High school quarterback Josh deserves an Emmy.
- [13:38]
A
Really?
- [13:39]
B
I thought for sure. I almost said they don't know what they're doing because Josh went like this to the sideline, like, what are we doing? And that's when I saw Mosley flying over.
- [13:51]
A
There goes C.J.
- [13:52]
B
It took me a second. I didn't even know Knox was under center because I was so focused on Josh and he was so confused. And like, really, we don't even know what play we're doing. And it was well done. Well done, Josh.
- [14:03]
A
I was full on snark when I said that was the most creative offensive play the Bills had in the entire first half. When they did not snap it to the tight end at quarterback back.
- [14:13]
B
You got a little snark.
- [14:14]
A
It was the truth. Then Knox gets the touchdown. I love seeing the guy score touchdowns. I think he's a total team guy. Has he been great this year? No, he's dropped some balls. He hasn't been part of the offense and all, but that was a big play for them. He's made a few big plays for the touchdowns, like Kansas City, obviously. And then this one was big. It was a scoreless game. And he gets into the end zone, which was great. But I think he gave a flash again of the fact that he can be a playmaker for them.
- [14:41]
B
He has run. I know a lot of people out there, again, better with the all 22s and route trees and all those things. His route tree is very boring this year compared to what it has been in years past. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction of using him as another weapon. I mean, he was a guy that really benefited from Stefan Diggs getting extra coverage and Knox being the guy that had eight plus touchdowns or whatever it was last year. So I'd like to see more of that.
- [15:04]
A
Yeah. If we sound a little negative. It's only because as Dan said in the beginning, expectations are high. This team looked good in moments. The defense looked good most of the day. I thought the offense was mediocre to poor most of the day for who they have on this team, even against a good jets defense. Hopefully Quinn and Williams is okay. The Bills were thrilled to see him stay on the sidelines. They would be out of the field the rest of the way, but they've got to be better down the stretch. Miami's going to be big. It's a Saturday night. Early thoughts on that game.
- [15:39]
B
The offense needs to put up 30 to win the game and that is something they haven't done since the Lions game. So it's been two games in a row and we have seen this is going to in this weather, in this condition. I know it's, you know, all you got to do is win. Just win baby. That's all that matters. You got to flex your muscle. You got to. You got to weather and I don't care how it is. How about this? If you stayed to the end of this video, which I hope you have, I hope they run the ball down their throats, do something so that they can be flex your muscle, that the AFC east is yours.
- [16:08]
A
Wow, man, that is something special. You waited till the end to hear Dan say run the ball down their throat. Dan is predicting the Bills round and pound against the Dolphins next week.
- [16:19]
B
Fish in cold weather. This is going to be great.
- [16:21]
A
All right, thanks Dan. That's going to do it for this week. Make sure that you subscribe to this podcast, download it, tell your friends about it, give us a rating, leave some comments. We appreciate anything. We'll have a podcast during the week leading up to the next game. Now being the Dolphins on Saturday night at 8:15 and there's always a post game podcast for the next morning. So in the case of the Dolphins game that'll be on Sunday. It'll be Jenna Cottrell and I at the game and giving you our thoughts as you get up in the morning. On Sunday we'll see if the Bills can get a victory against the Dolphins, which would put them in great spot for the AFC east title. The Dolphins trying to get in the playoffs and make a run at the Bills. So we'll see what ends up happening in that one for Dan Fates and Jenna and our entire team. Thanks for listening and we'll check you out the next time on the Buffalo plus podcast.