PODCAST: Did the Bills offense hand the Browns a win?

Buffalo Bills podcast following Week 10 loss to the Cleveland Browns.

The Buffalo Bills failed to defeat the Cleveland Browns, falling 19-16 in Cleveland to fall to 6-3 on the season. While at first glance, it’s easy to point the finger at kicker Stephen Haushcka for missing a game-tying field goal, the problem is much deeper, yet obvious.

For months, many of the Bills critics have questioned the Bills offense, with much push back from biased “Billievers” and Josh Allen apologists. If this game doesn’t change those opinions, nothing will. Poor clock management, conservative play-calling and key plays not extending drives were all a major part of this team’s misfortunes in Cleveland.
Daboll has been a figure who, if this Bills season goes south quick, could find himself as the scapegoat when it comes to appeasing the fan base at the end of the season. His play calling has seemingly limited this offenses potential, and does not look as explosive as it could. It has even led many to believe that Josh Allen isn’t the franchise quarterback that the team thought he was.
Fortunately for Buffalo, if there is anything positive to examine, the Bills are not down and out, and have the opportunity to build their cushion as the first Wild Card spot, although there are some teams beginning to catch up.
Billswire Podcast Hosts Matt and Jeremy discuss the Week 10 loss to the Cleveland Browns:

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Jeff Driskel on Matthew Stafford: ‘having his presence there was huge’

Stafford still showed leadership and competitiveness despite not being able to play

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Jeff Driskel made his debut as the Detroit Lions starting quarterback in Week 10. He wasn’t terrible, guiding the team to a field goal on the opening drive and leading the Lions in rushing while completing 26-of-38 pass attempts.

Driskel was in the lineup only because Matthew Stafford was forced to end his 136 consecutive game streak with broken bones in his back. But Stafford was still actively involved on the Detroit sideline, advising Driskel after every possession.

The young backup clearly appreciated the help from Stafford. Driskel was asked if he leaned on Stafford on the sidelines.

“I think his presence is huge,” Driskel said after the game. “He’s the unquestioned leader of this team and one of the toughest dudes I’ve ever been around, most competitive people I’ve ever been around. So yeah, having his presence there was huge, not just for me but for the whole team. So yeah, it was awesome to have him there and he had my back just like I have his back when he’s out there.”

Driskel realized how tough it must be for Stafford to not be out there leading the team on the field. He talked about how great of a leader that makes No. 9.

“Yeah, I’m sure it was tough, everybody wants to be out there competing on the field and he’s done it for a long time at a high level, don’t know the exact number of starts that he’s had in a row, but it’s definitely up there. I think it’s since 2011 he hasn’t missed a start. It’s just a testament to him as a person, as a teammate and a competitor.”

Stafford’s status is undetermined for Week 11 and beyond. Driskel showed enough in his relief role to at least give the Lions a fighting chance…with Stafford in his ear helping out.

Colts’ snap counts from Week 10 loss to Dolphins

Snap counts from the Week 10 loss.

The Indianapolis Colts (5-4) woke up to the reality that the lowly Miami Dolphins (2-7) came into their home at Lucas Oil Stadium and utterly dominated en route to a 16-12 loss for Indy.

It was a shocking and pathetic performance from a team that is supposed to compete for a spot in the AFC playoffs. No, they weren’t at full strength, but this is still a game they should have won with ease.

Here’s a look at the offensive snap counts from the Week 10 loss:

Behind the offensive line and quarterback Brian Hoyer, wide receivers Zach Pascal and Marcus Johnson led the way playing 99% and 80% of the snaps, respectively. Johnson was called up the day prior from the practice squad.

After publicly venting his frustrations, tight end Eric Ebron out-snapped Jack Doyle while Marlon Mack and Nyheim Hines split snaps in the backfield due to game script.

Here’s a look at the defensive and special teams snap counts:

It seems rookie safety Khari Willis is officially taking over the strong safety role. He played 91% of the snaps while veteran Clayton Geathers saw just six(!) plays on defense.

Rookie defensive end Ben Banogu only played on 24% of the snaps while cornerback Marvell Tell continues to get more playing time—logging 71% of the defensive snaps on Sunday.

DeAndre Jordan: Nets need to ‘pay attention to the gameplan’

DeAndre Jordan explained some of the reasons the Brooklyn Nets’ have struggled on the defensive end.

A lot went wrong for the Brooklyn Nets in Sunday’s 138-112 loss to the Phoenix Suns. Specifically, the defense was an issue — which shouldn’t come as a surprise given how many points the Suns posted.

Defense has been far from Brooklyn’s strong suit to start the 2019-20 season. Though, each night there seems to be some different wrong with the defense.

After the loss, DeAndre Jordan explained to reporters in Phoenix the issues he’s seeing:

Defensively, we gotta be better. We have to come with a defensive mindset, with physicality. We gotta pay attention to the gameplan.

Although Jordan stated, “We gotta pay attention to the gameplan,” fairly casually, this comment is a bit alarming. If the Nets aren’t listening to Kenny Atkinson before the opening tip, Brooklyn has another problem on its hands.

Jordan also added:

Teams are gonna come and jump on you early. That’s just the way the league goes at times. You can play great defense and teams are still gonna hit tough shots. Your defense may break down at the end, but we gotta be able to sustain that for 24 seconds, and then get a rebound at the end. We did it in spurts, but the great teams do it throughout.

Brian Flores’ work is Dolphins’ most exciting development

The Miami Dolphins are showing signs of live under head coach Brian Flores, with a lot of young players showing impressive growth.

What a weird season, when there’s pessimism after two consecutive wins for a team whose roster is as thin and talent deficient as a what we see this year in Miami. Dolphins fans everywhere should be thrilled with the work of Brian Flores and his coaching staff — given the way they’ve seen players buy into their process and approach. The Dolphins came into the year with over 60% of their roster brand new in 2019, but many of them coming as former busts or as undrafted free agents.

That gave the general public the perception that the Dolphins are something of an “island of misfit toys.” There were jokes that the Dolphins would lose to XFL teams and college teams. The morning shows bemoaned the Dolphins for putting players on the field and risking their health because they’re not good enough to be on the field.

Suddenly, this same group of players (sans CB Xavien Howard, S Reshad Jones, C Daniel Kilgore, RB Mark Walton and others) is good enough to win two consecutive football games in the NFL?

Maybe the Dolphins just took a lot of low-risk, high-reward investments instead? And Miami certainly hasn’t hit on all of them — QB Josh Rosen and DL Robert Nkemdiche are the two notable swings and misses. But what about LB Vince Biegel? What about OL Evan Boehm? Moving Bobby McCain to safety? DE Taco Charlton? The Dolphins are seeing several of their young investments really flip the switch and become constant plus contributors, which is an indication that Miami’s coaches are connecting with their players.

These are all players who can be contributors for Miami in 2019, 2020 and beyond — which is a root approach to this season for the Dolphins. Find who you can build around, who is a complementary player, and develop them. Polish them and get them comfortable with the Dolphins’ playbook and their role.

Seeing that come to life? That’s exciting, because it means Miami’s vision for what this team could and should look like two years from now is rooted in reality and not a pipe dream. And that deserves to be celebrated.

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Dolphins 2020 offseason still aligned to go to plan

The Miami Dolphins are 2-7 after winning in Week 10 against the Indianapolis Colts — but they’re still aligned to do everything they want.

With a win on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, the Miami Dolphins find themselves with a surprising amount of momentum entering their Week 11 context with the Buffalo Bills next Sunday in Miami Gardens. There’s no way the Dolphins could end up with a three game winning streak — right?

It doesn’t matter. Because Miami could win half their games the rest of the way and Miami will still be in position to do what they want in the 2020 NFL Draft. No, the Dolphins probably will not be in a position to pull a quarterback needy team like the Cincinnati Bengals out of the 1st-pick in the draft. But there are two star quarterback prospects in this year’s NFL Draft in LSU’s Joe Burrow and Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa — and Miami has everything they need to get him already: ammunition.

Many will gripe that the Dolphins are winning themselves out of position to draft a top quarterback, which is of course nonsense. Miami won yesterday, as did the previously 1-7 New York Jets and the 1-7 Atlanta Falcons. Miami entered the day with the 4th overall pick in the 2020 draft order and left the day with, wait for it, the 4th overall pick in the 2020 draft order.

And of course none of the other teams in the top-10 have three 1st-round picks in 2020 and another two 1st-round picks in 2021. Miami has a plan. They’ve already executed a big bulk of the legwork on that front to collect assets. And because they’ve already pooled those assets, Miami will have every opportunity to move into the top few picks of the 2020 NFL Draft for a top quarterback.

Everyone has a price. And the precedent of trading up for quarterbacks in recent history is such that Miami could trade up to the 2nd pick when things are all said and done and still have a second 1st-round pick in 2020, and still have one pick in every round of the 2020 Draft, too.

That’s the plan. That’s always been the plan. Have the assets to make noise and crash the party for an elite talent. Not “lose ’em all.” And so as the Dolphins continue on, keep that context — there’s going to be a lot of noise that’s going to deter the progress we’re seeing from the Dolphins given the sacrifices this will cause in acquiring a quarterback. For most teams, it’d be a legitimate gripe. Not for the Dolphins.

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5 takeaways from Colts’ 16-12 loss vs. Dolphins

Takeaways from the Colts’ loss to the Dolphins.

There are some games that are too hard to comprehend and explain later on, and Sunday’s game between the Indianapolis Colts (5-4) and Miami Dolphins (2-7) is now one of them.

Well, let’s start off with the easiest point. The Colts lost. And what would follow that beginning? An extensive list of self-inflicted mistakes, turnovers, and uninspired play by a team who supposedly has postseason aspirations. Even though the Dolphins deserve credit for their 16-12 win, the focus will be all on the Colts. Nothing more, nothing less.

Here are five takeaways from the Colts’ upset loss vs. the Dolphins:

AP Photo/AJ Mast

Hoyer was just… man, forget it

Last weekend, I made sure to give quarterback Brian Hoyer “his flowers” following his stand-in performance against the Steelers in Week 9. The 11-year veteran, despite throwing a pick-six earlier on, threw three passing touchdowns and kept the Colts in the game until the very end.

But as we fast-forwarded to Sunday’s game, none of Hoyer’s positive attributes were there to be seen. Despite facing a bottom-ranked Dolphins’ defense, Hoyer was held to 204 passing yards, hit on several occasions, and threw three interceptions. And to make the Colts’ latest QB1’s performance worse, some of his struggles can’t be reflected in his statistics.

For a veteran of his stature, Hoyer missed various, open receivers on passing plays and failed to make common adjustments with his pass protection.

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What is the most disappointing aspect of the Redskins’ 2019 season?

The Redskins have been historically bad this season but it’s made worse by their inability to take advantage of a historically bad NFC East.

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If someone were to ask you to name what you thought was the most frustrating thing about the Washington Redskins 2019 season, what would you say?

Is it the Trent Williams situation, or the tempered development of Dwayne Haskins? Maybe another year of questionable planning from Bruce Allen and Dan Snyder? Perhaps it’s all of those combined, which have culminated in one giant mishap for the Redskins:

They missed out on taking advantage of a historically dreadful season from the rest of the NFC East.

Washington’s division has long been one of the toughest in the NFL in recent history. Along with the Redskins, the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, and New York Giants have combined to be the most successful division in the NFL since the 1970 NFL merger, with 21 NFC championship wins and 13 Super Bowl victories. You wouldn’t know that by looking at it thus far in 2019, as the division has a combined record of 13-24 just past the midway point in the season which ranks dead last in the NFL. The next worst division is the AFC South, which sits at 15-21 while being boosted by an 0-9 start from the Cincinnati Bengals.

While the Redskins aren’t the only team to blame for the abysmal season in the NFC East, they surely get a big piece of the pie. However, looking around them and seeing the turmoil felt by divisional rivals does almost more harm than good, as it shows what could have been possible if the team could have put together a few wins this season; if they could have found a way to put points on the board and actually resembled a professional football team with a path forward. Those are two big ‘ifs,’ but the point stands.

The Eagles — who won a Super Bowl in the last two seasons — sit at 5-4 without a capable defense. The Cowboys — who are one of the NFL’s most historically successful teams — sit at 5-4 with a question mark at the QB position. The Giants — who have a future Hall of Fame running back and a QB who is growing more capable by the week — sit at 2-8 with another chance at a top pick in 2020.

Then there’s the Redskins, sitting there at 1-8 with no answers for the present, and no plan for the future. When they look around at the rest of the division, it’s unlikely that they’ll smile and utter the adage that misery loves company; rather they’ll see this all as a big missed opportunity. If they couldn’t find a way out of this dogpile version of the NFC East in 2019, then how will they ever do it in the future?

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Giants’ John Mara, Dave Gettleman not scheduled to speak during bye week

Despite the ugly state of New York Giants football, neither co-owner John Mara nor GM Dave Gettleman will speak during the bye week.

New York Giants co-owner John Mara furiously stormed out of MetLife Stadium following a 34-27 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday, and that very well may be the last time we see him for several weeks.

As the Giants enter their bye, their schedule is highlighted by, well… a lack of highlights. Neither Mara nor general manager Dave Gettleman are scheduled to speak and, in fact, there will be absolutely no media availability of any kind from Wednesday, November 13 through Sunday, November 17.

Head coach Pat Shurmur will address the media during his weekly Monday conference call and players will have a brief availability on Tuesday, but that will be all she wrote until Monday, November 18.

That means, barring a sudden schedule change, there will be no staff changes and that Shurmur will return as the head coach in Week 12, which should come as little surprise to anyone who has followed this team for any length of time.

That’s not to say all is right in East Rutherford — it very clearly is not. But Mara is not a reactive man for the most part and he’s likely to go stew about the current state of the team for a few weeks before speaking (if he speaks at all until the end of the season).

Additionally, Shurmur made it abundantly clear on Sunday night that now changes to his staff are coming despite the venomous calls for a fall guy.

That’s not going to sit well with Giants fans who are mired in the most miserable football stretch of their lives, but the bye week should allow for a little healing and acceptance. Then, in Week 12, we’re right back to the horrendous reality that is New York Giants football in 2019.

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