Ground and Pound

[WarHeel]

20 minutes ago, Krovvy said:

I mean, it's easier to just admit you were wrong.

About trying to challenge your vocabulary? Sure was. You can’t be helped.

[Krovvy]

2 minutes ago, WarHeel said:

About trying to challenge your vocabulary? Sure was. You can’t be helped.

I'll pray on it, since it's my theology.

[WarHeel]

3 minutes ago, Krovvy said:

I'll pray on it, since it's my theology.

You do that. It beats your former ideology.

[ForJimmy]

[chef17]

The Bengals are 29th on the season in rushing yards. Mixon had 5 less yards despite 30 more carries than Singletary. The Bengals had a better rushing day but they aren't a team built to ground and pound either. It makes no sense to say that's the reason the Bills lost.

Edited January 23, 2023 by chef17

[WarHeel]

18 minutes ago, chef17 said:

The Bengals are 29th on the season in rushing yards. Mixon had 5 less yards despite 30 more carries than Singletary. The Bengals had a better rushing day but they aren't a team built to ground and pound either. It makes no sense to say that's the reason the Bills lost.

If the argument is strictly for rushing only then you have a fair argument. While the title of the OP is “ground and pound” I alluded to the lack of presence of a RB for Buffalo who can run as well as receive the check down when needed.  Singletary is mediocre at the former and nonexistent in the latter while Mixon was a top 10 fantasy option at the position due to his ability to both rush and receive. 

[chef17]

17 minutes ago, WarHeel said:

If the argument is strictly for rushing only then you have a fair argument. While the title of the OP is “ground and pound” I alluded to the lack of presence of a RB for Buffalo who can run as well as receive the check down when needed.  Singletary is mediocre at the former and nonexistent in the latter while Mixon was a top 10 fantasy option at the position due to his ability to both rush and receive. 

Singletary averaged 51 rushing 17 receiving while Mixon averaged 58 rushing 38 receiving. The Bengals just had a better game. I just disagree that these are the teams to use to support any conclusion about the need for a RB or running game.

[Krovvy]

2 hours ago, WarHeel said:

You do that. It beats your former ideology.

I'll pray for you boo boo.

[Aussie Tank]

Every team wants a well balanced attack. What hurt Buffalo is losing Dabol and that’s the main reason I want an offensive minded coach so losing the OC doesn’t hurt as much 

[WarHeel]

6 hours ago, chef17 said:

Singletary averaged 51 rushing 17 receiving while Mixon averaged 58 rushing 38 receiving. The Bengals just had a better game. I just disagree that these are the teams to use to support any conclusion about the need for a RB or running game.

96 vs 68 yards total per game is a fairly significant difference. 
 

I would wager that the Bills absolutely attempt to go get a dual threat RB in the off-season. 

[top dawg]

13 hours ago, WarHeel said:

Anyone who has watched a minute of Buffalo football this year can’t deny the juggernaut presence that is their passing game. And when Allen isn’t dropping a dime to Diggs for what seems like an eternal gif-like loop, he’s hurting you with his feet for another first down scamper. Beneath all the glamour, a not so obvious truth has been hiding below the trenches in plain sight all season long. 

Singletary finished the 2021 season with a strong showing and an optimistic outlook for 2022. As someone who watched most of their fantasy draft targets for the RB position get snatched before I could stake my claim, I was one of the poor souls who ended up with Singletary as my RB2. For any unfortunate individual who can share my sentiments you and I saw this moment coming for Buffalo a long time ago. 
 

My father, a Buffalo native and Bills fan turned Carolina fan, asked me last week who I had for my Super Bowl picks and while Buffalo has a special place in my heart (when they aren’t playing Carolina) I couldn’t in good sense pick them to go the distance. Deep down, I had seen the writing on the wall all season. Devin Singletary is not the RB1 you want to have to depend on to bail you out on an evening of inclement weather in a playoff atmosphere. He rarely, if ever, is called for a check down play. He more often than not finds himself on the wrong side of 4 yards per carry. 

For all the pooing on the old fashioned, smash mouth football that Carolina can’t seem to evolve from, McDermott and company have to be kicking themselves for not having the personnel to devolve when it counted.

On a chilly, dry January afternoon in Buffalo I truly believe the Bills would have beaten Cincinnati by at least a score and a half. Buffalo is as cursed an NFL franchise as there has ever been. But this curse was self-inflicted. 
 

I’d love a young minded offensive guru to coach up our (hopeful) shiny new QB to drop a 40-burger on opposing NFC defenses as well as anyone. But let’s not forget that there are moments where the roots of this game matter. Pass catching running backs matter. Ramming it down your opponents throat on the ground absolutely matters. 
 

Keep Pounding.

 

I have pondered Buffalo's run game as well (as I was stuck with Singletary also), and honestly...I think it has less to do with the actual talent of their backs, and more about the play calling, and also the way that they built their RB room.

Their backs are all smallish, with good speed. But, at the same time, they have respectable averages and can catch the ball. Buffalo has effectively acquired the same back though they have mainly three RBs. Even still, you have to be able to run between the tackles, and I've seen Singletary and Hines do that credibly enough to keep defenses honest. Buffalo's run game appears underwhelming because of the play calling and their choice to rely on Allen as opposed to their backs, and there's not enough diversity in their RB room due to choices that they have made which in theory holds their ground and pound game back as well.

[Diehardpanth02]

14 hours ago, WarHeel said:

Anyone who has watched a minute of Buffalo football this year can’t deny the juggernaut presence that is their passing game. And when Allen isn’t dropping a dime to Diggs for what seems like an eternal gif-like loop, he’s hurting you with his feet for another first down scamper. Beneath all the glamour, a not so obvious truth has been hiding below the trenches in plain sight all season long. 

Singletary finished the 2021 season with a strong showing and an optimistic outlook for 2022. As someone who watched most of their fantasy draft targets for the RB position get snatched before I could stake my claim, I was one of the poor souls who ended up with Singletary as my RB2. For any unfortunate individual who can share my sentiments you and I saw this moment coming for Buffalo a long time ago. 
 

My father, a Buffalo native and Bills fan turned Carolina fan, asked me last week who I had for my Super Bowl picks and while Buffalo has a special place in my heart (when they aren’t playing Carolina) I couldn’t in good sense pick them to go the distance. Deep down, I had seen the writing on the wall all season. Devin Singletary is not the RB1 you want to have to depend on to bail you out on an evening of inclement weather in a playoff atmosphere. He rarely, if ever, is called for a check down play. He more often than not finds himself on the wrong side of 4 yards per carry. 

For all the pooing on the old fashioned, smash mouth football that Carolina can’t seem to evolve from, McDermott and company have to be kicking themselves for not having the personnel to devolve when it counted.

On a chilly, dry January afternoon in Buffalo I truly believe the Bills would have beaten Cincinnati by at least a score and a half. Buffalo is as cursed an NFL franchise as there has ever been. But this curse was self-inflicted. 
 

I’d love a young minded offensive guru to coach up our (hopeful) shiny new QB to drop a 40-burger on opposing NFC defenses as well as anyone. But let’s not forget that there are moments where the roots of this game matter. Pass catching running backs matter. Ramming it down your opponents throat on the ground absolutely matters. 
 

Keep Pounding.

 

The only teams left are teams who do the basics well. No matter the level. Run the ball, stop the run, and play hard defense. If you get any team doing that, when it comes down to it you will win more often than not. 

The passing game is very important now, to keep teams honest. But without the run game, the passing game gets significantly harder to be efficient with. Most football Stan's don't recognize this and want the new shiny WR1s and fancy new offensive schemes. Kyle Shanahan is who I'd be looking for, someone with great run design with a well built machine. And doing it with a nobody at Qb.

[top dawg]

9 hours ago, chef17 said:

The Bengals are 29th on the season in rushing yards. Mixon had 5 less yards despite 30 more carries than Singletary. The Bengals had a better rushing day but they aren't a team built to ground and pound either. It makes no sense to say that's the reason the Bills lost.

Yeah, IMO, they lost because Allen wasn't good enough, and play calling.

Also, the Bengals are just a superior team.

 

Edited January 23, 2023 by top dawg

[Khaki Lackey]

OP, the thread title triggered some folk's PTSD from 2 decades of Fox/Rivera. I get what you mean. Luckily for us, our OL has potential to establish a great running game that would be a great compliment to an OC that can scheme a receiver open every now and again.

Edited January 23, 2023 by Khaki Lackey