Ground and Pound

[dave-o]

My "start at page 3" rule did not let me down....  Great lovers quarrel....

 

 

 

[WarHeel]

1 hour ago, top dawg said:

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.

Well stated. Whether due to talent or utilization management they definitely weren’t feared for gashing anyone on the ground which in made them a little more one dimensional. 

[WarHeel]

46 minutes ago, Khaki Lackey said:

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.

Absolutely triggered some folks. They don’t like being told that the next young offensive guru isn’t all we need to fix this team. 

[WarHeel]

1 hour ago, Diehardpanth02 said:

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.

Well said.

[Catsfan69]

Running the ball effectively wins ball games period.

 

Madden has warped people's minds.

[Bear Hands]

Spencer Brown got smacked around for BUF yesterday.  Deservingly so after his head knock to Christian Wilkins last week.

The Bengals didn't pour on the sacks but they consistently disrupted the pocket and contained Allen.  Hubbard, Hill, & Reader had phenomenal games and the Bills lost in the trenches, both sides of the ball. 

Buffalo just wasn't prepared.  Bad game plan, bad OL performance on the right side.  

 

[chef17]

9 hours ago, WarHeel said:

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. 

They lost by 17 points. 30 yards wasn't the difference in that game. The Bengals were simply a better team.

[WarHeel]

7 minutes ago, chef17 said:

They lost by 17 points. 30 yards wasn't the difference in that game. The Bengals were simply a better team.

I respectfully disagree when 6 carries for 5 yards a piece could have easily made the difference for failures to covert on 3rd and stalling on drives for an uncharacteristically low scoring game for Buffalo. Especially in an outdoor game where the weather is playing a role in the ability to complete passes downfield which was Buffalos identity all season. 

[Jay Roosevelt]

People get being able to run the ball effectively and being a run-first team confused.

This is a passing league today, but you do still need to run the ball effectively. The problem with the "ground and pound" approach of conservative coaches (mostly defensive-minded ones) is that it so often comes at the expense of an effective passing game.

In this era, running the ball effectively means having a viable compliment to your passing game that you can lean on when you need to, not having "ground & pound" become your team's whole identity.

[RJK]

22 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.

 

Buffalo is so injured up and down the lineup for so long it’s not even a talking point anymore. All the talk about the bengals Oline being injured but Buffalo misses something like 30 games by pro bowl players throughout the season. Attrition is buffalos biggest weakness

[chef17]

10 minutes ago, WarHeel said:

I respectfully disagree when 6 carries for 5 yards a piece could have easily made the difference for failures to covert on 3rd and stalling on drives for an uncharacteristically low scoring game for Buffalo. Especially in an outdoor game where the weather is playing a role in the ability to complete passes downfield which was Buffalos identity all season. 

We just aren't going to agree because that requires way too many assumptions. If those yards lead to first down yeah they make a difference. But maybe they don't and nothing changes. Even assuming it greatly helps their offense, there's no reason to believe the Bengals suddenly suck. Maybe those extra yards leads to 3 TDs and the Bills score 31. Who's to say the Bengals don't score 40? Yes anyone who isn't an idiot agrees it helps to be able to run the ball. This game and those teams are not the examples to use to support that position. 

[UnluckyforSome]

29 minutes ago, WarHeel said:

I respectfully disagree when 6 carries for 5 yards a piece could have easily made the difference for failures to covert on 3rd and stalling on drives for an uncharacteristically low scoring game for Buffalo. Especially in an outdoor game where the weather is playing a role in the ability to complete passes downfield which was Buffalos identity all season. 

I can understand wanting to defend your opinion and being true to your principles on this. It's very admirable. Not sure it's a hill worth dying on, so to speak. Sometimes it's better to just kind of let it go and let it be. 

[CRA]

6 hours ago, Catsfan69 said:

Running the ball effectively wins ball games period.

 

Madden has warped people's minds.

AFC title matchup is the 20th ranked rush attack vs the 29th ranked rush attack. 

AFC title matchup is also the #1 pass O vs the #5 pass O. 

If you look at the top 10 passing offenses - 9 made the postseason

if you look at the top 10 rushing offenses - 5 made the post season. 

Passing is more important.  But yeah, a respectable run game is needed. 

 

[WarHeel]

4 hours ago, YourLastThought said:

Curious but are you one of those "politically charged and woke" little neck beard guys who run around following anyone whose politics do not align with your Toyota Prius religion and throw piss fits? I do believe that might put you as triggered doesn't it? It appears this Warheel guy may have some politics that defer from your im guessing skewed sense of realty gated community while having all the answers to the world political goat hump Starbucks frappe mind. You are a most definitely triggered little fella looking at your posts here in this thread. Either your butt is sore from his politics or he must have bedded your current girlfriend. Either way, it has to suck to be so triggered you attempt to blame others for what you appear to have all the symptoms of. I am picturing you getting out of your Prius in your flannel while sipping your starbucks screaming because Joe Schmoe doesnt agree with all your jacked up politics. Waaaaaa get your mommy to tuck your ass in little woke warrior

/cdn-cgi/mirage/f74cb1776f1a5a75f5996c4de6bb61b20c5e5dfb9cbd633d0b5278c6d269ec4a/1280/https://media1.giphy.com/media/3ohhwNxuGh3gnyGG7S/200.gif

Man is spitting facts.