The DL is getting healthier and better and I am very interested to see what kind of difference Jones makes as the Mike LB. On the one hand he will only have been with the Seahawks for less than a week, but on the other hand he played the Bills last week.
I guess we’ll never get a chance to see him in Seahawk blue. Too bad, because I was looking forward to another Russel Wilson type underdog to take us to the SB. Good luck to him in the future, I hope he’s retiring soon enough for his brain health!
Hear-Hear. I suspect "injury" is going to be used to help Teams and Players gain more control over who they play and who they play for. Running a rookie kid into an area of need too early has ruined a lot of careers.
Does Josh Allen have a lower turnover play rate that Geno? As weird as it sounds, I wouldn’t be surprised if Josh Allen puts the ball in harms way more than Geno.
On that note, the Bills have had incredible turnover margin this year. Whether it’s luck or skill (probably a mix) that margin should change hopefully it changes this week and the hawks win the TO battle.
I originally came into this game concerned with Allen and his legs. That’s changing as the week goes on. This Seattle defensive front was one of the strengths of the team and it appears that Hall is taking that next next step. I do think Jones will make an immediate impact, as I think Baker was a weak link.
I started this week concerned but that has changed to excitement. I like this matchup for the Hawks front 7. No, not to stop Allen but to slow him and turn him over.
FWIW, the Hawks are 3 point underdogs, which is the same they were last week at Atlanta.
Grubb appears to be hitting his stride with run/pass balance. Always helps to have a lead. But you can’t let Geno sit back there and get destroyed. Need to run at least a bit to keep the D honest. Which he is did a much better job of last week.
Josh Allen is a top 3 QB and a legit MVP candidate but it ain’t like Geno is that far behind and is a dark horse MVP at 50-1 which has improved from starting the season 100-1. This will be a great QB dual between different types. Geno gets rid of the ball quick and accurately behind a poor o-line while Josh Allen holds the ball longer than anyone.
I don’t think the Bills get above 20 and the Hawks go for 23 or more. I’ll take the Hawks winning this 24-20.
I'm with you on this, Mike. Josh Allen is a mystery, as he leads the League in the number of dropped interceptions while also leading with zero interceptions. Eventually, this luck will run out and I hope we begin that correction. As ALL22 likes to say, DBs would be on the Offense if they could catch balls. My bet is MacD has had them catching balls in their sleep this week. It's a good game for Woolen to return, but then I have growing respect for our back-ups. Turnovers will be a big key to winning this.
Thank you, and agreed ... turnovers are key. And I think with the homefield and the Hawks defensive line back together ... I think it is more likely the Bills have more turnovers than the Hawks.
Looking forward to our front 7 against Allen and Co. Could be key with pressure to create turnovers/strip sacks and limiting the ground game.
It took Mike half the first season with the Ravens to get the left hand knowing what the right hand is doing. I was hoping it wouldn't take us as long, but here we are at essentially half season. Each week, not only the starters are getting up to speed, but so are their back-up guys. I look for them to not just know what the other hand i doing, but knowing what they WILL be doing, according to skill levels. Only then can we expect to confuse even really talented QBs like we have with Josh Allen. I think we differ from the Raven's experience at this stage, when considering the 2nd Team's proven skill levels as substitutions cycle through.
Side note if 3 point it is more like a Td. He teams have roughly a 3 point advantage. I too was concerned about Allen’s scamper ability but hopefully addition of Jones helps negate that.
This is gonna have to be a keep-away game on offense and we just take away the deep stuff defensively - unfortunately we've missed the window where you can just play Cover 2 against Josh Allen and wait for him to make a hero-ball mistake.
Firstly, the CURSE WHEEL cursed the bills this week, so we got this game on lock :)
A thought on why K9 is so much better on shotgun runs: His best ability is his patience to read the blocks and magically spin and break tackles to get yards where few other backs can find them. With under center runs, his momentum is already downhill when he receives the snap, which isn't as good of a fit with his skill set. On the other hand, Charb should be better at under center run snaps, but I haven't looked closely at the NGS for him.
It's too early to ask too much of a guy that just joined the team, but Ernest Jones needs to have an immediate impact. It's no secret that our second level defenders have struggled with consistency and tackling. They're going to test us there early, so my non-negotiable is for Jones, Dodson and Bryant to simply play good fundamental football. Be in the right place at the right time and wrap up.
Ernest Jones just played the Bills last week, which explains why MacD has a new-hire playing 5 days after getting him. I suspect he'll be telling our Defense what is about to happen. It's a great move with even better timing.
I would add that the Jets missed a 32-yard and 43-yard field goal.
Here is the Bills turnover margin:
Tenn: Won 2-0
Jets: Won 1-0
Texans: Won 2-0 (and lost by 3)
Ravens: Tie 1-1 (and got blown out)
Jags: Won 2-0
Miami: Won 3-0
Cards: Tie 1-1
Depending on what you attribute to turnover margin. This either looks really good or really lucky (probably somewhere in between is the truth). I think the Bills are a good football team, but I also think their turnover luck is masking some deficiencies.
This is an eminently winnable game. Make no mistake—Buffalo is a good team and the ‘Hawks have to play well from beginning to end. But if they do, they should win.
As in most games, at least with Seattle it will be (probably) How well the O-line plays and how well the LB's play. If those units have a good day Seattle has a great chance at victory! GO HAWKS!
I put pretty little stock in stuff like this I'm afraid. The chess pieces keep changing. It's like saying that "Seattle" has a losing record against the Bills. You mean people who wear a blue uniform with that bird on the helmet? Let's get real: "Seattle" and "Buffalo" are uniforms. Tell me how Josh Allen plays against a team with a guy named Bosa on the other side of the ball and maybe that's fair. What matters is what Seattle can scheme to make Allen's night uncomfortable, particularly with Cooper now on Buffalo.
Realistic prediction:
Allen burns Seattle consistently with his legs and Bills win comfortably. 25-35%
Allen burns Seattle consistently with his legs — and turns the ball over, and Seattle loses in OT in a heartbreaker. 25-35%
Allen burns Seattle inconsistently with his legs, gets hit enough to turn the ball over and (is rain predicted??) in a sloppy, low-scoring battle, Seattle ekes out a victory. 10-20%
Seattle or Buffalo smoke the other team and it's no contest. 10%
Look, it's a learning curve year. I'd be super happy if Seattle does to Buffalo what they did to Atlanta. But Cousins is a hood ornament and Allen is the sports car underneath that ornament. And that, as SSJ has said, is THE problem.
I don’t know where your percentages come from, but essentially you claim that there is up to a 60% chance that Seattle wins or the game goes into over time. That sounds like an eminently winnable game to me. BTW, you might want to rethink the likelihood that 25-35% of the time the game will go into OT and the same team wins 100% of those games.
Playing zone actually makes sense vs Allen… keeps the eyes of the DBs on the QB looking for errant throws and watching if he decides to run. Man coverage leads to green space in front of the QB.
Partially agree except he’s accurate. Zone has not been good to us this year. Zone means receivers open. I prefer a spy or shadow who plays the short maybe intermediate zone in middle who watches Allen. Not unlike ET but there are so few like him.
This will be a good test for MM’s pressure schemes and confusing Allen at the line. A free rusher on the line dropping into coverage is a prime candidate to intercept a pass.
The Seahawks can also mix zone and man (show one, do the other).
Totally and what we’ve been expecting to see and haven’t seen much this year. With that said there were times, and can’t remember if Cousins Int or just a bad miss, but Williams and or JReed did just that. Clearly those two not man to man but dropped short zone. I’m with you Doug. And I personally love great defenses. One of my all time favorite games was that Hawks Cards 9-6 game when BWagz jumped the line to block FG etc. great great defense against one of all time best WRs, Fitzgerald. Or that 2006 playoff game when Hawks completely took away the MVP Smith who was Carolina’s only offensive weapon.
If Riq is back with the DL healthy we may see a much better D all around. And yeah I am actually more a fan of great D than offense truth be told! “The tip” and Kam taking out Vernon Davis are probably my 2 fav plays from the LOB years.
100% agree with everything you said! Hopefully the new MLB can do some decent work in stopping the run in the middle. Alot of this game will depend on the O-line allowing a little time to develop the game plan , which should be to get some run game going to build the O off of!
This could be a great game, win or lose, if the Seahawks defense can look more like the 2nd half against the Falcons and less like the 1st half. If Woolen can go, I think we can play them tough if we can get our tackling squared off.
Big Mike at RT needs to hold up again. Maybe he learns from game one, and has a more well rounded game this week. Or, maybe DE's can take advantage of him more now that he's got a game worth of tape to look at. Do good Big Mike.
Mr. Murphy healthy on the d-line makes me very happy. He had some awesome snaps last week and really made a difference. He's just getting started. Would love to see the inside pressure against Mr. Allen.
Longer sustained drives using the run and pass to keep Allen off the field as much as possible. Hope Riq is back!
The DL is getting healthier and better and I am very interested to see what kind of difference Jones makes as the Mike LB. On the one hand he will only have been with the Seahawks for less than a week, but on the other hand he played the Bills last week.
Excited for this rematch and for his games against the Rams.
Off topic, but I I’m sorry to see that Grayson McCall retired due to injury issues.
I guess we’ll never get a chance to see him in Seahawk blue. Too bad, because I was looking forward to another Russel Wilson type underdog to take us to the SB. Good luck to him in the future, I hope he’s retiring soon enough for his brain health!
He can always show up at one of those UDFA try-outs Seattle holds every year
Hear-Hear. I suspect "injury" is going to be used to help Teams and Players gain more control over who they play and who they play for. Running a rookie kid into an area of need too early has ruined a lot of careers.
kkkk yeah maybe in his case they fly him in on Jody's plane....
Does Josh Allen have a lower turnover play rate that Geno? As weird as it sounds, I wouldn’t be surprised if Josh Allen puts the ball in harms way more than Geno.
On that note, the Bills have had incredible turnover margin this year. Whether it’s luck or skill (probably a mix) that margin should change hopefully it changes this week and the hawks win the TO battle.
I originally came into this game concerned with Allen and his legs. That’s changing as the week goes on. This Seattle defensive front was one of the strengths of the team and it appears that Hall is taking that next next step. I do think Jones will make an immediate impact, as I think Baker was a weak link.
I started this week concerned but that has changed to excitement. I like this matchup for the Hawks front 7. No, not to stop Allen but to slow him and turn him over.
FWIW, the Hawks are 3 point underdogs, which is the same they were last week at Atlanta.
Grubb appears to be hitting his stride with run/pass balance. Always helps to have a lead. But you can’t let Geno sit back there and get destroyed. Need to run at least a bit to keep the D honest. Which he is did a much better job of last week.
Josh Allen is a top 3 QB and a legit MVP candidate but it ain’t like Geno is that far behind and is a dark horse MVP at 50-1 which has improved from starting the season 100-1. This will be a great QB dual between different types. Geno gets rid of the ball quick and accurately behind a poor o-line while Josh Allen holds the ball longer than anyone.
I don’t think the Bills get above 20 and the Hawks go for 23 or more. I’ll take the Hawks winning this 24-20.
Go Hawks
I'm with you on this, Mike. Josh Allen is a mystery, as he leads the League in the number of dropped interceptions while also leading with zero interceptions. Eventually, this luck will run out and I hope we begin that correction. As ALL22 likes to say, DBs would be on the Offense if they could catch balls. My bet is MacD has had them catching balls in their sleep this week. It's a good game for Woolen to return, but then I have growing respect for our back-ups. Turnovers will be a big key to winning this.
Thank you, and agreed ... turnovers are key. And I think with the homefield and the Hawks defensive line back together ... I think it is more likely the Bills have more turnovers than the Hawks.
Looking forward to our front 7 against Allen and Co. Could be key with pressure to create turnovers/strip sacks and limiting the ground game.
It took Mike half the first season with the Ravens to get the left hand knowing what the right hand is doing. I was hoping it wouldn't take us as long, but here we are at essentially half season. Each week, not only the starters are getting up to speed, but so are their back-up guys. I look for them to not just know what the other hand i doing, but knowing what they WILL be doing, according to skill levels. Only then can we expect to confuse even really talented QBs like we have with Josh Allen. I think we differ from the Raven's experience at this stage, when considering the 2nd Team's proven skill levels as substitutions cycle through.
Side note if 3 point it is more like a Td. He teams have roughly a 3 point advantage. I too was concerned about Allen’s scamper ability but hopefully addition of Jones helps negate that.
This is gonna have to be a keep-away game on offense and we just take away the deep stuff defensively - unfortunately we've missed the window where you can just play Cover 2 against Josh Allen and wait for him to make a hero-ball mistake.
From here on out, I expect we shall see actual points put on the board by our Defense. LOB was dependable in this regard.
I wish I shared your optimism XD
Firstly, the CURSE WHEEL cursed the bills this week, so we got this game on lock :)
A thought on why K9 is so much better on shotgun runs: His best ability is his patience to read the blocks and magically spin and break tackles to get yards where few other backs can find them. With under center runs, his momentum is already downhill when he receives the snap, which isn't as good of a fit with his skill set. On the other hand, Charb should be better at under center run snaps, but I haven't looked closely at the NGS for him.
It's too early to ask too much of a guy that just joined the team, but Ernest Jones needs to have an immediate impact. It's no secret that our second level defenders have struggled with consistency and tackling. They're going to test us there early, so my non-negotiable is for Jones, Dodson and Bryant to simply play good fundamental football. Be in the right place at the right time and wrap up.
Ernest Jones just played the Bills last week, which explains why MacD has a new-hire playing 5 days after getting him. I suspect he'll be telling our Defense what is about to happen. It's a great move with even better timing.
Plus he is more of a true MLB in his play and style.
Can't wait to see what he brings!
Bills’ results by opposing team’s W/L record:
W Tennessee 34-10 (1-5)
W Jacksonville 47-10 (2-5)
W @NYJ 23-20 (2-5)
W @Miami 31-10 (2-4)
W Arizona 34-28 (3-4)
L @Baltimore 10-35 (5-2)
L @Houston 20-23 (5-2)
Home / Road Scoring:
Home 115-48 (38-16)
Road 84-81 (21-20)
To date the Bills are dominant at home and average on the road, although most of this is pre-Cooper.
Good points.
I would add that the Jets missed a 32-yard and 43-yard field goal.
Here is the Bills turnover margin:
Tenn: Won 2-0
Jets: Won 1-0
Texans: Won 2-0 (and lost by 3)
Ravens: Tie 1-1 (and got blown out)
Jags: Won 2-0
Miami: Won 3-0
Cards: Tie 1-1
Depending on what you attribute to turnover margin. This either looks really good or really lucky (probably somewhere in between is the truth). I think the Bills are a good football team, but I also think their turnover luck is masking some deficiencies.
We will see! Should be fun.
This is an eminently winnable game. Make no mistake—Buffalo is a good team and the ‘Hawks have to play well from beginning to end. But if they do, they should win.
As in most games, at least with Seattle it will be (probably) How well the O-line plays and how well the LB's play. If those units have a good day Seattle has a great chance at victory! GO HAWKS!
I put pretty little stock in stuff like this I'm afraid. The chess pieces keep changing. It's like saying that "Seattle" has a losing record against the Bills. You mean people who wear a blue uniform with that bird on the helmet? Let's get real: "Seattle" and "Buffalo" are uniforms. Tell me how Josh Allen plays against a team with a guy named Bosa on the other side of the ball and maybe that's fair. What matters is what Seattle can scheme to make Allen's night uncomfortable, particularly with Cooper now on Buffalo.
Realistic prediction:
Allen burns Seattle consistently with his legs and Bills win comfortably. 25-35%
Allen burns Seattle consistently with his legs — and turns the ball over, and Seattle loses in OT in a heartbreaker. 25-35%
Allen burns Seattle inconsistently with his legs, gets hit enough to turn the ball over and (is rain predicted??) in a sloppy, low-scoring battle, Seattle ekes out a victory. 10-20%
Seattle or Buffalo smoke the other team and it's no contest. 10%
Look, it's a learning curve year. I'd be super happy if Seattle does to Buffalo what they did to Atlanta. But Cousins is a hood ornament and Allen is the sports car underneath that ornament. And that, as SSJ has said, is THE problem.
I don’t know where your percentages come from, but essentially you claim that there is up to a 60% chance that Seattle wins or the game goes into over time. That sounds like an eminently winnable game to me. BTW, you might want to rethink the likelihood that 25-35% of the time the game will go into OT and the same team wins 100% of those games.
Good Info!
"However, through seven games this season, Allen hasn’t thrown one interception"
Thank you for jinxing him this week, Joe!
Allen also leads in the number of 'Dropped Interceptions', which is apparently a stat. Go figger...
Geno tweeted that's not a real stat when he led the NFL in dropped interceptions.
Does anyone file stats on interceptions NOT caused by a QB? (Tipped ball; steals, etc.)
Needed to add in that coverage non negotiable that that don’t play zone. I too hope Walker is the difference maker
Playing zone actually makes sense vs Allen… keeps the eyes of the DBs on the QB looking for errant throws and watching if he decides to run. Man coverage leads to green space in front of the QB.
Partially agree except he’s accurate. Zone has not been good to us this year. Zone means receivers open. I prefer a spy or shadow who plays the short maybe intermediate zone in middle who watches Allen. Not unlike ET but there are so few like him.
This will be a good test for MM’s pressure schemes and confusing Allen at the line. A free rusher on the line dropping into coverage is a prime candidate to intercept a pass.
The Seahawks can also mix zone and man (show one, do the other).
Totally and what we’ve been expecting to see and haven’t seen much this year. With that said there were times, and can’t remember if Cousins Int or just a bad miss, but Williams and or JReed did just that. Clearly those two not man to man but dropped short zone. I’m with you Doug. And I personally love great defenses. One of my all time favorite games was that Hawks Cards 9-6 game when BWagz jumped the line to block FG etc. great great defense against one of all time best WRs, Fitzgerald. Or that 2006 playoff game when Hawks completely took away the MVP Smith who was Carolina’s only offensive weapon.
If Riq is back with the DL healthy we may see a much better D all around. And yeah I am actually more a fan of great D than offense truth be told! “The tip” and Kam taking out Vernon Davis are probably my 2 fav plays from the LOB years.
100% agree with everything you said! Hopefully the new MLB can do some decent work in stopping the run in the middle. Alot of this game will depend on the O-line allowing a little time to develop the game plan , which should be to get some run game going to build the O off of!
This could be a great game, win or lose, if the Seahawks defense can look more like the 2nd half against the Falcons and less like the 1st half. If Woolen can go, I think we can play them tough if we can get our tackling squared off.
Big Mike at RT needs to hold up again. Maybe he learns from game one, and has a more well rounded game this week. Or, maybe DE's can take advantage of him more now that he's got a game worth of tape to look at. Do good Big Mike.
Mr. Murphy healthy on the d-line makes me very happy. He had some awesome snaps last week and really made a difference. He's just getting started. Would love to see the inside pressure against Mr. Allen.