Let's talk about the Bills - AFC Championship Edition

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[O.city]

Or it could be that.....It's really ****ing hard and the other guys get paid too.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Originally Posted by O.city

If it were a "well shit no one got open, that didn't work" thing....maybe.

But they dialed up something that worked fine. Make the throw.

He will have to Sunday, yeah.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Ask yourself how you felt after the Bills regular season loss this year compared to games we lost in the RS in 2018/19. Hell even 2022 before this back-to-back run began.

There's your answer.

[RedinTexas]

Originally Posted by Mecca

I think by far the most annoying **** this week has been Mark Schlereth that dude is literally crying all over Fox sports at every turn.

I saw him on Rich Eisen and he seemed pretty respectful. He mentioned how he hates the Chiefs with "a white-hot passion" but said he had tons of respect for the Chiefs.

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

If we hold the Bills to 17, we're winning by multiple scores.

WTF? How does he think the Bills defense is going to accomplish this? They are not that good.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by O.city

Not to beat a dead horse but....the first possession encapsulates the issues IMO.

They struggle to run the ball down there and Pat just seems to.....cautious?

The Hollywood throw is one he's made in his sleep. Yet he just overthrows it.

The more and more I watch this stuff the more I'm just a staunch "training camp and time together and actually playing" matters guy.

The first possession was completely improvised. They had a 15-play script prepared and then Remigio ripped off that return. They basically had to toss the script at that point. I'd be more worried about the 2nd drive myself.

[RunKC]

I love it. Genuinely love it. They see this.

The most disrespected dynasty ever Dan. And you are part of why that is.

Genuinely unbelievable at this point. @BobbyStroupe pic.twitter.com/KaPn3zSZRI

— Chiefs Blitz (@ChiefsBlitz) January 23, 2025

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by Gary Cooper

I've never understood that theory.

Don't opposing coaches also "hold things back" until the playoffs? Reid has many disciples coaching in the NFL, including McDermott and Harbaugh. It's hard to believe they wouldn't be doing the same things Andy taught them.

Harbaugh literally pads stats to get guys awards, it's how Lamar keeps getting MVPs.

What the Chiefs do isn't exactly "saving the good plays" it's that if they see something works they won't spam it. That during the course of the season they'll run a bunch of things to "break tendencies" to screw with teams that have to gameplan for them in the future, stuff like that.

[RedinTexas]

Originally Posted by Mecca

Harbaugh literally pads stats to get guys awards, it's how Lamar keeps getting MVPs.

What the Chiefs do isn't exactly "saving the good plays" it's that if they see something works they won't spam it. That during the course of the season they'll run a bunch of things to "break tendencies" to screw with teams that have to gameplan for them in the future, stuff like that.

In the Air Force we called it "tactical deception." Play to what the enemy expects and then fool them with something they didn't.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Mecca

Harbaugh literally pads stats to get guys awards, it's how Lamar keeps getting MVPs.

What the Chiefs do isn't exactly "saving the good plays" it's that if they see something works they won't spam it. That during the course of the season they'll run a bunch of things to "break tendencies" to screw with teams that have to gameplan for them in the future, stuff like that.

Exactly. DJLN said something like this a few days ago.

It's not that they're saving plays so much as they're switching up when they call them and how much.

"Tendency breakers"

[BlackOp]

Originally Posted by kysirsoze

This game will likely put to rest, one way or another, if the whole "holding things back" narrative holds water. There's no reason to hold back in the most challenging and important game of the year.

The Steeler's game told me everything I needed...that's how this offense is going to look these last two games. IMO. That was the test drive...it's the only game this year where it looked like "The Chiefs/Andy Reid"...instead of the drudging along...do the minimum to win approach we've seen.

The fact Brown/Hopkins werent involved ..really at all, against the Texans says it was deliberate. Neither one had a single catch...

I'll eat crow if this happens again on Sunday...the fact they can just turn that shit on/off is nuts....it's how truly good they are.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by Mecca

Harbaugh literally pads stats to get guys awards, it's how Lamar keeps getting MVPs.

What the Chiefs do isn't exactly "saving the good plays" it's that if they see something works they won't spam it. That during the course of the season they'll run a bunch of things to "break tendencies" to screw with teams that have to gameplan for them in the future, stuff like that.

Yeah, there's a lot of nuance like this that gets glossed over, and I think it's two completely different things to say Mahomes spent much of the season being indecisive and less spontaneous, then talk about 'saving' anything... and then throw in overall focus and motivation against shit teams each week, versus Mahomes breaking his helmet in playoff games, etc.

It seems clear to me that...
...they tend to shut it down at times (like you said, they don't continue going to the same well/same weakness over and over and over)
...given the above, what they do run isn't always polished.
...Mahomes, outside of those things, also struggled this season
...they do rolll out things they haven't run all season (and yeah, seemed like the Bills also did this against the Chiefs last postseason), but these aren't always magical guaranteed touchdown plays (except corndog).


It's still football, it's still hard. They probably make it harder than it should be in the regular season, but it's always come together when it matters the most.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by BlackOp

The Steeler's game told me everything I needed...that's how this offense is going to look these last two games. IMO. That was the test drive...it's the only game this year where it looked like "The Chiefs/Andy Reid"...instead of the drudging along...do the minimum to win approach we've seen.

The fact Brown/Hopkins werent involved ..really at all, against the Texans says it was deliberate. Neither one had a single catch...

I'll eat crow if this happens again on Sunday...

I strongly feel the lack of WR involvement was intentional. No reason to test those Texans DBs and let their ends tee off on Mahomes when they knew Kelce was going to be open a lot.

The Bills aren't built that way. They're much weaker at DB than the Texans. I think we are going to see Brown and Hopkins heavily involved this week.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by BlackOp

The Steeler's game told me everything I needed...that's how this offense is going to look these last two games. IMO. That was the test drive...it's the only game this year where it looked like "The Chiefs/Andy Reid"...instead of the drudging along...do the minimum to win approach we've seen.

The fact Brown/Hopkins werent involved ..really at all, against the Texans says it was deliberate. Neither one had a single catch...

I'll eat crow if this happens again on Sunday...the fact they can just turn that shit on/off is nuts....it's how truly good they are.

And maybe that's the thing.

Maybe we've gotten so used to "Man, winning football games is really damn hard" that when we see Andy and company trying to do it with one arm tied behind their backs, we see it as the height of hubris that will inevitably come back to bite them in the ass.

Because football isn't basketball. Basketball is the only sport I've ever seen where a team truly can flip a switch and just buzzsaw their opponents. And even THAT'S only possible because of the 'best of' series format.

But in a win or go home scenario, I just don't think it's possible to 'turn it on' when you need it. You have it or you don't.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the Chiefs ARE just that good.

That's just an awfully big mental hurdle to ask people to clear.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

I strongly feel the lack of WR involvement was intentional. No reason to test those Texans DBs and let their ends tee off on Mahomes when they knew Kelce was going to be open a lot.

The Bills aren't built that way. They're much weaker at DB than the Texans. I think we are going to see Brown and Hopkins heavily involved this week.

We'll find out.

If they've simply been reluctant to open the taps, we'll see it this weekend. This isn't a dominant defense by any stretch.

30 should be a foregone conclusion if they've really been 'saving it' for the playoffs.