Analysis: Dak vs Bills

[xwalker]

I just reviewed all of Dak's plays in the Bills game.

This post is intended for people that want to know what actually happened.

I know many trolls will try to derail the the thread but I did review all plays which I'm certain that they have not done.

My conclusion is that Dak made a heroic effort in an attempt to win the game. He threaded the needle many times with many great throws. He was under constant pressure. Without a running game, the Bills could just focus on pass rushing and pass defense.

I'm going to primarily list the "bad" plays by Dak or plays that appeared to be "bad" on his part.

• General Observations:
  • Multiple deep throws while under pressure and WRs not really open.
  • Not certain why they kept trying to deep passes to the sidelines.
  • There were multiple tipped passes. The Bills were focused on getting good jumps to tip passes.
• 
  
• INT by Star Lotulelei
  • The INT was a freak play.
  • The DT was being blocked by Tyron when Dak released the ball.
  • Dak was being hit as he released the ball.
  • The play design was similar to one in the preseason that also resulted in catastrophic failure.
  • It is a high risk play where the invite pass rushes to come at Dak with Dak looking right but planning all along to throw left to Pollard on a screen pass.
  • The DT made a great play.
• 
  
• Ball stripped as Dak was throwing.
  • Su'a-Filo whiffed and the pass rusher hit Dak's hand while he was in the throwing motion.
  • If Su'a-Filo could have delayed the pass rusher by 1 extra millisecond, then the pass was have been out of Dak's hand.
• 
  
• INT that was over-turned.
  • There was an INT that was over-turned due to a hands to the face penalty on the Bills DL.
  • The pass was perfect to Gallup but the DB ran through Gallup before the pass arrived.
  • I watched this one several time on slow motion.
• 
  
• Zeke bats the ball out of bounds.
  • Dak threw a low pass to Zeke in the flat.
  • The one that Zeke batted out of bounds.
  • It was still catch-able considering that Zeke was standing still when the ball arrived.
• 
  
• Final Drive of 1st Half.
  • They were moving he ball.
  • There were 3 plays in the middle of the field on the drive.
  • They attempted a field goal on 1st down because they were out of time.
  • Is that on the QB or Coaching to throw 3 times in the middle of the field when time if running out?
• 
  
• 
  
• 2nd Half
• Dak sacked on a play design that Romo said was a common Cowboys play.
  • That seems to indicate a Garrett play...
• 
  
• Side Note:
  • Connor Williams Return from Injury.
  • CW had been out much of the 1st half with and injury issue.
  • He returned for the 2nd half but departed after a false start due to the injury issue.
  • Why was he back on the field if he was not healthy enough to play that snap?
• 
  
• Dak's 2nd run to get a 1st down.
  • Dak made an incredible effort to run for a 1st down.
  • This was the 2nd incredible effort to get a 1st down.
  • The 1st time was prior to the 4th down when Garrett went for it at the Dallas 20 yard line.
• 
  
• 4th down play in the redzone (3rd quarter)
  • The pass to Zeke looked terrible and way short.
  • After reviewing multiple times and in slow-motion it looks a bit different.
  • Looking at Zeke's location when Dak threw the ball is interesting.
  • If Zeke had moved more towards the endzone instead of the sideline, the pass would have been on target.
• 
  
• Zeke drop of sideline pass.
  • Great pass by Dak in the 4th quarter with a defender in his face to Zeke.
  • Zeke has the ball in his hands and has his feet in bounds but can't complete the catch.
• 
  
• Pass to the left in the 4th quarter that was almost intercepted.
  • Gallup was out near the sideline and ran an in-route.
  • He stopped just to the outside of the DB which is the opposite of what a WR would should do.
  • The WR needs to cross the DBs face and then stop.
  • Maybe Gallup thought that Dak would have time and allow Gallup to move back outside on an in & out type route which could have resulted in a big gain but in this type of game with the QB under constant pressure, I can't imagine why he might think that was possible.
• 
  
• Dak has the ball knocked out of his hands on the 4th down play at about 5:48 in the 4th.
  • La'el failed in a big way.
  • The Bills originally had 11 defenders within 5 yards of the line but some dropped back just before the snap.
  • On that drive, Witten had dropped a ball that hit his hands an there was not a defender near him.
  • The ball might have been tipped but it still hit his hands.
• 
  
• Last Scoring Drive
  • On the drive late in the 4th when they scored a TD, Dak threaded the needle multiple times including the TD pass and the 2-point conversion pass.

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

absolutely nothing was Dak’s fault...? Even I don’t troll THAT hard

 

[Haimerej]

4th down play in the redzone (3rd quarter)

• The pass to Zeke looked terrible and way short.
• After reviewing multiple times and in slow-motion it looks a bit different.
• Looking at Zeke's location when Dak threw the ball is interesting.
• If Zeke had moved more towards the endzone instead of the sideline, the pass would have been on target.

Dak owned that poor pass in his press conference. Not sure why you're seemingly shifting blame to Zeke here.

 

[Creeper]

On the INT I think Romo covered this one pretty well. Dak held the ball too long which allowed the defenders to sniff out the screen and get in the way. HE should have thrown the ball at their feet when he saw all that traffic.

On the ball that was swatted out of his hand, the first time, I thought Dak held the ball too long and he did not step up in the pocket. Its the kind of thing he did a lot last year. I agree he made a couple of heroic runs, almost getting a 1st down just before they end of the 1st quarter and again later int he game when he bulled over the DB and drew a unnecessary roughness call (which was totally bogus IMO but it was only for 7 yards since the play ended on the Bills 15.)

I am not blaming Dak. Sometimes the offense will struggle and the defense has to step up. They didn't. I don't know if this team is Dak's team or Zeke's team - probably neither. Its should be the Dak, Zeke, Amari team, but whichever way you slice it, this team revolves around the offense because the defense is not dependable.

 

[CowboyRoy]

I just reviewed all of Dak's plays in the Bills game.

This post is intended for people that want to know what actually happened.

I know many trolls will try to derail the the thread but I did review all plays which I'm certain that they have not done.

My conclusion is that Dak made a heroic effort in an attempt to win the game. He threaded the needle many times with many great throws. He was under constant pressure. Without a running game, the Bills could just focus on pass rushing and pass defense.

I'm going to primarily list the "bad" plays by Dak or plays that appeared to be "bad" on his part.

• General Observations:
  • Multiple deep throws while under pressure and WRs not really open.
  • Not certain why they kept trying to deep passes to the sidelines.
  • There were multiple tipped passes. The Bills were focused on getting good jumps to tip passes.
• 
  
• INT by Star Lotulelei
  • The INT was a freak play.
  • The DT was being blocked by Tyron when Dak released the ball.
  • Dak was being hit as he released the ball.
  • The play design was similar to one in the preseason that also resulted in catastrophic failure.
  • It is a high risk play where the invite pass rushes to come at Dak with Dak looking right but planning all along to throw left to Pollard on a screen pass.
  • The DT made a great play.
• 
  
• Ball stripped as Dak was throwing.
  • Su'a-Filo whiffed and the pass rusher hit Dak's hand while he was in the throwing motion.
  • If Su'a-Filo could have delayed the pass rusher by 1 extra millisecond, then the pass was have been out of Dak's hand.
• 
  
• INT that was over-turned.
  • There was an INT that was over-turned due to a hands to the face penalty on the Bills DL.
  • The pass was perfect to Gallup but the DB ran through Gallup before the pass arrived.
  • I watched this one several time on slow motion.
• 
  
• Zeke bats the ball out of bounds.
  • Dak threw a low pass to Zeke in the flat.
  • The one that Zeke batted out of bounds.
  • It was still catch-able considering that Zeke was standing still when the ball arrived.
• 
  
• Final Drive of 1st Half.
  • They were moving he ball.
  • There were 3 plays in the middle of the field on the drive.
  • They attempted a field goal on 1st down because they were out of time.
  • Is that on the QB or Coaching to throw 3 times in the middle of the field when time if running out?
• 
  
• 
  
• 2nd Half
• Dak sacked on a play design that Romo said was a common Cowboys play.
  • That seems to indicate a Garrett play...
• 
  
• Side Note:
  • Connor Williams Return from Injury.
  • CW had been out much of the 1st half with and injury issue.
  • He returned for the 2nd half but departed after a false start due to the injury issue.
  • Why was he back on the field if he was not healthy enough to play that snap?
• 
  
• Dak's 2nd run to get a 1st down.
  • Dak made an incredible effort to run for a 1st down.
  • This was the 2nd incredible effort to get a 1st down.
  • The 1st time was prior to the 4th down when Garrett went for it at the Dallas 20 yard line.
• 
  
• 4th down play in the redzone (3rd quarter)
  • The pass to Zeke looked terrible and way short.
  • After reviewing multiple times and in slow-motion it looks a bit different.
  • Looking at Zeke's location when Dak threw the ball is interesting.
  • If Zeke had moved more towards the endzone instead of the sideline, the pass would have been on target.
• 
  
• Zeke drop of sideline pass.
  • Great pass by Dak in the 4th quarter with a defender in his face to Zeke.
  • Zeke has the ball in his hands and has his feet in bounds but can't complete the catch.
• 
  
• Pass to the left in the 4th quarter that was almost intercepted.
  • Gallup was out near the sideline and ran an in-route.
  • He stopped just to the outside of the DB which is the opposite of what a WR would should do.
  • The WR needs to cross the DBs face and then stop.
  • Maybe Gallup thought that Dak would have time and allow Gallup to move back outside on an in & out type route which could have resulted in a big gain but in this type of game with the QB under constant pressure, I can't imagine why he might think that was possible.
• 
  
• Dak has the ball knocked out of his hands on the 4th down play at about 5:48 in the 4th.
  • La'el failed in a big way.
  • The Bills originally had 11 defenders within 5 yards of the line but some dropped back just before the snap.
  • On that drive, Witten had dropped a ball that hit his hands an there was not a defender near him.
  • The ball might have been tipped but it still hit his hands.
• 
  
• Last Scoring Drive
  • On the drive late in the 4th when they scored a TD, Dak threaded the needle multiple times including the TD pass and the 2-point conversion pass.

Once again, your film study rant is designed to leave the players blameless. Dak had some great plays mixed in, however, this was NOT a great game for him by his standards.

There plenty of plays where nothing was open and Dak needed to step up in the pocket to either buy time or take off. The fact that Josh Allen does this in a big way was a big difference in this game. Especially late.

 

[MysteryIceGuro]

Analysis: He sucked. That is all.

 

[mattjames2010]

I just reviewed all of Dak's plays in the Bills game.

This post is intended for people that want to know what actually happened.

I know many trolls will try to derail the the thread but I did review all plays which I'm certain that they have not done.

My conclusion is that Dak made a heroic effort in an attempt to win the game. He threaded the needle many times with many great throws. He was under constant pressure. Without a running game, the Bills could just focus on pass rushing and pass defense.

I'm going to primarily list the "bad" plays by Dak or plays that appeared to be "bad" on his part.

• General Observations:
  • Multiple deep throws while under pressure and WRs not really open.
  • Not certain why they kept trying to deep passes to the sidelines.
  • There were multiple tipped passes. The Bills were focused on getting good jumps to tip passes.
• 
  
• INT by Star Lotulelei
  • The INT was a freak play.
  • The DT was being blocked by Tyron when Dak released the ball.
  • Dak was being hit as he released the ball.
  • The play design was similar to one in the preseason that also resulted in catastrophic failure.
  • It is a high risk play where the invite pass rushes to come at Dak with Dak looking right but planning all along to throw left to Pollard on a screen pass.
  • The DT made a great play.
• 
  
• Ball stripped as Dak was throwing.
  • Su'a-Filo whiffed and the pass rusher hit Dak's hand while he was in the throwing motion.
  • If Su'a-Filo could have delayed the pass rusher by 1 extra millisecond, then the pass was have been out of Dak's hand.
• 
  
• INT that was over-turned.
  • There was an INT that was over-turned due to a hands to the face penalty on the Bills DL.
  • The pass was perfect to Gallup but the DB ran through Gallup before the pass arrived.
  • I watched this one several time on slow motion.
• 
  
• Zeke bats the ball out of bounds.
  • Dak threw a low pass to Zeke in the flat.
  • The one that Zeke batted out of bounds.
  • It was still catch-able considering that Zeke was standing still when the ball arrived.
• 
  
• Final Drive of 1st Half.
  • They were moving he ball.
  • There were 3 plays in the middle of the field on the drive.
  • They attempted a field goal on 1st down because they were out of time.
  • Is that on the QB or Coaching to throw 3 times in the middle of the field when time if running out?
• 
  
• 
  
• 2nd Half
• Dak sacked on a play design that Romo said was a common Cowboys play.
  • That seems to indicate a Garrett play...
• 
  
• Side Note:
  • Connor Williams Return from Injury.
  • CW had been out much of the 1st half with and injury issue.
  • He returned for the 2nd half but departed after a false start due to the injury issue.
  • Why was he back on the field if he was not healthy enough to play that snap?
• 
  
• Dak's 2nd run to get a 1st down.
  • Dak made an incredible effort to run for a 1st down.
  • This was the 2nd incredible effort to get a 1st down.
  • The 1st time was prior to the 4th down when Garrett went for it at the Dallas 20 yard line.
• 
  
• 4th down play in the redzone (3rd quarter)
  • The pass to Zeke looked terrible and way short.
  • After reviewing multiple times and in slow-motion it looks a bit different.
  • Looking at Zeke's location when Dak threw the ball is interesting.
  • If Zeke had moved more towards the endzone instead of the sideline, the pass would have been on target.
• 
  
• Zeke drop of sideline pass.
  • Great pass by Dak in the 4th quarter with a defender in his face to Zeke.
  • Zeke has the ball in his hands and has his feet in bounds but can't complete the catch.
• 
  
• Pass to the left in the 4th quarter that was almost intercepted.
  • Gallup was out near the sideline and ran an in-route.
  • He stopped just to the outside of the DB which is the opposite of what a WR would should do.
  • The WR needs to cross the DBs face and then stop.
  • Maybe Gallup thought that Dak would have time and allow Gallup to move back outside on an in & out type route which could have resulted in a big gain but in this type of game with the QB under constant pressure, I can't imagine why he might think that was possible.
• 
  
• Dak has the ball knocked out of his hands on the 4th down play at about 5:48 in the 4th.
  • La'el failed in a big way.
  • The Bills originally had 11 defenders within 5 yards of the line but some dropped back just before the snap.
  • On that drive, Witten had dropped a ball that hit his hands an there was not a defender near him.
  • The ball might have been tipped but it still hit his hands.
• 
  
• Last Scoring Drive
  • On the drive late in the 4th when they scored a TD, Dak threaded the needle multiple times including the TD pass and the 2-point conversion pass.

Delete your account.

 

[BoysForLife]

Dak owned that poor pass in his press conference. Not sure why you're seemingly shifting blame to Zeke here.

It's the classic sniffer technique

Blah blah something o line. Yak yak Garrett, blah blah something something Zeke. Yada yada receivers not getting open. Etc

The only thing he forgot to do was bring up some bad game Romo had 8 years ago.

That will be in the follow up post

 

[Ranched]

We the fans are just very frustrated. No matter how we analyze every little inch of play in any of these past loses, the results remain the same.

FIRE THE COACHING STAFF

Your team will perform strictly on how it's coached!

 

[mattjames2010]

xWalker is filled with confirmation bias, similar to Percybot.

xWalker give everyone your analysis and mental gymnastics about how Martin just "did his job" in the 2014 divisional round game when Peppers blew him up and got a hand on the ball Murray was carrying. That was and is still adorable.

 

[CPanther95]

Wasn't Dak looking right at Zeke on that 4th down play... long enough to see exactly what direction he was running???

 

[Haimerej]

Wasn't Dak looking right at Zeke on that 4th down play... long enough to see exactly what direction he was running???

At his presser he actually said he wasn't looking at him initially and was late getting to him.

 

[glimmerman]

Dak has to start using his legs more. It was a dynamic in his game that kept defenses wondering or having to spy him. He had to run in the game after being flushed and did a great job. I see them setting teams up with the options but always hands it off. He needs to also quit holding the ball looking down the field all the time and know where his safety valve (Elliot) is. I saw him a few times standing there waiting alone.

He has played better games but also was going against a pretty good defense. The OC pretty much abandoned the run early. Elliot was breaking off some big chunks and they quit.

 

[LocimusPrime]

We the fans are just very frustrated. No matter how we analyze every little inch of play in any of these past loses, the results remain the same.

FIRE THE COACHING STAFF

Your team will perform strictly on how it's coached!

Had to like you cause ur my friend

 

[xwalker]

Dak owned that poor pass in his press conference. Not sure why you're seemingly shifting blame to Zeke here.

It did not blame Zeke.

I said if he had moved towards the endzone.

Dak is not going to blame other players. He does not throw people under the bus like Garrett does.

I posted the pic showing the location of Zeke before and after the throw. Based on the pre-throw location of Zeke, it's not an unreasonable location where he threw the ball.

 

[xwalker]

absolutely nothing was Dak’s fault...? Even I don’t troll THAT hard

Aren't you an Eagles Fan?

 

[Runwildboys]

IDK, @xwalker . He seemed to bring a lot of the pressure on himself, holding the ball too long. I like Dak, but he didn't look good yesterday.

 

[Haimerej]

It did not blame Zeke.

I said if he had moved towards the endzone.

Dak is not going to blame other players. He does not throw people under the bus like Garrett does.

I posted the pic showing the location of Zeke before and after the throw. Based on the pre-throw location of Zeke, it's not an unreasonable location where he threw the ball.

"If he had moved towards the endzone," and, "based on the pre-throw location," reads like at least partial blame.

 

[LocimusPrime]

IDK, @xwalker . He seemed to bring a lot of the pressure on himself, holding the ball too long. I like Dak, but he didn't look good yesterday.

That’s pretty honest and fair

 

[xwalker]

On the INT I think Romo covered this one pretty well. Dak held the ball too long which allowed the defenders to sniff out the screen and get in the way. HE should have thrown the ball at their feet when he saw all that traffic.

On the ball that was swatted out of his hand, the first time, I thought Dak held the ball too long and he did not step up in the pocket. Its the kind of thing he did a lot last year. I agree he made a couple of heroic runs, almost getting a 1st down just before they end of the 1st quarter and again later int he game when he bulled over the DB and drew a unnecessary roughness call (which was totally bogus IMO but it was only for 7 yards since the play ended on the Bills 15.)

I am not blaming Dak. Sometimes the offense will struggle and the defense has to step up. They didn't. I don't know if this team is Dak's team or Zeke's team - probably neither. Its should be the Dak, Zeke, Amari team, but whichever way you slice it, this team revolves around the offense because the defense is not dependable.

On the Star L. INT, there was nobody in sight that appeared to be a threat to intercept the ball. Star L. made a great play to move off the block by Tyron and get to the ball but it was not unreasonable for a QB to try to get rid of the ball there tying to avoid a sack.

Very few fans will go back and re-watch games rationally. Player performances often look radically different when reviewing games than than during games when the fans-viewer's emotions are volatile and the game outcome is unknown.