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Why didn’t the Bills squib kick it with 13 seconds left?

eric2425ny : 1/23/2022 10:25 pm
That would have easily took at least 4-5 seconds off the clock. KC would have had the ball on likely their own 35-40 yard line with 7 or 8 seconds left to get in FG range.

Frazier really sucked today as a DC, but that one is on McDermott.
I expected a lofted kick to the 5yd line  
Gatorade Dunk : 1/23/2022 10:25 pm : link
I was shocked that Buffalo gifted KC a touchback.
RE: I expected a lofted kick to the 5yd line  
GNewGiants : 1/23/2022 10:26 pm : link
In comment 15570883 Gatorade Dunk said:
Quote:
I was shocked that Buffalo gifted KC a touchback.


That was my idea. Make him run around for 3-4 seconds.
This is being discussed in many threads  
Giantimistic : 1/23/2022 10:26 pm : link
The real choice is to kick it high and to the 5 yard line and make them return it. Too short you get a fair catch or a squib and they fall on it and all 1 second goes off.
It just shows you how every second counts  
eric2425ny : 1/23/2022 10:28 pm : link
and how important it is to have a coach who knows what is going on.

I mean I like Cincy, but the Bills just lost an easy shot at a Super Bowl they would have been favorites to win. What a shame.
1999 - Bills vs Titans  
Eli2020 : 1/23/2022 10:28 pm : link
Is why they didn’t. It shouldn’t matter, 13 seconds is 13 seconds. Shouldn’t have played 4 linemen and that soft.
I thought Reid would put Hill back to return, but he didn't  
sb from NYT Forum : 1/23/2022 10:28 pm : link
....so I don't know.

Basically, don't give up 40 yards in two plays, how hard is that?

Between the Bills and the Bucs, did they forget the prevent defense exists?!?!?
RE: RE: I expected a lofted kick to the 5yd line  
Gatorade Dunk : 1/23/2022 10:30 pm : link
In comment 15570891 GNewGiants said:
Quote:
In comment 15570883 Gatorade Dunk said:


Quote:


I was shocked that Buffalo gifted KC a touchback.



That was my idea. Make him run around for 3-4 seconds.

I suspect that might have been the call but the kicker's adrenaline was probably flowing just as strongly as everyone on the field. It's not easy to pull a 7-iron out of your bag when every club is the same leg.
RE: 1999 - Bills vs Titans  
Ned In Atlanta : 1/23/2022 10:31 pm : link
In comment 15570896 Eli2020 said:
Quote:
Is why they didn’t. It shouldn’t matter, 13 seconds is 13 seconds. Shouldn’t have played 4 linemen and that soft.


Suggesting that lofting a kickoff to save time would be ill advised because they ran the risk of the music city miracle 2 is laughable
 
christian : 1/23/2022 10:32 pm : link
Squib is a risk because you can fall on it, give up and basically no time expires.

The right call is kick it to the five and make them fair catch or eat clock.
I  
AcidTest : 1/23/2022 10:33 pm : link
wonder if they had whether it would have mattered. The clock doesn't start until the ball is touched. The Chiefs could have simply caught the ball and gone down immediately, ending the play and preserving at least 12 seconds.

But as others have said, it shouldn't have mattered. The Bills gave up 40 yards in two plays. They should have been blitzing.
I can’t imagine being a bills fan  
OBJ_AllDay : 1/23/2022 10:36 pm : link
I’d be locked in a padded room by now. Talk about snake bitten
Christian is right.  
BigBlueNH : 1/23/2022 10:45 pm : link
The only correct play is to kick it high, to about the 5 or 10. Either have to fair catch it there, or run it back and run clock. Doing anything else was a mistake.
Big difference between…  
5BowlsSoon : 1/23/2022 10:47 pm : link
13 seconds left vs 8 seconds left.

I was screaming for the short kick to the 5 yard line too.
_________  
I am Ninja : 1/23/2022 10:48 pm : link
The shame of it is that both of these teams roll everyone else thats left. 13 ticks from grabbing the ring and you let fear win. Now you get what you deserve.
McDermott  
Mook80 : 1/23/2022 10:52 pm : link
has been a shit head in every close game the Bills have played this year, which is the major reason they were 0-5 in 1 score games in the regular season and playoffs.

He should be out of a job tomorrow. He won't be but he's holding that organization back from what they should be. A good coach gets that game to the finish line
RE: I  
BillKo : 1/23/2022 11:06 pm : link
In comment 15570918 AcidTest said:
Quote:
wonder if they had whether it would have mattered. The clock doesn't start until the ball is touched. The Chiefs could have simply caught the ball and gone down immediately, ending the play and preserving at least 12 seconds.

But as others have said, it shouldn't have mattered. The Bills gave up 40 yards in two plays. They should have been blitzing.


Blitzing?

I think the consensus is rush 2 and flood the field with coverage.

I thought Romo's commentary was spot on.
people discounting  
bluepepper : 1/23/2022 11:08 pm : link
the possibility that the kicker just didn't execute it properly. It isn't all that easy to kick to the 5 instead of the end zone. Punters have to practice years to get that right. Too little leg and they fair catch it at the 20 or so and nothing is gained. Too much leg and it's in the end zone. That might have been what happened.

As for squib kicks, I've seen way too many of them give the team the ball at 35 or so. I think in the Fassel era we had a few of those.



Maybe I'm alone, but...  
islander1 : 1/23/2022 11:10 pm : link
I don't think this was an awful decision.

1) You can't really expect them to get 40 yards in two plays, with your top ranked defense KNOWING they had only two plays.

2) if the squib kick ended up getting close to the yardage anyway, the same people would be on here saying they should've never let them return the ball at all.
RE: Christian is right.  
islander1 : 1/23/2022 11:13 pm : link
In comment 15570953 BigBlueNH said:
Quote:
The only correct play is to kick it high, to about the 5 or 10. Either have to fair catch it there, or run it back and run clock. Doing anything else was a mistake.


Or let it bounce into the end zone, unless folks really think the kicking team could recover it?

Or what am I forgetting?
RE: I thought Reid would put Hill back to return, but he didn't  
allstarjim : 1/23/2022 11:15 pm : link
In comment 15570897 sb from NYT Forum said:
Quote:
....so I don't know.

Basically, don't give up 40 yards in two plays, how hard is that?

Between the Bills and the Bucs, did they forget the prevent defense exists?!?!?


The Bills played prevent defense on both downs.
If your not going to cover Kelce it almost doesn’t matter  
Jimmy Googs : 1/23/2022 11:16 pm : link
Free run off the line, no one closing in on him until he goes 15 yards down the field, then some yards after the catch.

Crazy...
RE: RE: I thought Reid would put Hill back to return, but he didn't  
BillKo : 1/23/2022 11:21 pm : link
In comment 15571016 allstarjim said:
Quote:
In comment 15570897 sb from NYT Forum said:


Quote:


....so I don't know.

Basically, don't give up 40 yards in two plays, how hard is that?

Between the Bills and the Bucs, did they forget the prevent defense exists?!?!?



The Bills played prevent defense on both downs.


Right. They rushed four and played prevent. Worst combination.

Kelce's catch was the easiest route he ran all day to setup the FG.
The ultimate MMQB analysis going on here  
Knineteen : 1/23/2022 11:23 pm : link
Question the prevent defense long before the choice to squib it.
RE: people discounting  
lucky : 1/23/2022 11:24 pm : link
In comment 15571001 bluepepper said:
Quote:
the possibility that the kicker just didn't execute it properly. It isn't all that easy to kick to the 5 instead of the end zone. Punters have to practice years to get that right. Too little leg and they fair catch it at the 20 or so and nothing is gained. Too much leg and it's in the end zone. That might have been what happened.

As for squib kicks, I've seen way too many of them give the team the ball at 35 or so. I think in the Fassel era we had a few of those.

Exactly . . . People are going into Monday-morning-quarterbacking mode and just assuming kicking it high to the 5 yard line was automatic.


RE: RE: RE: I thought Reid would put Hill back to return, but he didn't  
allstarjim : 1/24/2022 4:15 am : link
In comment 15571023 BillKo said:
Quote:
In comment 15571016 allstarjim said:


Quote:


In comment 15570897 sb from NYT Forum said:


Quote:


....so I don't know.

Basically, don't give up 40 yards in two plays, how hard is that?

Between the Bills and the Bucs, did they forget the prevent defense exists?!?!?



The Bills played prevent defense on both downs.



Right. They rushed four and played prevent. Worst combination.

Kelce's catch was the easiest route he ran all day to setup the FG.


They were way too deep with their back 7, particularly on 1st down. They basically handed Hill 19 yards on a silver platter.

I actually don't mind the kickoff as much as the defensive play calling there. Way too soft in coverage. You want to be in position to prevent the deep ball, but come on. At the snap, they had two corners 12 yards off the line of scrimmage and everyone else at least 15 yards away from scrimmage, and they were all backpedaling at the snap. To me, they lost the game really on that play. Obviously, the play after was similar, but the defense was a little tighter at least in the pre-snap alignment, but with KC having all their timeouts going into that sequence, I don't think you gift Mahomes anything on that first down play. You have to keep these guys from hitting you deep, but that was just pitch and catch for 44 yards in two plays. It's just too easy for Mahomes. How about these numbers:

With less than 2 minutes remaining in regulation and OT, Kelce with 4 catches, 54 yards, and the game winning score.

Hill in the same time period, 3 for 87 and a score. Ridiculous.

Gabriel Davis for Buffalo, 4 for 87 and a 2 scores, all after the 2-minute warning in regulation.

Playoff game for the ages.
I’ve seen squib kicks backfire  
jeff57 : 1/24/2022 5:14 am : link
And they just could have fallen on it. The best move would have been to kick it high but short of the goal line and risk a return. They also just could have covered Jason Kielce
Damned either way  
aka dbrny : 1/24/2022 6:30 am : link
With Hill as their returner, could have easily blown up on them
RE: people discounting  
Leg of Theismann : 1/24/2022 6:38 am : link
In comment 15571001 bluepepper said:
Quote:
the possibility that the kicker just didn't execute it properly. It isn't all that easy to kick to the 5 instead of the end zone. Punters have to practice years to get that right. Too little leg and they fair catch it at the 20 or so and nothing is gained. Too much leg and it's in the end zone. That might have been what happened.

As for squib kicks, I've seen way too many of them give the team the ball at 35 or so. I think in the Fassel era we had a few of those.




THANK YOU. People are acting like “a sky high kick that lands at the 5” as though it’s easy for a kicker from his own 35 just aim for the 5 yard line and hit it there. 95% of the time they’re just kicking it as hard as they can off the tee. Meanwhile punters who practice their whole lives at doing that often overcook it from much closer than that.

Also it’s not as easy for a kicker to control the trajectory of the kick. It’s not like he can just pull out his pitching wedge leg and hit it sky high and also control the distance. It’s easier for punters do it because they can change the impact point of the ball in the air where it meets their foot, but a kicker can’t, it’s just sitting there on the tee.
And as others have said  
Leg of Theismann : 1/24/2022 6:40 am : link
A squib could get cut off at the 35 and they just take a knee and then Thats even worse.
RE: Big difference between…  
Mdgiantsfan : 1/24/2022 7:21 am : link
In comment 15570959 5BowlsSoon said:
Quote:
13 seconds left vs 8 seconds left.

I was screaming for the short kick to the 5 yard line too.


The way they played defense, KC with one TO would’ve still managed to get into FG range 😂
I guess nobody remembers 1982 "Squib Game" against Washington  
Victor in CT : 1/24/2022 7:41 am : link
Perkins had Danelo squib it with the lead, Skins got the ball and won the game, Jints finished 4-5, Ray went to Alabama
RE: I guess nobody remembers 1982  
jeff57 : 1/24/2022 7:51 am : link
In comment 15571175 Victor in CT said:
Quote:
Perkins had Danelo squib it with the lead, Skins got the ball and won the game, Jints finished 4-5, Ray went to Alabama


I remember that one. That's why I mentioned that I've seen squib kicks backfire.
RE: RE: people discounting  
GNewGiants : 1/24/2022 7:53 am : link
In comment 15571137 Leg of Theismann said:
Quote:
In comment 15571001 bluepepper said:


Quote:


the possibility that the kicker just didn't execute it properly. It isn't all that easy to kick to the 5 instead of the end zone. Punters have to practice years to get that right. Too little leg and they fair catch it at the 20 or so and nothing is gained. Too much leg and it's in the end zone. That might have been what happened.

As for squib kicks, I've seen way too many of them give the team the ball at 35 or so. I think in the Fassel era we had a few of those.






THANK YOU. People are acting like “a sky high kick that lands at the 5” as though it’s easy for a kicker from his own 35 just aim for the 5 yard line and hit it there. 95% of the time they’re just kicking it as hard as they can off the tee. Meanwhile punters who practice their whole lives at doing that often overcook it from much closer than that.

Also it’s not as easy for a kicker to control the trajectory of the kick. It’s not like he can just pull out his pitching wedge leg and hit it sky high and also control the distance. It’s easier for punters do it because they can change the impact point of the ball in the air where it meets their foot, but a kicker can’t, it’s just sitting there on the tee.


Actually - kickers do this pretty easily. You’re discounting skills of kickers. Bass boomed it through the end zone. Missing a mark by 15 yards is not done by accident.

Kickers practice this all the time all week. They are highly skilled. Kicking the ball between the 5-10 isn’t hard for them.
yeah I thought a straight kick off was the way to go myself  
gidiefor : Mod : 1/24/2022 7:59 am : link
squibbs can backfire -

the real crime here was the # 1 defense giving up a score with 13 secs left from the 25 yd line

you want your defense, your best unit, winning the game for you
RE: yeah I thought a straight kick off was the way to go myself  
Big Blue '56 : 1/24/2022 8:05 am : link
In comment 15571203 gidiefor said:
Quote:
squibbs can backfire -

the real crime here was the # 1 defense giving up a score with 13 secs left from the 25 yd line

you want your defense, your best unit, winning the game for you


Anything’s possible, but there’s not a great chance it will and you kill some time. Giving a full 13 seconds with 3 TOs left is a decent amount of time for a Mahomes or a Brady and now, an Allen.
RE: RE: Christian is right.  
Gatorade Dunk : 1/25/2022 10:59 am : link
In comment 15571011 islander1 said:
Quote:
In comment 15570953 BigBlueNH said:


Quote:


The only correct play is to kick it high, to about the 5 or 10. Either have to fair catch it there, or run it back and run clock. Doing anything else was a mistake.



Or let it bounce into the end zone, unless folks really think the kicking team could recover it?

Or what am I forgetting?

The problem with letting it bounce with the hopes of it going into the EZ is that if that ball catches an odd bounce and either goes back toward the coverage unit or just up in the air, and now you have to scramble to cover a live ball and you're almost certainly going to lose a couple of seconds off the clock because you can't fair catch off a bounce. And you probably won't have the same field position that a touchback provides.

The only good reason to kick it into the end zone is to not let Hill beat you on a miracle return. But the miracle happened anyway.
RE: RE: RE: Christian is right.  
GNewGiants : 1/25/2022 11:22 am : link
In comment 15573743 Gatorade Dunk said:
Quote:

The only good reason to kick it into the end zone is to not let Hill beat you on a miracle return. But the miracle happened anyway.


Hill wasnt even back there, Hardman was - which makes the decision look even worse to boom it through.
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