To whatever degree you buy into the “Team X is REALLY unhappy about the way their previous season ended, and now, they’re out for blood” theory, it would certainly appear that the Buffalo Bills, whose 2021 season ended in overtime of the divisional round against the Kansas City Chiefs, have had all offseason to marinate in that particular heartbreak — and now, they’re seeing red all over the place.
That may not always be a good thing — in football, controlled aggression is the ideal. Wild aggression can lead to busts and penalties, and as on point as Buffalo’s defense has appears at times against the Broncos in Saturday’s preseason game against the Denver Broncos, there are other times when it’s been less than optimal.
One thing the Bills might want to go through on teach tape is knowing your lanes — or, at least knowing where the other guys wearing uniforms similar to yours are.
There was this impressive spin move by running back Mike Boone which caused linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano to crash into each other as opposed to tackling the opponent:
Boone is slippery pic.twitter.com/d9ik7zd5KE
— Laurie Fitzpatrick (@LaurieFitzptrck) August 20, 2022
And there was this 19-yard pass from quarterback Josh Johnson to receiver Montrell Washington. Safety Jaquan Johnson and cornerback Taron Johnson were so hyped to make Washington pay for going over the middle, they wound up half-colliding.
we really need to stop meeting like this pic.twitter.com/fMi7q3uvZS
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) August 20, 2022
Then, there was this facemask call on rookie cornerback Kaiir Elam, which also could have been pass interference.
Kaiir Elam is really aggressive. Sometimes, that’s a good thing. Other times… pic.twitter.com/FY6zmrXn8I
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) August 20, 2022
This was all in the first half. Okay, Bills — we get it. You’re out for revenge. But maybe slow it down just a hair?
