50949_WKBW_7_Problem_Solvers_658x90.png

Actions

Joe B All-22 Review: Grading Bills vs. Dolphins (10/25/16)

Joe B All-22 Review: Grading Bills vs. Dolphins (10/25/16)
Posted at 5:47 PM, Oct 25, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-25 17:47:32-04

Following a four-game winning streak, the Buffalo Bills crashed back down to Earth during a 28-25 loss to the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins ran all over the Bills, dropping them to a 4-3 record for the season.

They’re next up against the New England Patriots, but before we turn the page to the next week’s opponent, first is a detailed look at how the game went for the players that make up the Buffalo Bills roster.

Each and every week, WKBW.com will review the tape, and bring you how each player graded out in the previous week, with the help of the Game Pass app on NFL.com. Before we get to the rankings, first, an explanation of how they are done.

Every Tuesday, when the All-22 film becomes available, we’ll go through and watch each play and every player on each play as many times as necessary, to assess a letter grade for that game to the player. It is subjective analysis, and it’s important to note that we do not know the play calls and full responsibilities. With that written, the grades stem from technique, outstanding efforts, and presumed liability.

Only players that take a snap on offense or defense are accounted for, and players with under 15 snaps, unless they have a significant impact on the game, will not be factored into weekly rankings.
Season-long grades have been tallied and documented, with each individual game’s grade being weighted for how much the player was on the field in a given week. You can find those below all the weekly rankings at the bottom of the article.

You’ll see an explanation of the best five and worst three players of the week for the Bills, and why they received those rankings.
Now, the individual player grades of the Bills versus the Dolphins:

The Top Five

1) LG Richie Incognito
Snaps on the Field: 56/57
Grade vs. Dolphins: B-plus
- There wasn’t a lot of good coming from this game, but even with most of the offensive line struggling around him, Richie Incognito had the best game of any Bills player against the Dolphins. In one-on-one opportunities, he controlled his man, and helped key the Bills biggest gain on the ground (Mike Gillislee’s 20-yard run) of the game. He was solid in both run blocking and pass blocking, but, he was only one man. For the rest, it was mostly a tough game to watch.

2) OLB Lorenzo Alexander
Snaps on the Field: 64/73
Grade vs. Dolphins: B
- Early on in the contest, Lorenzo Alexander was flying all over the field. He was getting pressure on Ryan Tannehill from the edge, getting into the pocket when lined up over a guard, and certainly helped in edge contain against the run when they were actually able to thwart the Dolphins on the ground (there weren’t many of those examples). However, Alexander played an extremely high percentage of snaps compared to any of the other games this year, and you could tell, because his production dipped as the game went on in the second half. It further enforces the theory that they should continue to keep him fresh for defensive snaps, which is why you’ll likely see rookie Shaq Lawson’s snap count continue to rise.

3) OLB Jerry Hughes
Snaps on the Field: 67/73
Grade vs. Dolphins: B
- Hughes took his usual place in the ‘Top Five’ players section for his work on the edge against right tackle Ja’Wuan James. Hughes was an overall nuisance when the Dolphins dropped back to pass, and although he wasn’t a statistical maven, Hughes was setting the table for Lorenzo Alexander, or for Tannehill to hurriedly get rid of the ball. The Dolphins made him rush up field to take him out of the play on a few runs, but for the most part, Hughes maintained his spot on the edge. He was not the problem against the run — that was mostly a few pieces of the defensive line and linebacking core that led to such an atrocious day.

4) WR Marquise Goodwin
Snaps on the Field: 31/57
Grade vs. Dolphins: B
- Goodwin ran a couple of crisp routes that got himself open for Tyrod Taylor along the sideline with enough separation to complete the catch. Then, of course, that was that 60-plus yard touchdown reception that put the Bills in control of the game for that moment in time. Down only four points, Taylor had Goodwin open in a soft spot of the zone, and flat missed him — which then led to Goodwin hitting his head on the turf and entering concussion protocol. Again, there wasn’t much for big performances from the Bills on Sunday.

5) DL Kyle Williams
Snaps on the Field: 58/73
Grade vs. Dolphins: B-minus
- It’s quite rare that someone with a baseline ‘B-minus’ sneaks his way into the Top Five section, but that’s how poorly the Bills played against the Dolphins. Kyle Williams, although he found himself getting angled out of the play, or even missing a couple of tackle attempts of Miami ball carriers, had the most amount of positive plays for the Bills of those with ‘B-minus’ distinction. He was far and away the best defensive line member in that game, and played a blatantly average game. Hence, over 200 yards rushing versus the Bills on Sunday.

Everyone Else

6) TE Charles Clay
Snaps on the Field: 54/57
Grade vs. Dolphins: B-minus

7) QB Tyrod Taylor
Snaps on the Field: 57/57
Grade vs. Dolphins: B-minus

8) LT Cordy Glenn
Snaps on the Field: 57/57
Grade vs. Dolphins: B-minus

9) RB Reggie Bush
Snaps on the Field: 18/57
Grade vs. Dolphins: B-minus

10) S Aaron Williams
Snaps on the Field: 31/73
Grade vs. Dolphins: B-minus

11) S Corey Graham
Snaps on the Field: 72/73
Grade vs. Dolphins: B-minus

12) CB Stephon Gilmore
Snaps on the Field: 73/73
Grade vs. Dolphins: B-minus

13) RB Mike Gillislee
Snaps on the Field: 21/57
Grade vs. Dolphins: B-minus

14) WR Justin Hunter
Snaps on the Field: 53/57
Grade vs. Dolphins: B-minus

15) WR Walt Powell
Snaps on the Field: 30/57
Grade vs. Dolphins: B-minus

16) WR Brandon Tate
Snaps on the Field: 20/57
Grade vs. Dolphins: B-minus

17) TE Nick O’Leary
Snaps on the Field: 20/57
Grade vs. Dolphins: B-minus

18) CB Ronald Darby
Snaps on the Field: 71/73
Grade vs. Dolphins: B-minus

19) ILB Zach Brown
Snaps on the Field: 67/73
Grade vs. Dolphins: C-plus

20) RG John Miller
Snaps on the Field: 57/57
Grade vs. Dolphins: C-plus

21) S Robert Blanton
Snaps on the Field: 34/73
Grade vs. Dolphins: C-plus

22) DL Adolphus Washington
Snaps on the Field: 26/73
Grade vs. Dolphins: C-plus

23) CB Nickell Robey-Coleman
Snaps on the Field: 42/73
Grade vs. Dolphins: C-plus

24) RB LeSean McCoy
Snaps on the Field: 23/57
Grade vs. Dolphins: C-plus

25) DL Corbin Bryant
Snaps on the Field: 37/73
Grade vs. Dolphins: C

26) C Eric Wood
Snaps on the Field: 57/57
Grade vs. Dolphins: C

The Bottom Three

27) DL Leger Douzable
Snaps on the Field: 36/73
Grade vs. Dolphins: C-minus
- While Corbin Bryant struggled a bit as the nose tackle, the Miami Dolphins consistently went after Leger Douzable and it mostly worked. Douzable was getting blocked and controlled in one-on-one situations which allowed offensive linemen to get to the second level, and for plenty of big runs to happen on his watch. Playing such a large role for the Bills in recent weeks at five-technique defensive end, they need him to be much better than he was against Miami.

28) RT Jordan Mills
Snaps on the Field: 57/57
Grade vs. Dolphins: C-minus
- The Bills had been enjoying a really solid start to the season from right tackle Jordan Mills, which was a pleasant surprise considering how poorly he played at the end of the 2015 season. Against Miami, Mills reverted back to his 2015 form. Early on, Cameron Wake was whipping right past Mills to get heat on Tyrod Taylor and it looked like one of those days. Then, Mills got a hold of things, and looked like he had it under control near the end of the first half. In the second half, Wake once again got the better of Mills on a consistent basis, and it was happening quite frequently by the end of the game. Mills, despite how he’s played in six of the seven games this year, showed some weaknesses in the Miami film that will likely bring teams to attack his side more frequently.

29) ILB Preston Brown
Snaps on the Field: 73/73
Grade vs. Dolphins: D-plus
- The Dolphins rushed for over 200 yards against the Bills, and Preston Brown was a major reason for that. His problem from 2015 — not being able to stack-and-shed (getting off blocks) like he had been, allowed for multiple huge runs right at him. It didn’t help things that defensive linemen, for the most part, weren’t taking on more than one blocker — but that’s his job. He needs to be able to get off those blocks and help limit the effectiveness of the runner if the defensive line is unable to bring him down. Not only was he getting covered up by blockers, he was getting walked back and even missing tackles. After such a solid start to the season, Sunday’s game is one he’ll want back.

Players with less than 15 snaps

DE/OLB Shaq Lawson (14)
FB Jerome Felton (13)
S Jonathan Meeks (11)
OLB Brandon Spikes (9)
CB Kevon Seymour (6)
OLB Lerentee McCray (5)
DL Jerel Worthy (4)
OL Ryan Groy (2)
CB Corey White (2)
S Duke Williams (1)
T Cyrus Kouandjio (0)
ILB Ramon Humber (0)
QB EJ Manuel (0)
TE Manasseh Garner (0)

Inactives (Games Inactive this season): QB Cardale Jones (7), RB Jonathan Williams (4), WR Robert Woods (1), T Seantrel Henderson (2), T Michael Ola (1), C Patrick Lewis (7), DL Marcell Dareus (3)

Season Grades (Last week’s rank)
*At least 105 snaps to qualify

1) OLB Jerry Hughes - 3.54 (1)
2) DL Kyle Williams - 3.38 (2)
3) RB LeSean McCoy - 3.18 (3)
4) LG Richie Incognito - 3.13 (7)
5) ILB Zach Brown - 3.09 (4)
6) RG John Miller - 3.06 (6)
7) OLB Lorenzo Alexander - 3.05 (9)
8) C Eric Wood - 3.04 (5)
9) TE Charles Clay - 2.97 (10)
10) TE Nick O’Leary - 2.94 (13)
11) LT Cordy Glenn - 2.92 (12)
12) DL Adolphus Washington - 2.89 (11)
13) FB Jerome Felton - 2.88 (14)
14) WR Justin Hunter - 2.84 (NR)
15) WR Robert Woods - 2.82 (19)
16) ILB Preston Brown - 2.80 (8)
17) CB Stephon Gilmore - 2.80 (18)
18) S Corey Graham - 2.78 (20)
19) CB Nickell Robey-Coleman - 2.78 (16)
20) CB Ronald Darby - 2.75 (21)
21) S Aaron Williams - 2.73 (22)
22) RT Jordan Mills - 2.70 (17)
23) WR Marquise Goodwin - 2.68 (25)
24) DL Leger Douzable - 2.68 (15)
25) DL Corbin Bryant - 2.65 (23)
26) WR Walt Powell - 2.59 (27)
27) QB Tyrod Taylor - 2.58 (26)
28) OLB Lerentee McCray - 2.56 (24)
29) T Cyrus Kouandjio - 2.47 (28)
30) S Robert Blanton - 2.43 (NR)

Total Snaps

1) ILB Preston Brown - 479
2) CB Stephon Gilmore - 472
3) S Corey Graham - 471
4) OLB Jerry Hughes - 453
5) RG John Miller - 433
6) LG Richie Incognito - 432
7) RT Jordan Mills - 432
8) C Eric Wood - 428
9) ILB Zach Brown - 426
10) QB Tyrod Taylor - 418
11) CB Ronald Darby - 396
12) TE Charles Clay - 383
13) DL Kyle Williams - 380
14) S Aaron Williams - 339
15) OLB Lorenzo Alexander - 325
16) WR Robert Woods - 317
17) RB LeSean McCoy - 308
18) CB Nickell Robey-Coleman - 290
19) LT Cordy Glenn - 281
20) WR Marquise Goodwin - 272
21) DL Corbin Bryant - 226
22) DL Leger Douzable - 225
23) WR Walt Powell - 174
24) DL Adolphus Washington - 150
25) T Cyrus Kouandjio - 145
26) OLB Lerentee McCray - 130
27) TE Nick O’Leary - 122
28) WR Justin Hunter - 110
29) S Robert Blanton - 108
30) FB Jerome Felton - 106
31) RB Mike Gillislee - 89
32) S Duke Williams - 89
33) CB Corey White - 88
34) WR Sammy Watkins - 82
35) DL Jerel Worthy - 74
36) CB Kevon Seymour - 56
37) ILB Brandon Spikes - 55
38) OL Ryan Groy - 44
39) S Jonathan Meeks - 39
40) WR Greg Salas - 36
41) WR Brandon Tate - 35
42) TE Jim Dray - 30
43) RB Reggie Bush - 29
44) ILB Ramon Humber - 18
45) QB EJ Manuel - 17
46) RB Jonathan Williams - 15
47) DE/OLB Shaq Lawson - 14
48) T Michael Ola - 11
49) FB Glenn Gronkowski - 8
50) TE Gerald Christian - 5

Twitter: @JoeBuscaglia