coach Sean McDermott Womens Darius Philon Jersey rejected the notion he is overseeing a team in turmoil following a tumultuous first two weeks."There's growing pains going through this," McDermott said, Monday. "Nobody said it was going to be easy."No one said it was going to be this difficult either for a team off to a 0-2 start following a 31-20 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.Buffalo has been outscored by a combined 54-6 in the first halves of its two losses, and 78-23 overall.McDermott has already switched quarterbacks, taken over the defensive play-calling duties from coordinator Leslie Frazier and also had to contend with veteran cornerback Vontae Davis quitting the team at halftime against Los Angeles.McDermott said not all the issues and distractions are related, particularly when it comes to Davis. The offseason free-agent addition informed McDermott he was done during the first half, and then announced he was retiring after 10 NFL seasons a few hours after the game."His actions spoke loud and clear," McDermott said, when asked if he's had a chance to speak to Davis since Sunday. "I'm focused on my team right now."The NFL granted the Bills a roster exemption regarding Davis.McDermott has plenty on his plate with Buffalo entering a grueling portion of its schedule in which the Bills play one home game — against Tennessee on Oct. 7 — in the next five weeks. Buffalo plays its next two on the road, starting with the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.Injuries are also becoming an issue.Running back LeSean McCoy's status is questionable after was sustained damage to his rib cartilage during the third quarter against the Chargers.Buffalo is also thin at cornerback. Aside from Davis' departure, Phillip Gaines' status is uncertain after he dislocated his left elbow Sunday.McDermott wouldn't rule out either from playing against the Vikings.As for his overall message to the team: "We all have to do our job better," he said."We've got some young players out there," McDermott added. "And they're going to continue to get better, continue to grow, continue to learn."He was specifically referring to the Bills starting two rookie first-round draft picks, quarterback Josh Allen and middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.Allen had a modestly successful first start in going 18 of 33 for 245 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions against the Chargers. Though the offense sputtered in the first half, Allen's 245 yards passing were the most by a Bills quarterback in his first NFL start since Hall of Famer Jim Kelly threw for 292 yards in a 28-24 loss to the New York Jets on Sept. 7 Authentic Casey Hayward Jersey , 1986.Edmunds has also been inconsistent.The 20-year-old has a sack and a forced fumble — Buffalo's only takeaway this season. On the downside, Edmunds has been the anchor of a defense that has surrendered 10 touchdowns — nine scored on 10 opponents' drives inside the Buffalo 20.McDermott, a former defensive coordinator, had seen enough in taking over the defense after the Bills allowed the Chargers to score touchdowns on four consecutive drives in building a 28-3 lead with 1:55 left in the first half."We're going to do whatever it takes to win," he said.McDermott hasn't decided whether he'll continue to run the defense, while stressing Frazier will still play a role."We're going to work on it together," he said. "I have a lot of confidence in Leslie Frazier."Frazier respected McDermott's decision, and noted he had to make difficult choices during his three-plus seasons as head coach in Minnesota."We owe it to our players to give us the best chance to win, whatever it may be," Frazier said.The switch showed signs of paying off. After allowing 284 yards, 17 first downs in the first half, the Bills held the Chargers to just 65 yards and four first downs over the final 30 minutes."That's a delicate balance between making sure we build upon what we saw and the positives from yesterday in the second half," McDermott said. "And that we continue to make progress."Rules analysis: How was that not a safety? In the middle of the 3rd quarter of the game yesterday, there was a play that was/is confusing to many football fans. If you’re a Chargers fan, you’re probably wondering why the team was not awarded a safety. Bills fans probably wonder why Nwosu wasn’t ejected for his devastating and injuring hit on Taiwan Jones. I’m not going to touch the latter question as it is likely going to be split down party lines whether you think it was a dangerous play, or an inadvertent football play. I can, however Womens Derwin James Jersey , try to answer the former.Here is the play in question:Breaking the play down into bullets:Marcus Murphy catches the punt but the ball is immediately separated by a hit from Michael Davis.The momentum from the hit drives the ball into the endzone where it is recovered by Taiwan Jones.Jones evades tackles by Kyle Emanuel, Adrian Phillips and Jatavis Brown, but Phillips does pull his helmet off in the process. Jones is then hit in the head and tackled by Uchenna Nwosu, losing the ball in the process.The first whistle sounds as Jones hits the ground clutching his head.A Chargers player picks up the football after the whistle.Here are some things that did not happen, which have bearing on the play:Murphy did not make a football move or establish himself as a runner.The back judge does not throw his bean bag to signal a loss of possession, confirming the previous bullet. Jones attempts to, but does not succeed at advancing the ball out of his endzone.PossessionI believe most of the confusion on this play comes from how Taiwan Jones reacts when he recovers the ball. He is very clearly trying to take the ball out of the endzone. His efforts, along with being tackled in the endzone, naturally, would make you think he is trying to escape some consequence for being tackled in the endzone (i.e. a safety or touchdown). Whether he understood the situation or not, this is not the case.The confusion starts with Murphy. He is not ruled by the back judge to have had possession of the ball. So when he loses the ball, the punt has been muffed, not fumbled. This is important because it has bearing on the recovery. From the NFL Rulebook, Rule 9, Section 4, Article 1:Starting with (c), this would have been a touchdown if the Chargers had gotten the ball Joe Barksdale Jersey , but they didn’t. Part (b) better describes the situation, but doesn’t answer the question other than to state it would have been legal for Jones to advance the ball in that situation.SafetiesMost Chargers fans (myself included) were screaming at the TV that it should have been a Safety. A Bills player was tackled in his own end zone; that has to be a safety, right?From the NFL Rulebook, Rule 11, Section 5, Article 1:Part (b) and Note (2) are the important bits here. Impetus is a very physics-sounding word for the motion of the ball when not in the possession of a player. The assumption is that the offense is the one providing the impetus. Kaser provides the initial impetus when he kicks the ball downfield. Later, Davis provides further impetus by knocking the ball away from Murphy. This is the impetus that moves the ball into the endzone.Part (b) is very clear that the impetus needs to have come from the Bills for this to qualify as a safety. I do not think that anyone can say that the Bills caused the ball to end up in the end zone. Imagine a very similar situation we see from time to time: A punt returner muffs (does not catch) a punt, the ball rolls into the end zone, where they recover the ball. This is a touchback, not a safety. The play with Jones is not that much different, just more complicated.TouchbacksFrom the NFL Rulebook, Rule 11, Section 6, Articles 1-2:Section 6 complements 5, as it defines what is a touchback, rather than what is not a safety.Jones being tackled in his own endzone with a ball whose impetus originated with the Chargers is completely in-line with Article 2(a).Penalties on PuntsYou all will recall that a play is dead as soon as a player’s helmet comes off. Even if the refs miss the whistle.From the NFL Rulebook, Rule 7 Womens Mike Pouncey Jersey , Section 2, Article 1:NFL Rulebook Rule 12, Section 2, Articles 6-7 have a lot of situations covering defenseless players and unnecessary roughness. While striking a player without a helmet is not mentioned, striking someone in the head without a helmet has to be worse than a helmet to helmet hit (which is covered) as a personal foul.From the NFL Rulebook, Rule 9, Section 5, Article 1: The above rules state that a foul on a scrimmage kick (read: punt), when the dead-ball spot results in a touchback, can be assessed at the 20-yard line or force a re-kick after the penalty assessment.ConclusionMuch the to the chagrin of Chargers’ fans, the refs got this call right. There was no fumble, but rather a muffed punt recovered by the receiving team in its’ own endzone.The impetus for the ball entering the endzone came from the kicking team, so the receiving team does not commit a safety.The play would have ended on the tackle of Jones, but instead ended on the dead ball call for a player losing their helmet.The Bills maintained possession of the ball, with the dead ball spot occurring in their own endzone: a touchback.Striking a defenseless player warrants a 15-yard penalty from the spot of the foul.The Bills opted to have the penalty assessed at the touchback spot: the 20-yard line.Bills ball at their 35 yard line.Update:It appears that Taiwan Jones escaped without a concussion, though a rather nasty gash.It also appears that Nwosu reached out to Jones:
