Archives for November 24, 2015

'“We dropped a touchdown, we missed a field goal and give them a touchdown … we’ve got to make a tackle there … that really hurt us,” Ryan lamented of that fateful stretch late in the first half. “We’re a better football team, but we weren’t good enough. We aren’t quite there.'

'And, as it pains me to point out, in critical situations at the ends of each half, he didn't at all show a passing level of urgency or understanding of how to manage the clock.

'Furthermore, one of the most concerning things about Taylor at the moment is the inability to read the entire field. He’ll lock on to his first read — two tops — and never veer from it, even if there is a receiver running open on that play.'

'With the defeat, the Bills dropped out of the second wild-card playoff spot in the AFC. At 5-5, they’re tied with the Colts, Texans, Jets and Chiefs. However, Indianapolis and Houston are better in the conference (4-3 to the Bills 5-4) — whichever one doesn’t win the AFC South — the Jets are (4-4, but have lost to Buffalo) and Kansas City is better than all three (4-2) and would be the No. 2 wild card after Pittsburgh.'

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'“That’s an outstanding football team we played; they proved it again tonight,” Rex Ryan said of his team’s 20-13 loss against the 10-0 Patriots. “The difference is they made some big plays … We knew we’re a better football team” than the earlier meeting, “but we just weren’t good enough. We’re not quite there.”'

'"We knew what they were going to do," Gilmore said. "We knew every route. We knew everything but there were one or two plays that you wish you could have back. I don't think they would have scored, but you can't have those one or two plays against New England."'

'The Bills tied the score in the third quarter, yet it didn’t feel like Brady or the Patriots were in any kind of trouble.'

'But of course, this was the Bills, who over the years have turned losing to the Pats into an art form. They gave it their best effort, but it takes more than a noble effort to beat the Pats at home, where they haven’t lost a regular-season conference home game that mattered in seven years.'

'With each pass that fell 2 or 3 yards shy of a receiver, somewhere high above General Manager Doug Whaley had to wonder if this truly is his long-term answer at quarterback.'

'There were missed calls, odd calls and a dose of controversy when an inadvertent whistle negated what could've been a New England Patriots touchdown. Instead, the officials ruled it a 14-yard gain and penalized Rex Ryan 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.'

'The Bills’ defense blitzed Brady on only five pass plays all game Monday night, by unofficial count. He only hurt the Bills on two of them. But that was enough to engineer a 20-13 victory.'

'And that was exactly what the Bills unleashed on Tom Brady. Although they sacked him only once, they did hit him 10 times – very hard on multiple occasions (Brady got up very slowly after one of the hits) – and generally made him feel uncomfortable and frustrated with the lack of protection from his banged-up offensive line that often seemed overmatched.'

'Thurman and the defensive coaches seemed to confuse Brady in the first half by rushing three men and dropping eight into coverage on six plays. Brady was just 2 of 6 for 14 yards on those rushes. Yes, Brady did beat the blitz for the key 41-yard gainer to Danny Amendola. But the Bills knocked Brady down 15 times, including one sack. As usual against the Bills, it was all on Brady’s shoulders. Only this time it was harder for him because he didn’t have injured receiver Julian Edelman. New England passed 40 times and rushed 22. In the first meeting they passed 59 times and ran 15.'

'That moment came for Ryan on a fourth-and-2 play from the Bills’ 47-yard line with 10:12 remaining in the fourth quarter, with his team trailing, 20-10 to the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football. Ryan elected to punt.'