First the Stats:
1. Time of Possession: NE – 37:43; BUF – 22:17
2. First Downs: NE – 26; BUF – 15
3. 3rd Down Conversions: NE 11/20 = 55%; BUF – 4/13 = 30%
4. Total Offense: NE – 431 yards; BUF – 286 yards
5. Turnovers: NE – 3; BUF - 2
6. Penalties: NE – 4/36; BUF – 10/75
My Thoughts:
1. 3 and outs are going to kill this team. NE ran 28 more plays than we did (that’s more than 9 of our possessions right there). They had the ball almost twice as long as the Bills. When they punted with 5-6 minutes left I knew the game was over.
2. The play calling on offense was very poor. In fact it was making me wish Galey was calling the plays. We went from over 400 yards of offense to under 300.
3. The OL kept very clean pocket, Manuel wasn’t sacked once. Run blocking though was very poor. One third down the OL blocked left and the D just came right in untouched to tackle the RB.
4. The DL was mostly invisible. K. Williams had a coverage sack. The other sack was Searcy on a blitz. M. Williams again was a no-show, a few pressures but no closing speed. On running plays he never attempted to make a tackle on runner, just jogged behind them. And what was Dareus doing in coverage? Once he was lucky and got hands up, the rest of the time he stood there.
5. Ball security needs to be worked on. Three fumbles, two lost.
6. EJ’s deep ball accuracy needs work. Speaking of, TJ Graham still does not look fast or effective.
7. I don’t care what anybody says, McKelvin was not great. He had HIS best day as a pro, but was mediocre at best. He was covering an undrafted rookie and was lucky for the drops. Many times he was 3 yards past the receiver. And twice the ball hit him and he couldn’t catch it. Rogers was lucky on the interception, poor coverage after that. MVP of the secondary – undrafted rookie Nikell Robey. Honorable mention – Ron Brooks.
8. The penalties weren’t caused by rookies (perhaps the 12 men on the field, I don’t know who was at fault). The DL lines up over the ball, they need better discipline. The OL needs to watch the hands. The d*mn penalties:
a. Dareus – neutral zone infraction
b. Chandler – False start
c. Moats – facemask
d. Glenn/Urbik - illegal use of hands
e. Hughes – offsides (twice – second declined)
f. D – 12 men on the field (twice)
g. K. Williams – neutral zone infraction
h. Chandler – illegal block
i. Graham – holding (declined)