Stroud is having such a huge impact not only because he is playing his heart out, but because he fits the scheme perfectly. His build and strengths are made for the Bills defensive line scheme. Great, isn't it?
It sure does seem that way, at least on the pass rush side of things (I'm pretty impressed with their run-stopping). I'd be interested in finding some stats online for QB Pressures, but I don't know of any site that has it. Do you know of one Bill? Perhaps Lori can help...
I've been marching to the beat of the "replace Butler" drum for a while now, although not many people agreed with me last year. I hope I'm wrong and he'll turn it around, but we could sure use an upgrade there.
Was hard to hear over the idiots in our sports bar yelling "RAIIIIIIIIIDDDDDDDDDEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSS" the whole game, but trust me, we got em back at the end.
You're seeing such an improvement in Josh Reed because one of Trent's strengths is finding receivers in the short-middle part of the field. Reed has generally been good at finding soft spots in zones, and we have a QB that can actually find him now.
Unbridled enthusiasm, eh Bill? I agree, Trent should be given a ton of credit for winning that game, being a leader on the bench, and willing them to victory. Been a long time since we've had that kind of leader on offense.
That being said, I've noticed something with Trent that makes me a bit anxious: He seems to lock onto receivers (or at least sides of the field) at times. I've noticed it in each game so far this year - and it's caused him to miss some open throws. However, if this is his biggest weakness and he continues to not turn the ball over, I'll be very happy to live with it.
Some of my other thoughts on the game:
- I'm still not sold on Ko Simpson, and getting beat on that 4th quarter touchdown didn't help his cause.
- While Dick Jauron continues to make some coaching errors, his management style and motivational skills more than make up for it. The one problem with it? He seems to be a delegator, so he's heavily dependent on everyone else. Right now, it seems as though we have a solid staff other than Jauron, but if one of the coordinators gets replaced by another Fairchild, we could be in trouble. Luckily, that shouldn't happen any time soon.
- Someone needs to see if the ballboy was playing a trick, greasing all the footballs.
- Lynch isn't the fastest back in the league, isn't the the shiftest, isn't the toughest, but he's damn good at everything, and continues to impress me with his balance and leg drive. Is there a back in the league better at picking up the extra yards?
- After playing two solid games, Mitchell had some bad moments this past week. Here's to hoping it's just a fluke.
- I saw a few good plays by Spencer Johnson, who is quietly showing why he was a pretty good pickup. I recall a play or two when he ended up running across the field to make a tackle on a RB.
- McKelvin hasn't been a great kick returner so far, it seems like he's missing holes and running into defenders.
- I think we miss some of our kick coverage people from last year.
- Way to blow the fake FG play on a time when the defense was expecting you to go for it anyway.
- I never expected to be going "wow" at some of the tackles Youboty has made this year. Glad to see the kid turning it around.