Left Overture

Interesting stuff. I was wondering why the team was keeping an aging Vincent when they had no problems jettisoning Milloy.

I am tired of reading about the safety on Losman. The New England "D" turned on the jets, and our offensive line flat out missed three assignments. The kid was running for his life from the get-go. What I would have liked to have seen would have been some sort of option screen that would have allowed him to roll out of the pocket and the endzone and use his legs to try to get to the marker. I also didn't see one mention of a play he made earlier in the game when the ball was snapped over his head near our own goal line, and the kid ran back, got a lucky bounce, recovered the ball, and threaded one hell of a pass on the sideline for a first down. If he was a bit shakey after that play, it was understandable. To me it looked like McGahee was treading water after he tweaked his ankle, the coach should've spelled him more with Anthony Thomas. Willis definately looked slower after the injury.

We will be very lucky if we can get this kid. Doesn't give up any ground when double-teamed, and forces teams to run to the outside where your speed guys can get through the blocks and stuff the cutback lanes. This is what we have been missing, but I doubt he will fall far enough to land in our lap. I would actually like to see us pick up two defensive tackles in this draft. There is certainly enough depth at that position with some solid prospects. If they address the defensive line this year, our offense will not be under the pressure it was this year to try to score every time they hit the field - just play smart and let your defense keep it close. Besides Big Mike Williams and Jason Peters should teach us that choosing offensive linemen is more of a crap shoot in the draft than grabbing defensive tackles that can contribute. Williams is a bust (so far) at number 4 overall, and Peters is succeeding as an undrafted talent. This year plain sucked watching teams roll up the yards on our pathetic excuse of a defense. Mularky's offense (once he finds it) is not designed for shootouts. I pray they do not draft some 90 pound punt returner this year.

Up you go again. The guys at work loved it, and they aren't even Bills fans. Bump.

oh yeah??? They started it

I know how it sounds, but I love my new TV. By the time the wife got home from out of town, it was too late. I had the surround sound installed, the wires run, and my golden calf setup in my living room. She still gives me grief. 100 in... I would have to put an addition on the house - hehehehe!

Bump!!

The blitzes and stunts worked pretty well last night for the most part. I was shocked not to see big Sam out there, but apparently Sam wasn't holding up his end of the rush defense bargain. I have to say I liked the pressure and was pleasantly surprised at how we were able to string out and stop most of the runs. I only have a couple problems with the safety blitz that late in the game. One: Tom Brady has proven many times that he can beat a blitz. Two: For some reason, both our star corner backs get caught "looking in" or bite on play fakes or pump fakes and do the unforgiveable thing (when there is no safety help deep) of letting someone that they are covering man to man get behind them. They have done this enough for it to be a concern. Three: Our D-Line and Linebackers were generating pressure without the additional help. Bad defensive call, followed by bad officiating calls = disgruntled fan.

52 inch screen with High Def - it hit the ground. Even then, it would have still been a catch if he had control, but even in the exaggerated reality of slow motion Branch was bobbling the ball on his way to the turf. He had a second "catch" down within the 5 yard line where the top of the ball hit the ground before he had control, and he did the same tuck and roll routine. We were out of challenges, and besides that... its not like they would overturn that one either. On the Moulds push off, the thing that gets lost in the equation is that the New England defender was pushing and shoving Moulds well beyond 5 yards even before they separated (of course Madden was surprized with the call, because he said that they were pushing and shoving all the way down the field), but Moulds was having a big game and I expect some pushing back and forth. I just didn't think they would single him out with that penalty on a play that would essentially give New England the game. Those late calls were especially surprising because for the most part I felt that the Bills were not getting the usual "job" they get in New England from the officials. The calls were a little heavy on our side, but all was well with me after NE got called for the "unnatural act"

I have to admit it, and it is good to know I wasn't alone... Both hands grabbed my head to keep it from exploding, then they went out towards heaven in a pleading manner, followed by "what the f*** was that?". "Tell me he didn't just throw that pass seven yards short of the sticks on a 4th down with no time left!". No one else was in the room. It was icing on the cake for the Tedy love fest that taught me that my new TV has some nifty mute functions. They showed so much footage of Tedy's wife that I actually flipped to a commercial for relief. Then when those upstart Bills looked like they might take the game, the "just give it to them" officiating that we have come to expect in New England started kicking in. First on the Deon Branch long "catch" where the bobbled ball bounced off the turf, and later again with Branch down inside the 5, where the end of the ball hit the turf before he had control of it, and he did his little tuck and roll routine. And then it looked like Buffalo could still beat the refs and New England, but the hankies come out again on Eric's offensive pass interference call, etc.., etc... and I KNEW that the NFL would not let the likes of lowly Buffalo ruin Tedy's comeback. Why did I still believe that we had a chance? All that said, I was proud of the performance of our team for the most part. And it has been a long time since I could say that after a New England game in their house. Our Bills did not embarrass me, and they pushed the Patriots around like school girls for most of the game, and that was after the Patriots and their genious coach had 2 weeks to prepare for us.

Good Grief. I cannot believe all the shots on this post. Although it is easy to take offense at the "realist" jab, looking towards the draft is not a sign that everyone is waving the white flag. Personally, I like to look at the next draft to see if there is depth there for things that the Bills look like they need. This year in particular, there appear to be a very good number of solid, impact-type defensive tackles. Guys that can stop the run, occupy blockers, and collapse the pocket. The draft is also deep with O-Line talent. Just like last year was a virtual feast for drafting running backs, or getting them through free-agency, this year is a boon for teams looking to improve both sides of the line. Let's hope ol' Whitey wheels and deals himself into a fistfull of high-round draft choices this year. The Travis Henry deal already netted us a cool third rounder.

To also emphasize the drop in run defense AKA the loss of Pat Williams, and the effect it has on the pass defense, one must consider the fact that Milloy and Vincent must cheat towards the line of scrimmage for much of the game. That leaves our secondary vulnerable. Last year Milloy and Vincent could support the secondary knowing that the defensive line could hold up against the run. This knowlege also prevented them and the cornerbacks from biting on play-action fakes. This year the entire defense is so scared that a running back is going to break loose into the secondary that they all bite on it. This is where a team starts to fall apart because everyone is worrying about the other guy not getting it done. When this happens, a lot of players start to get caught out of position. Last year, a blitzing Milloy or Vincent was a surprizing thing to the teams we played because they both actually spent time supporting the secondary. Their blitzes were more successful. This year, one or the other is almost always found up at the line of scrimmage. Milloy is playing hurt, so I am curious why they do not play Coy Wire on more downs. I am not a big Coy Wire fan - because frankly he sucks in coverage, but what he does excel at is run support. If you are going to play the safety up at the line, I would rather see Coy Wire up there than Milloy trying to make tackles with one arm. It is cut and dry. We lost a very good run stuffer, as well as a player that could collapse the pocket so our edge rushers could get to or hurry the opposing QB. We did play some below average teams last year, but last year when we played them - we made them look like the below average teams they were. Donahoe failed to have the personnel in place to account for the loss of Pat Williams. The fact is that we should have at least 3 to 4 solid defensive tackles on this team to play the 4-3, and we only have one. Whether it is through the draft, or we raid the Jaguars line - I don't care, but that defensive line has got to be addressed. After that, they need to find a guard with bigger nads than Villariel, and talk with Mike Williams about a pay cut. The jury is still out on Gandy, and Bennie Anderson is a turnstile in pass protection at left guard. I have always felt that teague is not strong enough to play center, but he has been very durable. Willis "the self-proclaimed best back in the league" should learn how to block and pick up the blitz before he writes his acceptance speech for Canton. The more I type about my Bills, the more I feel like the little Dutch boy at the dam trying to plug all those holes. I feel like the front office has spent a great deal of attention on the skill positions on this team, but they have done little to address the guys in the trenches - and we all know that is the place where this game is won or lost. Maybe, just maybe this year was a wake-up call.

A big fat run-stuffing, lane-hogging Defensive Tackle. A left guard and right guard. A defensive coach with some originality.

Mularky and Gray keep talking about the blitz creating pressure on opposing QBs, but as I mentioned in another thread, what QB feels pressure when he knows that the running game can bail him out whenever he calls on it? We need to chuck the D#$N blitzes, and just go back to the good ol' trench warfare of stopping the run. This team needs to fix the run defense pronto, or forget about being anything other than a 500 team or worse this year.

Agreed. I do believe that it was Lebeau that finally got Greg's Tennessee defense off the ground when it became obvious that he and Gray were not able to duplicate what the Titans were able to do with their specific personnel. That being said, the 4-6 defense does use a number of blitzes. Blitzes were not just part of Lebeau's package. The zone blitz Lebeau designed in Pittsburg when he did not have the D line studs that could get to the passer, but they were quick and decent in coverage, so he would drop them back into the quick throwing lanes and pressure the QB from the edges with linebackers and safety blitzes. The point of pressuring a QB is mute any way if your team cannot stop the run. What QB feels pressured when he can hand off and watch his running back rip off first down after first down?

Thanks bud, Pat wasn't the best in the business, but combined with Sam they made a formidable tandem in the middle that freed our playmakers to attack the edges. Now we just get run over up the middle. That has the domino effect of pulling other guys out of position which then hurts our pass defense. Mularky has a tough job ahead, but as HC he has to talk some sense into Jerry and make sure that Gray is aware that his job is on the line. In the interim, if we are going to be stuck with Gray and his scheme for at least another year, our scouts better be already looking for a wide body defensive tackle in the Traylor, Williams, Washington mold to make this thing work.

I remember when they signed him the hype was all about his run blocking skills, "paving the way for Jamal Lewis' rushing records" etc.. There was mention that his pass protection skills were suspect, but hey - we were going to be running the ball down teams throats while our defense kept their offenses in check. At least that was the plan at OBD in the offseason. News flash, the plan "aint" working!

Is it coaching? Why are our starters always sick or winded or injured. There is no heart in that group, and you are right about one thing. Drafting is not the answer, if the talent our scouts are high on resemble the crap we have come up with on our offensive lines the last few years. McNally was pretty highly regarded, but he needs something to work with - and he thought that the tools he was working with were poor when he was with the Giants. Lord only knows how he is kicking himself now working with the stiffs that we have.

Here's the quote, "They're real big," defensive coordinator Jerry Gray said of the Oakland offensive linemen. "You can't penetrate the inside. So the thing you've got to do is try to attack them on the outside. Then when you get one-on-ones (on the outside), you've got to win. Earlier (in the game) we won. Later on we didn't. When they get in run situations you've got to bulk up inside and stop the run. It wasn't anything fancy." So as not to misrepresent what Jerry said, he does say you bulk up inside against run situations - this begs the question: Does Gray and this defense recognise run situations, or are opposing teams simply saying any situation can be a run situation against this defense? Because as we have all noticed, we have been caught blitzing the edges and out of position on many running plays this year. I think it is a case of both too many blitzes taking our guys out of the play, and ineffective penetration and tackling when playing the run.

Correct. We were running the ol Buddy Ryan/Jeff Fisher/Greg Williams/Jerry Grey defense, and Lebeau added the zone packages to the blitz schemes that dropped our defensive linemen into passing zones while blitzing corners and safeties off of the edges. Therefore it wasn't Lebeau's scheme, but rather the 4-6 scheme that was tweaked. Even so it is more than apparent that Jerry is out of his depth trying to be effective with our current personnel. He is not putting them into a position to succeed, he appears at a loss when it comes to designing an effective game plan against a quality team, and he has no plan B or second half adjustments to speak of. All that talk about HC material, when he has not even proven to be effective DC material when it counts the most - that is, when you don't have the perfect situation, with the perfect players to fit your scheme, yet you find the way to get the most out of the players you have to give your team a chance to win. He has failed miserably as a coach in my opinion, because of this lack of creative defensive problem solving.

I read Jerry's comments after the game, where he said that the offensive linemen for the Raiders were big "real big" so he goes on to say that our defense had to attack them from the outside rather than head-on. Wouldn't that philosophy leave your middle exposed against the run??? This guy is frightening as a coach.

no more project wide receivers or running backs. Williams is hurt constantly, Villariel's plays like a malnurished school girl when he doesn't have a tummy ache. Then we have a finess tackle from Denver playing center, and a free agent castoff playing left tackle. Simply put, this line sucks and really needs an overhaul. The defensive line can't hold up or penetrate against most quality offensive linemen. We need to draft some big strong interior linemen that are impact players not development material. I can't remember the last time I saw good line play by the Bills offense, and the defensive line has been average since the last days of "the package" with Big Ted Washington playing alongside Fat Pat. Both lines have been built on the cheap, and they show it.

Yeah, I've seen that one quite a bit. It appears to be our third and long package designed to look like a 3 man front - but we usually blitz 2 players. It's Grey's dime defense that is supposed to leave plenty of players in coverage, with the blitz getting to the QB to force a bad pass. The Raiders were simply running out of that formation and picking up the long yards.

He came on so well last year that I actually thought that we may have found something special in him, but this year I don't remember hearing his name called that often at all.

He is actually playing quite well on an undersized Minnesota line. He was given the game ball last week for being so disruptive to the Packers. Also Ted Cottrel felt that the front four that Minnesota was fielding was too small to stand up against the run, so he moved Pat to nose tackle and switched to a 3-4. It worked pretty well yesterday, and no one in the very critical Minnesota media is complaining about fat Pat's play. You go from 7th against the run to 30th (or dead last after this last games rushes have been totaled), and the only change in your defensive scheme is that you didn't resign Pat Williams. Clearly Pat made a difference on this team's ability to stop the run. Some folks point out that Spikes is out, but we were getting steam-rolled with him in there too.