My Meaningless Opinion

[R. Rich]

Has that numbness set in yet? You know, the, "Oh well, another loss; another season flushed down the toilet" type numbness that better prepares you for another season that starts out w/ hope yet ends in futility? To a degree, it has w/ me. Man, does that suck.

 

Trent Edwards was back from his concussion. That's good from the standpoint that I wish good health on all the Bills' players. Now, as to his performance, well that's another story. He did look down the field a bit more (thank goodness), but his throw to Owens in the beginning of the 3rd quarter could've been a lot better and might have gone for a score if thrown properly. I will give him credit for being a bit quicker in his decisions and for also taking shots down the field, even in the face of a rush. Those are improvements, badly needed ones @ that. And then there was his play late in the game....yuck. The INT for a TD was disgusting, and was followed up by an equally disgusting INT-TD by his backup. So again, there it was late in the game and you're in a position to possibly win. And what does the offense do? Nothing. It's become an unfortunate trend.

 

Marshawn Lynch runs hard. That's 'bout it though. He doesn't always run smart in terms of letting things develop or in terms of hitting a gap and making guys miss on the fly. Fred Jackson is more adept @ those things and should be the lead back for that reason. I'm not saying don't use Lynch, but he should be complimenting Jackson, not the other way 'round. It was nice to see both guys making nice catches, though.

 

Speaking of catches, way to involve your wideouts this week. Evans made some nice plays (good adjustment on the fade route) and, once again, RAN SOME NICE ROUTES. Going back to the RBs catching, there was a screen pass to Jackson 'bout 5 minutes into the 2nd half that may have gone for a bigger gain had he gotten more in the way of blocking by Josh Reed. And by more, I mean...a block. He just ran down the field cheerleading on that one. Surprising, as Reed isn't shy 'bout laying a nice block on someone. Owens made some nice catches but needs to stay focused. Don't go after Cortland Finnegan just 'cause he jammed you. That's part of the game. Go after 'em by beating 'em off the line for a TD. That looks so much better; I only wish I could see it more. I have to say that Shawn Nelson showed some flashes as a receiver and a blocker. That's encouraging. Maybe this guy will become a solid every down TE for the Bills. Let's hope.

 

Another week, another exhibit of atrocious play from the Bills' offensieve line. Andy Levitre was just plain awful. No balance, no strength @ the point of attack, and his hand usage certainly doesn't remind me of Tunch Ilkin (the man who made the "hand punch" technique famous). It would also be beneficial if he, Demetrius Bell, and Eric Wood would remember the snap count. I know this is a young unit, but I've seen little to no improvement from the start of the season. The Titans platoon in a bunch of smaller, quicker guys, but you'd have thought the Bills were facing 4 or 5 Kris Jenkins or Casey Hamptons the way the guys were getting handled. Geoff Hangartner doesn't look any stronger @ the point of attack then Melvin Fowler did. I guess I can just hope that more reps together will rectify this, but it's getting tougher and tougher to think this line as it stands (or doesn't) will "gel".

 

The defensive line wasn't any better. Aaron Schobel's inside move wasn't much of a move. Of course, both he and Chris Kelsay continued to go to their tried and true "run 'round the outside shoulder of the OT" move when the inside track didn't work. Either way, Vince Young didn't see much in terms of pressure from the edge. Marcus Stroud had a pretty nice stuff in the 3rd quarter where he just shed the blocker and made the tackle right @ the line of scrimmage. That's 'bout it for his highlight reel. Spencer Johnson was a marked man. The Titans ran in his direction mostly, and on Johnson's long run in the 3rd, it was Johnson I saw getting run right out of the play. John McCargo actually made some plays in this one. Wow. He did a decent job against the run (5 tackles). But, on the last play of the first half, it was McCargo that decided to watch the play while running down the field instead of trying to throw a block on the missed FG/return. He also got dropped right @ the line of scrimmage on the play after Vince Young's big scramble in the 3rd, though he did recover to make the tackle along w/ Paul Posluszny, who we'll get to in a second.

 

Oh yeah, the LBs. Much like w/ Stroud, I'll say this for the LBs as a unit: it isnt' a great performance when a team runs all over you. W/ that in mind, I will not give praise to the Bryan Scott experiment. Yeah yeah, he had 9 tackles, but how many impact plays? How many tackles for a loss, or tackles right @ the point of attack that neutralize a play (Well, there was the big hit on Johnson on his short TD run, I guess. Yikes!) ? Same w/ Posluszny. A dozen tackles is nice, but when most of 'em are down the field to the point where you need binoculars to take in the action, it doesn't mean that much. To their defense, I'll say there are some fundamental flaws in their scheme. On Young's big scramble in the 3rd, the strong side was quickly turned into the weak side by the scheme. What do I mean? Well, your strongside DE (Kelsay) rushed the passer to the outside, your strongside LB (Scott) went to cover TE Bo Scaife on a shallow crossing route. Posluszny blitzed from the inside. And that left Chris Draft, who got engulfed by the blocker, as the closest guy in the front 7 to stop the play. Way to go, Perry Fewell! Who needs to contain Young anyway? It's not like the guy's a threat to run or anything. I'm sure glad we have those quick little guys on the outside to hold things down.

 

So, how did the secondary do? I thought they were better than the front seven, but not good enough to win the game. Jairus Byrd continues to show he's a ballhawk in the deep middle, having (yawn) another pick. Just kidding; I'm sure glad the Bills have a playmaker back in the secondary!! George Wilson did a good job of roaming and helping out in run support. Good, not great. Oh, and there was an Ashton Youboty sighting. Not that it was much of a sighting, but still. Reggie Corner is gutsy; great knockdown in the 3rd quarter to shut down a Tennessee drive. Drayton Florence had an okay game. He got beat deep early on, but really held his own for most of the game. He did have a couple contact penalties though. Ellis Lankster came in just in time.....to let Nate Washington get his 6th TD on the year. Donte Whitner dressed but didn't play. Hmm...

 

The coaching staff worked hard to have some surprises ready for Tennessee, such as the Jackson TD pass. I give them credit for that. But, there were all those penalties (10) and the typical head scratching moments: wasting a timeout 2 minutes into the 4th quarter due to not having enough guys on the field? And letting Rob Bironas nail a 51 yarder instead of putting the Titans back to a 3rd and 16? I know they were having trouble w/ Johnson and Young getting to the edge, but I think I'd give my D the chance to keep them from putting more points up on the board. Or, maybe Jauron didn't realize Bironas has made a 60 yarder in his career and is noted for having a big leg, thus making a 51 yarder not so tough. Either way, I believe that was the wrong move. Of course, what the heck do I know?

 

And so the downward spiral continues. As much as we Bills fans bash Jauron for his string of 7-9 seasons, it's becoming less and less likely that the Bills will even reach that record this year. Considering they have games coming up against New England and Indy @ home, plus Atlanta on the road, there's a strong chance they'll lose all of those games. That would mean they would have to win every other game on the schedule just to stay on par w/ the last few disappointing seasons. After what we've seen in recent weeks, how confident can we feel that the Bills will win @ Jacksonville, then beat Miami @ home? Buffalo did beat the Jets in New York and NY is in a spiral of their own, so that helps kinda. That leaves Kansas City. Sure, they're struggling too, but they're also the home team in that one and the Bills have had their share of trouble playing @ Arrowhead. No gimmes left. The Bills are going to have to take some games that they probably should lose. To do that, they can't continue to kill their own chances w/ fundamental breakdowns (penalties mainly). It's a tall order, but the Bills seem to love to back themselves in a corner. Let's see what happens next.

[MattyT]

Interesting that the worse the team becomes, the better your writeup gets!

 

I'm not saying don't use Lynch, but he should be complimenting Jackson, not the other way 'round.

and Amen!

[PastaJoe]

Has that numbness set in yet? You know, the, "Oh well, another loss; another season flushed down the toilet" type numbness that better prepares you for another season that starts out w/ hope yet ends in futility? To a degree, it has w/ me. Man, does that suck.

 

Another week, another exhibit of atrocious play from the Bills' offensieve line. Andy Levitre was just plain awful. No balance, no strength @ the point of attack, and his hand usage certainly doesn't remind me of Tunch Ilkin (the man who made the "hand punch" technique famous). It would also be beneficial if he, Demetrius Bell, and Eric Wood would remember the snap count. I know this is a young unit, but I've seen little to no improvement from the start of the season. The Titans platoon in a bunch of smaller, quicker guys, but you'd have thought the Bills were facing 4 or 5 Kris Jenkins or Casey Hamptons the way the guys were getting handled. Geoff Hangartner doesn't look any stronger @ the point of attack then Melvin Fowler did. I guess I can just hope that more reps together will rectify this, but it's getting tougher and tougher to think this line as it stands (or doesn't) will "gel".

 

I started to go numb before the first game when they cut the offensive coordinator and left tackle right before the regular season. That told me they didn't have a clue about what they had and what they needed. I'm cutting the rookie linemen Woods and Levitre slack this year because they've been thrown into a lousy situation where there's a lack of leadership and they're switching lineman around them every week. And then they throw Levitre out to left tackle yesterday after Bell got hurt. You're telling me that Walker wasn't as good as all the other options they've been trying? Swallow your pride and bring him back if he's still available.

[Haven Moses]

For every good play Scott made (and he did make a few) he made a bad one to make up for it. The Titans exploited him all day.

 

It sickens me that we only have one NFL LB on the roster, Poz, and he's below average. Draft was sitting home for a reason, and Scott has no business at LB.

[Dan]

I started to go numb before the first game when they cut the offensive coordinator and left tackle right before the regular season. That told me they didn't have a clue about what they had and what they needed. I'm cutting the rookie linemen Woods and Levitre slack this year because they've been thrown into a lousy situation where there's a lack of leadership and they're switching lineman around them every week. And then they throw Levitre out to left tackle yesterday after Bell got hurt. You're telling me that Walker wasn't as good as all the other options they've been trying? Swallow your pride and bring him back if he's still available.

I agree. And, for me, that was perhaps the most surprising cut of the year. I could understand dealing away Peters. Agree with or not, he seemed to have crossed a line with the team. Walker, however, seemed to have a decent attitude. OK, so he may not have been enthusiastic about the move to LT, but at least he was out there every day playing the good soldier.

 

So, when they realize he's not their guy, presumably because he was too slow for the No Huddle. But why not just bench him and have a nice safety valve just in case, oh I don't know, you're starting RT goes on IR in week 1 or 2. Sure, maybe you have to slow the offense down so the fat guy can keep up. But, he didn't seem to be a complete train wreck out there last season.

 

I guess it just didn't go the way they would have liked. But, oh well, life sucks.

[Lori]

I started to go numb before the first game when they cut the offensive coordinator and left tackle right before the regular season. That told me they didn't have a clue about what they had and what they needed. I'm cutting the rookie linemen Woods and Levitre slack this year because they've been thrown into a lousy situation where there's a lack of leadership and they're switching lineman around them every week. And then they throw Levitre out to left tackle yesterday after Bell got hurt. You're telling me that Walker wasn't as good as all the other options they've been trying? Swallow your pride and bring him back if he's still available.

Walker went back to the Raiders last month. Doubt he would've been interested anyway, after the way that deal went down.

[Dan]

For every good play Scott made (and he did make a few) he made a bad one to make up for it. The Titans exploited him all day.

 

It sickens me that we only have one NFL LB on the roster, Poz, and he's below average. Draft was sitting home for a reason, and Scott has no business at LB.

Until I see our defensive scheme change, I'll continue to contend that Poz's biggest problem is that he runs away from the line of scrimmage, stands in the middle of the field, waits for the RB or Wr to get the ball, then runs over to help tackle. It's that wonderful Tampa 2 plan.

 

When they let him rush the passer or attack the LOS, he seems to do pretty well most of the time. Problem is, IMO, Poz like most of our players is being utilized all wrong.

[stuckincincy]

Has that numbness set in yet?

 

A good center is a blessing, paying dividends for years. Move Wood and see if he can do it.

 

They missed a six-day window and didn't ink 7-year savvy vet G/T Scott Kooistra with 83 game appearances under his belt. They have needs; I expected them to act. I understand rosters, contracts etc. - this fellow would have helped.

 

Johnson caught 9 of 9 tossed his way. So much for keying on a 2-5 opponents' best player...

 

Speaking of TO and fouls - I mentioned in a previous thread about PGH and their dumb PFs against CIN. Sure enough - Harrison punching Whitworth. Idiot...

 

Did you see the game? I did, and I'm still vicariously sore all over...what a hard-hitting performance by both clubs.