My Meaningless Opinion

[R. Rich]

And now for the late edition. Sorry, but I DVR'd the game and didn't watch it 'til this morning. Maybe I should've just deleted it, huh? Anyway...

 

Brian Brohm, come on down! You're the next QB to get grilled by the good folks of TBD. Welcome. Did you enjoy your first taste of the bitter substance we call Bills football? Probably not, and who could blame you? Well, you did make a few decent throws where you stood in there and, even knowing you'd get blasted, made throws down the field. Then again, you also had you share of Trent-esque checkdown throws, too. I also liked the bootleg action on early downs to the fullback as a way to catch the defense off guard. All in all, I'd say you were decent. Unfortunately, this team needs better than decent quarterbacking to turn their fortunes 'round. Maybe more reps will improve things; we'll see. If the new regime wants to retain your services, that is.

 

Marshawn Lynch did something other than drop a pass that was put right in his hands: he ran for a yard a carry (3 catches for 3 yards). The Bills got considerably more offense from fullback Corey McIntire (4 for 28). Now hold on a minute; that doesn't mean McIntire is all that. As a lead blocker, he does virtually nothing to clear the path for the RBs and doesn't do much more as a ballcarrier. As for Fred Jackson, not a very good showing. I did like the blitz pickup on a third down play late in the 2nd quarter, but he couldn't really get it going on running plays (39 yards on 13 carries), wasn't a factor in terms of the passing game (2 catches, 14 yards), and let rookie Lawrence Sidbury just rip the ball out of his hands and return it for a score (was that knee down on the return?) that basically ended the game.

 

Lee Evans led the way for the receivers. Yay; 5 catches, 43 yards. He also missed a block on a short yardage run late in the 2nd quarter (he went down the line to pick up one of the pursuing LBs and blocked nobody as Jackson got clobbered for a loss). Terrell Owens got to his 1,000 catch milestone (yay Owens!) and had a total of 4 catches for 39 yards. It would've been nice to, as Steve Buerlein pointed out, see Owens either fight to come up w/ the pass on the bomb that was intercepted or @ least break it up to where it was just an incompletion. Ah well; next time, I guess. There was a James Hardy sighting too, as he made one catch for 9 yards. No catches from TEs Shawn Nelson or Jonathan Stupar. I know, I know; next time.

 

What more can we say 'bout the offensieve line? Ugh. You think things can't get worse, and then Jonathan Scott goes down w/ yet another injury and is replaced by Andre Ramsey. He distinguished himself by getting an illegal formation penalty by not lining up on that thing they call the line of scrimmage. Considering his red zone gaffe from the week prior, was anyone surprised? On the other side, there was Kirk Chambers, who was good for a false start penalty (shocking, isn't it?) and a hands to the face penalty where he decided to just rip Falcon DE/kicker Kory Biermann's helmet off his head. Maybe he was trying to get a personal foul called on Biermann for taking his helmet off? I dunno. In the middle, Geoff Hangartner had his share of trouble anchoring on passing downs and also in getting out on runs to the outside. But @ least he would try to hit someone, which could not always be said for Mr Bad Temper Aggression himself, RICHie Incognito. There was a short yardage play 'round the 2 minute mark of the 2nd quarter that featured Incognito getting beat right off the snap, w/ his guy making the tackle and w/ Incognito looking guilty as ever as he stood over the fallen Fred Jackson. Andy Levitre actually stayed on his feet a good while in this game, as he usually lands on the turf due to leverage issues (too much lunging instead of being in proper position w/ good balance). Maybe there's hope yet.

 

Aside from the workmanlike performance from Aaron Schobel, the D line did nothing in this one. Again, I see Marcus Stroud being handled by a single blocker way too often. Now, he did come off a few blocks to disrupt things on a few occasions, so it isn't totally bleak. Kyle Williams must have hit the wall, 'cause he wasn't hitting much else in this game. Well, maybe the turf on a few solid blocks, but that's it. Spencer Johnson may have had the most impact of the interior DL for the Bills and that's mainly due to him blocking the FG attempt. On the side opposite Schobel...??? If there was another DE out there, I didn't see 'em. There was one play that Schobel wasn't too stellar on, though. On a 3rd and short play w/ 1:10 to go in the first half, Schobel and Williams were easily blocked down and the LB (we'll get to that in a sec) missed an initial tackle attempt, but did make the tackle.....after the runner had gotten the first down.

 

The linebackers were maybe a step better than the DEs minus Schobel. I mean, I did see those guys out there. Paul Posluszny and Chris Draft made a few tackles, but nothing special. Draft's neutral zone infraction kept an Atlanta drive going (and yes, he did line up in the neutral zone). Nic Harris did a decent job of dropping back in coverage, but man, does he have issues in run support. It was Harris who whiffed on the above mentioned third and short play, going for the back's out move, then watching him go up and forward for the first down before he hung on for dear life to make the tackle. This game illustrates the point that I've made several times 'bout this unit clearly: they are too small. They cannot shed blocks and neutralize any plays going to the edge. The only way they can be in on negative or zero yardage plays is by playing the gaps, thereby leaving the edge unprotected since the DEs are usually rushing upfield (to the OT's outside shoulder, usually). Good thing the secondary guys are decent in run support. If not, this run defense would be legendary in how bad they'd be.

 

Speaking of the secondary and run support, props to both Donte Whitner and to George Wilson for making plays in running plays to the outside. Whitner smacked the runner down and shut down a play to the right while Wilson made a shoestring tackle that saved a likely touchdown. As I said, were it not for efforts like this from the secondary, the Bills' run defense would set a record no one would likely touch in terms of yards surrendered and one which they would never be able to live down. In terms of coverage, I thought Drayton Florence won more battles than he lost, even though he gave up a few big plays and a late TD. Reggie Corner seems to be the goat of the week, but I caution those of you sharpening up your pitchforks. Corner does okay covering the slot, but if you put him on the island outside vs any kind of good receiver, you're going to pay for it. The Bills chose to do that very thing against the guy who has more receiving yards in the past few years than any other wideout in the league outside of Larry Fitzgerald in Roddy White. Nice strategy, huh? I will say this: he had a really nice pass breakup in the latter stages of the first half, so it's not like he has zero ability. Ashton Youboty also struggled mightily. On one third down completion, he looked 'round as if he was lost. What do I mean, "as if"? He WAS lost! Whitner also did little to stop anyone in terms of coverage. So, to sum it up, they're not bad in run support, but they have issues in terms of coverage.

 

Special teams were hardly special, either. Brian Moorman had some booming punts, then drilled a line drive to Atlanta that became a big return. In the return game, not much from Roscoe Parrish or from Fred Jackson. Jackson averaged 18 yards per kick return while Parrish had 3 fair catches and a return negated by a penalty. The true highlight for this unit was Spencer Johnson's block that nearly became a George Wilson TD were it not for Reggie Corner's knee hitting the turf before he lateralled it backward. That one could've been a momentum swinger, as it would've made it a 10-7 score @ the half. Then again, w/ the Bills offensive woes, there may have been no stopping what happened in the second half, even w/ that TD.

 

As for the coaching, what was up w/ running the reverse play w/ Owens instead of Parrish or Evans? Why not use more play action and mixing things up to give Brohm a fighting chance instead of setting him up to fail by putting 'em in predictable situation after predictable situation? Why punt the damn ball on 4th and 3 when you were only 37 yards away from the end zone? No going for it; why? Were you afraid of losing your playoff positioning? Heck, you could've even tried kicking it from there. Lindell has a strong enough leg, especially in an INDOOR facility! A very Jauron-like effort from this group.

 

Okay, so on to the finale vs Indy. The Colts have plenty of their own drama this week, as the angry mob has turned on St. Polian for wasting a shot @ an undefeated season. I'm sure if Colts fans weren't blinded by their ridiculous rage, they'd see how spoiled and childish they seem w/ this. Not quite Steeler fan-like, but close. Your team gets 10-12 wins yearly. You're in the playoffs yet again. You win your division almost as a rite of winter. Get over yourselves! One last note: props to rookie Jairus Byrd for his selection to the Pro Bowl. W/ the way selectees opt out of playing recently, and alternates galore get the nod, it hasn't really meant much lately to be a Pro Bowl player. But Jairus, you definitely deserve to be mentioned as one of the top safeties for the 2009 season. Congrats, and Go Bills!

[BillsVet]

Thanks for the summary. I've always wanted to re-watch the games but didn't have the time or resources to DVR them. The point about Stroud being blocked with one guy is reality. His name alone doesn't shed blocks and make plays at or near the LOS.

 

I know the team is depleted, but heading into the season they failed to stock the roster as well as they should have. This is painfully true at LB, where Draft and N. Harris are starting. Neither are NFL caliber, well, at least Harris yet.

 

The more I see PF coaching, the more his offenses, with AVP assisting, resemble DJ's. It really shouldn't come as a surprise, Brohm or not. Rarely are they imaginative nor do the vary things much more than run, run, pass. Isn't that what RW said about Fairchild's offenses two years ago?

[DarthICE]

Good stuff Rich. I saw St. Polian on TV last night and he backhanded the fans and it was great! He said something like 'Well we tried our best to make it clear to the fans, 16-0 was NOT a goal. But apperantly we need to do a better job communicating that' LOL.

 

The morons lose sight of the Big picture and that is, they are in it for the Superbowl, NOT a 16-0 season. Spoiled brats.

[Flbillsfan#1]

Thanks for the summary. I've always wanted to re-watch the games but didn't have the time or resources to DVR them. The point about Stroud being blocked with one guy is reality. His name alone doesn't shed blocks and make plays at or near the LOS.

 

I know the team is depleted, but heading into the season they failed to stock the roster as well as they should have. This is painfully true at LB, where Draft and N. Harris are starting. Neither are NFL caliber, well, at least Harris yet.

 

The more I see PF coaching, the more his offenses, with AVP assisting, resemble DJ's. It really shouldn't come as a surprise, Brohm or not. Rarely are they imaginative nor do the vary things much more than run, run, pass. Isn't that what RW said about Fairchild's offenses two years ago?

I don't know how anyone can watch TV without a DVR in the 21 Century. I have 4 of them & they are all hooked up to multiple TVs around the house. I will say sometimes I am so mad after a game that I delete it immediately then regret doing that.