My Meaningless Opinion

[R. Rich]

Well, I'm back from my trip and back @ work....ugh! Still, we had a blast visiting w/ our many good friends from TBD last weekend. Can't wait 'til the next gathering (for the Oct. 10 game vs the Jaguars).

 

Now, on to the game....

 

 

We'll start w/ the hot topic item: QB. Man, did Trent Edwards stink it up! Like I said before the game, I don't think Gailey is going to "teach" Edwards anything he doesn't already know in order to play the position, but I do hope that he will help instill confidence in Edwards to become an effective leader. After watching the opener, I have serious doubts that this will happen while Edwards is in Buffalo. Prove me wrong, guys. Please! Problem is, Edwards is still doing the same things now (rolling out instead of stepping up in the pocket and firing the ball, looking short far too often, misfiring medium throws, especially while on the run) that he did before Gailey took over.

 

As for the running game...there was one? The debut of exciting rookie C.J. Spiller was not nearly as exciting as we were hoping for. But, I wonder how much of that was due to a scheme that was force feeding 'em the ball and making the Bills every bit as predictable as the Jauron era teams. There were too many times that the Miami defense just flowed to where the RB was w/ no regard for anyone else on the field. It was brutal.

 

Passing game? As Shao Kahn would say, "Don't make me laugh!" It was awful to say the least. And before we go back to clubbing Edwards, let's remember that there were precious few times in the game where the WRs were able to come off coverage and provide open targets. On the few times this did happen, yeah, Edwards kinda blew it (the Roscoe Parrish misfire on third down quickly comes to mind), but these young wideouts have to find ways to help the QBs out and get open. Is there anyone else I'm missing in terms of the woeful passing game? Lemme see: QBs, WRs, RBs......nah. I don't believe so. That's all the people involved in the Bills "passing game" as of now, anyway.

 

The line. The more things change, the more they stay the same. They looked much like the offensieve lines we've seen in the Jauron era. But, are we surprised? The Bills didn't do a whole lot to upgrade in the offseason, so they apparently were hoping their guys would develop given more time together and more reps. Well.....they did bring in a new right tackle, though. Cornell Green; yikes! Outside of Alex Barron, did any O lineman have as horrid a performance in Week 1? Demetrius Bell is still struggling w/ the edge rushers, I see. I'm not sure what can be done there. The real downer was the play of the interior guys, the supposed strength of this unit. Too many times the QB had guys coming up in his face to rush the throws or to swat @ the passes. So, while I'd love to see Edwards (or any Bills QB for that matter) step up and throw it, it's tough to do that when there's 'bout 600 lbs of D linemen coming @ ya in that same spot. Eric Wood, Geoff Hangartner, and Andy Levitre all looked overmatched and, in pass protection especially, confused. It wasn't a pretty sight.

 

As for the defensive line, things were a bit better. Two guys I watched quite a bit were Kyle Williams and Dwan Edwards. Williams is a great effort guy, but he is NOT an effective nose tackle in a 3-4. He is badly miscast in the role. If Torell Troup is anywhere close to being ready to take the field, he needs to do so. Now. Dwan Edwards also gave a good effort, but had trouble coming off the blocks to finish plays. I saw him get stood up a few times by the O line on pass rushes, and his footwork was pretty sloppy on running plays, especially where he needed to chase. First game issues? Sure hope so. Marcus Stroud had a decent game, but nothing spectacular. Still, he and the others did a good job of not letting Miami just grind out the win by killing the clock on the ground, so props to 'em for that. Spencer Johnson provided a bit of a rush from the right side.

 

The linebackers were deceiving. If you look @ the stat column, you'd say they had a great game as they were in on quite a few tackles. Problem is, outside of Paul Posluszny's sack and a few times when Chris Ellis and Aaron Maybin were able to hit the QB and force an early throw, there weren't a whole lot of impact plays. Chris Kelsay in coverage is a sad sight. Too slow to react w/ woeful change of direction. I do give the coaches props for actually using more rushes up the middle instead of relying on outside pressure, as it was effective. Overall, I'd say the unit was good, not great.

 

The secondary continued to show why they're the strength of the team. They could use a bit better judgment from Donte Whitner (still gets fooled too easily and gets out of position) and Drayton Florence (aggressive to a fault @ times), but overall, these guys did a solid job. Brandon Marshall did not go off on the Bills, in large part due to the job Terrence McGee and Leodis McKelvin (yes, William, THAT Leodis McKelvin!) did on 'em. I thought McKelvin was the best player on the team last Sunday. He may be getting it, which only makes this unit stronger.

 

Special teams were quite busy. Brian Moorman did a decent job on his punts, but we would've loved to see a few more downed inside the 20. Rian Lindell was solid, hitting a 50 yarder and continuing to be reliable. Roscoe Parrish looked a bit more confident returning punts (thank goodness). The coverage units? Welcome back, Bruce DeHaven!! Keeping Miami to less than 5 yards on punt returns and 'round 14 yards on kickoffs? Wow!

 

The coaching? No head scratchers (we'll get to the last one, folks), but nothing special. They did try to put more 2 back sets out there (I guess to get the most out of Jackson, Lynch, and Spiller), but w/ the lack of punishing run blocking, it was futile. Defensively, George Edwards did quite a bit w/ what some of us feared was a woefully inadequate unit, in particular in the front seven. Now, back to that safety. I will probably be in the minority (no pun intended), but I believe it was the correct call. Going for it on 4th and forever from the 1 is just plain stupid. Punting from the 1 is just a shade smarter. To give the team the best chance in terms of field position, it was absolutely the right call to make. Unfortunately, time was in short supply, so it didn't work out in the Bills' favor. Still, it was the right thing to do. Bill Belichick did the same thing when the Pats played the Broncos a few years ago and it worked like a charm. Then again, it was the Pats. Ah well.

 

So, what did we learn? I wish I knew. I had said going into this game that the Bills had the 'mystery box' and it would be opened @ 1pm that day. Well, what did we get? The same old team from the Jauron regime? Something new and exciting? A work in progress, as is customary w/ such turnover in coaching and management? My optimistic side wants to chalk this up as a bad game, but there's still plenty more. But, my less than optimistic side is wary that this is just more of the same from One Bills Drive. We'll keep ripping through that paper. There's gotta be something in this box. Right?

[cåblelady]

Ummmmm....don't you have some pictures to upload?

[LewPort71]

"offensieve line"..

 

You should trademark that.

 

Taking the time-out on 3rd and 30 to avoid a penalty

still has me shaking my head.

 

Is the 'third and 30' play much different than the 'third and 35' play ?

[yungmack]

Very good analysis. I agree with much of it. And like you, I don't know what sort of team we really have here. I can this, that in the past decade, I'd be pretty much depressed at the stupidity of the coaching, the calls, the adjustments. For whatever reason, I didn't feel all that bad this time. It seemed to me that Gailey was doing the right sorts of things that woulda, shoulda, coulda worked with a break here or there. So the "football intelligence" is there for a change (I also agree that the safety was the smart thing to do).

 

My guess is that the talent is adequate for a mediocre team, and that Gailey has the intelligence and experience to tweak things. As to TE, who, in actual meaningful games as to his improved off-season play, can't seem to overcome certain tendencies, well, if Gailey can't get him straightened out in the next two or three games, then I think he goes to the bench.

[Lofton80]

Nice analysis. Only thing I would add is I thought #54 Davis played pretty well at ILB.

[mead107]

Thanks, love the way you look at the whole picture.