A few thoughts....

[ROCCITYBBACKER]

A few thoughts from yesterday's game....

 

1. Let's get the obvious out the way first.....Trent Edwards is awful. And please don't give me the offensive line excuse for why he is so bad. He has no pocket presence whatsoever. On a few of the sacks I thought the OL did a decent job of picking up the blitz and gave Edwards enough time to make a play. When a team is blitzing, Edwards has to realize he won't have more than 3-5 seconds in the pocket and must deliver a quick strike. Unfortunately, he holds onto to the ball too long which leads to the sack. Conversely, look at Rodgers TD pass to Driver. Chris Kelsey (I think?)comes in free and gets a nice hit on Rodgers, but Rodgers feels the pressue, slides slightly to his left, and delivers a strike to Driver in the endzone. From the snap to the actual pass, about 3 seconds elapsed. At times, I wish I had the camera angle from up top to see if WR's are getting open for him, but that last shot CBS gave us of Edwards scrambling on the Bills' last play of the game showed me enough to know there are plays to be had if we had a decent QB. Randy Cross tried to tell us that the WR's weren't getting open for Edwards, but I saw at least 3 instances where Edwards could've fit a pass in. His instints are just terrible. It's time to try Fitzpatrick at QB because, although his accuracy isn't the greatest, he did show the ability to take chances last year and is more mobile than Edwards.

 

2. Our OL is almost as awful as Edwards. I don't need to go into much detail on Cornell Green....he is by far the worst player on that line. Jamon Meridith, who I know doesn't start, but has played a decent amount these first two games, is a close second. However, Eric Wood is of more concern, given our expectations of him due to his high draft status. I thought he looked outclassed yesterday. Hopefully, it's because he's still trying to work his way back from his injury from a year ago. I know a lot of people on this board love the guy and think he is or is going to become a stud for years to come, but I thought he struggled pre-injury last year and has struggled this year. Lastly, I actually thought Demetrius Bell did decent out there. There were a few times when he made some mental mistakes and didn't pick up the blitz well, but physically, he held his own out there. I don't remember a play when Bell was one on one that he got beat and I watched him very closely out there because I was curious to see how he would do. I know I may take some heat for this, but I thought Bell played the best out of our OL yesterday.

 

3. Marshawn looked average. He dances too much and doesn't hit the hole hard. I think he missed some opportunities to make some larger gains due to his "happy feet." Based on the few opportunities he did get, Fred Jackson is clearly the best running back on that team right now. I think Marshawn may have done enough to increase his trade value and if he did, then we should trade him.

 

4. The biggest issue on D is our lack of a pass rush. We have done decent the first two weeks with our rush defense, but unfortunately, we haven't been able to generate any type of pressure on the QB and with a QB like Rodgers, it is way to easy for him to pick apart our D. Our CB's are solid, but can't cover the WR's forever if you give the QB time. Also, we have zero turnovers these first two games and we all know pressure leads to turnovers. This team will also struggle to guard the opponent TE's this year because we don't have anyone who can do it. Watching Kelsey/Davis/Whitner guard Finley was a joke and last week Poz showed us he couldn't guard anyone as well. It's depressing to see Matthews play for GB, knowing that he was picked after Maybust.

 

5. This team has so many holes it ridiculous. They need at least 2-3 OL, 2-3 LB's, QB, WR, and DE. Somehow, they need to fill some of these holes through free agency next year because if we expect to rebuild through the draft it will take at least 3 years before we may sniff the playoffs. I don't want anymore of these under the rader type FA's from the past few years (i.e - Green, Hangartner, Davis, etc.). I want legitimate, solid, proven NFL players. I would also be willing to trade draft picks for these types of players as well, because our track record for drafting is far from stellar. Unfortunately, I know it is difficult to attract talent to Buffalo, but somehow, someway we need to do it because if we don't it will be a long rebuilding process.

 

6. Also, I think without question, since we will likely be drafting in the top 5 next year based on our performance these first two weeks, we need to draft a QB with our first round pick because I can't deal with this ineptitude for much longer. Currently, my preference would be Ryan Mallet. I've watched this guy play and I'm really impressed with him; whereas, Jake Locker hasn't impressed me. Self admittandly, I haven't watched Andrew Luck play at all so I'm not sure how he compares to Mallet. Plus, it's possible he may not enter the draft. The only way to reinvigorate this franchise is to draft a QB. If for some reason all the top QB's are gone, then you go OL, but we need a franchise QB more than anything. I'm sick of the constant changing of the guard which has occured here since Jimbo retired.

 

I don't claim to be an expert when it comes to football so I would interested to know what other people think about my comments...

[BuffaloWings]

The biggest glaring holes on the team are the QB & OL - in either order. I think we can only wonder what things would be like with a line that gives protection.

 

I agree with you on Edwards and his pocket presence. He may be physically over his concussion(s), but he's clearly scared in the pocket...probably because of a combination of a bad line and being nervous about getting knocked out again. If he's concerned at all about that, it's time to bench him.

 

Agree with you 150% on Lynch. He dances way too much for me. Jackson is a better runner than Lynch because of what you said - he hits the holes hard and runs through them. Lynch will try to slide through the hole and hope nobody lays a hand on him.

 

Part of the reason the defense can't get off the field late in the game is because of the lack of a pass rush. If they were able to get any pressure on the QB at all, they wouldn't be playing half as much as they are now. We have a good secondary, but they're forced to make plays all day long because the line can't put pressure on the offense.

 

I thought in April (and still think now) that they need to draft for the OL first. While I wouldn't be upset if they went for a QB, I think the trenches need to be solidified before we take a chance on an early-round QB.

[All_Pro_Bills]

A few thoughts from yesterday's game....

 

2. Our OL is almost as awful as Edwards. I don't need to go into much detail on Cornell Green....he is by far the worst player on that line. Jamon Meridith, who I know doesn't start, but has played a decent amount these first two games, is a close second. However, Eric Wood is of more concern, given our expectations of him due to his high draft status. I thought he looked outclassed yesterday. Hopefully, it's because he's still trying to work his way back from his injury from a year ago. I know a lot of people on this board love the guy and think he is or is going to become a stud for years to come, but I thought he struggled pre-injury last year and has struggled this year. Lastly, I actually thought Demetrius Bell did decent out there. There were a few times when he made some mental mistakes and didn't pick up the blitz well, but physically, he held his own out there. I don't remember a play when Bell was one on one that he got beat and I watched him very closely out there because I was curious to see how he would do. I know I may take some heat for this, but I thought Bell played the best out of our OL yesterday.

 

Agree with most with the exception of Bell. I won't argue about him playing the best of anyone on the O-Line but that's more of an indictment of the other members of the line than it is praise for Bell. On Packers sack #6 he engaged Matthews at the line of scrimmage and just got caught flatfooted with no arm extension as Clay Jr. just pushed him aside, took one step outside, and then jumped on the back of our QB. All in about 3 seconds of elapsed time. I've seen more contact on a first date good night kiss than on that play. This team simply has no NFL caliber OT's on the roster.

 

On another subject, next years draft, on Saturday I watched a the Arkansas and Washington games to see two of the 'hot' QB prospects. On that day, IMO, neither of them look dominant or for that matter terribly impressive.