A Few Thoughts About The Game

[Mickey]

!) Make no effing mistake. I will B word and moan until the cows come home about the Bills, but today I am particularly proud to be a Bills Fan. They gave it all they had and I appreciate this.

 

2) Whitner fans/apologists....come out come out wherever you are!!! He gave up 3 TDs, dropped a pick six, and sucked against the run. Let me make myself clear.....he is a suited up Aaron Maybin. Donte Whitner sucks. Yes, he sucks a$$. I am officially calling for him to be cut after this game. I actually care more about Mr. Wilson being rich than I care about carrying this piece of schitt on our beloved football team. There is no turning back. Donte Whitner is a bag of schitt and once again, he sucks.

 

3) I was looking forward to this comment the most.....Demetrius Bell played well today. I always thought he got too much slack on this board, but today he played his position quite well. I focused on him specifically on every single play, and he held up. He did his job, and if he can improve (which he will need to), he will give us the opportunity to go QB and RT with early picks, which is how teams win football games. In any event, I have been VERY tough on Bell, and he did a great job today. I will continue to watch.

 

4) Hats off to Fitz and Evans. Seriously, they really connected.

 

5) I am not a big fan of Stevie Johnson, but he too had a great game. If he can develop better hands (after all, he is a possession receiver), he will catch TDs.

 

6) Kelsay was killing me today, but I am GLAD they extended his sorry ass if it came down to him or Whitner. Yeah....I said this too.

 

7) The difference at RT was huge. Effing HUGE!!!!!

 

8) Spiller? He is talented but he was a complete waste of a #9.

 

9) Gailey? He, despite the record, is 1000% better than Dickie Jauron imo, and I also prefer Nix over Levy fwiw.

 

10) Bills Fans are the greatest fans of any team in any sport.

 

11) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Its great to see you excited old man. I agree with all of that but I will quibble with your take on Steve Johnson and Spiller. I like them both. They are both going to just get better and better. You didn't mention Freddie who I think is just about the best "find" this team has come up with since Steve Tasker.

[HeHateMe]

Did anyone notice how poorly Spiller was running? There were a few times where he ran straight into the pile when there was a wide open cutback lane. Other times he would cut it outside when he could have easily gained more breaking upfield. Not liking what I am seeing so far from him... and not to mention that horrible fumble.

[Bill from NYC]

And yet, Scoe was in YOUR doghouse as a "gadget player" just a season or two ago. How the tune changed.

 

Essentially, that is what he is. If he was an every down player, he would have been on the field producing consistently. He has been with the team since 2005, right Joe?

 

Are you able to talk football anymore, or does dialogue to you consist of pointed little useless barbs, in an attempt to be "cute." I remember when you were not like this. How the tune changed.

[34-78-83]

FWIW , I definitely don't believe that Roscoe was always this good as a slot WR. I believe he has worked very hard and been well coached and has actually "developed" (shocking I know for a Bills player) .... Although I do believe his progress was hindered by lackluster coaching in previous years.

[Kultarr]

On Point 1: How does Troy Polamalu or Bob Sanders do it? Both of those guys are in the 5'8-5'10 range and they're not victimized nearly as much. The reason is, IND and PIT both have a pass rush that allows them to make more plays in the secondary. Buffalo does not have one consistent threat to pressure QB's in their front 7. But I still don't see TE's scoring 7 TD's against Buffalo's secondary in 4 games.

 

A lot of fans love to cite the tackle statistic as indicative of a player's success or failure. I would argue that DB's making a lot of tackles are doing so because the front 7 is so porous and/or the DB is bad and allows plenty of catches.

 

For my money, I'll draft pass rushers and get myself squared away there before even thinking of drafting a DB. We can see after years of the DJ regime that DB's without a pass rush are almost worthless in coverage. No pass rush and 4 HOF'ers in a secondary would be hard to stop average passing teams.

Some reasons a safety can have a high number of tackles:

 

1) the offensive game plan was to isolate and attack the S in the passing game because he has inferior pass coverage skills

2) he is in fact the weak link in the secondary and the QB is finding that in his progression frequently and throwing that direction

3) the front 7 can't stop the run so the S has to bail them out

 

In Whitner's case, I think it is a combination of all three.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Essentially, that is what he is. If he was an every down player, he would have been on the field producing consistently. He has been with the team since 2005, right Joe?

 

Are you able to talk football anymore, or does dialogue to you consist of pointed little useless barbs, in an attempt to be "cute." I remember when you were not like this. How the tune changed.

 

The point is, Bill, some players take time to develop. Roscoe is a playmaker. Obviously, the coaches see something in Whitner. I don't always see it either, but what if...and just hang with me on this one...what if he develops into something SPECIAL when he has a modicum of a defense playing in front of him? I could guarantee you if this guy played on Pitt or Balto, he'd be a HELL of a lot better.

[Peace]

The point is, Bill, some players take time to develop. Roscoe is a playmaker. Obviously, the coaches see something in Whitner. I don't always see it either, but what if...and just hang with me on this one...what if he develops into something SPECIAL when he has a modicum of a defense playing in front of him? I could guarantee you if this guy played on Pitt or Balto, he'd be a HELL of a lot better.

 

Parrish is not a "playmaker." Randy Moss is a "playmaker." Adrian Peterson is a "playmaker." Parrish is a guy who very occasionally makes a play. He had a decent game yesterday but in the last 5 years, he's not given much except as punt returner. The announcers were gobbling his knob yesterday and all I could do was laugh. The guy can't be on the field during a running play because he can't even fake a block. He can't break the slightest arm tackle and he can't help in the red zone. He is a short athletic guy who would be a sensation in touch football. He can be helpful at times. But let's not jump on the Roscoe bandwagon until he does anything consistently.

Edited October 25, 2010 by Peace

[Rob_not_Rian_Lindell]

Whitner did not play half as bad as Byrd did. That angle he took on the TD catch was terrible!!

[Peace]

Whitner did not play half as bad as Byrd did. That angle he took on the TD catch was terrible!!

 

Running behind Heap in the end zone is bad?

 

The funny thing about that: The play by play announcer (not Burlein but the voice) said "That's about as perfect of an NFL play as you'll see." What a horse's ass.

[34-78-83]

Parrish is not a "playmaker." Randy Moss is a "playmaker." Adrian Peterson is a "playmaker." Parrish is a guy who very occasionally makes a play. He had a decent game yesterday but in the last 5 years, he's not given much except as punt returner. The announcers were gobbling his knob yesterday and all I could do was laugh. The guy can't be on the field during a running play because he can't even fake a block. He can't break the slightest arm tackle and he can't help in the red zone. He is a short athletic guy who would be a sensation in touch football. He can be helpful at times. But let's not jump on the Roscoe bandwagon until he does anything consistently.

 

I doubt people think he's a #1 WR when they say "playmaker" so I think they are accurate.

You are way off on the blocking point. He is ( and it's quite comical at times yet true ) one of our better blockers at the WR position. Really gives a lot of effort there. Update your apparent pre-determined opinion of this guy because he is finally developing under this staff.

Do you want every WR to be good at every aspect of the game?

He is quicker than 99% of NFL players, so that should off-set the lack of tackle breaking ability.

He is becoming a pretty nice slot WR.

Edited October 25, 2010 by 34-78-83

[Kelly the Dog]

Whitner did not play half as bad as Byrd did. That angle he took on the TD catch was terrible!!

Not true. The decision was bad. He is very good at tracking the ball in the air. It looked like the pass was going to be high, and it was. He went right for the trajectory of the ball and he would have intercepted it, had not Heap, who is one of the better receiving TEs in the game, made a great leaping catch. I'm not excusing Byrd whatsoever. What he should have done, inarguably, was try to break up the play first instead of going for the INT. But he didnt take a bad angle at all. He made a bad decision, which cost us.

[Mango]

!) Make no effing mistake. I will B word and moan until the cows come home about the Bills, but today I am particularly proud to be a Bills Fan. They gave it all they had and I appreciate this.

 

2) Whitner fans/apologists....come out come out wherever you are!!! He gave up 3 TDs, dropped a pick six, and sucked against the run. Let me make myself clear.....he is a suited up Aaron Maybin. Donte Whitner sucks. Yes, he sucks a$$. I am officially calling for him to be cut after this game. I actually care more about Mr. Wilson being rich than I care about carrying this piece of schitt on our beloved football team. There is no turning back. Donte Whitner is a bag of schitt and once again, he sucks.

 

3) I was looking forward to this comment the most.....Demetrius Bell played well today. I always thought he got too much slack on this board, but today he played his position quite well. I focused on him specifically on every single play, and he held up. He did his job, and if he can improve (which he will need to), he will give us the opportunity to go QB and RT with early picks, which is how teams win football games. In any event, I have been VERY tough on Bell, and he did a great job today. I will continue to watch.

 

4) Hats off to Fitz and Evans. Seriously, they really connected.

 

5) I am not a big fan of Stevie Johnson, but he too had a great game. If he can develop better hands (after all, he is a possession receiver), he will catch TDs.

 

6) Kelsay was killing me today, but I am GLAD they extended his sorry ass if it came down to him or Whitner. Yeah....I said this too.

 

7) The difference at RT was huge. Effing HUGE!!!!!

 

8) Spiller? He is talented but he was a complete waste of a #9.

 

9) Gailey? He, despite the record, is 1000% better than Dickie Jauron imo, and I also prefer Nix over Levy fwiw.

 

10) Bills Fans are the greatest fans of any team in any sport.

 

11) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

1. absolutely

2. i have given whitner some passes in the past, but i have been paying alot of attention to him lately. most blown coverages or wide open recievers are either misreads or plain getting burned from none other than donte. he needs to go

3. fitzy is currently ranked number 2 in the league. while he may not be the answer now, he is not even close to the biggest problem on this team, and it seems to be shaping up that, neither is the oline. we need to draft defense, then more defense, and defense again.

5. stevie is tied for 5th in teh league in td's, beating evans(12th) in both yards and td's. i am not calling him super star, but i think it is ok to say he is good

6. agreed kelsay over whitner

8. i am always waiting for more from spiller. while i am not calling it a bust, i am not impressed. for a guy with breakout ability he hasn't done much of that. just because some people on here get butterflies when he touches the ball, does't mean defenses do to. god i hope he pans out to be great

9. offense is night and day different, gailey mentioned it in the presser, we finally played 4 quarters of football. havent done that in a while. defense is putrid

10 AND 11. YUHS!

[Peace]

I doubt people think he's a #1 WR when they say "playmaker" so I think they are accurate.

You are way off on the blocking point. He is ( and it's quite comical at times yet true ) one of our better blockers at the WR position. Really gives a lot of effort there. Update your apparent pre-determined opinion of this guy because he is finally developing under this staff.

Do you want every WR to be good at every aspect of the game?

He is quicker than 99% of NFL players, so that should off-set the lack of tackle breaking ability.

He is becoming a pretty nice slot WR.

 

Josh Reed was a great blocking WR. Evans is OK. Johnson gives an effort. Parrish is not a blocker.

 

His speed is not that useful because he's so easy to tackle. Plus, he's a cinch to chuck at the line so he's got zero deep threat. On top of that, while he's a juke machine, his straight line speed is not that great (or at least sure doesn't translate to anything on the field). The guy is a gimmicky player. He's not that much of an asset but I'm glad the Bills are finding ways to try to get him the ball. He's fine but "playmaker," no.

Edited October 25, 2010 by Peace

[section122]

Spiller hasn't made the field as much as some would like for a variety of factors

1) he still is a liability in pass protection which most rookie rbs do so its tough to have him in when the d knows it means run

2) he still needs to learn this is the nfl w athletes everywhere the highlight bouncing to the outside and run by everyone doesn't work in the pros... he does need to learn to cut upfield sometimes and take the extra few yards

3) fred jackson is a beast! Anyone want to try to discredit that?

Although rb is a position where players can come in and contribute right away not all do. We have a good rb in front of him and no super bowl expectation so why rush him?

[34-78-83]

Josh Reed was a great blocking WR. Evans is OK. Johnson gives an effort. Parrish is not a blocker.

 

His speed is not that useful because he's so easy to tackle. Plus, he's a cinch to chuck at the line so he's got zero deep threat. On top of that, while he's a juke machine, his straight line speed is not that great (or at least sure doesn't translate to anything on the field). The guy is a gimmicky player. He's not that much of an asset but I'm glad the Bills are finding ways to try to get him the ball. He's fine but "playmaker," no.

 

Watch the games a little closer and you'll see his willingness and effectiveness for a guy his size as a blocker. It's quite comical really. I am convinced you are going off assumptions on this.

Slot WR's do not need great speed. They need quickness and ability to settle and/or separate in space and he has that and is improving at the position. You still seem like you're reacting to someone calling him god in cleats or something like that. Players can be decent/ good and still greatly help a football team.

[Rob_not_Rian_Lindell]

Not true. The decision was bad. He is very good at tracking the ball in the air. It looked like the pass was going to be high, and it was. He went right for the trajectory of the ball and he would have intercepted it, had not Heap, who is one of the better receiving TEs in the game, made a great leaping catch. I'm not excusing Byrd whatsoever. What he should have done, inarguably, was try to break up the play first instead of going for the INT. But he didnt take a bad angle at all. He made a bad decision, which cost us.

 

The proper angle would of put him between the receiver and the ball not behind the receiver. So yes that was a bad angle.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

I'll jump to Whitner's defense. He blew it and got turned inside out on the first TD to heap. He also should have held on to the pick 6 (nevermind the fact that he made a great and jumped the route). BUT, on the second TD to Heap, Scott was standing around not covering Heap either. Who's assignment was it? I know that the default when anything bad happens in the secondary to to blame Whitner, but Scott was just as much at fault, if not more than Donte.

 

Also, on the flea flicker, there were 10 others on defense that got fooled by the play, INCLUDING THE CB WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO COVER BOLDIN. That was a good play by the Ravens, but go ahead and blame it all on Whitner if that makes you feel better.

 

 

With all the run support they have been needing of course he bit on the flea flicker first down play. Scott bit on the outside fake on the second TD to heap and blew the coverage.

 

I agree that whitner should spend more time in the film room and less time tweeting, but a safety's job is not to make hits for losses in the run D, it's to prevent RB's from getting TD's.

 

Once again he led the team in tackles. If the coaches see what the Whitner haters see, I trust he'll be benched for Scott or Wilson.

[Kelly the Dog]

The proper angle would of put him between the receiver and the ball not behind the receiver. So yes that was a bad angle.

I don't think there was any way he could have got there in time. But he made a decision to go where the ball was going to end up. You're trying to say he misjudged the ball. I don't think he did at all. He misjudged the play, and he misjudged the ability of Heap to get to the slightly overthrown pass. If he would have decided to break up the play instead of going for the INT, he would have chose a different angle, where Heap was going, not where the ball was. That's clearly what he should have done.I don't think he could have got to the point in front of Heap and intercepted it before it got to him, he was too far away.

Edited October 25, 2010 by Kelly the Fair and Balanced Dog

[dave mcbride]

I don't think there was any way he could have got there in time. But he made a decision to go where the ball was going to end up. You're trying to say he misjudged the ball. I don't think he did at all. He misjudged the play, and he misjudged the ability of Heap to get to the slightly overthrown pass. If he would have decided to break up the play instead of going for the INT, he would have chose a different angle, where Heap was going, not where the ball was. That's clearly what he should have done.I don't think he could have got to the point in front of Heap and intercepted it before it got to him, he was too far away.

The thing that's not being said is that the play demonstrated what many of us suspect: that Byrd is not much a fan of hitting/tackling. He has been dreadful this year. He's abysmal in run support, and hasn't made one play that I can recall in pass defense.

Edited October 25, 2010 by dave mcbride

[Britbillsfan]

We need a pass rush before we can throw our DBs under the bus. Last year they were a good unit. This year awful. Pretty much the same personnel back there, just that without a pass rush worth squat they are going to get picked on all year. Need something from at least one of the DEs and a lot more from the LB corps. Although the way they have been this year I am tempted to write LB corpse when discussing them.

 

And both Whitner and Byrd had a bad game. But the LBs as a unit are worse. Again.