My Meaningless Opinion

[R. Rich]

As things start to return to normalcy in my household (reason why I was MIA for Week 10), I am glad to see the Bills embark on a 2 game winning streak to begin the second half of the season. It certainly was a positive in a week that was chock full of negatives for me. Way to go, Bills!

 

Ryan Fitzpatrick had another game full of monster numbers (over 300 yards, 4 TDs). Props to him, especially for bouncing back from what was an absolute disastrous first half. Problem is, as I have mentioned before, I still see the same things out of Fitzpatrick every game: poorly overthrown passes, poorly underthrown passes, and passes that never should've been thrown in the first place (usually into heavy coverage). These are things that should be corrected w/ more playing time, yet they are a constant. His throws on the out patterns are to the inside shoulder, where the defense can break on it and either break it up or pick it off. He has not adjusted and put those throws to the outside, where it is usually either incomplete or a catch. Weird thing is, it's not that Fitzpatrick is totally inaccurate. He had several really nice throws to Steve Johnson in the third and fourth quarter (some for first down conversions and TDs) and the read that he and Johnson had on the third TD hookup was something you hope for in a starting QB/WR combo. But, for whatever reason, he has those lapses in his game where he completes his "Terrible Trio" (overthrows, underthrows, poor throws into coverage that usually is picked off). This happens weekly, which is a big concern and the reason why I still believe the Bills need to acquire a quality QB to lead the team in the future. Luckily, he and the team were able to bounce back, but how much of that was due to the level of competiton? Could this comeback have happened against the Jets, Patriots, or the next opponent (later)? I'd rather not see the Bills in the position where they'd have to find out.

 

Fred Jackson found tough going early in the game, but was there when the Bills needed 'em late. It was reminiscient of last year, when the Saints needed to close the deal on the Bills and relied on Pierre Thomas to get it done. His 30 yarder was the final nail in Cincy's coffin. Jackson also ran tough in this one. He had a particularly impressive 26 yard run late in the fourth quarter where he fought hard to get past the sticks and to keep getting extra yards after contact. Quinton Ganther got some minutes and had a really nice 9 yard run (great block by Kraig Urbik on that one; more later). Corey McIntire gave a solid lead block on an 8 yard Jackson run early in the third quarter.

 

The receivers were okay as a unit, but this game was really all 'bout Steve Johnson. He had several plays where he came up w/ catches to continue drives (one in the early fourth quarter was on a pass that was beautifully thrown by Fitzpatrick) and, of course, on his scores. The one he had in the early part of the third quarter was a work of art. It was a nice throw from Fitpatrick, he made an excellent open field move to break free and get the score, and Andy Levitre made a great block to give Fitzpatrick a pocket to throw in. Donald Jones made a couple really nice third down catches and was impressive on his 28 yard TD catch. Lee Evans didn't have a ton of yards and only made a pair of catches, but one was a 54 yarder and the other was a terrific catch he made IN TRAFFIC! Very nice, as I've always been critical of any route by Evans that wasn't a "9" or "go" route (deep fly pattern). Still not much in the passing game out of the tight ends. Shawn Nelson made one catch and David Martin still has major issues when it comes to blocking.

 

The offensive line, like the quarterback, got off to a slow start, but boy did they get it together later on. Props to young Kraig Urbik, who filled in for the injured Eric Wood and actually performed better. Wood got juked badly by Bengal DT Pat Sims on a play that wound up a sack for Sims. He still also does not show that fire and toughness off the snap that we had all hoped for. Too many times, I see the ball snapped and see Wood standing straight up w/ no leverage. Fire out and knock your guy off the ball, man. Urbik, though, made some very nice plays. On Ganther's 9 yard run, it was Urbik who cleared the path and he also showed good awareness in pass protection. He did miss a key block on a running play that appeared to be well designed (nice misdirection play that worked earlier in the game) and allowed Sims to break through to bust it up for a loss. Still, the kid came in and held his own. Geoff Hangartner had a terrific backside seal block on Jackson's 26 yard run in the fourth quarter. Levitre had another impressive lead block on an early Jackson run and made a terrific block to neutralize the interior rush on Johnson's 36 yard score in the third quarter. I thought the tackles also held their own. Demetrius Bell had his hands full w/ Michael Johnson on the left side, but forced 'em into a couple early penalties and did a solid job of keeping Fitzpatrick clean. Mansfield Wrotto backed the team up w/ a false start penalty in the red zone and also had a bad whiff of a block early on that allowed Domata Peko to get in the backfield to disrupt a play. That said, he still held up well in this game. Considering how well Peko has played over the past year or so, the fact that he was nearly a non-factor in this game speaks volumes for how well these guys help up in pass protection.

 

Defensive line play was a bit spotty, as there were holes for most of the game that Cedric Benson exploited. Kyle Williams had a great game though. He was able to get into the backfield almost @ will and was responsible for a pair of great stops on Cincy's late first half drive down by the goal line. Marcus Stroud was also very good. On Cincy's last rush attempt on that drive, it was Stroud who clogged the run @ the point of attack, allowing Williams to knife in to make the tackle. Stroud also had a knockdown of a 3rd and short pass attempt by Carson Palmer and forced a key fumble right after the Bills' first TD of the second half that was turned into another TD. I saw a couple times where Bills D linemen were downfield making plays, too: one by Torell Troup, who made a tackle of Benson downfield after being blocked initially and another by Dwan Edwards. Alex Carrington and Kyle Williams combined to get pressure on Cincy's TD throw to Terrell Owens late, and it was this pressure that forced Andrew Whitworth to hold (take down) Williams and negate what was an excellent catch by Owens. On that stunt, Carrington looked good going 'cross the face of Whitworth to get inside. Sure wish they'd give him more reps.

 

The linebackers were actually decent against the run in this game. Really. They still, as a unit, need to do better in shedding blocks, Paul Posluszny in particular. Too many times I saw someone engage Pos on a play, then remove 'em from the point of attack. He also still has coverage issues. Brian Leonard beat him for a third down conversion and he was clearly caught off guard on the pass interference call. To his credit, though, he was able to chase plays all over, including one where he came from the backside to run down Benson and limit the play to a 2 yard gain where it could've gone for much more. Reggie Torbor also has issues shedding blocks, but did a decent job of roaming from sideline to sideline and not letting things get too crazy. Props to this unit for doing one thing: maintaining the edge. There were a few breakdowns, including one where Torbor got caught going down the line and allowed Jermaine Gresham to get open for a big catch, but overall, they did a good job of not allowing big plays to the outside. Chris Kelsay blew a sack of Palmer late in the third quarter, but did get his brother down later on and had other plays where he broke through to force early throws. I saw some good things also from Arthur Moats and Antonio Coleman in limited action. These guys need more reps for sure.

 

Continuing the trend of bouncing back, props to the secondary for putting the clamps on things in the second half. They did give up a couple long drives, but they were able to respond w/ big plays to shut down the drives. Terrence McGee did get beat on a third down pass, but seems to be rounding into form. Bryan Scott had his issues in coverage (Jordan Shipley beat 'em bad on the big throw @ the end of the first half that got Cincy into the red zone), but he also provided pressure on the QB (got a sack). Reggie Corner had the tough task of trying to stay w/ Shipley and got beaten a few times for first downs. Corner also had one pass interference call that probably shouldn't have been made and another earlier one that the refs clearly missed. Drayton Florence got beat a couple times, but overall covered well and had a terrific fumble return for a TD. Donte Whitner laid a terrific, clean hit on Shipley late in the game that forced an incompletion. Not a great game for either Leodis McKelvin or Jairus Byrd. McKelvin was victimized early on by Palmer, especially on Cincy's late first quarter drive where he gave up a 50 yard catch and was beaten for the TD. Byrd didn't react quickly enough to get into position on Owens' TD and looked a step slow to react for most of the game. Props to George Wilson for making what I felt was the play of the game: his INT in the end zone, which he returned 56 yards. Talk 'bout a swing of momentum! Cincy was looking to regain control of the game and ended up losing their lead for good. Wilson also had a great breakup of a pass to Owens early in the fourth quarter.

 

Special teams? Not really. I think Coleman's two special teams tackles (one highlighted by an impressive hit) was the best part. The return game wasn't much as there were only 3 kicks returned for a less than 20 yard average and no punts were returned (one fair catch). Rian Lindell missed a kick inside of 40 yards. What's up w/ him lately? The coverage units did a decent job but did give up a late 34 yard kick return.

 

Coaching wise, Chan Gailey adapted to Cincy's rush by doing more bootleg and misdirection plays to get Fitzpatrick out of the pocket so that he wasn't a sitting duck. It worked. They also focused on Cincy's backup defensive backs and exploited 'em. Defensively, there's still some issues (Shipley worked 'em to death w/ those quck outs, middle of the D line got pressure but gave up big yards early on), but there is also progress (defensive backs got turnovers and kept Owens and Chad in check for the most part). Ah, progress. Been a while.

 

And so, our beloved Bills are on a two game winning streak! Woo hoo!! Hey, seriously; it's a good thing. The next opponent cannot say the same. Then again, the next opponent is...

 

Pittsburgh. Time for Civil War in the R. Rich household. Psycho Ward 86, along w/ R. Rich's Mother and brother, all are a part of the Stiller Nation, so I will be badly outgunned when I go home this wekeend to visit w/ family before going to RICH to see the game. Ah well; I wouldn't have it any other way. Our team is on a roll and there looks to be some real improvement from these guys. I hope for more improvement and maybe, just maybe, the Bills can surprise some folks w/ some upsets. Sunday is as good a time to start as any.

[flomoe]

Amazing recap as usual. Thank you.

[GaryPinC]

Thanks for the great summary. I find that when an NFL player discusses his own injury being less than 100%, it's affecting his play on the field. Given the severity of last year's injury, I think the real Eric Wood will re-emerge next year.

[Bill from NYC]

Great work!

[timba]

I hope everything is ok at home. Great writeup - fun read.

[richNjoisy]

Ummmmmm

 

No One (or two or three) outguns you Mr. R.

 

No one.

 

I will consider the Bills WELL represented.

 

As to your other comments, I was slow but now am sold on Fitzy - he has the brains, the guts, the resiliency and the "attitude" to be a NFL caliber QB. The high frequency of mis-throws cannot - IMO - be slam-dunked blamed on inconsistency. It might be that but could it be that he still needs to learn defenses AND one has to wonder how many (if any I grant you) of his INTs can be blamed on the WR's (not running the correct patterns OR on a lack of timing)?

 

It seems obvious FINALLY that the Bills have their QB for the immediate future. Even if the draft a QB high next year, I do not think Fitzy loses his starting job for awhile. In the meantime, it will be interesting (and exciting) to see if Fitzy's INT numbers start to drop as he matures and as the line improves (I assume it has to start getting better next year......gulp)

 

Go Bills! Slam the Steelers!

[UB2SF]

A great read, as always, R-squared! Appreciate the time you put into it.

 

Here's hoping the Terrible Towels in your household are used mainly for wiping tears of anguish after a Steeler loss!

[aussiew]

Here's hoping the Terrible Towels in your household are used mainly for wiping tears of anguish after a Steeler loss!

 

Or better yet...volunteer to be the one who gathers them up and puts them in the trunk.

 

Then "accidently" forget them. I'm sure the Bills fans sitting around you in the stadium will love you for it.

 

Have a great weekend in Buff and have a wing or 25 for me.

[stevewin]

Rich - how is it that your Mother and Brother ate Steeler fans and you are a Bills fan?

[Mr_Blizzard]

Thanks for the great summary. I find that when an NFL player discusses his own injury being less than 100%, it's affecting his play on the field. Given the severity of last year's injury, I think the real Eric Wood will re-emerge next year.

 

I agree. Wood's injury last year was wicked. The fact that he is back on the field this year is a testament to his work ethic and desire. Hopefully the injury this past weekend was minor. I think next year we see great things from Wood.

[Cornerville]

Ryan Fitzpatrick had another game full of monster numbers (over 300 yards, 4 TDs). Props to him, especially for bouncing back from what was an absolute disastrous first half. Problem is, as I have mentioned before, I still see the same things out of Fitzpatrick every game: poorly overthrown passes, poorly underthrown passes, and passes that never should've been thrown in the first place (usually into heavy coverage). These are things that should be corrected w/ more playing time, yet they are a constant. His throws on the out patterns are to the inside shoulder, where the defense can break on it and either break it up or pick it off. He has not adjusted and put those throws to the outside, where it is usually either incomplete or a catch. Weird thing is, it's not that Fitzpatrick is totally inaccurate. He had several really nice throws to Steve Johnson in the third and fourth quarter (some for first down conversions and TDs) and the read that he and Johnson had on the third TD hookup was something you hope for in a starting QB/WR combo. But, for whatever reason, he has those lapses in his game where he completes his "Terrible Trio" (overthrows, underthrows, poor throws into coverage that usually is picked off). This happens weekly, which is a big concern and the reason why I still believe the Bills need to acquire a quality QB to lead the team in the future. Luckily, he and the team were able to bounce back, but how much of that was due to the level of competiton? Could this comeback have happened against the Jets, Patriots, or the next opponent (later)? I'd rather not see the Bills in the position where they'd have to find out.

 

What I love about this post is that it encompasses many of the thoughts I have about Fitz...yes, great numbers....yes, 18 TD....yes, better then we have had around here for quite some time...but no, bad: still accuracy issues...bad INT's every game....perfectly summed up R!

Edited November 25, 2010 by RaidersEast

[todd]

Thanks, RR. Excellent as usual. It is nice to see such good evaluation.

[NewEra]

Thanks RR, another nice recap.

[T master]

Dang i tried to do a term paper in school that wasn't that long !! My eyes were tired just looking at it !!!!!