Post Game Wrap Up

[H2o]

From the opening kickoff there was a different feel about this team. McIntyre laid into McCluster and we had the ball just like that. Fitz comes in and hits Chandler for a 4 yard TD. Chandler later gets another TD on a blown coverage by the Chiefs where no one picked him up. I was telling some friends of mine that we're going to have to switch his nameplate to Metzelaars if he keeps this up. It's a breath of fresh air to actually have a TE that can be a difference maker in the passing game. It's been a long time Bills fans. Early I in the contest also I picked up on how well our OL, especially Bell, seemed to be playing. Bell handled a Pro Bowl OLB in Tamba Hali so well that the Ciefs had switched him to coming off of Pears side when we got into the 3rd quarter. Jackson ran well picking up 6 yards here, 7 yards there, and mainly on 1st down which kept us in very manageable situations throughout most of the game. The WR group played well, especially Nelson I thought. The one play that made Nelson really stand out to me was where he made a cut block to give Fitz an extra second, immediately gets up to run a route, catches a pass, and takes off running for a nice gain. Steve Johnson is Steve Johnson and picked up right where he left off IMO. Fitz had a good game himself, but there are a couple troubling things about his performance to me. The two things that bother me the most are he throws off of his back foot a lot, even when there is no pressure. He won't be able to get away with that on a week to week basis and it will lead to INT's. Maybe he is just not used to having time or enough protection to step into his throws, but our OL performance was excellent today. Second, I watch him make the most spectacular throws into tight windows, but he short-arms wide open receivers at times. I think it is tied into throwing off of his back foot for the most part, but this has to be corrected. There are times where it may end up being very costly. Today we played mistake free ball on offense for the most part, minus a late INT thrown by Brad Smith on an errant pass into double coverage on a gimmick play. If this continues we are going to win more games this season than the last two combined.

 

Now to the defensive side of the ball. We still aren't getting but so much pressure on the QB. Merriman hurt his shoulder early putting a hit on McCluster and wasn't the same after that. He played very tentatively. I love the Nick Barnett signing. He was all over the field and when he hits people they go down. Dareus and Williams are going to be a force to reckon with for years to come. Even Kelsay seemed to play a lot better today keeping containment and getting a few QB pressures. Our run defense did admirable today, even though they gave up a few large chunks on the ground to Charles and McCluster. We were keyed on stopping the run so much that the misdirection plays and draws were the only thing getting to us in the running game. The secondary seemed to be in great position all day long. Dwayne Bowe was held in check all day long even though McGee went down on the very first defensive series. Every one of the Chiefs receivers were held in check today. McKelvin, Florence, and Aaron Williams are more than capable of containing any other team's three WR sets. McKelvin was on Bowe like white on rice for the most part. Florence came up with a nice INT and almost made one a couple of plays beforehand on a nice play to get his hands on the ball. Williams was a quarter step away from a pick 6 on the TD pass to Charles. That guys is going to be special once he gets some game experience under his belt. He has the coverage ability, speed, and can tackle out of the CB position. Once he gets about half a season under his belt, understands his role in coverages more extensively, and gets used to the speed of the game he is going to be a playmaker. Brian Scott was also a man amongst boys today making 9 solo tackles, 3 TFL, and recording a sack. Overall a fantastic performance from a defense that is clearly on the rise. I think that Wannstedt was the perfect fit for this team and his impact is already being felt.

 

In conclusion, I am excited to watch this team build on a near flawless performance against a division winner from a year ago. We have been down for so long that it's almost scary to allow myself to have hope. If we can stay healthy, get OL play like we had today on a consistent basis, and our defense continues to perform at this level then we will be ending that playoff drought this year. Another thought is this is only the first week of the season and our team should continue to improve the more they play together, especially on defense. This will be the year we finally end "the streak" against the Pats*. Brady and the Pats* will go down week 3 at Buffalo and the stadium will be rocking. It should get us off to 3-0 start and it will be the most meaningful victory for a franchise that has scraped the bottom of the barrel for a long time.

[CSBill]

From the opening kickoff there was a different feel about this team. McIntyre laid into McCluster and we had the ball just like that. Fitz comes in and hits Chandler for a 4 yard TD. Chandler later gets another TD on a blown coverage by the Chiefs where no one picked him up. I was telling some friends of mine that we're going to have to switch his nameplate to Metzelaars if he keeps this up. It's a breath of fresh air to actually have a TE that can be a difference maker in the passing game. It's been a long time Bills fans. Early I in the contest also I picked up on how well our OL, especially Bell, seemed to be playing. Bell handled a Pro Bowl OLB in Tamba Hali so well that the Ciefs had switched him to coming off of Pears side when we got into the 3rd quarter. Jackson ran well picking up 6 yards here, 7 yards there, and mainly on 1st down which kept us in very manageable situations throughout most of the game. The WR group played well, especially Nelson I thought. The one play that made Nelson really stand out to me was where he made a cut block to give Fitz an extra second, immediately gets up to run a route, catches a pass, and takes off running for a nice gain. Steve Johnson is Steve Johnson and picked up right where he left off IMO. Fitz had a good game himself, but there are a couple troubling things about his performance to me. The two things that bother me the most are he throws off of his back foot a lot, even when there is no pressure. He won't be able to get away with that on a week to week basis and it will lead to INT's. Maybe he is just not used to having time or enough protection to step into his throws, but our OL performance was excellent today. Second, I watch him make the most spectacular throws into tight windows, but he short-arms wide open receivers at times. I think it is tied into throwing off of his back foot for the most part, but this has to be corrected. There are times where it may end up being very costly. Today we played mistake free ball on offense for the most part, minus a late INT thrown by Brad Smith on an errant pass into double coverage on a gimmick play. If this continues we are going to win more games this season than the last two combined.

 

Now to the defensive side of the ball. We still aren't getting but so much pressure on the QB. Merriman hurt his shoulder early putting a hit on McCluster and wasn't the same after that. He played very tentatively. I love the Nick Barnett signing. He was all over the field and when he hits people they go down. Dareus and Williams are going to be a force to reckon with for years to come. Even Kelsay seemed to play a lot better today keeping containment and getting a few QB pressures. Our run defense did admirable today, even though they gave up a few large chunks on the ground to Charles and McCluster. We were keyed on stopping the run so much that the misdirection plays and draws were the only thing getting to us in the running game. The secondary seemed to be in great position all day long. Dwayne Bowe was held in check all day long even though McGee went down on the very first defensive series. Every one of the Chiefs receivers were held in check today. McKelvin, Florence, and Aaron Williams are more than capable of containing any other team's three WR sets. McKelvin was on Bowe like white on rice for the most part. Florence came up with a nice INT and almost made one a couple of plays beforehand on a nice play to get his hands on the ball. Williams was a quarter step away from a pick 6 on the TD pass to Charles. That guys is going to be special once he gets some game experience under his belt. He has the coverage ability, speed, and can tackle out of the CB position. Once he gets about half a season under his belt, understands his role in coverages more extensively, and gets used to the speed of the game he is going to be a playmaker. Brian Scott was also a man amongst boys today making 9 solo tackles, 3 TFL, and recording a sack. Overall a fantastic performance from a defense that is clearly on the rise. I think that Wannstedt was the perfect fit for this team and his impact is already being felt.

 

In conclusion, I am excited to watch this team build on a near flawless performance against a division winner from a year ago. We have been down for so long that it's almost scary to allow myself to have hope. If we can stay healthy, get OL play like we had today on a consistent basis, and our defense continues to perform at this level then we will be ending that playoff drought this year. Another thought is this is only the first week of the season and our team should continue to improve the more they play together, especially on defense. This will be the year we finally end "the streak" against the Pats*. Brady and the Pats* will go down week 3 at Buffalo and the stadium will be rocking. It should get us off to 3-0 start and it will be the most meaningful victory for a franchise that has scraped the bottom of the barrel for a long time.

 

[Fan in San Diego]

We can only hope this happens! 3 - 0 would be awesome.

[2020 Our Year For Sure]

I'm not sure that Florence-McKelvin-Williams can cover ANY three-receiver set in the league, lol. Great post though.

 

Does anyone know just what we're doing with Bryan Scott, scheme-wise? By my calculation he wasn't even supposed to be on the field, at all, all game. Is he playing safety or linebacker? Who is exiting for him? Only noticed Andra Davis on the field a couple of times, surprising after he had such a strong preseason. Are we playing a 4-2-5 defense? Regardless, whatever role they have Scott in, it seems to be a perfect match for his skillset. He was phenomenal today.

[Kelly the Dog]

I'm not sure that Florence-McKelvin-Williams can cover ANY three-receiver set in the league, lol. Great post though.

 

Does anyone know just what we're doing with Bryan Scott, scheme-wise? By my calculation he wasn't even supposed to be on the field, at all, all game. Is he playing safety or linebacker? Who is exiting for him? Only noticed Andra Davis on the field a couple of times, surprising after he had such a strong preseason. Are we playing a 4-2-5 defense? Regardless, whatever role they have Scott in, it seems to be a perfect match for his skillset. He was phenomenal today.

I'll have to watch the replay but that's what they were doing in preseason. Scott was in, but so were Byrd and Wilson playing their normal safety spots. Scott basically plays linebacker and sometimes he blitzes and sometimes he covers. It's a really good role for him because we don't lose much on his tackling, and he can cover better than most LBs.

[r00tabaga]

Nickel dude. No Andra in that package. That is why we saw so much Scott. More of a hybrid S/LB type. Getting ahead early forced KC to abandon most of their run sets.

[2020 Our Year For Sure]

Thanks guys. I think we will see the personnel vary from week-to-week a lot this year. There's depth on this defense, more than 11 players who deserve (and will get) playing time, each with a little bit different skillset than anyone else. Edwards/Wanny will choose different weapons from their arsenal each week, tailored to beat the specific opponent. It's how a defense should operate and it's the depth in the front 7 and the experience and savvy of Wannstedt that makes it go. Will be interesting to watch!

[Cash]

Yeah, the Bills have multiple nickel packages, and the one they seem to use the most plays a lot more like a classic dime, with four down linemen, then Barnett and Scott as the linebackers. Chris Brown had a good breakdown of the various personnel packages recently, but I can't find it on my phone right now.