A Few Thoughts About The Game

[Clip Smith]

A couple of side notes.....I think the Bills defense had a great gameplan and there was more pressure on Brady than many may have seen. The Bills decided to clog the lanes to stop the run and prevent the big play. You know Brady is going to put points up on you, so make them get them by going 6-12 yards at a time and use up as much clock as possible. Other than the Ocho drop and a few Welker squirt aways....it worked. It's amazing the flexibility you can have when you trust your offense to score. Once they knew what the Pats kept going to the well with, they were able to sit on a few of those routes and make the big INTs. Pretty much a classic rope-a-dope.

 

Merriman had a nice game in my opinion. He almost had Brady a few times and was getting held on a few of their better plays. I thought the reffing was bad both ways yesterday, and one of the victims was Merriman. I was concerned about his lack of impact so far and paid attention to him more yesterday. He was getting around the edge and was part of the swarming run defense when he was out there.

 

The Bills were not afraid to play the 2nd string D-Line even after long Bills offensive drives, giving Darius, Williams, Merriman and Kelsay time to really sit and recharge. Spencer Johnson is just a nice player to have out there.

 

Give credit to the WRs in the run game. What a difference Jones, Nelson, Johnson make in sealing outside off. It is almost as if it turns into an 8 on 8 drill out there at times, and that is helping Freddy as much as the O-Line.

 

Prepare for a Brad Smith to Fitz pass out of the wildcat the next few weeks. It has been there if they need to take a shot. Their offense has been so naturally potent that there hasn't been a need for gimmicks, which is sweet. Keep them locked in the cupboard for crunch time.

 

With the win against NE, the Pats can go 10-2 and the Bills go 8-4 over the next 12, setting up a potential battle for the division and home field the last week of the season. 8-4 does not sound crazy at this point anymore.

[Orton's Arm]

I spent yesterday afternoon driving back from my cousin's wedding. Instead of seeing this game, I had to listen to it on the radio. At the end, when the radio announcer said the field goal was good, my eyes got a little moist. Nix and Chan have built something special. Like Bill said, this team plays with a lot of heart. That makes it very easy to root for them!

 

This trip gave me the opportunity to listen to a lot of post game radio commentary. One of the things which was said was that Gailey doesn't run a pass-oritented offense or a run-oriented offense. Instead, his offense is designed to spread the defense out, and to exploit whatever defensive weaknesses this might create. Sometimes exploiting the defensive weakness means running the ball with Fred Jackson. Sometimes it means passing the ball to whichever target has the most exploitable matchup.

 

After the radio announcer said these things, it occurred to me that this offense is a perfect match for Fitzpatrick. The knock against Fitzpatrick has always been his accuracy. Even in the first two games (which I was able to see) his accuracy never seemed particularly special. But--at least usually--it was "good enough" accuracy.

 

There is something Fitzpatrick does better than almost any QB in the league. That's his ability to read defenses, both pre- and post-snap, to process information quickly, to make the right decision, and to make that decision quickly. Gailey's offense emphasizes Fitz's strength while masking his weaknesses. Fitz wouldn't look nearly this good in most other offenses. But that doesn't matter as long as he continues to look like this in Gailey's offense!

 

It still remains to be seen if defensive coordinators will figure out an answer to what Gailey and Fitz are doing. But Fitz just finished carving up a defense coached by Bill Belichick, which bodes well for the future. If Fitz is able to do similarly well against the Patriots the second time around, we can be reasonably confident that this kind of offensive success is sustainable.

 

I have to give Nix and Gailey credit for what they've done with the team in the offseason! I'm extremely pleased with this general manager/head coach duo! The Bills have assembled an impressive group of WRs + a TE while using nothing or almost nothing in the draft to do so. Additionally, there were times when the radio announcers said that backup defensive players had been rotated in, in place of the starters. I noticed that the defense generally played well when those (typically younger) backups were in! That's also a credit to Nix's drafting and his ability to build depth in the defensive front-7.

 

My overall impression is that while this team still has some weaknesses to be corrected in next year's draft, the team as a whole is definitely on the right track! Much farther along that right track than I'd realized at the beginning of the season.

 

Finally, I'd like to thank Bill and the others who have posted in this thread. Win or lose, this is always my favorite thread after any Bills game.

[T master]

I saw at least a couple of plays that they were holding Merriman .

[Robchester]

I know I should wait at least 24 hours to ask this question, but as we become legit contenders I can't help but wonder. Can the style offense we are running, be successful in the poor weather later in the year? Maybe since it is a relatively short passing game, based more on Fitzy's guile, the cold and snow won't have too much impact. Thoughts?

[EC-Bills]

1) One thing I gotta say about Stevie Johnson. The kid is almost always open. I'm serious. We have all seen better receivers, but SJ is getting better week to week and it's impossible not to like this kid.

 

2) My prayers go out to A. Williams. Get well young man.

 

3) Chandler didn't put up big numbers. It looked to me as if he wasn't on the field so much. But, that kid gives it his all on every play, and he sure seems to be a clutch player.

 

4) Kudos to McKelvin. Yeah, I said that.

 

5) Fred Jackson is sick. Seriously, he gets better week to week and it's not like he is young. He was switching gears on a couple of those runs and is faster that I thought. I do hope that they give him a new contract. It's a safe bet that he won't take the money and quit ala Dockery. The man is a gentleman.

 

6) Did you people see Bellichick? He isn't ageing well at all. It's as if all the cheating is catching up with him. I know I'm wrong to take it this seriously, but he makes me sick. I can't even look at that scumbag.

 

7) On the beautiful run by Jackson with approx. 10:28 left in the 3rd quarter, Andy Levitre took out 2 defenders, and he did so in about 2 seconds or less. He can play on my team any day of the week.

 

8) Spiller hesitated on a punt return where it looked to me that he could have gained yards. He also made a fair catch on the 5. He needs to step up and contribute.

 

9) How often do I complain about the refs? Well, on the first 2 NE drives, the Bills defenders were held on every play. Especially Kelsay, who was actually tackled. I was sure that they were handing NE the game; it was that bad.

 

10) See what I mean wrt Fitz? He gets his body into position to make throws. He has to because he doesn't have a cannon, but it doesn't matter. He gets the ball in there and he's actually a thrilling player to watch.

 

11) Gailey is an offensive genius. It baffles me that he wasn't a long time NFL head coach. It's even a little freaky, but so is this entire team. It's as if I still, at 3-0, don't know exactly how to rate them. The pass rush is a big concern, but there is something really good about this football team that it's hard to put into words. At the risk of sounding cliche, this team plays with heart. Heart and determination that I'm not sure if I've ever seen before from any Buffalo Bills football team, and that's quite the compliment.

 

12) I left out a bunch of things. I know this but its as if I'm spellbound, still.

 

13) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Good post Bill!

[BB2004]

1) One thing I gotta say about Stevie Johnson. The kid is almost always open. I'm serious. We have all seen better receivers, but SJ is getting better week to week and it's impossible not to like this kid.

 

2) My prayers go out to A. Williams. Get well young man.

 

3) Chandler didn't put up big numbers. It looked to me as if he wasn't on the field so much. But, that kid gives it his all on every play, and he sure seems to be a clutch player.

 

4) Kudos to McKelvin. Yeah, I said that.

 

5) Fred Jackson is sick. Seriously, he gets better week to week and it's not like he is young. He was switching gears on a couple of those runs and is faster that I thought. I do hope that they give him a new contract. It's a safe bet that he won't take the money and quit ala Dockery. The man is a gentleman.

 

6) Did you people see Bellichick? He isn't ageing well at all. It's as if all the cheating is catching up with him. I know I'm wrong to take it this seriously, but he makes me sick. I can't even look at that scumbag.

 

7) On the beautiful run by Jackson with approx. 10:28 left in the 3rd quarter, Andy Levitre took out 2 defenders, and he did so in about 2 seconds or less. He can play on my team any day of the week.

 

8) Spiller hesitated on a punt return where it looked to me that he could have gained yards. He also made a fair catch on the 5. He needs to step up and contribute.

 

9) How often do I complain about the refs? Well, on the first 2 NE drives, the Bills defenders were held on every play. Especially Kelsay, who was actually tackled. I was sure that they were handing NE the game; it was that bad.

 

10) See what I mean wrt Fitz? He gets his body into position to make throws. He has to because he doesn't have a cannon, but it doesn't matter. He gets the ball in there and he's actually a thrilling player to watch.

 

11) Gailey is an offensive genius. It baffles me that he wasn't a long time NFL head coach. It's even a little freaky, but so is this entire team. It's as if I still, at 3-0, don't know exactly how to rate them. The pass rush is a big concern, but there is something really good about this football team that it's hard to put into words. At the risk of sounding cliche, this team plays with heart. Heart and determination that I'm not sure if I've ever seen before from any Buffalo Bills football team, and that's quite the compliment.

 

12) I left out a bunch of things. I know this but its as if I'm spellbound, still.

 

13) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Keep the few thoughts coming each week Bill. You seem to be spot with a lot of your comments. I especially agree with #11.

[NewEra]

<br /> OK, here goes (since you asked lol).<br /><br /> Pears held off his man. Levitre played as if he was on fire. He was actually great at both phases of blocking. I never saw him play a game at that level. Wood was fine except for the penalties. The RG lost a few battles that I could see but I can't say that he was awful.<br />Now, it was a stange game. Let's talk about Bell for a moment.<br /><br /> I have blasted Bell in the past and I didn't do it for no reason. I stand by every statement. Even then I never once questioned his agility. Never. Yesterday was different.<br /> He stood up defenders on passing downs and knocked them back on running plays. That isn't even the good news. One of my complaints about him was his size (the other being strength). Yesterday, he looked as if he <b>gained a few pounds</b>. Did anyone else notice, or am I the only nut who looks for these things? <br /> As much as I talk about the OL and the LT position specifically, I never said that a team must have an Orlando Pace (my personal favorite, R.Rich thinks Ogden was better). But, I would want a player to be on the level of Brad Hopkins. IF, IF IF IF IF IF Bell can put on weight and get stronger without losing his agility, <b>MAYBE</b> he can play at this level. If so, this would mean wins for the Buffalo Bills. And btw, Hopkins blocked for a back (Eddie George) who I liken FJ to in terms of style. Oh, and he will be paid 9 or 10 million per season. <br /> Sorry to ramble, but you asked.<br />

Thank you sir. I was too drunk to pay attention to individual performances yesterday. I noticed that they didn't get much pressure and that Fred is a stud in pass protection. Bell definitely looks the part of a LT now. Bigger for sure. Let's see if he can be consistent now. Pears was the guy that scared me the most. He's proved me wrong. As always, Fitz makes them look good with his ability to diagnose the defense pre snap, making for quick throws.