My Meaningless Opinion

[R. Rich]

Ugh. That’s all I got. Ugh. See ya next week!

 

Just jokin’. Well, another season begins, another deflatin’ performance by our Buffalo Bills. Is Yogi Berra hangin’ ‘round here, ‘cause it sure seems like déjà vu all over again. Still way too early to give up on the season and close up shop, so I will not give last rites to the 2012 season. Many of us “old timers” have that “been there, done that” feelin’ w/ the way this season kicked off though. I am stayin’ w/ my tried and true concept of “hopin’ for the best and expectin’ the worst”. That way, if I am wrong, then I am pleasantly surprised.

 

Well now, on to the game….

 

We may as well start w/ the lowlight: the play of Ryan Fitzpatrick. There were a few positives to point out, and here they are:

1. He looked good on a 13 yard completion to Scott Chandler (11:08 mark of First Quarter)
    
   
2. He had a really nice throw on the out to Chandler (4:31 mark of Third Quarter) that went for a 4 yard TD.
    
   
3. Although it was “too little, too late”, his 29 yard TD toss to Steve Johnson (6:06 mark of Fourth Quarter) was thrown right on target, just over the droppin’ LB and in front of the DB.
   

Now, here’s some of the bad:

1. The first INT by Darrelle Revis (9:56 mark of First Quarter) was due to a pass that was way too late on an out route.
    
   
2. The second INT by Kyle Wilson (2:31 mark of First Quarter) was one of those “never should’ve thrown it” passes that was again late and behind intended receiver David Nelson.
    
   
3. He just missed throwin’ another INT w/ a horrible throw that was well anticipated and nearly picked off by Antonio Cromartie (13:56 mark of Second Quarter).
    
   
4. While the turnover wasn’t his fault, the throw to CJ Spiller (1:57 mark of Second Quarter) was yet another pass that was behind the intended target. Spiller had to turn back in order to catch the ball, and you gotta wonder how that would’ve turned out had the pass hit ‘em in stride.
    
   
5. Cromartie’s INT return for a score (13:51 mark of Third Quarter) was a poor pre-snap read by Fitzpatrick, who didn’t see Cromartie drop off his guy to make that play.
    
   
6. Another INT was averted by David Nelson’s quick actions (7:33 mark of Third Quarter) when Jets LB David Harris missed the chance @ the pick and deflected the ball right to ‘em for a 10 yard gain.
   

To sum it all up, Fitzpatrick looked awful. Where is the improvement, now that he’s had a full season as a starter? Why, if the rib injury was the main factor in his INT-fest @ the end of last year, is he still throwin’ passes that should be and, in many cases, are picked off? Had Cromartie and Harris held onto those passes they jumped routes on, Fitzpatrick would’ve had 5 INTs in this game. Pitiful.

 

 

On to the lone highlight of the game: the performance of CJ Spiller. I know he has his detractors, but for this one game, back up off ‘em! He gave the team their only spark. I’ve said before that if he gets the blocks that allow ‘em to get to the second level, Spiller can make things happen. He certainly did that on his 56 yard TD run (9:17 mark of Second Quarter), cleanly gettin’ to the open field (more on that later) and breakin’ LaRon Landry’s divin’ tackle attempt and David Harris’ strip attempt to take it to the house. Spiller had a beautiful 51 yard run (6:52 mark of Third Quarter) where he again got to open field due to solid blocks (more later) and, again, made things happen, gettin’ to the 1 yard line. For the game, CJ had 169 yards on 14 carries. So, takin’ out his two huge runs, he still had 62 yards on 12 carries, a very sturdy 5.17 yard per rush average. He did get the ball stripped from ‘em on the aforementioned pass from Fitzpatrick @ the end of the Second Quarter, but the pass was behind ‘em , and he got stripped RIGHT out of his turn to go forward. It was a good defensive play. Fred Jackson had a rough outin’, even before the injury took ‘em out. He lost 3 yards on a run (10:37 mark of First Quarter) on a play where Erik Pears and Donald Jones missed blocks and left Jackson hangin’. Jackson himself missed badly on a lead block (6:02 mark of First Quarter) where Spiller got 3, but could’ve gotten more w/ that block. He gained 7 yards on a run (11:17 mark of Second Quarter) that ended w/ Landry knockin’ Fred out for a few weeks (3-6??). Tashard Choice got some action late and did very little.

 

 

Not many notes on the wideouts, who did very little in this one. David Nelson, before his season endin’ injury, did have the nice play on the deflected pass and Steve Johnson did score late in the game on a very nice throw by Fitzpatrick, but not much else to praise. Scott Chandler did make a nice 4 yard TD grab and had another solid 13 yard grab earlier in the game (11:08 mark of First Quarter), plus he had a few nice blocks, one in particular was his solid lead block on Spiller’s 51 yard run (6:52 mark of Third Quarter).

 

 

Props to the offensive line, who really did a nice job openin’ holes in the runnin’ game and givin’ Fitzpatrick time to throw the ball. On Chandler’s 13 yard reception (11:08 mark of First Quarter), they all did a good job of keepin’ Fitzpatrick’s passin’ lanes open to find his target and to keep ‘em clean and upright. On the 56 yard TD run by Spiller (9:17 mark of Second Quarter), Kraig Urbik had a beautiful block on Marcus Dixon that also clogged up Bart Scott and didn’t allow ‘em to get to the ballcarrier. Cordy Glenn had a beautiful drive block (11:17 mark of Second Quarter) while Urbik and Hairston made good seal blocks on Jackson’s 7 yard run that ended w/ his knee injury. And on Spiller’s 51 yard run (6:52 mark of Third Quarter), Glenn, Eric Wood (who pancaked his guy!), Urbik and Hairston all had excellent blocks that sprung CJ. Overall, a solid debut by these guys.

 

 

On the other hand, a not so solid debut for the vaunted Bills’ defensive line. A unit that was hyped for most of the offseason and pre-season, these guys were barely decent. They did have a few plays, but were sorely lackin’ in terms of a pass rush. Heck, Chris Kelsay, pushed to the bench w/ the signin’ of Mark Anderson and Mario Williams (more in a bit on these guys), had as good a game (if not better) than the guys who replaced ‘em in the startin’ unit. Kelsay and Kyle Williams combined on a nice stop of Tim Tebow (6:46 mark of First Quarter), limitin’ Tebow to 4 yards when it could’ve gone for more. Kelsay also stopped Shonn Greene for a 2 yard loss (4:26 mark of Third Quarter). Mark Anderson got sucked in on a misdirection play (11:53 mark of First Quarter), but recovered well and strung the play out, ultimately forcin’ Mark Sanchez to throw the INT to Bryan Scott. Anderson also stumbled on a well called inside twist (6:42 mark of Second Quarter) where Sanchez threw for a 5 yard gain and a first down. Had he stayed upright, it looked as if he would’ve gotten a sack or @ least pressure up the middle. Kyle Williams got engulfed by Mario Williams’ buddy, Austin Howard on a 12 yard run by Greene (7:30 mark of First Quarter). Kyle teamed w/ Marcell Dareus and Mario Williams (4:26 mark of Third Quarter) on a play where they actually forced Sanchez out of the pocket. He did escape, but fumbled the ball due to a strip by Kelsay that nobody from the Bills could recover (more on this later). Now, on to Mario Williams. He claimed that Howard spent the day placin’ his hands in his face, and that he informed the refs of this to no avail. I did watch to see just how flagrant Howard’s hand placement was. Here’s some of what I saw:

1. Mario did seem to get hit in the face on the first offensive snap of the game (14:57 mark of First Quarter), an incomplete pass by Sanchez.
    
   
2. On the 3^rd and 6 play of the same series (14:16 mark of First Quarter), he was single blocked by Howard. No hands to the face.
    
   
3. On a 2^nd and 7 play @ the Jets’ 33 (12:50 mark of First Quarter), he was again single blocked by Howard. No hands to the face.
    
   
4. On one of the few blitzes in the game (8:41 mark of First Quarter), he was single blocked again by Howard. No hands to the face.
    
   
5. On 2^nd and 6 from the Bills’ 33, he did get chipped by the RG (7:39 mark of First Quarter). No hands to the face.
    
   
6. On 3^rd and 6 from the Bills’ 33 (7:34 mark of First Quarter), he was single blocked by Howard. No hands to the face.
   

This is just the first quarter, folks, and I have one play where he got hands to the face and one where Howard got help. Face it, Mario got handled by Howard. Period.

 

 

The linebackers were okay. I say okay in that they didn’t cost the Bills much, but they didn’t earn ‘em much, either. There were plenty of tackles by Nick Barnett (9) and Kelvin Sheppard (8), but not many “wow” plays. Barnett was slow to react on a drag route by TE Jeff Cumberland (12:50 mark of First Quarter) that resulted in an 11 yard gain. He also got sucked too far in on a bubble screen by Santonio Holmes (8:32 mark of Second Quarter) that went for a 17 yard gain. He did shoot the gap and make a solid tackle for just a 3 yard gain (12:29 mark of First Quarter). Sheppard overshot a play (8:17 mark of First Quarter) and Bilal Powell ended up w/ 4 yards instead of a loss or no gain. He also got washed out on a run by Greene (7:30 mark of First Quarter) that went for 12 yards. Arthur Moats had a nice read (7:28 mark of Second Quarter) where he scraped down and made a tackle to limit Greene to 4 yards.

 

 

As for the defensive backs…ugh. Tough game. Stephon Gilmore got his, “welcome to the NFL” by….a rookie? Yup, Stephen Hill took Gilmore to school. He caught ‘em flat footed (14:16 mark of First Quarter) and caught Gilmore w/ a vicious forearm that put ‘em out of position and allowed Hill to get a 7 yard gain and a first down. He was also beaten bad on Hill’s 33 yard TD grab (15:00 mark of Second Quarter), where he bit on Sanchez’ pump fake. Aaron Williams didn’t fare better. He tried, but didn’t get nearly a good enough jam on Holmes (7:39 mark of First Quarter), who probably would’ve scored had Sanchez got ‘em the ball. Thank goodness it was incomplete. Williams held Hill on a 3^rd and 6 play @ the Bills’ 33 (7:34 mark of First Quarter) that kept the drive alive. Leodis McKelvin had a brutal outin’. The Jets went after ‘em early and often. Jets wideout Jeremy Kerley beat McKelvin for 21 yards (8:41 mark of First Quarter) and then again on a 12 yard TD (6:07 mark of First Quarter). The safeties both did very little. Jairus Byrd appeared to shy away from contact on the bubble screen play (8:32 mark of Second Quarter), though he did have a few tackles in run support.

 

 

Special teams? Not so special. McKelvin dropped a potential kick return after the Kerley TD catch (6:02 mark of First Quarter). Luckily, it was just a touchback instead of a turnover. The Bills called a timeout before a 4^th and short play (12:56 mark of Second Quarter), only to lose 5 yards on a delay of game penalty out of the timeout, THEN give up a 68 yard TD return to Kerley. Horrible pursuit angles by Bryan Scott, Chris White, and Ruvell Martin on that one. The lone special teams highlight came from kickoff specialist John Potter, who kicked one out the end zone on the kickoff after Spiller’s TD (9:06 mark of Second Quarter).

 

 

Coaching wise, I have some questions. Why was the entire back 7 playin’ nearly 5 yards off the ball w/ nobody controllin’ any gaps on a run by Powell (8:17 mark of First Quarter)? Why is it that the Bills have issues w/ comin’ up w/ loose balls? (5:57 mark of Second Quarter and 15:00 mark of Fourth Quarter) And, considerin’ how Gailey said Fitzpatrick was never in danger of comin’ out of the game, “since he can’t get any better by standin’ next to me”, why is it that TJ Graham can’t see the field? You drafted the guy in the third round ‘cause you felt he had the deep speed your team sorely lacks. Why can’t he get his chance to develop? When the Stillers brought in guys like Emanuel Sanders, Antonio Brown, and Mike Wallace, did they sit ‘em, or did they play ‘em?

 

 

Ah well, it’s only one game. Wow; didn’t take long to pull out the ol’ “it’s only”, did it? I’m still lookin’ forward to the matchup on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs and to the tailgate. It’s more than just a time to eat and drink: it’s our TBD Family Reunion. Dysfunctional as we may be, that is. Speakin’ of dysfunctional, the Chiefs are experiencin’ woes of their own. Their fan base is tearin’ their team apart, just like the Bills’ fans. Someone’s gotta win, right? See y’all this weekend.

[DrDawkinstein]

Thanks Rich! I always look forward to the wrap-up posts from you and Bill, even after losses.

[The Big Cat]

Haven't taken the necessary time to read this (and yes, it is necessary), just wanted to be one of the first to thank you in advance.

[Fixxxer]

Excellent post R. Rich.

 

I would like ot point out that the run defense was good enough to put Sanchez on 3rd and not so easy situations, it was the play of the secondary that failed miserably on defense.

In 95% of Sanchez completions, his WR ran a free realease from the LOS resulting in a maddening but very effective pitch and catch for the Jets. Sanchez never had to scan the field for other options thus making him look like Joe friggin Montana. Very dissapointed in Wannestedtd and the defensive staff.

 

I said to myself, wait a couple of day to get back to TBD and post, nothing positive will come out of it, but damn, I'm still pissed off about our lack of preparation from our coaches and the lack of fight in some of our players, someone tell them, these are the games that count.

[BillsFanNC]

Nice, good write up. I have to hand it to you, that's way more time and effort than I could ever muster to analyze that putrid performance.

[zow2]

Nice analysis. I'm also going to chalk part of this loss up to one intangible. The Jets are a horrible matchup for the Bills. They just are. The Jets D is very physical and their DB's play right on top of the WR's. Sanchez seems to always play well vs. Buffalo and hits those 7 yd passes with ease.

In the end it was no contest but really the Jets aren't this good and the Bills aren't this bad. That being said, KC will be very challenging as will winnable games vs. Cleve, Tenn, Miami, etc.. Unless we were completely fooled by the defense on Sunday, i see no evidence from preseason or game #1 that they can stop anyone with consistency, even the below average teams.

[Since 1972]

Nice analysis. I'm also going to chalk part of this loss up to one intangible. The Jets are a horrible matchup for the Bills. They just are. The Jets D is very physical and their DB's play right on top of the WR's. Sanchez seems to always play well vs. Buffalo and hits those 7 yd passes with ease.

In the end it was no contest but really the Jets aren't this good and the Bills aren't this bad. That being said, KC will be very challenging as will winnable games vs. Cleve, Tenn, Miami, etc.. Unless we were completely fooled by the defense on Sunday, i see no evidence from preseason or game #1 that they can stop anyone with consistency, even the below average teams.

 

I hope the Bills never have to play the jets in a playoff game or for the right to go to the playoffs! Naw, that'll never happen.