Problems I Saw

[John in Jax]

Regarding the clock mgmt: we had a 1 point lead in the 4th quarter against the PATS. Keep playing the way we've been playing is the best way to go IMO. If we were up 10 points with 7 minutes to go or so I could see maybe trying to milk the clock. But 1 point? Na - keep going full force IMO.

 

LOL, part 2. Oh yeah, "keep going full force." The Bills picked up only TWO first downs in their final FIVE drives, and obviously, ZERO points.

[NoSaint]

Mistakes from a team with a rookie head coach, offensive coordinator, quarterback, mlb, and WR2 - installing schemes on both sides?

 

Id say a list of 6, including a dropped pass and fumble isn't terrible. Especially when a secondary missing 2 starters is another issue.

Edited September 8, 2013 by NoSaint

[bobobonators]

LOL, part 2. Oh yeah, "keep going full force." The Bills picked up only TWO first downs in their final FIVE drives, and obviously, ZERO points.

 

Because they didn't execute, not b/c of time mgmt. Are you indicating that they would've had more 1st downs if they DID huddle? I don't see how you can make that connection.

[jethro_tull]

no. 1 on the list- poor offensive line runblocking. very few lanes were created and virtually zero downfield penetration.

Edited September 8, 2013 by jethro_tull

[KD in CA]

LOL. Watched the game in a bar WHERE I COULD NOT HEAR THE ANNOUNCERS.

 

It's just common football sense, and has been so forever. When you have a lead late in the game, you run out the clock as best you can. The latter is especially crucial when you're playing against someone like Brady, who, as you saw, needs very little time to take it down the field.

 

They only had the ball once late in the game. They ran 3 plays, one of which was an incomplete pass. So if they had run the play clock down each of those plays it would have run one extra minute off the game clock. Considering the Pats took a knee to run off the final two minutes before kicking the FG, explain to me how exactly the outcome would have changed if they had done as you suggest.

 

What the Bills needed to do was to keep the ball by executing play and making first downs. They didn't do that and that is why they lost. Play clock management has nothing to do with it.

[John in Jax]

Because they didn't execute, not b/c of time mgmt. Are you indicating that they would've had more 1st downs if they DID huddle? I don't see how you can make that connection.

 

The Bills got the ball on the 20 with 5:51 to go in the 4th, leading by 1. At that point, if they can keep it on the ground and keep making 1st downs, the game would be over. But instead they go no huddle, then: run for no gain on 1st down, try a long pass down the left sideline on 2nd down, which the rookie QB badly overthrows (ball was OofB & uncatchable, AND the clock stopped with the incomplete pass), then they go on 3rd down with a SHORT pass over the middle for FOUR yards, then punt on 4th down and give the ball to Brady with 4:31 left. Is there any sane football fan anywhere who thought that the Bills would win the game, at that point!?

 

The play calling on that last drive was bad/idiotic, and the hurry-up offense at that point (and also on the drive that started with 10:48 left in the 4th) was doubly idiotic.

[BobChalmers]

I understand you want to milk the clock - but we had a 1 point lead with 10 minutes to play in the 4th Quarter. That is not the time to milk anything against Tom Brady. That's the time to score 2 more TD's. We couldn't score. We lost.

 

This.

[John in Jax]

They only had the ball once late in the game. They ran 3 plays, one of which was an incomplete pass. So if they had run the play clock down each of those plays it would have run one extra minute off the game clock. Considering the Pats took a knee to run off the final two minutes before kicking the FG, explain to me how exactly the outcome would have changed if they had done as you suggest.

 

What the Bills needed to do was to keep the ball by executing play and making first downs. They didn't do that and that is why they lost. Play clock management has nothing to do with it.

 

Fred Jackson averaged 5.1 yard per carry for the game; do the math. Should have ground & pounded it every play on that drive that started with 5:51 left. The key though is that the "No Huddle", hurry up offense worked for the opening drive of the 2nd half, then it died. Put another way, a rookie QB, in his first start, was not exactly tearing things up with the no huddle, so why keep going with it?

[Rinlo]

1. Penalties

2. Fumbles by Spiller and Goodwin

3. Dropped pass by Johnson

4. Ineffective pass rush

5. Run defense

6. Inconsistent coverage

 

1. Yes

2. Yes

3. Yes

4. Not even close. Brady was SCARED and playing scared for the first half. Either they made adjustments, or we did not send the pressure in the second half. So, I do not agree in the least with your proposed statement.

5. While the run defense was not where I would like it to have been, it was without a doubt better that any run defense that I saw take the field last year. So once again, I disagree completely with your statement.

6. I was not expecting to see any coverage from the secondary due to the fact that the Bills were missing the two best defensive backs from the previous year. Inconsistant, yes. Problematic, no. We just played one of the greatest QBs to ever play the game and all of the opposing teams touchdowns came from turnovers. That, by no means, is inconsistant coverage.

[ALLEN1QB]

To me it seemed like our gameplan was the same as the Pats.......wear down the Bills defense so NE can win in the 4th!

[KD in CA]

Fred Jackson averaged 5.1 yard per carry for the game; do the math. Should have ground & pounded it every play on that drive that started with 5:51 left. The key though is that the "No Huddle", hurry up offense worked for the opening drive of the 2nd half, then it died. Put another way, a rookie QB, in his first start, was not exactly tearing things up with the no huddle, so why keep going with it?

Why keep it? Probably because that's what he practiced all week.

 

I notice you're shifting your argument to criticizing the play calling now, so I take it you realize the clock management criticism was nonsense as Bangarang originally pointed out.

[fbzh2]

The Bills got the ball on the 20 with 5:51 to go in the 4th, leading by 1. At that point, if they can keep it on the ground and keep making 1st downs, the game would be over. But instead they go no huddle, then: run for no gain on 1st down, try a long pass down the left sideline on 2nd down, which the rookie QB badly overthrows (ball was OofB & uncatchable, AND the clock stopped with the incomplete pass), then they go on 3rd down with a SHORT pass over the middle for FOUR yards, then punt on 4th down and give the ball to Brady with 4:31 left. Is there any sane football fan anywhere who thought that the Bills would win the game, at that point!?

 

The play calling on that last drive was bad/idiotic, and the hurry-up offense at that point (and also on the drive that started with 10:48 left in the 4th) was doubly idiotic.

 

I agree.....

[jjmac]

5 and 6 shouldn't even be on the list....think about it

 

Why not? We gave up too many big runs (again) and we got beat in pass defense by Brady throwing to a WR who is small and slow and another with a groin injury.