A Few Thoughts About The Game, in no particular order.....

[Bill from NYC]

1) I am just wondering.....has any NFL kicker EVER missed a field goal against the Bills?

 

2) Kiko made some mistakes, but I am satisfied that he will make plays and that today was a learning experience.

 

3) Carrington was non-productive today. That's a shame too because we really didn't need that much more to win this football game.

 

4) I think that CJ Spiller might win us a football game this season. Maybe even two. I hope that I am right because he lost us one today with his poor play and his fumble. He owes us a win.

 

5) How can a Bills fan not be pleased by EJ? I mean seriously. His stats were not great, but he truly appears to have the brain and the body to excel in this football league. I am guessing that he was told to try not to run due to his knee injury, and I suppose that this makes sense. But I will also assert that if he was not nursing this injury, he would have won this football game. In short, I really like this kid!

 

6) Usually I cannot see much of the RG on television. Today I was lucky and will tell you that Urbik had a nice game today, and btw so did Pears.

 

7) Everybody's bragging and drinking that wine,

I can tell the Queen of Diamonds, by the way she shines.

Come to Daddy on an inside straight.

Well I got no chance of losing this time.

No I got no chance of losing this time.

 

8) I have taken some heat on this board wrt my praise of Searcy. No, I am not whining; I deserve it. The truth is that he can hurt you. That said, he remains a favorite of mine. Yes, he will give up some plays, but he is one player on this football team that gives a 100% effort. No, he does not leave one damn thing on the football field. He actually looked as if he was running out of gas on his TD. My supposition is that he might have been hurt. Mark my words, he will be a coach some day. I really do appreciate this player. And he played a GREAT game today.

 

9) McKelvin had an uneven game. Make no mistake, he did get away with a call or 2, but he also did actually make some good plays.

 

10) Another thing that I am sure of is that assuming he is healthy, Woods will be our #1 receiver in 2014. I am a bit unimpressed by Stevie Johnson, but hopefully this will change.

 

11) In all, the secondary wasn't THAT bad, considering they were playing without their 2 alleged stars, and against a certain first ballot hall of fame QB.

 

12) It sucked that Goodwin never got a chance to run out a kick. Btw, did he get hurt?

 

13) If they can play this way against NE, I think that we can assume that the Buffalo Bills will win some football games this season.

 

14) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited September 8, 2013 by Bill from NYC

[bladiebla]

4) Hmm, not when we keep running him on the inside.

 

8) Jup, gotta hand it, Searcy played a heck of a game today.

 

12) Jup, hurt his hand according to the annoucers.

 

14) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited September 8, 2013 by bladiebla

[RuntheDamnBall]

1) there was that Redskins game where Gibbs messed up hardcore.

 

2+5) If we get our MLB and QB anchors for the next decade out of this draft, it will go down as one of the best Bills drafts of all time. I saw nothing that showed me that EJ is not ready to play at this level.

 

3) Carrington got some occasional penetration but it was usually of the overpursuit / Kelsay variety. I expect better of him.

 

4) Felt the approach to using CJ was all wrong today. The balance looked better in the 2nd half, but I do hope they will be more inclined to ride the hot hand even more in the future.

 

8) Searcy was terrific.

 

12) Here's hoping Goodwin's is not a long-term injury.

 

13) Yes, with the caveat that the penalties need to become a thing of the past. Also, I still feel like this team could be dynamite if it had one of those fancy superstar TEs. With Chandler WYSIWYG, and I think some games like this would be easier to win with a tight end that could actually hurt NE.

[Fixxxer]

1) Our own Dan Carpenter once missed three (or four) against us when he was with the Phins.

 

2) Great debut all things considered, he almost tipped the first brady TD, so close.

 

3) I was hoping he could at least get a hand on some FGs. but I agree not a great game by him or Dareus for that matter.

 

4) Bad fumble, not decisive to the hole. bad game.

 

5) I'm encouraged from what I see, He's cool under pressure and I was amazed by two passes that didn't count today, The one he lobbed over Spikes that Chandler didn't catch and the one negated by Glenn's hand in the face.

 

6) Pears is nasty and Urbik opened some nice holes today, I agree. BS flag on him that negated a sweet Freddie catch on 3rd down.

 

7) got no rhymes

 

8) Searcy, like Aaron Williams, is good when the play is in front of him. Searcy will play like LB/S hybrid for us, I like him, he can hit.

 

9) Not really impressed, he went against a rookie but credit is due to him.

 

10) I see Woods like a Reggie Wayne type receiver, smooth and clutch.

 

11) I liked Robey and I thought Rogers showed a lot. There were some coverage pressure today and the credit should go to them. Can't wait for Gilmore to come back.

 

12) bad fumble, should have taken at least one out of the endzone, but he's a rookie. He got his hand hurt.

 

13) We rattled one fo the best QB in the league, I say we are going to be alright on D. We are finally hitting people.

 

14) Indeed, go Bills!!!!!!!!!!

[silvermike]

Stevie Johnson is really a frustrating player. His route-running is really second to none. He gets open against every defense that tries to cover him. That's an elite skill.

 

The problem is that it's his only elite skill. He doesn't have breakaway speed to turn those into huge gains, nor can he get open like that deep. And as we've seen repeatedly, he doesn't have great hands. But man, that ability to get open is amazing.

 

What the Bills have missed for a long time is a guy who will make the play that Stevie missed. The guy who will catch 95% of those passes for a gain of 4 on 3rd and 3. Ideally, I think that's a tight end. But I don't think it's Chandler.

[K-9]

Stevie Johnson is really a frustrating player. His route-running is really second to none. He gets open against every defense that tries to cover him. That's an elite skill.

 

The problem is that it's his only elite skill. He doesn't have breakaway speed to turn those into huge gains, nor can he get open like that deep. And as we've seen repeatedly, he doesn't have great hands. But man, that ability to get open is amazing.

 

What the Bills have missed for a long time is a guy who will make the play that Stevie missed. The guy who will catch 95% of those passes for a gain of 4 on 3rd and 3. Ideally, I think that's a tight end. But I don't think it's Chandler.

 

His route-running is a double-edged sword, though. That shake-n-bake stepping screws up timing something fierce at times. But he's damn good at it to you live with it.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[Peter]

I am too numb right now. I was really hoping that we have won this won.

 

The most impressive thing to me is the defense was aggressive and seemed to really affect Brady.

 

I am left to wonder what would have happened without all of the penalties (and the BS one on Brown - there was no hands to the face), Spiller's turnover, and Stevie's inability to catch what would have been a huge 3rd down conversion. I really like the staff, but I have to believe that this also is a learning experience for them. If they had it to do all over again, I have to believe that they would try to run more clock off on the last drive.

 

All in all, athough I am terribly depressed, I think that we are headed in the right direction and the team has a lot of upside with the group of players we have and the coaches.

Edited September 8, 2013 by Peter

[Coach Tuesday]

Nothing about T.J. Graham? I'll say it: he is not a football payer and does not belong on the field.

[Fixxxer]

Nothing about T.J. Graham? I'll say it: he is not a football payer and does not belong on the field.

 

Easley should be given the chance of doing what he's doing or trying to do on the field.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

10) Another thing that I am sure of is that assuming he is healthy, Woods will be our #1 receiver in 2014. I am a bit unimpressed by Stevie Johnson, but hopefully this will change.

 

13) If they can play this way against NE, I think that we can assume that the Buffalo Bills will win some football games this season.

 

The good: you could hear the hitting on TV. The D did not back off and slack off as they did last year when we got behind. The 2ndary was better than I expected. Brady was looking a mite discouraged. I saw some very good goalline D. I also liked EJ's poise for his 1st game as a rookie.

 

The bad: penalties and sloppy play. It is a credit to our coaches and to the team that we kept a lead until late in the 4th.

 

It is also a fact that we had 10 FREAKIN' penalties that cost us 75 FREAKIN' yards, including inopportune dumbass calls that 1) cost us a very nice 19 yd EJ to Woods completion in the 1st Q, instead 1st and 20 resulted in 3 and out 2) a competent 8 yd pass to CJ Spiller in the 2nd quarter 3) a slightly overthrown 15 yd pass to FredEx on 3rd and 1, again, 3rd and 1 became 3rd and long and then 3-and-out. Different but equal pains on D, and that's not counting all the penalties that NE declined 'cuz they pwned us that play.

 

No team can win football games when they give up good plays for gains to penalties as often as we did; when the TOP is as lopsided as it was; and when we let the opponent convert 50% of their 3rd downs whilst only converting less than 1/3 of our own.

 

And then there is Stevie. I didn't see either the overturned INT or the drop, but it looks like NE indeed can stop Stevie - all they need is him being himself.

 

So, what did we see? A promising rookie. Hard hitting play. An entertaining game, except for the Dumb-ass mistakes.

 

I predict that our improved D will go for naught if we don't go after these problems and fix 'em, pronto. Marrone, time to "Stand and Deliver".

[grog]

Bill,

 

I always look forward to your post

 

Go Bills!!!

[BuffaloBill]

how could you not say anything about the run defense (or lack thereof)? I am hopeful that the staff will correct this but it will be a very long season again if teams can rip off multi yard and long runs at will.

[PearlHowardman]

I wish I was a Bills fan living in New York City or California or somewhere other than CNY/WNY. Then these losses would not be nearly so painful and I can post my emotionally detached comments here.

 

Must be nice!

[Bill from NYC]

I wish I was a Bills fan living in New York City or California or somewhere other than CNY/WNY. Then these losses would not be nearly so painful and I can post my emotionally detached comments here.

 

Must be nice!

 

My comments strike you as emotionally detached? OK then.

[jester43]

I wish I was a Bills fan living in New York City or California or somewhere other than CNY/WNY. Then these losses would not be nearly so painful and I can post my emotionally detached comments here.

 

Must be nice!

wrongo it doesn't matter where you live if the bills are in your blood the losses suck.

[Bill from NYC]

The most impressive thing to me is the defense was aggressive and seemed to really affect Brady.

 

That was big. Pettine is clearly more imaginative and more in tune than was Wanny. It also appears that we have an actual quarterback.

It sucks to lose, but I am liking a few things that I saw today.

[thebug]

I wish I was a Bills fan living in New York City or California or somewhere other than CNY/WNY. Then these losses would not be nearly so painful and I can post my emotionally detached comments here.

 

Must be nice!

Really? yes you are the only true Bills fan.....SU.

Edited September 8, 2013 by thebug

[flmike]

Let's not forget the great catch Stevie made for a TD. That wasn't easy.

[Solomon Grundy]

Penalties and Playmakers! Too many of one and not enough of the other.

[Kelly the Dog]

Let's not forget the great catch Stevie made for a TD. That wasn't easy.

I thought that was a perfect pass and he almost made it tougher than it was. I don't see how that wasn't easy except the defender was fairly close to him so it wasn't like Woods' TD. I don't think that was a tough catch,

 

[TPS]

Nothing about T.J. Graham? I'll say it: he is not a football payer and does not belong on the field.

I'm still wondering if Buddy mixed up TJ with TY....?

 

[BuffaloBillsMagic1]

Considering we were without Byrd and Gilmore, perhaps our best two on defense we did pretty good defensively!!!

 

I wish I was a Bills fan living in New York City or California or somewhere other than CNY/WNY. Then these losses would not be nearly so painful and I can post my emotionally detached comments here.

 

Must be nice!

Still not good as I live near City...

[Coach Tuesday]

Searcy made more plays today than Whitner made in his career here...

[Kelly the Dog]

Searcy made more plays today than Whitner made in his career here...

Searcy made a bunch of huge plays today but pretty much none of them were from the safety position we need him to be god at. I don't want to denigrate his big sack but no one blocked him. His TD was just picking up the ball and running. His terrific special teams tackle was just that, ST. He made three plays so I don't want to diminish his affect on the game, it was enormous, But its not like it makes him a good safety.

Edited September 8, 2013 by Kelly the Dog

[YoloinOhio]

Easley should be given the chance of doing what he's doing or trying to do on the field.

I want Easley and Woods as starters. Stevie is NOT a #1 WR. I am watching Anquan Boldin out there for the 49ers. Dude catches everything, esp when it counts. That is a #1. Not SJ.

 

1) I am just wondering.....has any NFL kicker EVER missed a field goal against the Bills?

 

2) Kiko made some mistakes, but I am satisfied that he will make plays and that today was a learning experience.

 

3) Carrington was non-productive today. That's a shame too because we really didn't need that much more to win this football game.

 

4) I think that CJ Spiller might win us a football game this season. Maybe even two. I hope that I am right because he lost us one today with his poor play and his fumble. He owes us a win.

 

5) How can a Bills fan not be pleased by EJ? I mean seriously. His stats were not great, but he truly appears to have the brain and the body to excel in this football league. I am guessing that he was told to try not to run due to his knee injury, and I suppose that this makes sense. But I will also assert that if he was not nursing this injury, he would have won this football game. In short, I really like this kid!

 

6) Usually I cannot see much of the RG on television. Today I was lucky and will tell you that Urbik had a nice game today, and btw so did Pears.

 

7) Everybody's bragging and drinking that wine,

I can tell the Queen of Diamonds, by the way she shines.

Come to Daddy on an inside straight.

Well I got no chance of losing this time.

No I got no chance of losing this time.

 

8) I have taken some heat on this board wrt my praise of Searcy. No, I am not whining; I deserve it. The truth is that he can hurt you. That said, he remains a favorite of mine. Yes, he will give up some plays, but he is one player on this football team that gives a 100% effort. No, he does not leave one damn thing on the football field. He actually looked as if he was running out of gas on his TD. My supposition is that he might have been hurt. Mark my words, he will be a coach some day. I really do appreciate this player. And he played a GREAT game today.

 

9) McKelvin had an uneven game. Make no mistake, he did get away with a call or 2, but he also did actually make some good plays.

 

10) Another thing that I am sure of is that assuming he is healthy, Woods will be our #1 receiver in 2014. I am a bit unimpressed by Stevie Johnson, but hopefully this will change.

 

11) In all, the secondary wasn't THAT bad, considering they were playing without their 2 alleged stars, and against a certain first ballot hall of fame QB.

 

12) It sucked that Goodwin never got a chance to run out a kick. Btw, did he get hurt?

 

13) If they can play this way against NE, I think that we can assume that the Buffalo Bills will win some football games this season.

 

14) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Granted I didn't see the game and could only listen to it and watch highlights, but seemed like Kiko had a good first game?

[chris heff]

Thanks Bill good post, right on the money, first post game thread that is not, well, crazy.

[VADC Bills]

A few additional points.

- Pettine's defense looks better than what we had in the past but our guys our not a great tackling bunch. Many missed tackles.

- Woods looks like the real deal. We need to ease Easley in to the picture. Not sure if Goodwin or Graham

can be the spark.

- Coaching??? Didn't understand the first challenge by Marrone.

- Coaching??? Didn't understand why we would not go for a more time consuming approach with 5 minutes left in the game with a lead.

- The read option or a pass on first down would have caught them off guard on our last possession.

- Did not see CJ line up in the "I". That's his bread and butter.

- Kiko has good instincts but he doesn't play fast when the play is not up the middle. He will get better, not a bad day for him.

- Our offensive line gave very good pass protection.

- The team looked very undisciplined on a whole.

Edited September 9, 2013 by VADC Bills

[Coach Tuesday]

- Did not see CJ line up in the "I". That's his bread and butter.

 

Agree with your points especially this one. Why have a fullback on the roster at all if these are the kinds of running plays you're banking on?

[Big C]

Searcy made a bunch of huge plays today but pretty much none of them were from the safety position we need him to be god at. I don't want to denigrate his big sack but no one blocked him. His TD was just picking up the ball and running. His terrific special teams tackle was just that, ST. He made three plays so I don't want to diminish his affect on the game, it was enormous, But its not like it makes him a good safety.

 

We were running a lot of 3 safety sets and it seemed to be working OK. Honestly, after today I am far less worried about the secondary, even without Gilmore and/or Byrd. All the corners came to play. Williams and Leonhard made plays too. We just need to continue working on that run D and 3rd down D. I think we'll see improvements there over the course of the year.

[thebug]

Searcy made a bunch of huge plays today but pretty much none of them were from the safety position we need him to be god at. I don't want to denigrate his big sack but no one blocked him. His TD was just picking up the ball and running. His terrific special teams tackle was just that, ST. He made three plays so I don't want to diminish his affect on the game, it was enormous, But its not like it makes him a good safety.

The same could be said for a lot of great plays. now you are getting picky....

[Nuncha]

Did Super Mario play today? Oh yea, his foot hurts....Last season his wrist hurt....The guy is invisible when we play AFC East teams. (one solo tackle, one assist, zero sacks and no pressures)

[Coach Tuesday]

Let me add this: several critical moments in the game, such as when the Pats were pinned on the 2 yard-line, Mario was on the sidelines. I understand having a rotation but...

 

Discuss.

[Big C]

I am less worried about Mario being on the sidelines because Hughes is looking mighty fine so far.

[Reed83HOF]

I am less worried about Mario being on the sidelines because Hughes is looking mighty fine so far.

 

I know; right? Kelvin who???

 

Awesome trade

[Big C]

I'm still wondering if Buddy mixed up TJ with TY....?

 

This is hilarious and sad.

[BillsBytheBay]

I wish I was a Bills fan living in New York City or California or somewhere other than CNY/WNY. Then these losses would not be nearly so painful and I can post my emotionally detached comments here.

 

Must be nice!

oh no sir. No, no, no.

[Maury Ballstein]

Nothing about T.J. Graham? I'll say it: he is not a football payer and does not belong on the field.

 

him and goodwin both behind easley please.

[Bill from NYC]

 

Searcy made a bunch of huge plays today but pretty much none of them were from the safety position we need him to be god at. I don't want to denigrate his big sack but no one blocked him. His TD was just picking up the ball and running. His terrific special teams tackle was just that, ST. He made three plays so I don't want to diminish his affect on the game, it was enormous, But its not like it makes him a good safety.

>>>His TD was just picking up the ball and running.<<<

 

I disagree with the above. He made this play because he is a player who NEVER gives up. I agree with you that he isn't terribly talented at safety. We are on the same page here. But I liken his work ethic to that of players such as Fletcher and Speilmann. Again, I am not trying to say that he has the talent of players such as those.

What I AM saying is that if I was a general manager of an NFL Football Team, Searcy would be on my roster. And Coach Tuesday is 100% correct. He made more plays today than Whitner made for 30 million dollars.

 

 

 

[Solomon Grundy]

Sorry, but Mario played well today. He pressured Brady all day. Got doubled a lot. Can't hang loss on Mario's play. Stevie, as much as I'm a fan of his, need to concentrate on his craft and leave Twitter alone. Had he made that reception on 3rd and 2, the game may have been over. The offense needs to keep drives alive. Dropped passes and penalties kill drives! I hope Coach Marrone accentuate the penalties in practice this week. Also, what happened to the deep ball?

[maddenboy]

I wish I was a Bills fan living in New York City or California or somewhere other than CNY/WNY. Then these losses would not be nearly so painful and I can post my emotionally detached comments here.

 

Must be nice!

 

Nah, bruh.

 

If you were born and raised in WNY, (or are otherwise a true, organic Bills fan), it doesnt matter where you go later.

 

I'm in LA, after a few years in SD, Chi, and my first 25 in Buffalo (city of). Left in 1991.

 

And I'm here to tell you that 3,000 miles away from that game, its still "AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHH. F$ck !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kill !!!!!!!!!!!!! Hate !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

--

 

Strap on your seatbelt sir, and please keep your hands and arms inside the car at all times.

 

Because, imagine how you'd feel about football if the Bills left WNY. And especially if the nickname was no longer the Bills, different uniforms, etc. London Monarchs? "Los Angeles Storm? You'd feel like a man wandering in the desert, with nothing to do but wait to die.

 

Go Bills (F$ck !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). And I mean that.

Edited September 9, 2013 by maddenboy