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

[Bill from NYC]

1) Kiko, Dareus and especially Kyle Williams did not play well today. Of the 3, Dareus redeemed himself to some degree, but there was little pass pressure up the middle, and the run defense was soft. The time of possession stats were disgusting, and these 3, along with Marrone must share the blame.

 

2) Spiller had 5 carries for 55 yards. Many of his carries seemed to fall 1 or 2 yards short of a first down. Still in all, these were great numbers for a situational running back.

 

3) Fwiw, the 51 yard field goal by Carpenter would have been good from 60 yards. That was a truly amazing kick.

 

4) Gilmore was pathetic on the short pass for a long gain with approx. 11 min. left in the 2nd quarter. He was blocked out of the play and pushed around like a rag doll. That said, if we want to pretend that he was a good draft selection/shut down corner, we can do that too. We an also debate as to whether or not Santa Claus is real.

 

5) If any of you can think of a reason that Chris Hogan is a member of this football team, please drop me a line.

 

7) Lewis is weird. He carries the football like a loaf of bread. I am not seeing pocket presence. BUT, he seems OK. It's hard to explain.

 

8)I ain't preachin', 'cause I don't know,

How to make fast things move along slow.

I can't stop it, can't make it go.

Just 'cause I say it.....

that don't mean that it's so, no, no.

Watch what you hear now, make sure it's clear now,

Just 'cause it's said,

that don't mean that it's true.

 

9) Searcy has lots of issues, but I maintain that I will take him on my football team any day.

 

10) At RWS, Bills Fans, down 24-10 just were not giving up. I was really proud to be a Bills Fan seeing this. But, this is an ongoing state.

 

11) OK, I confess.....I am not crazy about Marrone. But I credit him for the 4th quarter pass to Chandler. It was a gutsy call that worked.

 

12) Gotta give kudos to TJ Graham. I didn't think that he had it in him to get open and catch passes. Goodwin looked OK too, and Chandler is actually looking very good imo.

 

13) Overall, the defense was unimpressive.

 

14) If we are to win a few games with Lewis, imo there will need to be a lot more planned qb draws/runs. Hey, there is little to lose.

 

15) Go Bills!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited October 13, 2013 by Bill from NYC

[bills_fan_in_raleigh]

Put a club on your hand and see how well you can defend the pass. Gilmore is the real deal and once healthy will be fine

[HurlyBurly51]

Agree on Hogan. He has looked horrible on the admittedly few opportunities he's had. Can't understand why they don't give Easley a chance.

 

Put a club on your hand and see how well you can defend the pass. Gilmore is the real deal and once healthy will be fine

 

I don't know - last game we saw Gilmore he was beaten like a rented mule by a QB who is not even in the league right now.

[Prickly Pete]

Gilmore shouldn't be out there until he can use 2 hands (that just seems obvious).

 

The Bengals have a great balance of weapons, and one great playmaker. They will give most defenses a lot of problems.

 

It never felt like the Bills were the better team.

[MattM]

Gilmore shouldn't be out there until he can use 2 hands (that just seems obvious).

 

The Bengals have a great balance of weapons, and one great playmaker. They will give most defenses a lot of problems.

 

It never felt like the Bills were the better team.

 

I disagree with that last point-- when we were coming back I felt we were the better team, especially all things considered ( including injury)....

[Big C]

Thad impressed me. He looked inexperienced, which he is, but he had great deep ball accuracy and mobility.

 

Spiller looked fast on a bum ankle, but a healthy CJ would have taken one of those to the house.

 

Hogan did not look good. Easley should get some snaps, but maybe they are just trying to keep him at full-go for ST.

 

Fred failed to get in the endzone on that drive but the playcalling could have been better too.

 

Gilmore should not have played with that club hand. Byrd didn't seem to do a whole lot today either. I am impressed with Leonhard and Searcy has been much better than I was anticipating.

 

Where was the pressure today? Pettine, for the first time, seemed inept today. Of course the players themselves underperformed too.

 

Legursky over Brown for the rest of the season.

 

The Graham/Goodwin tandem can be deadly down field.

[Prickly Pete]

I disagree with that last point-- when we were coming back I felt we were the better team, especially all things considered ( including injury)....

 

You were wrong.

[BuffaloBaumer]

Here's a thought, nobody is catching New England this year anyway. How in the world do they do it EVERY time.

[John from Riverside]

Normally love your stuff but I feel your dead wrong on GIlmore

[Chandler#81]

Agree on Hogan. He has looked horrible on the admittedly few opportunities he's had. Can't understand why they don't give Easley a chance.

 

 

WHAT is up with Easley? Seriously, does anyone have insight why he takes up eligibility while NEVER being called to play WR?

 

4 years into his career and I STILL think he may have 'it'. No evidence to suggest otherwise. But no evidence to back my belief.. WTH?!?

 

 

#1) My concern is Cinci figured out Pettine's ' Front' looks. I guess I just don't want to believe they ALL took the day off.

#4) Gilmore is a fantastic corner. The DB's played well, IMO, as the QB had all day to throw and often Still couldn't find anyone..

 

Mid October and -for all intent and purpose- we're dead for the playoffs. But we're better than we've been, entertaining and coming very close at the end. Fairly certain this is what most fans hoped for this past off-season.

 

My Kingdom for a 'W'!

 

 

[K-9]

I don't know what people were really expecting out of Gilmore and Byrd today. I thought Pettine did a good job getting their feet wet with their first action in forever. Next week should bring incremental improvement I would hope.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[l< j]

4) Gilmore was pathetic on the short pass for a long gain with approx. 11 min. left in the 2nd quarter. He was blocked out of the play and pushed around like a rag doll. That said, if we want to pretend that he was a good draft selection/shut down corner, we can do that too. We an also debate as to whether or not Santa Claus is real.

 

I have to take issue with the point made and the tone of the comment. Gilmore played with one hand, which obviously would limit his ability to fight off a block. He struggled, but who wouldn't with that injury? You can't assess his play or his value based on this game. Not fair to the player who is doing what he can--not enough, sure--to help a really struggling secondary.

 

But also really not fair to the community. The last few weeks and esp. the Jets game have shown how important a good CB is in today's game. So yeah, Gilmore remains an important piece of the puzzle. Maybe he's not shutdown, I think he is (I admit to not being one of the football guys around here and will defer to the experts.) But show some respect to those on the board who value Gilmore's play. Thinking Gilmore is a quality CB isn't the type of comment that deserves to be belittled by comparing it to believing in Santa Claus.

 

kj

[nucci]

Don't most people carry a loaf of bread by the handle? I never understood that analogy.

[Simon]

4) Gilmore was pathetic on the short pass for a long gain with approx. 11 min. left in the 2nd quarter. He was blocked out of the play and pushed around like a rag doll. That said, if we want to pretend that he was a good draft selection/shut down corner, we can do that too. We an also debate as to whether or not Santa Claus is real.

I didn't care for the pick at the time either but it is no reason to rag on Gilmore, who brings everything he has at all times.

His entire game is predicated on challenging receivers and attacking them at every opportunity. Playing with one arm completely neutralizes the strength of his game and makes him a shadow of a shell of himself. Putting him on that field today was like asking Larry Homes to step in a ring with his left arm tied behind his back; there is simply no way he can compete like that.

The Bengals realized that before hte game even started and immediately fed him a heavy diet of hitches and reverses; plays where he needs to get off blocks and make tackles to be an effective corner. They continued to do it all day long and made several huge plays because of it.

If you want to give the Bills staff some grief for allowing an injured player to convince them he's ready to play when in reality he's going to be a liability, go for it. But giving Gilmore the business for not being able to succeed in an impossible situation just isn't fair. If he continues to be victimized once he's able to play with two hands again, by all means call him out. But there is no way he can play anything even remotely resembling his game when he's physically incapable of fighting his opponent.

 

P.S. Today is the first time ever you stumped me with a lyric!

[boyst]

• I am glad Tashard Choice is a member of this team. Very surprised to be saying that, but he has been looking better then CJ Spiller.
  
• Carpenter is on pace for the Pro Bowl, imo
  
• I am glad Kyle Williams got in the dudes face for that Alonso cheap shot. I am not cool with the penalty, because that was a crap call.
  
• TJ Graham is going to get better and better. He may take a step back from time to time but we are seeing him make progress. I was on record in the shoutbox saying that he was going to have career day today.
  

Listening to this game was very interesting. I enjoy our radio crew.

[Big C]

 

 

 

Mid October and -for all intent and purpose- we're dead for the playoffs.

 

 

 

Can we wait a little bit longer before making this conclusion? Plenty of winnable games coming up and we should be getting healthier.

[K-9]

I have to take issue with the point made and the tone of the comment. Gilmore played with one hand, which obviously would limit his ability to fight off a block. He struggled, but who wouldn't with that injury? You can't assess his play or his value based on this game. Not fair to the player who is doing what he can--not enough, sure--to help a really struggling secondary.

 

But also really not fair to the community. The last few weeks and esp. the Jets game have shown how important a good CB is in today's game. So yeah, Gilmore remains an important piece of the puzzle. Maybe he's not shutdown, I think he is (I admit to not being one of the football guys around here and will defer to the experts.) But show some respect to those on the board who value Gilmore's play. Thinking Gilmore is a quality CB isn't the type of comment that deserves to be belittled by comparing it to believing in Santa Claus.

 

kj

 

Was anyone paying attention to Gilmore's last 11 games last year? And his training camp and pre-season before he got hurt? How quickly we forget.

 

But it is beyond unreasonable to expect major impact after such a long layoff.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[Astrobot]

Normally love your stuff but I feel your dead wrong on GIlmore

and Kiko. 22 tackles today.

[Gray Beard]

I was also disappointed with Gilmore, but I think it is more the result of playing with only one hand. Cornerbacks are usually too small to be hard hitters, so a cornerback has to tackle low and wrap up the knees and ankles to make an open field tackle. With only one hand, Gilmore can't really be an effective tackler. He wiffed on a few that he ordinarily would have made. He was being rotated in and out, and I think they staff knows that he is not really ready to play. I wonder if the team would have been better off to keep him out this week.

[CodeMonkey]

Gilmore has a lot of promise. But why the F he was in there today with a club hand I have no idea.

 

The D was terrible today. Forget the excuses, they were terrible, 4th and 15 and the Bungles showed the Bills D no respect and made it look easy. Very disturbing.

 

Lewis overall played considerably better than I expected. That last TD he hit the receiver over the top and in stride. Unlikely that Manuel makes that perfect of a throw.

 

Those that like to blame the zebras for every loss, please shut up. If you had your eyes open you would see equally bad calls that went the Bills way.

 

The Bungles D collapse was an amazing thing to behold. The Bills almost made them pay for it.

[HurlyBurly51]

 

 

Was anyone paying attention to Gilmore's last 11 games last year? And his training camp and pre-season before he got hurt? How quickly we forget.

 

But it is beyond unreasonable to expect major impact after such a long layoff.

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

Agreed. Gilmore was exposed long before today.

[K-9]

Gilmore has a lot of promise. But why the F he was in there today with a club hand I have no idea.

 

The D was terrible today. Forget the excuses, they were terrible, 4th and 15 and the Bungles showed the Bills D no respect and made it look easy. Very disturbing.

 

Lewis overall played considerably better than I expected. That last TD he hit the receiver over the top and in stride. Unlikely that Manuel makes that perfect of a throw.

 

Those that like to blame the zebras for every loss, please shut up. If you had your eyes open you would see equally bad calls that went the Bills way.

 

The Bungles D collapse was an amazing thing to behold. The Bills almost made them pay for it.

 

We've seen EJ make a few throws like that. The bomb to Woods against the Ravens comes to mind.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[boyst]

Agreed. Gilmore was exposed long before today.

wait.

 

HUH?

[Chandler#81]

 

 

Can we wait a little bit longer before making this conclusion? Plenty of winnable games coming up and we should be getting healthier.

 

I didn't say 'stick a fork in 'em', but we're 1-4 in Conference with Home games (RWS) waning rapidly and we're NOT gonna catch NE in the Division..

 

For all intent and purpose..

[K-9]

Agreed. Gilmore was exposed long before today.

 

Is this a snarky response. I can't tell. Exposed? Over the last 11 games last year, Gilmore was one of the best CBs in the league. And he was having a GREAT camp and pre-season, poised to pick up right where he left off.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[Thurmal34]

4) Gilmore was pathetic on the short pass for a long gain with approx. 11 min. left in the 2nd quarter. He was blocked out of the play and pushed around like a rag doll. That said, if we want to pretend that he was a good draft selection/shut down corner, we can do that too. We an also debate as to whether or not Santa Claus is real.

 

 

 

I'm not sure if your ax is being ground with the Bills FO for selecting Gilmore or if it's with Gilmore himself, but you better find another whipping boy in either case. Gilmore was more than fine in his first action of the 2013 season, and even by not playing in 13 has had a better year than the DBs selected ahead of him. The true measure of what will make it a great pick or not is if the Bills can keep him beyond 2017.

Edited October 14, 2013 by Thurmal34

[bschmoove]

Normally an on point thread. Tonight? Off like the clothes on a hooker.

[Simon]

Is this a snarky response. I can't tell. Exposed? Over the last 11 games last year, Gilmore was one of the best CBs in the league. And he was having a GREAT camp and pre-season, poised to pick up right where he left off.

 

GO BILLS!!!

The biggest problem he had last year was with some truly awful technique that occasionally got him in trouble and that never seemed to get corrected throughout the year. I pin a lot of that on Catavalos, who never seemed to do a single thing for any of the Bills DB's in all his time here.

Considering the significant improvement we've seen in the gmaes of both McKelvin and AWilliams, I have high hopes that Gilmore is going to take the same step forward when he actually returns for real.

[Thurmal34]

 

2) Spiller had 5 carries for 55 yards. Many of his carries seemed to fall 1 or 2 yards short of a first down. Still in all, these were great numbers for a situational running back.

 

 

The fastest player to get to 1,000 yards since 1934 is now a situational back?

[Bill from NYC]

 

I didn't care for the pick at the time either but it is no reason to rag on Gilmore, who brings everything he has at all times.

His entire game is predicated on challenging receivers and attacking them at every opportunity. Playing with one arm completely neutralizes the strength of his game and makes him a shadow of a shell of himself. Putting him on that field today was like asking Larry Homes to step in a ring with his left arm tied behind his back; there is simply no way he can compete like that.

The Bengals realized that before hte game even started and immediately fed him a heavy diet of hitches and reverses; plays where he needs to get off blocks and make tackles to be an effective corner. They continued to do it all day long and made several huge plays because of it.

If you want to give the Bills staff some grief for allowing an injured player to convince them he's ready to play when in reality he's going to be a liability, go for it. But giving Gilmore the business for not being able to succeed in an impossible situation just isn't fair. If he continues to be victimized once he's able to play with two hands again, by all means call him out. But there is no way he can play anything even remotely resembling his game when he's physically incapable of fighting his opponent.

 

P.S. Today is the first time ever you stumped me with a lyric!

 

[K-9]

The biggest problem he had last year was with some truly awful technique that occasionally got him in trouble and that never seemed to get corrected throughout the year. I pin a lot of that on Catavalos, who never seemed to do a single thing for any of the Bills DB's in all his time here.

Considering the significant improvement we've seen in the gmaes of both McKelvin and AWilliams, I have high hopes that Gilmore is going to take the same step forward when he actually returns for real.

 

After the first five games of last year, you would be hardpressed to find too many glaring technique errors on the part of Gilmore. It's literally hard for a CB to play his position much better than he did over the last 11 games.

 

And your're absolutely right. I can't wait for him to come back for real, too. But I wasn't expecting much out of him today, anyway. But he needed to get on the field and use his legs, etc. in this defense in the interest of returning to his old form ASAP. I'd like to think he was well-served by the experience today, despite his playing with one arm.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[Solomon Grundy]

Thank you for highlighting Hogan, there was a reason he was cut from 3 different teams. Please stop with the Easley chants, he's no better than Hogan.

[FLFan]

Have respecf for you Bill, and as usual, this will probably be the last intelligent thread of the week, but you are way off base on Gilmore. I think just about anyone given the situation would not put much stock in today's performance. I also think you are being a bit short sighted on Marrone although I was very upset with that sequence at the goal line in the first half. Very mike smith like. I do

Not want to see that again.

 

The bottom line is that the defense let the the bills down today. I thought Lewis was great. Obviously, they should have won this game.

[MDH]

I find it interesting that you single out Gilmore. This D has so many issues and guys not pulling their weight yet you single out the guy who has a club on his arm and hasn't played a down of football in 2 months? A guy who, despite what you want to believe, played very well in the 2nd half of last year- particularly for a rookie. You might not like 1st round CBs but you can't be serious with jumping on him under these circumstances. You could jump on anybody else and it would make more sense.

 

It makes it pretty obvious that you watch these things with your own agenda in mind.

[RunTheBall]

Your comments about Gilmore are simply a reflection of your bias against first round DBs and not an objective critique of his performance overall. Of course he was rusty today and one could argue he was a bit of a liability with the club on his wrist but your generalizations of him are wrong.

 

RTB

[boyst]

The fastest player to get to 1,000 yards since 1934 is now a situational back?

Until he proves otherwise, I cannot say I disagree. I wish I knew what it was. I've watched him closely. I think he just needs to settle down and hit the holes instead of making them.

 

The only conclusion I can draw is that this line is entirely different to him. Something has changed. He did not catch on early two seasons ago when this line was still rather rough, and last season it was 3 or 4 games in to the season that he really appeared to be the dynamic back we knew he could be.

 

If he can start to get in rhythm with the line and offense maybe we will see something better then this.

[Dan]

At this point, my biggest concern with this team is the coaching.

 

1. To the original point about Hogan... how can he still be out there with all his drops and Easley on the bench. Every fan watching the game can see that Hogan doesn't have it. Why can't the coaches?

 

2. This continual running up the middle, off center. It's just not working. Stop it. Every fan watching the game can see it. What can't the coaches.

 

3. That 4th and goal play. Really? First of all, after 3 tries, take the easy FG, tie the game and keep your offense's confidence flying high. But, if you do run a play, why pick a play you rarely ever run that calls for a back up lineman and the fullback to be e 2 receiving options? Whe does that make sense?

 

4. OT. you can't go conservative. I understand that an interception ends the game, but punting from your 10 isn't much better. The QB had just had a great drive to tie the game, you gotta give him a chance. The run, run, pass conservative plan is just wrong there.

 

Once again, I see us losing a game that just looked winnable. But our coaching and game plan just came up lacking when the young players needed it the most.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

Your comments about Gilmore are simply a reflection of your bias against first round DBs and not an objective critique of his performance overall. Of course he was rusty today and one could argue he was a bit of a liability with the club on his wrist but your generalizations of him are wrong.

 

RTB

Gilmore was outstanding last season and played very well against very good WRs. Has to play press man and have his 2 hands to really showcase his abilities. If he was their biggest problem they would have the best d in the league.

 

 

[Bill from NYC]

 

The biggest problem he had last year was with some truly awful technique that occasionally got him in trouble and that never seemed to get corrected throughout the year. I pin a lot of that on Catavalos, who never seemed to do a single thing for any of the Bills DB's in all his time here.

Considering the significant improvement we've seen in the gmaes of both McKelvin and AWilliams, I have high hopes that Gilmore is going to take the same step forward when he actually returns for real.

 

Simon if you have noticed, I don't argue with you all that much about anything, let alone about defensive backs. But my friend, Gilmore hurt us today. And I do await the time that he proves to be worth such an early pick, let alone a "shutdown corner." Do you see it coming?

 

[Big C]

Thank you for highlighting Hogan, there was a reason he was cut from 3 different teams. Please stop with the Easley chants, he's no better than Hogan.

 

To me, Easley outperformed Hogan in the preseason. He was a beast. I'd like to see him get a chance out there.

Until he proves otherwise, I cannot say I disagree. I wish I knew what it was. I've watched him closely. I think he just needs to settle down and hit the holes instead of making them.

 

The only conclusion I can draw is that this line is entirely different to him. Something has changed. He did not catch on early two seasons ago when this line was still rather rough, and last season it was 3 or 4 games in to the season that he really appeared to be the dynamic back we knew he could be.

 

If he can start to get in rhythm with the line and offense maybe we will see something better then this.

 

The CJ I saw today was doing what CJ does best: Get to the outside and outrun the defense. As I said earlier, a healthy CJ would have taken one of those to the house. Hackett finally called plays according to his strengths.