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


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1)......

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

 

Though I think you may have let your emotions get away from you a bit this week.....your weekly threads are still by far my favourite part of TSW.

 

What were your views on the OL today....particularly on Legursky/Brown? In case you weren't aware, OL illiterates like myself have come to rely on your views in this area, without them I pretty much have to resort to statistics and "feel".

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So he fails once every four plays? Is that elite?

 

You tell me...as someone else already pointed out, Richard Sherman "failed" only 6% less. Something tells me you don't care much for the actual data though

 

And while we're at it, how many completions did Gilmore allow today?

Edited by thebandit27
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I don't think it should be underestimated how good of a team Cincinnati has right now. They seem solid in every position.

 

With the exception of Denver I am having a hard time naming a team in the AFC that I am certain is better than them.

 

KC? Reid has them playing pretty solid football right now but I still need to see them beat someone better than Dallas or Philly.

 

New England? Somehow they keep putting together wins when it seems they should lose, plus Cincy beat them head to head.

 

Indy? Maybe, they are playing well too and have better QB play.

 

In any case Cincy has to be one of the best few teams in the AFC right now and a beat all to hell Bills team still could have won the game. I'm disappointed for sure but this 2-4 doesn't feel the same as the dead in the water 2-4 teams of years past.

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Thanks for the post as usual Bill...

While everyone is focused on Gilmore playing with one arm I'd add the Leodis friggin' McKelvin is playing some serious ball this year. It's amazing what real coaching and placing a player in the proper position to succeed can do!

 

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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This team shows good potential for next season if they can stay healthy. Another good draft , coaches with more experince, not sure about ST coach. The injuries this season are just too many.

 

We have been saying this a lot over the last 13 years.

 

The reality is that this is a veteran team.

 

Dareus is the baby of the DL in his third season......otherwise these guys in the middle to the backside of their careers.

 

Erik Pears, Urbik, Wood, Legursky.......these are veterans. I will be surprised if at least two of those guys...Pears and Legursky...don't need to be replaced with starting quality players by next season.

 

Your top receivers are Stevie Johnson and Scott Chandler......also veterans.....and guys with injury issues.

 

Lawson and Leodis are older guys on that defense as well. Byrd is a vet and a free agent-to-be.

 

Fred Jackson is the oldest back in the league and CJ is already 26. Not young for their positions by any means.

 

Point is.......this is not a "young team". They have some young players, but most teams do. There are younger teams in this league winning right now.

 

They are just a regular NFL team that would be winning now if the franchise was committed to winning rather than simply wanting to win so long as it falls within their operating parameters.

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Though I think you may have let your emotions get away from you a bit this week.....your weekly threads are still by far my favourite part of TSW.

 

What were your views on the OL today....particularly on Legursky/Brown? In case you weren't aware, OL illiterates like myself have come to rely on your views in this area, without them I pretty much have to resort to statistics and "feel".

 

Honestly, you are correct. These days I get less angry about the Bills. Yesterday was an exception.

 

When they showed the fans cheering and pounding the walls while down 24-10, I felt frustrated, as if Bills Fans were being cheated. It is true, I don't like to use (as a rule) early picks on RBs and DBs. Yet, we have so I want to see more production from them.

I WANT Spiller to take over a game and win it for us loyal fans!

I WANT Gilmore to make game changing/saving plays!

I WANT Byrd not to fake or overly nurse injuries and pick of passes!

For that matter I also want Dareus to go all out and disrupt offensive lines and yes, quarterbacks.

 

So yes, I was angry and frustrated, and I'm sorry to all for getting so riled up.

 

As far as the OL, Legursky was a step up from Brown, who is a center, not a guard, but I don't want to go there and get angry again. :)

I thought Wood played well. So did Glenn until he got toasted for a key sack, but one cannot expect perfection. Pears, who I often defend on this board, seemed to have his hands full. Urbik looked OK, but on TV, I have lots of problems watching right guards for whatever reason(s).

Remember, these guys were blocking for a rookie who can certainly run, but his pocket presence and vision are unknown at this point.

 

One last thing....am I alone or do you and others wish he would tone down on the celebrations? Maybe it's me, but the team was fighting to reach .500 and the kid just got here. Maybe he should go back to the sidelines and talk to his coaches in lieu of jumping into the stands, at least for now.

 

The good news is that at least our 2013 early picks are performing. As another poster pointed out, Kiko put up huge numbers in what might have been his worst game. Woods is very impressive imo, and Goodwin got open for a deep ball.

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Thanks for the post as usual Bill...

While everyone is focused on Gilmore playing with one arm I'd add the Leodis friggin' McKelvin is playing some serious ball this year. It's amazing what real coaching and placing a player in the proper position to succeed can do!

 

The light came on for Leodis last season. Not saying the coaching this year hasn't helped him, but in all fairness he started playing much better late last year. In terms of physical gifts.....Leodis is definitely one of the top 30 CB's in the NFL......maybe much higher.

 

There are a lot of teams that want nothing to do with players that aren't very sharp of mind.......the Bills are not one of them. They have invested heavily in guys like Leodis and CJ who have scored very poorly in intelligence exams and we have seen these guys really take a long time to translate their physical ability into results at the NFL level, likely as a result of their uptake issues. CJ is still struggling with it. It will be interesting if he can put it all together before he goes into physical decline.

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I don't think it should be underestimated how good of a team Cincinnati has right now. They seem solid in every position.

 

With the exception of Denver I am having a hard time naming a team in the AFC that I am certain is better than them.

 

KC? Reid has them playing pretty solid football right now but I still need to see them beat someone better than Dallas or Philly.

 

New England? Somehow they keep putting together wins when it seems they should lose, plus Cincy beat them head to head.

 

Indy? Maybe, they are playing well too and have better QB play.

 

In any case Cincy has to be one of the best few teams in the AFC right now and a beat all to hell Bills team still could have won the game. I'm disappointed for sure but this 2-4 doesn't feel the same as the dead in the water 2-4 teams of years past.

So many fans overcome with the grief of the loss they are missing this. Fans need to remember back to the start of 2010 and another HC from the college ranks in Chan Gailey, his first 8 games at 0-8, and journeyman QB Fitz literally running for his life.

 

If I'm going to complain about something its that this regime waited far to long to replace LG Colin Brown & CB Justin Rodgers. Waiting for Legursky to return from an injury rather then find a better replacement quicker then 5 games into the season with a rookie at QB was cause for alarm. I'm still concerned that Doug Whaley & Doug Marrone thinking that Brown could do the job in the first place, and then gave him 5 games to prove how bad he is really is.Apparently they all thought Marrone could coach him up as a starter, and that was disaster. This move reminds me of Cornell Green starting for the first 5 games in 2010, and then quietly benched and released. Brown could still be salvageable on special teams tho.

 

If there was a disparity between the two teams besides the Bills PS QB who played like a vet at times, and loss of SJ. It was the difference in the play of both lines. Cincy was dominate at the LoS on both sides of the ball. It makes me envious of a team with an O line that good.

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The light came on for Leodis last season. Not saying the coaching this year hasn't helped him, but in all fairness he started playing much better late last year. In terms of physical gifts.....Leodis is definitely one of the top 30 CB's in the NFL......maybe much higher.

 

There are a lot of teams that want nothing to do with players that aren't very sharp of mind.......the Bills are not one of them. They have invested heavily in guys like Leodis and CJ who have scored very poorly in intelligence exams and we have seen these guys really take a long time to translate their physical ability into results at the NFL level, likely as a result of their uptake issues. CJ is still struggling with it. It will be interesting if he can put it all together before he goes into physical decline.

 

Good point Badol - to be fair he DID start playing well late last season... It seems a blur but you're right. He's a very physical corner and now is able to track the ball.

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This team shows good potential for next season if they can stay healthy. Another good draft , coaches with more experince, not sure about ST coach. The injuries this season are just too many.

Sadly, that is always the mantra of the Bills ... they should be good next year.

 

One last thing....am I alone or do you and others wish he would tone down on the celebrations? Maybe it's me, but the team was fighting to reach .500 and the kid just got here. Maybe he should go back to the sidelines and talk to his coaches in lieu of jumping into the stands, at least for now.

I generally agree, but in this case I think it was the right move. It was the kids first drive so obviously he was pumped, particularly running it in himself. Doing "the leap" not only fired up his teammates, it fired up the crowd at the Ralph even more than it already was.

 

When I see veteran players celebrate after every play when they are down by a bunch of points and essentially in garbage time annoys me to no end. But in this case, Thad's leap was all good as far as I am concerned.

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We have been saying this a lot over the last 13 years.

 

The reality is that this is a veteran team.

 

Dareus is the baby of the DL in his third season......otherwise these guys in the middle to the backside of their careers.

 

Erik Pears, Urbik, Wood, Legursky.......these are veterans. I will be surprised if at least two of those guys...Pears and Legursky...don't need to be replaced with starting quality players by next season.

 

Your top receivers are Stevie Johnson and Scott Chandler......also veterans.....and guys with injury issues.

 

Lawson and Leodis are older guys on that defense as well. Byrd is a vet and a free agent-to-be.

 

Fred Jackson is the oldest back in the league and CJ is already 26. Not young for their positions by any means.

 

Point is.......this is not a "young team". They have some young players, but most teams do. There are younger teams in this league winning right now.

 

They are just a regular NFL team that would be winning now if the franchise was committed to winning rather than simply wanting to win so long as it falls within their operating parameters.

 

 

the bills are the 3rd youngest team in the league!!!!!

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Good comments - this was my first game since the OT loss to the Cowboys - and in my intermittent attendance I realize I have not seen the Bills win in person since the 1992 AFC Championship game. I got to sit in a corp box with the windows sealed - I think the "End Zone Club" - it stunk, no noise, there were 300 seats and maybe 60 people....my minor observations:

 

I think the Bills made a mistake by letting the clock run out at the end of the first. Cinci was tired, we had them on their heels - should have punched it in. The turn gave them a chance to catch their breath.

 

With no fan noise - got to hear Kelso's comments: Kelso can be tough because every Bill seems to be "outstanding" on every play but the one thing that he caught was the Bills were definitely set up defensively to stop passes to WR's opening themselves up to the run - this continued to the 4th - when we finally stacked the line.

 

Clearly - clearly - our offense has to get bigger in what it is trying to do. Teams are on to our "small ball" offense and its actually impressive that we have scored 20+ in every game - open it up!!

Edited by baskin
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......

The reality is that this is a veteran team.

.....

 

Hmmm....we have some veterans but this is a very young team.

 

At the start of the season we had.....

 

....9 starters who had 2 or less years of experience....

Williams, Alonso, Dareus, Gilmore, Bradham, Woods, Graham, Glenn, Manuel

 

....with a further 5+ key backups with 2 or less years of exp....

Summers, Goodwin, Robey/Rogers, Searcy, Tuel/Lewis

 

....and another 5 starters who had 4 or less years of exp....

Legursky/Brown, Wood, Urbik, Spiller, Carrington

 

....with a further 3+ key backups who had 4 or less years of exp....

Legursky/Brown, Moates, Hughes

 

 

As previously pointed out, we have the 3rd youngest team in the league......with 14 of 22 starters having 4 or less years experience coming into the season......plus another 8+ key backups.

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the bills are the 3rd youngest team in the league!!!!!

 

Agreed. Of the real starters, only Jackson and KW are 30 or over (and KW is just 30). This team has some good, young talent. What they need are a few more pieces (LG, CB) and depth in a few spots (OL, LB, TE). Oh, yeah, and for EJ to be the real deal, plus a little bit of Killer Instinct. Get some of that and we're golden.....

 

 

Hmmm....we have some veterans but this is a very young team.

 

At the start of the season we had.....

 

....9 starters who had 2 or less years of experience....

Williams, Alonso, Dareus, Gilmore, Bradham, Woods, Graham, Glenn, Manuel

 

....with a further 5+ key backups with 2 or less years of exp....

Summers, Goodwin, Robey/Rogers, Searcy, Tuel/Lewis

 

....and another 5 starters who had 4 or less years of exp....

Legursky/Brown, Wood, Urbik, Spiller, Carrington

 

....with a further 3+ key backups who had 4 or less years of exp....

Legursky/Brown, Moates, Hughes

 

 

As previously pointed out, we have the 3rd youngest team in the league......with 14 of 22 starters having 4 or less years experience coming into the season......plus another 8+ key backups.

 

Thank you--I tried to make a similar point, but you really nailed it!

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.....

 

As far as the OL, Legursky was a step up from Brown, who is a center, not a guard, but I don't want to go there and get angry again. :)

I thought Wood played well. So did Glenn until he got toasted for a key sack, but one cannot expect perfection. Pears, who I often defend on this board, seemed to have his hands full. Urbik looked OK, but on TV, I have lots of problems watching right guards for whatever reason(s).

Remember, these guys were blocking for a rookie who can certainly run, but his pocket presence and vision are unknown at this point.

 

One last thing....am I alone or do you and others wish he would tone down on the celebrations? Maybe it's me, but the team was fighting to reach .500 and the kid just got here. Maybe he should go back to the sidelines and talk to his coaches in lieu of jumping into the stands, at least for now.

....

 

Thanks for that....even your Brown center/guard comment was very interesting(even though you didn't elaborate).

 

At this point I personally am willing to cut Lewis some slack over the celebrations. I can imagine that psychologically it must be difficult to find your place in regards to the fandom, having come in and replaced the new savior 1st round pick.

Edited by Dibs
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Normally love your stuff but I feel your dead wrong on GIlmore

 

I agree with this. They had Gilmore playing off so he didn't have to jam the WR which is not his playing style. This seemed more like getting him in some game situations to knock the rust off. His attempt to tackle green was pretty bad but the club made it worse

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