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

[Fixxxer]

1) Once again, the Bills need to call the agent of Alan Branch and lock him up to a contract TONIGHT. Did anyone else notice that on the first series, Branch was on the field and Dareus was on the sidelines? I was afraid that MD was hurt. Branch kicked ass yet again.

 

No doubt about it, and to think that were times in pre-season games that I thought he was putting zero effort in his game. Hopefully he likes it here and wants to stay with us.

 

2) Gilmore was OK today. He dropped a sure, easy pick and gave up a long pass, but his coverage was good. No complaints here.

 

I believe Gilmore's problem is not keeping his head in the play until the play is over. He has lapses in his concentration that can make him look lost at times. I think this is not a bad problem to have since I think is something that is correctable.

 

3) Kiko is amazing. Seriously, I don't know how he does it. He plays like a seasoned veteran, and there is NO quit in this kid. And btw, he looks like a skinny twig. I repeat, I don't know how he does it.

 

I think he hit the proverbial rookie wall and teams started noticing him and game-planning against him. still he makes plays. How he does it? Instincts for the most part, I think.

 

4) Robey was an out and out monster today! Seriously, how much better could a corner play? What a totally amazing pickup he was!!! A player in his situation might be easy to retain, especially when the cap space is there.

 

They knew he was coming and still they couldn't stop him. He's one of the big reasons we swept the Phins (remember his pic 6 in South Florida)

 

5) Hate me, call me a crusader, block me.....it's all cool. But CJ Spiller proved at the end of the first half that he is, and never will be anything more than a situational player. His run out of bounds at the end of the half was one of the dumbest displays I have ever seen. Plays such as this can easily lead to a loss. Imagine if we lost a playoff game due to something this unthinkable? And btw I blame Marrone too for even having him in there in that situation. Would Fred Jackson do something THAT stupid?

 

I think he's that dumb, unfortunately. That play and the many runs he's shy of a yard and he just goes out of bounds instead of fighting for that first down. He's an electric player that can go the distance every time he touches the ball but as you said, can you trust him with the game on the line? I don't, that is why we have Freddie.

 

6) Mario Williams really hurts opposing offenses. Tannehill had nowhere to go on the first sack of the game. If he didn't step into Kyle Williams, Mario was going to crush him. My man MW earns every last penny of his contract!

 

Money well spent, the guy is beast.

 

7) One long party from front to end,

Tune to the whistle coming round the bend.

No big hurry; what do you say?

Might as well travel the elegant way.

 

8) OK.....here it goes: At this point, and I am only talking about RIGHT NOW, I am more comfortable with Lewis at qb than I am with Manuel. He did make mistakes and yes, he was aided by one of the best defensive performances I have ever seen by the Bills. I will even go a step further and praise the play calling, but he looks more poised than EJ. And he is a better runner, if for no other reason he takes off earlier and gets a much quicker start. This board is going to ROCK in the offseason. Btw, his best pass imo was the one to Lee Smith. Could Manuel do this? I hope the answer is yes.

 

There was a play today that Thad read the blitz and hit Chandler for an easy first down, there was also a play where he ran the option for another first down that make Wake look silly. It seems that he's more of a field general than EJ at their points in their careers. Still, Thad has his shortcomings, he missed Hogan for an easy TD and threw a pic when he should have taken the sack. I'm not worried with this position. I think both QBs and Hackett will develop alongside the offense.

 

9) Once again, I am going to praise Searcy. I SO much appreciate his effort. He has made many key and clutch plays this season. I would take him on my roster any freaking day!!!!!

 

Players like Searcy, Leonhard and Lee Smith are needed to win football games. They not the most talented players but they do the little things the right way.

 

10) This game proved what many of us already knew.....there is a TON of talent on this roster. When the qb and yes coaching issues are settled, this football team has more than enough talent to make and advance in the playoffs. Yes, I said this and I mean it.

 

I agree, more consistency in the QB position and we're in the playoffs this year.

 

11) Kyle Williams was sick today. The way he was using his hands was incredible. Seriously, he was just out of control on virtually every play.

 

He set the tone with his first sack the rest of the defense followed him. He deserves to reach the playoffs with this franchise (and Freddie) one day as much as we do.

 

12) Gotta give kudos to Leonhard as well. The Bills pitched a shutout sans Aaron Williams, who has been a key defender this season and didn't miss a beat.

 

See 9) response.

 

13) I respect the "lose out for the draft choice" sentiment. I do, and I admit that I have felt this way in some seasons. That said, this was a statement game, at home. Trade up or trade down. Or stay put and draft right. But again, this was a statement game, one which I would NOT trade for a few slots.

 

!@#$ the losers that want to lose, moreso with a first year coaching staff.

 

14) My man Woods should not have lost his cool, but he sure can play football.

 

Hopefully was one time offense, he seems like a cool kid.

 

15) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

+10000

 

16) Once again: GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

17) Kudos to Marrone for having this team ready to play against a divisional rival, I want more and I want to beat the Patriots in their house.

[Maury Ballstein]

Wow. A little too easy on Gilmore this week IMO.

 

He was lucky to not get toasted more.

 

Pearl crying about the draft position is the high point of this season. You cringed on every sack huh ?

 

Hilarious.

Edited December 22, 2013 by Ryan L Billz

[KRT88]

defensively, if we can cut the big plays out this team allows, wow, can they be good. The QB will grow but I'm with you, impressive performance when we had nothing to play for and Miami had everything.

[boyst]

Thank you for what you do every week Bill! Merry Christmas!

 

1) Once again, the Bills need to call the agent of Alan Branch and lock him up to a contract TONIGHT. Did anyone else notice that on the first series, Branch was on the field and Dareus was on the sidelines? I was afraid that MD was hurt. Branch kicked ass yet again.

Dareus was suspended for the first quarter due to violation of team rules

Most people do not realize that, but either way, Dareus is all pro.

 

 

2) Gilmore was OK today. He dropped a sure, easy pick and gave up a long pass, but his coverage was good. No complaints here.

Really? I only listened on the radio from the kitchen - at least for most of the game and it sure sound like it was not "ok." Kelso got on to him a few times for being out of position, other things.

 

3) Kiko is amazing. Seriously, I don't know how he does it. He plays like a seasoned veteran, and there is NO quit in this kid. And btw, he looks like a skinny twig. I repeat, I don't know how he does it.

No names mentioned but in the Shoutbox someone mentioned that Alonso has been invisible for the latter part of the season and I objected strongly. He is a very important part of this team and like many other important players on other teams he is part of the reason his teammates are better. A good example of what Alonso offers is looking at McKelvin on run support. McKelvin has the tools and all to make stops in run defense but has never been able to beat the blockers. With Alonso there to get thru the blockers, take some heat it clears up other players to get the cutback lanes that Alonso shuts down.

 

4) Robey was an out and out monster today! Seriously, how much better could a corner play? What a totally amazing pickup he was!!! A player in his situation might be easy to retain, especially when the cap space is there.

Robey is the perfect player for what we have seen. I do not want to see more of him but I certainly do not want to see less of him. This dude plays perfectly as a package player and is exactly the type of guy you want on your roster. He reminds me of that Patriots player who won MVP for a clutch INT in the Super Bowl - Robey is the guy who you never heard of until he makes the play and then you realize how amazing he is.

 

5) Hate me, call me a crusader, block me.....it's all cool. But CJ Spiller proved at the end of the first half that he is, and never will be anything more than a situational player. His run out of bounds at the end of the half was one of the dumbest displays I have ever seen. Plays such as this can easily lead to a loss. Imagine if we lost a playoff game due to something this unthinkable? And btw I blame Marrone too for even having him in there in that situation. Would Fred Jackson do something THAT stupid?

Not beating on Spiller, but Fred Jackson passed 5,000 today and took over the lead for rushing yards and remains first in total yards from scrimmage this season.

 

6) Mario Williams really hurts opposing offenses. Tannehill had nowhere to go on the first sack of the game. If he didn't step into Kyle Williams, Mario was going to crush him. My man MW earns every last penny of his contract!

Yeah, but Skelton would have added so much more to this team.

 

7) One long party from front to end,

Tune to the whistle coming round the bend.

No big hurry; what do you say?

Might as well travel the elegant way.

 

8) OK.....here it goes: At this point, and I am only talking about RIGHT NOW, I am more comfortable with Lewis at qb than I am with Manuel. He did make mistakes and yes, he was aided by one of the best defensive performances I have ever seen by the Bills. I will even go a step further and praise the play calling, but he looks more poised than EJ. And he is a better runner, if for no other reason he takes off earlier and gets a much quicker start. This board is going to ROCK in the offseason. Btw, his best pass imo was the one to Lee Smith. Could Manuel do this? I hope the answer is yes.

I wish there was a way we could keep Manuel as a starter but let Lewis play. I want to see more of Lewis because he is the best QB on the roster and I am not certain of his ceiling.

 

9) Once again, I am going to praise Searcy. I SO much appreciate his effort. He has made many key and clutch plays this season. I would take him on my roster any freaking day!!!!!

Searcy is the type of player the Bills would have let sign elsewhere a few years ago and then go on to become Jabari Greer. The new Bills need to resign this guy and keep him on this team.

 

 

10) This game proved what many of us already knew.....there is a TON of talent on this roster. When the qb and yes coaching issues are settled, this football team has more than enough talent to make and advance in the playoffs. Yes, I said this and I mean it.

Did you post in weakest positions thread? What are your weakest positions? Where do you think we need to improve that talent? Where is there room to improve talent? For instance, I am not anti-Bradham but I think we could get better talent and reshuffle some players to get better performance.

 

11) Kyle Williams was sick today. The way he was using his hands was incredible. Seriously, he was just out of control on virtually every play.

We need to get a big fat NT to put in for KW next year to take reps off. It's clear KW has issues with his lower half - knee, ankle, etc. Running defense really wears a player out and goal line more so. If we could get a big fatty to put in and spell KW next year from time to time I'd be all for it.

 

12) Gotta give kudos to Leonhard as well. The Bills pitched a shutout sans Aaron Williams, who has been a key defender this season and didn't miss a beat.

If the Bills do anything they need to resign Leonhard to a one year extension by the end of January if nothing has been done with Byrd yet. Even if Byrd is retained long term by that point I would still tender Leonhard a 1 year deal. I want to tap every ounce he has left and when he so much as bruises a finger in week 10 of next year I would IR his butt and do the business end dirty work that most teams do in that instance.

 

13) I respect the "lose out for the draft choice" sentiment. I do, and I admit that I have felt this way in some seasons. That said, this was a statement game, at home. Trade up or trade down. Or stay put and draft right. But again, this was a statement game, one which I would NOT trade for a few slots.

I would rather win. I am sure we can trade back and will trade back if we are inside of 16.

 

14) My man Woods should not have lost his cool, but he sure can play football.

Rookie mistake maybe but I am a little puzzled and would like to hear more about what happened.

 

15) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

16) Once again: GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

13) Next week's a big statement game too; I would rather go into the offseason with a three game winning streak than a losing streak, it builds confidence in the locker room and maybe the players and coaching staff can learn what it takes to win.

If NE comes out with their backups or resting anyone then I really do not care about win or lose but we have to win. If NE comes out full strength and Brady is playing I hope we knock him out for the post season.

I just heard the Dolphins only had 103 total yards fot the game!! That just might be the best defensive performance ever by the Bills. If Gilmore doesn't get caught QB peekin' on 3rd and a mile, they'd have only had 53 TOTAL YARDS!

 

Un-Billievable!

4 first downs in the 1st half. 2 first downs over halfway thru the 2nd qtr prompted Kelso to say he had heard Miami media talking about playoffs all week, that this was a playoff team and the Fins need to make a statement. Edited December 22, 2013 by jboyst62

[thewildrabbit]

This game epitomizes the way I had envisioned the Bills playing the entire season. A great running attack with far more runs then passes, all the while controlling the clock with the run game, as it helps so much to keep the defense fresh.

 

The Bills OC called another good game to help out that young QB. I hope Hackett keeps this up against the Patriots next week.

[billsfan714]

I thought you went a little easy on Gilmore too. To give up that play in that situation was as stupid as the CJ play. Plus Hartline had more than his share of drops.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

I didn't see the "bad offensive line" that everyone's been bellyaching about.

 

Clearly our O-line is better than theirs and our O-line is better than their D-line.

 

Miami was 7th in the NFL in sacks. They got 1 sack on us.

 

We destroyed them in the run game with excellent push on the majority of run plays.

 

On the other side our D-line dominated, even in straight 4-man rush situations.

 

Tannehill had no room in the pocket in which to step up.

 

The Bills won today's game IN THE TRENCHES.

[boyst]

I didn't see the "bad offensive line" that everyone's been bellyaching about.

 

Clearly our O-line is better than theirs and our O-line is better than their D-line.

 

Miami was 7th in the NFL in sacks. They got 1 sack on us.

 

We destroyed them in the run game with excellent push on the majority of run plays.

 

On the other side our D-line dominated, even in straight 4-man rush situations.

 

Tannehill had no room in the pocket in which to step up.

 

The Bills won today's game IN THE TRENCHES.

 

This game presents one fact about football: No matter who you sign and how big the FA's if you don't build, maintain and keep a good OL you will not win ball games.

[Alaska Darin]

I didn't see the "bad offensive line" that everyone's been bellyaching about.

 

Clearly our O-line is better than theirs and our O-line is better than their D-line.

 

Miami was 7th in the NFL in sacks. They got 1 sack on us.

 

We destroyed them in the run game with excellent push on the majority of run plays.

 

On the other side our D-line dominated, even in straight 4-man rush situations.

 

Tannehill had no room in the pocket in which to step up.

 

The Bills won today's game IN THE TRENCHES.

Watch the game against the Buccaneers. What we did to the Dolphins today was completely reversed by Tampa's Front 7. Our Oline got DESTROYED in that game.

[K-9]

Can EJ make that throw to Lee Smith? Yes.

 

Can Lewis make the throw EJ made to Chandler against N.E. that set up the subsequent TD pass to Woods? Not from what I've seen.

 

Taking nothing away Lewis who managed a nice game today, but he didn't do anything I haven't seen Manuel do already this season. It's a shame EJ lost so many reps to injury this year.

 

Mario Williams is simply a force on the field. On that stunt that ended up with KW sacking and injuring Tannehill, the entire left side of the OL tied themselves up with Mario. Just an amazing play. And Bryant McKinnie looked like a rookie all day.

 

GO BILLS!!!

Edited December 22, 2013 by K-9

[thewildrabbit]

Watch the game against the Buccaneers. What we did to the Dolphins today was completely reversed by Tampa's Front 7. Our Oline got DESTROYED in that game.

and against the Steelers... and against the Jets in that first game. For whatever reason the Bills O line played so much better at home then on the road. Good lines don't just play good at home.

[Nitro]

I hated to lose. I played on a team that had a crappy record. Played our butts off even when over matched every week. Best game was our last. Seniors left on a high note in a "meaningless game". I see the same effort in the Bills. They took it to a Miami team that needed to win out to get into the playoffs. Heck on NFL network Steve Mariucci said Miami was threat going into the playoffs. It was a big win for he guys. They need to win out and it will carry over to next season in confidence to win inside the division.

[poblano]

I didn't see the "bad offensive line" that everyone's been bellyaching about.

 

Clearly our O-line is better than theirs and our O-line is better than their D-line.

 

Miami was 7th in the NFL in sacks. They got 1 sack on us.

 

We destroyed them in the run game with excellent push on the majority of run plays.

 

On the other side our D-line dominated, even in straight 4-man rush situations.

 

Tannehill had no room in the pocket in which to step up.

 

The Bills won today's game IN THE TRENCHES.

if you don't score in red zone and goal to go there's aplenty to work

[Rubes]

I'm interested to hear Bill's take on Dareus, knowing that he was benched for the first quarter for repeated tardiness to meetings. What a shame, this guy can be fantastic if he can ever focus.

 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

This game epitomizes the way I had envisioned the Bills playing the entire season. A great running attack with far more runs then passes, all the while controlling the clock with the run game, as it helps so much to keep the defense fresh.

 

The Bills OC called another good game to help out that young QB. I hope Hackett keeps this up against the Patriots next week.

 

This.

 

This is how you win with a rookie QB. Dominating defense, pound the ball.

[Jkgobills]

 

 

This.

 

This is how you win with a rookie QB. Dominating defense, pound the ball.

 

Like the Steelers during Big Ben Rookie campaign

[Rockinon]

I'm interested to hear Bill's take on Dareus, knowing that he was benched for the first quarter for repeated tardiness to meetings. What a shame, this guy can be fantastic if he can ever focus.

Not me. I'm hoping this blows over and we never hear anything more about it. I am concerned about Glenn though. I read on Billsdaily that he went in for x-rays after game.

[Mr. WEO]

Agree about the EJ v. Thad comments Bill.

 

Thad seems to have more football savvy. EJ seems to struggle to find receivers (hey, maybe it's not the o-line after all...).

 

CJ is not a bright man. The difference between him and Freddy could not be more stark. That people still, today, describe CJ as a guy "who could take it to the house at any time" is unreal. He must lead the league in percentage of runs for 2 or fewer yards.

 

Robey is awesome.

 

Leonhard is a solid pro.

[Alaska Darin]

Can EJ make that throw to Lee Smith? Yes.

 

Can Lewis make the throw EJ made to Chandler against N.E. that set up the subsequent TD pass to Woods? Not from what I've seen.

 

Taking nothing away Lewis who managed a nice game today, but he didn't do anything I haven't seen Manuel do already this season. It's a shame EJ lost so many reps to injury this year.

At this point in time, it looks to me like Manuel is still afraid to throw guys open - he seems to want to everyone to be "college open", which doesn't happen nearly as often in the NFL. Lewis doesn't seem to have the same hesitation, though his accuracy is as big a question mark as it is for E.J.

 

Lewis made good decisions most of the day today but he wildly overthrew some guys deep who were open.

[3rdand12]

It does to the men on the field, no matter what you may think.

Thank you