My Untrained Eye -- thoughts on BUF/PIT

[BADOLBILZ]

So basically, the scouts are stupid? They come to the games where the teams don't use their "real" defenses but don't go to the open practice sessions where they do?

 

If you never practice your defense against live opponents how will you ever be able to play it well once the season starts? I agree that they don't game plan during the preseason, but they'd better be practicing the stuff that they plan on using once the real games start. Otherwise these two months are just an exercise in avoiding injuries.

 

It's laughable that the Bills would be trying to not show anything defensively so as not to let Chicago adapt to it.

 

If our opening day opponent had Rex Ryan as it's DC would our team be frantically trying to figure out what he was going to do? Hell no, we've been playing him twice per year for a long time.

 

Same with Schwartz and Chicago. They know him. There is over a decade of tape on what he does defensively including a lot of games directly against their offense.

 

The most likely scenario is that he is going to run the wide 9 and blitz very little week in and week out whether it works or not because he has always been a hardhead that way.

[Max997]

I am watching it now and EJ looks horrible. I can't believe how much trouble he and the offense have running or trying to run screen passes. EJ continues to have trouble with his accuracy.

Edited August 17, 2014 by Max997

[John from Riverside]

Watching the replay now...

 

Duke Williams was responsible for that long TD, he was completely frozen by Big Ben and the play came right at him. Had he reacted better he should have undercut the route for an interception.

 

 

 

The O line sucks, can't setup a screen worth a damn...

 

Holy hell Ryan Shazier! This year's DROY most likely. That was a bad throw by EJ. He needed to see Chandler was covered underneath and lead Chandler.

 

Never mind Polumalu had Chandler covered up top, bad decision to throw it there.

 

Yes lets concentrate on one of the very few bad throws EJ had on the night.....you have to throw the ball up and see if your TE comes up with it sometimes that is why you have TE's to begin with.......the ball wasnt thrown with enough air but the alternative is EJ hanging onto it like he did last year........

[YoloinOhio]

 

 

It's laughable that the Bills would be trying to not show anything defensively so as not to let Chicago adapt to it.

 

If our opening day opponent had Rex Ryan as it's DC would our team be frantically trying to figure out what he was going to do? Hell no, we've been playing him twice per year for a long time.

 

Same with Schwartz and Chicago. They know him. There is over a decade of tape on what he does defensively including a lot of games directly against their offense.

 

The most likely scenario is that he is going to run the wide 9 and blitz very little week in and week out whether it works or not because he has always been a hardhead that way.

it isn't laughable. That is how it works. They may be familiar with his scheme, but the playbook changes each year even with the same personnel - although in this case that is different too. I'm not sure why you are singling out the Bills. Every team operates the same way in that respect. If pettine wants to showcase his blitzes, let him. He can be the smartest guy in the room.

[BADOLBILZ]

I think his main point was Schwartz as DC is going to be a downgrade from Pettine. From what I've seen so far, I'd agree. Rush defense should improve, but Schwartz is doing his best Wannstedt impression.

 

I do think he will be a significant downgrade. I expect some great days and some awful days as teams that match up well against his 4-3 succeed and those that don't do not. It won't be as pronounced as the failures of Wanny but I think people forget that Wanny's D had some good days as well.

 

Bottom line is that the most important aspect of defense is stopping the passing game and the best way to do it is to force the QB to make sudden and quick decisions and that is what Pettine did best.

 

I don't think Schwartz' ego will allow him to adapt to systems that work.

 

I can't say that is the case for sure because we won't know until the regular season but if you recall, when he came to Buffalo there were a lot of critics of his "wide 9" and he defensively tried to stomp out the discussion and say that his defense will be a lot like the defense Pettine had run, regardless of what people had seen in the past.

 

As in, he's not married to his possibly dated and difficult to stock defensive system.

 

But I think he is.

 

The burden of proof is on him. If he comes out and gives up 400 yards thru the air to Chicago despite having a DL with 3 pro bowl players and another 10 sack DE and a secondary full of talent then there will be some explaining to do to say the least.

[eball]

The burden of proof is on him. If he comes out and gives up 400 yards thru the air to Chicago despite having a DL with 3 pro bowl players and another 10 sack DE and a secondary full of talent then there will be some explaining to do to say the least.

 

Thank you, Captain Obvious.

[BADOLBILZ]

Thank you, Captain Obvious.

 

Don't pretend that there won't be people saying "it's just week one.....on the road.....against a good pass offense....takes time to adjust to new system etc.."

 

Your perceptive powers are weak.....although you seem to have stopped defending the more indefensible aspects of the team....... but even you know the song and dance.

[Chas56]

I just watched EJ's post game press conference, and I've followed his progress since we drafted him. I like this kid. He seems like an earnest young man that needs one thing: confidence. I'm a golfer (11.6 now but used to play to a 7.1), and I know that in both the long game and short game, if I feel like I'm hitting the ball well, I hit the ball well. I don't steer the ball on long shots, and the putts are going to go in. This kid needs to play, and he needs a little success. Someone said let's see what happens when the line comes together with Glenn and Williams. I want to see that, too. And I want to see complete games with real game plans. If it were us in there, we would want a fair chance.

[Kemp2Warlick]

I just watched EJ's post game press conference, and I've followed his progress since we drafted him. I like this kid. He seems like an earnest young man that needs one thing: confidence. I'm a golfer (11.6 now but used to play to a 7.1), and I know that in both the long game and short game, if I feel like I'm hitting the ball well, I hit the ball well. I don't steer the ball on long shots, and the putts are going to go in. This kid needs to play, and he needs a little success. Someone said let's see what happens when the line comes together with Glenn and Williams. I want to see that, too. And I want to see complete games with real game plans. If it were us in there, we would want a fair chance.

....

[voodoo poonani]

Yes lets concentrate on one of the very few bad throws EJ had on the night.....you have to throw the ball up and see if your TE comes up with it sometimes that is why you have TE's to begin with.......the ball wasnt thrown with enough air but the alternative is EJ hanging onto it like he did last year........

 

Excuse me for noticing. Let's pick out one fragment in a post and concentrate on it.

 

I was posting while I was watching,and an interception is an Important turn of events in a game. The ball was under thrown. Accuracy/ball placement is pretty important. It's not a jump ball situation running full steam up the seam. That wasn't the only bad pass of his, that's just one that led to an INT. So if the claim is I'm harping on EJ, I wasn't.

[Heitz]

 

 

I do think he will be a significant downgrade. I expect some great days and some awful days as teams that match up well against his 4-3 succeed and those that don't do not. It won't be as pronounced as the failures of Wanny but I think people forget that Wanny's D had some good days as well.

 

Bottom line is that the most important aspect of defense is stopping the passing game and the best way to do it is to force the QB to make sudden and quick decisions and that is what Pettine did best.

 

I don't think Schwartz' ego will allow him to adapt to systems that work.

 

I can't say that is the case for sure because we won't know until the regular season but if you recall, when he came to Buffalo there were a lot of critics of his "wide 9" and he defensively tried to stomp out the discussion and say that his defense will be a lot like the defense Pettine had run, regardless of what people had seen in the past.

 

As in, he's not married to his possibly dated and difficult to stock defensive system.

 

But I think he is.

 

The burden of proof is on him. If he comes out and gives up 400 yards thru the air to Chicago despite having a DL with 3 pro bowl players and another 10 sack DE and a secondary full of talent then there will be some explaining to do to say the least.

 

This post needs more speculation...

 

Predicting doom for both the O and the D after just a few preseason games (where were obviously not game planning or running our full systems or even starting lineups) seems a little silly to me, but to each his own.

[BADOLBILZ]

This post needs more speculation...

 

Predicting doom for both the O and the D after just a few preseason games (where were obviously not game planning or running our full systems or even starting lineups) seems a little silly to me, but to each his own.

 

Actually I didn't predict doom for either but if you must know 37.5% of my takes are positive, which makes me the most objective poster here because that's about how often the Bills win.

[26CornerBlitz]

I think the 49ers fans should go into a full scale panic.

 

@bylindsayhjones

The Niners have scored just three points in two preseason games: "We need to tighten this down, fast," Harbaugh said.

[vincec]

I think the 49ers fans should go into a full scale panic.

 

@bylindsayhjones

The Niners have scored just three points in two preseason games: "We need to tighten this down, fast," Harbaugh said.

Yeah, like the two situations are remotely comparable. A team that has made it to three straight NFC championship games and one Super Bowl compared to a team that hasn't made the playoffs in a generation. 49er fans KNOW that they are good while Bills fans have scant few reasons to believe so.

Edited August 18, 2014 by vincec

[CSBill]

Hackett's desire to play up tempo with a team that hasn't produced at any speed will cost us 3 to 4 games this year. What happened to building your game plan around your players? This should not an uptempo offense at this point. To play up tempo you need an experienced offensive line that can dominate (not there ), a steady QB that makes quick reads and accurate throws (not there) and a very good running game (got this).

 

This too, is what I can't understand.

 

It seems like if they slow it down, churn the clock, be conservative, because this team has a good enough defense to win. But we seem hell-bent on playing an offense we're not capable of playing.

[purple haze]

Hackett's desire to play up tempo with a team that hasn't produced at any speed will cost us 3 to 4 games this year. What happened to building your game plan around your players? This should not an uptempo offense at this point. To play up tempo you need an experienced offensive line that can dominate (not there ), a steady QB that makes quick reads and accurate throws (not there) and a very good running game (got this).

 

Why shouldn't they run up tempo? The starting offense has consistently moved the ball into scoring position during this preseason, even with the O-line issues. The Bills problem is finishing drives with TD's.

 

To my untrained eye:

 

EJ wasn't nearly as bad as many posters here made him out to be. He looks young and needs to work on his accuracy, both of which I think will improve with more playing time.

 

Hackett is stilll my biggest conern! I'm not at all able to say he's putting together a professional NFL level offense. The play calls and play designs are our biggest limiting factor on offense, by far.

 

I don't get all the Tuel hate. He looks like a young, inexperienced.. back up. But, he's easily out-playing Thad. If Thad starts the season as #2, I'll have lost all confidnce in Marrone to evaluate his players.

 

We have a lot of depth. For the 3rd preseason game in a row, our reserves are out-playing the other team's reserves.

 

Finally, was it just me, or did the Steelers come out hitting harder and playing a little faster than the Bills? I think they took a little offense to all the talk of Watkins owning them in the practices and came out determined to show up and win. Maybe not, but the #1s just seemed to be playing with more intensity than our guys.

 

It wasn't just you. I said after the first five minutes of the game the Bills seemed lethargic. Maybe the wed and thurs. practices tired them out. And having to travel down to PA. Then travel from Pittsburgh to Latrobe and back on both days.

 

I don't trust Hackett either. I think he's the biggest issue with the lack of finish on offense. His play-calling baffles me.

 

I disagree on Tuel. I think he's fairly terrible. And Thad has taken a giant step back for some reason. EJ has to stay healthy at all costs. It's that simple.

 

We have good depth, especially on defense. FINALLY.

 

Excuse me for noticing. Let's pick out one fragment in a post and concentrate on it.

 

I was posting while I was watching,and an interception is an Important turn of events in a game. The ball was under thrown. Accuracy/ball placement is pretty important. It's not a jump ball situation running full steam up the seam. That wasn't the only bad pass of his, that's just one that led to an INT. So if the claim is I'm harping on EJ, I wasn't.

 

Good thing about that play is he wasn't scared to take the shot. That's something many around here complained about last season. He put it up there for Chandler to make a play on it. Shazier just made a better play. And that dude reminds me so much of Kiko it's scary.

Edited August 18, 2014 by purple haze

[Bills Fan of St Augustine]

Same problems as last year. OL play is pathetic which magnifies the QB who is at the low end of the learning curve. Can't score if you can't block. Good teams score because the line blocks and they punch the ball into the EZ. Our best OLmen are average. Our backup QBs are....JFHC, I can't come up with an adjective to describe their play. The line may gel with time, but right now these guys are just pathetic. Our only hope is that they are merely young and lost, but watching Cyrus and company is painful and I see little indication for any optimism that they can turn it around. OT @ 9 is looking like a missed opportunity. Sammy won't be an AP if no one gets him the ball. And no number 1 next year.

 

Why shouldn't they run up tempo? The starting offense has consistently moved the ball into scoring position during this preseason, even with the O-line issues. The Bills problem is finishing drives with TD's.

 

 

 

It wasn't just you. I said after the first five minutes of the game the Bills seemed lethargic. Maybe the wed and thurs. practices tired them out. And having to travel down to PA. Then travel from Pittsburgh to Latrobe and back on both days.

 

I don't trust Hackett either. I think he's the biggest issue with the lack of finish on offense. His play-calling baffles me.

 

I disagree on Tuel. I think he's fairly terrible. And Thad has taken a giant step back for some reason. EJ has to stay healthy at all costs. It's that simple.

 

We have good depth, especially on defense. FINALLY.

 

 

 

Good thing about that play is he wasn't scared to take the shot. That's something many around here complained about last season. He put it up there for Chandler to make a play on it. Shazier just made a better play. And that dude reminds me so much of Kiko it's scary.

Chandler wasn't open and the pass shouldn't have been thrown.

[YoloinOhio]

 

Yeah, like the two situations are remotely comparable. A team that has made it to three straight NFC championship games and one Super Bowl compared to a team that hasn't made the playoffs in a generation. 49er fans KNOW that they are good while Bills fans have scant few reasons to believe so.

actually I took a peek because I wanted to see what they think of Hyde. Their posts sound the exact same as ours except for the "14 years" references every few posts. They even say "IN" Edited August 18, 2014 by YoloinOhio

[Fixxxer]

I was out last night so did not watch the game live, and I followed no Twitter reports or otherwise...only saw the text from the Bills that nearly stopped my heart (Watkins injury) and the halftime/final scores.

 

Got up this morning and watched the "condensed" game on Preseason Live. Here are my initial thoughts:

 

Offense

 

-- 1st team offense not scoring TDs is certainly a concern, but they've been moving the ball effectively. Has EJ had a 3-and-out this preseason?

 

 

Interesting question, my memory says no, but I'm not sure right now, I will have to re-watch the games.

[maddenboy]

I just watched EJ's post game press conference, and I've followed his progress since we drafted him. I like this kid. He seems like an earnest young man that needs one thing: confidence. I'm a golfer (11.6 now but used to play to a 7.1), and I know that in both the long game and short game, if I feel like I'm hitting the ball well, I hit the ball well. I don't steer the ball on long shots, and the putts are going to go in. This kid needs to play, and he needs a little success. Someone said let's see what happens when the line comes together with Glenn and Williams. I want to see that, too. And I want to see complete games with real game plans. If it were us in there, we would want a fair chance.

 

But, it has nothing to do with what WE would want if we were EJ. His feelings dont matter much.

 

He needs more training on how to play QB. Then he can get confidence. I dont think he will just gain confidence just by playing more. He will gain it by playing WELL, more.

 

I was watching sportCenter tonite. Showing highlights of 1st string O vs. First string D around the league. I was noticing how many (1) receivers were wide open [and i get that both Sammy and Mike were not out there much] and (2) How many successful throws were to receivers that, to EJ (it seems) would not have appeared open (enough).

 

I was thinking maybe the Bills coaches could put together a tape (from the endzone cam) of good QBs either throwing receivers open, or throwing to them when they are NFL open but less than "obviously open." It would be best if they could edit out the ball from the video, and challenge EJ to determine exactly when the man was open, and exactly when to throw the ball.

 

The problem could also be that Hackett cant design plays to get guys open, or even NFL open.

Edited August 18, 2014 by maddenboy