Bills First Half vs. Bucs--broken down

[Big Blitz]

Well, in some detail:

 

1st Series:

1st and 10: 5yd PA pass to Summers

2nd and 5: Spiller run for 2 yds

3rd and 5: 7 yd Slant complete to Goodwin

1st and 10: Spiller run 3 yds

2nd and 7: Incomplete swing pass to Fred (pressure---look at Fred--EJ leads him, Fred stays flat--that or bad ball)

3rd and 7: Chandler trips over the 45 yd line; intercepted

 

2nd Series (our own 5)

1st and 10: Fred 1 yd...no blocking

2nd and 9: Fred 2 yds

3rd and 7: Pears gets destroyed--hand in EJ's face pass to Fred for 3 yds; punt

 

3rd Series (Bucs 42)

1st and 10: Fred minus 1 yd

2nd and 11: Ball bounces off of Spiller and its picked

 

4th Series (our own 18, 6:24 left in 1st--boos starting):

1st and 10: Spiller 4 yd run

2nd and 6: 15 yd Pass to Woods on a curl route, Woods SLIPS, incomplete

3rd and 6: 11 yd pass to Big Mike--nice out route on the SL

1st and 10: 10 yd curl to Big Mike broken up--incomplete

2nd and 10: Spiller no gain

3rd and 10: incomplete 20 yd to Woods; Manuel gets blasted on rush up middle; bad throw--maybe; but I like how he took hit.

 

5th Series (our own 6 with 2:04 left in 1st):

1st and 10: Incomplete pass to sideline, ball bounces at the 12; why are 11, 10, and 84 all in same 7 yd space? Miscommunication?

2nd and 10: Spiller run for 18

1st and 10: Manuel rolls right hits Big Mike for 20 yds---his best play of the day

1st and 10: Pass complete to 84 for 7-----HOLDING on 77--bad call

1st and 20: Spiller run for 18-----HOLDING

1st and 30: Fred run minus 5

2nd and 35: Penalty on EJ for passing LOS

3rd and 40: Screen to Fred for 10

 

6th Series:

1st and 10: Spiller run minus 1

2nd and 11: Pass to Smith for 7

3rd and 4: Penalty on Bucs

1st and 10: Screen to Spiller for 12 yds---PENALTY on Bills

2nd and 20: EJ's worst play of the day IMO, sack fumble TD

 

7th Series (our own 20 with 8:16 left in 2nd):

1st and 10: Good ball to Hogan but a great tip by Bucs LB; incomplete

2nd and 10: Spiller run for 2

3rd and 8: Sack--Left DE rush comes unabated--Henderson was supposed to "fan" b/c 84 goes for pass; but he did not. DE comes clean.

That's not on EJ b/c that wasn't an LB or DB showing blitz---that's an Oline call. All he could do was protect the ball and curl up.

 

8th series came with less than minute left. Who cares at that point.

 

 

Summary----the O was just out of sync. Too much shuffling on that Oline has been going on--this is going to take some time. Too many mistakes. Pears sucks. Woods and Chandler slipping. Costly penalties at the wrong time. EJ threw 2 bad balls IMO. The one where he was smacked to the ground, and that 1st pass on the 5th series---ball to no one where I mentioned 3 guys were in same area.

 

I'm not trying to convince you that EJ is going to be fine or great. I'm just saying I feel better after watching this again and I hope after the team watches the film its clear to them to its all fixable and they still have faith in EJ. At least if Goodwin's tweet told us anything, they seem to.

Edited August 25, 2014 by Big Blitz

[Kelly the Dog]

Thanks for that. Good post. I watched it again too and had the same reaction. And I was furious and yelling at EJ while I was watching it the first time.

 

Also after watching the first half again...

1] Seantrell played pretty good. A couple miscues but he is going to be a solid RT very soon.

 

2] Bradham is solid. Terrific anticipation. Made few bad angles. Couple really nice stops.

 

3] Just a treat to watch Spikes. Amazing instincts. A real difference maker. Man, I would have loved to see Spikes with Kiko and Bradham. We have worried about Spikes in pass coverage but he really wasn't bad. On the TD he gave up (which, I am not excusing and can't continue) it wasn't because he sucks in coverage, he took a bad angle (which he is not going to do often, the guy takes great angles), then slipped (which he is not going to do often), then missed his chuck (which he is not going to do often) and it still took a perfect pass and nice bobbling catch to beat him. He made a couple other nice coverage plays. what a pleasure to watch a MLB like that.

 

4] Goodwin maybe a ****ty tweeter but he has very good hands and is fearless. We still have yet to see the Watkins, Williams, Woods, Goodwin foursome in a game and for a full game. I'm still stoked about our WRs.

 

5] Chandler is still average at best. Smith stinks. Gragg offers little.

 

6] Pears did not have a good start at OG.

 

7] Thankfully Brooks is our #5 or #6 CB. He gets beat so bad so often, it's painful. He's getting better but the breakdowns are scary.

 

8] Rivers is decent. Not a liability so far at all, made a couple nice plays.

[The Dean]

i saw things pretty much the same way, The OL was mostly a disaster, with the penalties in particular. But I'm hoping that is due to the shuffling of players to find the right group. Still Pears in the starting lineup makes me nervous.

 

EJ was better than what he is getting credit for here, I think that goes without saying,. But until we see some results, that's the way it's going to be,.

[Big C]

i saw things pretty much the same way, The OL was mostly a disaster, with the penalties in particular. But I'm hoping that is due to the shuffling of players to find the right group. Still Pears in the starting lineup makes me nervous.

 

EJ was better than what he is getting credit for here, I think that goes without saying,. But until we see some results, that's the way it's going to be,.

 

Interestingly enough, Henderson and Pears both graded positive by PFF last week at LT and RT, respectively. We all saw Pears suck it up there last year, though. Hope he can figure out the RG position.

[The Big Cat]

1st Series:

2nd and 7: Incompleg pass to Fred (pressure---look at Fred--EJ leads him, Fred stays flat--that or bad ball)

 

4th Series (our own 18, 6:24 left in 1st--boos starting):

2nd and 6: 15 yd Pass to Woods on a curl route, Woods SLIPS, incomplete

1st and 10: 10 yd curl to Big Mike broken up--incomplete

3rd and 10: incomplete 20 yd to Woods; Manuel gets blasted on rush up middle; bad throw--maybe; but I like how he took hit.

 

These are the four plays I cited:

 

http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/169975-ej-showed-he-can-move-the-ball/page__st__100#entry322054

 

1. Following up on a nice first down catch on the sideline, Mike Williams let's another would-be first down bounce right off his arms.
    
   
2. Wide open, Robert Woods drives his man 18 yards up field, and turns for the ball two yards passed the first down marker. The throw--a timing throw--is put right at the marker, where Woods probably should have been. Those extra two yards put him out of range of the throw, and made him late to turn for it. It was clear that EJ wanted him to look for it at the marker.
    
   
3. Wide open down the seam, Robert Woods makes a Donald-Jonesesque mid-air adjustment only to whiff at the ball as the punting unit comes on. At the LOS, EJ released the ball with a defender parallel to the ground, burying his head in the QB's chest. All things considered, Woods, has to make a better play for that ball.
    
   
4. A defender lines up across from Mike Williams and comes off the edge, completely untouched, he's barreling down on EJ, who first looks to Williams up the seam, then checks to his outlet, Fred Jackson who's positioned just on the other side of the blitzing defender. The throw is awkward, and out of Jackson's reach, tough throw by EJ, but it looked like he wanted to go to Williams who was running free after the blitz, but never broke off his route for what would have been an easy first-down catch.
   

 

 

 

[Tipster19]

I just deleted a wise ass post I made before I watched any of the game. I just got done watching the 1st quarter and I'm not that uptight about it like I thought that I was going to be. Quickly this is what I got out of it.

 

1. For God sakes, change the cleats or something! Too many players slipping and falling.

 

2. EJ is a young QB. I didn't expect a Joe Montana here and I'm not upset with his 1st quarter at all. I agree with Big Blitz, I saw 3 bad passes out of him, the third one being when he missed Fred out of the backfield on the second possession.

 

3. On the TD plunge I remember Kiko last year made one hell of a stop to prevent one. I wonder if he was in there if Martin would have made it.

 

4. I thought Spikes had a couple of plays where it was kind of all or nothing. The one where martin ran up the middle for a few yards the OL made a great block on Spikes.

 

5. Gilmore made a nice stop on Martin but didn't wrap up so Spikes an a DL? had to finish the play.

 

Chandler and Spiller didn't help EJ's cause. A young QB needs to have some confidence built, not have more pressure right off the bat from other's miscues.

 

6. On the pass to Woods that was incomplete we were fortunate that that wasn't another pick. Thankfully Baron fell down and it was just another wasted play. I won't fault manuel either, he had a LB come right up the middle and was in his face.

 

I guess what I'm saying based on what I just saw in the 1st quarter is that EJ ddn't really play bad and we just had more than needed of miscues, penalties and some sloppy tackling. I'm ready to watch the 2nd quarter and I'm sure this ain't gonna be too pretty but that's because we really did shoot ourselves in the foot in that 1st quarter.

[KOKBILLS]

The whole Pears to OG thing had me scratching my head the minute I heard it...While it's true most OT's can move inside easier than an OG can move outside, it's certainly not a given that it's going to work for every player...Pears is long...And I don't see him as being the kind of O-Lineman that will fair well on the inside against bigger, more powerful guys who play with decent leverage...Let alone the absolute monsters like Gerald McCoy...I think Pears is better suited to being the back-up at RT...

 

While I fully understand Cyril Richardson is a work in progress, I think long-term he's the best answer at RG...He has everything you want physically in a top NFL OG...He basically ate his way out of Day #2 of the Draft...But he seems to be past that now...He just needs work and needs every rep he can get...In time I believe the difference Richardson will make, especially in the run game, will be significant...Albeit with some growing pains along the way...He's a Rookie...And it's likely going to take him 6-8 games to start feeling truly comfortable...That's just the way it is...

 

BTW...With a players like Richardson and Henderson...this is the area Marrone MUST make his mark...It's his area of expertise...No excuses here...Marrone needs to be the difference...

[Tipster19]

A couple of other things. It sure didn't look like Marone has lost the team and I was quite pleasantly surprised by Hughs' play and his motor, the guy was balling!

[The Dean]

The whole Pears to OG thing had me scratching my head the minute I heard it...While it's true most OT's can move inside easier than an OG can move outside, it's certainly not a given that it's going to work for every player...Pears is long...And I don't see him as being the kind of O-Lineman that will fair well on the inside against bigger, more powerful guys who play with decent leverage...Let alone the absolute monsters like Gerald McCoy...I think Pears is better suited to being the back-up at RT...

 

While I fully understand Cyril Richardson is a work in progress, I think long-term he's the best answer at RG...He has everything you want physically in a top NFL OG...He basically ate his way out of Day #2 of the Draft...But he seems to be past that now...He just needs work and needs every rep he can get...In time I believe the difference Richardson will make, especially in the run game, will be significant...Albeit with some growing pains along the way...He's a Rookie...And it's likely going to take him 6-8 games to start feeling truly comfortable...That's just the way it is...

 

BTW...With a players like Richardson and Henderson...this is the area Marrone MUST make his mark...It's his area of expertise...No excuses here...Marrone needs to be the difference...

 

I hate to keep beating the same drum, but before his bizarre medial condition, I thought Hairston played pretty well. While i admit to not paying all that much attention when he played a number of 2nd-3rd team snaps a couple weeks ago, I do know he didn't draw my attention. Typically a good sign.

 

He's versatile (or so it is said) he has played both G and T. I'm just surprised he looks to be on the bubble and hasn't' had a chance to crack the starting lineup now that he is (I'm guessing here) healthy.

Edited August 25, 2014 by The Dean

[KOKBILLS]

I hate to keep beating the same drum, but before his bizarre medial condition, I thought Hairston played pretty well. While i admit to not paying all that much attention when he played a number of 2nd-3rd team snaps a couple weeks ago, I do know he didn't draw my attention. Typically a good sign.

 

He's versatile (or so it is said) he has played both G and T. I'm just surprised he looks to be on the bubble and hasn't' had a chance to crack the starting lineup now that he is (I'm guessing here) healthy.

 

At the start of camp it was looking like Hairston was going to get a legit shot at OG...Then that talk just seemed to disappear...I agree that Hairston would seemingly be a good fit at OG, especially when compared to Pears...But it looks pretty obvious that Hairston can't gain favor...The fact that Legursky started at LG vs Pittsburg is all the evidence we need there...

[Kelly the Dog]

At the start of camp it was looking like Hairston was going to get a legit shot at OG...Then that talk just seemed to disappear...I agree that Hairston would seemingly be a good fit at OG, especially when compared to Pears...But it looks pretty obvious that Hairston can't gain favor...The fact that Legursky started at LG vs Pittsburg is all the evidence we need there...

I think Hairston is the swing tackle. His experience at OG was not great nor was it horrible. But the time spent playing there is probably valuable if on gameday we dress 7 OL. The starting five, plus probably Urbik (because he can play C) and Hairston. We will see what they do if Richardson gets better and they want to activate him.

[KOKBILLS]

A couple of other things. It sure didn't look like Marone has lost the team and I was quite pleasantly surprised by Hughs' play and his motor, the guy was balling!

 

Hughes can be relentless...I still can't believe we got that kid for Sheppard...

[Doc]

That 20-yard pass to Woods looks like an easy play from above. From the QB's viewpoint, only a handful of QB's would have been able to make that play. Maybe. Thankfully EJ didn't get hurt standing in there and taking it.

[The Dean]

I think Hairston is the swing tackle. His experience at OG was not great nor was it horrible. But the time spent playing there is probably valuable if on gameday we dress 7 OL. The starting five, plus probably Urbik (because he can play C) and Hairston. We will see what they do if Richardson gets better and they want to activate him.

 

I don't disagree, But if he is really on the bubble, and in danger of being cut to keep Legursky on the roster (I think I just threw up in my mouth a little) then give the guy a shot at G.

[Doc]

And the review above confirms what I was left thinking about the game, i.e. that EJ didn't have much help.

[AmishRifle]

I rewatched the game as well and came away with the same conclusions. EJ played OK, his offensive line and supporting cast didn't. I'd like to see EJ hold his offensive mates accountable though. EJ seems to lack the fire and passion to be a genuine leader for the offense.

 

On another note, I've become very concerned with our Linebacker's abilities to cover running backs in space.

[Bangarang]

I've watched the game a few times now and each time Pears manages to get worse. I'd almost rather see Urbik at RG again.

[Deranged Rhino]

...Mr. Pears, we meet again.

[eball]

Thanks for this post and follow up comments, guys -- I didn't get a chance to see much of the game and was expecting the worst.

 

The only conclusions I can draw are that the OL needs more time together, and it will be nice to see our full complement of WRs on the field.

 

And EJ took hits but didn't get injured!

[Tipster19]

On another note, I've become very concerned with our Linebacker's abilities to cover running backs in space.

 

Great point, I fear the same. Although I thought Nigel looked outstanding, he's going to be a great one. I can't wait to see him and Kiko pair up next year!