thebandit27 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Great post, as always Bill! 3) It is good to see EJ run. He played a good game and although he continues to be placement-inaccurate the threat of the running game is creating separation so his receivers can go up and make plays. Back to running, we agree that he needs to do more of that. There was a play in the first half that he gave the ball to Spiller with the line sliding to the short side of the field when he had Woods open for a huge gain if he would have kept the ball and taken a few steps to his right and thrown on the run. Huge play opportunity missed because of a mis-read. Houston held his ground but Woods had little but green in front of him and would have been an easy quick flip for a huge gain like the TD pass to CJ. Nowhere for the runner to go on the other side of the field and even though the line did it's job and didn't get too far downfield to take away the pass option it turned into a loss of yardage. 4) Speaking of CJ.....the people saying that he would have taken Dixon's run to the house neglect the fact that CJ maybe doesn't even find that hole at the LOS. With 1 minute left in the half following the Dixon run Eric Wood and Chris Williams executed a good double team block.....very similar to the game winner on Fred Jackson's run in OT.......and Williams effectively came off and eliminated the LB creating a significant hole with everyone thoroughly blocked. But CJ approached the hole and then inexplicably hesitated and cut back into the Williams for a modest gain. This is the maddening stuff you see with CJ. A smarter back knows who the man he has to beat is going to be because he knows where the hole is going to be BEFORE THE SNAP if the play is executed properly and then he can attack that hole. I know you guys see this on the All-22 all the time but the guy consistently leaves 40-50 yards on the field every Sunday and then people wonder why "Hackett keeps pounding him up the middle". You gotta be able to make some plays in tight quarters to be a great RB. Other items....... -The guard situation.....it is weird see guards taller than the tackles and they obviously can't get out in front of a screen to save their lives and that really hurts that part of the offense. There were at least two huge plays left on the field by whiff blocks on screens by those two trees. Where they are effective is blocking between the 20's where defenders are playing more upright and can be swept away by their sheer size and wingspan. They also did a very good job of pass blocking. This can't be understated. The Bears aren't great inside but EJ had the kind of pocket QB's dream about yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised by Williams run blocking as well. I knew we were going to see that upright style from this group but what he lacks in athleticism he has in smarts. Just not sure his back will hold up, he was clutching at it a bit still. Conte is getting a lot of heat, and he is a tackle-missing machine for sure but Lance Briggs also had a really rough day. In addition to being in the wrong place much of the day he also got smacked in the mouth hard by Frank Summers and Fred Jackson on separate plays in the first half. He just flat out looked old yesterday. Speaking of hitting people in the mouth......the Bills really physically took it to the Bears. I was very concerned about Spikes in coverage, and he is a liability there, but he is a head-cracker on those throws in front of him. He messed up Marshall pretty good. He is a physical tone-setter, no doubt. Alshon Jeffery got hurt. The Bears OL got beat up. It was nice seeing the Bills being so much more physical than an opponent. That physical play and the defensive gameplan helped cover up some shaky looking play by Preston Brown and Searcy. That defensive gameplan worked and Schwartz had some nice blitz calls but I think if Pettine and Byrd(and Spikes) were here you might have seen less of a tiger-by-the-tail approach and more of a Seahawks type of defensive gameplan that would have done an even better job of disrupting Cutler. -I usually do not complain about the officials and if the Bills would have lost I would have simply said that they didn't play good enough to beat a good team on the road.......but the officiating was flat out one-sided. The Bills played quite a bit better than the score would indicate. If the calls were evened out all day the Bills probably win easily in regulation. A lot of one sided ticky-tack calls then exacerbated by things like the replay guys overturning the incomplete pass when Spikes creamed Marshall. Picking up the holding penalty? Just awful. But they gave it all back on that last pass play on Chicago's game tying drive at the end of regulation. Graham interfered. Also, fwiw, picking up that holding penalty was the right call.....it was NOT a hold. What is disturbing is that the official threw the flag after being lobbied by Williams for it. Not a good opening day at all for that crew. -The special teams were excellent. What a game by Schmidt. All-in-all it was a feel good day for Doug Whaley's acquisitions. It will be interesting to see how this weekend plays out. Schwartz gameplan he used in Chicago plays into the talent of Tannehill much more than Pettine's attacking style did so I am hoping and expecting for some different looks. Tannehill must go down and he must go down hard. Agree with all of that. One of my best friends was at the game, and he said that afterward, all the Bears fans were talking about was how badly they got beat up (the exact quote was "you guys left us a beat-up bloody mess"). He said the entire place had this demoralized feeling. I hope that's the kind of thing this team can do on a weekly basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsfaninMyrtleBeach Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 The one thing that I will never forget in that game was Freddie giving that stiff arm! A thing of beauty!! His never give up attitude is evident in that run. He is a true leader and is an awesome football player. I hope he makes it to the ring of honor because he deserves it! Altogether a gutsy performance from the team who didn't quit in the 4th quarter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 (edited) Great post, as always Bill! 3) It is good to see EJ run. He played a good game and although he continues to be placement-inaccurate the threat of the running game is creating separation so his receivers can go up and make plays. Back to running, we agree that he needs to do more of that. There was a play in the first half that he gave the ball to Spiller with the line sliding to the short side of the field when he had Woods open for a huge gain if he would have kept the ball and taken a few steps to his right and thrown on the run. Huge play opportunity missed because of a mis-read. Houston held his ground but Woods had little but green in front of him and would have been an easy quick flip for a huge gain like the TD pass to CJ. Nowhere for the runner to go on the other side of the field and even though the line did it's job and didn't get too far downfield to take away the pass option it turned into a loss of yardage. You made some very perceptive observations on EJ. The critique you made regarding his vision is the same critique that was noted by most analysts when he was drafted. He was from an NFL ready standpoint a raw prospect with good physical tools. He played in a relatively simple offense at FSU that was mostly first read options. The transition to a more sophisticated approach to reading defenses is going to take time. If he steadily gets better at reacting to the speed of the game then that is a good sign that he is developing into a competent qb. Although I get frustrated at the cautiousness of the play calling it is the right approach to take. I would still like to see more downfield passes called. It's apparent that CJ's lack of discipline, especially running inside, is an issue with you. It's a fair criticism. But it is my viewthat he is our most potent threat on offense that defenses have to account for. Sometimes a player's biggest liability is also his biggest asset. I'm confident that when the tally is taken his assets will overwhelm his debits and he will prove to be a major asset for the offense. Edited September 9, 2014 by JohnC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 But Chandler is *NOT* a Top-Tier TE. He is an above average TE. There was no way Chandler was going to make a play on that ball. EJ had to do a better job there. Yep. That was not a good throw. Few players make that catch with ease, and Chandler is a run of the mill NFL TE. That's not how it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CountryCletus Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Does anyone else think that there were 3-4 plays where Fred was getting swing and screen passes that those plays might be better is CJ were the RB getting the ball in space? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Look at the background of this photo and tell me CJ isn't "all in" with this team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebandit27 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Look at the background of this photo and tell me CJ isn't "all in" with this team Doesn't surprise me at all...he and Fred share a genuine respect and admiration for each other. I wouldn't be surprised to see CJ get a contract before the end of the month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsfaninMyrtleBeach Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Was a tough game. We used two defibulators at the bar Sunday!! GO BILLS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Conte was pathetic, wasn't he? I say he got pushed around worse than a shopping cart at Walmart on Black Friday. Go Bills! To be fair to Conte, he said afterward that he wasn't trying to tackle Jackson because he knew the Bills were in fairly easy FG range at that point. He was doing everything he could to try to keep him up and strip the ball -- which he was said was their only chance. Which is actually good sense even if it ended up being a highly embarrassing play for him. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/29748263-606/chris-conte-defends-his-play-on-fred-jacksons-big-run.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Tuesday Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Does anyone else think that there were 3-4 plays where Fred was getting swing and screen passes that those plays might be better is CJ were the RB getting the ball in space? Yes, this was my view exactly. I don't know why those screens were called when FJ was in the game, not CJ. CJ would've broken at least one of them for a huge gain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heels20X6 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Doesn't surprise me at all...he and Fred share a genuine respect and admiration for each other. I wouldn't be surprised to see CJ get a contract before the end of the month. Get some of that sweet, sweet Pegula money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mannc Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Look at the background of this photo and tell me CJ isn't "all in" with this team What the picture really shows is that it should have been ruled a touchdown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billykaykay Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Preston Brown did not play well - they were trying to cover up for him on defense the entire game. His head is spinning out there. Agreed. McKelvin was solid. Love the player that he has become. We miss Kiko covering backs out of the backfield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunnerBill Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Doesn't surprise me at all...he and Fred share a genuine respect and admiration for each other. I wouldn't be surprised to see CJ get a contract before the end of the month. Yea, Fred is a top notch person. He remains good friends with Lynch too I don't think he has ever seen the other running back as a foe and I think he has kinda brought CJ up in that mindset. I think CJ wants to stay here - the question is how much do the coaching staff wanna keep him? They have extended Fred and they didn't trade for Bryce Brown to sit him forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeGOATski Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 What the picture really shows is that it should have been ruled a touchdown. sarcasm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beebes Bubble Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 (edited) Bill, in your metro-sexual crusade of persistently using song lyrics, can you at least use those from Bon Jovi for the remainder of the year? Edited September 9, 2014 by Beebes Bubble Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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