Sullivans Monday Patriots/Bills Column

[BuffaloBillsForever]

Here are the highlights of the article.

 

For the second week in a row, the Pats showed that reports of their decline have been severely exaggerated, scoring on their first four possessions of the second half to pull away from an overmatched and outcoached Bills team.

 

Brady popped Pegula’s balloon and shattered myths – that he’s over the hill; that he can’t throw the deep ball anymore; that he can’t make quick decisions behind his current, subpar offensive line.

 

Oh, and he punctured the idea that the Bills have some elite, dominant defense. Once again, when people desperately needed the Buffalo “D” to live up to its reputation as a top unit, it wasn’t up to the challenge.

 

It’s not all on the defense, of course. Kyle Orton, in his second game as starting quarterback, turned into Kyle Ordinary. I can’t imagine Pegula was thrilled to see a journeyman in a shootout with Brady, knowing he doesn’t have a first-round pick in the next NFL draft.

 

But the defense was supposed to lift them in tough moments. That’s why they benched EJ Manuel, right? Because their elite defense was capable of riding an average quarterback into the playoffs. Weren’t they supposed to be beyond such meltdowns?

 

While they’re sorting it out, they might review the San Diego tape. This makes two straight home losses in which an elite quarterback cut them to shreds. Philip Rivers did it Week Three, getting the ball out quick and finding all the seams in the secondary.

 

It was the same old Pats-Bills in Pegula’s debut. Brady is now 23-2 against the Bills. He played the way he did here on a Sunday night in 2007, when he passed for 373 yards and five TDs with no picks.

 

Speaking of Mario, he was off the field for the first five plays of the Pats’ clinching TD drive. So was Jerry Hughes. Marrone said they were due to sit as part of the team’s defensive line rotation.

 

The heck with the rotation. If I’m the new owner, I ask my head coach why I’m paying $18 million for a defensive player who’s not on the field for the biggest series of the day.

 

http://www.buffalone...-brady-20141012

Edited October 13, 2014 by BuffaloBillsForever

[PromoTheRobot]

Pegula should hire Jerry as his football consultant.

[May Day 10]

hmmm. cant disagree

[BuffaloBillsForever]

hmmm. cant disagree

 

Absolutely. In terms of elite QB's point he mentioned we still have to face Brady, Manning and Rodgers which are likely to shred our secondary as well.

[Best Player Available]

great job Sully!!!

[mrags]

Actually a great job today. That game was seriously winnable. I'm just realizing this now that Hughes and Mario were off the field on thy drive. It's inexcusable. If I were TPegs, I would have walked down on the field in the middle of the drive and fired Marrone.

[BuffaloBillsForever]

Actually a great job today. That game was seriously winnable. I'm just realizing this now that Hughes and Mario were off the field on thy drive. It's inexcusable. If I were TPegs, I would have walked down on the field in the middle of the drive and fired Marrone.

 

The 2nd egregious Marrone blunder is why on earth is Mike Williams inactive? Surprised Sully never mentioned that.

Edited October 13, 2014 by BuffaloBillsForever

[LabattBlue]

Marrone should be fired ASAP if his explanation for Mario and Hughes being on the sidelines at the start of the clinching drive was "DL rotation". Your best players should be on the field when the game is on the line. Bozo Marrone will end up in history as another in a long line of poor hirings as head coach of the Bills.

[Best Player Available]

Marrone should be fired ASAP if his explanation for Mario and Hughes being on the sidelines at the start of the clinching drive was "DL rotation". Your best players should be on the field when the game is on the line. Bozo Marrone will end up in history as another in a long line of poor hirings as head coach of the Bills.

Marrone uses college level logic in the NFL. it doesn't work. DUH!

[dogman]

Marrone uses college level logic in the NFL. it doesn't work. DUH!

 

Good point. "Rotation" makes sense if they are all on scholarship, not if your starters are making millions. I remember Bruce Smith undressing Marv Levy for taking him out late in a game when they were down by 21 points. If you are going to rotate then pay them all the same.

[GG]

Marrone should be fired ASAP if his explanation for Mario and Hughes being on the sidelines at the start of the clinching drive was "DL rotation". Your best players should be on the field when the game is on the line. Bozo Marrone will end up in history as another in a long line of poor hirings as head coach of the Bills.

 

Look at Marrone's quote, and you will find Schwartz's legs under the bus.

[PolishDave]

Absolutely. In terms of elite QB's point he mentioned we still have to face Brady, Manning and Rodgers which are likely to shred our secondary as well.

Yes they very likely will shred the Bills D because the so called savior "Schwartz" refuses to blitz.

 

This was my fear going into the game yesterday. After watching Rivers kill the Bills with his arm and a lack of pass rush, I wondered if we would see the same thing happen with another elite passer. The lack of a consistent pass rush allowed Brady to get very comfortable and pick the Bills apart. I expect Manning and Rogers will do the same if Schwartz follows the same philosophy.

[Luxy312]

I disagree with Sully here. I'm sorry, but the defense WAS that good in the first half. The problem was that the offense kept giving the ball back to the Patriots where they had to do very little to put points on the board. THREE turnovers by this pitiful offense and you get field goal, field goal, touchdown and a 13-7 lead by the Patriots at the half. The Bills were fortunate to even be in the game at that point. To the real problem of this team, we simply have to look at Hackett and if you want him to share blame, Marrone. The offensive play calling is a joke. The formula looks something like this: First down: run or pass short. Second down: run or pass short. Third down: if it's 5+ yards take a shot downfield. If it's less run or pass short. Look familiar to anyone? This has been our every week, every game playbook. We don't modify it when our opponent has a weakness we can exploit (see Houston and their run defense). We don't modify it when we're having success (see New England and passes to the middle of the field). The Bills beat themselves on Sunday.

[BillsVet]

Look at Marrone's quote, and you will find Schwartz's legs under the bus.

 

I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of buses going by OBD in the coming weeks. And more people ending up under those buses, both coaches and front office types.

[mrags]

I disagree with Sully here. I'm sorry, but the defense WAS that good in the first half. The problem was that the offense kept giving the ball back to the Patriots where they had to do very little to put points on the board. THREE turnovers by this pitiful offense and you get field goal, field goal, touchdown and a 13-7 lead by the Patriots at the half. The Bills were fortunate to even be in the game at that point. To the real problem of this team, we simply have to look at Hackett and if you want him to share blame, Marrone. The offensive play calling is a joke. The formula looks something like this: First down: run or pass short. Second down: run or pass short. Third down: if it's 5+ yards take a shot downfield. If it's less run or pass short. Look familiar to anyone? This has been our every week, every game playbook. We don't modify it when our opponent has a weakness we can exploit (see Houston and their run defense). We don't modify it when we're having success (see New England and passes to the middle of the field). The Bills beat themselves on Sunday.

and what's your excuse for the defense in the 2nd half. Didn't the Pats score on every single drive in the 2nd half?

 

 

Hell, let's just chalk it up to the fact that we played arguably the best QB in the league and the history if the league. It sucks. Get over it. We could have won but didn't.

[Buftex]

Marrone uses college level logic in the NFL. it doesn't work. DUH!

 

Obviously...

 

Yes they very likely will shred the Bills D because the so called savior "Schwartz" refuses to blitz.

 

This was my fear going into the game yesterday. After watching Rivers kill the Bills with his arm and a lack of pass rush, I wondered if we would see the same thing happen with another elite passer. The lack of a consistent pass rush allowed Brady to get very comfortable and pick the Bills apart. I expect Manning and Rogers will do the same if Schwartz follows the same philosophy.

 

Agreed...when the Patriots lose, it is because the defense gets a ton of pressure on him. When he is forced to move around in the pocket, particularly at this point in his career, his throws are less accurate, and he has shown a propensity to make more mistakes...

[dib]

I've used this before but it still applies. Duke of Wellington after Waterloo "They came on in the same old way and we killed them in the same old way"

[OCinBuffalo]

We're 3 and 3...through the toughest part of our schedule.

 

Now, we have more than a few cup cake teams coming up. In fact our schedule doesn't get hard again until December. We have better than a 50% chance of going 4-2 over the next 5 games, and it's not unreasonable to think we can win them ALL. That means we are most likey to win at least 7 games this year....right now, not including Oakland.

 

But even if that wasn't the case, we've already won 3 games. Which automatically means we AREN'T GOING TO BE DRAFTING TOP 5(what is it going to take for people to get that concept through their knuckleheads?)

+

Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning, etc. Were drafted #1 overall. Top 5 QBs are Top 5 QBs....for a reason.

=

Not having a 1st round pick next year NEVER had a chance of getting us a QB that is any BETTER than EJ.

 

 

Seriously, what it is going to take to put this retarded "next's year's 1st round pick was going to get us a QB, and not only a QB that is better than EJ, but one that is going to start and play great as a rookie" argument to bed?

 

It's completely illogical. Only an umitigated moron keeps talking about the #1 we don't have as a lost opportunity to draft a starting QB that is better than Orton, never mind EJ.

Edited October 13, 2014 by OCinBuffalo

[Rob's House]

I disagree with Sully here. I'm sorry, but the defense WAS that good in the first half. The problem was that the offense kept giving the ball back to the Patriots where they had to do very little to put points on the board. THREE turnovers by this pitiful offense and you get field goal, field goal, touchdown and a 13-7 lead by the Patriots at the half. The Bills were fortunate to even be in the game at that point. To the real problem of this team, we simply have to look at Hackett and if you want him to share blame, Marrone. The offensive play calling is a joke. The formula looks something like this: First down: run or pass short. Second down: run or pass short. Third down: if it's 5+ yards take a shot downfield. If it's less run or pass short. Look familiar to anyone? This has been our every week, every game playbook. We don't modify it when our opponent has a weakness we can exploit (see Houston and their run defense). We don't modify it when we're having success (see New England and passes to the middle of the field). The Bills beat themselves on Sunday.

 

Problem is you play 2 halves and they didn't show up for the second one.

[TC in St. Louis]

Brady was 15 of 17 for nearly 300 in the second half. If they are worried that putting the blitz on the guy would result in a higher completion ratio, how much higher can you get than 88%? Blitz. Hit the guy. Make his head shake. Drop him. Make him a little tentative. Scare him.