Exhibition Week 1 - Panthers vs. Bills

[EmotionallyUnstable]

Mulligan will get cut, and hopefully sooner rather than later... what i saw was him either being slow off the line unless of course he was commiting a false start. The good news is that he can catch the ball, but he won't gain any YAC unless he is left completely uncovered- and there isn't anyone on that side of the field.

 

McCoy- He's got quick feet, runs through arms without issue and he plays hard, even without a helmet.. I think we all know what we have with McCoy...

 

Hogan- I couldn't care less if he makes the team or not... i don't think he's worth a **** as a receiver as he has proven for two years that he cant catch passes unless everything about said pass is perfect... 7/11, smh... being open doesn't mean you can catch the ball...

 

1st Team Defense- Holy Crap!!! Suffocating!! One thing that i was suprised about was that Lawson stayed with Benjamin on a go route...

 

Thigpen is (or should be) our return man..

 

Felton underperformed... i saw him lunging at defenders feet, and the play where McCoy looked like Spiller was in large part to Felton missing a key block- he just ran past a defender...

 

Clay- he is what we thought he was... shifty and hard to bring down...

 

Karlos- Very hard runner, punisher, needs to have better vision through the line, and i think he makes Boobie exendable

 

Gay- my initial thought was that is Carpenter is out any amount of regular season time that they would bring in another FG kicker...I would like to see what Gay does in the next game, maybe that first kick was nerves... very strong leg though

 

Aaron Williams- All over the field, closes fast, and IMO better than Byrd was at safety

 

TT- HOLY CRAP IS THIS GUY FAST!!! I saw good touch on his deep throws, i liked his pocket presence. a couple of his early runs appears to me to be by design as i saw WR's blocking down field. A couple hand offs appeared to be telegraphed- but that may help in the playaction game... I didn't see any indecision, it appeared that he went through his progression and if there was nothing there, he ran- and i'm quite alright with that. TT has incredible elusiveness, avoided sacks and kept his eyes downfield... when he was running, it seemed that he was always cognizant of the 1st down marker- no more Orton slides 2 yards short... I never noticed a run first mentality with him... I like his play a lot and think he should be given a legit shot at the job...

 

Time of Possession... if we can do what we did in the first half, long offensive drives and 3 and outs on D- that will help us win a lot of games!

 

Gilmore needs a haircut and has to start looking for the ball..

 

Darby- on the Ginn TD catch, if he puts his hands up, he probably defends the pass-on benjamin TD i dont think there was much push off, but i think he started to play back on his heels...

 

Hughes- can play all 3 downs- was very tough on the run

 

Bryce Brown- always seemed to be looking for lanes when running the ball. big burst... if he can hang onto the ball, he will be valuable- on his TD run he showed a good combination of power and vision...

 

No evaluation of Meh because he was typical Meh... ultra conservative, slow and steady...definition of game manager...

Thanks. At first I was all for keeping mulligan as an in line TE blocking option, but now I think otherwise.

 

Fair e v a l of TT

 

Time of Possession is how we will beat the Colts

[BarleyNY]

Didn't chris Williams get cut?

That's right! WTF is PFF talking about then?

This is from last year.

Oh, that explains it. Sorry.

[mannc]

 

I agree, a guy like that definitely makes a defense react to him. One added bonus is that a guy like that negates pass rushers and most defenses are built to defend the pass first and foremost nowadays so that is where much of their talent lies. It's different than the Flutie era when teams could just substitute big personnel, take away the run game and just contain Flutie in the pocket. That is what snuffed him. Much more opportunity for small QB's now but it's still an uphill battle staying healthy if you can't make every throw when and where you need to. Taylor appears to be a bit more natural at avoiding the big hit than a guy like RG3 or the post-prison Vick but one mistake is all it takes.

I mostly agree. A QB like Taylor gives the defense an extra player they have to defend. It also slows down the pass rush because it becomes critically important to keep contain. It's not that defenses can't adjust to it, but it's not easy and it opens other options if the QB can deliver the ball with accuracy. I don't believe running QBs are more susceptible to injuries, by the way. The reason there are not a lot of them is that few have proven to be accurate passers (see Tebow, for example).

[Rocky Landing]

Now that I've finally seen the game, there are a few things that struck me:

 

--Could (should) Urbik pass Wood as starting center? He looked awfully good in that roll, and Wood has been having problems.

 

--Dez Lewis is gone.

 

--It would be easy to forgive EJ's first two snaps, which were off target by Kupper. But, they weren't that off target. EJ should have pulled them in. That being said, the competition isn't over. EJ looked pretty good in every other respect. I will say that his timing is off. Gray's drop, which the announcers put entirely on Gray, was late. Gray was in full stride, and the ball hit him just on his shoulder. It needed to be out in front of him just a little bit.

 

--Kujo looked great to me. Anyone else feel that way?

 

--I think this is becoming TT's job to lose. And, before this game, I thought Cassel was close to a lock to be on the team-- veteran presence, and all. I think it's not outrageous to think that he could be cut. I think EJ is better than many think.

 

-- I'm starting to think that Duke Williams is a bum.

 

-- I think Thigpen makes the team.

 

-- As good as Goodwin looked on his two big plays, I think he may be a casualty. His early drop (from Cassel, I think?) seemed too typical of him.

 

-- Even our second string D looks good.

 

-- They had Gragg out there almost the whole game. But, I don't like his blocking. He was pushing the pile the wrong way on Williams' leaping touchdown.

Edited August 15, 2015 by Rocky Landing

[CountryCletus]

Now that I've finally seen the game, there are a few things that struck me:

 

--Could (should) Urbik pass Wood as starting center? He looked awfully good in that roll, and Wood has been having problems.

 

--Dez Lewis is gone.

 

--It would be easy to forgive EJ's first two snaps, which were off target by Kupper. But, they weren't that off target. EJ should have pulled them in. That being said, the competition isn't over. EJ looked pretty good in every other respect. I will say that his timing is off. Gray's drop, which the announcers put entirely on Gray, was late. Gray was in full stride, and the ball hit him just on his shoulder. It needed to be out in front of him just a little bit.

 

--Kujo looked great to me. Anyone else feel that way?

 

--I think this is becoming TT's job to lose. And, before this game, I thought Cassel was close to a lock to be on the team-- veteran presence, and all. I think it's not outrageous to think that he could be cut. I think EJ is better than many think.

 

-- I'm starting to think that Duke Williams is a bum.

 

-- I think Thigpen makes the team.

 

-- As good as Goodwin looked on his two big plays, I think he may be a casualty. His early drop (from Cassel, I think?) seemed too typical of him.

 

-- Even our second string D looks good.

 

-- They had Gragg out there almost the whole game. But, I don't like his blocking. He was pushing the pile the wrong way on Williams' leaping touchdown.

I'm not sure I included the note that I had about the second D, but I had the same thing... They looked good!!! I am going to put together my 53 prediction soon...

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

I just watched it. The QB issue is going to be hard.

 

EJ looks like the best pure passer.

 

But cassel seems like he will be more accurate in the short passing game (yet likely gives us nothing beyond that).

 

TT would be explosive in the read option, but didn't see enough of his passing. I will say that even on the three long missed to Goodwin, those were well thrown balls. You wonder if that was Sammy out there instead, the result would have been different.

 

By the way, the second string LT (63) was abused. I was glad to see that that wasn't Kujo.

[CountryCletus]

I just watched it. The QB issue is going to be hard.

 

EJ looks like the best pure passer.

 

But cassel seems like he will be more accurate in the short passing game (yet likely gives us nothing beyond that).

 

TT would be explosive in the read option, but didn't see enough of his passing. I will say that even on the three long missed to Goodwin, those were well thrown balls. You wonder if that was Sammy out there instead, the result would have been different.

 

By the way, the second string LT (63) was abused. I was glad to see that that wasn't Kujo.

I think we saw a completely different style of play calling for all 3 quarterbacks.... It's not like the old regime that played Tuel, Manuel, and Orton all the same way... I think TT was very impressive and I am left wanting to see more. I'm not ready to award him (or anyone) the starting job yet, but I would say that he has the edge... I can't wait

To see what he does next week with all (or most) of the starters.... Next week could be the game that dictates the QB pecking order!

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

I think we saw a completely different style of play calling for all 3 quarterbacks.... It's not like the old regime that played Tuel, Manuel, and Orton all the same way... I think TT was very impressive and I am left wanting to see more. I'm not ready to award him (or anyone) the starting job yet, but I would say that he has the edge... I can't wait

To see what he does next week with all (or most) of the starters.... Next week could be the game that dictates the QB pecking order!

True. Playcalling could have been misleading.

 

Re TT, I thought his best play was his escaped sack, roll out to his left and threw an accurate dump down for like 8 yards to a RB. If he can make those kinds of throws, then I am hopeful he can be proficient enough of a passer.

 

But if I am Roman and TT is the guy, I build the entire offense around TT's legs (read option; designed QB runs; boot leg passes).

[The Wiz]

I think we saw a completely different style of play calling for all 3 quarterbacks.... It's not like the old regime that played Tuel, Manuel, and Orton all the same way... I think TT was very impressive and I am left wanting to see more. I'm not ready to award him (or anyone) the starting job yet, but I would say that he has the edge... I can't wait

To see what he does next week with all (or most) of the starters.... Next week could be the game that dictates the QB pecking order!

Next week Roman is going to tell EJ to play like Cassel, Taylor to play like EJ and Cassel to play like Taylor.

[Kelly the Dog]

True. Playcalling could have been misleading.

Re TT, I thought his best play was his escaped sack, roll out to his left and threw an accurate dump down for like 8 yards to a RB. If he can make those kinds of throws, then I am hopeful he can be proficient enough of a passer.

But if I am Roman and TT is the guy, I build the entire offense around TT's legs (read option; designed QB runs; boot leg passes).

That was to Karlos Williams and it was a fantastic play by TT.

 

Lost in a lot of the commentary last night and today was, how great is it to have an OC who calls plays designed to his players strengths? What a concept!

[CountryCletus]

Next week Roman is going to tell EJ to play like Cassel, Taylor to play like EJ and Cassel to play like Taylor.

That's what I heard too!!! The ol' Finkle is Einhorn/Einhorn is Finkle trick.... Oldest trick in the book

[CNY315]

With our starting skill players and OL I think Taylor wins the job next week

[PromoTheRobot]

Just curious, anyone have a take on how Cam Newton played? How would you feel if he were a Bill and played that way?

[CountryCletus]

Just curious, anyone have a take on how Cam Newton played? How would you feel if he were a Bill and played that way?

2 of 3 series were very disappointing... I think Taylor looked better than Cam- but that isn't an apples to apples comparison

[Solomon Grundy]

Just curious, anyone have a take on how Cam Newton played? How would you feel if he were a Bill and played that way?

I thought/think EJ and Cam's game are similar!! Even though he used his legs to scramble for a 1st down yesterday, he should use them more.

[CountryCletus]

I thought/think EJ and Cam's game are similar!! Even though he used his legs to scramble for a 1st down yesterday, he should use them more.

I agree- he needs to find that combination of running like he did his rookie year, while being able to pass from the pocket effectively. I think if he were to be a little more like Russell Wilson, he would be a force. I am pretty sure I recall hearing that the coaching staff is trying to make him more of a pocket passer... Why people draft someone with that skill set and try and change them into something else just boggles my mind... I can understand wanting a more polished passer, but limiting a threat to run when they excel at it just seems silly

[26CornerBlitz]

@salmaiorana

Here are a few thoughts - outside of the QBs - I had following the #Bills game. My blog:... http://fb.me/6N6GKhbEt

[Matt in KC]

Did anyone else notice how aggressively Goodwin was blocking? (Very.) Look for it if you watch again. I think that subtlety of his game is going to save his roster spot.

 

A couple of the other young receivers offer as much, or almost as much as Hogan. My current best guess is they keep 5 WRs, and 1-2 on the practice squad.

[Kirby Jackson]

Just curious, anyone have a take on how Cam Newton played? How would you feel if he were a Bill and played that way?

Cam was good. Cam is always good. He played against a great D and made some really nice plays (throw to Ginn, throw down the field when he was hit), the TD throw). He is a really good QB. If the Bills had Newton they would be a Super Bowl favorite.

 

Cam Newton is what those who still believe in EJ dream that he will become. There is a chasm between the players as of today but they have similar builds. Newton is a better thrower though.

[CountryCletus]

Cam was good. Cam is always good. He played against a great D and made some really nice plays (throw to Ginn, throw down the field when he was hit), the TD throw). He is a really good QB. If the Bills had Newton they would be a Super Bowl favorite.

 

Cam Newton is what those who still believe in EJ dream that he will become. There is a chasm between the players as of today but they have similar builds. Newton is a better thrower though.

Do you think that EJ can ever develop into Cam, or anything close to him?