GunnerBill Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 Okay so same concept as the thread I did after the Panthers game. Who furthered their cause last night and who hurt themselves insofar as becoming a starter or making the roster.... Good Night The Quarterbacks - Yet again I think that the Bills can come out pretty pleased with the way their Quarterbacks played. Tyrod made some good reads and throws from the pocket demonstrated a little more patience than against the Panthers and converted a few big 3rd downs. Slightly underthrew the fade to Thompson in the endzone but it was still a good enough ball to be caught. EJ was given no chance in the 3rd quarter by his line and whilst he made a couple of poor throws (the rollout and throw which Connor dropped was a pass he would have liked back) he came back to lead a very impressive drive with 3 or 4 absolute strikes including the TD and then converted the 2 pointer. Maquise Goodwin - I thought Goodwin showed good awareness of the marker on those 3rd down pickups. The receiver race will also go down to the wire. The secondary - If this was a slight area of concern defensively from the first pre-season game it was an area of strength last night. I like Graham and Aaron at safety and the fact they are former corners give our defense the chance to mix its coverages which we saw a bit in last night's game. Also fantastic to see Darby bounce back from a rough debut with two picks and Gilmore made a couple of very good plays. Red Bryant - Couple of nice stops in the run game, seemed to be moving around the line as well lining up inside and outside. Only been with the team a couple of days and already looks a nice piece for the defensive staff to play with. Not a like for like replacement for Wynn but someone who is going to give Thurman and Rex plenty of options. Honourable mention for Cedric Reed who I thought was the pick of the second team rushers and would be more of a like for like Wynn alternative. Would love to be able to keep him at least on the practice squad. Chris Gragg - I mentioned in my good night v bad night after the Panthers game that he might be the beneficiary of the mistakes of others. Last night he had three big catches for 1st down yardage on that final drive and when you add that to another rough night for Gray with dumb penalties and one alignment mistake where he didn't seem to know where he was motioning to pre-snap I think Gragg's move up the depth chart continues. I might be out on a limb here but he would be my second tight end after Clay. Bad Night Duke Williams - Start with the obvious one. Duke had a horrible night of missed tackles and blown coverages. I thought he showed real potential last year in Schwartz's scheme and I don't know if it is a case of Rex's scheme asking more of him or him not quite having the same understanding but at this stage he seems to have regressed. Think his roster spot is probably still safe at the moment but it might be he, rather than Rambo, who is most vulnerable should someone else emerge (Jonathan Meeks I am looking at you). Second team offensive line - Last week I thought the three guys we care about on the second team line (ie. the three likely to make the team - Kujo, Urbik and Richardson) all had themselves nice games. Last night the interior of that line was horrible giving EJ no time at all in the pocket for most of the 3rd quarter and having him running for his life to try and find enough space to plant his feet. Kujo at left tackle was the least bad of the line and still deserves credit for the frankly huge steps forward he has taken since last season... but if we get serious injuries upfront the offense will suffer. (As a side not, can we cut this Kupper guy now please? There must be some out of work young guard somewhere who could at least get a hand on a rusher? Turnstile is being kind to him... invisible would be more apt.) Chris Hogan - There is no bigger Hogan fan than me and whilst he had a nice contested catch on his only target the injury he suffered in going to ground kept him from returning and given that Goodwin had a nice night and Thompson flashed again if his ankle is likely to keep him out of the Pittsburgh game he could come under some pressure. I still don't buy the media speculation about him being on the bubble though... doesn't seem to fit with what the coaches have consistently said. Defensive play calling - I know I am going to take some heat for this one but man I was sick of the blitzes. This defense is so talented it can get pressure with the front 4. We don't consistently need to be throwing extra men at the Quarterback and the third down conversions that McCown in particular was able to make really frustrated me because they were like watching the Pettine D all over again. I loved the discipline that the defense played with last year and don't get me wrong there is a time to blitz and well used blitzes are always going to be part of the Rex Ryan armoury but I was fed up of them last night. Maybe part of it was a pissing contest with Pettine but I care about yards and points not sacks. If we blitz Luck that often on opening day he will pick us apart. You have the best pass rushing D-Line in football - let them do their jobs. Dezmin Lewis - It may be time this young man starts to think about what he is going to do with the rest of his life. Looks a million miles from an NFL standard football player at this stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 Great stuff Gunner!! I agree with all of it and really enjoy the concept. I'm glad someone had the guts to bring up the defensive playcalling. This team will generate pressure with less guys rushing than Rex is accustomed to. They are just more talented. I also thought that Dareus & the starting LBs were good last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The BLUES Brothers Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 Great Post!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4merper4mer Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 I understand what you said about Hogan but he didn't play poorly IMO, he just had bad luck with the injury. I'm not his biggest fan but he did not look bad to me. Get well soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPS Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 Re the blitzing, a while back Dennis Thurman said something like they will show enough in the pre-season to make teams prepare for everything, so it could've been a bit of that? Blitzing by both teams also had me wondering if Rex and mike had a little "deal" going to help prep each other's O-line? I guess the next two games will provide answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 (edited) Re the blitzing, a while back Dennis Thurman said something like they will show enough in the pre-season to make teams prepare for everything, so it could've been a bit of that? Blitzing by both teams also had me wondering if Rex and mike had a little "deal" going to help prep each other's O-line? I guess the next two games will provide answers.rex said they have shown next to nothing this far of their defensive concepts in the preseason. They are basically playing with a bunch of different stuff and toying with the film that their opponents will be trying to figure out, and will be doing none of it. He said the main goal is to mentally challenge the players at this point by switching things up a bunch. I would put zero stock into the play calling at this point. Edited August 21, 2015 by YoloinOhio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webster Guy Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 Running holes. thats what i was watching every play, because thats the lifeblood of Roman's offense. It seems like his zone blocking is all about getting a blocker or two through the line and into the linebackers. Not just a fullback following a hole, but a TE, Hback or Olineman freed up and ten feet downhill sealing off the crease for the runner. Its pretty different because its sometimes like the Oline is stunting. ie. the play goes left, everybody blocks left but the LT pulls (which is counterintuitive because he should be the key blocker) and goes behind the center and hammers the backside LB or SS. The DE has nobody on them but Incognito and his opponent are shielding the hole between guard and center and the runner is through before the DE can slide over. Pretty wild. The Oline guys probably love the strategies. It seemed to work when they did it, which was a handful of times. I am worried less about the Oline than I was a month ago. We will be wearing down some defenses this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihilarian Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 Good stuff GunnerBill. Both TT & EJ showed well. Loved that EJ showed up at the end and won the game. That Buffalo first string defense is so intimidatingly good. But that second string O line is horrendously bad. We need to start praying now that the line starters all stay healthy this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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