GunnerBill Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 (edited) So for the third good night v bad night of pre-season and this might be the last one because I am not sure we are going to see too many people vs Detroit that have much of a chance of making this team. Same premise as before whose stock rose last night and whose fell.... Good Night EJ Manuel & Tyrod Taylor - Start with the obvious but both of the younger Quarterbacks in the Bills competition demonstrated enough for fans and coaches alike to feel good about the state of the Quarterback position. EJ Manuel threw two fantastic touchdown passes, showed great poise and patience in the pocket and has been as good as his word this pre-season - he has let it rip. Tyrod showed plenty too going 12 of 13 and demonstrating real progress in getting through his progressions to his 2nd, 3rd and on one occasion 4th receiver. Would have been nice to see him throw a touchdown... because the windows can be tighter down there and it is the one thing missing from his impressive pre-season resume. However, he got the team into the endzone again with his legs to cap an impressive night. Fred Jackson - As if to make a point on his very first carry that there is life in the old dog yet Freddy took it 42 yards to the 1 to set up Buffalo's first score and then dived over the pile himself to finish it off. We all know that there isn't the same burst that there used to be but what Fred lacks in explosiveness he makes up for in veteran wiles and heart. If there was any semblance of a question outstanding it has been answered. Fred will be on this team. Corbin Bryant - A sack and 5 total tackles for Bryant who cemented his position as the primary back up to Kyle and Marcel. Many considered him behind Charles at the start of OTAs but I always felt he was the best fit for what the Bills want to do and he has not just won his position over Charles and Carrington, he has blown them out of the water. He dominated the Steelers starting o-line. Bills' O-Line - This was the best overall performance from the line this pre-season. Incognito had by far his best outing dominating on the left hand side and I also felt on a first view as though there were nice signs of progress from Henderson although will watch him more closely when I watch the whole thing back. In order for whoever is under centre to have success for the Bills this season, giving them time to make decisions and throw the ball is going to be vital. Props to the back up line too who bounced back from a horror show in Cleveland last week to play well for the most part. Mario Butler - On a night where the starting secondary had a bit of a shocker the kid that has just made plays throughout camp made some plays on the field as well. A couple of really nice examples of tight coverage in the second half to break up passes thrown by Landry Jones. The Bills have to love his extra size too in this age of big receivers. A small mention for Ron Brooks who also had a solid night. Those two probably cement themselves on the roster for opening day. Bad Night The starting secondary - This is just starting to raise its head as a concern. Rex claims he was challenging their communication and ability to win 1v1 but they were torched by the Steelers starters and Martavis Bryant in particular. The worst performance came from rookie Ron Darby who had a terrible outing giving up a couple of big completions and a couple of PI calls. However, the safeties seemed to be out of position frequently which led to big YAC for the Steelers receivers and to top it off Stephon Gilmore and Aaorn Williams both picked up troublesome injuries into the bargain. This unit needs to play much, much better for the Bills to have any chance week 1. Matt Cassel - Cassel didn't do anything wrong as such but he is yet to lead the Bills to points this offseason, any throw further than about 6 yards seems to strain every muscle in his body, and in game situation the other two have simply outperformed him all pre-season. If Rex was minded to name him the starter (and I have no reason to doubt Metz that in actual fact they were leaning in a different direction anyway) then he has to reconsider. You can't sell this guy to the fan base and Rex will lose a lot of goodwill if he tries to. Marquise Goodwin - Just when it looked like Goodwin had locked up a spot in the crowded receivers battle the injury bug strikes again and all of a sudden his future with the team is called into question. If he has broken ribs and that is going to impact his performance for 4 or 5 weeks into the season the Bills may decide to part ways. Yes, they waited for Sammy last year and even played him through it but Goodwin is not Watkins and the chance of him ending on IR have just sky rocketed. Nick O'Leary - I think I am right in saying that Nick O-Leary doesn't yet have a catch in pre-season and last night each of the other tight ends on the roster played well and combined for over 200 yards receiving. Even if he was clinging on to this roster by his finger tips before last night his shot has gone now. The Bills will hope he clears waivers so that they can stash him on the practice squad. Linebacker depth - First Ty Powell and then last night Tony Steward. If Steward's injury is anything like serious then I have to believe that inside linebackers capable of playing the mike are going to be what the Bills are scouring the waiver wire for. AJ Tarpley is currently the "next man up" but whilst he has shown well in practice that hasn't so far carried through to the games. I expect the Bills to make some kind of move around final cut downs. Edited August 30, 2015 by GunnerBill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSBill Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 So for the third good night v bad night of pre-season and this might be the last one because I am not sure we are going to see too many people vs Detroit that have much of a chance of making this team. Same premise as before whose stock rose last night and whose fell.... Good Night EJ Manuel & Tyrod Taylor - Start with the obvious but both of the younger Quarterbacks in the Bills competition demonstrated enough for fans and coaches alike to feel good about the state of the Quarterback position. EJ Manuel threw two fantastic touchdown passes, showed great poise and patience in the pocket and has been as good as his word this pre-season - he has let it rip. Tyrod showed plenty too going 12 of 13 and demonstrating real progress in getting through his progressions to his 2nd, 3rd and on one occasion 4th receiver. Would have been nice to see him throw a touchdown... because the windows can be tighter down there and it is the one thing missing from his impressive pre-season resume. However, he got the team into the endzone again with his legs to cap an impressive night. Fred Jackson - As if to make a point on his very first carry that there is life in the old dog yet Freddy took it 42 yards to the 1 to set up Buffalo's first score and then dived over the pile himself to finish it off. We all know that there isn't the same burst that there used to be but what Fred lacks in explosiveness he makes up for in veteran wiles and heart. If there was any semblance of a question outstanding it has been answered. Fred will be on this team. Corbin Bryant - A sack and 5 total tackles for Bryant who cemented his position as the primary back up to Kyle and Marcel. Many considered him behind Charles at the start of OTAs but I always felt he was the best fit for what the Bills want to do and he has not just won his position over Charles and Carrington, he has blown them out of the water. He dominated the Steelers starting o-line. Bills' O-Line - This was the best overall performance from the line this pre-season. Incognito had by far his best outing dominating on the left hand side and I also felt on a first view as though there were nice signs of progress from Henderson although will watch him more closely when I watch the whole thing back. In order for whoever is under centre to have success for the Bills this season, giving them time to make decisions and throw the ball is going to be vital. Props to the back up line too who bounced back from a horror show in Cleveland last week to play well for the most part. Mario Butler - On a night where the starting secondary had a bit of a shocker the kid that has just made plays throughout camp made some plays on the field as well. A couple of really nice examples of tight coverage in the second half to break up passes thrown by Landry Jones. The Bills have to love his extra size too in this age of big receivers. A small mention for Ron Brooks who also had a solid night. Those two probably cement themselves on the roster for opening day. Bad Night The starting secondary - This is just starting to raise its head as a concern. Rex claims he was challenging their communication and ability to win 1v1 but they were torched by the Steelers starters and Martavis Bryant in particular. The worst performance came from rookie Ron Darby who had a terrible outing giving up a couple of big completions and a couple of PI calls. However, the safeties seemed to be out of position frequently which led to big YAC for the Steelers receivers and to top it off Stephon Gilmore and Aaorn Williams both picked up troublesome injuries into the bargain. This unit needs to play much, much better for the Bills to have any chance week 1. Matt Cassel - Cassel didn't do anything wrong as such but he is yet to lead the Bills to points this offseason, any throw further than about 6 yards seems to strain every muscle in his body, and in game situation the other two have simply outperformed him all pre-season. If Rex was minded to name him the starter (and I have no reason to doubt Metz that in actual fact they were leaning in a different direction anyway) then he has to reconsider. You can't sell this guy to the fan base and Rex will lose a lot of goodwill if he tries to. Marquise Goodwin - Just when it looked like Goodwin had locked up a spot in the crowded receivers battle the injury bug strikes again and all of a sudden his future with the team is called into question. If he has broken ribs and that is going to impact his performance for 4 or 5 weeks into the season the Bills may decide to part ways. Yes, they waited for Sammy last year and even played him through it but Goodwin is not Watkins and the chance of him ending on IR have just sky rocketed. Nick O'Leary - I think I am right in saying that Nick O-Leary doesn't yet have a catch in pre-season and last night each of the other tight ends on the roster played well and combined for over 200 yards receiving. Even if he was clinging on to this roster by his finger tips before last night his shot has gone now. The Bills will hope he clears waivers so that they can stash him on the practice squad. Linebacker depth - First Ty Powell and then last night Tony Steward. If Steward's injury is anything like serious then I have to believe that inside linebackers capable of playing the mike are going to be what the Bills are scouring the waiver wire for. AJ Tarpley is currently the "next man up" but whilst he has shown well in practice that hasn't so far carried through to the games. I expect the Bills to make some kind of move around final cut downs. Agee on all, well done Gunner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 (edited) I think Tarpley has looked pretty good in games, but of course he's against backups when he's in. I agree if Steward is out any length of time they will need to sign an ILB. Agree on Butler - I think he's making the team. Edited August 30, 2015 by YoloinOhio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. L. Hot-Flamethrower Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Really good call for me. I'm seeing the same things you are! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Beard Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 MarQueis Gray had a catch and a pretty solid game all around. He had some bad drops in the first two games. I don't know if he makes the team or not, but he helped himself in this game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 IMO there is no "bad" about a game where the Bills finally look like they may have their answer to their 20 year "QB of the future" search. They just don't know whether that QB is Tyrod Taylor or EJ Manuel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 on paper the secondary did have a bad night, but remember, there is no game planning, rex is purposely putting Darby out without any safety help, this is all to help them learn to communicate on field, in a regular season game darby will have that extra body to help him, there will be set plays. i am not ready to say this was a bad night, simply a learning experience that will go a very long way in solidifying this entire defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt in KC Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 I don't know how you missed mentioning the WR that Easley had the best night. I thnik he was a lock for special teams play, but he is actually showing up as a WR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 I don't know how you missed mentioning the WR that Easley had the best night. I thnik he was a lock for special teams play, but he is actually showing up as a WR! it is great to be able to count on him for WR depth as well as his main role as ST ace. It may actually cost another WR a roster spot who isn't a ST player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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