A Few Thoughts About The Game, in no particular order.....

[Deranged Rhino]

The block Robert Woods made on TT's rushing TD was incredible! Woods blasted the Titans defender so hard that he threw him into another Titans defender and knocked both of them to the ground.

 

Love me some Robert Woods. Here's the vine: https://vine.co/v/e0EPI0i57bL

[Punching Bag]

Tyrod won the game. He was pissed on that 3rd and forever run and would not be denied.

 

Williams, Graham, Darby and Gilmore is the best collective db group in franchise history. Mark it down.

 

Karlos, shady and Sammy need to get back in the lineup

I do not think you are giving Robey proper credit; opposing DCs do.

[dulles]

Do we ascribe that to timing with a new kicker? I hope so, because otherwise it's inexcusable ... the officials will get that every time since that's the line judge's only job on a kickoff, standing right there watching the line ...

That's what i thought - timing. I also thought it was ticky tack. The NFL should tell the refs to lay off that type of call to start a game. All the build up and then a flag - really great entertainment.

[Agent 91]

TT's throws today were a little off....that can happen......Harvin disappeared.....he is not playing like a $6 mil man. (but REX loves him, oh well) the thing that bothered me the most was I saw REX calling the D signals. WHO is being the head coach then??? I have season tickets, but don't watch REX at home, so seeing that on the TV made me aware. Every other D coordinator in the league calls the D........thurman must not have the goods to do that imho. REX must feel he has to do this to live up to his rep a D god. Yes, the D held the line today, but, is statistically way behind the mark the Schwartz did last year with the same folks.

finally, I was glad to see Gilmore finally look like a first round draft choice that turned into a shutdown corner and delivered the BIG play. BTW, the replay on TV showed the call on Gilmore was a good one....he did have a handful of jersey. None the less, Gilmore is extremely valuable now...not so much the first three years mostly........

Great points... but the Harvin point i do not agree with. He should be Jet sweeped and screened. But with Watkins out and no other real WR to game plan against. Harvin is gonna be the point of emphasis time and time again until we have ANYONE back. Even McCoy's presence would do wonders

[BaaadThingsMan]

-Minus 3 of their biggest weapons in Watkins, McCoy and Williams and TT still keeps finding a way.

-Gilmore and Darby are excellent corners

-Robert Woods...what a block

-The D played with a snarl the last drive, they need to play like that all the time. Mean and in control

[JoeF]

Titans had 2 weeks to prepare. This is the Bills third game in 5 where the opponent had extra time (Giants and Patriots had Thursday games the week before and Titans had a bye).

 

For the rest of the year:

The Dolphins have a Thursday night game before a next Sunday game with the Bills, but its off the Bills bye week.

The Bills get a mini bye -- playing Thursday night at the Jets (November 12) with a break until Monday November 23rd at the Pats.

[Kelly the Dog]

Titans had 2 weeks to prepare. This is the Bills third game in 5 where the opponent had extra time (Giants and Patriots had Thursday games the week before and Titans had a bye).

 

For the rest of the year:

 

The Dolphins have a Thursday night game before a next Sunday game with the Bills, but its off the Bills bye week.

The Bills get a mini bye -- playing Thursday night at the Jets (November 12) with a break until Monday November 23rd at the Pats.

Good point. I think a lot of us forget this was the worst part of our schedule and one of only two rough stretches. It's almost too much to ask for us to be 4-1 at this point. The rest of the season we face Brady, Dalton (who is playing great), maybe Romo, a battered Alex Smith, an erratic Sam Bradford, and that's about it.

[The Dean]

The Bills should just bite the bullet and cut Dixon. He is not a NFL Starting RB. Even Bryce Brown will be a better runner.

 

 

Bryce Brown is a great runner. There was never any doubt about how good of a runner he is. His ball security was the issue. That and he doesn't provide any help on special teams.

[Kelly the Dog]

Bryce Brown is a great runner. There was never any doubt about how good of a runner he is. His ball security was the issue. That and he doesn't provide any help on special teams.

 

I was of the opinion that we should have kept Bryce Brown over Boobie even though Boobie was substantially better on ST. The reasoning was that we could afford the ST loss because now the team is full of decent or good ST players, and Brown would be inactive each week unless needed, which he would have been. And it's not as though we couldn't have predicted it because both Shady and Karlos were injured in preseason. One of the major reasons that Fred was released was because they didn't want to disgrace him by making him inactive on game day. We could really have used Brown IMO. Edited October 12, 2015 by Kelly the Dog

[Augie]

Bryce Brown is a great runner. There was never any doubt about how good of a runner he is. His ball security was the issue. That and he doesn't provide any help on special teams.

 

If I'm B Brown, I'm asking for a crash course in ST. I mean, he's a big, fast, strong guy who could do what the other guys do, right? If that's what it takes to get a shot at hanging on in the league a few more years, I'm all over it! (Oh,and maybe hang on to the ball a little tighter.)

[ganesh]

Great points... but the Harvin point i do not agree with. He should be Jet sweeped and screened. But with Watkins out and no other real WR to game plan against. Harvin is gonna be the point of emphasis time and time again until we have ANYONE back. Even McCoy's presence would do wonders

The coach'es lack of trust on Robert Woods is very puzzling. Also, not having Clay in the game plan yesterday was maddening. This coaching staff needs to help Taylor, not put the game on his shoulder.

Edited October 12, 2015 by ganesh

[BADOLBILZ]

 

Bryce Brown is a great runner. There was never any doubt about how good of a runner he is. His ball security was the issue. That and he doesn't provide any help on special teams.

 

He should still be a Bill.

 

It's tough watching Boobie in this offense. He has feet like cinder blocks.

 

He may be the only guy on the O that was a better fit in Hackett's offense.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

This game was a lot like Minnesota last year. Really sloppy ball, but a huge conversion and then a clutch deep catch by Hogan led us to take the lead.

 

They are not letting Tyrod take off early in the game. We don't want him to get hurt, I get that, but we just need maybe one good run from him to keep the pass rush honest until we really need him to run wild.

 

Is it just me, or does anyone else have the impression that Roman is scripting the first 10-12 plays from scrimmage?

 

The problem with scripting like that is, if you script 12 plays and we get 3 or 4 3-and-outs, it takes the entire first half to run through the script. But I don't have any other explanation for why the Bills are such a slow-start team on offense the last few weeks. Obviously, if Roman can make adjustments and we're then successful, Just Win Baby, all is forgiven. I'd like to see a faster start though.

 

Thank God for whatever conditioning program our D puts in. They're in good shape, obviously.

Good win on a less than stellar input by almost everyone today.

Go Bills, and Go Bill!

 

Got to disagree. When it was 0-3 at the half, and our D had spent almost the entire half on the field and only given up 3, I got to say they played tough when it counted.

 

Gilmore was outstanding. The Cold Front (K Williams, M Williams, Dareus) showed up today. Schmidt deserves a "golden leg" trophy or something. Woods brought the nasty on some blocks. Hogan was also outstanding.

[The Dean]

I was of the opinion that we should have kept Bryce Brown over Boobie even though Boobie was substantially better on ST. The reasoning was that we could afford the ST loss because now the team is full of decent or good ST players, and Brown would be inactive each week unless needed, which he would have been. And it's not as though we couldn't have predicted it because both Shady and Karlos were injured in preseason. One of the major reasons that Fred was released was because they didn't want to disgrace him by making him inactive on game day. We could really have used Brown IMO.

 

 

If I'm B Brown, I'm asking for a crash course in ST. I mean, he's a big, fast, strong guy who could do what the other guys do, right? If that's what it takes to get a shot at hanging on in the league a few more years, I'm all over it! (Oh,and maybe hang on to the ball a little tighter.)

 

 

I don't disagree with either of you. I like Bryce Brown. And I think his fumbling issues are slightly overstated--but he clearly has ball security issues. But man, the guy really can run the ball. I'm shocked he hasn't been picked up by another team, yet.

 

Is he that bad at pass protection, or does he not know the playbook? Baffles me that he doesn't get more opportunities.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

I'm all for seeing an in season battle/rotation with Kujo. As much as I am pulling for Henderson to be successful, he looked terrible today

 

Ditto, and search the scrap heap/practice squads around the league for other possibilities at RT if Kujo doesn't cut it. Henderson was a freakin' turnstile today.

 

Henderson slipped to the 7th round due to concerns about his work ethic (and multiple failed drug tests due to weed). IMHO getting benched for Kujo in OTA lit a fire under his butt, but now that the job is his, he doesn't seem interested in putting in the extra work and study to nail it down and step up to the next level.

Tackling should get better if they aren't on the field so much

 

So freakin' tackle, get the stop on 3rd down, and get off the field!

 

Yes, the O went 3-and-out. A 3-and-out by the O should not constitute a license by the D to hand out 1st downs.

Edited October 12, 2015 by Hopeful

[Agent 91]

The coach'es lack of trust on Robert Woods is very puzzling. Also, not having Clay in the game plan yesterday was maddening. This coaching staff needs to help Taylor, not put the game on his shoulder.

Rex spoke very highly of "Woody" i cant figure out what caused him to fall out of favor. I thought we had our 1-4 punch with the 3 wrs and clay

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Two receivers that many wanted to cut in the preseason, Hogan and Gilmore, played very well today. Oh, I forgot that Hogan's not a burner and can't help us much.

 

??

[Hapless Bills Fan]

I'm watching the Dallas-Patriot game, and the Cowboys are really giving Tom Brady fits while hitting him a bunch. Makes me wonder why the Bills played the scheme they played against Brady

 

Are you talking about the "fits" that led to a 30-6 victory with Brady* throwing 74% completions and 2 TD?

 

I'm a big Whaley fan but both of the moves made this week backfired. Cundiff was awful as was Denarius Moore, even though he made some yards on returns. I also thought he should have kept Bryce Brown over Boobie who is simply not a reliable RB.

 

Hmm, well, there were 3 moves this week, correct? Dan Herron, Cundiff, and Moore. I'm not gonna second-guess Whaley on Cundiff. I expect he's not the one they were trying to bring in, and I expect Ryan was agitating for someone to come in. Moore's fumble was bad, but I thought he had some good returns and while our running game sucked, Herron was the only back who broke 3 ypa. I call him a good signing

 

 

The Bills should just bite the bullet and cut Dixon. He is not a NFL Starting RB. Even Bryce Brown will be a better runner.

 

I'm not getting the logic here. Dixon isn't on the team to be an NFL starting RB. He's on the team to be the 3rd string RB and play ST. So why would you cut him for not being something he's not supposed to be, when the guys ahead of him are injured? He ran tough today - did you see that stiff-arm? and made a decent catch. Cierre Wood, on the other hand, I'd like to see more from him if he's staying.

 

Bryce Brown has talent as a runner. No one doubts Bryce Brown's running ability. The doubts are around ball security and lack of ST play, which the 3rd RB must contribute

 

 

If I'm B Brown, I'm asking for a crash course in ST. I mean, he's a big, fast, strong guy who could do what the other guys do, right? If that's what it takes to get a shot at hanging on in the league a few more years, I'm all over it! (Oh,and maybe hang on to the ball a little tighter.)

 

I'm sure Bryce Brown had it explained to him that he needed to work on his ST chops, just as he was coached to improve his ball security. The writing on the wall says the coaches weren't happy with his receptiveness to coaching on either point. So yes, if you or I were Bryce Brown that's what we'd do, but Bryce Brown has his own ideas evidently.

Edited October 12, 2015 by Hopeful

[Buffalo Barbarian]

-Gilmore, by far, was our best player on D today.

 

-Mario was switched ON as well

 

-Colton Schmidt can punt on my team any day.

 

-Colonel HOGAN! - just the guy any team would want to have somewhere on it's roster

 

The D got mad after the Graham (crap) call….would love to see them play that kind of mad for 4 quarters. They were asked to do a ton today and kept this game alive for us. Not pretty…but warrior-like.

 

Our building has belonged to everyone but us this year…it's time to turn the corner - for real.

 

When the coach says you are awesome all the time and that can whip anybody you don't play as hard.

 

He needs to tear em a new one when they deserve it, not be their buddy.

[stevewin]

- The interception at the end might have been a very different outcome if Dareus didn't pressure Marriotta to underthrow

 

- Henderson was so horrible, was surprised they weren't giving him any help on his side. How bad must Kujo be that they didn't think he could play better than that??

 

- On the last drive my son and I were saying Titans just need to throw down the middle on 3rd down and the Bills will get a phantom penalty to give them the first. Would like to see stats if there is another team close to the Bills in getting called for penalties giving up 1st downs on 3rd down

 

- There were a couple runs where Dixon missed HUGE holes and just ran into people. Dude just puts his head down and starts running like he's just expecting to run into something but is not sure when. Like he's running with his eyes closed. It's crazy

 

- In 2nd half Bills D finally started having DBs confidently jump short routes when they blitzed - hopefully starting a trend

 

- Honestly didn't think Goodwin would make it all the way through the game once i saw he was out there

 

- Cannot believe we won that game!

Edited October 12, 2015 by stevewin

[Dragonborn10]

Tyrod is the guy deciding not to run. He scrambles reasonably well and is looking to pass downfield. I think he wants to prove he can play QB not just run. But he needs to run more. That will loosen things up just a bit and maybe even force the defense to spy him.

[truth on hold]

Graham penalty call.was horrible. But I don't think it's personal to bills. I think even if its clean if the hits hard enough on a WR theyre biased to throwing a flag. They don't want WRs getting leveled, no matter whos doing it

Edited October 12, 2015 by JTSP

[Thurmal34]

This game was an ugly win. But good teams gut out these types of wins. These types of wins are often what separates 10-6 teams from 7-9.

Seen this so many times. -#letsgobuffalo

[machine gun kelly]

I came away with one overwhelming thought. Let Tyrod be Tyrod, or don't play him. He will NOT succeed trying to be Peyton Manning. I think this is a coaching flaw, but perhaps I'm wrong.

 

The tackling on this defense has to improve.

Dean I agree. A few threats with TT's legs and they will place a spy on him, and then the WR should get open. As far as Bill in NY, I love your posts. Keep them coming.

 

Thanks guys.

[fansince88]

@Bill from NYC, I was expecting you to call in sick on this one! It is amazing that you followed through with our commitment. Many losses were easier to watch than this win. 1 Qtr of exciting football! Thanks for the thoughts just the same.

 

[Beerbelly]

 

It didn't TOUCH out of bounds........but regardless, make the tackle and the Bills get a chance to steal a win against a Giants team that let the Bills back into the game.

I'd like to see that play again. His heel appeared to hit the sideline. Regardless, three missed tackles is inexcusable.

[SoulMan]

Where's Clay ?

 

And yes, officiating has been particularly abysmal all year.

[YoloinOhio]

If Lewin was the guy wearing the 77, he deserved every call he got.

I saw him jaw-jacking guys at least 2-3 times before the first time he finally got called for it.

that is how he is, has been that way since college.

Where's Clay ?

 

And yes, officiating has been particularly abysmal all year.

i think the Titans were able to focus on him yesterday, without having to worry about McCoy and Watkins.

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

I came away with one overwhelming thought. Let Tyrod be Tyrod, or don't play him. He will NOT succeed trying to be Peyton Manning. I think this is a coaching flaw, but perhaps I'm wrong.

 

The tackling on this defense has to improve.

I have said this too. He's not a "pure"pocket passer and since his "legs" won him the starting job he should use them.

 

Also noted that he was dinged up again and wondering if he'll survive the season.

Where's Clay ?

 

And yes, officiating has been particularly abysmal all year.

If not for a few poorly thrown passes his game might ave looked OK.

As mentioned with the other top players on O still on the walking dead list the #1 go to guy, Clay, will get covered well.

And a cheer or two for the flagless 2nd QTR for the Bills.

 

A half step forward on the first kick / flubbed catch was a killer. I sensed gloom and doom all day.

[simpleman]

5) The offensive line had absolutely no push. Their pass protection was pretty bad as well. Miller was getting tossed around and Henderson was worse.

 

I'm willing to give Miller a chance to pick up his game. Henderson has had almost a season and a half and he is just not improving enough. I think he is strictly depth, not a starting back, ever! The Bill's need to draft or bring in a center next year. Oline is again a top priority in the off-season.

[ganesh]

Where's Clay ?

 

And yes, officiating has been particularly abysmal all year.

He was repeatedly double-teamed. Harvin had a horrible game.

[Nervous Guy]

Graham penalty call.was horrible. But I don't think it's personal to bills. I think even if its clean if the hits hard enough on a WR theyre biased to throwing a flag. They don't want WRs getting leveled, no matter whos doing it

 

I agree, first the QBs, now the WRs....I was actually shocked that last week Mario did not draw a flag when he planted the Giants RB with the head first pile driver tackle!

[BuffaninATL]

I still think something needs to be done with our ST crew; too many dumb/avoidable penalties. I am looking for a flag on every return. Does Crossman get the axe?

[thebandit27]

I'm glad we won...really glad. Can't finish with 10 wins without beating Tennessee.

 

Taylor looked brutal for the better part of 3 quarters; he did step up his game when needed most, so that's a positive.

 

The OL wasn't moving the LOS on running plays, but that's nothing new. The difference today was not having a solid RB that can hit a hole reliably. Once again, we're being shown that the run game is as much about cohesion between the OL and RB as it is about anything else. The shining example this year is the separation of Demarco Murray and the Cowboys' OL...neither is anywhere near as good as they were together.

 

The pass protection was a lot better than many folks are giving them credit for; Taylor had at least 3-4 seconds on nearly every dropback--remember, this is the NFL, not college. You don't get 5-7 seconds to find an open target.

 

Huge, huge nod to the defense; they started out looking soft, but after the first 2 drives, they really tightened up. The boundary CBs remain the best unit on the team, but the DL played much better today. Preston Brown is fantastic in run support.

[Coach Tuesday]

I'm glad we won...really glad. Can't finish with 10 wins without beating Tennessee.

 

Taylor looked brutal for the better part of 3 quarters; he did step up his game when needed most, so that's a positive.

 

The OL wasn't moving the LOS on running plays, but that's nothing new. The difference today was not having a solid RB that can hit a hole reliably. Once again, we're being shown that the run game is as much about cohesion between the OL and RB as it is about anything else. The shining example this year is the separation of Demarco Murray and the Cowboys' OL...neither is anywhere near as good as they were together.

 

The pass protection was a lot better than many folks are giving them credit for; Taylor had at least 3-4 seconds on nearly every dropback--remember, this is the NFL, not college. You don't get 5-7 seconds to find an open target.

 

Huge, huge nod to the defense; they started out looking soft, but after the first 2 drives, they really tightened up. The boundary CBs remain the best unit on the team, but the DL played much better today. Preston Brown is fantastic in run support.

 

Agree with all of this. And I'll add about TT: in Russel Wilson's first year as a starter, he had some bleak performances like Tyrod had yesterday. Not saying they're identical players - Wilson is the better passer (especially on the run), and Tyrod is the better runner. But they're similar in terms of their ability to turn the lightswitch on after a poor outing and suddenly spring to life, taking the whole team with them on the way to victory. Gotta give Tyrod credit for toughing it out and putting the entire team on his back. He just decided to win the game himself - and did it. Haven't had a QB who could do that in a long, long time.

[thebandit27]

 

Agree with all of this. And I'll add about TT: in Russel Wilson's first year as a starter, he had some bleak performances like Tyrod had yesterday. Not saying they're identical players - Wilson is the better passer (especially on the run), and Tyrod is the better runner. But they're similar in terms of their ability to turn the lightswitch on after a poor outing and suddenly spring to life, taking the whole team with them on the way to victory. Gotta give Tyrod credit for toughing it out and putting the entire team on his back. He just decided to win the game himself - and did it. Haven't had a QB who could do that in a long, long time.

 

Nailed it.

 

I actually had that same thought about comparisons to Wilson's rookie year, though you're right that there's a marked difference in the passing ability of the two players.

 

Nevertheless, there's something to be said for a guy that goes out and makes the deciding offensive plays. I'm glad to have that right now.

[truth on hold]

 

I agree, first the QBs, now the WRs....I was actually shocked that last week Mario did not draw a flag when he planted the Giants RB with the head first pile driver tackle!

I think with RBs its still open season

[BillsVet]

 

Is it just me, or does anyone else have the impression that Roman is scripting the first 10-12 plays from scrimmage?

 

Walsh, et al. scripted the first 15+ plays to get a read on the defense and probe what they were doing. I'm not as concerned with that as I am with their inability to do the base Rex needs, i.e. run consistently. And that's partly on the backs playing yesterday and the OL failing to get push. In the latter case, it's not like Tennessee's defensive front were a dominating trio.

[JohnC]

I'm glad we won...really glad. Can't finish with 10 wins without beating Tennessee.

 

Taylor looked brutal for the better part of 3 quarters; he did step up his game when needed most, so that's a positive.

 

The OL wasn't moving the LOS on running plays, but that's nothing new. The difference today was not having a solid RB that can hit a hole reliably. Once again, we're being shown that the run game is as much about cohesion between the OL and RB as it is about anything else. The shining example this year is the separation of Demarco Murray and the Cowboys' OL...neither is anywhere near as good as they were together.

 

The pass protection was a lot better than many folks are giving them credit for; Taylor had at least 3-4 seconds on nearly every dropback--remember, this is the NFL, not college. You don't get 5-7 seconds to find an open target.

 

Huge, huge nod to the defense; they started out looking soft, but after the first 2 drives, they really tightened up. The boundary CBs remain the best unit on the team, but the DL played much better today. Preston Brown is fantastic in run support.

Herron was our best back at hitting the hole. Even though there wasn't much room there still was a tight lane to hit. Not having Karlos Williams for this game was a major loss.

 

As you noted our defense played well. It had to account for a rookie qb who gives their offense an added threat of making big run plays. Considering that our offense couldn't get first downs requiring the defense to stay on the field I thougt the unit played very well. It had little time to recover on the sidelines on a warm day because they were on the field so much. The. unit showed a lot of heart

 

In my mind Gilmore was our best player on defense on a unit that had many players stand out.

 

Henderson was brutal in this game. It is not unusual for defensive players to win the one on one battles with their counterparts on the offensive line. But too often with Henderson he whiffs with providing little resistance to the pathway to the qb. Having physical skills doesn't mean that you are good player. It's how you play. He has been dreadful so far this season. Kujo not being able to earn much playing time considering the play of Henderson is a clear indication of how bad a second round pick he was.

 

On the play that many people are criticizing Hughes for not making the tackle they need to go back and review that play. He ran down the play from the backside and it appeared that he was going to make a good ankle tackle. He seemed to have a good grasp but the runner to his credit was running hard and simply broke the tackle. This wasn't a bad play for Hughes---it was a hard run by a back who was running forward with full steam. Give the back the credit for making the play. Hughes should be given credit for getting to the play that few other players in his position could have gotten to.

[bourbonboy]

 

Bryce Brown is a great runner. There was never any doubt about how good of a runner he is. His ball security was the issue. That and he doesn't provide any help on special teams.

Dixon is your 3rd-string RB that does many other things well...but when you need a runner, why sign Herron when Bryce was still available? Bryce knows the system and the O, Seems like he woulda been a better short-term, plug-and-play starter.