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

[The Frankish Reich]

Amen. It was like watching paint dry.

I get the Sunday Ticket to watch the Bills, but I spent a significant portion of the afternoon watching the free network game (Pats vs. Jets) ... there were some excellent early games, but they weren't taking place in Buffalo ...

[RevWarRifleman]

I think the reason for this is because the Bills just beat a bad 4-11 Dallas Clownboy team with Kellen Moore at QB. If Dallas had been able to score more points it might not have even been a win.

 

it is difficult to believe this same franchise led the league in sacks last year and was #2 in 2013.

 

 

Buffalo Bills fans deserve better than this 7-8 mess. Meanwhile, Rex Ryan's 4-12 team from last year just beat the New England Patriots 26-20 with Noodle arm Fitz, Chan Gailey as OC and are now 10-5.

Definitely agree with your 2nd point. We are further away from where we want to be this December than last Dec. Thanks Rex.

[Coach Tuesday]

So this may be sacrilege, and it's certainly premature, but I'll say it: Gilleslee reminds me of Fred Jackson. His running style is nearly identical to Fred's - always falling forward, great balance and vision, deceptive speed. This kid is a keeper.

[The Big Cat]

So this may be sacrilege, and it's certainly premature, but I'll say it: Gilleslee reminds me of Fred Jackson. His running style is nearly identical to Fred's - always falling forward, great balance and vision, deceptive speed. This kid is a keeper.

 

His first run from scrimmage four games ago, my buddy and I nearly fell out of our bar stools because how of similar he looked to Fred.

[The Frankish Reich]

Definitely agree with your 2nd point. We are further away from where we want to be this December than last Dec. Thanks Rex.

Cassell and now Moore are so useless that you wonder whether Dallas actually could've got back into it with Weeden. Didn't Weeden beat us a couple years ago? He really is as bad as the other options ....

[Mark Vader]

 

5) The Bills netted 236 yds on the ground today. OK, Tyrod DID run for 67 yards. Still, Gillislee had 93 yds. and Karlos ran for 76. Those two also combined for 4 catches for 37 yards. Having a big, physical back made quite the difference. They didn't seem to miss Shady all that much. Just sayin.....

 

 

 

I'd rather have McCoy & Williams in the backfield. The running game was great when they were both healthy.

 

I'm not saying I don't like Gillislee, on the contrary, I think the Bills should keep him.

[Coach Tuesday]

 

His first run from scrimmage four games ago, my buddy and I nearly fell out of our bar stools because how of similar he looked to Fred.

 

To me, it was today, when he reached for that swing pass, extended himself, and then effortlessly made a defender miss on the way to a near-TD. I've seen Fred make that same exact play, with the same exact form and motion, so many times...

[dave mcbride]

I saw this but remember, there was no pass rush. The Bills (Rex) could have easily lost this game. I am not saying that McKelvin is Mel Blount but he did his job pretty well today.

Fair enough. Mario's effort was again pathetic. Hughes often keeps hustling after a play moves away from him; mario doesn't at all. I thought he'd try today simply to showcase his talents for the FA market. I was mistaken. The bizarre thing is that he plays almost every play. I'm starting to wonder whether the coaches are putting him out there because they know he's desperately trying to avoid injury. That's a perverse thought, but his performance is bad enough that you start to think crazy thoughts. I mean, they see what we see, and he's not an asset out there who is helping the team win. Why play him?

Edited December 28, 2015 by dave mcbride

[bmur66]

Rexies formula works great for beating teams that suck and have scab quarterbacks.

[Billsman623]

Gillislee has been a good find.

[The Frankish Reich]

Hogan: you gotta get open in order to drop the ball! That's why they call him 7-11.

[GG]

2) Corbin Bryant played well today, even though he was frequently used in pass coverage.

 

 

7) Folks, I am sad to report that I cannot any longer defend Mario Williams. He looks weak and appears to be not trying at all. Believe me, it hurts to say this. He was a great player and I have a ton of respect for what he does off the field.

 

 

9) People should stop posting that the Bills DL only goes into coverage "about 5% of the time." That is simply not true. They are doing it constantly. It is pitiful to watch.

 

 

12) No quarterback sacks today and not much pressure either. Sometimes it is hard to believe what I am watching.

 

 

A lot of bandwidth has been wasted debating the DL play and the issue of them dropping back in coverage. So just for kicks I've watched a few 2014 All-22s. And yeah, there's a striking difference. For starters, there's a #51 on defense who's a rock in the middle which hides alot of mistakes that #52 and #53 tended to make, a lot.

 

There's also the effort thingie. Amazing to watch a #94 take on double teams or push his blocker back into the pocket. Same for #99.

 

Everyone jumped on Mario's comments after this year's Bengals game that he was asked to drop into coverage. Well, I watched that game again, too. Mario wasn't asked to cover anyone until Bengals burned the defense for a 26 yard swing pass where Brown was woefully late in covering, or was it Mario's responsibility to peel off? Don't know, but that was a major breakdown by the D.

 

On the next few plays where Mario dropped back, he actually baited Dalton into an incompletion. So the play worked.

 

But another difference is that opposing QBs are not dropping back as deep or holding the ball as long as they did last year.

 

So it's easy to say that the scheme is to blame. But also don't ignore how big of a role Spikes played last year, and how a few players have decided to take some time off because this scheme won't pad their numbers.

[Coach Tuesday]

Hogan: you gotta get open in order to drop the ball! That's why they call him 7-11.

 

LOL, just like 7-11, always open, never very good.

[The Big Cat]

 

To me, it was today, when he reached for that swing pass, extended himself, and then effortlessly made a defender miss on the way to a near-TD. I've seen Fred make that same exact play, with the same exact form and motion, so many times...

 

That was a hell of a play.

[Not at the table Karlos]

 

LOL, just like 7-11, always open, never very good.

lol

[BmarvB]

No QB sacks means no free Big Mac at all the western NY McDonalds tomorrow.

Sux don't it?

[Augie]

Sux don't it?

 

Well, it may have saved lives.

[cale]

Rarely would I root for the bills to lose. But today I was hoping we would get steamrolled. I'm afraid that winning today helped Rex retain his job and big personnel moves are going to happen now. I believe the fallout could be comparable to Philly. That system is only used by chip Kelly and this system is only used by Rex. So when Rex is eventually fired in a year or two, we will have a very particular roster of players who can't play a 4-3. Rex is gonna stay with the bills and ultimately we will feel the effects for the next 5 years at least

Bingo! Exactly.

Edited December 28, 2015 by cale

[dave mcbride]

A lot of bandwidth has been wasted debating the DL play and the issue of them dropping back in coverage. So just for kicks I've watched a few 2014 All-22s. And yeah, there's a striking difference. For starters, there's a #51 on defense who's a rock in the middle which hides alot of mistakes that #52 and #53 tended to make, a lot.

 

There's also the effort thingie. Amazing to watch a #94 take on double teams or push his blocker back into the pocket. Same for #99.

 

Everyone jumped on Mario's comments after this year's Bengals game that he was asked to drop into coverage. Well, I watched that game again, too. Mario wasn't asked to cover anyone until Bengals burned the defense for a 26 yard swing pass where Brown was woefully late in covering, or was it Mario's responsibility to peel off? Don't know, but that was a major breakdown by the D.

 

On the next few plays where Mario dropped back, he actually baited Dalton into an incompletion. So the play worked.

 

But another difference is that opposing QBs are not dropping back as deep or holding the ball as long as they did last year.

 

So it's easy to say that the scheme is to blame. But also don't ignore how big of a role Spikes played last year, and how a few players have decided to take some time off because this scheme won't pad their numbers.

Again, facts. Thanks.

[SectionC3]

Rarely would I root for the bills to lose. But today I was hoping we would get steamrolled. I'm afraid that winning today helped Rex retain his job and big personnel moves are going to happen now. I believe the fallout could be comparable to Philly. That system is only used by chip Kelly and this system is only used by Rex. So when Rex is eventually fired in a year or two, we will have a very particular roster of players who can't play a 4-3. Rex is gonna stay with the bills and ultimately we will feel the effects for the next 5 years at least

Thank you. I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees the Rex situation this way. Because of the personnel changes required to effectively run his defense, we either dump him now or deal with him for at least two more years. Personally, I'm on the "dump him now" side of things. Not because of the results, bad as they may be. I see a defense that is unprepared, a frustrated, fractured locker room, an offense that can play with a lead but that cannot move quickly enough to play catch up and that grossly underutilizes its best player (Watkins), and a horribly undisciplined team. In fairness on the Watkins point, losing harvin hurt more than a lot of people realized at the time. Hogan is a drop machine, and woods is not a threat.

[boyst]

 

A lot of bandwidth has been wasted debating the DL play and the issue of them dropping back in coverage. So just for kicks I've watched a few 2014 All-22s. And yeah, there's a striking difference. For starters, there's a #51 on defense who's a rock in the middle which hides alot of mistakes that #52 and #53 tended to make, a lot.

 

There's also the effort thingie. Amazing to watch a #94 take on double teams or push his blocker back into the pocket. Same for #99.

 

Everyone jumped on Mario's comments after this year's Bengals game that he was asked to drop into coverage. Well, I watched that game again, too. Mario wasn't asked to cover anyone until Bengals burned the defense for a 26 yard swing pass where Brown was woefully late in covering, or was it Mario's responsibility to peel off? Don't know, but that was a major breakdown by the D.

 

On the next few plays where Mario dropped back, he actually baited Dalton into an incompletion. So the play worked.

 

But another difference is that opposing QBs are not dropping back as deep or holding the ball as long as they did last year.

 

So it's easy to say that the scheme is to blame. But also don't ignore how big of a role Spikes played last year, and how a few players have decided to take some time off because this scheme won't pad their numbers.

people need to see this, read this.

 

it's been the truth all along.

 

Mario is a very, very good football player whether stats show it or not. He knows what he is doing on the football field and he is a smart enough player and person to know what he's doing in working his way off this team. He'll get paid somewhere and succeed.

 

I would love to see him end up going home to Carolina.

[metzelaars_lives]

 

He was just disagreeing with him. Calm down dude.

 

Hogan has no business on an NFL roster - he is, pound for pound, one of the worst players at any position in the NFL. He excels at absolutely nothing except showing up.

 

Jordan Mills is a close comparable - why this man is starting at RT is beyond all comprehension. He's garbage on wheels. Not content to simply be burned repeatedly today, he also committed a few penalties including a ridiculously dumb late hit on the Karlos fumble. He is Rex's new Wayne Hunter. Life is crazy.

You should be able to comprehend that he is starting due to an illness to the starting RT. How anyone could watch this game- or this team all season for that matter- and complain about the play of the offensive line is beyond me. Especially when there are so many legitimate things to complain about.

Edited December 28, 2015 by metzelaars_lives

[Hapless Bills Fan]

IMO the guaranteed $$$'to shady is the sign of a GM still learning. The tandem running today was pretty darn good.

One guy is a complete unknown. Until now. Well both kind of were. Which in today's NFL lends credence to the statement.

 

" running backs are a dime a dozen" Well shady made the pro bowl. The teams record will fall quite close if not exactly

Into the Jauron era. is it McCoy's fault. No! Did we get the better end of a trade? yes. But Pushing the cap with a crap non playoff team

Is not good. Clay also fell into this cayegory. In his case though the future is good. Possibly we may lose a good resigning, or FA whatever. because of the sunk cost of McCoy. And others.That is on OBD

And IMO the GM. The deal from start to finish took less than one hour. That kinds of proves what a shoot first ask questions later

Organization does. Ditto Percy harvin. Injury aside.

 

today's win is hollow. Too little to late. A couple of players played balls out. The usual suspects not so much. i guess 94 invests well. His next team will give him half of what the Billls owe him next year. The guy is a cancer, and a prima donna DE who is nearing his end. Please cut him the first day the new league season begins. he brings zero to the team.

 

it will be interesting on what happens to a once pretty darn good defense in REX Part II. This team is far and away from 1 or 2 players away. There is some real work both in coaching. Philosophy and personnel.

 

Kool-Aid will be delivered in very measured quanity's this upcoming off-season. some this time will not even drink it.

 

Big shout out to TT, the rookie backs, #14, Cog ( never thought I would say that) Darby, Gilmore, Eric, And others I missed. these guys showed class and professionalism. in the face of huge inept coachng and gameday management. in the end a possible 8-8 with a clown as HC is a testament to those players. Not a single win was handed to them.

[Bill from NYC]

A lot of bandwidth has been wasted debating the DL play and the issue of them dropping back in coverage. So just for kicks I've watched a few 2014 All-22s. And yeah, there's a striking difference. For starters, there's a #51 on defense who's a rock in the middle which hides alot of mistakes that #52 and #53 tended to make, a lot.

 

There's also the effort thingie. Amazing to watch a #94 take on double teams or push his blocker back into the pocket. Same for #99.

 

Everyone jumped on Mario's comments after this year's Bengals game that he was asked to drop into coverage. Well, I watched that game again, too. Mario wasn't asked to cover anyone until Bengals burned the defense for a 26 yard swing pass where Brown was woefully late in covering, or was it Mario's responsibility to peel off? Don't know, but that was a major breakdown by the D.

 

On the next few plays where Mario dropped back, he actually baited Dalton into an incompletion. So the play worked.

 

But another difference is that opposing QBs are not dropping back as deep or holding the ball as long as they did last year.

 

So it's easy to say that the scheme is to blame. But also don't ignore how big of a role Spikes played last year, and how a few players have decided to take some time off because this scheme won't pad their numbers.

Keep watching those all 22s.

 

Watch the one for this game and see Corbin Bryant racing back and forth before the snap, as if he was "threatening" to rush the passer from the DT position. Of course, he was off balance and useless when the football was snapped. The whole premise of this type of formation was idiotic, even embarrassing as a fan.

 

And the effort does suck. I don't excuse this but the players are obviously angry. I would be to if I weighed 340 or so and was jumping in the air and running backwards.

 

Overall, I am unsure as to what you are getting at. Do you think Rex is NOT to blame for the team having more than 30 less sacks than last season? Are you satisfied with the pressure these players are applying? Do you enjoy watching men as big as Dareus and Bryant spinning, jumping, and running backwards?

 

If so, this season must be making you one happy fellow!

[Bill from NYC]

And how does it get better with this guy back?

This I cannot answer.

 

Imo Rex is a fraud, a buffoon, and an embarrassment. Maybe he will take a buyout and be a TV announcer.

[Fixxxer]

And how does it get better with this guy back?

 

If he adapts to the talent at hand. We can't go into the draft and off-season trying to find two new 5 tech DE, a NT, a LB and a safety.

[Fixxxer]

Don't count on it.

 

yeah, we're !@#$ed, I know.

[jeffismagic]

So the Bills should build their defense around Mario and Kyle Williams next year?

 

Mario is either old and ineffective or an old quitter.

 

Kyle is injured all the time and rapidly approaching the time when he no longer can be counted on.

 

I agree that Rex switching schemes hurt our defense this year. But now people want to switch back to a scheme based on something that peaked last year and might never happen again? And force a scheme change again? Who is going to coach it?

[Beerball]

 

If he adapts to the talent at hand. We can't go into the draft and off-season trying to find two new 5 tech DE, a NT, a LB and a safety.

If he hasn't what makes you hope that he will?

[Coach Tuesday]

You should be able to comprehend that he is starting due to an illness to the starting RT. How anyone could watch this game- or this team all season for that matter- and complain about the play of the offensive line is beyond me. Especially when there are so many legitimate things to complain about.

 

Nope. The line hasn't been good. Did you watch the Eagles game? If Kujo is so bad that Mills is a better option, Kujo shouldn't be in the league, either. And you know what? Henderson wasn't playing well before he exited. RT has been a liability in the passing game all year. Thank God Tyrod is such a dancer.

[Haslett_Stomp]

No sacks true, but did you see how Hughes and Mario covered the receivers.

 

I noticed this on multiple plays. There were several plays where a defensive player was going full speed toward the 'Boys QB and could have either had a pressure or potential sack but stopped and went into coverage. They looked neutered or confused. Bye bye Rex.

[machine gun kelly]

Bill- thanks for the post as always. I saw the same on McKelvin thinking, wow he is back from last year. Was he just rusty or is the Cowboys that bad that makes him look good?

 

Anyway, the game was ugly, but we won, and the running game is about the only shining light.

[Haslett_Stomp]

Sorry, came late to the board today. Look forward to Bill's posts as they are always on point. That said, GG post #55 was right on.

[GG]

Keep watching those all 22s.

 

Watch the one for this game and see Corbin Bryant racing back and forth before the snap, as if he was "threatening" to rush the passer from the DT position. Of course, he was off balance and useless when the football was snapped. The whole premise of this type of formation was idiotic, even embarrassing as a fan.

 

And the effort does suck. I don't excuse this but the players are obviously angry. I would be to if I weighed 340 or so and was jumping in the air and running backwards.

 

Overall, I am unsure as to what you are getting at. Do you think Rex is NOT to blame for the team having more than 30 less sacks than last season? Are you satisfied with the pressure these players are applying? Do you enjoy watching men as big as Dareus and Bryant spinning, jumping, and running backwards?

 

If so, this season must be making you one happy fellow!

 

Rex should not be absolved of how the defense has regressed, but I put more of the blame on the players. I have a strong hunch that the defense will be a tad better next year with malcontents gone and a few other improvements.

 

Again, for everyone screaming to bring back Schwartz and his uber system, does anyone recognize how disastrous it would have been without Spikes in the middle?

 

Mario stopped playing, period. That had a butterfly affect on the rest of the line, but more importantly on how offenses scheme against Buffalo now.

[dave mcbride]

So the Bills should build their defense around Mario and Kyle Williams next year?

 

Mario is either old and ineffective or an old quitter.

 

Kyle is injured all the time and rapidly approaching the time when he no longer can be counted on.

 

I agree that Rex switching schemes hurt our defense this year. But now people want to switch back to a scheme based on something that peaked last year and might never happen again? And force a scheme change again? Who is going to coach it?

Injured all of the time?? Prior to his injury this season, kyle williams played in 53 out of 54 games. Check out the stats before makng such claims.

[klos63]

I think the reason for this is because the Bills just beat a bad 4-11 Dallas Clownboy team with Kellen Moore at QB. If Dallas had been able to score more points it might not have even been a win.

 

it is difficult to believe this same franchise led the league in sacks last year and was #2 in 2013.

 

 

Buffalo Bills fans deserve better than this 7-8 mess. Meanwhile, Rex Ryan's 4-12 team from last year just beat the New England Patriots 26-20 with Noodle arm Fitz, Chan Gailey as OC and are now 10-5.

especially if it were more points than we had.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

IMO... if Rex stays they need to tell straight out that he has to fire Thomas and hire a real defensive coordinator and then he can focus on being a Head Coach. If he wants to be the DC, then fine, demote him and bring a real HC.

 

But we need a real Head Coach. This team is a dysfunctional mess, undisciplined, soft, bad clock management, poor game plans, they even forget batteries for the damn headsets. We need a HC. Until they get one, nothing else matters.

 

Personally, I don't think Rex is HC material.

 

I wonder if Rex's heart is really into being a head coach.

 

But maybe it is and you're right, he's just not HC material

[TakeYouToTasker]

Nice job being an ass to one of the best posters on the board.

He's not wrong.

 

At what point does one get to disagree with "one of the best posters on the board"?

Edited December 28, 2015 by TakeYouToTasker

[CSBill]

1) Graham was steady; he usually is. That said, I think that the top defender on the Bills today was McKelvin. This is a rare thing to type, but his hit set up the interception and he broke up a lot of passes.

 

2) Corbin Bryant played well today, even though he was frequently used in pass coverage.

 

3) I suppose Hogan has played himself off of the roster next season. He isn't totally awful, but there is no place in this league for a possession receiver with questionable hands.

 

4) Just before the half, the interception that Tyrod threw was dumb. The delay penalty by Watkins before that was dumb. The clock management was dumb. There is zero accountability on this team. Rex is a horror show.

 

5) The Bills netted 236 yds on the ground today. OK, Tyrod DID run for 67 yards. Still, Gillislee had 93 yds. and Karlos ran for 76. Those two also combined for 4 catches for 37 yards. Having a big, physical back made quite the difference. They didn't seem to miss Shady all that much. Just sayin.....

 

6) Arrows of neon and flashing marquees out on Main Street.

Chicago, New York, Detroit it's all on the same street.

Your typical city involved in a typical daydream,

Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings.

 

 

Dallas - got a soft machine,

Houston - too close to New Orleans.

New York - got the ways and means,

but just won't let you be.

 

7) Folks, I am sad to report that I cannot any longer defend Mario Williams. He looks weak and appears to be not trying at all. Believe me, it hurts to say this. He was a great player and I have a ton of respect for what he does off the field.

 

8) Tyrod Taylor has better vision on running plays than any qb I have seen as of late, and this includes Russell Wilson. Is Newton a better runner? I don't know but Tyrod kept us in the game with his legs today.

 

9) People should stop posting that the Bills DL only goes into coverage "about 5% of the time." That is simply not true. They are doing it constantly. It is pitiful to watch.

 

10) I am usually happier than this after a Bills win. The truth is that we were just a bit lucky to win this one, or so I think.

 

11) Watkins played very well today. It was good to see some shorter patterns mixed in, as crazy as that sounds. I believe he is a complete receiver, not just a deep threat and should be used accordingly.

 

12) No quarterback sacks today and not much pressure either. Sometimes it is hard to believe what I am watching.

 

13) I hope everyone here and your loved ones had a wonderful Christmas and or Chaunaka.

 

14) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

12) No quarterback sacks today and not much pressure either. Sometimes it is hard to believe what I am watching.

 

This, I too was thinking. And what's worse, it just seems to be normal for the Bills. How could it sink this low?

[FireChan]

He's not wrong.

 

At what point does one get to disagree with "one of the best posters on the board"?

You can disagree whenever you want.