Virgil Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 (edited) Sorry for the lateness of this, but had a good family day at the game. My daughters first experience in Orchard Park was great, but I didn't take her into the game. Not quite yet. These thoughts are going to go in the order of how the game played out from someone in the stands. I was fortunate enough to get a field pass as they randomly give them to season ticket holders. 1 - The Stadium and Pre-Game. Kim Pegula was on the sidelines amongst all the field pass owners and was very courteous to everyone. My sister got a picture with her and she never once seemed bothered. Got some great pictures of the guys warming up. I cannot understate how big Cordy Glenn is. Also, Rex greets every single player, one at a time, during warm ups. Those are the little things that I believe make him a players coach. Kaep was the only 49er who ran on the field without his helmet on. Regardless of why he is fighting his cause, you can tell he likes the attention. The TV cameras were on him during the entire anthem. He was boo'd for a few seconds before the anthem, then the USA chant, then nothing. I was proud of the fans for getting their point across and then moving on to football. 2 - Not pulling away in the first half. I had a bad feeling about this game based upon everyone picking us to win and WGR saying we would win by double digits. Maybe it's the BBFS, but this had all the makings of a trap game. The first half didn't help make those fears go away. While our offense was great in hindsight (more on that next), we were only up by 4 at halftime. That blown coverage play for the 49ers touchdown looked like it was going to haunt us. You could feel the hesitation in the crowd. 3 - We have an offense! No, it's not a 300 yard passing game offense. No, it's not your current NFL offense. But down 3-0, we marched right down field, 75 yards, for a very convincing touchdown. Shady wasn't even touched on his run. Oh yeah, and we never punted in the first half. So yeah, only up by 4 at the half, but having this kind of confidence in our offense after this game is something I haven't felt in a long time. We may score 30 points a game in a slow, drawn out way, but 30 points is 30 points. Update: One major thing that I forgot to mention was WR substitutions. It was happening constantly and surprising. There were many times when Justin Hunter was the only guy out there. Or Hunter and Powell. I was surprised to see our "starters" Woods and Goodwin sit during so many plays. 4. Oh I know there is no place you can go to And I know you don't know anyone at all So come walking in the sun with me my little one And remember that the only time is now Oh how strange is the story your eyes tell me And quiet all the new words that you say So come and hold my hand for you see I'd understand And remember the only time is now Oh I come to you ragged up stranger And you come to me an angel of the nite So all dancing, we will sing, for it doesn't mean a thing And remember that the only time is now So forget about your yesterdays of sorrow And forget about the darkness you have seen For there's only you and me at the edge of an endless sea And remember that the only time is now 5 - Start of the second half and the Refs. Defensive scheme and execution is coming up later, but I need to address the ref's impact on the defense. The Head Ref and Umpire should not be allowed to officiate another Bills game. Jerry Hughes was getting absolutely tackled out there. I can think of at least 3 plays where Hughes easily would've gotten pressure or a sack if he wasn't arm-barred or tackled. There was another play where Kaep broke on while Douzable (I think) was arm-barred right in front of the white hat. I know he's supposed to be looking for QB hits, but it was right in front of him. Also, there were countless plays where Bills WR's were getting hit before making the catch. Overall, the ref's just didn't seem engaged and the body language of the White Hat irked me. I'm never one to really call these things out, so trust me that it was real if I noticed it. I was also surprised the fumble on the kick return wasn't reviewed. From the jumbotron, it looked like he may have been down. 6 - The final 21 points. You want to talk about electric? The crown was losing their minds and with good reason. The moment Hunter came down with that ball in the endzone, it's like the fans and Bills decided enough was enough. The 49ers stood absolutely no chance after that. You could just feel the atmosphere and momentum change. We even joked in the stands about this turning into a blowout and IT DID! Oh, and when the Lorax decided to sack Kaep? Yeah, that was a special kind of happy feeling. The 49ers left. EJ was in the game with 8 minutes left. No one knew what to do. Many people just stood there in disbelief. Could this really be the Bills? The same Bills that let teams hang around only to snatch a loss from the jaws of victory? No. We put our foot on their necks and pushed. Between our first offensive drive and how we finished, this is starting to feel like a different team and culture. 7 - Shady. Want to know what the collective sound of 75,000 fans' asses clenching sounds like? Well, you would have when Shady went down. It was silence because we all acknowledged what we've known for weeks now. Shady is our offense. He is our spirit. He is our personality on the field. He got the crowd into every touchdown. His cuts, breaks, and speed were a thing to see. The man is the best player on the field and the man we traded for. Whaley takes a lot of hits on this board. Shady said he had something to prove. Both of them are looking like roses right now. 8 - Tyrod. I'm officially checking off the Quarterback box on the team need list. I was a big "we don't have a 300 yard passer" guy back in the day. It's not that Tyrod isn't capable of being that guy. We aren't that offensive team. We aren't asking him to be that guy nor even trying to be. Tyrod made plays with his feet, and I'm not talking about scrambles, that most QB's can't make. He moved around in the pocket, created time, and delivery accurate throws to players in stride. His deep ball to Hunter was a combination of side-stepping in the pocket and delivering an absolute perfect ball. He used the middle of the field, he avoided sacks, he got first downs with his legs. Yes, compared to other QB's stat lines and what other teams need their QB's to do in ordet to win, Tyrod is not that guy. For this team, this offense, and what we ask him to do, he's pretty perfect. It lines up with what Rex said about him this past week. He runs the offense as it needs to be run. We didn't run a ton of deep routes. There weren't guys running around free. And when they got free, he typically found them. For the haters, watch the All-22 review and look for opportunities missed. I don't think you will find many. 9 - The defense. It's easy to call out the lack of spy on Kaep or the lack of pressure with 4 men. I was getting pretty pissed off during the first half. However, this is a game of emotion and Kaep starting this game absolutely provided a spark for the 49ers. I don't know what happened on the blown coverage for the only touchdown, but think of this; if you take that play out, the Bills didn't give up a touchdown. This team only gave up 16 points. That's a winning defense. They didn't terrorize Kaep all day, but outside a few plays, they held him in check. I think the 49ers win this game against half the league today. Like the offense, you can pick plays apart all day, but the end result is 16 points and one blown coverage touchdown. I'll take it. 10 - I'm running out of space here, so I'm going to give this one to Carpenter and Rex. These guys have taken some heat from me and with good reason. I was waiting for the missed FG or XP. I was waiting for the blown coverage TD to haunt us. I was waiting for the 49ers to take control after letting them hang around all game. I waited in for nothing. I'm not going to praise them, I'm just going to tip my cap and be happy I'm wrong. 4-2 after 0-2. Another winnable game next week. We aren't talking about the game after because it's one week at a time. Great game to be at. Thank you all for letting me write these. Thank you to Bill for starting these. And thank you Bills for a great day. Go Bills! Edited October 17, 2016 by FireRex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Frankish Reich Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Nicely done. I missed this one --I was on a plane and paid for the DirecTV just to watch the NFL network updates (you know you're a real fan when you're willing to sit through half a dozen Bears-Jags updates just to catch a Bills highlight). Awesome game, great winning streak, and thanks FireRex (will the name change if it goes to 5?) for filling me in on some of the details I missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virgil Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share Posted October 17, 2016 The name will stay throughout the season. I'll take it as a sign of good luck hopefully. If they make the playoffs, it will change. Not sure to what. !@#$ Dareus seems to leave my lips a lot 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Frankish Reich Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 The name will stay throughout the season. I'll take it as a sign of good luck hopefully. If they make the playoffs, it will change. Not sure to what. !@#$ Dareus seems to leave my lips a lot Has a certain ring to it I have to admit ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 That's your best one yet, FireRex, nice post! Nothing better than a Bills romp! Hats off to the whole team but especially to Rex, what a difference 4 weeks make, keep it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan130 Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Good post. With regards to the refs, i did not really see the missed calls as sometimes it's hard to on TV. Were the refs missing calls for both teams, or were the bills the only team getting screwed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virgil Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share Posted October 17, 2016 Good post. With regards to the refs, i did not really see the missed calls as sometimes it's hard to on TV. Were the refs missing calls for both teams, or were the bills the only team getting screwed? Honestly, I don't know. It seemed like it was mainly against the Bills, but it overall felt like they weren't paying attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebandit27 Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 My favorite moment of the game was on the 2nd TD drive when the offense sprinted to the LOS on 3rd and 1 from the 21, snapping direct to Gilislee on a quick count for an easy 1st down. Why, you ask? Because it was the moment that I realized that this is a--gulp--well-coached football team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSBill Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Thanks FireRex. A great day, a good day to be a Bills fan. Time to get ready for the fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Sorry for the lateness of this, but had a good family day at the game. My daughters first experience in Orchard Park was great, but I didn't take her into the game. Not quite yet. So, you took your daughter to the park, but didn't take her into the game. You left her in the car? Dude, that's messed up. BTW, what happened to Bill? I hope he's OK? I thought there were several calls against the Bills that were very ticky-tack. One I think was non-existent. As far as Dareus goes, I'm relishing the fact he will join this defense, and be fresh, for the last part of the season. Maybe this is a good strategy after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubes Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Well done, thanks FR. My favorite moment from the game was on the TD pass to Hunter. As soon as the ball left TT's hand, at least three Bills players raised their hands knowing it was a TD -- the two shallow WRs and Clay (I think) on that side of the field, who knew that they had drawn the defense away from Hunter, leaving him open. As far as Dareus goes, I'm relishing the fact he will join this defense, and be fresh, for the last part of the season. Maybe this is a good strategy after all. Me too. And Shaq as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddie's Dead Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 The name will stay throughout the season. I'll take it as a sign of good luck hopefully. If they make the playoffs, it will change. Not sure to what. !@#$ Dareus seems to leave my lips a lot Winner! Tub.Of.Goo might also work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virgil Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share Posted October 17, 2016 So, you took your daughter to the park, but didn't take her into the game. You left her in the car? Dude, that's messed up. BTW, what happened to Bill? I hope he's OK? I thought there were several calls against the Bills that were very ticky-tack. One I think was non-existent. As far as Dareus goes, I'm relishing the fact he will join this defense, and be fresh, for the last part of the season. Maybe this is a good strategy after all. Nah, she was good so she didn't get car treatment today 😋. My mom takes the kids to the hotel at game time. They nap and she doesn't have to run to the car. Bill is good. Just taking a break. The non-foul penalty? Pry the bs block in the back on the screen pass. The defensive player flopped and the ump fell for it. I watched it specifically and lost my ****. That's when I started watching the refs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Nah, she was good so she didn't get car treatment today . My mom takes the kids to the hotel at game time. They nap and she doesn't have to run to the car. Bill is good. Just taking a break. The non-foul penalty? Pry the bs block in the back on the screen pass. The defensive player flopped and the ump fell for it. I watched it specifically and lost my ****. That's when I started watching the refs. I agree the block in the back was a crappy call, but I called it as soon as I saw it. The offensive PI against Goodwin was total BS as far as I could see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhode Island Red Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I read the OP, but have not absorbed the ensuing comments yet because I had to say thank you for this report. What a great "I was there"feeling… It helped me realize how happy I am to "Know" all of you. Go bills! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Allan in MD Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Let's go fishing next Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky Landing Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I agree with almost all of this except for one thing: 5) The refs missed calls all day for both teams. And, I really didn't mind. Let the guys play, I say. I loved the play where the crowd was calling for the flag against the 49ers for a late hit on Tyrod, but the flag was not thrown. I loved the play because Tyrod-- the epitome of sportsmanship-- Immediately got up up, got in the defender's face, and apparently said something to the effect of, "it's all good, I know you weren't trying to hit me..." (I gave no idea what his words were. You could just tell by his smile, and demeanor, what the crux of the conversation was.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virgil Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share Posted October 17, 2016 I agree about that being a no call. And there were a few "let them play" calls you could see from the stands that I appreciated as well. The holds were THAT bad. I'm talking full blown tackles. I hope it's on the All-22. It gave Kaep tons of time and running room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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