A few thoughts about the Steelers Game (BillFromNYC Tribute)

[Virgil]

Finally got a snowy game in December with the chance to keep our slim playoff hopes alive as well as save some jobs, but the Bills didn't seem to show up and we are in typical end of season question mode.

 

1. Attitude - With what was on the line, you would hope to have seen the same Bills team that came out against the Seahawks on Monday night. Instead, the same Bills that played the second half against the Raiders. Even Shady, who is normally our biggest sparkplug, just didn't have his mojo. I'm not going to pretend to know what happens in the locker room and at the front office, but this was a very dejected team from the opening snap. Even if we win out, I think the tone has been set about this for the season and Rex's tenure. They didn't show up today and played like they could see the writing on the wall.

 

2. Carpenter - I have to get this out of the way early because I'm just over it and don't want to think about it anymore. The missed extra point showed up again and ever worst, the worst onside kick attempt I've ever seen. That kick was the perfect example of the overall game. When it was all on the line, the execution was beyond horrible. I'm completely fine with bringing real competition in for kicker next year.

 

3. Tyrod - I could go at TT from a bunch of different angles today. Depending on the drive, either he was horrible with his inability to run the ball, overthrow WR's, or holding the ball too long. On the flip side, you could also point out the drives where he had absolutely no time to throw the ball or his WR's just dropped catchable passes. This is another feast game for the TT haters and deservedly so. I'm still on the bandwagon of picking up his option because it's cheap and I think our new coach (more on that later) could have success with him. It's not that I'm in love with TT, I just don't know what better options will present themselves.

 

4. Lately I've been feeling low

A remedy is what I'm seeking
I take a taste of what's below
Come away to something better
What I want is what I've not got
And what I need
Is all around me
Reaching searching never stop
And I'll say...

 

5. Brown - I'll be honest, I get confused sometimes as to which Brown was which, but Preston seemed to just absolutely give up out there. I saw him give up on so many plays that I don't know how he didn't get benched. He was just jogging, not fighting through blocks of inferior opponents. It was disgraceful.

 

6. Gilmore - Looks like Gilmore played this season like a chess game. He's making all the right moves at the right time and will have a nice little statline by the end of the season. But in all fairness, he played a great game and his INT wouldn't made more of a difference in a competitive game. I think he's all but gone after the season as he will get the contract we are unwilling to pay.

 

7. Defensive Line - I don't know if they gameplan is to rush 3 or 4 and drop everyone into coverage, but the lack of defensive pressure we are getting is alarming. I could make excuses last week with the quality of Oakland's line, but this week was terrible. Big Ben had all day to pick us apart, especially on 3rd down, and that's what he did. How we led the league in sacks is beyond me and I want to know where all that money spent on these guys is going.

 

8. Offensive Scheme and WR's - Finally looking forward to a somewhat healthy wide receiver team and we saw drops, 5 yard hitch routes, and very little deep shots. It was incredibly frustrating to watch the Steelers offense come on the field after ours and show us how it can be done. I think Lynn has done a decent job, but I'm starting to think that he doesn't know how to make a complete gameplan. It's either short or long balls. Home runs or strike outs.

 

9. Bell - 300 all purpose yards and the 2nd 200 yard rusher against the Bills this season (a record btw). His patience and field vision was great to see. He's a very smart runner and doesn't look like he's got a big gain, and then he does. All of his yard were calculated and the type of game that I think Shady is capable of. Either way, the one positive thing today was being able to watch an athlete of his caliber.

 

10. Rex - Sorry Rex, but it's time to go. This team has given you all it can and you've shown all you can do. Maybe it's the curse of the Ralph, who knows. But there is absolutely no signs of this getting any better. Your only strength is our biggest weakness and your coaches are all products of Rex. Only a full house cleaning will get it done.

 

With that, I'm officially on the Todd Haley bandwagon. I think Haley can do good things with our offense as it is. If he wants to bring in another QB, I'd shut up and trust his judgement. On defense, I don't think he can do much worse. I think he is an obtainable target and would give me hope immediately going into the next season.

 

 

That's it guys. This was a tough one as it was an ugly loss with a score that didn't come close to reflecting how the game actually was. Just no effort across the board and you would think they got eliminated weeks ago and weren't getting paid.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

Should have kept your name, FireRex

[Virgil]

Should have kept your name, FireRex

 

Some things go without saying at this point

[Fixxxer]

First time in my life that I see a running back walking for so many yards against an NFL defense, the guy danced all day behind his OL until he found a gap to walk through it. It was not until the fourth quarter that we decided to run blitz Bell.

 

Pathetic effort and patetic timing with the adjustments.

[CSBill]

The fans gave up on Rex a long time ago.

 

It appears the front office has as well

 

And certainly the players have, by evidence of their play today.

 

I like the Haley idea, but I'm sure there will be "a thorough search for the best available candidate." . . . Jim Schwartz anyone?

First time in my life that I see a running back walking for so many yards against an NFL defense, the guy danced all day behind his OL until he found a gap to walk through it. It was not until the fourth quarter that we decided to run blitz Bell.

 

Pathetic effort and patetic timing with the adjustments.

 

rewatch that play and see Gilmore getting blocked into the second row . . . it is pathetic

[Virgil]

The fans gave up on Rex a long time ago.

 

It appears the front office has as well

 

And certainly the players have, by evidence of their play today.

 

I like the Haley idea, but I'm sure there will be "a thorough search for the best available candidate." . . . Jim Schwartz anyone?

I really believe we need to go offensive minded for our next coach. I think an average, simple scheme coach will improve our defense.

[Fixxxer]

We need to keep the systems togheter and get better leaders of men. Entering the game we were a team fighting for a very little chance at the post-season and we saw nothing, no fight until we scored a garbage TD. Rather pathetic.

[The Frankish Reich]

Finally got a snowy game in December with the chance to keep our slim playoff hopes alive as well as save some jobs, but the Bills didn't seem to show up and we are in typical end of season question mode.

 

1. Attitude - With what was on the line, you would hope to have seen the same Bills team that came out against the Seahawks on Monday night. Instead, the same Bills that played the second half against the Raiders. Even Shady, who is normally our biggest sparkplug, just didn't have his mojo. I'm not going to pretend to know what happens in the locker room and at the front office, but this was a very dejected team from the opening snap. Even if we win out, I think the tone has been set about this for the season and Rex's tenure. They didn't show up today and played like they could see the writing on the wall.

 

2. Carpenter - I have to get this out of the way early because I'm just over it and don't want to think about it anymore. The missed extra point showed up again and ever worst, the worst onside kick attempt I've ever seen. That kick was the perfect example of the overall game. When it was all on the line, the execution was beyond horrible. I'm completely fine with bringing real competition in for kicker next year.

 

3. Tyrod - I could go at TT from a bunch of different angles today. Depending on the drive, either he was horrible with his inability to run the ball, overthrow WR's, or holding the ball too long. On the flip side, you could also point out the drives where he had absolutely no time to throw the ball or his WR's just dropped catchable passes. This is another feast game for the TT haters and deservedly so. I'm still on the bandwagon of picking up his option because it's cheap and I think our new coach (more on that later) could have success with him. It's not that I'm in love with TT, I just don't know what better options will present themselves.

 

4. Lately I've been feeling low

A remedy is what I'm seeking

I take a taste of what's below

Come away to something better

What I want is what I've not got

And what I need

Is all around me

Reaching searching never stop

And I'll say...

 

5. Brown - I'll be honest, I get confused sometimes as to which Brown was which, but Preston seemed to just absolutely give up out there. I saw him give up on so many plays that I don't know how he didn't get benched. He was just jogging, not fighting through blocks of inferior opponents. It was disgraceful.

 

6. Gilmore - Looks like Gilmore played this season like a chess game. He's making all the right moves at the right time and will have a nice little statline by the end of the season. But in all fairness, he played a great game and his INT wouldn't made more of a difference in a competitive game. I think he's all but gone after the season as he will get the contract we are unwilling to pay.

 

7. Defensive Line - I don't know if they gameplan is to rush 3 or 4 and drop everyone into coverage, but the lack of defensive pressure we are getting is alarming. I could make excuses last week with the quality of Oakland's line, but this week was terrible. Big Ben had all day to pick us apart, especially on 3rd down, and that's what he did. How we led the league in sacks is beyond me and I want to know where all that money spent on these guys is going.

 

8. Offensive Scheme and WR's - Finally looking forward to a somewhat healthy wide receiver team and we saw drops, 5 yard hitch routes, and very little deep shots. It was incredibly frustrating to watch the Steelers offense come on the field after ours and show us how it can be done. I think Lynn has done a decent job, but I'm starting to think that he doesn't know how to make a complete gameplan. It's either short or long balls. Home runs or strike outs.

 

9. Bell - 300 all purpose yards and the 2nd 200 yard rusher against the Bills this season (a record btw). His patience and field vision was great to see. He's a very smart runner and doesn't look like he's got a big gain, and then he does. All of his yard were calculated and the type of game that I think Shady is capable of. Either way, the one positive thing today was being able to watch an athlete of his caliber.

 

10. Rex - Sorry Rex, but it's time to go. This team has given you all it can and you've shown all you can do. Maybe it's the curse of the Ralph, who knows. But there is absolutely no signs of this getting any better. Your only strength is our biggest weakness and your coaches are all products of Rex. Only a full house cleaning will get it done.

 

With that, I'm officially on the Todd Haley bandwagon. I think Haley can do good things with our offense as it is. If he wants to bring in another QB, I'd shut up and trust his judgement. On defense, I don't think he can do much worse. I think he is an obtainable target and would give me hope immediately going into the next season.

 

 

That's it guys. This was a tough one as it was an ugly loss with a score that didn't come close to reflecting how the game actually was. Just no effort across the board and you would think they got eliminated weeks ago and weren't getting paid.

Nice summary of misery. One minor quibble on (9) - Bell. That wasn't really the kind of game Shady is capable of. Oh, he's more than capable of breaking big runs and maybe even hitting 200 rushing, or 200 combined rushing + receiving. But as far as just handing the game over to him, play after play, first down after first down ... no. Shady is more CJ Spiller 2012 than Bell 2016 -- an electric player who might just break off a huge play at any time, but also a guy who'll make negative yards multiple times per game. Shady is a very valuable running back, but he's not nearly as valuable as Bell.

[qwksilver]

I believe if Bill reads these he'd be in agreement.

 

How can a team with their whole season on the line look so out coached & play with so little heart? Ryan boys have to go. TT take your place on the bench.

[billsfan714]

I think its hard to evaluate Lynns offense with Tyrod who cant see the whole field and hangs onto the ball too long and cant throw over the middle into windows.

[CSBill]

Nice summary of misery. One minor quibble on (9) - Bell. That wasn't really the kind of game Shady is capable of. Oh, he's more than capable of breaking big runs and maybe even hitting 200 rushing, or 200 combined rushing + receiving. But as far as just handing the game over to him, play after play, first down after first down ... no. Shady is more CJ Spiller 2012 than Bell 2016 -- an electric player who might just break off a huge play at any time, but also a guy who'll make negative yards multiple times per game. Shady is a very valuable running back, but he's not nearly as valuable as Bell.

 

We had a Bell like player, Karlos Williams, but he had no brain.

Edited December 11, 2016 by CSBill

[Jkgobills]

Nice lyrics Virgil.

 

What a mess it has all become. Missed XP's, botched onside kicks, dropped passes, bad passes, and a defense that couldn't stop the run.

 

I feel like I did after the second game of the season.

 

Rex has to go. At this point I would be fine with clearing out all coaching and front office personnel. And the Bills have to find a QB that can throw the ball effectively.

 

Also, fire whoever was responsible for not knowing how to properly remove snow from the field....in Buffalo.

[Big Turk]

Gilmore might get paid like the best corner in the game because so many teams have tons of cap money...Someone is going to pay an outrageous amount for him

[Nostradumbass]

Thanks for calling our Preston Brown

 

He was absolutely dreadful today

[BaaadThingsMan]

Cut Carp bring in Walsh

[Fixxxer]

Thanks for calling our Preston Brown

 

He was absolutely dreadful today

 

every player on the front 7 was dreadful today, sans Zach Brown reading Roeth in the endzone for a great interception.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

Even the field crew sucked today, how in the world did they get so much black rubber all over the place

 

Some things go without saying at this point

 

yep

[Prickly Pete]

#1 Attitude

 

 

I don't know...

 

How many people expected them to win this game? How many people (like me) knew these Bills weren't playoff material weeks ago?

 

They didn't look uninspired, they looked like the same lower middle class team they have been all season (and pretty much for the last 17 years).

 

So I wasn't expecting them to play like they were laying it all on the line, "it's now or never" etc. They would have done that awhile ago, because it's not just about being out of it "mathematically", it's about being out of it realistically.

 

They have been out of it realistically for some time now, and they knew it.

 

They have not been improving, and it's time to bring in a new coach.

Edited December 11, 2016 by HoF Watkins

[Coach Tuesday]

Todd Haley??? Oh my.

[BillsFan130]

Good post. I will disagree with you saying bells patience and running was great to see though.. lol