A few thoughts about the Chargers game

[Virgil]

Writing this recap isn't always easy, especially when the team has drained all hope from you before Thanksgiving and you realize it's not going to get better before it gets worse.  If I were going to skip a week, this would be it.  But here we go...

 

1 - Quarterback - The only thing we learned today was that Peterman isn't the immediate savior, but instead the 5th round pick rookie who was asked to start in the middle of the season on the west coast in an offense that hasn't done anything for weeks.  He was historically bad in a game that was broadcast across most of the country for some reason as the 4pm game.  This didn't prove anything about Tyrod and mainly created more questions about our new head coach's handling of things than anything else.  There is no defending how bad Peterman looked, except to say that no one can be that bad all the time.  He made it this far in his career for a reason.  Regardless, I think the hopes of him saving this season ended quickly.

 

2 - Opposing WR coverage - I understand the concept of moving your primary receiver around to create coverage mismatches.  But, the defense can adjust too.  You can have your primary defensive back shadow their WR.  So please tell me why we had linebackers on Allen for most of his catches.  It was absurd and the most head scratching thing I saw all day.  These are the things that make me question the intelligence and quality of our coaches.

 

3 - Blitzes - McDermott finally sent pressure today and in abundance.  Problem is, he did it against Rivers who kept finding the guy left the most open in coverage gaps (See point #2).  I"m happy to see McDermott finally make some adjustments here and hope to see more in the future.

 

4 - When I was born, they looked at me and said
what a good boy, what a smart boy, what a strong boy.
And when you were born, they looked at you and said,
what a good girl, what a smart girl, what a pretty girl.

 

5 - Defensive  - During our first few weeks in defensive fantasy land, it was eye opening how fast our guys flew to the ball.  We created turnovers because guys were all over the ball and in position to recover tips and deflections.  That seems like ages ago now.  Our players are late in coverage, give huge cushions over the middle, and just seem to be outran on every play.  Even at the end of plays, they are slow to the ball.  I don't know if this is them giving up after being down 10+ in the first half in 3 straight games, but something is very different.  You can see it in their playing speed and the way they give up an extra few yards as the finish, or don't finish, their tackles.

 

6 - Shady - I can't remember a game with such solid running production and stats in a losing effort.  I feel bad for the guy to play on this team and see what Philly is doing right now.  It's a waste of talent and the man deserves better.  I'm happy to have his voice on our team and I'm impressed with how he's handled all of this.  He showed burst and agility today.  Would have been an asset in the playoffs.

 

7 - Tate - Is he being told to bring the ball out of the endzone on kickoffs or is he just desperate to make something happen?  I think he only made it past the 25 on one occasion, while stopped short of the 17 every other time.  Why was he allowed to do this without eventually getting benched?

 

8 - McDermott - I think the guy is stubborn in his scheme, playcalling, and personnel decisions.  But I also believe coaches need time to figure their team out.  However, it really looks like he's losing this team only 11 weeks into the season.  Between the inconsistent play, frustration with player moves, and just overall results, I worry how this is all going to pan out.  I don't want to go through another rebuild only to have it fail, then do it all over again.  If he does get fired, I really hope the Pegula's bring in a NFL Vet who knows the process and can help pick out a coach, because this would be two major misses that they felt great about in the interviews.

 

9 - 3 Straight Blowouts - Even in our 3-13 season, I can't remember a stretch of three games where we got beat this badly.  Let alone, beaten by 2 teams with losing records.  This might be an all-time low for me as a fan and I can see it in the anger, disappointment, and lashing out from a lot of posters on here.  It just plain sucks.  We are playing so bad right now that I would only favor us to beat the Browns right now, but don't know if I'd be surprised if we lost.  We are playing that badly.  Ask yourself this:  What are we good at right now?  Can we stop the run or pass?  Can we pass or run well?  There really isn't anything we can hang our hat on right now and other teams just seem to have us figured out.  It's going to get worse before it gets better.  If we didn't win another game, I wouldn't be shocked.  I'm not saying we won't, just that it isn't unrealistic.  

 

10 - Now what? - Unlike previous seasons, we don't have a lot of guys waiting in the wings.  There isn't anyone I want to see get more reps.  If it's not too late, I want to see us make the cuts to get a comp pick and trade whoever can retrieve value.  Our roster is a joke, but it's the roster that McDermott and the coaches wanted.  That's what makes this worse.  They overhauled the team and brought in their guys, and their guys are terrible.  Yes, they could only bring in so much, but it makes me wonder how much of this current roster will be here even next year.  At this point, all I can do is trust the process and enjoy the Bills with absolutely no expectations.  It's hard without something to look forward to, a player to watch grow, or be on upset alert, which is why this might be the hardest season to close out in as long as I can remember.

 

 

Sorry for the doom and gloom, but it's where I'm at.  In the words of the great Buffy, "Give me something to sing about."

 

Go Bills!

Edited November 20, 2017 by Virgil

[Manther]

39 minutes ago, Virgil said:

Writing this recap isn't always easy, especially when the team has drained all hope from you before Thanksgiving and you realize it's not going to get better before it gets worse.  If I were going to skip a week, this would be it.  But here we go...

 

1 - Quarterback - The only thing we learned today was that Peterman isn't the immediate savior, but instead the 5th round pick rookie who was asked to start in the middle of the season on the west coast in an offense that hasn't done anything for weeks.  He was historically bad in a game that was broadcast across most of the country for some reason as the 4pm game.  This didn't prove anything about Tyrod and mainly created more questions about our new head coach's handling of things than anything else.  There is no defending how bad Peterman looked, except to say that no one can be that bad all the time.  He made it this far in his career for a reason.  Regardless, I think the hopes of him saving this season ended quickly.

 

2 - Opposing WR coverage - I understand the concept of moving your primary receiver around to create coverage mismatches.  But, the defense can adjust too.  You can have your primary defensive back shadow their WR.  So please tell me why we had linebackers on Allen for most of his catches.  It was absurd and the most head scratching thing I saw all day.  These are the things that make me question the intelligence and quality of our coaches.

 

3 - Blitzes - McDermott finally sent pressure today and in abundance.  Problem is, he did it against Rivers who kept finding the guy left the most open in coverage gaps (See point #2).  I"m happy to see McDermott finally make some adjustments here and hope to see more in the future.

 

4 - When I was born, they looked at me and said
what a good boy, what a smart boy, what a strong boy.
And when you were born, they looked at you and said,
what a good girl, what a smart girl, what a pretty girl.

 

5 - Defensive  - During our first few weeks in defensive fantasy land, it was eye opening how fast our guys flew to the ball.  We created turnovers because guys were all over the ball and in position to recover tips and deflections.  That seems like ages ago now.  Our players are late in coverage, give huge cushions over the middle, and just seem to be outran on every play.  Even at the end of plays, they are slow to the ball.  I don't know if this is them giving up after being down 10+ in the first half in 3 straight games, but something is very different.  You can see it in their playing speed and the way they give up an extra few yards as the finish, or don't finish, their tackles.

 

6 - Shady - I can't remember a game with such solid running production and stats in a losing effort.  I feel bad for the guy to play on this team and see what Philly is doing right now.  It's a waste of talent and the man deserves better.  I'm happy to have his voice on our team and I'm impressed with how he's handled all of this.  He showed burst and agility today.  Would have been an asset in the playoffs.

 

7 - Tate - Is he being told to bring the ball out of the endzone on kickoffs or is he just desperate to make something happen?  I think he only made it past the 25 on one occasion, while stopped short of the 17 every other time.  Why was he allowed to do this without eventually getting benched?

 

8 - McDermott - I think the guy is stubborn in his scheme, playcalling, and personnel decisions.  But I also believe coaches need time to figure their team out.  However, it really looks like he's losing this team only 11 weeks into the season.  Between the inconsistent play, frustration with player moves, and just overall results, I worry how this is all going to pan out.  I don't want to go through another rebuild only to have it fail, then do it all over again.  If he does get fired, I really hope the Pegula's bring in a NFL Vet who knows the process and can help pick out a coach, because this would be two major misses that they felt great about in the interviews.

 

9 - 3 Straight Blowouts - Even in our 3-13 season, I can't remember a stretch of three games where we got beat this badly.  Let alone, beaten by 2 teams with losing records.  This might be an all-time low for me as a fan and I can see it in the anger, disappointment, and lashing out from a lot of posters on here.  It just plain sucks.  We are playing so bad right now that I would only favor us to beat the Browns right now, but don't know if I'd be surprised if we lost.  We are playing that badly.  Ask yourself this:  What are we good at right now?  Can we stop the run or pass?  Can we pass or run well?  There really isn't anything we can hang our hat on right now and other teams just seem to have us figured out.  It's going to get worse before it gets better.  If we didn't win another game, I wouldn't be shocked.  I'm not saying we won't, just that it isn't unrealistic.  

 

10 - Now what? - Unlike previous seasons, we don't have a lot of guys waiting in the wings.  There isn't anyone I want to see get more reps.  If it's not too late, I want to see us make the cuts to get a comp pick and trade whoever can retrieve value.  Our roster is a joke, but it's the roster that McDermott and the coaches wanted.  That's what makes this worse.  They overhauled the team and brought in their guys, and their guys are terrible.  Yes, they could only bring in so much, but it makes me wonder how much of this current roster will be here even next year.  At this point, all I can do is trust the process and enjoy the Bills with absolutely no expectations.  It's hard without something to look forward to, a player to watch grow, or be on upset alert, which is why this might be the hardest season to close out in as long as I can remember.

 

 

Sorry for the doom and gloom, but it's where I'm at.  In the words of the great Buffy, "Give me something to sing about."

 

Go Bills!

I agree on all and feel the same way.

 

????

[RiotAct]

I -AM- a rather pretty girl.

[Foreigner]

Just read this. Great as usual and on point. Only thing you may have missed is Schmidt, and  are his

30 yard punts back again?.

Can't see what McD has to evaluate about the QB next week.  2nd half was garbage time, but maybe now

Denison and TT will throw the ball down the field in spite of no WRs. 

[RyanC883]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

Writing this recap isn't always easy, especially when the team has drained all hope from you before Thanksgiving and you realize it's not going to get better before it gets worse.  If I were going to skip a week, this would be it.  But here we go...

 

1 - Quarterback - The only thing we learned today was that Peterman isn't the immediate savior, but instead the 5th round pick rookie who was asked to start in the middle of the season on the west coast in an offense that hasn't done anything for weeks.  He was historically bad in a game that was broadcast across most of the country for some reason as the 4pm game.  This didn't prove anything about Tyrod and mainly created more questions about our new head coach's handling of things than anything else.  There is no defending how bad Peterman looked, except to say that no one can be that bad all the time.  He made it this far in his career for a reason.  Regardless, I think the hopes of him saving this season ended quickly.

 

2 - Opposing WR coverage - I understand the concept of moving your primary receiver around to create coverage mismatches.  But, the defense can adjust too.  You can have your primary defensive back shadow their WR.  So please tell me why we had linebackers on Allen for most of his catches.  It was absurd and the most head scratching thing I saw all day.  These are the things that make me question the intelligence and quality of our coaches.

 

3 - Blitzes - McDermott finally sent pressure today and in abundance.  Problem is, he did it against Rivers who kept finding the guy left the most open in coverage gaps (See point #2).  I"m happy to see McDermott finally make some adjustments here and hope to see more in the future.

 

4 - When I was born, they looked at me and said
what a good boy, what a smart boy, what a strong boy.
And when you were born, they looked at you and said,
what a good girl, what a smart girl, what a pretty girl.

 

5 - Defensive  - During our first few weeks in defensive fantasy land, it was eye opening how fast our guys flew to the ball.  We created turnovers because guys were all over the ball and in position to recover tips and deflections.  That seems like ages ago now.  Our players are late in coverage, give huge cushions over the middle, and just seem to be outran on every play.  Even at the end of plays, they are slow to the ball.  I don't know if this is them giving up after being down 10+ in the first half in 3 straight games, but something is very different.  You can see it in their playing speed and the way they give up an extra few yards as the finish, or don't finish, their tackles.

 

6 - Shady - I can't remember a game with such solid running production and stats in a losing effort.  I feel bad for the guy to play on this team and see what Philly is doing right now.  It's a waste of talent and the man deserves better.  I'm happy to have his voice on our team and I'm impressed with how he's handled all of this.  He showed burst and agility today.  Would have been an asset in the playoffs.

 

7 - Tate - Is he being told to bring the ball out of the endzone on kickoffs or is he just desperate to make something happen?  I think he only made it past the 25 on one occasion, while stopped short of the 17 every other time.  Why was he allowed to do this without eventually getting benched?

 

8 - McDermott - I think the guy is stubborn in his scheme, playcalling, and personnel decisions.  But I also believe coaches need time to figure their team out.  However, it really looks like he's losing this team only 11 weeks into the season.  Between the inconsistent play, frustration with player moves, and just overall results, I worry how this is all going to pan out.  I don't want to go through another rebuild only to have it fail, then do it all over again.  If he does get fired, I really hope the Pegula's bring in a NFL Vet who knows the process and can help pick out a coach, because this would be two major misses that they felt great about in the interviews.

 

9 - 3 Straight Blowouts - Even in our 3-13 season, I can't remember a stretch of three games where we got beat this badly.  Let alone, beaten by 2 teams with losing records.  This might be an all-time low for me as a fan and I can see it in the anger, disappointment, and lashing out from a lot of posters on here.  It just plain sucks.  We are playing so bad right now that I would only favor us to beat the Browns right now, but don't know if I'd be surprised if we lost.  We are playing that badly.  Ask yourself this:  What are we good at right now?  Can we stop the run or pass?  Can we pass or run well?  There really isn't anything we can hang our hat on right now and other teams just seem to have us figured out.  It's going to get worse before it gets better.  If we didn't win another game, I wouldn't be shocked.  I'm not saying we won't, just that it isn't unrealistic.  

 

10 - Now what? - Unlike previous seasons, we don't have a lot of guys waiting in the wings.  There isn't anyone I want to see get more reps.  If it's not too late, I want to see us make the cuts to get a comp pick and trade whoever can retrieve value.  Our roster is a joke, but it's the roster that McDermott and the coaches wanted.  That's what makes this worse.  They overhauled the team and brought in their guys, and their guys are terrible.  Yes, they could only bring in so much, but it makes me wonder how much of this current roster will be here even next year.  At this point, all I can do is trust the process and enjoy the Bills with absolutely no expectations.  It's hard without something to look forward to, a player to watch grow, or be on upset alert, which is why this might be the hardest season to close out in as long as I can remember.

 

 

Sorry for the doom and gloom, but it's where I'm at.  In the words of the great Buffy, "Give me something to sing about."

 

Go Bills!

 

I don't get #4? 

 

I also agree with most of the others, except the talent.  The talent that was "shipped off" was basically replaced with equivalent mediocre talent.   We have zero playmakers on the D-line or LB group.  Our secondary is paper thing, so is our OL and RB position.  We have no QB talent, and mid-level WR's.  

[yungmack]

Yep. Pretty much what I saw today. 

[fansince88]

I cant believe a qb that was 27-8 and 28- 7 in college ball is as bad as today was. That said I could care less what they do next week. TT is gone after this year so we need to know who Nate really is BUT with this paper thin old guy line he will be toast 

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

.....baffling and frustrating......from the penthouse to the outhouse OVERNIGHT...............

 

9 - 3 Straight Blowouts - Even in our 3-13 season, I can't remember a stretch of three games where we got beat this badly.  Let alone, beaten by 2 teams with losing records.  This might be an all-time low for me as a fan and I can see it in the anger, disappointment, and lashing out from a lot of posters on here.  It just plain sucks.  We are playing so bad right now that I would only favor us to beat the Browns right now, but don't know if I'd be surprised if we lost.  We are playing that badly.  Ask yourself this:  What are we good at right now?  Can we stop the run or pass?  Can we pass or run well?  There really isn't anything we can hang our hat on right now and other teams just seem to have us figured out.  It's going to get worse before it gets better.  If we didn't win another game, I wouldn't be shocked.  I'm not saying we won't, just that it isn't unrealistic.  

[nucci]

very few teams are this bad...to give up this many points the last 3 games shows they have given up. Even Browns keep games relatively close. Something is seriously wrong

[otagoyellow]

6 hours ago, RyanC883 said:

 

I don't get #4? 

 

I also agree with most of the others, except the talent.  The talent that was "shipped off" was basically replaced with equivalent mediocre talent.   We have zero playmakers on the D-line or LB group.  Our secondary is paper thing, so is our OL and RB position.  We have no QB talent, and mid-level WR's.  

#4 is from a classic Barenaked Ladies tune, "What a good boy."

 

As for what the Bills are good at, the only thing I can think of is kicking FGs...

[Andy1]

Virgil, 1st I want to say thanks for your dedication to always write up your game thoughts. It's not always an enjoyable thing to do with this team. 

 

Now for #1 - This debacle confirms my thoughts that QB evaluation is the biggest mystery in all of pro sports. NOBODY in the NFL can predict how a QB will succeed or fail. Not Bellicheck, not Elway, not anybody. The only certainty is that if you don't have one, you need one and you need a good one to succeed in this game. Petermans fate isn't over. I hope he continues to develop. 

[nucci]

1 hour ago, fansince88 said:

I cant believe a qb that was 27-8 and 28- 7 in college ball is as bad as today was. That said I could care less what they do next week. TT is gone after this year so we need to know who Nate really is BUT with this paper thin old guy line he will be toast 

College W-L record has nothing to do with how a QB will play in the NFL

[BeginnersMind]

The toughest part is seeing them give up. 

 

I was watching yesterday hoping nothing would go wrong because I now feel like they will quit the moment there's any adversity. As someone else said, at least the Browns are keeping games close-ish. This team bails the moment anything goes wrong. (Yes, they got the Shady TD but that was more about two big plays than any sustained effort.)

 

They are currently playing about as well as I expected them to play. The problem with the early wins is that were likely flukes (many statistics point to this), and now the team doesn't believe in the coaches, in spite of the fact that they aren't that good. My new concern is whether McD can get the team back on a building track for the 2019 season, which is realistically what everyone expected going into this season: Meaning will the team believe in McD during the 2018 training camp? 

 

My other concern is this: Given how horribly they've played, what FA will want to come here? 6-10 and building for the future makes Buffalo more attractive than rudderless and a total mess.  

 

 

[goldenboy81]

Both quarterbacks have been nothing but a letdown this year.

We let talent go and now need a front 7, receivers, depth, and a qb.

Playcalling has been crap these past weeks on both sides.

It felt like they played the pats 3 times in a row and all 3 games were over at halftime.i cant remember the last time i ever seen this.

I really feel like this team has been set back even farther by these guys and its gonna be awhile til they are competitive again.

[RyanC883]

3 hours ago, otagoyellow said:

#4 is from a classic Barenaked Ladies tune, "What a good boy."

 

As for what the Bills are good at, the only thing I can think of is kicking FGs...

 

our FG kicker is money.  Just need to get him in range.  

[Buddy Hix]

#8 - McD has lost the locker room. Look no further than the effort and results from the last three weeks. How can anybody trust the process or believe in this coach? This coach is supposed to be a defensive guy, and the D is the worst it has ever been...in the history of the franchise.

 

We were just in this position, a new coach that has no clue how to stop the tailspin, and the realization that we still another regime away from even having the chance at success. Except this time we can't fire McD, so we can't even move on to having a chance for another 2-3 years. Add in the 2-3 years it will take the next regime and....I just need a drink.

[B Fan in LA]

Everybody is shocked at how quickly the wheels came off this year.

We went from a 5-2 team with a "ball hawking" defense that could easily have been 6-1, to........

Stumblin, fumblin, bumblin...........same old lousy Bills..........

 

But a terrible losing record isn't a disaster, it's possibly our best friend.

We don't need another 8-8 season this year, we NEED 6-10 at absolute best to get the best draft position for a QB draft class

that's absolutely chocked full of studs. There are 5 and possibly 6 good candidates out there.

 

Next year we will have Cordy Glenn back at full strength and Dion Dawkins will have a year of experience under his belt.

Eric Wood is still solid, Richie is okay, and Charles Clay is manageable when healthy.

We'll have Kelvin Benjamin, Jordan Matthews, and Deonte Thompson at WR, with Zay coming along.

 

We need a Franchise QB and a RG.

 

On Defense, we need to replace Kyle with a big body or two, and we need help at LB.

 

Hopefully Brady is nearing retirement and the Phins will be a mess again.

The Jets will be erratic, and that will never change.

 

Go Bills !

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

On 11/19/2017 at 11:47 PM, RyanC883 said:

 

I don't get #4? 

 

 

#4 continued

We've got these chains that hang around our necks,
people want to strangle us with them before we take our first breath.
Afraid of change, afraid of staying the same,
when temptation calls, we just look away

Barenaked ladies song.  Virgil is continuing a tradition of Bill from NYC who always included Grateful Dead lyrics in his weekly "Few Thoughts"

 

 

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

I would just like to say that I don't think you could evaluate any QB in the NFL with the way our O-Line played against the Chargers. Peterman is a rookie QB who tried to do to much while being under rediculous pressure. This team isn't going anywhere and it's more beneficial to the team to see what we have in Peterman if the O-Line can give him a little time to throw. Our O-Line won't see a D-Line like the Chargers the rest of the season so Peterman should get some time to throw passes and be properly evaluated.

[BadLandsMeanie]

On 11/19/2017 at 11:33 PM, Virgil said:

 

 

1 - Quarterback - The only thing we learned today was that Peterman isn't the immediate savior, but instead the 5th round pick rookie who was asked to start in the middle of the season on the west coast in an offense that hasn't done anything for weeks.  He was historically bad in a game that was broadcast across most of the country for some reason as the 4pm game.  This didn't prove anything about Tyrod and mainly created more questions about our new head coach's handling of things than anything else.  There is no defending how bad Peterman looked, except to say that no one can be that bad all the time.  He made it this far in his career for a reason.  Regardless, I think the hopes of him saving this season ended quickly.

 

2 - Opposing WR coverage - I understand the concept of moving your primary receiver around to create coverage mismatches.  But, the defense can adjust too.  You can have your primary defensive back shadow their WR.  So please tell me why we had linebackers on Allen for most of his catches.  It was absurd and the most head scratching thing I saw all day.  These are the things that make me question the intelligence and quality of our coaches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let me take you back to 2004. In camp they had Drew Bledsoe on a 3 second timer so he would become accustomed to having the ball gone in 3 seconds. He had been slower than they wanted getting rid of the Ball.

 

Drew Bledsoe, The First overall pick,  who was at that time an 11 year veteran starter, who had play in the Superbowl, was learning to get rid of the ball in 3 seconds.

 

The rest here is from Wikipedia:

 

When Bledsoe retired in April 2007, he left fifth in NFL history in pass attempts (6,717) and completions (3,839), seventh in passing yards (44,611), and 13th in touchdown passes (251).^{[citation needed]}

On May 16, 2011, Bledsoe was voted by Patriots fans into the Patriots Hall of Fame.

 

In July 2012, Bledsoe was named the 30th greatest quarterback of the NFL's post-merger era by Football Nation.^[17]

 

 

 

Nov 19 Nathan Peterman 5th round pick starting his first ever NFL game, had between 1.5 and 2.5 seconds to read the field and throw the ball before being hit.

 

I don't think we learned anything at all about Nate Peterman on Sunday. Except I think we learned that Tyrod Taylor can survive in those circumstances we had out there and Nate Peterman can't.

 

As for the defense, the watchword is "simplify". All those confusing assignments and adjustments get in the way, remember?

 

I will watch the tape soon but having read what you wrote, I am starting to wonder if teams have just figured out how our simple defense runs, and have decided to attack in a smart way so that the simple defense just doesn't work.