Random game day observations

[Kelly the Dog]

Hard to say a bunch of new things a full day later, but...

 

1. Play of the day was the 42 yard bomb to Evans for numerous reasons. It was the play that really made the Texans put one guy back deep instead of at the LOS. It was the first deep ball of JP's career and he hit it right on the money. It made the fans and JP himself go nuts (how great was it to see the relay of him so pumped running down the field). It gave the team all the confidence in the world in him. And had to make the receivers happy, too.

 

2. How great is it to have a free safety that is actually a ballhawk. Vincent's two INTs were both not only excellent individual plays but plays that a Bills FS would not have ben able to make since Tony Greene. The comments by Carr after the game about that play were very telling.

 

3. Kelsay obviously came to play, and he may already be as good as Schobel. Neither are fabulous but solid. Ryan Denney, the much maligned, also seemed to have a good game. He's a solid back-up.

 

4. The coaching, all around was awesome. Lining up with an empty backfield on the first play was very well thought out, and confused the Texans. Having confidence and showing confidence in JP's throwing probably gave JP confidence himself, and he said as much after the game. Going for it on 4th and 2, while only up 5 points was a ballsy move but probably the right time to do it, one of those plays that are genius when they work and stupid when they don't. The play-calling was consistently good as you never really knew when they were going to run or pass. How did they know to cut Tucker and leave Preston as the only interior back-up lineman?

 

5. The snaps on the FGs really could make a signficant difference. I am not sold on Lindell but little things like that do indeed make a difference in the kicking game.

 

6. Jason Peters on special teams is hysterical. What a monster.

 

7. Losman played well, obviously. He is still going to make some horrendous errors but there are a few things I really liked. One was that he has star power and quality. The first drive, while it in no way means he's going to be a star, is just something that great players seem to do, they just play well in big games when they have every reason to be nervous or off or at least need time to settle down. I loved the way he got on the bench and started to get the fans in the stands screaming. I liked the way he went after Reed but they seemed to get together just after. I liked the way he said it was a team game immediately. It is one thing to be athletic and mobile but it is quite another to have genuine feel for the rush and have serious escapability. He has those, it seems. He also really seemed to always be looking to throw when he scrambled instead of just taking off.

 

8. Edwards held up well. Gandy, despite one penalty, played a heck of a game. Anderson played the way I expected him to when he signed. Losman obviously played well. Lindell surprised everyone. It;s funny that the 4-5 main question marks during the off season ALL played well. We certainly can't always expect this but was indicative of the "things could not have gone better" way that the game turned out.

 

9. Nate was a stud. He really may be worth the franchise tag. The only thing that worries me is his postgame comment about now he can take MORE chances because Vincent is back there.

 

10. Man, this defense is fun to watch. Jerry Gray seems to make the right calls. It's a huge difference to have the two veteran safeties. Terrence McGee is turning into a solid corner. Posey looked good. Greer is a playmaker as a nickel back. They had it working on all cylinders.

[ajzepp]

Great post....I can't help but be really proud of all the hard work and dedication JP has put in since being drafted by the Bills. Granted, as you said he will likely make some pretty bad errors at times throughout the year, but the guy clearly is dedicated not only to the team, but to Buffalo. It's been a long time since I've had this much pride in the QB of our team.....and I can honestly say I'm a much bigger JP fan today than I was yesterday.

 

GO BILLS!!

[Nanker]

Most signs are very positive for a nice ride this year.

[BuffOrange]

Good point about the safties - that's definitely a foreign feeling for Bills fans. In year's past I'd just pray that opponent's deep balls were either overthrown, or hoping the CB could make a tough play on an island. I mean, breaking up passes (much less int's) with help over the top - what's that? That's legal, right? Cool.

[ajzepp]

Good point about the safties - that's definitely a foreign feeling for Bills fans.  In year's past I'd just pray that opponent's deep balls were either overthrown, or hoping the CB could make a tough play on an island.  I mean, breaking up passes (much less int's) with help over the top - what's that?  That's legal, right?  Cool.

437777[/snapback]

 

I agree....hell, I even love our backups! Between R. Baker, K.Thomas, J.Greer, and E.King, I think we're in pretty damn good shape.....our secondary is SICK. If Ron Edwards can make us forget about Big Pat, I really think our defense will lead us to the promise land. They seem motivated to dominate this year.....ya gotta love it

[cåblelady]

My only low point yesterday......other than not getting to see Buddy the Wonder Dog.....was when I couldn't find Jim Leonhard on the field. I didn't realize he was inactive for the game until Cindy told me on the way home.

[OnTheRocks]

How did they know to cut Tucker and leave Preston as the only interior back-up lineman?

 

 

Duke Preston is my player of the game. If I am not mistaken Villarial started the game. And the running game got nothing with him in the game. McGahee had no where to run. Then when Preston came in, all of a sudden McGahee was ripping off nice runs.

 

Aside from that....I don't look at it as doom and gloom after one game, but I hope they figure out how to consistantly get into the endzone.

Gandy played well....yet as mentioned in another thread I am now really looking forward to see how he matches up next week with Simeon Rice.

The coaching staff gets a grade A simply for the opening drive. The Texans came in looking for a face full of McGahee and got a couple of perfectly thrown Losman balls wizzing past them.

One sack allowed and no turnovers was pretty neat for a Bills fan to watch!

 

I loved the throwback uni's. Especially the black high-tops. Very cool.

[IDBillzFan]

I'll qualify this with the usual "It was only one game, but..."

 

- Our safety position was insane yesterday. The telling sign was the first (I think) deep ball Carr threw to Andre Johnson, who had a step on (I believe it was McGee at that time), and Vincent seemed to come out of nowhere to make the last shove to ensure the incomplete pass.

 

- You didn't comment on it, and in fact not many people have, but I loved the way we just went to the line on 4th and 2 and went for it without any hesitation. Obviously a great D will let you do that, but alternately it was telling with about 6 or 7 minutes left when the Texans backed off of a 4th and inches.

[BuckeyeBill]

Very good summary and you made some critical points.

 

1. I agree that the bomb was a great play to call, and executed perfectly. Last week many people predicted that a bomb would be found somewhere in the first drive... I'm glad we were right.

 

2. I think that Vincient is fabulous. I'm ALMOST ready to crown him a Pro Bowl birth right now. Which do you think will happen... more sacks by Kelsay this year, or interceptions by Vincient. I think that's going to be a close contest.

 

3. Kelsay is due for a break out year. I'm expecting 8 sacks with several tackles to boot. I thought this before the season.

 

4. I have to disagree a bit. With a first down and goal... you have to run run run. Yes, the Texans were expecting it, but you have to give the ball to Willis. I hate to say it, because I am elated about JP's touchdown pass... but I would have run it up the gut that down instead of the trickiness to Peters. Had the blitzing defender been one step closer to Losman, instead of having his first touchdown pass, he would have been sacked and we would have been forced to do another fieldgoal (most likely).

 

Why doesn't Clements play GRIND-it-OUT ball down by the goal line. I personally don't like the trickery (although it occassionally will work).

 

5/6. Snaps were great, Peters was great!

 

7. I love Losman... what more can I say.

 

8. I don't think there were ANY weak links in yesterday's game... with perhaps the O-Line not being physical enough at the beginning of the game to allow more than 12 yards on 7 McGahee carries.

 

9. Show Nate the money!!

 

10. McGee doesn't get the credit. But he is dominant as a corner. Great tackling, and he shuts down his receivers quite frequently. I think McGee should have been our MVP last year, and he is continuing to be great this year. Just didn't have enough kick-offs to do anything special. But he should blame the defense for that.

[Kelly the Dog]

I'll qualify this with the usual "It was only one game, but..."

 

- Our safety position was insane yesterday. The telling sign was the first (I think) deep ball Carr threw to Andre Johnson, who had a step on (I believe it was McGee at that time), and Vincent seemed to come out of nowhere to make the last shove to ensure the incomplete pass.

 

- You didn't comment on it, and in fact not many people have, but I loved the way we just went to the line on 4th and 2 and went for it without any hesitation. Obviously a great D will let you do that, but alternately it was telling with about 6 or 7 minutes left when the Texans backed off of a 4th and inches.

437800[/snapback]

But I did comment on it, in number four.

[Catholic Guilt]

I miss Chris Watson!

[Pete]

Great post Kelly as per usual. Man I am pumped up for this team!

[stevewin]

I posted earlier about how the play of the safeties cannot be overstated. It is simply awesome to have both guys back there making plays and making proper decisions. It also makes the whole defensive better and more agressive.

 

Clements said there is only one word to describe what it means for a cornerback to have a cagey veteran like Vincent watching your back.

 

"Freedom," Clements said. "I can take more chances and be comfortable and not worry about getting beat. He can still run and cover a lot of ground back there. On that interception on the long pass, I don't think David Carr saw him coming on the back side. He has to move it to get there, but he did."

 

http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=30131

[Mickey]

Hard to say a bunch of new things a full day later, but...

 

1. Play of the day was the 42 yard bomb to Evans for numerous reasons. It was the play that really made the Texans put one guy back deep instead of at the LOS. It was the first deep ball of JP's career and he hit it right on the money. It made the fans and JP himself go nuts (how great was it to see the relay of him so pumped running down the field). It gave the team all the confidence in the world in him. And had to make the receivers happy, too.

 

2. How great is it to have a free safety that is actually a ballhawk. Vincent's two INTs were both not only excellent individual plays but plays that a Bills FS would not have ben able to make since Tony Greene. The comments by Carr after the game about that play were very telling.

 

3. Kelsay obviously came to play, and he may already be as good as Schobel. Neither are fabulous but solid. Ryan Denney, the much maligned, also seemed to have a good game. He's a solid back-up.

 

4. The coaching, all around was awesome. Lining up with an empty backfield on the first play was very well thought out, and confused the Texans. Having confidence and showing confidence in JP's throwing probably gave JP confidence himself, and he said as much after the game. Going for it on 4th and 2, while only up 5 points was a ballsy move but probably the right time to do it, one of those plays that are genius when they work and stupid when they don't. The play-calling was consistently good as you never really knew when they were going to run or pass. How did they know to cut Tucker and leave Preston as the only interior back-up lineman?

 

5. The snaps on the FGs really could make a signficant difference. I am not sold on Lindell but little things like that do indeed make a difference in the kicking game.

 

6. Jason Peters on special teams is hysterical. What a monster.

 

7. Losman played well, obviously. He is still going to make some horrendous errors but there are a few things I really liked. One was that he has star power and quality. The first drive, while it in no way means he's going to be a star, is just something that great players seem to do, they just play well in big games when they have every reason to be nervous or off or at least need time to settle down. I loved the way he got on the bench and started to get the fans in the stands screaming. I liked the way he went after Reed but they seemed to get together just after. I liked the way he said it was a team game immediately. It is one thing to be athletic and mobile but it is quite another to have genuine feel for the rush and have serious escapability. He has those, it seems. He also really seemed to always be looking to throw when he scrambled instead of just taking off.

 

8. Edwards held up well. Gandy, despite one penalty, played a heck of a game. Anderson played the way I expected him to when he signed. Losman obviously played well. Lindell surprised everyone. It;s funny that the 4-5 main question marks during the off season ALL played well. We certainly can't always expect this but was indicative of the "things could not have gone better" way that the game turned out.

 

9. Nate was a stud. He really may be worth the franchise tag. The only thing that worries me is his postgame comment about now he can take MORE chances because Vincent is back there. 

 

10. Man, this defense is fun to watch. Jerry Gray seems to make the right calls. It's a huge difference to have the two veteran safeties. Terrence McGee is turning into a solid corner. Posey looked good. Greer is a playmaker as a nickel back. They had it working on all cylinders.

437743[/snapback]

I will blow my own horn here and say that I started a thread making the point that we were going to come out throwing the ball since with all the power running talk in pre-season, we could catch them off guard.

 

As big as that 42 yarder was, it still didn't back the safety off the line. Their SS, Chad Brown, pretty much played linebacker almost all day. He had 6 tackles and 5 of them were McGahee.

 

Totally agree on Milloy and Vincent. Safety is one position where experience is likely even more valuable than athletic talent. Coverage like that means lots of sacks and that means turnovers.

[Kelly the Dog]

As big as that 42 yarder was, it still didn't back the safety off the line.  Their SS, Chad Brown, pretty much played linebacker almost all day.  He had 6 tackles and 5 of them were McGahee.

 

437826[/snapback]

Not that the News is always right, but...

 

Losman's early pass completions - particularly the long one to Evans - forced the Texans to change strategy. They opted to drop into more two-deep zone coverages. With only seven men "in the box" near the line of scrimmage, the Bills then let McGahee do the work.

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20050...?tbd1044320.asp

[Rubes]

I actually think the News is wrong on that one. The Texans started backing off into two deep sometime well into the first half. Some think we began to run the ball well when Preston came in, but really I think that was around the time the Texans decided they needed to defend against the pass more than the run, and it played into our hands.

 

That, to me, was the key to the game. They did what they could to stop the run, but JP played well enough to convince them to back off. They did, and the O-line did their job opening up holes for Willis. Didn't equate to TDs, but enough to put it away.

[34-78-83]

I actually think the News is wrong on that one. The Texans started backing off into two deep sometime well into the first half. Some think we began to run the ball well when Preston came in, but really I think that was around the time the Texans decided they needed to defend against the pass more than the run, and it played into our hands.

 

That, to me, was the key to the game. They did what they could to stop the run, but JP played well enough to convince them to back off. They did, and the O-line did their job opening up holes for Willis. Didn't equate to TDs, but enough to put it away.

437882[/snapback]

 

You got it right Rubes (IMO).

[Taro T]

- You didn't comment on it, and in fact not many people have, but I loved the way we just went to the line on 4th and 2 and went for it without any hesitation. Obviously a great D will let you do that, but alternately it was telling with about 6 or 7 minutes left when the Texans backed off of a 4th and inches.

437800[/snapback]

I don't think they had a chance to hesitate on that decision. They had already burned all 3 time outs. I also think they would have challenged the touchdown run if they could have. I haven't seen the replay, so don't know, maybe Carr was more obviously inbounds than I thought.

 

Dave.

[drnykterstein]

My random game day observations:

 

1. In the first half the Texans stacked the box to stop the run, just like everybody thought they would. Too bad JP torched 'em.

 

2. In the second half the DB's drop back and played two-man zone to stop JP. Too bad Willis torched 'em.

[DeeRay]

dog... these are not 'random thoughts'. These are deliberate, contrived and selected comments. Therefore, "fair and balanced" has become tainted..