Jock Sniffer Posted October 4, 2004 Share Posted October 4, 2004 Funny, nobody ever bitched about it before. Could it be nobody can answer my question regarding Drew, so they take issue with my avatar? You guys have sunk to a new level... 55526[/snapback] Gee maybe it was the whopping 38 posts you made. I concur, any "Buffalo Sports Fan" who thinks that is funny, or cool to have as an AV, is a P-O-S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDH Posted October 4, 2004 Share Posted October 4, 2004 The stat offered by the annoucing team was interesting- without the 13 (?) dropped passes entering the game Bledsoe would be the highest rated QB in the NFL right now, not to mention we'd have entered the game 2-0. 55673[/snapback] But what this ignores EVERY QBs dropped passes! This is saying that if Drew had zero dropped balls this year and every other QB in the league still had all the drops his WRs have made this year, then Drew would be the highest rated QB in the league. Well, GD, I'd hope so! Hey look, obviously there are other facets of the Bills game that are extremely lacking. The WRs have dropped too many balls this year (most notably in the Oakland game) but they didn't do so yesterday. I counted 2 dropped balls, one by Moulds and one by Reed (and that Reed catch was not an easy catch). The Oline has looked bad at times this year, but they blocked well for most of the game yesterday (and did a good job in pass protection against Oak despite many who’d like to state otherwise)...was it their fault that Drew overthrew a wide open Reed for a TD on the opening drive? Anyway, these other deficiencies don't mean that Drew is playing well. He did play pretty well most of the day yesterday...that meaningless drive at the end told me all I need to know about our QB though. He crumbles when things start to go poorly. He lacks any mental fortitude. That is not what I want to see in our starting QB. He also can't make plays when he has little protection. And I've seen other QBs, even Billy Volek yesterday for example, who read the blitz quickly and throw the ball 30 yards downfield and let their WRs make a play even when a blitzer comes totally free...tell me the last time you saw Drew do that? But yeah yeah, it's always the WRs and the Olines fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted October 4, 2004 Share Posted October 4, 2004 The two leaders in dropped passes in the NFL last year were Daryl Jackson and Koren Robinson yet Matt Hassleback still threw for 26 TDs and had an 89 rating. Enough of the excuses, ifs, would ofs, could ofs, should ofs with Drew please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKC Posted October 4, 2004 Share Posted October 4, 2004 But yeah yeah, it's always the WRs and the Olines fault. 55836[/snapback] I'd include our Oline play along with our QB play as two highlights of the season so far. Givens (among others like Fauria) bailed Brady out of a couple of poorly thrown balls, one on third and long, where he went up and brought the ball home. It's exactly the kind of play our receivers have NOT been making this season. I haven't watched the game again yet but I recall at least one TE drop and I believe a third WR drop. Brady might have had a first down ball sail through a WRs hands but when it came time to make plays on third downs his guys made him look good even though we were applying pressure and the throws were in some cases well off the mark. On our side that hasn't happened this year- yet. But I do expect someone the worm to begin to turn because of the positive things happening from the QB spot and the OLine. Bledsoe is doing the things the offensive brain trust is asking him to do and making plays along the way. If we become better able to take advantage of 6 yard per carry days from the RB spot we should be a very dangerous team in the late season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBob Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 I'd include our Oline play along with our QB play as two highlights of the season so far. Givens (among others like Fauria) bailed Brady out of a couple of poorly thrown balls, one on third and long, where he went up and brought the ball home. It's exactly the kind of play our receivers have NOT been making this season. I haven't watched the game again yet but I recall at least one TE drop and I believe a third WR drop. Brady might have had a first down ball sail through a WRs hands but when it came time to make plays on third downs his guys made him look good even though we were applying pressure and the throws were in some cases well off the mark. On our side that hasn't happened this year- yet. But I do expect someone the worm to begin to turn because of the positive things happening from the QB spot and the OLine. Bledsoe is doing the things the offensive brain trust is asking him to do and making plays along the way. If we become better able to take advantage of 6 yard per carry days from the RB spot we should be a very dangerous team in the late season. 55880[/snapback] AKC, this and your other posts in this thread are entirely too logical, analytical and objective to be taken seriously by most of the (it's all Drew's fault) brainiacs on this board. I give you credit that you keep trying. Unfortunately, your objectivity will be lost on most here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted October 5, 2004 Author Share Posted October 5, 2004 couldn't find anyone, and while in the pocket threw the ball out of bounds and way over the receiver's head. ----------------------------------------------------- it was still "in the vicinity.... "In the vicinity" doesn't cut it on that play. The ball was uncatchable. Being "in the vicinity" would have been a catchable ball near Johnson. I know some will talk about the "blatant hold" on Moorman's run on the Bills' 1st TD drive, but the Bills player had his hands inside the Pats player's shoulders, and that's legal. -------------------------------- it's not legal to hold the jersey with both hands in a death grip. 55352[/snapback] Actually it is. McNally said early in the season that he was going to get shirts made-up with the phrase "it's not holding if your hands are within the opponent's shoulder pads." I didn't know that "holding" like that was legal until I read that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerJ Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 First off, anyone claiming that Bledsoe had anything more than a MINOR part in the loss, has their head up their ass. I agree, it was a team effort. The others (sacks) were the fault of Smith for tripping him You can't simply assign blame to Lawrence Smith either. When the ball is snapped, depending on the design of the play, linemen may have responsibilities elsewhere from the position in which they line up. They have to move quickly to get to those positions. It is generally up to the QB to backpedal quickly enough from center after the snap to avoid the traffic. It happens some times that an offensive lineman trips, or steps on the foot of the QB. You have to admit that Bledsoe is slower of foot than most QBs however, and it is incumbent on the team, Bledsoe and the linemen, with help from coaches, to get that whole mess straightened out so those plays work. Second of all, and THIS is the part that has me PISSED, the refs !@#$ed the Bills out of 19 points. Yes folks, 19 points. The first was on the Pats' FG drive where they called a stevestojan RTP call on Fletcher Yeah, that was a seriously blown call. The next was when Kevin Thomas downed the ball at the 2 yard line and on the first play Brady stood in the endzone (holding the ball too long but guess what? No one got near him for at least 5 seconds), couldn't find anyone, and while in the pocket threw the ball out of bounds and way over the receiver's head. That's intentional grounding and a safety. Officials NEVER call intentional grounding in that kind of situation. Yeah, everyone knows the QB is throwing the ball away, but as long as a receiver is in the general area, it's not intentional grounding even if the ball is way over the receiver's head. The next was on the Pats' TD drive before the half, where Givens fumbles the ball without being touched. Yup, bad call. And the last was Dillon's fumble on the Pats' last TD drive. Don't recall. I know some will talk about the "blatant hold" on Moorman's run on the Bills' 1st TD drive, but the Bills player had his hands inside the Pats player's shoulders, and that's legal. Even if you were to take that out, that's still 12 points. Other things I noticed were Givens getting away with offensive pass interference and Rodney Harrison getting away with hitting a defenseless receiver (Neufeld). Yeah, Rodney Harrison was playing pretty dirty and got away with it. Other than the phantom helmet to helmet call on Fletcher, it's tough to be too hard on penalty calling by officials. It's a pretty subjective business, and I think it's safe to assume Buffalo players got away with a few too. I agree that Buffalo played well enough to win if they cut out the stupid mistakes at critical points in the game, and considering the injuries on the offensive line and secondary their play was very solid. All of which makes the stupid mistakes that much harder to stomach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted October 5, 2004 Author Share Posted October 5, 2004 You can't simply assign blame to Lawrence Smith either. When the ball is snapped, depending on the design of the play, linemen may have responsibilities elsewhere from the position in which they line up. They have to move quickly to get to those positions. It is generally up to the QB to backpedal quickly enough from center after the snap to avoid the traffic. It happens some times that an offensive lineman trips, or steps on the foot of the QB. You have to admit that Bledsoe is slower of foot than most QBs however, and it is incumbent on the team, Bledsoe and the linemen, with help from coaches, to get that whole mess straightened out so those plays work. Bledsoe rarely gets tripped by his linemen, and is a seasoned vet. Smith is a tyro. So I'd have to figure he was responsible. In any case, Smith tripping Bledsoe led to the sack, not Bledsoe holding the ball too long, which was the major point. Officials NEVER call intentional grounding in that kind of situation. Yeah, everyone knows the QB is throwing the ball away, but as long as a receiver is in the general area, it's not intentional grounding even if the ball is way over the receiver's head. IG is called so inconsistently, that I'm not surprised it wasn't called, especially since it was Tommy Boy Brady. However everyone and their mother knew he was throwing the ball away, in imminent danger of getting sacked, and was within the pocket. That's the definition of IG. Not a major point since it was only 2 points, although getting possession after a free kick would have been big. Don't recall. That was the fumble on their last scoring drive at the start of the 4th quarter, where the refs blew the whistle early to protect Dillon, because of his fumble earlier and how badly it hurt his feelings to have fumbled. Yeah, Rodney Harrison was playing pretty dirty and got away with it. Other than the phantom helmet to helmet call on Fletcher, it's tough to be too hard on penalty calling by officials. It's a pretty subjective business, and I think it's safe to assume Buffalo players got away with a few too. I agree that Buffalo played well enough to win if they cut out the stupid mistakes at critical points in the game, and considering the injuries on the offensive line and secondary their play was very solid. All of which makes the stupid mistakes that much harder to stomach. I don't bother talking about holding calls anymore since the zebras are so inconsistent with calling them that it's a joke. However the PF's were inexcusable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiderweb Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 It was 4th down anyway. Given how the play was blown (apparently by Henry), he wasn't going to make the first down so what is the difference? The Pats would have had the ball at about the 25 yard line with 2 minutes left and we had only one time out. Best case scenario is we hold them 3 and out and get the ball back with no timeouts, less than a minute to play and needing to go about 75 yards to tie it. Bledsoe had a mistake or two today but he also made some great passes and was smart with the football. What few mistakes he had pale in comparison to: Henry falling on 3rd and 2 with a gaping hole in front of him. Baker jumping off sides on the FG attempt that gave the Pats a TD. Moulds dropping one pass and drawing a 15 yard PF. Henry blowing the 4th down play on the fake handoff. Wire getting burned repeatedly. Fletcher's two PF's. Smith's holding call on a 3rd and one that we had made deep in Pat territory. Reed dropping what would have been a first down pass on 3rd and whatever. Coaches calling a naked bootleg for Drew. Referees who blew several calls, most notably Dillon's second fumble and several late hits by the PATs that didn't draw flags. Drew is not the problem with this team. Stupid mistakes, a safety that might as well be invisible, zero pass rush and continued blown assignments on the O-line are killing us. At least once a game, our best players (Moulds, Fletcher and Henry) do something that hurts bad. Remember Moulds' fumble against the Jags? How many has he dropped this year? Twice yesterday he cut the wrong way, he drops another and pulls a 15 yard penalty. If your leaders are screwing up like that, what do you expect from guys like Baker and Smith? 55362[/snapback] Sums up the game pretty darned well. While I don't absolve Bledsoe completely, Moulds, Henry, and Wire sure found ways to blow big play at the worst possible times. That trip Henry took when Villerial and Williams had created a very nice hole really pissed me off. Hadn't he slipped at the goal line against the Faiders, he would have been in for a score that couldn't have been questioned. He also has gone the wrong way on passing routes, and missed handoffs. Henry's not the brightest guy, but right now, he just looks plain stupid. He's got to stop making these huge mistakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts