Archives for November 9, 2008

‘Dick Jauron may need to get more vocal when trying to challenge plays. He didn’t get the refs attention on the first drive pass to Welker that should have been called incomplete. Why did they waste a timeout before a punt on 4th and 3 at Pats 39 late in the first half? That left them without enough timeouts to get the ball back. Turk Schonert has totally given up on the running game as twice they threw on third and one and didn’t have the confidence to go for it on 4th and 1 from the 46 when they needed a big play. Perry Fewell once again couldn’t find a way to stop the short passing game but he did slow it down a bit. Grade F: Changes may be needed as it should be panic time.’

‘On defense, New England once again did a good job bottling up its opponent’s running game. Marshawn Lynch had only 46 yards on 14 carries. Through the air, the Bills Trent Edwards was equally stifled with just 120 yards on 13 of 23 passing.’

‘The Bills have now lost three straight division game, 4-0 seems years ago now as this team will struggle mightily to even sniff a playoff spot as they now have fallen to last place in the division. It’s really hard to swallow after things looked so good just three weeks ago. People will say they have three soft games coming up but right now the Bills are as soft as they come and are in real danger of falling out of the playoff picture.’

‘The Bills drop to 5-4 while New England jumps to 6-3. The loss ties the Bills with the Miami Dolphins for third place in the AFC East. The Bills will next host the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football on November 17th.’

‘Trent Edwards hit on only 13-of-23 passes for 120 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for the Bills (5-4), who have dropped three straight games and four of five.’

‘And the defense held the Bills to 58 yards in the second half-while the offense piled up 192. The Patriots had the only two interceptions of the game.’

‘Whitner separated his shoulder last Sunday against the New York Jets. Schobel missed his fourth straight game with a foot injury. Buffalo also was missing two other starters, right guard Brad Butler with a sprained left knee and wide receiver Josh Reed with an ankle injury.’

‘The offense for Buffalo had just two possessions that lasted more than seven plays the entire game, with just two resulting in points, a 25-yard field goal by Rian Lindell and a 14-yard touchdown reception by James Hardy in the game’s waning moments thanks to an 85-yard kick return by Leodis McKelvin.’

‘Patriots, 27-20.’

‘”Nine times,” Kelsay said. “It’s fuel for the fire. You’ve got to take it personally.”‘

‘If the Bills can’t coax a lot more than they have been getting from their overpaid free agents on the offensive line and some sort of worthwhile contribution from their draft choices, they ought to hire a general manager/director of football with a much keener eye for talent. This team can’t continue to fire nothing but blanks in any draft.’

‘The Bills have lost nine straight to the Patriots and 14 of their last 15 overall.’

‘If the playoffs were starting today, the Bills would be home for the ninth year in a row.’

‘"They may be wounded, but they’re still the defending champs," said Buffalo offensive tackle Langston Walker. "There’s still an awful lot of talent on that team. They’re still the team you have to beat if you want to stop being a contender."’

‘The Bills offensive line has taken a lot of heat in recent weeks as the running game has bogged down and the pass protection has been suspect. Peters has been a lightning rod because his training camp holdout set the line back, not to mention his own ability to perform, and contrary to what he says, he has not been the same player who went to the Pro Bowl last year. Today he goes head to head with one of the best DEs in the league, Richard Seymour. Peters has to keep Seymour away from Edwards, and move him out of the way on runs, or the Buffalo offense could sputter badly.’