Archives for November 2015

'The Bills tied the score in the third quarter, yet it didn’t feel like Brady or the Patriots were in any kind of trouble.'

'But of course, this was the Bills, who over the years have turned losing to the Pats into an art form. They gave it their best effort, but it takes more than a noble effort to beat the Pats at home, where they haven’t lost a regular-season conference home game that mattered in seven years.'

'With each pass that fell 2 or 3 yards shy of a receiver, somewhere high above General Manager Doug Whaley had to wonder if this truly is his long-term answer at quarterback.'

'There were missed calls, odd calls and a dose of controversy when an inadvertent whistle negated what could've been a New England Patriots touchdown. Instead, the officials ruled it a 14-yard gain and penalized Rex Ryan 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.'

'The Bills’ defense blitzed Brady on only five pass plays all game Monday night, by unofficial count. He only hurt the Bills on two of them. But that was enough to engineer a 20-13 victory.'

'And that was exactly what the Bills unleashed on Tom Brady. Although they sacked him only once, they did hit him 10 times – very hard on multiple occasions (Brady got up very slowly after one of the hits) – and generally made him feel uncomfortable and frustrated with the lack of protection from his banged-up offensive line that often seemed overmatched.'

'Thurman and the defensive coaches seemed to confuse Brady in the first half by rushing three men and dropping eight into coverage on six plays. Brady was just 2 of 6 for 14 yards on those rushes. Yes, Brady did beat the blitz for the key 41-yard gainer to Danny Amendola. But the Bills knocked Brady down 15 times, including one sack. As usual against the Bills, it was all on Brady’s shoulders. Only this time it was harder for him because he didn’t have injured receiver Julian Edelman. New England passed 40 times and rushed 22. In the first meeting they passed 59 times and ran 15.'

'That moment came for Ryan on a fourth-and-2 play from the Bills’ 47-yard line with 10:12 remaining in the fourth quarter, with his team trailing, 20-10 to the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football. Ryan elected to punt.'

'Give Rex Ryan credit for his game plan. He had Brady frustrated in the first half. Cameras caught the quarterback shouting on the sideline and the third-down heat was making him uneasy. Players appear to be more comfortable in Ryan’s scheme. But that decision to punt on fourth and 2 at midfield in the fourth quarter? Odd.'

'This time there were two particular bungles in critical situations, both times the Patriots made Buffalo pay, and ultimately that was the difference in New England's 20-13 victory which stretched its season-long unbeaten streak to 10 games and dropped the Bills to 5-5.'

'It's a feather in the Bills' cap to hold down the NFL's highest-scoring offense, albeit one missing star receiver Julian Edelman. Tight end Rob Gronkowski caught just two passes. The Patriots couldn't run the ball a lick. But New England showed it may also have one of the better defenses in the league this year, and it showed in the second half when Buffalo's offense could manage just a field goal in its final six possessions. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor had a chance to lead the Bills to the tying touchdown in the final 1:51. But with no timeouts and no energy on his throws due to a damaged shoulder, time ran out on the Bills in Foxborough, where their record at Gillette Stadium fell to 1-13. Ryan is 4-11 all-time against Brady and Bill Belichick.'

'There was a point last year when the Bills season was in danger of blowing up and indeed, it blew up. Remember, the Bills were 5-3 at the midway point, but they faced two games in five days, the first against Kansas City, the second in Miami. The Bills lost them both, and it delivered a dagger deep into their playoff hopes. Well, we have arrived at that point in the 2015 season.'

'As usual, the Bills just weren't good enough to beat the Patriots. It's an old and tired storyline, but there were obvious situations in this game where the outcome could have gone Buffalo's way, but it went New England's because the Patriots always find a way, and the Bills don't. Maddening, but painfully true, and it's not changing any time soon with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady still functioning at such a high level.'

'"They cheated us," Bradham said. "They spotted the ball in the middle of the field and gave them all those yards and then blew the whistle. It's crazy, man. At least spot the ball where he caught it. That was just one of them things where they didn't give us no explanation. Fortunately we were able hold them to a field goal."'

'Give Ryan credit: His defensive game plan against Brady was solid. The Bills were in the game because of the pressure they were able to create against the best quarterback to ever play the game. Even so, Ryan's in-game clock management was questionable. The team had just one timeout late in the fourth quarter because a miscommunication caused Ryan to burn one. He also failed to go for it on fourth-and-2 near midfield when his team was down 10 with 10 minutes to play in the game. In close games, those small errors can make all the difference.'