Archives for September 2017

'Already, you can hear Bills fans clamoring for rookie Nathan Peterman while pleading for McDermott to pull the plug on Taylor. Certainly, the kid could have been as effective as Taylor, who was 17 of 25 for a measly 125 yards. He completed just three passes to his wide receivers and had just 74 yards passing before the final drive. He didn't complete a pass longer than 15 yards in the game.'

'What do you suppose is their opinion of Tyrod Taylor?'

'McCoy skewered the Jets in Week One with outside zone-scheme runs. Those runs weren't prominent in the game plan this week for good reason. Carolina's linebackers flow too fast to the sideline to get beat outside. The Panthers also have a star defensive tackle tandem in Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei who clog the middle.'

'The explanation from McDermott on Monday: "Yeah, you know, those can go either way. What I was looking at there really was real estate. I felt like we had some real estate, a significant amount, to cover. I felt like if we could get the ball into the medium red zone area and then get it down to taking one more shot, so I wanted to make sure at that point we could save the timeouts if we needed them.'

'Yeah, I know what we’re looking at, I mean I feel the frustration out there. I thought we got into a rhythm at times, other times we didn’t. We’re looking at everything, some of the deep shots we had up, called up down the field didn’t work out the way we wanted them to and then we get into a rhythm to start the second half. We get into a rhythm in the two minute obviously, and made some plays, so there are some good things going on, that said, at the end of the day, 3 points–it’s hard to win games in this league when you’re scoring three points. We’ve got to look at a lot of things and we’re going to do that this week.'

'Taylor was under pressure on 34.3 percent of his dropbacks and completed 3 of 6 passes for 22 yards in those situations.'

'McDermott stuck true to his philosophy of rotating players on the defensive line, as both Eddie Yarbrough and Ryan Davis saw their playing time increase from Week One. The heat in Carolina certainly could have been a factor. Ditto for the lopsided time of possession in favor of Carolina in the first half.'

'McCoy’s 9 yards rushing represent his fourth-lowest total in any game of his career, and his fewest in a game since his 2009 rookie campaign. This marked the first game in his career in which he had at least 10 rushing attempts, but was held to fewer than 10 yards.'

'Yarbrough was an undrafted free agent and, at 24 years old, is on his second NFL team. In college, he was a highly productive pass-rusher. At Wyoming, he registered 39.5 tackles for loss and 21.5 sacks in his four-year career. While he was buried on a talented pass-rushing unit in Denver before coming to Buffalo, Yarbrough has the requisite athleticism to become a useful edge-defender in the NFL.'

'As the Bills marched down the field while trailing 9-3, this flag dealt a crushing blew to their chances to win the game late. It was a questionable call at the very least, as Holmes did not seem to extend his arms – he and the Carolina cornerback simply got slightly tangled at the top of the comeback route. Also, the flag was thrown noticeably late. It came on a 10-yard gain that would've set up Buffalo in a first and 10 situation on the Panthers' 22-yard line with 0:53 seconds remaining. Instead, the Bills had the ball at their opponent's 32-yard line and faced first and 20.'

'So when Bills receiver Zay Jones found himself in a similar position Sunday, failing to catch a fourth-down pass from Tyrod Taylor in the final minute (although the pass was a little overthrown and the Bills still would've needed to punch it into the end zone with nine seconds left), Johnson wasted no time offering encouragement to the rookie.'

'“If you were at this game live, I’m sorry,” Bleacher Report’s Richard Janvrin wrote. “This could be the case all season for the Bills: No offense but a solid defense.”'

'DE Jerry Hughes: Let's talk about that spin move Hughes put on Matt Kalil. That deserves its own wing in the Albright-Knox. Hughes was an absolute beast, finishing with six tackles and two sacks that went for a total loss of 24 yards. Is there anyone happier to be back in a 4-3 scheme? Even when he didn't get the sack, Hughes harassed Cam Newton. The website Pro Football Focus credited him with four quarterback hurries.'

'If you thought Tyrod Taylor had trouble moving the ball against Carolina, just wait for next Sunday. The Broncos owned the NFL’s best defense in each of the last two seasons, according to the analytics website Football Outsiders. They ranked fourth last season in total yards allowed and first against the pass (185.8 yards per game), which is why the unit is nicknamed the “No Fly Zone,” thanks in large part to the cornerback duo of Talib and Chris Harris. Then there’s Von Miller, who ranks second in the NFL in sacks since entering the league in 2011, trailing only J.J. Watt. Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips did leave for the Rams after coach Gary Kubiak retired from coaching this offseason, but the Broncos promoted from within, elevating secondary coach Joe Wood.'

'The game had a 36.1 rating on WIVB-TV (Channel 4), the local CBS affiliate. It peaked at a 43.0 in the final minutes when the Bills were driving for a potential winning touchdown that never happened.'