Archives for September 2017

'The show began with a review of the prior game, and it was underlined that fans should appreciate the quality of the Carolina Panthers defense to stymie the Bills' offense. Donald Jones in particular highlighted surprise that the Bills attempted to base their run game into the teeth of the Panthers' strongest aspect – the defensive tackles. Audio from postgame was heard throughout the show, as well as a great explanation by Donald Jones on the corner route on fourth down.'

'We knew the 2017 Bills were going to be improved on defense (one TD allowed in the first two games), and the only question was going to be could the offense hold up its end of the bargain? We were given some evidence Sunday on how that might play out. The defense will keep the Bills in most games, and the offense, sadly, probably won’t be able to take advantage.'

'“No, Tyrod is our starter,’’ McDermott said. To be clear, Taylor is your starter? “Yes, clarity, Taylor’s the guy. Not making a change,’’ McDermott said.'

'The only team ranked below the Bills were the Jacksonville Jaguars. After a promising Week 1, the Jaguars were blown out by the Tennessee Titans.'

'"I have complete confidence in him," Dennison said. "I thought he did some good things even though he did some bad things. He did some good things. He managed the team when things weren't going well but kept us in the game. Some people might have gone south. He kept us all rolling. Had to make some plays with his feet when things weren't there. And he's coachable. You tell him to do something, he'll do it right. He'll fix it."'

'The Bills only went up 7 percent in value, according to Forbes. The franchise is worth $1.6 billion, and the biggest factor holding the team back might be the lack of a new stadium. Forbes estimated that the Falcons’ new stadium increased the franchise’s value by 19 percent.'

'"Those can go either way," McDermott said. "What I was looking at really there 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 take one more shot, so I wanted to make sure at that point we could save the timeouts if we needed them. If you look at the film, you would see what I was seeing during the game was Tyrod and the routes were close enough I felt like that we could get back and get the play snapped."'

'Tyrod Taylor attempted three passes that traveled more than 15 yards in the air. In the first half, nine yards was the farthest one of Taylor's passes traveled in the air. The lack of a deep passing game is a bit alarming.'

'Tyrod Taylor completed a high percentage of his passes, but many of them were drop-offs and short passes. Buffalo's longest reception against the Panthers went for 15 yards. The Bills showed no ability to stretch the field against Carolina and future opponents will quickly learn from how the Panthers defended Buffalo.'

'And finally, perhaps the most confusing statement was the way Dennison describe the play of Taylor, stating Taylor “kept us in the game,” despite not scoring a touchdown.'

'While the number for the passes to wide receivers simply isn’t there, neither are the numbers on first down. Buffalo ran 20 first-down plans and averaged 2.5 yards-per-play on first down. Of those 20, four went for negative yardage while only six gained five or more yards.'

'"Just overall, you know, just better execution," McDermott said. "We gave ourselves a chance to win and next time I expect us to win. That's what we're looking for moving forward. It's that belief and the execution. You hope you're not in that situation, you hope you're ahead of it at that point of the game and that's where we're trying to grow as a football team."'

'“It was an empty formation and we play in quarters. And James, in my opinion, got a little nosy,” said Wilks, sternly. “He allowed that No. 1 receiver to occupy. He drove on the comeback, which we don’t do in that situation. Thomas (Davis) should have pushed through, which he was, and James should have stayed deep with (safety) Kurt Coleman (playing the seven route) inside out, James should have been outside-in and it really should have been an interception.”'

'FYI: Bills coach Sean McDermott addressed his team’s quarterback situation Monday, reiterating his faith in Taylor despite Sunday’s lackluster offensive performance. “We all need to play better and it starts with me as the coach,” McDermott said, per the team’s Twitter account. “Tyrod is our starting quarterback and I expect him to respond this week.”'

'The Bills performed so poorly in the first half against Carolina that offensive coordinator Rick Dennison acknowledged he didn't have an opportunity call some of the 15 plays he scripted for the Panthers.'