‘Buffalo’s defense again struggled mightily. Though they were handed some short fields on the turnovers they were unable to force the Chargers to punt until the 4:40 mark of the third quarter. It was the first punt forced by the Bills since the 13-minute mark of the fourth quarter against the Jets in Week 9.’
Archives for November 2017
Top 3 things we learned from Bills-Chargers
‘“It wasn’t what he had hoped for or we had hoped for,” said McDermott of Peterman. “At the same time, you know when you put a young player out there, a young quarterback, that there are going to be some ups and downs. To me it’s not indicative of who he is as a player, but you know you’re going to go through some of this. All good players do.”’
What they’re saying: Bills evaluate their loss to the Chargers
‘“Today the game got away from us in a hurry due to the turnovers. With that said, there’s areas we can get better at in all areas: Offense, defense and special teams. They were backed up early with some field position due to the turnovers. So we go back and evaluate all areas of our football team.”’
Jordan Matthews tops Bills list of inactives
‘For Matthews, this will be only the second game he has missed due to injury. The receiver missed the team’s Week 5 game at Cincinnati after having thumb surgery.’
Bills Today: Peterman prepared for this moment
‘“He prepares. The great part about our guys is they prepare every week like they’re the starters, even though they may not be, because they know they’re one snap away. When you prepare that way, when your name is called, you’re ready to go. You’ve seen that over the course of our season already, with different guys that have stepped in and stepped up,” he said. “Nathan, no different. He’s prepared all season long like he’s the starter and that’s what you have to do. He’s had a great week. He looks sharp and crisp.”’
L.A. Chargers look tougher than their 3-6 record to Bills
The franchise that had called San Diego home for the previous 55 campaigns, could easily be 7-2. The Chargers lost 3-point decisions at Denver and Jacksonville (6-3) and two-pointers at home to Miami and Philadelphia (8-1) and fell by only 21-13 at New England (7-2).’
Is it harder to be the demoted starting QB or the elevated rookie backup? The answer is ‘Yes’
‘”When there’s a playoff opportunity in front of you,” Warner said, “it’s tough to reconcile making that kind of move. If you’re not the Patriots, you know how few and far between those opportunities are.”‘
Jerry Sullivan: Crisis time for McDermott and his D
‘Ryan’s defense allowed an average of 357 yards a game over two seasons. McDermott’s has given up an average of 360 through nine games. The average yards per play, a good gauge of a defense, is roughly the same (5.6 in 2016, 5.5 this year). They ranked eighth in sacks last year. Now, they’re 30th.’
Go West, young man (and good luck): Nathan Peterman has rotten history to overcome
‘Buffalo has played 56 regular-season games in the Pacific time zone yet has won only 17 of them.’
Jay Skurski’s Bills-Chargers Scouting Report: Buffalo’s run game should get on track in L.A.
‘Bills 24, Chargers 23.’
Pregame primer: Everything you need to know for Bills-Chargers, plus five things to watch for
‘Announcers: Chris Myers (play by play), Daryl Johnston (color analyst).’
Mark Gaughan’s Matchup Watch: Time for Bills DL to show up
‘The Chargers’ two elite edge rushers have combined for 36.5 sacks since the start of 2016. Joey Bosa has 9.5 this season. Melvin Ingram has 8.5. They are terrors off the edge and look for them to move around to try to exploit the Bills’ pass protection. The Bills must avoid third and long. The Chargers rank 17th overall on third down defense, allowing 40.3 percent conversions. But they’re tied for third on third-and-8 or more, allowing just 15 percent conversions. And their 14 sacks on third down ranks second in the NFL in that category.’
Mark Gaughan’s Play to Watch: Chargers in-cut to Keenan Allen
‘This play was a 16-yard pass on a third-and-7 play against Oakland in Week 6. Tight end Antonio Gates (85) ran a clear-out route straight up the seam against the Raiders’ Cover 3 defense. Allen (13) ran the in-cut behind him and turned it into a 28-yard gain. Allen also has the most catches on third and 7 or more for first downs (8).’
Mark Gaughan’s Big Play Breakdown: Twist stunt by Chargers Bosa & Ingram
‘Not only are Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram elite speed rushers, they are versatile and are used in a variety of ways by Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Gus Bradley. Both can bump inside to a defensive tackle position, and they run hard-to-handle twist stunts. Three of Ingram’s 8.5 sacks this season have come on twists.’
Jay Skurski’s Bills Mailbag: Why isn’t Rick Dennison on the hot seat?
‘The main issue I have with Dennison is his unwillingness or inability to pair his scheme to what Taylor does best. When he took over, all the talk was about how we would see more bootlegs and moving pockets to take advantage of Taylor’s superior athleticism. Where have those been? The best coaches know what their players do best and put them in those situations. It’s hard to look at the Bills’ offense through nine games and say Dennison has done that.’