Rubes

ZING!

Yeah, that second-rate Sam Wyche guy really worked out for us too.

Isn't it called "Safari"?

Patriots are using a 4-3 defense at least as much, if not more, than a 3-4 alignment. Linky Linky Two Of course, knowing how badly we struggle with a 3-4, I wouldn't necessarily expect to see much 4-3 when we play them.

You mean like how we easily converted a 3rd and 1 with a 5-yard run up the middle? Or how we compeltely stuffed them on 4th and 1 with a massive surge up the middle? All is not lost.

Truth. In the future, when everybody here is slathering all over some unsigned free agent, wondering why the Bills haven't made a push to sign him, I wish we could all remember this point.

I saw that, too. I was wondering who he was going after, but who knows.

Sweet, thanks for letting me know.

No problemo, it was fun. The near-interception was actually not a miscommunication; there was a receiver breaking inside behind where Poz was, clearly the intended receiver. My guess is that it was a poor throw because of just enough pressure by Williams. But that receiver wouldn't have had a chance to catch Poz based on the way the route was going. I initially thought it was Ellison's fault, too, but after watching it a few times, I don't think so as much. He was already lined up fairly deep, and he only took a step back towards what looked like a zone assignment, and then immediately adjusted when he saw the TE break into the shallow flat. I wouldn't expect Ellison to charge forward toward the TE right off the snap, as this would probably put him in a bad position if the route was deeper. My sense is that the play was designed to get the TE into a dead spot in the shallow zone and to have him take it outside, getting him away from the OLB on that side (Ellison). The defensive alignment is designed to leave the zone in the flat uncovered, but it's then up to McKelvin to prevent the receiver from getting outside and allowing Ellison to make the play. I actually think the play would have worked even better if Collins had waited a second or two longer to throw it, which would have forced McKelvin further down the field covering the WR and leaving the TE completely alone with more room to rumble.

What the hell, I'm bored, nothing good on TV, and the wife is out. 1st/10 - Pass for 10 Quick pass to the receiver off the line of scrimmage, which was essentially a WR screen pass. McKelvin, covering the target receiver, was 8-10 yards off the LOS (why?). McGee, covering the other WR on the same side (coming in motion), is blocked out of the play. The left guard and tackle release off the line and get out in front of the receiver to block, so with the other WR there were three guys out in front of the target WR -- one blocking McGee, the LT blocking McKelvin way downfield, and the LG blocking Mitchell, the next closest man available. The best part of the play for the defense is that McGee, while being blocked, forced the runner inside, where the tackle was made by Schobel, who ran all the way back from the LOS. Nice hustle by Schobel, otherwise this play might have gone for many more yards. Not exactly sure how you would defend this play. Well designed and executed. 1st/10 - Run for minus-3 This play is essentially made by Ellison, of all people. He charges the outside and takes on the RT well into the backfield, slowing the RB and forcing him inside into the charging Scott and Poz. Pretty much everybody did a nice job on that play and beat their man, including Williams and Mitchell. Scott was actually lined up at the line of scrimmage to cover the TE, but the TE blocked down inside on Kelsay, taking him out of the play. Scott was then blocked by the nearby WR, who Scott basically tossed aside to take out the running lane. Poz and Mitchell made nice reads and attacked the play. 2nd/13 - Pass for 12 Collins takes a three-step drop and throws a quick pass to the left flank to the TE, so there is no chance for the pass rush to impact anything. FWIW, the Bills rushed four, and nobody appeared to be doing much. The TE runs a three-yard out pattern and is uncovered off the line; Ellison is covering that side but initially backs up into a zone before reacting. McKelvin drops his WR coverage when the pass is caught, but fails to force the TE back inside to Ellison. Instead, the TE gets outside of him, and McKelvin can't make the tackle, which would have limited the play to a 5-6 yard gain. Ellison has to run a long way to get outside to the runner, forcing him out of bounds. This one essentially comes down to the TE (Crumpler) vs. McKelvin. That's a big guy for Leodis to bring down by himself, but that's why he gets paid the big bucks. It also looked like McKelvin hesitated for an instant as he switched from the WR to the TE, which was probably the difference in allowing the TE to get outside of him instead of forcing him back inside. Another well-designed play as it isolated the TE against a much smaller DB, but Crumpler did a nice job getting to the outside to make the play. 3rd/1 - Pass for 14 Play-action pass, two men in the backfield. Bills have five defensive linemen in, with Denney in for Schobel, along with Williams, Johnson, Stroud (yes, 3 DTs), and Kelsay. Kelsay is actually lined up as a LB in an upright stance, over the TE, and he plays like a LB, dropping back to cover the TE who releases off the line. By the time he realizes it, though, he's well behind the TE on his pattern. Bills rush five by blitzing Poz up the middle. This play succeeds mainly because Denney, who is left one-on-one with a tiny RB, gets taken out by a block to the knees. Good technique by the RB, but Denney has to beat this guy. It also suceeds because Mitchell, who picks up the TE as he crosses over the middle, gets taken out by the referee on a nice "pick" play. Whitner makes little effort to take on the TE (Crumpler) downfield and basically gives him a little shoulder brush while Kelsay and Ellison stop him after a nice gain. 1st/10 - Pass incomplete Collins takes a five-step drop and releases quickly, so the pass rush is mostly negated. Bills rush four, with Denney still in for Schobel. Only Williams gets some penetration, which may have impacted Collins throw, but tough to tell. This is the ball thrown right into Poz's hands, but he drops it for some unknown reason. As someone else pointed out, if he had caught it, I believe the chances are very good that he takes it back for 7. Nobody from TEN ran a route in the left flat -- one back went over the middle, the other went to the right flat, and Poz had both Mitchell and Ellison in position to block for him while catching the INT in full stride. Probably only Collins would have had a chance to stop him, but I'm sure the sight of Mitchell and Ellison would have made him think otherwise. Oh so close. 2nd/10 - Run for no gain TEN has two TE and one back. Bills in base defense, with Schobel back in for Denney. Run starts to the left, then cuts back to the right. Williams gets blocked well out of the play, and Schobel does nothing but watch. Stroud gets stoned on the play by a single blocker. Kelsay swings outside, well out of the play. Why does this play get stopped? The main reason is because of Williams. Williams gets double teamed at first by the C and LG, but the LG is supposed to release and block Poz up the middle. But, the LG can't release to get to Poz because Williams gets pushed too far back into him by the C (alternatively, you could say Poz was fast enough to get past the block). Kelsay does a nice job of sticking with the play, coming back to help Poz make the tackle. Ellison gets blocked by the RT but also does a nice job holding his ground. 3rd/10 - Pass incomplete Shotgun, three receivers. Bills rush the usual four; Ellison is removed for the extra DB (as opposed to Mitchell). Kelsay and Schobel swing wide, and are never a threat. Stroud is double teamed (sort of), and goes nowhere. Williams does a decent job slipping past his blocker, putting a wee bit of pressure on Collins, and seems to interrupt his follow-through some. The pass is overthrown, maybe because of this. Coverage is by Florence, who would have had to make the one-on-one tackle to prevent the first down. For those of you interested, the Bills DBs were playing bump-and-run coverage right up at the line. So there you have it...four good plays by the defense (minus-3 yards rushing), three bad plays (3 of 5 passing for 36 yards). Can't really say much from one series, but Poz looked very good overall, and Ellison actually fared well also. I'm struck by how important it is for every player to win their one-on-one battles. I'm not encouraged by our defensive line, but Williams did have some decent plays and seemed like the only effective lineman. It doesn't look to be much different than last year, though. Will Maybin make a difference? I hope so. Certainly couldn't do that much worse than Kelsay, who seems like a non-factor most of the time.

We waived two and re-signed one...does that mean we're making room for Maybin?

And yet... I didn't think Bell was that bad, but this guy apparently is concerned.

Quiet, you. His opinions are facts. Everyone else is just misinformed or stupid.

Jerry postulates: I'm thinking that he needs to think a little bit more about what he writes. All the no-huddle means is that there is no huddle, the guys get up to the line of scrimmage and get ready before the defense has time to substitute or settle down. It has nothing to do with the play that is called. It doesn't necessarily mean quick drops or short passes. The hurry-up can help a young offensive line by helping to maintain mismatches and to keep the defense from staying fresh. But what types of plays you call while in the hurry-up is anyone's guess, and totally unrelated. Nice try, Sully.

Obviously it's so we can have the upper hand in the HOF game.

Awesome report. I like what I'm hearing. With five games to practice, I'm not too worried about the O-line. They'll get their collective act together.

I agree, I think we should just give up on Walker right now. How much more of an opportunity does he need?

Try not to contradict yourself. Stroud did not come in as a free agent, as in the quote you provided: he was acquired in a trade, and it is common for teams to trade for a player and then rework their contract. So no, I doubt it was a slap in the face to Peters.

Is it me, or does Ellison look a little bigger this year?

I would expect that we should have some idea by the end of training camp and preseason if Walker can handle the LT spot. He certainly did not generate any alarms when he played there last year, but I imagine the coaching staff would thoroughly test him with outside speed rushes to see if he can deal with them. My concern, as people have noted, is what happens if he stinks up the joint? People who think Bell can step right in this year are deluding themselves. I would have thought Chambers would be given the task, but that doesn't seem to be the plan, nor does it make me all warm and fuzzy inside.

I think it's great, but I still need to see how well he steps up when the wins aren't piling up as he is hoping.

Thanks, JW!

I can probably sell you my opener tix if you like. Last year I sold tickets to three games on the Bills web site, and I made enough to almost completely pay for this year's tickets. Of course, the tickets were sold at the height of our success last year, prior to the collapse.

It really is.

Awesome, thanks.