Notes from the upper deck

[Dan Gross]

Here is the problem:  yesterday, the defense and McGahee bailed out Bledsoe.  Unfortunately, Bledsoe has NEVER bailed out the defense or running game when their roles have been reversed.  Good QBs - PLAYOFF QBs - will do that from time to time.  Think Manning's bailed out his D a few times?  Favre?  Think McNair's bailed out his running game over the years?  That's the point.

137693[/snapback]

What about last week v. St Louis? Do you think it would have been a different game had we not passed our way to 17 points to even things up at the half, after the D had given up 17?

And I still don't get how McGahee bailed Bledsoe out...the defense I could potentially understand, though the drive starts for the Seahawks weren't exactly generous, even when handed to them by Bledsoe. Forcing 3 and out when the intercepting team gets the ball in the red zone is "bailing out," not allowing a score after an interception touchback is a defense doing its job. Though they did get the 3rd int (coming on a "free drive") back.

[maddog]

Please show me how McGahee bailed out Bledsoe.  Before you post, read this thread:

http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=11116&st=0

 

Specifically my first post where I give a play by play of our first 5 scoring drives.  Notice that we had 50 yards rushing on our first 4 scoring drives, giving us a 24-3 lead.

 

No way did the running game "bail us out."  Even Willis' 30 yard TD "run" could be cnosidered a pass since it was the fake QB draw where Bledsoe threw it to the sidelines.

 

CW

137704[/snapback]

You beat me to it. Some people are forgetting that we jumped to our lead almost entirely on our passing attack - and good D.

[Guest Guest_Coach_Tuesday]

Please show me how McGahee bailed out Bledsoe.  Before you post, read this thread:

http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=11116&st=0

 

Specifically my first post where I give a play by play of our first 5 scoring drives.  Notice that we had 50 yards rushing on our first 4 scoring drives, giving us a 24-3 lead.

 

No way did the running game "bail us out."  Even Willis' 30 yard TD "run" could be cnosidered a pass since it was the fake QB draw where Bledsoe threw it to the sidelines.

 

CW

137704[/snapback]

 

Yeah, I saw your post. First of all, I said McGahee AND the defense. Second, I'd posit that the numbers don't tell the whole story. I watched the game, and Willis' success kept the 'Hawks D guessing. He was able to gain yardage a number of times against run blitzes, forcing them to back off the blitzing as the game progressed. Notice Drew had plenty of time to throw - especially after the first quarter. Contrast it with the Raiders game, when the run blitzing stopped Henry in his tracks, allowed the D to play in the box, and Bledsoe couldn't beat them to the outside/deep.

 

Also, your stats don't say squat about time of possession, which in my mind was the key to the game (along with perhaps 3d down efficiency). That had to do primarily with the running game.

[Guest Guest_Coach_Tuesday]

What about last week v. St Louis?  Do you think it would have been a different game had we not passed our way to 17 points to even things up at the half, after the D had given up 17?

And I still don't get how McGahee bailed Bledsoe out...the defense I could potentially understand, though the drive starts for the Seahawks weren't exactly generous, even when handed to them by Bledsoe.  Forcing 3 and out when the intercepting team gets the ball in the red zone is "bailing out," not allowing a score after an interception touchback is a defense doing its job.  Though they did get the 3rd int (coming on a "free drive") back.

137707[/snapback]

 

Our scoring in the St. Louis game was the result of great field position created by the special teams and defense. There were few times (maybe 1) when we drove all the way down field to score.

[34-78-83]

A blowout win on the road across the entire country against a team leading their division deep into a season should never, ever, ever be considered "mediocre". That's just plain ridiculous. While being quite a Jeckle and Hyde team, the Hawks have plenty of talent and always had played well at home. Having the #1 rusher in the league is nothing to underestimate either.

[Dan Gross]

Our scoring in the St. Louis game was the result of great field position created by the special teams and defense.  There were few times (maybe 1) when we drove all the way down field to score.

137719[/snapback]

The three drives I'm talking about were 71(TD), 51(TD), and 63(FG) yards.

[Guest Guest_Coach_Tuesday]

The three drives I'm talking about were 71(TD), 51(TD), and 63(FG) yards.

137742[/snapback]

 

If anything, Bledsoe bailed out himself in that game. Find me a game where the D gives up more than 20 (not counting garbage time) and/or the running game is ineffective and we still win. Brady has won games where the Pats rushed for less than 50 yards, same with McNair. Manning has won games where his D has given up 30+ points. Again, not complaining about the win - it was fantastic. But, I need more than 3-4 drives and 1-2 games before I'll be convinced that Drew can win this team a playoff game.

[MadBuffaloDisease]

If anything, Bledsoe bailed out himself in that game.  Find me a game where the D gives up more than 20 (not counting garbage time) and/or the running game is ineffective and we still win.  Brady has won games where the Pats rushed for less than 50 yards, same with McNair.  Manning has won games where his D has given up 30+ points.  Again, not complaining about the win - it was fantastic.  But, I need more than 3-4 drives and 1-2 games before I'll be convinced that Drew can win this team a playoff game.

137755[/snapback]

Sorry but not even the great Tom Brady can win a game all by himself. There's a reason the Pats made the playoffs in 2001, 2003, and will again this year, and didn't in 2002. It's called defense. It's also called ST's. Brady and the Pats don't make the SB, much less win it, without Vinatieri. So no I don't expect Bledsoe to win a game all by himself, just like I didn't expect Kelly to do so (and he didn't, in the SB's).

[Guest Guest]

Sorry but not even the great Tom Brady can win a game all by himself.  There's a reason the Pats made the playoffs in 2001, 2003, and will again this year, and didn't in 2002.  It's called defense.  It's also called ST's.  Brady and the Pats don't make the SB, much less win it, without Vinatieri.  So no I don't expect Bledsoe to win a game all by himself, just like I didn't expect Kelly to do so (and he didn't, in the SB's).

137790[/snapback]

 

Maybe you haven't been watching the Colts this year...

[MadBuffaloDisease]

Maybe you haven't been watching the Colts this year...

Few QB's have the Colts' offense.

[Fezmid]

Maybe you haven't been watching the Colts this year...

137840[/snapback]

 

I have... James is the 2nd leading rusher in the NFL.

 

CW

[Fezmid]

Yeah, I saw your post.  First of all, I said McGahee AND the defense.  Second, I'd posit that the numbers don't tell the whole story.  I watched the game, and Willis' success kept the 'Hawks D guessing.  He was able to gain yardage a number of times against run blitzes, forcing them to back off the blitzing as the game progressed.  Notice Drew had plenty of time to throw - especially after the first quarter.  Contrast it with the Raiders game, when the run blitzing stopped Henry in his tracks, allowed the D to play in the box, and Bledsoe couldn't beat them to the outside/deep.

 

Also, your stats don't say squat about time of possession, which in my mind was the key to the game (along with perhaps 3d down efficiency).  That had to do primarily with the running game.

 

Ummm, clock runs on a completion, which accounts for nearly 70% of Bledsoe's passes.

 

Our first two scoring drives (giving us a 10-0 lead), the running game had 7 rushes for 17 yards (2.4 ypc). During the same stretch, we passed 11 times. Sorry, WM didn't have success those first two drives and WM was not "bailing out" anyone.

 

The third scoring drive we had 7 passes and 3 rushes. All 7 passes were in the 2 minute drill, where the defense KNEW we weren't going to be able to rush the ball. How did WM "bail Bledsoe out" that time?

 

Our fourth scoring drive, we had 6 rushes for 9 yards. How is that considered WM success? We passed 4/37.

 

Bash Bledsoe when he sucks, fine. But when he's obviously the one who carried the offense, don't say "WM bailed him out." That's flat out wrong.

 

CW

[Kelly the Dog]

The pass set up the run in this game. Willis had about 30 yards rushing when we were up 24-3 and the game was virtually over.

[Guest Guest_Coach_Tuesday]

Bash Bledsoe when he sucks, fine.  But when he's obviously the one who carried the offense, don't say "WM bailed him out."  That's flat out wrong.

 

CW

137870[/snapback]

 

I said Willis AND THE DEFENSE. Reading comprehension, Fezmid.

[Guest Guest_Coach_Tuesday]

I can't believe some of you guys. How can you deny that, if your QB throws 3 picks on the road against a highly-ranked offense, you're more often than not screwed? I know DB made a lot of good passes, but he also made some horrible plays that could have cost us the game. On one of his picks he didn't even account for the free safety on a middle post pattern. That's inexcusable for a veteran QB! I guarantee that, had the Seahawks scored TDs after those picks and we'd have lost, you'd all be piling on Bledsoe for another woeful road game. I also guarantee you that, despite yesterday's victory, 3 picks on the road in the playoffs is a recipe for a Loss.

[Kelly the Dog]

I can't believe some of you guys.  How can you deny that, if your QB throws 3 picks on the road against a highly-ranked offense, you're more often than not screwed?  I know DB made a lot of good passes, but he also made some horrible plays that could have cost us the game.  On one of his picks he didn't even account for the free safety on a middle post pattern.  That's inexcusable for a veteran QB!  I guarantee that, had the Seahawks scored TDs after those picks and we'd have lost, you'd all be piling on Bledsoe for another woeful road game.  I also guarantee you that, despite yesterday's victory, 3 picks on the road in the playoffs is a recipe for a Loss.

137907[/snapback]

Ummm... beause you're IGNORING the fact that we dominated, scored 38 points because of the passing attack more than the running attack, that he did what was asked of him and he made NUMEROUS good plays. He played a good game. We won by 35 points. He led the team to long drives, he converted when we needed him, he avoided the rush, he dumped the ball off, he handled the ball well, he distributed the ball well, he played well. If you want to ignore all the good and great things that he did and JUST look at the bad things, why even post?

[jad1]

I can't believe some of you guys.  How can you deny that, if your QB throws 3 picks on the road against a highly-ranked offense, you're more often than not screwed?  I know DB made a lot of good passes, but he also made some horrible plays that could have cost us the game.  On one of his picks he didn't even account for the free safety on a middle post pattern.  That's inexcusable for a veteran QB!  I guarantee that, had the Seahawks scored TDs after those picks and we'd have lost, you'd all be piling on Bledsoe for another woeful road game.  I also guarantee you that, despite yesterday's victory, 3 picks on the road in the playoffs is a recipe for a Loss.

137907[/snapback]

 

He made up for those ints on 3rd downs. If the Bills weren't converting 3rd downs, AND Bledsoe threw 3 picks, the Seattle game wouldn't look much different from the previous season of road games the Bills have played.

 

But, outside of those turnovers, the Bills moved the ball. And Bledsoe was a big part of that. Moorman only had a couple of punts in the game.

[mead107]

you still do not get it . hard running by WM even if he gets no gain,there D has to respect the guy, giving assdrew more time to hit a reciver . thats if he is not over throwing [int] or throwing it low .3 INT and you except that . 2 plus years of stevestojan and he has 2 OK games in a row and YOU think he is the next coming . STOP DREAMING

[Alaska Darin]

He made up for those ints on 3rd downs.  If the Bills weren't converting 3rd downs, AND Bledsoe threw 3 picks, the Seattle game wouldn't look much different from the previous season of road games the Bills have played.

 

But, outside of those turnovers, the Bills moved the ball.  And Bledsoe was a big part of that.  Moorman only had a couple of punts in the game.

137933[/snapback]

Actually, one punt.

[Guest Guest_Coach_Tuesday]

Ummm... beause you're IGNORING the fact that we dominated, scored 38 points because of the passing attack more than the running attack, that he did what was asked of him and he made NUMEROUS good plays. He played a good game. We won by 35 points. He led the team to long drives, he converted when we needed him, he avoided the rush, he dumped the ball off, he handled the ball well, he distributed the ball well, he played well. If you want to ignore all the good and great things that he did and JUST look at the bad things, why even post?

137920[/snapback]

 

Dude, I'm not "JUST" looking at the bad things. I'm suggesting that those bad things were bad enough to lose against most good teams. My point is not that Bledsoe sucks - that point has been beaten to death on this Board. My point IS that, while a win is a win, we may want to keep our focus on the Big Picture, which is that this team is still not a playoff team until it finds a way to eliminate more mistakes. Yes, we dominated - that's what dominating defenses do. Our o-line dominated. Willis dominated. Our receivers got open, and Bledsoe made some great throws. Our STs were solid, again. However, YOU CAN'T TURN THE BALL OVER ON THE ROAD and expect to win big games. It's not nitpicking - it's axiomatic. It's important - crucial, actually. If you want me to stop posting, I'll take that under advisement - but I don't think I'm being unreasonable.