early look at positions

[bckrull]

QB- too much like last year. Up and down, no steady leadership. Trent looked good on the first drive, made an awful decision on the interception, and was pretty bad the rest of the time. Fitzpatrick looked awful on his first couple series, but put together a good series on the 1st TD drive, against 2nd or 3rd-string Washington defense. We really didn't see enough of Levi Brown to make any assessment. I'm assuming Gailey will give Brohm the lion's share of reps as the #2 guy in the next preseason game that Fitz got last night.

RB- I noticed we used the FB a lot more on the first drive- a sign of things to come? We've got a good stable of RBs. Hopefully Freddy won't miss any of the regular season. It's looking more and more like Marshawn will be around this year, especially with Jackson's injury. I've been impressed at camp and now in the game by Joquie Bell (though I still have no idea how to pronounce his name) and Chad Simpson. Both showed quickness in getting into the hole and getting to the second level. And I'm very impressed that we were able to have a fairly strong running game considering what we lined up with on the O-line. We were told when Gailey got the job that he knows how to run the ball, and so far that looks like the case. Spiller had one nice run, but otherwise was welcomed to the NFL. We'll have to wait to see once he's had more practice time, and the coaches figure out how to use him.

OL- Solid in the interior for the most part, porous on the outside. We spent all year last year watching guys fly around the edges of the Bills line, and not much has changed. I paid close attention to the two tackles. Meredith got beat a number of times, but looked better later in the game against the subs. Chambers had an awful night. He didn't block well, and committed penalties to boot. At least he didn't hurt himself. Positives- interior guys were pretty decent, we were able to run the ball, and judging by the first series the coaches are going to use a lot of quick strike-type plays to get rid of the ball for the O-line collapses. It will be interesting to see once Wood, Bell, and Green are back in there.

WR- Some good young talent, but nobody that's going to scare teams opposite Lee Evans. Evans will be seeing a lot of double coverage and/or facing the other team's best CB this year. Stevie Johnson didn't do too much opposite Evans. I'm hoping they'll get Roscoe Parrish more involved in the slot. They only threw to him once last night, but he wasn't in there that long. I really like David Nelson. Donald Jones returned kicks well, but didn't do too much in the offense. As a UB alum, I'd love to see Naaman Roosevelt step up and get a job, but he didn't do much in his first big chance either. The Hardy injury gives these guys the chance to step up, but other than Nelson, I didn't see much last night.

TE- I am hoping we use our TEs more this year, and not just to block. Stupar had a good catch and run. With injuries, these guys played pretty much the whole game. I look forward to seeing how they use Nelson this year, but didn't get the chance last night. A couple nice blocks on runs for this group.

DL- I didn't see any pass rush, but I'll blame that more on the OLB position. The D-line seemed pretty good last night. The first team D played a much longer time than is usual in pre-season. I've always like Kyle Williams, and I think he'll do a good job in the middle. Stroud and Dwan Edwards seemed to do a capable job on the ends. I watched Torrell Troup pretty closely when he got in, and I liked what I saw. Good push, great motor. Carrington didn't seem to get much push at DE before going down. And we finally had a McCargo sighting. Granted, it was against the backups, but maybe the new regime will give him a new chance. Rashaad Duncan also looked pretty good on the 2nd team. NT Lonnie Harvey is a very large man, but I didn't see him do too much.

LB- Yes, we were down Poz and Kelsay, but this unit worries me. I don't think Kawika Mitchell gives us much at ILB. The OLBs got no rush whatsoever in the first half. I was watching Maybin fairly closely on passing downs, and he was handled by a rookie. He got some pressure late in the game against backups, but didn't do anything against the starters, mostly against a rookie LT (albeit a high draft pick). Maybin also had a stupid penalty that kept that first Redskins drive going. You have to get off the field when you can. Chris Ellis was better than Maybin, but also didn't exert much pressure, and let McNabb get outside of him on a key 3rd-down scramble. Arthur Moats looked lost in pass coverage. Torbor looked good on the outside with the first team. Coleman looked decent with the 2nd team.

DB- This is the strength of our team, but didn't look so hot last night. They're learning a new system, so we should give them time to pull it together. There were a few blown assignments, and too many receivers wide open in the middle of the field. This group has been dominant in camp, but that probably speaks more to the weakness of our offense.

 

* Special teams was not so special, aside from Donald Jones returning kicks, and Roosevelt's punt return (with great blocks from Donovan Woods and David Nelson), and has a lot of work to do. Dehaven should be able to put together a good group- he's got the track record.

 

* Penalties were killer. I'm hoping we can chalk it up to a young team and the first preseason game, but I'm not so sure.

 

Anyway, it's early, and this was one pre-season game, so we can't really make too many judgments. Hopefully, we will progress throughout the pre-season.

[Ronin]

Theisman summed it up best I thought when he said that the offense had no speed. They looked slow and lethargic out there, even the first unit. Rex Grossman looked like Drew Brees out there on a drive where it seemed that only the secondary made all the tackles.

 

The defense sucked last year because we couldn't stop the run or rush the passer and that only looks like it's gotten worse.

 

And if the special teams don't make a complete turnaround in three weeks, the mainstay of our team's performance over the last bunch of years will vanish altogether questioning on what basis they'll win many games. They'll probably win a few off teams dragging themselves into the Ralph again with worse problems than us. So what.

 

They obviously still can't stop the run, still have no pass rush, have no QB, still have questionable coaching, and now their special teams are in question too. They were pitiful last night on special teams.

 

They're not going to improve by scrimmaging themselves, the starters will probably play a half in the next game, a quarter in week three, hardly at all in week four, and where the improvement is going to come from by the start of the regular season with less than four quarters of playing time should be interesting.

[Red]

QB- too much like last year. Up and down, no steady leadership. Trent looked good on the first drive, made an awful decision on the interception, and was pretty bad the rest of the time. Fitzpatrick looked awful on his first couple series, but put together a good series on the 1st TD drive, against 2nd or 3rd-string Washington defense. We really didn't see enough of Levi Brown to make any assessment. I'm assuming Gailey will give Brohm the lion's share of reps as the #2 guy in the next preseason game that Fitz got last night.

RB- I noticed we used the FB a lot more on the first drive- a sign of things to come? We've got a good stable of RBs. Hopefully Freddy won't miss any of the regular season. It's looking more and more like Marshawn will be around this year, especially with Jackson's injury. I've been impressed at camp and now in the game by Joquie Bell (though I still have no idea how to pronounce his name) and Chad Simpson. Both showed quickness in getting into the hole and getting to the second level. And I'm very impressed that we were able to have a fairly strong running game considering what we lined up with on the O-line. We were told when Gailey got the job that he knows how to run the ball, and so far that looks like the case. Spiller had one nice run, but otherwise was welcomed to the NFL. We'll have to wait to see once he's had more practice time, and the coaches figure out how to use him.

OL- Solid in the interior for the most part, porous on the outside. We spent all year last year watching guys fly around the edges of the Bills line, and not much has changed. I paid close attention to the two tackles. Meredith got beat a number of times, but looked better later in the game against the subs. Chambers had an awful night. He didn't block well, and committed penalties to boot. At least he didn't hurt himself. Positives- interior guys were pretty decent, we were able to run the ball, and judging by the first series the coaches are going to use a lot of quick strike-type plays to get rid of the ball for the O-line collapses. It will be interesting to see once Wood, Bell, and Green are back in there.

WR- Some good young talent, but nobody that's going to scare teams opposite Lee Evans. Evans will be seeing a lot of double coverage and/or facing the other team's best CB this year. Stevie Johnson didn't do too much opposite Evans. I'm hoping they'll get Roscoe Parrish more involved in the slot. They only threw to him once last night, but he wasn't in there that long. I really like David Nelson. Donald Jones returned kicks well, but didn't do too much in the offense. As a UB alum, I'd love to see Naaman Roosevelt step up and get a job, but he didn't do much in his first big chance either. The Hardy injury gives these guys the chance to step up, but other than Nelson, I didn't see much last night.

TE- I am hoping we use our TEs more this year, and not just to block. Stupar had a good catch and run. With injuries, these guys played pretty much the whole game. I look forward to seeing how they use Nelson this year, but didn't get the chance last night. A couple nice blocks on runs for this group.

DL- I didn't see any pass rush, but I'll blame that more on the OLB position. The D-line seemed pretty good last night. The first team D played a much longer time than is usual in pre-season. I've always like Kyle Williams, and I think he'll do a good job in the middle. Stroud and Dwan Edwards seemed to do a capable job on the ends. I watched Torrell Troup pretty closely when he got in, and I liked what I saw. Good push, great motor. Carrington didn't seem to get much push at DE before going down. And we finally had a McCargo sighting. Granted, it was against the backups, but maybe the new regime will give him a new chance. Rashaad Duncan also looked pretty good on the 2nd team. NT Lonnie Harvey is a very large man, but I didn't see him do too much.

LB- Yes, we were down Poz and Kelsay, but this unit worries me. I don't think Kawika Mitchell gives us much at ILB. The OLBs got no rush whatsoever in the first half. I was watching Maybin fairly closely on passing downs, and he was handled by a rookie. He got some pressure late in the game against backups, but didn't do anything against the starters, mostly against a rookie LT (albeit a high draft pick). Maybin also had a stupid penalty that kept that first Redskins drive going. You have to get off the field when you can. Chris Ellis was better than Maybin, but also didn't exert much pressure, and let McNabb get outside of him on a key 3rd-down scramble. Arthur Moats looked lost in pass coverage. Torbor looked good on the outside with the first team. Coleman looked decent with the 2nd team.

DB- This is the strength of our team, but didn't look so hot last night. They're learning a new system, so we should give them time to pull it together. There were a few blown assignments, and too many receivers wide open in the middle of the field. This group has been dominant in camp, but that probably speaks more to the weakness of our offense.

 

* Special teams was not so special, aside from Donald Jones returning kicks, and Roosevelt's punt return (with great blocks from Donovan Woods and David Nelson), and has a lot of work to do. Dehaven should be able to put together a good group- he's got the track record.

 

* Penalties were killer. I'm hoping we can chalk it up to a young team and the first preseason game, but I'm not so sure.

 

Anyway, it's early, and this was one pre-season game, so we can't really make too many judgments. Hopefully, we will progress throughout the pre-season.

 

I could not agree more. We saw the same game, and came away with the same conclusions.

 

For me, I think that there were a few bright spots; but the were mostly player-wise.

 

The players that really stood out for me were not with this squad last year. They are:

 

1.) RB Chad Simpson- Looked as fast as Spiller, with more bulk and power. Ran with tenacity. IMO, makes Lynch expendable for the right draft pick/ player.

 

2.) RB J. Bell- Deceptively good player. Does not look sensational, but got it done. Combined with Simpson, Lynch should be traded for a solid LT.

 

3.) WR Donald Jones- Not exciting, but looked impressive overall.

 

4.) WR Nelson- This guy, for a rookie, was making alot of plays, and got open in the end zone for Fitz to throw a TD to. How long has it been for us to have a WR with enough sense to get open when the Bills are in the Red Zone and the QB has to scramble? It was nice to see. He looks slim out there, but got it done consistently last night.

 

5.) QB Levi Brown- When he came in, he reminded me somewhat of Jim Kelly. I'm basing this solely on that intangible swagger, confidence, and gun-fighter appearance he had, and he throws a nice ball. Granted, it was garbage time against the Redskins 3rd and 4th string players, but he instantly came in and had that cool look, I haven't seen since Kelly. It's early, but we might have a good one here.

 

6.) CB Drayton Florence on extra points/ field goals- I have not seen this since Marv Levy and DeHaven used to be with the Bills- a rush CB coming around and actually breaking through on extra points and field goals. Since the 'Skins did not kick a field goal last night, I am only referencing the extra points. But in case no one else noticed, Drayton was ripping around the corner on every kick and making it close to the kicker. I can remember the Bills of old actually blocking a few like that in the glory days. Why have we not had that since DeHaven left?

 

Finally, the offensive line played ok, and the starting defense played pretty strong initially.

 

My low points?

 

1.) OLB Maybin- tossed around like a rag doll by a rookie LT. Tossed around like a rag doll against the 2nd unit of the Redskins. Barely showed life against their 3rd string offense. Huge, huge, HUGE let down for such a high draft pick and contract.

 

2.) RT- Chambers- how does this guy still have a job? He should have been on the same train out of town with John Guy.

 

3.) Defensive secondary- what the heck happened?

 

4.) No pass rush- the D-line and LB's seemed to play better against the run (1st teamers), but could generate no real pressure. With Schobel gone, what are we going to do?

 

5.) Depth of 2nd team- these are mostly the hold-overs from last years team, but what a let down in terms of production. IMO, they got beat out by all of the new 3rd stringers.