Thoughts On The Game!

[BillsObserver]

- That first half was very depressing. I thought we were outmatched and getting our butts handed to us. But deep down I knew the second half IS our half. We make adjustments and we fight back, and that we did.

 

- I was going to credit Gailey again on his second half adjustments but Fitz said in his presser that they didn't need to make many adjustments and they really liked their game plan going in but they just didn't have the ball enough in the first half to try it out. Good on them for not giving up on it and executing that game plan in the second half.

 

- As much as I like the resiliency to bounce back in the second half, I'd like to do something in the first half. I'm not sure how they go about accomplishing that but going forward I'd like to see more out of this team offensively in the first half.

 

- Lost in a lot of discussion regarding the game is the fact that Fitzy had about 5-10 dropped passes that couldve/shouldve been caught. Those dropped balls easily put him over 300 yards and give him another multiple touchdown game but such is life as an NFL QB. Just have to hope the drops don't continue to happen.

 

- Another small thing to note: we did this without Roscoe Parrish and CJ Spiller. Granted, Spiller hasn't been someone to game plan for yet but he will be in the future. That's why we drafted him with our first pick. Gailey has been slowly making him a larger part of the offense and without Roscoe, it's time for Spiller to step up. I believe when Gailey fully trusts Spiller with the playbook and blocking duties, we will see this kid get a lot of touches. I bring this entire point up because I believe the Steelers have the best D in football and we accomplished a good amount today offensively with the likes of 2 no-namers quickly making a name for themselves: David Nelson and Donald Jones. Throw in guys with natural athletic ability (Spiller and Roscoe) that those 2 may lack and more plays are going to be made.

 

- Fred Jackson had another good game. Rodney Harrison, on NBC, called him the best player you've never heard of. So true. And I like that someone is acknowledging how good this is. That said, even though we recovered it in this case, I'm not happy about the fumbles.

 

- Oh and that play Fred fumbled - lost in that was the fact that Fitzy went out of his way to throw a huge block at Troy Palomalu. This was ahead of the play and I think Troy ended up just throwing him but I still appreciated the effort. I advise you to go back and watch this on DVR if you can. He went at Troy a few times earlier in the game. Fitzmagic is a fearless warrior.

 

- As I mentioned last week, my weekly tradition is to watch all Bills pressers after the Sunday Night game on NBC. I could barely make it through Stevie's presser. Very emotional. I feel for the guy. I won't comment on the debacle of a game he had because everything's pretty much been covered but I will say this: A few weeks ago, many weeks ago in fact, he mentioned in his presser that they were working on a slant play that he dropped all week and Fitz came back to it in the real game and he caught it. I found it interesting that he'd mention that he dropped this pass all week. I appreciated the honesty but it also stood out to me as a sign that this guy knows he's going to occasionally drop balls. I mean, I've never heard Lee Evans say that or Roscoe or TO (someone who drops a lot to begin with), so when Stevie said that, it kind of worried me. Worried me in the sense that he may have some games like today where he can't catch anything. That said - I still love this guy and I hope he can shake this off. I really hope he has a big game next week so he can forget about this. Just imagine the positive press he would have gotten along with the Bills if we would have pulled off the big upset in overtime on THAT play. Damn.

 

- Ecstatic to see Carrington get his first NFL sack. He looked damn good out there at points. As did Troupe. With Dwan Edwards injured and likely out for a while, we'll get an opportunity to see more of these guys which is a good thing for our future. Sorry but Edwards has not impressed me at ALL this season and while his injury is unfortunate for him, I think the timing is good for the Bills to find out what they have in some of their younger guys.

 

- Props to Kyle Williams who looked like a freakin' monster out there. He made a SIGNIFICANT difference out there at different points in the game. Very happy to see him emerge as a difference maker on this weak D. We need to build around this guy and provide him support.

 

- Maybin almost made a play. Hey, that sounds better than him being inactive again. Honestly, the few plays he was out there, he didn't look awful. Not sure what else to say about the guy other than try it out again next week and put him in on obvious passing downs.

 

- Solid offense line play again. I wonder how much of that is Fitzy and his quick decisions or just improved play based on the stability of the line? Urbik stepped in nicely in place of Wood. Bell seemed to have a good game as well. Loving the idea of having a solid offensive line in the future. We need to add some depth and maybe work on the RT position but I think we're heading in the right direction.

 

- Before I finish I just want to say how excited I was for today's game. I've watched every minute of this season and for some reason this week felt extra special. Maybe it was because it was truly going to be a measuring stick type of game. Let's find out how good this team can be. I even wore my Spiller jersey for the 2nd time this year (I wore it for game 1 of the season but after the loss I put it away until they "deserved" me wearing it again -- I know, I know, that sounds silly but that's how I work). Maybe it was because I really want to believe in these guys. During the comeback in the second half, I said to myself, "I love this team." Even after the heartbreaking loss, I still felt proud of the guys. We had no business being in this game against this team when you consider their recent playoff experience, titles and abundance of talent on both sides of the ball (except the Oline apparently). They have a good chance of playing for another Super Bowl championship and we went toe-to-toe with them. Hell, we SHOULD have won but it just wasn't meant to be. Hoping next week is as we face another formidable opponent!

 

- Next week we got the VIKINGS in their dome. GO BILLS!

[The Big Cat]

- That first half was very depressing. I thought we were outmatched and getting our butts handed to us. But deep down I knew the second half IS our half. We make adjustments and we fight back, and that we did.

 

- I was going to credit Gailey again on his second half adjustments but Fitz said in his presser that they didn't need to make many adjustments and they really liked their game plan going in but they just didn't have the ball enough in the first half to try it out. Good on them for not giving up on it and executing that game plan in the second half.

 

- As much as I like the resiliency to bounce back in the second half, I'd like to do something in the first half. I'm not sure how they go about accomplishing that but going forward I'd like to see more out of this team offensively in the first half.

 

- Lost in a lot of discussion regarding the game is the fact that Fitzy had about 5-10 dropped passes that couldve/shouldve been caught. Those dropped balls easily put him over 300 yards and give him another multiple touchdown game but such is life as an NFL QB. Just have to hope the drops don't continue to happen.

 

- Another small thing to note: we did this without Roscoe Parrish and CJ Spiller. Granted, Spiller hasn't been someone to game plan for yet but he will be in the future. That's why we drafted him with our first pick. Gailey has been slowly making him a larger part of the offense and without Roscoe, it's time for Spiller to step up. I believe when Gailey fully trusts Spiller with the playbook and blocking duties, we will see this kid get a lot of touches. I bring this entire point up because I believe the Steelers have the best D in football and we accomplished a good amount today offensively with the likes of 2 no-namers quickly making a name for themselves: David Nelson and Donald Jones. Throw in guys with natural athletic ability (Spiller and Roscoe) that those 2 may lack and more plays are going to be made.

 

- Fred Jackson had another good game. Rodney Harrison, on NBC, called him the best player you've never heard of. So true. And I like that someone is acknowledging how good this is. That said, even though we recovered it in this case, I'm not happy about the fumbles.

 

- Oh and that play Fred fumbled - lost in that was the fact that Fitzy went out of his way to throw a huge block at Troy Palomalu. This was ahead of the play and I think Troy ended up just throwing him but I still appreciated the effort. I advise you to go back and watch this on DVR if you can. He went at Troy a few times earlier in the game. Fitzmagic is a fearless warrior.

 

- As I mentioned last week, my weekly tradition is to watch all Bills pressers after the Sunday Night game on NBC. I could barely make it through Stevie's presser. Very emotional. I feel for the guy. I won't comment on the debacle of a game he had because everything's pretty much been covered but I will say this: A few weeks ago, many weeks ago in fact, he mentioned in his presser that they were working on a slant play that he dropped all week and Fitz came back to it in the real game and he caught it. I found it interesting that he'd mention that he dropped this pass all week. I appreciated the honesty but it also stood out to me as a sign that this guy knows he's going to occasionally drop balls. I mean, I've never heard Lee Evans say that or Roscoe or TO (someone who drops a lot to begin with), so when Stevie said that, it kind of worried me. Worried me in the sense that he may have some games like today where he can't catch anything. That said - I still love this guy and I hope he can shake this off. I really hope he has a big game next week so he can forget about this. Just imagine the positive press he would have gotten along with the Bills if we would have pulled off the big upset in overtime on THAT play. Damn.

 

- Ecstatic to see Carrington get his first NFL sack. He looked damn good out there at points. As did Troupe. With Dwan Edwards injured and likely out for a while, we'll get an opportunity to see more of these guys which is a good thing for our future. Sorry but Edwards has not impressed me at ALL this season and while his injury is unfortunate for him, I think the timing is good for the Bills to find out what they have in some of their younger guys.

 

- Props to Kyle Williams who looked like a freakin' monster out there. He made a SIGNIFICANT difference out there at different points in the game. Very happy to see him emerge as a difference maker on this weak D. We need to build around this guy and provide him support.

 

- Maybin almost made a play. Hey, that sounds better than him being inactive again. Honestly, the few plays he was out there, he didn't look awful. Not sure what else to say about the guy other than try it out again next week and put him in on obvious passing downs.

 

- Solid offense line play again. I wonder how much of that is Fitzy and his quick decisions or just improved play based on the stability of the line? Urbik stepped in nicely in place of Wood. Bell seemed to have a good game as well. Loving the idea of having a solid offensive line in the future. We need to add some depth and maybe work on the RT position but I think we're heading in the right direction.

 

- Before I finish I just want to say how excited I was for today's game. I've watched every minute of this season and for some reason this week felt extra special. Maybe it was because it was truly going to be a measuring stick type of game. Let's find out how good this team can be. I even wore my Spiller jersey for the 2nd time this year (I wore it for game 1 of the season but after the loss I put it away until they "deserved" me wearing it again -- I know, I know, that sounds silly but that's how I work). Maybe it was because I really want to believe in these guys. During the comeback in the second half, I said to myself, "I love this team." Even after the heartbreaking loss, I still felt proud of the guys. We had no business being in this game against this team when you consider their recent playoff experience, titles and abundance of talent on both sides of the ball (except the Oline apparently). They have a good chance of playing for another Super Bowl championship and we went toe-to-toe with them. Hell, we SHOULD have won but it just wasn't meant to be. Hoping next week is as we face another formidable opponent!

 

- Next week we got the VIKINGS in their dome. GO BILLS!

 

I agree.

[AllDayADay]

- That first half was very depressing. I thought we were outmatched and getting our butts handed to us. But deep down I knew the second half IS our half. We make adjustments and we fight back, and that we did.

 

- I was going to credit Gailey again on his second half adjustments but Fitz said in his presser that they didn't need to make many adjustments and they really liked their game plan going in but they just didn't have the ball enough in the first half to try it out. Good on them for not giving up on it and executing that game plan in the second half.

 

- As much as I like the resiliency to bounce back in the second half, I'd like to do something in the first half. I'm not sure how they go about accomplishing that but going forward I'd like to see more out of this team offensively in the first half.

 

- Lost in a lot of discussion regarding the game is the fact that Fitzy had about 5-10 dropped passes that couldve/shouldve been caught. Those dropped balls easily put him over 300 yards and give him another multiple touchdown game but such is life as an NFL QB. Just have to hope the drops don't continue to happen.

 

- Another small thing to note: we did this without Roscoe Parrish and CJ Spiller. Granted, Spiller hasn't been someone to game plan for yet but he will be in the future. That's why we drafted him with our first pick. Gailey has been slowly making him a larger part of the offense and without Roscoe, it's time for Spiller to step up. I believe when Gailey fully trusts Spiller with the playbook and blocking duties, we will see this kid get a lot of touches. I bring this entire point up because I believe the Steelers have the best D in football and we accomplished a good amount today offensively with the likes of 2 no-namers quickly making a name for themselves: David Nelson and Donald Jones. Throw in guys with natural athletic ability (Spiller and Roscoe) that those 2 may lack and more plays are going to be made.

 

- Fred Jackson had another good game. Rodney Harrison, on NBC, called him the best player you've never heard of. So true. And I like that someone is acknowledging how good this is. That said, even though we recovered it in this case, I'm not happy about the fumbles.

 

- Oh and that play Fred fumbled - lost in that was the fact that Fitzy went out of his way to throw a huge block at Troy Palomalu. This was ahead of the play and I think Troy ended up just throwing him but I still appreciated the effort. I advise you to go back and watch this on DVR if you can. He went at Troy a few times earlier in the game. Fitzmagic is a fearless warrior.

 

- As I mentioned last week, my weekly tradition is to watch all Bills pressers after the Sunday Night game on NBC. I could barely make it through Stevie's presser. Very emotional. I feel for the guy. I won't comment on the debacle of a game he had because everything's pretty much been covered but I will say this: A few weeks ago, many weeks ago in fact, he mentioned in his presser that they were working on a slant play that he dropped all week and Fitz came back to it in the real game and he caught it. I found it interesting that he'd mention that he dropped this pass all week. I appreciated the honesty but it also stood out to me as a sign that this guy knows he's going to occasionally drop balls. I mean, I've never heard Lee Evans say that or Roscoe or TO (someone who drops a lot to begin with), so when Stevie said that, it kind of worried me. Worried me in the sense that he may have some games like today where he can't catch anything. That said - I still love this guy and I hope he can shake this off. I really hope he has a big game next week so he can forget about this. Just imagine the positive press he would have gotten along with the Bills if we would have pulled off the big upset in overtime on THAT play. Damn.

 

- Ecstatic to see Carrington get his first NFL sack. He looked damn good out there at points. As did Troupe. With Dwan Edwards injured and likely out for a while, we'll get an opportunity to see more of these guys which is a good thing for our future. Sorry but Edwards has not impressed me at ALL this season and while his injury is unfortunate for him, I think the timing is good for the Bills to find out what they have in some of their younger guys.

 

- Props to Kyle Williams who looked like a freakin' monster out there. He made a SIGNIFICANT difference out there at different points in the game. Very happy to see him emerge as a difference maker on this weak D. We need to build around this guy and provide him support.

 

- Maybin almost made a play. Hey, that sounds better than him being inactive again. Honestly, the few plays he was out there, he didn't look awful. Not sure what else to say about the guy other than try it out again next week and put him in on obvious passing downs.

 

- Solid offense line play again. I wonder how much of that is Fitzy and his quick decisions or just improved play based on the stability of the line? Urbik stepped in nicely in place of Wood. Bell seemed to have a good game as well. Loving the idea of having a solid offensive line in the future. We need to add some depth and maybe work on the RT position but I think we're heading in the right direction.

 

- Before I finish I just want to say how excited I was for today's game. I've watched every minute of this season and for some reason this week felt extra special. Maybe it was because it was truly going to be a measuring stick type of game. Let's find out how good this team can be. I even wore my Spiller jersey for the 2nd time this year (I wore it for game 1 of the season but after the loss I put it away until they "deserved" me wearing it again -- I know, I know, that sounds silly but that's how I work). Maybe it was because I really want to believe in these guys. During the comeback in the second half, I said to myself, "I love this team." Even after the heartbreaking loss, I still felt proud of the guys. We had no business being in this game against this team when you consider their recent playoff experience, titles and abundance of talent on both sides of the ball (except the Oline apparently). They have a good chance of playing for another Super Bowl championship and we went toe-to-toe with them. Hell, we SHOULD have won but it just wasn't meant to be. Hoping next week is as we face another formidable opponent!

 

- Next week we got the VIKINGS in their dome. GO BILLS!

 

Nice write up. This one hurts a lot, but not as much as if we were .500 or better.

[BillsObserver]

Nice write up. This one hurts a lot, but not as much as if we were .500 or better.

 

Agreed. If we were in playoff contention, this one would feel even worse. We're slowly starting to get a lot more respect around the league for performances like these even though we gave it away. Nobody expected us to come back from 13-0. The CBS crew were laughing at the Bills at halftime.

[marauderswr80]

Kelsay is playing much better football and the OL did a good job. Nice writeup though!

[bills_fan_in_raleigh]

I was just watching the replay of the Ben scramble for that critical 3rd down and Scott clearly trips Kyle Williams and looks like other holding non calls

[dgrid]

I was just watching the replay of the Ben scramble for that critical 3rd down and Scott clearly trips Kyle Williams and looks like other holding non calls

and I believe Maybin actually got that tackle, right?

[2003Contenders]

Kelsay is playing much better football and the OL did a good job. Nice writeup though!

 

Agree on both accounts. Kelsay was in Big Ben's grill all day. He always seems to be in the right position -- just doesn't make the play often enough.

 

and I believe Maybin actually got that tackle, right?

 

Not only did Maybin make the tackle -- but he was PULLED to the ground by the OL on what should have been an obvious holding penalty. Also, did anyone ever identify the phantom defensive hold on the Ward non-fumble? The official stated it was number 23, which was obviously wrong -- and CBS never showed a replay or made an attempt to identify the real guilty party.