A Few Thoughts About The Game

[bladiebla]

1. Anyone willing to buy a couple of refs?

 

2. Outcoached.

 

3. Down to earth.

[Bill from NYC]

The defense after allowing the Jets to eat up the field got a turnover and I felt that they really tightened up on the run - this game was nothing like the run all over us jokes the Jets have had over recent years. The Jets were able to convert on 3rd downs though often by slinging a quick slant to gain just enough to run a few more plays. The old Bills gave up 567 rushing yards in our two tilts with the Jets in 2010, today 126 yards on almost 40 carries. The defense was not getting run over. What is still suspect is our ability to cover TE's and to play man on the outside.

 

I think that the Bills secondary is probably average. If A. Williams can play, he will make a difference too. What they lack is a pure pass rusher up front. Sanchez can be exploited if he is pressured and sacked. A strong pass rusher would be able to force plays and take pressure off of the secondary, as well as create more opportunities for other linemen. Another solid linebacker would help us out too.

 

Again, we are probably not so far away from serious contention.

[ThurmasThoman]

I'm a bit surprised that not much is being made of the Jets coming off a bye week. I think that did contribute to the outcome today.

 

 

exactly.

 

give a 2 time afc championship game participant 2 weeks to prepare for a divisional opponent?

 

surprised we held them to 27, to be honest.

[26CornerBlitz]

I'm a bit surprised that not much is being made of the Jets coming off a bye week. I think that did contribute to the outcome today.

 

Great point. That gave the Jets staff extra time to break the Bills down....Bills should have shown some different offensive and defensive looks that no team had seen this year.

 

Kudos to the Jets coaches...Bills coaches needed a better game plan.

[coldstorage5]

We dont have the talent that the Jets have,... We are closer but not yet. Team was nervous playing on the big stage.

[Bob in STL]

1) I was ready to rip McKelvin a new a-hole after the long catch by Burress with 8 minutes and change left in the 3rd Qtr. Then I saw the replay and noticed that Burress shoved him away, as he did on most of his receptions today. Of course, there was no call. I cannot think of a way that the refs didn't see this; it was just so clear.

 

2) He was not as consistent as I am hoping for, but Alex Carrington played his best game as a professional football player today. I always had more hope for him than Troup, and now the bar has been raised in terms of what I think that he is capable of doing.

 

3) The 4th Qtr. challenge by Gailey was dumb. Very dumb.

 

4) OK, time to rip McKelvin. On the very next play after the non-call he gave up a touchdown, despite having his man covered. He has NO football instincts. He plays at about the level of a decent 4th round pick. Nice work Dick Levy!

 

5) Dareus is on his way to being an actually, literal, GREAT player. He more than held his own with Mangold, who imo has a big chance to be in the Hall of Fame. This as a rookie. The sky is the limit for this kid!!!!!!

 

6) The move that Stevie Johnson put on Revis on that 52 yard reception was one I don't recall ever seeing. He made these motions with his feet and actually froze the best NFL cornerback since Mel Blount. His fantasy numbers aside, he reached a new plateau today. He caught passes from and drew penalties on Revis. The need to extend his contract RIGHT NOW!!!!!! If they lose him, they will be chasing his replacement which will not be easy to find. We did this at db and wound up with Whitner/McKelvin. We did this at RB and wound up with Spiller. PLEASE sign him now. PLEASE!!!!!!

 

7) On the day that I was born,

Daddy sat down and cried.

I had the mark just as plain as day,

Could not, be denied.

 

8) The first pick by Fitz at the end of the half was simply inexcuseable. He had a month to throw; there was NO reason to force the pass. We are not good enough to come back from bad plays like this.

 

9) This was Gaileys worst game as our coach. Its not as if I am hating on the guy, but he has led us to expect more.

 

10) I STILL think that they should have sent Spiller between the tackles, especially after FJ was hurt. There was some room too. The hardest position to watch on TV is Right Guard. Its as if the cameras don't go there. That said, I am starting to like Urbik more and more.

 

11) Hey, how funny was that "leap" by Keller in the 2nd Qtr? And he was out of bounds to boot. It was nice to see him get smashed.

 

12) Blast away, but the truth is that the Jets are stacked. Sanchez is shaky, but they are a very, very talented team and are much better than their record indicates. Therefore, I am not as pissed as I would normally be after a loss. But, we have to correct dumb mistakes. At this point, we are just not good enough to compensate for bad calls, questionable coaching decisions and ill advised plays. The good news is that imo we are only a few players away from being serious contenders.

 

GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Yes, the Jets are stacked.

 

Obviously we need to get better in the front 7 and pressure the QB.

 

Our OL look outmatched for the first time this season.

 

The need for another quality WR was very apparent today too.

[Juror#8]

 

This team needs another strong defensive draft.....I still think we can finish with 10-6

 

Agreed...but I'm probably in the minority because I think this game demonstrates why it just may be advisable to take best CB available in the 2012 draft. A Dre Kirkpatrick or Stephon Gilmore with a healthy Kyle Williams back and we win this game IMO.

 

We can also use some significant LB, WR, and overall secondary assistance.

 

I know that won't make me too popular with the "stack the lines" crowd though.

[Bill from NYC]

Agreed...but I'm probably in the minority because I think this game demonstrates why it just may be advisable to take best CB available in the 2012 draft. A Dre Kirkpatrick or Stephon Gilmore with a healthy Kyle Williams back and we win this game IMO.

 

We can also use some significant LB, WR, and overall secondary assistance.

 

I know that won't make me too popular with the "stack the lines" crowd though.

 

OK, but we just used the 2nd pick in round 2 on a corner. Should we wait to see if he can play, or just continue down that road? This while we lack pass rush, which would make life much easier for the secondary.

 

And yes, as other posters have stated, we need help at OT as well.

[JimKelly12]

Yes the Bills laid an egg Sunday...Yes I was mad (especially because I was there)

 

But what team hasn't this year (besides Green Bay).

 

Buffalo has alot of weakenesses to address in the offesason but this year I think they can match up with anybody depending on how prepared they are.

 

I haven't watched the game on TV yet but I saw a lot of dropped, catchable balls. Mis-timed jumps. Missed open receivers. Inability to hold gaps on defense...

 

I began to hope they'd go to the gameplan used against Brady where they stopped trying to hit him and just threw up their hands to bat up a ball hopeing for a pick..

 

My prediction is the game in 3 weeks will be MUCH closer than this one.

 

P.S. 99% of the JETS fans I saw were pricks.

[JohnC]

Watching the game it was obvious right from the start that the Jets were stronger on both sides of the line. For the most part they didn't do anything fancy on offense. They pounded the ball and challenged our defense to stop them. We couldn't do so. The Jets' first drive was very impressive. Although they didn't come away with any points it set the tone for the rest of the game.

 

Burress was pushing off all day long. The refs didn't call it, so he continued to do so. Our DBs couldn't handle him.

 

McKelvin is one of the most aggravating players to watch. He is a superb ocver player. He is usually doing a good job covering his man but he has little ability to make a play on the ball. He is a superb physical talent with minimal football instincts. A typical Jauron draft mistake.

 

Whatever extravagant amount of $$$ Revis is getting payed he deserves it. He had Johnson in his pocket all day long. In this game it would have made more sense to throw the ball deeper against him than to throw short because he is one of the best DBs in the game jamming the receiver. The Jets were very effective in containing our short passing game. Gailey should have countered with some deep throws to loosen the coverage.

 

Whatever anyone thinks about the Spiller pick it makes little sense not to give him more touches. Gailey is a creative offensive play caller. He needs to get him more involved in the offense. Whatever happened to Troup? Is he still hurt?

 

To put things in perspective I'm still encouraged with the direction of the franchise. I don't believe the Bills will make the playoffs this year. But that doesn't mean that the team isn't getting better. The roster is being reshaped into being bigger and tougher. The Bills are a much better team this year than they were last year. If that treadline continues then I will be more than satisfied.

Edited November 7, 2011 by JohnC

[CodeMonkey]

It does no good to try and make excuses. We were out coached and out played in every aspect of the game. Period.

Yes the Bills have injuries, but the Jets are every bit as banged up.

The score should have been much worse but Sanchize gave us a few gifts in the first half that kept the score reasonable, and the Bills TD was in garbage time.

I am getting very tired of the whining about bad calls. Every team gets good and bad calls. It comes from the refs being > 100 years old. It balances out and if you don't think so you need to take off your homer glasses.

 

The great start the Bills got this season was due to playing above their talent level in combination with incredible luck (passes off of helmets and tips going right into the hands of a Bills defender for example). It had a lot of people thinking they had the talent to be a contender, they even had me thinking maybe my evaluation of their talent level might be off. But yesterday showed that as most of us thought at the start of the season, the Bills have a long rebuilding road ahead of them. They are on the right track to be sure, but they are by no means a serious contender ... yet.

 

I'm sure sexy Rexy has already been on the phone to his bro. In fact, I suspect they talked before the game as well. Hopefully Gailey has some more tricks up his sleeve, but the Bills offense does not have the luxury of doing too many different things. As the Jets showed yesterday, you take away the short game from the Bills offense and it's pretty much game over.

 

The good news is the cowgirls D does not have the talent to take away the short game like the Jets do.

 

The Miami offense may have have found themselves at exactly the wrong time as well. That game is no longer a given.

 

Going to be a tough stretch for the boys.

[Bill from NYC]

Watching the game it was obvious right from the start that the Jets were stronger on both sides of the line. For the most part they didn't do anything fancy on offense. They pounded the ball and challenged our defense to stop them. We couldn't do so. The Jets' first drive was very impressive. Although they didn't come away with any points it set the tone for the rest of the game.

 

Burress was pushing off all day long. The refs didn't call it, so he continued to do so. Our DBs couldn't handle him.

 

McKelvin is one of the most aggravating players to watch. He is a superb ocver player. He is usually doing a good job covering his man but he has little ability to make a play on the ball. He is a superb physical talent with minimal football instincts. A typical Jauron draft mistake.

 

Whatever extravagant amount of $$$ Revis is getting payed he deserves it. He had Johnson in his pocket all day long. In this game it would have made more sense to throw the ball deeper against him than to throw short because he is one of the best DBs in the game jamming the receiver. The Jets were very effective in containing our short passing game. Gailey should have countered with some deep throws to loosen the coverage.

 

Whatever anyone thinks about the Spiller pick it makes little sense not to give him more touches. Gailey is a creative offensive play caller. He needs to get him more involved in the offense. Whatever happened to Troup? Is he still hurt?

 

To put things in perspective I'm still encouraged with the direction of the franchise. I don't believe the Bills will make the playoffs this year. But that doesn't mean that the team isn't getting better. The roster is being reshaped into being bigger and tougher. The Bills are a much better team this year than they were last year. If that treadline continues then I will be more than satisfied.

 

I even started a thread last week that they should try his speed up the middle. But as you infered, Gailey is a great offensive mind, and he just doesn't appear to want him in there. And, if Fitz wanted to use him more, it would happen imo.

 

It's been a full season and 1/2 since we made the drastic error of drafting Spiller at #9. He has little trade value so we are pretty much stuck with him. All we can do is hope that he wins us a game at some point.

[JohnC]

I even started a thread last week that they should try his speed up the middle. But as you infered, Gailey is a great offensive mind, and he just doesn't appear to want him in there. And, if Fitz wanted to use him more, it would happen imo.

 

It's been a full season and 1/2 since we made the drastic error of drafting Spiller at #9. He has little trade value so we are pretty much stuck with him. All we can do is hope that he wins us a game at some point.

 

There is an irony here. When Nix drafted Spiller at such a high position and with his first draft pick of his tenure it had to be with the support, if not the encouragement, of Gailey. In my view Gailey had to be a strong advocate for the pick because he, for sure, was the most influential person representing the offensive side of the ball. It was often stated after the buzz and surprise of the pick that this team was desperate for playmakers.

 

There are many people who have concluded that Spiller has not performed on the field adequately enough to give him more opportunities. I don't see it that way. For the limited amount of exposure he has had he has played reasonably well. The Jets mixed in Tomlinson in the backfield yesterday very effectively. Without a doubt he is not the back he once was. Given that he was still judiciously used and added a change of pace to the offense. It's time that Gailey did the same with Spiller.

Edited November 7, 2011 by JohnC

[Juror#8]

OK, but we just used the 2nd pick in round 2 on a corner. Should we wait to see if he can play, or just continue down that road? This while we lack pass rush, which would make life much easier for the secondary.

 

And yes, as other posters have stated, we need help at OT as well.

 

I actually think that we have a serviceable line. They're gelling and getting better game-by-game. Also, there are injuries that must be accounted for. Was their pressure on Fitz yesterday? Yes. Was it a sackfest? No.

 

Also, we're in a division (and a league) where quick-outs, quick-slants, and screens are prevalent. That's how we've masked deficiencies in the line to a large extent. Given that fact, I'm just not sure that an edge rusher is as valuable as a lock-down corner in today's NFL.

 

How did New England respond to the a$$ kicking they took a few years back in the Superbowl? By formulating a precision offensive strategy that gets the ball out quick to Welker and alleviates edge pressure on Brady. 2 Lawrence Taylor's and 2 Bruce Smith's can't stop that - they wouldn't have enough time. Look at Pitt's game plan a couple week's ago against New England. It was a plan that generally only rushed 4 and relied on the secondary to jam receivers, cover close, and disrupt timing. It didn't rely on the 5 year old strategy of "throw the house at Brady." To be sure, our win over New England was accomplished with almost no pressure on Brady. It was awareness in the secondary, being close enough to receivers to get hands on the ball, crowding receivers, disrupting routes that won that game.

 

Does this mean that we shouldn't draft an DE? No. A solid DE is an integral part of any defensive strategy. I just think that the current NFL offensive trends implicates the need for improved secondary play.

 

With that said...a beast CB, LB or DE would go a long way to making this team very competitive. I just prefer a CB (and coming out of the Jauron regime, I never though that I would be writing about drafting another CB high in the draft).

Edited November 7, 2011 by Juror#8

[Hapless Bills Fan]

What's scary is that Dallas will no doubt be given today's Offensive and Defensive golden blueprint courtesy of Rob's brother Rex.

 

We need to start seeing Fitzpatrick rolling out and running with the ball like he used to. We need to start seeing Smith used on reverse run/pass options. We need to see designed roll outs with passes targeted deep down the field again. We need to see passing to Spiller and Jackson in the middle of the field. We especially need to stop with the dink and dunk! Can't wait to see what Chan comes up with because today's gameplan was probably already flushed down the toilet by now.

 

I've wondered about Fitz no longer running like he did last year. The main comment I have, I believe statistically it can be shown overall that QB who stay back and throw (and who use their feet and slide around to avoid pressure vs to run downfield) are more effective.

 

The thing about the deep pass is, like Brady, it's just not Fitz's strength. The dink and dunk doesn't bother me - 3.3 yds per play moves the chains! What bothers me is that against the Bengals, and again yesterday against the Jets, Gailey was obviously trying to use the deep threat to back the Jets off stacking the box. And that put every QB's weakness (long passes are always low percentage), which is perhaps more of a weakness for Fitz, against the Jet's strengths.

 

I believe if anyone can figure out another way, that guy would be Gailey. Question is how long will it take him to see the need?

[YOOOOOO]

one thing we found out yesterday is our WR's as a group are below average....

 

Stevie and Nelson are keepers the rest need to be upgraded...

[Juror#8]

one thing we found out yesterday is our WR's as a group are below average....

 

Stevie and Nelson are keepers the rest need to be upgraded...

 

+1

[Heels20X6]

Being at the game, it was frustrating watching the Bills offense at work. Receivers were there, players were open and it seemed like Gailey's game plan was just awful.

 

As others mentioned, it felt like they were beaten before they took the field. The Bills are at their best when they are dictating the play and the type of game. It's like Gailey out-coached himself and decided to come up with the most conservative game plan possible to just keep it close.

 

Speaking of close...why were the DBs so far off the line?!? All Sanchez did was throw 6 and 7 yards slants to pick up first downs! DBs and CBs needed to be in press coverage and instead, they were in zone. HORRIBLE.

 

Also, Fred Jackson picked a bad game to play his worst as a Bill. The stinger may have took him off his game but he fumbled 7 points to the Jets and dropped two passes that could have been 14 for us in crucial points of the game. 4th and inches doesn't happen if he just held onto that ball on 2nd down. Think less about your contract Freddie...focus on the field.

[Gary M]

 

3) The 4th Qtr. challenge by Gailey was dumb. Very dumb.

 

9) This was Gaileys worst game as our coach. Its not as if I am hating on the guy, but he has led us to expect more.

 

 

12) Blast away, but the truth is that the Jets are stacked. Sanchez is shaky, but they are a very, very talented team and are much better than their record indicates. Therefore, I am not as pissed as I would normally be after a loss. But, we have to correct dumb mistakes. At this point, we are just not good enough to compensate for bad calls, questionable coaching decisions and ill advised plays. The good news is that imo we are only a few players away from being serious contenders.

 

GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3) He was likely going to call time out any way, so why not take a chance that they give it to him, plus with the review the time out is always longer. With the extra time they couldn't call a better play?

 

9) agreed.

 

12) The Jets played very well yesterday, the Bills not so much (4 TO) I think that the shut out in Toronto may have gone to the Bills head. Talent wise I think it is closer than it looked yesterday!!!

[34-78-83]

One of my favorite Dead songs of all time. But after today I'd have gone with this verse:

 

If all you got to live for is what you done left behind,

Get yourself a powder charge and seal that silver mine.

Lost my boots in transit, baby, a big ass pile of smokin leather.

I nailed a retread to my feet and prayed for better weather.

 

One of my favs to listen to, even more fun to play ! Wish you and Bill lived closer , you could come see us play it.