A Few Thoughts About The Game

[xsoldier54]

This was a thorough beat down. Every single player and coach should be ashamed. To not show up for an important game like this is inexcusable. I had a bad feeling about this one, but I was hoping for the best. What this game showed is that the Bills have improved this year, but that they have a long way to go if they are truly going to compete with good teams. It also showed why you can not give away winnable games on the road. Both the Giants and Bengals games could have and should have been wins and they pissed them away. Now with this loss, the first real time they have been outclassed all year, the Bills will have to really get their act together in a hurry if they are going to make the playoffs. Maybe Bill Cowher was right. He said before the game that the Bills would lose and that they would not make the playoffs. When he said it, I thought he was wrong, but now I'm not so sure. Terrible game all the way around. The play calling was bad. The execution was bad. The defense was bad. We'll see next week what this team is really made of.

[BUFFALOTONE]

Here are my thoughts:

 

Chan's game plan was shat from the start. The Jests (spelled correctly) have had trouble stopping RBs on the edges all year and we did not test them at all.

 

We made Sanchez look all world out there. A mediocre QB torched us for big 1st downs when he needed too.

 

Hate to even type these words but Rex had a great Defensive game plan, he took away all the bull **** we throw underneath and played great man to man coverage on us.

 

Our OL got man handled as well. The Jests are big an physical and we tried to finesse our way to a win.

 

We have to get more creative on defense as well with our blitzing. Guys can't cover all day long.

[apuszczalowski]

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.

Unless Rex gives Rob his players too, I'm not all that worried about it. Rob could just watch tape and get the game plans that Rex used, but he has to have the players and talen to pull it off, and the 'Girls just don't have that. If the Bills learned from this game and come out pissed, this could be the Redskins game all over again, at worst its gonna be a high scoring shoot out with a bunch of tunrovers

[HARCO186]

The bottom line is that the Bills were manhandled and out coached in every aspect of it. The game was not good by any means and Fitz should have thrown a few audibles so let Chan know they were out matched. Nothing can be said about the team when they are out matched on both sides of the ball. The coaches were out coached as the team was out played. What else can be said. They need to be on their game in NY for sure. I just hope they don't get outplayed in NY as well.

[PromoTheRobot]

They showed the replay on the jumbotron and it looked to me like Naaman was clearly past the first down marker. Maybe the TV replay was better but in the stadium we were all screaming for replay.

 

PTR

[BillsRUs]

You forgot about the play where Sanchez lined up at receiver and flinched and peed his pants when DFlo faked a move across the line. He prob thought he was about to get shanked. That was def my highlight of the day. Expect to see it on C'mon man!

[Joe13]

The Pats, Jets and Bills may be tied, but the Jets are looking like the best team in the division.

[CodeMonkey]

They showed the replay on the jumbotron and it looked to me like Naaman was clearly past the first down marker. Maybe the TV replay was better but in the stadium we were all screaming for replay.

 

PTR

I think red flagging then made sense. He was going to call a timeout anyway and that just gave him a longer one. Plus who knows, maybe they get a better spot. On TV it looked to be a pretty accurate spot, but they only needed one chain link more.

Now the play he came up with during the extended timeout is another discussion altogether.

Edited November 7, 2011 by CodeMonkey

[Dan]

I think red flagging then made sense. He was going to call a timeout anyway and that just gave him a longer one. Plus who knows, maybe they get a better spot. On TV it looked to be a pretty accurate spot, but they only needed one chain link more.

Now the play he came up with during the extended timeout is another discussion altogether.

The only way that challenge makes sense is if Chan really wanted a 4 minute timeout. Period. I don't think I've ever seen the refs review the spot and move the ball a couple inches. They only respot the ball if its blatantly clear the ball carrier got at least a half yard, more or less. They never, never come out and say... yep the guy got a couple more inches. So, either Gailey wanted a long time out or he was completely lost.

 

Either way.... if you take all that time and all you come up with is that play, none of it matters. Horrible play call. None the less, its probably a mute point because our D was letting the Jets move the ball at will against them.

[2003Contenders]

With the benefit of a good night's sleep, several things have somewhat dawned on me. So these thoughts are going to be VERY random...

 

As much as we may dislike Rex and the Jets, the simple truth of the matter is that they are a heck of a football team. Aside from their QB, who may be the luckiest guy on the planet to have found himself in such a fortunate situation, their team is pretty well stacked. Just one more example of how much better their drafts have been than ours over the years with quality first rounders like D'Brick, Mangold, and Revis who were all drafted during the Levy/Jauron era, while we have virtually nothing to show from those wilderness years. Sanchez/Holmes/Burress/Keller/Tomlinson were all first rounders. Our corresponding players were all either late-round draft picks or undrafted free agents.

 

Much like Bill Polian did back in the late 80s, when he was looking to build a team designed to stop Marino's high flying Dolphins, the Jets were built to stop Brady's spread passing game in New England. It is no wonder, then, that the Jets have advanced beyond the Pats in the playoffs the last couple of years. And guess what? That Jets team is also capable of stopping the Bills' similar short/quick passing game. For as tough as the Bills' OL has been all season long, the real reason that they have given up so few sacks is because Fitz gets the ball out of his hand so quickly on short passing routes. The Jets did a great job playing physical at the line of scrimmage with their front 7 and trusted their corners in man-on-man situations. Some may be worried that other teams will use this blueprint against the Bills. I am not worried; there are not many teams in the NFL that CAN do what the Jets defense did yesterday. To stop the Bills' attack, it is necessary for the defense to control the line of scrimmage, cover all 4-5 receivers AND make sound tackles. The Jets did all of those things yesterday.

 

Like many of you, I came away from the game thoroughly disenchanted with Chan's coaching yesterday. However, I really do NOT believe it was a case of his being out-coached by Rex. When you have superior talent, as Rex does, you are usually going to win, as long as you minimize mistakes. The Jets came ready to play. Some of that was probably due to confidence, as they truly felt that they matched up against the Bills very well (which obviously they do). But, their execution was also fantastic. Given their superior talent, when they execute in the manner in which they did yesterday, I doubt that any coach in the league could devise a scheme given the existing Buffalo Bill players that would have resulted in victory, given how well the Jets played. If the Jets had a legitimate QB, the game would have been over by halftime. I actually came away even MORE impressed with Chan and the job that he has done this year with the what he has to work with. What yesterday did for me was expose the talent gap between the Bills and the more elite teams in the NFL. And, yes, despite their underachieving early in the season, the Jets are an elite team. When they execute as well as they did yesterday (especially on defense), they can beat anybody.

 

The Bills simply are not good enough (especially in the trenches) to man up and beat a team like the Jets mano y mano. They have to limit their own mistakes, hope that the opponent makes some big mistakes of their own, and creatively come up with a big play here and there. It seemed like Chan's failing yesterday was perhaps overestimating the talent of his own team -- and NOT coming up with creative ways to manufacture points. Where were the wrinkles? Trick plays? Maybe Rex goaded Chan into playing the macho man game. The problem is that when a bantam weight goes toe-to-toe with a heavyweight and tries to win by exchanging punches, the odds are just not very good for a victory.

 

Now, before you get the idea that I am saying that the Bills are DOOMED due to this talent gap, I think it is quite the contrary. The Bills have already shown that they are capable of beating good teams -- and that as a well coached team, they tend to minimize mistakes, while feeding off the opponent's mistakes. Chan needs to forget about this game and focus on devising a game plan to beat the Cowboys this week. Rex is sure to provide his brother Rob with some intel in terms of a defensive gameplan, but the Cowboys' defense is NOT the Jets'. Their pass defense is suspect, and Marshawn Lynch just ran for 135 yards against them yesterday.

[nichebiche]

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.

 

we just gotta get you a post-game gig near the stadium -- just gotta poke around...

[Orton's Arm]

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.

First, thanks for posting your thoughts of the game. Whether the Bills win or lose, yours is always the thread I look forward to the most each week.

 

I'm intrigued by Hairston, and think there's a chance he's part of the long-term solution as a starter at OT. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this player.

 

Even though Fitz is one of the better players on the roster, the Bills may have a need for a quarterback. Typically teams need an elite QB to win the Super Bowl. Fitz has played at a higher level this season than last season. But a lot of those good games came against weak pass defenses, and he hasn't been playing as well recently as he had earlier in the year. Depending on how he plays the rest of the year, the Bills may or may not be justified in taking a first round QB. (But obviously they shouldn't use a first round pick on a QB unless they're reasonably sure he's franchise.)

 

I agree with your point about the lack of a pass rush. The Bills could very easily justify using a first round pick on a pass rushing OLB, especially if there were no QBs worthy of their first round pick.

 

I could also imagine the Bills using an early pick on a CB. McKelvin is your long-term answer at nickel back, if he's even that! If all works out, Aaron Williams will be the long-term answer at one of the two starting CB positions. That would still leave the Bills in need of a long-term answer at the other starting CB position. Players like McGee and Florence aren't getting any younger, but their presence on the roster might allow the Bills to delay drafting a CB by a year or two. But I suspect that sooner or later, the Bills will need to use another early pick on a CB.

[LABills08]

With the benefit of a good night's sleep, several things have somewhat dawned on me. So these thoughts are going to be VERY random...

 

As much as we may dislike Rex and the Jets, the simple truth of the matter is that they are a heck of a football team. Aside from their QB, who may be the luckiest guy on the planet to have found himself in such a fortunate situation, their team is pretty well stacked. Just one more example of how much better their drafts have been than ours over the years with quality first rounders like D'Brick, Mangold, and Revis who were all drafted during the Levy/Jauron era, while we have virtually nothing to show from those wilderness years. Sanchez/Holmes/Burress/Keller/Tomlinson were all first rounders. Our corresponding players were all either late-round draft picks or undrafted free agents.

 

Much like Bill Polian did back in the late 80s, when he was looking to build a team designed to stop Marino's high flying Dolphins, the Jets were built to stop Brady's spread passing game in New England. It is no wonder, then, that the Jets have advanced beyond the Pats in the playoffs the last couple of years. And guess what? That Jets team is also capable of stopping the Bills' similar short/quick passing game. For as tough as the Bills' OL has been all season long, the real reason that they have given up so few sacks is because Fitz gets the ball out of his hand so quickly on short passing routes. The Jets did a great job playing physical at the line of scrimmage with their front 7 and trusted their corners in man-on-man situations. Some may be worried that other teams will use this blueprint against the Bills. I am not worried; there are not many teams in the NFL that CAN do what the Jets defense did yesterday. To stop the Bills' attack, it is necessary for the defense to control the line of scrimmage, cover all 4-5 receivers AND make sound tackles. The Jets did all of those things yesterday.

 

Like many of you, I came away from the game thoroughly disenchanted with Chan's coaching yesterday. However, I really do NOT believe it was a case of his being out-coached by Rex. When you have superior talent, as Rex does, you are usually going to win, as long as you minimize mistakes. The Jets came ready to play. Some of that was probably due to confidence, as they truly felt that they matched up against the Bills very well (which obviously they do). But, their execution was also fantastic. Given their superior talent, when they execute in the manner in which they did yesterday, I doubt that any coach in the league could devise a scheme given the existing Buffalo Bill players that would have resulted in victory, given how well the Jets played. If the Jets had a legitimate QB, the game would have been over by halftime. I actually came away even MORE impressed with Chan and the job that he has done this year with the what he has to work with. What yesterday did for me was expose the talent gap between the Bills and the more elite teams in the NFL. And, yes, despite their underachieving early in the season, the Jets are an elite team. When they execute as well as they did yesterday (especially on defense), they can beat anybody.

 

The Bills simply are not good enough (especially in the trenches) to man up and beat a team like the Jets mano y mano. They have to limit their own mistakes, hope that the opponent makes some big mistakes of their own, and creatively come up with a big play here and there. It seemed like Chan's failing yesterday was perhaps overestimating the talent of his own team -- and NOT coming up with creative ways to manufacture points. Where were the wrinkles? Trick plays? Maybe Rex goaded Chan into playing the macho man game. The problem is that when a bantam weight goes toe-to-toe with a heavyweight and tries to win by exchanging punches, the odds are just not very good for a victory.

 

Now, before you get the idea that I am saying that the Bills are DOOMED due to this talent gap, I think it is quite the contrary. The Bills have already shown that they are capable of beating good teams -- and that as a well coached team, they tend to minimize mistakes, while feeding off the opponent's mistakes. Chan needs to forget about this game and focus on devising a game plan to beat the Cowboys this week. Rex is sure to provide his brother Rob with some intel in terms of a defensive gameplan, but the Cowboys' defense is NOT the Jets'. Their pass defense is suspect, and Marshawn Lynch just ran for 135 yards against them yesterday.

 

 

This is a very good post. I've been talking about the talent deficit all year, not in a negative light, but in a positive light that truly demonstrates how far this team has come and how far it can go when our talent levels match up to our competition's.

[ColdBlueNorth]

With the benefit of a good night's sleep, several things have somewhat dawned on me. So these thoughts are going to be VERY random...

 

As much as we may dislike Rex and the Jets, the simple truth of the matter is that they are a heck of a football team. Aside from their QB, who may be the luckiest guy on the planet to have found himself in such a fortunate situation, their team is pretty well stacked. Just one more example of how much better their drafts have been than ours over the years with quality first rounders like D'Brick, Mangold, and Revis who were all drafted during the Levy/Jauron era, while we have virtually nothing to show from those wilderness years. Sanchez/Holmes/Burress/Keller/Tomlinson were all first rounders. Our corresponding players were all either late-round draft picks or undrafted free agents.

 

Much like Bill Polian did back in the late 80s, when he was looking to build a team designed to stop Marino's high flying Dolphins, the Jets were built to stop Brady's spread passing game in New England. It is no wonder, then, that the Jets have advanced beyond the Pats in the playoffs the last couple of years. And guess what? That Jets team is also capable of stopping the Bills' similar short/quick passing game. For as tough as the Bills' OL has been all season long, the real reason that they have given up so few sacks is because Fitz gets the ball out of his hand so quickly on short passing routes. The Jets did a great job playing physical at the line of scrimmage with their front 7 and trusted their corners in man-on-man situations. Some may be worried that other teams will use this blueprint against the Bills. I am not worried; there are not many teams in the NFL that CAN do what the Jets defense did yesterday. To stop the Bills' attack, it is necessary for the defense to control the line of scrimmage, cover all 4-5 receivers AND make sound tackles. The Jets did all of those things yesterday.

 

Like many of you, I came away from the game thoroughly disenchanted with Chan's coaching yesterday. However, I really do NOT believe it was a case of his being out-coached by Rex. When you have superior talent, as Rex does, you are usually going to win, as long as you minimize mistakes. The Jets came ready to play. Some of that was probably due to confidence, as they truly felt that they matched up against the Bills very well (which obviously they do). But, their execution was also fantastic. Given their superior talent, when they execute in the manner in which they did yesterday, I doubt that any coach in the league could devise a scheme given the existing Buffalo Bill players that would have resulted in victory, given how well the Jets played. If the Jets had a legitimate QB, the game would have been over by halftime. I actually came away even MORE impressed with Chan and the job that he has done this year with the what he has to work with. What yesterday did for me was expose the talent gap between the Bills and the more elite teams in the NFL. And, yes, despite their underachieving early in the season, the Jets are an elite team. When they execute as well as they did yesterday (especially on defense), they can beat anybody.

 

The Bills simply are not good enough (especially in the trenches) to man up and beat a team like the Jets mano y mano. They have to limit their own mistakes, hope that the opponent makes some big mistakes of their own, and creatively come up with a big play here and there. It seemed like Chan's failing yesterday was perhaps overestimating the talent of his own team -- and NOT coming up with creative ways to manufacture points. Where were the wrinkles? Trick plays? Maybe Rex goaded Chan into playing the macho man game. The problem is that when a bantam weight goes toe-to-toe with a heavyweight and tries to win by exchanging punches, the odds are just not very good for a victory.

 

Now, before you get the idea that I am saying that the Bills are DOOMED due to this talent gap, I think it is quite the contrary. The Bills have already shown that they are capable of beating good teams -- and that as a well coached team, they tend to minimize mistakes, while feeding off the opponent's mistakes. Chan needs to forget about this game and focus on devising a game plan to beat the Cowboys this week. Rex is sure to provide his brother Rob with some intel in terms of a defensive gameplan, but the Cowboys' defense is NOT the Jets'. Their pass defense is suspect, and Marshawn Lynch just ran for 135 yards against them yesterday.

 

I don't know if I totally buy into a sizable talent gap other than at DB where the Jets have arguably the best lock-down corners in the league and I believe that Plaxico and Holmes make a good 1-2 punch at WR. We are a few pieces away, and we have a good foundation of young talent that has yet to come into their own - may be too much to ask that they get there this year. I think they need to throw Aaron Williams into the deep end of the pool, he needs to be on a fast track for the Bills brass to see what they have at DB. I like McGee, but he was getting pushed around a lot. McKelvin is a liability, and Florence is an average talent who works hard.

 

The gap between teams and winning and losing is often relatively small - the biggest reason the Jets sucked at the beginning of the year is that Mangold was out. The Jets without Mangold could not control the line of scrimmage and run the ball which is their bread and butter ground and pound game, and had to lean on Sanchez's arm and decision making - fail. They were not able to move the chains consistently nor maintain the time of possession that they use to smother opposing offenses.

 

You are absolutely right that the Jets defense and offense has been built up to challenge New England's short passing spread offense and keep the ball out of Brady's hands. Belichik recognized this and drafted tight ends that would give the Jets matchup problems down the seam and across the middle. That being said, Brady may not see the field with the way NE's defense has been giving up yards. The Jets will be more than happy just to eat up clock and pound out 3-4 yards a pop. With the Jets designed to stop that attack they are ideally suited to shut down the offense that Gailey has implemented. Gailey will need to get his RBs out on the edges more to counter the Jets run blitzes, roll Fitz out and get Chandler and Nelson more involved in the passing game. They also have to challenge the offensive line to hold their blocks long enough for some deep posts and crossing routes to develop - the Jets were all over the short stuff.

 

At the end of the day, Gailey was right - there is only so much you can do with formations and matchups. There comes a point in time where you have to say we are going to be more physical than you at the point of attack and be able to grind out short yardage when needed. The Bills O-Line (which has been a pleasant success story this year) lost that battle yesterday.

[Bill from NYC]

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.

 

Send us a youtube video.

[ColdBlueNorth]

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.

 

 

Agreed Bill.

 

The INT in the end zone that Sanchez had I believe was the result of Spencer Johnson being a split second away from sacking him. He is definately a QB where pressure will affect his throwing. He threw some wobblers out there that shocked me they were not intercepted.

 

We have seen an improved run defense. Dominant? Not so much, but definately better than last year.

We need better defensive backs. Lock down corners allow you to bring blitz pressure on the QB from the safety and LB positions without worrying so much about being burned. If we could actually stop a throw or two our defense could force a punt and be able to rest up a bit before having to take the field - that would lead to a better pass rush, etc...

 

Right now, McGee is about the only DB we have that can handle man coverage. Our stable of corners over the Jauron era were all better suited for his cover-2 zone scheme; though I was probably one of the few that thought Yobouty had the makings of a good man coverage corner, I loved his closing speed when he came up on run support too - water under the bridge at this stage.

 

Hopefully Aaron Williams pans out - if he does, then we are one step closer to fielding a defense that can really impose their will on another team. We may be all right at LT, Bell worries me with his inability to stay healthy, but Hairston looked downright beasty out there before his ankle got rolled from behind.

 

Early picks used on another solid DB or dominant DL player would not be bad choices in next year's draft.

[truth on hold]

The only way that challenge makes sense is if Chan really wanted a 4 minute timeout. Period. I don't think I've ever seen the refs review the spot and move the ball a couple inches. They only respot the ball if its blatantly clear the ball carrier got at least a half yard, more or less. They never, never come out and say... yep the guy got a couple more inches. So, either Gailey wanted a long time out or he was completely lost.

 

Either way.... if you take all that time and all you come up with is that play, none of it matters. Horrible play call. None the less, its probably a mute point because our D was letting the Jets move the ball at will against them.

In addiion to bad judgment and a subsequent poor play call, It was also horrible clock management. We were down and needed to save timeouts

[PouDaddy Bills]

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.

 

 

I couldn't agree more. I don't like McKelvin that much (he's just not getting better, in my opinion) but that should've been Offensive PI by a mile. The frustrating thing is that the back judge was right behind them looking at the play. So obvious!!

[Simon]

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.

 

I've no doubt we'd have a grand ol time.

 

Pardon me if this is blaspheming, but the best version I've ever heard of that song is neither the Dead nor Jerry. It's Keller Williams with Keith Moseley (String Cheese Incident) and Jeff Austin (Yonder Mountain String Band). If you're interested buy this today; absolutely fantastic pickin'.

[spartacus]

during real time play, i thought the challenge by chan was forthcoming...i was convinced it was a bad spot and was happy for the challenge...

 

Chan should spend a little more time in practice coaching these clowns to get past the 1st down marker.

 

 

then he wouldn't have to waste TOs on useless challenges