jahnyc Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Things we don't know at this point: 1. Whether EJ is our QB of the future. There is a lot to like about him, but it is unfortunate that he has been injured. I am not sure about his accuracy and I would not be averse to the Bills drafting another QB in the next draft. Too early to tell whether EJ will be the guy. 2. Is Marrone a good/excellent head coach for the Bills and has he hired good assistants. Again too early to tell, but some of his decision making during games has been suspect and frustrating. Players seem to play hard for him, which is a postive. I have no idea what to make of Hackett. I don't think the playcalling has been particularly creative or impressive, but the Bills have been scoring points, even with EJ/Thad and a very young group of WRs. Hate the hurry up at the end of the half which has resulted in giving the ball back with too much time after three and outs on a couple of occasions. I like Pettine's attack defense, but I think there is still room for improvement. Things we know at this point: 1. This past draft was strong. Alonso has been great and he has exceeded expectations. Starting in the middle and calling the defensive plays is especially impressive for a rookie. Woods and Goodwin have looked good at WR. If EJ turns out to be a quality starter, this draft will be a grand slam. 2. The Bills seem to have closed the talent gap a bit. Over the last number of years, the Bills have seemed to be overmatched in talent and coaching. With an improved D-line and defense overall, it seems the gap between us and other teams has narrowed. Some good pick-ups at relative bargain prices have helped (Branch, Lawson and Hughes). WRs will hopefully improve, and when Spiller gets healthy, this will help as well. O-line has been okay, but the loss of Levitre has hurt. Good to see Mario playing well overall. 3. Losing Levitre and the potential loss of Byrd are negatives. As noted above, losing Levitre has hurt, and the front office had ample time to figure out a better replacement than Colin Brown. This was poor planning. His play really hurt the offense when he played. Byrd is probably a goner, and the front office may end up losing both Levitre and Byrd for very little in return. With the amount of cap space the Bills have, they should have been able to keep one or both of these guys and instead will likely end up losing both. 4. Fred Jackson has a ton of heart. Not much more to say. I am glad he plays for the Bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Big fan of this coaching staff. I fully expect the Bills to compete in every game. With the injuries at QB especially thats impressive. With respect to Levitre Legursky seems to be doing well. I saw him pancake a few guys yesterday and he seems like a good solution before we can draft a good guard hopefully this season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solomon Grundy Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Good QB play will get these guys into the playoffs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir andrew Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 I love what Pettine's done with the defense, but still have questions about Marrone. "Great guy and players play hard for him". "They're in just about every game and are just looking for a way to win" "Are 3-5 but could easily be 5-3". I've heard those quotes before. 2007, anyone? Course, we actually have talent on this roster now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollars 2 donuts Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Mine in a nut shell, ...I know they are 3-5, but honestly, I do like watching this team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockinon Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 I'd like to add a few thoughts as well. After watching the defense against Drew Brees I came away thinking that this game would be entirely different if the offense could just sustain drives. All season, the Bills have managed to somehow put 20+ points on the board until this game. Sustaining long drives has happened, but it seems we are limited to one good one per game and then nothing(perhaps a short field here or there). Fortunately the defense has given the offense plenty of chances. Even in the Saints game, the defense came up with some big stops and Brees, you could tell, was very uncomfortable. The pass rush is really good but with the offense punting all the time, Brees had way too many chances. I really think our offense needs to find some answers and quick. What eludes me is just what needs to be done. Is it play calling? Weak offensive line?(Lewis has been getting mauled for three weeks strait). Is the problem just inexperience at QB? Or is it our key players, Fred, CJ and Stevie limping around the field? I'm not so sure everything can be attributed injuries and on the other side of the coin, I can't believe the play calling is the main problem. Perhaps a combination of things. For once however, I have absolutely no complaints about effort. Maybe some boneheaded mistakes from time to time but I really thought the team as a whole put forth one heck of an effort. I do love this team. It's hard to see such great effort only to see a loss like this. But at the halfway point and after looking at the issues I have outlined, I can't help thinking that things are looking up. All of this stuff is correctable. After the game I got a kick out of hearing Boomer saying that the Chiefs are in for a big surprise in Buffalo next week. I sure hope he's right. Go Bills!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Thought we had a shot at 4-4, so from a W-L standpoint, it's about what I expected. From a maturation standpoint, I had predicted it would take the defense at least half a season before they started doing things within the scheme instinctively vs. reactive. The devastation of the secondary early on didn't help that process, but I think the front seven is making strides. So I like the trajectory of this defense. As for the offense, I had no illusions about the ramifications of starting a rookies QB who wasn't the next generational QB taken in the draft. I thought it would be two steps forward, one step back. EJ's injuries have only served to magnify that reality. I do like our running game. And it's certainly understandable why Marrone and Hackett would use it as often as they have to protect their inexperienced QBs. Can't say enough about the heart that CJ and Freddy have shown this season. I think the OL is certainly adequate but we obviously need and upgrade at LG and it's too bad that Pear, who isn't bad, wasn't being pushed by Hairston, who I think is the better player long term. Glenn and Wood are studs, both worthy of Pro Bowl consideration and Urbik is nothing is not reliable. Special teams have contributed directly to two losses. But Easley has been a revelation and Moorman has proven a solid signing. With some luck on O and the continued maturation of this defense, I think we have a chance to go 5-3 the rest of the way, which which would be a solid step in the right direction for this team. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybee Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Maybe I've missed it but one thing I havent seen a lot of mention on was Thad's toughness. Coming right back in after that hit to the ribs showed a lot of heart, toughness and a willingness to help his team. I honestly think using the screen pass would help this offense tremendously. I think (as much as I hated seeing EJ go down) we've at least uncovered a viable option at the back-up QB position. And....I'm confused as to where Matt Flynn and Dennis?? Dixon fit into the roster going forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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