A Few Thoughts About The Game, in no particular order

[mead107]

Should have played tuel. He throws the ball down field. How many times did EJ check down? Did they try and keep it simple today? Stadium will be half empty next week..

[boyst]

First time in his 26 games as a Bill that I saw him lose contain on a running play. ONE time. If someone had told me that would be the case when he signed, I would have been thrilled.

 

GO BILLS!!!

The really cool thing was how it just worked today with Kyle Williams. He was quick today on many many plays, but when he really got penetration it was when he was delayed one tenth of a second and then goes through a giant hole. The OL was moving all outside and I could not figure out why - they didn't even try to stop Kyle. It was odd.

[birdog1960]

today was the first game this year that lawn and garden work beat watching. just awful and there wasn't a single throw over 20 yards that i can remember. when you're down two touchdowns don't you at least try that? and even when your down 1 touchdown. what the hell? i know it was windy but throw a jump ball anyway. they seemed to have no confidence in manuel. if the bills don't then the opposing defense obviously won't. at least once, there was a makeable 4th down past the 50 in the second half and they punted. i don't get it. they didn't seem to even try to win today.

[CSBill]

Not much I disagree with Bill, and I would add:

 

1) Hackett continues to baffle: Riddle me this . . .

 

What came first, the chicken or the egg?

Why don't the Bills throw the ball more than five yards down the field when EJ Manuel is the QB? Does he check down all the time, or does Hackett not trust him to?

 

2) Concerning Hackett: (I said this in the 2nd half thread) Did they change the rules so that you can no longer run up the middle, you know, take your best unit, tell them to hit the guys in front of them—who by the way, have been giving up like a 150 yards a game—and go straight forward. No, we try what has to be an NFL record number of sweep plays. And here is what is so frustrating, not one, no, not one, worked!

 

3) And again on our boy Hackett: Seems he forgot that thing called a screen play, but he did manage to find one in the 4th quarter, but way too late by then.

 

ugh!

[Dan]

Prior to the game, I was looking for several things:

 

1. Could the coaches improve their play calling and red zone efficiency? Turns out, we didn't get many opportunities but on the one shot in the 1st quarter, it was more of the same. Run, run, pass. Marrone and Hacket just have to improve. I truly don't understand why they haven't.

 

2. EJ Manuel, would he improve and out play his backups? Turns out he would look abyssmal. I don't know if its Hacket going ultra conservative to "protect" EJ or if EJ just plain sucks. But either way, this was not the same offense we've seen the last couple weeks. It was pathetic. EJ absolutley has to see something more than 10yds down the field. And if he can't, he should be benched. If the coaches won't let him, they should be fired. It's really that simple because what we saw today was not an NFL level offense.

 

3. Marcus Easley. Turns out he didn't get many opportunities today, either. Oh well.

 

4. The D line had to get pressure on Big Ben, and they did. But they did it at the expense of stopping the run. The Steelers put up 136yds on the ground today, when they had been averaging about 73yds/game. What good is stopping the pass, if you let them run up and down the field?

 

5. Kick offs. Well, it seems the pathetic offense made sure we didn't kickk off too much.

 

In short, I saw several areas we needed to improve upon, as it turns out they failed miserably in all areas. It was a team loss. From the coaches on down, this team sucked it up today. Yeah, the offense and EJ out sucked everyone else, but it really was a team wide sucktitude.

[Prickly Pete]

lots of double teams

 

And what was the offense going to do with it anyway? The only points (that had any bearing on the game, and weren't torturous to watch) were a direct result of the turnover from the defense.

 

The offense is The Inert Offense

 

This was also the first game that the team pretty much knew they were out of the playoff race (even if some fans didn't realize it). That could account for the sometimes listless play.

[thewildrabbit]

 

5) OK.....EJ was flat out awful today. His stats don't show just how terrible he played. Rookie? Yes. Rusty? Sure. Coming off an injury? True enough, but I admit it, he was bad enough to be concerned. But I DO like it when he runs. He is good at this.

 

10) The QB play hurt us just so much that the rest of the team was put at a disadvantage. I know that it's too early to jump to conclusions about EJ, and I am rooting hard for the kid.

 

12) OK, so the season is over in early November. There is still time to improve but we will not unless EJ does a complete turnaround. I really hope that he does get better.

 

13) The OL, imo, played well enough to win. They are not to blame for this mess.

 

14) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In defense of EJ. That Pittsburgh defense is the same type of defense that the Jets, Saints also run. A blitz heavy 3-4 that is purposely fashioned to confuse the QB, and even more so for rookies. As EJ develops he will learn to cope.

 

I dunno what game you were watching. The one I was watching the Bills O line was being dominated at the line of scrimmage in the run game. In order to run the ball effectively they need to move the LoS like the Steelers were doing to the Bills. As injured and troubled as that Pittsburgh O line has been all year they certainly outplayed the Bills O line. Think about the differences in talent on both offense and defense. That Bills D wasn't as good as their opponents today, and should have been the dominate team.

 

Bottom line this is a team sport and that Bills offense simply didn't support the QB enough to win that game. After Stevie Johnson (who left with an injury) who do they have at receiver? Bills TE Chris Gragg was the leading receiver with 4 catches.

Bills OC Nate Hackett is making me throw up with his offensive game plans against these 3-4 heavy blitz teams. For a rusty rookie QB that is just back from injury, 39 pass attempts vs 20 rushes

[l< j]

In defense of EJ. That Pittsburgh defense is the same type of defense that the Jets, Saints also run. A blitz heavy 3-4 that is purposely fashioned to confuse the QB, and even more so for rookies. As EJ develops he will learn to cope.

 

 

So you're saying we're screwed next week too.

 

kj

[thewildrabbit]

So you're saying we're screwed next week too.

 

kj

pretty much...

[RevWarRifleman]

I didn't think the playcalling was particularly inspiring, either.

Amen to that.

[Orton's Arm]

Good post as always, Bill. Even after a loss, this is my favorite thread each week.

 

I agree that Gilmore played poorly today. Hopefully that's just from lingering effects of the injury, and not a cause for significant concern.

 

But as disappointing as Gilmore was, another first round pick was far worse! Manuel's performance was abysmal. It's nearly impossible for a team to win with that level of QB play. The Bills will need to improve their level of QB play if they are to adequately evaluate their WRs and TEs.

 

The fact that the Steelers ran for more yards than usual isn't entirely the defense's fault. If the offense cannot sustain drives, the Steelers will have more possessions than usual; leading to more rushing yards.

[Coach Tuesday]

Manuel today displayed the combined worst qualities of Losman and Edwards. His mechanics were terrible - his errant footwork and inaccurate throws reminded me of Losman. Meanwhile, he locked onto the check down receiver on most plays and couldn't wait to get the ball out of his hands, a la Edwards. It was one of the single worst quarterbacking displays I've ever witnessed and it has me questioning what I thought I had seen from him during the first month of the season.

 

Meanwhile the OC is a total joke. Taking Spiller off of the field after every good run? Refusing to find creative ways to get Spiller the ball in space? Once again abandoning the screen game? Wtf is with Hacket? Seriously, what's wrong with the guy?

 

I'll say it again: if Marrone is stubborn and tethers himself to Hacket, his NFL shelf life will be short. This has to stop.

Edited November 11, 2013 by Coach Tuesday

[BADOLBILZ]

Manuel today displayed the combined worst qualities of Losman and Edwards. His mechanics were terrible - his errant footwork and inaccurate throws reminded me of Losman. Meanwhile, he locked onto the check down receiver on most plays and couldn't wait to get the ball out of his hands, a la Edwards. It was one of the single worst quarterbacking displays I've ever witnessed and it has me questioning what I thought I had seen from him during the first month of the season.

 

Meanwhile the OC is a total joke. Taking Spiller off of the field after every good run? Refusing to find creative ways to get Spiller the ball in space? Once again abandoning the screen game? Wtf is with Hacket? Seriously, what's wrong with the guy?

 

I'll say it again: if Marrone is stubborn and tethers himself to Hacket, his NFL shelf life will be short. This has to stop.

 

That is a good assessment, IMO. I think the checkdown tendency is exacerbated by his own realization that his downfield throws have been wildly inaccurate. I think if he can find a way to harness his mechanics in the offseason he has a wealth of physical ability. But that is easier said than done. He is not the most coordinated of big men.

 

I don't regret the pick, you have to take chances on QB's, but I also kind of figured he would be used a lot more in the run game based on how well the read option worked in the NFL last year. He's never going to be confused with a Manning or Brady from the pocket so I was hoping he would be able to keep the ball moving by running the ball. I still think he should be running the ball. If he gets injured, then so be it. But it will be very hard for him to succeed anytime soon if he can't run the ball, IMO. I think we saw a defense today that had zero concern for what Manuel can do, and I think the Manuel who would take off on designed runs at FSU was more dangerous than the inaccurate pocket passer he is now.

[CodeMonkey]

Gilmore is still coming back from injury. Every DB gives up plays. He's the real deal.

He sure didn't show it today. He was flat out horrible.

 

I don't mind the bad throws by Manuel. He hasn't played in a month. But the multiple terrible decisions are a real concern. I'm hoping it's just because he is a rookie. But it is still concerning.

 

I said earlier in this week that I didn't see how the Steelers could win that game. Man was I wrong. As bad as the Steelers may be this season, the Bills looked far far worse today. Very disappointing. The Bills were out played and out coached across the board.

 

That sure was a difficult game to stomach.

Edited November 11, 2013 by CodeMonkey

[Livinginthepast]

I have been a Bills fan for about 34 years and I am struggling to remember a Bills squad so utterly inept once they get in within the opposition's 10 yard line. Its getting to the point now that I hope that any long pass play, run, INT runback whatever goes right to the endzone because once they get in within the 10 they are not getting a TD. I am just exaggerating? Is my mind going? I cant seem to recall a team who just cant punch it in within the 10 like this years Bills.

[Gray Beard]

It seemed like the running game with Fred was starting to work early in the second half, before the game got out of hand. If Fred was able to gain four or more yards pretty consistently, why not let him do it? Spiller was also starting to gain some yards on the sweeps, so why not let him do it? It seems as though they run when they should pass, and pass when they should run. The idea that you don't want to be predictable is getting predictable. IMHO, the offensive play calling was offensive. (I was going to say I was disappointed with the offensive offensive play calling, but that seemed like a confusing way to phrase my confusing thoughts.)

[Bufcomments]

to the OP

 

I am going to join you in bashing Gilmore. He is getting beat in games. Forget how he looks in practice. The games count and he gonna have to do something in these last games to convince me he was worth a first round pick. there I said it.

 

Worst game of season, think Thad would have played better. I really do.

 

We almost out of it in early Nov. once again. Losers still.

[Gray Beard]

I have been a Bills fan for about 34 years and I am struggling to remember a Bills squad so utterly inept once they get in within the opposition's 10 yard line. Its getting to the point now that I hope that any long pass play, run, INT runback whatever goes right to the endzone because once they get in within the 10 they are not getting a TD. I am just exaggerating? Is my mind going? I cant seem to recall a team who just cant punch it in within the 10 like this years Bills.

During this game, I was starting to think that the Bills would have a better chance of scoring when their defense is on the field than when their offense is on the field.

[26CornerBlitz]

to the OP

 

I am going to join you in bashing Gilmore. He is getting beat in games. Forget how he looks in practice. The games count and he gonna have to do something in these last games to convince me he was worth a first round pick. there I said it.

 

Worst game of season, think Thad would have played better. I really do.

 

We almost out of it in early Nov. once again. Losers still.

 

I actually thought Marrone might go to Thad at some point as the relief pitcher. EJ clearly did not have it today.

[Just in Atlanta]

1. EJ, and much of the team, slept walked. They put me to sleep.

2. EJ is gearing up to be Edwards 2.0. Awfully boring, and gutless, football today and other games.

3. Offensive playcalling was wretched. First, run, run (all up the left or middle), pass, no screens, and no bombs. Then we give up on the run too early.

4. Defense played OK. Put decent pressure on R-berger.

5. The difference between this Bills team and the one against KC is staggering.

6. Say what you will, but the games under Lewis and Tuel were fun. This is the third boring game played by Manuel. Utterly unwatchable quarterback play.

7. The offensive game play for Manuel and Tuel should have been reversed. Damn, that was conservative.

 

1. EJ, and much of the team, slept walked. They put me to sleep.

2. EJ is gearing up to be Edwards 2.0. Awfully boring, and gutless, football today and other games.

3. Offensive playcalling was wretched. First, run, run (all up the left or middle), pass, no screens, and no bombs. Then we give up on the run too early.

4. Defense played OK. Put decent pressure on R-berger.

5. The difference between this Bills team and the one against KC is staggering.

6. Say what you will, but the games under Lewis and Tuel were fun. This is the third boring game played by Manuel. Utterly unwatchable quarterback play.

7. The offensive game play for Manuel and Tuel should have been reversed. Damn, that was conservative.

8. Marrone/Hackett seem completely outwitted by defensive masterminds like Ryan/LeBeau.