A Few Thoughts About The Game, in no particular order.....

[Tyrod's Tailor]

my synopsis

 

Oh SHIP a pick 6. bummed from the start.

 

what a snooze fest, boring

 

THUNK Detroit

THUNK Buffalo

 

excellent they tied it up,

oh crap they couldn't sustain a f-ing drive and get a FG

oh crap there goes the game - the Lions attempt a 50 yard field goal ------- No Good

 

wait what?

Carpenter from 58 yards out ?!?!?! :beer: r

 

That's a pretty good recap. I took a shot of jack right when the game started and watched the first quarter with a bitter whiskey face. It was fitting.

[thebandit27]

I also want to say this: Stefan Charles can PLAY!

 

Well done Whaley...well done indeed.

[GG]

I also want to say this: Stefan Charles can PLAY!

 

Well done Whaley...well done indeed.

 

Yeah, but he's no Mike Jasper.

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

That's a pretty good recap. I took a shot of jack right when the game started and watched the first quarter with a bitter whiskey face. It was fitting.

I didn't know what to expect from Orton. QB tendencies stay even though coaches and game plans very.

 

Wasn't over impressed with Kyle. But in the end he won the game.

 

Lets see how week he does this week.

[metzelaars_lives]

Nice post, Bill.

 

My thoughts on the game, in no particular order.

 

1] Robert Woods tries his ass off, always blocks downfield, works for every yard.

 

2] Dareus best game of his career.

 

3] This is exactly what we want from Orton, the good and the bad. That's the guy he is and that's all we need.

 

4] If EJ throws that pass to Sammy in the last minute and we win, fans say EJ still sucks because he threw a bad pass with a miracle catch.

 

5] It was amazing that with three guys (Hughes, Dareus, Mario) rushing, they bullrushed Stafford on almost every play. As fans, we constantly yell to blitz more, always. Well we never blitzed, I remember one, total, of one player. And yet we got a great rush, seven or so sacks and it won the game. Don't listen to fans.

 

6] That's why you make the Watkins trade. He's a star. It has nothing to do with QB or EJ or next year. For 5-10 years he's going to be a star. There are not a lot of stars.

 

7] Our OL stinks, interior of course.

 

8] Orton's audible on the 2 pt conversion was just brilliant.

 

9] Fred is immortal.

 

10] Marrone, Orton, Spikes, Fred, etc, kept the team focused after being down 14-0 on the road and the team responded well. That may have been the best and most lastly element of this game.

 

11] Carpenter's kick probably would have broken the all-time record in the NFL. It was good from 65.

 

12] Hackett was frustrating for sure, but the run, run, run strategy got some great plays like the TD to Gragg. We had 350 yards. We won the game. I was frustrated to no end, too. But they ultimately did it.

That's the whole point- EJ doesn't attempt that pass. Maybe Aaron Rodgers puts it right in his bread basket but at least Orton gives him a chance to make the play.

[Fan in Chicago]

 

My dad is still in the hospital but I took my iPad to him so he could watch the game on Sunday Ticket. Yesterday after they won he apparently cheered and the nursing staff at first thought he was in distress, until the nurse who had been checking on him told them it was ok. I called my mom's cell phone and had her put it on speaker, and I played the shout song for them.

 

 

Go Bills!

 

Good luck to your dad.

 

Not to come off as a smart-ass but is it really advisable to show a (Cardiac) Bills game to an already ill person ?

[FLFan]

That's the whole point- EJ doesn't attempt that pass. Maybe Aaron Rodgers puts it right in his bread basket but at least Orton gives him a chance to make the play.

Agreed. Also, after listening to both Orton's and Watkin's post game PCs, clearly an issue in the accuracy of it was the quick rush in his face. What is very promising is that they were on the same page that the ball would be going his way. Watkins was expecting the throw and was able to adjust. There is no way that play gets made with EJ right now. I also think that as Watkins and Orton are able to work with other going forward, the accuracy on a play like that will get better as well.

Edited October 6, 2014 by MDFan

[stevewin]

- It's been touched on about how Woods seemed energized (no moping from him yesterday), but I also think the Orton move definitely had a positive effect on Watkins too. Starting with the non-effort on that ball at SD, I thought Sammy also looked very listless last week - it looked to me like the move to Orton really had a positive effect on him mentally. If for no other reason than to get the receivers back invested and playing with everything they have, the Orton move pays off in that alone IMO

 

- Been talked about at length, but the officiating was simply stupefying. It got to the point I was fantasizing about the the threats Marrone could be lobbing at them during TV timeouts ("I'll find out where you live and hunt you down and gut you like a fish you imbecillic incompetent moron!"). On the Goodwin catch they didn't talk about it at all, but I was petrified it might get overturned on review. At the end of the catch he moves the ball to his hand to try to get ready to make a stretch for the pylon and loses it out of bounds (like at the 2 which is where it should have been spotted). He definitely had control before that and it was a catch, but the way the officiating was going, what was actually happening on the field seemed to have no bearing on what they were calling at times - and I was scared to death if they reviewed it they would reverse it (or maybe do an NFL first and announce "After further review we decide the play never actually happened")

 

- McKelvin has never been one of my favorites, but I have to say I loved his energy yesterday. On the interception return watch him come flying into the screen and sell out his body to deliver a block. Also the aggressive, physical play to (cleanly) knock Megatron out of the game. Just love to see stuff like that when you see such great individual efforts and they are fighting to get back in the game and instead of hanging their heads over early misfortune.

 

- It seemed to me like Detroit abandoned the run way too early. After the first drive I thought Winn was going to be the next in the line of unknown 3rd/4th string running backs who have career days (or careers) against the Bills.

 

- It's interesting knowing about the laser thing now after seeing during the game Carpenter, Orton, Marrone arguing with the officials and at the time not knowing what they were so upset about (aside of course just the fact they were so generally incompetent)

 

- Amazing to me that Orton put the ball up 43 times - did not seem like that at all. It seemed instead at times like they ran up the middle 43 times for no gain. Can't wait to watch again on NFL Rewind

 

- How sweet it is for once to not be on the losing side of a ridiculously long game winning field goal. What an amazing kick that game winner was

 

- Can't believe how many game highlight recap/packages on the network shows and NFL network didn't even show Sammy's last catch, It wasn't on ESPN top 10 but there were like 3 kickball goals? WTF

 

- I hate the Bungles for sucking so bad last night and giving NE* legitimacy again - but as has been mentioned, it is good that now tape is available on that game with NE* playing well. God I Hate Them

[dave mcbride]

That's the whole point- EJ doesn't attempt that pass. Maybe Aaron Rodgers puts it right in his bread basket but at least Orton gives him a chance to make the play.

I'm not here to defend Manuel, but he did make that pass to Mike Williams in game 1 vs. the Bears (in OT).

[Kelly the Dog]

 

I'm not here to defend Manuel, but he did make that pass to Mike Williams in game 1 vs. the Bears (in OT).

Exactly.

 

And to make it official it's not like it clearly wasn't the smart move to go to Orton. We very likely lose yesterday with EJ. But he does make good passes that some people refuse to give him credit for.

[Big C]

 

 

Exactly. The D line dominated yesterday. I don't remember more than one blitz. They just crushed the Lions.

 

While we're piling on the refs, how about the awful spot on the Goodwin catch. He went out at maybe the 1-2 yard line but they spotted the ball at the 4. Non-issue as they scored the TD but those refs yesterday may have been the worst I've ever seen.

 

Goodwin lost the football and it went out of bounds. Without looking at the video, I think the ruling may have been that he started fumbling it around the 4 and it went out around the 2. A fumble can't move you forward like that. He is credited with a fumble in the box score. Just my theory.

[Manther]

 

That was a great pass. EJ has made that same pass though. The difference of the veteran QB taking control of the game is the difference between the two.

†***************************************

EJ has never thrown for 300 yards. Anyone who says there is no difference is either biased or clueless!

Edited October 6, 2014 by Manther

[Big C]

Also, all the talk about if the kicker makes any of his 3 FGs we lose needs to also consider that we knew he was a bad kicker and stopping the offense/forcing them to try a field goal is a defensive success.

[Orton's Arm]

So many high points that have already been mentioned. The only consistent negative for me was Spiller. His running was anemic, and the way he completely whiffed on a block that any competent RB would have made that almost cost the Bills a safety was inexcusable. He was a major liability the entire game.

 

And I will also echo the sentiments of some that it was really nice seeing a Bills QB make passes like Orton was in the 2nd half!

 

When a QB checks the ball down to a RB, I think to myself, I could make that exact throw. It wouldn't even be that difficult.

 

But there are other times when I'll see a QB make throws that I just can't make. (Or at best, can't make with any consistency.) Throws which remind me why he's the one getting paid millions, while I'm the one sitting and watching on the couch.

 

For most of the Lions game, Orton received very little pass protection. Checking the ball down to the RB was the right move; regardless of whether I could or couldn't make those throws myself. But there were a number of times when he made "big league" throws--throws a guy like me can't make. I thought that most of the big league throws he attempted were surprisingly accurate.

 

If memory serves, on Orton's last pass to Watkins, Orton was in the process of being hauled to the ground as he threw the football. If my memory is correct, it would explain why that pass was so inaccurate.

[CodeMonkey]

Also, all the talk about if the kicker makes any of his 3 FGs we lose needs to also consider that we knew he was a bad kicker and stopping the offense/forcing them to try a field goal is a defensive success.

Soooooo if the Bills didn't know the Lions FG kicker sucked ass the D would not have tried to stop them???

 

Look, the D *always* tries to stop the opponents O. In order of success:

Take away

Punt

FG

TD

 

Your statement makes as little sense as my first line. Any team is lucky when an opponents FG kicker goes 0 - 3 particularly when none were particularly long. That's simply a fact. And that's why teams want kickers like Carpenter instead of the Lions soon-to-be-unemployed kicker.

Edited October 6, 2014 by CodeMonkey

[JohnC]

 

 

When a QB checks the ball down to a RB, I think to myself, I could make that exact throw. It wouldn't even be that difficult.

 

But there are other times when I'll see a QB make throws that I just can't make. (Or at best, can't make with any consistency.) Throws which remind me why he's the one getting paid millions, while I'm the one sitting and watching on the couch.

 

For most of the Lions game, Orton received very little pass protection. Checking the ball down to the RB was the right move; regardless of whether I could or couldn't make those throws myself. But there were a number of times when he made "big league" throws--throws a guy like me can't make. I thought that most of the big league throws he attempted were surprisingly accurate.

 

If memory serves, on Orton's last pass to Watkins, Orton was in the process of being hauled to the ground as he threw the football. If my memory is correct, it would explain why that pass was so inaccurate.

 

Isn't it remarkable how "solid" qb play affects the perception of the team and its outlook for the rest of the season? What impressed me the most about Orton is how someone who hasn't played in a long time steadily adjusted to the speed of the game as it went on. In the fourth qb he was in a good passing rhythm. Most NFL analysts would categorize Orton as at best a pedestrian qb who is in the fading stage of his career. Yet, by having a qb who knows how to play and is reasonably accurate he has invigorated a team that was on the verge of spiraling downwards.

[Big C]

 

Soooooo if the Bills didn't know the Lions FG kicker sucked ass the D would not have tried to stop them???

 

Look, the D *always* tries to stop the opponents O. In order of success:

Take away

Punt

FG

TD

 

Your statement makes as little sense as my first line. Any team is lucky when an opponents FG kicker goes 0 - 3 particularly when none were particularly long. That's simply a fact. And that's why teams want kickers like Carpenter instead of the Lions soon-to-be-unemployed kicker.

 

I'm saying, it's basically 7 or 0 for the Lions outside of the 30 or so. One miss is lucky, sure, but then ours cancel out. Alex Henery is legitimately bad. Missing three field goals is not luck. It's our defense doing their job and taking advantage of a weakness on their roster.

 

I can see how it sounds silly, but I'm just saying that a lot of people are pointing to that as a "lucky" reason we won. It's not like the Texans were lucky they played EJ Manuel. It's a team game and if a team has a weakness, you try to take advantage of it. Kicking unit is a part of the team too.

[cage]

As far as #7

To be fair, EJ has dropped one or two in there like that as well. Maybe overly defensive of the kid but lets not give up on him yet.

 

I was going to say that too.... as had Jeff Teul

[K-9]

I also want to say this: Stefan Charles can PLAY!

 

Well done Whaley...well done indeed.

 

Good call. I feel better if KW needs to miss a few games knowing Charles can hold his own out there. He was a revelation yesterday.

 

GO BILLS!!!

Edited October 6, 2014 by K-9

[Wayne Cubed]

Soooooo if the Bills didn't know the Lions FG kicker sucked ass the D would not have tried to stop them???

 

Look, the D *always* tries to stop the opponents O. In order of success:

Take away

Punt

FG

TD

 

Your statement makes as little sense as my first line. Any team is lucky when an opponents FG kicker goes 0 - 3 particularly when none were particularly long. That's simply a fact. And that's why teams want kickers like Carpenter instead of the Lions soon-to-be-unemployed kicker.

 

I don't think it's as ridiculous a statement as you are making it out to be. Freese, the kicker prior to Henery, was 3-7 in FG attempts hence why he got the can. Henery himself was just 1 for 2 in the last game missing a 52 yard attempt, so there was precedent that the Lions kicking game was pretty bad. Like I said earlier in the thread it's not as if Henery was some amazing kicker and the Bills were just lucky to catch him barely miss 3 attempts. His first attempt was his closest, after that he wasn't even close.

 

You don't think the Bills felt more confident and thought it was a success that they were able to force Henery into a long FG? I do. It's all a chess match.