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

[PO16FFS]

Ugh, what a game.

 

• Although the final score didn't really show it... the Bills were soundly beaten.
• Our offense line was a total mess today. Barely any time to throw and very few running lanes.
• Surprisingly, the defensive live was also a big mess today. They generated barely any pressure on Brady and the tackle was sub-par. VERY disappointing.
• Gilmore has shown flashes but is way overrated. Shut down corner? Not yet.
• The penalties just killed this game. (Not only killed it for the play on the field, but was made it bad to watch.)
• I still have a lot of faith in TT. The man has a good head and a helluva lot of skill.
• Very poor play calling after our opening score.
• It was good to see McCoy and Watkins have decent games.
• Squish the fish!!

 

Let's go Buffalo!!

 

 

 

Yup

[RevWarRifleman]

Another good post, Bill. I like #7. That sure wasn't a Jim Schwartz defense out there. They gave Brad way too much time to scan his reads. And that's with some rookie O linemen in from of him!

 

Nevertheless, Go Bills against the Fish.

[Dibs]

Another good post, Bill. I like #7. That sure wasn't a Jim Schwartz defense out there. They gave Brad way too much time to scan his reads. And that's with some rookie O linemen in from of him!

....

 

Actually the D from the first Pats game last season(under Schwartz) was pretty similar to yesterday's performance.

Brady 27-37-361-4-0, 2 sacks for 15

3rd down percentage was actually a lot better with the Rex D against Pats.

 

(Note: I am in no way defending the bad play of Rex's D this week....merely pointing out that the Schwartz D was comparable.)

[Wayne Cubed]

 

Actually the D from the first Pats game last season(under Schwartz) was pretty similar to yesterday's performance.

Brady 27-37-361-4-0, 2 sacks for 15

3rd down percentage was actually a lot better with the Rex D against Pats.

 

(Note: I am in no way defending the bad play of Rex's D this week....merely pointing out that the Schwartz D was comparable.)

 

I've mentioned this to a few posters who seem to have forgotten. Also the Pats** didn't punt the ball the entire second half of that game.

[VirginiaMike]

Tom Brady is a surgeon out there, and his receivers generally catch the ball when it hits their hands. The Amendola catch was a thing of beauty. When he ran the hurry up the Bills did not have time to adjust at all.

 

Cordy Glenn could use some help on the end out there.

 

Can't wait to hear the press conference.

As much as it pains me to admit it, Tom Brady does not miss open receivers and they don;t have to be that open. Cordy Glenn was bad but so was the rest of the line. What's with #91 Collins - did not one want to hit him -- he went wherever he wanted. I have been a defender of Eric Woods, but maybe he is just not that good.

[Canadian Bills Fan]

1) I try to keep personalities out of this, but I think that Edelman turns my stomach even more than Brady.

 

2) My prayers go out to Aaron Williams, and it was great to see the team praying for him.

 

3) The special teams coach lost control of his players early on and it really hurt us. That said, Rex deserves blame as well. More on Rex to come.

 

4) I know he gave up some passes, but Darby impressed me today once again. The 36 yard td to Gronk in the 1st quarter was a simply great pass. The coverage was spot on and there seemed to be little chance to complete that throw. It was just perfect.

 

5) Cordy Glenn was beyond awful today and he was pissing me off. He looked out of shape, lethargic and generally indifferent as to what was happening on the field.

 

6) I want to toss out some kudos to Felton. As Tyrod was rolling out on the 2nd quarter td pass to Clay, Felton held off a defender to give TT room and time to make the play.

 

7) How did it happen? How did Rex Ryan suddenly morph into Dick Jauron? Look, we don't have great coverage linebackers. Bradham is a pass rusher (and a good one), and Brown is a top run stuffer. Putting them in the secondary didn't work. And please remind me why we gave Hughes millions of dollars. Never mind, I remember...because he is a pass rusher!!!!! Today Rex reminded me of Dumbo Jauron sending Schobel out on coverage. We had the crowd noise and should have sent the kitchen sink after Brady!

 

8) It all rolls into one,

and nothing comes for free.

There's nothing you can hold,

for very long.

And when you hear that song,

come crying like the wind,

it seems like all this life,

was just a dream.

Stella Blue

 

9) Gotta love Tyrod, no? The kid can truly get out of trouble and he has a nice spin on his passes. He never never quit. I know it's risky but I want to see him on more called running plays. It will loosen up opposing defenses.

 

10) Speaking of out of control, even Bradham got lured in. Edelman got in his face and he shoved the little runt pretty hard. I was waiting for a flag but I suppose the refs didn't see it. We can't have this. We lost too much field position today with unnecessary penalties.

 

11) Percy Harvin has a ton of talent, but in the 3rd quarter he short armed that long sideline pass. Hey, he would have got hammered but he could have caught it and didn't extend his arms. Please watch the replay and see if you disagree.

 

12) Is there any such thing as a perfect opening drive? The Bill mixed things up, beat them up, and ate 5 minutes of the clock.

 

13) Is anyone still concerned about Watkins and his numbers? If this kid stays healthy he will make plays. Period.

 

14) Bottom line is that Rex has to take control and straighten things out. It looks like he has a lot to work with.

 

15) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

I agree.

 

 

Does anyone know if the Pats were praying for him too?

 

 

 

CBF

[thebandit27]

Ugh, what a game.

 

• Although the final score didn't really show it... the Bills were soundly beaten.
• Our offense line was a total mess today. Barely any time to throw and very few running lanes.
• Surprisingly, the defensive live was also a big mess today. They generated barely any pressure on Brady and the tackle was sub-par. VERY disappointing.
• Gilmore has shown flashes but is way overrated. Shut down corner? Not yet.
• The penalties just killed this game. (Not only killed it for the play on the field, but was made it bad to watch.)
• I still have a lot of faith in TT. The man has a good head and a helluva lot of skill.
• Very poor play calling after our opening score.
• It was good to see McCoy and Watkins have decent games.
• Squish the fish!!

 

Let's go Buffalo!!

 

2 passes completed in Gilmore's coverage...2. That's where you're directing your criticism in a game with 59 pass attempts against?

[GunnerBill]

 

2 passes completed in Gilmore's coverage...2. That's where you're directing your criticism in a game with 59 pass attempts against?

 

I tried to make this point to a Gilmore critic in the shout box last night. Gilmore played a solid game even with us getting torched. It comes back to the fact that Rex's attempted disguise left us in bad match up positions. So many of their completions were on dumb match ups. Gilmore isn't a dumb match up for anyone... however, he couldn't cover 5 skill players on his own. We had defensive ends in coverage way too often and we had linebackers in terrible matchups.

Edited September 21, 2015 by GunnerBill

[JohnC]

Bill NYC, Excellent post. I'll keep it short. Brady, Gronk and BB. Three future HOF inductees who will earn their status with their play on the field, not with their mouths. Brady is 23-3 against us. Over the last 30 games the Pats have won 27. Talent usually prevails over a lack of talent almost all the time, especially when led with the best HC in the game.

 

The lack of discipline by the Bills was apparent. Aaron Williams lost his composure to the extent that he had to be restrained by a number of players and staff before he regained control of his emotions. The referees called a bad game and lacked judgment. There was a number of phantum calls (ex. offensive pass interference on Watkins and a TE who was on the line called for being off the line). The erratic calls and over-officiating chopped up the game so much that it was difficult to watch.

 

Rex Ryan is a brash trash talking braggart flamboyant HC who has a colorful act on the sidelines while BB is a tight-lipped non-talking HC who is in control on the sidelines. Which HC do you think is more likely to set the example for mature behavior and instill discipline in the highly charged atmosphere of a game? Rex plays to the camera while BB plays to the game.

 

As you noted Glenn has been a disaster. I don't know if he is out of shape but in the first two games he was very slow and sluggish. Henderson is also struggling. Our OL play has been horrible.

 

The positives I took out of this game is that I am very encouraged with the play of Tyrod. He played well considering that he was constantly under seige. Could you have imagined if the immobile Cassel was the starting qb in this game? I was also encouraged by the play of McCoy. He seemed to play with a lot of energy and quickness despite the fact there wasn't much space for him to maneuver. I also liked the fact that Watkins was involved with the offense.

 

Bill, you may be irritated by the feisty play of Edelmann but I am not. He is a gamer and a producer.

[Gordio]

Ah, maybe because he didn't get adequate blocking most of the time. DUH

 

 

He did some good things out there but it seemed like he was reluctant to step up in the pocket, instead he would fade back which is uaully a recipe for disaster.

[Bill from NYC]

2 passes completed in Gilmore's coverage...2. That's where you're directing your criticism in a game with 59 pass attempts against?

There is no way to pin this loss on Gilmore.

The defensive plan was an abject failure. I'm surprised that they didn't have Mario run out and cover Edelman. And I have no idea what the story is with Glenn.

[JohnC]

 

 

He did some good things out there but it seemed like he was reluctant to step up in the pocket, instead he would fade back which is uaully a recipe for disaster.

It was difficult for TT to step up in the pocket because he was receiving so much inside pressure. In general I thought he kept his composure and kept his passing option alive moving away from the pressure coming from the inside and out. After watching this game I was more encouraged over his play than troubled by it.

[thebandit27]

There is no way to pin this loss on Gilmore.

The defensive plan was an abject failure. I'm surprised that they didn't have Mario run out and cover Edelman. And I have no idea what the story is with Glenn.

 

Yeah...basically all of that.

 

I was very disheartened by the lack of adjustments on defense. They went into the half knowing that they needed to make changes to their approach, specifically to covering Gronk, and yet on the very first pass play of the 2nd half, there's Nigel Bradham, running one-on-one with Gronk. That is--as you stated--an abject failure.

 

You also cannot, cannot, cannot take penalties that result in Brady receiving the ball inside your 30 on consecutive possessions. Bad defensive game plan or not, that's a recipe for disaster.

[MDH]

The defensive plan was an abject failure. I'm surprised that they didn't have Mario run out and cover Edelman. And I have no idea what the story is with Glenn.

 

They did the same thing vs. the Colts and I saw nobody complaining then. Rex disguises his coverages so nobody knows who is rushing. This is what he does and it's one of the major reasons as to why he's been so successful for a decade+. He's not the first guy to do it either, it's why Dick Labeau was so successful as well (though their D schemes aren't the same.)

 

You will continue to see Hughes and some DL in coverage on occasion. The problem with yesterday is that Brady wasn't confused. He identified the coverages right away and picked it apart. Luck, on the other hand, was rattled by it, couldn't break it down quickly enough and tossed a lot of errant passes as a result.

 

My main problem with the D yesterday wasn't that DL were dropping into coverage but that Ryan didn't make many adjustments when what he was doing wasn't working. He tried rushing 4 or 5 and got picked apart. To start the 2nd half they should have started brining the house on occasion, S blitzes, CB blitzes, anything to mix it up. Maybe that wouldn't have worked either but at least it had a chance.

[Wayne Cubed]

 

They did the same thing vs. the Colts and I saw nobody complaining then. Rex disguises his coverages so nobody knows who is rushing. This is what he does and it's one of the major reasons as to why he's been so successful for a decade+. He's not the first guy to do it either, it's why Dick Labeau was so successful as well (though their D schemes aren't the same.)

 

You will continue to see Hughes and some DL in coverage on occasion. The problem with yesterday is that Brady wasn't confused. He identified the coverages right away and picked it apart. Luck, on the other hand, was rattled by it, couldn't break it down quickly enough and tossed a lot of errant passes as a result.

 

My main problem with the D yesterday wasn't that DL were dropping into coverage but that Ryan didn't make many adjustments when what he was doing wasn't working. He tried rushing 4 or 5 and got picked apart. To start the 2nd half they should have started brining the house on occasion, S blitzes, CB blitzes, anything to mix it up. Maybe that wouldn't have worked either but at least it had a chance.

 

They didn't do a lot of disguising in the first half. Rex basically had the front 4 rushing the passer, which in theory is a good plan. Problem was Brady adjusted and got the ball out quick, he also switched to max protect leaving 6 or 7 guys in to block. Also, the CB coverage was ridiculous, they gave them 10 yard cushions not playing press. It was odd. They didn't adjust at all.

 

The only "tricky" thing Rex was doing was trying to disguise who was covering Gronk, which was stupid and a failure as seen by the results of the game. Every play it was someone different.

[GunnerBill]

 

They did the same thing vs. the Colts and I saw nobody complaining then. Rex disguises his coverages so nobody knows who is rushing. This is what he does and it's one of the major reasons as to why he's been so successful for a decade+. He's not the first guy to do it either, it's why Dick Labeau was so successful as well (though their D schemes aren't the same.)

 

I don't disagree with that - but it is horses for courses. You know that what Belichick and the Patriots feast on is the mismatches. The problem with disguising your D so much is that if the QB is successful in identifying who is coming he can find the mismatch, because there is bound to be one out there. Even if you started that way surely you could see what was happening and adjust but we didn't. Also this was not the exact same plan as last week. There was much less blitzing and the DBs were not in press at the line.

[BMWR100RT]

I hate the bravado. There is a reason they play the games. I hope something can be learned from this, but my Jets friends tell me it doesn't end well. I am still hopeful.

 

I know Brady eats up the blitz, but the lack of pressure was unbelievable. Go back and watch what the Giants did to end the unbeaten season. Brady had some success, but after getting rocked a bit, his body language said he was defeated. If this was real grass his jersey would have been totally clean. If you can't cover dropping db's then you need to try something else.

 

TT has me hopeful. He remained calm, and made some throws. Not perfect, but for a second game he was good. Wit this defensive personnel if you said we'd score 32 points do you think we'd lose? This one is on Rex.

[Bill from NYC]

It was difficult for TT to step up in the pocket because he was receiving so much inside pressure. In general I thought he kept his composure and kept his passing option alive moving away from the pressure coming from the inside and out. After watching this game I was more encouraged over his play than troubled by it.

Yeah John, I am not getting why people are upset wrt Tyrod.

 

As I said, I would like to see him on a few more called running plays. I get the risk, but it might also make his job easier by forcing defenses to account for this.

[Coach Tuesday]

Yeah John, I am not getting why people are upset wrt Tyrod.

 

As I said, I would like to see him on a few more called running plays. I get the risk, but it might also make his job easier by forcing defenses to account for this.

Tyrod took the check down too often. There were open receivers but he was afraid to throw it into coverage areas. He drifted into pressure. He lacked clock urgency and had the receivers lined up incorrectly on multiple occasions. His TD pass to Woods probably should've been intercepted. I wasn't thrilled with his performance at all.

[BuffaninATL]

An out of control truck moving at high speed has up ramps to stop it on super highways. An out of control football team is supposed to have a coaching staff that makes adjustments to stop it. Dumb penalties game after game can cost you a season. We're certainly working on it and could use a good dose of coaching, understanding, and executing before we completely fly off the ramp.

 

I like the post and the truck/highway analogy, but what makes you think "we're certainly working on it?"