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

[Sisyphean Bills]

[norton20]

While the Bills are at "trying to get better' and "focusing on what is ahead" could they spend 20 minutes or so on running new 2 point conversion plays? Ones that don't involve Taylor rolling out if at all possible since it seems every team sort of knows that?

 

Oh yeah, also work on having a tight end help out with Watt. TT seems like a nice young man. I'd like to see him live through the next game.

[Dan]

I've never seen a coaching staff so consistently game plan AWAY from their team's strengths. It's really incredible to behold.

That simple and concise statement pretty well sums up the Bills' 2015 season.

 

We can all banter back and forth about the various players and should they stay or go or get paid or suck, but the coaches on this team seem clueless as to what players they have and what their strengths are. It is indeed incredible.

Edited November 30, 2015 by Dan

[DallasBillsFan1]

f) Never a complete game by the Bills, when the offense is on, the defense is a no show and viceversa.

this.

Not to mention penalties. Rex does have the rap of having undisciplined teams. Parcels or Belichick would have none of it. No discipline.

Also, this organization if not being managed well .. run down batteries on headsets on away game? Coaches in booth not advising Rex on challenges? Not a well run team! Again, we never see this S*it happen on good teams.

[Koufax]

This one is tough to swallow, but the season is alive and we have to find a way to beat the Texans and get to 6-6.

 

1) Rex is taking a lot of heat, but someone else is to blame for the challenges, and Roman/Tyrod are responsible for not getting Sammy the ball in the second half. I still think Rex is an excellent coach, and I'm not as down on him after this one as some are.

 

2) Their OL was hurting as much as our DL, so I would have liked to see better pressure and creativity. Smith is a good runner and smart, but I think creativity could have gotten some pressure on him.

 

3) Going for two early was worse than the missed extra point. We will never know, but being down 7 instead of 8 could have been a big difference.

 

4) Back to Sammy, the first blame is on Roman. There were so many deep sideline routes even after he got the safety help. Call a play where Tyrod can target him without throwing deep into double coverage. Second blame is on Tyrod. Understand the game, and find a way to get to him on the progression at least a few more times even with the bad play calling. Third is on Rex. Don't let Roman exist in a vacuum. After a no catch third quarter, go over to him and say "Greg, call some plays to get the ball to Sammy".

 

5) Hard to play without four different Williams. I'm glad we didn't have a fifth Williams today to be unavailable.

 

Did I mention shaking this off, beating the Texans, and getting to 6-6? 10-6 is a long way away, but we have a winnable home game leading into a weaker three game stretch before the Jets at home. Need to get to 6-6 first, but a lot of good things can happen.

 

At 9-7 we would need a miracle, but 10-6 will get us in with the remaining schedules for the other contenders.

 

Today was a key game and a tough one to lose, but not a playoff game. NEXT Sunday is the first of five playoff games. And hit the playoffs at 10-6 and a five game winning streak would certainly be a good place to be. But the Texans and their four game winning streak is going to be a challenge and we have to be up for it.

[BackInDaDay]

Actually, that was the right game plan. Smith shouldn't be able to beat you from the pocket.

 

The problem is that they didn't count on Darby getting burnt for a long TD, the LBs whiffing agains the run in the 2nd half, or Bacarri Rambo deciding to double the RB instead of picking up the short zone on the Kelce TD.

 

Place the blame on coaching for inability to challenge the official calls at the proper times, but the defensive issues were execution-related.

 

i hear what you're saying about execution, but my intuition tells me that Reid's guys saw something to exploit after we shut them down so effectively in their first few possessions. something Rex wasn't prepared for.

 

from your posts, i know you realize that sometimes it only takes a slight tweek to a play design to either give a defender something he doesn't recognize - or give him something he thinks he recognizes.

this is what concerns me about Rex's defenses this season. that he either doesn't have smart enough players - whether because of backups playing, or not - to force an opponent to adjust where he wants him to..

or he's getting hit with counters he hasn't anticipated. either way, we're not defending at the level he himself thought we were capable of..

[BobbyC81]

The thing that is most sickening to me about this game is this:

 

 

 

 

So sick of being sickened by this team. So sick of having this feeling before Dec games even start.

 

My kids are going to college next year, and have been Bills fans since before they really even understood what was happening on the field - and their favorite team has not even made the playoffs essentially in their lifetime. W T F

"I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired of being sick and tired." Monty Python

[3rdand12]

Amen brother....amen.

 

And deep down, didn't you wonder how the Bills were going to screw it all up after taking the lead in the 1st half? Can't you say that you knew it was coming? I have to admit that I did...and this coming from a 30 year Bills fan.

 

I just can't for the life of me realize why us Buffalo fans are tortured in the manner that we are? What did we EVER do to deserve this insanity?

 

I just don't get it.

Its no simple puzzle. But it is as real as daybreak.

The trick is how we deal with it.

Nod to Bill : )

[3rdand12]

 

i hear what you're saying about execution, but my intuition tells me that Reid's guys saw something to exploit after we shut them down so effectively in their first few possessions. something Rex wasn't prepared for.

 

from your posts, i know you realize that sometimes it only takes a slight tweek to a play design to either give a defender something he doesn't recognize - or give him something he thinks he recognizes.

this is what concerns me about Rex's defenses this season. that he either doesn't have smart enough players - whether because of backups playing, or not - to force an opponent to adjust where he wants him to..

or he's getting hit with counters he hasn't anticipated. either way, we're not defending at the level he himself thought we were capable of..

afraid you are are on track here. Coaching expectations are not realized by the players being fielded . shame on the coaches though.

rex has been "out coached " a couple times this season with adjustments.

 

Today we had so many D line players down and Tarpley calling plays?

[CardinalScotts]

I wanna know what our record would be if Andy Reid was the head coach. Much better than 5-6 I bet.

6-5 no make that 5-6

[Koufax]

Would need a whole lot of help. Texans seems to have woken up, particularly Watt. But the real killer is KC. A game up on the Bills now, they own the tiebreaker, and every team they play the remainder of the season is under .500. The Bills aren't dead, but this loss was a killer and has them on life support and they will almost need divine intervention to make the playoffs now.

 

This loss wipes out any chance of going 11-5, but was the hardest game left on our schedule, and the most likely for us to lose if we were going to go 10-6.

 

10-6 gets us in to the playoffs. It is actually more likely that we make the playoffs at 9-7 then we miss them at 10-6, with a number of plausible paths to the former, but some pretty creative configurations needed for the latter.

 

But the issue is unless we win our sixth game, we could also go 5-11 or 7-9uaron.

 

New England wouldn't have lost this game, New England wouldn't be 5-6, but you know if it happened, their evening of being pissed would be over, and starting right now it would be "we are on to Houston".

 

So I'm cool if they want to fire/demote/reassign whoever was responsible for challenges. I'm fine if Rex gives Roman and Taylor an ultimatum of targeting Sammy every half and not just running deep sideline routes into safety help. But things will start to seem more reasonable and doable if we can find our way to 6-6 and look at the last quarter of our schedule and the chances that we go on winning streak. So above all #WeAreOnToHouston.

[CodeMonkey]

 

 

10-6 gets us in to the playoffs. It is actually more likely that we make the playoffs at 9-7 then we miss them at 10-6, with a number of plausible paths to the former, but some pretty creative configurations needed for the latter.

 

I'm not confident the Bills beat the Texans, but assuming the Bills run the table from here. KC is likely to as well. Even if KC loses one game, they STILL finish above the Bills. What makes you think even 10-6 is a lock for the playoffs?

Edited November 30, 2015 by CodeMonkey

[jeffismagic]

What was frustrating about the dismal defensive performance is we saw none of the mixtures from last week. No more pressure packages, just drop back and let Alex Smith get comfortable. I hope this drop into coverage is just one of the things they do next week. Bring the heat and step up on defense as Watt will make life miserable for Tyrod.

[BB2004]

1) No challenge on the catch by Hogan in the 4th quarter? I must admit, Rex is consistent. He is consistently idiotic, whereas he pulled the same stunt in the 2nd quarter. Not to be denied, he DID challenge plays that were clearly against us.

 

2) I don't know about you, but each and every time they showed Sammy's stats during the second half, it was like a knife in my stomach. Do you realize that we will have to look at those numbers all week? Not one f)$&^(g yard in the second half? Nothing?? You really cannot make this s%^t up.

 

3) I really like Tyrod. Seriously. But the man needs to be more decisive, be it getting rid of the ball or taking off to run. He, for the most part, did seem to have SOME time today, despite the horrible play of Henderson.

 

4) Seriously, when was the last time you saw a Bills player take over a football game the way Sammy did in the first half? Please, jog my memory. You just cannot lose a game in which a man plays this well! Ooops, I guess WE can.

 

5) There are times that you can beckon,

There are times when you must call.

You can shake a ton of reckoning,

But you can't shake it all.

There are times when I can help you out,

And times that you must fall.

There are times when you must live in doubt,

And I can't help at all.

 

 

Three blue stars / Rise on the hill.

Say no more, now / Just be still.

All these trials / Soon be past.

Look for something / Built to last.

 

6) The Bills couldn't even stop the Chiefs on the final drive, knowing full well that they were going to run the football. Just an absolute disgrace.

 

7) As soon as the 3rd quarter started, the Bills basically stopped rushing the quarterback. On the TD pass to #87 (Kelce?), they rushed only 3, and the lineman in the middle stayed back. Even a Bills fan should not have to sit through nonsense like this. Oh, and did you see his TD dance? I have several comments I would love to make about this but I choose to refrain.

 

8) Make no mistake, I will NEVER turn my back on the Bills or especially Bills fans. I will go to the grave as a loyal fan. Period. That said, it really is taxing sometimes, wouldn't you say folks?

 

9) How much of the game did you spend wondering exactly why the Bills under utilized Watkins last week? He was going past, over and around defenders, making it look SO easy. Who would ever believe that he wouldn't catch another pass? Seriously, this cannot happen.

 

10) Yikes, as I am typing this they once again displayed Sammy's numbers on the Seahawks game. No choice now, I've got to turn the S&%t off.

 

11) I can understand Hughes being frustrated, but his roughing the passer penalty was amateurish, stupid, and costly.

 

12) People, I am sorry that I allowed myself to get so angry. I mean this, and you are reading the edited version.

 

13) At least we are not alone. We are in this mess together.

 

13) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Looks as if it will be 16 years in a row. My goodness. And you know what Bill, you have every right to be angry. I am not at all happy with the coaching staff particularly at head coach and the defense is either not that good or clearly playing in the wrong system. Main thing I look at here is we will be waiting until next season and hoping that we find a way to the playoffs in 2016. Cause lets be honest here, the Patriots are not going anywhere.

[Boatdrinks]

Darby had his first bad game. He could have made up for it with what looked like an easy pick six which probably would have won the game. That to me was the biggest play of the game for the Bills.

Good call. This was a close game and bad plays were made by both teams. The Bills D got some stops, but failed to make the game changing play when it literally hit them in the hands. Twice! The Darby dropped INT was a sure TD though and everything after was different because of it.

[purple haze]

The Bills got out-coached. The defense was garbage. Again. And offensively, I still cannot understand how Watkins gets one target in the second half. That's borderline incompetent. I don't know what else that kid has to do to prove that good things happen when he gets targets.

Good call. This was a close game and bad plays were made by both teams. The Bills D got some stops, but failed to make the game changing play when it literally hit them in the hands. Twice! The Darby dropped INT was a sure TD though and everything after was different because of it.

Robey should have picked off that screen pass too. I don't know why he held up.

Edited November 30, 2015 by purple haze

[bbb]

What the hell was he thinking? And, then Gannon says something about what an outstanding job he did anticipating............What good is it if he doesn't even go for the pick? Very weird play and hugely costly.

[Bill from NYC]

Place the blame on coaching for inability to challenge the official calls at the proper times, but the defensive issues were execution-related.

I don't agree with the above one bit.

 

This defense is passive up front, enough to remind one of the Levy/Jauron days. If I was an opposing OC, I would be laughing at Rex and The Bills as I watch their linemen run away from scrimmage. The Bills defense became a good one under Pettine. It got even better with Schwartz. This is because we had a pass rush. Under Pettine we had admittedly issues against the run, but this is a passing league, no?

 

I think that Rex is trying to show the world how smart he is. The problem is that in doing so, he is looking less like a genius and more like a buffoon. Sadly, he is causing the team to lose games.

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

FIRE the guy in the boot that should tell Rex to challenge plays. The two that they should have challenged they kept the red hankey dry.

So much for Alex Dink & Dunk Smith. He out TT'd TT.

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

I don't agree with the above one bit.

 

This defense is passive up front, enough to remind one of the Levy/Jauron days. If I was an opposing OC, I would be laughing at Rex and The Bills as I watch their linemen run away from scrimmage. The Bills defense became a good one under Pettine. It got even better with Schwartz. This is because we had a pass rush. Under Pettine we had admittedly issues against the run, but this is a passing league, no?

 

I think that Rex is trying to show the world how smart he is. The problem is that in doing so, he is looking less like a genius and more like a buffoon. Sadly, he is causing the team to lose games.

I don't either. There were a couple plays, including the Kelcie TD, where it looked like we had 2 guys rushing and "dancing" with the linemen, 4 sprinting away, and 5 already back, with Smith standing comfortably. Then Darby is in man to man on Kelcie over the middle and NO inside help?

Edited November 30, 2015 by The Thurmanator