My Dust-Settled Observations on the Jets/Bills Game

[Coach Tuesday]

Ok - been a busy couple of days at OBD. Now that the dust has settled a bit, here are some things I observed at the Bills-Jets game. These were my live observations, I'm not an "All 22" geek nor do I claim to know very much about football:

 

Defense:

 

- The run defense is very solid. I've been impressed with the gap control this year so far, it's much better than last year and reminds me very much of Rex's old Jets teams. Very hard to find running lanes against this front. Role players like Douzable and Worthy are adding real value.

 

- Zach Brown is a playmaker. I've been super impressed with 53 through two games. He's fast and instinctive and makes a ton of plays. He caused the fumble that Robey-Coleman returned for the TD and was flying around all night.

 

- The absence of Hughes really hurt. I was at the game and didn't realize he had bit his tongue, but for awhile I thought he was injured and couldn't find him anywhere on the field. When he was in there, it was clear that he wasn't himself as there was no edge pressure at all on Fitzpatrick and the results were devastating.

 

- One thing that really jumped out at me was the absence of safeties. Where were the safeties all night? The Jets don't have any tight ends, so they weren't worrying about those guys, and the front seven was doing just fine dealing with the running game, so they weren't in the box, either. Where were they? Honestly if you told me that the Bills were using only 9 guys on defense I would believe it. It seemed like we only had linemen, linebackers, and isolated cornerbacks in that game. Very bizarre.

 

- Stephon Gilmore is not a technician, or at least, isn't this year. His technique is terrible, both while defending the pass (his hips seem stiffer this year) and while "tackling" in the running game. It's almost as if he's going through the motions. He doesn't really want to put his body on the line and I suspect it's because he's saving himself for his next contract. He can kiss my a$$. I don't need a player like that on my roster. Get me a Seymour who wants to compete. Let Dan Snyder pay Gilmore.

 

- Darby still covers well and I think he'll continue to improve. He needs to work on his awareness and ball skills, obviously. What concerns me about him is the lack of understanding where the routes are going - seems to reflect a lack of preparation, which to my mind speaks to the next point.

 

- This defense, and this team in general, is not prepared. It is clear to me that they aren't putting in the work that the *great* teams put in during the week leading up to the game. And that, to me, is a direct reflection of their head coach and his brother, who appear to think they can get by on lineage, reputation, and attitude. Folks, we're running the 2015 Saints Defense this year. Perfectly fine on 1st and 2nd down because of a sound scheme, and then complete chaos on 3rd down when the offense needs to make its money. It's a tire fire and it's the last time the Ryans are going to be manning a sideline for quite awhile. But that's cool, I'm sure ESPN or Fox would gladly give them their own pregame show and they'll make a lot of money in television once they're finished destroying this era of Bills' football. Heck, I'm sure they'll even crack jokes on their show about how underprepared they were on gamedays in Buffalo. Just you wait.

 

Offense:

 

- I still don't know what I think about the Roman firing. It probably was a number of factors and not as simple as scapegoating or loyalty. That said, I noticed improvement in the timing of the playcalls on Thursday night - it seemed like the plays were coming in faster than they had been against Baltimore, and that Roman was making a concerted effort to speed up the offense.

 

- That said, it's clear that something is still very wrong with the offense. Do you ever notice that Bills' QBs, unlike other teams' QBs, don't really look at the defense before the snap? You never see Tyrod (or EJ before him) pointing out defenders, adjusting the plays, or worrying about protections. This bugged me under Marrone and it's been the same thing under Roman. Why can't our QBs read defenses? In particular, Tyrod seems to know exactly where he's going with the ball as soon as the snap, with the only exception being where he has to scramble and find whoever is open. If the Pegulas are seeing what I'm seeing, I'm not surprised they're upset with the development of the offense and the quarterbacks.

 

- As for the line, I thought they played really well. Kujo surprisingly wasn't forced by the Jets to move around too much, so he did fine lining up and slugging it out with whoever was in front of him. Miller was great. Richie, on the other hand, is not the player we saw last year - he seems to lack the "punch" he had coming back from his extended absence last season. Perhaps he's lost some of the fire, perhaps he's starting to hit a decline (which his age would suggest), or maybe he's just been facing two great fronts and will come around. Something to keep an eye on.

 

- Bob Woods was again wide open on a number of occasions on Thursday. Tyrod doesn't even look at him. It's bizarre. On the interception to Sammy, Woods was wide open in the flat for a first down and then some.

 

- McCoy avoids contact, and goes down as soon as someone brushes his jersey. I'm not a fan of that type of running back and would never try to build an offense around him. I put that squarely on Whaley, who I suspect is on very thin ice with ownership. And anyhow, if you have a back like that, why not assemble a more agile offensive line to take advantage of his ability to get to the edge, dance around after catching screens, etc.? Again, Doug Whaley can scout - but he doesn't know how to build a roster. Enough about that for now.

 

The Jets:

 

- Some quick thoughts on the opponent. First, Fitz played out of his mind on Thursday night and it was going to be hard to beat him no matter what. He's a streaky player as we know too well and he'll have just as many stinkers as games like we saw on Thursday. We were just on the wrong end of it.

 

- That said, the Jets' strategic blueprint is very solid (unlike the Bills, who have no strategy other than "find good players and coach them"). They now have THREE big receivers who can win contested situations, which is the perfect way to help a QB who lacks pinpoint accuracy but is willing to throw the ball up for grabs. I expect the Jets to be in the wildcard game, possibly in a rematch against the Bengals, and I wouldn't be surprised if they win (only to get stomped by Pittsburgh the following week).

 

- Revis is not the player he used to be. That's all I'll say about that.

Edited September 17, 2016 by Coach Tuesday

[Solomon Grundy]

Coach, I've seen EJ pointing out the LBer when he's been under center. Tyrod's middle of the field game just doesn't exist!!

[Captain_Quint]

I agree with the point about the presnap reads. Its so frustrating to have them line up, know what play theyre running, and just snap the ball. Like theyre practicing or playing in a vaccuum. The best QBs, and even the mediocre ones like Fitz, call out the D theyre seeing, etc.

 

What was Tyrod doing for 4 years behind Flacco? Thats when he should have learned this stuff.

 

Baltimore knew thats the part of his game that was lacking which is why they said "We're gonna make him be a QB".

 

Sadly, Tyrod will continue to be a 'bottom 1/3' QB until he gets cut. Unless he learns to read a Defense, he'll have to keep relying on athletic ability, which doesnt get you very far in the NFL anymore.

[Best Player Available]

i don't see Douzable ( after seeing him steam rolled) nor Zach Brown who IMO was invisible as that big of assets. Brown is a dumpster find and it showed. IMO. With the current injury situation understood Brown is in no way a starting NFL player. but I certanly did notice the lack of Dareus though. My sympathy points for that moron have expired. The team needed him the past two games.

 

Woods was open a lot like Sammy. Head scratcher. what are the chances that Lynn corrects that pronto?

also why is Charles Clay on the team? Just for blocking?

[BillsVet]

Nice summary CT.

 

I agree with the point about the presnap reads. Its so frustrating to have them line up, know what play theyre running, and just snap the ball. Like theyre practicing or playing in a vaccuum. The best QBs, and even the mediocre ones like Fitz, call out the D theyre seeing, etc.

What was Tyrod doing for 4 years behind Flacco? Thats when he should have learned this stuff.

Baltimore knew thats the part of his game that was lacking which is why they said "We're gonna make him be a QB".

Sadly, Tyrod will continue to be a 'bottom 1/3' QB until he gets cut. Unless he learns to read a Defense, he'll have to keep relying on athletic ability, which doesnt get you very far in the NFL anymore.

 

I think Ozzie Newsome well understood TT wasn't a long term option at QB and made no real attempt to trade him before he hit UFA.

 

I've also wondered what TT learned backing up in Baltimore about playing QB in the NFL. Sometimes it seems like he's more of a rookie out there than a 6 year veteran.

[jms62]

Great observations the only I dont agree with is that the Bills have a solid run defense... Too many times the were giving up chunks of yardage when they needed a stop. Our tackling is also suspect.

[Best Player Available]

Nice summary CT.

 

 

 

I think Ozzie Newsome well understood TT wasn't a long term option at QB and made no real attempt to trade him before he hit UFA.

 

I've also wondered what TT learned backing up in Baltimore about playing QB in the NFL. Sometimes it seems like he's more of a rookie out there than a 6 year veteran.

 

That's odd Harbaraugh the head coach wanted to resign him. Tyrod wanted to go somewhere with a chance to start. look it up.

[PolishDave]

i don't see Douzable ( after seeing him steam rolled) nor Zach Brown who IMO was invisible as that big of assets. Brown is a dumpster find and it showed. IMO. With the current injury situation understood Brown is in no way a starting NFL player. but I certanly did notice the lack of Dareus though. My sympathy points for that moron have expired. The team needed him the past two games.

 

I'm right with you there.

 

Each of these games he has been missed a great deal. It just pisses me off even more that that stupid S.O.B can't lay off the doobie. Piece of crap. I hope he sits at home sobbing about how much he let his team down just so he could have a few giggles as he eats his Doritos. Dumb ass stoner loser.

[Blokestradamus]

Through the first half of All-22. A tale of two defenses. Run D - superb. Pass defense - atrocious.

 

For a guy that's not a natural 0/1-Tech, Corbin Bryant has been PHENOMENAL so far.

[OhDozeBills]

Great observations the only I dont agree with is that the Bills have a solid run defense... Too many times the were giving up chunks of yardage when they needed a stop. Our tackling is also suspect.

I think a big part of the chunk yardage had to do with the defense getting worn down because they were on the field 2/3rds of the game

[dave mcbride]

Phenomonal post - thanks. Agreed about Whaley: solid at tactics (appraising individual players) but weak on big-picture strategy (team building).

 

Maybe not the place for this, but the criticism leveled at Roman by an anonymous bills player really bugs me: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/bills/2016/09/17/rex-ryan-greg-roman-buffalo-bills/90571200/

 

He's criticizing Roman for putting in a new plan every week rather than staying the course. That sounds well and good until you realize that this is what the good, sophisticated offenses do every week. The patriots radically change it up every week based on opponent. I worry that we're going to seem some neanderthal-like coordination going forward.

Edited September 17, 2016 by dave mcbride

[Reed83HOF]

great post, Can't disagree with anything....Also can't agree more!

[Blokestradamus]

I maintain that you could make Corey Graham walk into traffic by enticing him with a shiny piece of tin foil. Eye discipline is abysmal.

[jms62]

I think a big part of the chunk yardage had to do with the defense getting worn down because they were on the field 2/3rds of the game

Was there some rule in effect that the Jets git 6 downs to make 10 yards? Failure by the defense to get off the field in NO way can be used as an excuse for their failure to get off the field. I will go you one further the biggest mistake this franchise has ever made was Levy **** canning th K Gun because it kept the defense on the field too long. Make a gawd damn stop and get off the field. SImple enough.

Phenomonal post - thanks. Agreed about Whaley: solid at tactics (appraising individual players) but weak on big-picture strategy (team building).

Maybe not the place for this, but the criticism leveled at Roman by an anonymous bills player really bugs me: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/bills/2016/09/17/rex-ryan-greg-roman-buffalo-bills/90571200/

He's criticizing Roman for putting in a new plan every week rather than staying the course. That sounds well and good until you realize that this is what the good, sophisticated offenses do every week. The patriots radically change it up every week based on opponent. I worry that we're going to seem some neanderthal-like coordination going forward.

True Dave. That is why they call it a game plan.. YOu plan to attack your oppenents weakness.

[QB Bills]

Ok - been a busy couple of days at OBD. Now that the dust has settled a bit, here are some things I observed at the Bills-Jets game. These were my live observations, I'm not an "All 22" geek nor do I claim to know very much about football:

 

Defense:

 

- The run defense is very solid. I've been impressed with the gap control this year so far, it's much better than last year and reminds me very much of Rex's old Jets teams. Very hard to find running lanes against this front. Role players like Douzable and Worthy are adding real value.

 

- Zach Brown is a playmaker. I've been super impressed with 53 through two games. He's fast and instinctive and makes a ton of plays. He caused the fumble that Robey-Coleman returned for the TD and was flying around all night.

 

- The absence of Hughes really hurt. I was at the game and didn't realize he had bit his tongue, but for awhile I thought he was injured and couldn't find him anywhere on the field. When he was in there, it was clear that he wasn't himself as there was no edge pressure at all on Fitzpatrick and the results were devastating.

 

- One thing that really jumped out at me was the absence of safeties. Where were the safeties all night? The Jets don't have any tight ends, so they weren't worrying about those guys, and the front seven was doing just fine dealing with the running game, so they weren't in the box, either. Where were they? Honestly if you told me that the Bills were using only 9 guys on defense I would believe it. It seemed like we only had linemen, linebackers, and isolated cornerbacks in that game. Very bizarre.

 

- Stephon Gilmore is not a technician, or at least, isn't this year. His technique is terrible, both while defending the pass (his hips seem stiffer this year) and while "tackling" in the running game. It's almost as if he's going through the motions. He doesn't really want to put his body on the line and I suspect it's because he's saving himself for his next contract. He can kiss my a$$. I don't need a player like that on my roster. Get me a Seymour who wants to compete. Let Dan Snyder pay Gilmore.

 

- Darby still covers well and I think he'll continue to improve. He needs to work on his awareness and ball skills, obviously. What concerns me about him is the lack of understanding where the routes are going - seems to reflect a lack of preparation, which to my mind speaks to the next point.

 

- This defense, and this team in general, is not prepared. It is clear to me that they aren't putting in the work that the *great* teams put in during the week leading up to the game. And that, to me, is a direct reflection of their head coach and his brother, who appear to think they can get by on lineage, reputation, and attitude. Folks, we're running the 2015 Saints Defense this year. Perfectly fine on 1st and 2nd down because of a sound scheme, and then complete chaos on 3rd down when the offense needs to make its money. It's a tire fire and it's the last time the Ryans are going to be manning a sideline for quite awhile. But that's cool, I'm sure ESPN or Fox would gladly give them their own pregame show and they'll make a lot of money in television once they're finished destroying this era of Bills' football. Heck, I'm sure they'll even crack jokes on their show about how underprepared they were on gamedays in Buffalo. Just you wait.

 

Offense:

 

- I still don't know what I think about the Roman firing. It probably was a number of factors and not as simple as scapegoating or loyalty. That said, I noticed improvement in the timing of the playcalls on Thursday night - it seemed like the plays were coming in faster than they had been against Baltimore, and that Roman was making a concerted effort to speed up the offense.

 

- That said, it's clear that something is still very wrong with the offense. Do you ever notice that Bills' QBs, unlike other teams' QBs, don't really look at the defense before the snap? You never see Tyrod (or EJ before him) pointing out defenders, adjusting the plays, or worrying about protections. This bugged me under Marrone and it's been the same thing under Roman. Why can't our QBs read defenses? In particular, Tyrod seems to know exactly where he's going with the ball as soon as the snap, with the only exception being where he has to scramble and find whoever is open. If the Pegulas are seeing what I'm seeing, I'm not surprised they're upset with the development of the offense and the quarterbacks.

 

- As for the line, I thought they played really well. Kujo surprisingly wasn't forced by the Jets to move around too much, so he did fine lining up and slugging it out with whoever was in front of him. Miller was great. Richie, on the other hand, is not the player we saw last year - he seems to lack the "punch" he had coming back from his extended absence last season. Perhaps he's lost some of the fire, perhaps he's starting to hit a decline (which his age would suggest), or maybe he's just been facing two great fronts and will come around. Something to keep an eye on.

 

- Bob Woods was again wide open on a number of occasions on Thursday. Tyrod doesn't even look at him. It's bizarre. On the interception to Sammy, Woods was wide open in the flat for a first down and then some.

 

- McCoy avoids contact, and goes down as soon as someone brushes his jersey. I'm not a fan of that type of running back and would never try to build an offense around him. I put that squarely on Whaley, who I suspect is on very thin ice with ownership. And anyhow, if you have a back like that, why not assemble a more agile offensive line to take advantage of his ability to get to the edge, dance around after catching screens, etc.? Again, Doug Whaley can scout - but he doesn't know how to build a roster. Enough about that for now.

 

The Jets:

 

- Some quick thoughts on the opponent. First, Fitz played out of his mind on Thursday night and it was going to be hard to beat him no matter what. He's a streaky player as we know too well and he'll have just as many stinkers as games like we saw on Thursday. We were just on the wrong end of it.

 

- That said, the Jets' strategic blueprint is very solid (unlike the Bills, who have no strategy other than "find good players and coach them"). They now have THREE big receivers who can win contested situations, which is the perfect way to help a QB who lacks pinpoint accuracy but is willing to throw the ball up for grabs. I expect the Jets to be in the wildcard game, possibly in a rematch against the Bengals, and I wouldn't be surprised if they win (only to get stomped by Pittsburgh the following week).

 

- Revis is not the player he used to be. That's all I'll say about that.

Good post. However, I believe Preston brown caused the fumble, not Zach brown

[Blokestradamus]

Good post. However, I believe Preston brown caused the fumble, not Zach brown

 

To me, it looks like Zach got there first. Preston got the credit but I'm not sure he forced it out.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

Ok - been a busy couple of days at OBD. Now that the dust has settled a bit, here are some things I observed at the Bills-Jets game. These were my live observations, I'm not an "All 22" geek nor do I claim to know very much about football:

 

Defense:

 

- The run defense is very solid. I've been impressed with the gap control this year so far, it's much better than last year and reminds me very much of Rex's old Jets teams. Very hard to find running lanes against this front. Role players like Douzable and Worthy are adding real value.

 

- Zach Brown is a playmaker. I've been super impressed with 53 through two games. He's fast and instinctive and makes a ton of plays. He caused the fumble that Robey-Coleman returned for the TD and was flying around all night.

 

- The absence of Hughes really hurt. I was at the game and didn't realize he had bit his tongue, but for awhile I thought he was injured and couldn't find him anywhere on the field. When he was in there, it was clear that he wasn't himself as there was no edge pressure at all on Fitzpatrick and the results were devastating.

 

- One thing that really jumped out at me was the absence of safeties. Where were the safeties all night? The Jets don't have any tight ends, so they weren't worrying about those guys, and the front seven was doing just fine dealing with the running game, so they weren't in the box, either. Where were they? Honestly if you told me that the Bills were using only 9 guys on defense I would believe it. It seemed like we only had linemen, linebackers, and isolated cornerbacks in that game. Very bizarre.

 

- Stephon Gilmore is not a technician, or at least, isn't this year. His technique is terrible, both while defending the pass (his hips seem stiffer this year) and while "tackling" in the running game. It's almost as if he's going through the motions. He doesn't really want to put his body on the line and I suspect it's because he's saving himself for his next contract. He can kiss my a$$. I don't need a player like that on my roster. Get me a Seymour who wants to compete. Let Dan Snyder pay Gilmore.

 

- Darby still covers well and I think he'll continue to improve. He needs to work on his awareness and ball skills, obviously. What concerns me about him is the lack of understanding where the routes are going - seems to reflect a lack of preparation, which to my mind speaks to the next point.

 

- This defense, and this team in general, is not prepared. It is clear to me that they aren't putting in the work that the *great* teams put in during the week leading up to the game. And that, to me, is a direct reflection of their head coach and his brother, who appear to think they can get by on lineage, reputation, and attitude. Folks, we're running the 2015 Saints Defense this year. Perfectly fine on 1st and 2nd down because of a sound scheme, and then complete chaos on 3rd down when the offense needs to make its money. It's a tire fire and it's the last time the Ryans are going to be manning a sideline for quite awhile. But that's cool, I'm sure ESPN or Fox would gladly give them their own pregame show and they'll make a lot of money in television once they're finished destroying this era of Bills' football. Heck, I'm sure they'll even crack jokes on their show about how underprepared they were on gamedays in Buffalo. Just you wait.

 

Offense:

 

- I still don't know what I think about the Roman firing. It probably was a number of factors and not as simple as scapegoating or loyalty. That said, I noticed improvement in the timing of the playcalls on Thursday night - it seemed like the plays were coming in faster than they had been against Baltimore, and that Roman was making a concerted effort to speed up the offense.

 

- That said, it's clear that something is still very wrong with the offense. Do you ever notice that Bills' QBs, unlike other teams' QBs, don't really look at the defense before the snap? You never see Tyrod (or EJ before him) pointing out defenders, adjusting the plays, or worrying about protections. This bugged me under Marrone and it's been the same thing under Roman. Why can't our QBs read defenses? In particular, Tyrod seems to know exactly where he's going with the ball as soon as the snap, with the only exception being where he has to scramble and find whoever is open. If the Pegulas are seeing what I'm seeing, I'm not surprised they're upset with the development of the offense and the quarterbacks.

 

- As for the line, I thought they played really well. Kujo surprisingly wasn't forced by the Jets to move around too much, so he did fine lining up and slugging it out with whoever was in front of him. Miller was great. Richie, on the other hand, is not the player we saw last year - he seems to lack the "punch" he had coming back from his extended absence last season. Perhaps he's lost some of the fire, perhaps he's starting to hit a decline (which his age would suggest), or maybe he's just been facing two great fronts and will come around. Something to keep an eye on.

 

- Bob Woods was again wide open on a number of occasions on Thursday. Tyrod doesn't even look at him. It's bizarre. On the interception to Sammy, Woods was wide open in the flat for a first down and then some.

 

- McCoy avoids contact, and goes down as soon as someone brushes his jersey. I'm not a fan of that type of running back and would never try to build an offense around him. I put that squarely on Whaley, who I suspect is on very thin ice with ownership. And anyhow, if you have a back like that, why not assemble a more agile offensive line to take advantage of his ability to get to the edge, dance around after catching screens, etc.? Again, Doug Whaley can scout - but he doesn't know how to build a roster. Enough about that for now.

 

The Jets:

 

- Some quick thoughts on the opponent. First, Fitz played out of his mind on Thursday night and it was going to be hard to beat him no matter what. He's a streaky player as we know too well and he'll have just as many stinkers as games like we saw on Thursday. We were just on the wrong end of it.

 

- That said, the Jets' strategic blueprint is very solid (unlike the Bills, who have no strategy other than "find good players and coach them"). They now have THREE big receivers who can win contested situations, which is the perfect way to help a QB who lacks pinpoint accuracy but is willing to throw the ball up for grabs. I expect the Jets to be in the wildcard game, possibly in a rematch against the Bengals, and I wouldn't be surprised if they win (only to get stomped by Pittsburgh the following week).

 

- Revis is not the player he used to be. That's all I'll say about that.

Re: McCoy - I think the exchange for Alonzo was a win for the team and an upgrade to the rb situation. However it is a young mans roster spot and I would love to see more gillisilisslee and also get a chance to see what j-Will Is all about.

 

Reggie Bush seemed a lousy idea then and is a lousey idea now. The guy is sucking up space. Would've cut his arse the moment I saw him dodge the blitzing corner to get to the flat instead of chipping him v Ravens

Edited September 17, 2016 by over 20 years of fanhood

[GottaRun]

Thanks for this well thought post!

[3rdand12]

Ok - been a busy couple of days at OBD. Now that the dust has settled a bit, here are some things I observed at the Bills-Jets game. These were my live observations, I'm not an "All 22" geek nor do I claim to know very much about football:

 

Defense:

 

- The run defense is very solid. I've been impressed with the gap control this year so far, it's much better than last year and reminds me very much of Rex's old Jets teams. Very hard to find running lanes against this front. Role players like Douzable and Worthy are adding real value.

 

- Zach Brown is a playmaker. I've been super impressed with 53 through two games. He's fast and instinctive and makes a ton of plays. He caused the fumble that Robey-Coleman returned for the TD and was flying around all night.

 

- The absence of Hughes really hurt. I was at the game and didn't realize he had bit his tongue, but for awhile I thought he was injured and couldn't find him anywhere on the field. When he was in there, it was clear that he wasn't himself as there was no edge pressure at all on Fitzpatrick and the results were devastating.

 

- One thing that really jumped out at me was the absence of safeties. Where were the safeties all night? The Jets don't have any tight ends, so they weren't worrying about those guys, and the front seven was doing just fine dealing with the running game, so they weren't in the box, either. Where were they? Honestly if you told me that the Bills were using only 9 guys on defense I would believe it. It seemed like we only had linemen, linebackers, and isolated cornerbacks in that game. Very bizarre.

 

- Stephon Gilmore is not a technician, or at least, isn't this year. His technique is terrible, both while defending the pass (his hips seem stiffer this year) and while "tackling" in the running game. It's almost as if he's going through the motions. He doesn't really want to put his body on the line and I suspect it's because he's saving himself for his next contract. He can kiss my a$$. I don't need a player like that on my roster. Get me a Seymour who wants to compete. Let Dan Snyder pay Gilmore.

 

- Darby still covers well and I think he'll continue to improve. He needs to work on his awareness and ball skills, obviously. What concerns me about him is the lack of understanding where the routes are going - seems to reflect a lack of preparation, which to my mind speaks to the next point.

 

- This defense, and this team in general, is not prepared. It is clear to me that they aren't putting in the work that the *great* teams put in during the week leading up to the game. And that, to me, is a direct reflection of their head coach and his brother, who appear to think they can get by on lineage, reputation, and attitude. Folks, we're running the 2015 Saints Defense this year. Perfectly fine on 1st and 2nd down because of a sound scheme, and then complete chaos on 3rd down when the offense needs to make its money. It's a tire fire and it's the last time the Ryans are going to be manning a sideline for quite awhile. But that's cool, I'm sure ESPN or Fox would gladly give them their own pregame show and they'll make a lot of money in television once they're finished destroying this era of Bills' football. Heck, I'm sure they'll even crack jokes on their show about how underprepared they were on gamedays in Buffalo. Just you wait.

 

Offense:

 

- I still don't know what I think about the Roman firing. It probably was a number of factors and not as simple as scapegoating or loyalty. That said, I noticed improvement in the timing of the playcalls on Thursday night - it seemed like the plays were coming in faster than they had been against Baltimore, and that Roman was making a concerted effort to speed up the offense.

 

- That said, it's clear that something is still very wrong with the offense. Do you ever notice that Bills' QBs, unlike other teams' QBs, don't really look at the defense before the snap? You never see Tyrod (or EJ before him) pointing out defenders, adjusting the plays, or worrying about protections. This bugged me under Marrone and it's been the same thing under Roman. Why can't our QBs read defenses? In particular, Tyrod seems to know exactly where he's going with the ball as soon as the snap, with the only exception being where he has to scramble and find whoever is open. If the Pegulas are seeing what I'm seeing, I'm not surprised they're upset with the development of the offense and the quarterbacks.

 

- As for the line, I thought they played really well. Kujo surprisingly wasn't forced by the Jets to move around too much, so he did fine lining up and slugging it out with whoever was in front of him. Miller was great. Richie, on the other hand, is not the player we saw last year - he seems to lack the "punch" he had coming back from his extended absence last season. Perhaps he's lost some of the fire, perhaps he's starting to hit a decline (which his age would suggest), or maybe he's just been facing two great fronts and will come around. Something to keep an eye on.

 

- Bob Woods was again wide open on a number of occasions on Thursday. Tyrod doesn't even look at him. It's bizarre. On the interception to Sammy, Woods was wide open in the flat for a first down and then some.

 

- McCoy avoids contact, and goes down as soon as someone brushes his jersey. I'm not a fan of that type of running back and would never try to build an offense around him. I put that squarely on Whaley, who I suspect is on very thin ice with ownership. And anyhow, if you have a back like that, why not assemble a more agile offensive line to take advantage of his ability to get to the edge, dance around after catching screens, etc.? Again, Doug Whaley can scout - but he doesn't know how to build a roster. Enough about that for now.

 

The Jets:

 

- Some quick thoughts on the opponent. First, Fitz played out of his mind on Thursday night and it was going to be hard to beat him no matter what. He's a streaky player as we know too well and he'll have just as many stinkers as games like we saw on Thursday. We were just on the wrong end of it.

 

- That said, the Jets' strategic blueprint is very solid (unlike the Bills, who have no strategy other than "find good players and coach them"). They now have THREE big receivers who can win contested situations, which is the perfect way to help a QB who lacks pinpoint accuracy but is willing to throw the ball up for grabs. I expect the Jets to be in the wildcard game, possibly in a rematch against the Bengals, and I wouldn't be surprised if they win (only to get stomped by Pittsburgh the following week).

 

- Revis is not the player he used to be. That's all I'll say about that.

One of your best posts ! Thanks for the decent read Coach

Through the first half of All-22. A tale of two defenses. Run D - superb. Pass defense - atrocious.

 

For a guy that's not a natural 0/1-Tech, Corbin Bryant has been PHENOMENAL so far.

97 stood out to me Thurs

I maintain that you could make Corey Graham walk into traffic by enticing him with a shiny piece of tin foil. Eye discipline is abysmal.

That is rather funny Blokes !

Re: McCoy - I think the exchange for Alonzo was a win for the team and an upgrade to the rb situation. However it is a young mans roster spot and I would love to see more gillisilisslee and also get a chance to see what j-Will Is all about.

 

Reggie Bush seemed a lousy idea then and is a lousey idea now. The guy is sucking up space. Would've cut his arse the moment I saw him dodge the blitzing corner to get to the flat instead of chipping him v Ravens

Or is Roman not using him to his strengths? ALa LeSean ?

Hmm...

[John from Riverside]

Re: McCoy - I think the exchange for Alonzo was a win for the team and an upgrade to the rb situation. However it is a young mans roster spot and I would love to see more gillisilisslee and also get a chance to see what j-Will Is all about.

 

Reggie Bush seemed a lousy idea then and is a lousey idea now. The guy is sucking up space. Would've cut his arse the moment I saw him dodge the blitzing corner to get to the flat instead of chipping him v Ravens

It honestly would not suprise me to see Reggie Bush cut at some point.......we just dont have the big "get you 4 yards" back and I really hope that is Williams pretty soon here. Gillaslee is being totally under used