Catholic Guilt Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 DISCLAIMER- I am a Panthers PSL (ticket) owner since 1995. I like the team, but love the Bills. The Panthers are expected to reach the Super Bowl this year and everyone in Charlotte is on the bandwagon. They are a very good team. With that said... It was a great night for a date with my wife. I got great seats behind the Bills bench in the club level which made for some interesting observations. 1. KELLY HOLCOMB IS HORRIBLE! He needs a job in the arena league. He strikes no fear in the heart of any defense. What you might not have seen on TV is his reaction to the crappy throws. He would chew out recievers after every pass. Gesturing his hands in the air like a damn puppet. The experiment is over - put the kid in and give him some experience. 2. BILLS RUN DEFENSE IS MIA - First teamers looked like jello. Not a good omen. 3. TERRENCE MCGEE IS TOAST - He was getting picked on like the nerd in gym class. One the first series, his man Keyshawn Johnson looked like a Pro Bowler. Speaking of which Bills fans - Can anyone explain why he didn't return ANY kicks tonight?Thank god Steve Smith didn't play tonight. 4. MATT BOWEN IS A STUD - #41 in your game programs was all over the field. The only first stringer on defense worth a damn. Luck would have it Matt was carted off the field in the 1st half. 5. PLEASE RUN WILLIS TO THE OUTSIDE - The Panthers interior is huge. Why did they insist on running straight up the gut? OOOOOOH Holcomb was in. Nevermind... 6 LINDELL LOOKED STRONG - Remember two years ago we wanted him cut? His kicks were dead-on. 7. JP LOOKED BETTER AS THE NIGHT WORE ON - THe kid got comfortable. I couldn't believe on one third down in the first half he was almost sacked twice, ran to his left incomplete. Very impressive in person. He did miss a wide open Sam Aiken for a TD in the 3rd. I want to see more of this kid and I'm glad Jauron played him most of the game. 8. THE CLUB LEVEL SEATS AT BANK OF AMERICA STADIUM ARE UNREAL - Almost like you aren't at a football game. My wife noticed all the Bills fans would look at each other and quietly nod. She thinks we have a secret code. 9. PRESSURE ON THE QB? Is anyone else concerned Carolina had all day to throw? Hope you enjoyed my rantings and found some of it useful. GO BILLS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daquixers_is_back Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Good stuff ... other than the fact that Keyshawn Johnson is a 2 time pro-bowler ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catholic Guilt Posted August 13, 2006 Author Share Posted August 13, 2006 Good stuff ... other than the fact that Keyshawn Johnson is a 2 time pro-bowler ... 742053[/snapback] Sorry - to clarify he punched his ticket to Hawaii with his first series against Terrence tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daquixers_is_back Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Sorry - to clarify he punched his ticket to Hawaii with his first series against Terrence tonight. 742055[/snapback] I am also interested to know why one of the leagues best KR's was not returning kicks ... doesnt he need practice also??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchobelForcedFumble Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 I am also interested to know why one of the leagues best KR's was not returning kicks ... doesnt he need practice also??? 742056[/snapback] Yeah do you want him to get killed returning kicks in the preseason??? Not worth the injury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catholic Guilt Posted August 13, 2006 Author Share Posted August 13, 2006 Yeah do you want him to get killed returning kicks in the preseason???Not worth the injury. 742061[/snapback] Anything is an upgrade from Shaud Williams. My prego wife can run faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 I am also interested to know why one of the leagues best KR's was not returning kicks ... doesnt he need practice also??? 742056[/snapback] The Bills have about 5 WR's trying to distinguish themselves from eacother, at least three of them will probably be cut....special teams coverage and return may be their only real chance to show what they have to offer the team...McGee has already made the team... Anyone know if Andre Davis or Martin Nance did anything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catholic Guilt Posted August 13, 2006 Author Share Posted August 13, 2006 Anyone know if Andre Davis or Martin Nance did anything? 742080[/snapback] Davis did have a catch in the third quarter. Nothing outstanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
port allegany Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Just got back from the game as well. A pretty good turnout of Bills fans. Not a pretty turnout by the Bills. SCBuffFan was right on with his assessment. To no one's surprise but I'm sure everyone's disappointment, the OL and DL were man-handled. The OL stayed in longer but just couldn't stop pressure at all even against 2nd teamers, although they were better (as might be expected). There were just no running lanes either. The group has just come together so there is hope but I must admit it wasn't pretty. Holcolm did look horrible and also confused. I agree that he's our 2nd QB. Even his supporters never talked about his upside, only his stable stewardship. Tonight all you saw was downside with errant throws. I was at the game and they didn't show a reply on the INT for the touchdown but it seemed by the naked eye that he had a throwing lane, no one touching him, and he just threw it directly to the CB. I'm hoping there's a reason for that pass that I don't know about since it was a "veteran's' throw. Losman did look better but he still looked might inconsistent (throw missing open targets, into the turf) and held the ball a bit long. However, he was under almost constant pressure and did seem to take charge a bit more as the game went along. Carolina is a good time (thinking SB down here) so this may have been a difficult test for a new team, with a new coach/GM, new systems, etc. After the shaky start (even a punt was blocked - it looked like the sea parted for the guy!), they actually held their own against the Panthers. However, it was pretty much back-ups versus back-ups. If you want a silver lining, maybe the depth isn't too bac but the front line needs to develop. All in all, I like this team. I want to see Losman given a decent chance (meaning more swing passes, TE passes, quick hitters & slants, etc. to move the ball consistently). He has talent. He may not have confidence. And the team seemed to play hard all night despite almost getting blown out almost immediately. It would have been easy to 'mail it in' at that point given it was pre-season but instead they played hard and won the non-starters portion of the game (I know, we will be unlikely to convince the other team to play mostly back-ups against us in the regular season). I liked the young guys. It was only one game - there were some good things and Carolina is a Top 5 team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bills_Chick Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 McGahee wasn't trying. Just wait until the season starts and he'll light it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazykat Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Good stuff ... other than the fact that Keyshawn Johnson is a 2 time pro-bowler ... 742053[/snapback] Actually, he's a 3-time Pro Bowler. But his last trip was years ago. He's in his mid 30s now. The Panthers had nothing in the receiving department that should have given us any difficulty with Smith out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCBongo Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Thank you for your solid observations. I hope you and the wife had a good date night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasker Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 LT didn't play tonight in San Diego, so why should Willis? I'm expecting a big season from him, but other than rookies needing some game experience, preseason (and especially first game) is not a big time for no. 1 running backs. No need to get bruised up before the season starts. McGahee wasn't trying. Just wait until the season starts and he'll light it up. 742091[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamrock Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Mate, thanks for the report. I was expecting a bit more or after following today on NFL, where it's difficult to get more from say a Losman pass to Aiken- 23 yards. The detail counts...colouring in between the lines helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarthur31 Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 I have to admit that I also didn't see much of a pass rush from the front four but you have to remember what kind of line they have! The same goes for KC and Pittsburgh--high quality lines that play at PB levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catholic Guilt Posted August 13, 2006 Author Share Posted August 13, 2006 Thank you for your solid observations. I hope you and the wife had a good date night. 742099[/snapback] Yes we did thanks. A rare night out with two toddlers at home and a third on the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMadCap Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 I was in the same section as you SC. It was unfortunate that they didn't show many replays last night, I couldn't tell if it was a horrible pass, or the reciever ran the wrong route. Holcomb was horrible. I agree, BoA stadium is awesome. I've been to lots of games there, but never in the club section. I did see a few people with infants there at the game. WTF are people thinking??? Anywayy, last night didn't give me a warm fuzzy in the slightest. The 1st team defense looked awful against a championship calibre Panthers team. Donte Whitner got burned soooo bad on that big gain, then got a stupid penalty the next play. Welcome to the NFL kid, next time come to camp sooner. JP was under lots of pressure, but some of his decisions were not good. I can only hope that with more game experience he gets better. Spikes was in an orange shirt on the sidelines, chatting with players. I wonder if he will see any action at all until Sept 7th? All in all, we had a good time. There were not as many Bills fans as I had thought there would be. You should see that place when the Eagles come to town, but then, those people are like cockaroaches, they come from everywhere. Poeple didn't give us much ribbing there, which is good. Not at all like Philly or Oakland would be. Let's hope the Bills play better next game. It can only get better, right?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 It is pre-season and they will not reveal much of anything. Relax, it's the first game. I do agree with one thing, and that is the pass rush. Playing this type of defense requires a decent pass rush. Rushing four and giving the likes of Brady huge throwing lanes is really dumb. The coaches have to realize this as well so I think they are just playing very vanilla right now. Did you see the lanes Delholme had to throw that TD pass. He honestly had about ten yards wide of a lane to throw. No obstruction of his vision--nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 I am also interested to know why one of the leagues best KR's was not returning kicks ... doesnt he need practice also??? 742056[/snapback] No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMadCap Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Kevin Everett played quite a bit last night, sometimes in two TE sets with Royal. He had maybe one catch though. JP can defintely move, and although he didn't get alot of help from the rest of the team, he didn't impress me with his decisions or accuracy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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