Corp000085 Posted August 27, 2006 Share Posted August 27, 2006 Individual Players: JP--Well, his skill level looks about the same. He's got some zip on the ball, he can avoid the rush, and he can make accurate throws when he wants to. What's changed since last week? He didn't seem to be so "tweaked out". He didn't really skip any passes or kick himself in the nuts over bad throws. His TD to price was money, and he was hitting evans consistantly. Price--he read his outlook calendar correctly last night and showed up. He finally solidified his spot as the #2 receiver last night. Royal--It's one game, but it's nice to have a tight end again, isn't it? O-Line--They made some stupid penalty mistakes... They take the blame as well as coaching Coaches--Can they get the plays on time and correctly and/or correct the "illegal procedure" BS? Hopefully this was their "warmup" game as well... If Jauron is as smart as he is billed (or at least smarter than meathead) he'll learn from those mistakes and correct them for the regular season. Defense--They're going to be a liability till proven wrong. Hopefully that first drive was "practice". IF they pull that crap against NE in 2 weeks, it won't really matter how much jp has developed. spikes--Nice to see him back, now reevaluate your injury, sit out next week, and get ready to !@#$ up tom brady My overall reaction: It's one game, its the preseason, but they played great last night, especially on offense. JP was sharp, and when he wasn't he didn't get too down. I like how he got puilled after his INT. Great game, but that gives him something to think about. For the first time all preseason, i'm actually excited to see the offense. They weren't a liability. The defense on the other hand... I don't know if its coaching, the new scheme, or the players, but man... It's going to be a very long season if they play like that, especially on the first drive. My homer prediction for the record is always 19-0, although my realistic prediction was somewhere around the mark where the team finished last year (although they're going to show improvement by thanksgiving). I know its preseason and i shouldn't get "up" too high, but if the offense plays the way they did last night, and the defense locks down their mistakes, i see no reason why they can't at least go .500. By the way, hopefully holcomb will either be cut or traded so any shadow of doubt will be gone. Nall can be the #2 guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrobot Posted August 27, 2006 Share Posted August 27, 2006 Agree with most of your points. I'm a little more optimistic about the O-Line. I thought that, apart from their penalties (Villi in the backfield? Get Preston in there), they blocked well. I think you saw Losman's potential most clearly last night. I loved it when JP stepped up and threw the bomb to PP, and his throw to Aiken was on the money, and his throw to Wilson was right where only Wilson could have caught it (I'll save my ongoing praise for Wilson for another thread). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted August 27, 2006 Share Posted August 27, 2006 I'm not sure why people think the defense was so horrible. The starters gave up one drive total. In the first half they gave up seven points. 107 total yards. One drive. Had two sacks. 58 gross yards passing against them and 49 yards rushing. 3 three and outs out of 5 drives. That's 14 points. 214 yards. Which would be a very good game and one we would take every single time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted August 27, 2006 Author Share Posted August 27, 2006 I'm not sure why people think the defense was so horrible. The starters gave up one drive total. In the first half they gave up seven points. 107 total yards. One drive. Had two sacks. 58 gross yards passing against them and 49 yards rushing. 3 three and outs out of 5 drives. That's 14 points. 214 yards. Which would be a very good game and one we would take every single time. 753141[/snapback] I am just skeptical on the defense, and i will be till they can prove me wrong. Charlie frye was surgical on that first drive. Mcgee was out of position, fletcher was falling down trying to cut back, etc. It's not that i'm saying i'm overly critical of the defense, but i am just worried. Drives like that first cleveland drive remind me of horrid memories like tampa and atlanta last year. They definitely have the talent level to turn it around, its just a matter of actually turning the ship around. Again, i'm not trying to be overly confident in the offense, but in the same breath, not overly critical of the defense. I'm just skeptical on both sides of the ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted August 27, 2006 Share Posted August 27, 2006 I am just skeptical on the defense, and i will be till they can prove me wrong. Charlie frye was surgical on that first drive. Mcgee was out of position, fletcher was falling down trying to cut back, etc. It's not that i'm saying i'm overly critical of the defense, but i am just worried. Drives like that first cleveland drive remind me of horrid memories like tampa and atlanta last year. They definitely have the talent level to turn it around, its just a matter of actually turning the ship around. Again, i'm not trying to be overly confident in the offense, but in the same breath, not overly critical of the defense. I'm just skeptical on both sides of the ball. 753148[/snapback] I understand. I am very skeptical about both the offense and defense. But it seems like a lot of people are putting too much emphasis on that one drive, when they had five drives. Three were three and outs. One went for a couple first downs until a 3rd down stop and a long FG miss. And one when they were completely dominated. That's pretty good. Seven points is very good. If that first drive were the last drive, I don't think it would have stood out. And they were all with the starters. Although, on the TD, I think I saw Wire and either Ellison or Exekial out there I think, on the goalline defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billsguy Posted August 27, 2006 Share Posted August 27, 2006 I understand. I am very skeptical about both the offense and defense. 753162[/snapback] Mark Gaughn - Buffalo News "Given the fact the Bills were 5-11 last year and Cleveland was 6-10, it was hard to draw too many conclusions from the evening. " Well said Mark! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VABills Posted August 27, 2006 Share Posted August 27, 2006 I think the defense made some mistakes but overall they played real well. I think you are heaping too much glory on the offense however. Yes it is the best they have looked all preseason, however the starters only scored 10 in 2 1/2 quarters. You don't win a lot with so few points. Second the oline is terrible which is a credit to JP. Mcgahee didn't do a lot. Too be honest we have to remember this is Cleveland who is also not a very good team. So I take the good with the bad and realize that we have a long way to go, but some players started to shine last night and others basically will be replaced as time permits. Afterall it is tough to revamp and entire team in one offseason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gross Posted August 27, 2006 Share Posted August 27, 2006 I am just skeptical on the defense, and i will be till they can prove me wrong. Charlie frye was surgical on that first drive. Mcgee was out of position, fletcher was falling down trying to cut back, etc. It's not that i'm saying i'm overly critical of the defense, but i am just worried. Drives like that first cleveland drive remind me of horrid memories like tampa and atlanta last year. They definitely have the talent level to turn it around, its just a matter of actually turning the ship around. Again, i'm not trying to be overly confident in the offense, but in the same breath, not overly critical of the defense. I'm just skeptical on both sides of the ball. 753148[/snapback] Remember that pre-season==no game-planning. You game-plan on the fly, which has shown in most of the games this year (1st drive == long TD drive given up by Defense, 2+ drive == not much else...). Further, it seems they are also using the pre-season to "try things." More on offense I think, but Losman seemed to start the 2nd half throwing a lot more than we will likely see come game 1. Plenty of room for skepticism, but room for hope as well. First 3 games can determine the season (when's the last time we started the season with a run on the entire division?). Same goes with the offense. I think the line can do decent if they get a chance to gel, and if Losman can hit a deep strike or two every game that will lighten the pressure...Get more discipline and better coaching and the TD doesn't get erased by a procedural and their FG miss would stand because we only had 11 out there...Then you also have players "trying too hard" to make the team/move up the depth chart... Still would like to see a 11+ play drive out of the offense, but I just feel it will come together....Of course I've felt that and been plenty wrong before, but that's okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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