Haven't been here for a while...

[Left Overture]

Been a while since I have posted. So allow me to unload whats been on my mind.

 

I actually see this team as very nearly "there" rather than slipping away, and maybe that is what is so frustrating. However, I do feel that there are some individual players that need to sit to get their head on straight. The cancer that eats at this team is "selfishness" plain and simple.

 

T. Henry should sit, not because he slipped on a crucial play, but rather because I have never seen such a pathetic half-hearted attempt at pass blocking in my life. Everytime he draws a blocking assignment, he does the "olay" move and turns in hopes that Drew will lob him the ball in desparation. I may be wrong, but isn't he supposed to at least try to hold his block, or get in the guys way for a second or two. Selfishness - it is the root of most evils that plague this team. Travis should watch some film of Thurman Thomas to see how the "great ones" did it. Opponent teams overload the box knowing that this is the way to get to Drew. We need fullbacks and runningbacks that are committed to picking up those extra blitzers. I don't give a rat's a$$ if they only get 2.5 yards a carry. If those guys did their assignments we would see a much less shakey Drew out there.

 

Clements did a nice job in the last two games, and despite all the talk from the genious "Belichick", Brady did not throw Nate's way during the game. This being said, I cannot forget his "boneheaded" attempt to intercept that ball during the jags game that was again "selfishness" rearing it's ugly head. I personally would like to see less struting around by the players on our defensive unit, and more guys playing like they have "been there before". The "real" pros don't have to draw attention to themselves, and this "team" has nothing to brag about (0 and 3).

 

Fletcher - sit him. He is huge out there on defense with a very high moter, but his selfish plays and unsportsman like penalties have cost this team every week. It is time to let him reflect on what it means to be part of a team. He needs to learn how to control his emotions while on the field. He seems to consistently slip into playing selfish and dumb. That being said, the roughing the passer call on him was one of the worst calls I have seen in a while, and as I have said in the past, all such calls should be reviewable. I hate this bastard child of the real instant replay I envisioned when they instituted it, with it's nefarious "non-challengable" BS.

 

Wire - Cannot be left alone on coverage assignments. This is a coaches call, but Coy has been asked to play several roles so I cut him some slack, but even the least talented bodies out there in the secondary make a play now and then. Try as I might, I cannot recall a single defensive coverage play that Coy has made - at the very least, not any momentum turning plays. I have to say that I miss Milloy's presence out there more than I realized I would. When he is back, that problem will correct itself and Coy can return to the Special Teams.

 

Red Zone run defense - You have to leave Sam and Pat in there... Dillon blew through a huge hole, and I could see Edwards getting tossed aside like a rag doll by the Patriot line could've been holding, but hey they're the Patriots.

 

Offensive line - I am not going to get on them too bad we lost two starters early in the game. And how do you get a holding call on a guard on a run by the full back up the middle that took all of .5 seconds to execute. That flag was in the air the moment the ball was hiked. The officiating flat out sucked. I'll return to that in a moment.

 

Play calling - do not call plays that require Travis to use his brain, and do not call bootlegs when you have two of your starting offensive linemen missing. I will come back to this in a moment.

 

Drew - No touch on his passes. The long ball is still there when he has time, but he is killing our guys out there with the touch passes. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen him hang our tightends, runningbacks, and receivers out with bad passes. Passes where they have to stretch behind themselves and they are totally at the mercy of the other team's head hunters. Drew is 90 in football years, he doesn't make quick decisions and it is time to pass the mantle. It is definately not all Drew's fault, but he makes enough mistakes at crucial times to consistently put this team in a hole. When Losman is healthy, I am willing to sit through the rest of the season and endure his rookie mistakes, simply because I will actually have hope that our offense will be productive next year. Drew will make a good backup, and perhaps a more mobile QB will cover up some of the warts that plague our pass protection.

 

Officiating - I know everyone feels that this is the scape goat for poor play, but sincerely, ever since Ralph changed his vote on instant replay after the year of the totally botched officiating fiasco at New England, we have been getting "jobbed". Fast whistles "down by contact" on fumbles that we recover (not challengable), s-l-o-w whistles and tentative touchdown signals when we actually punch one in. Phantom holding calls and roughing the passer in every fricken game, and these are not minor penalties. They seem to appear on critical third downs, or when we have a huge return - they are consistent drive and momentum killers. The news outlets love to blame our guys, but I cannot tell you how many times I have heard the announcers say after the replay - "that was a bad call", or "I didn't see it" this year. It really isn't all about the execution of our players, and something needs to be done, and Ralph is the only one that can look into why our team is so singled out for bolloxed call after call. This team makes enough legitimate mistakes, they are not capable of recovering when you add the deluge of mistakes by the guys with stripes. Having them send us a "we're sorry" postcard the week after the game is not helping me cope with the fact we were screwed one bit.

 

Defensive Tackles - We need some more beef up front. The kind of guys that can collapse the pocket. It is too apparent that we have to sacrifice coverage downfield to try to generate pressure on the opposing team's QB. I like our edge guys (Denny, Kelsay, and Schobel) they all have high moters. But to get that penetration up the middle, a high draft choice here would not hurt.

 

Play Calling - Believe it or not, I like the play calling - it's the execution and the officiating that killing us. I already stated that I felt the naked bootleg was billsfanone - dumb players, backups, and no wheels on Drew made that an ill-advised play. But hey, if Travis hadn't let the wind tackle him on the play before, our coaching staff would not have been placed in a position of having to pull a suprise play out of their collective "hats" that they were pretty sure NE wasn't looking for on 4th down. I still see Travis failing to sell the fake, and guys blowing through the middle while two of our offensive linemen were standing there side-by-side looking around for someone to block. Pass the TUMS please!

 

All in all, a very talented team that needs to be less selfish and play more like a team. There are a few things that are only correctable with changes in personnel, but I feel that Mularkey and staff could send a good message to our boys if they were willing to sit a few of the chronic, selfish, abusers.

 

- Hang in there Bills faithful. There is a silver lining on this cloud.