Things that need to improve

[Captain Hindsight]

Watching the game today i saw a few things that need improvement

 

1) We have to tackle better. Fred Taylor and jones drew are good players but so is most of the NFL. We have to tackle better or we are going to lose some games we should win.

 

2) Our kick coverage doesnt seem to be as good this year, maybe its just me but i thought it looked a bit pourus.

 

3) Run blocking. 59 yards from Marshawn and 17 from Jackson are alright but i would still like to see it improve

 

Thoughts? additions?

[ax4782]

I agree that the tackling at times was weak, but mostly towards the middle and the end of the third quarter when they had been on the field for so long. I think that had more to do with it than the fact that they can't tackle or have trouble tackling. They were solid in the first half and very solid in the Fourth Quarter when it counted.

 

Kick coverage wasn't as good today, but they looked solid against the Seahawks. We did a good enough job to win, though the on-side kick annoyed me a bit. That being said, I try not to criticize the STs much. We have one of the top units in the league and even they are going to have a bad game here and there. I chalk this one up to that occasional bad game.

 

The running game was fine. Buffalo is averaging 5 less carries per game this year, and keep in mind, we never had the ball in the third quarter. Had we even had a solid drive in the third quarter, ML would likely have had 70+ yards so, those are solid numbers. Frankly, not getting him beat up early this year, will pay dividends at the end of the season. Also, he and Freddie had a combined 90+ receiving yards.

[mrpunchy]

I agree with the tackling. We missed A LOT of tackles.

Jax has great Special teams so it doesn't surprise me we did not look as sharp as we could have.

 

I don't know about the run blocking. The Bills certainly are moving the ball when they want to and the run game has produced mostly positive yards.

 

Listen there are two playoff teams we just beat. With the exception of the third quarter we really were in control of this game.

[Orton's Arm]

Watching the game today i saw a few things that need improvement

 

1) We have to tackle better. Fred Taylor and jones drew are good players but so is most of the NFL. We have to tackle better or we are going to lose some games we should win.

 

2) Our kick coverage doesnt seem to be as good this year, maybe its just me but i thought it looked a bit pourus.

 

3) Run blocking. 59 yards from Marshawn and 17 from Jackson are alright but i would still like to see it improve

 

Thoughts? additions?

I can't argue with anything you've written. There were also one or two times when I felt our coverage could have been a little better. I'm not taking anything away from our current CBs, but I think that this will be a better team once Leodis McKelvin cracks the starting lineup.

[Max Fischer]

Give some credit to a very good Jax D at home.

[Pyrite Gal]

1, I think this team is vulnerable when the other team is going no huddle or running to start the play before our D us set.

 

Last week, the fact that it was raining and Seattle's frontline WRs were out helped us alot. The pass plays were there for the opponent but they could not hold onto the ball when they pushed the plays. Jax also had some success against us when they went to their two minute drill and I suspect future opponents will notice this on film and we will face this more.

 

The Bills can combat this with:

 

A. Fewell and the D braintrust need to be even quicker putting the players they want. They should also not be afraid to waste a TO if necessary if they do not feel they have the right players out there or the correct D called. Its tough to give up a TO when we play a game which often comes down to the last drive, but when one plays it close to the vest its tough to make up for losing a TD or FG also. I think we got lucky last week with the weather and this weak with injuries to their interior OL which caused Garrard to give up at least 3 points with an INT.

 

B. Better communication among the players. Its gonna be tough because our team D leaders like Whitner and Pos are pretty young, Kawika Mitchell will need to be very vocal and all things point to Stroud taking this moment as a jumping off point for team leadership rather than feeling like he has achieved his goals by registering early sacks and beating Jax

 

2. Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you.

 

In retrospect, the onside kick to keep the D on the field after their halftime adjustment was a smart but actually forseeable ST play.

 

During the week their our coaches assigned to watch the Bills for vulnerabilities and to figure out what opponents might do to deal with us. I am not sure there is such a "red" team (as they are sometimes called in the military where someone plays the othersides generals to dope out their strategic options) for gameday, but having someone whose job it is is to look out for an warn the HC/OCs of possibilities might be good.