Big Turk Posted September 21, 2008 Posted September 21, 2008 So what did we learn today? I really don't know what we have in the 2008 vintage. What could today's game mean? That the Bills aren't good enough to overlook anyone in the parity-rich NFL? No team is good enough to overlook ANYONE in this league...that is why they say "On any given Sunday..." That the falloff from the Bills A game to their B game is huge? (Or was that their C-/D+ game?) That was more like their F game for most of the first 3 quarters...it was unbelievable just how bad they played on offense... That the Bills are good enough to overcome 3+ quarters of bad play? Every year, no matter how good you are, your team will be in a few of these games where you shouldn't win based on how you played most of the game...good teams find a way to win these games and bad teams find a way to lose them(think of the Bills in the Broncos and Cowboys games last year---we found a way to lose them...) That the Bills are bad enough to execute poorly for 3+ quarters? It shows that every team must come into a game prepared to play and not just think showing up on the field against a bad team is enough to win. Jauron did a grave disservice to the team by giving them Monday and Tuesday off last week...they are not good enough to be skipping an extra day of practice and preparation and it almost cost them. That the Raiders are better than the line, the pundits, and the board thought? The Raiders defense is pretty good---they have some talented players on that side of the ball, but their offense is 1-dimensional and very predictable...if their defense can keep the score low, the Raiders could be a decent team, although it will be hard for them to score more than 20 points in most games... That the Bills are worse than the line, the pundits, and the board thought? I think it may mean the Bills are BETTER than most thought---this team has lost this type of game so many times...for them to win 2 games like this in a row is very impressive and shows they are really coming of age...
Reed83HOF Posted September 22, 2008 Posted September 22, 2008 Good points and that certainly was evident today. It was dissappointing to see the O-line struggles. Especially on pass protection. The fact that they stepped up at the end reveals some character and the capacity is there to play at that level. Even in the kelly era, we had games where everyone seemed out of synch. Its still a young team and a young season. This game will give the coaches game material to try to shore up on our weaknesses. I am just glad we could expose our weaknesses and still come out with a win. Peters obviously needs some more work to maintain a high level through 4 quarters. It is exciting though to see the team wim again in the 4th quarter. It builds that mentality that you are never out of a game. It has been a long time since I felt that way. I recall a game, I think in the 1992 season where we were on Monday night against the cheifs and we lost like 30-6. Christian Okoye ran all over us....and we were obviously an awesome team Sometimes, you stink it up. In this decade when we thought things were looking up, we could beat a good opponent and then play a dog the next week and lose...today and last week - we won Enjoy the win...we are 3-0 I could careless if we play like crap and win or blow a team out...a win is a win...was it pretty? No you don't get points or inch closer to the playoffs... As our Good TBD Senator says.... 19-0 Baby
Georgia Bill Posted September 22, 2008 Posted September 22, 2008 The difference between playoff and non-playoff teams is not all that huge. The teams that make the playoffs find ways to win the type of game we won today. All their wins aren't pretty. I'm delighted that we've found a way to win even when we played ugly for most of the day. Or in games where we played reasonably well and found oursellves down late in the 4th quarter. Remember - parity does reign for the most part in the NFL. No one is looking monsterously dominant. At this point, the rest of the East are beating each other up = that's great for us. It will be REALLY interesting to see how we measure up against those teams once we start playing them. Once we have one game w each of them under out belts we'll know a lot more. I really like our chances!
jester43 Posted September 22, 2008 Posted September 22, 2008 one thing i know for sure is that we are really lucky not be 1-2.
Poeticlaw Posted September 22, 2008 Posted September 22, 2008 So what did we learn today? I really don't know what we have in the 2008 vintage. What could today's game mean? That the Bills aren't good enough to overlook anyone in the parity-rich NFL? That the falloff from the Bills A game to their B game is huge? (Or was that their C-/D+ game?) That the Bills are good enough to overcome 3+ quarters of bad play? That the Bills are bad enough to execute poorly for 3+ quarters? That the Raiders are better than the line, the pundits, and the board thought? That the Bills are worse than the line, the pundits, and the board thought? kj Or maybe the boys were still to dehydrated and lathargic from their hot game last week and they finally mustered the engery in the 4th qtr because the were on the verge of losing to the worse team in the AFC if not the NFL
ax4782 Posted September 22, 2008 Posted September 22, 2008 Glad we got the win, but what I already knew was shown again today. We are barely average at run blocking, and barely average at rushing the passer without blitzing. These two factors will be the main reasons our season will end. I think the run blocking comment is a bit overboard. Again, the statistics from the game just don't back that up. The Bills had an over 100 yd rushing day, where Lynch had two rushing TDs. No, they were not perfect up front, but they were good when they had to be. The pass blocking today was below what most fans have come to expect, at least for the first three quarters. They showed up in the Fourth when we really needed them. As for the front four, I thought they got solid pressure most of the game. Outside of the 84 yd TD pass that caught our secondary sleeping, Russell was abysmal and that was mostly due to pressure from the front four and on occasion the blitzing LBs. The fact is, Williams/McCargo and especially Stroud were in Russell's face most of the game. Schobel has been markedly absent on the right side, but the pass rushers in the middle and on the right have been good. This is not as big a problem as some observers seem to think it is.
ax4782 Posted September 22, 2008 Posted September 22, 2008 Or maybe the boys were still to dehydrated and lathargic from their hot game last week and they finally mustered the engery in the 4th qtr because the were on the verge of losing to the worse team in the AFC if not the NFL I think they were still a bit drained from the Jax game last week. Perhaps they were due for a quasi-letdown after the spike in their expectations. That being said, there are at least two other teams in the NFL that have been worse and looked worse than the Raiders. See KC and STL. Neither one could beat the Raiders, who have a solid D and a very good running attack that our D put down today. Oakland is not as bad a team as some people would like to believe, and keep in mind, even after today their record is better than two other teams in their division, KC and SD.
rockpile Posted September 22, 2008 Posted September 22, 2008 one thing i know for sure is that we are really lucky not be 1-2. All I know is we have two consecutive 4th quarter comebacks. ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) - Trent Edwards and the Buffalo Bills overcame a sloppy start to produce a second straight fourth-quarter comeback victory. Rian Lindell hit a 38-yard field goal as the clock ran out, capping a 24-23 win over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. Edwards engineered three scoring drives in the final quarter, helping the Bills twice overcome 9-point deficits in the last 8 minutes.
JStranger76 Posted September 22, 2008 Posted September 22, 2008 I don't go by statistics, or especially "this particular lineman grades out the highest" stuff. The run blocking is barely average. Not bad, just not as good as I wish it was. Once again, as most here already know, a better center would really put the finishing touch on the O-line. Also, while I like Brad Butler and "he grades out very high" and all, his height doesn't do him any favors when it comes to short yardage situations. It doesn't take looking at statistics to see this area is what keep us from being an elite offensive line, but hey, we've still come a long way baby!!! On the front 4 on defense, I don't think it's a problem, just not quite good enough. I don't mean to sound negative especially after a victory, just pointing out a couple areas I wish we were a little better in.
NicholasCal1 Posted September 22, 2008 Posted September 22, 2008 We learned that the line is not run blocking well. we learned the fact that turk shonert is a huge improvement over fairchild.
Big Turk Posted September 22, 2008 Posted September 22, 2008 one thing i know for sure is that we are really lucky not be 1-2. Good teams seem to make their own luck most of the time...bad teams always seem to be "unlucky"
Jdorn Posted September 22, 2008 Posted September 22, 2008 Evans is above average but not elite, the same for Peters, Whitner and Marshawn. The only elite player we have is Edwards. I think it is far to early to annoint Edwards an elite player. I am very excited about him and I think he is on his way but there were times today where I thought he looked very indecisive and honestly held the ball far to long. I believe Marshawn is the heart and soul of this team he is a one man wrecking crew. The man seems to be able to will yards. The line looked horrible today and I'm quite upset with Peters I have a feeling his holdout is going to cost him alot more than he expected it might be early to draw this conclusion but I just have that feeling. The one thing I will say is this team is playing united and inspired football and I noticed something I havent felt about a Bills team in a long time I actually expected us to come back after the long pass which put us down 9 for the second time.
ganesh Posted September 22, 2008 Posted September 22, 2008 Sometimes, you stink it up. In this decade when we thought things were looking up, we could beat a good opponent and then play a dog the next week and lose...today and last week - we won Enjoy the win...we are 3-0 I could careless if we play like crap and win or blow a team out...a win is a win...was it pretty? No you don't get points or inch closer to the playoffs... In the glory days, we always seemed to be beat up by the Pittsburgh Steelers on MNF....I still remember the INT returned for TD by Rod Woodson off Jim Kelly..
bluv Posted September 22, 2008 Posted September 22, 2008 one thing i know for sure is that we are really lucky not be 1-2. Difference is that in the past few years we'd be 1-2 or 0-3 as we wouldn't have won a close game like we did last week, comeback like we did this week, or put a team away like we did in week one. ENJOY THE MOMENT! NOBODY said that Buffalo was an elite team (yet). When we get to 7-0 or start blowing teams out and finnally start getting ESPN respect, then you worry about having those big dreams and pretty wins!
Pyrite Gal Posted September 22, 2008 Posted September 22, 2008 I think it is far to early to annoint Edwards an elite player. I am very excited about him and I think he is on his way but there were times today where I thought he looked very indecisive and honestly held the ball far to long. I believe Marshawn is the heart and soul of this team he is a one man wrecking crew. The man seems to be able to will yards. The line looked horrible today and I'm quite upset with Peters I have a feeling his holdout is going to cost him alot more than he expected it might be early to draw this conclusion but I just have that feeling. The one thing I will say is this team is playing united and inspired football and I noticed something I havent felt about a Bills team in a long time I actually expected us to come back after the long pass which put us down 9 for the second time. We tend to have very short attention spans in today's society and want our candy now. Edwards was wonderful today and showed a 'refuse to lose' attitude an play today which is quite notable. Nevertheless, IMHO its simply pre-mature to dub someone an elite player until he has demonstrated the toughness and conditioning to play 16 games. It strikes me as legit to hope and think that Edwards will deserve to be cited as an elite player after this season. However, particular given his record of injuries which have cost him PT to dub him elite at this point simply diminishes the meaning of elite to be a meaningful pronouncement to one that simply identifies the flavor of the week. Overall, this game was an incredibly impressive one to me as it was the second week in a row this team came back from being down double digits deep into the second half. I would love blow-outs every week, but I simply think it makes a better team to have one which consistently shows they do not panic when the going gets tough. Its going to get tough a few times before this season draws to an end. Once is an event. Twice may simply be a coincidence. However, the Bills are on the verge of showing this will to win three times which will be a trend. I felt pretty on the one hand and on the other about what we learned. 1. It all starts in the trenches and even with only one sack in the glitzy over-emphasized sack total this unit impressed me, For the third game in a row they played well against the run and not only has Stroud shown great play unseen by us in the middle of the DL for a while he seems to team well with Williams making him more productive as well. It is clear to me that the most important unit for defending the pass is the DL (one need only see the difference in the pass productivity of our O in the first half when they heavily pressured TE to the second half where he got some time. Overall, I think our DL had a good game against a team with some quick strike weapons. 2. We had reinforced for us that our OL needs some work. Fortunately, I think this work means more play by the current starters rather than a need for us to look for new players. Peters still needs some time to get into game shape. The other individual lapses though understandable were annoying. However, despite this lackluster feeling, i left the game quite hopeful about the OL as for the first time I saw them really begin to apply their beef in a devastating manner. On Lynch's short yardage TV, the entire Bills line forced the entire Raiders line back into the LBs laps and pushed the LBs back for what was virtually a group TD. The hours which TE had to throw leading to him picking apart the Raiders for two TD drives and the winning FG came in part because for whatever reason the Raiders seemed to go into a shell trying not to lose rather than trying to win. As frustrating as the early sacks were, it simply made the last quarter of positive work even more enjoyable. 3. The receivers had an up and down game. it was nice to see Parrish employed as a weapon in the passing attack and Reed showed consistent play and flashes of near brilliance that makes on think he may be a credible #2 (not yet but maybe). Evans is a very good player but has not yet demonstrated he is a Pro Bowl quality #1. Some bad hands by Hardy in his one attempt. Royal was his reliable self but nothing more. The RB game featured a few too many drops by Lynch and nothing equaling the production as a receiver last week by Jackson. Not bad overall since TE distributed the ball well. It proved not be a problem that virtually all receivers had some gaffes. 4. Running- Lynch showed some great desire and great moves in tight, he needs to produce a few killer games where he logs over 100 yards and exhibit some breakaway threat (which might come from Turk designing better pass plays or calling particular runs at the right time. Interesting breakout last game from Jackson as a receiver but nothing this game which may because of the D style they played. If the cause was playcalling then Turk needs to go back to this more. 5. Other D issues- good to see Stroud already in double digits for tackles and great to see Pos leading the charge again but also active numbers from Whitner (good he is putting tackling where his mouth is and I agree that i liked the effort he showed by responding to Higgins slowing down and vamping (taunting) by keeping up the speed and tackling him) and McGee is putting up high numbers which is surprising as I think this is an indication of good run support by him as QBs are tending to challenge Greer more. Overall, the trend here which must be reversed if the Bills want more blowouts and not to get trapped as the almost did yesterday is to increase the number of turnovers they produce. Coaching for more turnovers is always difficult as focusing on tip drills can be done but may not be the issue. Fewell could coach the D to take more chances for more turnovers, but the downside to this is we also risk more big plays against us. QB- Stay the course and remain healthy. I like the distribution of passes he is making with Reed leading the charge, followed closely by Evans (who has a much bigger ypc but he is making use of the RBs and good use of Royal as a checkdown (it would be nice if he broke out into a scoring weapon but I doubt this will happen except from time to time. Overall, 3-0 so though it is legit to point out areas we can improve whining or predicting DDOOMM is just silly right now.
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted September 22, 2008 Posted September 22, 2008 So what did we learn today? (yesterday) That the Giants had to overcome a deficit against the Bungles, that the Colts are 1-2, that the NFL's winnignest team lost it's first game in 20 + games to the NFL's losingest team. Good teams know how to win. Peter King The Fine 15 Buffalo (3-0). Aren't you starting to get the feeling that Trent Edwards is going to be a top 10 quarterback for a long time? I am.
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