A Few Thoughts About The Game

[Ramius]

No question that Whitner's sack was a game changer. Knocked the rams back, led to the longer and then missed FG, flipped the field, which directly led to Greer's pick-6. Good 2nd half, lets see 2 halves like it next time.

 

And yes, the OL got beat pretty bad in the first half yesterday. We need that fixed in a hurry.

 

As for Hardy, none of his mistakes are things that can't be corrected. The fade pattern seemed to be a positioning/timing problem. He didnt get turned around soon enough to out jump the defender. Some work in practice and more timing work with Trent can fix that. The first incomplete was a simple overthrow by edwards. Hardy will be alright.

 

Hell of a win, man.

[Chilly]

IMO the biggest team need is still a tight end who can add some added pass protection and run blocking, and can open up the middle of the field more (against both cover-2 teams and frequent-blitzing teams). Pro Football Prospectus 2008 labelled Robert Royal as one of the worst starters in the entire NFL. I'm starting to agree. He's good for at least one boneheaded play per game (yesterday's penalty on the two point conversion was no suprirse), he insists on leaving his feet at the end of every catch and run, and he does nothing to scare opposing defenses. With the way Edwards utilizes Reed, just imagine what he could do with a tight end who could make plays in the passing game. It's a huge, glaring need, one that is holding the entire offense back IMO.

 

Wouldn't it be just dandy if Jermaine Gresham left early and the Bills got him?

[Orton's Arm]

IMO the biggest team need is still a tight end who can add some added pass protection and run blocking, and can open up the middle of the field more (against both cover-2 teams and frequent-blitzing teams). Pro Football Prospectus 2008 labelled Robert Royal as one of the worst starters in the entire NFL. I'm starting to agree. He's good for at least one boneheaded play per game (yesterday's penalty on the two point conversion was no suprirse), he insists on leaving his feet at the end of every catch and run, and he does nothing to scare opposing defenses. With the way Edwards utilizes Reed, just imagine what he could do with a tight end who could make plays in the passing game. It's a huge, glaring need, one that is holding the entire offense back IMO.

I completely agree we could use an upgrade at TE. No question. But unless we see significant improvement on the o-line, then that's hands-down our biggest need going into the 2009 draft, and should be addressed starting in round 1.

 

My reason for thinking that is this: if you give Trent decent to good protection, he's shown he can be productive and score points with the targets he has. But it's hard for Trent--or any quarterback at all, for that matter--to accomplish much of anything when you have pass rushers coming in unblocked. Give the Bills a decent offensive line, and the Bills' offense will be able to score points for four quarters, and not just late in the game when the other team's defensive line is tired. An offensive line upgrade will also help Marshawn. A lot of times he takes plays that should have been 2 yard losses and turns them into 3 yard gains. With a decent to good o-line, he'd be taking plays that should have been 3 yard gains and turning them into 5 - 6 yard gains.

[VOR]

Hopefully Fine will be back soon, and turns out to be a player.

[BillsVet]

You know, I was gonna mention Greer. They actually seemed to be throwing away from him yesterday, and this was not his only good game.

I could point to him as an example of how you really don't always have to be a first round pick to be a good corner, but I was afraid of upsetting my "Jason Peters Sucks and "Ralph/Levy/Jauron are Always 100% correct" stalker.

 

He is in a bit of a tizzy right now, and I don't want to upset him.

 

Buffalo has some interesting decisions to make at CB in the next year. Greer is up at the end of 08, McGee and Youboty after 09. That leaves McKelvin, who will most likely continue to improve. I wasn't worried much when McGee went down.

 

IMO the biggest team need is still a tight end who can add some added pass protection and run blocking, and can open up the middle of the field more (against both cover-2 teams and frequent-blitzing teams). Pro Football Prospectus 2008 labelled Robert Royal as one of the worst starters in the entire NFL. I'm starting to agree. He's good for at least one boneheaded play per game (yesterday's penalty on the two point conversion was no suprirse), he insists on leaving his feet at the end of every catch and run, and he does nothing to scare opposing defenses. With the way Edwards utilizes Reed, just imagine what he could do with a tight end who could make plays in the passing game. It's a huge, glaring need, one that is holding the entire offense back IMO.

 

I noticed that Royal did not start yesterday. Not clear on why, but Schouman got the starting nod. Still, I've always viewed RR as more of a blocking TE and Washington knew this when they let him go. Schouman is clearly too small to block as well, which makes him, IMO, strictly a pass catcher.

 

I agree the TE position needs to be addressed, unless Derek Fine can show something when he returns later this season. He has better size than Schouman, but it's very raw as well. He played well at Kansas, but isn't someone who'll stretch the field in the seam. At least not yet. Still, it's scary to think how much better Edwards could be with a solid TE who can block and catch. I still believe that center must be the position addressed first because Fowler is not a long term solution beyond this season.

[Lori]

I noticed that Royal did not start yesterday. Not clear on why, but Schouman got the starting nod. Still, I've always viewed RR as more of a blocking TE and Washington knew this when they let him go. Schouman is clearly too small to block as well, which makes him, IMO, strictly a pass catcher.

 

I agree the TE position needs to be addressed, unless Derek Fine can show something when he returns later this season. He has better size than Schouman, but it's very raw as well. He played well at Kansas, but isn't someone who'll stretch the field in the seam. At least not yet. Still, it's scary to think how much better Edwards could be with a solid TE who can block and catch. I still believe that center must be the position addressed first because Fowler is not a long term solution beyond this season.

Royal did start. They came out with 2WR/2TE, and Schouman is listed as the starting FB.

[Fixxxer]

I completely agree we could use an upgrade at TE. No question. But unless we see significant improvement on the o-line, then that's hands-down our biggest need going into the 2009 draft, and should be addressed starting in round 1.

 

My reason for thinking that is this: if you give Trent decent to good protection, he's shown he can be productive and score points with the targets he has. But it's hard for Trent--or any quarterback at all, for that matter--to accomplish much of anything when you have pass rushers coming in unblocked. Give the Bills a decent offensive line, and the Bills' offense will be able to score points for four quarters, and not just late in the game when the other team's defensive line is tired. An offensive line upgrade will also help Marshawn. A lot of times he takes plays that should have been 2 yard losses and turns them into 3 yard gains. With a decent to good o-line, he'd be taking plays that should have been 3 yard gains and turning them into 5 - 6 yard gains.

 

About the OL and the running game, I think they try to finesse to much. I saw both tackles not being quick enough to lead Marshawn and Jackson when they pulled. Take for example the Marshawn TD against the Raiders, the entire OL fired up-field for an easy TD.

We have one of the biggest OL in the NFL, I think we would be much better off starting games with a more straight running style, leave the pulling and the finesse type running late in the game where the opposing defense is more tired to fill the gaps.

But I agree with you, we should target OL in the next draft, early and often.

[Simon]

I'd bet my house that Fewell blitzes on 2nd down more than any other down. And that it's probably not even close.

 

 

 

I tried to google this info but could not find it. Do you have a source? If so, I stand corrected. If not, is your house paid off?

 

 

I'm guessing the only place you could really find this info (aside from watching film of every defensive series) is from opposing staffs or the Bills self-scouting/quality-control guys. My supposition just comes from what we see on the field during games.

1st down-rarely blitzing; will occasionally send a DB when opposing offenses show multiple WR sets.

2nd down- most common blitz down; particularly in 2nd/long situations where Fewell likes to frequently bring extra rushers.

3rd down- occasional blitzing; most often with a LB up the pipe, often on a delay.

 

Don't take them to the bank, that's just what I see after watching Fewell for a while. It's a tendency worth looking for though.

And my house is about 2/3 paid off.