A Few Thoughts About The Game

[ACor58]

Thanks for the post Bill.

 

Poorly coached game on both sides of the ball for the Bills. (rush 4 AND cover deep ???)

 

Trent was horrible. Just really gun-shy and off target. HE missed a couple wide open (Hardy again) Wr's going down the field. I thought the pass protection was quite good save the one play by Chambers.

 

Run blocking was terrible. Again.

 

With all that said this was one of the worst officiated games I have ever seen. From the roughing on paper Randy (apparently) at the start of the game, to one of our DE's seemingly running in place and missing a sack because he was held right out in the open for 4 seconds flat without a hint of a call, right down to the "Defensive holding" call on Stroud and last to the onside kick that didn't even get a look by the "officials".

 

Hard to believe that the Patriots are the least penalized team in football. Ahort of anything blatant, they get the majority of the calls.

[BB2004]

1) When stubby, slow little Kyle Williams is your best performer on the DL, this is synonomous with having a bad day.

 

2) Who took more steps, Ko Simpson when he was flagged for a personal foul, or Thomas when he waltzed in and hit Trent after the pass? Not that they had to worry mind you, but nobody can convince me that the refs, and more important the networks wanted the Bills to win this game.

 

3) OK, the fact that Jauron is a serial loser is a given, but as a Yale grad, he should have figured out by now how to throw a red flag on an out of bounds pass. He does it often enough on plays with no chance of being overturned, no?

 

4) Yep, Trent looked bad on the picks, especially the 2nd one. Still, he has as much courage as a player can have, and I have zero doubt that he will have a bright future, assuming he isn't destroyed by the non-existance of a decent center or even guard.

 

5) Dockery is well on his way to becoming a second rate guard. Sadly, he might already be there. This would serve to seriously alter the draft day plans of a non-Jauron team.

 

6) I guess what bothers me the most is that there is no reason for our opponents to expect, or even suspect that it might be a physical contest. Jauron's little dbs that he craves so dearly held up through early October. After that, I suppose that a team needs some strength.

 

7) Wrong pattern on a crucial passing down? Fair catch with no defender within shouting distance? With all of his speed and quickness, imagine how good Parrish would be if ha had even a semblance of a brain!

 

8) The Bills DL managed to make a 4th string scrub UFA look like Jim Brown today. This is rather odd, because it isn't as if they have any pass rush at all. In other words, they are useless.

 

9) Shot-gun on 3rd and 1? You go Jauron!

 

10) I wish someone would start a thread about the great draft of 06. Never mind.....please don't bother.

 

11) Lots of bad news above, but at least we have a team to cheer for on a lovely November afternoon. Besides, I wouldn't want to suffer with a nicer group of people. We WILL win some day, but not until we are no longer subject to "Twilight Zone" management, and I am referring mostly to our loser of a head coach.

 

12 GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

As usual, awesome posting. On the third comment you mentioned I am going to defend Jauron on this. There are people upstairs in the coaching booth who should communicate down to Jauron to tell him to challenge right away, especially if he can't really see it from his side of the field.

[keepthefaith]

As usual, awesome posting. On the third comment you mentioned I am going to defend Jauron on this. There are people upstairs in the coaching booth who should communicate down to Jauron to tell him to challenge right away, especially if he can't really see it from his side of the field.

 

Jauron said in his PC that he dropped the flag on the sideline and the ref didn't see it. Earth to Dick: Throw the flag, run onto the field and yell for the ref. Standing quiet and motionless on the sideline won't help.

[Gordio]

Jauron first needs to have his lips unsewn. When the refs don't see the flag, speak up! Say anything! Shows us that there is a heartbeat in your body.

 

Glad you can still see Trent's bright future. He's on his way to proving that his poor play down the stretch of last season was no fluke. I said this last year and I'll repeat it now. Jauron and co. did JP a huge favor. He doesn't realize it yet, but the chance to go to a team with good quality offensive coaches will put him a leg up on Trent.

 

Yep, any of the other 31 head coaches would of been running down the sidelines trying to get the refs attention about throwing the flag but not too cool for school Dickie J. F*ck him, and his non chalant attitude. His players play exactly how he coaches; with no emotion.

 

As far as Edwards, I am still optimistic about his future but it is pretty apparent even to the most diehard edwards supporter, the kid has got alot to learn.

[thebug]

Jauron said in his PC that he dropped the flag on the sideline and the ref didn't see it. Earth to Dick: Throw the flag, run onto the field and yell for the ref. Standing quiet and motionless on the sideline won't help.

 

You can lay next to your woman in bed all night with a big boner, but unless you make your move, you aint getting !@#$ all.

Dick should know that.

[Buftex]

I knew Trent was going to have his good games and his bad games this year, but I hate to say it... he's on the cusp of having more bad than good though. 3rd week in a row he's looked unsettled, holding the ball too long, and missing receivers - not to mention the interceptions. At least he didn't fumble the ball.

 

You can't have a run game when you don't even try to run the ball.

 

The Bills looked defeated from the first drive on. Does this team ever play with intensity? I think this pissed me off the most. The Pats* and their fans seemed to be in cruise control and we were completely unable to do anything about it. It's almost as though they walk into that stadium ready to get back o nthe plane and leave. Just horrendous to see such a nonchalant, heartless performance.

 

 

Call me a Trent lover, or whatever, but I think today was Trents' first truly awful game of the season. What puzzles me (the disadvantage of only seeing what they show you on tv) was that Trent did have time, but couldn't seem to find anyone to throw to. Are our receivers that incapable of getting open, or is Trent just not seeing things?

 

As for their look of defeat....I agree. I was expecting the Bills to play their best game today (even if they didn't win), but this was a "throwback" game for them. Gone, it seems, is the swagger of a month ago, on the offense. The team seemed to fall back on the Holcomb era "play not to lose" mentality. Watching the Eagles/Giants game tonight, you saw players on both teams laying it all out to win the game. Guys were leaping over defenders for extra yardage, spinning themselves into the O-line to get pressure. IMO, we just aren't seeing that kind of effort, down to down, from the Bills.

 

I have always been a Jauron supporter, but I am starting to have my doubts. This team just lacks anything resembling "heart" in what should be considered "must win" or "backs against the wall" games. Time and again, they come up small, when they have a chance to make a statement. I see a bunch of mediocre talent out there, a good number of it overpaid, uninspired, and, "thankfully", locked up long term. We spend the offseason patting the Bills front office on the back for how little money they can manage to spend...but we seem to be perpetually stuck on the outside, looking in. We deserve better than that.

 

I am not writing the Bills off just yet for this season...there is still far too much football to play, and a lot of things can happen. But, realistically, their margin for error is shrinking by the week. They will likely have to win at least 5 or 6 of their final 7 games. Not impossible, but one of them must be the Patriots. I am not so disappointed with the loss today, as I am the effort...from the players, and the coaches. They showed nothing today, when they needed to. I wasn't as disturbed by the losses to the Dolphins and Jets, because I don't think the Bills played as scared as they did today.

 

How come teams like the Eagles and Giants just plug in rookies and free agents when they have injuries, without coddling them, and get them to produce? Are the Bills just drafting poorly, or are they mishandling the talent? DeSean Jackson, a rookie, the Eagles main weapon tonight. They weren't scared to depend on him. Sure, they didn't win, but at the very least, Jackson is becoming more valuable to them every week.

 

Oh well...one more beer before bed...hoping upon all hope, that we beat the Browns next week, and make the bleeding stop.

Who cares about Buffalo, indeed...

[Peter Griffin]

Yep, any of the other 31 head coaches would of been running down the sidelines trying to get the refs attention about throwing the flag but not too cool for school Dickie J. F*ck him, and his non chalant attitude. His players play exactly how he coaches; with no emotion.

 

As far as Edwards, I am still optimistic about his future but it is pretty apparent even to the most diehard edwards supporter, the kid has got alot to learn.

 

Losman took every snap for the Bills in 06 an had the 10th highest QB rating in the NFL.

Edwards had 4 more games to prove hes not Derek Anderson 08

[billfan63]

Call me a Trent lover, or whatever, but I think today was Trents' first truly awful game of the season.

You are so right. He kicked butt against the Dolphins and Jets. Just awesome

[Dan]

Call me a Trent lover, or whatever, but I think today was Trents' first truly awful game of the season. What puzzles me (the disadvantage of only seeing what they show you on tv) was that Trent did have time, but couldn't seem to find anyone to throw to. Are our receivers that incapable of getting open, or is Trent just not seeing things?

 

As for their look of defeat....I agree. I was expecting the Bills to play their best game today (even if they didn't win), but this was a "throwback" game for them. Gone, it seems, is the swagger of a month ago, on the offense. The team seemed to fall back on the Holcomb era "play not to lose" mentality. Watching the Eagles/Giants game tonight, you saw players on both teams laying it all out to win the game. Guys were leaping over defenders for extra yardage, spinning themselves into the O-line to get pressure. IMO, we just aren't seeing that kind of effort, down to down, from the Bills.

 

I have always been a Jauron supporter, but I am starting to have my doubts. This team just lacks anything resembling "heart" in what should be considered "must win" or "backs against the wall" games. Time and again, they come up small, when they have a chance to make a statement. I see a bunch of mediocre talent out there, a good number of it overpaid, uninspired, and, "thankfully", locked up long term. We spend the offseason patting the Bills front office on the back for how little money they can manage to spend...but we seem to be perpetually stuck on the outside, looking in. We deserve better than that.

 

I am not writing the Bills off just yet for this season...there is still far too much football to play, and a lot of things can happen. But, realistically, their margin for error is shrinking by the week. They will likely have to win at least 5 or 6 of their final 7 games. Not impossible, but one of them must be the Patriots. I am not so disappointed with the loss today, as I am the effort...from the players, and the coaches. They showed nothing today, when they needed to. I wasn't as disturbed by the losses to the Dolphins and Jets, because I don't think the Bills played as scared as they did today.

 

How come teams like the Eagles and Giants just plug in rookies and free agents when they have injuries, without coddling them, and get them to produce? Are the Bills just drafting poorly, or are they mishandling the talent? DeSean Jackson, a rookie, the Eagles main weapon tonight. They weren't scared to depend on him. Sure, they didn't win, but at the very least, Jackson is becoming more valuable to them every week.

 

Oh well...one more beer before bed...hoping upon all hope, that we beat the Browns next week, and make the bleeding stop.

Who cares about Buffalo, indeed...

I wholeheartedly agree with every word of this post. Well said. It's this lack of effort that's most frustrating. It's one thing to get beat, but it's another thing all together to just give up without even trying. Kinda like the run game. Who knows how good it could be, but when you give Lynch 14 carries in an entire game you're not even trying. There was no need to abandon the run, but they did - again.

 

I've given Jauron and the staff a lot of leeway, but it's wearing thin fast with piss poor efforts like this. I agree; I've not given up on the season yet. But, it's getting harder and harder to watch.

[Buftex]

You are so right. He kicked butt against the Dolphins and Jets. Just awesome

 

 

Notice, I said today was his first "completely awful" game...I didn't say he was great in the last two games...but whatever...

[Bill from NYC]

I can't belive how soft this team is. We did not lay glove on Cassel gave him all day to throw and we let Ben-Jose-Whats-Hisname run all over us. A 19 play friggin drive??? Beastmode?

 

But why should I get upset if these guys don't really want it. If they like to get their ass handed to them by Belicheat and the Pats* twice a year so be it. 3 division games in a row down the crapper and our starting QB is turnover factory. Friggin Miami is a better team than us this year. Think about that, a team that was 1-15 last year.

 

Believe me, I hear ya. But, I don't think that the above is the problem. The do want it. They are simply not strong enough to take it.

On the defensive front, the Bills are small, slow and weak. On the offensive front, they are big and sluggish overall. This is going to lose games.

 

No team has ever had a big season with lines like this. It will never happen.

[dib]

Jauron is a statue. Way to fire the boys up..............Dick

The Bills have continued to demonstrate their inability to control the middle of the line....ours or theirs.

Everything else has already been said.

[Bill from NYC]

Go back and look through your old posts - you were really happy with the way the lines were playing up until then.

 

So? What am I missing? The lines were playing better and I praised them. Was I supposed to blast them in advance, just in case they sucked?

 

I know that you are busy, but watch the tape if you get a chance. Derrick Dockery was looking like a mini Mike Williams out there. He was that bad. Should I have praised him because he might have a good game in 3 weeks?

[Chandler#81]

They seem to have lost all cohesiveness and aren't scheming very well right now. They've never been good at run blocking, but they've lost pass blocking too somewhat.

 

Reminds me of a Mike Ditka quote I heard him say a while back, "You're never as good as you look, and you're never as bad as you look."

 

On the plus side, I see hope in the offense as we certainly have playmakers there. The biggest problem as I see it is the inability of the defense to get off the field. We start getting a little something going on offense -converting a couple 1st downs- but still have too far to go. The more plays you have to run, the more likely an error will happen. Way too few turnovers and ONLY 3 PUNTS FROM THE OPPOSITION IN THE LAST 2 GAMES kills all chances to develop cohesiveness on offense.

 

Until this alarming deficiency is addressed, we won't win.

[UConn James]

As for their look of defeat....I agree. I was expecting the Bills to play their best game today (even if they didn't win), but this was a "throwback" game for them. Gone, it seems, is the swagger of a month ago, on the offense. The team seemed to fall back on the Holcomb era "play not to lose" mentality. Watching the Eagles/Giants game tonight, you saw players on both teams laying it all out to win the game. Guys were leaping over defenders for extra yardage, spinning themselves into the O-line to get pressure. IMO, we just aren't seeing that kind of effort, down to down, from the Bills.

 

I have always been a Jauron supporter, but I am starting to have my doubts. This team just lacks anything resembling "heart" in what should be considered "must win" or "backs against the wall" games. Time and again, they come up small, when they have a chance to make a statement. I see a bunch of mediocre talent out there, a good number of it overpaid, uninspired, and, "thankfully", locked up long term. We spend the offseason patting the Bills front office on the back for how little money they can manage to spend...but we seem to be perpetually stuck on the outside, looking in. We deserve better than that.

 

Sad but true.

 

Watch other teams play football and you see football. The Bills have turned into pure daint. They ask the other team for some Grey Poupon. They teach technique and draft/sign for finesse rather than good-old nastiness and grit. The Bills having a fullback is like how us humans have the last bony vestiges of a tail. This guy is not a fullback. Sam Gash was a fullback.

 

Then, someone decided this team shouldn't play like that. This has been happening for a while now, so it's not only the current regime. My finger points at Ralph.

[Orton's Arm]

4) Yep, Trent looked bad on the picks, especially the 2nd one. Still, he has as much courage as a player can have, and I have zero doubt that he will have a bright future, assuming he isn't destroyed by the non-existance of a decent center or even guard.

 

Already setting up excuses for Trent, eh?

You called that one! Until we drafted Trent, Bill was strongly of the opinion that you don't need good offensive line play to win football games. Now that Trent is here, Bill has to at least pretend to be interested in the total collapse of our offensive line as a means of making excuses for Trent.

 

Before Trent came, Bill couldn't care less about the offensive line. He was all about defensive backs!! I remember how he celebrated after the Bills took a SS 8th overall back in 2006!

 

(For those of you who didn't "get" the above post, it was sarcasm. Bill has been very focused on building a strong offensive line for as long as I can remember. Given that this team hasn't had an offensive line since the Super Bowl years, and given the neglect of the offensive line on draft day, it's easy to see why Bill has reached the conclusions he has.)

[Fan in San Diego]

I'm going to be a fan of the Bills, just like Dick Jauron, no emotion whatsoever. I'm not cheering or booing. I'm not buying Bills gear, in fact I'm not watching the Bills or buying tickets unless they execute better. I will be golfing or at the driving range Sunday mornings instead. I'll DVR the game and make decision to watch the game later based on if they have executed better.

[Orton's Arm]

Turns out that Oakland is #9 in the league for sacks, and only got 1 against the Bills. Jacksonville has 25 sacks as well, and 2 against the Bills. The o-line hasn't only played well against teams with sh------- d-lines.

During the first half of the Oakland game--and for much of the third quarter--the offensive line played like a steaming pile of . . . something that had been defecated out of a dead pig's rectum. If Trent only took one sack, it was because he got rid of the ball in a hurry or threw it away in response to getting little to no pass protection. Later in that game the Raiders began to tire, and our offensive line looked good. Once Trent (unexpectedly) began getting pass protection, he was able to engineer a fourth quarter comeback against the Raiders. This was also the case in the Jacksonville game: the line looked better late, against a tired defense, than it had early on. Trent did a good job of getting rid of the ball in a hurry, thereby masking the line's inability to provide pass protection for a full four quarters.

So, yeah, they did decently well to start the year against not all that sh------- of lines. They seem to have lost all cohesiveness and aren't scheming very well right now. They've never been good at run blocking, but they've lost pass blocking too somewhat.

I agree with this. The level of pass protection is clearly nothing like it had been last year. There are a lot of plays when you'll see the line fail to slow some defenders down on their way to the quarterback. They mentioned yesterday that one of the guys blocking for Trent--I think it was Chambers--was a teammate of his at Stanford. And this Bills line is starting to look a lot like Trent's line had while he was at Stanford. They'll play well in spurts, but those unexpected periods of rudimentary competence are frequently interspersed with plays when the line simply fails to provide any pass protection at all. Watching this line trying to hold off a pass rush often reminds me of watching a beaver dam in the path of a 100 foot tidal wave.

[jjbegoose]

Thanks for the post Bill.

 

Poorly coached game on both sides of the ball for the Bills. (rush 4 AND cover deep ???)

 

Trent was horrible. Just really gun-shy and off target. HE missed a couple wide open (Hardy again) Wr's going down the field. I thought the pass protection was quite good save the one play by Chambers.

 

Run blocking was terrible. Again.

 

With all that said this was one of the worst officiated games I have ever seen. From the roughing on paper Randy (apparently) at the start of the game, to one of our DE's seemingly running in place and missing a sack because he was held right out in the open for 4 seconds flat without a hint of a call, right down to the "Defensive holding" call on Stroud and last to the onside kick that didn't even get a look by the "officials".

 

ya this game really showed how far away we are from being a contender.. and we wont be for years since we just gave Jauron an extension.. he truly is one of the worst coaches in football and a total loser. his challenges are bizzaro... challenging things that cant be overturned that would change field position 5, 10 yards to not challenging things that would get overturned for 40 yards! he doesnt realize that teams that win run the ball more than 15 times a game, he was even quoted saying, we dont have to even run for 100 yard, we just have to be effective. man that says it all, if u dont even try to get 100 total team rushing yards, you're gonna make it very hard to win. i really dont think he plays to win, or has any understand of how winning happens. look at all the games over the past couple years that have been blown in the final seconds, passing from , our old favorite in B-lo, the SHOTGUN from the 12 yard line last year against the Cowboys when all was need was a run and a field goal. he plain out sucks and it sucks that Ralph Wilson is happy with someone that can get the bills 7 or so wins a year. i am convinced i will never see the Bills win a super bowl in my lifetime.. and im 29.. maybe once they are moved to Toronto but then i wouldnt care.