A Few Thoughts About The Game

[Bill from NYC]

1) Nobody in the history of football has ever needed a field goal against the Bills and missed it. Smart opposing coaches will start sending in the kicker from 90 yards and be successful.

 

2) What can I say about Trent? He was simply awful, but they have to stay with him or they will have another JP on their hands. Besides, the season is already shot.

 

3) I have seen a lot of bad defensive ends in my day, but Denney and Kelsay are so bad that they must actually make our opponents laugh. Seriously, they are human punching bags. Kelsay, if possible, is even worse than Denney. It is like he isn't even on the field. Un f ing believeable.

 

4) McKelvin is amazingly fluid on returns. He almost ran back 3 last night. On one, he cut right, and if he would have cut left he was gone.

 

5) I have come to a conclusion about alcohol and the Bills that I thought I would share. I have seriously cut down on my drinking. In fact, the only time that I drank and watched the Bills this season was at RWS. That said, when watching the Bills, I recommend either not drinking at all, or drinking to the extent that you completely pass out so you are spared the emotional free fall from euphoria to servere depression. Of course, forget about driving if you go with the second option.

 

6) Oh sure.....we suck, but the way that the refs abuse this team is criminal, perhaps in the literal sense. Unneccessary Roughness for shoving an in-bounds player out of bounds? How about the non-call when McKelvin was literally mugged going for the ball? Again, the fact that we suck is a given, but I trust this league less and less as time passes. That is not cool at all.

 

7) Stroud had a monster game. Williams even made plays. Didn't Johnson block a pass? How in the world were our DEs shut out like that? Never mind.....see #3.

 

8) The 1st Quarter of this game ranks up there with the worst times of my life. Of course, there is a lot wrong with that picture.

 

9) Let it be known.....I have changed my mind about Jauron. He is THE perfect coach for the Bills. Face it, Bills Fans are masochists, and this loser is the ideal coach to help us suffer yet more. Make no mistake, Crennel didn't have a f ing clue last night. It was as if he was trying to hand us the game. Still, Romeo is no match for our little nitwit. Not even close. Yes folks, Jauron is every bit as bad as Rich Kotite and getting worse by the day. Mullarkey was a much better coach on game day, and he was a shipwreck. How's that for a comical, if not so sad statement? And, at least MM had no say wrt the draft and was just a puppet. Jauron is a franchise killer; a walking loss. Good God.

 

10) Thanks to all of you who, like me, will stay with this team until we die. Games like this actually strengthen my resolve as a fan. R.Rich....will you get to work on the draft boards when you get a chance please? There seems to be a ton of really good players at positions of need for this team. I want to start taking a closer look, and apply my new alcohol theory on draft day. I don't know what I will do, but it will be all or nothing.

 

11) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

2) What can I say about Trent? He was simply awful, but they have to stay with him or they will have another JP on their hands. Besides, the season is already shot.

 

Wait a minute. Weren't you at the head of the parade to run JP out of town?

 

So, is this a tacit admission you were wrong?

[MarkAF43]

1) Nobody in the history of football has ever needed a field goal against the Bills and missed it. Smart opposing coaches will start sending in the kicker from 90 yards and be successful.

 

2) What can I say about Trent? He was simply awful, but they have to stay with him or they will have another JP on their hands. Besides, the season is already shot.

 

3) I have seen a lot of bad defensive ends in my day, but Denney and Kelsay are so bad that they must actually make our opponents laugh. Seriously, they are human punching bags. Kelsay, if possible, is even worse than Denney. It is like he isn't even on the field. Un f ing believeable.

 

4) McKelvin is amazingly fluid on returns. He almost ran back 3 last night. On one, he cut right, and if he would have cut left he was gone.

 

5) I have come to a conclusion about alcohol and the Bills that I thought I would share. I have seriously cut down on my drinking. In fact, the only time that I drank and watched the Bills this season was at RWS. That said, when watching the Bills, I recommend either not drinking at all, or drinking to the extent that you completely pass out so you are spared the emotional free fall from euphoria to servere depression. Of course, forget about driving.

 

6) Oh sure.....we suck, but the way that the refs abuse this team is criminal, perhaps in the literal sense. Unneccessary Roughness for shoving an in-bounds player out of bounds? How about the non-call when Mckelvin was literally mugged going for the ball? Again, the fact that we suck is a given, but I trust this league less and less as time passes. That is not cool at all.

 

7) Stroud had a monster game. Williams even made plays. Didn't Johnson block a pass? How in the world were our DEs shut out like that? Never mind.....see #3.

 

8) The 1st Quarter of this game ranks up there with the worst times of my life. Of course, there is a lot wrong with that picture.

 

9) Let it be known.....I have changed my mind about Jauron. He is THE perfect coach for the Bills. Face it, Bills Fans are masochists, and this loser is the ideal coach to help us suffer yet more. Make no mistake, Crennel didn't have a f ing clue last night. It was as if he was trying to hand us the game. Still, Romeo is no match for our little nitwit. Not even close. Yes folks, Jauron is every bit as bad as Rich Kotite and getting worse by the day. Mullarkey was a much better coach on game day, and he was a shipwreck. How's that for a comical, if not so sad statement? And, at least MM had no say wrt the draft and was just a puppet. Jauron is a franchise killer; a walking loss. Good God.

 

10) Thanks to all of you who, like me, will stay with this team until we die. Games like this actually strengthen my resolve as a fan. R.Rich....will you get to work on the draft boards when you get a chance please? There seems to be a ton of really good players at positions of need for this team. I want to start taking a closer look, and apply my new alcohol theory on draft day. I don't know what I will do, but it will be all or nothing.

 

11) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Bill, good analysis , one thing on #6 ---- after the play ended on one of our kick returns one of our guys was getting into it with a Browns player (griffin i believe #53) and it all broke up, and griffin slapped/punched our guy in the helmet right in front of the officials, and no one called it. I am not saying the Refs screwed us to the point where we lost, but man the Browns seemed to be getting away with a lot of shots after the whistle

[Bill from NYC]

Wait a minute. Weren't you at the head of the parade to run JP out of town?

 

So, is this a tacit admission you were wrong?

 

You could have waited to hijack the thread Joe. Ah....go ahead. Tell us how great JP is and how many games he has won. We all have to do what we have to do after games like this, right?

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

You could have waited to hijack the thread Joe. Ah....go ahead. Tell us how great JP is and how many games he has won. We all have to do what we have to do after games like this, right?

 

Naw, just that my hypocrisy detector went off there.

 

It was right about this number of starts that you and others started calling for the head of the QB. Riddle me this: could JP play any WORSE than Edwards has the past four weeks? I don't think so.

[silvermike]

Why they'll play Kelsay $6M per season and won't hire a coach who demands more than $3M is beyond me. I'd be fine replacing Kelsay with a street free agent if we spent his salary on a coaching staff.

[Gavin in Va Beach]

Wait a minute. Weren't you at the head of the parade to run JP out of town?

 

So, is this a tacit admission you were wrong?

 

Edwards sucking doesn't mean JP is suddenly good. Both can suck.

 

 

Jaws made an excellent point about Edwards last night, in that he's waiting too long for a receiver to be wide open and he isn't throwing the ball anticipating where a receiver will be. That can be worked on...I hope.

 

 

Good post Bill. I'm so *&%^ing sick of our DE's it isn't even funny. We could bring Bruce Smith out of retirement right now and he'd be better than these clowns.

[Paup 1995MVP]

1) Nobody in the history of football has ever needed a field goal against the Bills and missed it. Smart opposing coaches will start sending in the kicker from 90 yards and be successful.

 

2) What can I say about Trent? He was simply awful, but they have to stay with him or they will have another JP on their hands. Besides, the season is already shot.

 

3) I have seen a lot of bad defensive ends in my day, but Denney and Kelsay are so bad that they must actually make our opponents laugh. Seriously, they are human punching bags. Kelsay, if possible, is even worse than Denney. It is like he isn't even on the field. Un f ing believeable.

 

4) McKelvin is amazingly fluid on returns. He almost ran back 3 last night. On one, he cut right, and if he would have cut left he was gone.

 

5) I have come to a conclusion about alcohol and the Bills that I thought I would share. I have seriously cut down on my drinking. In fact, the only time that I drank and watched the Bills this season was at RWS. That said, when watching the Bills, I recommend either not drinking at all, or drinking to the extent that you completely pass out so you are spared the emotional free fall from euphoria to servere depression. Of course, forget about driving if you go with the second option.

 

6) Oh sure.....we suck, but the way that the refs abuse this team is criminal, perhaps in the literal sense. Unneccessary Roughness for shoving an in-bounds player out of bounds? How about the non-call when McKelvin was literally mugged going for the ball? Again, the fact that we suck is a given, but I trust this league less and less as time passes. That is not cool at all.

 

7) Stroud had a monster game. Williams even made plays. Didn't Johnson block a pass? How in the world were our DEs shut out like that? Never mind.....see #3.

 

8) The 1st Quarter of this game ranks up there with the worst times of my life. Of course, there is a lot wrong with that picture.

 

9) Let it be known.....I have changed my mind about Jauron. He is THE perfect coach for the Bills. Face it, Bills Fans are masochists, and this loser is the ideal coach to help us suffer yet more. Make no mistake, Crennel didn't have a f ing clue last night. It was as if he was trying to hand us the game. Still, Romeo is no match for our little nitwit. Not even close. Yes folks, Jauron is every bit as bad as Rich Kotite and getting worse by the day. Mullarkey was a much better coach on game day, and he was a shipwreck. How's that for a comical, if not so sad statement? And, at least MM had no say wrt the draft and was just a puppet. Jauron is a franchise killer; a walking loss. Good God.

 

10) Thanks to all of you who, like me, will stay with this team until we die. Games like this actually strengthen my resolve as a fan. R.Rich....will you get to work on the draft boards when you get a chance please? There seems to be a ton of really good players at positions of need for this team. I want to start taking a closer look, and apply my new alcohol theory on draft day. I don't know what I will do, but it will be all or nothing.

 

11) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. We can't just go into next year with Trent as our uncontested starter. We actually have guys who can play on our offense. But Trent played super SCARED after the 3 picks. Bad enough to start so poorly. But the kid showed no moxie by not fighting thru it and continue to throw downfield. He showed me nothing. We need to find someone who can continue to make plays and not go into a shell. I have never seen a QB so scared ever in a game. It did not look like any of our coaches went up to Trent and tried to clear his head. The whole QB situation has become pathetic.

 

3. We get ZERO pass rush from the outside. Kelsay and Denny and anyone else playing DE never even got a sniff of Quinn.. Unbelievalble.

[zow2]

1) I thought about that too. I think maybe Olindo Mare missed one important kick in Buffalo. Every other opposing team that has needed a crucial kick in RWS has made it. Disgusting.

 

2) I love Trent Edwards, but he stunk last night and he's been suffering something beyond "second year lack of confidence". Why do Bills QB's need psychiatric help?

[34-78-83]

Bill, of all things from this game we can discuss and all the heartache that followed, if you're going to make a positive point or two you could atleast mention the O-line. The had to block for what seemed like 8 seconds per passing play and finally opened some nice holes in the running game. They even adjusted early when Duke was getting abused early. Peters was all worlrd last night. It's really a damn shame.

[Bill from NYC]

Bill, of all things from this game we can discuss and all the heartache that followed, if you're going to make a positive point or two you could atleast mention the O-line. The had to block for what seemed like 8 seconds per passing play and finally opened some nice holes in the running game. They even adjusted early when Duke was getting abused early. Peters was all worlrd last night. It's really a damn shame.

 

I'm glad you said this and not me. Peters was taking on 2 at a time on some plays, and had no trouble at all with blitzing linemen. On running plays he was also looking for a second defender to hit.

As bad as Preston was, he actually helped on the qb sneak and Trent handed him the football after the TD. Preston isn't a good player, but he was fighting and trying. Butler, clearly still injured, made a difference as well. Walker held his own and Dockery actually played well from what I could see.

[Gary M]

You could have waited to hijack the thread Joe. Ah....go ahead. Tell us how great JP is and how many games he has won. We all have to do what we have to do after games like this, right?

 

I can't and won't speak for JSP, but I never said that JP was great, I did try to point out how bad the OL and play calling were and still are.

 

The problem was not the QB position.

 

Yes the QBs have been bad the last two years, but they are not the root cause.

 

Go Bills

[BuffaloWings]

1) Nobody in the history of football has ever needed a field goal against the Bills and missed it. Smart opposing coaches will start sending in the kicker from 90 yards and be successful.

 

Conversely, every Bills kicker in history that needed a game-winning FG (when the team was desperate) seems to miss it.

 

2) What can I say about Trent? He was simply awful, but they have to stay with him or they will have another JP on their hands. Besides, the season is already shot.

 

Couldn't agree more. This is a slump period for Edwards that he needs to work out of. If they pull him in favor of a guy that has already proven he can't win, what does that say about the near future of this team?

 

3) I have seen a lot of bad defensive ends in my day, but Denney and Kelsay are so bad that they must actually make our opponents laugh. Seriously, they are human punching bags. Kelsay, if possible, is even worse than Denney. It is like he isn't even on the field. Un f ing believeable.

 

As our buddy JDG says, these guys are simply cover-your-eyes awful. The only reason for any pressure on Quinn last night was Kawika Mitchell and an occasional Marcus Stroud. It says something when we're begging for Aaron Schobel to come back.

 

4) McKelvin is amazingly fluid on returns. He almost ran back 3 last night. On one, he cut right, and if he would have cut left he was gone.

 

We have a KO returner again. Because of that fluid motion, McKelvin is sneaky fast. It looks like he might be wrapped up until he breaks through the wedge and has only the kicker to beat.

 

6) Oh sure.....we suck, but the way that the refs abuse this team is criminal, perhaps in the literal sense. Unneccessary Roughness for shoving an in-bounds player out of bounds? How about the non-call when McKelvin was literally mugged going for the ball? Again, the fact that we suck is a given, but I trust this league less and less as time passes. That is not cool at all.

 

The officiating has gotten so bad everywhere that I'm seriously wondering if the fix is in. The 15-yarder on Mitchell was weak, but not as weak as the illegal contact on Wilson that kept the Browns TD drive going in the 2nd. I've seen more contact at a badminton tournament.

 

9) Let it be known.....I have changed my mind about Jauron. He is THE perfect coach for the Bills. Face it, Bills Fans are masochists, and this loser is the ideal coach to help us suffer yet more. Make no mistake, Crennel didn't have a f ing clue last night. It was as if he was trying to hand us the game. Still, Romeo is no match for our little nitwit. Not even close. Yes folks, Jauron is every bit as bad as Rich Kotite and getting worse by the day. Mullarkey was a much better coach on game day, and he was a shipwreck. How's that for a comical, if not so sad statement? And, at least MM had no say wrt the draft and was just a puppet. Jauron is a franchise killer; a walking loss. Good God.

 

I have been defending Jauron for a while, but it ended last night. I don't know if he's been telling Turk what to do (and maybe Steve Fairchild, for that matter), but whoever is calling the offensive plays needs their brain checked. This is the 3rd straight week we've seen a shotgun formation on 3rd & 1 with only Trent in the backfield. I was ok with the first running play from the 32 with a minute left, but even with Cleveland calling timeouts, off-tackle runs right at Shaun Rogers wasn't going to do it.

 

If you ever want to settle for a winning FG attempt, that's the way to do it. Herm Edwards did this exact thing with the Jets a few years ago in the playoffs that resulted in a missed FG that led to an OT loss at Pittsburgh.

 

As for the positives, the running game was much much better, special teams were outstanding, and the defense played as well as they could while the Browns had short fields.

 

I'm still a fan and proud to be one (though I haven't exactly pulled out the Bills winter jacket just yet).

[TheKing]

Wait a minute. Weren't you at the head of the parade to run JP out of town?

 

So, is this a tacit admission you were wrong?

No he wasn't.

I am the strongest voice for getting rid of Losman.

He has no function on this team.

The coaches have so little use for him that even with Edwards playing the way he was last night they didn't want Losman in there.

The sooner they get rid of him the better.

[rockpile]

Bill, of all things from this game we can discuss and all the heartache that followed, if you're going to make a positive point or two you could atleast mention the O-line. The had to block for what seemed like 8 seconds per passing play and finally opened some nice holes in the running game. They even adjusted early when Duke was getting abused early. Peters was all worlrd last night. It's really a damn shame.

 

 

At one point, Trent was signing autographs in the backfield before throwing the ball sideways. I wish there was a postivie alternative at this point.

 

Kudos to the OL who (after a shaky start especially at center) finally blocked like they did in week one against the Seahawks.

 

I did not expect a super bowl team this year, but part of me was hoping they would build a corp of players similar to the way they did in 1988-1990 that would make Bills football fun again.

 

Back then I remember wishing they would just finish at .500 instead of 2-14.

[Gary M]

No he wasn't.

I am the strongest voice for getting rid of Losman.

He has no function on this team.

The coaches have so little use for him that even with Edwards playing the way he was last night they didn't want Losman in there.

The sooner they get rid of him the better.

 

The only thing Jauron did right all night was to leave TE in. If they pull him all they are doing is repeated the mistakes they made with JP.

 

The only time JP should take the field is if TE gets hurt.

[John Adams]

The issue with Trent is that teams now have figured him out. He is quick and decisive when teams blitz (opposite of JP FWIW). But he struggles when there are 7-8 in coverage.

 

So now that we know this is the story, the coaches need to help him progress. He needs to see a lot of 3-4 man rushes in practice and get used to locating his WRs. Consider the next 6 games his audition to be a starter going into 2009. If he sucks, he competes with some free agent in camp. If he makes progress, he's still the starter.

 

Benching him now makes no sense. JP isn't the answer. Trent has played well and is still young. He must make the adjustment to these coverages though or he's effed.

[mchammer]

I thought the O line played well last night. They gave Trent all the time he needed and they opened some holes for Marshawn & Freddy. The defense played very good as well. I know they didn't sack Brady Quinn but think about all the injury to our secondary and look at how few 3rd down conversions the Browns made last night and I don't think anyone can complain. I agree that Trent looked bad you can't turn the ball over four times and expect to win a game in the NFL. Even against a bad team. As far as the coaching staff I don't disagree with running the ball 3 times at the end of the game because if you throw a pick (and the way Trent was playing last night it would have been a good possibility) game over. At least you’re putting your game in the hands of your kicker who has been good up until last night. There is no reason this game should have been close I don't know what the problem is? Maybe too conservative play calling maybe Trent has no confidence in his receivers or line or maybe he is just missing his best receiver (Josh Reed). Think how good we were with Reed in the game, all the short routes across the middle and YAC.

 

I think this young team can't handle pressure and once it becomes evident they will not make the playoffs you'll see a more relaxed team and better playing.

[bluv]

The only thing Jauron did right all night was to leave TE in. If they pull him all they are doing is repeated the mistakes they made with JP.

 

The only time JP should take the field is if TE gets hurt.

I agree if they expect Trent to be the QB of the future but the fans will have to be patient as well. Honestly we should have stuck with JP for the full 4 years. He didn't play bad in 06 and last year he wasn't given a chance to pass the ball as much as Trent has in 08. One thing I can say about JP is that he definitely wouldn't have gotten gun shy like Trent did last night and play timid! WIth that being said, stick with Trent and hope he either improves or at bare minimum play average keeping turnovers down to a minimum; if not and he continues this horrid play then in the offseason I'm on the bring McNabb to Buffalo campaign (we can hopefully get past that tie thing!) as I honestly don't want to see us draft another QB to develop who will more than likely not be given the chance to develop.

[devldog131]

I am by no means saying that it cost us the game, but what the hell was up with the officiating? The zebras practically help the Browns' hands and walked them into the end zone on their first TD drive. That Illegal contact was a friggin joke and the non-call on the offensive PI on stallworth in the end zone was disgraceful. Don't even get me started on the 15-yarder on Mitchell, that was just plain bull$#it.