My Meaningless Opinion

[R. Rich]

It's only one game and we're still 6-6. All is...........well? Forget that! It didn't look "well" to me.

 

I was wondering how many scapegoat-ish "Lindell cost us the game" posts I'd see on the board after this game. While it would've been nice for our kicker to hit those FGs, especially a 19 yarder, is he THE problem in a game where the offense can rack up over 350 yards and yet come up w/ just 3 points? All his fault, is it? Get rid of him, and the Bills do what in this game? Lose 10-9?

 

Defensively, the Bills tried hard to keep the offense in a position to win this one, but even they had their rough moments. I saw plenty of poor tackling, coverage issues in the secondary, and the front 7 get blown off the ball on occasion. One time, I saw Marcus Stroud get taken for a ride well outta reach of the play. The (lack of a consistent) pass rush continues to be a huge issue w/ this team. It had a lot to do w/ this loss, as the Bills couldn't generate any heat on Hill and force him into turnovers. I wonder how many more games like this the Bills will endure before realizing that the pass rush stinks and needs to be addressed strongly in the offseason. Once they can bring the heat and force QBs not to have enough time to bake cakes, finish their holiday shopping, or complete work on their doctoral thesis, maybe then we'll see guys like McKelvin, Greer, and McGee come up w/ the kind of turnovers that can work in the Bills' favor instead of working to bring them down. Also, the linebackers really need to do more. Mitchell had a nice open field tackle, but there weren't many other standout plays from this unit. Posluszny needs to step it up big time.

 

Was I the only person who thought the team appeared to have lost their composure @ the end of the first half? Blown timeouts and questionable play calling seems to be more the norm than the exception lately. There were other blunders, such as Roscoe Parrish's attempt to return the punt inside the 5 yard line instead of just letting it go into the end zone and starting @ the 20. I could understand more if it was a once in a while thing, but these types of errors seem to turn up every weekend.

 

Did anyone else see the play on the FG drive where James Hardy, alone on the weak (left) side, did basically nothing on a play designed to go to the strong (right) side? He didn't run a route to steer the defenders away, he didn't try to come back and block down. He did........nothing. It was pathetic.

 

Speaking of the wideouts (thanks again to Big Cat for his thread of his observations), I was surprised that Tony Boselli saw what I've seen in regard to our wideouts. They just do not do a great job of getting open. Now, I know there are times when guys have been open and were not seen (Lee Evans, among others, in the Cleveland game comes to mind), but for the most part, our guys do not create separation and find the open spots in the zone. They run half a** routes (see Hardy's weak attempt @ whatever it was he was trying to do on the FG drive) and don't seem to know when to break them off due to what the defense is trying to do. They have gotten open, but more often than not, I've seen them appear to just go through the motions and not do that something extra to help out the QB.

 

Special teams wise, this game reminded me of the Oakland game. What I mean by this is that the Niners obviously prepared well for Buffalo's special teams and were ready. I don't know if the same can be said of our guys. This was not a stellar game for what has been the best part of this team in recent seasons. Now, that said, I still rooted like crazy for the guys to break one and take it the distance. Why? I just had no confidence in the offense being able to put the ball in the end zone. I sure wish I was wrong 'bout that.

 

So, here we are. The team is 6-6, all but out of the playoff chase, and looking like one of the worst teams in the league. I wish I had better news and a rosier outlook, but it's hard to come up w/ one after witnessing these last 8 games. I had mentioned to someone how I thought there was a chance of this team having their third straight 7-9 season. Now, I'm just hoping they can get to 7-9. A better record would be nice too, but I won't be greedy. I know technically that they could go 10-6. But, seriously, what evidence is there to show that this can be done? They have 3 return games vs divisional opponents and another against a team that just beat one of our divisional opponents ON THE ROAD! Considering this, there is a chance the Bills could finish 6-10, w/ 5 consecutive losses. It seems so unbelievable but, then again, we Bills fans have been through this kind of heartbreaking tailspin w/ this team over the years. How things have changed since my trip to St Louis. Ugh!

[BuffOrange]

I personally couldn't bring myself to even open the Lindell threads. I mean forget about losing 10-9, would winning 12-10 and not scoring a TD against the 49ers at home really bolster anyone's playoff hopes? Oiy.

 

I think you're a little tough on the defense. Yah they missed tackles and blew some coverages and long-term the pass-rush sucks, but they played well today and I've seen them criticized a lot less when they play worse in winning efforts. I mean not mentioning QB play probably results in better thread discussion, but lets be honest, these home losses against bad teams are about the QB play.

[R. Rich]

I personally couldn't bring myself to even open the Lindell threads. I mean forget about losing 10-9, would winning 12-10 and not scoring a TD against the 49ers at home really bolster anyone's playoff hopes? Oiy.

 

 

Haha!! Exactly; it's just short sighted to try to pin this loss solely on Lindell.

 

 

I think you're a little tough on the defense. Yah they missed tackles and blew some coverages and long-term the pass-rush sucks, but they played well today and I've seen them criticized a lot less when they play worse in winning efforts. I mean not mentioning QB play probably results in better thread discussion, but lets be honest, these home losses against bad teams are about the QB play.

 

Hey, I gave them credit for battling to keep this close enough for the offense to take control (hahahaha!!!!), but I also noted the things I posted.

 

As for QB play, yeah, it stunk. Losman was no more effective than Edwards. It was just a train wreck.

[BuffOrange]

My least favorite defensive play was Ko Simpson completely neglecting a ball over the middle that was 10 yards overthrown and instead begging to get flagged with a personal foul (which ultimately wasn't called). I'm not sure why we don't blitz the safties if they're going to be that useless in coverage.

[R. Rich]

I remember that. Yeah, they need to work on recognition big time. They should be aware of where they are in relation to the ball. There are times that it would be better to come up w/ the ball instead of trying to deliver a big time hit.

[Chilly]

I don't disagree. I think this was the most disappointing game I've seen out of this coaching staff. The whole team was out of sync, and outside of the defense, no one even seemed prepared to play.

[Beerball]

Anyone listen to Losman's comments after the game? Kind of confusing because you can't really hear the questions, but I think the writers have finally figured out that the team is a mess. Time outs wasted, Parish fielding a punt at the 1 and on and on and on. Anyway, Losman said it was an 'in house issue' and you guys (press) 'won't get anything else out of me.' I would love to see a transcript.

 

After that game I watched Pitt play. What a joy to watch a team play with purpose and crispness. Weather was crappy and they dropped a bunch of passes, but Ben R kept chucking the ball and they made enough good plays to compensate. Defensively they are a handful and a half. That DC of theirs seems pretty good. (why didn't we keep him?)

[Sisyphean Bills]

Anyone listen to Losman's comments after the game? Kind of confusing because you can't really hear the questions, but I think the writers have finally figured out that the team is a mess. Time outs wasted, Parish fielding a punt at the 1 and on and on and on. Anyway, Losman said it was an 'in house issue' and you guys (press) 'won't get anything else out of me.' I would love to see a transcript.

Read between the lines. Losman was saying he got torched for speaking openly to the press in the past and he's not going to do it again. But, clearly, he has an idea of where there are problems ... players making the same mistakes over and over with the playoffs on the line, the game plans having no way to take advantage of the defense...

After that game I watched Pitt play. What a joy to watch a team play with purpose and crispness. Weather was crappy and they dropped a bunch of passes, but Ben R kept chucking the ball and they made enough good plays to compensate. Defensively they are a handful and a half. That DC of theirs seems pretty good. (why didn't we keep him?)

We didn't keep him because we had Jerry Gray. Apparently, he didn't want to be Jerry's sidekick any longer.

[BillsWest]

This game just made me sick. Hadn't the coaches watched 49er games? Shaun Hill will pick you apart if you don't have pressure on him. Put pressure on him, and he'll start throwing YOU the ball. The 49ers have been averaging giving up 28 points per game. The Bills had 2 drives of 15 plays with no points! 1st and 10 at the 25, late in the game, and you get no points. Losman throws a terrible 5 yard pass on 4th and 12 to end any hope.

 

I sure know how to choose the most frustrating pro sports teams to root for. You'd think that sooner or later the Bills, SF Giants, Sabres, or Clippers would do SOMETHING good!

[IDBillzFan]

Lindell gets a pass from me, but I can't help but think that if he hits the chipshot, then we're not going for it on 4th & 2 when a field goal there makes it 10-9.

 

Though I agree with BuffOrange that there wouldn't be much of a victory beating the Niners with four field goals, it would have been a good day to pick up a game given what happened to the Jets and Pats*. The reality is, winning this game would have just prolonged the inevitable, and I've not only lost any confidence that this team can win any of its last games, but I've also lost any confidence that a bunch of high draft picks next year will help either.

 

I wish my wife was a Steelers fan.

[R. Rich]

Anyone listen to Losman's comments after the game? Kind of confusing because you can't really hear the questions, but I think the writers have finally figured out that the team is a mess. Time outs wasted, Parish fielding a punt at the 1 and on and on and on. Anyway, Losman said it was an 'in house issue' and you guys (press) 'won't get anything else out of me.' I would love to see a transcript.

 

 

Sounds like more of the same cloak and dagger BS the Bills tend to employ.

 

 

After that game I watched Pitt play. What a joy to watch a team play with purpose and crispness. Weather was crappy and they dropped a bunch of passes, but Ben R kept chucking the ball and they made enough good plays to compensate. Defensively they are a handful and a half. That DC of theirs seems pretty good. (why didn't we keep him?)

 

We all needed to be reminded what a pass rush looks like.

[R. Rich]

This game just made me sick. Hadn't the coaches watched 49er games? Shaun Hill will pick you apart if you don't have pressure on him. Put pressure on him, and he'll start throwing YOU the ball. The 49ers have been averaging giving up 28 points per game. The Bills had 2 drives of 15 plays with no points! 1st and 10 at the 25, late in the game, and you get no points. Losman throws a terrible 5 yard pass on 4th and 12 to end any hope.

 

I sure know how to choose the most frustrating pro sports teams to root for. You'd think that sooner or later the Bills, SF Giants, Sabres, or Clippers would do SOMETHING good!

 

 

Man, and I thought I was bad w/ my teams! Then again, all of the other teams I root for have won a championship before (Houston Rockets-2, UNC hoops-3, PENN STATE football-2). Just waitin' on that last one...

[Beerball]

We didn't keep him because we had Jerry Gray. Apparently, he didn't want to be Jerry's sidekick any longer.

That work out OK?

[Sisyphean Bills]

That work out OK?

Splendidly! Like most things do.

[colin]

i don't understand why the d line is an issue in that game.

 

they played great, allowed one single scoring drive, and inspite of turning the ball over and punting (bad punts) only allowed one FG aside.

 

they got sacks and pressure and shut down gore.

 

this loss was because of us not even getting FGs while in the red zone. our O was putrid.

[zow2]

Those who blame Lindell for the loss are idiots but please, do not act like all is fine and dandy with his misses. Strategy-wise and play calling would be different if he makes his kicks and no one knows how the game would be affected? All i know is he has had two lousy games in a row at RWS and he gets no pass from me. The NFL is a NOW league. I don't give a crap what he's done in the past. He gets paid to make his kicks in close games.

[MDH]

We didn't keep him because we had Jerry Gray. Apparently, he didn't want to be Jerry's sidekick any longer.

 

If I recall correctly it was reported that they offered the job to Lebeau and he chose Pittsburgh over Buffalo because of his ties to Pit at which point they decided to retain Gray.

[Bill from NYC]

Did anyone else see the play on the FG drive where James Hardy, alone on the weak (left) side, did basically nothing on a play designed to go to the strong (right) side? He didn't run a route to steer the defenders away, he didn't try to come back and block down. He did........nothing. It was pathetic.

 

Yeah, but he made up for it with a holding penalty away from the play which nullified a huge run by Jackson.

[BuffaloWings]

I think you're a little tough on the defense. Yah they missed tackles and blew some coverages and long-term the pass-rush sucks, but they played well today and I've seen them criticized a lot less when they play worse in winning efforts. I mean not mentioning QB play probably results in better thread discussion, but lets be honest, these home losses against bad teams are about the QB play.

This seems to be a theme....we're not talking the 1985 Bears or 2000 Ravens here, but the defense has played well enough for the team to win. If the coaches didn't have their heads up their a$$e$, the offense could have easily given this team 2-3 more wins.

 

I'll say this until there's no tomorrow - this team has the talent and players to win. They just need the right staff to bring it all together.

[R. Rich]

This seems to be a theme....we're not talking the 1985 Bears or 2000 Ravens here, but the defense has played well enough for the team to win. If the coaches didn't have their heads up their a$$e$, the offense could have easily given this team 2-3 more wins.

 

I'll say this until there's no tomorrow - this team has the talent and players to win. They just need the right staff to bring it all together.

 

 

You may be satisfied w/ a pass rush that allows a stud like Shaun Hill to go 4 of 4 on third downs on the team's opening drive. I am not. I like some of what these guys can do (Stroud has made a tremendous difference in the inside and we just may have some decent depth in the secondary now), but they are not getting it done enough talent-wise for my liking. Keep in mind that this was the 49ers, not the Jets, Patriots, Broncos, or even Miami. They are going to have to do MUCH better in the last 4 games to even be in position for a win.

 

It's hard for me, based on what I've seen from the Bills lately, to believe they'll win any of the last 4 games. That doesn't mean I'll jump ship. It just means I may be watching my favorite team implode @ the end of the season yet again.