My Meaningless Opinion

[R. Rich]

Well, @ least the Bills won. Yay.

 

I have to start by giving Trent Edwards some props this week. The guy has been taking a beating lately by critics, and maybe some of it was due. But, he did have a decent performance yesterday and didn't make a ton of mistakes that would only serve to make it even tougher to get a win (as Losman has done). The downside is, he doesn't take many chances, which is why some have complained 'bout the lack of opportunities guys like Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish have had this year. On the deep routes, they have to be damn near wide open for Trent to trust things enough to throw it their way. If someone is even remotely close to these guys, he throws the safe, simple checkdowns. If the offense is going to progress, the QB has got to trust his receivers to make a play when single covered and give them the opportunity to do so. The Bills don't have to chuck the ball deep on every play, but they also do not have to treat the long ball like the plague either. There is a happy medium that could be explored here.

 

The offensive line had what I thought was a good peformance. Again, the middle of the line seemed to hold well in pass protection and there were some actual holes for the RBs to take advantage of. Also, the lead blocks (FB or pulling OL) were solid for the most part. I even saw Langston Walker do a good job of moving his feet (kick slide) to get out to the DE and take him out of a play. I realize that Denver's pass rush is perhaps just slightly better than the Bills', but I still think they (Bills OL) had one of their best performances of the year yesterday. I only wish that were more of an endorsement.

 

Robert Royal, while a good blocker, is a liability as a receiver. His route running isn't awful, but his hands sure are.

 

Don't you all just love Fred Jackson? He's versatile and gives a great effort. What's not to love?

 

Am I the only one to think that Mike Shanahan was actually outcoached by Dick Jauron, especially down the stretch? The Bills seemed to have better clock management (really; they did!) and did a better job of keeping the Broncos off balance (the misdirection play was a brilliant call). This may be a situation you file under "blind squirrel", but it sure was nice to see someone else making head scratching calls for a change.

 

Defensively, there's still some issues that need to be addressed (ends; STAY HOME!!!), but they still gutted one out. Terrence McGee made some nice plays on the ball (even though Marshall still ended up w/ solid stats; but really, the guy is one of the best WRs in the game) and the breakup in the end zone by Reggie Corner was fantastic (good job by the rook). I still am disappointed by the play of Posluszny, but even he had some decent moments. Kawika Mitchell, another guy who hasn't really played up to the hype, made a great INT late that snuffed out a strong drive engineered by Cutler. Still, I think the LBs need to do a better job of getting the proper depth on their dropbacks. They're either back too far (Mitchell is guilty of this often) or they're not in position to do much more than reach a hand out to knock down a ball or try to grab onto a receiver due to poor angles. In the case of Posluszny and Mitchell, I think they'll be okay w/ some tweaking (here's where coaching, if you have the right people, can help), but Keith Ellison is another story. He again looked lost out there, took poor tackling angles on the plays where he actually did get to the ball, and has all kinds of trouble shedding blocks. I wonder where that effort from his rookie year went, you know, the year where he was probably the most consistent LB on the team. Oh, and Donte Whitner also made a great play on the forced fumble. I hope we see a lot more of the same from him from now on.

 

Forgive me though if I do not see this win as any kind of ringing endorsement of the 2008 Bills season. They still failed in so many areas this year and once again got everyone's hopes up only to crush 'em in spectacular fashion. That said, I will be happy that my squad @ least got a W yesterday. It's always better than a loss. Here's the crappy part: next week, if the Bills win and Miami wins, the Dolphins are the division champs. So, not only would they have the season sweep of us, they'll also get the title. Ugh. It gets better. If the Bills lose and NY wins, then the Jets are the AFC east champs. Whoo hoo. Not totally disgusted? How's this: if the Bills lose @ home to New England and the Jets beat Miami, then the Patriots would win the AFC east yet again. Disgusting. Those putrid scenarios just make me mad that we'll have to "what if" our way through the offseason once again. A better coaching decision or two here, a less turnover prone QB there, and, of course, a better pass rush here and there may have meant a playoff spot this year. Aaaaargh!!!!

 

So, it's one more and done. The Bills get the Patriots @ home and can get back a bit of pride for the many beatdowns they've taken from NE and can possibly knock them out of the playoffs in the process. It's not a Lombardi trophy, but it's better than an 0 for the division season and a third consecutive 7-9 finish. Go Bills!

[GG]

Am I the only one to think that Mike Shanahan was actually outcoached by Dick Jauron, especially down the stretch? The Bills seemed to have better clock management (really; they did!) and did a better job of keeping the Broncos off balance (the misdirection play was a brilliant call). This may be a situation you file under "blind squirrel", but it sure was nice to see someone else making head scratching calls for a change.

 

If I'm a Bronco fan, I'm still stunned this morning of how quickly Shanahan went into protective shell mode after the 13-3 lead. I wouldn't necessarily blame him for going for the 54 yd FG at the end of the half, but the decision to totally abandon the blitz when it was wrecking the Bills' offense was questionable at the very least. They must be scratching their heads to find out how they lost when they racked up 523 yds on offense.

[Gary M]

The offensive line had what I thought was a good peformance. Again, the middle of the line seemed to hold well in pass protection and there were some actual holes for the RBs to take advantage of. Also, the lead blocks (FB or pulling OL) were solid for the most part. I even saw Langston Walker do a good job of moving his feet (kick slide) to get out to the DE and take him out of a play. I realize that Denver's pass rush is perhaps just slightly better than the Bills', but I still think they (Bills OL) had one of their best performances of the year yesterday. I only wish that were more of an endorsement.

 

Did not even seem to miss Mr. Pro-Bowl.

[Beerball]

Well done RR.

 

I hope that Edwards is able to take that next step. On one particular play in the second half Reed (I believe) ran an out. The camera angle gave a perfect view of Edwards and Reed. Edwards did not throw the ball until Reed had made his cut and had a step on the DB. Trust Trent, trust. Or is it anticipate? Or is it trust your anticipation?

 

I hate the thought of losing Fred Jackson. I really really hope they sign him. Is he a RFA or FA? Anyway, he would be #1 on my re-sign list ahead of Greer.

 

Let's get some more playing time for Steve Johnson.

 

Poz made a nice 1 on 1 tackle for minimal gain where he actually met the ball carrier squarely. I want to see more of that.

 

I missed the end of the friggin game! The last thing I saw was Freddy's TD. My daughter called from Old Navy...car won't start! So, I drive out to her and have her turn it over and the damn thing started right up. Meaning of course that I missed Corner's breakup and other fine plays.

 

How does our draft class rank after nearly a full season? McCorner is coming into his own. Hardy is unknown, but he has lots of book work to do plus a rehab. Johnson looks like a player to me. Corner made a nice play which I caught on replay we'll see what he's got. All the others could easily be gone next summer.

 

Oh, and in case he's reading this...Santa, can I please have a pass rush for Christmas? I promise, I've been very very good!

[IDBillzFan]

If I'm a Bronco fan, I'm still stunned this morning of how quickly Shanahan went into protective shell mode after the 13-3 lead. I wouldn't necessarily blame him for going for the 54 yd FG at the end of the half, but the decision to totally abandon the blitz when it was wrecking the Bills' offense was questionable at the very least. They must be scratching their heads to find out how they lost when they racked up 523 yds on offense.

I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out how we won after they had 212 first quarter yards to our -2.

[GG]

I hate the thought of losing Fred Jackson. I really really hope they sign him. Is he a RFA or FA? Anyway, he would be #1 on my re-sign list ahead of Greer.

 

Greer may indeed be a luxury, with McKelvin & Corner playing well, and Youboty & Cox coming back from injuries. But who knows, maybe Eric King will reap all the free agent big bucks and Bills will resign Greer on the cheap.

[Rubes]

I hate the thought of losing Fred Jackson. I really really hope they sign him. Is he a RFA or FA? Anyway, he would be #1 on my re-sign list ahead of Greer.

 

I'm pretty sure Fred is an RFA, although someone may try to pry him away with a nice contract offer, given that he was undrafted (wasn't he?). I'll say this, though: if we don't keep at least one of Fred or Jabari (and preferably both), I'm going to flip out on this front office.