Some Bills thoughts after last night

[zow2]

- Don't you get the feeling that if NE played with the same intensity and passion for the first 55 minutes this would have been a complete blowout?

 

- Bills were outgained 441 yards to 276. TOP for NE was 37 mins, and 23 for Buf. This was a case where NE took the Bills lightly and we nearly pulled the rug out from under them.

 

- I feel much better about Trent Edwards (and the O-line). He showed me he is a competent NFL QB. Now he just needs to work on his confidence to find his WR's more downfield. I don't mind the checkdowns though, if he converts 3rd downs with them. I was disappointed he could not lead us at the very end though to a FG attempt. He's certainly not Brady...yet.

 

- Fred Jackson is the epitome of a north-south runner. I think his game is more suited to the NFL than Lynch. I would not balk at all if he were the permanent starting RB. He catches a screen and just strides upfield. No wasted steps trying to juke people. He's awesome. Freddie does take and dish out some punishing hits though and it would be hard to see him staying healthy while taking those blows.

 

- Maybin might be really good but he showed me nothing last night. Like i said during the game, seemed like he had to circle in from Cape Cod to even sniff Brady. He needs a good swim move like Bruce had.

 

- I really feel that if McKelvin had not fumbled, the Bills would still have gone 3 and out and NE would have 1:30 to drive for the winning TD. Either way, the last few mins of NFL games are about confidence and QB'ing...and NE has Brady. He's the only reason NE won last night.

 

- I thought NE's TD to close within 24-19 was a little too easy. Seemed like we were letting them score but just wanted them to take some time to do it. You just can't think that way. Although, again...they had Brady and he makes the D look horrible in these situations.

 

- If we beat Tampa Bay, the Bills are still 1-1....what we thought they'd be. I have concerns over a Monday Night hangover though. This game will be hard to shake off.

 

- The same head coach is on the losing end of the Dallas MNF meltdown and this. That can't be an accident or coincidence. Something about this guy does not lend himself to closing out football games. He does not breed confidence.

 

- Poz will never be considered special as long as his injury woes continue. The guy can be a stud but he's so brittle. You almost have to go into a season assuming he won't play half the games.

 

- I've said for years...Buffalo sports teams were put on this earth to give thrills and excitement to our opponents fans. Think about how many fans from other teams have gotten the thrill of their lifetimes by watching their teams come back with improbable victories? I'm just dying for the day when Buffalo teams can string together some improbable thrills for our fans.

[OnTheRocks]

The only thought I have is that Keith Ellison couldn't cover my grandmother.

[Red]

The Patriots are lucky to have escaped with a win. If not for 1 critical error (McKelvin), this game was won by the Bills.

 

The O-line was strong- particularly up the middle. Eric Wood is an ANIMAL!

 

This has nothing to do with Jauron and everything to do with CORRECTABLE mistakes. McKelvin had 2 fumbles (1 critical), Bell had some learning-curve penalties (but also played better than expected- walker who?), and 3 different receivers had drive-killing drops (Jackson, Owens, and Evans) in the first half that could have resulted in points.

 

The D-line is finally getting pressure to Brady AND without having to call blitzes as in the past. Kevin Williams, Aaron Schobel, and the crew were disruptive often and history has shown that that is the way to beat Brady.

 

What about the tackling? I love Gruden's take on Reggie Corner chomping at the bit to take down Wes Welker.

 

And how about the play-calling of AVP?

 

Brady whined after the game that they did not play up to their level. Baloney! They got beat. If McKelvin stays in the end zone...

 

...I would take my chances with this offense last night to close out the game with 2:00 to go.

 

Who cares about stats? The only stat I care about is the final score. And with the national media having a field day at the Bills expense (I don't know how the league can stand by and let 1 of its franchises be slandered like that over, and over, and over again) predicting wild 41-7 games, I think the Bills can walk away from this with their heads held high BECAUSE NOT ONLY DID THEY BEAT THE PATRIOTS, but they FINALLY SHOWED THAT THEY BELONG ON THE SAME FIELD.

 

If they play like this for the rest of the season, I see 11-5 in their future.

 

GO BILLS!

[OnTheRocks]

Who cares about stats? The only stat I care about is the final score.

ummmm.....yeh.

[kodak]

The only thought I have is that Keith Ellison couldn't cover my grandmother.

tight end open every time ellison covers him, give him to tampa bay and we win

[MRM33064]

The same head coach is on the losing end of the Dallas MNF meltdown and this. That can't be an accident or coincidence. Something about this guy does not lend himself to closing out football games. He does not breed confidence.

 

There is something very inexact, very subjective, yet completely true about that.

 

At times, Jauron reminds me of what happens to the bogey golfer who is even par after 13 holes, only to finish with 7s and 8s. A team that's 5-1 ... to finish 2-8. A team that's on the cusp of beating a superior Dallas team on MNF, or beating a bitter rival in the opening game of the season on MNF, etc. 7-9, followed by 7-9, followed by 7-9. Not too good, not too horrible.

 

Jauron just seems like one of those guys who is most comfortable, most in his element, when things play out as they are expected to, according to plan, i.e., when the world is operating at the mean or regressing toward the mean.

 

Of course, none of that explains Leodis's fumble, but had he not fumbled, it just seems as though something else would've happened to ensure that things played out as the world expected them to.

[RyanC883]

There is something very inexact, very subjective, yet completely true about that.

 

At times, Jauron reminds me of what happens to the bogey golfer who is even par after 13 holes, only to finish with 7s and 8s. A team that's 5-1 ... to finish 2-8. A team that's on the cusp of beating a superior Dallas team on MNF, or beating a bitter rival in the opening game of the season on MNF, etc. 7-9, followed by 7-9, followed by 7-9. Not too good, not too horrible.

 

Jauron just seems like one of those guys who is most comfortable, most in his element, when things play out as they are expected to, according to plan, i.e., when the world is operating at the mean or regressing toward the mean.

 

Of course, none of that explains Leodis's fumble, but had he not fumbled, it just seems as though something else would've happened to ensure that things played out as the world expected them to.

 

 

If McKelvin dosen't fumble, the Bills go 3 and out, and the Pats still win the game. Also, the Bills D should have prevented the TD on that drive anyway. Yet Jauron lets the Bills play this crappy prevent D which has gotten them killed over and over again.

[zow2]

If McKelvin dosen't fumble, the Bills go 3 and out, and the Pats still win the game. Also, the Bills D should have prevented the TD on that drive anyway. Yet Jauron lets the Bills play this crappy prevent D which has gotten them killed over and over again.

 

I agree. The drive that lost us the game was the one where NE scored to make it 24-19. That should have been the drive where our coaches should have done everything with the personnel to be aggressive and get to Brady. He still might've beaten the Bills because he's that good. Instead they just gave the Pats chunks in the middle of the field. Only took them a couple mins to march in and score. It was too easy. That was the drive they needed to snuff out b/c the Bills are too young and inexperienced to handle the end of game "closeout" without screwing it up.

[The Senator]

I agree. The drive that lost us the game was the one where NE scored to make it 24-19. That should have been the drive where our coaches should have done everything with the personnel to be aggressive and get to Brady. He still might've beaten the Bills because he's that good. Instead they just gave the Pats chunks in the middle of the field. Only took them a couple mins to march in and score. It was too easy. That was the drive they needed to snuff out b/c the Bills are too young and inexperienced to handle the end of game "closeout" without screwing it up.

Again, that penultimate NE* score was all part of the master script to set up the McKelvin fumble. It was scripted that way to make the Cheatriettes* look all-the-more heroic in front of a nat'l TV MNF audience.

 

Watching the game, you just knew it was going to happen that way. Like watching a 'pro wrestler' come back from one of those fake 'beat downs' to all-of-a-sudden dig way down deep and find that 'inner strength' that enables them to come back from the brink of near-death and win their staged match.

 

Anyone notice how the officials - whenever they picked up the football and re-set it just before re-starting the clock and giving the signal for play to resume - always seemed to move the ball about a foot or so closer to the first-down marker for the Cheatriettes*?

 

I am totally sickened by the charade that is NFL football.