Constructive thoughts on the game tonight.

[nateodoms'bff]

First. If you want to have a serious discussion about this game, I'm all ears. This isnt a fire so and so, and cut so and so thread.

The offensive line played outstanding tonight. Bell's name wasn't talked about at all except for formation penalties and a holding call. The formation calls will disappear next week, and the holding is a technique issue, which will take a little more time for him to grow out of. Wood is nasty. Hangartner is nasty. Levitre is nasty. Brad Butler is nasty. Mean bunch of boys up front. They played with intensity and fire, and opened up lanes all night long.

The defense played great. By the end of the game they were exhausted and shell shocked that the lead was gone. McGee was all over the place. Kyle Williams and Marcus Stroud looked fantastic. Schoebel was great, looks like he is back to his old form. Maybin played well, and Kelsay was great too. The big play killed them all night, especially soft zone coverage on Moss. The two TD's to Watson were tough plays to defend. Rolling the safeties over would have helped on at least one. When Brady saw the same defense against the same play all night, he knew he had Ellison beat.

I love Reggie Corner. I think he showed a lot tonight. I love McKelvin. He played tough. He made some mistakes early, and bounced back. His fumble was him simply being waaaaaay to eager. I think that the biggest problem the Bills face is learning how to win.

It showed on the dropped passes. It showed a few times with the defensive play calling. And it certainly showed on the fumble.

Trent looked awesome. Accurate throws. He had some zip on all of his passes. He was mobile and TOUGH all night.

Fred Jackson is a stud. He came to play tonight, and earned his starting position.

The coaching staff put together a great game plan, and executed it. A few mistakes cost them the game. Everyone knew the only chance they had was to play mistake free football. They didn't and they lost because of it.

Tampa should be a good game, and if they can get past this loss, then it should be a win.

Go Bills!!

[Prov401]

First. If you want to have a serious discussion about this game, I'm all ears. This isnt a fire so and so, and cut so and so thread.

The offensive line played outstanding tonight. Bell's name wasn't talked about at all except for formation penalties and a holding call. The formation calls will disappear next week, and the holding is a technique issue, which will take a little more time for him to grow out of. Wood is nasty. Hangartner is nasty. Levitre is nasty. Brad Butler is nasty. Mean bunch of boys up front. They played with intensity and fire, and opened up lanes all night long.

The defense played great. By the end of the game they were exhausted and shell shocked that the lead was gone. McGee was all over the place. Kyle Williams and Marcus Stroud looked fantastic. Schoebel was great, looks like he is back to his old form. Maybin played well, and Kelsay was great too. The big play killed them all night, especially soft zone coverage on Moss. The two TD's to Watson were tough plays to defend. Rolling the safeties over would have helped on at least one. When Brady saw the same defense against the same play all night, he knew he had Ellison beat.

I love Reggie Corner. I think he showed a lot tonight. I love McKelvin. He played tough. He made some mistakes early, and bounced back. His fumble was him simply being waaaaaay to eager. I think that the biggest problem the Bills face is learning how to win.

It showed on the dropped passes. It showed a few times with the defensive play calling. And it certainly showed on the fumble.

Trent looked awesome. Accurate throws. He had some zip on all of his passes. He was mobile and TOUGH all night.

Fred Jackson is a stud. He came to play tonight, and earned his starting position.

The coaching staff put together a great game plan, and executed it. A few mistakes cost them the game. Everyone knew the only chance they had was to play mistake free football. They didn't and they lost because of it.

Tampa should be a good game, and if they can get past this loss, then it should be a win.

Go Bills!!

Yea, I'm all for these 'lets talk serious threads'.

I pretty much agree with everything. AVP had a wonderful gameplan tonight, and Trent played mistak-free, smart football for 60 minutes. Fred Jackson was a beast, and our interior O-Line played incredible. Owens and Evans were being triple teamed all night. No joke, really...triple teamed. But, we stuck with our gameplan, and it worked to the point where we should have won this game. The only bade grade I give to the offense is to Bell. But I give him a C+, not an F like everyone else on this board is giving him. Trent's passes were sexy all night. I was baffled when I saw Owens, and Evans each have a dropped pass. But at the same time, Moss and Welker both had easy catches dropped earlier in the game. I guess Monday Night jitters?

On defense, I'll say it again. The Cover 2 sucks. I don't understand how it could be 3rd and 3, and you still insist on giving an 8 yard cushion to Randy Moss. Explain please. The Corners play way too far off their recievers, and we got burned for it. We have to stop teams on 3rd down. Whitner showed up tonight, and had 6 solo tackles, 10 total. Even the announcers were praising him all night. The move to FS seems to be a good one thus far. Mcgee played good, not great. Moss still had a field day, as did Welker. Poz looked great until he got hurt. Mitchell played good, as did ellison until the 4th quarter. Schobel played great, and I can't believe I'm saying this but, Kelsey looked good as well. Maybin needs to learn not to run 20 yards down field to try and beat a tackle. Our run D was good, and Stroud and Williams both earned their paychecks.

A+:AVP, Edwards, Jackson, Schobel, Interior O-Line, and Whitner.

[nateodoms'bff]

Yea, I'm all for these 'lets talk serious threads'.

I pretty much agree with everything. AVP had a wonderful gameplan tonight, and Trent played mistak-free, smart football for 60 minutes. Fred Jackson was a beast, and our interior O-Line played incredible. Owens and Evans were being triple teamed all night. No joke, really...triple teamed. But, we stuck with our gameplan, and it worked to the point where we should have won this game. The only bade grade I give to the offense is to Bell. But I give him a C+, not an F like everyone else on this board is giving him. Trent's passes were sexy all night. I was baffled when I saw Owens, and Evans each have a dropped pass. But at the same time, Moss and Welker both had easy catches dropped earlier in the game. I guess Monday Night jitters?

On defense, I'll say it again. The Cover 2 sucks. I don't understand how it could be 3rd and 3, and you still insist on giving an 8 yard cushion to Randy Moss. Explain please. The Corners play way too far off their recievers, and we got burned for it. We have to stop teams on 3rd down. Whitner showed up tonight, and had 6 solo tackles, 10 total. Even the announcers were praising him all night. The move to FS seems to be a good one thus far. Mcgee played good, not great. Moss still had a field day, as did Welker. Poz looked great until he got hurt. Mitchell played good, as did ellison until the 4th quarter. Schobel played great, and I can't believe I'm saying this but, Kelsey looked good as well. Maybin needs to learn not to run 20 yards down field to try and beat a tackle. Our run D was good, and Stroud and Williams both earned their paychecks.

A+:AVP, Edwards, Jackson, Schobel, Interior O-Line, and Whitner.


Evans and Owens were defended well. The soft coverage I think is just sort of a blanket that Fewell uses to contain the big play. Not a lot of YAC tonight, and the Bills pretty much negated the run, which is usually how the Pats beat the Bills. Making Brady throw 53 times, was awesome, and they were in his face all night. If they continue to execute this type of defense, guys like Sanchez and Pennington will make a lot of bad plays. Brady is good, maybe the best of all time. Its going to take a lot to force an error from him. But the Bills came close tonight.

I totally agree with the Jitters thing. That cant fly week in and week out. I like T.O.'s lack of comment after the game. All he said was "your wasting your time". When he was open, he was thrown to. He didnt make an easy catch, and Trent latched on to someone else. I love T.O. I think he showed some fire in the huddle, and I think he will help hold every one in that locker room, including himself, accountable for tonight.

I expect a big game from both him and Evans next week. I can't wait to see Lynch in this offense. Its gonna be nasty. A true two headed monster out of the backfield, solid tight end play, can only open up the WR's on the outside.

[Prov401]

Evans and Owens were defended well. The soft coverage I think is just sort of a blanket that Fewell uses to contain the big play. Not a lot of YAC tonight, and the Bills pretty much negated the run, which is usually how the Pats beat the Bills. Making Brady throw 53 times, was awesome, and they were in his face all night. If they continue to execute this type of defense, guys like Sanchez and Pennington will make a lot of bad plays. Brady is good, maybe the best of all time. Its going to take a lot to force an error from him. But the Bills came close tonight.

I totally agree with the Jitters thing. That cant fly week in and week out. I like T.O.'s lack of comment after the game. All he said was "your wasting your time". When he was open, he was thrown to. He didnt make an easy catch, and Trent latched on to someone else. I love T.O. I think he showed some fire in the huddle, and I think he will help hold every one in that locker room, including himself, accountable for tonight.

I expect a big game from both him and Evans next week. I can't wait to see Lynch in this offense. Its gonna be nasty. A true two headed monster out of the backfield, solid tight end play, can only open up the WR's on the outside.

That's one thing I will say. Aside from one or two of Moss' catches, they got hit as soon as they caught the ball. Our D flew all over the field tonight, and were on it for 2/3rds of the game. The sky is the limit for our offense, and I'm very excited to see that our interior O-Line played spectacular. If Bell's potential shows in his play, we have a good, young O-Line in the making.

I still hate the Cover 2, and always will. We need to play closer to the recievers. Us giving them 8 yard cushions, gave them at least 4 first downs.

Congrats to Nelson for his first TD as well. Nice kick by Lindell, and aside from the first punt, Moorman kicked the ball very good tonight.

[lynchisthepresent]

The interior of the line was dominant all night. Wood, Hangartner, and Levitre were all simply incredible. Bell had a good game. A few mistakes, but that is expected. Butler also had a very good game. These guys play great in space and AVP did a good job utilizing that.

Man, was it nice to see some pressure tonight. Schobel is clearly a man on a mission. Kyle Williams was knifing into the backfield all night. Very impressive. We did get gashed on the run a few times.

I cannot stand that our corners play so far off. We have extremely talented corners, if they are going to give a cushion, at least cut it down a few yards, to maybe 4 or so.

Trent was excellent. They were determined to not give us anything deep and Trent took what was given. He made some incredible throws that were very accurate. This offense has great potential, especially considering the oline is still going to improve greatly over the year.

Last, I hope Poz's arm isn't too bad. We need him. Hopefully it's only a few weeks and he can get back out there, but knowing the luck of this team, I am fearing the worst.

[northernbillfan]

AVP called a great game tonight.

We can't help it if April doesn't teach his players better.

[Banks2Pierce]

I don't really get the 8 yards off the ball thing in the Cover 2. In all defenses I have played in, you are supposed to play up on the guy and funnel him to the middle. They were beating us a lot tonight on 8 yard outs to the sidelines, which is just baffling to me in a cover 2.

It's the seams you have to worry about and that's what burned us twice on the touchdowns. Safeties have to make a play there.

[Billz_fan]

I thought for what we went in there with, The offensive line did a great job ! Don't get me started on Freddy Jackson Im not so sure he shouldn't be starting all the time. Marshawn better be looking over his shoulder.

Also nice to see an Aaron Schoebel sighting tonight also. I was beginging to wonder if he was still on the team.

Trent, I was very pleasantly surprised by Trent tonight. He played a very good game. Poised as can be.

Poz, god I hope he isn't gone again.

I certainly feel good about our chance against the Buc's. Dallas burned the Buc's secondary for 4 plays pass plays over 40 yards this week. I think our recievers can do similar damage. Especially on Buc's SS Sammy Piscitelli. Who was the victim on at least 2 of those plays.

Im stuck watching the Buc's on Sunday here so yeah, I feel pretty good about the home opener after sitting through there game Sunday :D

[Forward_Lateral]

I thought the offense played very well, taking what NE gave them. The screen plays to Jackson were genius, and I thought Edwards did a decent job standing in there and looking for open guys.

The O-line was nothing short of awesome, except for the final drive of the game. Everyone can shut up about benching Levitre now, he was possibly the best lineman on the field last night. They manhandled Wilfork, which almost never happens.

Fred Jackson is a beast. I'm really interested to see how they are going to use Fred when Lynch comes back.

Defensively, until the final 5 min, I thought the team played very well, considering their leader was out (Poz). Whitner made some nice plays, Schobel was a machine in the 1st half. Maybin got some decent pressure as well. I'm not going to talk about the final 5 min, because I'm trying to stay positive this AM.

[Nighthawk]

I cannot believe people actually felt this defense played well...what freakin' game were you people watching??!!?? The Pats moved the ball on them at will, they couldn't stop them and they definitely didn't stop them when they needed to. The defense was soft and too conservative and the Pats were their own worst enemies. Come on people, please take off the rose colored glasses!

[Forward_Lateral]

I cannot believe people actually felt this defense played well...what freakin' game were you people watching??!!?? The Pats moved the ball on them at will, they couldn't stop them and they definitely didn't stop them when they needed to. The defense was soft and too conservative and the Pats were their own worst enemies. Come on people, please take off the rose colored glasses!

They gave up 13 points in 55 minutes of football. They held New England's rushing attack to 73 yards, and 3.2 YPC. Brady threw the ball 53 times. He dinked and dunked down the field, but Buffalo's D made 2 huge 4th down stops, and held them to a FG twice.

The D gave the team a chance to win, and if it wasn't for McKelvin's boneheaded mistake, they probably would've won.

[shelby]

Well said F_L. i think some people have unrealistic expectations. And some of you have been predicting a 5-11 season....

[Nighthawk]

They gave up 13 points in 55 minutes of football. They held New England's rushing attack to 73 yards, and 3.2 YPC. Brady threw the ball 53 times. He dinked and dunked down the field, but Buffalo's D made 2 huge 4th down stops, and held them to a FG twice.

The D gave the team a chance to win, and if it wasn't for McKelvin's boneheaded mistake, they probably would've won.

No, they didn't. The Pats miscues gave the Bills a chance to win...that game could have been the score everybody thought if the Pats weren't rusty and Brady was more on his game early. The defense couldn't get off the field, there is absolutely nothing good about that. Some of you reach for the slightest thing to make yourself feel good, but totally ignore reality.

[Forward_Lateral]

It's not like Tom Brady turned into garbage when he hurt his knee. He's still the best QB in the game, and he's going to move the Pats, especially with all of their weapons.

[Forward_Lateral]

No, they didn't. The Pats miscues gave the Bills a chance to win...that game could have been the score everybody thought if the Pats weren't rusty and Brady was more on his game early. The defense couldn't get off the field, there is absolutely nothing good about that. Some of you reach for the slightest thing to make yourself feel good, but totally ignore reality.

The Bills could've had a bigger lead if balls weren't dropped, that were first downs on 3rd down. If Bell hadn't have lined up improperly, etc.

It's football. Did you ever think that the reason Brady wasn't on his game early was because of the defensive pressure Buffalo put on him? Maybe you were the one who wasn't watching the game?

[Nighthawk]

It's not like Tom Brady turned into garbage when he hurt his knee. He's still the best QB in the game, and he's going to move the Pats, especially with all of their weapons.

yeah, but let's not make it seem like the Bills defense was actually shutting them down because that was not happening.

[Nighthawk]

The Bills could've had a bigger lead if balls weren't dropped, that were first downs on 3rd down. If Bell hadn't have lined up improperly, etc.

It's football. Did you ever think that the reason Brady wasn't on his game early was because of the defensive pressure Buffalo put on him? Maybe you were the one who wasn't watching the game?

Honestly, I'm not going to argue with you because your rose-colored glasses are obviously on and I'm not in the mood. If you're happy to be mediocre and watch that crappy defense on a weekly basis, fine...but that doesn't work for me.

[DaBillzAhDaShiznit]

I think the Bills as a team put forth a solid effort. I don't think anyone except Fred Jackson had a great game (I know, our bar for excellent has dropped much lower over the years), but overall I was pleased with the way we gameplanned, played, and executed given the amount of inexperience on the field.

I can't give high marks to the defensive coaching because I did not see good adjustments made at halftime. I would give them a C+, and I hope they can learn from this game.

I also think it is wrong for us to second guess the strategy behind McKelvin's fumble play. Think about it long and hard and I don't think you can come to the conclusion that it was stupid. His error came when he was hit and was trying to fight for yards, but prior to that I can't blame him or the staff for trying.

Bottom line we have lots of room for improvement, but lots of reasons to hope that maybe we will improve. And at this point, the Pats look beatable.

[Saratoga Slim]

Honestly, I'm not going to argue with you because your rose-colored glasses are obviously on and I'm not in the mood. If you're happy to be mediocre and watch that crappy defense on a weekly basis, fine...but that doesn't work for me.

There's such a thing as poop colored glasses too.

[DraftBoy]

FL its not worth it. Execution is always the coaches fault and NH wont stop until Fewell and Jauron are fired. They could play a perfect game for 59 minutes, suck in 1 of them and he'd still ***** about it.

[nateodoms'bff]

yeah, but let's not make it seem like the Bills defense was actually shutting them down because that was not happening.

See, this is exactly the problem.

The Bills defense made two HUGE stops on 4th down. Held a NE offense that was torching them down the field to long field goals 3 times. That's well played defense. Could it have been called better towards the end of the game, yes. Were there mistakes, yes. But to say that the only reason it was close was because Brady was rusty, is so typical and boring. Brady looked bad last night. He wasn't prepared to throw the ball 53 times. The Bills forced them off of their game plan last night. Brady said it himself as he walked off the field. So again, to say that we're wearing rose colored glasses, is just stupid. You personally don't want to see the good things that this team does.

So take it to another thread. Go pout in the cut Demetrius Bell thread.

[SABURZFAN]

First. If you want to have a serious discussion about this game, I'm all ears. This isnt a fire so and so, and cut so and so thread.

The offensive line played outstanding tonight. Bell's name wasn't talked about at all except for formation penalties and a holding call. The formation calls will disappear next week, and the holding is a technique issue, which will take a little more time for him to grow out of. Wood is nasty. Hangartner is nasty. Levitre is nasty. Brad Butler is nasty. Mean bunch of boys up front. They played with intensity and fire, and opened up lanes all night long.

The defense played great. By the end of the game they were exhausted and shell shocked that the lead was gone. McGee was all over the place. Kyle Williams and Marcus Stroud looked fantastic. Schoebel was great, looks like he is back to his old form. Maybin played well, and Kelsay was great too. The big play killed them all night, especially soft zone coverage on Moss. The two TD's to Watson were tough plays to defend. Rolling the safeties over would have helped on at least one. When Brady saw the same defense against the same play all night, he knew he had Ellison beat.

I love Reggie Corner. I think he showed a lot tonight. I love McKelvin. He played tough. He made some mistakes early, and bounced back. His fumble was him simply being waaaaaay to eager. I think that the biggest problem the Bills face is learning how to win.

It showed on the dropped passes. It showed a few times with the defensive play calling. And it certainly showed on the fumble.

Trent looked awesome. Accurate throws. He had some zip on all of his passes. He was mobile and TOUGH all night.

Fred Jackson is a stud. He came to play tonight, and earned his starting position.

The coaching staff put together a great game plan, and executed it. A few mistakes cost them the game. Everyone knew the only chance they had was to play mistake free football. They didn't and they lost because of it.

Tampa should be a good game, and if they can get past this loss, then it should be a win.

Go Bills!!


i agree with you for the most part but the defense did not play great. they gave up over 400 yards and they couldn't get the job done when NE was faced with a 3rd down. NE completed 10 of 16 3rd down opportunities. granted, Poz and Kelsay were gone but we can't use that as an excuse.

[trapezeus]

positives:

1. bills moved the ball
2. ol if consistent, is a good ol that will stay in tact for the next several years.
3. OL is mobile and blocks downfield well.
4. Trent made passes with receivers on the run. he didn't need them to be open when he threw it.
5. defense got pressure early
6. AVP called a very creative offensive gameplan. If consistent, that'll be fun

Cons:
1. poz helped get that pressure early. without him...there is huge weakness on the team.
2. coaches still instil this overarching philophy of "just don't lose" until things look like the wheels might come off, and then everyone feels like they need to be a hero and that's when the wheels do come off.


Bucs preview:
It'll be interesting to see how the bucs want to play us. Will they follow the pats model (most likely due to their bad offense) and try to hold us to small gains and FG and hope we make mistakes (mistakes that we proved we still make at critical times?) or do they come up and try to take away the dink and dunk routes to find Evans and TO open longer?

It strikes me that the Bills are in perfect shape for a flea flicker next week. It would very well since the run is doing well and the pass blocking isn't good enough to get 3-5 seconds protection for a long throw.

[Captain gameboy]

We are better than I thought.

Another very tough result to swallow, but we are better than I thought.

[nateodoms'bff]

positives:

1. bills moved the ball
2. ol if consistent, is a good ol that will stay in tact for the next several years.
3. OL is mobile and blocks downfield well.
4. Trent made passes with receivers on the run. he didn't need them to be open when he threw it.
5. defense got pressure early
6. AVP called a very creative offensive gameplan. If consistent, that'll be fun

Cons:
1. poz helped get that pressure early. without him...there is huge weakness on the team.
2. coaches still instil this overarching philophy of "just don't lose" until things look like the wheels might come off, and then everyone feels like they need to be a hero and that's when the wheels do come off.


Bucs preview:
It'll be interesting to see how the bucs want to play us. Will they follow the pats model (most likely due to their bad offense) and try to hold us to small gains and FG and hope we make mistakes (mistakes that we proved we still make at critical times?) or do they come up and try to take away the dink and dunk routes to find Evans and TO open longer?

It strikes me that the Bills are in perfect shape for a flea flicker next week. It would very well since the run is doing well and the pass blocking isn't good enough to get 3-5 seconds protection for a long throw.

How do you know that when both Evans and Owens were double teamed all night? The pass blocking was the best we have seen in a decade. The run blocking was excellent last night as well. The long ball will come when it has to. The Pats weren't giving any down field yardage last night. Trent did the RIGHT thing, which was look for Reed, then to the TE's, then to Jackson. Just because Evans and Owens are there, doesn't mean that they have to get the ball on every pass play.

[TigerJ]

Well said, Nate.