My first half observations

[Forward_Lateral]

Offense:

The first unit looked decent, moved the ball ok. Fitz looked in sync with everyone, nice slant to Stevie.

The second unit looks awful. Thigpen can't hit the broad side of a barn.

Brad Smith is going to be the type of weapon the Bills have never had. He's the type of guy that used to kill Buffalo on 3rd downs. I'm excited he's a Bill, and look forward to seeing Chan get creative with him.

Defense:

Merriman looks good. Dareus is a beast. Kyle Williams is Kyle Williams. Andra Davis is playing pretty good as well.
McKelvin looks lost. Maybin is useless. Spencer Johnson is playing well.



Nothing to get too excited about, but also nothing really concerning either, except the fact that if Fitzpatrick gets hurt, this offense is going to be awful to watch with Thigpen at the helm.

[Crisis]

I'll disagree with you on one thing.... Merriman is definitely something to get excited about. If he's back to being an all-pro then this defense is 100x better than last year.

[Forward_Lateral]

I'm not getting excited over 2 preseason sacks. As a Bills fan, I've learned to suppress my optimism deep down inside.

[YardRat]

Can't argue with that.

If Merriman and Dareus can stay healthy this defense is going to improve by a lot.

Our o-line still blows, especially the right side.

[DGreg]

Did you see Maybin get tossed to the ground by the running back at the end of the second half. He was flipped like a rag doll.

[Forward_Lateral]

Craig Davis also blows.

[Crisis]

We are in SERIOUS trouble if we get some injuries on the OL, our depth there looks beyond awful.

[Novacane]

Did you see Maybin get tossed to the ground by the running back at the end of the second half. He was flipped like a rag doll.



They need to just end this joke and cut him

[Forward_Lateral]

Also, did I see Sam Aiken back in a Bills' uniform?

[Johnny Bugmenot]

Also, did I see Sam Aiken back in a Bills' uniform?
No, that wasn't Sam. That was KAMAR Aiken. UDFA.

[tampabay25690]

Can't argue with that.

If Merriman and Dareus can stay healthy this defense is going to improve by a lot.

Our o-line still blows, especially the right side.

I think the OL played well for the 1st unit that is....
Didnt think the right side BLEW at all....

[YardRat]

I think the OL played well for the 1st unit that is....
Didnt think the right side BLEW at all....

Meh...

Mostly 3 step drops, quick slants, screens etc. They didn't show much to me. Whenever somebody got blown up it was over our right side. First half, anyway.

[trapezeus]

is it me or does Searcy look bigger than maybin?

and when do we get to refer to maybin as Hasbin?

[Extremebillsfan247]

Urbik kept getting blown up on the line of scrimmage, that is a concern. Also, our Oline depth is atrocious. That Oline is probably the scariest part of this team right now based on what I've seen. Defenses are going to dare this offense to throw it deep all year. I'd start getting use to that. Our defense looks formidable to this point, but we have to remember it's the first preseason game. Most defenses usually have an early advantage in these types of games. This is all based on what I've seen from this team after the first preseason game. JMO

[Figster]

I'll disagree with you on one thing.... Merriman is definitely something to get excited about. If he's back to being an all-pro then this defense is 100x better than last year.

9 sacks is also something to get excited about, whens the last time that's happened in a game.

[THATHURMANATOR]

Thigpen looked ok to me

[Goobylal]

Urbik might need to be replaced with Hangman, and that will help Pears.

[Michael82]

Urbik might need to be replaced with Hangman, and that will help Pears.
I'd like to see that myself. Hangartner used to be a guard in Carolina, didn't he?

[Spiderweb]

Craig Davis also blows.

Sure doesn't appear he's going to shake his "Bust" Davis nickname (shortened from Buster).

[DesertFox24]

It was the first preseason game. Hopefully the OL gets better in time.

That being said I am excited about some of the young guys we have defense getting better. Batten, Carrington, Moats, AJ Williams, Dareus, Sheppard

[Johnny Bugmenot]

is it me or does Searcy look bigger than maybin?

and when do we get to refer to maybin as Hasbin?
Hasbin? Aaron Nevirwas.

[Forward_Lateral]

Thigpen looked ok to me

You weren't watching then.

[Ickybaluky]

I think it is a little early to make final judgments. Thigpen isn't as accurate as you would like, but he probably is better than last night.

I think Merriman and Brad Smith both showed why the Bills signed them. They provided the kind of impact they were looking for. They will make the team better, although Merriman has to show he can stay healthy.

The OL is a big issue. The fact is you can't just run 3 step drops and get the ball out quick all game. You end up with a 4.9 YPA like Fitzpatrick had last night. Teams are going to crowd the box and make you throw downfield. You can see why they traded Evans, because 3-stop drops and quick reads aren't taking advantage of his talents (although it was dumb to pay him $1M before trading him).

Other than that, nothing jumped out to me. I think the offense, especially the line will be targeted heavily next offseason. They focused on defense this year, and it appears they will be better.

[THE END OF ALL DAYS]

Did you see Maybin get tossed to the ground by the running back at the end of the second half. He was flipped like a rag doll.
think anyone can dig up some video on that?

[better days]

I think it is a little early to make final judgments. Thigpen isn't as accurate as you would like, but he probably is better than last night.

I think Merriman and Brad Smith both showed why the Bills signed them. They provided the kind of impact they were looking for. They will make the team better, although Merriman has to show he can stay healthy.

The OL is a big issue. The fact is you can't just run 3 step drops and get the ball out quick all game. You end up with a 4.9 YPA like Fitzpatrick had last night. Teams are going to crowd the box and make you throw downfield. You can see why they traded Evans, because 3-stop drops and quick reads aren't taking advantage of his talents (although it was dumb to pay him $1M before trading him).

Other than that, nothing jumped out to me. I think the offense, especially the line will be targeted heavily next offseason. They focused on defense this year, and it appears they will be better.

As you said without Evans, teams will stack the box. I said that before he was traded & the only way it stops is to get another receiver to stretch the field.

[Don't Panic]

As you said without Evans, teams will stack the box. I said that before he was traded & the only way it stops is to get another receiver to stretch the field.

I don't know... I think most teams had figured out we couldn't get downfield to Evans last year and were cheating the box anyway. I think his departure and the damage it will do in terms of oppsoing defense's preparation is a bit overstated.

I think guys like Davis are going to really benefit if Dareus, Williams and Merriman can play anything close to the way they did (as a group) last night. He's a guy who was probably asked to do a little too much with the personnel we had in years past, but will look a lot better when asked to do less. Same could be said for Edwards, Carrington, Moats and Johnson. Really excited to watch this front 7 this year.

[mysticsoto]

I wish I had taped it so I could watch it again, but overall, I liked what I saw:

- Oline held their own okay. Urbik seemed to be the weakest link overall. Pears played better than what I was expecting.
- Merriman/Dareus/Kyle Williams...you can't double team all of them...one of them is going to be free to attack! Coaches will be popping tums into their stomachs as they try to come up w/a way to counter those guys.
- We had a TE that was actually used and made some plays here & there. Maybe Gailey is finally going to use a tight end in games.
- Brad Smith could be a big weapon for us if used correctly. Looking forward to seeing more of him.
- Danny Batten looked pretty good. I like that he's stepping it up and finally getting a chance.
- Easley being used as a returner? He's the biggest WR we have - I'm a little surprised. Yet, it could be b'cse they are trying to find a way to make sure he makes the team.
- Overall team was low on penalties - Excellent work Gailey - that means they are being coached well!!!
- Some backups made themselves noticed: Alex Carrington looked really strong. Kellen Heard was putting everything he had into his plays. Aaron Williams made some mistakes but came up big when they needed him. He has potential, but still needs to learn a few things. Joshua Nesbitt looked pretty good out there. If White doesn't turn it up, I could see trying to keep Nesbitt instead. Yes, he's listed as QB, but showed alot of good RB skills and did alot better than White did.

My big disappointments:

- Maybin...what else is new. He was lost once again and when RBs are moving you around at will, it is time to say goodbye to that failed experiment that I knew was crap right when we drafted him!
- Backup OL is terrible. If we are out of the Luck/good QB sweepstakes next year I could see us going: 1st rd: LT, 2nd rd: RT, 3rd rd: RG!!!!!!!
- Jasper was quiet. I expected him to have a field day against backup guys and instead he was contained pretty easily. I hope he realizes that Heard was playing his butt off and could take him place in the roster if he doesn't show more than he did in the next few games!
- STs has been working hard in TC, but were lackadaisical and allowed the Bears too much yards.

[ddaryl]

McKelvin looked pathetic trying to tackle a RB making it to the 2nd level. Byrd didn't look much better in run support

Batten made some plays... Williams made some plays.. Our LB depth might be in better shape then we hoped.

Young WR's could not be effectively gauged . Thigpen and Brown both looked lost.

Brad Smith :bandwagon:

Spiller 2 runs 3yds... but 2 catches 16 yds...

Starting OL held it's own.. Scrub OL yikes

starting DL :rockon:

Aaron Maybust

Jasper looked slow and in effective from what I remember in the 4th quarter

Bills played lots of players on the D through out the game. The 2nd half was all about evaluating players that probably won't make the 1st cut.. Lots of WR's got reps in so nobody really was allowed to get a feel for the flow of the game.


We need to get through the 1st cut and get some of the guys who are not going to be here out of the way..... there were plenty of positives in this game, but they were buried behind the play of a lot of camp bodies getting evaluated

[Mike]

- Merriman/Dareus/Kyle Williams...you can't double team all of them...one of them is going to be free to attack! Coaches will be popping tums into their stomachs as they try to come up w/a way to counter those guys.

Doesn't if feel great to have good players. Isn't this way better than a bunch of scrubs that have potential? This is what this team needs, more of these types of players across the board and if you can not draft them all, take a page out of the Pats book and get them via trades and FA.

[Ingtar33]

don't get too wound up. Chicago might be the only team in the league with worse OTs then we have.

[Mad Max]

is it me or does Searcy look bigger than maybin?

and when do we get to refer to maybin as Hasbin?

Can't be a has, because he never was.

So how about "Neverwasbin" or "Wishhehadbin"

[Extremebillsfan247]

I think it is a little early to make final judgments. Thigpen isn't as accurate as you would like, but he probably is better than last night.

I think Merriman and Brad Smith both showed why the Bills signed them. They provided the kind of impact they were looking for. They will make the team better, although Merriman has to show he can stay healthy.

The OL is a big issue. The fact is you can't just run 3 step drops and get the ball out quick all game. You end up with a 4.9 YPA like Fitzpatrick had last night. Teams are going to crowd the box and make you throw downfield. You can see why they traded Evans, because 3-stop drops and quick reads aren't taking advantage of his talents (although it was dumb to pay him $1M before trading him).

Other than that, nothing jumped out to me. I think the offense, especially the line will be targeted heavily next offseason. They focused on defense this year, and it appears they will be better.
I think your right about Thigpen. He has maybe 12 days under his belt in our offensive scheme. It's going to take him awhile to adjust. There is one play that he did make that made me wonder about him though. It was a play where he was about to take a sack and just threw the ball blindly. That is the kind of thing JP Losman used to do here that got him in a lot of trouble. It's a rookie mistake that will likely burn you when facing teams like the Pats and Jets. I just hope that isn't a precursor to what is to come from Thigpen. JMO