Poll: Biggest single reason for the loss to the Giants yesterday

[Skooby]

Let's settle this as a group & please explain why you voted a certain way.

[Skooby]

Our O-line is depleted & the lack of depth has come home to roost. Fitz was sacked / pressured more all day yesterday than all season long, which really threw off his play.

This is all about the lack of depth on the O-line.

[ddaryl]

The Oline played well enough.. I wouldn;'t put to much blame on the OL

Our d is bend don't break with no real pass rush, and they didn't force any turnovers, and Fitz being inaccurate was the nail in the coffin.

[ParanoidAndroid]

I blame the repeated mistakes by Florence for single-handedly giving the Giants three free big plays.

[Dujek]

Our O-line is depleted & the lack of depth has come home to roost. Fitz was sacked / pressured more all day yesterday than all season long, which really threw off his play.

This is all about the lack of depth on the O-line.

A lot of the sacks came because Fitz held onto the ball too long, not because of the o-line. The receivers were all covered at times, and instead of throwing the ball away Fitz waited, and waited and no line is going to give you that amount of time.

I'm a big fan of Fitz, but that loss was pretty much on him yesterday. He took a sack that took the Bills out of FG range early on, when he should have thrown the ball away long before they got to him, and then he threw the two picks.

[OpIv37]

Our O-line is depleted & the lack of depth has come home to roost. Fitz was sacked / pressured more all day yesterday than all season long, which really threw off his play.

This is all about the lack of depth on the O-line.

I see it the opposite way.

The O-line play was sufficient. Not great, but sufficient. Fitz made them look worse. He held the ball far too long and often didn't feel the pressure coming from the back side. There were other times when he did feel the pressure but chose to force a play, rather than just scrambling or throwing the ball away.

It was probably his worst performance as a starter.

I don't want to let the D off the hook because they played poorly as well, but let's face it: the strength of this team is the offense, and when Fitz plays that poorly, we are going to lose.

[BAM]

Florence & McGee. They were AWFUL to watch yesterday. McGee started out OK then it all went downhill.

[Historian]

This is too freakin much.

We lost a close one....could have gone either way.

Harping on a 3 point loss to an NFC team is simply overdoing it.

We had some guys hurt...we have little depth...we couldnt overcome it.

Let's focus on Washington.

[Meathead]

eaasily the lack of a pass rush. easily

[Skooby]

I see it the opposite way.

The O-line play was sufficient. Not great, but sufficient. Fitz made them look worse. He held the ball far too long and often didn't feel the pressure coming from the back side. There were other times when he did feel the pressure but chose to force a play, rather than just scrambling or throwing the ball away.

It was probably his worst performance as a starter.

I don't want to let the D off the hook because they played poorly as well, but let's face it: the strength of this team is the offense, and when Fitz plays that poorly, we are going to lose.

So those 3 sacks, forced fumble (equal to the entire season thus far) & multiple hurries helped Fitz make better decisions / get his timing down. If you check the stat line, the biggest difference from all our other games played this year was the O-line's pass protection.

Our Secondary not getting any turnovers / poor play was #2 IMO.

[Skooby]

We had some guys hurt...we have little depth...we couldnt overcome it.



You just spoke exclusively of the O-line, I figured you would look at it that way.

[Dujek]

So those 3 sacks, forced fumble (equal to the entire season thus far) & multiple hurries helped Fitz make better decisions / get his timing down. If you check the stat line, the biggest difference from all our other games played this year was the O-line's pass protection.

Our Secondary not getting any turnovers / poor play was #2 IMO.

Again, Fitz held onto the ball too long for most of the sacks. The only one I can think off where the player was beat and Fitz couldn't do anything about it was the sack with the forced fumble. The other sacks were mainly due to Fitz not getting rid of the ball fast enough.

[madness]

Where's 'the whole damn defense' option?

[mysticsoto]

I see it the opposite way.

The O-line play was sufficient. Not great, but sufficient. Fitz made them look worse. He held the ball far too long and often didn't feel the pressure coming from the back side. There were other times when he did feel the pressure but chose to force a play, rather than just scrambling or throwing the ball away.

It was probably his worst performance as a starter.

I don't want to let the D off the hook because they played poorly as well, but let's face it: the strength of this team is the offense, and when Fitz plays that poorly, we are going to lose.


Fitz didn't have his best game - no doubt, but the reason he held on to the ball longer was b'cse the playcalling involved longer plays/pass routes than usual. It looks like Chan decided to bring the playbook out and not have Fitz do his simple dink & dunk passes. Curious that he would choose to do that with a team who has a great Dline and can pressure the qb on their own without any blitz help.

Still, I chose poor Dline play. I know Kyle, Merriman and Kelsay we're out, but Eli had no pressure whatsoever - even when we blitzed. Even he will find a receiver open eventually. Drayton didn't have a good day either, but when you have all day to throw, you can take your time and not make mistakes and this defense has been living off the interceptions. This week they couldn't generate any and we're not able to accomplish much as a result. Giving up an avg of 450 yds per game is just ridiculous for any defense. We are in serious need of some pass rush!!!

[Mr. Miyagi]

How is "AWFUL FUN DEFENSE" not an option in this poll?

[better days]

I blame this loss on Nobody. It was just bad luck, poor officiating. The Bills are for real. 4 Wins & 2 AWAY losses of 3 points in the last minute of the game.

Eli Manning lost the game last week to the Seahawks in a similar mannor & Drew Brees lost to the Bucs yesterday in a similar mannor.

There is no point to pointing fingers IMO. Before the season started, 99% of this board would have been very happy to be 4-2 at this point & playing EXCITING Football as the Bills have been playing.

[Historian]

You just spoke exclusively of the O-line, I figured you would look at it that way.

Oye vey,

Actually, I was thinking more of Kyle Williams, but LT is thin too.

:couch:

[mysticsoto]

How is "AWFUL FUN DEFENSE" not an option in this poll?

You're right, they're not "fun" at all - they are awful fun...

[Maximilli]

Better Days i agree with u 4-2 and im good had us losing pats eagles and giants
2-1 not bad ill take that

[Figster]

Fitz's mistakes cost Buffalo points /the football game

Meanwhile we watch Rookie QB's like Andy Dalton play well and continue to win football games.

I've got no problem with Fitz at the helm for the time being and consider him above average, but we should be in the process of grooming our QB of the future.

[madness]

No rookie QB that's winning football games has a defense giving up over 400 YPG. In fact, said rookie QB's defense is 2nd best in the league.

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

Not sure you can pick one single thing, but I will go with Fitz. If he puts one of those throws 10 yards farther down the field it is most likely a TD.

[Cleve]

The blame is primarily on Ryan Fitzpatrick. However, was the pass play call on 1st down that led to this a Ryan Fitzpatrick or Chan Gailey decision?

Thought the pass play on the 1st down was ill-advised. Yeah, of course if it worked it would have been brilliant, but we've seen issues last year, late in the game, where Fitzpatrick would throw interceptions or waste passing downs that would cost the team the game.

I think the coach needs to remember this is Fitzpatrick - a journeyman career back-up, he's not one of the greats like an Aaron Rodgers, or Tom Brady or Drew Brees.

He's not an elite quarterback, and play calls should be a little more conservative, keeping that important fact in mind.

[mysticsoto]

The blame is primarily on Ryan Fitzpatrick. However, was the pass play call on 1st down that led to this a Ryan Fitzpatrick or Chan Gailey decision?

Thought the pass play on the 1st down was ill-advised. Yeah, of course if it worked it would have been brilliant, but we've seen issues last year, late in the game, where Fitzpatrick would throw interceptions or waste passing downs that would cost the team the game.

I think the coach needs to remember this is Fitzpatrick - a journeyman career back-up, he's not one of the greats like an Aaron Rodgers, or Tom Brady or Drew Brees.

He's not an elite quarterback, and play calls should be a little more conservative, keeping that important fact in mind.

The pass play was Chan's calling and I disagree w/you that it was the wrong call to make. If you simply run and go for 3 pts, you play like Jauron - timid. Fitz had been playing outstanding this whole season so far. Chan made the right call and Stevie was open for it so the play call was correct. The play before, Fitz connected w/Nelson for a long throw. Chan was attacking and going for a TD. I like that attitude! Fitz underthrowing is something that happens to QBs sometime. Is he the 1st QB to underthrow a ball or cause an interception? Drew Brees had like 3 interceptions yesterday. Eli had 3 ints last wk. I don't have to remind you what Vick and Brady did the last couple of weeks...It happens, and you can't start playing timid b'cse you may make a mistake.

[Historian]

I agree Mystic, we have thrived on the big gamble plays, but in this case I personally would have Jauroned it.

I keep thinking about that magnificent clock management Chan showed at the end of the Pats game....not giving Brady any time to work his magic.

This could have gone in a similar way, had we played the percentages.

I'm all for the gunslinging fun-to-watch stuff, but a good coach knows when its called for, and when its not.

[mysticsoto]

I agree Mystic, we have thrived on the big gamble plays, but in this case I personally would have Jauroned it.

I keep thinking about that magnificent clock management Chan showed at the end of the Pats game....not giving Brady any time to work his magic.

This could have gone in a similar way, had we played the percentages.

I'm all for the gunslinging fun-to-watch stuff, but a good coach knows when its called for, and when its not.

The problem is, there was still too much time on the clock to do clock management. If we play the run and can't get a 1st down, we kick for 3...then what? Our D is just not that good and has scored very few stops the entire season so far. Count the many drives opponents have had on us vs the stops this D has been able to make. It's got to be an extremely low percentage on the stops.

I think Chan did the right thing. He attacked given that Fitz had been playing pretty well throughout the season and if we score he forces their offense to have to score just to tie the game.

Chan put the odds on the offense winning the game rather than on a D that hasn't been playing well all season. I'm not sure how anyone can fault him for that!

[Philagape]

I liked the call.
Fitz has hit long ones before (and this wasn't that long).
It was a great counter adjustment. Johnson was one-on-one. No reason not to try it. In a tie game, if have a good shot to score, you take it.
The Pats game is no comparison because that was inside two minutes and sitting on it would virtually guarantee victory; here it was 4:10 left. Totally different situation.

[Philagape]

Fitz has 35 touchdowns in 19 games over the past two years. He didn't achieve that by being conservative. Taking shots downfield was a big reason they beat the Pats.

[TacklingDummy]

eaasily the lack of a pass rush. easily


Tom Brady led his team to a game winning score at the end of the game, what did Fitz do?

[BertSquirtgum]

Tom Brady led his team to a game winning score at the end of the game, what did Fitz do?

He threw 3 straight incomplete passes and he had plenty of time to get the team down the field close enough to try a field goal. two thumbs up for fitz.

[TigerJ]

I voted for Fitz's interceptions, but I don't believe a loss ever boils down to a single reason. It may have been the biggest factor, but the lack of pressure by the line and LBs is a major issue too. Other things contributed too.

[John Doe]

The problem is, there was still too much time on the clock to do clock management. If we play the run and can't get a 1st down, we kick for 3...then what? Our D is just not that good and has scored very few stops the entire season so far. Count the many drives opponents have had on us vs the stops this D has been able to make. It's got to be an extremely low percentage on the stops.

I think Chan did the right thing. He attacked given that Fitz had been playing pretty well throughout the season and if we score he forces their offense to have to score just to tie the game.

Chan put the odds on the offense winning the game rather than on a D that hasn't been playing well all season. I'm not sure how anyone can fault him for that!

Exactly.

[PromoTheRobot]

We probably win if Fitz connects on that last throw, so I voted "Fitz" for the loss. Still our D is abysmal. I thought the play calling was fine.

PTR

[Cleve]

It's questionable, if the Bills D continue to allow 400+ yds per game, that the team will make the playoffs.

We're only 20 yards from the bottom of barrel in terms of total yards allowed

http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/total/position/defense

That's 421 yards on average PER GAME. Horrendous! We've had some breaks with key defensive turnovers (interceptions) at critical times that have helped us do better, but in general you can't count on that sort of thing happening, week after week.


New England's D is awful this year too. But they have the advantage of Tom Brady, and that advantage will propel them further than we will go, if the D continues to hemorrhage yards like this.

[stuckincincy]

It's questionable, if the Bills D continue to allow 400+ yds per game, that the team will make the playoffs.

We're only 20 yards from the bottom of barrel in terms of total yards allowed

http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/total/position/defense

That's 421 yards on average PER GAME. Horrendous! We've had some breaks with key defensive turnovers (interceptions) at critical times that have helped us do better, but in general you can't count on that sort of thing happening, week after week.


New England's D is awful this year too. But they have the advantage of Tom Brady, and that advantage will propel them further than we will go, if the D continues to hemorrhage yards like this.

One shudders over how higher that 421 yd number would be without the large number of turnovers.

Still - 4 and 2 - the fans certainly have gotten their money's worth so far.

[BertSquirtgum]

Carson palmer is going to end up being a good deal for the Raiders.

[ublinkwescore]

I think our D is somewhat better with Merriman and Williams in.

[mysticsoto]

Carson palmer is going to end up being a good deal for the Raiders.

Good enough to be worth what they paid?

[footballhottie]

The entire defense. Period.

[Extremebillsfan247]

Biggest reasons for the Giants loss were exactly as follows. 414 yards in offense given up by the Bills defense, no turnovers this time, 24 first downs yielded, no pass rush, 121 yards given up on the ground. In a sense the Bills were lucky to have only lost by a field goal. Without the production on the offensive side of the ball, that one could have easily been a blow out in the Giants favor. Bills defense was horrible in that game. They can't stop anybody. JMO