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First, the good:
For once, this team rallied back from some adversity. They didn't wilt when Freddy fumbled early or on the late INT by Smith. We got lucky with the missed FG, but they didn't execute when they should have, and the team responded by playing well in OT and coming up with a big play when it mattered most. Jairus Byrd had perhaps his best game as a Bill.
The DL was great. Granted, it was against the worst OL in football, but maybe this will be the confidence-builder they needed to play better going forward.
We won because our "stars"- Stevie, Spiller, Mario Williams and Kyle Williams- actually played like stars. We won because Fitz didn't turn the ball over (even though Freddy and Brad Smith tried to do that job for him). We won because Gailey, despite some questionable coaching decisions, actually stuck with the run instead of trying to force Fitz to win it for us.
And now, the bad:
Our CB's and LB's are terrible. McGee nearly cost us the game with that **** coverage on Fitzgerald. Aaron Williams got beat a couple times again. Gilmore was decent but took a dumb penalty. And it's embarrassing how bad our LB's are at shedding blocks. On Kolb's scrambles, they were being consistently blocked by WR's and RB's. There is no excuse for that.
Fitz did a better job today than he has in previous games, but he still has accuracy issues. TJ Graham was a non factor. The call by Gailey and the decision by Brad Smith on that throw to the endzone were inexcusable.
Conclusion/perspective:
The team won a road game in OT against a team that has a great D but a terrible OL. There were definitely some positives to this game, but nothing that makes me think this team is going to come out and be ready to play with the big boys. We are stuck in the 3-3 quagmire in the division, and those early losses to the Jets and Pats are really killing us now. If the season ended today, we'd be in last place on tiebreakers. Right now, this is looking like another 7-8 win season, where we are not good enough to challenge for a playoff spot but too good to land a franchise QB or other top player in the draft. Let's just hope we can beat Tennessee at home and go into the bye and the next NE game with a winning record.
For once, this team rallied back from some adversity. They didn't wilt when Freddy fumbled early or on the late INT by Smith. We got lucky with the missed FG, but they didn't execute when they should have, and the team responded by playing well in OT and coming up with a big play when it mattered most. Jairus Byrd had perhaps his best game as a Bill.
The DL was great. Granted, it was against the worst OL in football, but maybe this will be the confidence-builder they needed to play better going forward.
We won because our "stars"- Stevie, Spiller, Mario Williams and Kyle Williams- actually played like stars. We won because Fitz didn't turn the ball over (even though Freddy and Brad Smith tried to do that job for him). We won because Gailey, despite some questionable coaching decisions, actually stuck with the run instead of trying to force Fitz to win it for us.
And now, the bad:
Our CB's and LB's are terrible. McGee nearly cost us the game with that **** coverage on Fitzgerald. Aaron Williams got beat a couple times again. Gilmore was decent but took a dumb penalty. And it's embarrassing how bad our LB's are at shedding blocks. On Kolb's scrambles, they were being consistently blocked by WR's and RB's. There is no excuse for that.
Fitz did a better job today than he has in previous games, but he still has accuracy issues. TJ Graham was a non factor. The call by Gailey and the decision by Brad Smith on that throw to the endzone were inexcusable.
Conclusion/perspective:
The team won a road game in OT against a team that has a great D but a terrible OL. There were definitely some positives to this game, but nothing that makes me think this team is going to come out and be ready to play with the big boys. We are stuck in the 3-3 quagmire in the division, and those early losses to the Jets and Pats are really killing us now. If the season ended today, we'd be in last place on tiebreakers. Right now, this is looking like another 7-8 win season, where we are not good enough to challenge for a playoff spot but too good to land a franchise QB or other top player in the draft. Let's just hope we can beat Tennessee at home and go into the bye and the next NE game with a winning record.
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