Third downs on Buffalo Bills' to-do list

[Fletch]

http://espn.go.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/13009/third-downs-on-buffalo-bills-to-do-list

Pretty much what I pointed out earlier, just pointing out that it didn't go unnoticed.

The lack of downfield production was apparent. Even the longer plays weren't designed deep generally speaking.

[ICRockets]

You know what I thought was interesting was our calls on 3rd and short. I don't remember a single run on 3rd and 3 or less. The ball was in EJ's hands for all of them.

[Fletch]

You know what I thought was interesting was our calls on 3rd and short. I don't remember a single run on 3rd and 3 or less. The ball was in EJ's hands for all of them.

Yeah, I had to go look at the play by play myself, but agreed, I thought it was odd and that surely I'd missed one. I don't think so though.

I think that's the problem, or at least part of it, when the only 3-down RB on your team is the oldest RB in the league. Granted, Jackson played decently on Sunday, but they can't count on him all the time like that anymore and they can't rely on Dixon, Brown, and definitely not Spiller on 3rd's.

We'll see what happens. Right now it's still an issue. Last season we ranked 29th in 3rd down conversions at about the same percentage we had on Sundays.

Don't ask the rest of the forum though, they'll tell you that 3rd-down conversions don't really matter though. Any little criticism upsets them in their moments of temporary euphoria.

:cool:

[YardRat]

You know what I thought was interesting was our calls on 3rd and short. I don't remember a single run on 3rd and 3 or less. The ball was in EJ's hands for all of them.

Whether or not one thinks preseason is relevant in any manner, I think it was pretty obvious from all the third/fourth and short failures during the practice games that the team doesn't have the horses up front yet to impose their will and overpower an opposing defense in those situations.

[Fletch]

Whether or not one thinks preseason is relevant in any manner, I think it was pretty obvious from all the third/fourth and short failures during the practice games that the team doesn't have the horses up front yet to impose their will and overpower an opposing defense in those situations.

There you go again, wanting the team to lose. Tsk tsk.

[ICRockets]

Whether or not one thinks preseason is relevant in any manner, I think it was pretty obvious from all the third/fourth and short failures during the practice games that the team doesn't have the horses up front yet to impose their will and overpower an opposing defense in those situations.

It's been a consistent issue for us in the last few years. I personally believe short yardage situations are Eric Wood's weakness. The middle of our line never gets much of a push in the first few seconds of that war, and Wood is the common denominator in that struggle over the years.