LtBillsFan66
11-26-2002, 02:25 PM
Stat of the Week No. 6: Despite being the only NFL team whose base defense is the gamble-everything-for-turnovers burned-to-a-crisp "46," the Bills are last in the league in takeaways and have failed to register a takeaway in seven of 11 games this season.
Shake 'N' Bakes of the Week: On his game-icing touchdown bootleg, Jersey/B QB Chad Pennington faked Bills linebacker Eddie Robinson so utterly that Robinson fell on his keister without being touched. On his game-icing touchdown run, Dolphins RB Ricky Williams faked Bolts Pro Bowl safety Rodney Harrison so utterly that Harrison fell on his keister without being touched.
Coaching Blunder of the Year: The tastefully named Gregg Williams appears to have shattered his team's promising season with the coaching blunder of the year, if not of the decade. As a previous TMQ noted, three weeks ago, trailing defending champion New England by 10 at home in the third, the Bills faced fourth-and-two on the Patriots' 32. Did they go for it, with what was then the league's No. 2-rated offense? Attempt a field goal to close the deficit to one score? Williams punted from the opposition 32. The ball rolled out at the 17 for a laughable 15 yards on the exchange; New England marched the length of the field for the touchdown that turned an anybody's-game into a runaway.
It now appears this mincing, fraidy-cat call undid the Buffalo season. To the point of the Preposterous Punt, Buffalo was 5-3 and the second-highest scoring team in the league. Since the moment of the Preposterous Punt, the Bills have gone 0-3, been outscored 79-29 and dropped from first in the division to all but mathematically eliminated. By punting when he did, Williams not only made an unfathomable blunder, he sent his offensive unit the message that he didn't think it could gain 2 yards at home in a critical situation. Williams sent his whole team the message that he personally wasn't up for the pressure of a playoff run and planned to phone in the remainder of the season.
Never underestimate the extent to which NFL teams do, in fact, respond to the messages coaches send them. Since the Preposterous Punt, the Buffalo offense has lost confidence, scoring two touchdowns in 10 quarters, while the team as a whole has followed the coach's example and begun phoning it in. Williams would have been far better off to have gone for it and missed on that fateful play, sending his team the message that he was challenging them to succeed, then to have gone fraidy-cat, sending his team the message that he expected a losing season. At least Williams will get his wish!
http://espn.go.com/page2/s/tmq/021126.html
Shake 'N' Bakes of the Week: On his game-icing touchdown bootleg, Jersey/B QB Chad Pennington faked Bills linebacker Eddie Robinson so utterly that Robinson fell on his keister without being touched. On his game-icing touchdown run, Dolphins RB Ricky Williams faked Bolts Pro Bowl safety Rodney Harrison so utterly that Harrison fell on his keister without being touched.
Coaching Blunder of the Year: The tastefully named Gregg Williams appears to have shattered his team's promising season with the coaching blunder of the year, if not of the decade. As a previous TMQ noted, three weeks ago, trailing defending champion New England by 10 at home in the third, the Bills faced fourth-and-two on the Patriots' 32. Did they go for it, with what was then the league's No. 2-rated offense? Attempt a field goal to close the deficit to one score? Williams punted from the opposition 32. The ball rolled out at the 17 for a laughable 15 yards on the exchange; New England marched the length of the field for the touchdown that turned an anybody's-game into a runaway.
It now appears this mincing, fraidy-cat call undid the Buffalo season. To the point of the Preposterous Punt, Buffalo was 5-3 and the second-highest scoring team in the league. Since the moment of the Preposterous Punt, the Bills have gone 0-3, been outscored 79-29 and dropped from first in the division to all but mathematically eliminated. By punting when he did, Williams not only made an unfathomable blunder, he sent his offensive unit the message that he didn't think it could gain 2 yards at home in a critical situation. Williams sent his whole team the message that he personally wasn't up for the pressure of a playoff run and planned to phone in the remainder of the season.
Never underestimate the extent to which NFL teams do, in fact, respond to the messages coaches send them. Since the Preposterous Punt, the Buffalo offense has lost confidence, scoring two touchdowns in 10 quarters, while the team as a whole has followed the coach's example and begun phoning it in. Williams would have been far better off to have gone for it and missed on that fateful play, sending his team the message that he was challenging them to succeed, then to have gone fraidy-cat, sending his team the message that he expected a losing season. At least Williams will get his wish!
http://espn.go.com/page2/s/tmq/021126.html