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Hard to say a bunch of new things a full day later, but...
1. Play of the day was the 42 yard bomb to Evans for numerous reasons. It was the play that really made the Texans put one guy back deep instead of at the LOS. It was the first deep ball of JP's career and he hit it right on the money. It made the fans and JP himself go nuts (how great was it to see the relay of him so pumped running down the field). It gave the team all the confidence in the world in him. And had to make the receivers happy, too.
2. How great is it to have a free safety that is actually a ballhawk. Vincent's two INTs were both not only excellent individual plays but plays that a Bills FS would not have ben able to make since Tony Greene. The comments by Carr after the game about that play were very telling.
3. Kelsay obviously came to play, and he may already be as good as Schobel. Neither are fabulous but solid. Ryan Denney, the much maligned, also seemed to have a good game. He's a solid back-up.
4. The coaching, all around was awesome. Lining up with an empty backfield on the first play was very well thought out, and confused the Texans. Having confidence and showing confidence in JP's throwing probably gave JP confidence himself, and he said as much after the game. Going for it on 4th and 2, while only up 5 points was a ballsy move but probably the right time to do it, one of those plays that are genius when they work and stupid when they don't. The play-calling was consistently good as you never really knew when they were going to run or pass. How did they know to cut Tucker and leave Preston as the only interior back-up lineman?
5. The snaps on the FGs really could make a signficant difference. I am not sold on Lindell but little things like that do indeed make a difference in the kicking game.
6. Jason Peters on special teams is hysterical. What a monster.
7. Losman played well, obviously. He is still going to make some horrendous errors but there are a few things I really liked. One was that he has star power and quality. The first drive, while it in no way means he's going to be a star, is just something that great players seem to do, they just play well in big games when they have every reason to be nervous or off or at least need time to settle down. I loved the way he got on the bench and started to get the fans in the stands screaming. I liked the way he went after Reed but they seemed to get together just after. I liked the way he said it was a team game immediately. It is one thing to be athletic and mobile but it is quite another to have genuine feel for the rush and have serious escapability. He has those, it seems. He also really seemed to always be looking to throw when he scrambled instead of just taking off.
8. Edwards held up well. Gandy, despite one penalty, played a heck of a game. Anderson played the way I expected him to when he signed. Losman obviously played well. Lindell surprised everyone. It;s funny that the 4-5 main question marks during the off season ALL played well. We certainly can't always expect this but was indicative of the "things could not have gone better" way that the game turned out.
9. Nate was a stud. He really may be worth the franchise tag. The only thing that worries me is his postgame comment about now he can take MORE chances because Vincent is back there. biggrin.gif
10. Man, this defense is fun to watch. Jerry Gray seems to make the right calls. It's a huge difference to have the two veteran safeties. Terrence McGee is turning into a solid corner. Posey looked good. Greer is a playmaker as a nickel back. They had it working on all cylinders.
1. Play of the day was the 42 yard bomb to Evans for numerous reasons. It was the play that really made the Texans put one guy back deep instead of at the LOS. It was the first deep ball of JP's career and he hit it right on the money. It made the fans and JP himself go nuts (how great was it to see the relay of him so pumped running down the field). It gave the team all the confidence in the world in him. And had to make the receivers happy, too.
2. How great is it to have a free safety that is actually a ballhawk. Vincent's two INTs were both not only excellent individual plays but plays that a Bills FS would not have ben able to make since Tony Greene. The comments by Carr after the game about that play were very telling.
3. Kelsay obviously came to play, and he may already be as good as Schobel. Neither are fabulous but solid. Ryan Denney, the much maligned, also seemed to have a good game. He's a solid back-up.
4. The coaching, all around was awesome. Lining up with an empty backfield on the first play was very well thought out, and confused the Texans. Having confidence and showing confidence in JP's throwing probably gave JP confidence himself, and he said as much after the game. Going for it on 4th and 2, while only up 5 points was a ballsy move but probably the right time to do it, one of those plays that are genius when they work and stupid when they don't. The play-calling was consistently good as you never really knew when they were going to run or pass. How did they know to cut Tucker and leave Preston as the only interior back-up lineman?
5. The snaps on the FGs really could make a signficant difference. I am not sold on Lindell but little things like that do indeed make a difference in the kicking game.
6. Jason Peters on special teams is hysterical. What a monster.
7. Losman played well, obviously. He is still going to make some horrendous errors but there are a few things I really liked. One was that he has star power and quality. The first drive, while it in no way means he's going to be a star, is just something that great players seem to do, they just play well in big games when they have every reason to be nervous or off or at least need time to settle down. I loved the way he got on the bench and started to get the fans in the stands screaming. I liked the way he went after Reed but they seemed to get together just after. I liked the way he said it was a team game immediately. It is one thing to be athletic and mobile but it is quite another to have genuine feel for the rush and have serious escapability. He has those, it seems. He also really seemed to always be looking to throw when he scrambled instead of just taking off.
8. Edwards held up well. Gandy, despite one penalty, played a heck of a game. Anderson played the way I expected him to when he signed. Losman obviously played well. Lindell surprised everyone. It;s funny that the 4-5 main question marks during the off season ALL played well. We certainly can't always expect this but was indicative of the "things could not have gone better" way that the game turned out.
9. Nate was a stud. He really may be worth the franchise tag. The only thing that worries me is his postgame comment about now he can take MORE chances because Vincent is back there. biggrin.gif
10. Man, this defense is fun to watch. Jerry Gray seems to make the right calls. It's a huge difference to have the two veteran safeties. Terrence McGee is turning into a solid corner. Posey looked good. Greer is a playmaker as a nickel back. They had it working on all cylinders.
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