One step forward, two steps back

by Brandon Mitchell

Buffalo came out with a secret weapon against the New England Patriots, so secret the Bills didn't know he was going to start. This is the kind of player who can play both offense and defense, not Deion Sanders, no. This guy also can play for any team he wants to, usually a game time decision where and when he'll play. We are talking about Edward A. Murphy folks. The man who gave "What can go wrong, will go wrong" the stamp of approval. Playing for the Bills, he didn't need to go very far to mess things up. Short screens were a tall order against the Bills' defense. Wouldn't you know it, there is Murphy making the Bills look more like mosquitos than defenders. They were the one's stopped by the screen.

Try as they might, there was no way the defense could go for blood or even distract the Patriots by buzzing around their heads for a moment. At the start of the game, both teams had something going for them; one good the other bad. Buffalo was on a winning streak the franchise hasn't seen for two seasons, while New England was on a tough four-game losing skid. Everyone knew the tension was going to be huge, just not fault-line huge. The good and the bad released the pressure like a 9.0 earthquake hitting the West coast, changing the landscape of the AFC Eastern division.

The Bills' defense went full circle in this contest. Since the beginning of the season the unit struggled to stop any kind of offense. It took a full quarter of a season to show improvement and another to stay there. In one game they have themselves back in full "can't stop anything" form. If Jerry Gray did any adjustments with the defense, it sure didn't show throughout the game.

The offense didn't do any better on their part. That's the one thing that sets this apart from any of the previous games. The offense couldn't match what the defense was giving up. There are many reasons for this. First the obvious, Drew has the highest sack count so far this season. Knowing that, the Patriots kept the blitzes coming.

Maybe Bill Belichick was the little yellow man in Bledsoe's head, leading him to paranoia and self-destruction. I think the blitzes, along with not staying with the running game was enough. I'm not going to put the loss at the feet of Bledsoe or Kevin Gilbride. This belongs to a wide range of non-supporters from dropped passes to punting the ball 15 yards from your opponents 32-yard line. That's "no-man's land" since the history of the game. You go for it down there. It's fourth and two, you don't think Mike Hollis is up to the task booting a 49 yard field goal attempt, you're in no-man's land. You go for the first down. Never take away an opportunity to score. Head coach Greg Williams will have to explain himself out of that one. He might be better off by giving the "I don't know why" answer and leave it at that. How you do damage control with this? I don't have a clue.

After witnessing what happened, you still find yourself asking 'just what happened?' How does this happen in your house, the way you have been playing building confidence each week, and then this? Let's say they did it as a team. Is it because of the inevitable? Both streaks had to come to an end? Or is it because New England was a wild animal backed into a corner ready to strike and go for the kill scared, that this might be the last stand?

You don't dare say they overlooked the Patriots, thinking about a weeks vacation. How about they were jinxed by Drew's pep talk. "All I want, is everything you got." Maybe they were plain out-coached, most likely from both sides.

The way the Bills played, you can look 360 degrees and see why they lost everywhere. Poor tackling, no pressure on the quarterback to speak of, stopping the patriots only four times on 12 third down attempts, and that dreaded screen pass to all eligible to receive.

Antowain Smith seems to give that extra effort when playing the Bills, contributing 18 of his team's 38 points, six by rushing the ball, and 12 by pass, yes that screen pass. I'd say he still has something to prove to the Bills. In fact, all but ten points were scored off the screen. Unconventional to say the least, like the old adage 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Buffalo displayed no desire to stop it, only willingness to watch it develop and eat them alive.

The game marked the first time the Bills have scored seven points or fewer scored this season. Last year they hit this low point four times. That's a feat that I'm sure they won't make this season.

Murphy spread his law on the offensive side as well, lending a hand at stalling their first and second drives. Having two of the top three wide receivers in the NFL drop passes isn't good. And it doesn't help when the quarterback was off target more than once. When on target, Drew threw laser beams. One such beam hit tight end Jay Riemersma for what looked to be a touchdown. It resembled Riemersma's first NFL touchdown back during the 1997 season. Jay made a spectacular catch then, snagging the ball while falling like a tree to the side of the end zone with both feet in. No challenge call came from the Bills this time around, not enough camera shot to find an angle to overturn the no touchdown call. Mike Hollis missed three field goal attempts as well. That's 12 possible points not on the board. For those keeping score, that's 19 no-show points. Good ol' woulda coulda shoulda.

Oh well, nothing two weeks of practice can't handle. Right?