BillsZone’s Bills vs. Jets Postgame Report Card

by Michael J. Thomas

Quarterbacks: Drew Bledsoe had a solid game. He did have some minor problems with the swirling winds, but overall did what he needed to do to win the game. Bledsoe was 18/30 for 184 yards and threw 1 touchdown. He also played error-free football for the 2nd week in a row. There were quite a few times where Bledsoe got rid of the ball and avoided the sack, even making nice throws for a 1st down. Bledsoe even ran the ball on 3rd down and 4, avoiding pressure from Shaun Ellis and gaining 17 yards. I’m still in disbelief over that one. Grade: B+

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Running Backs: Three weeks with Willis McGahee starting = Three 100 yard rushing games, and 3 wins. McGahee started out slow, but got better throughout the game. He struggled at times up the middle, but then made something out of nothing other times. One of his best plays was when he only needed 1 yard to get the first down, and went around the right tackle for a 12-yard touchdown run. Willis McGahee had 37 carries for 132 yards and caught 2 passes for 11 yards. His carries tied for the 2nd most in single game in Buffalo Bills history, tying Thurman Thomas. Part of the reason why he did so well running the ball was because of the fullback, Daimon Shelton. Shelton made several key blocks for McGahee. He also caught 2 passes for 11 yards to setup a Lindell field goal. Travis Henry came in to relieve McGahee and had a nice 6-yard run on 2nd and 1 to move the chains. Henry ran the ball 4 times for 15 yards. Grade: A

Wide Receivers: Eric Moulds had a pretty good game and led the team with receptions again. He made some clutch grabs; including a nice 26-yard pass from Drew Bledsoe. Moulds had 7 catches for 85 yards. However, he was not the receiver that made the highlight films this week. That would be rookie WR, Lee Evans. Evans had a couple amazing grabs and helped to take some double coverage off of Eric Moulds. His best play was a beautiful fingertip catch in the back of the end zone on 3rd down and 4 at the 4-yard line for the touchdown. However, his other big play helped to end the game, when he caught a 27-yard pass from Drew Bledsoe on 3rd down and 8, to move the chains and keep the clock rolling. Lee Evans finished the game with 5 receptions for 64 yards and 1 touchdown. Sam Aiken was the only other receiver that caught a pass, getting 6 yards on one reception. Freddie Smith was the other receiver out there, but didn’t catch any passes and did get a personal foul unnecessary roughness penalty for fighting with a Jets player. Grade: B-

Tight Ends: No catches for the tight ends this week. However, they were all very active in the run blocking. Tim Euhus had a key block on Willis McGahee’s 12-yard touchdown run. Grade: B

Offensive Line: It appears that Jim McNally’s “magic” took a little bit of time. The line has now gone 2 games in a row without allowing a single sack and has done a great job shutting down the key pass rushers like Jason Taylor, Bertrand Berry, and now the NFL sack leader, John Abraham. It seems like they found their best lineup with Ross Tucker starting at left guard and Trey Teague at center. Both of them did a good job. Marcus Price also did a solid job replacing Mike Williams after Williams got hurt. The offensive line also did a nice job making some holes for Willis McGahee and blocking for him. Grade: A

Defensive Line: Chris Kelsay was a beast. He was putting a ton of pressure on Chad Pennington, and even getting him to lose 13 yards on a sack. Kelsay was also a big part of the run stuffing, making 5 tackles. Aaron Schobel had a quiet day with 3 tackles and no sacks as the Jets offensive line was able to contain him. However, he did snuff out a reverse that could have killed the Bills, only allowing a 3-yard gain. Sam Adams and Pat Williams were the big factors in this game. Both of them did a great job plugging the middle. Pat Williams also dragged Martin down in the end zone for the safety. The run stuffing is what helps this defense do so good. They shut down Curtis Martin to 67 yards on 19 carries and have yet to allow a single 100-yard rusher. Grade: B+

Linebackers: It was not the typical day for this unit. They missed a few tackles here and there and were not the dominant force we are used to seeing. Takeo Spikes led the unit with 6 tackles. London Fletcher had 3 tackles and was beat badly on a long pass play. However, he also forced Chad Pennington to fumble the ball on a scramble. Jeff Posey had 2 tackles. Grade: B

Secondary: Terrence McGee was burnt toast on Sunday. Santana Moss killed him all day long, including the touchdown drive at the end of the game, which got New York back into it. He did have one good play in which he recovered a fumble and took it 38 yards down the field. This helped setup the offense with great field position and contributed to the 12-yard touchdown run by McGahee. Nate Clements didn’t have one of his better days. He was beat by Justin McCareins for a touchdown. However, he did help to force Chad Pennington to fumble the ball, which McGee recovered. The stars of this unit have to be the safeties. Lawyer Milloy had an impressive game with 3 tackles, and an interception. He had great coverage on his receivers and also batted down a pass in the red zone. Izell Reese also had good coverage and had 4 solo tackles. This was the unit that struggled the most on Sunday. It looks like Terrence McGee may still be a little raw to take over the cornerback position entirely. Troy Vincent may still have his starting cornerback job when he comes back from his injury. Grade: C+

Special Teams: It was not a bad day for the special teams, but it wasn’t great either. Penalties were a problem. Mario Haggan had two holding penalties that took away about 10 yards on each McGee return. Pierson Prioleau was flagged for holding and that pushed the offense back 10 yards after a Jets punt out of bounds. Kevin Thomas had a penalty, which negated a nice 21-yard punt return by Nate Clements. Brian Moorman started slowly when he was forced to punt into the wind and neither punt was over 40 yards. However, he made up for it with long 64-yarder and a beautiful 39-yard punt, which went out of bounds exactly at the 1-yard line and helped the defense get a safety. Rian Lindell was perfect on both of his field goals, with a tough swirling wind in front of him on one of them. Brian Moorman’s coffin corner punt at the 1-yard line saved this grade. Grade: C+

Coaching: Another good coached game by the staff. There were a few questionable play calls, and the gaffe at the end of the 1st half made you scratch your head, but overall, they did was needed to beat the Jets. Jerry Gray should be applauded for making excellent adjustments at halftime. The defense completely shut down Chad Pennington to zero pass completions in the 2nd half, other than the completion to Lawyer Milloy. They also kept Curtis Martin contained for most of the game and held him under 70 yards. I also have to applaud Coach Mularkey for taking out Lawrence Smith and putting in Ross Tucker at left guard. That turned out to be a very good move. The offense did what they had to do to win the game. Control the clock, and keep the chains moving. They ran the ball and ran it constantly (46 times), even when it wasn’t working. You should win the game when you control the time of possession 37:28 to 22:32 and they did. Grade: B+