OpIv37's Post Game Review

by Bryan Ault

It happened again. The Bills managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. All they had to do was keep the ball moving and kill the clock. They had done that successfully all afternoon... but failed to do it at the most crucial moment.

This team cannot play a complete game. Against San Francisco and Miami, the defense played well enough to keep the team in the game but the offense was useless. Against the Jets, the offense played well for most of the game but the D didn't show up. Once it came down to crunch time, the D finally tightened up while JP Losman became a human turnover machine.

And now, rumors abound that Dick Jauron has been extended. Another Sunday ends with the Bills losing while the rest of the AFCE wins, and to top it off Bills fans now have guaranteed mediocrity for several more years.

The Good:
-Bryan Scott and Terrence McGee played well on D.

-The OL did well in run blocking and pass protection (except for Peters on a couple of plays).

-Marshawn Lynch is the only premier player this team has.

-Josh Reed played well (more on that later)

-Steve Johnson looks promising

-Schouman blocks well. Fine had a great catch then carried three guys with him at the end of it. Royal had a drop. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, Robert.

-With the exception of one big return by Washington, Special Teams put on a clinic.

-For the first time this season, the Bills managed to save their time outs and use them effectively in the last two minutes of each half.

The Bad:
-The rest of the D was horrendous. The DL got no push or penetration, the D as a whole gave up too many big plays and that scramble by Favre on the first drive was just humiliating. How was it that the rookie McKelvin was the only one to recognize that fake?

-Ko Simpson BLOWS.

-Whitner had an absolutely terrible game. He got beat for a TD for the second straight week, and he looked like he pulled up and gave up early on the juggling catch by Clowney.

-Poz made a heads up play on the INT and seems to be improving in the pass D, but he sucks against the run and short pass. He simply can't shed blockers.

-Why didn't Fewell blitz more? The pass rush was completely ineffectual yet the Bills didn't blitz until the 4th quarter.

-JP Losman is simply brutal. His ball placement was terrible, he didn't protect the ball well, and he still doesn't feel the pass rush. His strength used to be the long ball, but he's clearly lost the confidence to go downfield. He didn't even try to do it today.

-Turk Schonert is a moron. At first, I was thrilled with the play calling. They set up the reverse to Johnson nicely by faking it at least twice before they ran it. The running game was working and Schonert stuck to it. But that call where Losman fumbled was absolutely terrible. Why the hell would you put the ball in Losman's hands rather than Lynch's when the game is on the line? It makes no sense whatsoever.

Op's Over-Analysis of the week: Eating some crow on Josh Reed

I've been very critical of Reed in the past. The guy never lived up to the hype coming out of LSU and isn't really the true #2 that many of us were hoping he would be. He also had the dropsies for a while, which was extremely frustrating to watch.

But the reality is that this team is MUCH better with Reed on the field. The offense clearly suffered when he was injured earlier this season. It seems like he gets a first down almost every time he touches the ball, and he's an extremely reliable 3rd down WR. On top of that, he blocks well in the run game and he runs the best routes on the team, which helps him get open. If you want to see what I'm talking about, watch him next game as opposed to, say, Roscoe Parrish. When Reed makes a cut, he sells his fake and gains a step or two on the defender. When Parrish cuts, the defender just goes with him.

As far as dropping passes, the only one I can remember Reed dropping all season was the one against the Jets today that went for the INT. And that was half on JP Losman for throwing the ball way too high when Reed was wide open.

So, despite what I've said in the past, I am now a Reed supporter.

Extra points/Going forward:
-This team is going 0-6 in the division.

-It's frustrating to watch the Fish and Jets improve so much in just one off-season whereas the Bills have been mired in mediocrity for a decade.

-One of the few saving graces for this football season is that the Patriots may not make the playoffs, despite winning today.

-If Jauron's extension turns out to be true, Ralph Wilson may have just saved me $350 because I'm seriously going to consider not renewing my Sunday Ticket. And I certainly won't be making the trek to Buffalo to see any games live. This organization is rotten from the inside out and it's pathetic that Ralph is content to stay the course.