Let’s get straight to the point. The Bills injuries have officially caught up with them. There is really no one to blame. Trust me. I want to blame. I need to blame. That’s my entire essence with regards to sports. But in this case, it strikes me that it’s really just the circumstances. We knew this was an undertalented team coming into the season. The starters pleasantly surprised us while they were healthy. And now we are operating on rookies and people who can’t play every down… playing every down.
You could try and blame Levitre, but he’s being moved out of position and is really our third option at one of the most critical positions in the game. You could blame the front office for not having depth, but Bell and Hairston looked good against decent competition. I can’t think of another team that has 3 starting caliber LTs waiting to play at a high level.
Just from that one position alone, all other offensive positions suffer. Fitzpatrick was nearly knocked unconscious about 4 times in the first quarter of play. I think he becomes the inaccurate passer we fear when he’s getting knocked around. And when he’s inaccurate and playing fearful, everyone else leaves plays on the field. The receiving core that looked so deep in week 4 has a tough time holding on to anything. I don’t blame them because they don’t know if the ball is going to be where they want it. True, they need to catch anything, but the Bills rely on timing and accuracy. And when neither is there, people are thinking way too much.
The offensive line shuffle has made even the illustrious Fred Jackson less dynamic. Looking at the stat line, you see 13 carries for 100+ yards, but he isn’t getting short down yardage. He isn’t getting consistent 4 yard carries like he did before. So you can’t really blame Chan for not utilizing him. When Fred was running well, he was breaking big first and second down runs. And by big, I mean like 4-6 yards. Now he’s running between inexperienced guards. His game is suffering. And you can’t just keep feeding him the ball when you have 3rd and 5 or longer. His yardage comes off one or two big runs. There is no flow for the team to pound away with him.
This season looks like it’s going up in smoke. For the most part, I’m not that angry. Even if they finish 5-11, i think they were better than last year. I know that sounds like loser-speak
I have no idea how the Bills beat Miami. I had said prior to the Bills losing to the Jets that I actually thought Miami was the better team of the two. Their defense is pretty good. They just don’t make plays when they need as opposed to teams that just can’t get in a position to make plays.
This all being said, the Bills are still in control of their playoff lives thanks to the Patriot win. However, without Hairston, Bell, or Wood, the Bills don’t seem to be in control of much.
DVD Extras
– CBS shot JR– Well in case you thought JR and Jerry Jones were the same man, now you know they are two different people. Prior to the game, I knew they’d have a shot of a smug Jerry Jones. It seems like every time we play these guys they show a douchier version of Jerry Jones each time. He was smiling and shaking hands like a casino pit boss. What I found stunning and the kiss of death was when the camera panned over to JR.
– CBS also shot the game – In NYC, the Bills-Cowboys game was the local game. They pulled the plug on the game around the end of the 3rd quarter. There was no way with the blackout rules to see the remaining part of the game. I was angry for a hot second, but then I found it quite humane. I forget how much I actually don’t care about football when the Bills stink. I also realized there hasn’t been a remotely exciting bills play since the 3rd quarter of the Redskins game.
– Have we ever beat Dallas? – I honestly can’t remember in my lifetime when we beat the Cowboys. Each loss seems to just get worse. I think in 1987 with the stoppage we beat them with Scab players. Aside from that, I can’t think of a win.
– Where has the Chan magic gone? – The game plans for two games in a row have just been boring. Some of it is just poor execution. On the 4th and 2 play into the endzone, it was the right play. They had a shot, but they left that play on the field. Fitz had Spiller wide open and it was dropped. A coach can’t really make up for those kind of in-game errors. But aside from that, the Bills aren’t doing much creatively to stop the opposing defenses from just rushing 7 men all the time. With the OL in such bad shape, I don’t think you can rely on the spread offense. The Bills need to bring out McIntyre and keep a TE in to block. Help Fred gain yards. He is your most sure weapon to put back on track. Once he starts going, you have play action and short throws to TE who go out for the pass. The Bills are at a disadvantage with the injuries, but they have to find something to work with the personnel that they do have. And to continue my broken record for the last 5 years, run the reverse and reverse motion. That buys you time. I get that the talent has thinned out, but you got to bring the wildcat back in, you have to keep it creative or these blow-outs are going to keep happening.
– Wood’s out with an ACL tear – That’s good news. Because if there was one thing the Bills really needed was another OL injury. If you live in Buffalo and you think your postman or UPS guy looks like he can be an OL, take a picture and send to 1 Bills Drive pronto. We need the bodies.
– Chris White hurt – More interestingly, why are people with the last name White usually black and most people with the last name Black white? Chris White bucking the trend.
– Penn State Scandal – Since everyone has an opinion on this, I’ll toss my two cents in. Should Paterno take the fall for Sandusky? If you believe that the soldiers in “A Few Good Men” should indeed be found guilty for not standing up to help William Santiago, then you kind of have to believe Paterno has to take the rap. It’s what comes with the leadership paycheck. Actual leadership.
– Ryan Miller – What is going on with this guy? He’s been pulled in like 3 of 4 games. He gets run over by Lucic and no one on the team cares. To be honest, from the weekend, of things to be embarrassed about as a Buffalo sports fan, the non-response by the Sabres outweighted the 44-7 bashing the Bills took. Fine, I get it that we aren’t big enough to fight Lucic. But go do something else equally as dirty back. Take a run at their smallest guy.
Kevin Shenoy can be reached at onefansview@gmail.com. @KevinShenoy is the twitter handle.
