Sunday, December 13, 2009

Immediate Reactions, Wk14

It was a very active day in the extra-immediate reactions world known as my Twitter page. Head there for in-game posts.

The Bills may be bad, but they aren't Chiefs bad. Yeesh. Kansas City deserves a better pick than Buffalo.

And "Operation 7-9" commences...

-- I know this is a single game article, but I think a lot of folks would be open to talking about with Perry Fewell as head coach if they knew, absolutely and certainly, that the rest of the front office was overthrown.

-- The Bills are now tied with the Packers for the most interceptions in the National Football League. Who would've thought rookie safety Jairus Byrd would be leading the league in interceptions and former wide receiver George Wilson would have collected four interceptions while leading the team in tackles? Seriously, this is Buffalo football now. I'm not even complaining, but Bryan Scott and Wilson were 450th-string safeties, and now they are making pivotal plays. Coach 'em up, Per.

-- After those nice words about Wilson, the Bills definitely could've been whistled for a brutally-obvious pass interference call on the last play of the game.

-- I've got some interest in discussing Paul Posluszny as a football player. He's not the fastest dude on Earth, and he's been hurt several times, but is there a chance he's been the victim of a garbage set of linebackers? He's put up 83 tackles, a sack and two interceptions, and maybe if he was working with a ballhawk like Brian Cushing or Clay Matthews, Jr., Bills fans would feel a lot better about Pos.

-- I'm still having trouble believing Alex "Madden Playcalling" Van Pelt showed as much allegiance to the run as he should've for once, and I wonder what he would do with an actual line and quarterback. I still want Bill Cowher in here -- yeah, right -- or someone of his ilk, but if the ownership goes status quo, who knows?

-- The 2009 Buffalo Bills have reinforced what should be a universal truth: players can win without coaches, but coaches can't win without players. Perry Fewell didn't make any decisions I truly questions in Buffalo's 16-10 win in Kansas City, and the team still didn't win. Now, would Dick Jauron have made a decision to change the flow of this game? Sure. He probably would've let Bobby April fake that final Chiefs punt with just over a minute to play. Fewell's 2-2, and I believe this team would've been 7-9 with him at the helm, not that that means anything for next year. The question to ask yourself: If the Fewell-led Bills beat the Pats and either the Falcons or Colts, wouldn't you consider him at least as good an option as some other also-ran in the league?

-- Nice, big day for Marshawn Lynch and Freddy Jackson. Lynch would've had a 100-yard day in the easiest of ways if he would've just headed back to the "run people over" approach instead of trying to be an actual running back. There's something to be said for the idea of "Beast Mode," that Lynch has to play like a bull rather than do the Ickey Shuffle behind the line of scrimmage. Jackson, of course, had his standard super-steady-but-unspectacular game.

-- I've said it all year, and it may be the only true universal truth I have in stone about these Bills. They are two NFL-caliber linebackers away from being a very good defense. As much as folks talk about nose tackles being a big part of a run defense, it's usually the Brian Urlachers, A.J. Hawks and Ray Lewises that make things happen in the "gaps."

-- I want to know how Eric Wood is doing, because it'll do a lot to shape where I think the Bills need to go in the offseason. I know Fewell said he doesn't believe the leg injury to be career-threating.

-- Ryan Fitzpatrick... yeesh. I want to see Brian Brohm right now. Let's find out if there's a glimmer in ol' Bromulus and Remus. Let's see if he can be the Atomic Brohm. I'd love to know if he's a star like Brohminik Hasek. I need to know if the Bills web site should be BuffaloBIlls-dot-Brohm. Or perhaps he'll be another Bills quarterback conundrum, much like VietBrohm. Please Bills, give my awful sense of humor three weeks here.

-- By the way, Bills fans could think about welcoming Owens back next year, but I bet he sees Brandon Marshall break his record with Kyle Orton as quarterback and thinks, "What the &*^&!"

-- I kinda feel bad for Matt Cassel until I remember he's rich. With Dwayne Bowe suspended, he has almost nothing going for him.

-- Aaron Schobel is up to eight sacks, and Chris Kelsay's up to five. With a healthy Stroud and Williams, these guys are getting a bum rap from their linebackers.

-- There must be something in the water, because we can welcome Fitzpatrick to the "Hey, Lee Evans is on the team" club.

Stat line I enjoyed:
Bryan Scott, nine tackles, one sack
-- For a safety playing linebacker severely underweight, his performance has been admirable.

Stat line I didn't enjoy:
Ryan Fitzpatrick, 12-of-20, 86 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
-- That interception was one of the worst in recent history, and think about what that means.

Game ball:
The offensive line
-- This much-maligned unit only allowed two sacks, and pushed the Chiefs around for 5.7 yards-per-carry on 35 attempts. Seriously, give those hogs a hand (but then wash it. Swine flu and whatnot).

Lastly...
I've said enough. Seriously. Who even watched this one?

Next Week:
You should stop reading my predictions. I had the Chiefs winning, 20-10. In my defense, I didn't know they were clearly worse than the Bills. Honestly, would you put it past the Bills to unload on the Pats? I bet you would. New England 27, Buffalo 16.

Email: nick@wgr550.com

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