Sunday, October 25, 2009
immediate Reactions, Wk7
12:54 PM | 
Posted by
Nick Mendola
For some extra-immediate, in-game, super-flu-ridden reactions, head to Twitter.com/NicholasMendola.
I typed it last week and I'll type it again: life is better when the Bills win. It wasn't close to pretty and it didn't inspire too much new faith in the offense, but Buffalo's 3-4 with a chance to hit the bye week at .500 with a home win over a wildly inconsistent Texans team.
My weekend has been a weekend fighting a pretty bad flu, so thanks Bills for finishing that one off in the 'W' column.
On with the show...
-- The discussion this week regarding quarterbacks is going to be a good one. Let's pretend Trent Edwards is healthy and ready for next week against Houston. Do you want him back in there because he completes more passes, or do you want to stick with the guy who is 2-0 this year? I imagine we'll see some vintage NFL deception this week from the Bills coaching staff. Even if Edwards is ready, I suspect they'd give him another two weeks off from getting hit in the head by whoever Demetrius Bell is supposed to be blocking.
-- The one strong indictment of Edwards that's come from watching Ryan Fitzpatrick quarterback the Bills is that he's been sacked twice in two weeks, while Edwards was sacked 19 times in six weeks. Fitzpatrick was inaccurate, but he made himself time in the pocket, something that Edwards has failed to do consistently.
-- The defense looked better against the run, but it's the pass defense that needs to be lauded. Those 300-plus yards were a large number, but it's another week limiting the opponent to very few points. The Bills have nine interceptions in two weeks, and are getting to the quarterback at a better rate than we've seen in years.
By the way, I'm still looking for the "Schobel's washed-up" people to come back out of the woodwork. His four sacks don't tell the whole story, as Chris Kelsay's three sacks are a nice bonus.
-- For a couple years we wanted Edwards' head on J.P. Losman's body, but things have a funny way of working out. If you could put Fitzpatrick's fearless-to-the-point-of-foolhardy head to work with Edwards' arm, I'd feel a whole lot better about the Bills chances the rest of the way. Fitzpatrick would've had two deep touchdowns if he had the strength to reach Terrell Owens and Lee Evans in stride on fly routes.
-- I'm not sure I can put into words how pleased I am to see Jairus Byrd making plays at the safety position. Isn't this what we wanted to see from Donte Whitner for so long. George Wilson now has two picks in two weeks, and it makes you wonder if the Bills are better off with their "B" plan of Wilson and Byrd rather than Whitner and Byrd.
-- Drayton Florence, at least for a week, looked like the corner Jacksonville gave crazy money to in 2008 (Six years, $36 million). I found it a little odd that Steve Tasker called his diving miss of a low-thrown Delhomme ball a "missed interception." It was a remarkably tough play to make, and I think Tasker gets a little caught up in not sounding like a homer. It can't be an easy job to do color commentary for your former team.
-- Bills running backs and tight ends combined for a total of one catch for seven yards in the passing game. Shawn Nelson's recovery could be huge for next week's game. San Francisco tight end Vernon Davis torched the Texans for three second-half scores this week.
-- That late reverse to Owens... would've liked to see it go to Evans. For one thing, they've run that play through Owens several times this year, and Evans has been solid on reverses in the last couple years.
-- One of the things we're learning is that there are a lot of bad quarterbacks in the NFL. For a while, the Bills were set to win with a quarterback who was 4-of-13 or something awful like that.
-- I don't have many problems with the way Dick Jauron coached today, and Mike Schopp said it right on the post-game show. These guys could've absolutely quit after that garbage fire versus the Browns.
-- That's all I have to say for now. Sorry. I'm fighting this flu thing pretty hard.
Stat line I enjoyed:
Lee Evans, five catches, 75 yards, TD
-- He's good, and it's nice to see him get balls thrown his way. As long as the opposition is going to keep double covering Owens, keep chucking the ball to Evans.
Stat line I didn't enjoy:
Bills rushers, 30 carries, 52 yards, TD
-- My goodness did the run blocking regress this week, but perhaps its not a new thing. The Bills haven't successfully run the ball since Week Two against a Tampa team that entered the week allowing more rushing yards-per-game than any team in the league not called the Buffalo Bills. They ran alright against the Pats in Week One, but New England is 20th in the league against the run.
Game ball:
Byrd.
-- Again. His interceptions didn't look beautiful, but he's in the right position. Even with a bad missed tackle on the Williams touchdown -- remember, he's a rookie -- he's got an inside look at defensive rookie of the year.
Lastly...
It should be noted that I predicted a 20-17 win in this space last week. Wasn't exactly right, but
Next week:
As much as I want to have fun at work during the bye week, I think the Bills defense won't be able to shut down the Texans, who have won two games on the road (as have the Bills). The Texans are allowing 21-plus points-per-game, and have had a lot of trouble getting to the quarterback. Even if Edwards is back, I wonder if either Bills quarterback has the arm to contend with the November (yes, it'll be November) wind at the Ralph. I'm uncomfortable making a prediction until I know the severity of Andre Johnson's chest injury, but let's assume he's in. Houston 22, Buffalo 13.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
I typed it last week and I'll type it again: life is better when the Bills win. It wasn't close to pretty and it didn't inspire too much new faith in the offense, but Buffalo's 3-4 with a chance to hit the bye week at .500 with a home win over a wildly inconsistent Texans team.
My weekend has been a weekend fighting a pretty bad flu, so thanks Bills for finishing that one off in the 'W' column.
On with the show...
-- The discussion this week regarding quarterbacks is going to be a good one. Let's pretend Trent Edwards is healthy and ready for next week against Houston. Do you want him back in there because he completes more passes, or do you want to stick with the guy who is 2-0 this year? I imagine we'll see some vintage NFL deception this week from the Bills coaching staff. Even if Edwards is ready, I suspect they'd give him another two weeks off from getting hit in the head by whoever Demetrius Bell is supposed to be blocking.
-- The one strong indictment of Edwards that's come from watching Ryan Fitzpatrick quarterback the Bills is that he's been sacked twice in two weeks, while Edwards was sacked 19 times in six weeks. Fitzpatrick was inaccurate, but he made himself time in the pocket, something that Edwards has failed to do consistently.
-- The defense looked better against the run, but it's the pass defense that needs to be lauded. Those 300-plus yards were a large number, but it's another week limiting the opponent to very few points. The Bills have nine interceptions in two weeks, and are getting to the quarterback at a better rate than we've seen in years.
By the way, I'm still looking for the "Schobel's washed-up" people to come back out of the woodwork. His four sacks don't tell the whole story, as Chris Kelsay's three sacks are a nice bonus.
-- For a couple years we wanted Edwards' head on J.P. Losman's body, but things have a funny way of working out. If you could put Fitzpatrick's fearless-to-the-point-of-foolhardy head to work with Edwards' arm, I'd feel a whole lot better about the Bills chances the rest of the way. Fitzpatrick would've had two deep touchdowns if he had the strength to reach Terrell Owens and Lee Evans in stride on fly routes.
-- I'm not sure I can put into words how pleased I am to see Jairus Byrd making plays at the safety position. Isn't this what we wanted to see from Donte Whitner for so long. George Wilson now has two picks in two weeks, and it makes you wonder if the Bills are better off with their "B" plan of Wilson and Byrd rather than Whitner and Byrd.
-- Drayton Florence, at least for a week, looked like the corner Jacksonville gave crazy money to in 2008 (Six years, $36 million). I found it a little odd that Steve Tasker called his diving miss of a low-thrown Delhomme ball a "missed interception." It was a remarkably tough play to make, and I think Tasker gets a little caught up in not sounding like a homer. It can't be an easy job to do color commentary for your former team.
-- Bills running backs and tight ends combined for a total of one catch for seven yards in the passing game. Shawn Nelson's recovery could be huge for next week's game. San Francisco tight end Vernon Davis torched the Texans for three second-half scores this week.
-- That late reverse to Owens... would've liked to see it go to Evans. For one thing, they've run that play through Owens several times this year, and Evans has been solid on reverses in the last couple years.
-- One of the things we're learning is that there are a lot of bad quarterbacks in the NFL. For a while, the Bills were set to win with a quarterback who was 4-of-13 or something awful like that.
-- I don't have many problems with the way Dick Jauron coached today, and Mike Schopp said it right on the post-game show. These guys could've absolutely quit after that garbage fire versus the Browns.
-- That's all I have to say for now. Sorry. I'm fighting this flu thing pretty hard.
Stat line I enjoyed:
Lee Evans, five catches, 75 yards, TD
-- He's good, and it's nice to see him get balls thrown his way. As long as the opposition is going to keep double covering Owens, keep chucking the ball to Evans.
Stat line I didn't enjoy:
Bills rushers, 30 carries, 52 yards, TD
-- My goodness did the run blocking regress this week, but perhaps its not a new thing. The Bills haven't successfully run the ball since Week Two against a Tampa team that entered the week allowing more rushing yards-per-game than any team in the league not called the Buffalo Bills. They ran alright against the Pats in Week One, but New England is 20th in the league against the run.
Game ball:
Byrd.
-- Again. His interceptions didn't look beautiful, but he's in the right position. Even with a bad missed tackle on the Williams touchdown -- remember, he's a rookie -- he's got an inside look at defensive rookie of the year.
Lastly...
It should be noted that I predicted a 20-17 win in this space last week. Wasn't exactly right, but
Next week:
As much as I want to have fun at work during the bye week, I think the Bills defense won't be able to shut down the Texans, who have won two games on the road (as have the Bills). The Texans are allowing 21-plus points-per-game, and have had a lot of trouble getting to the quarterback. Even if Edwards is back, I wonder if either Bills quarterback has the arm to contend with the November (yes, it'll be November) wind at the Ralph. I'm uncomfortable making a prediction until I know the severity of Andre Johnson's chest injury, but let's assume he's in. Houston 22, Buffalo 13.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
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