brian…and when they lost 4 in a row, you had the exact same take I said…the Bills were SHOOTING themselves in the foot witih TO’s and lack of execution.

The whole PLAN for the Bills under Jauron is get a lead, play stout def, great ST’s and don’t TURN IT OVER. If you play from BEHIND….it reverses everything. I completely agree. But also, how do you not score more than 3 against San Fran?

Considering we’ve beaten 2 teams with a winning record in 3 years, I think the team we’re playing has more to do with it than scoring first.

Obviously, scoring first would help the cause, but there’s a reason we lose the games we don’t score first or don’t score first in the games we lose. We simply aren’t better than the majority of those teams.

especially when your RB is averaging over 5 ypc at the half. no reason why Lynch shouldn’t have had 30 carries in that game. most coaches stick to what is working during a game.

This offense was working best when there was balance betwwen the run and pass. For some reason which escapes me, Turk fell in love with the passing game (like so many other OC’s before him).

Using the pass so much early in games is a high risk /high reward type of thing. When it works, it’s great, but when it doesn’t, your team can fall behind fairly quickly. That’s why it’s essential for this team to have the balance – they have trouble coming back from behind.

Do you think the game plan is geared toward other goals?

Blame it on whatever you want. Lack of preparation; awful play-calling; deferring on the opening kickoff; there are plenty of opportunities to find blame.

I am not saying you don’t have a great point here. You do. But the only thing I can see that is really going to make a difference is not defering. I really don’t think for one week the coaches thought they were going into the game under-prepared, or that Turk felt, before a play, that it was an awful call.

UGH, this is so frustrating, because I 100% agree with you, and at the same time (besides the defer,) I don’t see the coaches showing any ability to make the changes to mend this trend.

Well you technically have to blame the defense for this slow start considering that the score was 7-0 when the O touched the ball for the first time. I think Buffalo actually did come out with a bad defensive gameplan and adjusted on the fly VERY well.

The Niners threw the ball 5 times during their TD drive and the Bills blitzed 4 times. The result of those four blitzes was 4 completions, all of which were longer than 12 yards. The only time Buffalo didn’t blitz was the only time SF didn’t complete a pass. The Bills only blitzed 7 of the 25 times that SF dropped back to pass for the remainder of the game and mixed up the blitzes when they did by having the D-Line stand up or by crowding the line and making it appear as if they were bringing the house in an attempt to confuse Hill and the OL.

I warned that blitzing and cover 1 could be the downfall of the Bills D this week and blitzing simply didn’t work. Tough to blame the defense though when they adjusted and only gave up 3 more points despite a couple of 49er drives that started inside Bills teritory.

I think this loss doesn’t have anything to do with a slow start, practice and preperation or the head coach. The quarterbacks simply had a bad day and the team only scored once despite being inside the 49ers 25 yard line four times. Even the running game stalled inside the red zone. Buffalo had 7 rushes for 10 yards in the red zone and 9 of those were on the wildcat end around by Parrish. So thats 6 rushes and a net gain of 1 yard in the red zone by our running backs! Maybe running the ball more wasn’t the answer.

In regards to deferring on the kickoff:

The reason(s) i think teams should take the ball at the start of the game when at home, revolves around this:

First: You’re AT HOME – the fans want to see you come out and attack. It’s the point when any wrinkle you might have to use will work best. The defense has had no opportunity to adjust to the gameplay.

And in accordance with the first…second: By halftime, your opponent has now had 30 game minutes to adjust to your gameplan, and come 2nd half’s kickoff, you’re fighting an uphill battle with the D. Any strategic advantage at the beginning is now diminished.

That all being said, there is a time to defer. I think that deferring to the 2nd half is successful when you play on the road. That’s the point when many people aren’t even in the stands and you can take advantage of playing with a more subdued crowd.

Gotcha. You just meant there was so much more to be concerned with. Well, there still is. Wow, how is such a regression even possible?

Think about it. This team was DECIMATED by injuries and was playing with more heart, passion, and attitude last year.