Watching last nights game

by sireric on Aug 25, 2008 4:16 PM EDT

...Well the second half of it anyway. I got home late and was only able to catch the 2nd half of last nights game, but a few thing still stood out to me.

1- The Sharpe/Sanders/Faulk trio could only have been worse if the NFL network swaped Sharpes, Sterling (a guy who I've always liked as both a player and analyst) for Shannon.

2- I was Impressed with a couple of guys, most notably Hamdan. He kinda seems like a combo of both J.P. and Trent. Good arm, good mobility, (like J.P.) and better smarts and pocket awarness (like Trent) I don't think there is anyway he isn't on the 53 man roster. Bruce Hall looked pretty good to me aswell. I think he sticks on the PS. Youboty is making this roster unless he gets traded.

3- Some guys who I'm not so impressed with so far, has been Wright (who hasn't, as sure as I am of Hamdan making the team, I'm just as positive Wright gets cut), Felton Huggins worked his way off the team last night me thinks. Hardy...Hardy...Bueller...Bueller. Hard to kill the guy for being hurt but I would be nice if he got on even the practice field before the opener. I never thought I would say this, but is anybody else more confident right now with Youboty on the field then McKelvin?

4- The overall defense has really looked good to me. I know they didn't face Manning last night, or even Sorgi, but if McKelvin doesn't get burned on that long play, they would have shut out the Colts in there own building. Couple that with last weeks win over the Steelers and the Bills have had 2 really nice showings against 2 pretty tough AFC teams. I know it's preseason, but I can't help but get stoked at that.

5- Echoing Arrow's fanpost about Turk, is anybody else chomping at the bit (what the hell does that mean anyway?) to see the Bills play a full game with the starters with Turk's offense? I sure am.

6- I don't want to pine over it for long, and I know that it sounds as if Walker will be ready for the opener, but this team can't go with Chambers and Estes (or some version there of) for too long, like more then a quarter.

This FanPost written by a registered user of Buffalo Rumblings.

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I agree on point #6, and yet ...

…the quarterbacks have remained clean. I think it has to do with the quickness of their execution. I swear as I write this that if Peters is the type of guy who is willing to miss games checks over this, then I don’t want him. And believe me … I want to want him.

by MrFurious1 on Aug 25, 2008 4:25 PM EDT 0 recs

Brady and Manning don’t get sacked often because they get rid of the ball quickly. If Turk can install a quick hit system, it would make Peters less critical. In the passing game at least.

The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me.

by sireric on Aug 25, 2008 4:30 PM EDT up 0 recs

Agreed on most parts

Don’t agree on Hamdan. He is a run of the mill backup to me. Nothing special and nothing we couldn’t find on the open market during the season if need be. In fact, Hamdan would likely be available if necessary.

I like Bruce Hall too. I’d give the kid a shot on the PS.

I can’t fault Hardy for missing time. First, we don’t want this to linger into the regular season or cost him games. Yea, he needs the reps right now, but being healthy is even more important. I have to imagine he’ll be fine come September.

Youboty is far ahead of McKelvin at this point. Not a surprise really. I don’t know why everyone was so far down on Youboty for so long. The kid has talent and was just slow to get used to the NFL. Looks like McKelvin could be the same way, does everybody think he’ll be ripped apart if it takes him a while to adjust??

Estes is straight up horse dung. Bell could be our 3rd best tackle at this point (Peters, Walker), so he shouldn’t even come close to making this roster unless Walker is out for a while.

by Kurupt on Aug 25, 2008 6:36 PM EDT 0 recs

McKelvin’s body isn’t NFL ready. i don’t think he’ll ever have the tenacity of Antoine Winfield. Therefore, he needs to be slowly brought along because he’s way too overmatched by the NFL game right now. Once he really understands how the game moves and gets a chance get stronger physically then he’ll come into his own. If Youboty can play well this season I think it wll take some pressure off McKelvin. After seeing what we’ve seen from McKelvin so far, I’m not expecting a lot from him this season, but he does need to play to get better. Only in the instance of an early season meltdown would it be wise to give him a lot of action this year. A lot of people were saying it wouldn’t take him long into the season to take the #2 job, but that seems almost impossible at this point, barring a meltdow or injuries

by jj24 on Aug 25, 2008 6:47 PM EDT up 0 recs

I didn’t mean to insinuate that Hamdan was a special player, simply that he looks good and given Trent’s fragility, and Losman’s eraticness, he could be a nice player for this team. When compared to Baker, Hamdan looks great. Baker looks like a back-up Arena Leaguer.

The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me.

by sireric on Aug 25, 2008 6:59 PM EDT up 0 recs

I see Hamdan going the Craig Nall route, caledl up if needed.

by XtrmeCarnage82 on Aug 26, 2008 10:29 AM EDT up 0 recs

"chomping at the bit"

I’m pretty sure it’s a reference to the mouth-bit put in horses mouths to keep them from biting. I had horses when I was a kid so that’s my guess.

by jj24 on Aug 25, 2008 6:39 PM EDT 0 recs

Anyone have words on Ellis' play?

I missed that in my watching

The Bills CAN win every game

by killascript on Aug 25, 2008 7:49 PM EDT 0 recs

Ellis

hasn’t really showed up in the stats but he looks better than expected against the run and in pursuit. He still needs time to become a player in this league. I think as soon as next season he could be every down material because the trainers are going to turn him into a physical freak, and if you couple that with improved technique and some pass rushing moves… his up-side is ridiculous.

A lot of people are surprised by Youboty’s play, but his play should not be surprising anybody. He was a pretty darn good prospect coming out of college and might have been starting for this team already if he hadn’t so many confounding factors: late graduation from OSU, his mother passing, and nagging injuries. He’s always played well in the preseason, especially. Right now, he’s my choice for nickelback. McKelvin has some adjusting to do to the NFL… this isn’t the powder puff league he played in with Troy. I do expect McKelvin to work his way up throughout the season, though.

Perhaps the most pressing thing I want to see is the 1st team offense play at least 3 quarters of football. I want to Schnizzle Schonert make adjustments to a defense and see how the team responds. That is the biggest key to the Buffalo Bills garnering a winning record in 2008. The defense will always keep us in most games (a trademark of Dick Jauron teams), and historically the Bills offense can only mount 3 solid drives per game (at most). If Schonert finds ways to keep defenses off-balance through 4 quarters and get this team scoring over 20 points/game… the Buffalo Bills could win the AFCEast.

Where the hell is Jason Peters?!! He has become the new Panda. Well, as far I’m concerned… Peters can go back to his home on Whore Island!!!

"I don't agree with a damn thing you say, but I would die for your right to say it."

by ForeignArrow on Aug 25, 2008 11:40 PM EDT up 0 recs

Bold prediction, Arrow

I mean, the Pats did us last year, to the tune of 56-10. And won, what, 19 games? I’m not sure we’re ready to climb that mountain yet. But maybe a wild card with 10 wins.

by Defensewinsgames on Aug 26, 2008 6:58 AM EDT up 0 recs

I've...

been keeping an eye on the Patriots this off/pre-season… and they’re aren’t looking as good as they did last year. It’s pre-season, blah blah blah… they don’t have Brady, blah blah blah. They’re offensive line has become a weakness for their team, not a good sign in a pass-happy offense. You can bet if their OL keeps up the horrid play corners are going to start sitting on the gay little routes that Welker runs and just double cover Moss. But I just think you can’t underestimate the effect of an improved offense. The Pats role us every season because our offense is inept against them. If we can starting mounting some drives and scoring some points on them they won’t have the ball all day long to score 56 points. The Pats lost some serious talent this year (Donte Stallworth, Asante Samuel, Junior Seau), they didn’t reload, their defense is a year older, and our staff has had a full year to examine Josh McDaniels’ system.

I don’t think it’s crazy for me to say that if the Bills average 21+ points/game this season, they will win the division. We went 7-9 averaging 15 a game last season while giving up more than 20. If they flip that ratio I think it’s safe to say we’ll add few more to the win column.

"I don't agree with a damn thing you say, but I would die for your right to say it."

by ForeignArrow on Aug 26, 2008 9:59 AM EDT up 0 recs

New England is returning all five starters on the offensive line, so I don’t know how you can say it will be a weakness. Matt Light practiced today for the first time and LT has been the big problem for them in the preseason. Stephen Neal still isn’t practicing, but the team is still saying he will be ready to go too. And of all the positions on the line, the RG is probably the easiest to fill. Something tells me Hochstein or Yates can come and play fine. Kaczur and Callaghan have been battling small injuries all preseason, but the Pats are always overly cautious when it comes to playing injured players in the preseason. Their offensive line will remain one of the better groups in the league.

Also you can’t just “blah blah blah” Tom Brady not being there. Are you worried about the Colts success this year too after watching them without Manning?

by kaisertown on Aug 26, 2008 1:15 PM EDT up 0 recs

Okaayyy

You knock me for saying the Pats OL is a weakness, and then you go on to list every weakness that their OL has right now. Brilliant! And I only blah blah blahed Tom Brady’s absence because people have been attributing all of their problems to his absence.

And did you watch the Super Bowl, their OL looked great, right? Brady has made that line look much better than it is for years because he has freakish pocket awareness.

So, blah blah blah, I guess.

"I don't agree with a damn thing you say, but I would die for your right to say it."

by ForeignArrow on Aug 26, 2008 9:37 PM EDT up 0 recs

What?

And I only blah blah blahed Tom Brady’s absence because people have been attributing all of their problems to his absence.

Well that is probably because almost all of their problems are due to the lack of Tom Brady’s presence.

And did you watch the Super Bowl, their OL looked great, right?

did you watch the other 18 games they played? They have one of the best O-Lines in the league and good luck disputing that. The Giants put pressure on every team they played. The Giants had 53 sacks last year, 6 more than any other team. The Pats had the 4th lowest sack per pass attempt ratio in the league.

Brady has made that line look much better than it is for years because he has freakish pocket awareness.

So? Brady is still there so I don’t see how that matters. Won’t he continue to make that line look much better than it is?

then you go on to list every weakness that their OL has right now.

I guess you just missed the whole point of that. I listed their current weaknesses to point out how none of them will linger into the regular season.

Let me go over everything I said:

Matt Light practiced today for the first time and LT has been the big problem for them in the preseason.

Left tackle has been one of the biggest reasons their O-Line has looked bad so far. Matt Light is practicing, 100% healthy and looking like the pro bowl calibur player he has been in year’s past.

Stephen Neal still isn’t practicing, but the team is still saying he will be ready to go too. And of all the positions on the line, the RG is probably the easiest to fill. Something tells me Hochstein or Yates can come and play fine

Again, that seems pretty easy to understand. Neal had shoulder surgery, but his shoulder is actually 100% healthy. He hasn’t gained all of his strength back, but that will come over time. His knee is the reason he isn’t practicing despite the fact that team doctors cleared him months ago. Belichick is paranoid when it comes to preseason injuries and he won’t risk playing guys until they are 100%. Neal will be ready to go once the season starts and even if he isn’t, he plays the least important spot on the line and NE has two suitable replacements sitting on the bench.

Kaczur and Callaghan have been battling small injuries all preseason, but the Pats are always overly cautious when it comes to playing injured players in the preseason.

I already touched on the way the Pats handle preseason injuries. They have been practicing, but rarely taking part during preseason because of Belichick and the way he handles his players during the preseason. The injuries have been minor and both players wil be 100% healthy for the regular season.

New England’s line will look just like it did last year which is bad news for Bills fans. They still have one of the better left tackles in the league and the best offensive lineman on either team in left guard Logan Mankins. Dan Koppen is a quality center and Neal and Kaczur are average players. Their O-Line won’t be a weakness.

by kaisertown on Aug 27, 2008 12:54 AM EDT up 0 recs

Minus all of the condescending rhetoric...

if you want to play off the fact that their entire OL isn’t healthy and hasn’t been playing together and their back-ups look horrible…. well then… I guess the discussion is over… because all of that does not equal smooth sailing for their OL to me.

"I don't agree with a damn thing you say, but I would die for your right to say it."

by ForeignArrow on Aug 27, 2008 3:55 PM EDT up 0 recs

Sorry if I came off as condescending. I was going more for a straightforward total disagreement.

Well 4 of their starting 5 offensive lineman are healthy. Thier isn’t anything to play off. Light and Kaczur are practicing and good to go. Neal is the worst player on the line and plays the least important position. I’m going to assume that the Pats missing their mediocre right guard for the first 6 games of the season won’t really impact the offense.

Barring new injuries, I don’t see how it won’t be smooth sailing for the Pats O-Line.

Since you aren’t a fan of rhetoric, I will give you some facts:

The Pats havn’t given up a sack in the first quarter of any of their 3 preseason games.

The sacks of the first unit QB have been:

Trent Cole – second quarter of Eagles game
Juqua Parker – second quarter of Eagles game
Nick Griesen – second quarter of Ravens game

All of those players are outside pass rushers and probably beat backup LT Wes Britt.

I am not going to go ahead and get too excited about the downfall of the Pats O-Line based on a backup who was stuck playing on the first team until Matt Light came back and I’m going to completely ignore all of the sacks that Matt Gutierrez and Kevin O’Connell have taken in the second half of preseason games.

by kaisertown on Aug 27, 2008 7:19 PM EDT up 0 recs