Bills/Raiders Film Review: Bills Offense

by Brian Galliford on Sep 23, 2008 6:45 AM EDT in Events

It wasn't the prettiest game to re-watch, but the Buffalo Bills' victory over the Oakland Raiders wasn't as ugly as it appeared watching it live at Ralph Wilson Stadium, either. Here's what we noticed on a second run-through of the game tape offensively.

I seem to do these breakdowns a bit differently each week, and today is no different. Rather than hit on general topics with the offense as I've done in the past, I'll discuss some observations about several players. On to what caught my eye...

Trent Edwards: Many of you have made this comment, but it's important to re-iterate - Edwards has struggled with accuracy and rhythm early in Buffalo's two home games this year, and Oakland was no different. He missed a wide open Roscoe Parrish on an early third down with a wide throw, and generally looked out of sync with his well-covered receivers. He did, however, show excellent pocket awareness in the face of a fierce Raiders pass rush, as evidence by his scrambles and his two "scramble throws" to Darian Barnes and Marshawn Lynch. He played well, and his fourth quarter play speaks for itself.

Marshawn Lynch: Combined, Lynch and Fred Jackson carried the ball 28 times on Sunday. The two runners were met by Oakland defenders at or behind the line of scrimmage 15 times. More on that here. The fact that Buffalo averaged 3.8 yards per carry is a testament to the abilities of our two backs. As many of you correctly alluded to yesterday, Lynch had a monster game. 27 touches, 114 yards and two scores were big enough, but Lynch kept Buffalo's 96-yard drive alive with third down conversions three times. The Bills don't win without his production, and his four tough runs to set up the Rian Lindell game-winner were large as well.

Jason Peters: Buffalo's starting left tackle took some heat after this performance. It seemed justified, as Peters was directly responsible for two sacks, a lost fumble and a handful of big hits on Edwards. I watched the film, and particularly in the early parts of the third quarter, Peters' footwork seemed tentative. Then I received word that Peters played the second half on a "bad ankle sprain" - he flat-out refused to leave the game, instead choosing to tape up his ankle at the half (this is why Kirk Chambers made a brief appearance at the end of the first half; Peters was never benched). Peters was dominant in the fourth quarter, and Dick Jauron alluded to that fact in a press conference today. Please think twice before calling out our left tackle - considering the facts, he performed admirably.

Josh Reed: Perhaps the most important adjustment the Bills made as they prepared for their fourth-quarter surge was to line Reed up in the slot. Buffalo's receivers were having trouble separating from Oakland's two excellent cornerbacks, so in the second half, the Bills began splitting tight ends, running backs and James Hardy out wide to free up Reed and Roscoe Parrish on the inside (and thus on Raiders linebackers and safeties). The results were excellent - Reed caught 5 of his 6 passes (for 66 of 72 yards) in the fourth quarter, and all of those receptions went for first downs. Once this happened, coupled with a more aggressive offensive approach, the offense started to roll.

Langston Walker: Playing right tackle full-time for the first time this season, Walker struggled with Raiders speed rusher Derrick Burgess. Oakland's best defensive lineman repeatedly came fast, got under Walker's pad level and drove the 366-pound tackle backwards towards Edwards. Walker held his own on those plays, but the Bills play some talented defensive ends (and 3-4 speed rushers) in their remaining plate of games, so it's something to keep an eye on.

Darian Barnes: You had to laugh at Barnes' big plays in the first half - he was quite literally the entirety of Buffalo's passing attack for a period. When Barnes left with his foot injury, Derek Schouman filled in as the lead blocker, and let's just say the drop-off was minimal.

Defense and special teams to come later on today. Stay tuned, Rumblers.

2 recs | Comment 19 comments |

Read Related

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

I'm

one of those people that called out Peters for his poor play. My only comment is if your hurting the team because of an injury that is not the team oriented approach that we want. He should have come out and got it taped up before the half, when does a player dictate if he’ll come out and not the coaching staff. We don’t know when he was injured but he was bad from the start of the game, so he must have injured it in the pre-game warm-up.

Bills Fan in PA

by BILLS on Sep 23, 2008 9:51 AM EDT 0 recs

No, he injured it late in the second quarter. Kirk Chambers finished the first half at left tackle.

Peters then got the ankle taped at halftime, and played the rest of the game. As I stated in the article, he was quite dominant in the fourth quarter (though admittedly, Oakland didn’t send as many blitzers as they had earlier in the game).

by Brian Galliford on Sep 23, 2008 11:29 AM EDT up 0 recs

Good observations

I don’t understand your “calling out” Peters comment. Why not! Over the two games he has played, he clearly has not been in ProBowl form. He has one good quarter of football and we should forget the rest of the times he was beat like an egg at IHOP? Peters has brought this type of criticism on himself with his holdout this summer. If he wants to be paid like one of the best, he better start playing like one of the best, even on a sprained ankle. Up to this point, he has not!!!

by Joe P. on Sep 23, 2008 10:00 AM EDT 0 recs

As Dick Jauron said yesterday, this is basically his second week of training camp. The Peters we’re seeing now (rusty and banged up) is NOT the Peters we’re going to see as the year moves forward.

by Brian Galliford on Sep 23, 2008 11:30 AM EDT up 0 recs

And when that happens

I will be one of the first to say so, but as for now, a rose by any other name is not Jason Peters!

by Joe P. on Sep 23, 2008 11:33 AM EDT up 0 recs

So...

If Peters gets his “4 weeks of training camp”in weeks 1-4, and the Bills only get him at his best for 12 weeks of the season… then maybe he is getting paid enough after all.

by BuffCrunch on Sep 23, 2008 12:54 PM EDT up 0 recs

Re:Peters

Unless the injury occurred in warmups, like Bills Fans in PA mentioned above, Peters does deserve some criticism. He was beaten early and often. It sounds like he may have been hurt sometime in the 2nd Q since he got it taped up before the half. Who knows, but he was still rather brutal early on. If this ankle injury was such a detriment to him, and it’s badly sprained, we may see more of this until he’s 100%. Ugh

I wonder if Trent’s warmups are not at the tempo that they need to be to get him comfortable and ready for the game? Of course, he came out strong against Jax, so that might not be a problem. I really hope the weather didn’t effect him again, because it didn’t look that bad out there.

I can’t believe it took Schonert and co. until the 4th Q to realize that Josh Reed and Parrish are more effective out of the slot. We could have told him that. Reed is 200% better when lined up inside than he is on the outside. I guess we really need Hardy to step up sooner rather than later, at least for 3 WR sets.

I think Lynch saved that game for us. He picked up so many tough yards and first downs that this team absolutely needed. That 4th down shovel pass was a thing of beauty on his part (definitely not on Walker’s part), too bad Evans fumbled right after that. There were a few other times where we were dead on 3rd down but all of a sudden Marshawn broke a tackle or two and kept the drive going. Love that guy, but wish he would give him some actual run lanes.

The OL is of great concern to me. I think the pass blocking was more a 1 week thing, but that run blocking is just not there. If we can’t run over the hapless Rams this week, we probably aren’t dominating anyone this year…

No Evans criticism? He was pretty bad for most of the game…

by Kurupt on Sep 23, 2008 10:32 AM EDT 0 recs

Bizarro World

Let’s rip Peters. Let’s rip the entire O-Line. Let’s Rip Turk for not knowing what all of us experts do. Let’s rip Evans.I like critiquing players and strategy as much as the next guy—but excuse me???? Did we not hang up 24 points on what was, in retrospect, a very good and underated defense? Did we not have lousy field position for virtually the whole game? Did we not miss a makeable field goal? Are we seriously questioning Trent’s “warm-ups” And……drum roll, please—Did we not score 17 points in the fourth quarter to win????

I guess 3-0 isn’t enough and now the paranoia begins. It’s not about winning—it’s about style points.

I do apologize to Korupt—who I know is a good, loyal, and knowledgable Bills fan—but this is why I stopped posting on BB.com—the negativity made it virtually unreadable.

Geronimo

by Geronimo on Sep 23, 2008 10:58 AM EDT up 0 recs

It's

not a rip on Peters but don’t you think that his being out the whole off season has contributied to his poor play this early in the season? These are very valid guestions by fans of this team. The O- line does need work to help in the run game it’s not a rip (to me) if it’s true. We’re on the outside looking in trying to figure out what is going on. I’ve been a fan of this team since 1960 and have lived and died with them and all I want is a Super Bowl victory before I die!!!

Bills Fan in PA

by BILLS on Sep 23, 2008 11:21 AM EDT up 0 recs

You should apologize

IMO, none of these posts are overly negative. Some of us can appreciate the good job the Bills have done in winning those 3 games and have the objectivity to realize that they have room for improvement. What do you want us to do? Maybe we should all just post Go Bills!!!!! I appreciate your inside info and your perspective, but don’t cut into posters here who dare to ask questions or give opinions that happen to be a little “negative”.

by Joe P. on Sep 23, 2008 11:23 AM EDT up 0 recs

Well....

That is a very fair point, Joe and I accept it. And as you noted—I did apologize to Korupt. I just thought Brian’s original overview of the offense was pretty balanced and included both good and bad. The reacting posters’ accentuation of the negative in the glow of a really nice win I think is a tad unfair. I am not a polyanna by any stretch, notwithstanding how I feel about the Bills or any relationship I may have with them. They are NOT perfect and I realize that. I am, for the moment, taking a step back and trying to view each’s week’s performance in a larger, broader context. We do live in a 7 day cycle—but there is a tendency amongst all fans to overreact to what just happened.

In the end—way more good than bad happened last week. More is likely in store down the road. I am enjoying it immensely for the moment.

Geronimo

by Geronimo on Sep 23, 2008 11:43 AM EDT up 0 recs

Well said

I look forward to your future posts.

by Joe P. on Sep 23, 2008 11:54 AM EDT up 0 recs

I agree with you on all points, G, except your last. I don’t think what K writes is “negative”, it’s just inquisitive in my book. We recognize that the team can improve, and I don’t think any of us are coming CLOSE to being dissatisfied with 3-0.

by Brian Galliford on Sep 23, 2008 11:32 AM EDT up 0 recs

Maybe it’s just the bitterness of hearing national media talk and talk about the Cowboys, the Giants, the Titans, and the Broncos… but not the Bills. I watched the Sunday night NBC show, and after showing highlights of the game, they said something like: “Trent Edwards was impressive in the fourth quarter. But the real story of this game is the Raiders.” and then go on to talk about Rob Ryan’s defense in the fourth quarter leading to Lane Kiffin’s possible firing… Argh.

by Krenn on Sep 23, 2008 11:47 AM EDT up 0 recs

Jeesh G

I wasn’t trying to be overly negative there. We all know where the positives have been thus far, I just want to see our negatives worked on and improved. I wasn’t ripping anyone, maybe I should have clarified some point more, but I was just trying to add some ideas to Brian’s views, which happened to be negative in a few areas (and a few positives).

I don’t understand why we shouldn’t criticize the OL? They were pretty poor for most of the game before getting it together in the 4th Q. Brian mentioned Peters’ ankle, but it didn’t happen until the 2nd Q, after he had been getting beat. He’s obviously far from form, and thus far that’s hurt the team. WHy can’t that be criticized without drawing scorn?

I wasn’t ripping Trent at all. I’m just curious as to why he’s started very slowly in 2 games thus far. It seems he needs to be in a strong rhythm before it all comes together for him and I’m wondering if warmups may be a catalyst for that. He was strong against Jax, so it may be nothing at all, or it may be the weather..I was just thinking out loud there…

The Schonert comment was kind of dumb on my part and came out differently than I truly meant. Obviously, Turk knows the strengths and weaknesses of his players better than myself or anyone else here. I’m just wondering why it took so long for the passing O to utilize our top slot options in those roles against Oakland. Could be that Trent had no time, could be that he didn’t get it to them, could be that they didn’t get open, could be that we didn’t have plays called for them, could be anything really. I didn’t mean to criticize Turk like that, I just hope he doesn’t wait until the 4th Q of games to utilize those guys if possible. And Lee Evans was playing quite poorly early on, I was just wondering why there was no mention of that. He came up huge in the 4th Q when we needed him most, so that’s all that really matters now.

Of course I’m thrilled by the 3-0 start. It’s awesome and a long time coming. I look forward to Sunday’s again where it’s the Bills 99.9% and my fantasy players 0.01%….haha

Appreciate the apology, though I don’t feel it was necessary. The post may have come off as a bit negative, but wasn’t intended to be. I understand your point, but don’t take any negativity or criticism the wrong way here. I was just trying to make some additional comments on areas of concern for myself and probably everyone else. We’re 3-0, but still have plenty of areas to improve in, right now that’s what I’m looking at! Trent’s been awesome thus far, Lynch and Jackson have run hard and caught the ball pretty well, Royal’s surprised, but I also want to see other areas improve as well, so we can really be a great team. We’re getting there, but aren’t there yet!!!

Appreciate what you do here and the info you provide. Don’t take my negative comments the wrong way and be pushed away. We all want to see the Bills continue winning, obviously, but we also want to see our weaker areas thus far improve so we can have a better shot at making noise in Jan.

by Kurupt on Sep 23, 2008 12:19 PM EDT up 0 recs

Don't forget K, as Brad Childress said earlier

“You’ve got to have the tendancies of a Serial Killer out there”, and we’ve seen Trent assasinate teams the past two weeks in the 4th Q. So maybe it takes a Serial Killer and Trent a little while to get into the rythm of the thing, who knows.

I also think the Line can do better, yes the Raider’s line and D was underrated by many, and the line got shown up for 3 Qs, but they made the changes needed. Would Peters have played better if he hadn’t held out, he couldn’t play worse then he has compared to his Pro-bowl season last year.

I think the line gets it together this week, and we’ll do well against an active but not very effective Rams front 7 (outside of Carriker who is turning into a beast, he made plays all day against the Seahawks this past Sunday in that loss). I think the most critical week for our O though will be our bye week. We face our toughest opponent the week right after that, and after watching San Diego destroy the AFC East pretender Jets, we will be in for heckuva fight.

Glad for the win, glad we got ourselves a Serial Killer back at QB (thanks Brad, you’ve made my year!) And this is a win in a game where last year we would have folded up like a cheap lawn chair. This team is tougher mentally and emotionally than any in recent memory outside of our Superbowl seasons in the past 15-20 years. Its good to see, now the team must do a better job so that only one phase of our team is down or out of synch instead of two, we can’t win many games that way.

Fear the mighty helmet wearing gopher, he is coming for your soul....

by WABillsfan on Sep 23, 2008 3:49 PM EDT up 0 recs

3rd Down Pass To Parrish

I agree that Edwards had a slow start to the game, however on that 3rd down pass to Parrish from what I saw it looked like Parrish cut off his route and Edwards threw it to where it should have been. The commentators on TV agreed (although Fouts also suggested we kick the early FG while driving for our last TD so I don’t know how strong backup this is).

I think Edwards struggled but more than that I think it was the team itself making bad mistakes (lynch 2 drops, royal 1 drop, parrish mis-ran route, evans fumble, numerous missed blocks).

Good to see us be able to come back from poor play for pretty much the first three quarters.

by jkleeb83 on Sep 23, 2008 10:45 AM EDT 0 recs

Re: the Parrish route. I thought the same thing at the stadium, and he did hesitate a bit. But if you watch the end zone view of the throw on the CBS broadcast, Edwards missed him left by a good for yards. Parrish wasn’t getting to that ball if he was running full-tilt.

by Brian Galliford on Sep 23, 2008 11:34 AM EDT up 0 recs

poor play

is definatley a concern, however it is gratifying to see our bills come out of a slugfest in which they got punched a few times but ultimatley left the silver & black with a black & blue eye. this is not a game that we are accustomed to winning the past few years. even though it was the lowly raiders, its nice to know we can win the dogfight type game this year.

no offense vick!!!!

by BillsFan119 on Sep 23, 2008 1:22 PM EDT 0 recs