Some Short Observations From The Ralph

by Andy Boron on Oct 12, 2009 2:41 PM EDT Comment 15 comments

Here are some quick hits from someone who was at the game:

- Our receivers are getting open. I can't count the number of times myself or someone in our section was screaming at Edwards to hit T.O., Evans, Nelson, or some other down-field player because the opportunities were definitely there. I'm an eternal optimist, but even I've completely given up on him after this game. Edwards has played himself out of Buffalo; bring on the Ryan Fitzpatrick Era.

- Our offensive line is terrible at pass protection. They can't pick up blitzes, and whoever ends up playing quarterback for us has almost no time to throw the ball. I'm not sure if the chorus of boos after every false start came through on the TV, but I hope they did, and I hope Ralph heard them.

-Good for T.O. for trying to keep the crowd into the game during TV timeouts. He was dancing around, psyching up his teammates, waving his arms, and generally seemed like the only person besides Marcus Stroud who was interested in winning the football game.

- The halftime non-show was a microcosm of what is wrong with this franchise. Basically, Wilson was supposed to receive his Hall Of Fame ring at halftime, but never went out on the field (probably so he wouldn't get booed, which is another debate entirely.) Despite this, the team didn't replace his no-show with any halftime entertainment. No band, no field goal kicking contest - hell, not even a scoreboard montage or some music. No entertainment - just like the game itself.

- The one totally random thing that really hit home for me: when they played the Shout Song after we kicked our field goal, it just felt wrong. Buffalo is not happenin' now. We're not on the move now. It was like listening to the theme song of the Bizarro Bills from a parallel universe where everything is the opposite of our Bills.

- Thank God my tickets were a free gift from a friend because that game was excruciating to watch. Tailgating is now the only reason to go to the stadium, and the only way to put up with performances like that.

- If you are going to tailgate, make sure you drink responsibly or have a designated driver, preferably both. The 19-year old idiot who drunkenly careened into the sidewalk as fans were leaving the game was a horrifying thing to witness. Please keep the police officer and the two fans he hit (who are currently hospitalized) in your prayers.

- Just so we don't end with a total downer, Jairus Byrd looked really impressive. His pick was a very athletic play, he tackled well, and leveled some pretty big hits to top it all off. I would love to see a Byrd-Whitner combo at safety next week!

This FanPost was written by a registered user of Buffalo Rumblings. Its views do not necessarily reflect the views of Rumblings' editorial staff, but are just as valued as our own.

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I agree about the WRs. T.O. was open on single coverage on one play and Trent was rolling out to the right where T.O. was and didn’t get him the ball. That was irritating.

I also agree about the Shout song. It felt… weird.

More of my observations later this week. I have some good pics too.

Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Ignoring the grumblings on Rumblings.

by MattRichWarren on Oct 12, 2009 2:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thank God my tickets were a free gift from a friend because that game was excruciating to watch. Tailgating is now the only reason to go to the stadium, and the only way to put up with performances like that.

I sell my tickets when I don’t go to the games and normally I get between $80-$100 per ticket. In this case I sold my 4 tickets to a supplier for $400 and I can’t help but feel a bit guilty.

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FEED the BEAST!

by keysh67 on Oct 12, 2009 2:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't care who our new HC/GM is...

As long as Edwards is playing QB we are simply never going to win. In fact, I think its fair to say that if Dick Jauron had to play quarterback he would be the embodiment of captain checkdown…. i am DISGUSTED for how long this organization has held onto this “player”

by flutieflakes007 on Oct 12, 2009 4:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i am DISGUSTED for how long this organization has held onto this "player"

He has started 23 games!!!! How long should they have given him?

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by MattRichWarren on Oct 12, 2009 5:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

LOL. Yeah… wow.

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by Brian Galliford on Oct 12, 2009 9:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m sorry I enjoy venting. I am just tired of the subpar quarterback play. It seems like rookies these years can get it going in under a year. I just feel as though this organization has stuck with him too long, especially by the way he has been regressing

by flutieflakes007 on Oct 12, 2009 10:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think they had to stick with him this long to tell he was regressing.

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by MattRichWarren on Oct 13, 2009 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don’t worry. The boos were definitely audible on TV.

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by kaisertown on Oct 12, 2009 11:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The OL problems are compunded by playcalling.

- Our offensive line is terrible at pass protection. They can’t pick up blitzes, and whoever ends up playing quarterback for us has almost no time to throw the ball. I’m not sure if the chorus of boos after every false start came through on the TV, but I hope they did, and I hope Ralph heard them.

We haven’t had playcalling that helps our line out since Jim Kelly. AVP is asking our OL to play at a level they are incapable of with his playcalling, just like Scjonert, Fairchild, and Gilbride. They all call plays like we have a top 5 O line.

Help them out, more play action, more draws, more screens with the QB under center.

Help your young OL with better playcalling.

There's not a wide receiver who is fast enough, that J.P. Losman can't overthrow him on a fly pattern.

by The Buffalo Kid on Oct 13, 2009 12:09 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Contradiction?

Perhaps I’m missing something, but your first and second comments seem to contradict each other. First you tell us that Trent can’t find the open receivers and should be immediately replaced by Fitzpatrick. Then you observe that he had such terrible protection that “whoever ends up playing Quarterback for us has almost no time to throw the ball.” If he has no time to throw, how can you blame him for not hitting those open receivers?

I see the problem a little differently. It seems to me that his protection is so inconsistent that he can’t count on it, which means he can’t get into the rhythm that ALL QB’s need in order to be successful. That’s exactly what Trent said several times during his postgame interview. If that’s the case, the issue is not the QB so much as the o-line. Fix that before deciding whether the QB is good or bad.

by Macktruck on Oct 13, 2009 12:46 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The thing I was trying to get across was that there’s more than one party at fault for our offensive struggles. While the O-Line is not protecting well, Edwards is doing absolutely nothing to help his own cause. Could he be a better quarterback playing behind a top-10 offensive line? Sure he could, any quarterback would be. But we don’t have that top-10 line, or even a top-20 line, and we’re not going to have it anytime soon.

Edwards has to be able to make a few plays here and there despite not having the protection in order to keep this team in the game. He doesn’t need to carry the team on his back, but he seems incapable of making even 5 plays a game that keep the chains moving, or turn a negative play into a positive one. How can we possibly score points and win games with a quarterback who is only converting 26% of third downs this year? (according to teamrankings.com)

by Andy Boron on Oct 13, 2009 2:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

They played the Shout song at the Bills bar I was at and the guy next to me said “They play that after field goals now?”

Bills fan? In Colorado? It's more likely than you think.

by UZ on Oct 13, 2009 2:36 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

They always have.

Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Ignoring the grumblings on Rumblings.

by MattRichWarren on Oct 13, 2009 3:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’ve always found this wrong.

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by TheAfghanTwilight on Oct 13, 2009 6:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was told the entire stadium (well, what was left at the end)

shouted “No more Dick!…” over and over.

I can’t believe the PR claims no ceremony was planned for Wilson on Sunday. Why else was there no entertainment, and why were emails sent to all ticket holders? It shouldn’t be a big deal and they should be allowed to say they didn’t want to do it because of the potential for boos.

TO is the best thing to happen for this team and they found a way to make it their worst decision of the offseason. I have to wonder if Ralph and co see the 6.5 million they’ve lost by not making changes last offseason.

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by TheAfghanTwilight on Oct 13, 2009 6:08 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs