Browns 6, Bills 3: Week 5 Film Session
by Brian Galliford on Oct 13, 2009 8:45 AM EDT
in Buffalo Bills News
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PrintFirst thing's first: you're welcome. Or rather, I apologize. Probably the latter. I did, in fact, re-watch enough of the Buffalo Bills' 6-3 loss to the Cleveland Browns to both get enough for a Film Session discussion and make me viciously nauseous. I'll let y'all take bets on how long it took me to get there. But either way, either you're welcome for braving the film, or apologies for bringing the game back up. I, myself, am in the latter group; I apologized profusely and repeatedly to myself last night for making me do that.
After the jump: your Week 5 film session. Topics of discussion: Trent Edwards, his offensive line, Marshawn Lynch, the safety position, Keith Ellison and Brian Moorman.
On Trent Edwards. Boy... the Trent Edwards that's capable of winning games has completely disappeared. Edwards has been milk carton bad over the past three weeks. In those three games, Buffalo's offense has scored 13 points. Holy crap.
Before I get into his mechanics, I want to talk about his decision-making. If you're at the game or watching in the heat of the moment, fans in the stands were booing every time he threw short - which, frankly, is ridiculous in and of itself, but still, you come away with the feeling that Trent checks down far too often. I didn't get that sense when I watched the film. True, there were occasions - too many occasions - that Edwards hesitated to throw towards Terrell Owens or Lee Evans when either was in single coverage. His decision-making clearly wasn't perfect. But his decisions actually weren't bad in this game. In general, he was smart with the football. Fans want Edwards to throw deep or intermediate on every play, but that's completely unrealistic. Trent took his shots. It'd be nice if he took more shots, but shots were taken.
I'm far less worried about Edwards' decision-making than I am with his mechanics. Chalk it up to his terrible offensive line play if you wish - I'm putting a large chunk of blame on them - but Edwards' mechanics have deteriorated significantly over the past few weeks. His footwork is getting happier by the snap, which should have the contrary effect of making Bills fans - and receivers - sad. He lacks accuracy for a variety of reasons, but mostly because he's either throwing on the move, backwards, or not stepping into his throws completely because of the rush. On his interception - a busted play where Trent was rolling to his left and spotted Owens running a fly route down the field - Trent had an opportunity to make a big play, but he threw moving to the left and off of one foot. Ball was short, Cleveland picked it. Trent had time to set his feet and throw a strike there - yeah, he'd have taken a hit - but he shied away and threw up a lollipop.
Set aside the "throw it deep or else!" stuff for now, because Trent's got much, much bigger problems.
On the offensive line. Ron's full line analysis is coming later this afternoon, but I feel compelled to say something here about the line that might not be covered there. Buffalo's offense has been completely devoid of rhythm the past three weeks. In this particular game, the line was the sole reason why. Of the nine false start penalties (one of which was on Lee Evans, by the way), at least seven - probably eight - of them came on downs that I would term "crippling" to the Bills. Buffalo was moving the ball at times on Sunday. The line's penalties, and the subsequent inability of Edwards and his receivers to make up for the slew of mistakes, kept Buffalo from scoring. Yes, they blocked well at times, but my goodness, these young guys need to learn how to count.
On Marshawn Lynch. He's back. Or, at least the Browns' awful run defense made Lynch look like he's back. He had 125 total yards on 23 touches, he blocked well (while I saw Fred Jackson whiff on at least two blitz pickups), and he made a beautiful play on a wheel route down the middle for the longest gain on the day, a 35-yard pass reception. No, it didn't matter, and yes, playing Cleveland - one of the worst defenses in the league (not that Buffalo could exploit it) - certainly helped. But for this game, he was clearly the better back between he and Jackson - and that's why he starts.
Jackson, who had a phenomenal start to the season, looked bad. He picked up 47 yards on 15 touches, but couldn't find holes in the run game the way Lynch did. As I mentioned, he had a couple of poor efforts in blitz pickup - an area where he's usually top-notch. This was just a bad game for a guy who had been Buffalo's most consistent performer to date.
One last note - Lynch came out of this game really early. Again. He's become known for getting super hyped before a game, getting worked up after one or two carries, and having to leave the field to either throw up or finish hyperventilating. He has not yet outgrown that. I have nothing against a guy being amped for an NFL football game - quite the opposite, actually - but as good as Jackson is, flip-flopping runners that early gets the offense out of rhythm, too. Maybe Jackson should start games and let Lynch take more and more carries as the game wears on.
On the safety position. Folks, I realize that most of you hated the pick when it was made, but Jairus Byrd was a great selection by this team. Or, rather, the player selected could be great. Byrd was all over the field Sunday, finishing with seven tackles and a really nice, plucked-before-hitting-the-ground interception on a terrible Derek Anderson overthrow. He made some pretty big hits defending the run, too. A week prior in Miami, Byrd very nearly had a beautiful interception on a Chad Henne pass in the end zone. Folks, his instincts and ball skills weren't oversold in April. This guy can play.
I don't think it's a coincidence, either, that Buffalo has really struggled to defend the run - including against Cleveland - ever since the second half against New Orleans, which just happens to be roughly the time that Donte Whitner was injured. (It's roughly the time Bryan Scott was injured as well, for the record.) I've said it before, and I'll say it again - Whitner was playing at a near-Pro Bowl level before his injury, particularly defending the run. He was all over the football field.
If they can stay healthy - and if both can survive a likely off-season regime change - Buffalo has a safety tandem in Whitner and Byrd that are extremely versatile, fast, athletic, and excel in different areas (Whitner defending the run, Byrd the pass). These guys are both young and extremely talented, and they complement each other well. This, at least, is something to look forward to - the Bills have a pair of potentially elite safeties.
On Keith Ellison. I understand that a lot of people think he stinks, mostly because he doesn't weigh 250 pounds or run a 4.4 40-yard dash. Who cares? Yes, he's overmatched physically on occasion, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a more dependable player on the team. Plus, the guy produces, and he knows Perry Fewell's system so thoroughly that he shifted to middle linebacker without making a single error, as far as I could tell. Yes, Buffalo's run defense was again bad, but Ellison is hardly to blame. His value is really thrown into light considering that the Bills will be playing without Paul Posluszny and Kawika Mitchell for the foreseeable future. And yes - I realize that Ellison playing Mike next week against Thomas Jones and Leon Washington is hardly ideal. But I'm comfortable with Ellison inside - you'll see no errors on his part.
On Brian Moorman. My Dad and I, sitting in the stands, watched Moorman punt balls into the stiff wind during pre-game warmups. He was standing feet from Dave Zastudil while doing so. Zastudil is an excellent punter, as he proved by pinning Buffalo deep three times, but so is Moorman. While Zastudil boomed perfect spirals with great spin into the wind during warm-ups, Moorman shanked left, shanked right, shanked high and shanked short. He looked pitiful.
And then he went out and averaged 52 yards on 7 punts.
The guy is good. Yes, I'm talking up our punter. We have very little to cling to right now, so shut it. Moorman's coverage units are nowhere near the quality they've been in the three years prior, but Moorman is still getting the job done. Some of Bobby April's other specialists should take note, because the rest of them flat-out stink, most particularly Roscoe Parrish.
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Never apologize for talking up Moorman !
He’s been, by far, the most consistently good Bill in the last 10-15 years.
I do think someone should tell Edwards he’s not allowed to throw short until he completes a pass over 15 yards. I mean, chances are the Bills will get destroyed by the Jets anyway-why not view it as an opportunity to teach some lessons.
Gosh, I’m giving up on a game on Tuesday…this is a new low.
That’s a ridiculous thing to say. He threw short many times for first downs Sunday when it was the right thing to do. No one booed then because we got first downs out of them. No one except me, who took those occasions to mock the rampant boo-birds by fake yelling at Trent for checking down. Brian is right, the whole mentality that you have to throw it 15+ yds down field every play is ridiculous. Trent is at fault for checking down sometimes, but it’s not as bad as everyone is making it out to be. My favorite quote by the anti-Trent bandwagon: “I’d rather he throw it 20yds down field and get intercepted.” Guess what happened when that play came to fruition on Sunday? That’s right, more booing…..
"Potential just means you haven’t done sh## yet"
I think that’s a joke. but, I don’t think Edwards is getting booed for checking down when its necessary. he’s getting booed because its indicative of a risk averse tendency – not that its so risky to throw down field when you have two elite talents at wideout. TO and LE are being targeted just a little over 5 times a game each. c’mon! that’s gotta get up to at least 7 each a game. and they’ve gotta be catchable! but that might be a whole different problem… and self awareness of that might be the reason for being risk averse…
but what do i know? i’m qbing from the armchair.
I just think that it is a circular problem. Edwards is afraid to get hit because his line stinks, so he throws it short. Add to that, his best receivers are always running 15+ yard routes. I know that Edwards has been risk avers and tentative, but doesnt some of the blame lie on the OC for not finding ways to fix that. On MNF a couple weeks ago, Aaron Rodgers got pummeled every play, but was able to take 3 step drops and find open guys short, on the move. I dunno, maybe I’m way off-base and just want to think that Trent can’t be so Jeckyl and Hyde like he has been.
"Potential just means you haven’t done sh## yet"
yep, as discussed all over at length and then some all season – the O-line isn’t helping and probably contributing to Trent’s jumpiness. But AVP has gotta design plays for quick drops and pass to TO or LE. I flipped on the game last night and Sanchez dropped quick and hit – I think Cotchery, and I thought, why can’t we make plays like that? Evans has the quickness for a post – maybe getting off the line might be a problem for him, but then AVP should be doing something to set up those posts and stopngos etc. or maybe those plays are called and trent is just not having the confidence to throw them…
i dunno. the passing game is a big black hole for me. too much mind reading and divining to figure out whats wrong. anyway, i wouldn’t boo the guy. too many problems to blame it on one guy. he’s getting the brunt of the frustration at this point i suppose.
jeez it sucks to be this despondent this early.
by oompaloompa on Oct 13, 2009 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions
I am glad you noticed Bryd.
He was a bright spot in this pit of darkness we call a football game. The pick was great but I noticed he was always around the ball and made some great hits. I love this kid.
Founding member of the Dick Jauron Fan Club.
I was surprised at how physical he is. I stood feet from him at training camp this summer (he wasn’t practicing at the time), and he’s small, but built well. I towered over the guy, and I’m only 5’11" or so. But man, can he lay the lumber. He’s a great athlete.
Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. --Wayne Grezky" --Michael Scott
by Brian Galliford on Oct 13, 2009 9:16 AM EDT up reply actions
and I’m only 5’11" or so
Brian being 5’11" does not make you short. I know plaenty of people who woulkd love to be 5’11", true most of them are girls but that doesn’t matter! :-)
The past is fixed, the future is unknown, try dealing with the present!
I wasn’t saying I’m short. I was saying Byrd is short. :)
Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. --Wayne Grezky" --Michael Scott
by Brian Galliford on Oct 14, 2009 7:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Film Session?
- Would have been more exciting watching film of the vendors selling beers to all the people hammered in the end zones.
“[Lynch has] become known for getting super hyped before a game, getting worked up after one or two carries, and having to leave the field to either throw up or finish hyperventilating.”
I wish I could get myself worked up like that about anything! Love the youthful exuberance, but yeah, he’s gotta get that in check… He is one of the only players I am excited to see at the Meadowlands this weekend…
I’m so sorry you had to relive that nightmare Brian. You make 2 great points that my friends and I discussed while sitting in traffic trying to find the positives in the worst football game we’d ever attended. One of those was the sad fact that Brian Moorman is the MVP of this football team. The other was that Jairus Byrd is a player. Great draft pick. I’ll admit, when they drafted him I said, “who the f is that?” But his play the last two games has been spectacular. He’s not in the box making tackles like Whitner, but when the run gets to his level, he makes sure tackles. I’ve also noticed he enjoys flying up field to finish a guy off in the grasp of another tackler, which I enjoyed thoroughly as well. He covered a lot of ground on the pick Sunday and even more on the near pick breakup in the end zone against Miami. I’m very excited for the future of our safeties with Whitner and Byrd out there together
"Potential just means you haven’t done sh## yet"
Film Session
Brian, if you took this week off from this article, we’d all understand.
you are a brave solider!
You actually watched that again?
Gross
We’re seeing why Lynch is the starter and Jackson is entrenched at the backup. Lynch is simply a better player, and so much quicker than Jackson. I hope Lynch gets touches at at least a 2 to 1 ratio going forward. Even though he had that great start, Jackson should be nothing more than a change of pace/receiving option.
I’m far less worried about Edwards’ decision-making than I am with his mechanics.
His decision making is terrible too, as is the execution on the field. You might say he doesn’t check down too often, but when he’s throwing 2 yard passes on 3rd and long consistently, then yes it is a problem. The people at the game aren’t just booing a guy who is hesistant to go downfield, they’re booing a guy who throws inane dumpoffs over and over, and throws some that don’t even give the receiver a chance to do anything anyhow.
I find it hard to believe a guy like Chad Henne can find Dolphins WR’s open down the field more against a very good Jets’ D, but Edwards can’t get the ball to Evans and Owens against the crappy Browns D. Trent had time to throw Sunday, not every time, but many times, and did nothing with it.
Trent had time to set his feet and throw a strike there – yeah, he’d have taken a hit – but he shied away and threw up a lollipop.
I don’t know if he had time to throw it because how open would TO have remained or how much space he would have had? Trent made a terrible throw, babying it, instead of throwing it to the back corner of the end zone. You see most NFL QB’s able to make that throw even if it is a tough one. He didn’t give TO a chance to make a play, and that was the problem. The throw was the right play to make, he just didn’t execute it. I don’t think he’s able to execute plays like that either. That’s the major problem.
~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."
Booing the OC?
I was yelling at the TV to call better plays and not be running 2 yard outs on 3rd and long. I wasn’t thrilled with Trent’s check downs, but the play calls need to give him a better chance to find someone open in the middle or down the field. There are plays that I see all the time watching other teams that we do not seem to run, or run well at all… curls, slants, crossing patterns with evans and TO
can as in: We can win, can DJ!, and I'm from Canada
Right on
That is what I said during the game, that throw is high, TO would’ve caught it in the end zone. However, TE couldn’t throw it hard enough to get it up in the air to TO in the endzone.
They are hard to play but not hard to beat.
- Mike Lombardi on the Buffalo Bills
You were the guy booing him weren’t you? :-) I was talking to people in my section saying “you boo him when he throws short then you boo him when he throws long.” The pass should have been deeper, no doubt. Brian said why it wasn’t. Also remember T.O. came back and got one similar to that last week against the Dolphins.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Ignoring the grumblings on Rumblings.
by MattRichWarren on Oct 14, 2009 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions
D. Bell's first false start.
This is when I began to get a little sick, but they half I was drinking pepto bysmal. I mentioned last week regarding your getting back to basics post that we need to get Trent on track before we can expect to move forward. I was ahead of myself. The OL needs to go back to the basics. This could include the huddle, who knows, not going to argue that. Maybe bringing in officials during practice and dishing out fines each time, but something needs to happen fast here. One last thing. We are only two games back in our division.
Excuses are a sign of weakness!!!!!!
The false starts are NOT really the o-line's fault
If Demetrius Bell was the only one drawing false start penalties then I would say there was something wrong with him, but when literally everyone else on the o-line does it (not Wood this week, but he had a couple of them last week) you have to ask whether the problem is the players or the coaching. It seems clear to me that the fault lies with the fancy snap counts that the Bills are trying to use to get the defense to jump offsides. Both Trent and AVP talked about this in their postgame interviews and observed that it had backfired.
This is, as we know, an incredibly young line with almost no NFL experience. To ask them to handle fancy snap counts at the same time that they are running a no-huddle is nuts. That’s why ALL of them (even the veteran Hangartner) are drawing penalties.
While on the subject of penalties and our new LT, it’s worth noting that when Bell got called for two penalties against the Pats for lining up incorrectly several other Bills linemen were doing the same thing. Bell got the flag because he was on the end and thus the most visible. One has to ask why all of them were making the same mistake. Again it goes back to poor coaching. It’s a shame that the refs can’t call the penalties directly on Sean Kugler and AVP, since they are the ones who deserve them, not the players.
Mack, there is nothing fancy about hard counts, quick counts, first or second sound counts, or silent counts. My class C high school football team did it while I was there, and as a class DD now, they continue to do it. It’s simply a matter of execution and to a certain extent, on-the-field leadership.
While they were huddling up after one of their 63 false start penalties, or during one of the 64 TV timeouts, someone in that huddle needs to get into some people’s faces and tell them to pull their heads out of their collective arses. Trent and AVP both said they were practicing that stuff all week without an issue. There should be no reason they shouldn’t be able to execute it on the field on Sunday, AT HOME. When they’re facing adversity on offense and can’t establish a rhythm, there’s no one to turn to in that huddle that will right the ship. Trent’s clearly not capable of leading, we got 5 linemen that have never played together, Evans hardly ever talks, and TO is busy dancing. Someone needs to pull everyone together on the field; unfortunately, that person does not currently exist for the Bills.
So easy Marshawn Lynch can do it.
What do you mean “huddling up”? The point is that they don’t huddle. If they did it would be much easier to communicate about the snap counts and get them right. And if you listen to what AVP said after the game, the counts they were using against Cleveland were especially tricky. No doubt they were brilliantly designed, but do they make any sense with a line that inexperienced going up against an NFL defense (not a high school defense) when the team isn’t even huddling between plays? Again, if one or two players were guilty of false starts I would definitely agree that they were not paying attention and should be held to blame, but when they are ALL doing it you have to step back and ask if the cause runs deeper than individual mistakes.
Positive Consistency
I did single out D.Bell, that wasn’t my intention. Glad he is back and after the Miami game, I am sure Trent is as well. MT you are correct it is more of a group/coaching problem. That guy makes a valid arguement as well. My main point is referring back to the basic post. Before the offense can get moving forward we need to identify the areas of greatest need. This could be a coaching thing. Either way, eliminate the false starts and then we can focus on Trent’s development and AVP’s development. Mack Truck I appreciate your insight in these matters, I am obviously a novice in this area.
Excuses are a sign of weakness!!!!!!
Last week people brought up the fact that we weren’t including TO and Evans in the short game, hitting them on some quick slants and giving them the opportunity to break out and make some plays. The response was along the lines of Trent just couldn’t make the throw.
I noticed in the first half of game it looked like he was hitting people in stride, noteably TO. They got him involved in the first half (I don’t know why they aren’t doing the same with Evans and getting him involved), but then nothing in the second half. I think Trent would be effective hitting these guys on short routes, but I don’t have the courage to watch the film again to validate this.
I agree. You could tell they really focused on getting TO the ball from the opening snap. He had 4 catches and 1 other target (I think) in the first quarter and was looking on pace for a big day. Then we just couldn’t get him the ball again, obviously one of those missed chances being the Trent underthrow discussed in the article.
I don’t know what the answers for Trent are. If we call a play with slants and outs to the WR’s (keyword), people say he can’t make the throw because of accuracy and arm strength issues. If we call intermediate routes, he doesn’t have time to complete the play because our O-Line stinks and he obviously is part of the problem because he is antsy in the pocket and too quick through his progressions even when he has time. If we call deep routes, it doesn’t seem like he has the greatest accuracy on his deep balls, considering he’s missed TO for two deep touchdowns this year (and TO dropped another one, to Trent’s credit).
To sum up the last paragraph: we’re so bad I don’t even know what my opinion is on how to fix it or what to address first. All I know is I get sick of watching Trent Edwards about two drives into the game, and as much as I agree that it’s ridiculous to boo him on every short throw, part of me wants to believe he’s earned that reputation in his last 10 or 12 starts. He has no rhythm right now, no confidence, and sometimes it seems, no skill. I don’t know whether to feel bad for the guy because everyone is destroying him, or join in on the fun. When I’m analyzing mid-week I tend to lean toward giving him a second (and third, fourth, etc…) chance, but during the games I’m screaming at him every time he drops back five yards, sets, pats the ball, then delivers a 1 yard strike to Derek Fine or takes a sack.
In one season (4-1 last year, 1-4 this year), Trent has gone from the hope and face of our franchise to a major part of the problem (obviously not the only part).
What the hell happened?
Single coverage
I’m glad the film review showed what I thought I saw on Sunday in regards to Edwards not throwing to single coverage. He has to trust his receivers to make the catch. More importantly he has to trust his ability to deliver the ball to the correct spot. This is the NFL, receivers are not always wide open. On another note, I hate play calls on third down that include a TE running an out at the line of scrimmage.
Why not Bobby April?
On another note, I hate play calls on third down that include a TE running an out at the line of scrimmage
me too
can as in: We can win, can DJ!, and I'm from Canada
Agreed
If you don’t want Trent to throw it to him, keep him in to block. A 2 yard pass route on 3rd and long is useless
"Potential just means you haven’t done sh## yet"
I think it would be different if Nelson were able to play at 100%, because then we would see him running
Outs, Curls, and Flys past or right at the point needed for a first down and Trent would feel better getting it down to him. Fine is a great blocker, but ye-gods he is a not a good pass catching option, we Nelson back pronto.
As my mother once said, common sense isn't as common as it should be, I'm looking at you Fewell, common sense says to play UP on the line against the slant.
Nelson’s shoulder is fine. Is there another injury you’re talking about?
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Ignoring the grumblings on Rumblings.
by MattRichWarren on Oct 14, 2009 3:06 PM EDT up reply actions
that is the one big problem I have with Edwards, he doesn’t trust himself and/or his receivers when they are not wide open. He has to let them make plays which Evans has proven in the past that he can do it (Jets game where he took the ball away from the DB for a TD).
Another thing that is perplexing is why do we continue to put the OL in vulnerable positions given their inability to pass block effectively. as an offense they should be pounding the ball thus setting up the play action and making the pass game better in general.
by gatornation on Oct 13, 2009 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions
I agree but I think it's worse than confidence
It does seem like Edwards is unwilling to take many chances with the football, but I think it’s worse than that. I think he’s not recognizing his throwing window until it’s just about closed, and obviously by the the coverage has tightened up.
Several times, even going to checkdowns, I’ve seen his hesitate until the defender closed and maybe then hesitate again before making the throw.
He’s also locked onto some routes too long and then races through the the remaining progression. That’s the easiest indicator of a QB that’s not recognizing his opportunities until their gone.
He does appear to throw to people not to spots. That can work, and maybe with our current personnel that’s all they can do, but if Trent could just get to a place to trust the timing, we should score some points. I think he and TO are getting closer to having something, but it is alarming how little it seems he looks Evans’ way. I think he needs to have his options taken away, except for the run / pass audible choice based on the look of the defense. For any of the called pass plays, there should be guys out running patterns, and Trent should be told – pump fake to TO, set and throw to Evans. If there is any part of his game that is missing, (besides confidence), is the lack of guile. He doesn’t sell the run very well, and does he ever pump fake? From what I’ve seen of the season so far, on about 75% of the pass plays, he has enough time he just seems scattered.
by syrbillsfan on Oct 14, 2009 11:56 AM EDT up reply actions
It almost seems like Trent can’t adjust his timing, on the fly, for particular receivers. If he’s connecting with TO, then he can’t hit Lee and vice-verse. If the only way he can properly deliver a pass is when he’s in perfect throwing position, then he’ll continue to be a huge liability behind a struggling O-line.
most of my posts get deleted :(
If the only way he can properly deliver a pass is when he’s in perfect throwing position, then he’ll continue to be a huge liability behind a struggling O-line.
Nicely put. This is a major part of Trent’s problem and even though it’s obvious I guess I never really thought about it before. I’d rather have him roll out and make a mistake trying to get the first down than take the safety net option time and time again. It’s gotten to the point that I’m so sick of seeing us not pick up first downs on passing downs that I’d rather see the occasional turnover than another throw behind the yellow line.
Trent needs to lift this team up, not be taken down by a crappy O-Line. I know it may not be fair to him, but that’s part of his job as an NFL starting QB. Make your teammates better. Give your talented receivers a chance. Check to the right plays and make the right decisions. If a two yard out is the right decision on third down and 8, that’s fine. But it’s only fine once or twice a game, when it actually IS the right decision, not when you fall back on it every drive. If you come back and throw a TD on the next drive, no one is going to remember the checkdown. But when you don’t throw past the first down marker EVER, it becomes a trend that people (fans AND opposing defenses) are going to key in on and taunt you with.
There is a reason why I have a Moorman jersey I wear on game days, pretty sad when thats all we got right now
I have to admit I was down on the Byrd pick intially because I thought we were drafting yet another CB, and in fact a slow one, but once it was explained he was going to S, I thought it might not be a bad thing, and now I am truly thrilled at what he is doing out there as a Rookie.
And Brian is right, Whitner really stepped it up this year, and was making sure tackle after sure tackle, and his angles were better as well which was a pleasant surprise. He was playing way above and beyond where has in other seasons, were are stacked at the S spot if we can get some LBers who can stay healthy.
As my mother once said, common sense isn't as common as it should be, I'm looking at you Fewell, common sense says to play UP on the line against the slant.
Your signature
WABillsfan, is it plagiarism if I use your signature as my own?! Love it!
Why not Bobby April?
Be my guest, my mom and dad gave me many pithy sayings to pass along to the world
Another favorite from my dad is:
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, you might as well do something then
Along with:
If you are ever between a rock and a hard place, bring a cushion for the hard place and put your feet up on the rock
As my mother once said, common sense isn't as common as it should be, I'm looking at you Fewell, common sense says to play UP on the line against the slant.
I have been lobbying for the saying
“common sense” to be replaced with “uncommon sense” for years. To do so seems like uncommon sense to me :-)
Poor ball security leads to very painful outcomes
By the way..........
I drove 11 hours to come home and see that miserable game. If you watched the TV when the team is on offense, it only shows the O-line, the QB stepping back in the pocket, and then the eventual throw (or sack).
What it did NOT show TV fans was what I clearly saw from the stands. In most passing plays, TO most times, and sometimes Lee were WIDE open or at least had a step on the defender (the crowd saw it every time too, and went ballistic). Cleveland did not have DBs back there.
Captain Checkdown went down again, and again……….. he could’ve shredded them and we win by 30. Even with the horrific offensive line penalties.
Very sad.
"A failure becomes just one time at bat if you refuse to let it defeat you." Marv Levy.
by SERGEANT MAJOR THOR on Oct 13, 2009 7:17 PM EDT reply actions
I don’t know about wide open but they had a step a lot of the time and definitely single coverage on many plays.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Ignoring the grumblings on Rumblings.
by MattRichWarren on Oct 14, 2009 3:07 PM EDT up reply actions
Single Coverage
I’m a little late, but I wanna give some props to Brian for putting together something to talk about that isn’t 100% negative. Love the write ups Brian!
My thoughts: Trent Edwards needs to trust his WRs. I’ve been saying this for too long. It’s like Edwards needs to see 2-5 yards of separation before he’ll throw it. He has to trust Evans and T.O to make a play. Evans has enough speed to “go get the ball” when it’s not severely overthrown. And T.O can still get behind almost any CB. I agree with the quick drop and throw talk as well. T.O made a living on slant routes, Edwards just isn’t feeding him. It’s like we don’t have a playbook that suits our strengths. And my concern is that now that the media is calling for Edwards replacement, TE might take even less chances in the hope he holds onto the gig.
I didn’t see the game this weekend ( thank god ) because I was at a lake for Thanksgiving, but seriously… 6-3? To the Browns? When Anderson completes TWO freekin passes??? Unbelievable. We should have ran the ball on every single play… well, maybe not.
One last thing before I have to apologize for a rant: Aside from the front office changes, I think we seriously need to look at a new strength and conditioning coach/program. We’ve had WAY too many injuries in the past few years. Some of them are fluke injuries, but not all of them. And a strong/healthy body would prevent a lot of them.
Carry on fellas..
Schmucks don't make it to the Pro Bowl... except Jason Peters!
by Run Thurmal Run! on Oct 14, 2009 6:28 PM EDT reply actions
Ha. You’re Canadian. :-) What happened to CBF by the way? Does anyone know?
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Ignoring the grumblings on Rumblings.
by MattRichWarren on Oct 14, 2009 6:56 PM EDT up reply actions
I thought he was caught with a partly charred statue of Thomas :-)
Poor ball security leads to very painful outcomes
I don’t understand that story. I mean seriously.. you steal a wooden statue? I have to know what happened at the border. It probably went something like…
Customs agent: You have anything to declare?
Thief: No. Well maybe that 200lb wooden statue…
Customs agent: Got anything inside the statue?
Thief: Nope, just wood sir.
Customs agent: Go ahead. Drive safe.
:P
Schmucks don't make it to the Pro Bowl... except Jason Peters!
by Run Thurmal Run! on Oct 14, 2009 8:40 PM EDT reply actions
I’m pretty sure it weighed a lot more than 200 lbs. Those things are massive. The ones outside the Big Tree Inn are bolted down so nobody knocks them over.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Ignoring the grumblings on Rumblings.
by MattRichWarren on Oct 15, 2009 9:06 AM EDT up reply actions
you nailed my problem with trent
it frightens me that the guy you saw last week didn’t even look like a shell of week 1 trent. Where did that go? Seems like a total crisis of confidence.
Jonathan Stupar won the Heisman…while playing in the NFL!
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