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Saints 27, Bills 7: Week 3 Film Session

Before we turn our attentions to the upcoming Week 4 matchup between our dinged up Buffalo Bills and the hated, also-dinged-up Miami Dolphins, we'll take two glances back at the Bills' Week 3 27-7 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

This is your first look back - our weekly Film Session.  Stay tuned for this afternoon's Week 3 installment of Ron From NM's ultra-popular Notes from the Bills' O-Line series.  Week 3 Film Session begins after the jump.

Star-divide

Things are getting complex for Trent Edwards. Again.  Give Gregg Williams a lot of credit - Edwards has beaten his defenses twice before (2007 in Washington, 2008 in Jacksonville), and he finally figured our young quarterback out.  The Saints flashed 3-4 looks and zone blitzes, and while Edwards seemed to have most coverages figured out, he struggled to consistently, properly diagnose pressures.  When he had time and made the right pressure reads, his receivers weren't open; when Terrell Owens and Lee Evans did manage to run free, Edwards was being flushed or sacked on most occasions.  There was zero rhythm to this offensive attack, and that starts with not being able to figure out Williams' pressures.

If you're still looking to point the finger of blame this fine Tuesday morning for the team's offensive woes, split the difference between Edwards and Alex Van Pelt.  Buffalo had done a nice job of throwing in some misdirection passing plays and play-action passes in Weeks 1 and 2, but those disappeared nearly entirely in this game.  Rather than cut the field in half or check to screen throws, Edwards was forced to take shotgun snaps and read the entire defense.  Not only does Van Pelt need to find ways to get the ball to his receivers, but he needs to continue to simplify Edwards' reads.  That's where the major regression occurred Sunday.

Man crushes on Andy Levitre are allowed.  He, like every lineman, struggled in pass protection on Sunday, but he continues to be the one lineman who routinely flashes dominance.  I love watching this kid play football.  He's nowhere near the biggest, fastest or even strongest (though he's a beast) player on the field, but he really gets after it.  This guy is 100% football player.  I'll defer to Ron on the rest of the O-Line this afternoon, but I felt compelled to mention Levitre here.

Terrell Owens' body language.  A lot is being made about T.O.'s supposed lackadaisical nature on the field over the past three games, but on more than one occasion I saw him scuffle with DBs post-whistle on run plays.  If he's a little loose running his routes, then Lee Evans is right there with him.  Move on, folks - nothing to see here.  T.O. is OK, and he'll be peachy keen if we can finally get him involved early in games.

We missed Shawn Nelson.  As much as I like Derek Fine and value his blocking abilities and toughness, he's not a starting-caliber NFL tight end.  We miss Derek Schouman, but on Sunday in particular, we missed Shawn Nelson, too.  Nelson's raw and rough around the edges, but he's a receiving threat - something Fine is not.  We need Nelson back as soon as possible, because he is Buffalo's only remaining hope of fielding a tight end that can actually hurt defenses the way Schouman was.  (Never thought I'd say that.)

Fred Jackson... ... is my favorite player.  Rarely have I seen backs with his inexplicable ability to wiggle his way for massive extra yardage.  He wasn't great on Sunday, but he did a remarkable job of keeping Buffalo's offense somewhat balanced despite AVP's best efforts to abandon the run altogether.  New Orleans bottled him up alright, but they certainly didn't shut him down.

Josh Reed is great. But... I love the role that Reed has carved out for himself.  He made some terrific hands catches on third down in this game.  I don't even mind that he was Buffalo's leading receiver - but when he's your leader in receiving yards, there's an obvious issue.

This D-Line is playing great.  From top to bottom, Buffalo's defensive line is playing extremely well, particularly against the pass.  They wore down against the run on Sunday, but with Miami coming up, I'm quite confident they'll fix that issue.  Every end - Aaron Schobel, Chris Kelsay, Ryan Denney and rookie Aaron Maybin - got heat on Drew Brees on Sunday.  Every tackle - Marcus Stroud, Kyle Williams and Spencer Johnson - played different responsibilities and made plays in the backfield.  I said it early Monday morning, and I'll re-iterate it here: Bob Sanders is one heck of a position coach.

Perry Fewell's game plan was masterful, but flawed.  Name a defensive formation, and you likely saw it at least once on Sunday.  They ran 3-man line looks, they rushed linemen standing up, they zone blitzed, they blitzed in the middle, they blitzed the edges, they stunted, they dropped eight into coverage - seriously, they threw the house at Brees, and for the most part, it worked.  Brees made some plays, but he clearly was not the Brees Saints fans have become accustomed to.  But they weren't particularly stout against the run the entire game, let alone in the fourth quarter.  I suppose if you want the Saints to beat you, you let them do it on the ground, but a bit more resistance would have been nice there.  Still, Fewell deserves a ton of credit - his game plan really frustrated an extremely lethal Saints offense for 50 minutes.

I miss Paul Posluszny.  Kawika Mitchell has his limitations, which were on full display again on Sunday, mostly in coverage (he looked good blitzing, as usual).  As much as I admire the way Ellison has capably assumed on-field quarterbacking duties while Posluszny sits, his physical limitations were exposed by a highly athletic Saints skill position corps.  Posluszny is a nice marriage between Ellison's smarts and Mitchell's physicality - and we miss our best linebacker something fierce.  Our run D has not looked the same since he's been out.

Oh, and Marcus Buggs? Completely overwhelmed in this game, and he barely played (mostly due to the fact that the Saints ran multiple spread formations and multi-WR packages).  Get healthy soon, Poz.

Please get healthy soon, Mr. Whitner.  I say that not because I didn't like what I saw from Jairus Byrd - I think he's playing remarkably disciplined football for a rookie playing a new position - but Whitner once again was flying all over the football field against New Orleans.  It's only been three games, but he has emerged as a presence in this secondary.  He had thumb surgery yesterday and is week-to-week; we need our free safety back as quickly as possible.  Byrd will be fine, but he doesn't play as fast as Whitner has been yet.

Don't worry about cornerback.  Knowing that Leodis McKelvin is set to miss a significant chunk of time with a fractured fibula, I paid extra close attention to Drayton Florence.  Forget about his year in Jacksonville, folks - he wasn't flawless, but he had excellent coverage on the vast majority of his snaps.  Yes, I'd much rather see him in the slot, too, but the Bills can play Ashton Youboty outside if they'd really prefer Florence inside, and Reggie Corner is a more-than-capable nickel corner if Florence stays outside.  McKelvin, by the way, has been continuously burned by good receivers early in the season.  I'm with Kurupt on this one - we won't miss him as much as most would think, though we'll certainly miss the idea that there's someone capable of making plays back there.

This was brutal to re-watch.  As in any NFL game, there were good things on the football field, but it is particularly agonizing watching a football game in which 21 penalties were called.  Good Lord, those refs were flag-happy.  I cannot re-iterate enough that Buffalo needs to play with fewer yellow hankies flying if they want to be serious winners.

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I agree that we might be better off without McKelvin – and that Florence looked pretty good. Who picks up the kick return duties? I don’t think Roscoe looked very adept on Sunday. On kick returns, you need someone willing to run straight through and bash a pile, and I don’t think Roscoe is that man.

What did you see out of Maybin that you liked? I haven’t rewatched the game, but most of what I saw on pass plays is what we’ve come to expect from him – his moves are entirely dictated by the tackle. Most of the time I saw him speed rush the tackle, get pushed out, and end up 10 yards past Brees. However, I did see him in the middle of the pile a few times on run defense, which I guess could be a positive.

Finally, someone said yesterday it was Wood at center in the 4th Q rolling snaps, but i see a link over there -—→ from NFL fanhouse that says it was hangartner – did you manage to see?

by quantumuprising on Sep 29, 2009 9:12 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

They used Maybin on a few more stunts, and he looked more explosive and played faster than he did in Weeks 1-2. He still wasn’t great, but he looks to me to be getting better.

One thing NO exploited with him was his first snap of the game – Maybin came in and Brees immediately checked to a draw on his side, which went for big yardage. Maybin exploded off the ball and was immediately out of position. He played it much better when Brees did the same thing later in the game, though.

Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. --Wayne Grezky" --Michael Scott

by Brian Galliford on Sep 29, 2009 9:21 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

With Marshawn comming back I wouldn’t be too suprised if Freddie was sent back there to return KO’s we all know he will definetly go straight ahead and we can’t afford to loose another DB at this point.

I think Maybin had his best game yet, he is starting to use a couple of different moves and one spin move he used was very quick and forced Brees to throw it early, He should only get better.

by Honestabe75 on Sep 29, 2009 10:00 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Lankster the Gangster for KO returns!

He did at WV and this way we save Mcgee and Jackson for their full – time jobs.

All I know is no more Roscoe as a KR!

by freddyjj on Sep 29, 2009 10:26 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

But Jackson no longer has a full-time job....

~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."

by Kurupt on Sep 29, 2009 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Interesting point...

I wouldnt mind seeing Freddy returning kicks. He can definately find his way thru holes and has the speed. not as fast at McKelvin but fast enough. I wouldnt want to risk McGee back there just because he has been playing good D and needs to be able to hold up out there. Although when he was returning kicks he was fun to watch

by bflo on Sep 29, 2009 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I think it has to be Jackson. The injury risk isn’t as big as people are making it out to be and with two really good RBs, why not try and get them as many touches as possible?

I signed up for Second Life about a year ago. Back then my life was so great that I literally wanted a second one. In my Second Life I was also a paper salesman and I was also named Dwight. Absolutely everything was the same. Except I could fly. - Dwight Schrute

by kaisertown on Sep 29, 2009 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

And with Freddy losing touches due to Lynch being back, why not get him touches on the kick return.

by bflo on Sep 29, 2009 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

harping

Not sure how you could rewatch that game and not give a bullet to Hangartner’s snapping issues. Already posted a link in fanshots, but that stuck out to me throughout the second half as a major issue in the timing of the passing game and Edwards’ ability to get his eyes upfield.

by jmorris0823 on Sep 29, 2009 11:21 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Like I said – I’m leaving the O-Line stuff to Ron. He mentions it in his O-Line post, which literally should be posting any second now. :)

Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. --Wayne Grezky" --Michael Scott

by Brian Galliford on Sep 29, 2009 11:30 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I am really suprised at how the D line is playing, and that’s why it hurts that much havign Poz and Whitner out…

I was born in Buffalo, and NO, it's not a suburb of New York City

by Ghetts on Sep 29, 2009 11:22 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

a couple thoughts on the next game...

- What happened to Youboty playing in the slot? He looked dominant last year, and had probably the best open field tackling ability on the team. Has he lost a step with his injuries?

- I definitely agree that we need someone like Lankster or Omon on kickoff return duties. Roscoe didn’t look good at all.

- What’s up with Bryan Scott and D. Bell? These guys NEED to be on the field next week. They are key players on this team.

- Please get Evans and Owens the ball next week. Young DB’s on Miami should be exposed by these guys. Even in a pop warner offense, you can still figure out ways to get your best guys open based on the coverages the defense is giving you. Wake up Trent!!! Let’s see some attitude this week.

- Is Harris ready to play yet? I think he is an upgrade over Buggs. I’m just counting the weeks until this guy takes the field.

- Can’t wait for Marshawn to start blasting people on the field again. It’s gonna be awesome.

- Also looking forward to the return of Shawn Nelson. He is a game breaker.

by bruuuuce_02 on Sep 29, 2009 12:22 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Scott got an MRI yesterday. Not sure what his prognosis is. Jauron did not seem too concerned about Bell’s groin injury; I think he’s a strong bet to play this week. Really hoping we get Nelson back, too.

Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. --Wayne Grezky" --Michael Scott

by Brian Galliford on Sep 29, 2009 12:24 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

We’re pretty sure that Lankster will be active this weekend right?

by bflo on Sep 29, 2009 12:50 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

No guarantees

Leo won’t be active, but we’re playing Miami with a first time starter at QB, so we might not need the extra CB as I don’t think they’ll be relying on the pass. However, if Whitner and Scott don’t play, we’ll probably need to keep Lankster active, for sure.

~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."

by Kurupt on Sep 29, 2009 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yep, beat me to it. Depends on how many safeties we keep active. But yeah, I think Lankster has a strong chance to make his NFL debut this weekend.

It’s important to remember, though, that we went with 4 corners when Florence was out – so swap Florence for McKelvin, and I’m not sure why anything changes strictly speaking CB.

Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. --Wayne Grezky" --Michael Scott

by Brian Galliford on Sep 29, 2009 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Thats what I figured.. if this was last week it would be a no brainer hes active but against the dolphins I agree i doubt we’ll see them air it out

by bflo on Sep 29, 2009 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Youboty fell out of favor this preseason and slipped behind McGee, McKelvin, Florence, and Corner on the depth chart.

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

by MattRichWarren on Sep 30, 2009 2:02 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Harris plays OLB and Buggs plays MLB. Harris is already learning a new position so they don’t want to make it two.

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

by MattRichWarren on Sep 30, 2009 2:02 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Whitner will play

That guy has too much heart to sit out b/c of a thumb injury. It will be nice to see more of Florence and Lankster now in the mix. I didn’t know Lankster returned kicks, that could be interesting!

Who can make a play? I can make a play!
-T.O.

by Sluss88 on Sep 29, 2009 12:33 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Trent needs to step up big this game. With Lynch coming back and Trent not coming off a stellar preformance I would imagine the Phins will be keying on our running game. That is where Trent needs to step up and have a huge game. He needs to prove to himself he CAN do this and 2-2 sounds a hell of a lot better than 1-3.

by bflo on Sep 29, 2009 12:43 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Trent

Why is he still struggling so much with looks and diagnosing plays? Will he ever get it? It’s kind of a problem that in year 3 he still struggles so much if the D runs anything semi-confusing. He just has no confidence in throwing the ball down the middle of the field or on deeper out patterns. What is it with him that you don’t see with other QB’s all that often???

I thought Derek Fine had better hands than he showed Sunday. He dropped at least 2 or 3 easy passes that can’t continue. At least they were only two yards downfield so it didn’t really mean a whole lot….

I thought Florence played quite well, and it’s nice to have a guy with a little attitude out there. We shouldn’t miss much without Leo, in fact we might be better in the secondary. He was playing so poorly this year…

~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."

by Kurupt on Sep 29, 2009 12:50 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I agree about Fine. I didn’t know why people were saying he was a blocker only, considering he came from the heavy spread at Kansas and presumably did very little blocking there.

Now I see the issue.

by quantumuprising on Sep 29, 2009 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Just seems he doesnt have the oh-so-famous “IT” factor. He shows flashes of it.. but unfortunately that doesnt cut it in this league. I like the kid and I hope he can do it but hes gotta show me hes capable of staying consitant.

by bflo on Sep 29, 2009 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Poz

You are correct the Poz injury is beyond huge. I said it when he went down if we can beat Cleveland, TB (Done), and either Miami or NYJ before he gets back and are 3-3 upon his return we are in respectable shape.

I have high expectations for the D with a healthy poz and Whitner.

Lynch will help wear down opposing defenses and open up the passing game. Whoever has read my comments in the past 2-3 years knows I was a JP supporter and have never supported Trent. However, I for some unknown reason believe he will be a different QB with a guy who can pound the opposing front 7 running behind him. We don’t play any elite D other than the Jets. HOwever, with that being said AVP needs to call 30 run plays every single game. 20 to Lynch 10 to Jackson. They should split about 5 catches per game as well. Therefore, opposing Dlines won’t be able to tee off on Trent so much in the 4th quarter. I will give Edwards a bad game. But he needs to bounce back the next 2 weeks. I refuse to jump all over a guy who has played well in 2 out of 3 games. Not yet at least.

by Berg79 on Sep 29, 2009 3:31 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

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