Each Tuesday this season, we here at Buffalo Rumblings will review the week's Buffalo Bills game on film (i.e. good old fashioned DVR) to get a little more in-depth perspective on how the Bills are performing. Special teams analysis immediately below this post; this is the offense, and the defense is coming.
We've already discussed the Buffalo Bills' offensive performance a bit this week, so rather than a blow-by-blow or general observations, I'd like to talk about a few individual players and units instead. Let's start with the quarterback, shall we?
Trent Edwards: I harp on consistency all the time, and it might be a bit cliche, but it's seriously the only thing holding Edwards back from becoming a proficient NFL quarterback. Reading defenses? He does that well already. Decision making? Already top notch. It's the intricacies of the game that are holding Edwards back at this point, and once he nails them down, he's going to be solid.
An area of particular concern for Trent is his streaky accuracy. There are points when he's in the zone and making outstanding throws, and there are also equal amounts of time where he's enough off to completely throw off the timing of a route. That will become less of an issue as he gains experience. Edwards was particularly awful at throwing screen passes Sunday; his throws come off high and on a hard line, and his backs routinely have balls skip off of their hands. If he can't resolve that, we might start seeing some tipped passes for interceptions.
All in all, though, you can tell the kid is bright. He's got what it takes to succeed, and more importantly, his teammates are behind him. Let's hope the kid stays healthy. And on that note...
Offensive Line: Ron from NM has done most of the heavy lifting here with his usual excellent O-Line analysis. I've just a couple of things to add: Buffalo's pass protection was excellent. I was impressed by the job that Kirk Chambers did in a lot of one-on-one pass protection against Patrick Kerney; the Pro Bowl end was a non-factor in this game (and on the one sack he did pick up, he beat Marshawn Lynch). Would like to see better run blocking, but I'm not particularly hopeful in that department. Can't wait to see how Jason Peters looks once he returns to the lineup.
Marshawn Lynch: Tony Boselli, who did color commentary for FOX's coverage of this game, loves Lynch's feet - and I completely agree. Much of the yardage that Lynch picked up in this game came via his impeccable ability to set up defenders once he hits the second level. This kid is something special, and what makes that even more exciting is that he's absolutely a team player. He has no issues with Fred Jackson stealing touches, and he's an incredibly willing blocker. The kid is just a lot of fun to watch, and he's only going to get better.
Lee Evans: It's pretty easy to tell that Evans isn't quite in sync with Edwards yet. Something about the way Edwards throw the balls - my best guess is release point - still bothers Evans; Lee dropped a few passes on Sunday and bobbled a couple more. He was also quite clearly out of bounds on his first long reception of the day (the one that led to Lynch's touchdown run), but we'll let that one slide - thanks, refs.
Still, Evans runs excellent routes, and it was plain that when Evans was lined up across from Seattle's Kelly Jennings, the Bills were going to attack it. The guy makes plays, and it was nice to see him doing it early in the game and early in the season. See what good play-calling does for an offense? It gets the ball into the hands of your best players. Evans needs to become a bit more reliable, but he also needs to get paid. Make it happen, Brandon.
Turk Schonert: I'll end the offensive analysis with Turk Schonert. I love this guy's instincts. We tend to forget that this was the first official game in which he'd called plays, and he called a pretty good game against a stingy Seahawks defense. He seems to have a much better feel than his predecessor - we shall call him Steve Fairchild-Mularkey - of knowing which player should get the ball in which situation. Once his offense can execute at a higher level, the guy might end up looking like a genius.
I particularly like Schonert's killer instinct. It was excellent to see the Bills' offense taking chances in big situations, which in 2007 would have been incredibly out of character for them. The field goal right before halftime to make the lead 20-7 at the break was huge, and of course, the 30-yard touchdown pass from Edwards to Robert Royal one play after a recovered fumble put the final nail in the coffin. Killer instinct will take this team a long way. Schonert's influence might be the most encouraging offensive sign to date.