Buffalo Rumblings - Bills vs. Chargers, NFL Week 3 2014: offense stagnant in 22-10 Bills lossBuffalo Bills news, notes, discussions, opinions and analysis. 24/7/365 since 4/7/2007.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48063/buffalorumblings_fave.png2014-09-26T13:25:35-04:00http://www.buffalorumblings.com/rss/stream/60957242014-09-26T13:25:35-04:002014-09-26T13:25:35-04:00Video: What is sabotaging the Bills' offense?
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<p>The Buffalo Bills have struggled on offense but who is to blame? Matt Warren and Jon Ramsey give you their take.</p> <p><span>EJ Manuel</span> and the <a href="https://www.buffalorumblings.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Buffalo Bills</a> offense really struggled on Sunday against the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/san-diego-chargers" class="sbn-auto-link">San Diego Chargers</a>. The quarterbacking got so bad that reporters even asked head coach Doug Marrone if he considered switching to <span>Kyle Orton</span>. (He responded, "<a href="http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2014/9/24/6839737/orton-time-oh-my-god-absolutely-not">Oh my God, absolutely not.</a>")</p>
<p>Are the offensive struggles really all on Manuel's shoulders? Why can't the run game get going? What is going on with the offensive line play? Jon Ramsey and I sat down on Tuesday night to try and hash it out as part of Buffalo Rumblings Live. We came away unconvinced that Manuel is the reason behind the offensive struggles, though he certainly plays a part in them. Where are the other deficiencies and how can they be corrected.</p>
<p>Watch the video above and share your thoughts in the comments section. Who needs to be better on the offensive side of the ball? The answer isn't just a single player.</p>
https://www.buffalorumblings.com/buffalo-bills-analysis-all-22/2014/9/26/6849251/ej-manuel-buffalo-bills-offense-struggles-sammy-watkinsMatt Warren2014-09-24T06:20:22-04:002014-09-24T06:20:22-04:00Jeremy White's All-22 on Bills-Chargers<h3 class="link-title"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.wgr550.com/JW-All-22-Review-Bills-Chargers/19966701">Jeremy White's All-22 on&nbsp;Bills-Chargers</a></h3>
<div class="description"><p><p>This Vine-filled review shows exactly how to fluster EJ Manuel and the Bills offensive line - plus the receivers' frustration with their quarterback.</p></p></div>
https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2014/9/24/6837781/all-22-review-bills-chargersMatt Warren2014-09-24T06:17:41-04:002014-09-24T06:17:41-04:00Upon Further Review: Bills vs. Chargers<h3 class="link-title"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.wgr550.com/pages/9034669.php?pid=429021">Upon Further Review: Bills vs.&nbsp;Chargers</a></h3>
<div class="description"><p><p>Joe Buscaglia grades every player from Sunday and the biggest surprise comes at left tackle, where Cordy Glenn earned a pedestrian 2.3 on a 4.0 scale.</p></p></div>
https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2014/9/24/6837775/upon-further-review-bills-vs-chargersMatt Warren2014-09-23T15:00:46-04:002014-09-23T15:00:46-04:00#BRLive: Chargers recap, Texans preview
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<figcaption>Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Jon Ramsey (@YardsPerPass) talks Bills-Chargers, and Ryan Dunsmore from BattleRedBlog.com talks Bills-Texans, on this week's episode of Buffalo Rumblings Live.</p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.buffalorumblings.com/">Buffalo Bills</a> were dominated by the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/san-diego-chargers">San Diego Chargers</a> last week, but there is always another opponent. This week, they travel to Houston to take on the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.battleredblog.com/">Texans</a>, and we'll discuss both games on this week's episode of Buffalo Rumblings Live.</p>
<p>Jon Ramsey, a contributor here and @YardsPerPass on Twitter, will sit in for Brian Galliford and discuss the game against the Chargers. What exactly did San Diego do so well, and conversely, where did the Bills falter? What can the Bills do to improve this week? Leave your questions below.</p>
<p>After that, we'll welcome in Ryan Dunsmore from SB Nation's Texans' site, <a href="http://www.battleredblog.com/">Battle Red Blog</a>. I'll ask him if he knows where <span>Ryan Fitzpatrick</span> went to college, in addition to how his game has been so far this season. We'll no doubt touch on the defense and how to attack Houston in all three facets of the game.</p>
<p>As always, you can leave your questions and comments for the show ahead of time - but be sure to tune in for our answers live tonight at 9 p.m. on the East Coast.</p>
https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2014/9/23/6834079/buffalo-rumblings-live-9-23-bills-chargers-review-texans-previewMatt Warren2014-09-23T14:02:04-04:002014-09-23T14:02:04-04:00Come on, EJ.<img src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vUnN-P1sbfvvElO1oyxZ8St18NY=/410x410/cdn.vox-cdn.com/fan_shot_images/347342/comeon.png" />
<div class="source source-img"><p><p>I'm a pretty stoic watcher of football, but having seen this play now multiple times, I am physically angry.</p></p></div>
https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2014/9/23/6834489/come-on-ejBrian Galliford2014-09-22T09:15:02-04:002014-09-22T09:15:02-04:00Five observations from Bills-Chargers
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<figcaption>Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Monday mornings after Bills losses are all about adding context to the misery. Here's what stood out to us from Buffalo's 22-10 loss to San Diego.</p> <p>The bubble has burst for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.buffalorumblings.com/">Buffalo Bills</a> and their fans: a 2-0 start melted away into yesteryear as the Bills were dominated, 22-10, by the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/san-diego-chargers">San Diego Chargers</a> in Orchard Park in Week 3. A long week of loss-analyzing begins right now with these five observations from the Bills' first misstep of the 2014 season.</p>
<ul>
<li>There's a direct correlation between the dominance and control that San Diego exhibited throughout this contest, and the gargantuan gap between <span>Philip Rivers</span> and <span>EJ Manuel</span> as passers. Rivers has been MVP-caliber in his last two outings, while Manuel regressed notably in the face of some disguised coverages and more pressure than he's faced this season. Buffalo will always be outmatched in games where the quarterback gap is this massive, and to compete in those games, they'll need much more from the running game, the defense, and the special teams.</li>
<li>Buffalo ran the football 22 times against San Diego, which is a clean dozen carries lower than their per-game average from a year ago. They also had a season-high 70 offensive plays run in this contest. Sure, the Bills were playing from behind for most of the contest, but that rush attempt tally is far too small. This offense will fizzle quickly without any semblance of balance, and the Bills didn't have it at all on Sunday.</li>
<li>Speaking of those aforementioned new defensive looks that Manuel struggled to adjust to: that's what I'm looking forward to reviewing in this week's All-22 post. San Diego, missing its best pass rusher, consistently had rushers coming free against Buffalo's protections, and Doug Marrone spoke post-game about the Chargers changing up coverage leverages to take away what the Bills had been doing best. Neither Manuel nor the Bills' offensive coaching staff had an answer for what San Diego threw at them.</li>
<li>The Bills made a trade-off in trying to defend the Chargers' passing attack that was sound philosophically, but ended up blowing up in their faces. On a very windy day at Ralph Wilson Stadium, the Bills focused on rolling coverages toward <span>Antonio Gates</span>, which worked; he caught just one pass for eight yards. That decision left them vulnerable to some other things, however, and Rivers exploited it perfectly; the Bills gave up five passes of 20 yards or more; add in a 31-yard pass interference penalty on <span>Leodis McKelvin</span>, and those six plays accounted for 198 yards.</li>
<li>Buffalo continued to rotate cornerbacks in this contest, and I'm not sure that doing so is having the desired effect. <span>Corey Graham</span> is the Bills' best cornerback right now by a country mile, but he only played half of the defensive snaps, while a struggling <span>Stephon Gilmore</span> and the routinely-exploited McKelvin (who was brutal) were both at 70 percent of snaps or more. The team also worked <span>Ron Brooks</span> into the nickel corner rotation; he played 35 percent of snaps to the 42 percent for Nickell Robey. At some point, it'd be lovely if the Bills could settle on a pecking order here; there's probably a correct one, too, where McKelvin isn't playing nearly as much.</li>
</ul>
<p>What else stood out to you, Bills fans?</p>
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https://www.buffalorumblings.com/buffalo-bills-analysis-all-22/2014/9/22/6826155/chargers-22-bills-10-philip-rivers-ej-manuel-stephon-gilmoreBrian Galliford2014-09-22T06:05:37-04:002014-09-22T06:05:37-04:00Rapid Reaction: Bills lose to Chargers<h3 class="link-title"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://espn.go.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/13474/rapid-reaction-buffalo-bills-15?ex_cid=espnapi_public">Rapid Reaction: Bills lose to&nbsp;Chargers</a></h3>
<div class="description"><p><p>Mike Rodak column from right after the game.</p></p></div>
https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2014/9/22/6826059/rapid-reaction-bills-lose-to-chargersMatt Warren2014-09-22T06:04:15-04:002014-09-22T06:04:15-04:00Watkins admits he took play off<h3 class="link-title"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://espn.go.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/13532/sammy-watkins-admits-he-took-play-off?ex_cid=espnapi_public">Watkins admits he took play&nbsp;off</a></h3>
<div class="description"><p><p>People are going to read way too much into this play.</p></p></div>
https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2014/9/22/6826057/sammy-watkins-admits-he-took-play-offMatt Warren