September 15, 2008 – Buffalo Bills Review

It’s only two games. It’s only two games. I keep telling myself, it’s only two games. It’s a long season. There are a lot of good teams. It’s only two games.

Two wins in two weeks against two playoff teams. What else can you ask for? Yes, it was the banged-up Seahawks from a weak division and it was the banged-up Jaguars. Still, it’s two wins in two weeks against two playoff teams.

Friends, we have a football team. We’ve waited for years for the right pieces and for the pieces to come together. It’s happening.

1. The Bills look like winners. This was an easy game to quit on, to throw in the towel and fly back home one-and-one, but winners don’t do that. After controlling the first half, the Bills gave up the TD on a long drive to open the second half, and then had the two plays the likes of which broke the Bills backs in year’s past. The recovered onside kick and the Edwards fumble. What happened? Two field goals. A touchdown might have put the game away, but the Bills defense said “NO.” Then the offense had the resiliency, the heart and the players to get the TD to go ahead.

It was simply a quality win on the road, the kind of games winners win.

2. And then, after the go-ahead TD and after the defense completely shut the door on the Jags, it was Roscoe’s turn to do his thing. Sooner or later teams will simply stop kicking to him, and that will be too bad, because it sure is fun when they do! This one clearly goes to the special teams, because Roscoe had a lot of open space to operate in. What I liked best was seeing Whitner in the middle of the field, about to make a block when he realized Roscoe had already passed him!

3. You believe in Youboty? You better. Seems like he’s always in position on the pass. He’s become an effective pass rusher (I think he missed Garrard once). The play I like the best was on third down, and his man in the slot went into the flat behind the wide-out. Ashton swung around Jabari and got there to make the tackle short of the first down. It was great recognition, great closing speed, and a solid tackle. He looks like he was worth waiting for.

4. Was it Wendling who committed a split second too early on the onside kick? He turned downfield to block and couldn’t get back in time to make a clean play on the ball before the Jags arrived. It was a great call at that time, but you know that April will make a point of making sure guys stay home next time.

5. Kevin Faulk has made a living catching balls out of the backfield for the Pats. Hello, Freddy Jackson. Talk about adding a new dimension to the offense. Seven catches, 83 yards. He’s a serious threat out there.

6. The offensive line stood out. The Jags were one of the best against the run last year, and they showed it today. There wasn’t much room for Marshawn and Freddy (except on Marshawn’s touchdown. Inside the 10, Marshawn is money.) But the pass protection was really solid. Trent took nice drops, set up, and had time to look and lanes to throw through. Jason the Prodigal Son Peters looked a little helpless on Trent’s fumble, but those plays will happen. And Butler and Fowler got completely outplayed on one sack. Still, the offensive line ought to get a game ball, because the passing game won it for the Bills, and the line made the passing game go.

7. Did someone say passing? Tough to complain about a 120 passer rating. Trent threw a couple of balls behind guys, where tipped balls could have resulted in interceptions. He threw into double coverage once or twice. But 20 times he found the right receiver and gave him a catchable ball. The long ball to Evans – who also starred today – was simply a great play. Lee ran a great route, Trent recognized the opportunity, and the line gave him the time to wait for Lee to get open. The pass was perfect.

The TD to Hardy wasn’t perfect, but the reason you want a 6’5″ receiver is to erase mistakes. What Trent did do correctly on that play was read the coverage and throw the ball where the defender had no play. Hardy’s catch was sure-handed, and his footwork superb.

8. Is this team that took no chances last year? Twice on the Bills final drive they passed when last year they would have run. The first was a critical first down to Schouman; the second was Trent’s last sack of the day. Even the sack was evidence of how much better this team has become. The coaches trusted Trent back there, Trent recognized his problem and nearly escaped, and Trent didn’t fumble or throw an interception. The Bills stay in field goal range, and they added on the important three points. (Nice hold, Brian.)

9. Two more takeaways. Bad, bad throw by Garrard to end the first half, and Terence was ready. The game-clinching fumble recovery was sweet – all about the pursuit that Perry Fewell preaches. There were a lot of Bills around that ball.

10. Hats off, again, to the coaches. Got this team ready to play a good team in a tough environment, called a good game, and came out with a win.

Back home for the Raiders. Another big quarterback, another good running back.

Back home for BRRRUUUUUUUUCE!!!!!! On the Wall of Fame, where he belongs.

The Ball Burglar – Bills fans helping kids – is paying over $265 for every takeaway the Bills get. That’s a good start, but not nearly where we want to end up. Fans around the country soon will be talking about the Ball Burglar, about how thousands of Bills fans came together, each paying only a dollar or two per takeaway, to do something really special for their team, for kids with serious illnesses and for western New York. Add your buck today.

http://www.ballburglar.com/.

Thanks.

Buffalo Bills beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-16 with help from Ashton Youboty
The Buffalo Bills are 2-0. Two wins, zero losses. Two wins against playoff teams from 2007. One was a blowout, one was a come-from-behind win on the road. Both were very solid wins.

Aren’t you a little bit surprised?

I am forever a fan of my team, and just generally an optimist in life. So, I always think my team can win. Indeed, I did pick them to win today (by a score of 21-17, no less) but as game time approached, my confidence was wavering.

It was going to be very hot… that was not in the Bills favor. Jacksonville was going to be ready – injuries or no injuries – to defend their home turf, and avoid starting the season 0-2. The crowd and home-field energy would be with them. Jason Peters would be starting… would that throw off any rhythm the offense had from the pre-season? And, did I mention it was extremely, ridiculously hot?

More Obstacles

The Bills got the ball first, and really controlled the game on their opening drive. They passed and ran at will. Marshawn Lynch scored on an 11-yard TD run to cap the drive that covered 82 yards. When the defense also managed to dictate the play on Jacksonville’s first possession, it almost seemed it would be a rout.

But Jacksonville is good. And they proved it. They stayed with the Bills. They moved the ball very efficiently, getting Garrard outside the pocket (weakened by injuries to the offensive line). They played in an up-tempo, “hurry up” offense that did not allow the Bills much in the way of substitutions. They connected on many quick-hitting, ten to twelve-yard passes that kept drives alive. It was a great game plan.

The momentum really started to shift in their favor on their final possession of the first half. They put together a good drive (6 plays, 46 yards) that ended with an interception by Terrence McGee near the goal line, but the damage had already been done. That drive wore out our defense. No time to substitute, covering lots of ground quickly… you could see the heat starting to get to them.

Then, thanks to the “defer” choice from the beginning of the game, the Jags got the ball to start the third. So, the defense was out on the field again, and for much of the same. Quick hitting passes, and a bit of success on the ground for Jacksonville. Not only were they moving the ball, and threatening to score, they were also really wearing down our defense. The “hurry up” pace in the super heat was really starting to show. The tackling was sloppy, and the Bills were now the ones having the pace and play dictated to them.

Brilliant Move of the Day

The long first drive of the second half by Jacksonville was punctuated by a Maurice Jones-Drew TD run to tie the game at 10. It was a great drive, and already I was saying, “Our offense might be a tad rusty. They’ve been sitting for a very long time now, going back to the first half.”

Well, perhaps Jack Del Rio heard me. In a bold (and brilliant) move, the Jaguars surprised the Bills with an on-side kick following the previous extra point … and they got it! What a great call! The tired Bills defense now had to take the field again, and the Jags took it to them. They ran right at them, daring the Bills to stop them. And, mostly, they could not. Taylor, then Jones-Drew, then Taylor. The Bills were being dominated by the team who had definitely seized the momentum.

The defense stiffened, and held Jacksonville to a 50 yard field goal attempt. Kicker Josh Scobee blasted the ball through the uprights, hitting relatively high on the net behind the posts. Easily could have made the kick from another ten yards away.

On the following drive by the Bills despite a few good plays, Jason Peters on his first game back made a very big mistake and got beaten very badly by a rookie defensive end, who came around Edwards’ blind side and knocked the ball out of his hands. Fumble. Turnover. Jags ball.

The momentum – thanks to good play and good coaching – had definitely completely swung in Jacksonville’s favor.

Good Teams Weather the Storms

The Buffalo Bills of previous years would have been out as soon as the “tide turned.” Once this shift in momentum happened, the Bills usually would begin to accept the inevitable. And when they did, it would usually play out that way. They would lose.

But not today. Not these Bills.

Donte Whitner declared to the world that these Bills would be in the playoffs. It’s their time to win. He believes it, and he plays that way. The great thing is, his confidence is apparently infectious.

The Bills never felt they were out of it, and you could see every time the offense took the field again, they played with confidence. They converted third downs. In fact, six out of eleven. The defense did their part as well. Though the Jags had a good game plan, the defense only allowed them to convert on two of eleven third down attempts.

Players like Ashton Youboty made several key plays. Youboty had a sack, and some big open-field tackles to thwart Jacksonville drives. Kyle Williams had a big sack of Garrard to do the same. LB Paul Posluszny was all over the field and making big tackles. And offensively, RB Fred Jackson did not have much production on the ground, but had 7 catches for 83 yards. Big yards. Lee Evans included 4 grabs for 77 yards. Including a super huge catch late in the fourth quarter.

And what can you say about Edwards? 20-25 for 239 yards. Finished with only one TD pass, but for the second straight week… threw no picks. His passes were accurate, and had lots of zip on them today. And beyond the physical play, he really does have the poise, presence… whatever you want to call it. He is confident, and efficient, and productive.

Defining Moment

The entire game was played very well by the Bills, minus some over-pursuit by the defense, which sometimes led to shoddy tackling. The Bills played will in all phases of the game, just as in week one. But there was one moment that proved to me that this team is going to be different than previous versions of the Buffalo Bills.

Down 16-10 with under five minutes to go in the fourth quarter of a game on the road, played in near 100-degree heat… the Bills have the ball and are driving. They get one first down. Then convert a third down to get another. Finally they are faced with a becoming-critical 3rd-and-6 from the Jacksonville 44 yard line. It’s too far for a FG, and the Bills need points. They need to convert this to keep the drive going.

Edwards drops back, surveys the field. The pocket is beginning to collapse around him, but he stands in, finds his target, and launches a perfect pass to the left sideline where his speedy receiver Lee Evans has beaten his man. Evans hauls in the catch for 37 yards and a first down at the Jags’ seven yard line. On the next play, Edwards throws a perfect pass to the back corner of the end zone to rookie James Hardy, who was drafted to do precisely that.

Bills lead 17-16, and with one drive – really one play – took back all the momentum the Jags had built from the end of the second quarter up until then.

Confidence For a Reason

This Bills team is not just cocky, or delusional. They know they have a good team, and they are confident they can take the field and beat anyone they play, and they are doing it. Two for two so far. And as I stated above, these are two pretty good teams. Sunday’s victory was on the road against not only a playoff team from the previous year, but one who is expected to go pretty far into the playoffs this year. The other win was a blowout of another perennial playoff team, the Seahawks.

There is still much youth on this team. Youth means inexperience, and likely, fluctuation of results. Usually a young team will lose games they are supposed to and win games they might not be “supposed” to win. Perhaps these two wins are the latter? From what I have seen, I would say they are actually the evidence that what Marv Levy began building three years ago might actually be starting to blossom.

Could this be the year we see the fruit of Marv’s labor? Could this be the year Jauron gets a legitimate winning team and season? Many questions still after just two games, but as this short season has so far gone, the Bills continue to build confidence in their team. The next three games are against Oakland, St. Louis and Arizona. The Cardinals look a bit tougher than in recent years, but all of those games are “winnable” and if they keep believing they can do it, we may have ourselves an undefeated team going into the bye week October 12th!

There is much to do to get there, but this young Bills team seems both excited to, and capable of doing just that.

Bring on the Raiders!

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