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Current Bills Games Pre-Season

Pre-Season Week Two Report from the Ralph

Bills Falcons Preseason Game
Being in attendance at a game is definitely different than watching it on TV. In most ways it is far superior. It’s fun to watch it with so many other people cheering on your team. It’s great to get to see the whole field, watching plays develop live is way better than the limited TV version. The whole experience is just a lot more fun. And so, even for a pre-season contest, a great time was had by all.

Yes, the Bills lost the contest 13-10, giving up a late fourth quarter TD right down in front of us. Penalties helped the end of the drive a bit (more on that later…) but overall it was a good effort by our Bills, and again, it’s just pre-season.

Some thoughts from the game:

The New HD Screens!
This year, one of the more impressive things at The Ralph is going to be the amazing new high-definition display. It sits at the opposite end of the stadium from our seats and it’s incredible. Wow! It just blows away anything I’ve seen in a stadium before this. We found ourselves being drawn to watch the TV more than the real thing!! Too funny!

The only negative thing I could say about the new gigantic display was that the video would sometimes drop out, freeze up or just get choppy. In fact, on a replay of a pass to Peerless Price. It was a well-timed defensive play to break up a good pass from Losman, but it could have also been pass interference. The crowd watched the replay to see if a wave of disapproval needed to fall on the ears of the officials, but right at the very moment that the ball was reaching its target, the screen went blank, reappearing shortly after the play was over again. That drew a large moan from the crowd! 🙂

They also installed those ribbon boards around the walls of the stadium. They stretch across the long sides of the stadium, just above the 200-level seats. There’s always something going on those as well, whether an ad, or a graphic to get the crowd cheering, or just the scores from another game. Overall, definitely enhanced the experience at the game.

Marshawn Lynch
I was actually super surprised to see Lynch’s stats at the end of the game. He had 7 carries for only 19 yards. I am not looking at them now, so I don’t know what (if any) his receiving stats were, but 9 of his 19 yards came on one play (his first carry), so that leaves 6 carries for the other 10 yards. From what I saw of Marshawn, it seemed like more. He was aggressively hitting the line of scrimmage, seemed to be pretty good at finding/hitting the hole (though, by his own admission in a post-game interview, he would have liked to have done that better) and he’s shifty and powerful at the same time. I liked what I saw, even if it was brief.

Defense Came Up Big
You can look at the final drive, or you can look at the yards allowed, and say, “Wow, the defense is in for a long season!” Or, you can look at three take-aways, and again, only allowing the first team to score 6 points. It’s still pre-season, so I think our defense was caught out of position a few times again. The TD to win the game (yes, scrubs on scrubs) fooled not only the players but everyone else in the stadium I think! Great play fake.

Despite the few blunders, the Bills managed to have a great goal-line stand in the first quarter, and Terrence McGee and Anthony Hargrove had interceptions, while Coy Wire forced a fumble with a bone-crushing hit on Atlanta RB Jason Snelling. Jabari Greer had some nice pass break-ups, and overall played well again. Poz got in on several tackles (again, not looking at stats here) and looks like he is going to be a force in the defense for years to come!

Our defense against the run wasn’t too bad overall. Had some nice plays for little to no gain. They did give up some big plays, too, though. So still not sure what we’re going to get in that area. Won’t know until they start playing football for real.

Fred Jackson and Dwayne Wright
I don’t know how Shaud Williams will make the team this year. It’s odd, since they just gave him a decent contract extension. Perhaps they weren’t counting on acquiring two excellent running backs in the draft? And they did know what they had in Fred Jackson, but perhaps he is exceeding their expectations in the pre-season? Coach Jauron specifically said that he is not (because they knew what they had), but he certainly is exceeding fan expectations! The guy runs really hard, has great balance, and just seems to move the ball forward. A lot. Dwayne Wright, our fourth round pick this year, seems to be a similar running back. He looks really good out there.

The only thing Shaud has going for him is that he’s different. He’s so small, quick, and has some great hands. He can do that for sure. And, he does have experience. Perhaps, due to lack of experience, Jackson or Wright gets cut, and the other makes the practice squad… but my vote now is that we cut Shaud. I really like what I see from these two guys.

No Turnovers
In two weeks of pre-season play, the Bills have not turned the ball over once. Not even once. They have taken it away 5 times. Plus five ain’t bad! Could be just getting lucky, but you gotta like that stat. You have a much better chance of winning when you don’t turn the ball over – and even more when you do take it away!

Trent Edwards
I have to say, this guy looks very impressive for a rookie. I know he’s playing against backups, but he’s also playing with backups! And he makes them look good! His TD pass to Roscoe Parrish was very, very impressive. It was improvised, as he was forced out of the pocket. He avoided the sack, got free enough to let a pass go as he was running left, and squeezed it in past two defenders! Great catch by Roscoe, too. I’d say from what we’ve seen so far, we will be just fine if JP is ever knocked out of a game or two this year. Great stuff from the rookie!

Negatives…

  • Penalties:
    Last week we had one penalty for 10 yards. Last night we had a lot more. And they were drive killers. In the fourth quarter, the defense was called for holding, giving the Falcons a first and goal when I believe it was at least 3rd down, maybe even fourth. Also, I heard on the post-game show (while sitting in traffic) that there were two penalties on our centers for false starts. The CENTER? That’s pretty bad.
  • Sloppiness
    I know, I know. It’s just pre-season. They’re supposed to be sloppy. But to the badly timed penalties, add a few bad snaps (one was jumped on by Lynch, the other was brought under control by Losman) and a few bad throws from JP… just sloppy. In fact, there was one throw to the endzone to Price that most definitely should have gone for a TD, but was either underthrown, or mis-read or something. It is definitely just pre-season, but most of the players said in interviews after the game that they felt sloppy. They were right.
  • The Outcome
    OK, that’s not really a negative, but it is always more fun to win. 🙂 Overall, it felt like it could have been. The Bills played well, had some good stops on defense, and made a few good plays on offense. But, it’s still more fun to win!

The game will be televised in the WNY area again tonight. If you didn’t see it, you can catch it from Erie, PA to Syracuse, NY on your local channel (check the Buffalo Bills website for details). We may tune in to catch the plays we missed at the very beginning of the game.

We have lots of photos and a fun video from the game. If I have the time here this weekend I’ll post them from my remote location. Otherwise look for several photo slideshows and a video or two from Bills training camp, and the pre-season home opener – right here at BuffaloBillsReview.com!

Two more pre-season contests to go. These get a bit more interesting as the starters will play a good deal more in the next game, and then the final game against the Lions will give the new guys the lions share of the snaps, letting the coaches make the tough final cuts just a few days later.

We’re almost to the good stuff! Bring on the Broncos!
Go Bills!

Categories
Bills Fans NFL Pre-Season Training Camp

Two Visits to Training Camp

2007 Buffalo Bills Training Camp
Don’t get me wrong. I have enjoyed each visit to training camp this season, as have my family. And friends. It’s done fantastically, and it’s a great, up-close football experience.

But it just seems silly.

I’m actually not talking about all the extra stuff. If you’ve ever been to Bills training camp at St. John Fisher College here in Rochester, you’ll recall that it’s quite a production. When you first arrive – by RTS bus, as there is no parking on campus – you are herded through a large, air-conditioned tent full of everything the Buffalo Bills Pro Shop sells. It’s the mobile Bills store, conveniently placed at the entrance to the free training camp. Very good marketing. 🙂

In addition to all the Bills gear, you get to stroll past maybe a dozen or so vendors/marketers who also have their booths set up to offer you their wares (or services) as you pass by. Once you do exit the tent, and head for the practice fields, there are still a few more vendors set up just outside the tent. Only four to six more perhaps. You’re almost to the football part!

As you approach the main field, there are also a few food vendors on the right, however. 🙂

Again, I actually really like all of this. It makes it feel fun. Big. Exciting. This Tuesday, Turkey Hill Dairy was represented there, and they were giving out FREE, decent-sized samples of their Buffalo Bills Stampede Sundae ice cream! That was awesome!! 🙂

When you finally do get to the football – if you have kids with you – you will notice that there is a large “interactive area” set up just past the playing fields. It’s chock full of inflated bouncy things, and more chock full of children. They can push through the Bills-colored inflatable obstacle courses, or toss footballs through big inflated football players hands, or even play basketball? (That one is sort of out of place…) 🙂 It’s tons of fun, and well used by visitors ages 12 and under. (Including most of the Campbells!)

But again… this article is not about all of the extras that make Bills training camp one of the best free events you can be part of, and probably one of the best NFL training camps, at least for the fans.

Now, for the players – or, as a strictly football fan – each visit to training camp this year has just made me wonder, “What is the point?” Is it only for the marketing aspect? I mean, it certainly does that well. Bills fans come out in droves for this carnival experience where they get to be very up-close and personal with their favorite football team (the guys are literally only a few yards away from where you can sit or stand, and there are many opportunities to get autographs, photographs, or even chat briefly with the players.) and all of this is free. (Basically free. A $1 donation for folks over the age of 12 gets you free public transportation to and fro.)

But the practices almost seem silly.

First, the players are often not in pads. They are just “going through the motions”. Motions are good. They are necessary. The players need to know how the plays unfold. They need to know where they should be. But do they really? If they are not actually in pads, they’re not going full speed. And if they come close, they don’t finish the plays. It’s not the real deal. I’m know there’s a place for that speed of practice, but it dominates training camp, and rightfully so. You don’t want to go full speed against your own team. You want to save that for another team.

Which is precisely my point. Even when they are running at full speed, they don’t finish the plays. The defense gets in position to make the tackle, but never gets to make it. The offense is running plays that the defense already knows. The defensive linemen never get to hit the QB.

(Funny story… there’s a guy whom I do not think is a coach, but has been an on-field assistant for as many camps as I can remember. He’s not big at all. He’s a relatively small guy. But he’s obviously tough. They put him in as the “QB” taking the snaps on a DL drill. Well, I guess he was trash talking, trying to get the linemen fired up. It worked. A couple of times these nearly 300-pound guys pancaked this tiny sub-200-pound guy. And he’d just get up and taunt them some more! I talked to him afterward and he said he kept asking them, “Where was that on Friday??” Crazy man.) 🙂

What I suggested on our show was that instead of 5 or 6 weeks of training camp, cut it down to a maximum of three weeks. And, instead of four or even five meaningless pre-season games, cut that down to two (or a maximum of three, with those bonus games like the Hall of Fame game) and add two games to the regular season. Make the games count. Make it worth getting out there and risking injury. But even better, make it worth playing. Make it real football.

Interestingly, I am not alone in these thoughts. A reporter (not sure who) asked Jauron in a press conference this week what he thought about just that idea. Shortening training camp and pre-season, and making two of the pre-season game regular season games. Jauron hesitated and said, “You know what I’m going to say, right? (Another pause.) Talk to the league office.” There was laughter, and when asked if he had an opinion, he said he did, but he was not going to share it.

Apparently, coach would like to see less meaningless football as well.

It only makes sense. How can you really practice if you’re not really playing football?? But why would you play real football – against your own team for six weeks?? Of course you wouldn’t. It makes sense to take it easy “until it counts”. Well, MAKE IT COUNT.

And, let’s not forget that we fans are shelling out the same amount of dollars to see this so-called football. Pre-season games are a step up from training camp practices, obviously, but they still carry that feeling of “meaninglessness”. The “real” players don’t play much – if at all, LT – and the goal of the game is almost never to win, unless it comes down to a two-minute drill situation at the end. Then they’re still not trying to win, they’re just practicing their two-minute drill. (I do have to admit, that is when is starts to be real football, as there is an actual goal in sight, even if the end result is “meaningless”.)


Camp is fun. Keep it. It’s a great experience for the fans, and I’d have to imagine that a lot of good comes from it for the players and coaches. But you can probably get a lot more out of playing actual football. I would even keep the roster cut-down dates the way they are. Play two regular season games with maybe 70 players. See how the guys who are really right on the fringe do in a game that matters. You’ve seen all of the guys the entire off season in mini camps and other team activities. You know what they can do. If you as a coach don’t want to put them in when the game really counts… then why would you keep them on the team, anyway?

It does sound a little crazy, but those were some of my main thoughts as I sat there watching pseudo-football at training camp this past week, and on our visit three weeks ago. Remember, it was totally enjoyable, and we’re heading back for the Monday night practice – and I can’t wait. But it seems like our team would be better served if they weren’t in this “practice” mode for so long. If they’re going to practice, shouldn’t they actually be doing what they are practicing?

My vote is to make the practice more real by making the meaningless part shorter. And though he can’t say it, it sounded like Coach Jauron is with me.

How about it, NFL?

Categories
Current Bills Games Pre-Season

The Bills Are Back!

Bills are Back!
If I were to condense my thoughts on tonight’s first pre-season game into two words, they would probably be “sloppy” and “promise”.

It’s Pre-season…
Let’s get “sloppy” out of the way first. The first series or two especially were glaring examples of why pre-season tickets should not be priced the same as regular season tickets. We all expect it, but you hope it’s sort of like riding a bike. You can’t ever forget how to do it. But what I saw was first, giving credit where credit is due, an amazing sharp Drew Brees running an amazingly sharp New Orleans offense, against an amazingly out of position Bills defense. Yes, we held eventually, only allowing two FG attempts, and the interception in the end zone, but man did they have their way with our defense.

And offense wasn’t much better. For all the beef we gained on the offensive line, you couldn’t tell it. It looked like most of the RBs were running hard, but there was just nowhere to go.

But I’d say most of the sloppiness was on defense. The DBs were completely out of position on several plays. Jabari Greer might be competing for the starting CB slot, rather than the main nickel CB. I know Jason Webster has been impressive in camp, but man… he was getting smoked! Meanwhile, Greer had two obviously great plays on the two INTs. Actually, I noticed Ashton Youboty several times as well.

And, let’s not forget… several of the times our defense looked silly it was at the hands of Drew Brees and/or Reggie Bush. There was a reason the Saints had the number one offense in 2006.

Bright Spots
PozThere were several bright spots. First of all, how about a round of applause for the Bills second round draft pick, “POZ”??? (The announcers thought that Posluszny might be nick-named “PUZ”… but, that’s par for the course with football commentators…) Nine tackles, and a sack. He looked ready to play and definitely attacked the play more than what I remember Fletcher doing. I’m sure he was made to look silly on several occasions, but I don’t remember them. Poz was definitely a bright spot.

Then there was the entire Special Teams. Someone posted the following on the Buffalo Bills Message Boards during the game:

Bobby April = God

Bobby April, Buffalo Bills Special Teams CoachAnd, while I do not agree with the theology of that statement, I completely agree with the sentiment. 🙂 Our special teams is going to keep us in several games this season, and very likely could win a game or two. They are that good. Two punts… TWO PUNTS downed inside the FIVE??!?! Not the twenty. The five. Moorman is insane. The kick coverage is phenomenal. They are right there, and sure tacklers. And dare we forget to pay homage to our favorite Bills’ kicker, Rian “Who You Callin’ No Foot” Lindell?? A 54 yard FG?? And RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE. My goodness. McGee added a nice return as well. This unit is incredible. Even in the first pre-season game!

My wife noticed a cool stat that deserves “bright spot” mention as well. Our Buffalo Bills only committed a single penalty in the entire sixty minute game. One. That’s impressive, especially for the first pre-season game.

Of course, you have to give some love to our rookie QB, Trent Edwards. His stats weren’t that impressive – and he did look pretty green at times – but 10-11 ain’t bad. And he had some nice completions to Fred Jackson, Roscoe Parrish, and Sam Aiken. Not bad for his first day on the job, even if it was against third and fourth stringers. 😉

JP Losman On The MoveBut how about our veteran QB? Even though I started getting a little scared, saying out loud to my TV, “Get dowwwwn… Get DOWN!”, that was quite a scramble by Losman. He does have some “good wheels”, as the saying goes. Perhaps, just save those “wheels” for the games that matter… 🙂

Langston Walker did not impress me on the offensive line (when you’re 6’8″ and 365… blow some guys off the line, mister!) but he did block a field goal on his first attempt. Guess he was pretty good at that in Oakland (several last season) and perhaps that will be a secret weapon for the Bills this season.

Surprises

  • I was surprised at how out of position Jason Webster was. He looked decent to me at camp, and I have heard nothing but praise for him. So… that was a surprise.
  • Who was that guy wearing #23? I thought he was speedy, powerful, hits the hole hard, and a very confident, sure-handed running back? He was nowhere in the passing game… and carried just 2 times for 3 yards. That was definitely a surprise as I thought I read at BuffaloBills.com that he would be getting a good number of carries tonight.
  • Fred Jackson was conversely a nice surprise at RB. He ran hard, and smart. Knew where the hole was and hit it. He also showed some great balance and strength, fighting through tackles. And, it doesn’t hurt that he scored our only TD.
  • Oh yeah… don’t forget the best surprise of all… we’re undefeated! The Bills came out with the win. Well deserved. Good work, lads!

Overall… we won… and got some good performances from a few young guys (and our special teams!) but in the end, it’s just the first pre-season game. 🙂 Long way to go (for which I am very thankful!!) and it will hopefully start getting a bit more crisp from here on. I’m concerned (obviously) about our secondary. But if we can get some pressure on the QB (as they were toward the end) then we can take some pressure off the DBs. That would be a wise move, I think.

Bring on the real stuff! Less than four weeks!

Go Bills!


For Reference:
Game Stats from NFL.com
Game Summary from BuffaloBills.com