I’ve had a day to think about the blowout loss to the Saints. And this post isn’t going to be pretty, but nothing about yesterday’s game was pretty. That is, unless you are a fan of the Saints running backs or drunken streakers, although from what I hear that wasn’t pretty either. The Bills offense was inept and the defense couldn’t tackle. Not a recipe for victory.
Run Defense
The oldest rule in football. Run the ball and stop the run. Well the Bills couldn’t stop the run at all yesterday. 298 to 69. That was the rush total for both teams. Not going to win many games like that. Here’s the ugly part. The defensive line can’t get pressure and can’t hold the line. Marcell Dareus wasn’t important, right? The linebackers can’t tackle and are often in the wrong position. All those extra picks better start going to improve the defense. Note: If an opposing RB jumps into the stands, I want fans to either not let him back on the field or make him pay for jumping in. I don’t care if that’s wrong!
Play Calling
If Rick Dennison was fired today the fan base would be happy and I’m guessing so would the offensive line. A running game that was among the best in the league the last two season has become a joke. I don’t know when it exactly happened but it was third and two and the call was a pitch to resident bowling ball Mike Tolbert. Loss of two yards and the punter comes on the field. Everyone wants to trust the process, but there are some interesting decisions being made. Jonathan Williams, cut before the season, may have been a bit more elusive. A masher of an offensive line has been changed to a zone blocking scheme, a scheme that doesn’t fit their strongest skillset.
It’s not all Dennison’s fault, some of the blame can be put squarely on the shoulders of the Quarterback. As one NFL analyst put it last week, if there was a stat for missing wide open WR then Tyrod Taylor would lead the league by a mile. It was early in the game again third down and short. Tyrod finally decides to throw long to Deonte Thompson who nearly makes an amazing catch. But what you didn’t see was that Jordan Matthews was wide open across the middle for an easy first down. Again, out comes the punter. Note: I’m not calling for Nathan Peterman to be the QB next week.
False Hope
Did you know that Bills had, yes had, the NFL’s longest streak of 20 plus points scored at home games? That ended yesterday. Two straight games of embarrassing defense. Two straight games of disappointing offense. Two straight blowout losses and the once promising playoff hopes sinking fast. I think we all need to realize that this team might not be that good. Who have they really beaten? Split with the Jets, beat a bad Denver team, beat an Atlanta team missing their top two receivers, and wins over the Bucs and Raiders who both don’t look good at all. Some major improvements have to be made in order to get this team back on track and give these great fans of Buffalo something to truly root for.
It wasn’t pretty and I’m not sure that it’s going to get any better soon. Up next is a west coast trip to take on the struggling Chargers, a must-win if the Bills want to get back to the playoffs sooner rather than later. Those playoff hopes are fading fast. With a little less enthusiasm than before…. Let’s Go Buffalo!
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