Bills Preseason Opener

The Bills suffered a loss last night in their preseason opener against the Washington Redskins. The Bills had moments that showed off the talent and chemistry the team is developing but there were a handful of mistakes. Mostly ones that your supposed to make in preseason. There were a bunch of false starts, most of which were called on the newly assembled offensive line.
Overall, I think the game was a huge success. The Bills #1 draft pick Leodis McKelvin seemed to hold his own in the cornerback position and also showed off his return ability. The offense also got the Bills 2nd round pick involved in the game when JP Losman threw a touchdown to James Hardy. Hardy had been called for a false start and had dropped a pass just plays before so it was great to see him stay focused and make a play.
I understand that this is just preseason but there were somethings that frustrated me last night. Buffalo seemed to have the same problem they had in previous years...3rd down. In order to win in the NFL you have to be good on 3rd downs on both sides of the ball. The defense did not seem to be able to get themselves off the field at moments, although it did improve as the game went on. On offense the Bills struggled at times to get themselves in to 3rd and short situations. Part of it was because the running game was not getting it done in the early part of the game and the other part I put on the play calls.
There was one play call in specific that really aggravated me. With a little over 3 minutes left in the half, Buffalo had a 3rd and 6 situation from about the 7 yard line. In my mind this call was a no-brainer. A simple fade to Hardy in the back of the end zone. These are the situations you want a 6-5 212lbs receiver for. It would have been a great time to see what he could offer and it would have given the rookie a confidence boost. Instead Buffalo attempts a 2 yard pass to Parish. Lets say best case scenario he catches it and makes the first guy miss he is still 5 yards outside of the end zone and 4 away from the first down. Worst case scenario is a turnover. That can be a very crowded area of the field in that situation. Last season we had to throw balls like that because of the lack of size and it didn't work consistently. The red zone is a place were you use size not speed to score, at least on passing plays.
This was preseason though and we have a new offensive coordinator so hopefully it will be something that will be corrected before the season starts. The Bills next game is Thursday in Toronto were they will take on the Pittsburg Steelers.