The Bills had another come from behind victory last Sunday to improve to 3-0 and are now alone in first place in the AFC East. The offense didn't look good for the first 3 quarters but you don't win games in the first 3 quarters and the Bills got hot when they had to.
The Bills had many opportunities to give up but they fought hard and were rewarded. The whole team bounced back and put it together in the final 6 minutes of the fourth quarter. The defense forced a 3 and out and the offense put together two scoring drives for the win.
Trent Edwards is playing as good as any QB in the NFL. In the fourth quarter of the last 2 games Edwards has put together 4 scoring drives while the team was trailing. I am extremely impressed with his time management skills, he understands the situation and never seems to be overwhelmed. He is going to be a star in this league if he continues to play at this level.
The Buffalo win allowed fans to celebrate a few things that hadn't been done in a long time. As I mentioned earlier they are in soul possession of first place in the AFC East a position they hadn't held since week 2 back in 2003. They are 3-0 for the first time since 1992. Most surprising accomplishment was Rian Lindell's 38 yard field goal as time expired marked only the 2 time in franchise history the Bills won on the last play of the game. The other time that happened was on a 2 yard run by Jim Kelly against Miami in 1989.
On another note there is something else worth mentioning. Roscoe Parrish caught a few passes in the 4th quarter of the game including a TD to pull the Bills within two. Why is that worth mentioning?? Because he did it with an injury. Apparently during the game Parrish suffered some ligament damage in his hand. He since has had surgery and will probably be out for 4-6 weeks. Roscoe showed real heart and determination in staying in that game and playing with pain to benefit the team.
The Bills play in St. Louis this week against the 0-3 rams. Buffalo will definitely be the favorite and should....should coast to a 4-0 start.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Week 2 win over Jacksonville
After watching the Bills victory in Jacksonville one word comes to mind...resilience. The second half quickly turned into a disaster with a successful onside kick, a lot of missed tackles and a fumble. In recent years the team would have self-destructed under these circumstances but not this time. The Buffalo defense found themselves in a few bad situations but held Jacksonville to field goals which gave the offense an opportunity to win the game.
Last week against Seattle was great but you don't learn a lot about a young team when you win by 24. In week 2 fans got to see the maturity and poise of second year QB Trent Edwards. He marched the offense down the field with confidence and threw a perfect pass to rookie receiver James Hardy in the back of the end zone for the go ahead score.
The Bills have now proved that they can not only win the close ones but actually mount a 4th quarter drive to come back on teams. This is something that has been lacking lately. As a fan I don't get to hear what is said in the huddle but you can tell a lot by body language. When the Bills came to the line on that last touchdown drive you could see the confidence they had in themselves and their leader.
Despite another win the Bills are still not getting the credit they deserve. In the AFC the Bills are the only team 2-0 who played both games against playoff teams from last year. Yet Buffalo is ranked 10th. Teams in the AFC that are ranked ahead of them include Steelers, Patriots, Colts, Titans and Denver. The Steelers and Patriots have not played a team that was in the playoffs last year. The Colts are 1-1 and suffered a huge blow on defense. We have the Titans who actually did get a win against one of last years playoff teams in week one but in week 2 they played a team that could be competing for next years #1 draft pick. Last but not least we have Denver. Denver should be 1-1 if not for a second chance gift handed to them by a ref late in their week 2 game against San Diego. Even if you look past that Denver faced Oakland in week one. Oakland finished last season way out of the playoffs at 4-12. Oakland could be a very good team this year but not enough time has gone by to tell so you have to look to last season.
I don't think a team should be punished because of their starting schedule but you do need to take it into consideration. It is way to early in the season to honestly tell who the best team will be but what are these rankings based on if not facts?
Last week against Seattle was great but you don't learn a lot about a young team when you win by 24. In week 2 fans got to see the maturity and poise of second year QB Trent Edwards. He marched the offense down the field with confidence and threw a perfect pass to rookie receiver James Hardy in the back of the end zone for the go ahead score.
The Bills have now proved that they can not only win the close ones but actually mount a 4th quarter drive to come back on teams. This is something that has been lacking lately. As a fan I don't get to hear what is said in the huddle but you can tell a lot by body language. When the Bills came to the line on that last touchdown drive you could see the confidence they had in themselves and their leader.
Despite another win the Bills are still not getting the credit they deserve. In the AFC the Bills are the only team 2-0 who played both games against playoff teams from last year. Yet Buffalo is ranked 10th. Teams in the AFC that are ranked ahead of them include Steelers, Patriots, Colts, Titans and Denver. The Steelers and Patriots have not played a team that was in the playoffs last year. The Colts are 1-1 and suffered a huge blow on defense. We have the Titans who actually did get a win against one of last years playoff teams in week one but in week 2 they played a team that could be competing for next years #1 draft pick. Last but not least we have Denver. Denver should be 1-1 if not for a second chance gift handed to them by a ref late in their week 2 game against San Diego. Even if you look past that Denver faced Oakland in week one. Oakland finished last season way out of the playoffs at 4-12. Oakland could be a very good team this year but not enough time has gone by to tell so you have to look to last season.
I don't think a team should be punished because of their starting schedule but you do need to take it into consideration. It is way to early in the season to honestly tell who the best team will be but what are these rankings based on if not facts?
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Are you kidding me?
Despite the Bills convincing win against the Seahawks they are still being ignored. According to ESPN analysts they have Buffalo ranked 13 in the NFL. Next to the rankings they have the teams record and then a small explanation of why they are ranked there. Next to the Bills 1-0 record it reads "The 34-10 victory over Seattle was perhaps the most complete Week 1 performance. Pro Bowl LT Jason Peters ended his holdout and could play Sunday against Jacksonville." I am not sure how you translate complete performance and getting back an exceptional athlete to 13.
As if the ranking was not bad enough lets examine a few of the teams ranked 1-12. Three of these teams lost on Sunday (Chargers, Colts, Jacksonville). If you are not going to base it on win loss whats the point of waiting to post them? They might as well have just posted the rankings before anyone played.
After I failed to see the logic in that part of the decision I decided to move on to how teams won. The Bills won by 24 points against a team that went 10-6 last year. The Patriots, ranked 9, beat the Chiefs by 7. The Chiefs were 4-12 last year. Please do not excuse this with Tom Brady's injury. As a Buffalo fan who watched 17 players go on injured reserve last season I have no sympathy for any team who struggles with injuries. Football is a team sport, if someone gets hurt you send out your back up and get the job done.
I think the worst part about all of this is everyone (espn.com and every broadcaster who discusses either team) is comparing the Bills win to the Jets win. If Chad Pennington could throw a good ball at the end of the game they lose to Miami. Miami was 1-15 last season. So to recap this comparison the Bills won by 24 on a team that won their division last season with a 10-6 record and the Jets won by 6 on a team that was a joke last season with only 1 win. In what world are these wins even close to being similar?
If anyone steps back and looks at these rankings they should be able to tell how incredibly ridiculous they are. Analysts should be objective and these choices are anything but. They need to expand their tunnel vision and include some logic in their decisions.
As if the ranking was not bad enough lets examine a few of the teams ranked 1-12. Three of these teams lost on Sunday (Chargers, Colts, Jacksonville). If you are not going to base it on win loss whats the point of waiting to post them? They might as well have just posted the rankings before anyone played.
After I failed to see the logic in that part of the decision I decided to move on to how teams won. The Bills won by 24 points against a team that went 10-6 last year. The Patriots, ranked 9, beat the Chiefs by 7. The Chiefs were 4-12 last year. Please do not excuse this with Tom Brady's injury. As a Buffalo fan who watched 17 players go on injured reserve last season I have no sympathy for any team who struggles with injuries. Football is a team sport, if someone gets hurt you send out your back up and get the job done.
I think the worst part about all of this is everyone (espn.com and every broadcaster who discusses either team) is comparing the Bills win to the Jets win. If Chad Pennington could throw a good ball at the end of the game they lose to Miami. Miami was 1-15 last season. So to recap this comparison the Bills won by 24 on a team that won their division last season with a 10-6 record and the Jets won by 6 on a team that was a joke last season with only 1 win. In what world are these wins even close to being similar?
If anyone steps back and looks at these rankings they should be able to tell how incredibly ridiculous they are. Analysts should be objective and these choices are anything but. They need to expand their tunnel vision and include some logic in their decisions.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Bills vs Seahawks Season Opener
Yesterday afternoon the Bills won their season opener 34-10. Maybe more important then the win was the balanced scoring and proving they could finish a game. I can only speak for myself but I am sure I am not the only fan who was having flashbacks of last years season opener against Denver where the Bills blew a lead and lost on the last play of the game. Not this time they made sure to close out this game with 2 touchdowns and a forced fumble in just 25 seconds late in the 3rd quarter.
There are 3 aspects to football offense, defense and special teams. Buffalo out played Seattle in all 3. Everyone knows Buffalo has one of, if not the best special teams in the NFL, so it was no surprise that they dominated there. Parrish had an unbelievable 63 yard punt return for a touchdown and Moorman (yes our punter) threw a touchdown pass to Denney (yes a defensive end). A well designed play that was helped by the Seahawks falling asleep as the Bills faked a field goal.
During this off season the Bills made major contributions to the defense and you could see the difference in the game. Buffalo the last few years fell back on a bend don't break mentality and yesterday there was no bending. Buffalo did a great job of getting pressure on veteran QB Matt Hasselbeck. They managed to come out with 5 sacks and numerous knock downs and hurries. With the team healthy and new-comers Marcus Stroud and Kawika Mitchell the Bills defense should come up big this season.
As for the 3rd aspect of football, offense, once Buffalo hit a rhythm they seemed to move the ball with ease. The offensive line gave Trent Edwards time against the very good pass rush of Seattle. Trent threw a 30 yard strike to Robert Royal for the last score of the day. I would like to see them get James Hardy involved a little more but there is plenty of time for that. Marshawn Lynch was...well Marshawn Lynch. He had 18 carries for 76 yards and a 21 yard touchdown run. If the offense continues to produce this consistently the Bills are going to be a difficult team to handle.
A few unusual events took place that have really helped the Bills. I plan on discussing this in much more detail in another blog later in the week. Keep in mind it is only week one and a lot can happen between now and the end of the season but it felt great to get a win in the season opener. This was something Buffalo hadn't done since 2005. As a fan of the Bills no matter how bad they look it was awesome to see them play so great.
There are 3 aspects to football offense, defense and special teams. Buffalo out played Seattle in all 3. Everyone knows Buffalo has one of, if not the best special teams in the NFL, so it was no surprise that they dominated there. Parrish had an unbelievable 63 yard punt return for a touchdown and Moorman (yes our punter) threw a touchdown pass to Denney (yes a defensive end). A well designed play that was helped by the Seahawks falling asleep as the Bills faked a field goal.
During this off season the Bills made major contributions to the defense and you could see the difference in the game. Buffalo the last few years fell back on a bend don't break mentality and yesterday there was no bending. Buffalo did a great job of getting pressure on veteran QB Matt Hasselbeck. They managed to come out with 5 sacks and numerous knock downs and hurries. With the team healthy and new-comers Marcus Stroud and Kawika Mitchell the Bills defense should come up big this season.
As for the 3rd aspect of football, offense, once Buffalo hit a rhythm they seemed to move the ball with ease. The offensive line gave Trent Edwards time against the very good pass rush of Seattle. Trent threw a 30 yard strike to Robert Royal for the last score of the day. I would like to see them get James Hardy involved a little more but there is plenty of time for that. Marshawn Lynch was...well Marshawn Lynch. He had 18 carries for 76 yards and a 21 yard touchdown run. If the offense continues to produce this consistently the Bills are going to be a difficult team to handle.
A few unusual events took place that have really helped the Bills. I plan on discussing this in much more detail in another blog later in the week. Keep in mind it is only week one and a lot can happen between now and the end of the season but it felt great to get a win in the season opener. This was something Buffalo hadn't done since 2005. As a fan of the Bills no matter how bad they look it was awesome to see them play so great.
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