Bills vs Patriots – Day after Reaction
9/27/2010 | Posted by
Devin
I said in my picks last week that this game would be a blowout, and I was wrong. The Bills held their own on the road against a team that has dominated them in the past and only lost by eight. It was actually a pretty good game for the most part, minus the end result. But in reality, it was exactly what the Bills fans should be hoping for. A good, competitive game that is fun to watch, and the Bills still lose and keep up their pace for a top three draft pick next April. Sorry, but it's the truth. I'm not rooting for them to lose, but in the end it is the best thing for the overall franchise.
The Good – Unlike the past two weeks, there was a lot of good things in yesterday's game. The offense generated 374 total yards, including 240 in the air and 134 on the ground.
For the second straight week, Marshawn Lynch led the team in rushing and actually looked good. I have to admit, my likeness of Lynch dropped to nothing after the debacle that was the 2009 season, but Lynch has done all he can do to redeem himself. He has 156 yards through the first three games, which is far from great, but he's also splitting time and running behind an awful offensive line. Trust me when I say this; Lynch didn't look nearly this good at any point last season. He's out to prove himself, whether it's to the Bills or a team willing to trade for him.
Along with Lynch, C.J. Spiller got into the game and made an immediate impact. While a lot of fans were upset at the Bills for drafting him, I was thrilled because Spiller is a playmaker, something the Bills have lacked for the past decade. I know they needed help on the offensive and defensive line, but they also needed a player who can simply make players. Spiller showed some of that yesterday and I look forward to more in the upcoming weeks. Spiller only had four carries, but gained 29 yards on those (7.3 yards per carry) and caught another three passes, including his first career touchdown. Oh yeah, he also chipped in with a 95 yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Lee Evans also contributed five receptions and was targeted eight times. As you know by now, that is a far cry from last week when Trent Edwards only went his way one time in the entire game. Stevie Johnson also made his mark grabbing three passes, including a 37 yard touchdown and an awesome touchdown celebration. I hate that the refs penalized him for it, but hey, they aren't called the No Fun League for nothing. No props, nothing excessive and totally original. Again, you can lose; just entertain me a little bit.
All of the above wouldn't have been made possible without Ryan Fitzpatrick. For the first time all season, the Bills finally had a QB in the game who knew how to avoid pressure, wasn't afraid to take some shots downfield and knew how to convert 3rd down passes. It was refreshing in every sense of the word. In fact, Fitz was in position to finally ended the Bills now 57 game streak of passing for less than 300 yards. He won't break the streak this week against the Jets, but I wouldn't be shocked to see it go down against the Jags in week five.
Oh, and the Bills cut ties with Trent Edwards. I've been pretty hard on Edwards for the better part of the past three weeks and I don't regret it one bit. He is terrible and I'm thrilled that the Bills are done with him. Good riddance. Our trash will eventually be someone else's trash.
The Bad – The worst part of the game had to be the fact that the Patriots won again against the Bills. Tom Brady is now 16-1 in his career against the Bills. It's getting to be a bit much. At some point the tide has to turn. This can't go on forever.
While I was thrilled by the play of Fitzpatrick, his two interceptions were pretty bad. The first one was bad overthrow and honestly, he had Parrish wide open across the middle and it would've been a touchdown. The other was also another overthrow, but I contend that David Nelson could have done a little more to knock the pass down and keep the drive alive. Either way, I know Fitzpatrick isn't a great QB and he is going to be shaky here and there. I'm willing to deal with that because he brings a lot of good things to the offense that weren't there the past two weeks. It is what it is really.
The Ugly – Both defensive efforts were ugly. I'm not shocked that Tom Brady burnt Donte Whitner and the rest of the secondary, but I was a little surprised that the Patriots totaled 200 yards on the ground yesterday. It was one of the most frustrating things throughout the afternoon.
As each week passes, I grow more and more excited at the thought that Whitner's contract will soon be up and he'll be off the Bills. Then I caught wind of the news that the Bills are working on a contract extension for another useless player, Chris Kelsay.
It doesn't get any more ugly than that.
Overall, there was more good than bad in this game. True, the Bills didn't win the game, but they hung in there with the Pats and made something of it. There isn't one Bills fan that thought they would win this game, but most also thought it would be a demolition. Hey, I know I did. If the Bills play like they did yesterday, I could see them finishing with three or four wins, which is a lot more than I thought at this time last week.
Labels:
Follow Us
