Seen and Herd: Week 15 | Buffalo Bills Vs. New England Patriots

Could this losing streak against the New England Patriots be worse than the Bills going 0 for the 70's against the Miami Dolphins? 

There's no such thing as a good losing streak, but these two are among the worst of all time.

Sure, based on numbers, the losing streak against Miami is "worse" but, the ways the Bills have lost to New England in the 2000s may rival the streak of 30 years before.

The Bills only managed two wins against the Patriots the entire decade, and we've grown accustomed to Buffalo finding a different, and unique way to lose every time they square off against the Pats. 

Brady? 

Tom Brady found ways to again sweep Buffalo, even when he wasn't near his "A" game in either game. 

Week One's 378 yard, two touchdown showing far outperforms his effort on Sunday, that's for sure.

Brady completed only 11, yes, 11 passes, and didn't eclipse the 150 yard mark through the air.

Sounds like a typical day for a Bills quarterback, not the All-World Brady.

You've got to tip your hat to the job Perry Fewell did, defensively, giving Brady fits all afternoon. He used the weather to his advantage and limited the Patriots success down field with Randy Moss.

The difference with the Patriots and the Bills in that regard is that they're willing to throw to their star receivers even when they're covered. The result — two big pass interference calls that lead directly to New England's only touchdowns.

I'm nowhere near saying that Brady is done, but it's a testament to the Bills secondary, who really showed how good of a group they really are, basically shutting down one of the best quarterbacks of all time.

But, as usual, when Brady needed to make the clutch play late, he delivered the dagger.

Fred Jackson's day

I fall more and more in love with Jackson as a player each week. The guy is the focal point of the offense and special teams. He had 108 return yards, ran for 80 tough yards on the ground, and caught four passes for 32 more yards.

I guess even bad scouting staffs can find a diamond in the rough sometimes, because that's exactly what Fred Jackson is.

He should have had a touchdown had Fewell not inserted Andre Ramsey as an eligible tackle on his first NFL play from the 2 yard line. Bad move, Perry.

Marshawn Lynch ran pretty well too, and though I've been wavering back and forth about the Bills using Lynch and a bargaining chip this off season, I've come to the realization that behind even an average line, these two could easily combine for over 2,000. No joke.

Play-calling

Is this a topic every week? It seems that way. Whether it's because the Bills don't include "picks" in their offense like a lot of other teams do (they're supposed to be illegal) or the pass routes are just that easy to anticipate, the Bills receivers have an extremely tough time getting open.

There were a few plays when Randy Moss was so open across the middle, I wondered if Buffalo had enough guys on the field.

Sure, it could have been a busted coverage, but when's the last time you saw a Bills receiver really wide open? I can't remember many instances. 

Though I hate saying "there's always next year", I love the fact that an entirely new system will be in place — I think the offensive playbook is still being haunted by Steve Fairchild. 

Miscues

When you're a 5-9 team, you've committed some stupid penalties. Outside of Andre Ramsey's false start, how about Aaron Maybin's offsides on the recovered onside kick? 

Aaron, you're going to need to have a monster second year to not become the next pariah in Buffalo. 

When you're a 5-9 team, you've missed on golden opportunities to score points as well. Josh Reed's touchdown drop in this game? Yea, no focus. I'd be surprised to see Reed in a Bills' uniform next season, but then again I can only envision Lee Evans being kept, returning to the wide-out problem the Bills had pre-James Hardy. Ha. So who knows. 

Quick Bits

Shawn Nelson caught four passes on Sunday, and seemed to be a favorite target of Ryan Fitzpatrick. This is a great sign for times to come, but still, Nelson is rarely used on that deep seam route that all the elite tight ends run so well. It's not on Nelson obviously, it's the faulty scheme. Time for major change. 

Paul Posluszny is proving his worth to the next head coach in Buffalo. No one thinks Poz would be released or traded this off season, but he's proved to me that with capable and athletic linebackers around him, he has potential to be a solid starter in this league for many years. First things first however, he's got to be moved to the outside, where he flourished at Penn State. 

Buffalo has a lot of holes to fill in the draft and via free agency. Most namely: linebacker, quarterback, offensive tackle, defensive end, wide receiver. At least we'll witness a lot of action this off season. We better

What's ahead

The Bills head down to the ATL for a matchup against the Falcons on Sunday. Real interesting game here; okay, maybe I'm taking it a little too far. It's got some intrigue because the Falcons are in the hunt for the NFC Wildcard. One week they look like a team that could represent the NFC in the Super Bowl then they have trouble against a team under .500. 

I've been calling for the young guys to get a more expanded role in each game since about Week 10, and for whatever reason it really hasn't happened. 

The Bills are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, and it sounds like Terrell Owens is out at years end (like we didn't know that before). So there's no reason why we shouldn't see guys like Steve Johnson, James Hardy, Chris Ellis, and Aaron Maybin (maybe try something other than the speed rush?) in the lineup. It's all an audition for here on out.