Seen and Herd Buffalo Bills PreseasonWashington Redskins

I welcome you all back to the sophomore campaign of my "Seen and Herd" series.

For those of you who are unaware of what this series entails, or are new to B/R, I put together a Peter King MMQB-esque review piece after each and every Bills game throughout the season, giving insight, opinion, and my wanna-be expert analysis. 

Alright, let's go...

The Good

The "start" to Buffalo's season can be summed up rather easily - they got spanked.

All was not terrible, however.

In their first defensive series of the year, the new defensive front, which wasn't exactly the 3-4 set we'll be seeing, held their own. They stayed home on a reverse play and only allowed one first down.

They also looked surprisingly stout against the run - Dwan Edwards, Marcus Stroud, Kyle Williams, and even Chris Ellis manned their gaps and flashed signs of what could become a more dependable run defense.

I was just as pleased with the methodical drive Trent Edwards led on his first time out. He didn't wow us with any fantastic threaded needles, but did show a glimpse of the fresh offense Chan Gailey has been installing in Pittsford.

The offensive line, without starters Eric Wood, Demetrius Bell and Cornell Green, opened cutback holes for Fred Jackson, Marshawn Lynch and C.J. Spiller - I'm right there with you in terms of being shocked. 

Chad Simpson and Joique Bell to me, are the same player, and both demonstrated their evasive running style - loved how hard these smaller backs run north-south.

Another undrafted guy, David Nelson, caught five balls for 47 yards and that lob TD from Fitzpatrick in the game's garbage time, which lasted basically the entire second half.

With his new injury and well-documented sloppy training camp, I don't see how James Hardy makes the team with the 6'5'' Nelson out there running crisp routes and getting open - OK, I could be getting ahead of myself, but Nelson got the jump on Hardy he needed last night.

I payed close attention to the back-up nose tackles, specifically Torell Troup and John McCargo. Both players frequently got good push into the backfield, with Troup the more consistent anchor. I haven't forgotten McCargo's 2009 preseason, a time when he looked like the first-round pick he was five years ago, that never translated against starters - take his play with a grain of salt.

The Atrocious

Reggie Corner. I try my hardest to like the guy, root for him, but he's the one secondary member that is consistently abused.

He was flagged for pass interference, missed a handful of tackles, dropped a would-be pick six, and totally miss-played the touchdown to Fred Davis.

He's usually in decent position, but makes some type of bone-headed play when it's time to man up.

Trent Edwards interception looked like the Trentative Checkwards of old. It appears that Edwards is the single-most scared quarterback whenever the pocket begins to crumble. He, honestly, should just practice those Ben Roethlisberger "make-something-out-of-nothing" plays in practice. The commentators, Ray Bentley and Steve Tasker, who were also atrocious by the way, stated that Edwards is good when he's outside the pocket, but it's just not true.

Besides the boring, play-action bootleg dump-off to the tight-end that never musters more than five yards, Edwards struggles when he's moved from the pocket.

Gailey gave him ample opportunity to end on a high note, allowing him to even get reps against the Redskins' second squad, and he couldn't perform. I'm still light years away from trusting him whatsoever.

The second and third teams were over-matched all night, with Artur Moats and Co. repeatedly out of position, leaving Washington's receivers and running backs embarrassingly wide open. They had Rex Grossman looking like he was back tossing the ball around the Swamp as a Gator.

Lastly, what ever happened to Gailey's emphasis on not committing dumb penalties?

Andra Davis and Aaron Maybin were hit with some mindless flags that kept drives going. For some reason, I was expecting a mental mishap from Maybin.

Things to Remember/Overly Optimistic Viewpoints

Aside from the connection Donovan McNabb made with Chris Cooley that ended with a jaw-jarring hit by Donte Whitner, a lot the Redskins first team passes were completed into very tight windows, with very tight coverage - check McNabb's touchdown throw. 

We saw little, and I mean little variety from the defense and the offense, which is how it should be in the preseason.

The times in which Buffalo lined up in the 3-4 set were few and far between and unless I missed it, which is possible, no blitz packages were sent Washington's way. The absence of Paul Posluszny and Keith Ellison were the main reasons why we saw more 4-3 alignments.

Although he didn't make a great first impression with any sacks or tackles for loss, Antonio Coleman fits in as a situational player for sure. He just looks like he's ready to play from Day One.

I'd be stunned if he doesn't make the roster.

Aaron Maybin's spin move, which resulted in his second career preseason sack, was performed on a second/third string tackle. A counter move is a step in the right direction for the polarizing former first round pick, however.

Speaking of pass rush, Buffalo's offensive line made Washington's look all-world last night. As alluded to above, that's hopefully (no more injuries, please) not the unit we'll see throughout the season - Jamon Meredith belongs on the right side, as a backup. 

The Injury Front

We found out in the post-game press conference that Fred Jackson suffered a hand injury and will miss the remainder of the preseason. It's tough to tell if it's a very serious injury, or if Gailey just understands Jackson's importance and is taking a precautionary measure.

Marshawn Lynch tweaked is ankle and though it's not deemed to be serious, don't expect to see much of him the next three weeks.

Alex Carrington was hit by his own teammate in the second half and stayed on the ground for quite a while. From what I've heard, it was only one of those nagging shoulder stingers.

What's Next

Our Bills take on the Indianapolis Colts (uh-oh) on Thursday, August 19th, in Toronto at 7:30.