Buffalo Bills vs. Miami Dolphins: Observations For the Bills Herd
Are Buffalo Bills' fans in for another woeful season?
If Sunday's 15-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins is any indication of what we'll see from the Buffalo Bills in 2010, there's going to be a lot of unhappy campers out there.
The embarrassing defeat crushed the preseason optimism that led many to believe the Bills might be better than the experts predicted with a reliable and somewhat efficient offense.
Even without any semblance of an actual NFL-level offensive attack the Bills were in the game until the end, fueling even more frustrating for the sold-out crowd and the WNY Bills fan-base.
It wasn't exactly the same futile performance we saw from both teams in Buffalo's 6-3 loss to the Cleveland Browns last year, but it sure was close.
8. Come On, Trent
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Ever since he's been the Buffalo Bills quarterback, I've rooted for Trent Edwards.
I've tried, I really have.
Myself, along with a growing group of NFL experts were willing to give Edwards another shot this year now that he's being coached by Chan Gailey, someone who's got an extensive offensive background.
Sunday's 18 of 34, 139-yard showing is deterring me from thinking Edwards will ever be a quarterback in this league.
His QB rating was 73.9, which on paper isn't atrocious, but the former Stanford Cardinal signal caller was back to his old, annoying habit of checking down constantly.
The Dolphins dropped two "pick-six" passes that could have potentially made this game a blowout.
The protection was far from great, but Edwards is flustered too easily, and dumps the ball off to helpless running backs before any intermediate or downfield routes can develop.
What was up with four of his passes being deflected at the line? The total dysfunction started here with Trent.
Awful.
7. Offensive Line
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I thought we were supposed to see some improvement from this maligned unit?
We didn't on Sunday.
Like I said, I feel that Edwards was a bit early to rush from the pocket on a few of the passing downs, but for the most part, the Dolphins were applying constant pressure when they sent four or blitzed—it didn't matter.
Not only was the pass blocking shaky, but the line opened very few running lanes for the Bills trio of runners.
CJ Spiller had seven carries for six yards? I know the game-planning is more intricate and thought-through in the regular season, but really?
The Bills totaled 50 yards on 17 carries for a pedestrian 2.9 average. Not what we were expecting from this "three-headed monster."
As for individuals, the interior of Andy Levitre, Geoff Hangartner, and Eric Wood came to play, but were far from dominating.
Demetrius Bell made zero strides and was frequently replaced by Jamon Meredith, who wasn't any better.
Cornell Green was utterly horrible. I don't think it's a stretch to say he was beat badly on nearly every play which led to Edwards running for his life all afternoon.
Why ever pick up a castoff from Oakland?
6. Special Secondary
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If there's a silver lining in Buffalo's loss (hate these moral victories) it's in the Bills secondary.
They started a bit shaky in the first half, but the real three-headed monster in Buffalo might be Terrence McGee, Drayton Florence, and Leodis McKelvin.
Florence led the team with 10 tackles, McGee had a pass deflection along with a tackle for a loss, and Leo tipped two Chad Henne passes away.
All three spent time on Brandon Marshall and limited him to eight catches for 53 yards on 13 targets.
I was especially encouraged with McKelvin's performance. He showcased his speed that allows him to run with any wide out in the NFL and displayed his ball skills on the two pass deflections. He even fought off a few blocks to make some sound tackles.
Florence is extremely underrated and carries himself on the field with swagger and aggression. If only he could rub off on the offense.
I even have to credit Bryan Scott for playing inside linebacker after Paul Posluszny went down. His fourth-quarter sack kept the Bills in the game.
(Whitner was definitely the worst secondary member on Sunday)
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5. Chan's Plan
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I've already touched on Trent Edwards' lackluster game, but a lot of his failure has to do with the game-plan Chan Gailey installed.
Edwards was in the shotgun 41 of the 52 total offensive snaps on Sunday and threw the ball 34 times, numbers that seem much to high for a "game-manager."
The run plays were seemingly drawn up at the wrong times, and the Dolphins were ready whenever Gailey called for a screen play to Fred Jackson or C.J. Spiller.
I thought the running game was the Bills biggest asset, not the quarterback or the receiving corp.
Very odd decisions from a head coach we were beginning to think would make the intelligent, timely play call.
Run. The. Football. Fred Jackson, remember him?
At least Gailey now knows he's dealing with a porous line and a quarterback with no confidence. Maybe we'll see some adjustments. Big ones.
Your thoughts on the called safety late in the fourth quarter?
I'm wavering back and forth myself.
4. C.J. Spiller Bottled Up
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I'm not putting much, if any of the blame on the Bills first-round pick, but I was envisioning something more than seven carries for six yards.
He was probably nervous playing in his first professional game at home, but the times when he touched the ball, he had two or three Miami Dolphins waiting for him.
This is more on the coaching staff than anything, but Spiller has really got to make something out of the instances when the ball is in his hands.
The hype was there for Spiller to explode onto the NFL scene, but it never materialized.
I feel for Spiller, and he'll be a player in this league some day, but he probably couldn't have had a worse start to his career.
Defensive coordinators will build their game plan's around the former college dynamo, but let's hope Spiller can rebound from his 14 total yard debut.
3. Paul Posluszny's Injury
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He had eight tackles and a sack in the first half, but I didn't see anything that necessarily stood out to me about Posluszny's game.
However, he is an ideal fit as a inside linebacker in the 3-4 and the Bills desperately need him if they are going to rely on their defense to keep them in games.
Poz was hurt on the first play of the third quarter and his injury issues are what frustrate Bills fans the mostwe want to see if Posluszny can become the elite linebacker needed in the 3-4 defense.
The line-backing unit was tarnished with injuries last year which gave way to Buffalo's troubles with running backs and tight ends.
Just once I'd like to see what the "starting" defense could do if they stayed relatively healthy.
Reports today state that Posluszny will be out 2-3 weeks after spraining his MCL.
Get well soon.
2. Miami's Play
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This may be coming from my hatred of the Dolphins and the fact that they beat the Bills at home, but I wasn't at all impressed with Miami on Sunday.
Sure, they were the better team, but Super Bowl-bound? No way.
They had ample opportunity to blow the game open and failed over and over.
Chad Henne is fine working underneath, the running backs are talented and the defense is a bit unheralded, but I don't see the Dolphins winning more than eight or nine games.
Again, Buffalo, with a semi-competent quarterback, wins that ugly contest.
1. What's Next
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Things aren't looking much better for the Bills.
They play consecutive road games in Green Bay and New England.
Oh, boy.
UPDATE: Packers coach Mike McCarthy said today that it is highly unlikely that Ryan Grant will play against the Bills, and expect Akin Ayodele to be in the lineup Sunday to replace Paul Posluszny.
Anything else catch your eye against the Dolphins...comments below.
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