Buffalo Bills: Herd Woes With Ryan Fitzpatrick and The Running Game
I have never been more embarrassed inside Ralph Wilson Stadium than I was yesterday, when LaDainian Tomlinson and the New York Jets completely humiliated the Buffalo Bills, 38-14.
All three phases of the game were dominated by the Jets, and outside of a late first-half touchdown by David Thomas, the Bills were never in the contest.
In a game when I thought Buffalo could build off an encouraging effort from the week before against New England, they fell flat on their face, and are slowly but surely draining the last bit of optimism from my system.
8. Ryan Fitzpatrick Is Good Enough
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His numbers (12 for 27 128 yards, 2 TDs) aren't popping off the statbook, but Ryan Fitzpatrick is a gamer and is good enough to win the Buffalo Bills some games.
He led the Bills in rushing (seven carries for 74 yards) and never shies away from contact. Fitz rarely had time to throw and still managed to lead the Bills on two scoring drives on a day when his receivers were dropping passes each time Buffalo had the ball.
The run game was non-existent, and he still had a respectable game. He's one of the few Bills players that deserves little to no criticism.
He'll most likely never be a legitimate starter and definitely isn't the quarterback of the future, but the situation in Buffalo may be hindering his growth.
Fitzpatrick is, without a doubt, a guy you want on your roster.
6. Lee Evans?
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Many will point to the fact that Lee Evans caught his first pass of the day with 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Usually, this pathetic stat is due to the Bills quarterback not looking his way or getting him the ball consistently.
This was not the case on Sunday.
Fitzpatrick targeted Evans six times, and although a few of his throws sailed wayward, the usually sure-handed Evans dropped more passes than he caught.
Not a good sign of what's to come for the Bills, if their "star" wideout is having catching issues.
5. Running Game?
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Chan Gailey came to Buffalo anointed as an offensive mind.
With Fitzpatrick under center, we've seen a slight improvement from the Edwards-led Bills, but we've witnessed an abandonment of the running game.
Not only was Fitzpatrick the leading rusher, but Marshawn Lynch's four carries were the most of the running back trio. Didn't Fred Jackson earn the right to be a feature back last season? Wasn't C.J. Spiller the ninth overall pick in this year's draft? Both of those runners totaled six carries on the day.
If you take away the quarterback scrambles that count as runs, Buffalo has only rushed the ball 73 times through four games, which averages out to a few more than 18 carries per contest. And I thought the running game was supposed to be the one thing the Bills could lean on?
I understand that when you're trailing you need to press the issue and throw the ball, but Jackson and Spiller are averaging less than six rushes a game.
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4. The Problem With The Tight End Position
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Because Buffalo's offensive line usually needs help in protection, Johnathan Stupar has to remain in the backfield to act as an extra blocker.
He did a mediocre job finding those sneaky Jets' blitzers on Sunday, but after watching a third consecutive game in which an opposing tight end has thrashed the Bills, my desire for the Bills to have that go-to tight end of their own once again grows stronger.
Hopefully, when Shawn Nelson returns next week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, we'll see some life down the seam.
Side note: With all these teams blitzing from the corner against the Bills, the middle of the field is vacant, as we saw on David Nelson's grab late in the second quarter, and Roscoe Parrish's drop in the final stanza. A productive tight end is imperative.
3. Offensive Line Issues
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There's not much to say here, but the Bills' offensive line is less than average.
And that's being nice.
The unit gave Ryan Fitzpatrick time against the Patriots in Week 3, but against New York, the Bills quarterback ran for his dear life all afternoon.
Demetrius Bell is hardly a left tackle and would have a difficult time as a right tackle.
Cornell Green, forget about it.
The interior grouping of Andy Levitre, Geoff Hangartner, and Eric Wood had problems run-blocking and fighting off the Jets' complex blitz packages throughout the contest.
I did feel comfortable with Kraig Urbik's effort when he spelled Eric Wood late in the game, and Cordaro Howard is a much more viable option than the matador, Jamon Meredith.
Still, this is the Bills' weakest offensive link.
2. Keep In Mind
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We weren't expecting much from the Bills in the 2010 season, and some would say Buffalo's been worse than many of the preseason predictions.
Even though I'm clearly upset, I'm beginning to realize that we are going to see some bad football for the last 12 games of the season.
With that being said, griping and moaning after every missed tackle won't be worth it.
We aren't dealing with a contender here that's greatly disappointing or missing out on a fantastic opportunity to make the playoffs.
The Bills are bad, and that's all there is to it.
I tried to keep an optimistic sense about the year at hand, but we really need to watch the poor outings and recognize the Bills are building for the future.
Many of the current players may (or should not) be on the roster next year.
1. What's Next
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The Buffalo Bills host the Jacksonville Jaguars at 1 pm on Sunday, who are coming off an emotional, upset win over the mighty Indianapolis Colts.
A game marked as a possible win for the Bills looks much more difficult today than it did after Week 3.
Ugh.
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