Bills vs. Steelers: Steve Johnson's Drop and Reaction To What Everyone's Saying

I've had nearly a full day to digest the Buffalo Bills' excruciating 19-16 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. I've read all the reactions to "The Drop." I've read all the analyses on the wildest game I've ever attended in Ralph Wilson Stadium, and one of the most unpredictable afternoons I've seen during my time as a Bills fan.

 I scour the web and read everything because then I feel that I can form more astute opinions.

 And because my thoughts are plenty but short, I've got a quick hitter version of Seen and Herd this week....

—First, what a football game. The first half led many to believe we were in for another embarrassing home loss that would end with a score like 23-3, but the entire second half was nothing but high drama.

—I realized that Steelers fans really do travel well, but are more easily noticeable amongst the home crowds because just about all of them wave those Terrible Towels.

—That was the loudest I've ever heard Ralph Wilson Stadium. It was partially because of the rabid Pittsburgh fans, but mainly because the Bills fans were out in full force and really brought the noise.

—The Steelers are definitely a good football team, but if they continue to shoot themselves in the foot (10 penalties for 107 yards), they'll have a hard time beating the upper echelon of the AFC.

—Although Rashard Mendenhall had 151 yards, found holes and broke some tackles, he had 16 of his 36 rushes go for three yards or less, two of which were for negative yardage.

—Kyle Williams deserves Defensive Player of the Year votes. His stats against the Steelers again proved he is worthy. The guy had 10 total tackles, eight solo, two sacks, three tackles for loss, three quarterback hits and forced a handful of holding penalties. He's apparently "undersized" for the position, but Williams is an animal out there, and I'm not sure there's a center in the league that can contain his consistent penetration.

—Torell Troup is far from being the next Kyle Williams, but because the Bills coaching staff can rely on Troup to spell Williams without much drop off in production, Williams is fresh the whole ballgame. Role player.

—Since the pinnacle of their criticism from Bills fans and the media a month ago, Donte Whitner and Chris Kelsay have turned in three straight solid efforts. Whitner will never be the game changer Troy Polamalu is, but I'm starting to believe he actually matters on this team.

—I'm upset Dwan Edwards could be out for a while, because he was having a career year, but now players who will be a more considerable part of the Bills future, Alex Carrington, Arthur Moats and Antonio Coleman will gain much needed experience.

—The Bills sacked Ben Roethlisberger six times? I'm as shocked as you are.

—Paul Posluszny isn't cutting it as an impact middle linebacker in the NFL. I've tried to defend him long enough. He's not big enough to play inside and isn't fast enough sideline-to-sideline to move outside. He's the classic tweener.

—Now to the catch. What a toss by Fitzpatrick that came after a fantastic call by Chan Gailey. They set up that play all afternoon and the Steelers were totally fooled. When the ball hit Stevie's hands I jumped so high I nearly fell over the front of the upper deck (my seats are in the first row) and then when I saw the ball on the ground, I landed where I had my muddy boots all afternoon and just sat there. Total dejection.

—If you're looking for how or why it happened, good luck. He flat-out dropped the pass. That's it. Because I was at the game and couldn't see up-close replays, I thought a lot of his five drops were actually passes defended, but upon further review his hands did betray him on each incompletion. Maybe it was the cold?

- Unless Johnson elaborates on his tweet after the game, we'll never know if he was directing it at God or at the fans. Either way, this guy is very religious and probably would have been thanking the Lord had he made the catch. Also, haven't you ever "blamed" God for misfortune in your life, especially in the heat of the moment? I know I have. You don't necessarily mean it, but it's what comes out. Exactly what happened here. Lay off him.  

—The OT drop will live in infamy for Bills fans, but Johnson's drop on the slant route that Polamalu caught inches before it hit the ground in the fourth quarter was just as bad. That slant has been the Bills go-to play in the red-zone.

—If you're one of many who want Steve Johnson to tone down his personality after his humbling experience or are dismissing him now, you're crazy. We've been irrelevant for a decade, and although he's another figure in Bills heartbreak history, he's played a huge role in the Bills' offensive resurgence, has an extremely bright future and can bring the attention to Buffalo that we've missed since the 90's. He must keep his "swagger."

—I'm as angry with the drop as you are, but you've got to feel for the guy.

—Don't forget Lee Evans' one-catch outing. His drop in OT would have brought the Bills to the 10-yard line and essentially ended the game. He's a vet and is making millions more than Johnson. Keep that in mind.

- How about Chris Kelsay's sack of Big Ben on the half yard-line? And the fumble that ensued. Just the Bills luck the ball that returned right to Roethlisberger and he wasn't in the endzone for a game-ending safety. If only.  

—If only Leodis could have crossed "the Moats."

—When C.J. Spiller returns, McKelvin needs to stay as the team's primary kick returner. Sure he's fumbled more than we'd like, but so has Spiller, and Leodis understands that running full speed, straight ahead is more important than making guys miss East-West. Spiller will learn eventually.  

—National media "experts," the Bills do not have a bad offensive line. There are much more porous units in the NFL.

—I never want to hear "The Bills need a quarterback with a strong arm for those windy and snowy days in Buffalo." It's almost December and the Bills haven't had anymore games affected by bad weather than contests in Chicago, Green Bay, New England, East Rutherford, Pittsburgh or Philly. Yes, the last games against Cleveland or New England could be cold and might feature snowfall, but these national media guys don't know what they're talking about in reference to Western New York weather's effect on Bills games. It rarely happens. Maybe once a season.  

—Ryan Fitzpatrick is the man. I'll take a few errant tosses with him. For every one of those, we get a picture-perfect toss between coverages. Imagine what he can do with another year under Gailey and an entire offseason and preseason as the starter. He'll also serve as the ideal mentor for whatever QB Buffalo drafts in April.

—This loss numbed my emotions so much that I wasn't angry or upset walking back to the car. In true eternal optimist form, I was encouraged that the Bills played a top-tier opponent, didn't fold when they got down, fought back and made it a game.

—The 2-9, 2010 version of the Buffalo Bills is light-years ahead of a team that finished 6-10 last year. This team plays so hard and never stops fighting. We haven't seen that in our football team in quite some time. 

—Keep your head up, Steve Johnson. Keep your heads up, Bills fans. There's light at the end of this tunnel. We're on our way up.