Monday Re-Watch - Buffalo
Every Monday, win lose or draw, I go back and take a second look at the game. I do my best to separate the passion and emotion of Sunday from the retrospect of Monday. I would have to say that the biggest takeaway from this win was the win itself. This one isn't breeding much confidence with the fans, but the point is that we pulled out a victory against a division opponent. We had the same hollow feeling after beating The Jets at home, but I am not complaining. The Offense didn't have a lot of yards because they were often given short fields before scoring. Also, the Defense gave up yards and points, but they clinched the win for us. It was a nail-biter, but it was a good team win.
Sure, I expected a blowout, but I should know better than to expect The Bills to roll over and make it easy. I should have known that they would be competitive until the mind-numbing mistakes could creep up on them. In both games, Buffalo managed to lose a fumble on the 1 yard line. Likewise, in both contests Ryan Fitzpatrick was responsible for multiple turnovers. The Bills certainly did not make it easy on themselves by dropping 2 near-INTs and committing 3 penalties in the end zone.
I want to be sympathetic to Buffalo's claims to have been screwed by the refs, but I think Bills fans need to take a look at how this one ended. You just can't blame the refs when you have a chance to win it at the end. That being said, the refs blew a few calls completely, and in my opinion, Bill Leavy called the game too-tight. The Patriots got the benefit of a few ticky-tack calls to extend drives, and I understand Western NY's frustrations. Still, the zebras didn't have any part of Jackson's fumble or Fitzpatrick's INT.
The Patriots Defense has a way of showing up when needed. However, that statement ignores the fact that they are no where to be found for long stretches of the game. The Patriots Defense just couldn't get off the field on 3rd down. Notably, The Patriots suffered conversions of 3rd and 15 (Jackson screen pass), 3rd and 8 (Chandler catch), 4th and 4 (Johnson beats Dennard), and 3rd and 9 (Johnson for 21 yds). In all The Patriots allowed 35 first downs, 20 passing, 11 rushing, and 4 by penalty, and The Bills finished 7 of 11 on 3rd down.
Add these poor 3rd down numbers to the fact that The Bills had one drive in the 2nd quarter in which they did not even face a 3rd down situation, and you get a clearer picture of how badly The Defense struggled. However, it is not the full picture. The Bills scored on 5 of their 10 drives, but given such efficiency this is a pretty good statistic for the D. The Patriots forced 3 timely turnovers, a 3-and-out, and forced a punt on 5 plays on The Bills first possession. Overall, The Patriots Defense struggled, but you've got to give them some credit for making plays when the Offense sputtered.
The Patriots Offense was dominant for 3 quarters, but their 4th quarter performance is what everyone will jump on. Also, Brady was seen yelling at Edelman after the Offense stalled on their first possession of the 2nd half. Brady wanted Julian to run a hot route over the middle, but when Edelman ran the wrong route, Brady had to take a sack. The Offense had 9 (full-length) possessions during the game, and they scored on 7 of them. Also, Brady and the Offense only suffered one 3-and-out (on the possession starting at their own 1 yard line). Still, they had a chance to take a 10 point lead, and they failed to punch it in from the one yard line.
Ridley had converted a 3rd and 5, bringing it down to the 1 yard line, but the good news ended there. Not only did Ridley get stopped for a loss, he committed a false start as well. Also, Brady chose to quick-snap, leaving more time on the clock. Ridley's false start and 2 incomplete passes left The Bills with more than 2:00 left on the clock. This was terrible game-management that left the door open for The Bills to win with a TD. This would be a much bigger point of contention if The Patriots didn't close it out with their Defense. As it is, they got lucky that this didn't come back to bite them.
I really have a problem with using Ridley near the goal line. He had 4 opportunities to run it inside the 2 yard line. Although he had a nice TD run, he was stopped for a loss 3 out of 4 times near the goal line. The Pats are going to need to figure out how to be better in short yardage, especially with Brandon Bolden on suspension.
Before I get too far with my commentary, I want to take a look at the Keys to Victory. I set 5 goals for the team going into this game, and overall they did pretty well. It wasn't perfect, but they did get passing grades on 4 of the 5 keys.
1. Start Fast, Finish Strong - The Offense certainly started fast, getting out to a 10-0 lead. They got a bit lucky on their first drive, narrowly dodging a couple INT chances, but overall The Offense started off well. It would have been nice to see Welker haul in that pass (2 drops) for a TD, but I was happy to have 3 points considering that The Bills should have had a turnover. Likewise, the Defense started off well, forcing a punt on their first series. The problem came in finishing. The Offense could have ended the game with a late TD, and they also went 3-and-out earlier in the 4th quarter. However, the team gets a pass here because of the Defense's ability to finish.
2. Pound It Against Nickel D - Ridley finished with 98 yards and a TD on 22 carries, Danny Woodhead was effective (2 TDs) in limited snaps, but Shane Vereen was largely ineffective (5 carries, 5 yards). I was actually surprised to see The Patriots in predominantly 3-WR sets considering the success they had last time in Buffalo. Daniel Fells was really not a big part of the game-plan because Buffalo was not showing Nickel against 2-TEs. Buffalo certainly made the right adjustment from last game, but I still give credit to Ridley for his hard running. This wasn't quite what I expected, but 29 rushing attempts at 4.0 yards per attempt is good enough to earn a pass here.
3. McCourty - McCourty forced Jackson's fumble at the 1 and grabbed an INT in the end zone. I told you McCourty would be a key to this game. Unfortunately I think that McCourty was out of position on both of Fred Jackson's TD runs, and I think that we saw his weakness as a Safety. McCourty is a good tackler, but quite a few times he got sucked into the wrong lane. Tackling on the edges as a CB is much different than filling lanes as a S. He and Gregory struggled in run support, and I think that contributed to the season-high rushing yards allowed. Spiller and Jackson gashed the Defense rushing and catching, accounting for 246 of Buffalo's 481 yards. I still think McCourty should be a CB, and Dennard's shaky performance only supports my original claim that he's not ready. Also, I think its obvious that the team misses Pat Chung in run support.
4. Keep Up The Good Work vs. The Run - This one was a fail. Not an epic fail, but The Patriots allowed nearly twice their usual amount of yards on the ground. They had been allowing on 88 yards rushing, but The Bills managed 162 yards rushing between Jackson, Spiller, and Fitzpatrick. There were too many missed tackles, bad angles, and poor efforts from a Defense that had been strong in those areas all season. I think its worth noting that CJ Spiller looked like a totally different player in this game compared to week 3. Its obvious that he is healthy again, and he's really fast when he's 100%.
5. Gronk, Double Threat - Gronkowski did make a very tough catch look routine, and he punctuated that TD catch with his usual spike. However, Gronk was not nearly as involved in this one as I hoped he'd be. I think the Bills may have finally figured out an answer for The Gronk in DB/LB Bryan Scott. Gronk has burned him in past meetings, but Scott seemed to play pretty tight coverage on the bigger TE. Nevertheless, Gronk was the key blocker on Ridley's 24 yard scamper, and on an innumerable amount of other rushing plays. Scott may have done a decent job in coverage, but he was often blocked against the run. Overall, I'd say Gronk had a pretty good day as a dual-threat.
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| McCourty's game-clinching INT |
I want to be sympathetic to Buffalo's claims to have been screwed by the refs, but I think Bills fans need to take a look at how this one ended. You just can't blame the refs when you have a chance to win it at the end. That being said, the refs blew a few calls completely, and in my opinion, Bill Leavy called the game too-tight. The Patriots got the benefit of a few ticky-tack calls to extend drives, and I understand Western NY's frustrations. Still, the zebras didn't have any part of Jackson's fumble or Fitzpatrick's INT.
The Patriots Defense has a way of showing up when needed. However, that statement ignores the fact that they are no where to be found for long stretches of the game. The Patriots Defense just couldn't get off the field on 3rd down. Notably, The Patriots suffered conversions of 3rd and 15 (Jackson screen pass), 3rd and 8 (Chandler catch), 4th and 4 (Johnson beats Dennard), and 3rd and 9 (Johnson for 21 yds). In all The Patriots allowed 35 first downs, 20 passing, 11 rushing, and 4 by penalty, and The Bills finished 7 of 11 on 3rd down.
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| The Patriots managed a lot of QB pressure early, but it disappeared after Spike's roughing penalty. |
Add these poor 3rd down numbers to the fact that The Bills had one drive in the 2nd quarter in which they did not even face a 3rd down situation, and you get a clearer picture of how badly The Defense struggled. However, it is not the full picture. The Bills scored on 5 of their 10 drives, but given such efficiency this is a pretty good statistic for the D. The Patriots forced 3 timely turnovers, a 3-and-out, and forced a punt on 5 plays on The Bills first possession. Overall, The Patriots Defense struggled, but you've got to give them some credit for making plays when the Offense sputtered.
The Patriots Offense was dominant for 3 quarters, but their 4th quarter performance is what everyone will jump on. Also, Brady was seen yelling at Edelman after the Offense stalled on their first possession of the 2nd half. Brady wanted Julian to run a hot route over the middle, but when Edelman ran the wrong route, Brady had to take a sack. The Offense had 9 (full-length) possessions during the game, and they scored on 7 of them. Also, Brady and the Offense only suffered one 3-and-out (on the possession starting at their own 1 yard line). Still, they had a chance to take a 10 point lead, and they failed to punch it in from the one yard line.
Ridley had converted a 3rd and 5, bringing it down to the 1 yard line, but the good news ended there. Not only did Ridley get stopped for a loss, he committed a false start as well. Also, Brady chose to quick-snap, leaving more time on the clock. Ridley's false start and 2 incomplete passes left The Bills with more than 2:00 left on the clock. This was terrible game-management that left the door open for The Bills to win with a TD. This would be a much bigger point of contention if The Patriots didn't close it out with their Defense. As it is, they got lucky that this didn't come back to bite them.
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| Ridley punched one in for a TD, but is he the right back to use near the goal line? |
I really have a problem with using Ridley near the goal line. He had 4 opportunities to run it inside the 2 yard line. Although he had a nice TD run, he was stopped for a loss 3 out of 4 times near the goal line. The Pats are going to need to figure out how to be better in short yardage, especially with Brandon Bolden on suspension.
Before I get too far with my commentary, I want to take a look at the Keys to Victory. I set 5 goals for the team going into this game, and overall they did pretty well. It wasn't perfect, but they did get passing grades on 4 of the 5 keys.
1. Start Fast, Finish Strong - The Offense certainly started fast, getting out to a 10-0 lead. They got a bit lucky on their first drive, narrowly dodging a couple INT chances, but overall The Offense started off well. It would have been nice to see Welker haul in that pass (2 drops) for a TD, but I was happy to have 3 points considering that The Bills should have had a turnover. Likewise, the Defense started off well, forcing a punt on their first series. The problem came in finishing. The Offense could have ended the game with a late TD, and they also went 3-and-out earlier in the 4th quarter. However, the team gets a pass here because of the Defense's ability to finish.
2. Pound It Against Nickel D - Ridley finished with 98 yards and a TD on 22 carries, Danny Woodhead was effective (2 TDs) in limited snaps, but Shane Vereen was largely ineffective (5 carries, 5 yards). I was actually surprised to see The Patriots in predominantly 3-WR sets considering the success they had last time in Buffalo. Daniel Fells was really not a big part of the game-plan because Buffalo was not showing Nickel against 2-TEs. Buffalo certainly made the right adjustment from last game, but I still give credit to Ridley for his hard running. This wasn't quite what I expected, but 29 rushing attempts at 4.0 yards per attempt is good enough to earn a pass here.
3. McCourty - McCourty forced Jackson's fumble at the 1 and grabbed an INT in the end zone. I told you McCourty would be a key to this game. Unfortunately I think that McCourty was out of position on both of Fred Jackson's TD runs, and I think that we saw his weakness as a Safety. McCourty is a good tackler, but quite a few times he got sucked into the wrong lane. Tackling on the edges as a CB is much different than filling lanes as a S. He and Gregory struggled in run support, and I think that contributed to the season-high rushing yards allowed. Spiller and Jackson gashed the Defense rushing and catching, accounting for 246 of Buffalo's 481 yards. I still think McCourty should be a CB, and Dennard's shaky performance only supports my original claim that he's not ready. Also, I think its obvious that the team misses Pat Chung in run support.
4. Keep Up The Good Work vs. The Run - This one was a fail. Not an epic fail, but The Patriots allowed nearly twice their usual amount of yards on the ground. They had been allowing on 88 yards rushing, but The Bills managed 162 yards rushing between Jackson, Spiller, and Fitzpatrick. There were too many missed tackles, bad angles, and poor efforts from a Defense that had been strong in those areas all season. I think its worth noting that CJ Spiller looked like a totally different player in this game compared to week 3. Its obvious that he is healthy again, and he's really fast when he's 100%.
5. Gronk, Double Threat - Gronkowski did make a very tough catch look routine, and he punctuated that TD catch with his usual spike. However, Gronk was not nearly as involved in this one as I hoped he'd be. I think the Bills may have finally figured out an answer for The Gronk in DB/LB Bryan Scott. Gronk has burned him in past meetings, but Scott seemed to play pretty tight coverage on the bigger TE. Nevertheless, Gronk was the key blocker on Ridley's 24 yard scamper, and on an innumerable amount of other rushing plays. Scott may have done a decent job in coverage, but he was often blocked against the run. Overall, I'd say Gronk had a pretty good day as a dual-threat.
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