Buffalo have been artists of the comeback this year. They have put together 3 straight 4th quarter rallies, and with all honesty, I knew there wouldn’t be another masterpiece today. Arizona were astronomically better than the Bills this afternoon while giving Buffalo a shot in the arm, and perhaps a fall back down to Earth. In terms of what went wrong; where do I begin?
I’ll start by pointing out perhaps the most significant loss today - the one to Trent Edwards. Now, I want to preface this by saying that in no way do I pin today’s defeat on JP Losman, who was more than solid in his season debut. No, Buffalo would not have won this game had Edwards been healthy. Moreover, it wouldn’t have been any closer either. Nevertheless, the loss to Edwards is a scary proposition, and early word is that it is a concussion, which in a screwed up way, is good news considering what I thought it might be. On a positive note, Buffalo have their bye week next week, and hopefully that will give #5 an opportunity to get the cobwebs out, and return to the field for week 7. That said, I don’t want to take lightly the prospect of a head injury, which is never something one should easily overlook.
With regard to the rest of the game, there was little to hang your hat on if you are a Buffalo fan. In fact, for much of the game, I saw the early season 2007 team that looked overwhelmed at times. There were actually so many examples of the ‘07 Bills on display today that it scared me; too many 3rd down conversions for the Cardinals (including 3rd and longs), missed opportunities (Ashton Youboty dropping an interception in the first half), bad penalties at terrible times (Justin Jenkins offsides on the field goal, resulting in a touchdown), and a defense that was exhausted from being on the field for far too long - a problem that I hang squarely on their shoulders.
All of that said, the problem that concerns me the most, one that has begun to rear its ugly head in recent weeks, is the front-4’s inability to generate any type of pass rush without the assistance of a blitz. The Cardinals played this perfectly today, and it was as if they knew this was a serious ineptitude of the Buffalo defense. They lined up with 4-wide on what seemed like every other play, forcing Buffalo into mismatches on wide-outs, and keeping their propensity to blitz at bay. I’m a big fan of Schobel, but against Mike Gandy (and I know, he was double teamed for much of the game, but not on every play), he has to get to the QB with more consistency. Then again, Chris Kelsay is not to be let off the hook here either.
Offensively, Buffalo were par for the course in my opinion. The turnovers certainly are of concern, but I’d argue that only 2 of them had a real impact on the game. When you are down 3+ scores, you are going to see more turnovers, as there is a sense of urgency to take more chances. I’ll admit that the pass to Evans brought back some fond memories, and whether or not you like Losman, you can’t deny that he still throws the long ball as well as anyone in the game. Lynch had his typical stat line, and had the defense not been on the field for more than 36 minutes, perhaps he could have enjoyed more than 13 carries.
Game Balls
Offense: JP Losman; For lack of a legitimate option here, I’ll give it to #7, who did a solid job in Edwards’ stead. Despite the fact that there was some stat padding late in the 4th quarter, he did end the day 15 of 21 for 221-yards, with a touchdown and a pick, while also adding a TD on the ground.
Defense: Jabari Greer; I know, Fitzgerald was pretty effective today, but it wasn’t all on Greer’s watch. He made some nice open field tackles, including one inside the 5 that would have been a sure touchdown (does it matter that it ended up in the end zone anyway?). He also did have a couple of nice break-ups on passes headed #11’s way. Again, there really wasn’t anyone who had a great game on this unit.
Special Teams: Rian Lindell; 1-1 from 48-yards. Ok, here’s your game ball.
Quick Hits
-For those of you Bills’ fans who were undoubtedly throwing things at your TV in an effort to get Jauron’s attention to throw the red flag on Royal’s fumble, take solace in the fact that it was the right call not to. Royal’s knee clearly was not down, and you should actually have been throwing things in an effort to tell Royal to get his head on straight, as he makes plays like this at least once a year.
-James Hardy had 3 grabs for 35-yards, and rookie Steve Johnson had an 8-yard catch in garbage time. I know, I’m grasping at straws here.
-I mentioned the 3rd down defense numbers earlier - sit down - Arizona were 9-15 on their 3rd down conversions.
When all is said and done, I think this will be a positive experience for the Bills. They were 4-0, having not had a real test other than the road game in Jacksonville, and while I don’t think this team is in any way cocky or over-confident, a fall back to Earth can’ hurt them any. It is fortunate that the bye week is directly ahead, as this will afford Buffalo the extra week to prepare for another tough test in San Diego 2-weeks from now. I’ll keep you covered all week with any news, particularly on the status of Trent Edwards.
It was a tough one today, but, what will assuredly help is to repeat the numbers 4 and 1, ten times in your head. Before the season started, I’ll wager that anyone supporting the Bills would have been more than happy with that record going into the bye. And, if you need something else to cheer you up, I’m now 1-4 for the year on my picks! Until later this week…
Go Bills!
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Last post (s) by Tim Anderson
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Tags: Arizona, Bills, Buffalo, Cardinals, Trent Edwards
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7 Responses to “Comeback not in the Cards this Week, Buffalo Drop to 4-1”
Posted: 10/05/08 at 5:23 pm
The first four weeks the Bills had the 6th ranked defense on third downs. They couldn’t get off the field on third downs to save their life today. I thought a lot of the problems with the defense today rested on the coaching staff. They were giving way to much cushion to the receivers making those 8 yard completions way too easy. If Tom Brady or Peyton Manning do that to your defense you understand it, but there is no way in hell Kurt Warner should light up your defense like that. Absolutely pathetic display by the Bills D. I think now teams have the game plan for the Bills. Spread the field and throw it around, and don’t even try to run on 1st and 2nd down. I felt like even with JP in there the offense could move the ball, they just stalled out drives because mistakes they made. We did see today why Trent Edwards is this teams QB of the future. Losman still holds on to the ball too long and makes some bad decisions. It wasn’t a bad game for him, but we saw why he will never be a regular starter in this league. I disagree that the game wouldn’t have been closer with Edwards in, though they still wouldn’t have won. It was only a 10 point game when the Bills started turning it over. You can’t give that offense a short field. I think before the season started any Bills fan would have taken 4-1 at the bye, so it’s not all bad. The goal of this team was to make the playoffs, and we’re still first place in the division.
Posted: 10/05/08 at 5:55 pm
Agreed on Losman and Edwards. Edwards is easily the superior quarterback, and it is very obvious he is the future of the team, but in terms of the final score and turnovers, the key turnovers occurred as a result of poor plays by others aside from Losman. Royal’s fumble was just a stupid play, and Losman’s bad exchange with Lynch could be pinned on Fowler, who was utterly blown up on the play. Either way, like you said, they would not have won this game.
Posted: 10/05/08 at 5:56 pm
Also, I agree with your point on the coaching. There was far too much of a cushion given to the Arizona receivers. I can see not trying to jam Fitzgerald at the line, but beyond him, they could have put a little more pressure on the receivers.
Posted: 10/05/08 at 7:26 pm
Cards love to start fast at home. Go back 2 years ago in the MNF game against Chicago, but Leinhart blew it for them.
This Cards team is now 8-2 at home under Wisenhunt and that place was loud on TV.
As for Edwards, the bye week will be vital for them! As for the Bills, you are Tim, regardless of who was in there, the protection was awful from the OL. The Cards D was ferocious!
As you said, lets see how this team responds to a loss.
Posted: 10/06/08 at 1:59 am
Its amazing how much better the cards are at home then they are playing on the road.
Lets hope that Edwards is fine, he is playing some really good football.
Posted: 10/06/08 at 6:53 am
I wouldn’t say the OL was awful - they certainly weren’t great! The real issue of course was the defense. No matter who was calling the signals, they wouldn’t have been able to keep up. Which is why I felt that the offense was par for the course today (of course they lost some without Edwards). This is what Buffalo can expect, 14-21 points a game. If you look at their output this year, that is about right - they simply aren’t able to put upwards of 40 points on the board in a single game.
Posted: 10/06/08 at 6:55 am
Tell me about it. I can’t say that I’ve really followed their team over the past 2-years, but the numbers don’t lie…and yesterday’s game told a similar tale as well.
I too hope that Edwards will return quickly, and I have a feeling that he will - especially with the bye this week. Regardless of whether or not Losman’s presence in this game made a difference, it will down the stretch if Edwards can’t go.
That said, I think that if JP has to start 2-3 games, Buffalo can tread water, and will be fine. I have faith in Losman even though Edwards is the superior quarterback.