Well, I was Sort Of Right?!? Thanks For Listening Defense

I wanted to give myself a chance to digest what exactly it was that I saw when Buffalo played New Orleans.  Although the score would suggest that this game was a blow out, it was far from that.  I was one of the few that actually gave Buffalo a shot at winning but they had to focus and win in a few key areas.  Buffalo needed to first and foremost sustain drives.  The Bills would also need put pressure on Saints QB Drew Brees, and finally the Bills would need to cut down on their mistakes and mental lapses.

The game started out very tough for the Bills as the Saints took their first possession for a touchdown.  But, in a weird turn of events, that would be the only touchdown that the Saints would see for the rest of the first half.  With the defense playing well, it was up to Buffalo to take advantage and make some plays on offense.  It was hard to figure out if the Saints defense has been drastically improving or if Buffalo’s offense line has finally been exposed for what it is, young and inexperienced.  Buffalo had trouble protecting the pocket for Trent Edwards and had trouble creating running lanes for Fred Jackson.  

Buffalo’s only touchdown came on a special teams play, a fake field goal to DE Ryan Denney.  Buffalo’s main WRs were shut down and even Terrell Owens had a 185 games with a catch streak halted.  Buffalo needed to sustain drives and failed to do so.  Trent Edwards was consistently being pressured, but when he did have time to throw had over or under thrown passes to Terrell Owens that could have broken the game wide open.  It appears that as good as this Bills team looked against the Bucs on offense, they can look equally as bad.  

Many of the things that Buffalo did last week that helped them toward victory were not being executed this week on offense.  The defense did their job for most of the game by pressuring QB Drew Brees.  Brees found a lot of success on the Saints first drive but found it difficult through the next two and a half quarters.  The usually accurate Brees was overthrowing and under throwing his receivers, his timing was off.  Even Chris Kelsay was able to get a sack, which means he is close to tying his production from last year.  

As good as the defense was for Buffalo for most of this game, their decisions as a team were atrocious.  12 penalties and 2 turnovers will not win many games in the NFL, and that was what Buffalo produced.  Buffalo’s on-field discipline has been terrible and have no paid for it with a loss.  The other thing to point out is that although the special teams touchdown was impressive, this is another game where a special teams returner has made a game changing mistake.  WR and return man Roscoe Parrish fumbled a punt return as Buffalo was gaining momentum.  That turnover resulted in New Orleans being able to get ahead on the scoreboard.

It is safe to say that against the Patriots, Buffalo played well enough that they deserved the victory.  Against the Saints the same can not be said.  All that can be taken away is a plethora of missed opportunities that could have put Buffalo in a position to upset a potential Super Bowl contender.  Buffalo’s inability to manage the clock, sustain a drive, avoid penalties and turnovers ultimately led to a very disappointing showing against the Saints.  But, to Buffalo’s credit, they have shown the rest of the league that the Saints are not as invincible as once perceived.

Tags: Buffalo Bills, Chris Kelsay, Drew Brees, Fred Jackson, New Orleans Saints, Roscoe Parrish, Ryan Denney, Super Bowl, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Terrell Owens, Trent Edwards