Hayden Fox's Assessment: Week Seven

[Hayden Fox]

Positives
* Team committed initially to the run and had success. Daniel Thomas and Lamar Miller were good today. Miller has some zoo-zoo.
* The team tried to move the pocket with roll outs and read option.
* The reverse was solid look to Wallace.
* Brandon Gibson athletically going over the top for a TD.
* Ryan Tannehill to Wallace deep and in stride. Might be improving.
* Tannehill bailed out Mike Sherman (after some brutal play calls) when he broke contain and hit Brandon Gibson for his second TD.
* Pass pro was good until it buckled at the end.
* The defense got a key stop in the red zone and forced the Bills to pull with in one.
* Jared Odrick was active
* Randy Starks had a sack and a FF.
* Dimitri Patterson had a huge sack to back up the Bills late in the 4th.
* Chris Clemons garners a pick.
* Reshad Jones had his best game of the year. Did a nice job in run support, got active as a blitzer and held up in coverage.
* Marcus Thigpen return that gave the offense a chance to score a go ahead field goal at the end of the game.
* The team was strong out of the gates from half time. They have stunk the last three games and they got points and scores today.

Negatives
* A BRUTAL play call at midfield with about three minutes left. A three step drop, strip sack that immediately puts former Dolphins kicker Dan Carpenter in field goal range. A dumb call. On the same lines of Mike Sherman's call last year in Arizona.
* Unacceptable start of the game. Lethargic and slow. That is on the coaching staff and players with little will to win. Flat, flat, flat. The Bills throw a backward pass and no Dolphin defender jumps on the ball. Flat.
* Lost the TO differential 3-1. Unacceptable.
* After success with the run, Sherman and Philbin show their faith in the run game by throwing the ball during possible run downs. Unacceptable. Lost the game for the team.
* Why so much Daniel Thomas? He was good today, but he is not as good as Lamar Miller.
* Mike Sherman gets RT killed on a QB draw on the 5 yard line.
* Play calling after the Clemons pick. They go backwards and miss a FG.
* No challenge on a possible catch by Mike Wallace
* Ryan Tannehill throws a pick six to start the game.
* Ryan Tannehill throws a pick in the red zone
* Ryan Tannheill is stripped at the end of the game and sets the Bills up for a crazy win. 3 step drop and held the ball. The line is busted in two.
* 3rd down offense: 3 of 13.
* After the Bills FG and strike it to one. Sherman goes with three straight pass plays.
* Tyson Clabo got RT killed on a sack and yielded pressure at key moments.
* After a great return by Thigpen at the end of the game. They team cannot move the ball an inch to try a winning field goal.
* The defense cannot defend a screen or a TE.
* Buffalo and a back up, back up QB is 9-19 on 3rd down.
* Somehow Jimmy Wilson is matched at key moments of the game against Stevie Johnson. He is consistently picked on by other teams.
* Sturgis miss a FG after the Clemons pick.
* Don Jones illegally touches a perfect Brandon Fields punt losing valuable field position that the Bills turn into points.
* Penalties. Unacceptable. Sloppy. Shows undisciplined effort during the bye.
* Terrible crowd today. Place is empty. No energy and after a loss like this will make it pathetic on Halloween.

Overall Assessment
* Shame on people sleeping on the Bills...saying we would kill them. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
* The team just lost at home. On a bye. To what is ultimately a third string QB. Not good.
* Cam Wake is hurt. He is a non factor. Huge loss for the team.
* Tannehill was banged up. He will be out before to long. Took punishment today.
* Lamar Miller can be a difference maker yet the coaching staff does not use him. Scratch my head moment.
* I am tired of Joe saying that a fast start is needed and it never happens. At some point, that is on Joe if things are not being executed that he is allegedly is stressing.
* Also, Joe stressing TO differential and it getting NO BETTER. Again, what does it mean that it is stressed and the team gets bombed in that category.
* Can they can the "day off on Thursday" practice sked? Maybe that is why they cannot start fast. Stop reinventing the wheel, Joe.
* All the offense had to do today was not beat itself. In turn, it gave a pick six, threw a pick in end zone and turned it over late to lose the game. Inexplicable.
* I have been a Mike Sherman defender...no more. I am done. I cannot defend the stuff we have seen.
* The team does not know prosperity. They score a TD and give up points the other way. They get a turnover, go backwards on offense. That shows something is missing in the belly and lack of direction from the staff.
* I wanted this team to show progress this year. They had a shot at the playoffs. Yet, this team has gone backwards and is not showing progress. The same mistakes happen every week. I am sure Jeff Ireland will be the fall guy for people. Mike Sherman will follow. However, at what point does Joe Philbin, the leader of the team, get blame? He does not bring any type of edge to the team. No play calling, no motivation, not defensive game planning. He is very disappointing.
* The team gets killed by New England next week. A loss to the Bengals on Halloween and will then be 3-5 and done for the year. It pisses me off that *******s like Heath Evans and Jason Laconfora will be proven to be right. However, with better execution and coaching this team would be in the playoff hunt.
* Dark, dark, dark days ahead for this team in the coming weeks.
* I am drained.

 

[Shouright]

However, at what point does Joe Philbin, the leader of the team, get blame? He does not bring any type of edge to the team. No play calling, no motivation, not defensive game planning. He is very disappointing.

Until he has a quarterback, expect him to have little or no impact. See Greg Schiano for the value of an "edge."

 

[Heinegrabber]

Make it simple
Move your best pass rusher over Clabo. Suggs or Williams
Sack RT
Win the game

 

[Inch78]

Great post as always. Thanks for the perspective.

 

[Goonies]

Lol don't be drained, you should of expected this... You understand football well. My question to you is this, can you name me a up and coming gm who would lead this franchise back to success? We need a bright gm who knows how to draft and put together a Winning team. That includes picking the coaches as well.

 

[SkapePhin]

If they miss the playoffs, the whole regime should be nixed, and that means Philbin too. I hate starting over every 3 years, but Philbin's stubborness on the O-Line will likely cost us the season. We are just not seeing enough progress to warrant another year of rolling the dice.

 

[Mogwai]

This week's going to be ugly. After all the positivity to start the season, we really do find ourselves in a dark place. The idea that we haven't taken the next step as a team and it's the same old bull**** is absolutely terrifying after all these years. We're walking a very thin line now if we want to keep playoff hopes alive.

 

[SkapePhin]

Its a shame Reid didn't become available a year earlier or a year later. He could have done some things with Tannehill.

 

[Hayden Fox]

Lol don't be drained, you should of expected this... You understand football well. My question to you is this, can you name me a up and coming gm who would lead this franchise back to success? We need a bright gm who knows how to draft and put together a Winning team. That includes picking the coaches as well.

I want a grizzled vet for a GM. No more experimenting.

 

[Sirspud]

Positives

* I wanted this team to show progress this year. They had a shot at the playoffs. Yet, this team has gone backwards and is not showing progress. The same mistakes happen every week. I am sure Jeff Ireland will be the fall guy for people. Mike Sherman will follow. However, at what point does Joe Philbin, the leader of the team, get blame? He does not bring any type of edge to the team. No play calling, no motivation, not defensive game planning. He is very disappointing.
.

Ireland has put talent that you can have success with at most positions, and while he is still at fault for failing to fill the position that lost us the game today (right tackle), it is absolutely not his fault that the coaching is choosing to call plays that can magnify that weakness in game-losing fashion when they are completely and utterly unnecessary at that point in a game you are winning against a 4th string QB for an also ran team.

 

[Hayden Fox]

Until he has a quarterback, expect him to have little or no impact. See Greg Schiano for the value of an "edge."

Hold the phone, Tannehill hater....he picked the damn QB!!!! He is connected!

I like RT and want to see more. Hence, more of Joe and his staff, but don't make out Joe was strapped with RT.

 

[Phins117]

Man 3 games ago, felt so good, 3 games later, feel like ****...

 

[Sirspud]

Its a shame Reid didn't become available a year earlier or a year later. He could have done some things with Tannehill.

Taught him to check down? J/k, I think Reid is entirely underappreciated, and even if his Chiefs ride a game managing offense with limited potential to go far to a playoff spot and then exit, would that not still be a success for a team that had won two games last year and has been a bottom rung team since Vermeil left?

 

[H4wt Pocket]

Excellent post...as always. I agree with everything you said. Sherman and Clabo are both ****ing putrid and need to be fired immediately.

 

[Sirspud]

Until he has a quarterback, expect him to have little or no impact. See Greg Schiano for the value of an "edge."

His QB gave him three TD's and dug out of a 14-0 hole with three scoring passes. Yes, he was responsible for that hole in the first place, and in many ways for the failure to hold that lead, but if Tannehill is as bad as you want to imply, it's a failure of Philbin to be putting the game in his hands with three minutes left when there wasn't a reason to on second down playing with a lead.