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Week 11: Defense Wilts; Offense Has No Chance
Special teams too good for this team.
by Steve Saslow
Here are our position by position grades:
Quarterback:
J.P. Losman showed some poise early despite the blowout. His 30 yard run that setup a touchdown was nice but he made a rookie mistake by spiking the ball with 1:30 left after the run. That left too much time on the clock for the Chargers as they moved 83 yards in :46 for another score. He struggled for most of the game despite moving around well, it was like a jail break in the second half as he was pressured on almost every play. His mobility allowed him to get some deep passes off, he under threw his 42 yard completion to Evans or it would have been a touchdown. He finished with 168 yards passing on 20 of 36. Grade C-: Didn't have a chance thanks to the defense.
Running Backs:
Willis McGahee was not involved because they trailed by a lot early. He only carried the ball 10 times gaining 39 yards as the team had 13 rushes in all. Shaud Williams lost four yards on his only carry. Daimon Shelton scored his first touchdown of the year on the two yard pass by Losman just before halftime. Grade Incomplete: How can you grade 11 carries and three catches?
Receivers:
Eric Moulds caught five passes for just 38 yards as he has shown that he can't break any tackles anymore. He was called for a questionable pass interference penalty. Lee Evans caught four passes for 69 yards including a 42 yard bomb late in the game. Roscoe Parrish added 14 yards on two receptions. Josh Reed couldn't haul in a pass in the end zone on the opening drive that would have been a great play by Losman and then promptly dropped another pass on the second series. He leaves his feet too early and then can't catch the ball. He needs to make those catches, they may have kept the Bills in the game a while longer. Mark Campbell had a costly false start penalty on the opening possession. Tim Euhus has his first two catches of the season for 12 yards. Grade D: Never made the big plays when needed.
Offensive Line:
Trey Teague was called for holding deep in their own end on a QB draw in the 2nd quarter. Jason Peters struggled all game. He was beaten on the speed rush all game and was called for holding and illegal motion penalties. Trailing by so much allowed the Chargers to tee off and Losman was sacked six times. It would have been more if it wasn't for his mobility. Grade F: Couldn't keep the defense at bay as they teed off on Losman in the second half.
Defensive Line:
Aaron Schobel was active and seemed to make some plays. He had a couple of pressures and three tackles. Chris Kelsay had a very quiet four tackles. Sam Adams left with an injury but clogged up the middle well early. Tim Anderson also didn't give up too many runs up the middle. Grade F: No pass rush part of the problem.
Linebackers:
London Fletcher was beat on a play action touchdown pass to Lorenzo Neal late in the first half. He led the way with 16 tackles but too many of them came after big gainers. Jeff Posey had a nice sack and forced fumble. Unfortunately he was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the play. He had five tackles. Angelo Crowell was in on nine tackles. Grade F: Did their share in the rout loss.
Secondary:
Terrence McGee played in the dime defense early but couldn't play much because of his hamstring injury. Jabari Greer took his place and was beaten for a touchdown by Gates late in the first quarter. He had three tackles. Nate Clements, the so called lockdown corner, was beat to crisp for two second quarter touchdowns, a 23 yarder by Eric Parker and a 29 yarder by Keenan McCardell. He was just plain awful. He was constantly playing too soft in the game. He even got called for an offsides penalty. He had 11 tackles which is way too much for a corner. Troy Vincent was quiet as he was banged up and had six tackles. Lawyer Milloy was late getting over to help out on Gates' first quarter touchdown. He had 10 tackles playing hurt. A gutty performance. Grade F-: Gave up 263 yards passing in the first half!
Special Teams:
The only unit to perform well. Big kickoff returns by Terrence McGee and Roscoe Parrish setup the Bills 10 points. McGee hampered by a hamstring injury still managed a 42 yard kickoff return to setup an opening drive field goal. He would not return anymore kicks because of his injury. Parrish had a 36 yard return to setup a first half touchdown. He ended up with a 176 return yards on six returns for a 29.3 yard average. His longest return was 45 yards. Rian Lindell hit a 53 yard field goal. Brian Moorman took advantage of the beautiful weather to boom some punts. He averaged 48.5 yards on four punts including one inside the 20. The coverage units allowed only 17 yards per kick return and no punt returns. Grade A: This unit is too good to be linked to the terrible defense and offense.
Coaching:
Mike Mularkey did not have the team prepared to play. Coming out throwing against the Chargers was the right call although they did not execute well. Jerry Gray stubbornly stayed with the blitzes even though they were getting picked apart on them. Why didn't they cover Gates with a corner? The Bills should have been bold and do an onside kick after their second quarter touchdown. Grade F-: The worst first half performance in Bills history.
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