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Week 12: All Three Units Contribute To Upset Win
The units picked each other up during lulls in the game.
by Steve Saslow
Here are our position by position grades:
Quarterback:
J.P. Losman managed a good game today and made some plays including a great throw on the run for a 30 yard completion to Roscoe Parrish to setup the winning field goal. He has now had game winning drives in two straight games. Even his one mistake ended in a positive. He under threw a ball that was intercepted but Robert Royal forced and recovered a fumble setting up the Bills first score. He finished 21 of 28 for 169 yards. Grade A-: He is coming of age right before our eyes.
Running Backs:
Willis McGahee returned to action and showed no ill effects from his injured ribs. He only ran the ball 12 times but gained 63 yards, including touchdown runs of 4 and 30 yards. On both scores he made nifty moves to free himself up to score. Anthony Thomas was suppose to split time with McGahee but was bothered by a twisted ankle sending Shaud Williams into the game for a play. Williams had one carry for two yards while Thomas had no yards on four carries but he did catch three passes. Daimon Shelton wasn't used too much in lead blocking today as they weren't in the I formation to much. Grade B: Very productive considering the Jaguars huge front four.
Receivers:
Lee Evans was the go to guy early but it was Roscoe Parrish who caught the two balls on the final drive. Evans had five catches for 58 yards and caused the Jaguars to move Rashean Mathis to his side. Parrish had just the two catches for 36 yards but they were huge and the 30 yarder was a thing of beauty. Peerless Price had three catches for a paltry 10 yards. Andre' Davis had his first catch of the season for five yards. The tight ends were used in the passing game this week as Robert Royal and Brad Cieslak each caught three passes. Cieslak had 25 yards including a TE screen that converted a third down. Royal had 14 yards but was open deep for a ball that was over thrown. Kevin Everett who? Grade B-: Made some catches in big spots.
Offensive Line:
The line did not give up a sack in this game for the first time during a J.P. Losman start. For the second straight game Losman had a lot of time to throw. They even opened some holes in the running game against the big tackles of Jacksonville. Jason Peters was called for a penalty. Grade A: Their best effort of the season.
Defensive Line:
The line got a lot of pressure on Garrard without blitzing although they also gave up some big holes in the running game. Aaron Schobel finished a ½ sack and seven tackles. Chris Kelsay was all over the field and had three tackles, a pressure, and a pass defensed. He had two tackles in the backfield. Ryan Denney was quiet with just two assists. Larry Tripplett had his best game as a Bill as he had 1½ sacks and four tackles. He also forced a fumble that kept the Jaguars from continuing a drive that ended in a missed FG. Kyle Williams was called for a roughing the passer call. Anthony Hargrove had his first sack as a Bill. Grade B: Great pressure, would have been an A if it wasn't for poor run defense.
Linebackers:
The linebackers were caught out of their gaps a lot giving the Jaguars huge chunks of yardage on the ground. London Fletcher had a quiet 11 tackles and was beaten for a touchdown. Takeo Spikes had no solo tackles for the second straight week. Angelo Crowell was in on seven tackles. Grade D: Worst game of the year for this unit.
Secondary:
Terrence McGee had five tackles and good coverage most of the game but he couldn't stop Matt Jones from catching the game tying touchdown. He also had a nice open field tackle on the Jaguars final scoring drive. Nate Clements had four tackles and was a lockdown corner. Ko Simpson and Donte Whitner were out of position in run support a lot. Whitner had 8 tackles, Simpson had 5. Grade A-: Only allowed 132 yards passing.
Special Teams:
Roscoe Parrish was the star of this unit with his 82 yard punt return for a score. He also had a 22 yard return. Kiwuakee Thomas gets an assist on Parrish's score as he kept him on his feet when he stumbled. Thomas was also called for a personal foul in punt coverage. Rian Lindell also deserves props for his first game winning field goal as a Bill. He was 2 for 2 in this game with 21 and 42 yard kicks. Brian Moorman didn't have his usual magic touch on punts. He averaged 44.2 yards on six punts but had one touchback and none stopped inside the 20. On the touchback Jabari Greer had a shot at downing it inside the one but it got by him. Terrence McGee didn't have much of a chance to return kicks as Scobee was kicking it deep in the end zone. He got impatient and returned one from three yards deep in the end zone to the 15 yard line. He did a nice job running 19 yards with the final squib kick that setup the Bills to drive for the winning field goal. Shaud Williams made the heads up play by picking it up and flipping it back to McGee. Grade A: Responsible for the win.
Coaching:
This team continues to make halftime adjustments. Perry Fewell was able to stop the sieve known as the Bills run defense and they were much stronger in the second half. The offensive gameplan to get the ball to the tight ends more helped move the chains a bit. The Bills made a mistake by not going for more points just before halftime after the Jaguars second touchdown. The conservative attack was a bad move considering how the Jaguars were moving the ball on the ground. They also got too conservative by running it on 3rd and 7 when they were trying to get a fourth quarter field goal. Grade A-: Three wins in four games, don't need to say anymore.
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