Inconsistency rules the day except for the totally inept offense.
by Steve Saslow
Here are our position by position grades:
Quarterback:J.P. Losman can't hold on to the football as he turned the ball over three times, two fumbles and an interception. All the turnovers cut short promising drives. Losman also didn't manage the clock well early as he was called for a delay of game penalty on a third down play in the first series. He is also was forced to call a timeout after a long shovel pass to Willis McGahee. The opening drive stalled when he bobbled a snap from center and took a sack. His first loss fumble came on a 2nd quarter sack. His interception stopped another drive late in the first half. He overthrew a wide open Andre' Davis late in the game. Grade F-: Losman's regressing quickly.
Running Backs:Willis McGahee was used well as a receiver early and ran hard. He finished with 120 total yards, 61 receiving and 59 rushing. He had a 56 yard reception on a shovel pass to setup the opening field goal. He did average only 3 yards a carry. Anthony Thomas had two yards on one carry. He has been absent since opening day. Daimon Shelton had a few good blocks and did a nice job picking up the blitz to keep Losman upright. Grade C: The rout made their opportunities scarce.
Receivers:Lee Evans was quiet catching just one pass for 11 yards. Peerless Price was called for an illegal shift that took away a third down conversion but was the team's most productive receiver, he had five catches for 53 yards. Roscoe Parrish played despite being hampered a bit by a hamstring injury, he did not catch a pass and seemed to be on the field for fewer plays than usual. Andre' Davis saw some time in his place and was open deep late in the game but Losman overthrew him. Josh Reed had four catches for 32 yards. Robert Royal had his most productive day as a Bill. He had six yard catch to convert a third down and a 21 yard reception on his way to a four catch game for 36 yards. Grade D: Not productive enough.
Offensive Line:Aaron Merz got the start at left guard for Tutan Reyes. He performed ok, he seemed overmatched a couple of times and out of position on a play or two but for the most part he held his own. The unit allowed only two sacks and one was a bobbled snap. They opened up some holes early on but not later in the game. Grade C-: Three yards a carry won't cut it for the running game.
Defensive Line:Aaron Schobel had two sacks, two QB hits, and five tackles to go along with a forced fumble as he had the monster game we were waiting for. Chris Kelsay had a sack that blew up a potential reverse and forced them into a third and long. He also had five tackles and a QB hit in the game but was called for a big roughing the passer penalty when he hit Brady as he squatted down. They scored a TD one play later. Ryan Denney got injured in the first quarter and did not return. Anthony Hargrove saw action in Denney's place and also saw action at tackle. He had two tackles. Larry Tripplett did a better job of plugging up the middle and had a season high three solo tackles. Kyle Williams got his second straight start and had three tackles. Tim Anderson had one tackle. The unit helped stuff the running attack allowing just 3.5 yards per carry. Grade A: Three sacks and solid run defense for this unit.
Linebackers:London Fletcher had his best game in a few weeks, with nine tackles including a big third down stop for a loss. Takeo Spikes was quiet again but finished with five tackles. Angelo Crowell was quiet as well as he was in on only four tackles. Grade C: Not a great day from this unit but they did stop the big play on the ground.
Secondary:Terrence McGee was picked on early and bit on a pump fake that would have been a long touchdown but Brady overthrew the receiver. He was beat for a deep touchdown by Chad Jackson. He had some good tackles and finished with six. He was benched for a spell by Jabari Greer who was beat for one big play. Nate Clements did a nice job in pass coverage but was beat for one big play. Ko Simpson and Donte Whitner had quiet uneventful days. Grade C: Allowed under 200 yards in the air but big plays were made.
Special Teams:The kick coverage team gave up a big 74 yard return by Laurence Maroney who finished with 100 return yards. The Pats averaged 39 yards on three returns. Punt coverage unit allowed just a 10.7 yard average on three returns. Brian Moorman averaged 44.5 yards on five punts, no touchbacks and none were inside the 20. Terrence McGee had a 47 yard kickoff return and averaged 30.5 yards on four returns. Roscoe Parrish had a 21 yard return against the league's best punt coverage unit. He averaged 9.8 yards on four returns. Rian Lindell was 2 for 2 on field goals hitting from 40 and 46 yards. Grade C: Four penalties added to this units horror.
Coaching:Dick Jauron had another Mike Mularkey moment when he lined up Josh Reed at QB and Losman at WR. Reed ran the ball like everyone knew he would, he gained one yard. Bobby April and the crowd convinced Jauron to waste a replay challenge on the 74 yard kickoff return in the first quarter. He clearly didn't step out of bounds. Lack of discipline gave them three bad first quarter penalties including the late hit on Brady that led to a touchdown on the next play. They had nine penalties in all for 67 yards. Getting McGahee in the passing game early was a great idea. Why did they stop doing it after the first series? Grade F: No bye week for the coaching staff.
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