Some of the game planning looked like it was from last year.
by Steve Saslow
Here are our position by position grades:
Quarterback:J.P. Losman had an up and down day as he threw for a career high 328 yards, threw a touchdown pass in the first minute of the game and ran for a touchdown late in the game. He did fumble twice and threw an interception that contributed heavily to the loss. Grade C-: It isn't all about the yards.
Running Backs:Willis McGahee rumbled for a career high 150 yards on 26 carries but missed a block that contributed to the fumble return for a touchdown. Anthony Thomas only carried the ball once and could have been used more to keep the ground game turning. Daimon Shelton had some good blocks before leaving the game with a head injury. Grade B+: Should have used it more in the 2nd half.
Receivers:Lee Evans was missing in action until the fourth quarter but he finished with a flurry, leading the team with eight catches for 107 yards. Peerless Price only caught three balls for 49 yards but had a big 18 yarder on the first play from scrimmage. Roscoe Parrish had his coming out party with four catches for 104 yards including a 51 yard catch and run on the second play of the game for a touchdown. Josh Reed caught four balls for 45 yards but failed to get a first down on a 4th down reception. Robert Royal had one catch for 20 yards, about his normal day. Kevin Everett still hasn't caught a pass but he did have another holding penalty in this game. Grade B-: Did their job in spots but weren't consistent.
Offensive Line:The line played very well opening up holes for the running game, especially behind Mike Gandy and Tutan Reyes. They averaged 5.5 yards a carry. Pass protection hurt them at times especially against the blitz allowing three sacks. Grade B: They do seem to be jelling into a decent line.
Defensive Line:The line must have believed their own press clippings because they thought they could just walk out there and get to the quarterback. They never got close to Pennington besides Chris Kelsay's one sack for a one yard loss. They did a decent job against the ground game allowing just 3.1 yards per carry. Grade D: More pressure would have made a difference.
Linebackers:London Fletcher was all over the place as usual with 10 tackles. Keith Ellison played the weakside again and was in on eight tackles. Angelo Crowell moved over to the strongside for Takeo Spikes and had 10 tackles. Grade B+: Nice job for this unit.
Secondary:Terrence McGee had three tackles and Nate Clements had five. Ko Simpson and Donte Whitner had quiet days. Grade C: Didn't make big plays when needed.
Special Teams:Brian Moorman only punted twice, a 58 yarder with the wind and a 41 yarder into it. His shovel pass on the fake field goal didn't work when Jason Peters fell down. Terrence McGee averaged a pedestrian 22.2 yards on five returns. Rian Lindell hit both his field goals in tough windy conditions. Roscoe Parrish struggled with the winds gaining just eight yards on two returns. The onside kick worked to perfection as they ran up to the line and kicked it quick. Bobby April had a good play call to counter the change in rules where you can't put everyone to one side. Grade C: Needed to make a big play but didn't, the fake field goal could have been it but it failed.
Coaching:Dick Jauron channeled back in time and brought out the Mike Mularkey playbook. The Bills were running very well but kept going to the passing game and then tried trick plays instead of pounding it out when it was working. The fake field goal attempt wasn't a bad call but the Jets were ready for it so it needed to be executed better. Running a bootleg from the one shouldn't be the play when you should be able to pound it in there with your feature back. Throwing so much in the 2nd half was a mistake. Grade F: Poor performance.
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