Everything Went Right In Opening Day Rout.
by Steve Saslow
Here are our position by position grades:
Quarterback:Ryan Fitzpatrick made a nice four yard touchdown pass on third and goal to convert the opening kickoff turnover. He went on to throw three more touchdowns. He was in control going 17 of 26 for 208 yards for a very healthy 113.5 QB rating.
Brad Smith threw one pass out of the wildcat. It was a bomb late in the game and it was intercepted.
Tyler Thigpen came into the game in garbage time and didn't throw a pass.
Grade A+: Great performance by Fitz.
Fred Jackson ran hard all game long and the only blemish is he didn't score a touchdown. He did run the ball 20 times for 112 yards.
C.J. Spiller got his first career rushing touchdown on a nine yard run. He only had 7 yards on four other carries.
Grade A+: Jackson is just an unbelievable leader.
Stevie Johnson made a beautiful leaping grab for a touchdown in the first quarter. He finished with four catches for 66 yards.
Donald Jones failed to get both feet down on a pass that could have set the Bills up for their third touchdown before halftime. He made two catches for just three yards but one went for a touchdown.
David Nelson made two huge catches on the Bills second TD drive. He was a constant short range target for Fitzpatrick. He finished with identical numbers to Johnson without the score.
Scott Chandler had the first TD reception of his career on the opening drive. He had receptions of 19 and 13 yards on a 2nd quarter FG drive. He then caught his second touchdown pass of the game in the second half. Finished with five catches for 63 yards.
Grade A: Nice to see the return of the tight end to the Bills offense.
Demetrius Bell was called for a false start penalty.
Andy Levitre got to play some center in garbage time.
Eric Wood looked stout in the middle.
Chad Rinehart got called for a false start penalty when he was in on the goal line as a tackle eligible in the wildcat formation.
Erik Pears was beaten for a sack ending the Bills first drive of the second half.
Grade A: Only gave up one sack and paved the way for a 4.2 yards per carry average on the ground.
Kyle Williams was very quiet as he had no stats.
Marcell Dareus got some early pressure on Cassel forcing a sack. Jumped offsides on 4th down giving the Chiefs a first down. He had two tackles.
Dwan Edwards had one tackle.
Spencer Johnson had a sack and two tackles.
Grade B: Did a good job holding the line on running plays forcing the backs outside.
Shawne Merriman was quiet getting just one tackle.
Chris Kelsay got pressure on Cassel forcing him to step up and get sacked on their first possession. He had one tackle.
Nick Barnett was very busy in pass coverage and run defense and was credited with four tackles.
Kirk Morrison had a tackle.
Grade C+: Gave up some big runs on the edge.
Terrence McGee left the game after one play with a hamstring pull as his injury woes continue.
Leodis McKelvin recovered a fumble and broke up an open field pass.
Drayton Florence had an interception and a pass breakup on two long passes.
Jairus Byrd made a big open field tackle for a loss on a screen pass to Charles. He had five tackles.
George Wilson missed an open field tackle on the Chiefs first offensive play leading to a 15 yard gain on a screen pass. He forced a fumble late in the second quarter. He had five tackles.
Bryan Scott got a sack on the Chiefs opening possession. He was very active with eight tackles.
Aaron Williams went for the pick six and missed, allowing Charles to catch an easy TD pass late in the first half. Finished with three tackles
Grade B+: Only gave up 119 yards passing.
Brian Moorman had an off day as three of his five punts went for touchbacks. He did average 51.4 yards per punt.
Rian Lindell nailed field goals from 29 and 38 yards out and hit all five extra points. Did a nice job kicking off from five yards closer.
Brad Smith had one kickoff return for 21 yards but was stopped inside the 20.
Roscoe Parrish had a 28 yard punt return but just had 7 return yards in his three other returns.
Coverage Units Chris White forced a fumble on the opening kickoff that was recovered by Kelvin Sheppard. Allowed 21 yards per kickoff return and 15 yards per punt return.
Grade B: Didn't have to lead the team to victory.
Chan Gailey Really had the team ready to play. They played hard for him to get a bit of revenge against the team that fired up on the eve of the season a few years back. Two uses of the wildcat were puzzling. Going deep late in the game with the rout on. Lining up from that formation on third and goal from the one inch line when they were running well.
George Edwards his defense did a nice job despite being very shorthanded in the secondary when McGee went out with his injury.
Bruce DeHaven did an excellent job dealing with the new kickoff rules. They avoided touchbacks while making KC to start inside the 20 on a few occasions.
Grade A+: Great opening day performance all around.
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