Sunday’s grades for the Buffalo Bills

By Connor Byrne  |   Tuesday, October 18, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Buffalo Bills
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On Sunday, the Buffalo Bills managed to pull out a victory over the New York Jets. They defeated their division rival 27-17 and catapulted themselves into a tie for first-place in the AFC East. Here are the Bills' grades for this week...

Offense:

Quarterback = B. In his second straight successful start, Kelly Holcomb completed 18 of 26 passes for 172 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Despite the turnovers, I actually thought he was more impressive in this game than in last week's game, when he didn't throw any interceptions. Against the Jets, he looked poised in the pocket and picked apart their 5th ranked pass-defense on certain occasions.

Running game = A+. Starter Willis McGahee had a brilliant day as he rushed 29 times for 143 yards and a touchdown. He gashed the Jets' run defense and moved into third in the NFL in rushing yards on the season. Backup Shaud Williams looked very good as he rushed 6 times for 34 yards.

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends = C. Eric Moulds had a decent day with 7 receptions for 63 yards. He gave a great effort on his touchdown catch as he managed to keep his footing as he caught the ball, get by the Jets' defender, and rumble into the end zone. Lee Evans didn't really get involved as he caught 3 passes for only 22 yards. Tight end Mark Campbell had his finest game of the year with 34 yards receiving. The most impressive play by any of the receivers or tight ends was reserve receiver Jonathon Smith's touchdown in the first quarter. On a crucial third and goal play, he caught the ball along the right sideline, managed to stay in bounds, juke past Jets' cornerback Ty Law, and score on a dramatic dive across the goal line.

Offensive Line = A. This group easily played their best game of the year and proved how well they could do if they had all five starters healthy. Their starting right side (Mike Williams at tackle, and Chris Villarial at guard) returned from injury and made a big impact. The group held the vaunted Jets' front-seven to just one sack on the game and limited pressure on Holcomb. They managed to block their way to 177 yards rushing. This group has been at the end of a lot of criticism from me lately and they really responded in this game. However, there's still some room for improvement on pass-blocking.

Overall Offensive grade = B+. The Buffalo Bills offense totaled a season high 341 total yards. Holcomb played well but the receivers need to do a better job of getting open. Moulds and Evans need to come to the forefront over the remainder of the season if this team wants to contend for a playoff spot. As for the running game and offensive line, if they continue their domination, this offense will be in for good things for the next couple of months.

Defense:

Defensive Line = B-. The line piled up four of the team's five sacks and looked good in the pass-rush. Ryan Denney added two sacks, Sam Adams added a sack, and Tim Andersen did as well. Adams had an absolutely tremendous game as he was constantly in Vinny Testaverde's face and he imposed his will on the Jets' offensive line. Other than Adams, the Bills' defensive line was weak against the run as they allowed Jets' starter Curtis Martin to gash them all day. Martin only ran 18 times but still gained 148 yards. Bills' defensive coordinator Jerry Gray needs to find a solution against the run. Blitzing on every play can either work great or have dire effects. In this game, there was a little of both.

Linebackers = B+. Weak side linebacker Angelo Crowell stepped up in this game as he had a huge interception against Testaverde as the Jets were threatening inside Buffalo's twenty-yard line. He also added a sack in what was his best game so far as he made his mentor- the injured Takeo Spikes- proud. The only negative on Crowell was his play against the run. He was steamrolled by Jets' blockers on a number of different occasions and he needs to improve upon that. Strong side linebacker Jeff Posey played a good game, especially in pass coverage. Linebacker London Fletcher didn't chalk up a ton of tackles but he did recover a key fumble in the second half. The Bills' linebacking trio didn't even allow a Jets' tight end to make a catch in this game. They deserve a great deal of credit for that.

Secondary = A-. The Bills' defense surrendered just 161 passing yards and allowed Testaverde to complete less than fifty percent of his passes. Much of that credit has to go to the secondary as they did a very good job. Terrence McGee's interception sealed the deal late in the fourth quarter when the Jets' offense was threatening inside Bills' territory. However, McGee and cornerback Nate Clements allowed Jets' receiver Justin McCareins to catch 5 passes for 116 yards. They atoned for that against the Jets' main receiving threat, Laveranues Coles. He was held to 4 catches for just 33 yards and was not a factor in the game.

Overall Defensive grade = B+. The secondary and linebackers did a very nice job in this game and they really stepped up against the pass. However, those linebackers as well as the defensive line need to improve against the run. They can't continue to allow opposing running backs to run at will on them. At some point, they need to improve in that particular area.

Special teams:

As usual, the Buffalo Bills' special teams unit was something to marvel at. Kicker Rian Lindell continues to have his finest year as a pro as he converted a 50-yard field at the end of the first half, as well as a 38-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter. Punter Brian Moorman did a good job dealing with the swirling winds at Ralph Wilson Stadium as he averaged 42.8 yards per punt. I think it's official that Bills' kick return man Terrence McGee is the best in the NFL. He has surpassed Chiefs' returner Dante Hall as the most dangerous weapon on special teams in the league. He averaged 34.7 yards per return and set up a couple of scores for the Bills' offense. It's only a matter of time before he starts breaking returns for touchdowns. The Bills' coverage unit was good but not great on this day. They allowed Jets' kick returner Justin Miller a long return and they gave up 10.5 yards per punt return. While they certainly weren't bad, it wasn't their finest effort. The rest of the Bills' special teams unit brought their best. Special teams grade = A.

Coaching:

For the second straight week, the Buffalo Bills' offensive game plan improved. They let the running game dominate the line of scrimmage and allowed McGahee to lead the offense for the second straight week. Head coach Mike Mularkey and offensive coordinator Tom Clements called 36 run plays and 26 pass plays on the day. That's the kind of football that this team needs to play. Offensive line coach Jim McNally did a tremendous job making his group cohesive and successful for this game. As for the defense, coordinator Jerry Gray and defensive line coach Tim Krumrie need to continue to work methodically with their run-defense. Special teams coach Bobby April can come away from this game feeling great yet again as his group continues to be the class of the NFL. The main thing that all the coaches need to work on is discipline. The Bills are still taking far too penalties as they were charged with 13 for 99 yards. Coaching grade = B+.



The most important thing about Sunday's victory is that the Bills are now atop the AFC East. If they would have been told that they would be a modest 3-3 through the team's first six games, and in first-place, they likely would have taken it. The team still has things to work on but they are starting to climb up the ladder in their conference. Nobody is going to confuse them with the Colts but they are certainly becoming respectable again. It will be interesting to see how Holcomb and company do next week as they head for the hostile Oakland environment.
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