Buffalo Bills’ week 17 grades

By Connor Byrne  |   Monday, January 02, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Buffalo Bills
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article!
Sunday, in yet another disappointing defeat, the Buffalo Bills were upended by the lowly Jets, 30-26. The loss dropped the Bills to 5-11, their second worst mark since 2001 when they finished 3-13. As for the Jets, they didn't exactly do themselves any favors with the victory.

They may have saved Herm Edwards' job but they lost out on an opportunity for Matt Leinart or in a perfect world, Reggie Bush. With all that being said, here is the final installment of the Bills' weekly grades...

Offense:

Quarterback... D+. Former backup Kelly Holcomb got his eighth start of the season and ended on a disastrous note. He was intercepted 4 times (3 by Ty Law), and sabotaged the Bills' last drive by throwing a terrible pass into double coverage that was intercepted to close out the Bills' hopes of a comeback. On the bright side, Holcomb threw two nice touchdown passes and rallied the team for a little while in the second and third quarters. Unfortunately, the day was filled with too many mistakes from the veteran. Without question, this performance proved why Holcomb isn't fit to be a starter in this league and why he shouldn't be included in the Bills' plans as anything more than a backup. The first-year starter, J.P. Losman, was nowhere to be found and that should fall onto the coach's shoulders. More on that later.

Running game... B+. On the day, the Bills rushed for 159 yards and 5.3 yards per carry. So, why not an A+? The reasoning is simple. 39 of those yards came on a reverse play to Lee Evans on the first play from scrimmage and I exclude that from the running game grade because it doesn't involve the running back. As for the actual running back, Willis McGahee gashed the Jets for 113 yards and ran as hard as he has all season. I was extremely impressed with the Bills' second-year starter and it may be a sign of things to come for next season. It was Willis' first 100-yard performance since October 30th and it's nice to see him end on a positive note.

Wide receivers/tight ends... C+. 10th year veteran Eric Moulds, possibly in his final game with the Bills, was absolutely tremendous for a third straight week. He ended up with eight receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. Moulds has clearly proven that he is still great when the ball is thrown his way and he's given the chance to make plays. Unfortunately, Moulds' performance comes at the expense of sophomore receiver Lee Evans. With Holcomb at QB, Evans barely gets any looks and he finished with just two catches for 17 yards to close out a frustrating season. Also, a quick congratulations to rookie Roscoe Parrish who caught the first touchdown of his career. As for the Bills' slot receiver, Josh Reed, and the tight end, Mark Campbell, they combined for just 15 yards on four catches. Basically, outside of Moulds, it was a weak day for the entire group. Despite the touchdown, Parrish had just 23 receiving yards.

Offensive line... B. With Holcomb in, the Bills' much-maligned line seems to perform better. They did a very nice job of run-blocking and held off the Jets' solid pass rush for most of the game. However, they allowed two sacks in the second half, one of which came on a fourth-and-10 that led to a turnover on downs on the Bills' second to last possession. Still, it was a solid day overall from the group.

Overall offensive grade... C. 331 total yards and 26 points should be enough to win a football game. Unfortunately, Kelly Holcomb's turnovers--one interception was returned for a TD by Jets linebacker Mark Brown--crippled some of the Bills' possessions and gave the Jets more opportunities. Three of Holcomb's interceptions came on tipped passes but none of them were well thrown, especially the intended flat pass to fullback Daimon Shelton that was intercepted and returned by Brown.

Defense:

Defensive line... B+. There wasn't a great deal of pressure on Jets QB Brook Bollinger applied by the group. However, DT Sam Adams, likely in his last game on the Bills, had a pair of sacks and the remainder of the line held the Jets to just 81 rushing yards on 27 carries. The grade may seem a little bit high but if you can hold down an opposing running game that well, even if a backup is playing, it's still an impressive feat. Overall, there were positives from the Bills' defensive line on Sunday.

Linebackers... C+. Strong side LB Jeff Posey, perhaps also in his final game with the Bills (hopefully not), had a sack and looked pretty solid overall. London Fletcher racked up 8 tackles and Angelo Crowell had 6. Those stats are all decent but outside of Posey's sack, where were the big plays? It would have helped the Bills out greatly if one of these three would have stepped in front of a Bollinger pass or forced a fumble. Well, not on this day. Just wait until next season when 2-time Pro Bowler Takeo Spikes returns from his Achilles injury and is ready to go to battle with his fellow linebackers. Opposing offenses won't want any part of that.

Secondary... C. Much like the linebackers, it was an average day. Despite the fact that Bollinger threw for just 153 yards, he still had completions of 45 and 43 yards. That's just flat-out unacceptable for a secondary to give up two completions of that distance to a QB who was nothing more than a third-stringer entering the 2005 season. Undoubtedly, the starting secondary consisting of Nate Clements, Terrence McGee, Lawyer Milloy and Troy Vincent, won't remain intact next season. Clements is an unrestricted free agent while the duo of Milloy and Vincent has major age concerns.

Overall defensive grade... B-. The day wasn't anything special but the defense still did enough to win. They gave up just 207 total yards by playing a bend but don't break type of game, and allowed just 16 points. The other 14 came on the Brown interception return and a special teams touchdown (more on that in a bit). The only gripe that I have with the Bills' defense was their inability to force a turnover like the Jets' defense did, and the two deep passing plays that were allowed.

Special teams:

For once, the Bills' ST unit didn't step up to the plate. They muffed a punt, which they got back, and muffed a kickoff, which they got back.

McGee had his usual solid day of returning kicks as he was seemingly up around midfield every time he was responsible for the returns. Also, Rian Lindell hit all 4 of his field goals, including a 52-yarder. However, they allowed Jets kick-return man Justin Miller to go 95 yards for the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter. It put the Jets up 30-26 and officially took the wind out the Bills' sails. Unfortunately, in a year of brilliance for the Bills' special teams unit, 2005 had to end on a negative. Overall ST grade = D.

Coaching:

Where should I begin? The play-calling in the Jets' red-zone was absolutely atrocious. They had Holcomb throwing five yards shy of the end-zone on their first two possessions and both led to field goals. It was the kind of cautious, yet terrible play-calling that has come from head coach Mike Mularkey since he took over the calls back in October. The biggest mistake made by the coach was his inability to handle the QB situation. Let's face it, Sunday's game was meaningless. Was there any excuse to continuously play Holcomb instead of Losman? In my opinion, the answer is no. Losman was a first-round pick back in 2004 and this year was supposed to be his to develop. Unfortunately, that went by the wayside. Lastly, Bobby April, the most likeable coach on the staff, didn't get his special teams ready to play. It was unfortunate to see that because nobody on this staff has done a better job in Buffalo than April.

Coaching grade = F.

Sunday's loss was a fitting end to a terribly disappointing and frustrating season for the Bills. The coaching was awful and the handling of the player personnel on the field was awful. After the game, Bills' owner Ralph Wilson said that there would be some structural changes within the organization. If he wants to win, that will signal the end of the Mularkey era in Buffalo. At the moment, the chances of that happening are about the same as me actually keeping a New Years resolution. In other words, forget it.

Connor Byrne can be reached at cbyrne@realfootball365.com.
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article! (0)

About Connor Byrne

Sorry, Connor Byrne's bio is currently not available. Please check back soon!
read more
Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report