Die Hard Sports Fan

Well after a few days to process the game (and some time to vent), I will now rationally express some of my thoughts (the good, the bad, and the ugly) that came from the Buffalo Bills 25-16 loss to AFC East rival Miami Dolphins.  Today we will take a look on the bright side of the game by looking at the good things that happened for the Bills (tomorrow will come the more upsetting side, when we take a look at the bad and the ugly).   

Big special teams play from Langston Walker.  The monstrous 6’ 8”, 366 pound offensive tackle broke through the Dolphins special teams line, and blocked a field goal early in the game.  The block came early in the 1^st half on a 46 yard attempt by ‘fins kicker Dan Carpenter.  The game was still very close and the block was a huge momentum changer. 

Lee Evans continued his dominance catching the ball and had himself a very strong game against the Dolphins secondary.  Evans had 7 receptions for 116 yards.  Looks like the new 4 year, $37.25 million contract isn’t making the wide receiver lazy at all.  The guy is a great football player who leaves it all out on the field each week and his performance has showed it.  Evans has now topped 80 yards in four straight games and hasn’t been held under 65 yards all season.   

The Bills top ranked run defense was on top of its game again.  The Bills must have looked at my advice on how to stop the “wildcat” offense, or they just listened to their coaches.  Either way it is fine with me seeing as the Bills only let up only 59 yards on the ground to running backs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams (in total the Dolphins only had 56 yards rushing).  That is not exactly an esay task seeing as the two have averaged a combined total of over 100 yards a game (103.3 yard average through the first half of the season).

The Bills running backs played well themselves.  Running backs Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson combined for 102 yards on 23 attempts (good for 4.4 yards a carry).  Not only was there performance as a duo strong on the ground but they also produced through the air.  Lynch caught 5 passes for 34 yards showing that the Bills will try to get their back involved in the passing game also (NOTE: Personally I don’t think that the Bills are using their feature back, Lynch, the right way but that will come more in depth in tomorrows article).  

The punter and kicker of the Bills squad also did their part in this one.  Kicker Rian Lindell went 3 for 3 on his field goal attempts (1-1 on extra points) while punter Brian Moorman had 3 punts that went for an average of 40.7 yards.  Both of these players are consistent for the Bills week in and week out so I didn’t expect that to change this week.

Head Coach Dick Jauron got a contract extension.  I will get more into him and his staff tomorrow but the Bills locked up their man for 3 more years.  It has not yet been confirmed yet by Jauron or the Bills, but it is being reported by multiple sources that it has indeed happened.

How does tied for 1^st place sound?  Not sure about some people but it sure sounds pretty good to me.  Even with the loss in the division, the Bills are still tied for 1^st place in the AFC East.  That can easily change for the better (or the worse) as the Bills next two opponents are division foes.  Not time to panic yet Buffalo!

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Woulda…coulda…shoulda…

That’s what the conversation would be today if we hadn’t won the game last week. Jason Campbell seemed to put it all together in the second half, and specifically in the last couple of drives of the game. But, if we hadn’t won, naysayers, far and wide, would be calling once again for Campbell to be replaced. In fact, I can still hear them!

For what it’s worth, I find it to be atrocious that fans can be so acrimonious towards Campbell, or any player. They are Redskins. We’re supposed to be Redskins fans. While it’s one thing to have an opinion, it’s completely different when the voicing of that opinion becomes rude and destructive. A house divided against its self can not stand.

That aside, and in all honesty, Campbell was not playing as well as we would have liked in the first half. There were five drives that stalled. Why? Simply put, Campbell missed the open receiver because he was locked in on his primary receiver that was covered.

Head Coach Jim Zorn said:

We left some things on the field that I was hot about, and he knows it because I was jumping up and down…I was telling him the reason I was jumping up and down - I was trying to get to his eye level so I could actually look him in the eye.

The good news is that he didn’t throw the ball and get it intercepted, which he did frequently in key situations last year. The great news is that he seemed to have internalized the lessons in the second half and executed them on to the field to the delight of all of us, and especially Zorn.

Trust

While last week was great, it was in fact, last week. This week, we need to trust Campbell to give us more of the same. Zorn says it best:

We kind of liked his improvement…Now we want [is] to put these things back to back. I want to see even better play in the weeks to come.

The Cardinals defense is one to be taken lightly. The defensive line held to very good running backs in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown to a measly 72 yards last week against the Miami Dolphins. Moreover, they were exceptional at sliding over and covering the backs as they came out of the backfield for screens and short passes. Thus, the Cardinals line is comprised of athletes that can dominate a game all by themselves by taking the RBs out of the game completely.

The Line Backers are underrated. But they are fast and strong. And, more importantly, they move sideline to sideline. The secondary is solid as well. They held the Dolphins to 122 yards receiving. But, half of those yards came in the last drive when the result of the game was already decided. Plus, the Cardinals defensive secondary is one that likes to tackle. In fact, they made a number of tackles that created negative yardage for the Dolphins.

In short, Campbell says it best.

Arizona has some great players on defense…They really get after the ball. They’re fast.

In the words of Zorn, let’s hope for some good play from Campbell, “back to back.”

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