Bills run game stopped by...the Bills

[convertedpatsfan]

After watching Buffalo destroy our run defense on the first drive of the game, I thought we were in for a long day. The Pats started out with Brace, tried Wright at the nose, brought Brace back in, tried the 3-4, thought I saw the 4-3, snuck a guy up in the box at one point, and an unusual package with no DL, but nothing seemed to work. Fortunately, the Bills are who we thought they were, and they abandoned the run.

Overall, the Bills offense distribution was pretty even, 27 passes to 23 runs (54% passing). But the running game was really on a roll. The distribution should have been like 90% run, especially when your starting QB is Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Looking back at the drive charts, that first drive ate up 9:24 on the clock and they drove all the way to the NE 2 before settling for a field goal. They ran the ball 9 times, throwing only 4 times, all short passes.

The breakdown is even worse when you look at everything AFTER that first drive. 23 passes, 14 runs, 62% passing. Part of that was because the Bills were down by two scores, but part of the reason they were down two scores is because they didn't run the ball. Looking at the drives that followed:

Drive 2: Fred Jackson runs for 8 yards. Then 2 pass attempts, both resulting in sacks. Good job.

Drive 3: The Bills get called for holding, putting them in 1st and 20. They run the first time, then throw twice and punt.

Drive 4: Jackson gains 5 yards, and the Bills pick up the first down on a short pass. Jackson picks up another 14 yards on the ground. The Bills try to throw the ball but can't find anyone open, so Fitzpatrick runs for a few yards. But the Bills are called for holding, putting them in 1st and 20. Jackson is able to pick up 12 yards in 2 downs, then Fitzpatrick throws a pick to kill the drive and leads to a touchdown for New England. 31 yards on 4 carries this drive...maybe you should consider running the ball more.

Drive 5: Not much time before the end of the half so I can understand the 2 passes, which led to a missed FG.

HALFTIME

Drive 1: 2 runs and a pass, 3 and out and punt.

Drive 2: 6 passes vs. 4 runs (including TO's end-around). It seemed like they were gaining momentum until a penalty on TO's end-around, which forced them to throw back-to-back passes which missed, and resulted in a punt.

Drive 3: It's the start of the 4th quarter, and in comes Trent Edwards. Down two scores, it's understandable that the Bills would be pressing. But 4 straight passes and no runs? 2 of those attempts ended up in sacks, though one would be nullified by Brace's facemask penalty.

Drive 4: This drive started with 9:50 left, plenty of time. Fitzpatrick returns and is immediately sacked on a pass attempt. This is the last-ditch effort which included several 4th down attempts. Only 2 of the 12 plays on this drive were runs, and it ended with a dropped pass.

Drive 5: This drive starts at the NE 28 thanks to a nice punt return. The Bills took two pass attempts to score.

The Bills averaged 4.6 yards per carry, and Jackson was averaging 5.3 yards per carry. Jackson had 30 yards on 6 carries on that first drive, 67 yards on 11 carries in the first half, and only 4 carries the entire second half. Lynch struggled at times, but the RB duo had 82 yards on 15 carries, and only 23 yards on 8 carries in the second half. Part of that was situation, but mostly it was poor play-calling for the Bills.

I really hope Vince Wilfork is healthy for next week. We can't rely on horrible opposition coaching to bail out our run defense again.

 

[jmt57]

Thankfully the Bills self-destructed on multiple occasions today. On their last drive the guy sitting next to me said something like 'could they convert another 4th down? - then again, they are the Bills', or words to that effect.

It wasn't just the Bills run game that was stopped by the Bills; it was the entire Bills' game that was stopped by the Bills.

 

[upstater1]

Belichick said they did things differently after the first Bills drive.

 

[tuckeverlasting]

After watching Buffalo destroy our run defense on the first drive of the game, I thought we were in for a long day. The Pats started out with Brace, tried Wright at the nose, brought Brace back in, tried the 3-4, thought I saw the 4-3, snuck a guy up in the box at one point, and an unusual package with no DL, but nothing seemed to work. Fortunately, the Bills are who we thought they were, and they abandoned the run.

Overall, the Bills offense distribution was pretty even, 27 passes to 23 runs (54% passing). But the running game was really on a roll. The distribution should have been like 90% run, especially when your starting QB is Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Looking back at the drive charts, that first drive ate up 9:24 on the clock and they drove all the way to the NE 2 before settling for a field goal. They ran the ball 9 times, throwing only 4 times, all short passes.

The breakdown is even worse when you look at everything AFTER that first drive. 23 passes, 14 runs, 62% passing. Part of that was because the Bills were down by two scores, but part of the reason they were down two scores is because they didn't run the ball. Looking at the drives that followed:

Drive 2: Fred Jackson runs for 8 yards. Then 2 pass attempts, both resulting in sacks. Good job.

Drive 3: The Bills get called for holding, putting them in 1st and 20. They run the first time, then throw twice and punt.

Drive 4: Jackson gains 5 yards, and the Bills pick up the first down on a short pass. Jackson picks up another 14 yards on the ground. The Bills try to throw the ball but can't find anyone open, so Fitzpatrick runs for a few yards. But the Bills are called for holding, putting them in 1st and 20. Jackson is able to pick up 12 yards in 2 downs, then Fitzpatrick throws a pick to kill the drive and leads to a touchdown for New England. 31 yards on 4 carries this drive...maybe you should consider running the ball more.

Drive 5: Not much time before the end of the half so I can understand the 2 passes, which led to a missed FG.

HALFTIME

Drive 1: 2 runs and a pass, 3 and out and punt.

Drive 2: 6 passes vs. 4 runs (including TO's end-around). It seemed like they were gaining momentum until a penalty on TO's end-around, which forced them to throw back-to-back passes which missed, and resulted in a punt.

Drive 3: It's the start of the 4th quarter, and in comes Trent Edwards. Down two scores, it's understandable that the Bills would be pressing. But 4 straight passes and no runs? 2 of those attempts ended up in sacks, though one would be nullified by Brace's facemask penalty.

Drive 4: This drive started with 9:50 left, plenty of time. Fitzpatrick returns and is immediately sacked on a pass attempt. This is the last-ditch effort which included several 4th down attempts. Only 2 of the 12 plays on this drive were runs, and it ended with a dropped pass.

Drive 5: This drive starts at the NE 28 thanks to a nice punt return. The Bills took two pass attempts to score.

The Bills averaged 4.6 yards per carry, and Jackson was averaging 5.3 yards per carry. Jackson had 30 yards on 6 carries on that first drive, 67 yards on 11 carries in the first half, and only 4 carries the entire second half. Lynch struggled at times, but the RB duo had 82 yards on 15 carries, and only 23 yards on 8 carries in the second half. Part of that was situation, but mostly it was poor play-calling for the Bills.

I really hope Vince Wilfork is healthy for next week. We can't rely on horrible opposition coaching to bail out our run defense again.

when you're facing brady, welker, and moss, you can't run the ball all day.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

Thankfully the Bills self-destructed on multiple occasions today. On their last drive the guy sitting next to me said something like 'could they convert another 4th down? - then again, they are the Bills', or words to that effect.

It wasn't just the Bills run game that was stopped by the Bills; it was the entire Bills' game that was stopped by the Bills.

Ahhh I love the Bills I have a friend who's a huge fan, and even he admits they'll always do that to themselves, especially against the Pats. I was worried they'd become competent when Jauron was fired, but I'm glad to be proven wrong.

Belichick said they did things differently after the first Bills drive.

I read that. He mentioned how the Bills were going after the ILBs with the blocking and they made adjustments after that first drive, but not sure how that changed anything. Jackson had 30 yards on 6 carries on that first drive, and 37 yards on 5 carries after that first drive in the first half, so the adjustments weren't exactly shutting down the running game. Maybe there were some more halftime adjustments.

when you're facing brady, welker, and moss, you can't run the ball all day.

Sure you can. In fact, you should so you can eat up as much clock as possible and leave the playmakers on the sideline as long as possible. I mean you have to throw the ball eventually, but they threw it way more than they needed to. I think we were fortunate that the Bills are poorly coached and didn't just continue to run the ball down our throats.

 

[Kulko]

when you're facing brady, welker, and moss, you can't run the ball all day.

Well you perfectly can, as long as you are gaining 6 yards per carry, as they did on the first drives. But even then its hard to run when you face 1st and 20 on your average first down.

I think they would have run more, but for all the false starts.

 

[NEGoldenAge]

Belichick said they did things differently after the first Bills drive.

Well, when Seau came in, the Bills couldn't run nearly as effectively, and that was at the end of the first drive.

The Bills getting flagged for holding on a lot of run plays is a huge part of why they stopped, IMO.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

Well, when Seau came in, the Bills couldn't run nearly as effectively, and that was at the end of the first drive.

The Bills getting flagged for holding on a lot of run plays is a huge part of why they stopped, IMO.

I love stupid threads like these.

The defense gives up 10 points/ 240 yards with 91 in the second half. As a result, some idiot "analyzes" how the opposition "destroyed" the defense.

Have any of you ever heard of adjustments?

One drive is not the game. That's kinda why teams make "adjustments". It's absolutely amazing how this site gets so fixated on a drive and then translates into the game.

Football 101- Maybe they like threw the ball because the Pats like made "adjustments" to like stop the "defense destroying" run.

 

[alvinnf]

Belichick said they did things differently after the first Bills drive.

They covered up a guard. They didn't change their front. They made sure they had one gaurd covered up because Brace was getting scooped and pooped straight up. Great job of coaching. There were times they still got caught, but giving Brace help was huge, he wasn't going to be able to hold his ground straight up.

 

[patsfan-1982]

when you're facing brady, welker, and moss, you can't run the ball all day.

you can when your D holds them to 17 points brady only had 100 yerd passing it's not like the pats where just going up and down the field scoreing TD after TD the bills did a good job on D and if the bills would have stayed with the run they would have put road loose #6 on the pats


but im happy they did not it worked out good for the pats

 

[MassPats38]

There is no question the Bills had some self-inflicted wounds in this game, but so did the Pats. Last week, what was the reason for the defense's success - the "junior varsity" QB as someone put it? Well, that junior varsity QB just put up 300 yards on the very good secondary of the current number 2 team in the NFC and beat it handily. I guess the answer to that outcome is the Vikings now blow and are not as good as its record.

This week it is the lousy Bills team, the same lousy Bills team that beat the Fish 31-14 3 weeks ago and should have pummelled the Pats in week 1, a team that has played all but 3 teams close this season despite losing.

Often times, penalties are the result of defenses simply asserting their wills on an offense - you hold because you cannot block and do not want your QB damaged. How did two of the three Bills QBs look at the end of that game? I would call that punished. The same is true of defensive penalties - Welker was clearly held and interferred with because the secondary was about to give up a TD.

The defense had a bad series in the opening drive and that was really it. It put on a great show after that by most standards. There was one big run where Woods didn't set the edge, but the backs were taking hits in the backfield as well. I'm thinking that is not the Bills helping the defenders to the ball. Not too shabby considering who wasn't on the run defense at the time. If you want to run a "what might have been" scenario, think back to the 2007 game against the Bengals when the Bengals lost most of its LBs and the Pats literally went a battery of runs straight up the middle and the Bengals simply could not stop it. The Pats asked much of back-ups, and most teams wouldn't complain if starters played like that.

 

[upstater1]

I posted this in another thread: both teams looked like crud because wind chill was at 10 degrees. Dropped balls, hard surface, 10 mph wind, temperature of 20 to 25.

I keep saying the weather had a big impact, but people will discount it because it's Buffalo in Dec., the temperature is moderate for that time of season, and there was no 70 mph win like last year (though last year's 70 mph was in 50 degree temps).

I was at the game. It was as cold as the AFC CG against the Chargers.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

I love stupid threads like these.

The defense gives up 10 points/ 240 yards with 91 in the second half. As a result, some idiot "analyzes" how the opposition "destroyed" the defense.

Have any of you ever heard of adjustments?

One drive is not the game. That's kinda why teams make "adjustments". It's absolutely amazing how this site gets so fixated on a drive and then translates into the game.

Football 101- Maybe they like threw the ball because the Pats like made "adjustments" to like stop the "defense destroying" run.

I've heard of this "adjustments" thing, though I can't say I've seen too much of it from the Pats this year unfortunately. I think you could make the argument that the halftime adjustments shut down the running game, but I don't know how anyone could say it was only one drive when the run D was being gashed the entire first half.

Yeah, the first drive was a big deal, as the Bills ate up a ton of clock and Jackson had 30 yards on 6 carries. But after the first drive "adjustments," Jackson still picked up 37 yards on 5 carries. After that first drive, Jackson ran for 8, 5, 15, 6, and 6 yards. It wasn't just the total yardage, or a few big runs. Every single time they ran the ball, it was a positive result.

Formation and personnel matter, but against a Pats line missing Wilfork and Warren, why not run until you're stopped? Penalties definitely played a part, but I think the Bills coaches got away from the run game, and it's something we should be thankful for. Bottom line is I'm not convinced we have a good run D without Wilfork. I hope to see Vince back at practice with Jones-Drew up next.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Patriots offense was again nearly nonexistent in the 2nd half. We are lucky to get away with a win in this game. Against a qualty team, 3 second half point sis not likely to be enough. Luckily the Bills offense was terrible as well.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

I've heard of this "adjustments" thing, though I can't say I've seen too much of it from the Pats this year unfortunately. I think you could make the argument that the halftime adjustments shut down the running game, but I don't know how anyone could say it was only one drive when the run D was being gashed the entire first half.

Yeah, the first drive was a big deal, as the Bills ate up a ton of clock and Jackson had 30 yards on 6 carries. But after the first drive "adjustments," Jackson still picked up 37 yards on 5 carries. After that first drive, Jackson ran for 8, 5, 15, 6, and 6 yards. It wasn't just the total yardage, or a few big runs. Every single time they ran the ball, it was a positive result.

Formation and personnel matter, but against a Pats line missing Wilfork and Warren, why not run until you're stopped? Penalties definitely played a part, but I think the Bills coaches got away from the run game, and it's something we should be thankful for. Bottom line is I'm not convinced we have a good run D without Wilfork. I hope to see Vince back at practice with Jones-Drew up next.

What part of giving up 10 points/ 241 yards of offense is excellent don't you get?

I guess football is now in with figure skating and synchronized swimming.

All about getting style points.