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Welcome to the Rex Ryan Prime Time(tm) experience. It wasn’t pretty, but the Buffalo Bills walk out of MetLife Stadium with a well-earned ‘W’ in a less-than-perfect situation. Playing with three days’ rest has not given fans much to watch on Thursdays, but to complain about the aesthetics of a win – particularly one as emotional as Rex’ homecoming vs the Jets – would ring really hollow. This win not only put away some of the pitch forks and torches that awaited the Bills upon their return post Jags loss in the U.K., but it puts them in the driver’s seat for a wildcard spot. That’s quite the feat. Here’s what I took away from the game:
- Shady McCoy is healthy – and a weapon: As a Pitt alum and fan of Shady’s talents prior to arriving in Buffalo, to see him shake, bake and juke his way past defenders isn’t a new sight. However, watching him healthy(healthier?) and being able to explode down the field is a true joy. Despite missing time due to injury, at this point (week 10) Shady should get to 1,000 yards, maybe 11-1,200 depending on if he has a couple of big days late in the season. Tonight, he was responsible for 159 total yards (112 rushing, 47 receiving) at a whopping 6 yards a carry, and while his counterpart Karlos is getting his due, we have to tip the cap to LeSean as well. Playing with the triplets (Taylor-McCoy-Watkins) has gotten the Bills a 4-1 record. I am eager to see how many more wins they can stack up together.
- Team/Complimentary football wins out: The panic I had as the ball squirted out of Colton Schmidt’s hands late in the fourth quarter was countered by the joy after the outstanding goal line stand by the defense afterward. Over the last few weeks I’ve harped particularly on the poor tackling the linebackers have had in games, which didn’t show up tonight. While Schmidt’s gaffe was less than ideal, his punts throughout the game were for the most part timely in flipping the field. Late when the offense needed to burn some clock and end this game, they got just enough to force the Jets into a bad spot with :24 seconds in the game. It was a total team effort that got the win – and when one of the units faltered, the other two picked up the slack. Outstanding to see.
- Less Penalties: 5 penalties for 44 yards was the final stat line for the Bills. That is a marked improvement from a unit that was yielding almost 10 penalties a game. During the post game presser Rex was quick to point out that Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News had made light of the extended break the players received during the bye week. If the players go strength to strength penalty wise, that vaca may have been worth it. But the key will be consistency – otherwise it’s a moot point.
- Sammy didn’t have a big night, but had big plays: Stephon Gilmore and Sammy Watkins are similar in their reserved natures. Watkins, however was a house of fire tonight scrapping with Darrelle Revis. I didn’t expect a 168 yard night and Watkins didn’t get that. However, he was open a good bit of the evening – and when they needed a first down late, Watkins made Revis look silly enroute to a 4 yard first down. Keep it up Sammy, keep it up.
- Bills were ready for prime time: This was the first prime time win for the Bills in almost 14 years. I’ve seen a version of this game so many times over the years, most painfully the five pick Cowboys MNF game (live!) and to see the Bills go from a 19 point lead…to a 12 point lead…to a 5 point lead….I was waiting for the traditional Bills perk (tm Fallout 4) of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Instead, they bowed their backs and forced Fitz into a situation I’ve also seen too well – needing a touchdown late with limited time and full YOLO in effect. One Rambo pick later and we’re looking at the current 5th seed in the playoffs.
Now that my thoughts are done, let’s hit the tweet bag and see what the people have to say:
@RDotDeuce @BuffaloWins Where did our timeouts go?
— Luke Wachob (@LukeWachob) November 13, 2015
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsA combination of headset issues, back clock management and some communication from Taylor to the line = no time outs with 10 minutes left in the game. No bueno.
@RDotDeuce @BuffaloWins Why does it seem like the LB corp has fallen off so much this year?
— EPIK Ceades (@Ceades_LoL) November 13, 2015
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Epik, I think the biggest issue is a player like Bradham, that was a beast last year is playing in a system that doesn’t highlight his strengths as much as the Schwartz defense did. However, using your arms and wrapping up in tackles are things that are expected in every defense and both Bradham and Brown have had their share of gaffes in that regard this year. And that’s all she wrote.
@RDotDeuce @BuffaloWins why haven’t you gone back to doing work?
— Mr. Sportsaholic (@ImaSportsaholic) November 13, 2015
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsI really should’ve. That was a very stressful 40 minutes, particularly because my parking service closes at midnight and I would have had to either call an uber home or (because I’m cheap) sleep in my office overnight and drive home when the lot opened in the morning. For those that didn’t know, I left after the Jets FG and returned after working to my office to a 22-3 score. I’m sorry I came back to watch and made it closer than it should’ve been. My bad y’all.
@RDotDeuce did Rex just say Thurman made the defensive calls? If so, big development.
— Matt Schrantz (@MattSchrantz) November 13, 2015
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One of my good friends with a great pick up in the post game presser. If Rex was being straight, this would be something I’d love to have followed up on next week. How much has Rex pulled back on defensive play calling? When did it start? Will it stay this way? Very, very interesting….
And that’s all she wrote for this week. Enjoy a Bills-win weekend and get your mind right – next week is Pats week. It’s going to be…(checks dictionary)….LIT.
Be good to each other on the twitter streets this weekend – the Bills have it all to play for!
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