Before the game yesterday I had high hopes for the Bills. The Bills offense gained confidence against the Bucs last week with deep touchdowns to Lee Evans and Terrell Owens, and with Fred Jackson playing so great I thought they’d put up a hell of a fight against a very good Saints team that was playing above their heads a bit and due for a step back down to reality. I thought the Bills defense, crowd and the elements would help keep the Saints from scoring the 40-something points they’ve been averaging so far and we’d get a close game that could go our way. I hoped the Bills would be aggressive and act like they belonged among the league’s best instead of playing it close to the vest and hoping for good fortune and a good showing which is what it looks like they try to do in big games during the Dick Jauron era. Honestly, I didn’t think they’d win but I hoped they could pull it out.
The Bills fought and scrapped all day. They held the league’s top offense to 10 points for three quarters and as the game wound down they started to show the wear and fatigue that having to stop such a potent offense would likely cause. The defensive line started to break down. The linebackers were nowhere to be found and New Orleans was ripping off huge plays on the way to a 17-7 lead. It appeared the Bills’ window was closing. They held the Saints in check all day and all they had to do was score some points. You would think an NFL team could score 20 points at home on a regular basis especially with some of the high priced weapons this offense has.
What was wrong with the offense? Fred Jackson, while not as spectacular as a week ago was slashing forward for decent gains. On the other hand, Trent Edwards was playing in full coward mode. The Saints pass rush was very good and with blitzes coming from every possible direction. Combine this with how bad the Bills’ offensive line played and Edwards was more inclined to throw to 3rd string tight end Derek Fine than either of his great receiving options. He was more apt to dump a pass to Fred Jackson underneath than to throw anything to the sidelines or deep across the middle. When Edwards gets into this mode it’s like the football field shrinks. He’s not going to throw more than 10 yards downfield, especially up or across the middle and other than dumps into the flats he’s not going to throw to any receivers on the sidelines either. What happened to the guy who fearlessly threw a 31 yard laser over the middle to Josh Reed to set up the winning field goal against Washington in 2007? Nowadays when he gets Trentative there are no big risks and subsequently there are no big rewards. At these moments in the game I ask myself if Trent is trying to WIN the game or not lose it. Maybe he’s just taking on the personality of his head coach.
As frustrating as the game was, nothing could come close to the decision head coach Dick Jauron made with 7 minutes and 41 seconds left in the 4th quarter. In his classic play it safe, hope for the best style he decided to punt on 4th and 1 from the Bills 28, right after the Saints just manhandled the Bills defense for the first time all game to go up by 10 points. Now he was asking his worn down defense to get right back on the field after another 3 and out and get the ball back quickly when a simple QB sneak probably would have gotten the 1st down and kept the Bills offense on the field. For the fantastic effort the Bills defense provided, they deserved better.
Coach Jauron was hoping his defense which had out-performed all expectations for the duration of the game would come through with more improbable success despite the fact that the Saints’ last drive showed them to look increasingly tired and starting to break down. The Bills needed a long drive that produced points. Why take the control out of your hands? I realize that control is a relative term when you have the ball but you are down 10 points in the 4th quarter with almost 8 minutes left but do you know when you have less control? If you are down 10 and the other team has the ball with almost 8 minutes left. This is the difference between hoping to win and playing to win and I am all out of hope with this head coach other than to say I hope he gets fired.
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