Buffalo Bills
After their first loss of the season on Sunday, a 22-10 defeat at home to the San Diego Chargers, the Bills have to get back to what was successful.
In their first appearance in the right hand column, had 43 called pass plays, and only 17 called run plays. In Week 2 against the Dolphins, there were only 26 called pass plays compared to 29 called run plays, and in the opener at Chicago, the count was 23 called pass plays to 27 called run plays.
However, using the run game more usually only works if it is efficient and effective. As ESPN’s Mike Rodak writes, doing both will be important on Sunday:
In Week 2, the Bills had issues running the ball in the red zone. In Week 3, they had issues running the ball just about anywhere on the field.
When the Bills begin back-to-back road trips by traveling to face the Houston Texans this weekend, they can’t have the same grief about their ground game. It will need to improve.
On the positive end, the Bills gained 2.18 yards after contact per rush, the NFL’s fourth-highest rate in Week 3. They also gained first downs on 27.3 percent of their rushing attempts, which ranked ninth last weekend.
But they struggled on runs up the middle. On plays with more than 3 yards to gain for a first down, eight runs up the middle gained an average of 3 yards, ranking 20th.
C.J. Spiller’s problems were the most pronounced. He gained 25 yards on 10 carries, including two runs for negative yardage — both up the middle. On his first run for a loss, the Chargers blitzed safety Eric Weddle off the left edge and Spiller couldn’t shake him loose in the backfield.
Spiller had a similar issue on a well-designed first-and-10 run in the third quarter. The Bills brought Marquise Goodwin in from the outside on a “jet sweep” style motion but ran Spiller up the middle. The misdirection froze an edge defender and the offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage. However, Weddle came in from the secondary and wrapped up Spiller for only a 2-yard gain.
If that same meeting takes place in the open field, Spiller probably wins with his elusiveness. The Bills’ goal, then, should be to put Spiller more in space. Flare passes, screens and using Spiller as an outside receiver give him an opportunity to beat defenders that he wouldn’t normally elude in the tight confines of the tackle box.
Using Spiller and Jackson at the right place and time has always been an issue for head coach Doug Marrone and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. Finding a permanent solution may be needed soon, as road games against 2-1 teams Houston and Detroit could be huge in trying to stay claim to the AFC East division lead.
Miami Dolphins
It is deja-vu all over again for the Dolphins, as a home win over the New England Patriots to start the season has been followed by a pair of lackluster performances and defeats, just as last year’s Week 15 win was followed by double-digit losses.
While an offense that has only scored 23 points in the last two games has played a big part in both ill-fated games, the defense has allowed 63 points. Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald reports that the scheme and game plan of the unit is frustrating players:
The defense, supposedly the strength of the team, was exposed through the air and on the ground.
Kansas City gashed the Dolphins for 174 yards rushing. Alex Smith was coolly efficient, completing 76 percent of his attempts and throwing three touchdown passes. The Chiefs scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to salt away the game.
And for the first time this season, the grumblings inside the team’s locker room about defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle grew so loud, they could be heard outside.
One source said Dolphins players are “beyond furious, irate” at Coyle’s defensive adjustments and game plan.
Players are privately questioning a host of decisions, including Coyle’s call to have Cameron Wake and Jason Trusnik cover speedy Chiefs running back Joe McKnight in space, said another. McKnight exploited the matchups and had two touchdown catches in the second half Sunday.
“I mean, it’s tough,” linebacker Jelani Jenkins, who recorded a team-high 14 tackles, said when asked about the Dolphins’ ugly performance Sunday. “We just have to make the adjustments.
Granted, the players had plenty of their own issues Sunday. The team’s inability to tackle at anything approaching a high level popped up again.
Indeed, 21 of Knile Davis’ game-high 132 yards came on a touchdown run in which he simply bounced off of Trusnik and Jimmy Wilson. Cortland Finnegan made just a passing attempt at a tackle on Travis Kelce when the tight end scored from 20 yards out.
“I don’t think we tackled well enough,” said Joe Philbin, who is now 16-19 as Dolphins head coach. “We have to do better. … I don’t think any phase played well enough to win.”
A game in London against the Oakland Raiders, a team that has only scored 37 points (12.3 points per game, last in NFL), may allow the defense to get their confidence back, as the talent on that side of the ball is not a problem. A loss against Oakland, whoever the main culprit is, would be very alarming.
New York Jets
The Jets had opportunities to win Monday night against the Bears, but a pair of Geno Smith interceptions, one returned for a touchdown and one in the endzone helped to due New York in.
With a tough home game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, a potential third straight loss could be on the horizon. As Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News points out, Smith’s hold on the starting job won’t likely last very long if he continues his sub-par performance.
Smith had his second multi-turnover game of the season, punctuated by a nightmarish pick-six 32 seconds in that set the tone in a 27-19 loss to the Bears. Smith’s second interception came in the end zone on an ill-advised pass intended for David Nelson. It was just another blow on a night filled with self-inflicted wounds that dropped Ryan’s team to 1-2.
“This isn’t the same quarterback he was at the beginning of last year,” Ryan said. “I don’t care what people say. Did he make a mistake? Absolutely.”
Ryan, of course, has plenty on the line this year. He signed a de facto one-year contract extension sprinkled with playoff incentives. If the Jets don’t show marked improvement from their 8-8 season a year ago, Ryan will likely be casualty on Black Monday.
Ryan has been one of Smith’s biggest supporters, but the second-year signal-caller needs to cut down on his mistakes (five turnovers in three games) or suffer the consequences. Ryan didn’t rule out the possibility that Michael Vick, who played one snap against the Bears, could become more involved.
“I’m never going to say no because I learned that from (the media),” Ryan said.
Smith was never in jeopardy of losing his starting job as a rookie, but Ryan has a viable veteran option now with Vick. The temptation to make a change grows with each poor performance by Smith.
“I feel good about this football team and I feel good about Geno Smith,” Ryan said. “Was it perfect? It absolutely wasn’t.”
Smith is at a crossroads this week, as Ryan will go to the player he believes not only gives the team the best chance to win, but the best chance to keep his job. The game against the Lions is followed by a road trip to San Diego to face the Chargers, a home game against the Denver Broncos, and a Thursday night game at the New England Patriots, so a difficult start to the season with tough match-ups upcoming could force a swift change at many positions, including quarterback.
New England Patriots
The Patriots were the only AFC East team to win in Week 3, but it was by the skin of their teeth against the Raiders, as a potential game-tying drive by Oakland ended in the redzone with Darius Heyward-Bey dropping a pass that eventually landed in the large lap of nose tackle Vince Wilfork.
New England’s offense continues to struggle, ranking 27th in passing yardage (196.3 yard per game), 22nd in rushing yardage (105 yards per game), and 26th in total yardage (301.3 yards per game). It’s defense, however, ranks fourth in scoring defense (16.3 points per game) and first in pass defense (168.7 yards per game).
With a game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night, New England could have a chance to take the AFC East division lead despite all of their offensive struggles. But with a stingy Chiefs defense that has only allowed 21.7 points per game, 13th in the league despite turnover issues and injuries to Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Johnson and defensive lineman Mike Devito, the Patriots may have to depend on stopping Kansas City’s offense.
ESPN Boston’s Lee Schechter took some leftovers from conference calls with head coach Bill Belichick and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, and their thoughts on defensive end Chandler Jones, who has 2 sacks on the season, and how to stop a loaded Chiefs backfield:
The evolution of Jones. A big topic of the calls on Tuesday revolved around the play and progression of defensive end Chandler Jones into a hybrid outside linebacker and defensive end. “Chandler’s got good physical skills, does a good job. He’s long, he has good playing strength, he’s able to use his length to his advantage,” Belichick said. “He’s certainly gotten better at that each year since he’s been here. He’s been durable, tough, been out there, played a lot of plays and has good durability and stamina. He has the ability scheme-wise — he’s a smart player — he has the ability to do multiple things for us defensively in terms of playing on the tackle, playing on the tight end, playing on space, playing in coverage.”
Preparing for Charles. Patricia is preparing for the Chiefs’ Jamaal Charles regardless of the running back’s injury status this week. But Patricia pointed out that the Chiefs have offensive weapons outside of Charles, especially in the backfield. “Obviously Charles is quite a dynamic and explosive player, but they have really got quite a few guys at the position now, with Knile Davis coming on and having a tremendous game — he is a very, very, very good, powerful, strong running back with a good skill set — all the way to Joe McKnight, who you will see on field also, who is a very explosive player and a dynamic guy who can make a lot of things happen very quickly,” Patricia said. “So they certainly have a lot of different avenues they can use at running back. I think they have a system in place where they use those guys and in a couple different positions and get you into some matchup situations there that they’re trying to take advantage of.”
For many years, the Patriots have depended on Brady’s greatness. Now, they may have to continue to play as if that elite play may be gone.
