After a pair of great performances in the preseason, the Bills took a couple step back this week in Washington for Doug Marrone’s first loss of any NFL game in his tenure.
Buffalo avoided the ultimate worst-case scenario when C.J. Spiller was able to return to the game after holding his knee in the end zone after he scored a touchdown. Yet, Kevin Kolb could not escape the injury bug, going into the locker room after the Bills’ touchdown drive for observation for concussion-like symptoms.
The offense seemed to sputter immediately after Steve Johnson’s fumble on a drive that could have either tied the game at 10 or given Buffalo the lead. After that, the Redskins scored the next 20 points, with the Bill’s offense barely recording just over a third of the yardage that Washington’s offensive unit compiled (155 to 452).
Here were the five things that we learned from the Bills’ humbling defeat in what amounts to the regular season dress rehearsal:
Let me first preface my comments by first saying that Kolb came back very well from his injury earlier in preseason, throwing the deep ball. However, after a concussion against the Bills early last season, Kolb didn’t take another snap last season. Concussion issues have hampered Kolb’s career immensely, and today’s head injury may be one he can’t recover from when taking his injury past into consideration.
Plus, with the E.J. Manuel and Jeff Tuel have played this preseason, Kolb will need one of them to either underperform or get hurt. He will make the roster if his injury isn’t too serious, but it would be a shock if the Bills don’t add another quarterback this week for emergency purposes.
In fact, BuffaloBills.com Lead Journalist Chris Brown got head coach Doug Marrone to comment on that situation:
The Bills lost their second quarterback in as many preseason games as Kevin Kolb suffered concussion-like symptoms. According to head coach Doug Marone will now have to seek another quarterback and sign a free-agent signal caller.
Marrone said they would have to sign another quarterback with Brad Smith also expected to help take snaps to get through the practice week before the preseason finale on Thursday night.
Update:
Tim Graham of the Buffalo News reports that a source told him that the Bills are concerned that Kolb’s concussion could be career ending
https://twitter.com/ByTimGraham/statuses/3717703451637350402
At least 3rd career concussion for Kevin Kolb. Hit didn't look serious, but source tells me response in locker room was disconcerting.
— Tim Graham (@ByTimGraham) August 25, 2013
The team announced that they signed QB Matt Leinart and traded LB Chris White to the Lions in exchange for QB Thaddeus Lewis.
2. C.J. Spiller can carry a lot, and will have to
The moment C.J. Spiller held his right knee, all of Buffalo held its collective breath.
Spiller’s load as the team’s most explosive and utilized offensive player is among the biggest of any player in this league. Any durability issues for Spiller may take away a lot of effectiveness in the play-action game, as well as the overall belief the team has in winning games with a guy who can change the complexion of a game with one touch.
While it was only preseason, the ineffectiveness of the offense after Spiller was done touching the football shows how much he is needed for both his explosiveness and toughness. The injuries at quarterback make it very likely that the offense will lean on Spiller early and often this season, as there will be chemistry issues in the passing game no matter who is the signal-caller.
3. Bills defense still has some work to do
After two stellar defensive performances in the preseason, the Bills defense allowed big plays, and then couldn’t get off the field on third downs (Washington converted 7 of 17).
The Bills missed three opportunities to get turnovers; First, an interception dropped by Stephon Gilmore on a drive that ended up being a Redskins field goal in the first quarter; Second, a fumble by RB Roy Helu bounced back right to him; and third, DL Jay Ross missed an opportunity to recover a fumble from RB Christian Thompson.
Buffalo first allowed big plays through the passing game by Rex Grossman (45 yards to Santana Moss and 31 yards to Fred Davis). Then, The Bills gashed consistently in the run game by a combination of Helu, Thompson, Keiland Williams, and former West Virginia Quarterback Pat White in the pistol formation that was so effective with Robert Griffin III last year.
Washington ran for 208 yards and threw for 244 with their third and fourth-string quarterbacks. The only good thing was some good pressure that led to three sacks, and the Redskins only completing 18 of 35 passes, though the combination of Grossman and White isn’t very accurate throwing the football.
The defense has shown increased speed and aggressive under new defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, but this was the first time coverages were blown multiple times in a game, showing there’s still some learning left for many of the Buffalo defenders in this defense. Tackling was also a huge issue, and some of that could have been the fact that Washington nearly doubled up the Bills in time of possession (38:52 to 21:08)
The game showed that when the Bills’ up-tempo offense isn’t moving the ball much, it causes fatigue on the defensive side that leads to issues in fundamentals at times. It is a good lesson for both sides of the football in that sense.
With the issues stopping Pat White and the zone-read, Pettine has some film to show the defense how not to play against an option offense before the team plays the Carolina Panthers and Cam Newton in the second week of the season.
4. E.J. Manuel may have already won the starting job
With Kolb’s injury and Tuel only going 10 of 17 for 63 yards, E.J. Manuel may be the only quarterback that has played consistent enough to be given the opportunity to start Week 1 against the Patriots.
Manuel was 26 0f 33 for 199 yards and two touchdowns this preseason, and the offense moved much faster in the up-tempo scheme with him at the controls, as Sports Illustrated’s Chris Burke wrote after the second preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings:
Kolb got just 12 percent of his snaps off with 23 or more seconds left on the play clock. Manuel, meanwhile, was working north of a 70-percent success rate.
The additions Buffalo made at quarterback this week were likely made with the intention for emergency purposes, as both Leinart and Lewis would have yet to work with the offense. If E.J. is ready to go Week 1 as the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport
With Manuel the likely starter and a very young receiving corp outside of Steve Johnson, there will be chemistry issues that will have to be worked out.
Special teams and defense will be no stranger to learning the ropes, as the Nickell Robey muffed punt and missed opportunities at forcing turnovers showed. The trial by fire for both the quarterback position and the entire team is the approach that is best if you trust that your players will come out of the other end better for those struggles.
However, the deep balls to T.J. Graham and Marquise Goodwin that didn’t convert today (0 for 5, including a questionable offensive pass interference call on a catch by Graham) will at some point this season, and when they do, excitement will ensue. Goodwin’s ability to return kicks will also be fun to watch, and the development of the young skill players as a group in an up-tempo scheme will be an uphill climb with some peaks and valleys.
On the defensive side, Kiko Alonso and Nigel Bradham will lead a young linebacking core that has speed to roam all over the field and cover running backs and tight ends much better than any Buffalo linebacker groups have in a long time.
At this point, though there is a game against the Lions next Thursday, it seems that this may be the last preseason game where gaining confidence and winning is a goal, and staying healthy takes the most precedence. With that in mind, there was a lot of good things in these preseason games, but today’s game shows the Bills still have a long way to go.
