After the first game in the Pegula ownership era was a frustrating loss to a Patriots team that has won 23 of the 25 matchups in which Tom Brady has started against the Bills, players and coaches reflected on game of missed opportunities and miscues.
Head coach Doug Marrone mentioned the three turnovers, and that since 2001, no team has beaten New England with a turnover ratio of minus three or worse.
“We talked about ball security all week and what we needed to do,” said Marrone. “The first interception, we get beat in a protection and we lose the flat control by the beaten, who [Jamie] Collins probably had man-to-man. Then he falls back in and makes the play. The second one, we get beat. Cordy [Glenn] gets beat and we’ve got to hold onto to ball versus man-to-man a little bit longer. We knew that. Then, obviously, the ball got away from the body on CJ. [Spiller] and he wound up fumbling.”
The running game continued to be ineffective, as last year’s No. 2 ranked rushing attack in the NFL at 144 yards per game has gone done to just 22nd with 101 per contest through the first six games of this season. In fact, after rushing for only 68 yards on 23 carries (just below 3.0 yards per carry), since the opening game in which Buffalo ran for 193 yards against Chicago, the team has only ran for 413 yards in the past five games (82.6 per game).
According to Marrone, the run game was addressed in a team meeting.
“It’s not one individual,” said Marrone. “It’s easy when it’s one individual. You just pull one out and put somebody else in, but it’s up front, it’s hitting the holes, it’s trusting the scheme, the perimeter. We’ve got to go back and get this thing going again because you put so much on emphasis on the other stuff, you improve and then, all of the sudden, you take something that was you’re strength, that I believed was our strength, and it goes down. That’s what you can’t have. That’s what happens when you become inconsistent.”
C.J. Spiller only had six carries for 19 yards and played only 12 snaps, a startling low number for a player of his talent. When asked if Spiller was losing trust in the run game, Marrone said that though it “starts up front”, the running backs have been impatient recently.
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“A lot of times – and I’ve talked to the players about this – this is the third week in a row now,” said Marrone. “This isn’t like the first time. I think what happens is that you start pressing and start trying to make plays that aren’t there. That’s what we can’t do, from C.J. to Fred [Jackson] to [Boobie] Dixon. Up front, we’ve got to do a better job of finishing, getting on those players, not having a lot of color show where it’s showing. That just means we’ve got to be quicker going to the second level and doing things like that. These things are correctable, but we’ve got to put the work in to correct.”
Another player that hasn’t had many opportunities to showcase his talents on offense is Mike Williams. Williams was a healthy scratch for Sunday’s game, and has only 8 catches for 142 yards and a touchdown, but didn’t play due to Kyle Williams being a surprise start despite a knee injury, and the team’s three tight end package with Lee Smith and Chris Gragg playing with Scott Chandler.
General manager Doug Whaley confirmed that Mike Williams’ agent requested permission to gauge interest around the league for the team, though Williams isn’t actively being shopped (via ESPN’s Mike Rodak). As his head coach now and one-time head coach at Syracuse University, Marrone said Williams handled the roster decision “very professionally”, and that Williams “hasn’t communicated anything like that” to him and has had “no problems”.
As for how the team will handle it in the future, Marrone gave insight into how the wide receiver lineup and formation could change, saying “there’s nothing wrong” with Williams as an outside and Robert Woods in the slot.
“I think it’s play-specific,” said Marrone. “You know you’re going to have Sammy [Watkins] out there and then it’s a matter of what you want to do from a strategic standpoint of attacking, how you want to take the top off of the defense and things like that. That’s where Marquise [Goodwin] comes in with his speed. We’ve used that in the past with other players that have been here. Also, we’re trying to work Sammy around more. You see that. We’re trying to get Sammy inside now. This way, when people try to matchup you up like some people are going to start to do, we’re able to move him around a little bit more.”
Other Notes
- Kyle Orton says the two rookies starting on the offensive line (right tackle Seantrel Henderson and left guard Cyril Richardson) are “getting better every week”, but it’s “tough to learn on the run”. “It’s tough for any rookie to play on this level. I think they’re working hard to get better,” said Orton.
- With Darrelle Revis shadowing Watkins all game long, the rookie only had two catches on three targets, but was “running good routes”, according to Orton. “I don’t think this is an offense where we pick one guy and we get him the ball,” said Orton. We try to throw the ball to the open guy and go through our reads. Obviously, Sammy is an important part of our offense, so we’ve got to find ways to get him involved earlier in the game.”
- After guaranteeing two wins against the Patriots in the offseason, said that he prides himself in being a man of his word, and the team let “the city down”. “It’s over with,” said Spikes. We’ve got to put it in the past and learn from it and get better. We just can’t make the same mistakes. It’s a long season. I think the best teams have got to get over a few bumps in the road to get better. I don’t want to say you’re happy about a loss, but hopefully we learn from this. We have a young team and this will motivate guys.”
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