Bills
BILLS DVR REWIND: Offense still lacking creativity
Notes collected after a painful Monday morning that even donuts couldn’t sweeten ...
• A perfect example of how the Bills don’t grasp the element of surprise came in the second quarter with Buffalo up 7-3 and threatening. With the ball on the Houston 41, the Bills emerged from the huddle and split Ryan Fitzpatrick out wide right.
Freddy Jackson stood in the shotgun, faked a handoff to Marshawn Lynch, then sprinted to the left side for a gain of about four yards. The play didn’t get more because Buffalo ran it to the short side, but still, a 4-yard gain on first down is nothing to sneeze at.
But then the Bills came out in the same Wildcat spread, this time with Lynch flip-flopped to the other side of the backfield. The defense, which might have been caught slightly off-guard by the first play, had the play scoped out from the outset. Jackson again faked to Lynch and sprinted left. Safety Bernard Pollard recognized the package, realized Lee Evans and Fitzpatrick could easily be covered on one side by two defensive backs, and came barreling in. That left Terrell Owens to block both Pollard and Glover Quin.
Jackson barely gained a yard, Fitzpatrick got sacked on the ensuing play, and a drive that should have ended up extending the lead would up with a Brian Moorman punt.
• Although special teams haven’t been the bright spot they’ve been in the past, Freddy Jackson’s second-quarter kickoff gave the Bills a great drive start at the Houston 30. Why’d it work? A simple wrinkle that sent Justin Jenkins out as a blocker, then had him curl back as if he was going to take a handoff.
The move froze the oncoming rushers, including gunner and former Bills’ receiver Andre’ Davis, who peeled off with Jenkins. The scheme gave Jackson just enough of a seam to get to the outside and break the run for 71 yards, yet didn’t really put the Bills at any risk. Losing your smallest blocker as a decoy was a smart tactic that paid dividends.
• George Wilson is a popular guy, one of the team’s friendliest and most sincere. But it was the safety’s missed block that proved the difference on a fake punt in the fourth quarter that doomed the Bills at home.
The entire line cut right with Brian Moorman taking the snap and rolling that way. Wilson was on the left edge of the line and had the difficult responsibility of forcing James Casey inside and opening the outside lane. Casey, a reserve tight end, stands three inches taller and weighs 40 pounds more than Wilson. The matchup didn’t work out well for the Bills.
Jenkins cracked back and took a pitch from Moorman, but his only blocker, Jon Corto, had two players to block. Casey was left free and easily made the play, tripping up Jenkins before he got back to the line of scrimmage.
• We knew the loss of Kyle Williams would take its toll, and eventually it did in the fourth quarter. After the fake punt, the Texans threw a couple passes, then ran Ryan Moats on consecutive plays. The second came straight up the gut in a play that sliced between defensive tackles Marcus Stroud and John McCargo. Stroud, who has been one of the few bright spots this season, was standing straight up, a sure sign that he was bushed. McCargo, meanwhile, was simply overmatched, while Spencer Johnson was getting a breather. Moats dashed through the defense for 17 yards, getting Houston to the Buffalo 2.
Two plays later, the Texans put the game away.
Contact sports editor Tim Schmitt at 282-2311, ext. 2266.
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