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Wednesday, November 4, 2009 7:13 PM EST
POLLOCK: In short, ‘D’ hasn’t been bad for Bills
ORCHARD PARK - The fragile myth that the Bills were heading toward respectability after two straight stolen road wins was emphatically dissolved in the last quarter of Sunday’s 31-10 defeat by Houston.
How does a 10-9 lead in the final period devolve into a blowout loss in a span of under 11 minutes?
When the offense is a directionless mess playing behind woefully inexperienced line.
Ponder this stat.
The Texans had an over 18-minute edge in time of possession, yet the Bills were up a point when the last quarter started.
And, as much as Buffalo’s offense deserves criticism, the preoccupation with its ineptitude has stolen the credit coordinator Perry Fewell’s defense deserves.
Yeah, the Bills can be run on.
Buffalo is surrendering an NFL-worst 174 rushing yards a game and opponents’ average of over five yards per carry is also a league high.
Still, before Sunday’s fateful final period, the Bills had permitted only two touchdowns in the previous 15 quarters.
And Buffalo has been particularly impressive against the pass logging a dozen interceptions in the past four games, seven by rookie sensation Jairus Byrd, who leads the NFL and tied the league record with multiple interceptions in three straight games.
The Bills held both New Orleans’ Drew Brees and Houston’s Matt Schaub, two of pro football’s most prolific quarterbacks, without a touchdown pass and positively embarrassed Cleveland’s Derek Anderson (23 yards through the air, 15.1 passer rating), the Jets’ Mark Sanchez (five interceptions) and Carolina’s Jake Delhomme (three interceptions).
And, if that effort doesn’t impress you, consider Buffalo has done it without a great deal of pressure - 18 sacks in eight games - and an injury-riddled linebacking corps and secondary.
Middle backer Paul Posluszny missed four starts with a broken arm and outside linebacker Kawika Mitchell was lost for the season with a knee injury in Game 5, his place taken by veteran Chris Draft, with his sixth team in 12 seasons, after being cut by the Rams during training camp. Then, on Sunday, Keith Ellison, who starts on the other side, left the game with a quad injury.
It’s been even worse in the secondary.
Cornerback Terrence McGee is the only starter to have played every game. Leodis McKelvin, on the opposite side, was lost for the season with a knee injury in Game 3 and both starting safeties - Donte Whitner and Bryan Scott - have missed four and five games, respectively. Whitner with thumb and ankle problems and Scott with an ankle.
The only upside to their loss is that Byrd was given his chance.
And, oh yeah, tackle Kyle Williams missed Sunday’s game with a knee injury of undetermined severity, and end Aaron Schobel, the team’s sack leader, left the Texans’ game with a groin problem.
In short, given the flood of injuries and the fact his crew spends an average of six minutes more per game on the field than opponents, Fewell has done a remarkable job.
THE OFFENSE?
Not so much.
Try out these stats.
On Sunday, for the second straight game, Buffalo totaled nine first downs ... the first time since 1971’s 1-13 team went consecutive starts without double-digit first downs.
Buffalo is 1-8 in its last nine home games and in the last six defeats at “The Ralph,” the Bills have managed one offensive touchdown ... total, Terrell Owens’ 29-yard end-around score against the Texans.
And Buffalo has now gone six straight games without 300 yards total offense
Oh yeah, then there’s quarterback.
Bills’ QBs haven’t passed for 300 yards since J.P. Losman did it three years ago and, in the last six games they haven’t exceeded 160 yards net passing (excluding sacks), the longest such streak since 1997.
The one question that was answered in Sunday’s meltdown is that Buffalo hasn’t found its quarterback.
After leading the Bills to a pair of road wins in relief of concussion-impaired starter Trent Edwards, Ryan Fitzpatrick didn’t look much different than his predecessor with two interceptions and a 41.4 passer rating against the Texans.
Asked afterward, if when Edwards is healthy, he’d remain the starter, Fitzpatrick was honest.
“Looking at today’s performance,” he said, “we didn’t move the ball. The last several weeks whether it’s me or Trent, we haven’t moved the ball.
“That’s a question for the coaching staff. I’m sure we’ll figure it out during the bye.”
Don’t count on it.
Coach Dick Jauron, a defensive specialist, isn’t known for well-considered offensive decisions ... unless you’re enamored of his installation of the no-huddle, opting for a painfully young offensive line or firing his coordinator on the brink of the season.
But, at least he isn’t ducking responsibility.
When asked how much of the offense’s struggles fall on him, Jauron admitted, “Oh, I think the whole thing falls on me. I don’t think there’s any doubt, I take full responsibility for it.”
(Chuck Pollock, the Times Herald sports editor, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)
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RKT wrote on Nov 4, 2009 7:57 PM: