from BuffaloWins.com
Nothing like a power nap after a day of football and 5 Pints of Guinness. Who is ready to rock?!
Nothing beats opening day. To sit in McFaddens and have the crowd go crazy throughout the game, was a pretty cool experience. Any Buffalo fans who come to visit NYC during football season, should check the place out on Sunday. I sh#t you not, it is as if the owners kidnapped 300 fans from Ralph Wilson Stadium and placed them on 42nd and 2nd. Not sure if that's a good thing for everyone, but you probably shouldn't bring mom or dad.
Alright, random thoughts:
---These are the type of days you really have to give Gailey his dues. He called a perfect game offensively. 40 rushes and 29 pass attempts, really kept the Chiefs defense off balanced. I normally put a lot of stock in what coaching staffs do on 3rd down. That is the down when you have to get to a certain point on the field and you need to bring out your best plays. The Bills were 7 of 14 on 3rd down and seemed to always get a good chunk of yards when they really needed it. Continuing the trend from last year, Gailey is still getting a lot out of no-name players on this team. Chandler? Nelson? List goes on. 41 points scored by an offense with two former 7th round picks (Fitz and Stevie), a 4th rounder (Scott Chandler), and three undrafted players (Fred Jackson, Donald Jones and David Nelson). Then you wonder why the Bills don't really draft offensive players high. :P
---What a game for Johnathan Stupar. I mean, Mark Campbell. Wait...Robert Royal? The Ehus guy? Oh, right, Scott Chandler. I know it's one game, but the Bills used the tight end for the first time since 1980. Alright, enough jokes. Chandler was a stud, catching five passes for 63 yards and 2 touchdowns. Last time a Bills tight end scored two touchdowns was against Miami in 2007. The last time a Bills tight end caught five passes was Derek Fine against the Saints in 2009. Yes, it has been a long odyssey for the Bills' tight ends. I'm not sure how long Chandler will be used in the Bills offense, but I tell you what, if he's opened, he's getting the ball.
---I thought Fitzpatrick played a really nice, sound game today. When you consider he completed a low amount of passes (17), he was very affective in spreading the ball around to Bills targets. Six players caught passes and while Fitz was a little erratic at the start of the game, completing only one of his first seven passes, he ended up settling down, completing 16 of his next 18 passes. Oh, and he had four touchdowns. I know it's a tough thing to figure out, but if the Bills keep on waiting to extend Fitzpatrick, they maybe paying for it in the end.
---I really loved how the defense tackled today. You hardly saw any missed tackles, and guys like Byrd, Scott, McKelvin, Barnett and Wilson were in on the action. Yeah, keep telling me the Bills will miss Poz and Whitner. BTW, the Bills went from giving up 274 yards rushing last year against the Chiefs to just 108 yards.
---I'm not good at predicting things. Sometimes, I act off the cuff when it comes to figuring out what individuals will do during the calender year. However, I'll bet the house that Stevie Johnson will not be affected by the loss of Lee Evans. I think he's that good. He showed it today by catching four really tough balls in traffic. I know four doesn't seem like a lot, but he just goes up and grabs passes. Nothing ever looks easy when Johnson is catching passes. He just really works for it. Put him in traffic or down the field, the boy can jump for it.
--- "There's your answer to the #2 wideout for the Bills." I have a feeling that each week, I'm going to be saying/changing my opinion on that. For this week, take your pick: David Nelson or Chandler looked to be the #2 guy for Fitz. Alright, I still stand by my opinion that it doesn't matter who the 2nd option is because the Bills love playing 3-4 wide sets.
---For Nelson, he had a quiet preseason due to injury, but when you really look at his game today, he actually has some decisive speed. I know fans kind of imagine Nelson being just a big old Pete Metzelaars type of target, but the guy has wheels and can move down the field.
---Instead of just pointing out that the Chiefs are pathetic, just understand that this is the NFL and parity will always be around. All I'm saying is that if the Chiefs can go 10-6 and win a division with that team because of a easy schedule, why can't we? OK, too much to drink.
---Keep telling me that preseason matters. Sure, fake football will at times get us to panic or overrate our football team, but it is complete BS. None of these teams care about winning and they aren't going to show teams anything when it comes to schemes and plays. It's complete crap. I don't care if KC stunk during the preseason. Again, Lions went 4-0 during the preseason and went 0-16 during the regular season. CJ Spiller and Edwards were preseason MVPs last year. Tony Dungy never won more than two games during the exhibition season. Club Marv, anyone? There are just way more reasons to dispute that preseason doesn't matter when it comes to the regular season than the other way around.
---What the hell happened to Marv Albert? He was terrible today. Someone get Gus Johnson's agent on the phone.
---Pretty hard to believe that the Bills only had three healthy corners, and yet, they were able to hold Cassel to only 119 yards passing. Yeah, I know...Cassel sucks.
---Almost forget about Fred Jackson. Look, I love #22. I know I've been a little, how should I say? Non-compassionate about his starting gig. But man, he's a fricken beast out there. Freddy averaged 5.6 yards a carry and had over 100-yards in total offense for the sixth time in his last 9 games dating back to last season. He's got such superb vision and a stiff arm to match. I wonder what Jackson looked like when he was 24-years old. Did he just Tecmo Super Bowl his way to the endzone? I know Spiller is the future, but it's going to be pretty hard to keep CJ on the field when Jackson keeps plugging away like this.
---BTW, I know it was garbage time, but I really liked the way Johnny White runs the football. He runs with a lot of reckless abandon and has a little old-school Marion Barber in him.
---You really buy that Chan Gailey decided to have Brad Smith throw a bomb while the team was "Clinging" to a 41-7 lead? Yeah, as if teams didn't know that Smith has the option of throwing the ball down the field when he's in shotgun. Sorry, but I think Gailey was trying to get back at his old team. Everyone knows that he's not a big fan of the guys in KC, so, I'll leave it at that.
---Really can't find anything to pick on. Maybe Shawne Merriman being a non-factor, but when you consider how well the defense played, after giving up over 400-yards against the Chiefs last year, you have to factor his presence in the victory. Same goes for Barnett and Dareus.
Overall, it was a great day for football. The Bills looked dominant today and I think they should be able to beat the Raiders, who are coming cross country on a short week.