Hall Of Fame Game Bills vs Titans August 9 2009
The Bills first string defensive came out a little soft and gave up easy yards to a pretty good drive by the Titans. I guess this would be considered a victory by those Bills fans in the bend but don’t break camp. I am not one of them. Then the punt return unit blew it by giving up a 40 yard fake punt for a touchdown.
Is anyone else pissed off that the Titans always humiliate the Bills in some way? I still refuse to show any love for the Titans ever since they made the Bills look like first graders during the Music City Miracle. I can’t wait till the day comes when the Bills return the favor in some way shape or form.
The first string offense lead by Trent Edwards came out gunning. Owens did what he does by getting open and making defenses look weak. I, for one, am glad he is wearing red, white and blue this year.
It is hard to get a lot out of a preseason game like this because the first string units don’t play very long. We all know that momentum often changes during the course of the game. I wish we could have seen first team against first team for sixty minutes. Sometimes these preseason games just feel like a giant waste of time.
Weaknesses pointed out in the first preseason game:
- This new offensive line is not ready for regular season. I don’t care how much firepower you have on your offense (which the Bills do have by the way), your team will not be successful consistently without solid offensive line play. It is extremely important. You can bet your behind that teams like the New England Patriots will be bringing blitzes up the middle against the Bills. The Bills better have those young guys ready for it.
- The linebacking position is still too weak. Posluzny looked like he was ready for the game. I can’t say the same for any of the other linebackers. It looked to me like they were missing tackles due to poor positioning and lack of speed. Tennessee tight end Crumpler might be an ox but your linebackers have to be able to tackle guys like that or a good coach will keep beating you with him again and again. I said it before and I’ll say it again. The Bills need more speed at linebacker.
- Special teams have taken a big step backward with Hall returning kickoffs. This appears to have just been an evaluation opportunity for Bruce Hall. Thank god McKelvin, McGee and Jackson are still listed as the official kick returners for Buffalo. I trust Bobby April will do whatever he needs to do there in order to straighten things out. Let’s hope the Bills can put a kick return unit on the field that is just as good as previous years.
Bills strengths pointed out in the Hall Of Fame Game
- I thought Edwards was hot and very effective. I don’t blame that pick entirely on him. He could have played it better obviously. I put the blame on that play more on the poor pass protection. You won’t ever hear me complaining because the Bills took a shot at scoring six. That is what they should be doing far more often if you ask me. Hopefully with the added receiver threat, they will be doing just that. I still think Edwards is the real deal and if he can stay healthy, the Bills should be competitive all year even with a tough schedule.
- It looks like Terrell Owens will actually add the additional threat effect that we hoped he would. He was ready to have a kick ass game if the first unit played all 60 minutes. If teams start devoting more defensive resources to Owens, you can plan on seeing Lee Evans catch more bombs for touchdowns.