Shop NBA Hats at Fanatics.com

Friday, August 17, 2012

Buffalo Bills vs. Minnesota Vikings Preseason Preview

Sal Maiorana - There was certainly no reason to panic following Buffalo’s undeniably poor performance in last week’s preseason opener against Washington.
Wince, maybe, but not panic.
After all, the key words there are “preseason opener” because generally, that particular game is a nightmare for all NFL teams on several different levels.
But while the Bills quickly moved on from their six-point, 14-penalty debacle against the Redskins, they were also reminding themselves this week in practice that they need to be a whole lot better tonight when they take on the Vikings in Minnesota.
“It’s not make or break,” quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said, “but I think we have that mindset that we’re going to come out and we’re going to be more clean in terms of the pre-snap penalties and in terms of our execution and making sure that we have the right assignments for blocking the right guys, throwing to the right guys, running the right routes, and then coming out healthy.”
As incompetent as the Bills were on offense — they gained just 219 yards and their quarterbacks combined to complete only 14 of 34 passes for 149 yards — it was the penalties that really irritated coach Chan Gailey. Of the 14, eight were false starts, which is too many for four games, let alone one.
“Yeah, that is just undisciplined and that’s my fault,” Gailey said. “When we play that undisciplined that’s my fault. I have to get that straight.”
In a nice bit of timing, the last few days at St. John Fisher College were the days that the NFL had scheduled officials to be at Bills camp, so even though they were the much-maligned replacements, they were calling infractions and it should help the Bills this week.
Assuming it did and the Bills remember the snap count a little better, the focus should shift to the backup quarterback derby between Vince Young and Tyler Thigpen.
Once Fitzpatrick exits, probably by the end of the first quarter, Young will take the field looking to build on what has been a pretty good week of practice.
Joining the Bills in May, Young has been racing to learn the Buffalo offense. Gailey said he’s just about there, and it was starting to show in the way he operated in practice. On Monday Gailey said Young enjoyed his best day since he’s been with the team, and he also acknowledged that Thigpen has looked better after a rough start.“They have made it tough the whole time,” said Gailey, referring to the choice he’s going to have to make in a few weeks. “Vince was really behind the eight-ball early, but he has come on strong. It’s going to be a tough decision for us.”
Gailey has a number of other positions where he’ll be confronted with some hard choices, namely wide receiver, linebacker, and defensive backfield, and as he has often said, special teams contributions are very likely going to decide the issue.
Almost all of the players battling at those spots are similar in skill set, and it will come down to who can be the most valuable on the kicking units.
“They need to show what they can do,” Gailey said. “And really, what it boils down to is special teams is their place to make their statement. If they can go make some plays there, that really helps their stock in our mind. And they’re not only playing for us, they’re playing for 31 other teams, too. Everybody evaluates everybody on every squad.”
SUMMARY: After a sloppy opener, the Bills look to be smarter and better in their second preseason game against MinnesotaSal MaioranaStaff writer There was certainly no reason to panic following Buffalo’s undeniably poor performance in last week’s preseason opener against Washington. Wince, maybe, but not panic. After all, the key words there are “preseason opener” because generally, that particular game is a nightmare for all NFL teams on several different levels. But while the Bills quickly moved on from their six-point, 14-penalty debacle against the Redskins, they were also reminding themselves this week in practice that they need to be a whole lot better tonight when they take on the Vikings in Minnesota. “It’s not make or break,” quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said, “but I think we have that mindset that we’re going to come out and we’re going to be more clean in terms of the pre-snap penalties and in terms of our execution and making sure that we have the right assignments for blocking the right guys, throwing to the right guys, running the right routes, and then coming out healthy.” As incompetent as the Bills were on offense - they gained just 219 yards and their quarterbacks combined to complete only 14 of 34 passes for 149 yards - it was the penalties that really irritated coach Chan Gailey. Of the 14, eight were false starts which is too many for four games, let alone one. “Yeah, that is just undisciplined and that’s my fault,” said Gailey. “When we play that undisciplined that’s my fault. I have to get that straight.” In a nice bit of timing, the last few days at St. John Fisher College were the days that the NFL had scheduled officials to be at Bills camp, so even though they were the much-maligned replacements, they were calling infractions and it should help the Bills this week. Assuming it did and the Bills remember the snap count a little better tonight, the focus should shift to the backup quarterback derby between Vince Young and Tyler Thigpen. Once Fitzpatrick exits, probably by the end of the first quarter, Young will take the field looking to build on what has been a pretty good week of practice. Joining the Bills in May, Young has been racing to learn the Buffalo offense. Gailey said he’s just about there, and it was starting to show in the way he operated in practice. On Monday Gailey said Young enjoyed his best day since he’s been with the team, and he also acknowledged that Thigpen has looked better after a rough start. “They have made it tough the whole time,” said Gailey, referring to the choice he’s going to have to make in a few weeks. “Vince was really behind the eight-ball early, but he has come on strong. It’s going to be a tough decision for us.” Gailey has a number of other positions where he’ll be confronted with some hard choices, namely wide receiver, linebacker, and defensive backfield, and as he has often said, special teams contributions are very likely going to decide the issue. Almost all of the players battling at those spots are similar in skill set, and it will come down to who can be the most valuable on the kicking units. “They need to show what they can do,” said Gailey. “And really, what it boils down to is special teams is their place to make their statement. If they can go make some plays there, that really helps their stock in our mind. And they’re not only playing for us, they’re playing for 31 other teams, too. Everybody evaluates everybody on every squad.

1 comment:

Ulsth said...

Tell me what you know It comes with the software CD and a USB charging cable. Rolling Stone: star rating. The stylist need to wear aprons to protect their clothing from chemicals, water, and any possible stains.