Harry
ASFN Consultant and Senior Writer
The game started with the Bills playing a standard defense. The Cards played a short game and easily moved the ball down the field. Their defense was as weak as expected. So, the Bills scored a late first half TD to close to 17-10. I’m not going to watch this debacle again, but I think even before the first half ended the Bills had moved up their safeties. The Cards seemed determined to stay with their short game though it failed to move the ball. I have a theory.
The failure to play the first string offense in preseason did not prepare Murray for the regular season. He was fine handing off the ball or throwing quick 8 yard passes. He had no rapport with prized rookie Harrison. This was particularly costly when on the final drive Murray was scrambling but failed to see Harrison alone with a clear path to scoring the potential winning TD. Instead of being the go-to guy, Harrison wasn’t even an afterthought. If you think I’m exaggerating the value of preseason here’s a quote from today’s ESPN, “When talking about a missed back-shoulder throw to Harrison in the first quarter, Murray pointed out that Sunday was the first time he and Harrison played together, adding that "we will click. We'll get better."
On the few plays where Murray had ample time the Bills newly assembled secondary either had extraordinary coverage (sarcasm intended) or Murray simply wasn’t able to anticipate where the routes would take the receivers. Surely some were single covered, but Murray didn’t appear to trust any of the receivers enough to give them a chance to make a play
Then there’s the offensive line. I feared depth would be an issue and in less than a quarter it was. The Cards used their best backup, Beachum, but he proved inadequate. On multiple occasions the Bills rusher walked him back almost on top of Murray. For his part Murray struggled to find any receiver more than 10 yards down the field, completing no passes that long. I guess the Cards were expecting more from the line. Of course, they had not seen them in a game. Apparently the Cards failed to have any plays in the game plan to use if Murray were under great pressure. There were no rollouts or draws. There were few motion plays to disrupt the defensive alignment. An occasional screen play was all they attempted to slow the rush.
On the whole when the Bills cooperated, the Cards short game functioned like a well oiled machine. However, once the Bills adjusted the Cards seemed as if they lacked the flexibility to respond. The result was a far too familiar scene where the Cards’ staff was simply out-coached. Again I’m left with the feeling the Cards have already written off this season playoff-wise. I’ll have more on this later. In the meantime it will be interesting to see if the Cards’ game plan changes for week 2.
The failure to play the first string offense in preseason did not prepare Murray for the regular season. He was fine handing off the ball or throwing quick 8 yard passes. He had no rapport with prized rookie Harrison. This was particularly costly when on the final drive Murray was scrambling but failed to see Harrison alone with a clear path to scoring the potential winning TD. Instead of being the go-to guy, Harrison wasn’t even an afterthought. If you think I’m exaggerating the value of preseason here’s a quote from today’s ESPN, “When talking about a missed back-shoulder throw to Harrison in the first quarter, Murray pointed out that Sunday was the first time he and Harrison played together, adding that "we will click. We'll get better."
On the few plays where Murray had ample time the Bills newly assembled secondary either had extraordinary coverage (sarcasm intended) or Murray simply wasn’t able to anticipate where the routes would take the receivers. Surely some were single covered, but Murray didn’t appear to trust any of the receivers enough to give them a chance to make a play
Then there’s the offensive line. I feared depth would be an issue and in less than a quarter it was. The Cards used their best backup, Beachum, but he proved inadequate. On multiple occasions the Bills rusher walked him back almost on top of Murray. For his part Murray struggled to find any receiver more than 10 yards down the field, completing no passes that long. I guess the Cards were expecting more from the line. Of course, they had not seen them in a game. Apparently the Cards failed to have any plays in the game plan to use if Murray were under great pressure. There were no rollouts or draws. There were few motion plays to disrupt the defensive alignment. An occasional screen play was all they attempted to slow the rush.
On the whole when the Bills cooperated, the Cards short game functioned like a well oiled machine. However, once the Bills adjusted the Cards seemed as if they lacked the flexibility to respond. The result was a far too familiar scene where the Cards’ staff was simply out-coached. Again I’m left with the feeling the Cards have already written off this season playoff-wise. I’ll have more on this later. In the meantime it will be interesting to see if the Cards’ game plan changes for week 2.
