Let me make something crystal clear for those with clouded vision. The players pictured in
this article are not the sole reasons for the Bills recent woes. However they have all played a significant
role in the Bills misfortunes as of late.
Don’t take my word for it, just close your eyes and reflect on this
gut wrenching losing streak and you’re guaranteed to relive several horrendous plays being made by (not
so much Spencer Johnson) the players pictured above.
Let’s start with who I feel’s the worst of the bunch: Drayton Florence. In my many years of observing the game of professional football I can’t recall seeing another more Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde like performance in a season by a NFL cornerback. It seems like an eternity ago when Florence had the pick six off Brady playing a major role in the Bills snapping their losing streak to a Patriots team who (much to my consternation) have since clinched yet another AFC East Division Championship.
When Terrence McGee went down in Week 1 against the Chiefs it appeared as though
the cornerback position was left in a pair of trustworthy hands with the level of play Florence displayed.
It seemed like he was always in position to make the right play at the right time and as a result of this one
had to think he was on a Pro Bowl path. Well like Tom (the tom cat) from that classic cartoon Tom & Jerry once said “DON’T YOU BILIEVE IT”! This guys play has regressed miserably over the past weeks and I wish I could figure out why.
His ball awareness is completely nonexistent which was on display when Brandon Marshall beat him like he stole something for a 65 yard touchdown reception. This is just one of many bad plays made by Florence of late and it just may rank as his single worst play of the season. The sad thing about it is in order for there to be a single worst play there has to be many other terrible plays.
Get it now, Bill-Ja VU!!!
Watching this guy play the last seven games has been like watching the same disaster movie over and over and over and over and over and over and over and……you get the idea ! The Bills may need to seriously consider cutting their loses here and moving on. Why prolong doing the inevitable anyway?
Next up is our current candy armed quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Not having Fred Jackson
in the backfield to dump screen passes off to has really affected his game in a negative way. Not trying to be redundant here but once again I say when your arm’s weak you throw high, low, overall inconsistent passes. The will’s there but the body’s (meaning the throwing arm) not up to the task and Fitzpatrick can’t disguise this fact any longer. Can you imagine if the Bills had to play a mid to late January playoff game in classic late season Buffalo weather and Fitzpatrick had to win it with his arm? From what you’ve seen of late. can you honestly say you can see him being up to the task? If so I need the name and number of the eye clinic that you attend because apparently mine need to be thoroughly examined.
He can barely throw to the sidelines on a clear day in Buffalo so picture him doing it in The Ralph when that weather’s in a raging frenzy. It’s not a good look, is it people? I’d be willing to bet that if the Bills had a quaterback at the helm that could push the ball down the field Steve Johnsons numbers would sky rocket. So many times after beating man coverage off the line of scrimmage he has to slow down for under thrown passes and that just isn’t fair no matter how you try to serve it up. Hopefully the right somebody (Mr. Nix) will see this and do something about it in the upcoming off season. That is if they want to truly display a desire to turn things around to the many loyal Buffalonians who support them year in and year out.
Next up Spencer Johnson. I actually don’t have a lot of bad things to say about Johnson
it’s just that he reflects the (article) title at least once a game. What do I mean by that you ask? Quite simple. When he lines up at OLB at least once a game he allows himself to get sucked to far therefore enabling running backs as well as wide receivers (on end arounds and reverses) to get outside and burn the defense for huge gains on the ground. That’s basically it! Outside of this one thing I really don’t have a problem with the job Johnson does on the field. I mean I’d love to see him generate more pressure on apposing quaterbacks as well but besides this occasional break down in play he really doesn’t hurt the team much.
The thing that drives you crazy about it is the fact that when it happens it’s the same way every time out! You wonder why that continues to happen to a NFL player who’s supposed to study film as part of his weekly preparation to face other teams. Does he not see himself constantly being burned in the same exact way when he studies that film? Everyone I’ve about on are NFL veterans who are stuck in their ways and it’s time to realize what their previous teams already have. That these guys don’t make for good viewing on Sundays. You wouldn’t watch reruns of your favorite show if you knew a brand new episode was on………FEEL ME!! “BILL-JA VU”!!