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If you missed my breakdown of the offensive and defensive line, click here. Quarterbacks, wide receivers, cornerbacks and safeties are still to come.
Linebackers
Nick Barnett
Time on Field: 100% snaps played; 63 total
Stats: 9 tackles (5 solo)
Blitz Count: 3 plays
Plus/Minus: +5 (11 positive plays, 6 negative plays)
Observations: Nick Barnett had a couple of missteps, but by and large Barnett was one of the biggest reasons the Bills did so well against the Jets' rushing attack. He has a natural feel for sniffing out the run play, as evidenced on a pitch play where he saw the angle the running back was taking as soon as the ball was snapped, went wide and fired through a block attempt and through the gap to bring down the ball carrier. The weak point to Barnett's game was in man-to-man pass coverage. On the play where Santonio Holmes caught the ball but was ruled out of bounds for a would be touchdown, Barnett was caught flat-footed in the middle of the field by Bilal Powell and would have given up a big play had Mark Sanchez elected to throw it there. All in all, a very good performance by the Bills' most important linebacker.
Grade: A- (3.67 GPA)
Kelvin Sheppard
Time on Field: 68.3% snaps played; 43 total
Stats: 8 tackles (5 solo)
Blitz Count: 2 plays
Plus/Minus: -1 (6 positive plays, 7 negative plays)
Observations: The adaptation of Kelvin Sheppard to the NFL continued against the New York Jets on Sunday. Sheppard flashed some very impressive natural abilities, but also got caught a few times in the run stopping department. The second-year player was very good against the Tim Tebow Wildcat package, doing well to stay home and get to the ball carrier within a timely manner. His best play on the day was one that he absorbed the contact from fullback John Conner and made the tackle at the line of scrimmage. Sheppard also showed that he will be caught in over-pursuit at times and doesn't play with top notch leverage every single play. He can also be a bit slow to react in pass coverage, but wasn't on the field for those situations all that often. It wasn't a bad day for Sheppard, it just wasn't a good one, either.
Grade: B- (2.67 GPA)
Bryan Scott
Time on Field: 49.2% snaps played; 31 total
Stats: 2 tackles (solo), INT, 1 PBU
Blitz Count: 1 play
Plus/Minus: +1 (3 positive plays, 2 negative plays)
Observations: After the first half was complete, Bryan Scott was actually on the field for more snaps than Kelvin Sheppard was. His highlights of the day were obvious: roping in the interception and forcing a fumble on a run play by getting his helmet on the ball. His first negative play came in coverage on Jeremy Kerley's touchdown. His assignment was Jets tight end Dustin Keller, who came from Scott's left side and traversed to the left in the end zone area. Scott had his hips turned the wrong way, and Keller would have had a touchdown himself if Sanchez elected to go to him. On the field more than Arthur Moats, it's clear Scott will be stuck to the hip of tight ends the Bills face as long as he stays healthy.
Grade: B (3.0 GPA)
Arthur Moats
Time on Field: 38.1% snaps played; 24 total
Stats: 6 tackles (3 solo)
Blitz Count: 0 plays
Plus/Minus: +1 (4 positive plays, 3 negative plays)
Observations: Named the starting strongside linebacker, Arthur Moats came in to the game and had a very good first half. He set the edge well to force runs to his side inside for the rest of his teammates. He also made a nice tackle in the open field, which is something he's been stressing on himself to do. In the second half, he was fooled a bit on the flea flicker play that went for a big gain. He also got negated by a tight end not particularly known for his blocking prowess on a run play. Moats is a work in progress, but showed some flashes.
Grade: B (3.0 GPA)
Nigel Bradham
Time on Field: 9.5% snaps played; 6 total
Stats: 0 tackles
Blitz Count: 0 plays
Plus/Minus: -1 (0 positive plays, 1 negative play)
Observations: Bradham's first defensive snap of the game came when the game was well in hand for the Jets. He didn't have too much time on the field to have an overwhelming opinion about his game, but he did take the wrong angle in trying to get to the running back on a play headed towards Nick Barnett's side. Instead of going wide, Bradham tried to go through blocker alley and didn't get over where he needed to be.
Grade: C+ (2.33 GPA)
Running Backs
C.J. Spiller
Time on Field: 69.0% snaps played; 40 total
Stats: 14 carries, 169 yards, TD; 2 receptions, 25 yards, 1 fumble lost
Plus/Minus: +6 (7 positive plays, 1 negative play)
Observations: Even with the fumble, C.J. Spiller garnered the only 'A' out of the players I've reviewed to this point in time. Spiller showed up in a big way. His rushing attempts boasted patience, poise, explosiveness, vision, tackle breaking ability -- everything you want out of a running back. It was slight, but the key to his 56-yard touchdown run was how he set up safety LaRon Landry. Spiller gave an ever-so-subtle juke that triggered Landry's hit-happy mind to go one step more to the right than he should have. Spiller turned it up field and then broke the tackle attempts of both Landry and Bart Scott. He also showed well in pass protection, an area he's been lacking in year's past. Just a phenomenal game for Spiller. He was Buffalo's best player on Sunday.
Grade: A (4.0 GPA)
Fred Jackson
Time on Field: 25.9% snaps played; 15 total
Stats: 6 carries, 15 yards
Plus/Minus: +2 (3 positive plays, 1 negative play)
Observations: It was tough for Fred Jackson to get going before his injury. The blocking wasn't really there early on, and the offense as a whole was disjointed from the amount of turnovers in the first half. Jackson had a nice cutback on a 3rd-and-short to get the first down. He also showed again the knack for absorbing contact and getting more yardage. He finally busted loose on his final play of the game, getting out to the open field for the first time.
Grade: B (3.0 GPA)
Tashard Choice
Time on Field: 10.3% snaps played; 6 total
Stats: 4 carries, 3 yards
Plus/Minus: Even (0 positive plays, 0 negative plays)
Observations: When the Bills got down to the goal line, Tashard Choice was their man. He got stuffed on the first attempt, but the second one was dangerously close to being in for six. Regardless, nothing stood out about Choice's day.
Grade: C+ (2.33 GPA)
Corey McIntyre
Time on Field: 5.2% snaps played; 3 total
Stats: None
Plus/Minus: +1 (1 positive play, 0 negative plays)
Observations: Here were McIntyre's three snaps: 1) The kneel-down to end the first half. 2) The first attempt on the goal line. 3) The second attempt on the goal line. On his second play, McIntyre really showed a nice pop in to his assignment. The blocking ahead of him is what thwarted the attempt for a touchdown.
Grade: B+ (3.33 GPA)
Tight Ends
Scott Chandler
Time on Field: 91.4% snaps played; 53 total
Stats: 4 receptions, 38 yards, TD
Plus/Minus: +3 (6 positive plays, 3 negative plays)
Observations: Scott Chandler fought off some early mental errors to have a pretty good game. The first offensive snap of the season had to be backed up five yards because he took a false start penalty. Then Chandler wasn't able to hold his block in the run game. But as the game wore on and Chandler got more comfortable, his run blocking improved drastically and he even provided the key seal block for C.J. Spiller's run that was stopped only by an outstretched shoe-string tackle by Darrelle Revis. Chandler looked comfortable catching the ball, and chipped in a touchdown for his efforts. His amount of time on the field is indicative of how much Ryan Fitzpatrick trusts him as a player.
Grade: B+ (3.33 GPA)
Lee Smith
Time on Field: 25.9% snaps played; 15 total
Stats: 1 reception, 5 yards
Plus/Minus: +3 (4 positive plays, 1 negative play)
Observations: Lee Smith is an animal in both run and pass blocking. There's no other way to put it. Rarely does he get beaten in that respect, and he also provides a nasty streak to finish his blocks. The amount of times his assignment can get off his block are not very many. He even chipped in a catch for a first down. Smith had a very good game for reasons that won't show up in the stat sheet.
Grade: B+ (3.33 GPA)
Dorin Dickerson
Time on Field: 3.5% snaps played; 2 total
Stats: None
Plus/Minus: -1 (0 positive plays, 1 negative play)
Observations: Dorin Dickerson's two plays on offense were the final two of the game. On the very last snap, Dickerson was supposed to lead the way coming from the right side for running back Tashard Choice, and instead collided with an offensive lineman and tumbled to the turf. Perhaps with Scott Chandler being as big a part of the offense as he is and Lee Smith not having the skill-set to replicate it in case of an injury to the starter, maybe that was the reasoning behind dressing Dickerson. Even so, I'm still a bit baffled as to why he was active and wide receiver T.J. Graham was not.
Grade: C (2.0 GPA)
- For obvious reasons, this is a report that highlights my findings and opinions from the individual games.
- The GPA's attached at the bottom are an overall grade of how I felt that player performed, basing it all on the play-by-play film review done throughout the week.
- Plus/minus scores and GPAs will be tracked as the season goes along. An individual game's GPA will be weighted with how many snaps that player has on the field in the contest when figuring out a season long average.
Twitter: @JoeB_WGR