Orchard Park, NY (WGR 550) -- With high hopes and expectations heading in to the contest, the Buffalo Bills came out of their game at Ralph Wilson Stadium against the New England Patriots with more questions than answers.
The Bills started off the game with a 21-7 lead, and ended up being outscored 45-7 in the final 26 minutes. What went wrong? Let's start with the offensive and defensive line.
Defensive Line
Mario Williams Time on Field: 89.6% snaps played; 69 total Stats: 2 tackles (solo), TFL Plus/Minus: -3 Observations: See 'The Mario Williams Report' Grade: C
Season GPA: 2.44
Mark Anderson Time on Field: 75.3% snaps played; 58 total Stats: 2 tackles (1 solo) Plus/Minus: -4 Observations: His effort against the Patriots was the worst of his first four-game stretch with the Bills. Anderson had the ball run to his side the majority of the game, and he was unable to disengage from blocks, no matter who was attempting to take him out of the play. Some times it was Nate Solder, other times it was Rob Gronkowski. The common thread between it is that Anderson was unable to get off the blocks and help limit the run game. His lone contribution to the game was a third-down play where Anderson got good pressure off a stunt with a defensive tackle. Other than that, it was a game to forget for the other free agent defensive end. Grade: C-
Season GPA: 2.73
Kyle Williams Time on Field: 74.0% snaps played; 57 total Stats: 5 tackles (3 solo), 0.5 sacks, TFL Plus/Minus: +1 Observations: Still the best of the defensive linemen against New England, Kyle Williams had his worst performance to date. Still maintaining the same level of fire off the snap, Williams was able to blow right by an offensive lineman for a tackle for loss. He also did well on screen recognition. However, Williams did have a few negative plays, getting cut down on a run play that went for a big gain. There was also the roughing the passer penalty, that may have been questionable, but still gave New England 15 yards in a critical part of the contest. Grade: B-
Season GPA: 3.30
Marcell Dareus Time on Field: 64.9% snaps played; 50 total Stats: 3 tackles (0 solo), 0.5 sacks Plus/Minus: -3 Observations: It's been two bad, and two good games so far for Marcell Dareus. Like the Bills though, both of his negative days came against AFC East opponents. On a few different run plays, Dareus lost his position, was turned around and the Patriots blew right through the gap. His weakest play of the day didn't end up hurting the Bills, but it very well could have. On the play to Rob Gronkowski that ended up getting broken up by Stephon Gilmore, Mario Williams and Mark Anderson teamed up to force Tom Brady to step forward in to the pocket. At the time, Kyle Williams was getting double-teamed, leaving Dareus with a one-on-one matchup. He got maybe half-a-yard to one full yard of penetration, and was just stonewalled by the left guard. If he won that one-on-one matchup, that play results most likely in a sack or at least Brady throwing the ball away. It took the extra effort from Gilmore to break up the play to prevent it from being a big gain. He shouldn't have even been in that situation. Even still, Dareus flashes his first round ability during the games. He just needs to be more consistent play to play. Grade: C
Season GPA: 2.75
Alex Carrington Time on Field: 32.5% snaps played; 25 total Stats: 3 tackles (1 solo), TFL Plus/Minus: -1 Observations: It's been on a limited amount of snaps (90) compared to the starters, but if you would have said Alex Carrington has graded out as the second best defensive linemen through the first quarter of the season, many would have snickered. Some less than stellar play from his teammates combined with a solid push through the line of scrimmage has helped Carrington do just that though. Against the Patriots, he showed some nice fire off the snap to break up a pair of run plays, even collecting a tackle in the backfield himself once. However, like the rest of his teammates along the line he had his share of negative plays. He can still get dominated at the point of attack from time to time and at times it results in a big play (New England fired through his gap for a 20-yard run). Grade: B-
Season GPA: 2.85
Chris Kelsay Time on Field: 28.6% snaps played; 22 total Stats: None Plus/Minus: -1 Observations: Chris Kelsay's snap count has gone down considerably over the past two weeks, as has his overall impact on the field one way or another. He's there to set the edge, but never gets much penetration in the backfield on the rare times he's in on pass plays. He wasn't the only one that the player did it to, but Rob Gronkowski did a great job of blocking Kelsay in the run game. Stevan Ridley's first touchdown comes to mind where Gronkowski completely sealed off Kelsay from making a play. Grade: B-
Season GPA: 2.62
Spencer Johnson Time on Field: 26.0% snaps played; 20 total Stats: None Plus/Minus: -4 Observations: In limited action, Spencer Johnson struggled mightily. He was abysmal in run defense, getting thrown aside and controlled by Dan Connolly. He struggled with balance and leverage for much of the time he was out there. Grade: D+
Season GPA: 2.33
Offensive Line
Andy Levitre Time on Field: 100% snaps played; 69 total Plus/Minus: +2 Observations: The only Bills' player to take every single snap possible this season continued that trend against the Patriots. He held is own quite well against Vince Wilfork, on one play he blocked the big nose tackle back four yards on a run play. However, with a talent like Wilfork, he got the upper hand a few time as well. Levitre's biggest weakness is not getting to his man on screen plays, but on pulls and straight in-line blocking Levitre performs very well. He's been a steady force at left guard all season. Grade: B
Season GPA: 3.23
Eric Wood Time on Field: 100% snaps played; 69 total Plus/Minus: +3 Observations: Eric Wood had the best game of the offensive line that played the majority of the game. His block on Rob Ninkovich on the screen pass to Dorin Dickerson opened that play right up for the Bills. It was a solid day run blocking for Wood as well. His only negative play came on the C.J. Spiller fumble play. If he secured his block on the goal line, Spiller likely would have scored. Grade: B+
Season GPA: 3.12
Erik Pears Time on Field: 92.8% snaps played; 64 total Plus/Minus: -8 Observations: The biggest concern for the offensive line heading in to Week 5 will be how well the two new starters can gel with the incumbents against a terrorizing defensive line. However, if they had all their starters healthy, the concern would center around the play of Erik Pears through four games this season. He has not regained the form of 2011, constantly lunging at his assignment after being too heavy-footed to deal with a speed rush. Rob Ninkovich really gave him a lot of problems against the Patriots in both run and pass blocking. He also had three penalties (one holding and two false starts) to add to his negative day. The Bills need Pears to be a lot better, especially with Chris Hairston taking over on the left side for Cordy Glenn's injury, and Chad Rinehart making his first start of the season right next to him. Grade: D-
Season GPA: 2.00
Chad Rinehart Time on Field: 73.9% snaps played; 51 total Plus/Minus: -1 Observations: It was an inauspicious start to Chad Rinehart's day when he first entered the contest. On two consecutive plays (his first two of the game), Rinehart got caught flat-footed by Jermaine Cunningham and it led to a sack and then got knocked off his block, leading to a pressure of Fitzpatrick that brought on an interception. From that point forward though, Rinehart stabilized himself and was average to above average the rest of the way. He's an athletic guard that did well at getting out in space and finding a block on a screen. He won't wow you with physicality, but he can do the job at right guard capably until the superior Urbik gets back in the lineup. Grade: B-
Season GPA: 2.61
Cordy Glenn Time on Field: 66.7% snaps played; 46 total Plus/Minus: +2 Observations: It was an abbreviated afternoon for Cordy Glenn, who didn't really stand out for either good or bad reasons before suffering his injury. Glenn once again showed quick feet with Chandler Jones as he tried to go wide and anchored successfully. In the battle of rookies, Glenn won that showdown. Grade: B
Season GPA: 3.06
Chris Hairston Time on Field: 37.7% snaps played; 26 total Plus/Minus: Even Observations: Getting his first significant amount of reps at left tackle since the preseason, Chris Hairston came in and held down the fort for the little time he had to be in the game. He wasn't beaten, but he failed to flash anything above average in his time on the field. With a full game at left tackle on Sunday against San Francisco, it's likely to be a better gauge of how he handles the position with a full week of practice. Grade: B-
Season GPA: 2.44
Kraig Urbik Time on Field: 26.1% snaps played; 18 total Plus/Minus: +3 Observations: It's really a shame Kraig Urbik went down with an injury so quickly in to the contest, because he was one his way to having a terrific performance against the New England front. He cleared out players, including Vince Wilfork, in a one-on-one setting for medium gains in the running department. He was able to absorb a hard-charging blitz and stonewalled Brandon Spikes on the attempt. He's really had a nice stretch of games here at the beginning of the season, and will be missed by the Bills as they prepare for the next week. Grade: A-
Season GPA: 3.29
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