Bills-Raiders Recap

As the kids would say: OMG. After an abysmal first half, the Bills collected themselves and managed to pull out an exciting 38-35 win against the visiting Oakland Raiders. It was in no way a pretty victory. The pass defense in particular acquitted itself poorly, giving up 323 yards to a very average Jason Campbell. The Bills did however, take a helluva beating in the first half but scrapped back outscoring the Raiders 35-14 after halftime.

Freddie Jackson had another huge game with 117 yards and 2 TDs only 15 carries. Even better, the much maligned CJ Spiller ran for 63 yards on just four carries. That's 15 and change per folks. As a whole, the Bills averaged a whopping 8.7 (you read that correctly) yards per carry.

This week's re-cap may skimp a little on details, as your faithful narrator was stuck watching a Directv feed that, well, just wouldn't feed.

Thoughts:

-Great second half adjustments on the offensive side of the ball. Partially it was just a matter of getting the ball into the offense's hands, but credit where credit is due. Gailey went to a quick passing game in the 2nd half and his quarterback responded with 162 yards and 3 TDs after halftime. Its been a while since the Bills had a coach that could make quality adjustments at halftime. Enjoy it folks.

-Kudos for the second straight week to our beleaguered offensive line. Oakland the second best in NFL in sacks last year, and they got nary a one against Buffalo. That makes one sack surrendered in two games for the Bills, against some very good pass rushing teams. It may not last, but for now, its pretty sweet.

-On the other side of the ledger, the Bills pass rush is a genuine concern. The Bills have a single sack in two games, that lone sack belonging to Spencer Johnson. For most of today's game Jason Campbell had enough time in the pocket to chainsaw an ice sculpture. Thus far the regular season version of Shawne Merriman has been less than impressive in the pass rush department (not mention some issues with setting the edge in the run game). If things keep on like this, might Coach Gailey think about moving Arthur Moats back to the outside?

-Speaking of poor pass defense, Leodis McKelvin had just an awful game. He was repeatedly beaten by Raiders 5th round rookie Denarius Moore (Moore ended the game with 5 catches for 146 yards and a TD). Both George Wilson and Drayton Florence were also inconsistent, if better than McKelvin. At this point, I'm only truly comfortable with Jairus Byrd, who had another solid, sure-tackling game.

-When's the last time you felt this good about a Bills Tight End? Not only did Chandler catch another touchdown pass, but he threw a couple of keys blocks to spring Freddie for big yardage. Chandler now has three TDs in two games, which ties him for second most TDs in a single season by a Bills TE during the decade (tied with Jay Riemersma and Robert Royal). The immortal Mark Campbell is currently in the lead after hauling in five touchdowns in 2004.

-In case you were wondering: Ryan Fitzpatrick has 7 TDs in two games.

Next week is the New England Patriots. Tom Brady has thrown for 940 yards in two games. We just gave up 323 to Jason Campbell. This could be painful to watch.