The Bill started out hot and have cooled off the last 3 games. We started at a 5-0 record and taken 2 bad beats and a but whooping from the Patriots. We now stand at a 5-3 record, the same as last season at this point and now it is time to step up and make a playoff push.
QB Josh Allen - After a solid start to his season he has cooled off and started back to some of his old trends of miss passes and many missed opportunities the past 3 weeks. Allen will try to get back on track, the thing that kills the Bills is his inaccuracy with the short throws. He has an amazing arm just misses the easy passes underneath.
RB - A. Ekeler had been a model of consistency when he is healthy. He has not popped off a huge run this season and seems to have missed a step even though he should not of. The coaching staff is wondering how to get some pep back into his burst.
WR - Rookie Lowe and Veteran C. Kupp have been a nice addition to this season the the Bills have not had the previous 2 seasons. Lowe has had a problem covering the ball when getting hit hard and starting to have a reputation as a fumbler. The Bill will work through this and hope with some more coaching he can become a huge player for them.
DE & LB - Rookie Jason Gate had had a slow start but has been coming into his own his season and looks the be a big X Factor for the Bills for the rest of his career. With Veteran M. Ingram, they should have a great 2nd half of the season LB VoSean Joseph leads the bills with 10 sacks and is deadly while LB T. Edmunds is top 5 with tackles in the league and is a true leader on the squad
DBs - What can you say about this group of DBs except say DEADLY! They are a bunch of gamblers, Make a big play of let a big play happen, but there has been some major excitement from them this season. With 25 INTs coming from the 2 starting CBs and 2 Ss. They are a threat every time on the field and all could make a case for the starting spots on the pro bowl if they keep this up.
Jaelin Lowe - The cover athlete of this issue has been impressive in his short time. WIth his small frame (5foot 9inches and 176 pounds) He plays big. With 3 games he is just short of 300 yards with 282 and has 3 TD's so far this season. With newcomer and veteran Cooper Kupp, It has added a nice 1-2 punch. You can see an early difference with QB Allens play and seems to be comfortable with his 2 new weapons.
With the 1st round pick in last years draft the Bills drafted DE J. Gates who recorded his 1st sack last week against Baltimore QB L. Jackson. Bills pass rush has been a force so far with 14 sacks through 3 games.
Austin Ekeler has looked fresh this season and has a solid backup with veteran Lamar Miller. The coaching staff will be monitoring his work load to keep him fresh throughout the season
Now we take a look at the Defense and some on the new faces here in Buffalo
D. Line - has been revamped and has a total of 3 new starters on it including 2 rookies. Rookie DE J. Gates is expected to set an immediate impact and get things rolling, "last season was a dissapointment and we are just looking for a youth movement up front" coach Bacen was quoted saying, with that being said Big Boi DT L. Bonner should help E. Oliver man the front DT spots for our 4-3 defense we run. Also signed this off-season was DE Melvin Ingram III should help with the development of Gates
LBs - With MLB Edmunds returning and OLB Joseph who cause many qb pressures and about 8 sacks last season. We have brought in OLB S. Lee, we are hoping Lee has more then a little something left in the tank and adds stability to our run D.
DBs - The Captain S Micah Hyde returns to help CB T. White and CB L. Wallace become one of the best pass Defenses in the league. Veteran newcomer J.Lucas come to soldify the Safety postion. Lucas has been used sparingly the past couple of season with only 1 int and only played in 1 game last season.
The Bills start the season off against the Atlanta Falcons. Remember to follow us on our twitter account @BillsofDestiny and watch all our game on Twitch.tv/notch08 We are excited this year to see where the Bills can go and hopefully contend for the AFC east chapionship.
A turn around in Buffalo?
There are some new faces this season in Buffalo, lets start with the offense.
QB - Josh Allen has returned but the Bills have gotten an insurance policy, future Hall Of Famer and long time Steeler Ben Roethlisberger has joined the team to give some added depth, and to be honest. If Allen struggles with his accuracy again this season I can see the coaching staff making a change.
RB - Often injured Ekeler has returned, and when he is healthy Ekeler can be one of the best backs in the league. The bills signed veteran rb L. Miller as back up. We have also signed 2 burners in the RB position. RB Muhammed and Cannon. Both rbs have run 4.3 40's and should add some needed speed. It will be interesting how the Bills will include all 3 of these new rbs in the backfield. We are looking to lessen the load on Ekeler so he can last the whole season.
O Line - LT Dawkins tested free agency this season and we are happy to report we have resigned the home grown product and hopes he plays his whole career as a Bill, LG Snell a solid run blocking guard, Morse is pencilled in as center and new veterans have come in to fill in the right side of the line. RG Osemele and RT Villanueva will try to solidfy the postions
WR - There has been big changes this season, especially with the top 4 wrs. There is a new veteran pressence with Kupp and Golden Tate. Kupp will be the Bills new #1 WR with Golden being mentors to the 2 new rookies on the team. The Rookies are L.Lowe a speedster home run hitter and M. Fisher who is a shifty over the middle type of player.
After loosing the last 8 games of the season last season. The Bills are looking forward to the many changes this season and get new blood in here to change the culture.
#BIllsMafia
The Bills of Destiny have played well in the 2nd 1/4 of the season. We have gone 3-1 with a loss to the New England Patriots in that span, that was a game that the Bills let slip away after they had a lead late in the 3rd qtr. The Bill face the Miami Dolphins next and then have their BYE week.
The Bill Offense revolves around RB Ekeler who is 2nd in the league with rushing, but has the Bills as the number 1 rush offense in Destiny. WR J.Brown has come back from a disappointing start to the season and now leads the Bills in receiving. After 7 drops in his 1st 4 games he has only dropped one since and looks a lot more focused
The Bills Defense is a play maker D. They make plays of get beat by big plays. DE T. Murphy has 8 sacks but has cooled down as of later. He started with 7 sacks after 4 games. Only has 1 the last 4. The secondary is where all the BANG comes from. S Hyde has 7 ints while CB White and CB Wallace have a combined 9 ints this season so far. For a combined 16 ints all together.
Make sure you catch all Bills games onTwitch.tv/notch08
This is our half way report, see you at the end of the season for the end of the regular season report.
The Bills have start the 4 games of the season at 2-2. With an exciting victory last week
Teams stats and Highlight
The Bills are 2nd in the league in rushing yards and 12 overall in Offense. The biggest story of the season is how QB J. Allen beat out QB D. Brees for the starting qb position. Brees signed a huge 2 year contract for 36 million. But in the 1st game of the season you can see that Brees arm was dead and Alen looked sharp with what the experts claim has the strongest arm in the NFL. Will be interesting to see what the Bills do with Brees this offseason.
RB A. Ekeler 1st season with the Bills (last season) was an injured filled season that he could not even break into the starting lineup. This season has been the total opposite, He won player of the week, week 1 and has been on a tear. After week 2 the Bill re-signed RB O. Darkwa to help the load with Ekeler.
WR J. Brown has not had a stellar start of the season, considering he was a pro-bowler last season, something is off. Some state he has lost a step but coaching disagrees. He need to concentrate more, his 8 drops are not acceptable. Bills TEs have stepped up and become extremly reliable. TE Hodges has come from no where and is having a great start of the season. (contract year) TE Kroft is just a solid top tear TE in the league.
Buffalo's Defence has its up and down games, but there are playmakers all over the place. Veteran DE. T.Murphy has been on a tear with 7 sacks through 4 games, The secondary with 3 League Stars or better have 7 ints themselves with 2 of them brought back to the house.
The Bills next 4 game are against the Jets, BEngals, Patriots and the Cardinals. Bill are looking to have a winning record after the next 1/4 of the season. Let see if they can do it and make a playoff push this season.
LET GO BILLS MAFIA
The Buffalo Bills started thier season at 3-3 and full of hope and promises, the last 5 games has been different. Buffalo has lost the last 4 out of 5 and now has the Bill at a 4-7 record. They have been in every game they have loss, they are just a few playss away. J. Allen has made some key mistakes that have put the Bills in a whole early in games. The 2nd injury to Ekeler (broken thumb) has hindered the offense, since he is their home run threat. The Bill take on The Cowboys next, this will be a huge game for the Bills and hope they can Rise Up and steal one from Dallas.
Even with the 2nd Injury with Ekeler this season the Bills rank 2nd in the league in team rushing and 11th overall in offense
The Bills young LB core has helped with their Run D this season where they rank 11th overall
Some have questions J. Allen accuracy early in his career. Some have said it not something you can not teach. Makes you think if Buffalo will look into the draft or bring in a veteran player.
The Miami Dolphins (0-5) head up to the North East to take on the Buffalo Bills (2-3) This is the 1st meeting between the 2 owners in Destiny,
For the 1st time this season the Bills will have no one on the Injury Report, that being said the bills have now 6 healthy RBs on the roster, probably more then any other team in the league. A. Ekeler was traded recently to the Bills, who gave up a 2nd and a 3rd pick for him, but his 2.7 ypc has not been up to par. The surprise and who seems to be a work horse has been O. Darkwa who leads the Bills with 6.6 ypc. Singletary will see his 1st action of the season. TJ Yeldon and F. Gore will add depth to a pretty solid group of RBs
Speaking of running backs, this has been the concentration of the Bills coaching staff this week. They will concentrate on slowing down K. Drake who averages 6.4 ypc this season. The bills will look to add some pressure to J. Rosen and keep him uncomfortable in the pocket. This has been a problem for the Bills this season since this has not been a strong point for the team this season. The one positive is Jerry Hughes has a team high of 4 sacks.
Newest issue of Bills Mafia hit News Stands today. You can get you free copy at the next Bills Home Game.
This weekend at all news-stands in the SF area. Get the newest copy of Gold Rush, The 49ers insider magazine. Dante Pettis is this months cover, talking about his sensational rookie season and is he ready to take the next step up and become a Super Star in OMML
Break out star Solomon Thomas is looking to put on the same display he had last season with his 21.5 sack dominance of last season. With 1st round pick Devin Bush adding some extra pressure from the LB position. It might free up Solomon to even have a bigger season then he had last season, or will Bush take some of his stats away from him. Only time will tell. It should add to a front 7 that is on the verge of being GREAT!
WR Pettis is on the verge of having a pro-bowl season this year. He has shown poise and profesionalism to the the 49ers WR staff that has not been seen in a while. Pettis has been a leader in the locker room and the 49ers are looking forward to seeing what is to come for this season.
Check up out after the 1/3rd of the season mark and get an update on YOUR SF 49ers!
The Texans went to New England and punched them straight in the mouth. D.Watson played smart and was on point with his passes, and when he was not passing he made arguably the GRID play of the early season. Watson scrambles out of the pocket and scored on a magnificent run that caused him to fumble on the goal line and recovered his own fumble for a TD on a 3rd and 17.
The Texans Defense had Brady confused early, leading to 3 1st ½ ints. for the future hall of famer. The best player on the field for the Texans was S. Hal. Hal had 2 Ints, 1fr, 1td and 1sack. But in the 3rd quarter is when this game turned for the worse.
QB. Watson was injured and had to leave the game. The Texans inserted QB Savage. Savage who had a solid pre-season, was not solid at all in this game. He missed and over threw his first 5 passes. Was intercepted 4 times in the 2nd ½ and caused the Texans to lose the game. The passes were so bad that the Texans thought about releasing Savage right after the game. GM Notch was dumbfounded, Savage’s pass were not close. He did not look like an NFL QB, He looked unprepared and we are currently looking for other backup QB’s. We cannot depend on a player like this. 3 of his 4 interceptions were not close to the target. It was disappointing losing a game like this. The Texans dominated and 1 player threw it away.
On the Injury side
Watson will play this coming weekend. Injury was not as bad as it 1st seemed, He has full movement in his shoulder.
G Mangold, will miss a month and a ½ with a muscle tear. This is a huge hit, Mangold was playing at a good level.
The Texans lost this game 27-28
The texans went to Cincinnati and gave the Bengals a good game, but came up short with a 37-27 loss. The game remained a 1 score game until the end when Hopkins through a prayer and it was returned for a game clinching TD for Cnici with no time left on the clock.
Qb D.Watson played a lot better than he did the first game. Threw for 246 yards with 3 TD’s and 2 interceptions. The last interception was the last play of the game with less than 15 seconds on the clock. Watson favorite target seemed to be D.Hopkins and the stats backed that.
D.Hopkins had 6 catches for 168 yards and 2 td’s. But it was not enough. TE Feidorowicz also cashed in 1 td.
The downside of this early season has been the D. JJ Watt and Clowney. They combined for 4 tackles and 0 sacks. Clowney had 1 good pass defence but that was it. The duo has been silenced for 2 games now.
The Texans will have to rebound fast as they take on the Patriots next.
This was not the start the texans imagined. Disappointing 35-3 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. D.Watson had 4 int’s 2 of them were off of tips. The run game was non existent, A.Blue had 20 yards on 15 carries and Foreman had 6 yards on 2 carries. D.Hopkins was solid 4 rec. For 75 yards. The offense will get back to practice as they set to prepare for their trip to Cincinnati.
On the Defensive side of the ball it was not any better. JJ Watt was silent and J.Clowney looked lost out there on coverage. They did a decent job keeping Fournette bottled up 17 car. For 50 yards, but he did have a TD. The play of the game for the Texans was Clowney leveling Fournette and caused a fumble.
The Texans head to Cincinnati next.
Welcome to the 2nd issue of the Texan
Pre-season is over and the starters looked sharp, The competition between QB’s Watson and Savage was very close, both qb’s had completion percentages over 60, both showed poise. They had a combination of 5 td’s and 2 interceptions. The difference is Watson's ability with his feet. Watson had 2 rushing TD’s and made smart decisions all pre-season. Watson was named the starter and owner Notch is excited about the future of the Texans.
Running back L.Miller also looked solid with a 7.1 YPC, but in week 3 Miller injured his elbow and looks like he will miss the first month of the season, this is disappointing for the Texans, but this is no excuse. Players have to step up. RB Blue will get the starting nod while Miller recovers. Rookie RB D’Onta Foreman will get some carries, Foreman is a bruising style of rb and will be used on goal line situations throughout the season.
The Wide Receivers are all returning from last season. Hopkins had some drops this pre-season. Speedster Fuller and Miller return with their blazing speed. All 3 wr’s has been working with the JUGS machine, working on their hands as of late. The surprise of the pre-season was how reliable Bruce Ellington was. He has caught the eye of the coaches, the effort and attitude Ellington has, you just need to put a player like that in the game. He is a constant pro.
Coached and owners love to run a 4-3 defense, the problem here is the current roster is made for a 3-4 defense. The team has been working on their new assignments. The D has looked amazing. JJ Watt had 3 sacks, rookie DT Carlos Watkins had another 3 sacks and looks promising. The defensive backfield looks like they are clicking. They had 10 int’s this pre-season.
Owners Pete Notch is excited for this season, also is looking forward to renewing an old personal rivalry with Jags Owner Z-star as the Texans open the season against the Jags. There is no love lost between these 2 owners. There is a mutual respect, but if the Jags went 0-16 there would be party in Houston is that ever happened.
The Texans first four opponents this season is the Jags, then off to Cinci and New England. The fourth game would be back at home against the Titans.
#2017Texans
Welcome to the first edition of The Texan. The Houston Texans home newsletter and insider.
GM Notch is excited to get started with the Texans. With the off-season over and done with here is a recap of what's new and what to expect with the Texans
As you already know the Texans have drafted QB D.Watson A mobile qb. Not the strongest arm in the world, but is quick on his feet, needs to work on his accuracy to be a top tier QB in GRID. D.Wat has some weapons at his disposal, with D.Hopkins returning and burner W.Fuller V. Watson will have every opportunity to succeed with the Texans
RB L.Miller returns, and to the surprise of GM Notch, he is more explosive and has good top end speed, It is what we look for in a RB and expect Miller to help with the load while Watson starts the season off as the starting QB for the Texans this season.
The Offensive line is anchored by LT Duane Brown. A pro-bowl talent, Brown is now 32 and needs to teach a young O-Line how to be a cohesive unit.
GM Notch loves to run a 4-3 Defense and will take some roster movement to get this D the way he likes. But this Defense has the tools. Anchored by JJ Watt and OLB Clowney. The Texans will put in the proper paperwork to move positions and have Clowney play DE on the other side of Watt.
The secondary looks like it will start with Hal and Pleasant ad thier starting Safeties, with veteran CB J.Joseph leading the way in the secondary. This is an older secondary and looks like the O line and DB’s will be the 1st thing they correct in Houston
If they do try to rebuild it will not be in the draft their 1st year. Houston does not have a 1st or 2nd round pick this coming offseason. So this is a very important 1st season for the Texans and their fans. Fans Owners and Players are excited for the 2017 season. LETS GO TEXANS!