Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE
After a bittersweet 24-14 win over the Cleveland Browns, the Buffalo Bills went to 2-1 on the early season. It was bittersweet because emerging star halfback C.J. Spiller separated his shoulder and will likely be out 1-2 weeks, however a win is a win and Tashard Choice (photoed above) looked great in relief, but now to the position grades!
Quarterback – B+, Ryan Fitzpatrick looked superb by going 22 for 35 and 208 yards and three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Additionally he ran for ten yards on six carries and didn’t get sacked, but more on that later.
Halfback – A-, C.J. Spiller was looking like he was going to have yet another breakout game, but then separated his shoulder and was out for the entire second half.
Wide Receiver – B+ Stevie Johnson had another touchdown reception, and rookie speedster T.J. Graham caught his first touchdown pass, so congrats to T.J.!
Offensive Line – A, once again the offensive line aka the wolfpack looked amazing. Three straight games without giving up a sack, it’s making the Cordy Glenn pick in the second round looking more and more like the steal of the 2012 NFL draft.
Defensive Line – B, they had excellent pressure at times against a rookie quarterback, Mario Williams had 1.5 sacks today when he shared one with Marcell Dareus. Also toward the end of the game when most of the Browns fans had left, Mark Anderson pumped up the remaining Bills fans that were still in the crowd which was one of the highlights of the game.
Linebackers, C+ they had problems tackling players, however linebacker,Bryan Scott had a very nice interception and nearly returned it for a touchdown.
Defensive Backs: C+, rookie cornerback Stephon Gilmore is still learning, he looked out of place when Browns wide receiver Travis Benjamin caught a wide open touchdown pass. That being said, Leodis McKelvin had a very nice interception to stop a promising Browns drive.
Special Teams: B+, Brian Moorman was booming punts like crazy today despite the adverse weather between the wind, rain and frequent hail. Also, Rian Lindel kicked 3 extra points and had a chip shot field goal and rookie John Potter was kicking solid kickoffs as well despite the aforementioned weather.
Thank you very much again for reading my article, if you have anything to say, leave a comment on here, or hit up twitter @TheProfessorSD and I hope to hear from you all sooner than later.
