Bad game or not, it was a win and an excuse to make ebola jokes....
THINGS I LIKED:
1. The Bills defensive front four.
Holy. Shit. The other day, my timehop hit me with an old retweet of mine that showed Michael Necci calling Dareus a bust in 2012, I think it was? I honestly couldn't remember the context, and I certainly couldn't remember whether Necci was being sarcastic (I think he was?), but that game puts this kind of criticism (or joke) to bed. The hate on Dareus has been so thoroughly proven to be premature with his play this season, and it just goes to show how little we can tell about a guy from one bad year. When that bad year coincides with the player's brother being fucking murdered, the predictive value of the poor season is even more questionable. So, and everyone say it with me now, IF A BUFFALO BILLS PLAYER'S FAMILY MEMBER IS KILLED IN COLD BLOOD, WE WILL GIVE THAT PLAYER A MOTHERFUCKING BREAK. Jerry Sullivan, you feckless, dickless, moron intent on suffocating any shred of your talent with the weight of your sanctimony and blatant racism ... I am looking at you.
Now that that's all off my chest .... the defensive line played phenomenal. I'm not a big stat guy, since numbers generally scare me (especially that fucking cunt 5 ... fuck that guy), but as per PFF (via @BuffaloWins' tweet), the Bills blitzed Stafford only 4 times, and his QB rating was 100 when they did. In that context, blitzing only four times, the Bills front four sacked Stafford 6 times (they'd allowed 11 through 4 games previous), held him to 194 yards (44 less than his 2nd lowest total thus far), and the entire Lions offense to just 263 yards (60 yards less than their 2nd lowest total this year). This defense is fucking gnarly.
2. Jim Schwartz being carried off the field.
It was a dick move, sure, and I loved every second of it. Want to turn some heads in the NFL? Then turn heel. This guy took over a promising defense, had everyone questioning whether he could keep it productive, lost his best linebacker to an offseason fluke bong-cleaning injury, and - wouldn't you fucking know it - he's made it EVEN BETTER. This shit does not happen. We get to enjoy it. He gets to enjoy it.
And besides, he called "bank" all the way back in OTAs. When you call bank, and then hit bank, you get to gloat. Those are the rules.
Don't like showboating? I bet you could find a great job in the NFL.
He did what we were told he would do, albeit with a rusty start. I thought about putting Kicker Jesus here, but he'll have his moments later this season, and really who knows if this is the only one Orton will get?
#18 played ok. He played as a competent quarterback should and as EJ Manuel ought to but hasn't. The simplest things made all the difference in Orton's game, and provided an even clearer picture of just how much Manuel has struggled. Fact is, Manuel was never supposed to play right away, but did because Kevin Kolb is basically a running gag real of physical comedy, so maybe this is really the best possible thing for everyone involved. Orton gets one last shot at being on a winner - is this really what the Bills are? Yes? - and EJ gets to sit back and learn some things that he seems to have never mastered. Maybe it's a lost cause, but so long as Orton can drop dimes down the field to former Olympic track stars, everyone wins.
Oh, and this is my absolute favorite thing on the face of this earth.
1. Doug Marrone.
2. Doug Marrone.
3. Doug Marrone.
Fuck this guy. Yes he brought Schwartz in and yes Pettine before him, and that counts for something. Not very much, though. Declining a penalty that would give you 4th and 1 inside Lion's territory with 34 seconds left in the 1st half, down two scores with an offense that has struggled to get anything going, with the Lions about to get the ball in the 2nd half, and the probability that the Lions would have just knelt the ball down (up two scores) had you missed the 4th down attempt ... all of that combined makes Doug Marrone a fucking idiot. It's inexcusable.
Imagine being Doug Marrone and walking off the field thinking you had just coached a good game. Just imagine it.
— Dubsy (@theycallmedubs) October 5, 2014
AROUND THE LEAGUE: