BILLSTUFF: JETS SEND BILLS CRASHING TO EARTH

Well, back to reality.

The New York Jets' 28-20 win in Orchard Park on a windy, wet Sunday afternoon dropped Buffalo to 1-2, which is about where even the most optimistic would have expected the Bills to be after three weeks. At least until they beat Miami.

Maybe because that one win came against the Dolphins -- on the road, no less, where most recent Buffalo teams proved most pitiful -- the victory took on added significance, fueling delusions of contention and maybe more.

Sure, it was fun to spend last week entertaining the notion of Buffalo as a surprise factor in the AFC East. In a weakened division, a swarming defense, low-risk offense and high-impact special teams would be enough to keep the Bills in the mix.

Right?

And that combination -- buoyed by a crazed crowd at a sold-out home opener -- would be enough to overwhelm the Jets, they of the nonexistent running game, rag-armed quarterback and rookie-laden offensive line.

That sure seemed like a reasonable thesis in the opening minutes Sunday. Roscoe Parrish took a short pass from J.P. Losman and zipped through a stunned Jets secondary for a 51-yard touchdown on the game's second play.

After the Jets went nowhere on their first possession, another throw to Parrish put Buffalo in New York's end of the field, and the party was on.

Almost.

Even when Buffalo botched a fake field goal to kill that second drive, the misfire didn't cause the immediate deflation experienced when Willis McGahee came up short on fourth down in New England two weeks earlier.

Instead, the defense forced another three and out and the offense moved right back into scoring range. Then the real trouble started.

The first sack and strip of Losman by Jets safety Kerry Rhodes didn't just nullify another scoring opportunity. It pierced the growing confidence of not just the quarterback, but the entire team.

Losman, who hadn't turned the ball over once in the first two games, suddenly looked like a very young starter again. The pass protection, for the most part decent in two games on the road, where flaws are quickly exposed, had been breached at home.

Losman, his blockers and the rest of the Bills spent the rest of the afternoon showing that for every sign of improvement, there's a serious flaw in need of addressing.

• Losman put up career-best numbers -- 22 completions in 38 attempts for 328 yards. But he fumbled twice when hit from behind, again showing a lack of awareness to backside pressure that has to be addressed.
  His interception in the third quarter, which killed a prime opportunity to get back in a game rapidly slipping away, also came under pressure. If he's waiting too long to try and make a play, that can be coached. If he doesn't know any better, that's a bigger problem.
  And as during the first two weeks, Buffalo's offense, from the play-calling to the execution, seemed to shift into neutral after scoring early. As the Bills learned in New England and again Sunday, it's just about impossible to spend all day protecting a lead, rather than building on it.
• McGahee ran like the top-tier running back he thinks he is, piling up 150 yards, another career high. But he played turnstile against the blitz, missing Rhodes completely on Losman's second fumble, which New York linebacker Victor Hobson returned for a touchdown, giving the Jets a tight grip on the game.
  Losman needs to feel the blitz better. But he also has to have a reasonable expectation that his star running back will block somebody once in a while, too.
• Buffalo's defense stifled the Jets offense. Except when it really mattered. Chad Pennington's arm didn't get any stronger Sunday, but he got rid of the ball before the Bills blitzers could get close.
• The Jets posted only 74 rushing yards against a defense that had been rather generous against the run in New England and Miami, but 26 came on the drive to their final touchdown, a 5-yard run by Cedric Houston that made it 28-13 with 5:54 remaining. Buffalo's undersized line also got bulldozed on New York's first score, a 3-yard blast by Kevan Barlow.
• The Bills could have lived with the modest yardage surrendered, had they made any game-turning plays. But they didn't force a single fumble and sacked Pennington only once.
• Even Buffalo's big special-teams moment went to waste. Bobby April's mob-up-the-middle innovation scared New York's Matt Chatham into touching the ball too soon on the onside kick following Losman's late touchdown run.
  The driving rain that arrived almost simultaneously proved too much to overcome, though. Whether due to the elements or nerves, Losman threw three hideous passes in four attempts.

And that was it for the talk of the playoffs and the comparisons of the Bills to the Buffalo Sabres as a star-free, under-hyped, team-oriented group learning how to win together.

At least until next week.

BILLS MVP: Parrish finally delivered the big plays promised when a front office directed by a former Buffalo team president whose name and hair color escape me at the moment decided to pick him instead of a sorely needed lineman. Without Losman's turnovers, Parrish's impact would have been decisive.

THE OTHER GUYS' MVP: Somebody should really block that Rhodes guy.

STAT OF THE WEEK: The Bills converted only one of their four fourth-down tries. No beef here with going for it at New York's 35 in the first quarter or the 28 in the second, as the winds made kicking field goals too dicey.

But it's usually a good idea to call fourth-down plays designed to go to receivers situated beyond the first-down marker. And ordering your punter to throw a shovel pass, the football equivalent of the knuckleball, in that wind -- and expecting an offensive lineman to catch it and run upfield -- is asking an awful lot.

WING REPORT: The folks at Bob and John's La Hacienda delivered a perfectly cooked bucket, split between milds and barbecue. The latter, which a lot of places turn out far too goopy, had an ideal amount of sauce to clinch the A.

FAN OF THE WEEK: This crown goes unclaimed this week, as last-minute preparations for a house guest who I'm told will be staying with us for the next couple decades kept the BillStuff coverage team at home in front of the TV for this one.

Niagara Falls Reporter

www.niagarafallsreporter.com

September 26 2006