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Lackluster offense dooms Bills in preseason opener
By Mark Gaughan
News Staff Reporter

Published:
August 9, 2012, 5:18 PM

Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson is touched down by Redskins defensive back Lennon Creer. James P. McCoy / Buffalo News

The Buffalo Bills let quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick run a wide-open passing attack Thursday night, but it didn’t get much done.

The Bills passed on all 16 of their offensive plays in the first quarter of the exhibition opener against the Washington Redskins. All the throws — over the course of four possessions — produced just two first downs, and the Bills’ starters were outscored by the Redskins’ starters, 7-3.

Washington won the game, 7-6, before a crowd of 51,521 at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Fitzpatrick operated out of a no-huddle offense and called his own plays during the opening 15 minutes.

The Bills’ quarterback opted for the air game due to the fact the Redskins stayed in their 3-4 defense, even though the Bills spread out with four or five men in receiver positions on every play. The Bills used an empty backfield on about half their plays in the quarter.

“We wanted to get in the no-huddle and spread the ball around a little bit,” Fitzpatrick said. “We did not do a very good job of executing. It is the first preseason game for us, and so we knew there was going to be some sloppy stuff. There was no game plan. We just wanted to go out there and try to get it figured out on the field, and we were not real successful.”

The Bills’ rebuilt defense, meanwhile, had a decent debut. It stuffed the Redskins on their first two possessions but then allowed an 80-yard touchdown drive on Washington’s third march.

Washington’s prized rookie, quarterback Robert Griffin III, ran a mostly vanilla offense and threw safe passes. But he looked poised and was on target with his throws.

On the touchdown drive, Griffin completed strikes of 20 and 18 yards to Pierre Garcon to get the Redskins in scoring position. Then he threw a receiver screen to Garcon, who got good blocking and ran down the left sideline into the end zone.

“We have a long way to go,” said Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams. “Tonight was more about seeing if we could come out, play base defense, have some stops and make some plays.”

Fitzpatrick finished 6 of 14 for 61 yards. On Buffalo’s second drive, he threw a 20-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline to Stevie Johnson. However, the play was wiped out by an illegal formation penalty on the Bills. Buffalo had to settle for a 43-yard field goal by Rian Lindell two plays later.

That scoring chance was set up by a fumble recovery by Bills safety George Wilson on the Washington 21. Griffin never got the handoff to running back Evan Royster on the play, and Wilson scooped up the miscue.

Execution wasn’t good for the Bills’ offense. It was penalized six times for 30 yards in the first half.

“I thought it was really poor,” Fitzpatrick said of the offensive execution. “But luckily it is preseason. It is the beginning of preseason. We have got a lot to work on and we are looking forward to this season coming up.”

Griffin, the Heisman Trophy winner and second overall draft pick out of Baylor, hit 4 of 6 passes for 70 yards.

“I think it was pretty obvious they protected him,” Williams said. “They did not want him to get hit. That being said, he made a couple plays throwing the ball. It is kind of hard to judge him because I do not think we saw everything they are going to do with him this year.”

The Bills used Tyler Thigpen as the No. 2 QB. He played the second quarter and directed four possessions. Thigpen went 3 of 8 for 38 yards with one interception. Thigpen got the Bills into scoring position once, on a drive that started on the Washington 38 after the Redskins had to punt from their own end zone.

The Bills ran six plays from inside the Washington 4 but failed to cross the goal line. Lindell came out to try 22-yard field goal but hooked it wide left.

Washington outgained Buffalo, 168-109, in the first half. The Bills dropped back to pass 23 times and ran just eight times in the half.

Vince Young played the second half as the No. 3 quarterback for the Bills.

He took the offense on a time-consuming march midway through the second half that started at the Bills’ 16 and reached as far as the Washington 22. It lasted 15 plays and took 8:15 off the clock. It ended with a 45-yard Lindell field goal with 13:20 left in the game that pulled the Bills within 7-6.

Young had two third-down scrambles to keep the drive alive. The first was for 2 yards on a third-and-1 situation at the Buffalo 25. The second was for 21 yards on a third-and-21 situation that took the Bills to Washington’s 30.

The Redskins were without five offensive starters, including three first-string offensive linemen.

Evan Royster got the start at running back for the Redskins because incumbent starter Tim Hightower still is recovering from a knee injury suffered last season. Royster, a sixth-round pick last year out of Penn State, rushed seven times for 21 yards.

mgaughan@buffnews.com

cowboykillerzRED wrote:Lennon Creer #23?

cowboykillerzRED wrote:Lennon Creer #23?

Code: Select all

#   Name           Pos. Ht. Wt. Age  Exp.  College 
23  Creer, Lennon  RB   6-1 216 23   R     Louisiana Tech

cowboykillerzRED wrote:A rb playing db?

Deadskins wrote:May have had duplicate numbers last night, as is often the case in the pre-season. The writer obviously just found the first #23 on the Skins roster, and went with that.

Cappster wrote:This is my favorite reoccurring thread on this site!

cowboykillerzRED wrote:A rb playing db?

Irn-Bru wrote:

Cappster wrote:This is my favorite reoccurring thread on this site!

Here's hoping JSPB gets a few more excuses to post them this year!

Cappster wrote:

Irn-Bru wrote:

Cappster wrote:This is my favorite reoccurring thread on this site!

Here's hoping JSPB gets a few more excuses to post them this year!

I hear ya on that! It would be nice if we could double the amount of loser paper editions this year!

andyjens89 wrote:That's pretty bad if he confused DeAngelo Hall, our starter at DB for a few years now, for a UDFA running back

Cappster wrote:This is my favorite reoccurring thread on this site!

Biggest winner in Luck-RG3 hyped matchup is league
Written by
Bob Kravitz

LANDOVER, Md. -- In our more sober-minded moments, we know that Andrew Luck versus Robert Griffin III in the preseason means absolutely nothing.

Here, for an example, was an article written in August 1998:

Round 1 went to Ryan Leaf and the San Diego Chargers

The meeting last night between Leaf, the second pick in the NFL draft, and Peyton Manning, the No. 1 pick, was only the second time in NFL history quarterbacks picked 1-2 in the draft had faced each other as rookies.

Leaf was 15-of-24 for 172 yards, set up one touchdown and ran for a score as the Chargers broke a 3-3 tie at half and beat the Colts 33-3. It was only an exhibition game, but after a shaky half, Leaf looked sharp in leading the Chargers.

Manning, playing into the third quarter for the first time in the preseason, was 11-of-21 for 123 yards but twice had passes intercepted.

Yeah, that Manning guy.

Whatever happened to him?

The point is, we know it means nothing, but in a preseason that generally means nothing, we are desperate for some kind of relevance to affix to these games.

So Luck versus RG3, it is.

With the $35 commemorative T-shirt included.

"No, I didn't buy one,'' Luck said with a wry smile.

Big picture, RG3 won, leading his team to two touchdowns and a 14-7 lead as the two rookie quarterbacks played one series into the third quarter. His Washington Redskins beat the Indianapolis Colts 30-17 on a night the Colts looked like they had a very, very long way to go.

Statistically, Luck won. He completed 14-of-23 passes for 151 yards and a 94.7 quarterback rating, including a beautiful touchdown pass to T.Y. Hilton. Griffin was 11-of-18 for 74 yards, one TD and a 93.8 rating.

(Although if we're really going to be honest, Rex Grossman was the best quarterback on the field, completing all eight passes and rolling up a perfect 158.3 rating playing with and against a bunch of reserves. Which tells you, again, how little the preseason really matters.)

But here's who really won:

The National Football League.

Luck and RG3. We'll be comparing these guys for the rest of their NFL lives. Like New England's Tom Brady and Manning. Whether they like it or not.

"It comes with the territory,'' Griffin said. "You can't embrace it, but it's not something you can just push aside. It's evident. It's going to be there our entire careers. But we didn't play too much into it.''

The history of quarterbacks going 1-2 in the draft has been one that produced one winner and one bust. This will not be one of those drafts. Both quarterbacks, Luck and Griffin, will be terrific in their own ways. Short term, Griffin might have the better numbers because he's surrounded by a better team. Long term, I'm taking Luck.

"I talked to Pierre (Garcon) and Santana (Moss) before the game, and they both love RG3,'' Colts receiver Reggie Wayne said. "If they love him, that's good enough for me.''

The question now is how quickly general manager Ryan Grigson can surround Luck with the kind of team he can lead to the postseason. My guess is three years, minimum, but it also depends how hard the recent trade winds are blowing and in what direction.

I talked to Grigson briefly before Saturday's game against the 'Skins and he had nothing new to report on the trade front. Something might happen -- soon -- and it might not happen at all. A holding pattern, he said.

They could use some help.

For the first time since the first half of the preseason opener against St. Louis, the offensive line was porous against the Washington rush.

For the first time all preseason, the Colts couldn't run the ball or stop the run -- two staples for coach Chuck Pagano.

If the third preseason game is the one that tells you the most about a team, then there's reason to believe this group isn't going to sniff six victories.

The Colts need help when they're completely healthy, and now, with injuries of untold severity to Jerraud Powers, Brandon McKinney and others, there's even more reason to be concerned.

"We have a lot to improve on,'' Luck said of the offense. "Credit to their defense. They forced us into some bad situations. The penalties and sacks really killed some of our drives. I wish we could have gotten that two-minute drill into field goal range. I know I wish I would have run or thrown it out of bounds to try to get another completion to save some time and get some more yards. I'm glad it doesn't count in the win-loss column.

"But I look forward to watching the film and being our own harshest critic.''

So Luck and RG3 face off for one of the few times in their careers, and what do we get out of it?

A stinking T-shirt.

And that's about it.

Brett Ratliff plays QB as Tampa Bay Buccaneers fall 30-3 to Washington Redskins in preseason finale

By Rick Stroud, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Thursday, August 30, 2012

Redskins receiver Josh Morgan stiff-arms Clearwater native Leonard Johnson during the first half. Johnson, an undrafted rookie out of Iowa State, entered the game likely battling for the Bucs’ final cornerback spot.

LANDOVER, Md. — Every year, Brett Ratliff has moved to a new team in a new city, playing for six organizations over the past half-dozen years and sticking with none.

"I just love the game. I love playing," the Bucs quarterback said, slinging his equipment bag over his shoulder. "I'd do this forever. Also, I have an amazing family and an amazing wife, and she supports me in all of it.

"We've moved 13 times. We've definitely done our share."

Wednesday, the 27-year-old Ratliff got to do something he had only dreamed about: play an entire game — albeit in the preseason.

He was sacked five times, absorbed 15 hits behind a patchwork offensive line, threw three interceptions and failed to get the Bucs in the end zone in a 30-3 loss to the Redskins.

"He had a gutsy performance," Bucs coach Greg Schiano said of Ratliff. "There were certain things that we missed, both in protections and seeing it from the quarterback spot. But the thing is he wanted to keep playing.

"I love that about guys who want to play ball."

When Schiano and his staff reduce the Bucs roster from 75 to 53 by 9 p.m. Friday, it's almost a forgone conclusion Ratliff will be back on the street again.

Signed by the Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2007 out of Utah, Ratliff has spent time with the Jets (2007-08), Browns (2009-10) Jaguars (2010), Patriots (2010) and Titans (2011). He has never appeared in a regular-season game and spent only four weeks on an active roster (in Cleveland).

Wednesday, Ratliff had to play behind an offensive line intentionally scrambled by Schiano. Tackle Jamon Meredith played guard. Ted Larsen, who replaced injured guard Davin Joseph on Friday against the Patriots, started at center.

The result was an offense outgained 459-160 and outrushed 228-31.

But that doesn't bother guys such as Ratliff, who finished 14-of-30 for 164 yards, three picks and a 24.2 rating.

"I'm just grateful for the opportunity to go out and play," Ratliff said. "It's a huge blessing to be able to start and play an entire game. I had some mistakes, got hit a little bit. It's definitely not how you dream it up. It would've been nice to get the ball in the end zone. I had mistakes, but I left everything I had on the field."

The lack of execution on offense will make Schiano's job that much harder. Tiquan Underwood had six catches for 82 yards. The receiver with whom he's battling for a roster spot, Sammie Stroughter, had two for 30 yards.

How was Schiano able to evaluate players based on Wednesday's game?

"It wasn't easy," he said. "But I think we wanted to see some guys at guard, some guys at center, guys who've played different positions than they've played."

But the real discoveries were on defense.

Sean Baker, an undrafted free agent from Ball State, had two interceptions in the third quarter. Rookie safety Keith Tandy, a sixth-round pick who started ahead of third-year veteran Cody Grimm, was active and might have won a job along with West Virginia teammate, linebacker and fifth-round pick Najee Goode.

Meanwhile, Ratliff will have to wait and wonder until Friday if the Bucs will carry him as a third quarterback behind Josh Freeman and Dan Orlovsky. If not, he'll continue throwing on the move.

"I've had some amazing opportunities and definitely have had the favor of God over me," Ratliff said.

"There have been times when I said, 'Keep going.' I just keep going, and I'm going to keep doing it until they don't let me do it anymore."