Eye on the Enemy Week 4 - Bills, Jets, Dolphins, Giants, Ravens, Broncos

1. Buffalo Bills

Exhibition season: 1-4

Jay Shurski of the Buffalo News stated "The Bills ended the preseason with a thud, losing 23-0 before an announced crowd of 57,247."

Another lacklustre performance to complete the preseason schedule, 23-0 to the Detroit Lions. WR Sammy Watkins was injured, again. A rib injury on the second series was not in the game plan. E.J.Manuel was in for the first half. He was 3 for 7 for 58 yards and was sacked twice. The Bills mustered only 12 first downs on the night.

QB Jordan Palmer was 9 for 22 for 73 yards. He was sacked twice, threw three interceptions, and had a QB rating of 10.1%. His career QB rating is 34.4%.

Detroit Lions kept QB starter, Matthew Stafford on the bench. Kellen Moore and Dan Orlovsky combined for 203 yards on 24 for 39 passing.

Jay Shurski, Buffalo News:

Last season, Marrone rested most of his starters in the final preseason game. He opted for a different approach Thursday in an attempt to build some mojo heading into the regular season, but that didn’t happen. The team’s fifth preseason game followed the script of the first four – an offense struggling to find any momentum and a solid effort by the starters on defense.

Maybe the Bills didn't want to show their opponents anything in the preseason. If that was their mission, they succeeded.

I would put Doug Marrone, head coach of the Bills, on the hot seat.

2. New York Jets

Exhibition season: 2-2

The Philadelphia Eagles looked like an offensive juggernaut against the disinterested New York Jets Thursday evening. The Eagles had 34 first downs with third string QB, Matt Barkley throwing for 253 yards. Fourth string, QB G.J. Kinne was 3 for 3 for 39 yards and a TD. To make matters worse, the Jets allowed 276 yards on the ground to RB Henry Josey, RB Matthew Tucker and WR Damaris Johnson.

The Jets left QB Geno Smith and Michael Vick on the sidelines. QB Matt Simms led the first half offense on 7 for 17 passing. Fourth stringer, QB Tajh Boyd did throw a TD to WR Clyde Gates for the only score for New York.

Manish Mehta, New York Daily News:

Quarterbacks coach David Lee admits that Simms “has improved as much as any guy I think I can ever remember coaching.” High praise for a demanding mentor who didn’t take too kindly to the young signal-caller’s post-touchdown salsa dance against the Giants last week.

That has to be great news for the Jets that they have found a solid third string QB. Will wonders never cease?

CB Dimitri Patterson, who went AWOL last week and has been suspended, continues to fight with the Jets over his punishment.

WR Stephen Hill caught one and dropped one pass that were thrown his way last night. A change of scenery is probably in the making.

Final year on his contract has head coach, Rex Ryan on the hot seat. I am sure Jets' writers will have plenty of material.

3. Miami Dolphins

Exhibition season: 3-1

Armando Salguero, Miami Herald:

Mediocrity is a treadmill. And the Dolphins desperately need to get off.
Unfortunately, mediocrity is exactly what I see when I look at these Dolphins.
Oh, they have talented players and strengths in certain areas. If they didn’t have those, they wouldn’t be good enough to be competitive in most games and win about 50 percent of the time.

The Dolphins were able to beat the St. Louis Rams, 14-13. QB Seth Lobato led the way with 12 for 25 and 147 yards. His TD pass with six minutes to play closed the scoring. RB Daniel Thomas didn't help his cause in making the roster with only 38 yards on 13 carries.

Three biggest questions going into camp were: Offensive line, Running back and team unity. Newly hired Dan Marino may help with the third item.

Armando Salguero, Miami Dolphins:

Yes, a great quarterback can turn a mediocre team into a very good and even great team.
If Tannehill can be that guy, the Dolphins can be every bit the challenger of the Patriots that fans pray they can be. Barring that bolt, the Dolphins will probably still be mediocre and perhaps even 9-7 good.

If the Dolphins set the bar any lower, it will be touching the ground. The New England Patriots will be visiting for the home opener on September 7th.

Head coach, Joe Philbin is on the hot seat.

4. New York Giants

Exhibition season: 5-0

The Giants completed their preseason with a 16-13 win at home over the New England Patriots. It was another weak showing by the first offense with QB Eli Manning only 1 for 4 for zero yards passing.

RB Andre Williams continued to shine with 44 yards on only five carries. The rookie out of Boston College has been a bright spot in camp for the offense.

Ralph Vacchiano, New York Daily News:

The rest of the summer has been much like Thursday night when his first pass attempt was dropped by Rueben Randle, his second sailed far over Randle and his third was way too far in front of Victor Cruz. When Manning finally completed a pass to tight end Kellen Davis, it went for zero yards on a 3rd-and-2.

After that, Manning’s preseason was over. And the end couldn’t come soon enough.
“You’re always glad when the preseason is over,” Manning said. “My number one goal is to get through the preseason healthy. I know there are things we need to improve on. We’ve got another week to work on some things.”

Offensive coordinator, Ben McAdoo is on the hot seat.

5. Baltimore Ravens

Exhibition season: 4-0

Running game was in top form in 22-13 win over the New Orleans Saints. Fernard Toussaint rushed for 103 yards on only 17 carries. Lorenzo Taliaferro did the dirty work between the tackles with 25 rushes for 88 yards. Both players will be needed in the first two regular season games with Ray Rice out on suspension.

The Ravens defense held the Saints to only 12 first downs. None of these were by the run. New Orleans had only one penalty for five yards with Baltimore having 12 for 91 yards. I guess "Bountygate" is over.

NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell announced a more aggressive policy on domestic violence. First time offenders will be suspended for six games. Second offense is a lifetime ban. The Ravens will be reminded of this policy each time this topic is discussed.

6. Denver Broncos

Exhibition season: 3-1

The Broncos beat up on a weak Dallas Cowboys team to finish the preseason on a high note, 27-3. With many of the regulars resting up for the opener against the Indianapolis Colts, the offense was led by QB Brock Osweiler. He was a second round pick out of Arizona State in 2012. Brock had a good outing on 9 for 13 passing for 190 yards. We will see him next time in the 2015 preseason.

Brandon McManus was just 2 of 4 on field goals. The regular kicker, Matt Prater is suspended for the first four games of the season due to alcohol abuse. This could be a short-term area of concern. Another issue is the health of WR Wes Welker. He is out due to a concussion. Wes was cleared to travel, but did not play.

The health of Wes Welker could determine the fate of the 2014 Denver Broncos. Let's hope that bonuses and salary cap implications don't override the proper decision on his future.

77,922 fans were in attendance at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX to watch the Broncos waltz past the Cowboys. There is no good answer as to why they came.


Paul Murphy is a freelance writer from New Hampshire.

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