Pro football’s Buffalo Bills gets spillage, not Spiller by The Gaming Today’s, Ted Sevransky

PRO FOOTBALL BUFFALO BILLS

Is it too early to call CJ Spiller a bust? He was an amazing
playmaker at Clemson and the No. 9 overall draft choice by the Bills, but he’s
shown exactly zero playmaking ability at the NFL level. His long carry replacing
Fred Jackson as the starter was 9 yards. In 25 games over two years (156 rushes
and receptions), Spiller has found the end zone only twice – less than the
number of times that he’s fumbled.

His contribution to the return game hasn’t done a darn thing.
In their current four game skid, the Bills have collapsed on both sides of the
football. This was their best offensive performance in nearly two months, but
the Jets torched Buffalo’s secondary in the second half.

Without Pro bowl caliber CB Terrance McGee (IR) in the lineup,
or their first half MVP safety George Wilson, or former top draft pick DB Leodis
McKelvin (hurt during the game), Buffalo’s defensive concerns are very real.

PRO FOOTBALL DENVER
BRONCOS

The critics who say Tim Tebow can’t throw the ball a lick look
perfectly justified. The Broncos passing game was not a thing of beauty at San
Diego, to put it mildly. Good thing for Tebow that Eric Decker is very quietly
turning into a superstar wideout, making huge plays downfield on a weekly
basis.

But the Broncos defensive transformation over the past two
months has been downright remarkable. It’s not like John Fox has gotten a major
talent upgrade since September. Yet a defense that was an absolute sieve the
better part of September is suddenly getting stops, getting pressure, blowing up
the line of scrimmage and even creating a handful of turnovers.

The dramatic defensive improvement combined with a run early
and often offensive game plan, has transformed the Broncos into a dead UNDER
wager. Pro bowl LT Ryan Clady got hurt, an impact injury that could potentially
make Denver even more of an UNDER squad in the weeks to come.

PRO FOOTBALL HOUSTON
TEXANS

Matt Leinart’s biggest issue during his lone previous starting
stint in Arizona was his inability to hit receivers in stride. Now that Matt
Schaub is out for the year, Leinart’s accuracy concerns were on full display
against Jacksonville, even with a healthy Andre Johnson back on the field.

Leinart’s passing acumen relies heavily on short crossing
routes – asking him to throw more than 10 or 15 yards downfield is an exercise
in futility; negating much of Johnson’s big play ability. Leinart’s durability,
always a major concern, factored again when he was back in the locker room
before halftime with what was initially reported as a broken collarbone. Third
stringer TJ Yates came in and played like a third stringer, leading the team to
a grand total of two first downs after halftime.

Good thing for tremendous offensive line play and Wade
Phillips’ outstanding job with the defense. Watching this unit compared to last
year worst ranked in the NFL is truly a remarkable transformation. Even
following the injury to their best pass rusher, Mario Williams, this defense is
Super Bowl caliber.

PRO FOOTBALL JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

The Jaguars hadn’t covered a single point spread where they
allowed more than 17 points. That streak continued last Sunday against Houston.
At 4-6-1 ATS, the Jags haven’t been a great spread team, but they certainly
haven’t been a disaster. But they’ve been held to 17 or less in all three of
their SU victories which is no surprise. The Jags haven’t scored more than 20
yet in 2011.

That’s not likely to change down the stretch – Jacksonville’s
skill position talent ranks among the worst in the NFL, without a single
legitimate playmaker other than RB Maurice Jones-Drew. TE Mercedes Lewis should
qualify as a playmaker but with only 23 catches prior to the Houston game, he’s
just not getting enough touches. Plus, he dropped a pass wide open in the end
zone costing the Jags four points after they settled for a field goal.

The Jags have only scored touchdowns on 40% of their
first-and-goal possessions; dead last in the NFL. You’ve got to handicap their
ability to get stops on defense. Their 129 passing ypg is dead last by a wide
margin. It speaks volumes about their inability to throw downfield and come
through the backdoor late in games.

PRO FOOTBALL NY
JETS

Mark Sanchez is still the starting QB only because backup Mark
Brunell is incapable of taking over the job at this late stage of his career.
Rex Ryan even had Brunell take some snaps with the first stringers this week in
an effort to light a fire for his struggling QB. Sanchez’s interception out of
his own end zone in the second quarter was positively unconscionable and his
5-15 for 27 yards performance prior to the two minute drill of the first half
was not particularly inspiring.

The Jets have invested millions in their ultra-talented big
play receiving corps. They have a solid running game and a better-than-average
OL. The only thing lagging is the QB play and perhaps the swagger. Consistency
and execution are not this team’s strength.

At the same time, Sanchez displays some of the talent that led
the Jets to trade up to draft him fifth overall. His good throws, and good
halves are brilliant; a true enigma of a QB and a tough guy to handicap. Sanchez
was clearly the goat for Jets bettors this week, but NY fans will certainly
admire how he rallied the team from behind for the SU victory.

PRO FOOTBALL TENNESSEE TITANS

Dave Ball was an absolute monster pass rusher notching two
sacks, including a remarkable sack/strip/fumble recovery on what was supposed to
be a screen pass. This defense has consistently stepped up in the red zone, the
old ‘bend but don’t break’ mentality; hence their No. 8 ranking in terms of
points allowed. Even without star LB Barrett Ruud in the lineup against his
former team, this defense played their best with their backs against the
wall.

Matt Hasselbeck isn’t throwing downfield much – no completion
longer than 10 yards with his first 10 attempts and none longer than 20 yards
for the full game. Good thing Chris Johnson showed up today. When Johnson is
running well, the Titans are always in good down and distance situations –
second and short third and short, especially with their ability to avoid
offensive penalties.

PRO FOOTBALL OAKLAND
RAIDERS

I continue to be underwhelmed by Carson Palmer and this passing
game. Some of Palmer’s issues have to do with the lack of physicality of these
speedy receivers and how easily pushed off the mark on timing routes. But Palmer
really declined in his last few years in Cincinnati and continues to make bad
throws into coverage.

The Raiders red zone offense is struggling (6 FG against
Chicago) because Palmer isn’t zipping throws into tight spaces on a short field
effectively. Most of Palmer’s stats are coming from “catch and run” passes on
relatively short dink and dunks. But the best kicking game in the NFL helps to
mask some of those offensive concerns. Sebastian Janikowski and Shane Lechler
were positively remarkable – setting team records. Se-bas with his six field
goals and Lechler with an 80 yard flip the field punt.

 You can find all of Ted Sevransky’s free NFL articles right here at www.aasiwins.com.