Bills vs. Steelers: Steve Johnson's Drop and Reaction To What Everyone's Saying

Karl Walter/Getty ImagesI've had nearly a full day to digest the Buffalo Bills' excruciating 19-16 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.I've read all the reactions to"The Drop." I've read all the analyses on the wildest game I've ever attended in Ralph Wilson Stadium, and one of the mostunpredictableafternoons I've seen during my time as a Bills fan. I scour the web and read everythingbecause thenI feel that I can form moreastute opinions. And becausemy thoughts are plentybut short,I've got a quick hitter version of nfl jerseys
Seen and Herd this week.... —First, what a football game. The first halfled many to believe we were in for another embarrassing home lossthat would end with a score like 23-3, but theentire second half was nothing but high drama. —I realized thatSteelers fans really do travel well, but are moreeasily noticeableamongst the home crowds because just about all of them wavethose Terrible Towels. —That was the loudest I'veever heard Ralph WilsonStadium. It was partially becauseof the rabidPittsburgh fans, but mainly because the Bills fans were out in full force andreally brought the noise. —The Steelers are definitely a good football team, but if they continue to shoot themselves in the foot (10 penalties for 107 yards), they'll have a hard time beating the upperechelon of the AFC. —Although Rashard Mendenhall had 151 yards, found holes and broke some tackles,he had 16 of his36 rushes go forthree yards or less, two of which were for negative yardage. —Kyle Williams deserves Defensive Player of the Year votes.His stats against the Steelersagain proved he is worthy.The guy had 10 total tackles, eight solo, two sacks, three tackles for loss, three quarterback hits andforced a handful of holdingpenalties.He's apparently "undersized" for theposition, butWilliams is an animalout there, and I'm not sure there's a center in the league that cancontain hisconsistent penetration. —Torell Troup is far frombeing the next Kyle Williams, but because the Bills coaching staff canrely onTroup to spell Williams without much drop off in production, Williams is fresh the whole ballgame. Role player. —Since the pinnacle of their criticism from Bills fans and the media a month ago, DonteWhitner and Chris Kelsay have turnedin three straightsolidefforts. Whitner will never be the game changerTroy Polamalu is, but I'm starting to believe he actually matters on this team. —I'mupset Dwan Edwards could be out for a while,because he was having a career year, but now players who will be a more considerable part of the Bills future, Alex Carrington, Arthur Moats and Antonio Coleman will gain much needed experience. —The Bills sacked Ben Roethlisbergersix times? I'mas shocked as you are. Karl Walter/Getty Images—Paul Poslusznyisn't cutting it as an impactmiddle linebacker in the NFL. I've tried to defend him long enough.He's not big enoughto play inside and isn't fast enough sideline-to-sideline to move outside. He's the classic tweener. —Now to the catch. What a toss by Fitzpatrick that came after a fantastic callby Chan Gailey. They set upthat play all afternoon and the Steelers were totally fooled.When theball hit Stevie's hands Ijumped so high I nearly fell over the front of the upper deck (my seats are in the first row)and then when I saw the ballon the ground, I landed where I had my muddy boots all afternoon and just sat there. Total dejection. —If you're looking forhow or why it happened, good luck. He flat-out dropped the pass. That's it. Because I was at the game and couldn't see up-close replays, I thought a lot of his five drops were actually passes defended, but upon further review his hands did betray him on each incompletion. Maybe it was the cold?- Unless Johnson elaborates on his tweet after the game, we'll never know if he was directing it at God or at the fans. Either way, this guy is very religious New Orleans Saints jersey
and probably would have been thanking the Lord had he made the catch. Also, haven't you ever "blamed" God for misfortune in your life, especially in the heat of the moment? I know I have. You don't necessarily mean it, but it's what comes out. Exactly what happened here. Lay off him. —The OT drop will live in infamy for Bills fans,but Johnson'sdrop on the slant route thatPolamalucaught inchesbefore it hit the groundin the fourth quarter was just as bad.That slant has beenthe Bills go-toplay in the red-zone. Rick Stewart/Getty Images—If you're one of many who want Steve Johnson to tone down his personality after his humbling experience or are dismissing him now, you're crazy. We've been irrelevant for a decade, and although he's another figure in Bills heartbreak history, he'splayed a huge role in the Bills' offensive resurgence, has an extremely bright future andcan bring theattention to Buffalothat we've missed since the 90's. He must keep his "swagger." —I'm as angry with the drop as you are, but you've got to feel for the guy. —Don'tforget Lee Evans' one-catch outing. His drop in OT would have brought the Bills to the 10-yard line and essentially ended the game.He's a vet and is making millions more than Johnson.Keep that in mind.- How about Chris Kelsay's sack of Big Ben on the half yard-line? And the fumble that ensued. Just the Bills luck the ball that returned right to Roethlisberger and he wasn't in the endzone for a game-ending safety. If only. —Ifonly Leodis could have crossed "the Moats." —When C.J. Spiller returns,McKelvin needs to stay as the team's primarykickreturner. Sure he's fumbled more than we'd like, but so has Spiller, and Leodis understands thatrunning full speed, straight ahead is more important than making guys miss East-West. Spiller willlearn eventually. Rick Stewart/Getty Images—National media "experts," the Bills do not have a bad offensive line. There are much more porous units in the NFL. —I never want to hear "The Bills need a quarterback with a strong arm for those windy and snowy days in Buffalo." It'salmostDecember and the Bills haven't hadanymore games affected bybad weather than contests inChicago, GreenBay, New England,East Rutherford, Pittsburgh or Philly.Yes, thelast games against Cleveland or NewEngland couldbe cold and might feature snowfall, butthese national media guys don't know what they're talking about in reference to Western New York weather's effect onBills games. It rarely happens. Maybe once a season. —Ryan Fitzpatrick is the man. I'll take a few errant tosses with him. For every one of those, we get a picture-perfect toss between coverages. Imagine what he can do with another year under Gailey and an entire offseason and preseason as the starter. He'll also serve as the ideal mentor for whatever QB Buffalo drafts in April. —This football jerseys
loss numbed my emotions so much that Iwasn't angry or upset walking back to the car. In true eternal optimist form, I was encouraged that the Bills played a top-tier opponent, didn't fold when they got down, fought back and made it a game. —The 2-9, 2010 version of the Buffalo Bills is light-years ahead of a team that finished 6-10 last year. This team plays so hard and never stops fighting. We haven't seen that in our football team in quite some time. —Keep your head up, Steve Johnson. Keep your heads up, Bills fans. There's light at the endof this tunnel. We're on our way up.