The National Football League is filled with great football players. But as great as the best are, nobody is perfect, and every player that lines up on Sunday has made a mistake at some point in his career.
Even Patriots all-world quarterback Tom Brady isn't immune to the occasional bad play or four. In the Bills' early season 34-31 upset of the Pats, the New England signal caller threw four interceptions against a team that he had previously beaten 15 straight times.
Zero.
No, that's not in reference to how many sacks the depleted Bills defense recorded against the Jets on Sunday – although that is the correct and disappointing figure. It's the number of touchdowns Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis has given up this season: that is until Sunday of course.
Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson took Revis to the woodshed in the 28-24 controversial loss, catching eight balls for 75 yards and a touchdown. Only three receivers have surpassed 70 yards against Revis this season – Patriots receiver Wes Welker, Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant and Johnson. Johnson has now done it twice.
Despite his outstanding day against Revis, the only thing people will remember from the game will be a dropped pass on the Bills' final and potentially game-winning drive that could have gone for six points.
Following the game, the football community – including Bills fans – ripped Johnson for the mistake and some even went as far to say that the Bills shouldn't resign him because he's not ever going to be an elite receiver.
What a joke.
This is the reason that Bills fans get a bad rap around the country. Should he have caught the ball? Of course, I don't think anyone is debating that fact. But to suggest that Johnson was the reason the Bills lost the game is an uneducated and uninformed assumption. In other words, people that say the Bills would have won if Johnson caught that ball don't really know too much about the game of football.
I will admit that I am a huge Johnson supporter and I think he is going to be a top-flight receiver for years to come, but that's not why I am defending him.
The Bills have been decimated by injuries. Kyle Williams – gone. Eric Wood – gone. MVP candidate Fred Jackson – gone. The team isn't going anywhere this season, and while it's fine to be a fan and hope for the best, to blindly ignore the fact that this will be another season without the playoffs is foolish.
Johnson dropped a pass in a game that will end up being meaningless after this season comes to an end. The Bills won four games last year and the drop in the Pittsburgh game is treated like he lost the Bills the Super Bowl.
Put things into perspective people.
The Bills defense is atrocious and has been all season. It was masked by the turnover numbers the unit had put up early, but the group has fallen off as many players have been lost to injury.
Mark Sanchez is one of the worst quarterbacks in the league and the Bills let him throw for four touchdowns and made several game-losing plays in the second half.
How can you blame one player for a loss when the entire team had a hand in it? Even quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick – who played a solid game – threw the potential game-winning incomplete touchdown pass almost two yards behind the receiver.
The touchdown celebration. One of the most debated issues in football.
What's the big deal? The dance was funny and it called out a guy that shot himself in the leg with his own gun. How is Johnson the bad guy here?
I feel like if you do something to earn yourself a jail sentence, be prepared to reap the consequences: all of them. If Jay Leno told a joke on The Tonight Show, nobody would have a problem with it.
Johnson did take a penalty at the end of the play, and that is definitely a no-no, but nothing Johnson did in that game lost the Bills the contest. If anything, his play was the only reason the Bills – a 10-point underdog – were in the game to begin with.
If you think the Bills shouldn't sign him to a long-term deal, you don't know football and I hope if we don't sign him he goes somewhere else and wins a Super Bowl.
The bottom line is that Johnson is a beast and until he drops a big pass in the playoffs, stop your complaining and enjoy having a top-tier receiver, and an entertaining one to boot.
Email: matthew.parrino@ubspectrum.com
