He may be as frustrated the rest of the team, but tight end Scott Chandler had a pretty good day in the stat book Sunday against the Patriots.
In Weeks 1-5, he posted 132 receiving yards on 13 receptions. Sunday against New England, he had 105 yards alone on just six receptions. He is the first Bills tight end to have a 100-yard receiving day since Pete Metzelaars in 1992.
His success was not much a surprise either, at least to him and head coach Doug Marrone. They said it was part of the game plan.
"We thought we could get something going in the middle of the field and we were able to exploit those a little bit," said Chandler. "Kyle [Orton] put some great balls out there, high where only I could get it."
Chandler and his daunting 6-7, 260-pound frame was sought out by Orton numerous times in the game, specifically on third down. Four of the Bills eight third-down conversions came from Chandler, which means two-thirds of his catches came on third down.
"Scott had a big game and he's a big target," Orton said. "He made some great catches in the middle of the field and had some big third down catches to keep drives alive for us."
Specifically to Orton's point are Chandler's 28-yard and 22-yard receptions. Not only did he keep those drives alive on third down, he brought Buffalo into scoring position, and they capitalized both times.
"I thought he played very well," Marrone said of Chandler. "He made some really good catches. Big catches. He was able to win on the matchups and did a nice job."
But aside from those two drives, the team was unable to get any real rhythm going.
"We need to start off better and really sustain some drives and score some points and take care of the ball in the first half. I think that will be a big step for us as an offense," he said. "We have to be more consistent [on third downs] week to week. We can be high one week and low the next, we have to stay [in the middle]."
Part of that rhythm, or lack thereof, can be attributed to the penalties and the turnover battle; Buffalo had eight penalties for 108 yards on the day and were minus-three in turnover margin.
"I think that that was kind of the story of the day," Chandler said. "Sometimes we did a good job of overcoming [the penalties and turnovers], but other times it's tough to overcome when you're in 1st-and-20. We have to be better."
