Tolstoy Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 A Bills fan since 1985, I can say that I am as happy and excited as any other Buffalo fan at the Bills' success. The entire organization should be congratulated for their success, since 3 straight wins in this league are very difficult to achieve. I just want to say, however, that there are some warning signs that indicate we should not get our expectations too high. Above all, our defense has had a difficult time stopping opposing offenses. Second, we have been down by 18 or more points in 2 of the first 3 games. These two facts alone are signs that we are not a championship level team. Maybe these things will change over the next few games--I hope they do. But I am fully expecting one or more disappointing losses in the next few games--because of those bad signs. Having said that, I fervently hopes that the blue-collar work ethic of this team, the intelligence of its coach and QB and RB, and the heart of all the players, will overcome whatever weaknesses it has. And it should be said that success breeds success. A good team with confidence can help good players develop into great players, such that talent will grow and flourish when it has the right environment. That is why we watch every Sunday, and cheer for my Buffalo Bills. Let us not, however, be crushed if they lose very soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defend Greece Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Stop worrying, start enjoying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muffmonster Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Stop worrying, start enjoying What he said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuckeyeBill Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Who the Bills have played this year is key: Week 1: The Bills played a bottom 10 team on the road, and destroyed them. I believe that on Sunday the Bills play another bottom 10 team, also on the road. I am hoping (and expecting) a game that is not close. Week 2: The Bills played a team just like themselves in the fact that the Raiders are right on the verge of being a playoff team. I expect to see the Raiders in the playoffs this year and winning their division. Any time you can beat a team like that, you should be proud of it. I also notice that the Raiders are the #1 rushing team in football, and probably will be so at the end of the year. Week 3: The Bills played a top 5 team (another potential division winner) and beat them. I do believe that if the Bills play that game 7 times, they lose four or five of them. But they gained confidence from that win. They truly believe they can play with (and beat) anybody. I also notice that the Patriots are the #1 passing team in football, and probably will also be at the end of the year too. Three very different teams, and the Bills beat them all. Don't be worried that fact that our defense has struggled to contain the #1 rushing team and the #1 passing team. Every defense will struggle with those two teams this year. But we did something that most teams will not... we actually beat both of those teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defend Greece Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Did you see what the raiders did to the jets, a supposedly far superior d to ours? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewildrabbit Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Hey, we the fans can't control it..so why worry about it Enjoy it while it lasts, and revel in it... feel good for this week that the Buffalo Bills are one of 3 teams sitting at 3-0, Detroit- Green Bay are the other 2 Bask the fact that Brady threw 4 picks... be happy the Bills have found an "elite" QB and RB ! It was #99 knocked that ball outta the air for the last INT....with his head!, MD the Doctor is in!.... the Bills now have 2 great DT's Do I think the Bills will stay undefeated for very long... naa, so I'll enjoy it while I can. They have already surpassed where I thought they would be:P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SageAgainstTheMachine Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Losses will come this season. It's more than likely that the Bills will lose 2 or 3 in a row at some point. The issue is going to be how well they bounce back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flmike Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Enjoy some good football. They are overachieving a bit right now, but 16 games sorts things out pretty well. I'm optimistic for a 9 or 10-win season with some good bounces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in San Diego Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 I would like to see them not go behind in the 1st quarter. Ryan has started each 1st qtr naking bad throws. He needs to focus and throw better at the beginning of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macaroni Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 My wish for this team going into the season was for them to go 8-8, recognize and ackowledge their weaknesses, and do some things through the next draft/free agency period to adress those weaknesses to give me hope for a better season next year. If everyone is honest I would bet their expectations/hope was something similar (the Senator excepted). are we going to lose some games? .... of course we are do we have holes and weaknesses? .... of course we do will we have a week or two where the ball just doesn't bounce our way and we can't get a break .... of course there will (we ARE the Bills after all) But I am enjoying the direction this team is going, and quite frankly (judging from the first 3 games) I'm surprised at how far we seem to have come. Time will tell ... will our lack of depth end up killing us ... will teams figure out how to exploit our weaknesses .... I have no idea ... but what I THINK I know is that this team will not give up, they will fight to the end of every game, and Buffalo Bills football is once again fun to watch. Bottom line is ... sit back, crack a cool one of your choice, and enjoy the ride. Go Bills! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderstealer Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 If this team was 1and 2 right now, I'd still be positive about the rest of the season, and their chances of winning the division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Did you see what the raiders did to the jets, a supposedly far superior d to ours? I did. Yes I did, and I absolutely enjoyed it. I agree with the OP that there are weaknesses. The thing is, Chan and the coaches and the players all seem to have their heads on right and seeing them too. I think there is strong reason to BILLieve, barring serious injuries, that the team will be competitive all season. I also agree that this is a telling week. If our D comes out strong against a weak Cincy offense, that's good. If we let them spot 21 points on us, I don't care if that results from 3 Fitzy INTs or whatever, that will be very bad on our D. And yes, Cincy has some good offensive players and Dalton is playing well for a relatively-unheralded rookie, but a team that has only made 6 trips to the redzone in 3 games and come away with 3 TD is not a good offense and we had better shut them down hard and shut them down fast or it will be scary. There, I said it. While enjoying success, I too, worry about this team. That said....I am HOPEFUL that Oakland shreds NE D like an office machine. It would give me great pleasure to see McFadden push 200 yds on them, and I think it could happen. And if it does happen, that too, will say something about our defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Senator Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 A Bills fan since 1985, I can say that I am as happy and excited as any other Buffalo fan at the Bills' success. The entire organization should be congratulated for their success, since 3 straight wins in this league are very difficult to achieve. I just want to say, however, that there are some warning signs that indicate we should not get our expectations too high. Above all, our defense has had a difficult time stopping opposing offenses. Second, we have been down by 18 or more points in 2 of the first 3 games. These two facts alone are signs that we are not a championship level team. Maybe these things will change over the next few games--I hope they do. But I am fully expecting one or more disappointing losses in the next few games--because of those bad signs. Having said that, I fervently hopes that the blue-collar work ethic of this team, the intelligence of its coach and QB and RB, and the heart of all the players, will overcome whatever weaknesses it has. And it should be said that success breeds success. A good team with confidence can help good players develop into great players, such that talent will grow and flourish when it has the right environment. That is why we watch every Sunday, and cheer for my Buffalo Bills. Let us not, however, be crushed if they lose very soon. Our defense didn't stop KC's offense? They didn't intercept Brady* 4 times? You're worried because the Bills D didn't shut down the Cheatriette* offense that put up over 1000 yards in their* first 2 games? The Bills are fine. They have no weaknesses. You need to worry less, and enjoy more. Let others worry about the Bills - like Bengals fans, maybe... Buffalo Bills 72 Cincinnati BungHoles - 0 GO BILLSSS!!!! "I expect to be undefeated." - Chan Gailey 19 and 0 baby!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 We contained mcfadden on the ground, as he only had 72 yards rushing..the Pats couldn't run at all which is why we were able to come back and win...all in all I would rather them be able to stop the run and give up yards in the air where we at least have chances to get INTs... We contained mcfadden on the ground, as he only had 72 yards rushing..the Pats couldn't run at all which is why we were able to come back and win...all in all I would rather them be able to stop the run and give up yards in the air where we at least have chances to get INTs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malazan Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 It's amazing how many people want this to end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdnlng Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 We contained mcfadden on the ground, as he only had 72 yards rushing..the Pats couldn't run at all which is why we were able to come back and win...all in all I would rather them be able to stop the run and give up yards in the air where we at least have chances to get INTs... We contained mcfadden on the ground, as he only had 72 yards rushing..the Pats couldn't run at all which is why we were able to come back and win...all in all I would rather them be able to stop the run and give up yards in the air where we at least have chances to get INTs... You can say that again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSRABILLSFAN Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 One very big thing I see about this whole team that I have not seen in a while is very good coaching, seems like the team is more focused and making adjustments. We saw glimpse of it last year in all those overtime games ,this year we are winning those overtime games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 (edited) I would like to see them not go behind in the 1st quarter. Ryan has started each 1st qtr naking bad throws. He needs to focus and throw better at the beginning of the game. Fan, I understand where you get this perception. The announcers are "loud and proud" about it. Looking under the hood suggests it is mistaken. I would say the whole offense is coming out tight and making mistakes at the beginning of the game, and this has to stop. I think we can all agree the Bills and Fitz came out hot against the Chiefs. Let's break down the first 3 Bills offensive series against Oak, and NE, shall we? Number of run plays: 14 (counting pitchback to Smith as a run) Number of pass plays: 23 Number of significant penalties (cut block, block in the back, etc): 4 That's pretty pass-happy. 62% pass. Successful run plays (>2 yds): 7 Unsuccessful run plays (<2 yds): 7 Successful pass plays (>2 yds): 15 Unsuccessful pass plays: 8 ----Unsuccessful pass plays that went off the receivers hands or were dropped: 3 ----Unsuccessful pass plays that were poor throws or Ints: 5 If the ball hits the receiver's hands and is dropped or goes through them, there's not too much Fitz can improve. Of the 3 interceptions, the Int on the 3rd drive in Oakland was a poor throw and you could tell Fitzy wanted that one back. Against NE, I'm racking it up to Fitz but the first Int went THROUGH Donald Jones hands. The second was essentially a short punt taking a shot at 4th and long. Bottom line: when we are running the ball early, it's only successful 50% of the time. When we're passing early, it's successful 65% of the time. An additional 13% hit the receiver's hands or went through them (not counting the Int that went through DJ's hands) Here's what Hopeful sees: 1) We are consistently deferring and apparently will continue to defer. This really puts it on our D. If they don't get a stop (eg, NE), we start out 7 down, which may not be good for our young offense. Maybe they feel more pressure, and tighten up. The early success we had, against the Chiefs, came when we got the ball right away after a fumble. Should that "make you go hmmmmm"? 2) The play calling on the first 3 series has been pass-happy. 62%. 3) The real silent killer for the Bills has been penalties. Counting penalty on return, 4 big ones on 6 early drives. 3 have negated successful plays. 4) 50% success rate on early runs is NOT good. We need to improve this. Combined with our play percentage, teams are going to start keying. I would say Fitz has been playing fairly well out the gate. 78% catchable throws is not shabby at all. He threw one BONEHEAD Int against Oak where you could tell he wanted it back right away. The other "real" Int went THROUGH DJ's hands and arguably could have been caught. Fitz is always going to make these kind of throws, it's who he is. The Int on 4th and long was deliberate risk-taking, essentially a "worst case = short punt" kind of throw. Hopeful's keys to change: 1) Quit with the penalties. "Don't be dumb, don't be dirty." That change alone would foster more early success. 4 out of 6 early drives? "C'mon man." 2) Re-examine the play calling early. We need to succeed more often when we do call a run. Are we calling the right run plays? Too many pass plays? 3) Re-examine the "defer" strategy. Points 2) and 3) are really on our coaches. Point 1) is really a symptom that ALL our players, not just Fitz, need to come out focused on business There has been plenty of poor play to spread around blame. Edited October 1, 2011 by Hopeful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r00tabaga Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 If this team was 1and 2 right now, I'd still be positive about the rest of the season, and their chances of winning the division. Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 (edited) Because you don't watch every other NFL under a microscope like you do the Bills, you don't notice that every NFL team has flaws, even the mighty Packers. The object of the game is to gameplan so that your flaws do not become a liability, while you exploit the other guys flaws. So far so good. Also, this isn't like college where teams play cupcakes. Every NFL team can beat you, so any win in the NFL means something. PTR Edited October 1, 2011 by PromoTheRobot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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