The Truth About This Team

[jumbalaya]

The offense really sucked yesterday. One can only wonder how much better they would have been with Fred leading them. Better equipped to handle the blitz, much more of a passing threat than Boobie & Karlos. Besides having more influence over the team, more under control, less penalties. One move by Doug W that hurt us yesterday.

[jeffismagic]

I think we found our QB. Now the rest of this team needs to play up to their potential.

 

I realize that it must be frustrating. But 2-2 for the first quarter is not the end of the world. It's time for this team to improve and get better. They can't play like they did against the Giants and beat good teams.

[norton20]

Hogwash.

 

We went 9-7 last year and have 3 pro bowlers on the D Line.

 

We're not losing because the guys haven't figured how to play together, We're losing because we make bone headed mistakes and come out "flat" (Jerry Hughes' word) against a team perceived to be worse than us. Guys are getting out muscled for the ball and fumbling instead of going down or out of bounds.

 

Our players have been smoking their own tweets. It starts at the top and Rex needs to somehow humble the team and reign them in.

I agree. They seemed all full of themselves yesterday and didnt show up till the 2nd half. When they finally woke up penalties, a fumble, bad play calling on the goal line and bad tackling finished them off.

 

This team acts like its already won something. It drives me crazy to see them not compete on both lines against a team that had starters out on both sides of their lines. Their focus was terrible on Sunday and so was the game plan from what i could tell.

 

It is hard to make the playoffs when you lose home games to teams with lesser talent than you have. With the Bengals coming up in 2 weeks, the Titans game is taking on must win status.I just hope they show up mentally for it.

Edited October 6, 2015 by norton20

[birdog1960]

 

No, I'm saying that with Sammy and Shady, it's a completely different ballgame. But there is no doubt the Bills beat themselves in their absence.

really? what do you think the pats* record would have been without brady the first 3 games. i'd say his loss at least equals the loss of watkins and mccoy. yet they've won in the past when he went down - with matt cassell no less. i'd wager a lot that they'd have still beat the bills week 2 without him. and yes it's a fair comparison. you expect to be the best, you need to compare to the best. very good teams just win.

Edited October 6, 2015 by birdog1960

[reddogblitz]

I've already acknowledged that injuries are part of the game and it was bad luck that the Bills were missing two great players on their offense. What I'm trying to say is that those two guys missing was a major reason why they lost.

 

And I'm saying its a lame excuse. IMHO saying we lost because a couple of guys are out is a loser mentality. But we've been losing for so long I guess it's to be expected.

 

Kick the FGs, make the tackle, throw the football earlier and we win. No excuse needed.

[ALLEN1QB]

somebody needs to stop drinking so much Kool Aid. the next time they decide to get the Guinness World Book of Records there it will be because they broke the record for most penalties ever.

[H2o]

The truth about this team is we have A LOT of talent on both sides of the ball. We had morons wearing headsets directing this team last year, minus Jim Schwartz who is looking more and more like a genius all the time, and they won 9 games with LESS talent. Anything less than that this year is absolutely ridiculous and anything less than a playoff birth is still a failure. They need to get this s*** straight quick or else that is what we'll be faced with

[Hapless Bills Fan]

The truth is:

 

Early expectations were too high.

 

Taylor is new. McCoy and Williams are new. Harvin and Clay are new. Ryan and Roman and Thurman are new.

 

Things are going in a good direction. There's a good core of players on this team, and some good young talent.

 

They just aren't ready to be a playoff level team yet. They will look great some weeks, and leave you scratching your head other weeks. Everyone wanted them to be a top AFC contender right out of the gate, and those expectations were unrealistic. It takes time for all these new pieces to come together and gel.

 

They will be OK in the long run. The upcoming schedule is favorable. If they can stay at .500 through the growing pains they will be in good shape for a late WC run, and even if it doesn't happen this year they are building something better than what they've had for the last decade.

 

I agree and I disagree. You make some good points about the offense, in particular, needing time to gel and it being natural to sometimes be inconsistent with a new QB, a rookie, and a new guard on the OL. But I feel tremendously positive about the talent upgrade at QB, WR, RB, and slightly on the OL. I also feel positive about the potential of the offensive scheme.

 

Where I disagree is with regard to the D and ST. We had a top 5, elite D in the NFL last year. We're missing McKelvin and we lost Searcy, but we seem to have talented young replacements. The core - the immensely talented DL and the linebackers, most of the DB, are still here. The key players on ST are still here.

 

Unless we want to regard losing Spikes as the key piece, it's kind of hard for me to feel that we're building something better on D and ST. I worry that Rex outsmarts himself and his players with too much complexity, a level of complexity able to be neutralized by a smart veteran QB combined with hindered communication (crowd noise does it to us, too) and fast release.

 

All the penalties - the players are undisciplined and playing for a coach who doesn't know how to instill discipline on ST and D, and who doesn't seem to get the team ready to take each and every opponent seriously. It's like they think all they have to do is show up.

Edited October 6, 2015 by Hopeful

[PlayoffsPlease]

 

I disagree. Left tackle, best WR, your elite runner and starting RG with a qb in his 4th career start is not that easy to overcome for a young offense that played very little together in preseason.

 

you're calling it an excuse, its more of a harsh reality.

In other words, the offense isn't very good.

[Nihilarian]

 

I agree and I disagree. You make some good points about the offense, in particular, needing time to gel and it being natural to sometimes be inconsistent with a new QB, a rookie, and a new guard on the OL. But I feel tremendously positive about the talent upgrade at QB, WR, RB, and slightly on the OL. I also feel positive about the potential of the offensive scheme.

 

Where I disagree is with regard to the D and ST. We had a top 5, elite D in the NFL last year. We're missing McKelvin and we lost Searcy, but we seem to have talented young replacements. The core - the immensely talented DL and the linebackers, most of the DB, are still here. The key players on ST are still here.

 

Unless we want to regard losing Spikes as the key piece, it's kind of hard for me to feel that we're building something better on D and ST. I worry that Rex outsmarts himself and his players with too much complexity, a level of complexity able to be neutralized by a smart veteran QB combined with hindered communication (crowd noise does it to us, too) and fast release.

 

All the penalties - the players are undisciplined and playing for a coach who doesn't know how to instill discipline on ST and D, and who doesn't seem to get the team ready to take each and every opponent seriously. It's like they think all they have to do is show up.

I'm starting to wonder if Rex Ryan is pulling a Marrone by not giving his DC any help this year. We know Ryan is a defensive genius, and I don't think I ever seen his D linemen dropping into pass coverage like Dennis Thurman has done this year. C'mon Jerry Hughes on Gronk, or Kyle Williams in pass coverage. Its no wonder why that highly paid front D line only has 3 sacks this year.

[HardyBoy]

Clue us in, after 4 games what is the plan?

Did you see how quickly they picked up chunks of yards when things started clicking? The d shut down the giants for stretches of that game, and the giants were still trying to score.

 

Whaley has a long term plan and vision, and the fact that a short term result was crap doesn't make the plan crap. This isn't like the other bills teams that started hot and ended up flaming out, kind of like the jets now, where everything needs to go right and in a small sample size you look like world beaters. This is a different team.

[smuvtalker]

The truth about this team is we have A LOT of talent on both sides of the ball. We had morons wearing headsets directing this team last year, minus Jim Schwartz who is looking more and more like a genius all the time, and they won 9 games with LESS talent. Anything less than that this year is absolutely ridiculous and anything less than a playoff birth is still a failure. They need to get this s*** straight quick or else that is what we'll be faced with

I agree. We do have a TON of talent all around. Although the numbers and statistics so far this year would disagree, this team is definitely more talented than last years roster. With that said, anything less than a playoff birth would be unacceptable IMO. So many posters have pointed out what I truly believe, and that is this team still needs time to gel and learn to play together. New ownership, new HC, OC, and DC, we are bound to experience some growing pains. I'm very optimistic about what I'm seeing so far from the team, and I have no doubt that things are headed in the right direction. This is not your father's (aka Same Old Bills) team anymore. I do think we can get everything together in time to make a postseason run, but it's got to start with Rex. He has got to get these guys to not only learn to play together, but to play SMART...leading the league in penalties is not something to be proud of. The team often takes on the image and demeanor of their head coach, and that's exactly what Buffalo is doing right now. I'm good with the Bills being considered "A Big Bad Bully", but I'm not good with them being considered a dumb, undisciplined bully. Coughlin's remark that we would beat ourselves really struck a nerve with me, and probably because it was nothing but the truth. Losing both home games to start the season was not something I expected.

 

A 2-2 mark at the quarter isn't great, but I've seen enough of this team to know we have the talent to put up 11-12 wins. Once the Bills start playing smarter football, and Rex eats a few slices of humble pie, and passes them out to the team when they start believing their own hype, we'll be fine. I think the thing that's most encouraging to me is that in the Giants game, no matter how poorly we played in the first half, no matter how many times we shot ourselves in the foot with dumb(or phantom) penalties, we were never out of the game until the final minutes. If you think of seasons past, if we played that poorly of a game for 35 minutes, there's no way we'd still be in it. This team IS different.

 

So I do agree with the OP, on all points, with the exception that we aren't ready to be a playoff team just yet. We already are a playoff team. We just have to learn to play like one.

[SouthernMan]

The truth is this team is not as good as they've been portrayed by the media and fans.

 

The defensive line is supposed to be the anchor of a great team, but they look very average. Maybe age is catching up with Kyle and Mario and they peaked the last two years. Or maybe, everyone is depending on "the other guys" to make plays instead of each one giving it their all.

 

Other than Icognito, the offensive line is average or maybe even slightly below average.

 

The receivers aren't fighting for the ball or making the tough catches that championship teams (Patriots) make.

 

Not convinced Karlos is an every down RB, though he has raw talent that can be developed.

 

Too many missed tackles.

 

Our "money" kicker has been inconsistent.

 

Somebody remind me why a roster spot is taken by Thigpen. Maybe the least effective return man the Bills have had in years.

 

Tyrod has the skills to be a very good QB, but he still needs the support around him and more experience reading defenses and finding open receivers.

 

Just once, I'd love to see an nice interception or punt/kick return that wasn't negated by a holding or blocking in the back penalty.

 

Too many bone-headed penalties and plays. With time a factor in Giants game, why the hell was Woods fighting for extra inches instead of getting out of bounds. Instead he gets stood up, keeps his feet inching forward just enough to not have the whistle blown while two Giants use that stupidity to their advantage and wrestle the ball from him. Duh.

 

They've been out-coached twice in four games. The defense is not playing nearly as well as it did under Schwartz, or Pettine for that matter.

 

On the plus side, the secondary has exceeded expectations and is a solid unit, despite being without a top corner. Schmidt has done a great job punting.

 

I'm not convinced they have the talent to be considered a playoff contender. They have 12 games to play in the regular season, 7 of which are on the road after falling to 1-2 at home. Sound like a team bound for post season action?

 

It's football season, and like all of you, I look forward to watching the Bills games. But I don't watch them through rose-colored glasses. They're an average team. I stand by my preseason prediction of 8-8. I'd love to be proven wrong.

 

 

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

8-8 4-ever?

[Doc]

really? what do you think the pats* record would have been without brady the first 3 games. i'd say his loss at least equals the loss of watkins and mccoy. yet they've won in the past when he went down - with matt cassell no less. i'd wager a lot that they'd have still beat the bills week 2 without him. and yes it's a fair comparison. you expect to be the best, you need to compare to the best. very good teams just win.

 

If Brady had missed the first 3 games and the Cheaters lost, the excuse would have been that they were without Brady. Not sure what point you're trying to make here, except the one I'm making.

 

And I'm saying its a lame excuse. IMHO saying we lost because a couple of guys are out is a loser mentality. But we've been losing for so long I guess it's to be expected.

 

Kick the FGs, make the tackle, throw the football earlier and we win. No excuse needed.

 

It's a reason. With those 2 guys, they win. Without them, they lose. But injuries are part of the game so...they lost. I can't make it any clearer than that. If you are one of those who think that there are no excuses at all, fine.

[xsoldier54]

The truth is:

 

Early expectations were too high.

 

Taylor is new. McCoy and Williams are new. Harvin and Clay are new. Ryan and Roman and Thurman are new.

 

Things are going in a good direction. There's a good core of players on this team, and some good young talent.

 

They just aren't ready to be a playoff level team yet. They will look great some weeks, and leave you scratching your head other weeks. Everyone wanted them to be a top AFC contender right out of the gate, and those expectations were unrealistic. It takes time for all these new pieces to come together and gel.

 

They will be OK in the long run. The upcoming schedule is favorable. If they can stay at .500 through the growing pains they will be in good shape for a late WC run, and even if it doesn't happen this year they are building something better than what they've had for the last decade.

Not buying that excuse at all. Other teams with new coaches and new players manage to win games. This team has enough talent to win. The fact of the matter is that the game plan sucked both against NE and the Giants and that lies squarely with the coaches. Those teams exploited the Bills Defensive aggresiveness and we had no answer. We also did not throw the ball nearly enough against a weak Giants secondary. Again, coaching. Hate to say it, but Rex needs to up his game and shut his mouth.