Serious question; what causes a team to pancake like this?

[dorquemada]

5 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Wow.

 

I respect that your friend doesn't know and won't guess, but from his experience, would it more likely be a player who has been there a while and has become dissatisfied, or a new player?

 

Because if the latter, I wouldn't think it would be a rookie, but we didn't bring in that many vets, and a lower-tier vet fighting for a future big contract like Obada wouldn't seem to be a candidate.

 

 

 

He said the usual suspects are vets who signed a contract less than they thought they should get.  We've got a few guys that we signed to their second contracts, like Dawkins and Milano, at maybe a little lower than what we thought they would get on the open market, though I have a hard time thinking it's either of them

 

 

[JackKemp]

That players are ending up on the Covid list tells me they are to nonchalant about winning and teamwork. Players who don’t want to get vaccinated then need to avoid situations where they can get exposed to it. Getting vaccinated should have been motivated by not being distracted from the team goals. I get personal freedom, but so many of the players are demonstrating individualism versus team commitment. They can get by with talent against bad teams. They aren’t going to beat the goods ones without becoming team first like they were last year. 

[npeartisgod]

Thanks, folks. Some really good insights here. I appreciate it. 

 

Seems to me that Beasley was our flat "wasp" like Edelman; always getting open for a first down strike. Doesn't seem to have the same spark.

Knox has been wonderful in coming along and hanging ON to catches.

We have an elite downfield receiver corp.

We need a runner -- a bull. Beane should have at least tried before draft deadline.

And O-Line has GOT to step it up. I was amazed to see the clip on this board of Williams in the Jax game just not lined up on anyone and the left defender ran by him untouched.

Josh is amazing when he's on -- it just looks like the ball would hurt you coming in so fast. And his throws are just like rockets. When he's rattled or "off" he does things that a fourth year player might, but should not, do -- like his sidearm short tosses, or forcing a play. The man has thrown for almost 11,000 yards with over 70 touchdowns. We're lucky to have him.

I would love to have a drink with Eric and get his inner perspective.

 

And, the reason I mentioned Brady was that even the GOAT is having a ***** time, and I love it; and it makes me feel just a tad better about our team.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Just now, Jauronimo said:

Vaccination is the difference between missing 2 practices and missing 2 games.  Everyone knew the rules.  

 

Just a note here that this is only true if a player is asymptomatic and tests negative 2x 24 hrs apart.

That's not always the case for vaccinated players (though they could sometimes come back sooner than 10 days). 

 

For example, vaccinated Big Ben went on the Covid list Nov 13, Saturday.  He said he tested negative for the first time on Nov 19th, Friday, then the 2nd time Nov 20th, Saturday, and played on Sunday.   It's still a difference - if he were unvaccinated, he would have had to miss a 2nd game - but it's not necessarily that big of a difference.

[msw2112]

3 minutes ago, billybob71 said:

I dont think its any of the above,  the fact is the Bills are playing NFL teams who are all just as talented as they are. You win some and you lose some, lots of parity right now, get used to it and try to enjoy the ride. 

 

I agree with this, in part.  It is true that there is lots parity in the league right now.  The Bucs lost to the Washington Team last week.  The #1 seed Titans lost to the woeful Texans yesterday.  The Cowboys lost to the middlin' Broncos last week.  The Ravens lost to Miami last week.  Of course, the Bills lost to the Jags a few weeks ago.  So yes, any team can truly lose to any other team on any given Sunday.  A team can be 6-4 (or 7-4, depending on when the team had its bye) and still be a contender.  In the AFC, that includes the Bills, the Chiefs, the Steelers (5-4-1, with a tie), the Colts (now 6-5), and the Pats.  Other top condenders have 3 losses:  the Ravens, Titans, Cowboys, Rams, Packers, Buccaneers, etc.  Nobody in the league has less than 3 losses so far this year.  The Bills are only 1 game off of the best record in the league.

 

The problem that I have is not just that the Bills lost to the Colts.  It was how they lost.  They were dominated in all 3 phases of the game.  They were blown out.  At home.  They were undisciplined and made tons of costly mistakes.  They were beaten physically (Colts players were better) and schematically (Colts coaching was better).  The Titans loss was different - a close, competitive game against a good team on the road that they had a chance to win and with one play (Josh doesn't lose his footing on the 4th and 1 sneak), they probably win.  This one was just terrible in every way.

 

There is still plenty of time for the Bills to right the ship and get their game back.  But, yes, as fans, we have a right to be concerned at this point.

[BarleyNY]

1 hour ago, npeartisgod said:

I am sure most, if not all of us, have never been inside the NFL machine. And I am well aware that it is a business and the business lives on our money. But, I am genuinely curious (amidst another disappointing day after) what causes a team with such an auspicious start to just pancake? Is it inner lockerroom politics? Is it that the players and management are at loggerheads? I get that we don't have a real run threat, and that makes us rather one dimensional, but our D is spectacular, and Josh is the real deal. I would be interested to hear serious opinions or insights.

 

BTW, Brady is on his way to a three game losing streak for the first time in a decade.

 

Go Bills!

The simple answer is an inability (or unwillingness) to adjust to what you are seeing and/or to effectively execute.  Teams have adjusted to our offensive and defensive schemes.  We don’t seem to be able to effectively counter as of now.  Some injuries have certainly exacerbated that situation.  Dawkins is one that gets overlooked a lot.  Kudos to him for gutting it out, but he isn’t 100% and he won’t be 100% this season.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Just now, npeartisgod said:

And O-Line has GOT to step it up. I was amazed to see the clip on this board of Williams in the Jax game just not lined up on anyone and the left defender ran by him untouched.

 

To be fair to Williams, as far as I know when you see a picture like that, there's almost certain to be a communication issue where the tackle didn't get the snap count correctly communicated to him (source: former NFL tackle).

[RoyBatty is alive]

55 minutes ago, dorquemada said:

I said this after the Jax game.  A friend of mine who used to work in the Pats org, and probably knows more about football than anyone I know, said that the Bills have a cancer on the team.  He doesn't follow them close enough to guess who/what it is, but he said it's as clear as day.  It's hard to argue against that, given how they're swirling the drain

 

A friend of your that used to work for the Pats told this insight did he/she?

 

They dont follow the bills close enough but they know there is a cancer on the team.  Yeah and it is clear as day and hard to argue against is it?

 

TBD never fails with post panic posts.

 

This is one of the more absurd things I have read here.

[billybob71]

4 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

Yes, the Bills are playing other NFL teams with NFL talent, but the point is how they are losing.  They are not losing like a well prepared, well coached team of recent games.

 

It's not just a coin flip.  How the team prepares, plays, and executes comes into it.

 

i agree  match ups, turnovers, coaching, penalties, etc etc all go into the outcome and luck too, but Ive never been shocked when this Bills team loses, disappointed yes, its extremely rare and hard to have a truly dominant team in todays NFL, and i think as fans we get too emotionally invested in our players thinking their better than they really are, the other teams (even the ones with losing records) have many players who are just as good. and i am prob just stating the obvious here 

[CheshireCT]

How can anyone comment on player attitudes? We don't have a clue as to how these guys are functioning on a day to day basis. I'm not convinced that this team is egotistic and lazy.

 

OFFENSE - What we know is that our offense has always been one dimensional, and the O-line is below average. Those are ongoing issues. Now teams are figuring out how to exploit that better and better on a week to week basis, based on the tape they see from other teams. The offense has to find out how to adjust to what teams are doing to shut us down. I'm not going to pretend to know the answer, but I believe they can correct some things and make adjustments going forward.

 

DEFENSE - Our pass defense is the much stronger than the run defense. When Star is out, it REALLY goes to *****. couple that with a team with a great running game (Tennessee, Indy), and we're in serious trouble. So the question is, what adjustments need to be made to stop the run, and how can they compensate without Star?

 

Then add the weather elements in there, and our team is EVEN MORE unequipped to handle the situation. The Colts are equipped to pound the rock, and they did it well. Our passing game was anemic, and even when JA did throw the ball on target, a bunch of balls were dropped.

 

While I would logically say that it's understandable for a team to have some matchups that just aren't good for them (tennessee, Indy for instance), getting spanked this badly isn't an acceptable outcome. The whole team has to figure out how to adjust to the things teams are doing to them now. I hope this is simply a growing pain, and they figure it out. The good news is, IF they do get it figured out, they will be an even better team going forward. Teachable moment? i hope so.

[Cheektowaga Chad]

My theory is this team isn't interested in a regular season game, they want playoffs

 

Players get this high of how intense a championship game is and thats all they want. Soon it becomes difficult to get up for a 1-8 team mid season. 

 

Its why its so hard to stay at the top and come back after losing and go far in consecutive years

[billybob71]

and i get it we are getting beat down at the point of attack on both sides of the ball, not sure that is fixable without reshaping roster, and we are getting out coached in some games but doesnt every team have that happen?

[RoyBatty is alive]

20 minutes ago, billybob71 said:

I dont think its any of the above,  the fact is the Bills are playing NFL teams who are all just as talented as they are. You win some and you lose some, lots of parity right now, get used to it and try to enjoy the ride. 

This is the reality but so many are looking for a "reason".  NFL is all about parity, every time a dominant teams appears to be at the top they lose, week in week out.

 

Who saw the Titans losing to Houston yesterday, no one did.

 

Losses happen, even ugly loses happen to all teams, Bills are no exception.

[BuffaloBillyG]

1 hour ago, dorquemada said:

I said this after the Jax game.  A friend of mine who used to work in the Pats org, and probably knows more about football than anyone I know, said that the Bills have a cancer on the team.  He doesn't follow them close enough to guess who/what it is, but he said it's as clear as day.  It's hard to argue against that, given how they're swirling the drain

What's interesting to me about this statement is that the Bills really started to taper off right around the time of Beasley's whole "They boo me at home" Twitter rant. 

 

Not saying at all that he's a cancer but the timing is suspect at the very least in my eyes.

[Sugar High JA17]

“ we’ll learn from this” “we’ve put this behind us” “we’ll watch the tape” “ it’s all correctable” “ just need to execute” “ back to fundamentals”.👏👏👏

[78thealltimegreat]

1 hour ago, npeartisgod said:

I am sure most, if not all of us, have never been inside the NFL machine. And I am well aware that it is a business and the business lives on our money. But, I am genuinely curious (amidst another disappointing day after) what causes a team with such an auspicious start to just pancake? Is it inner lockerroom politics? Is it that the players and management are at loggerheads? I get that we don't have a real run threat, and that makes us rather one dimensional, but our D is spectacular, and Josh is the real deal. I would be interested to hear serious opinions or insights.

 

BTW, Brady is on his way to a three game losing streak for the first time in a decade.

 

Go Bills!

Quite frankly the Bills are no longer this nice up and coming story as every single team now looks at them as a measuring stick and many of these guys weren’t ready for it 

[billybob71]

all the media hype and talking heads, analytics, stats, PFF, predictions, blah blah blah, it all don't mean s###,  the NFL is now highly unpredictable. Hell Football is really just controlled chaos with an oblong ball that can bounce any which way and athletes who are faster, stronger and flying around like crazy. Throw in injuries, covid, bad officiating, good and bad coaching, weather, and the fact that these players are mostly just 20 year old kids

[Behindenemylines]

I’m not reading all the other replies because it’s simple: leadership. 
 

coaches have zero fire in them right now and it shows. McD needed to go for that 4th down instead of the crap FG.  That would have sent a message even if we missed.  Allen was dejected on that decision
 

I don’t see the emotion on crap calls, don’t see him ripping players on stupidly fumbling the damn kickoff or playing dumb with penalties 
 

we as fans should demand better leadership and McD has it in him I believe but he’s let us get soft and as importantly he’s let himself get soft 
 

can we make the playoffs-yes. Will it be easy-no.  
 

If we don’t fix our run stop and pass rush the Patriots will eat us alive and that is too much to bear.  
 

STOP BEING CHARMIN SOFT AND PLAYING LIKE WHAT ITS USED FOR!

[maddenboy]

38 minutes ago, dorquemada said:

 

He said the usual suspects are vets who signed a contract less than they thought they should get.  We've got a few guys that we signed to their second contracts, like Dawkins and Milano, at maybe a little lower than what we thought they would get on the open market, though I have a hard time thinking it's either of them

 

 

As far as a Cancer in the locker room, I think this is a road worth pursuing.  A couple thoughts:

 

1)  it can easily be more than one person.  Spreading, or started in multiple spots

2)  I think we should identify the symptoms, which would help in finding the cause.  The main symptom seems to be playing without urgency.  The 2nd is mental errors (to your point about the venn diagram upthread)

3)  It is likely someone with influence.  Not somebody that the good, core players would tune-out.  

4)  I would add to your friend's idea about underpaid vets, the idea of over-paid players who dont love the game and have essentially checked-out.

 

So, if this is a thing.   If.  I'd be looking at somebody like

 

-Ed Oliver, who imo doesnt love football.  (a poster today discussed him yukking it up on the sideline while getting steamrolled)

 

-Star.  even though he plays hard, maybe the players dont like his attitude re: covid and doing what's best for his own $$, true or not.  Sometimes players might think "i dont care how good he his, i'm sick of him being here"

 

-AJE (because they made him completely change.  maybe he has a grudge and thinks he'd be better off on a team that would let him be himself), or

 

-considering the biggest problem on the team, someone or two on the O-line.  That unit requires chemistry.  That unit is failing badly.  The rbs know it.  JA17 knows it.  

 

 

Edited November 22, 2021 by maddenboy

[CheshireCT]

23 minutes ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

This is the reality but so many are looking for a "reason".  NFL is all about parity, every time a dominant teams appears to be at the top they lose, week in week out.

 

Who saw the Titans losing to Houston yesterday, no one did.

 

Losses happen, even ugly loses happen to all teams, Bills are no exception.

I agree with you generally, though it becomes concerning when a losing pattern emerges. Right now we’re in a losing pattern. Fortunately it’s mid season and not late season…

[KeLLy1278]

10 minutes ago, Sugar High JA17 said:

“ we’ll learn from this” “we’ve put this behind us” “we’ll watch the tape” “ it’s all correctable” “ just need to execute” “ back to fundamentals”.👏👏👏

“We need to have a winner’s mentality” 

“We can’t allow 286 yards on the ground”

”The penalties?  Yeah we can’t have that”

“Need better fundamentals”

“Taking care of the ball.  Up front and on defense.”

”I believe that we are a physical football team”

 

Is this team coached at all? Everything I hear out of Sean’s mouth is “We need to be this, this and that.”  He also seems like he’s on Valium..  why does it seem like the fans care more than he does?  Shouldn’t it be the other way around?  Does anyone here think that this team will turn things around against the Saints on Thursday?  This team is searching for leaders both on the coaching staff and on the field.  I’m growing tired of the weary sleepy eyed post game reactions from Sean.

[jkeerie]

1 hour ago, Evian said:

They are a mentally weak team.  Covid has nothing to do with it.  Last year in the middle of Covid they were incredibly mentally tough.  I suspect they read the headlines about how good they were and believed them. 

Last year there was no vaccine.  The rules were the same for everyone and they were united on what they all could do and needed to do to prevent covid from impacting the team.  This year is different.  I said this in another thread, the covid vaccine issue has divided this country, families, workplaces, communities.  It stands to reason it can divide a team.  I do agree that the team is not as mentally strong as we've seen in the past.  It seems that any adversity gets them rattled, particularly on defense...and they start getting frustrated and take stupid penalties.

[LABILLBACKER]

1 hour ago, Dablitzkrieg said:

My guess is a disjointed locker room.  McDermott could give 2 ***** about the guys on the covid list yesterday.  Very telling when your "leader" reacts the way he did.

I agree. We knew going in that we were probably the least vaccinated team in the NFL. We held our breath and crossed our fingers hoping this wouldn't be an issue.  But now it has. 2 very important starters in the trenches are out 2 games. I'm not starting any commentary on this issue albeit I do believe in the vaccine. But Sean has to figure this out. It may be effecting the locker room. This team always struck me as a family. And I think the kids might be fighting a little bit?

[KeLLy1278]

29 minutes ago, Cheektowaga Chad said:

My theory is this team isn't interested in a regular season game, they want playoffs

 

Players get this high of how intense a championship game is and thats all they want. Soon it becomes difficult to get up for a 1-8 team mid season. 

 

Its why its so hard to stay at the top and come back after losing and go far in consecutive years

If that’s the case then fire the coaching staff right now because that is the most ridiculous assertion I’ve heard in some time.  Even if a team won multiple Super Bowls.. to pussyfoot around the NFL regular season (which is only 17 games) as an excuse for poor play?  We’re just above the regular season because we consider ourselves a playoff team hence, we’ve committed more penalties than any other team in the league so far.  Boy… I don’t even know what to think with this team anymore.

[Jauronimo]

1 minute ago, KeLLy1278 said:

“We need to have a winner’s mentality” 

“We can’t allow 286 yards on the ground”

”The penalties?  Yeah we can’t have that”

“Need better fundamentals”

“Taking care of the ball.  Up front and on defense.”

”I believe that we are a physical football team”

 

Is this team coached at all? Everything I hear out of Sean’s mouth is “We need to be this, this and that.”  He also seems like he’s on Valium..  why does it seem like the fans care more than he does?  Shouldn’t it be the other way around?  Does anyone here think that this team will turn things around against the Saints on Thursday?  This team is searching for leaders both on the coaching staff and on the field.  I’m growing tired of the weary sleepy eyed post game reactions from Sean.

Dissecting coach speak is a waste of time.  No coach in any professional league gives specifics.  They also don't single out and rip their players or admit the obvious.  Messaging is consistent and even.

 

Reading anything into it is asinine.

[dorquemada]

12 minutes ago, KeLLy1278 said:

“We need to have a winner’s mentality” 

“We can’t allow 286 yards on the ground”

”The penalties?  Yeah we can’t have that”

“Need better fundamentals”

“Taking care of the ball.  Up front and on defense.”

”I believe that we are a physical football team”

 

Is this team coached at all? Everything I hear out of Sean’s mouth is “We need to be this, this and that.”  He also seems like he’s on Valium..  why does it seem like the fans care more than he does?  Shouldn’t it be the other way around?  Does anyone here think that this team will turn things around against the Saints on Thursday?  This team is searching for leaders both on the coaching staff and on the field.  I’m growing tired of the weary sleepy eyed post game reactions from Sean.

 

Most coaches speak in platitudes but you could use McD to train a Markov Chain generator

 

In truth he doesn't seem to be all that upset that the 'super bowl favorites' are swirling the drain. 

[KeLLy1278]

1 minute ago, Jauronimo said:

Dissecting coach speak is a waste of time.  No coach in any professional league gives specifics.  They also don't single out and rip their players or admit the obvious.  Messaging is consistent and even.

 

Reading anything into it is asinine.

Some coaches do and some do not.  Sean does not.  It’s fine when the team is playing well and giving it a solid effort but it wears really thin when your team waves the white flag before halftime.  Did he even comment on McKenzies fumble?  That may have been the worst fumble of the season by any player in the entire league.  An untouched player fumbles on Sp Teams to sink the team before halftime.  Brutal.  I wonder what Steve Tasker would tell a guy like that. 

[FilthyBeast]

2 hours ago, npeartisgod said:

I am sure most, if not all of us, have never been inside the NFL machine. And I am well aware that it is a business and the business lives on our money. But, I am genuinely curious (amidst another disappointing day after) what causes a team with such an auspicious start to just pancake? Is it inner lockerroom politics? Is it that the players and management are at loggerheads? I get that we don't have a real run threat, and that makes us rather one dimensional, but our D is spectacular, and Josh is the real deal. I would be interested to hear serious opinions or insights.

 

BTW, Brady is on his way to a three game losing streak for the first time in a decade.

 

Go Bills!

 

It's a combination of many things, but the main factor is last year appears to be a fluke in hindsight starting with Josh Allen. And if you go back and look at this team's 'hot streak' to end the year last season who did they really beat:

 

Chargers (rookie QB)

49ers (injury ravaged starting a 3rd string QB)

Steelers (they were in the midst of their collapse)

Broncos (bad team with Drew Lock starting)

Patriots (transition/down year)

Dolphins (Frauds starting rookie QB)

 

And while the Bills started similarly this year they peaked against KC and have proven to be frauds going 1-3 against teams .500 or better and 2-3 in the last 5 games since the KC SB game.

 

At the end of the day this is still a roster lacking real game breaking talent and things are going to from bad to worse the next few years because of all the bad contracts Beane has handed out. Which is why don't be surprised if you finally seem him make big moves and trade away premium draft picks next year like the Rams because of the pressure to win right away and not worrying about the consequences of getting fired or being here with no draft capital/cap space to work with.

[Jrb1979]

I think they are over hyped and are no where near that Super Bowl many thought they were. They have benefited from a weak schedule. Outside of the Chiefs, they haven't beaten a team over .500.  They still can't stop the run for the life of them. It's been going for a few years now, good running teams run all over them. They can't run the ball either. Til those are fixed this will continue to happen. 

[Boatdrinks]

It’s called an off-season, and teams spend it dissecting everything g you did well when you’ve beaten them and made the AFCCG. You have to improve your roster and prepare countermoves in scheme etc. You actually have to be better than the previous year, and thus far the Bills aren’t doing that. It goes for coaches and players. Sustaining success is harder than getting the team from also ran to contender. Teams have honed in on the Bills weaknesses and the coaches haven’t schemed their way out of personnel flaws, opponents defensive strategy etc. A one game slip doesn’t seem too bad, but the rest of the AFC has improved. It may not be good enough , and the Bills have had key players out at positions of little depth. 

[RoyBatty is alive]

37 minutes ago, maddenboy said:

As far as a Cancer in the locker room, I think this is a road worth pursuing.  A couple thoughts:

 

1)  it can easily be more than one person.  Spreading, or started in multiple spots

2)  I think we should identify the symptoms, which would help in finding the cause.  The main symptom seems to be playing without urgency.  The 2nd is mental errors (to your point about the venn diagram upthread)

3)  It is likely someone with influence.  Not somebody that the good, core players would tune-out.  

4)  I would add to your friend's idea about underpaid vets, the idea of over-paid players who dont love the game and have essentially checked-out.

 

So, if this is a thing.   If.  I'd be looking at somebody like

 

-Ed Oliver, who imo doesnt love football.  (a poster today discussed him yukking it up on the sideline while getting steamrolled)

 

-Star.  even though he plays hard, maybe the players dont like his attitude re: covid and doing what's best for his own $$, true or not.  Sometimes players might think "i dont care how good he his, i'm sick of him being here"

 

-AJE (because they made him completely change.  maybe he has a grudge and thinks he'd be better off on a team that would let him be himself), or

 

-considering the biggest problem on the team, someone or two on the O-line.  That unit requires chemistry.  That unit is failing badly.  The rbs know it.  JA17 knows it.  

 

 

No we are on the hunt for the team Cancer?  Now just wild ass guessing and speculation because someone didnt get a vaccine or was laughing on the sidelines. 

 

Yes this is a totally productive exercise.

 

As soon as the Bills start to lose we look for a culprit and then we can demonize him.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

FWIW John Wawrow had a take on this.  During the drought years he won my respect by having one of the more fair and balanced perspectives in the press room.

 

 

 

 

 

To be fair, John's point about "no difficulty forcing turnovers" when the opponent is trailing, is somewhat "cause and effect"; opponents who are trailing throw more, push harder for those extra yards, and take more chances - which causes turnovers.

 

Also to be fair, if a team gets frustrated when things don't go their way, that could be a result of coaching - that they lack faith the coaches will help them make adjustments and get right.

[Sugar High JA17]

In the off-season we had two priorities - 

improve the pass rush and fix the running game as we had become too one-dimentional.

From what I've seen we did neither !

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

1 hour ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

 

A friend of your that used to work for the Pats told this insight did he/she?

 

They dont follow the bills close enough but they know there is a cancer on the team.  Yeah and it is clear as day and hard to argue against is it?

 

TBD never fails with post panic posts.

 

This is one of the more absurd things I have read here.

Was it Ernie Adams?

[Hapless Bills Fan]

25 minutes ago, dorquemada said:

 

Most coaches speak in platitudes but you could use McD to train a Markov Chain generator

 

In truth he doesn't seem to be all that upset that the 'super bowl favorites' are swirling the drain. 

 

I mean, what do you want him to do?  If he tore his shirt and gashed his chest bloody and screamed, would that be more impressive?

[Hapless Bills Fan]

44 minutes ago, jkeerie said:

Last year there was no vaccine.  The rules were the same for everyone and they were united on what they all could do and needed to do to prevent covid from impacting the team.  This year is different.  I said this in another thread, the covid vaccine issue has divided this country, families, workplaces, communities.  It stands to reason it can divide a team.  I do agree that the team is not as mentally strong as we've seen in the past.  It seems that any adversity gets them rattled, particularly on defense...and they start getting frustrated and take stupid penalties.

 

The point is, every team is dealing with this including several very successful teams. 

[bigK14094]

Lots of second contracts here, these guys are somewhat fat and happy now.  Not that  they aren't PRO's, but, just not viscerally motivated.

[Evian]

46 minutes ago, jkeerie said:

Last year there was no vaccine.  The rules were the same for everyone and they were united on what they all could do and needed to do to prevent covid from impacting the team.  This year is different.  I said this in another thread, the covid vaccine issue has divided this country, families, workplaces, communities.  It stands to reason it can divide a team.  I do agree that the team is not as mentally strong as we've seen in the past.  It seems that any adversity gets them rattled, particularly on defense...and they start getting frustrated and take stupid penalties.

 

Nonsense. 95+ % of the Bills are vaccinated. 100% of the staff. Nobody cares except idiots in the media and on social media. The Bills are losing because they are soft. This is what happens when a team reads the headlines after they blowout garbage teams. They lead the league in penalties and they get pushed around by physical teams. This team has real line problems. When 95% of the locker room is vaccinated nobody cares. 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 minute ago, Evian said:

 

Nonsense. 95+ % of the Bills are vaccinated. 100% of the staff. Nobody cares except idiots in the media and on social media. The Bills are losing because they are soft. This is what happens when a team reads the headlines after they blowout garbage teams. They lead the league in penalties and they get pushed around by physical teams. This team has real line problems. When 95% of the locker room is vaccinated nobody cares. 

 

Source?  Because that doesn't match McDermott's "single digits" or Beane's "91%"

 

I do think the source of the problems is likely to be elsewhere.

[oldmanfan]

2 hours ago, npeartisgod said:

I am sure most, if not all of us, have never been inside the NFL machine. And I am well aware that it is a business and the business lives on our money. But, I am genuinely curious (amidst another disappointing day after) what causes a team with such an auspicious start to just pancake? Is it inner lockerroom politics? Is it that the players and management are at loggerheads? I get that we don't have a real run threat, and that makes us rather one dimensional, but our D is spectacular, and Josh is the real deal. I would be interested to hear serious opinions or insights.

 

BTW, Brady is on his way to a three game losing streak for the first time in a decade.

 

Go Bills!

In our losses both our lines were physically dominated by the opposition.  And there's not much to do about that right now.