As depressing as Sunday in AZ was...

[canbuffan34]

Sometimes its a good thing to be embarrassed like that, depending on how the team responds. The players, whether they say it in the media or not have to be feeling pretty good about themselves at 4-0. I remember watching a NFL films piece on the 95 49'ers. Steve Young said " We had just won three in a row when we went into Philly and got embarrassed 52-7, we had the attitude going into the game that we were going to win just by showing up." After the game he said something to the effect of not knowing what they were about but that he knew that wasn't it. I realize the situation is not exactly the same but if Jauron, Fewell and the players collectively come together and understand that they have no business relying on a second year QB to make or break their chances then this might just be a blessing in disguise going forward. Accountability is what I witnessed being the downfall of our team on Sun. When your starting QB goes down, if you're really a playoff team, you rally together and fight! You don't curl up in the fetal position and feel sorry for yourself.

[ColdBlueNorth]

Sometimes its a good thing to be embarrassed like that, depending on how the team responds. The players, whether they say it in the media or not have to be feeling pretty good about themselves at 4-0. I remember watching a NFL films piece on the 95 49'ers. Steve Young said " We had just won three in a row when we went into Philly and got embarrassed 52-7, we had the attitude going into the game that we were going to win just by showing up." After the game he said something to the effect of not knowing what they were about but that he knew that wasn't it. I realize the situation is not exactly the same but if Jauron, Fewell and the players collectively come together and understand that they have no business relying on a second year QB to make or break their chances then this might just be a blessing in disguise going forward. Accountability is what I witnessed being the downfall of our team on Sun. When your starting QB goes down, if you're really a playoff team, you rally together and fight! You don't curl up in the fetal position and feel sorry for yourself.

 

I think just about everyone agrees that some good can come out of this, if it serves as a reality check and IF our young guys can build off of it.

 

Personally, I hope they make our offensive line jog for two weeks straight. I am tired of hearing how we have the biggest (fattest) offensive line in football. If old Al Davis owned our team he would have fired everyone including the waterboy - of course the Raiders will suck until he goes to that great owners box in the sky.

[BillsWatch]

I'd rather lose now to a NFC team than a AFC team, especially a AFCE team, later and if at this time it gives Bills time to retool effectively that is good. I think the Bills were in flashback to last year with injuries and Petered being half as good as he was during his peak.

[julian]

Sometimes its a good thing to be embarrassed like that, depending on how the team responds. The players, whether they say it in the media or not have to be feeling pretty good about themselves at 4-0. I remember watching a NFL films piece on the 95 49'ers. Steve Young said " We had just won three in a row when we went into Philly and got embarrassed 52-7, we had the attitude going into the game that we were going to win just by showing up." After the game he said something to the effect of not knowing what they were about but that he knew that wasn't it. I realize the situation is not exactly the same but if Jauron, Fewell and the players collectively come together and understand that they have no business relying on a second year QB to make or break their chances then this might just be a blessing in disguise going forward. Accountability is what I witnessed being the downfall of our team on Sun. When your starting QB goes down, if you're really a playoff team, you rally together and fight! You don't curl up in the fetal position and feel sorry for yourself.

i agree...although the "second year QB" does make or break thier chances and we all witnessed that sunday.

[Dr. Trooth]

Sometimes its a good thing to be embarrassed like that, depending on how the team responds. The players, whether they say it in the media or not have to be feeling pretty good about themselves at 4-0.

 

Well... consider it their wake up call then...

 

But... I still think this D does not have the talent... especially in the middle and the one OLB... no LB depth at all... except DiGiorgio. Stroud has not lived up to his billing.

[marauderswr80]

Well everyone thought this team was going 16-0 this year.

[BillsWatch]

Really? Everyone? I can not ever remember thinking a team would go 16-0 in a season, even the Pats* last year.

 

I agree about the depth; depth has talent but is young and smallish. Too bad that Crow decided to have surgery three days before opener in attempt to IMO stay on active roster. How did that work out for him again?

[Jerry Jabber]

Well... consider it their wake up call then...

 

But... I still think this D does not have the talent... especially in the middle and the one OLB... no LB depth at all... except DiGiorgio. Stroud has not lived up to his billing.

 

I don't blame Stroud, he can't play DT & DE at the same time. He's been doing his job of plugging up the middle. Our DE's only have 3 sacks combined in 5 games, that's horrible.

[JimmyPage]

i agree...although the "second year QB" does make or break thier chances and we all witnessed that sunday.

True.

The Bill's turnaround coincides with making Edwards the starter.

[JimmyPage]

I don't blame Stroud, he can't play DT & DE at the same time. He's been doing his job of plugging up the middle. Our DE's only have 3 sacks combined in 5 games, that's horrible.

Pass rush has been nonexistent for years and for some odd reason they handed huge contracts to DEs that can't get any pressure on the QB.

[ChasBB]

I mentioned this in another thread, but also consider that last year the Super Bowl champin New York Giants lost to the Vikings 41-17 (in week 12, no less). Bad days happen. The Giants won the following week.

 

What the Bills do against the Chargers will define this team.

[Buffal0 Bill5]

Well, Arizona seemed to respond to their "wake up call" game with the Jets. The Bills did have some glaring weaknesses, but even had Edwards not been injured, they had an uphill fight on their hands. The Cardinals certainly came in faster, stronger and hitting harder. I think as the season wraps up their record will show that the Cardinals are a pretty good team this year. The Bills just need to come home and take care of the Chargers after the bye. We need to keep things in perspective. We have been waiting a long time for a good season, but it is no call to jump ship after the first loss. One good thing about young players who are not playing great is that they can and do get better. A prime example is Eli Manning. In the middle of last season fans and media alike were ready to run him out of town. Our team is young, be patient.

[marauderswr80]

I seen a few posts here and there saying 16-0 was very possible. I just laughed. We are a 4-1 team. I can see atleast 4 games in the next few weeks that Buffalo can win. If we can win 2 or 3 of the 4, we would be either 6-2 or 7-1. Id take either record.

[BLZFAN4LIFE]

I mentioned this in another thread, but also consider that last year the Super Bowl champin New York Giants lost to the Vikings 41-17 (in week 12, no less). Bad days happen. The Giants won the following week.

 

What the Bills do against the Chargers will define this team.

That will be a big indicator. It just sucks that we have to wait two weeks. I guess the break will allow some players to heal though. What will be more important is that we go through the division after the chargers. @ Mia, H - Jets, and @ NE. With 9 games played and having played all of our div opponents, we'll have a very good indication of where this team stands.

 

During the 4-0 streak, I gave this young team a lot of credit for coming from behind, winning on the road, and closing games out in the 4th quarter. IMO, there is a huge difference between the teams that can do those types of things and those that can't. Sunday's game was a disappointing step backwards (yes, I do realize that you can't win them all) and I hope that it was just a bump in the road and not a sign of things to come.

 

I hope that Dickie J & Co. put the O line through a serious workout over the next 12 days because that is the one area where this team could show significant improvement. IMO, we have one of the best 1-2 running back combinations in the league. Marshawn should be topping 100 yards easily. The fact that he isn't fall directly on the non-existent run blocking. Someone from the coaching staff needs to light a fire under their a5s and get them going!

[JimmyPage]

I mentioned this in another thread, but also consider that last year the Super Bowl champin New York Giants lost to the Vikings 41-17 (in week 12, no less). Bad days happen. The Giants won the following week.

 

What the Bills do against the Chargers will define this team.

Not really.

I'm not trying to stir up anything with what I'm going to say here.

This team is night and day with Edwards at the helm vs the Bills with Losman at QB.

 

We don't even know how long Edwards will be out.

Edwards is still getting improving and this team will be defined much latter in the season with him at QB, if the expensive offensive line can keep him out of the hospital.

[Buffal0 Bill5]

I hope that Dickie J & Co. put the O line through a serious workout over the next 12 days because that is the one area where this team could show significant improvement. IMO, we have one of the best 1-2 running back combinations in the league. Marshawn should be topping 100 yards easily. The fact that he isn't fall directly on the non-existent run blocking. Someone from the coaching staff needs to light a fire under their a5s and get them going!

 

The holdout situation in the offseason hurt this O line, and team badly. They had to plan to play without Peters, and his return has disrupted what little they had going for them. I think having him in will pay off in the long run, but the O-line is still behind the eight ball in trying to come together as a unit.

[quikchomp]

If we had to lose a game, this was definitely the one to lose; a non-conference road game. Won't mess up our conference record for Wild Card tie-breaking purposes, and you never want to lose a home game. AND it's right before the bye, so they have an extra week of preparation in order to determine what types of offensive packages leave their defense exposed. That's clearly what happened Sunday - their scheme was better than ours.

[JimmyPage]

That will be a big indicator. It just sucks that we have to wait two weeks. I guess the break will allow some players to heal though. What will be more important is that we go through the division after the chargers. @ Mia, H - Jets, and @ NE. With 9 games played and having played all of our div opponents, we'll have a very good indication of where this team stands.

 

During the 4-0 streak, I gave this young team a lot of credit for coming from behind, winning on the road, and closing games out in the 4th quarter. IMO, there is a huge difference between the teams that can do those types of things and those that can't. Sunday's game was a disappointing step backwards (yes, I do realize that you can't win them all) and I hope that it was just a bump in the road and not a sign of things to come.

 

I hope that Dickie J & Co. put the O line through a serious workout over the next 12 days because that is the one area where this team could show significant improvement. IMO, we have one of the best 1-2 running back combinations in the league. Marshawn should be topping 100 yards easily. The fact that he isn't fall directly on the non-existent run blocking. Someone from the coaching staff needs to light a fire under their a5s and get them going!

The offensive line has been a serious disapponitment for the money that they spent.

Don't they do their homework before they pick up these free agents?

 

But on the same note Lynch is overrated too.

He's not one of the premier backs in the league from what I have seen.

 

Reality is that the best back we have had since Thurman Thomas is Travis Henry.

[Buffal0 Bill5]

But on the same note Lynch is overrated too.

He's not one of the premier backs in the league from what I have seen.

It's a bit early in his career for this assesment. I think as the O-Line goes, so goes Lynch. He is not a quick slippery back who makes his own opportunity when there is no hole, but with a good run-blocking O-line he could do some major damage. He runs hard. He doesn't stop, and he rarely gets tackled going backwards. If we could evre see a real hole open up and get him into the field going full motor, it would be alot of fun to watch. Most of his yards are all his, just bulling through, when there is nothing. A lesser back would be stopped for a loss, when he gets 2, 3 or 4 yards. I would consider him wasted more than over-rated at this point.

[BLZFAN4LIFE]

It's a bit early in his career for this assesment. I think as the O-Line goes, so goes Lynch. He is not a quick slippery back who makes his own opportunity when there is no hole, but with a good run-blocking O-line he could do some major damage. He runs hard. He doesn't stop, and he rarely gets tackled going backwards. If we could evre see a real hole open up and get him into the field going full motor, it would be alot of fun to watch. Most of his yards are all his, just bulling through, when there is nothing. A lesser back would be stopped for a loss, when he gets 2, 3 or 4 yards. I would consider him wasted more than over-rated at this point.

 

Exactly. He gets his yardage by thrashing for all he's worth with 2 or 3 guys on him. He's constantly getting 3 yard gains where other backs would be stuffed for a loss. If he had holes to hit and could get up to full speed before seeing a LB or corner, then look out!