21 replies to this topic

[Derek in Va]

These past two days since the loss have been terrible as a Bills fan.  I've been just beside myself already cashing this season in.  But today is the first day where I don't have the emotion in me, and after watching the games last night, I think i'm rational enough to talk about it.  The biggest reason's this last game and this season are crap is....

1 - We have a team good enough for the playoffs, but we won't make it.  Elite QB's win you superbowls, but they don't have to get you to the playoffs.  Heck, Dilfer even won one.  For the past 3 years, we've had opportunities to find QB's and Chan, while I respect the loyalty, just puts everything into "his guy".  I'm not going to look back and pick guys who panned out and say "we should have picked him", but we didn't go after anyone.  This is a team that is short in a few areas, but I honestly believe is good enough to make the playoffs with the people on the team.  Even McKelvin, who played the worst game I've ever seen of him, is not as bad as he was on Sunday.

2 - Our team is poorly coached.  Again, if Tomlin was our coach, I think we are in that game or maybe win it.  The Defense was vanilla (which btw scares me that what we saw in preseason is actually our D), and not running the ball and playing the field position game was surprising.  I get that Chan is an "offensive mastermind", and Jerry Jones said he wished he never fired him, welll he never did try to hire him back and once our qb shows he can't handle it, have the sense to change the plan where it's not all on him.  There is no reason that team should have looked the way they did this past week.  It's been 3 years.  This is his team in the way he wanted it.

3 - I'm about to have a kid and am honestly wondering if it's fair to have him/her be a Bills fan.  I know I can't change me, but to give a kid a relationship with a team that only breaks your heart seems like child abuse

4 - This is the first game of the season and half of the teams lost.  They did and half of them will lose again next week.  The difference?  Of the teams that lost, many of them made it close against good team.  The Packers and the Saints could have easily won their games.  We were supposed to be a playoff team this year and even with our schedule, I just don't see it.  And if we do take advantage of the schedule, what will that playoff game even look like?  Look what the Jets did to us.  Imagine playing the Pats, Steelers, Ravens, Broncos, or the Texans?!?

It's one game, I get it.  Will Fitz play that bad again, hopefully not.  Will the D work together better over time, yes.  And if this was a rebuilding year, or the year of a new coach, it would be different.  But this is the time we were told to wait for.  This was the year where we got to see the Nix/Gailey plan take affect.  And I think that most of us were more hyped for this opener than any year in the recent past.  So to see this, is heart wrenching.

Lastly, just for context, my favorite season as a Bills fan is still the year we went 3-13.  Just a bunch of young players, learning together and making the occasional play.  Expectations were non-existent and each win felt was special.  That might sound strange, but that's all I want.  To feel like the team is trying their best with what they have and working towards something.

But maybe that's just me

[taC giB ehT]

I famously stuck by Dicke J--almost to the end. I bailed about four days before we set him free.

Why?

Because his teams never got schlacked like we did Sunday.

Coaching became a huge concern for me Sunday afternoon.

[jumbalaya]

Look the Jets were loaded for bear after the beating they took all off-season.  They were at home and it was opening day.  To me it was very similar to throttling we gave the Pats about ten years ago 31-0.  We have the ability to rebound and get better.  Fitz has the ability to play well, all he has to do is get his head out of his ass.  The Jets probably wont self destruct like we did that year but they may.  We do have enough ability on this team to beat the Jets at the Ralph.  All is not lost, a win next week against Cassel and we will be okay.

[marauderswr80]

I agree coaching has me very worried

[section122]

The Big Cat, on 11 September 2012 - 08:38 AM, said:

I famously stuck by Dicke J--almost to the end. I bailed about four days before we set him free.

Why?

Because his teams never got schlacked like we did Sunday.

Coaching became a huge concern for me Sunday afternoon.

I've been thinking lately that maybe Jauron wasn't as bad as we all thought.  His teams were 7-9,7-9,6-10 and unfortunately since he was let go 6-10 is our high mark.  I think this is what angers me the most about Gailey - he is tricking me into feeling bad for Jauron.
I also have had some time to cool off and am over the doom and gloom I felt Sunday, and here are my feelings.

We don't have very good coaching.  Both Gailey and Wanny were severely out coached.  Last year at least it felt like there were half time adjustments this time it didn't feel like they made any.

This is a passing league yet we don't have a passer.  Gailey gets credit for being a qb guru but his results are extremely limited and long ago.  He never developed a qb in his time at gtech and got some production out of kordell and fiedler.  People are happy because he made them decent he has never made a qb great which to me is what a guru would do (Andy Reid anyone?)

Intensity is sorely lacking.  I won't go as far as the ND announcer about how we need felons but we do need an attitude.  The Jets D punked the Bills O and their o-line punked our vaunted d-line.  I would have accepted a personal foul penalty for any player that would stand up for himself on either side of the ball.

Our Offense.  People can talk all they want about how our O finished 14th but much of that was accomplished in the beginning of the year and during garbage time.  The wr's are not doing a good job of getting separation because the scheme has been figured out around the league.



There is plenty of blame to go around after this beating and most of it lies with the coaching.  Vanilla preseason plan?  Led to the team not being prepared when the bullets started flying.  Practice doesn't make perfect - perfect practice makes perfect.  Vanilla parcatice?  That leads to vanilla performances.
All of this said I'm not ready to write this season off.  Some of these things are correctable and the schedule is pretty forgiving.  Wins in the next 2 weeks are more than possible (KC and Cle should be winnable games) and the tenor around here will change considerably.

[eball]

The Big Cat, on 11 September 2012 - 08:38 AM, said:

I famously stuck by Dicke J--almost to the end. I bailed about four days before we set him free.

Why?

Because his teams never got schlacked like we did Sunday.

Coaching became a huge concern for me Sunday afternoon.

I guess you forgot the Sunday nighter vs. New England?  Most embarrassing Bills' performance on national TV, ever.

[taC giB ehT]

section122, on 11 September 2012 - 08:56 AM, said:

I've been thinking lately that maybe Jauron wasn't as bad as we all thought.  His teams were 7-9,7-9,6-10 and unfortunately since he was let go 6-10 is our high mark.  I think this is what angers me the most about Gailey - he is tricking me into feeling bad for Jauron.
I also have had some time to cool off and am over the doom and gloom I felt Sunday, and here are my feelings.

We don't have very good coaching.  Both Gailey and Wanny were severely out coached.  Last year at least it felt like there were half time adjustments this time it didn't feel like they made any.

This is a passing league yet we don't have a passer.  Gailey gets credit for being a qb guru but his results are extremely limited and long ago.  He never developed a qb in his time at gtech and got some production out of kordell and fiedler.  People are happy because he made them decent he has never made a qb great which to me is what a guru would do (Andy Reid anyone?)

Intensity is sorely lacking.  I won't go as far as the ND announcer about how we need felons but we do need an attitude.  The Jets D punked the Bills O and their o-line punked our vaunted d-line.  I would have accepted a personal foul penalty for any player that would stand up for himself on either side of the ball.

Our Offense.  People can talk all they want about how our O finished 14th but much of that was accomplished in the beginning of the year and during garbage time.  The wr's are not doing a good job of getting separation because the scheme has been figured out around the league.



There is plenty of blame to go around after this beating and most of it lies with the coaching.  Vanilla preseason plan?  Led to the team not being prepared when the bullets started flying.  Practice doesn't make perfect - perfect practice makes perfect.  Vanilla parcatice?  That leads to vanilla performances.
All of this said I'm not ready to write this season off.  Some of these things are correctable and the schedule is pretty forgiving.  Wins in the next 2 weeks are more than possible (KC and Cle should be winnable games) and the tenor around here will change considerably.

Also: the moment we signed Wanny (the first time) I called up my buddy who's a very very knowledgeable and devoted fan of ALL Pittsburgh sports, including Pitt.

He said we should not expect anything exotic, that he doesn't like to blitz, and so on.

Watching the Chargers and Ravens last night, and seeing pressure/sacks come when you bring AT LEAST five players, I'm wondering if Wanny is going to start driving us all nuts sooner rather than later.

I trust Williams and Gilmore to bump/jam for the split second we'd need if we brought Wilson or Byrd on a safety blitz with Moats coming off the edge. I'm not sure why Wanny doesn't (aside from the fact he knows them slightly better than I do )

eball, on 11 September 2012 - 09:11 AM, said:

I guess you forgot the Sunday nighter vs. New England?  Most embarrassing Bills' performance on national TV, ever.

I'll admit, that did come to mind as I was typing that...however...that was in 2007: one of SIXTEEN schlackings that Patriots* team put on their regular season opponents. Hardly a measuring stick, if it must come to it.

[rpmfla]

I purchased the NFL Rewind so I have to wait until Tuesdays to watch the games. I am probably going to watch it tonight (without any drugs or alcohol to numb). Being a Bills fan all my life has been an exercise in masochism. Even the Super Bowl years were painful. I can brag that my team made 4 straight SBs then under my breath I mutter that they lost them all...but should've won one of them.

I am old enought to say I was a fan (as a kid) of the Bills when OJ was great (see, the masochism theme continues!) and Joe Furguson was my favorite QB. They may not have won it all but they were sure fun to watch. I was a fan of the fullback who blocked for OJ but can't recall his name.

Edited by rpmfla, 11 September 2012 - 09:47 AM.

[sandyclam]

I totally agree that the coaching is sub-par.  The team was not prepared.  It wasn't about dropping the first game against the jets.  It was about being destroyed by the Jets.

[CodeMonkey]

Derek in Va, on 11 September 2012 - 08:32 AM, said:

3 - I'm about to have a kid and am honestly wondering if it's fair to have him/her be a Bills fan.  I know I can't change me, but to give a kid a relationship with a team that only breaks your heart seems like child abuse

I myself have 3 kids who have never seen a good Bills team, but they are Bills fans.  They go to camp at SJF almost every day (they have a good Bills fan mother as well ), wear their jerseys etc. proudly on Sundays and to school, go to the kids day game every year, and watch as much as they can stand on Sundays with me.  I would not have it any other way.  Trust me, if the Bills do ever turn it around, and particularly if they manage to win it all, you will want to be able to celebrate it with your kid(s) !

Edited by CodeMonkey, 11 September 2012 - 10:54 AM.

[bills chin]

eball, on 11 September 2012 - 09:11 AM, said:

I guess you forgot the Sunday nighter vs. New England?  Most embarrassing Bills' performance on national TV, ever.

i remember that game and didn´t hurt me like  the sunday game

Edited by bills chin, 11 September 2012 - 11:03 AM.

[taC giB ehT]

bills chin, on 11 September 2012 - 10:59 AM, said:

i remember that game and didn´t hurt me like  the sunday game

Right--while we managed to do it last year to KC and four years ago to Seattle--it's not often a team gets caught with its pants around its ankles in week one.

[KD in CT]

2 days later......the fires are still burning....it's apparent there will be no more survivors.....we are just beginning to emerge from the shock and fully comprehend the destruction......things will never be the same......


Oh sorry, been watching those damn 9-11 shows again.

[bowery4]

The Big Cat, on 11 September 2012 - 09:15 AM, said:

Also: the moment we signed Wanny (the first time) I called up my buddy who's a very very knowledgeable and devoted fan of ALL Pittsburgh sports, including Pitt.

He said we should not expect anything exotic, that he doesn't like to blitz, and so on.

Watching the Chargers and Ravens last night, and seeing pressure/sacks come when you bring AT LEAST five players, I'm wondering if Wanny is going to start driving us all nuts sooner rather than later.

I trust Williams and Gilmore to bump/jam for the split second we'd need if we brought Wilson or Byrd on a safety blitz with Moats coming off the edge. I'm not sure why Wanny doesn't (aside from the fact he knows them slightly better than I do )



I'll admit, that did come to mind as I was typing that...however...that was in 2007: one of SIXTEEN schlackings that Patriots* team put on their regular season opponents. Hardly a measuring stick, if it must come to it.

We blitzed about 5 or 6 times in preseason, jfyi so he does do it on occasion

rpmfla, on 11 September 2012 - 09:46 AM, said:

I purchased the NFL Rewind so I have to wait until Tuesdays to watch the games. I am probably going to watch it tonight (without any drugs or alcohol to numb). Being a Bills fan all my life has been an exercise in masochism. Even the Super Bowl years were painful. I can brag that my team made 4 straight SBs then under my breath I mutter that they lost them all...but should've won one of them.

I am old enought to say I was a fan (as a kid) of the Bills when OJ was great (see, the masochism theme continues!) and Joe Furguson was my favorite QB. They may not have won it all but they were sure fun to watch. I was a fan of the fullback who blocked for OJ but can't recall his name.

Jim Braxston who died in the mid 80s

[1billsfan]

The Big Cat, on 11 September 2012 - 08:38 AM, said:

I famously stuck by Dicke J--almost to the end. I bailed about four days before we set him free.

Why?

Because his teams never got schlacked like we did Sunday.

Coaching became a huge concern for me Sunday afternoon.

Really??????...LOL

Dick "Fraidy Cat" Jauron's record with the Bills of losing by twenty or more points...


2006
Bills/Bears 7-40
Bills/Pats 6-28
Bills/Dolphins 0-21

2007
Bills/Steelers 3-26
Bills/Pats 7-38
Bills/Pats 10-56

2008
Bills/Cards 17-41

2009
Bills/Saints 7-27
Bills/Dolphins 10-38
Bills/Texans 10-31
Bills/Titans 17-41

I'm not defending Gailey, but I don't ever want to see this Jauron revisionist history crap again! He was a chicken**** coach and one of the worst this league has ever seen. He was Rich Kotite bad.

As for a new coach, I want Perry Fewell as our next head coach if Gailey doesn't pull his head out of his you-know-where. Let's get Perry back here, he had a great feel for being a head coach and he's young and could build with a young team. This organization isn't getting a huge name and Fewell would probably be interested in taking the job.

[DE Bills Fan]

I purchased the NFL Rewind so I have to wait until Tuesdays to watch the games. I am probably going to watch it tonight (without any drugs or alcohol to numb). Being a Bills fan all my life has been an exercise in masochism. Even the Super Bowl years were painful. I can brag that my team made 4 straight SBs then under my breath I mutter that they lost them all...but should've won one of them.

I am old enought to say I was a fan (as a kid) of the Bills when OJ was great (see, the masochism theme continues!) and Joe Furguson was my favorite QB. They may not have won it all but they were sure fun to watch. I was a fan of the fullback who blocked for OJ but can't recall his name.

Mine as well. The other RB was Jim Braxton. That was a fun team to watch on Offense, although not much Defense during those years

[Sisyphean Bills]

Think Nix could talk Rod Marinelli into the gig?

(Actually, it might not be such a bad idea.  Paradoxically, the way he was able to burn the Lions completely to the ground has actually helped them turn the franchise around.)

[San Jose Bills Fan]

After the meltdown in the second half of last season, I became worried about the coaching. Yes there were lots of injuries but a good coach wouldn't let his team fall apart like the Bills did, IMO.

The question I've posited before is whether Nix would fire Gailey.

Personally I believe that Nix has the nad to fire Gailey… and he might have to in order to save his own skin.

Donahoe had two hires so maybe Nix might have one more chance. I believe that the talent on hand is pretty good (not great) but good enough to win with. I think the talent level is good enough that the Head Coaching job would be attractive to more candidates than it was when Gailey was hired.

However the uncertainty surrounding future ownership of the Bills might mitigate that.

[taC giB ehT]

San Jose Bills Fan, on 11 September 2012 - 09:57 PM, said:

After the meltdown in the second half of last season, I became worried about the coaching. Yes there were lots of injuries but a good coach wouldn't let his team fall apart like the Bills did, IMO.

The question I've posited before is whether Nix would fire Gailey.

Personally I believe that Nix has the nad to fire Gailey… and he might have to in order to save his own skin.

Donahoe had two hires so maybe Nix might have one more chance. I believe that the talent on hand is pretty good (not great) but good enough to win with. I think the talent level is good enough that the Head Coaching job would be attractive to more candidates than it was when Gailey was hired.

However the uncertainty surrounding future ownership of the Bills might mitigate that.

I think Nix would and will fire Gailey, if the situation warrants. But, mid-season, who replaces him? Wanny? Modkins? DeHaven? Would any new hire, internal or external, be another house-clean? Or would we stay on our current trajectory? Does hiring a new coach automatically entail a change in tactical philosophy?

My answers:

Don't know.
May be.
Probably not.
Possibly.
I doubt it.
I hope so, more likely if Nix stays around.
No, but I'm starting to think we need someone with a bigger, badder swinging honker--a younger guy who takes his men to task.

[LiterateStylish]

Derek in Va, on 11 September 2012 - 08:32 AM, said:

Lastly, just for context, my favorite season as a Bills fan is still the year we went 3-13.

That has to be the oddest thing ive ever read.