Nihilarian

We all saw this same look on Rex Ryan's face in 2014 2x on the NY Jets sideline as the Bills blew them out. He looked lost then and he looked lost against the Raiders as his team gets blown out after having a 15 point lead. 24-9 and his defensive did a nose dive into the turf by playing a prevent defense for the remainder of the game. The offense suddenly stopped running and forced a running QB to make plays with his arm in the pocket. The worst part of the offense was calling a pass play on first and ten from the Bills own four-yard line. I mean who the eff calls that crap? Any other NFL team no matter how bad they are at least attempts to run it three times to give both the QB or punter room to breathe. If you read the article the owners are "all in" on the excuse train and they just aren't football savvy enough to see that the whole thing needs to be blown up. From the trainers, scouts, doctors, GM and HC. Nothing changes if the owners keep making the choice for the HC.

Vic did nail it! The now 10-2 Oakland Raiders that were 3-13 in 2014! and they weren't afraid to change coaching staffs along the way with 6 different HCes until they finally found a good one in Jack Del Rio who was hired by Oakland the day after Buffalo hired Rex Ryan. The Bills defense held that vaunted Raiders offense to just 3 FG's in the first half and then went into a prevent shell half way through the third quarter and the same with the offense. Buffalo was out coached and out played in that Raiders game pure and simple. This game should be a wake-up call for the owners. It looks like they jumped on the excuse bandwagon, though.

It all starts at the very top of the org in that this team is in desperate need of a team president of football operations. Someone that has enough NFL football acumen to know who to hire as GM, as HC, as trainers and a decent doctor This new owner is more than rich enough to hire the very best NFL advisers / headhunters to advise him as to who to hire as team president of football operations. Then the owner should stand back and let the man fix this franchise! Even if this team traded for one of the elite franchise QB's it isn't going to change the ineptitude of the GM not bringing in equal or better players when the team loses a player. Example, It took three years to replace LG Andy Levitre and even then it was because the new HC vouched for a previously suspended player. Rex Ryan also chased OG La'el Collins who now plays for the Cowboys and that would be a huge upgrade for the line. Another example is losing WR Chris Hogan to the Patriots who already had a very solid receiving corps. Speaking of the Patriots they also traded for star TE Martellus Bennett from the Bears. Plus they drafted a WR in the 4th round who is starting to make an impact. Obtaining an elite franchise QB isn't going to fix the defense or find scouts that can actually properly evaluate college, NFL talent to find those quality draft picks and FA players. A new QB isn't going to fix the injury problems or the team doctors giving the okay to draft injured players.

It was placed in context as to what QB's the Bills had beaten in 2014. There is no question that Schwartz's scheme held the team that went to the SB that year and Tom Brady the second time around to three FG's while beating them in New England! My take is old Bill pulled Brady in that second half so he wouldn't get injured as that vaunted Patriots offense wasn't doing much anyway. Oh, wait! The 2016 Buffalo Bills beat the Patriots in New England too...only they didn't face either Brady or Garoppolo. They faced an injured rookie, 3rd string QB who went on IR after that game. The point remains. Rex Ryan's defense isn't very good and now can't even slow down the better QB's with a winning record. So far this year the only teams the Buffalo Bills have beaten are the bad teams or a good team with an injured rookie QB. Ryan's defensive scheme is outdated and no longer works against a quality opponent. Looks like Rex will be fired after this season unless he pulls off a miracle and manages to beat the Steelers and Dolphins.

Speaking of that 2014 Buffalo Bills Jim Schwartz defense while considering all the freaking excuses for Rex Ryan's defense. Let's look at two factors. That 2014 defense managed to be #4 overall in the NFL with virtually NO RUN GAME for the majority of the season! (579 passing attempts vs 402 rushing attempts) The Bills started with a good run game in the first two weeks of that 2014 season and then went pass happy nearly every game by asking the QB to throw almost 40 times a game. Now imagine if that year the Bills had an effective ground game that could control the clock and keep the opposing defense off balance. It would more than likely have been far better than #4 overall. The next fact to consider is what QB's the Bills faced and beaten the last two years versus that 2014 season. Beaten, Jay Cutler 5-10, Ryan Tannehill 8-8, Matthew Stafford 11-5, Teddy Bridgewater 6-6, Mike Vick 1-2, Geno Smith 3-10 2x, Brian Hoyer 7-6, Aaron Rodgers 12-4, (Rodgers also won the MVP this season passing for 38 TD's with 5 INT's) Buffalo held Rodgers to 17 of 42 for 185 yards, NO TD's, 2 INT's! a 34.3 rate! wow! The Bills lost to the Broncos, but Peyton Manning 12-4 (Manning also threw for 4727 yards and 39 TD's this year) Buffalo held him to 14 of 20 for 173 yards,NO TD's 2 INTs, a 56.9 rate!! The 2014 Buffalo Bills also beat New England in the last game of the season limiting Patriots QB Tom Brady 8 of 16 for 80 yards, no TD's, no INT's in the first half a 64.6 rating! and he was pulled for Garoppolo who went 10 of 17 for 90 yards, no TD's, no INT's. Bottom line here is that Schwartz's defense beat some great QB's and did it with almost no run game,and he did it with McKelvin at CB! Which is something that Ryan's defense can't win without having a strong, effective run game. Ryan's defense also hasn't beaten a QB with a winning record in two years in Buffalo, save Brian Hoyer. Ryan's defense has yet to win a game this year against a QB with a winning record.

Blake Bortles W, Derek Carr, L, so now 6-6. Still awaiting this year's defense to beat a team that has a QB with a winning record. To those that keep wailing on about how one lost to safety to IR in week 7 that ruined the entire defense this year needs to remember what happened in week two this season. That Buffalo Bills defense was dominated by a what we now know is a very crappy 3-9 NY Jets offense to the tune of 493 yards given up. Jets QB Ryan Fitzpasspick threw for an astonishing 374 yards with one TD and no INT's and he was only sacked once. Jets RB Mate Forte rushed for 100 yards and had 3 rushing TD's. To any that claim it was all the Bills offenses fault need to recall that Bills QB's threw for 307 yards, and 3 passing TD's this game. The Bills offense scored 31 points this game. The NY Jets scored on their first four possessions of the game. Granted the team didn't run the ball well in this game and the OC was fired after the game because of it. Now the entire world knows that if the Bills can't run the ball successfully it slows their offense and the defense isn't nearly as effective too. A one-dimensional offense and a one-dimensional defense that if you stop one aspect of the team it holds back the entire team's chances of winning. So, everything is dependent on the run game being effective and then at times the team stops running the ball while calling more passing plays and everyone wonders why the team lost the game. I'd say this style of coaching philosophy isn't working very well...or even very smart.

While I get putting the QB under a microscope helps give fans insight into what the QB is doing in a game. Bills fans need to be reminded that there is far more to it than just the QB play. Football is a game of emotion and all the momentum went to the Raiders starting halfway through that 3rd quarter. They had been dropping passes and making mistakes up until this point and suddenly they became very focused as a team. The Buffalo Bills play calling started to become ineffective as the team went through some very quick three downs and out. That first series after that Raiders 9 play,75-yard drive for a TD in 3:44 that Bills run game just stopped being effective. Look at the series of events that caused the entire offense to stumble. 1st and 10 at Buffalo 14, 1st play, shotgun direct snap to LeSean McCoy for 6 yards and he is injured on the play. 2nd and 4 at Buffalo 20, 2nd play, shotgun direct snap to Mike Gillislee, up the middle for no gain. 3rd and 4 at Buffalo 20, 3rd play, shotgun snap to TT, pass incomplete to Watkins (Raiders #51 in TT's face) My thoughts are, knowing that now the Raiders will be bringing a strong pass rush at Tyrod Taylor at this point why not change the focus off the QB and call a shotgun draw play or screen, anything that will cause misdirection as the Raiders are now hell bent on pass rushing the QB. The next series went three downs and out again for Buffalo. 1st and 10 from Buffalo 25, 1st play, shotgun, McCoy left guard for 2 yards. 2nd and 8 from Buffalo 27, 2nd play, shotgun, Taylor deep right incomplete to Christian 3rd and 8 from the Buffalo 27, 3rd play, shotgun Taylor pass incomplete to O' leary (Mills gives up pressure to Mack) Again, one run play that is ineffective for 2 yards and the OC calls two pass plays. This is a "run first" team! So the Bills OC needs to find a way to get the run game working to make a first down rather than allowing the Raiders to focus pass rushing on the QB. Also, we know that Mills is a turnstile at RT at times so get him some help in chipping on Khalil Mack! This is twice now that Mack has disrupted that third down pass to go three and out. The next series the Bills are at the Buffalo four yard line and taking a snap from shotgun puts the QB four yards deep in their own end zone. This is where I really take exception with the Buffalo Bills play calling as 90% of NFL teams will call a run play that deep in their own end zone to attempt to give the QB some breathing room. I look at this game and see pure coaching failure! I see failure in getting help to block Khalil effectively as if this didn't happen over and over against the Raiders in 2014 too. Henderson was beaten like a salvation army drum that game by Mack and nobody on the team can remember this, even if it was a different coaching staff. I mean this loss did keep the Bills from the playoffs that year. Again, the 2016 Buffalo Bills are a "run first" team so why put the focal point of the offense to win on the shoulders of a QB the entire world knows is a very limited pocket QB!! This with depleted reciving corps. Sammy still hurt, no Robert Woods, no Charles Clay, and the rest are scrubs. Some fans are clamoring for Lynn to be the Bills next HC...I'm not one of those fans.

If Wrex Ryan and Doogie are still here expect the first three picks to be defensive players ...with only the first pick being of any actual use.

Jebus why the Jets cast off again? There was a real reason why Buffalo got rid of Ryan Fitzpasspick. Effing Romo who is a choker in the playoffs and gets injured for half a season two years in a row behind the best line in the league. He wouldn't survive a game throwing to the glass reverivers in Buffalo with a turnstile at RT!! Jay Cutler is a pass happy gunslinger who takes far too many chances and couldn't win with Brandon Marshall, Matt Forte, and Martellus Bennett. NO THANKS TO ALL THOSE SCRUBS! Jacksonville is probably going to give up on Blake Bortles and given a real NFL QB coach and real NFL OC he will probably regain his 2015 passing form. Only this time build a power run game and stoutO-line and this kid could be the real deal. Is it any wonder why he sucks so bad this year with Nathanial Hackett as first his QB coach and now OC.

The thing is that not much changes unless this new owner makes changes in the entire org from the top down. Terry Pegula has already proven that he, Brandon and Whaley don't have a clue who to hire as HC. Whaley has no clue who to draft for the QB position and neither do any of the current Bills scouts. The team's doctors and trainers suck big time to keep drafting injured players and keep having long lists of players getting injured during the season. This new owner has more than enough money to hire the best advisers in the NFL to guide him to hire a new team president of football operations with enough acumen to know which GM, scouts, HC, doctors, trainers, players to build a winning franchise.

Thanks for the insight. I don't care what this new owner does with Brandon as long as the guy is moved as far away from any football decisions as possible. This franchise needs a solid experienced NFL man at the top of the org so it stops spinning it's wheels every year. It's time to blow up the whole thing and bring in a new football team president who has enough NFL knowledge and experience to hire the right scouts, GM, HC, trainers, doctors to set this franchise in the right direction. No more excuses as this owner is one of the richest in the league and he can afford to hire the best.

man O man, it looks like the Jets didn't think Luck would play because of his concussion...or they are just that bad. Either way, I'm just happy they don't have a franchise QB just like Buffalo.

Still on the Tyrod crusade I see. Hey, old school, how old are you? Are cataracts blinding you to the other aspects of the game besides the QB position? AFAIK Tyrod wasn't the one to decide to go with a 3 man pass rush while playing in a prevent type defense that the world knows won't stop anyone. It is designed to stop the quick big play and not as a resort to use for a quarter and a half. Particularly when the Raiders offense goes 75 yards in 9 plays in 3:44. The Bills DC should have opted for something else to slow down that offense...like going back to what worked in the first half of the game. What freaking idiot called for a pass play with the Bills offense at their own 4-yard line so the QB takes the shotgun snap in his own endzone? This with a turnstile at RT attempting to block a premier rushing LBer in Khalil Mack! Here is a maverick idea, have the run first team actually run the ball from that point on the field like 99% of the other NFL teams do to give the QB some breathing room. (Lynn for HC of some other team) Those 38 points the Raiders scored are the most they have scored on any defense all season. "Carucci noted that Ryan looked "absolutely dumbfounded" during his postgame press conference, still stunned by a defense that gave up 29 unanswered points over the final 19 minutes of play." http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000751772/article/buffalo-bills-in-shock-after-collapse-in-oakland I remember that look as we all saw it when Ryan was on the sidelines at the end of two blowout losses to the Buffalo Bills in 2014. The 2016 Bills defense is looking decent stat wise because they have beaten only losing QB's and have yet to beat a team with a QB with a winning record. However, I still contend that it was an entire team effort in losing this game as the offense, defense, special teams all stunk it up at the end of the game.

If I'm the owner I'd crap can the entire thing, GM, coaches, and some high priced players along with some scouts. I'd hire that senior adviser, advisers to help find a team president with an actual NFL long term winning background and let him do the hiring and have all the football side accountability. The owner with no prior NFL experience shouldn't be doing the hiring of any sort on the football side. That's even with a GM with limited NFL experience and a baseball guy pretending to be an NFL adviser.

C'mon man, new to football, really? I admitted that the Bills QB had a hand in the loss to the Raiders and I also think the coaches and defense played their stinky parts too. It was the failure of the entire Buffalo Bills team once they lost the momentum of the game halfway through the third quarter. The offense, defense, special team along with the coaches all stunk it up. I don't know which is more comical. The Bills fans that refuse to contain their hate for the QB or the fan that can't contain his love for Rex Ryan.

It should be a death sentence being down 26-9 for a team going against a team with the #2 sacking defense in the league, with the #2 player in getting sacks. Exactly how many times did the Bills sack Derek Carr?

He did those basic things very well up until the middle of the 3rd QTR when the Raiders shut down the run game and started forcing the Bills to throw. I contend the Bills offensive coaches should have found a way to keep moving the chains with the run game. ie, coaches! The offense failed... the QB failed! The defense failed... the pass rush failed! The special teams! The coaches failed! The entire team failed! Those facts won't deter your focus on the QB though!

Very well put! The Rex Ryan fanboys want to blame the offense. The QB haters want to blame the QB too. The reality is this team's defense has only beaten teams with bad QB's. The 2016 Buffalo Bills have yet to beat a QB with a winning record. They still face the Steelers 7-5 and Dolphins 7-5. At 6-6 with 4 games to go against two winners, two losers the end result will probably be 8-8...again.

Dude, you simply cannot stop defending one of the worst head coaches this team has had in years. His defensive scheme stinks and no great QB is going to change the fact that with the #2 defense in sacks and the #2 player in getting sacks the defense could not get any pass rush on the Raiders QB to even slow him down in the second half! I'd call it a definite Bromance between you and Rex Ryan! Or stop defending him as this was an entire team loss, offense, defense and special teams let down in the second half. That...says...coaching! The QB is a major issue no question. The team's coaches know the man's limitations in throwing the ball and yet have no qualms about forcing him to do that when the run game falters. I put the offensive failure to move the chains against the 30th ranked raiders defense squarely on the coaching staff as that Bills offense put up 24 points in the first three-quarters! LeSean McCoy 7.6 yards per rush, Mike Gillilsee 6.1 yards per rush.The Buffalo run game averaging 7.1 yards per carry against the Raiders 1st QTR Bills, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, Mccoy run, FG 3-0 2nd QTR Bills, Run, pass, Run, pass, Run, Run, Run, Run, Run, Run, Run TD 10-9 at the half. 9 runs vs 2 passes to score a TD! 2nd QTR Bills, Pass, run, run, sack, run, pass, PUNT. 2nd QTR Bills, Run, pass, penalty, run, run, run, pass, PUNT. 3rd QTR Bills, Run, Run, TD! 3rd QTR Bills, Pass, pass, pass, run, run, pass, run, pass, pass, run, run, TD! nice combination of both passing and running to score. Now suddenly 3 basic 3 and outs for the Bills. 3rd QTR Bills, run, run, pass PUNT - ineffective series because on 3rd and 4 the Bills can't make a first down by throwing. 3rd QTR Bills, pass, run, penalty, pass, PUNT. 4th QTR Bills, Run, pass, pass, PUNT. 4th QTR Bills, Taylor throwing from the Bills own end zone has his arm hit as he throws, INT! Why not run the ball to give the QB some room to throw? 4th QTR Bills, pass, pass, run, pass, pass, SACK, pass, pass, run, run, pass, pass, Penalty, pass, SACK-FUMBLE! 4th QTR Bills, pass, pass, pass, end of game. I have issues with the team attempting to force a QB who is a running QB to suddenly become a pocket QB to win the game. In my view coaches fault. No, I'm not giving Taylor a pass here because he stunk. But then we all know he stinks when attempting to win a game with his arm! What's more is his coaches also know this and yet force him to try to win it with his arm. Why no draw play, no end around, no wildcat on third down. Let EJ throw the GD thing if he comes in at QB. The Bills offense went into a shell and they paid for it. The defense went into a shell and they paid for it. It was an entire team failure halfway through the 3rd quarter, the players, the coaches, the game plan all stunk it up!

What will keeping Rex Ryan a 3rd year accomplish? More frustration for the fan base!! As someone else said the team won't find a top QB in the draft because they need those first three picks for the defense again this year. Even if the current Buffalo Bills scouts could properly evaluate a college player at QB who is to say the GM would want to draft him? Look at all the QB's the Bills passed on because they took EJ. Derek Carr was a second rounder and now looking like a great pocket passing elite franchise QB. Too bad the Bills were so busy trading up for a glass WR that they could have stayed at #9 and taken all pro's LBer Anthony Barr, WR Odell Beckham Jr, DT Aaron Doland, OG Zack Martin, LBer CJ Mosley and traded up for QB's Carr or Bridgewater. If I'm Terry Pegula I'd blow up this entire org and hire a team president that knows who to hire as quality scouts, coaches, trainers, doctors. Anything else is just the same old refried crap.

I agree the team was bad both the sides of the ball in the second half! Some Bills fans can't stop with the Rex Ryan bromance and others can't stop the hate for the QB. and good coaching staff!

Stay the course with hate the QB crusade...it really is getting old! The Bills coaches screwed this game in the second half on both offense and defense.

Marrone wouldn't return with Whaley, Brandon still in charge and is the reason the guy walked away in the first place.

I like Lynn a ton! He has made the transition from RB's coach to OC really well so far. I"d like to see him as OC a bit more than just one partial season. Yet, I'd rather the Bills not hire another new head coach with such a steep learning curve in being an NFL HC. Who is the DC and OC? If the Bills have to hire a new to the NFL HC I would rather see someone like Kyle Shanahan, http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/10/06/kyle-shanahan-nfl-coaching-carousel-list-notebook Also, looking at what Redskins OC Sean McVay has done with Kirk Cousins, http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/08/02/nfl-washington-sean-mcvay-offensive-coordinator-head-coach-kirk-cousins-jay-gruden It's like McVay is more like Jon Gruden than Jay Gruden is. That Washington offense is #9 in points and #2 in yards. Should the team look for someone with actual NFL experience I'd say Tom Coughlin, Bill Cowher, Jim Schwartz, Mike Smith.

THIS! The Bills defense played great in the first half in holding that vaunted Raiders offense to 3 FG's and then fell apart in the second half with that no pass rush on the QB defense. As soon as the Raiders saw that the Bills had stopped running and were going to throw more they let Khalil Mack run right through the Bills turnstile at RT.