yungmack Posted June 14, 2012 Posted June 14, 2012 Ain't that the truth...a little positive attention and BLAM! All of our guys suddenly lost focus and cracked their own ribs, tore their own ACLs, broke their own legs, and just generally stopped caring for their own health and well-being. Top Ten!
Dorkington Posted June 15, 2012 Posted June 15, 2012 The way people are talking this offseason is like we are already a lock for the playoffs. Season needs to start, I'm tired of it, we haven't earned anything. I want to see our guys on the field actually winning games.
eball Posted June 15, 2012 Posted June 15, 2012 The way people are talking this offseason is like we are already a lock for the playoffs. Season needs to start, I'm tired of it, we haven't earned anything. I want to see our guys on the field actually winning games. Do you have these comments permanently posted in your clipboard, so you can just open each thread and hit "Ctrl V?"
Dorkington Posted June 15, 2012 Posted June 15, 2012 Do you have these comments permanently posted in your clipboard, so you can just open each thread and hit "Ctrl V?" My apologies for posting on this forum.
eball Posted June 15, 2012 Posted June 15, 2012 My apologies for posting on this forum. Oh, don't get your nose out of joint. You have to admit, you say this a lot.
Dorkington Posted June 15, 2012 Posted June 15, 2012 Oh, don't get your nose out of joint. You have to admit, you say this a lot. And you have to admit, we're doing a lot of self congratulating before we've even seen one result. Don't you think fans and the media are getting ahead of themselves? Maybe I'm too much of a "don't count your chickens before they hatch" guy. I think we definitely could be good, but it seems like there is way too much "we *are* in the top x yz" etc. I'll try to do better to ignore it and provide more insightful and thoughtful posts like much of our population here.
stinky finger Posted June 15, 2012 Posted June 15, 2012 And you have to admit, we're doing a lot of self congratulating before we've even seen one result. Don't you think fans and the media are getting ahead of themselves? Maybe I'm too much of a "don't count your chickens before they hatch" guy. I think we definitely could be good, but it seems like there is way too much "we *are* in the top x yz" etc. yes
Meathead Posted June 15, 2012 Author Posted June 15, 2012 And you have to admit, we're doing a lot of self congratulating before we've even seen one result. exactly pro team psyche can be very fragile and at the highest levels its one of the key elements that determines wins or losses. even a mediocre team can get hot, get confident, and ride that all the way to a title, just like the giants and the kings just have. conversely, a loaded team can lose their edge and clutch their sticks/bats/turf so hard they cant get out of their own way and bumble themselves onto the golf course for the playoffs i sure hope the leaders on this team start shouting from the rooftops that they have to tune out the accolades, remember everybody is good in the nfl, keep their heads down, and let their wins be their only crowing
stinky finger Posted June 15, 2012 Posted June 15, 2012 exactly pro team psyche can be very fragile and at the highest levels its one of the key elements that determines wins or losses. even a mediocre team can get hot, get confident, and ride that all the way to a title, just like the giants and the kings just have. conversely, a loaded team can lose their edge and clutch their sticks/bats/turf so hard they cant get out of their own way and bumble themselves onto the golf course for the playoffs i sure hope the leaders on this team start shouting from the rooftops that they have to tune out the accolades, remember everybody is good in the nfl, keep their heads down, and let their wins be their only crowing While I agree with this, there are those that would have you believe you're not as good a fan as they are because of this view.
Fan in San Diego Posted June 15, 2012 Posted June 15, 2012 They need to learn how to handle some positive attention and still deliver.
Meathead Posted June 15, 2012 Author Posted June 15, 2012 While I agree with this, there are those that would have you believe you're not as good a fan as they are because of this view. meh i deal with that all the time on tons of topics they dont call me 'welcome to pwngville' for nuthin. and by they i mean me
Rocky Landing Posted June 15, 2012 Posted June 15, 2012 misery loves company has absolutely nothing to do with it. thats not my modus operandi, never has been, never will its about focus and desperation. sports is chock full of stories of teams that get a lot of attention and then crumble under their own expectations. in fact, this is much more the norm than the exception. its human nature to feel some satisfaction when people are talking you up, and at the highest level of professional sports it only takes a tiny edge to mean the difference between winning and losing. to a young team on the rise like the bills if it isnt put in check it definitely has the potential to set them up for overconfidence and destroying their psyche when things start to go wrong as they always do for every team i can virtually guarantee you that most of the comments here are from young males who dont know the difference between healthy confidence and delusional self adulation. its no coincidence that the good coaches and mature team leaders who are consistently successful praise the abilities of their opponents and keep the team reminded they have to keep their feet on the ground to maintain every tiny bit of edge they can get. of course they have to have a reasonable level of confidence, but a mature professional understands where that line is and manages to it. quite frankly, i dont see that happening right now with this team. it still early but it has to start soon and be hammered into their heads every chance they get so that every single practice is conducted with an edge of desperation so that they wring every ounce of focus they can at every turn. the last thing they need is to have back slapping sessions based on kipers latest fkg tweets of love do i even have to mention the recent highly painful examples we are all familiar with? the last three seasons the sabres were touted as cup contenders and twice missed the playoffs entirely. it was only after they ѕhit the bed badly and started sweating buckets that they started winning. ive already mentioned recent bills failures - do you think it was pure coincidence that immediately following stevie johnsons reckless assertion 'why not the bills' prior to the first jets beatdown it started a spiral of scared play and ugly losses? sure, they had a lot of injuries, but they also played scared and defeated most of the time immediately after that first jets pounding. do you really think going into that game with stevie proclaiming they could challenge any team for a superbowl berth didnt have cascading effects when the jets smashed them in the mouth on national tv? negro please youre sticking your head in the sand if you think all this gushing cant have a negative impact. i want to hear more of the veteran leadership on this team coming out and specifically addressing this. weve heard a smattering of 'we havent dont anything yet', but not nearly enough to counter what has been an increasing tide of ball riding in the media. just as stevie set up horrible psychological factors by proudly beating his chest and proclaiming last seasons bills were just as capable as the jets (a ridiculous assertion considering the massive difference in recent and extensive playoff experience), not actively managing the hype by continually bringing the squad back to the reality that they havent done anything yet could have devastating consequences when the inevitable struggles start to creep in players like fitz and barnett and wilson and yes now stevie need to be much more vocal about not listening to the hype, keeping their heads down, and concentrating on earning the headlines with wins. history has proven time and again if they dont do that they will unravel once the inevitable adversity hits. once that happens, you almost never recover in time, and more often are on the road to devastating and embarrassing disappointment you would think i didnt need to tell a buffalo sports fan about that now that i have sufficiently undressed the preposterous crowing going on in here, how bout we all go for mighty tacos I'm sorry, but that post is way too long for me to read.
Mini Max Anderson Fan Posted June 15, 2012 Posted June 15, 2012 Ain't that the truth...a little positive attention and BLAM! All of our guys suddenly lost focus and cracked their own ribs, tore their own ACLs, broke their own legs, and just generally stopped caring for their own health and well-being. Always a sarcastic, yet interesting way to get your idea across, always enjoy them, eball.
Rocky Landing Posted June 16, 2012 Posted June 16, 2012 too bad cuz its brilliant It's not brilliant. It's silly. And, btw, I did in fact read the post. My comment was sarcastic. I simply meant that the thread is a waste of time. Are you actually suggesting that the "veteran leadership on this team" stand up in front of the press and counter the praise we've received in the media? To what end? Maybe you didn't read your post. You wrote: "players like fitz and barnett and wilson and yes now stevie need to be much more vocal about not listening to the hype..." That's hilarious. I can just see Fitz standing in front of a microphone, "hey guys, don't believe the hype, we're not that good!" And, I would love for you to give one example of ANY player saying or doing anything that would qualify as "delusional self adulation." The praise that the Bills have received has been well deserved. To say that "everybody and their mother framing the bills offseason as the best in the nfl," is an exaggeration. There are several other teams that pundits are citing as having the best offseason including the Patriots (Steve Wyche). Many believe that Tampa Bay has had the best offseason, and I would agree. GO BILLS!
Hapless Bills Fan Posted June 16, 2012 Posted June 16, 2012 im just now starting to be able to erase from my memory the awful dickball epic collapse. and of course we only have to look back at last season to see this team doesnt handle positive attention well can we please go back to being just one of the pack. at least until a few real games are under our belt. heck, even then id rather be running under the radar I understand what you're saying. I think one of the differences this year, is that previous praise was based on...I'm not sure what it was based on. A young team over-achieving last year, compensating for its lack of pass rush and poor run defense? Two warriors playing wounded, who couldn't stay in the season? High hopes for draft choices who didn't pan out (Maybin etc?) This year, it seems more grounded, as long as guys stay healthy. We have veterans who are used to winning, 2nd year guys who are the "real deal" like Dareus. They aren't going to choke under expectations. They have the same expectations of themselves. About the only guys I would label "risks" are TJ Graham, and I don't think we're counting on him for a huge role this year, he's "nice to have" not "must have".
Meathead Posted June 16, 2012 Author Posted June 16, 2012 (edited) like i said, nothing wrong with confidence, but it has to be seriously tempered with a healthy respect for opponents and the authentic realization that actual results are the only accomplishment you should ever allow the focus to be on just ask the sabres how valuable preseason accolades are Edited June 16, 2012 by Meathead
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