Bills sleepwalking

[WhiskyBreath]

The Bills are getting into the habit of sleepwalking through games.  They often seem to lack the desire to compete and win.  But, when they do, they play as one of the best teams in the league.  The coaches seem generally ineffective in getting them pumped up.

[Sierra Foothills]

10 minutes ago, WhiskyBreath said:

The Bills are getting into the habit of sleepwalking through games.  They often seem to lack the desire to compete and win.  But, when they do, they play as one of the best teams in the league.  The coaches seem generally ineffective in getting them pumped up.

 

Why do I feel you've been drinking?

 

[WhiskyBreath]

I have.  My morning Joe....

[NewEra]

5 minutes ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

Why do I feel you've been drinking?

 

[GunnerBill]

I don't think they are struggling to "get pumped up" I do think there are a few things at play here:

 

1. They have not been starting games well this year on either side of the ball - Miami game (defense) and Jacksonville game (offense) excepted. I think some of that is two new relatively inexperienced coordinators. The Bills have been a pretty good to very good first quarter team over the past 5 or 6 years, we have seen a regression there and I think we need to look at what we can do differently to start the game better on both sides of the ball. 

 

2. They have some less experienced players starting. I look at Kincaid, Cook, Torrence, Coleman, Shakir, Bernard, Williams, Epenesa, Benford, Hamlin and these guys are all in their first or second season as starters. You go back to 2020/2021/2022 the Bills had very little turnover at the starting positions and then they have had a fair amount the last two years. There isn't quite the same on field leadership there has been and that plays a part in some of the ups and downs. Inexperience usually goes hand in hand with a level of inconsistency.

 

3. The Bills are now a perennial playoff team. There comes with that an element of "the season begins after thanksgiving". When you are a team trying to "make the playoffs" the first 10 weeks are huge. When you are a team that expects to make the playoffs the stretch run feels more important. Whether it is the Brady/Belichick Patriots, the McCarthy/Rodgers Packers, the Mahomes/Reid Chiefs I can think of plenty of those perennial post season teams who came strong later. The Bills have also been a bit like that and have finished the last four regular seasons on 5 game (23), 7 game (22), 4 game (21) and 6 game (20) winning streaks respectively. 

 

 

[WhiskyBreath]

Good points, GunnerBill, especially with the key injuries; for example, Milano out for most of the last 2 seasons.  But, by sleepwalking, I mean under-performing.  They play well below their potential and that is exactly what happened in the loss to the Texans when they were asleep for all of the first half.  That said, I do like that the coaches seem to make the correct adjustments at half time.

 

I would like to see a few more screen plays, though, especially when the opponents over-commit to rushing Josh.  Last week, they did counter that with short, quick passes to our speedsters like Khalil.

[Ya Digg?]

55 minutes ago, WhiskyBreath said:

The Bills are getting into the habit of sleepwalking through games.  They often seem to lack the desire to compete and win.  But, when they do, they play as one of the best teams in the league.  The coaches seem generally ineffective in getting them pumped up.

I don’t know, this is a little too “trying to come up with a Hollywood story” narrative for me. To make it sound like they aren’t trying to win, they don’t want to compete, doesn’t hold water with me. They have started slow, sure, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t trying. 
 

I think these topics get started and sometimes people forget the other team also wants win, game plans for the Bills, etc

[Buffalo_Stampede]

You spelled Dolphins wrong.

[Sierra Foothills]

19 minutes ago, Ya Digg? said:

I don’t know, this is a little too “trying to come up with a Hollywood story” narrative for me. To make it sound like they aren’t trying to win, they don’t want to compete, doesn’t hold water with me. They have started slow, sure, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t trying. 
 

I think these topics get started and sometimes people forget the other team also wants win, game plans for the Bills, etc

 

You should end every one of your posts with "Ya Digg?"

 

[Big Turk]

1 hour ago, WhiskyBreath said:

The Bills are getting into the habit of sleepwalking through games.  They often seem to lack the desire to compete and win.  But, when they do, they play as one of the best teams in the league.  The coaches seem generally ineffective in getting them pumped up.

 

If you need a coach to pump you up playing pro sports you don't belong there.

 

This isn't Pop Warner, this is the NFL.

 

[eball]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

3. The Bills are now a perennial playoff team. There comes with that an element of "the season begins after thanksgiving". When you are a team trying to "make the playoffs" the first 10 weeks are huge. When you are a team that expects to make the playoffs the stretch run feels more important. Whether it is the Brady/Belichick Patriots, the McCarthy/Rodgers Packers, the Mahomes/Reid Chiefs I can think of plenty of those perennial post season teams who came strong later. The Bills have also been a bit like that and have finished the last four regular seasons on 5 game (23), 7 game (22), 4 game (21) and 6 game (20) winning streaks respectively. 

For me, this is it. It’s a long season and the Bills want to be peaking in January, not October. The slow starts are maddening to us as fans but at least we know the team has another gear. 
 

[Captain_Quint]

7 minutes ago, eball said:

For me, this is it. It’s a long season and the Bills want to be peaking in January, not October. The slow starts are maddening to us as fans but at least we know the team has another gear. 
 

You could see their mindset shift after the year where they ran out of gas in the playoffs. That following offseason, the players and coaches talked alot about getting hot at the right time. 

 

The regular & post season are 5 1/2 months long. And we see almost every year that teams lose steam, and get derailed by injuries by the end of it. 

 

I don't think that there is an exact formula to follow, but from their experiences the past 5 years I think this is how they are approaching it. 

[CSBill]

51 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

You spelled Dolphins wrong.

 

Speaking of the Fish, I saw a stat yesterday I could not believe (especially with their "Offensive genius" Head Coach): They have scored a grand total of 70 points in six games. 70 !!! How bad is it that the Patriots and Giants are next, tied at 99?

 

Even with one less game, that is ridiculous 😱 and hilarious 🤣
 

[Gugny]

9 minutes ago, eball said:

For me, this is it. It’s a long season and the Bills want to be peaking in January, not October. The slow starts are maddening to us as fans but at least we know the team has another gear. 
 

When I think of great teams/dynasties, this mindset/behavior isn’t part of my memories. 
 

Most recently, the Patriots and Chiefs. 
 

This isn’t the NBA, where 3/4 of the regular season doesn’t mean anything. Or MLB, where you have 162 regular season games. 
 

I hope (and tend to think) that Gunner Bill’s 2nd bullet is the primary reason we’re seeing slow starts and inconsistent play. 
 

If it’s by design, then there is a serious problem. 

[WhiskyBreath]

The website is savoring the win.  No mention of our upcoming opponent.  I guess we can take things for granted.....

[mikemac2001]

[Dr. Who]

Just now, WhiskyBreath said:

The website is savoring the win.  No mention of our upcoming opponent.  I guess we can take things for granted.....

Some creatures only live for a day. I'd like to think they'd make the most of it, but most of them probably spend it posting non-sense on a football team's message board.

[FireChans]

17 minutes ago, eball said:

For me, this is it. It’s a long season and the Bills want to be peaking in January, not October. The slow starts are maddening to us as fans but at least we know the team has another gear. 
 

I don't even find them maddening any more. Outside of catastrophic injuries, we have entered "wake me up in the divisional round" mode.

[teef]

[FireChans]

4 minutes ago, Gugny said:

When I think of great teams/dynasties, this mindset/behavior isn’t part of my memories. 
 

Most recently, the Patriots and Chiefs. 
 

This isn’t the NBA, where 3/4 of the regular season doesn’t mean anything. Or MLB, where you have 162 regular season games. 
 

I hope (and tend to think) that Gunner Bill’s 2nd bullet is the primary reason we’re seeing slow starts and inconsistent play. 
 

If it’s by design, then there is a serious problem. 

The Patriots and Chiefs dynasties have both had their share of struggles/vulnerabilities in the regular season, and turned back into juggernauts for their SB runs. It happened last year lol.