Bills sleepwalking

[DrDawkinstein]

3 hours 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'm not sure I'm very confident in McDermott finding that playoff gear.

 

[US Egg]

3 hours ago, Gugny said:

This isn’t the NBA, where 3/4 of the regular season  game doesn’t mean anything.

…..but, I still watch.

[Savage]

4 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

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. 

 

 

The Bills pretty much suck in the first quarter of every game.

 

the offence is stale, and can’t move the ball, and more often than not, the defence is brutal.

 

the other teams offence marches down the field, almost without opposition.

 

It’s been that way for years now.

 

they can get away with against $hitty teams, but not against good teams, especially when it matters most.

[PoundingDog]

I've said before that the Bills are good enough - talent and coaching wise - to beat bad teams on their schedule to get into the playoffs. What really matters is to peak for the playoffs. Great players thrives on those higher stakes games. That's why I still believe on this Bills team, Allen is the one (and only one) on this team because he's consistent in putting up good , sometimes great, performances in the playoffs.

 

A lot of other things are in play during the regular season, though. Every year is different, even for a player who has been in your system. #1, find out what you have. For the Bills, there is a lot. Cook, Davis, Carter, Benford, Williams, Von might be pleasant surprises where as a lot of others like O-Line, Rapp, Epenesa, Rousseau, Johnson, Bernard, Coleman etc. are what you expect at the beginning of the season. Allen in my eye took a step forward. #2 find out what you DONOT have. Clearly reliable X receiver tops the list. To me, Kincaid is a disappointment based on expectation. Safety-wise, no one emerged to be THAT play-maker that they hoped for. #3 finding solutions to improve your team. That means player acquisition - less likely in general in-season, player development, and scheme adjustments to maximize player strength or cover up weakness.

 

The Bills were high flying in the past like the Ravens now. Then all kinds of problems showed up near the end of the season into the playoffs, scraping by teams. To be honest, I like the position the team is at. Pretty good record but lost to some good teams, therefore kind of flying under the radar a bit, and the team overall remembers who they are. But internally, they have a lot going on that has obvious, even likely, improvements in a lot of areas. Von Miller, Carter, Coleman, Davis, Integration of Cooper, each of which could play big down the road. I still hope that Bishop may get on the field after the bye to have a then rookie Milano impact in 2017. Speaking of Milano, I really don't see him being a meaningful contributor this year.  

[hondo in seattle]

This is how I interpret the slow starts though I'm open minded and willing to be convinced otherwise.

 

Similar to GB, I think about our two new coordinators.  It seems to me they both start out conservatively and/or predictably and then get warmed up as they decipher what the other team's game plan is. 

 

I also think, particularly on the offense, there's often an execution problem at the beginning of games.  And, again, it may be that GB is right.  This might have to do with inexperience on both sides  of the ball.

I also think neither side of the ball is blessed with a multitude of playmakers.  We can't just call random plays and they're going to work just because we have better players.  We've got to get the calls right.  

 

I don't believe the Bills have a motivation/desire problem.  In fact, I believe just the opposite.  I think Beane does a good job of acquiring self-motivated guys with high football character.  And I think McD and his staff are good at getting guys mentally and physically prepared for games.  They create a culture when players play together well and fight for each other. 

 

But many other teams also have good cultures and maybe even better rosters.  Even if our coaches do good work, we're not going to win every rep, every quarter, every game.  

[26TrapDraw]

4 hours ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

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

 

Sheeeiitt My Momma ain’t raise no dummies I dug his rap!!

[Sabres 2025]

As we have found out already this year, you can start slow against bad teams, but good teams will make you pay for it.  I think the problem sort of fixes itself in the playoffs because the games are intense from the opening kickoff, but coaching is an issue. 

[Buffalo Boy]

   For how many consecutive seasons have we watched this team, regardless of coordinators, come out flat or worse in the first half?

   Three pages of mostly excuses that sound plausible but seem to be mostly sophistry , maybe self sophistry but to the same effect.

    This head coach is obviously, notoriously and blatantly tentative and tight. The bigger the moment the worse it is. We all see it over and over and still so many of you defend it like someone called you significant other ugly.

    He is who he is. This team responds and performs the way that it has, does and will.
   At the end, when we crap the bed again you will mostly blame, injuries, kickers, KC or Cincy for being to good, lucky, On, well coached ( IRONY) . But, heck if you’ll place any blame at the top! 😒

SMDH

Keep calling a spade a spade Whisky

Edited 2 hours ago by Buffalo Boy

[The Frankish Reich]

It's a long season.

This is why sometimes firing a coach and bringing in the opposite personality type works for a week or three. Think of the Colts with Jeff Saturday a couple years ago, or the first Dan Campbell go-round. Players are energized by the change itself, and since football is kind of a blend of tactics, athletic skills, and effort, the effort side may carry the day on any given Sunday.

But then reality usually strikes back.

[GunnerBill]

51 minutes ago, Savage said:

 

 

It’s been that way for years now.

 

they can get away with against $hitty teams, but not against good teams, especially when it matters most.

 

 

It hasn't. I put the stats up the other day.. The Bills have been top 10 in first quarter points every year since 2020, top 5 twice. They have been slightly less good on defense, they were poor in 2022 (ranked in the 20s) and middle of the pack (14th) last year. But before that they were best in the NFL in first quarter defence two years in a row in 2020 and 2021 and then 3rd in 2019.

Edited 1 hour ago by GunnerBill

[US Egg]

6 hours ago, Sierra Foothills said:

Why do I feel you've been drinking?

 

5 hours ago, WhiskyBreath said:

I have.  My morning Joe....

I remember my 1st cup of coffee….