bills tied with the pats for first place

[dave mcbride]

1. the bills are ahead of both miami and the jets because of a better in-conference record. lesson: the bills aren't going to go 16-0, and given that they're going to have losses, the best losses to have are road games against nfc teams. they count less, and you need to win your home games. it's an acceptable loss.

 

2. everyone, and i mean everyone, knew that losman was going to have some terrible outings this year. would you prefer that he have them early in the season in a less consequential game or late against an afc team after he has presumably settled into being a starting nfl qb? lesson: losman sucking in individual games is an inevitabilty, and better for him to suck now than later.

 

3. the defense sucked yesterday, but they lost on the road against a team that has a lights-out wide receiver (clayton) and an absolutely sensational back in williams. clayton had over 80 receptions and 1100 yards last year as a rookie, and is a fantastic blocker (as was painfully evident yesterday) to boot. that guy is a player -- better even than evans, who he was drafted one pick later than. williams is really, really, really (and i mean REALLY) good. if he stays healthy, i wouldn't be shocked to see him get 1700 yards this year. based on his performances against the bills and vikes (who, despite their woeful performance to date, are pretty well stocked talent-wise on defense), he's the best rookie running back i've seen in some time. he certainly looks better than mcgahee, who seems to be learning quite late that he's not in college anymore and can't as a habit run backwards. lesson: the bucs are a team with a lot of good young talent coached by one of the best offensive minds in the game. gruden thoroughly outcoached a pretty solid bills staff yesterday, by the way. it's no crime to lose on the road to such a team. there will be other losses too.

 

4. the bills have to win their home games. losman is probably going to be pretty shaky on the road all season, and mcgahee is hardly explosive/dominating enough to take the pressure off of him. bad weather can't come soon enough for the bills.