TigerJ
09-16-2007, 03:51 PM
I think now is a good time to remind Bills fans that rarely are things as good or as bad as they seem. The offense actually did quite a few things right. Lynch continues to look like the real deal. Some of what might look like offensive (and JP Losman's) ineptitude is really the fact that Buffalo has played some very good defenses. Arguably, Denver has the best cornerback tandem in the league, and Pittsburgh has overall a very tough and physical defense. Buffalo's defense has held up early in the games, giving up quite a few yards but not too man touchdowns. They broke down late versus Pittsburgh more out of fatigue than anything else.
I'm not saying anyone should be satisfied. In the end, excuses won't win games. The Bills, however, may not be that far away from being able to beat lesser opponents. They are not the worst team in the league.
The problem is they have the toughest schedule in the league and the league stacked the schedule so most of Buffalo's toughest opponents are in the first half of the schedule for Buffalo. With so much youth, Buffalo would have greatly benefitted from having their easier opponents early. There's a good chance Buffalo will already be out of the playoff hunt before they get to the easier part of their schedule. There's no opportunity for them to build some momentum before they have to face their toughest opponents. The other problem is that they are running out of bodies in the secondary. Depending on how badly Youboty and McGee are hurt, they could be down to two cornerbacks. Buffalo can't go into next week's game with just Greer and Thomas if Youboty and McGee can't go. Who do they sign and who gets released? If Youboty and McGee are only going to be out a couple weeks, Buffalo won't want to put them on IR, so someone else will have to go. Those could be painful cuts to make, and theyu might be better players than the scrubs Buffalo is going to have to sign to play CB at this point in time. Anyone who's any good will already be gone. Bassey and Swanson anyone?
That's going to make it much tougher to stop opposing passing games. If Buffalo can survive the next few games, the sould again be able to close out the season looking better. That's not going to make anyone happy, including me, but I guess maybe we're going to have to go through this for the Bills to mature and finally turn the corner.
I'm not saying anyone should be satisfied. In the end, excuses won't win games. The Bills, however, may not be that far away from being able to beat lesser opponents. They are not the worst team in the league.
The problem is they have the toughest schedule in the league and the league stacked the schedule so most of Buffalo's toughest opponents are in the first half of the schedule for Buffalo. With so much youth, Buffalo would have greatly benefitted from having their easier opponents early. There's a good chance Buffalo will already be out of the playoff hunt before they get to the easier part of their schedule. There's no opportunity for them to build some momentum before they have to face their toughest opponents. The other problem is that they are running out of bodies in the secondary. Depending on how badly Youboty and McGee are hurt, they could be down to two cornerbacks. Buffalo can't go into next week's game with just Greer and Thomas if Youboty and McGee can't go. Who do they sign and who gets released? If Youboty and McGee are only going to be out a couple weeks, Buffalo won't want to put them on IR, so someone else will have to go. Those could be painful cuts to make, and theyu might be better players than the scrubs Buffalo is going to have to sign to play CB at this point in time. Anyone who's any good will already be gone. Bassey and Swanson anyone?
That's going to make it much tougher to stop opposing passing games. If Buffalo can survive the next few games, the sould again be able to close out the season looking better. That's not going to make anyone happy, including me, but I guess maybe we're going to have to go through this for the Bills to mature and finally turn the corner.