Team Chemistry/ Identity

[Figster]

The Buffalo Bills may not have won the battle on Sunday, but in the wake of the loss and the bittersweet taste it left in our mouth, a new identity is starting to emerge. To a man when interviewed after the game on Sunday, and despite all the great performances, it was more about not winning the football game.

Unity, good chemistry, gelling together, forming an identity are all key ingredients in Gailey/Nix's quest to turn our Buffalo Bills franchise around. Developing a winning attitude and not accepting failure regardless of the circumstances is a must.

The bye week allowed the players and coaches a chance to refocus. Players only meetings, helping to form better chemistry. Extra practices, adjustments on the O-line, a meeting of the minds and bodies bringing it all together in attempt to change a decade of losing football,

Myself personally, after a tough start, I really like what I'm seeing, this new face of the Buffalo Bills .

[jamze132]

I like your enthusiasm kid. But before I declare chemistry built, I need to see the same team a few more games. Well, minus the defense, they suck.

[Figster]

I like your enthusiasm kid. But before I declare chemistry built, I need to see the same team a few more games. Well, minus the defense, they suck.
I understand,

Myself personally , After being very down on our Bills for a while now I'm trying to change my thought process to a more positive outlook. In a loss, The Bills vs. Ravens was the best football game the Bills have played in years offensively. Even the defense showed some improvement in my opinion against a championship caliber football team.

I know this transition has been real hard on RW/ Bills players and our team needs us to stand behind them now more then ever and good or bad, that's what I'm going to try to do for the remainder of the season.

I didn't actually mean to declare our chemistry was built, just working in the right direction.

[Pinkerton Security]

I'll go ahead and agree with you man...people say nothing good can come out of a loss, but I dont believe that...playing that tough against a very good Ravens team can actually make them believe that they are capable of beating anyone...it might also not do that, but its better than a blowout loss for a team's psyche, thats for sure.

[OpIv37]

I'll know this team has chemistry when a player who actually wants to win finally gets mad enough to punch Donte Whitner in the face, and no one on the team helps him up.

[T-Long]

I'll go ahead and agree with you man...people say nothing good can come out of a loss, but I dont believe that...playing that tough against a very good Ravens team can actually make them believe that they are capable of beating anyone...it might also not do that, but its better than a blowout loss for a team's psyche, thats for sure.
That loss definitely helped this team in terms of confidence. Everybody and their brother had this game pegged as a blowout. The Bills outplayed the Ravens and deserved to win, but as well all know by now, it ended like it always does for them in a heartbreaking loss. But, like I said, I definitely think it gave them confidence that when they play well, they can beat anybody.

[Thief]

This is the most promising loss I have ever seen.

[Bangarang]

I'll know this team has chemistry when a player who actually wants to win finally gets mad enough to punch Donte Whitner in the face, and no one on the team helps him up.

Do you think Jauron wakes up smiling every morning knowing that he's responsible for us having Maybin and Whitner?

[HAMMER]

I'll know this team has chemistry when a player who actually wants to win finally gets mad enough to punch Donte Whitner in the face, and no one on the team helps him up.

Your obsession with Whitner borders on whackadoo.

[OpIv37]

Your obsession with Whitner borders on whackadoo.

every week he ****s up and every week people on this board insist on making excuses for why it wasn't his fault. It's ****ing nauseating. I've never seen fans- Bills, Sabres or otherwise- so willing to defend such mediocrity. That's what's "whackadoo"

[OpIv37]

Actually, I take that back. Feelthepain's heartfelt letter to Duante Culpepper was an equally disturbing defense of mediocrity.

[HAMMER]

Simmer down psycho, geeeeez.

[justasportsfan]

every week he ****s up and every week people on this board insist on making excuses for why it wasn't his fault. It's ****ing nauseating. I've never seen fans- Bills, Sabres or otherwise- so willing to defend such mediocrity. That's what's "whackadoo"


No one was making excuses for Whitner or better yet no one mentioned Whitner until you did.

BTW, I would rather start Wilson.

[OpIv37]

No one was making excuses for Whitner or better yet no one mentioned Whitner until you did.



not in this thread, but certainly in other places.

[justasportsfan]

not in this thread, but certainly in other places.
but for you to bring it in this thread makes it understandable when people think your hate borders whackadoo

[HAMMER]

but for you to bring it in this thread makes it understandable when people think your hate borders whackadoo

Exactly.

[EDS]

There is an old saying that you are never as good as you are in your best game and never as you are in your worst game.

In the Bills best game this season, with two weeks to prepare, they lost in overtime to a good team. Hopefully, this is a sign of progress rather than a small blip in an otherwise perfectly awful season.

[jamze132]

I bet the defense would play better without Whitner and Kelsay in the way.

[Figster]

I bet the defense would play better without Whitner and Kelsay in the way.


Its hard to measure what a person may bring to the table in the form of leadership and professionalism. Donte Whitner is a very vocal individual as we all know and players feed off of the passion/emotion Donte brings to the table. The guys a fierce competitor in my opinion.

Chris Kelsay is the consummate professional, and while his talent level may not be nearly as high as some of his fellow teammates, how Kelsay conducts himself on and off the field sets an example for the younger players that the organization deems very valuable. Hence the big contract.

[OpIv37]

Its hard to measure what a person may bring to the table in the form of leadership and professionalism. Donte Whitner is a very vocal individual as we all know and players feed off of the passion/emotion Donte brings to the table.
People always say this but never have any evidence or examples of it. Yet, somehow it's accepted as fact. This is why Whitner annoys me so much- he does nothing on the field, so people just defend him with empty rhetoric.

[justasportsfan]

Its hard to measure what a person may bring to the table in the form of leadership and professionalism. Donte Whitner is a very vocal individual as we all know and players feed off of the passion/emotion Donte brings to the table. The guys a fierce competitor in my opinion.

Chris Kelsay is the consummate professional, and while his talent level may not be nearly as high as some of his fellow teammates, how Kelsay conducts himself on and off the field sets an example for the younger players that the organization deems very valuable. Hence the big contract.

thats all good and nice . But winning is the goal. So far Whitner and Kelsay's leadership and professionalism haven't translated to making plays on the field that leads to victory. We need football players who walk the talk.

Here's an example between two different leaders where one does nothing on the field to help win the game and one does........ Whitner drops a gimme INT while Ray Lewis strips the ball off of Nelson to win the game.

Whitner could not take advantage of what was handed to him gift wrapped while Ray MAKES something happen out of nothing.

[Figster]

People always say this but never have any evidence or examples of it. Yet, somehow it's accepted as fact. This is why Whitner annoys me so much- he does nothing on the field, so people just defend him with empty rhetoric.

You do realize Donte Whitner leads the team in tackles by a wide margin with 38 solo's and 16 assist.

The way I see it Donte Whitner is one of the few players on defense that is leaving it all on the field each and every play/football game.

[justasportsfan]

You do realize Donte Whitner leads the team in tackles by a wide margin with 38 solo's and 16 assist.

The way I see it Donte Whitner is one of the few players on defense that is leaving it all on the field on each and every ball game.

Whitners tackles mean nothing when he's getting burned by TE's for TD's and dropping a sure INT. I'd rather he get ZERO tackles as long as he's covering TE's well and not dropping INT's.

His "leaving it all on the field" is not good enough.

The reason why we're a bad team is because our leaders are the Whitner and Kelsay while the good teams' leaders are guys like Ray Lewis. Our team is led by talkers and not doers.

[Figster]

Whitners tackles mean nothing when he's getting burned by TE's for TD's and dropping a sure INT. I'd rather he get ZERO tackles as long as he's covering TE's well and not dropping INT's.

His "leaving it all on the field" is not good enough.

The reason why we're a bad team is because our leaders are the Whitner and Kelsay while the good teams' leaders are guys like Ray Lewis. Our team is led by talkers and not doers.

Our whole secondary has been hampered by the defenses inability to stop the run/pressure the QB and our Safety's and DB are paying the price.

[OpIv37]

You do realize Donte Whitner leads the team in tackles by a wide margin with 38 solo's and 16 assist.

The way I see it Donte Whitner is one of the few players on defense that is leaving it all on the field each and every play/football game.

He's leading the team in tackles on the worst D currently in the NFL on a team that is on pace to set the record for the worst D in franchise history.

he's a friggin SAFETY- the only reason he's getting the opportunity to make that many tackles is because the guys in front of him are terrible. Granted, he does make some tackles at the LOS, but when (not if) he misses, it's a huge gain for the other team (remember the LT touchdown?).

This is the reality of the situation:
1. Despite Donte's faults, there are probably 10 or 15 problems with this team that need to be addressed first. It's pathetic that he can't cover a TE, but he's still not as useless, as, say, Aaron Maybin, Chris Kelsay, Posluzny, etc.

2. Donte's play never lives up to where he was drafted or to his mouth. Yet, people on this board insist on defending him anyway. I don't understand why people can't just be honest about this guy's mediocrity.

[OpIv37]

Our whole secondary has been hampered by the defenses inability to stop the run/pressure the QB and our Safety's and DB are paying the price.

so, what was his excuse last year when we had far more sacks and Byrd managed 8 interceptions playing right next to him?

And there is some truth to your point, but all that means is that it's even MORE important for Whitner to capitalize on that dropped INT. He's not going to get another opportunity like that so he needs to have that killer instinct.

This is EXACTLY what I'm talking about regarding the defense of Whitner.

[justasportsfan]

Our whole secondary has been hampered by the defenses inability to stop the run/pressure the QB and our Safety's and DB are paying the price.


what did the DL have to do when he dropped the INT? He was right behind Todd Heap when he caught a TD. Whitner was a deer caught in headlights in that TD. Don't use the DL as an excuse when you are missing out on making a play when the oppurtunity is there.

Great players can control what they can control and much more.Ray Lewis didn't need an excuse to blame his DL when he ripped the ball off of Nelsons hand.

[jamze132]

Its hard to measure what a person may bring to the table in the form of leadership and professionalism. Donte Whitner is a very vocal individual as we all know and players feed off of the passion/emotion Donte brings to the table. The guys a fierce competitor in my opinion.

Chris Kelsay is the consummate professional, and while his talent level may not be nearly as high as some of his fellow teammates, how Kelsay conducts himself on and off the field sets an example for the younger players that the organization deems very valuable. Hence the big contract.
Well no way in hell is Kelsay's "professionalism" worth $24m.

[Figster]

Well no way in hell is Kelsay's "professionalism" worth $24m.

Tim Graham analysis of Chris Kelsay extension. http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/19714/analyzing-the-chris-kelsay-extension


One interesting aspect Graham pointed out in the analysis is how Chris Kelsay's average per year actually went down with his new deal.


Buddy Nix and I quote : The thing you don't want to do is take your core guys and your leaders out of your system," Bills general manager Buddy Nix said Thursday, the first time he commented on Kelsay's extension. "We decided, obviously, that we've got four, five or six guys like that. They maybe are not great players, but good players that set the tone for what you want everybody else to be.

"Chris Kelsay is a good player. He exemplifies what we want players to do and how we want them to be. So that's the reason he's here."

[TigerJ]

So dog, you from Westfield? I recognize the zip code.

[jamze132]

Tim Graham analysis of Chris Kelsay extension. http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/19714/analyzing-the-chris-kelsay-extension


One interesting aspect Graham pointed out in the analysis is how Chris Kelsay's average per year actually went down with his new deal.


Buddy Nix and I quote : The thing you don't want to do is take your core guys and your leaders out of your system," Bills general manager Buddy Nix said Thursday, the first time he commented on Kelsay's extension. "We decided, obviously, that we've got four, five or six guys like that. They maybe are not great players, but good players that set the tone for what you want everybody else to be.

"Chris Kelsay is a good player. He exemplifies what we want players to do and how we want them to be. So that's the reason he's here."
And I do not agree with Buddy's assessment. I'm sorry but I don't want a bunch of suckass players who are "good guys". I doubt anyone will ever be able to justify $24m to Kelsay.

[Figster]

So dog, you from Westfield? I recognize the zip code.


Hi Tiger,

I used to live in Westfield on route 5,(really liked the area) but am now living in PA about 40 miles south of Erie.

[Figster]

And I do not agree with Buddy's assessment. I'm sorry but I don't want a bunch of suckass players who are "good guys". I doubt anyone will ever be able to justify $24m to Kelsay.


I understand, and the extension caught me by surprise also. Its not that I dislike Chris Kelsay, just thought the numbers were rather high. I thought your response/post was worthy of more then my just agreeing with you because its a topic/ move that has been under heavy scrutiny since the extension took place.

In Nix/Gaileys defense, its possible a season from now when things are hopefully going much better for the Buffalo Bills we will be seeing more evidence of what they are/were trying to accomplish from a leadership/ personnel standpoint.

[OpIv37]

Tim Graham analysis of Chris Kelsay extension. http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/19714/analyzing-the-chris-kelsay-extension


One interesting aspect Graham pointed out in the analysis is how Chris Kelsay's average per year actually went down with his new deal.


Buddy Nix and I quote : The thing you don't want to do is take your core guys and your leaders out of your system," Bills general manager Buddy Nix said Thursday, the first time he commented on Kelsay's extension. "We decided, obviously, that we've got four, five or six guys like that. They maybe are not great players, but good players that set the tone for what you want everybody else to be.

"Chris Kelsay is a good player. He exemplifies what we want players to do and how we want them to be. So that's the reason he's here."
1. How exactly is Kelsay "in the system"? He is completely lost in the 3-4. You can't take someone out of the system if they were never really in it in the first place.

2. How exactly is Kelsay a "good player"? Fans on this site often disagree on how good/bad a player is (see the constant Whitner argument), but there is consensus that Kelsay absolutely SUCKS in the 3-4. So far you are the only exception to that. When there is that much universal agreement about a player, it is going to be correct 99.99% of the time. Kelsay eats ******* and has no business collecting a paycheck in the NFL. This is more of the same nonsense that TD and Levy/Brandon pulled- standing by "their" guys for far too long.

I realize these are Buddy Nix's words and not yours, but I just can't for the life of me figure out how he came to these conclusions.

[Beebe's Kid]

1. How exactly is Kelsay "in the system"? He is completely lost in the 3-4. You can't take someone out of the system if they were never really in it in the first place.

2. How exactly is Kelsay a "good player"? Fans on this site often disagree on how good/bad a player is (see the constant Whitner argument), but there is consensus that Kelsay absolutely SUCKS in the 3-4. So far you are the only exception to that. When there is that much universal agreement about a player, it is going to be correct 99.99% of the time. Kelsay eats ******* and has no business collecting a paycheck in the NFL. This is more of the same nonsense that TD and Levy/Brandon pulled- standing by "their" guys for far too long.

I realize these are Buddy Nix's words and not yours, but I just can't for the life of me figure out how he came to these conclusions.

You would if they guy that signed you check made the decision...what the **** was he supposed to say??

I don't know what is more disturbing...the fact that people, truly, believe that Nix/Gailey had any hand in this signing, or the fact that EVERY thread turns into a crusade against Whitner.

Teams shoot holes in our defense every week. Drayton Florence commits an asinine interference penalty every game...never even see his name come up. Bryan Scott stood flat footed while a TD pass flew withing arms reach of him...but it was still Whitner's fault.