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In 1989, Don Henley, former lead singer of the classic rock band The Eagles, penned a classic that now more than ever seems precise in describing the Buffalo Bills. Scattered in his hit song “Heart of the Matter”, Henley scribed a lyric every Bills fan seeking to comprehend what happened this past Sunday subconsciously uttered inside their head.
“The more I know, the less I understand, all the things I thought I knew, I’m learning them again.”
Before Sunday’s 38-14 drubbing at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings, we thought we were at least beginning to establish these 2010 Bills. In spite of the porous record, which fell to 2-10 after Sunday, this appeared to be a team willing and able to go blow-for-blow with any team in the league… anytime and at any place.
Minnesota and their woefully underachieving 4-7 record would hardly intimidate Buffalo, especially seeing them take the field without arguably the best left guard in the game (Steve Hutchinson) and one of their most dangerous weapons on both offense (Percy Harvin) and defense (Ray Edwards). To boot, the Bills had won two of their last three games and the last four losses had each come by three points; including three in overtime to teams all be in the playoffs if the postseason began today.
But like the song says, the more we know about the Bills the less we understand. Buffalo was bullied, battered and beaten all over the field in every phase of the game by Minnesota, despite seeing Brett Favre leave the contest for good on his first pass attempt with a shoulder injury. It was stark contrast from the Bills we’ve seen over the past six weeks, the same squad that defended their pride more vigorously than Rocky Balboa after Tommy Morrison smacked his son around.
Even head coach Chan Gailey was hopeless in trying to explain the way his team played.
“I was completely surprised,” Gailey told a pool of Bills reporters following the game, “and every time you go through a week, a game, a season, you learn something. I learned something about our football team out there. Don’t ask me what. That’s my business.”
Consequent of Sunday’s debacle, here are 10 things that I at least think we’ve discovered about the Bills.
Demetrius Bell Has a LONG Way To Go: I read a lot of articles this week praising the play of Bell, some even going as far to suggest he’s on the cusp of being Pro Bowl worthy. Jared Allen knocked him down about a billion pegs Sunday. Allen abused Bell all afternoon and although he was only credited with one sack and forced fumble, he literally took residence in the Buffalo backfield nearly every Buffalo passed. Don’t get me wrong— Allen has made a lot of quality left tackles look bad, but it showed that Bell has an awful long way to go before he joins the ranks of the top tackles in football. A couple of more afternoons like this and they’ll be plenty of tackle talk forthcoming in the offseason.
Drayton Florence Needs To Be Re-Signed: As inconsistent as he’s been this season and trust me, he’s been fickle, Florence is the lone defender it seems capable of making plays. Florence had two interceptions Sunday, including one he took in for his second defensive score in three games. Florence is an unrestricted free agent at season’s end and with Terrence McGee’s career possibly in limbo and the appalling play of the young man we’ll talk about in the next segment, re-signing Florence should vault right up Buddy Nix’s priority list. There’s a lot of talk about a couple of franchise cornerbacks being available in the next draft, but this team needs to address other positions with far more urgency, something that may be impossible if Nix lets Florence walk to another organization.
Because Of Leodis McKelvin: While critics everywhere like to list Flowers, Williams, Losman, McCargo and Maybin among recent colossal draft busts, McKelvin’s play has him verging on joining the rotten pick conversation. In football, momentum is everything and McKelvin single-handedly sucked it all from his team. In a matter of five plays in the first quarter McKelvin was beaten for a touchdown, fumbled away the kickoff and flagged for pass interference near the goal line. He’s getting every chance in the world to show he can be a difference maker, but the only thing he’s verified at this point is the front office made a mammoth gaffe by selecting him over Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie nearly three years ago.
Arthur Moats Has a Future On This Team: The theme for the Bills seems to be the same annually regardless of who’s calling the shots in the front office. Organizational blunders at the top of the draft give the Bills a well-earned reputation as incompetent, but they always seem to find a diamond in the rough. This year’s version is looking like Moats. The guy who may become known as the one who ended Brett Favre’s streak, Moats is emerging as the Bills’ most dangerous pass rusher. I, for one am excited about seeing him play next season as he continues to get more seasoning. His play suggests he has the potential to develop into a fine long-term starter.
Aaron Maybin Positively Does Not: So Reggie Torbor goes on Injured Reserve last week, rookie Antonio Coleman starts and gets hurt in the opening quarter, and Maybin still manages to get just nine snaps throughout the entire game; one that was a blowout on top of that? This guy is done in Buffalo after the season. I found it laughable last week reading stories suggesting he was going to get an opportunity to shine. Make no mistake about it; Maybin has been on the field two weeks in a row for no other reason than Buffalo not having 45 other healthy bodies to trot out. It couldn’t be more evident this coaching staff loathes his capacity as a football player and it’s merely a matter of time before he goes quietly into the night (But not without an inspirational Facebook status). Hell, Darryl Talley is 50-years old and hasn’t played a game in 14 years. He could come out of retirement Thursday, practice on Friday and get nine snaps against the Browns this Sunday. Maybin is toast.
The Health Fairy Must Really Hate The Bills: I thought I seen it all last year with players going down. Buffalo brought in Eric Ciano and John Gamble to help with strength & conditioning and allegedly help curb casualties this season, but the Bills remain on an alarmingly high pace. The club has already lost a dozen to Injured Reserve, and that doesn’t include Geoff Hangartner and Kraig Urbik, who may join the party soon. It also doesn’t account for Terrence McGee, who’s sat on the sideline more than half the season. Ostensibly, no amount of conditioning can prevent concussions, broken bones and other major injuries, but the Bills must lead the league in hamstring pulls and knee injuries. Simply put, this team is cursed with bad health.
The Team Should Be Banned From Twitter, The Internet and All Newspapers: Two weeks ago Stevie Johnson was interviewed by and written about in nearly every media outlet in the nation. He promptly went out and blew a win against Pittsburgh. This past week there were countless tributes to the Bills’ ability to play with any team in the league at home or on the road… and they go out and play their worst game in over two months. Clearly, this is a team that pours over and pays too much attention to their own press clippings. Perhaps a sabbatical from the outside world should be in order.
Akin Adoyele Wants No Part of A.P. Ever Again: Not once, but twice Adrian Peterson utterly bulldozed Ayodele as he went into the end zone for a touchdown. I’m willing to bet Ayodele had nightmares of No. 28 in purple running right through him in his sleep since, if he’s slept at all. In his prime Ayodele was a borderline starter. At this point he should be the seventh or eighth linebacker on the roster. While he’s a “can do” guy who will give it all he has when his number is called, the Bills will never be a winning team having cast-offs like him being counted on to make plays on the field.
Ryan Fitzpatrick Was At Least Partially Exposed: It’s worth noting that Johnny Unitas or Joe Montana would’ve had little success against the Vikings pass rush with the line the Bills put in front of him. Having said that, Fitzpatrick unraveled against the Minnesota pressure. While you can’t blame him for having thoughts of the Minneapolis E.R. in his head each time he dropped back, many of this throws were rushed and inaccurate. Even when he had time to throw he didn’t make the best decisions, as evidenced by his horrible interception to Antoine Winfield. Fitzpatrick certainly deserves praise as he’s clearly more than a trifling upgrade over Trent Edwards, but let’s not go dedicating a statue to the guy just yet. He’s thrown at least one interception in six of his last seven starts and nine total during that span. He’s also had a quarterback rating of under 76.0 in four of his last six starts. Unless the Bills magically become a league-wide powerhouse before next season, those numbers won’t win a lot of games.
Again, you can’t put too much on him as his overmatched offensive line completely let him down, but there’s unquestionably cracks beginning to creep in Fitzpatrick’s armor.
Therefore, Buddy Nix Has Plenty Of Thinking To Do: A couple of weeks ago it was a foregone conclusion Nix could scratch off quarterback and left tackle from the possible first draft pick list. However, after Sunday that’s no longer a given. Unless the Bills want to forever win five to six games annually for the duration of their existence that features slightly above average players at crucial positions, Nix has to find a way to get more impact players.
I don’t envy Nix. If he sticks with Fitzpatrick, doesn’t take a top prospect and Fitzpatrick flames out, Nix categorically will be accused of accepting the status quo. But If he takes Ryan Mallet, Jake Locker or Cam Newton at the top of the draft and they bust, he’ll set the team back another five years.
Quarterback and offensive tackle are unquestionably on Nix’s draft consideration list, perhaps parallel with defensive end, outside linebacker and (possibly) cornerback. They claim you should always take the best player available when it’s your turn to pick. This more than ever needs to hold true with Nix, and the beauty of it is no matter which athlete he tabs, it will in all probability come at a “need” position as well.
Sunday was proof there’s still plenty of it.
“The more I know, the less I understand, all the things I thought I knew, I’m learning them again.”
Before Sunday’s 38-14 drubbing at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings, we thought we were at least beginning to establish these 2010 Bills. In spite of the porous record, which fell to 2-10 after Sunday, this appeared to be a team willing and able to go blow-for-blow with any team in the league… anytime and at any place.
Minnesota and their woefully underachieving 4-7 record would hardly intimidate Buffalo, especially seeing them take the field without arguably the best left guard in the game (Steve Hutchinson) and one of their most dangerous weapons on both offense (Percy Harvin) and defense (Ray Edwards). To boot, the Bills had won two of their last three games and the last four losses had each come by three points; including three in overtime to teams all be in the playoffs if the postseason began today.
But like the song says, the more we know about the Bills the less we understand. Buffalo was bullied, battered and beaten all over the field in every phase of the game by Minnesota, despite seeing Brett Favre leave the contest for good on his first pass attempt with a shoulder injury. It was stark contrast from the Bills we’ve seen over the past six weeks, the same squad that defended their pride more vigorously than Rocky Balboa after Tommy Morrison smacked his son around.
Even head coach Chan Gailey was hopeless in trying to explain the way his team played.
“I was completely surprised,” Gailey told a pool of Bills reporters following the game, “and every time you go through a week, a game, a season, you learn something. I learned something about our football team out there. Don’t ask me what. That’s my business.”
Consequent of Sunday’s debacle, here are 10 things that I at least think we’ve discovered about the Bills.
Demetrius Bell Has a LONG Way To Go: I read a lot of articles this week praising the play of Bell, some even going as far to suggest he’s on the cusp of being Pro Bowl worthy. Jared Allen knocked him down about a billion pegs Sunday. Allen abused Bell all afternoon and although he was only credited with one sack and forced fumble, he literally took residence in the Buffalo backfield nearly every Buffalo passed. Don’t get me wrong— Allen has made a lot of quality left tackles look bad, but it showed that Bell has an awful long way to go before he joins the ranks of the top tackles in football. A couple of more afternoons like this and they’ll be plenty of tackle talk forthcoming in the offseason.
Drayton Florence Needs To Be Re-Signed: As inconsistent as he’s been this season and trust me, he’s been fickle, Florence is the lone defender it seems capable of making plays. Florence had two interceptions Sunday, including one he took in for his second defensive score in three games. Florence is an unrestricted free agent at season’s end and with Terrence McGee’s career possibly in limbo and the appalling play of the young man we’ll talk about in the next segment, re-signing Florence should vault right up Buddy Nix’s priority list. There’s a lot of talk about a couple of franchise cornerbacks being available in the next draft, but this team needs to address other positions with far more urgency, something that may be impossible if Nix lets Florence walk to another organization.
Because Of Leodis McKelvin: While critics everywhere like to list Flowers, Williams, Losman, McCargo and Maybin among recent colossal draft busts, McKelvin’s play has him verging on joining the rotten pick conversation. In football, momentum is everything and McKelvin single-handedly sucked it all from his team. In a matter of five plays in the first quarter McKelvin was beaten for a touchdown, fumbled away the kickoff and flagged for pass interference near the goal line. He’s getting every chance in the world to show he can be a difference maker, but the only thing he’s verified at this point is the front office made a mammoth gaffe by selecting him over Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie nearly three years ago.
Arthur Moats Has a Future On This Team: The theme for the Bills seems to be the same annually regardless of who’s calling the shots in the front office. Organizational blunders at the top of the draft give the Bills a well-earned reputation as incompetent, but they always seem to find a diamond in the rough. This year’s version is looking like Moats. The guy who may become known as the one who ended Brett Favre’s streak, Moats is emerging as the Bills’ most dangerous pass rusher. I, for one am excited about seeing him play next season as he continues to get more seasoning. His play suggests he has the potential to develop into a fine long-term starter.
Aaron Maybin Positively Does Not: So Reggie Torbor goes on Injured Reserve last week, rookie Antonio Coleman starts and gets hurt in the opening quarter, and Maybin still manages to get just nine snaps throughout the entire game; one that was a blowout on top of that? This guy is done in Buffalo after the season. I found it laughable last week reading stories suggesting he was going to get an opportunity to shine. Make no mistake about it; Maybin has been on the field two weeks in a row for no other reason than Buffalo not having 45 other healthy bodies to trot out. It couldn’t be more evident this coaching staff loathes his capacity as a football player and it’s merely a matter of time before he goes quietly into the night (But not without an inspirational Facebook status). Hell, Darryl Talley is 50-years old and hasn’t played a game in 14 years. He could come out of retirement Thursday, practice on Friday and get nine snaps against the Browns this Sunday. Maybin is toast.
The Health Fairy Must Really Hate The Bills: I thought I seen it all last year with players going down. Buffalo brought in Eric Ciano and John Gamble to help with strength & conditioning and allegedly help curb casualties this season, but the Bills remain on an alarmingly high pace. The club has already lost a dozen to Injured Reserve, and that doesn’t include Geoff Hangartner and Kraig Urbik, who may join the party soon. It also doesn’t account for Terrence McGee, who’s sat on the sideline more than half the season. Ostensibly, no amount of conditioning can prevent concussions, broken bones and other major injuries, but the Bills must lead the league in hamstring pulls and knee injuries. Simply put, this team is cursed with bad health.
The Team Should Be Banned From Twitter, The Internet and All Newspapers: Two weeks ago Stevie Johnson was interviewed by and written about in nearly every media outlet in the nation. He promptly went out and blew a win against Pittsburgh. This past week there were countless tributes to the Bills’ ability to play with any team in the league at home or on the road… and they go out and play their worst game in over two months. Clearly, this is a team that pours over and pays too much attention to their own press clippings. Perhaps a sabbatical from the outside world should be in order.
Akin Adoyele Wants No Part of A.P. Ever Again: Not once, but twice Adrian Peterson utterly bulldozed Ayodele as he went into the end zone for a touchdown. I’m willing to bet Ayodele had nightmares of No. 28 in purple running right through him in his sleep since, if he’s slept at all. In his prime Ayodele was a borderline starter. At this point he should be the seventh or eighth linebacker on the roster. While he’s a “can do” guy who will give it all he has when his number is called, the Bills will never be a winning team having cast-offs like him being counted on to make plays on the field.
Ryan Fitzpatrick Was At Least Partially Exposed: It’s worth noting that Johnny Unitas or Joe Montana would’ve had little success against the Vikings pass rush with the line the Bills put in front of him. Having said that, Fitzpatrick unraveled against the Minnesota pressure. While you can’t blame him for having thoughts of the Minneapolis E.R. in his head each time he dropped back, many of this throws were rushed and inaccurate. Even when he had time to throw he didn’t make the best decisions, as evidenced by his horrible interception to Antoine Winfield. Fitzpatrick certainly deserves praise as he’s clearly more than a trifling upgrade over Trent Edwards, but let’s not go dedicating a statue to the guy just yet. He’s thrown at least one interception in six of his last seven starts and nine total during that span. He’s also had a quarterback rating of under 76.0 in four of his last six starts. Unless the Bills magically become a league-wide powerhouse before next season, those numbers won’t win a lot of games.
Again, you can’t put too much on him as his overmatched offensive line completely let him down, but there’s unquestionably cracks beginning to creep in Fitzpatrick’s armor.
Therefore, Buddy Nix Has Plenty Of Thinking To Do: A couple of weeks ago it was a foregone conclusion Nix could scratch off quarterback and left tackle from the possible first draft pick list. However, after Sunday that’s no longer a given. Unless the Bills want to forever win five to six games annually for the duration of their existence that features slightly above average players at crucial positions, Nix has to find a way to get more impact players.
I don’t envy Nix. If he sticks with Fitzpatrick, doesn’t take a top prospect and Fitzpatrick flames out, Nix categorically will be accused of accepting the status quo. But If he takes Ryan Mallet, Jake Locker or Cam Newton at the top of the draft and they bust, he’ll set the team back another five years.
Quarterback and offensive tackle are unquestionably on Nix’s draft consideration list, perhaps parallel with defensive end, outside linebacker and (possibly) cornerback. They claim you should always take the best player available when it’s your turn to pick. This more than ever needs to hold true with Nix, and the beauty of it is no matter which athlete he tabs, it will in all probability come at a “need” position as well.
Sunday was proof there’s still plenty of it.
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