my reason to not panic

[trapezeus]

the bills played pretty poorly and still put up 20 points and were in control of this game from the 2nd to mid 4th quarter. They left a lot of plays on the field. the D just missed tackles at times. Fitz wasn't making all the throws he did before. it just seemed like an oddly called game by chan. you then add in the ref issues which seemed absurd and i think this comes off like an anomaly.

If they don't respond this week vs the eagles, they are a middling team and might still just be a bad team.

If they win, that's what good teams do. erase the previous weeks mistakes.

[Beebe's Kid]

I second this.

I know there were many people who wanted to be the "adult" in the room and say not to blame the refs...I disagree with that notion. Do I wish we would have put them away and that poor officiating wouldn't have been an issue? Absolutely, but the teams in the NFL are close in talent, and if you give a team unearned advantages, you have a harder time winning.

The game didn't go our way, and giving credit where credit is due, Cinci has a very good defense.

That game is behind us, and hopefully it is not a sign of things to come. What this team does this week will be a bigger indicator of their fortunes than a tough loss on the road, which was definitely influenced by terrible officiating.

[Jan Reimers]

I'm not panicking, but I am concerned about:

Our banged up O-line, with Bell and Urbik missing. We had a tough time against the Bengals' D-line.

Our pass defense, which features no pass rush at all, and a questionable secondary.

Our inability to stretch the field, with no true deep threat at WR.

We'll see if these are serious flaws, or whether Chan can coach around them, as he did in our first three games.

[OpIv37]

A big concern is why this team hasn't put up a complete game since Week 1.

Against Oak and NE, we were horrible in the 1st half and great in the 2nd half. Against Cincy, Gailey said that we were average in the first half and terrible in the 2nd half.

Not good.

[trapezeus]

i think, regardless of what the record says, we know this team isn't an overly talented team. they aren't going be a dream team powerhouse.

They still need breaks here and there. They didn't get any last week.

the defense relies on turnovers which is a dangerous place to be, but it has worked thus far.

my only true concern is Mckelvin. Guy can't cover, period. too many guys getting behind him by steps. Not a step, but multiple steps. if he is still the best option, the bills are desperately in need of a DB or a blitzing scheme that gets to the QB faster.

[Oaf]

Correct me if I got the OP right; if they win against the Eagles, you will not panic.

I think the way we play the Eagles is what we're worried about, given the way we played against Cinci on defense.

[Don't Panic]

Whatever you do, Don't Panic.

[trapezeus]

Correct me if I got the OP right; if they win against the Eagles, you will not panic.

I think the way we play the Eagles is what we're worried about, given the way we played against Cinci on defense.

Yeah, i'm saying that, but i'm also saying that the bills put themselves in a position to win after having a really bad game. it would stun me if the bills could not put together a more complete game this week.

[The Compromise]

Not that anyone cares, but my concern is that they shot their load in the first three weeks like they did in 2003, which just happens to be the last time that we beat the Pats prior to this before starting off with a bang and fizzling after crushing the Jags in week 2 and before going 4-10 the rest of the way with our only wins coming against other crappy teams.

Not that we can do anything about it, but that's what I'm expecting, doesn't matter what I'm hoping for. This franchise excels at doing exactly that.

Also, let's be real, how far is this spread O going to get us. It's not going to put up 30 points every week, but with our D opponents will be putting up lots of points.

The Bills always seem to treat the month of September like the playoffs whether or not they win then. They've got it all backwards from top to bottom.

[psubills62]

Not that anyone cares, but my concern is that they shot their load in the first three weeks like they did in 2003, which just happens to be the last time that we beat the Pats prior to this before starting off with a bang and fizzling after crushing the Jags in week 2 and before going 4-10 the rest of the way with our only wins coming against other crappy teams.

Not that we can do anything about it, but that's what I'm expecting, doesn't matter what I'm hoping for. This franchise excels at doing exactly that.

Also, let's be real, how far is this spread O going to get us. It's not going to put up 30 points every week, but with our D opponents will be putting up lots of points.

The Bills always seem to treat the month of September like the playoffs whether or not they win then. They've got it all backwards from top to bottom.
"Let's be real" about the spread offense? What the heck do you think teams like the Patriots used to run with Brady before they got their two TE's, and what do you think Green Bay runs? Spread offense. Nobody ever said it was going to put up 30 points every week. It is an effective offense, though.

[justasportsfan]

the bills needed a reality check and they got it. This game pretty much showed Gailey what he needs to improve on when facing a DL that the bengals have.

that game was a repeat of last year. If you cant stop the run, you arent going to give the O enough time to score more points.

[madness]

Whatever you do, Don't Panic.
I agree, don't give in to the madness.

[Night Train]

I'm not panicking because..that's who we are.

The 3 win start masked the many roster blemishes that still need at least 1 more off-season to fix.. but many got caught up in the moment, which is fine. That's the fan in us, after an 0-8 start last year.

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the Bills hit the bye week 3-3, since they continue to be a work in progress. Wouldn't upset me, as long as they make improvements on the D along the way this season.

This isn't our year to seriously contend. We could still steal a WC slot and I'll never stop rooting.

[Mad Bomber]

A big concern is why this team hasn't put up a complete game since Week 1.

Against Oak and NE, we were horrible in the 1st half and great in the 2nd half. Against Cincy, Gailey said that we were average in the first half and terrible in the 2nd half.

Not good.
I agree. Our defense has been putrid, and the offense wasn't able to cover for it this week by playing a flawless second half.

[ServoBillieves]

I agree, don't give in to the madness.

I see what ya both did there.

[Ed]

What is there to panic about? We've only played 4 games and we're in first place. Yeah, our team is not perfect and I'm concerned about the D, but what team in the AFC doesn't have issues right now?

New England has defensive issues also and they just lost Mayo for about 6 weeks. They're very one dimensional on offense too.

The Jets can't run or throw the ball and their defense has looked ordinary.

The Steelers look old and slow on D and Big Ben is banged up and not playing great.

The Chargers haven't exactly been impressive with weak wins they almost lost against the Vikings and Chiefs.

The Titans have played well, but they still lost to the lowly Jags and lost their best WR for the season. Can Hasselbeck really carry them all year?

The Ravens look pretty solid, but they still had a bad loss to the Titans.

Houston looks pretty good too, but they lost their only real tough test against NO.

Raiders have some good things going for them, but we've already beaten them.

Everyone else in the AFC looks like junk.

If we can get some improvement out of our defense, we can compete with anyone in the AFC.

[ddaryl]

I'm not panicking.. I expected a 7 win season... there is a damn good chance that is going to happen. The team is getting better, I have faith in the HC, and the GM....

No panic.. just hoping they find ways to keep getting better

[ublinkwescore]

this is our true litmus test for the season right here.

[Oaf]

I would say don't *expect* to go 2-0 over the next two games either (PHI, NYG). If we lose against the Eagles, don't go jump off a cliff. If we lose against NYG too, go ahead.

[stuckincincy]

Panic.

The OL was rag-dolled by a decent 4-3.

[ublinkwescore]

I'm not panicked because we were still the better team against Cincy. every now and then a team comes out a little more fired up than the clear better team - though it usually happens around playoff spoiler season - the final 4 or 5 weeks of the season.

[trapezeus]

i didn't even think the bengals looked fired up. they just got made the defensive plays and caught one or two breaks to turn the game around. bills did it to the pats 2 weeks ago.

The bills need to settle down and do their thing to a team on the ropes. knock em out and be done with it.

[Zero]

the bills played pretty poorly and still put up 20 points and were in control of this game from the 2nd to mid 4th quarter. They left a lot of plays on the field. the D just missed tackles at times. Fitz wasn't making all the throws he did before. it just seemed like an oddly called game by chan. you then add in the ref issues which seemed absurd and i think this comes off like an anomaly.

If they don't respond this week vs the eagles, they are a middling team and might still just be a bad team.

If they win, that's what good teams do. erase the previous weeks mistakes.


As far as I'm concerned, this season is already a success. Even if we do not win another game, Why? Because we already beat NE. Duds like last Sunday's game will always happen on a team thats young, inexperienced, and learning how to win. The fact that we shocked one of the best teams in the league (according to analysts) shows that this team can hang in there with anyone. In other words, this team deserves some respect. And that is something we can build on..

[trapezeus]

As far as I'm concerned, this season is already a sucess. Even if we do not win another game, Why? Because we already beat NE. Duds like last Sunday's game will always happen to a team thats young, inexperienced, and learning how to win. The fact that we shocked one of the best teams in the league ( according to analysts) shows that this team can hang in there with anyone. In other words, this team deserves some respect. And that is something we can build on..

i can buy into this reasoning.

[Aesop]

I'm sorry, refs or no..That defensive performance in the second half was laughable. They let a rookie quaterback throw for 300 yds and also let him out of the pocket to gain yards with his legs.

I thought based on what I saw in preseason that our defense was going to be our strength. I am not ready to cry doom yet but that was incredibly frustrating to watch and I hope that defense gets their ***** together.