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Numerous people on this board (myself included) have commented that many players on this team seem to be simply "going through the motions," meaning they are doing the bare minimum to collect their paycheck. They take plays off. They don't have their heads in the game. They just generally don't seem to be trying to do their best or to win the game.
I thought this was painfully obvious in the last game against the Dolphins. I know the game was meaningless as far as the Bills making the playoffs, but the Fish are a hated division rival and a loss would have officially eliminated them from contention (they were eliminated on Sunday anyway because of Cincy winning, but that wasn't known at the time of the game). That alone should have been motivation, but it wasn't.
In a larger sense, we've seen a lot of guys who were mediocre in Buffalo leave and play much better elsewhere. We've also seen a lot of guys come to Buffalo and perform at a much lower level than they did on their previous team (*cough-Dockery-*cough). I'm not going to bother listing them, because if you care enough about the Bills to be reading this website, you already know who they are.
To me, this begs the following question: Do players simply go through the motions in Buffalo because they feel as though the organization is so inept that the team won't win no matter how hard they try as individuals?
Think about it. We have an aging, meddling owner who doesn't pay. We have retread coaches who weren't successful in their prior incarnations, or first time HC's desperately trying to prove themselves. We haven't had a QB in 15 years. We have a self-perpetuating rebuilding cycle where new holes always open up before the existing ones to be filled. Our drafting has been laughably bad.
Why should a player risk his body and health for an organization that is all but assured to fail? I honestly think that the majority of the players go into the season giving 100% effort, but after the first 6 games or so, the effort starts to trail off as players realize their efforts are futile. In an ideal world, players would play hard as long as they are getting paid, but in the real world, people find it difficult to be motivated and give 100% when they know (or at least feel) that their efforts have zero chance of achieving results. And I think that effect is compounded in situations like football where giving 100% comes with a very real risk of bodily harm that could jeopardize their futures.
This is why it is crucial that the team finds a good HC and at least a high-probability QB prospect this off-season. This team has some proven talent in guys like Kyle Willliams, Mario Williams, CJ Spiller, Wood, Levitre, Byrd, Fred Jackson and a few others. The team has some guys who appear to be on their way up, like Glenn, Gilmore, Bradham and Kyle Moore. Even Carrington and TJ Graham showed some flashes toward the end of the season. We have to make sure we don't lose these guys mentally. We have to make sure that Levitre and Byrd want to stay. If this team can't answer the coaching and QB situation this off-season, expect the loser mentality to be permanently ingrained in these guys and expect another 4 years or so of losing.
I thought this was painfully obvious in the last game against the Dolphins. I know the game was meaningless as far as the Bills making the playoffs, but the Fish are a hated division rival and a loss would have officially eliminated them from contention (they were eliminated on Sunday anyway because of Cincy winning, but that wasn't known at the time of the game). That alone should have been motivation, but it wasn't.
In a larger sense, we've seen a lot of guys who were mediocre in Buffalo leave and play much better elsewhere. We've also seen a lot of guys come to Buffalo and perform at a much lower level than they did on their previous team (*cough-Dockery-*cough). I'm not going to bother listing them, because if you care enough about the Bills to be reading this website, you already know who they are.
To me, this begs the following question: Do players simply go through the motions in Buffalo because they feel as though the organization is so inept that the team won't win no matter how hard they try as individuals?
Think about it. We have an aging, meddling owner who doesn't pay. We have retread coaches who weren't successful in their prior incarnations, or first time HC's desperately trying to prove themselves. We haven't had a QB in 15 years. We have a self-perpetuating rebuilding cycle where new holes always open up before the existing ones to be filled. Our drafting has been laughably bad.
Why should a player risk his body and health for an organization that is all but assured to fail? I honestly think that the majority of the players go into the season giving 100% effort, but after the first 6 games or so, the effort starts to trail off as players realize their efforts are futile. In an ideal world, players would play hard as long as they are getting paid, but in the real world, people find it difficult to be motivated and give 100% when they know (or at least feel) that their efforts have zero chance of achieving results. And I think that effect is compounded in situations like football where giving 100% comes with a very real risk of bodily harm that could jeopardize their futures.
This is why it is crucial that the team finds a good HC and at least a high-probability QB prospect this off-season. This team has some proven talent in guys like Kyle Willliams, Mario Williams, CJ Spiller, Wood, Levitre, Byrd, Fred Jackson and a few others. The team has some guys who appear to be on their way up, like Glenn, Gilmore, Bradham and Kyle Moore. Even Carrington and TJ Graham showed some flashes toward the end of the season. We have to make sure we don't lose these guys mentally. We have to make sure that Levitre and Byrd want to stay. If this team can't answer the coaching and QB situation this off-season, expect the loser mentality to be permanently ingrained in these guys and expect another 4 years or so of losing.
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