The consequences of organizational failure

[OpIv37]

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.

[justasportsfan]

you're over thinking this. You cant tell me that there arent players who actually have pride in what they do.

[OpIv37]

you're over thinking this. You cant tell me that there arent players who actually have pride in what they do.

Some, not all. And at some point, even the ones that have pride will have the effort beaten out of them by frustration.

[justasportsfan]

Some, not all. And at some point, even the ones that have pride will have the effort beaten out of them by frustration.

I'm sure there are players who are just playing for a paycheck. Happens everywhere. But until you have concrete evidence straight from the players themselves , you can speak on behalf of the entire team. Just because a team sucks, it doesn't mean they're not playing their hearts out. Players publicly claimed to have loved playing for Jauron, but it's obvious they were just put in a situation to fail.

[OpIv37]

until you have evidence straight from the players themselves , it's just your hunch. Just because a team sucks, it doesn't mean they're not playing their hearts out. Players publicly claimed to have loved playing for Jauron, but it's obvious they were just put in a situation to fail.

yeah well when I see a team down by 3 scores with 10 minutes left making little to no effort to hurry up and save time, and then see that same team be just as lackadaisical with under 2 min left still needing 2 scores, I have a really hard time believing that they're playing their hearts out.

Yeah, maybe my reasoning behind why they're not playing their hearts out involves some speculation, but I don't see how ANYONE in their right mind could have watched that game on Sunday and concluded that those guys were playing their hearts out. A handful were, most weren't.

[The King]

Starts with the coach. Gailey is a nice guy. But he doesnt have an edge. It's that edge that killer instinct that makes you want to punish your opponent and in this case eliminate a rival from post season contention.

Gailey has done some positive things. He's coached up Spiller, he turned Fred Jackson into Marshall Faulk. He helped Steve Johnson become a household name, and he took a journey man TE and made him a Redzone monster.

He doesn't have balls to hold his players accountable... too often he's taken the blame and come down soft on his players. And while players like playing for a coach like this rarely will a coach get the most out of his team. And his standing by Fitz and his refusal to adapt his game plans he's cost himself his team and his job. These guys know there's no consequences for poor play. Gailey will go to the podium and take it on the chin.

Look at the successful coaches in the league right now. The soft spoken, nice guy is toast.

Harbaughs, Bellicheck, Tomlin, Coughlin, McCarthy, Fisher and Smith. These are the guys winning the divisions year in and out.

While guys like Turner, Reid, Garrett and Gailey are all fighting to keep a job.

[kscdogbillsfan1221]

Starts with the coach. Gailey is a nice guy. But he doesnt have an edge. It's that edge that killer instinct that makes you want to punish your opponent and in this case eliminate a rival from post season contention.

Gailey has done some positive things. He's coached up Spiller, he turned Fred Jackson into Marshall Faulk. He helped Steve Johnson become a household name, and he took a journey man TE and made him a Redzone monster.

He doesn't have balls to hold his players accountable... too often he's taken the blame and come down soft on his players. And while players like playing for a coach like this rarely will a coach get the most out of his team. And his standing by Fitz and his refusal to adapt his game plans he's cost himself his team and his job. These guys know there's no consequences for poor play. Gailey will go to the podium and take it on the chin.

Look at the successful coaches in the league right now. The soft spoken, nice guy is toast.

Harbaughs, Bellicheck, Tomlin, Coughlin, McCarthy, Fisher and Smith. These are the guys winning the divisions year in and out.

While guys like Turner, Reid, Garrett and Gailey are all fighting to keep a job.

agree with much of what you said except the spiller part. He doesn't use him and calls him 'winded' after every play. that's definitely not 'coaching him up.'

[NOT THE DUDE...]

get a real qb like barkley or smith and get gruden/saban and things will change big

[Thurmal]

I'm a big believer in teams taking on the personality of their coach. The Bills have been lifeless and soft for a long, long time.

Why can they never win on the road against a good, or even average, team? Why do they come out "flat" in 80% of their games? Why do they fall apart and quit at the first sign of adversity? Why do they blow so many winnable games? Why do you have no confidence in them as a fan unless they up are up by 20+ points in the fourth quarter? Why do they commit so many preventable penalties?

The answer to every question is, "No mental toughness." When you employ coaches with no fire who play not to lose, you get a gutless team that has no clue how to win.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

you're over thinking this. You cant tell me that there arent players who actually have pride in what they do.

Of course there are. Those are the guys who sprint for the airport when their rookie deals expire or laugh when the Bills offer a contract.

[Mike]

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.
- Phins game might be a good example as it was a team the Bills dominated earlier in the season.

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.
- I feel this is a testament to organizational failures in the following areas: Game Plan Preparation, Player development, optimization of skill set

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?
- I dont see how its hard to believe that football players are not like the rest of us. Many of the posters on this board probably get sick of their job, take 'plays off', etc... When management fails to dangle the right intrinsic motivators they usually lose their employees.

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.
- I see this pattern every 3-4 years as the organization is somewhat energized with new blood. Usually the new FO/HC comes in and makes changes and evaluates the personal. In the beginning there are bumps on the road however the team ascends -so far not too high. The progress fails to sustain itself and tapers off, and the players lose faith in the management... and the sentiment of 'here we go again' re-enters their minds. The last year or so, its a lame duck coach and a lame duck team.

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.
- Its all about getting the Right Management from top to bottom. There is a reason why Parcels was able to turn around a 1-15 Jets team into a playoff team and then into a team that went to Championship Game. He made it clear that there was absolute and instant accountability. Further, he pushed his players to their limits as he saw them and used intrinsic values oppose to extrinsic values.

According to Jimmy Johnson, the number of players that are pure 'self starters' can be counted on one hand. This supports a Harvard study that discovered that only 10% of the population were active learners -that is that they went out of their way to acquire new information by studying in their spare time. This is why, even professional like Lawyers/Accountants/etc must get multiple certifications throughout their career; the diploma is not enough. To think that somehow professional athletes defy these most common psychological permutations is akin to wishful magical thinking.

[Mike]

I'm sure there are players who are just playing for a paycheck. Happens everywhere. But until you have concrete evidence straight from the players themselves , you can speak on behalf of the entire team. Just because a team sucks, it doesn't mean they're not playing their hearts out. Players publicly claimed to have loved playing for Jauron, but it's obvious they were just put in a situation to fail.

I have concrete evidence...
"All the players in this league think they’re self-motivated and that’s a bunch of bull because there are only a handful that are self-motivated," Johnson said.

* As you know Jimmy Johnson is a top tier coach responsible for creating a dynasty in Dallas in the 1990's. In the article he is talking about how teams dont give 100% as a baseline and 'play their hearts out' but must be Strongly encouraged to do so via certain motivating factors. Dont bother responding unless you have direct evidence that 'most players give a 100%' or that the Bills 'are playing their hearts out' from a source as credible as Jimmy Johnson -SB winning coach.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4700981/jimmy-johnson-thinks-valley-ranch-is-a-country-club

[kishoph]

I'm a big believer in teams taking on the personality of their coach. The Bills have been lifeless and soft for a long, long time.

Why can they never win on the road against a good, or even average, team? Why do they come out "flat" in 80% of their games? Why do they fall apart and quit at the first sign of adversity? Why do they blow so many winnable games? Why do you have no confidence in them as a fan unless they up are up by 20+ points in the fourth quarter? Why do they commit so many preventable penalties?

The answer to every question is, "No mental toughness." When you employ coaches with no fire who play not to lose, you get a gutless team that has no clue how to win.


I totally agree, I've always said that a team takes on the personality of it's coach and right now the Bills are a bunch of nice guys that don't want to hurt anyone's feelings and are satisfied with just going out there and giving it a try. That's not the way football should be played, you want to go out with a "take no prisoners" attitude, you have to have an edge. One thing that is missing is the failure to hold anybody accountable. I'm not for players or coaches throwing one another under the bus, but once I would of loved for someone to say "Fitzpatrick cost us another shot at winning the game." I'd get nauseous every time I'd hear Stevie or Gailey talk up Fitz like he was the second coming of Jim Kelly. Hearing Gailey say numerous times that it was "Fred's turn to carry the ball, made me want to pull my hair out. Performance means nothing to this team, there are no consequences for poor play, instead they get a atta boy, good try. Last week Brad Smith after a reception in the middle of the field, dove to the ground 2 yards before he was going to get hit, that's not football, yet he probably went to the sideline, got a pat on the butt and was told good catch. I don't care for a yelling, screaming Dikta type coach, but I want a coach that if you are going to not play balls to the wall, you're going to sit on the bench, weather it's your "turn" or not.

[jamze132]

Gailey would be a good peewee football coach where just trying your best is all that's asked. Doesn't matter if you win as long as you have fun.

[OpIv37]

Gailey would be a good peewee football coach where just trying your best is all that's asked. Doesn't matter if you win as long as you have fun.

the worst part is that the same thing is true of Jauron. This team never learns from its' mistakes.

[jamze132]

Two constants throughout the variables. Ralph Wilson and Russ Brandon.

[psubills62]

I think the players are going through the motions once they know they're simply waiting to play golf in January. Pretty sure it's that simple, no matter who the owner is.

The Fins are a "hated rival" for the fans. Those types of rivalries only last when the two teams competing are relatively good (e.g. Ravens/Steelers). When both teams suck, why should the players care? Players don't feel that team loyalty anymore either, so there's no real reason they should feel the hatred for rivals.

[Mouldsie]

Yup. We need a culture changer. Been saying that since I became a fan!

That includes the QB position. It's why I favored R. Wilson. It's why I dont like Geno Smith, I dont see him as a leader. It's why Ryan Nassib intrigues me. His teams comebacks and his 4th quarter play are indicative of his leadership IMO.

Coach wise it's why I favor either a 1st time HC (under the radar guy like Mike Tomlin was or college coach like C. Kelly) or a guy who has won a lot in the past (Cowher, Parcells). Jauron and Gailey were retreads who dont inspire. I would have just as soon stuck with Fewell who may be a good one someday.

[OpIv37]

I think the players are going through the motions once they know they're simply waiting to play golf in January. Pretty sure it's that simple, no matter who the owner is.

The Fins are a "hated rival" for the fans. Those types of rivalries only last when the two teams competing are relatively good (e.g. Ravens/Steelers). When both teams suck, why should the players care? Players don't feel that team loyalty anymore either, so there's no real reason they should feel the hatred for rivals.
Well, athletes are competitive. They see division rivals twice a year. Even though most of them didn't grow up Bills fans and don't have the hatred of the division rivals that we do, I figured the rivalry would develop just from having to play them so often.