Some semi-organized post game comments on yet another Bills choke job.....

[OpIv37]

-I predicted a blowout and the Bills kept this game a lot closer than I expected. That being said, I almost wish it was a blowout. It's one thing to get beat by a team that's clearly better- it's another thing to piss away a victory in the last minute in a winnable game.

-**** CJ for the fumble and being basically invisible
-**** Stevie Johnson for yet another inopportune drop
-**** Chandler for 2 penalties (or was it 3?) and a big drop
-The net result of the above was that the experienced guys didn't make EJ's debut any easier. The only one who really came through for him on offense was Fred Jackson, who was the only consistent player on offense.

-EJ made some ****ing terrible plays and some very astute plays- the encouraging thing is that, for the most part, the bad plays came early and the good plays came late.

-Most of Vereen's running was a result of inexcusably bad tackling.
-The pass rush was inconsistent and the "creep" D (no one with their hands in the dirt) was consistently ineffective. This may be because the Bills used to do it and the Jets did it under Pettine before, so the Pats have seen it many, many times.
-That "scrub" Edelmann had no problems getting open against our DB's.
-Kiko played well
-Despite general struggles by the secondary, McKelvin had his best defensive game as a Bill and Leonard was solid.

-The return game was non-existent outside of one play, but S/T coverage and punts were excellent.

-A lot of what happened in this game was Marrone's fault. Far too many penalties (lack of discipline), that stupid early challenge, poor clock management, far too many mistakes (drops, turnovers, missed tackles) even for a young team, sticking with the "creep" despite the lack of effectiveness.

-All that being said, there were some positive developments as well. This game was in danger of getting completely out of hand early, but the players also had the mental toughness to stick with it. And the Bills were able to make adjustments after a slow start. It's too soon to tell, but I suspect (or at least hope) that the early struggles were a result of jitters from a young team, which will go away in time. The lack of talent in the Pats' receiving corps and the inexperience of the Bills make this a really tough game to evaluate.

NOTE TO MODS: My post-game comments used to be an article on the front page- you can do that with this if you want, but I may not have time to do it every week.

[Night Train]

Kiko did not play well and was moved out with ease many plays. Nice try. Vereen had 14-101 running right up the middle, coming off the bench. Kiko needs to get off of blocks. Give him time.

If the Bills feed Fred Jackson the ball more, they win. I hope Marrone can see who his best player is after week 1 and adjust the gameplan accordingly. Spiller is Mr. "change of pace " .

" I almost wish it was a blowout " ??? What ?

Rookie HC, Rookie QB , new schemes on both sides of the ball, inferior roster 10 players short, tons of penalties and mistakes, beating themselves for 80 % of the game...and they lose in the last 5 seconds.

Perspective.

[OpIv37]

Kiko did not play well and was moved out with ease many plays. Nice try. Vereen had 14-101 running right up the middle, coming off the bench. Kiko needs to get off of blocks. Give him time.

If the Bills feed Fred Jackson the ball more, they win. I hope Marrone can see who his best player is after week 1 and adjust the gameplan accordingly. Spiller is Mr. "change of pace " .

" I almost wish it was a blowout " ??? What ?

Rookie HC, Rookie QB , new schemes on both sides of the ball, inferior roster 10 players short, tons of penalties and mistakes, beating themselves for 80 % of the game...and they lose in the last 5 seconds.

Perspective.
ok, poor choice of words- what I meant is that the the blowouts are easier to deal with than the constant heart-wrenching chokes.

Perspective? I hear all off-season about how depleted the Pats are, how they lost their top 5 WR's, how Brady has no one to throw to, how they're old, how they're vulnerable, and now I'm supposed to be somehow satisfied or encouraged that they only lost by choking in the last minute? Please.

[YardRat]

Nobody outside of Bills fandom even gave this team a chance. At least they showed they could belong on the field of play, which is pretty significant for such a young team.

We're not going to go from beaten and downtrodden to Super Bowl contenders in one game.

[2slowtogofast]

The only thing that matters to me is EJ. I am happy he continues to show progress. With an elite QB (hopefully EJ becomes one) all the rest falls into place. Without one none of it really matters.

[Meathead]

in a way it was a blowout. they were outgained by 150 yds and really were only in it due to extreme gifts from the magical cheaters

mostly when it counted the bills were a mistake machine today. some encouraging stuff was happening too but the steady stream of mistakes was alarming. god tried to give them the game today and they handed it right back

most weeks if you commit that many unforced errors you will get blown out by any opponent. big breaks made it look closer than it was. lots of work to do

[OpIv37]

Nobody outside of Bills fandom even gave this team a chance. At least they showed they could belong on the field of play, which is pretty significant for such a young team.

We're not going to go from beaten and downtrodden to Super Bowl contenders in one game.

Fair enough.

Still no excuse for penalties, fumbles by vets like Spiller, drops by vets like Chandler and Johnson, etc. Cut the mistakes by vets in half, we win.

[OpIv37]

in a way it was a blowout. they were outgained by 150 yds and really were only in it due to extreme gifts from the magical cheaters

mostly when it counted the bills were a mistake machine today. some encouraging stuff was happening too but the steady stream of mistakes was alarming. god tried to give them the game today and they handed it right back

most weeks if you commit that many unforced errors you will get blown out by any opponent. big breaks made it look closer than it was. lots of work to do

Shhhhhhh..... no place for reality with a fan base that's satisfied cuz we didn't get blown out by 50.

[Owen DeBoard]

Kiko did not play well and was moved out with ease many plays. Nice try. Vereen had 14-101 running right up the middle, coming off the bench. Kiko needs to get off of blocks. Give him time.


I remeber Kiko had a very nice goalline td saving tackle and you could hear the pop and he also kept Ridley from recovering his own fumble and recovered a fumble I cant ask much more out of the rook he had a very good game in my opinion.

[Skooby]

EJ hasn't had live action for weeks now, just to be clear here about his start.

[Night Train]

ok, poor choice of words- what I meant is that the the blowouts are easier to deal with than the constant heart-wrenching chokes.

Perspective? I hear all off-season about how depleted the Pats are, how they lost their top 5 WR's, how Brady has no one to throw to, how they're old, how they're vulnerable, and now I'm supposed to be somehow satisfied or encouraged that they only lost by choking in the last minute? Please.

I read from you that this season was going to be " a disaster " and this would blowout loss. Sounds like face saving to me. Now you're a Pats apologist ?

Your degree of satisfaction ? What a load. I hear the Spin Doctors playing 20 year old tunes on the radio.

[Captain Obvious]

and this would blowout loss.


OP predicted the Bills would lose by 28 poinst if Manuel played so he was off by 25 points

[OpIv37]

I read from you that this season was going to be " a disaster " and this would blowout loss. Sounds like face saving to me. Now you're a Pats apologist ?

Your degree of satisfaction ? What a load. I hear the Spin Doctors playing 20 year old tunes on the radio.
We're 0-1.

You're ready to say the season isn't a disaster cuz we almost didn't lose the first game? Please.

[OpIv37]

OP predicted the Bills would lose by 28 poinst if Manuel played so he was off by 25 points

Yup, I was right on the outcome but very wrong on the margin.

[Thundering Buffalo]

This team is loaded with rookies and first time coaches they will improve with each game if this is the baseline then I think we have something to look forward to

[Skooby]

Yup, I was right on the outcome but very wrong on the margin.

You & just about every logical fan.

[Captain Obvious]

You & just about every logical fan.

Is it logical to predict 28 point losses on a weekly basis?

[BuffaloRedleg]

You are a child.

Another Bills choke job?

New coach, new QB, new DC, new OC. What sort of connection does this have previous teams? If you say Ralph you are ****ing moron, because he doesn't call the plays.

****s like you thought we would get blown out. Hell I thought we would too. But I was wrong and so are you. This is a good team with fixable faults. For ****s sake enjoy it.

Some of you make me so embarrassed to be a Bills fan. Yes it sucked to lose but for a new regime that was pretty good. Even if we won some of you would still be ****ting all over the Bills so yes we have things to build on but are you kidding me that was better than anyone ever thought realistically.

Edit: drunk kiss my ass

[Lucidvizion]

It's so much easier to be negative all of the time. When something good happens, you've got the best cop-out in the world:

"I'm glad I was wrong!"

But in reality you're just a coward.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

ok, poor choice of words- what I meant is that the the blowouts are easier to deal with than the constant heart-wrenching chokes.

Emotionally? Sure, I can understand that. But I'm a realist about this team and I know you've claimed the same. I get emotional when they lose a game they shouldn't or win a game they should. But after the McKelvin fumble I flat out refuse to believe we will beat the Pats until the clock reads 0:00.


Perspective? I hear all off-season about how depleted the Pats are, how they lost their top 5 WR's, how Brady has no one to throw to, how they're old, how they're vulnerable, and now I'm supposed to be somehow satisfied or encouraged that they only lost by choking in the last minute? Please.

Satisfaction is personal, and based on your subjective expectations. I thoroughly expected the Bills to get mudstomped in this game (as did you) and set my expectations accordingly. When they played better than I expected and came close to knocking off Brady, I felt my expectations had been exceeded.

I'm sure if you went to Patriots' boards right now there is probably some pissed off **** whining about how they needed a last minute field goal to beat the Bills and how he thinks the team has gone off a cliff.

Expectations matter.

[OpIv37]

Emotionally? Sure, I can understand that. But I'm a realist about this team and I know you've claimed the same. I get emotional when they lose a game they shouldn't or win a game they should. But after the McKelvin fumble I flat out refuse to believe we will beat the Pats until the clock reads 0:00.



Satisfaction is personal, and based on your subjective expectations. I thoroughly expected the Bills to get mudstomped in this game (as did you) and set my expectations accordingly. When they played better than I expected and came close to knocking off Brady, I felt my expectations had been exceeded.

I'm sure if you went to Patriots' boards right now there is probably some pissed off **** whining about how they needed a last minute field goal to beat the Bills and how he thinks the team has gone off a cliff.

Expectations matter.

No they don't. Wins and losses matter.

[bf1]

I thought Kiko sucked. Looked like a taller and leaner Poz. 5 steps late on every play. Easily kicked out.

[Oaf]

Don't worry Op, you'll get your blowout in Wk17. Count on it.

[Mr. Pink]

You could have organized your thoughts into three words...

same ole shiz.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

No they don't. Wins and losses matter.

Thanks, Yogi Berra, for the inspired witticism.

Real talk, OpIvy. You and I mean ****-all to this team. We do not affect the win-loss record one bit. What we do affect is how we perceive the team and how that affects us. I woke up this morning expecting to lose horribly and predicting this was a 6-10 team. I go to bed tonight knowing that we lost a close one and still predicting this is a 6-10 team.

And that's where we differ. We both predicted disaster this morning. It didn't happen. You're the one getting MORE upset that it didn't happen, but that kind of shatters your claim to objectivity. If you predict they lose big, and they lose small-that's objectively a better result. HURF DURF ONLY WINS MATTER, sure, but neither of us predicted a win so neither of us is out in the cold there.

[BuffaloRedleg]

Thanks, Yogi Berra, for the inspired witticism.

Real talk, OpIvy. You and I mean ****-all to this team. We do not affect the win-loss record one bit. What we do affect is how we perceive the team and how that affects us. I woke up this morning expecting to lose horribly and predicting this was a 6-10 team. I go to bed tonight knowing that we lost a close one and still predicting this is a 6-10 team.

And that's where we differ. We both predicted disaster this morning. It didn't happen. You're the one getting MORE upset that it didn't happen, but that kind of shatters your claim to objectivity. If you predict they lose big, and they lose small-that's objectively a better result. HURF DURF ONLY WINS MATTER, sure, but neither of us predicted a win so neither of us is out in the cold there.

I'm obviously new around here, but so he is the cliche forum guy who always is a dick? You had a pretty good post and he responded with one sentence, so yeah he's that guy.

If you are losing your mind about this loss you are a ****ing idiot. You can't say the Bills will get ruined (like I did) and then when they play hard and lose a close one, you ****ing *****. Jesus ******* christ some of you are so ******* cliche.

[better days]

ok, poor choice of words- what I meant is that the the blowouts are easier to deal with than the constant heart-wrenching chokes.

Perspective? I hear all off-season about how depleted the Pats are, how they lost their top 5 WR's, how Brady has no one to throw to, how they're old, how they're vulnerable, and now I'm supposed to be somehow satisfied or encouraged that they only lost by choking in the last minute? Please.

If the refs did not call all the BS penalties against the Bills when they made big plays, the Bills would have won this game without question.

ONE play they showed where Buffalo was called for hands to the face & it was clear, his hands were BELOW the facemask.

To be expected, the refs not calling penalties on the Pats* when they were CLEARLY holding & calling BS penalties on the Bills.

[SpikedLemonade]

If the refs did not call all the BS penalties against the Bills when they made big plays, the Bills would have won this game without question.

ONE play they showed where Buffalo was called for hands to the face & it was clear, his hands were BELOW the facemask.

To be expected, the refs not calling penalties on the Pats* when they were CLEARLY holding & calling BS penalties on the Bills.

I am happy with how the Bills played but wasn't our first defensive TD not a big ref call in our favour?

I don't think it is wise to pin this loss on the refs.

I just hope EJ keeps getting better and better.

[Crisis]

I am happy with how the Bills played but wasn't our first defensive TD not a big ref call in our favour?

I don't think it is wise to pin this loss on the refs.

I just hope EJ keeps getting better and better.

The Ridley fumble? That was the correct call.

[Mike]

It's so much easier to be negative all of the time. When something good happens, you've got the best cop-out in the world:

"I'm glad I was wrong!"

But in reality you're just a coward.

Critical thinking exits when there is no negative or positive biases. As such, being a critical thinker or a 'realist' doest preclude you from being incorrect. You can be both realistic and a critical think and wrong.

Lastly, it's very strange and weird to me that you insist that a fan should be 'positive' and have rose colored glasses as if having such an attitude would make a difference or an impact on the game. In your personal life, being optimistic can impact your life however the same can not be said about a football game you have no connection to.

[Skooby]

My rosé colored glasses got stained red.

[Historian]

Here's my first tweet from yesterday:

Fumble. Pats players dive for the ball....Bills players stand around and point. Thats the difference between the two franchises





I think that about sums up this team since 1999. And what bothers me the most, is that nobody is held accountable, until the HC's contract is about up, and he's shown the door in favor of the next unqualified bum.

[DraftBoy]

I remeber Kiko had a very nice goalline td saving tackle and you could hear the pop and he also kept Ridley from recovering his own fumble and recovered a fumble I cant ask much more out of the rook he had a very good game in my opinion.

Can we ask that he know and play assignment football? The tackle on the goal-line was nice and all but he was way out of position far too often.

[better days]

I am happy with how the Bills played but wasn't our first defensive TD not a big ref call in our favour?

I don't think it is wise to pin this loss on the refs.

I just hope EJ keeps getting better and better.

The fumble by Ridley was OBVIOUS. The Refs HAD to call that.

The refs called BS penalties at CRITICAL times on the Bills & never called holding on the Pats* even though they were holding the entire game.

The Pats* can thank the Refs for this win.

[Lucidvizion]

Critical thinking exits when there is no negative or positive biases. As such, being a critical thinker or a 'realist' doest preclude you from being incorrect. You can be both realistic and a critical think and wrong.

Lastly, it's very strange and weird to me that you insist that a fan should be 'positive' and have rose colored glasses as if having such an attitude would make a difference or an impact on the game. In your personal life, being optimistic can impact your life however the same can not be said about a football game you have no connection to.

Firstly, it's very strange and weird to me that you think that I insisted that anybody do anything.

I am talking about the type of people who consistently choose to focus their attention on the faults in an outcome, even if it exceeded their expectations, and derive a sense of vindication from it.

[BuffaloRedleg]

Here's my first tweet from yesterday:

Fumble. Pats players dive for the ball....Bills players stand around and point. Thats the difference between the two franchises





I think that about sums up this team since 1999. And what bothers me the most, is that nobody is held accountable, until the HC's contract is about up, and he's shown the door in favor of the next unqualified bum.

You are a regular John Madden with that brilliant insight. What cutting analysis.