Does anyone else feel somewhat betrayed by the FO and coaches?

[WG]

Am I the only one, or is anyone else out there feeling somewhat betrayed by the team, ie. FO, coaches, etc., that we would be better than we are w/ the talent we have now?

[Romes]

I'm not I remember posting TD quotes where he said, don't get your hopes too high we are still a work in progress.

Betrayed definitley not but dissapointed yes, mostly with JG and GW's defense. I feel we were led to believe we had one of the best LB cores. Instead we have Robinson who is invisible, Newman that is not getting playing time and Fletcher is playing decent when he was supposed to be pro-bowl caliber.

On the other hand I did not expect to be THIS good on offense. the two, kind of, balance each other out to yield the result of the record I expected.

[Ð]

OMG, Wys...an NFL head coach or GM inflated the "value" of their team in the media. They never do that, not on any other team, or in any other pro sport or in the business world.

Do I feel cheated, lied to, etc. etc. Sure! Do I let it bother me to the point of obsession ? Absolutely not! I'll let you in on a little secret that's allowed me to keep my sanity, Wys......are you listening???? I'll have to whisper.......

I DON"T OWN THE FRICKIN' TEAM!!!!!!!!!! Let the poor saps who shelled out way too much money to buy the team worry @ it. I'll just enjoy the games & have a good time while doing it.

That's the beauty of off-season prognosticating by GM's, coaches, etc. Every team is undefeated at that point. There's no risk to making any kind of prediction/claim/etc. about your team's future performance in the off-season. I'm sure the Bengals were claiming they'd be a .500 team, when they knew full well that the'yre gonna suck large this year. It's all @ bums in chairs.

It's no different from the makers of Tide claiming the "new, improved Tide" is better than the old Tide. It probably isn't any better, but the product manager's job is to convince you that it is. Hype, hyperbole, advertising, etc. It's what makes the world go round...the sizzle sells much better than the steak.

Try & sell tickets for an NFL team based on a theoretical, objective analysis and dissertation including play-by-play stat breakdown & absolute "truths" and "facts" (according to Hoyle) & I'll guarantee two things; You've missed the point about why 99% of people enjoy football and you'd be out of business in very short order.

And BTW, I DO do my washing in Tide, since in North Bay, for 6 months out of the year, it's too cold out Tide.

[Captain gameboy]

I don't feel betrayed at all. In my wildest dreams I didn't think we'd be 3-3 at this point, with a lead about 8 mins into the 4th vs. the Raiders, a turnover away from beating the Broncos, and a coin toss from beating the Jets.
I am alarmed by the inability to "hide" Watson by scheme, but overall, I don't think we're bad enough to make me feel "betrayed."
I suspect these thoughts are from people who think we should have demolished an expansion team. I didn't. They had two weeks to prepare, were in a frenzied home stadium and the NFL expansion rules make it much easier to get competitive fast. If they didn't, nobody would plunk down the outrageous fees to do it.

[don137]

When TD took over I felt this team was three years away from being a contender. I still feel they are a year away and TD and the scouting department did a great job so far. They are fun to watch. I am sure TD and GW are disappointed in a few of the players they have on defense (Watson, Robinson and Denney, etc.) but considering the mess TD had when he took over I am satisfied with what I am seeing. I expected 8-8 and I think that is where we will finish.

[JayWood]

After six games we are 3-3, with the 3 "L's" all possible wins. I thought we would be better on defense and never in my wildest dreasm did i think our offense would be this strong. Remember we are a rebuilding project. This coming off season TD and company will address the defensive side of the ball, and then come 2003, watch out this team will be damn good.

[Earthquake Enyart]

You seem to forget how horrible they were last year.

They have made great strides and are competative against any team. But the defense really needs to show some progress, sometine soon. Particularly the FA's, Fletcher and Robinson.

[Voltron]

One again I think that Wys is going off the deep end and is calling for all the women and children to the life rafts cause he believes our ship is sinking. I will agree I am very very disappointed with this D. We can't change our scheme in the 7th week of the season and expect a below average cover team to pick it up and we can't expect miracles from the likes of Watson and (fill in name of DL here). Williams is the lone bright spot on the D and PP and NC have teams scared to throw to them somewhat. I am upset about penalties more than anything. Most of them are just plain dumb!

I think we are on track this season to a .500 season and we should give the team all our support we can. I haven’t seen the Buffalo Bills try this hard since Jim Kelly played. This is happening because of none other than Drew of course, but I think we all knew that. Our offense is still one of the most explosive in the league and they have kept us in every game so far. I don’t feel cheated at all. Not after I put my good name in support of Rob Johnson and got didly. Wys do you remember how bad last year was? We were the joke of the AFC! This year we have all the top teams RESPECT! You think that Miami is going to over look us? Don’t bet on it! They used to rely on a guy who used his arm as much as Drew has … I remember him well. He ruined many a Sunday for me… Dan Marino. So yeah the D needs help, The STs are improving evry week, and our offense is outstanding ! We are on track to an 8-8 season and another good off season we will be in the Playoffs! I sure hope we can keep Price!

[TedMock]

TD did say to be patient this year and admitted they weren't quite ready. I honestly feel that the Bills are exactly what I thought they'd be this year. The offense is solid and we need help on the D-Line. I think the whole defense is getting blamed for what 2 or 3 guys are killing us on. With the exception of Pat Williams, the D-Line is hot and cold....more cold than hot. If an opposing QB has 7+ seconds to throw the ball, the best DB's in history can't cover that long. I thought we should've addressed the D-Line in the offseason and when we didn't, I figured the run D would suffer and there'd be no qb pressure which trickles back to the LB's and DB's. I don't think they're that far off though. I think the LB's are solid and the DB's are solid. On both sides of the ball it starts with the line. We improved the OL and while it still needs experience and improvement, it is better. Yes, Bledsoe is having a great season so far but it still starts with the line. Again, I think they're where they should be right now. I felt 7-9 to 9-7 was a realistic goal this year. I think they must get at least another DT next season and probably another end too and then I'll say they're ready for the playoffs. Until then, I'll keep my fingers crossed, hope for the best but I'll also try to be realistic.

[Fat Tony]

Betrayed?

Finding your wife in Bed with your best friend is Betrayal.

Wearing a wire is betrayal

Telling the Russians who our spies are is betrayal

Your Dog eating your tax return...(not that I fill one out)


This is football. I watch, I cheer, i register my glee or disgust accordingly. Betrayal? I don't think so.

[Kelly The Dog]

I will bet almost anything that Tom Donohoe wins NFL Executive of the Year. Not really the grounds for feelings of betrayal.

[BillsNYC]

Does anyone else feel somewhat betrayed by the FO and coaches?

nope....just you

[Captain gameboy]

Winless Rams beat undefeated Raiders with Warner out? Nothing surprises me in this league. Most teams are very close to eachother.

[Novacane]

I think you chose the wrong word Wys.

[WG]

Possibly. Good feedback nonetheless. Points well-taken!!!


Food for thought on some of those comments:

8-8 I highly doubt will happen. I'm thinkin' more along the lines of 3-7 our last 10. I'm sure that may sway some of your opinions if and when that happens. We've been extremely lucky regarding the lack of serious injuries. They will come however as no team makes it through the season injury free as we have done thus far. Dependent upon the scope of those injuries, we are one or two away from complete disaster. Here's hoping that we don't get bitten too hard.


Jaywood,

"After six games we are 3-3, with the 3 "L's" all possible wins. I thought we would be better on defense and never in my wildest dreasm did i think our offense would be this strong. Remember we are a rebuilding project. This coming off season TD and company will address the defensive side of the ball, and then come 2003, watch out this team will be damn good."

All three wins were also possible losses against teams that shouldn't have even played us closely. Counterpoint.

I just hope that the D doesn't "improve" in the same manor next year as it did this year or we'll give up 700 points. No one here mentioned why on earth this D should even have slipped.


EE,

"You seem to forget how horrible they were last year."

No, actually I remember quite vividly. You, to counter, seem to not realize how much worse our D is this year. It really has gotten quite bad. Why? Coaching? If so, then why the hope for next year barring major coaching changes?

Yes, the offense has made great strides, but primarily due to Drew and him alone. Honestly, we'd be 0-6 w/o Drew.


Voltron,

"This year we have all the top teams RESPECT! You think that Miami is going to over look us?"

No, not offensively. But I can assure you that teams w/ struggling offenses welcome a chance to play us! Do you think that Miami, even w/ Lucas, is worried about whether or not they'll score v. us?

Also, Henry has demonstrated, albeit he may improve, that he only shows up half the time at best. Drew traditionally has not played well v. Miami. His last 16 games v. Miami he's 6-10. Last 6 games going back to '98 he's 1-5 w/ 6 TDs to 12 INTs. What if Henry doesn't provide the balance in games and Drew isn't quite on as he wasn't in the first half yesterday? Honestly, if Henry is off, we're likely down 17-3 or so at the half. Maybe more.

The teams that we've played to date are weak or were weak. Oakland has played no one and their pretenses were unmasked yesterday against a good but not great Rams team w/ a 3rd string QB at the helm. They'll go .500 or so from here on out. Denver is excellent. Chicago and Minnesota and Texans will be lucky to have 12 or 14 wins among them at seasons end.

Our schedule's intensity takes off dramitically hereafter. The "cakewalk" Detroit game is wedged in between the Miami and Pats games. The "cakewalk" Cincy game is after a hellacious streak of tough games and during what is likely to be horrible weather. Key: they have a running game w/ Dillon that could singlehandedly win the game. Let's hope Henry is on and that he doesn't give up another 7 points.

I just am not seeing that we are "close" for next year. I'm seeing yet another season of rebuilding and a host of coaching issues that barring some firings will remain unchanged in all liklihood.

We'll see. Unfortunately, if we do go on a skid to finish our last 10 say 3-7, I think that more of you are going to be viewing this through my eyes. But there's nothing to suggest that we can beat a balanced team. Nothing. All three victories for us this year were against three teams that were anything but balances, or even good for that matter. I dare say that Minnesota, Chicago, Houston, and the Jets at the time we played them were 4 of the worst 6 teams that we'll play this season.

That's 2/3 of our schedule over the first 6. 8 of the remaining 10 games will be against much better and much more balanced teams that we really haven't faced. To think that we're gonna all of a sudden pull out the stops on D is unfounded.

Interesting points though and some good humor in there too...