Crisis? What crisis?
October 7th, 2009 at 9:07 pm by John Murphy under News 4 Buffalo Sports
I read this AP story on the Bills tonight thinking about the team’s usual Wednesday media day.
Here’s the link:
The headline reads “Bills in Upbeat Mood Despite Dreadful Start.” The first line: “For a team that’s supposed to be in a state of crisis…”
It got me thinking. Who says they’re supposed to be in a state of crisis? The media? Talk show hosts and callers? Bloggers?
It was interesting to talk with Bills coaches and players this week. As far as they’re concerned, there’s no state of “crisis.” There is urgency. Defensive End Chris Kelsay called Sunday’s game against Cleveland a “must win” game. It’s not often you’ll hear a player say that about the fifth game of the season.
But we in the media sometimes overreact to an overwhelming defeat, like the one the Bills suffered last Sunday in Miami. No question, the Bills shortcomings on the offensive line and at linebacker have been exposed. They’ve got holes to plug, problems to solve.
But this season is not over. In fact, there’s a long way to go.
One of the Bills coaches spoke to me today about how much season there is left to play. Four games down, 12 to play. That’s 3/4 of the season. Things change, sometimes very quickly, in the NFL.
It’s way to early to check out on this season. I can’t fathom why anyone would root for a Bills loss at this juncture, like I hear some “fans” talk about this week. There are 12-games left to play–that’s most of a full season.
Think about where the Bills should be in a month–Posluszny and Whitner should be back on defense. The young offensive line will have four more games under its’ belt. Who knows where their opponents will be?
It’s good that the Bills approach this week’s game with a sense of urgency. I think it’s also good that they don’t really acknowledge that they’re a team in “crisis.”
Your thoughts and opinions are always welcome.
I’m not sure why, but the loss to Miami on Sunday really hurt more than usual. The question is whether the team can adequately address the issues that led to such a demoralizing defeat.—–Can Trent Edwards get the ball down the field, or has his shell shocked mentality handicapped his ability to find that deep route receiver–either T.O. or Lee Evans? To that end is there enough talent on this offensive line to provide some semblance of protection for the quarterback? And could someone please tell me why in the 90 plus degree heat they continued to run the hurry up offense that put an already compromised defense in a difficult position–not to mention what it did to the inexperienced offensive line? Unless I’m blind- I see no evidence that this coaching staff can turn things around for the next 12 games. The team needs a shake up!
“I can’t fathom why anyone would root for a Bills loss at this juncture…” — then you haven’t been paying attention, Murph. Fans are hoping for a loss because maybe that means Ralph will fire Jauron if he loses to another winless team. THAT’S the hope fans have because many fans know this team is going nowhere with him as coach.
I understand the optimism but given what we’ve seen so far, there’s little to be hopeful these last 2 weeks with the punt on 4th and 1 vs. the Saints that told the team they’re not good enough to get 1 yard in a close game and the pasting they got by the winless Dolphins.
If the Bills lose to the winless Browns this weekend, well….you haven’t seen nothing yet as far as fan displeasure.
You can change coaches all you want. The trouble is and always has been at the top–Ralph Wilson. As long as he is the owner we will see the same thing repeated coach after coach. Think about this for a second..the Bills have had just four winning coaches ( Saban, Knox, Levy, Phillips) and two solid GM’s (Polian, Butler) in their 50 years of existance. All but Levy left with a bad taste in their mouth due to the meddling and incompetence of Wilson. Stop blaming only Jauron, he was available at the right price for Ralph..the next guy will be the same, with a different name..Here’s some names from the past to chew on..
Ramsey, Collier, Harvey Johnson,Rauch,Ringo,Stephenson,Bullough,Williams, and Malarkey..and Wilson is in the Hall of Fame..unbelievable!!! Go Bills..