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0-5 Buffalo Bills: Just as expected?
October 12th, 2010 Frank Minniti Posted in Buffalo Bills
Nowadays, fans of the old "K-Gun" are hiding themselves at Orchard Park's Ralph Wilson Stadium
Of course, that's a rhetorical question for you all.
Let me clear up any misconceptions: no one is surprised, shocked or scratching their heads at the Bills starting out 0-5.
Before this downward spiral commenced, there were many critics and pundits who were cruel to the Bills, pegging them to have three chances, four tops, to wins games this season. I didn't necessarily like reading all the negative ink about the Bills, but that doesn't mean I didn't agree with it. Now as the Bills limp into their bye week with stinging pride and hurtful hearts, this team has a real chance to run the table backwards and finish 0-16.
There wasn't really anything shocking about Sunday's lost to Jacksonville, except maybe for the fact that Buffalo was actually favored in the game. I'd love a plausible explanation from Las Vegas as to how in the world they came up with that conclusion.
As for the game, the Bills lost to an average, young up-and-down Jaguars squad, and Buffalo made them look way better than what they really are. Despite forcing three turnovers and an early 10-0 lead, Buffalo did not want to win the game. Jacksonville scored 36 points, making it the fourth time in as many games an opponent hung 30-plus points on the Bills which had never happened before in the history of the franchise.
And of course the run defense was dreadful as ever. Jacksonville ran wild to the tune of 216 yards. The best thing you can say about the run defense is they kept the Jaguars out of the end zone. Maurice Jones-Drew ran for 84 yards. Deji Karim, making his first NFL appearance, had a nice debut with 70 yards. At this point we need to be asking, "Who hasn't chewed out the Bills' rushing defense?". For the first time since 1972, Buffalo has now allowed 200 or more yards rushing in three consecutive games.
The stone cold truth is that this team simply doesn't have the right personnel to excel in a 3-4 scheme. In short, there's not much talent to work with. Despite what players have said in postgame interviews about talent not being issue, rather it's all about execution. Players insist they've got the talent on this team. Honestly, I don't see what Bills team they're looking at. They're using cast offs like Reggie Torbor and Akin Ayodele. Paul Posluszny is not a Pro Bowl caliber middle linebacker like some envisioned he would be. They say they have the talent. The record suggest they're completely void of it. But when you ignore improving on both the offensive and defensive lines, it's silly to expect a team to be anything other than brutal.
But I disgress, and yet I have to go back to what Chan Gailey said when he was fired hired, about how you can win in the NFL without stars. Yeah, so how's that working out so far, Chan?
I wish this was just one of those years where a team hits a rough stretch, runs into a rough patch where things go awry for a month and at some point you know you're going to dig your way out. That's not the case with this team. This appears to be a 16-game rough patch.
All you had to do was look at the schedule. It didn't appear kind and the reality is it's going to get a lot worse. They had their chances with both Florida based teams, Miami and Jacksonville. Those seemed like the best bets for the Bills to get an early win or two. They failed on both counts. Nobody pegged them to beat Green Bay, New York Jets or New England.
At this rate, the only thing people have the Bills pegged for is an 0-16 season. After all, through five games the only thing we know for certain is that this team has proven they're capable of losing every game. They've got 11 games left, but that doesn't mean a hill of beans. It pretty much comes down to two, maybe three games: Oct.31 at Kansas City, Nov. 14 vs. Detroit, and Dec. 12 vs. Cleveland.
Nobody is shocked the Bills are at the bottom of the heap at 0-5. I doubt there will be many jaws hitting the floor if they finish 0-16.
Tags: 0-16 bills, 0-5 bills, 0-5 buffalo bills, bills 0-5, Buffalo Bills