More of The Same for the Buffalo Bills

It has been several years since the Buffalo Bills have seen a team that rises above sub-mediocrity. Year after year, we see the team is not competitive, and likely to wind up out of the playoffs. Year after year, we suffer through poor quarterback play (this yaer, J. P. Losman has thrown for only 210 yards in the first two games. Year after year, we see a team that can’t seem to put up big numbers on offense (1 offensive touchdown in the first two games this year). Year after year, we see a team that cannot protect the quarterback. Year after year, we see a team whose defense isn’t quite good enough to shut the opponents down to make up for the lack of offense.

And year after year we see the same poor coaching decisions, one of which might have cost the Bills a win in their season opener. In that game, Buffalo lost on a last-second field goal, but earlier, Buffalo had a chance to run 40 seconds off the clock by choosing a running play, and instead they tried to throw a bomb, a play that might succeed about 5% of the time. Of course, the pass was incomplete, meaning that less than 10 seconds ran off the clock. Had another 30 seconds run off the clock on a running play, Denver would not have had time to kick that field goal to win the game.

I can recall several years ago calling then coach Gregg Williams’ radio show to ask him why Buffalo threw three successive incomplete passes with a small lead late in the fourth quarter. Is it possible that no coach learns from these mistakes? Certainly, there seem to be many fans and sportswriters who have learned why you don’t pass when you are ahead late in the fourth quarter.

Same old, same old. And I don’t know how much longer I will be watching the Buffalo Bills.