Bills demonstrate why they are perennial losers
It would be easy to take some low blows on the Buffalo Bills.
You could talk about their streak of 16 consecutive seasons without a postseason appearance, or the fact they sold out the naming rights to their stadium, getting rid of Ralph Wilson’s name for a few million bucks.
Instead, we’ll stick to the basics. The Bills are a group of losers, because they allow themselves to act in such a fashion.
Buffalo lost on Thursday night to the New York Jets at New Era Stadium (ugh), giving up 37 points and more than 500 yards of total offense. The game was a debacle from start to finish for head coach Rex Ryan and the Bills, only masked to a degree because of two huge passing plays and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
The score said Buffalo played a reasonably competitive game. It lied. Then, on Friday, the organization got together for a team picture which included offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Only hours later, Roman was fired by Ryan. It represents the most gutless move possible by a guy who is a chest-thumping neanderthal, living off the reputation of his late father.
Buddy Ryan was a living, breathing circus. He was not a great head coach. Ryan never won a playoff game as the man in charge and will always be remembered for his fight on the sideline with Kevin Gilbride, and putting a bounty on a kicker. Still, Ryan was a magnificent defensive mind, orchestrating the “46” defense with the 1985 Chicago Bears and winning another ring as an assistant with the New York Jets in 1968.
Rex Ryan? He’s a caricature of a real head coach. After reaching the AFC Championship Game twice in his first two seasons with the Jets in 2009 and 2010, Ryan is without a winning record. Must of his early success was built on a team ready-made for him, constructed by general manager Mike Tannenbaum and coached up by Eric Mangini.
The mark of a good head coach is consistency and an upward arc. Ryan has seen neither of those traits throughout his career, and this move with Roman solidifies his legacy as a coach in well over his head.
Roman did nothing to deserve being fired. If anything, Ryan should have fired himself or assistant head coach Rob Ryan, his incompetent brother. Rex hired Rob this offseason in what can only be called a gross case of nepotism, after he was dumped on his backside by the New Orleans Saints.
Of course, none of this was Rob’s fault. As detailed in The MMQB, it was head coach Sean Payton, among others, who submarined him. Now, the brothers are in Buffalo, displaying why they have no business making the final calls for an NFL franchise.
Roman’s firing was both unprofessional in method and a poor attempt by Rex to hide his own reality. He is a doomed coach with unfixable flaws, with his love of himself being the largest of them all.
Power rankings
Top 14 old-school uniforms
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Creamsicles)
2. San Diego Chargers (Powder blues w/ number on helmet)
3. Buffalo Bills (standing Buffalo)
4. Miami Dolphins (original uniforms)
5. Los Angeles Rams (Blue and yellow)
6. Atlanta Falcons (red helmet)
7. San Francisco 49ers (wide-stripe 80’s pants)
8. New England Patriots (Pat Patriot)
9. Tennessee Titans (Houston Oilers’ duds)
10. Philadelphia Eagles (Chuck Bednarik era)
11. Denver Broncos (old-style helmet)
12. Seattle Seahawks (Steve Largent era)
13. New York Jets (Sack Exchange)
14. Chicago Bears (Sid Luckman era)
Quotable
"“He came out of the pocket, and I just went and got after him. I think he just landed on his shoulder,” Alonso said. “It was just one of those like you’ve seen happen with [Tony] Romo, [Aaron] Rodgers.”– Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso on Jimmy Garoppolo’s injury"
Alonso’s hit was the one that took Garoppolo out of commission for both the second half of Sunday’s game and Week 3. Still, there was nothing wrong with the hit. Alonso will likely get some hate from folks on the internet for driving Garoppolo into the turf, but he was simply doing his job.
Random stat
The Cleveland Browns raced out to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. it was their largest first-quarter advantage since 1961. Cleveland proceeded to lose, 25-20.
Info learned this week
1. Houston has a real offense, but also real issues
The Texans are much better offensively than a year ago. Brock Osweiler can sling the deep ball and he has great targets in Will Fuller and DeAndre Hopkins. Both went for over 100 yards in the win against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, but issues persist.
Osweiler threw a pair of interceptions to Marcus Peters and took a pair of sacks. The running game was also a non-factor with Lamar Miller going for 83 yards on 25 carries. Kansas City turned the ball over three times, and Houston only netted 19 points. It was enough Sunday, but could be a probably going forward.
2. Giants showed a good-looking defense
It has been well-documented that New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese spent more than $150 million this offseason on his defense. the moves paid off against the New Orleans Saints, beating a high-octane team, 16-13.
New York held Drew Brees to 263 passing yards on 44 attempts. The Saints also rushed for just 41 yards on the day, with the Giants taking sole possession of first place in the NFC East.
3. Jaguars in real trouble
The Jacksonville Jaguars were supposed to compete for a playoff spot, but they look like the same old losers thus far. Sitting at 0-2, Jacksonville is already two games back of the Houston Texans and could be left behind in the very competitive AFC playoff picture.
One wonders how long head coach Gus Bradley has before his seat gets toasty. Unlike previous years, Bradley has plenty of talent to work with, the the Jaguars are still dragging behind the rest of the league.
4. Steelers handle Bengals despite uneven showing from Roethlisberger
Pittsburgh was able to take down Cincinnati at Heinz Field, winning 24-16. The Steelers are without Martavis Bryant, Le’Veon Bell, Markus Wheaton and Ladarius Green, and are still averaging 32 points per game to start the season.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati failed to take advantage of opportunities. Ben Roethlisberger threw two interceptions and Pittsburgh only ran for 3.4 yards per carry. Still, the Bengals only ran for 2.8 yards per attempt and completed only two passes to A.J. Green. If Cincinnati loses the division by a game, it will kick itself over Week 2.
5. Dak Prescott looks like the future in Dallas
Prescott earned his first NFL win on Sunday, taking down the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field, 27-23. The rookie went 22-of-30 for 292 yards without an interception, looking calm and composed throughout what was a comeback win.
The Cowboys need Prescott to play well if they want to win the NFC East, and the former Mississippi State star is fitting the bill. On the other side, Washington looks terrible and after losing a pair of home games to start the season, is in real trouble.
History lesson
The Oakland Raiders reached the AFC/AFL Championship Game on nine occasions over an 11-year span from 1967-77. However, the Raiders only reached the Super Bowl twice, losing to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II before finally earning their first ring in 1976, beating the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI.
Of the nine teams to beat the Raiders in the conference championship, only the Broncos lost in the Super Bowl.
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Top 10 craziest NFL fan bases
Top 15 NFL Draft busts of all-time
Top 15 Heisman winners who flopped in the NFL
Parting shot
We are starting to see some team showing their true colors. While there was hype around the Indianapolis Colts going into the season, it’s obvious they aren’t going anywhere. The coaching is bad, the offensive line can’t block and the defense is a sieve. It’s over for the Colts in 2016.
The same can be said for the Detroit Lions, who ironically beat the Colts in Week 1. Detroit is 10-1, but good teams don’t blow games at home to the likes of the Titans. Tennessee is a bad, bad football team, and won in the Lions’ home opener. It’s an inexcusable loss.
Finally, we get to the Arizona Cardinals. After a bad game against the Patriots, the Cardinals came out and pummeled the Buccaneers. Arizona is a Super Bowl contender, and it showed why with a resounding win. The same can be said about the Carolina Panthers, who came home and pounded the San Francisco 49ers. the game was closer than it should have been because of turnovers, but Carolina looked terrific on offense.