Season's Over

-Coast

Well, it took me until November 13, 2011 to put the wraps on the 2011 season. I wrote my Season's Over blog on September 13, 2010 last season so I guess this is an improvement.

Boy, was I naive? This team is not talented. As always, the Bills set us up for nothing but disappointment. I don't even know where to begin on today's events. I can't think of a time where I have seen a team get so thoroughly outplayed for 8 straight quarters. Were we really 5-2 before the last 2 games? It truly is hard to believe.

Let's begin with the defense. The Bills have so many problems. They can't rush the passer, not even close. They couldn't stop the run either. Demarco Murray had 20 carries for 135 yards. Draft bust Torell Troupe, where are you? The 2nd round pick from 2010 is only one of many draft choices not contributing. Romo literally was not touched today. The Bills also can't cover anyone. Their cornerbacks just aren't good enough. Want to talk about draft busts? Let's talk about Loedis McKelvin. He was completely abused by Dez Bryant. Terrance McGee is just soft. He always has been and always will be. Florence got smoked on a long touchdown bomb. I am not sure if there was supposed to be safety help. I hope there was for his sake. Romo threw 3 incomplete passes all day...23-26 for 270 yards and 3 touchdowns. Dallas scored a TD on their first 4 drives. They converted every 3rd down attempt in the first half. I am sure it was the easiest day of Tony Romo's career. It really just made me sick to watch.

The offense was nearly as bad. I will say, I am not going to give up faith on Ryan Fitzpatrick yet, but there is no hiding the fact that he had a terrible game. He missed Donald Jones wide open in the middle of the field on a long pass that could have resulted in a touchdown. There are a few things working against Fitzpatrick though. First, his receivers just aren't good enough. Stevie Johnson is a solid starting NFL receiver but the inability to get him the ball of late has been disappointing. Donald Jones just is not good enough to be starting in this league. I thought he made a poor play on the ball on the 4th and 2 play. He also dropped a pass that led to an interception. Jones is an average player, simple as that. David Nelson is solid but he isn't exactly going to stretch the field. Cliff Spiller continues to keep himself solidly on the draft bust list. He is a non factor on offense. 1 carry 1 yard. He also had a chance to make a big play but dropped a well thrown pass.

Now I will get to coaching. I really have loved Chan Gailey. I gave him the benefit of the doubt last week. I figured everyone can have a bad game. Two in a row though, that is a trend. I thought Gailey had another terrible game. First off all, you are a head coach in the National Football League, know the damn rules. That challenge in the beginning of the 2nd half was embarrassing. If he (or anyone in the booth) actually knew the rules, it was obvious not to challenge. Instead, we just blew a timeout. Gailey's play calling on offense is starting to really bother me. On 2nd and 8 we run a screen to Jackson. It doesn't work. So on 3rd and 8 what do we do? Run the same play. It doesn't work. We don't try to stretch the field. We can't figure out any way to get Spiller the ball. We are throwing low percentage passes to an undersized average receiver on 4th down. There were also a number of blown blocking assignments today. How does the best pass rusher in the NFL come unblocked on the first play of the game? You have to blame coaching. George Edwards' defense has been awful now for 27 games. Can he really keep his job? I do give some credit for the INTs. His guys have been in position to make big plays. Ultimately though, you need to be able to stop someone without taking the football away. We obviously can't. The Cowboys were 8-12 on 3rd downs. The Jets were 6-11 last week.

Finally I need to comment on management. I mentioned draft busts earlier. Buddy Nix's first two draft picks look like wasted picks. Spiller is a complete not factor. Troupe is a non factor. Carrington has made some plays, but not many. Nix wanted to build through the draft. He is not doing a very good job in doing that. How good is Dareus? I didn't really see him out there today. Our secondary is in desperate need of help. Aaron Williams has been hurt. Searcy had two chances to make plays today. He made 0. Sheppard might be good, but it's too early to tell. The fact is, you must hit on your high draft picks. Nix is going to be 2-4 in first and 2nd rounders at best. In reality, our team has been carried by guys that were brought in before Nix took over this football team.

The Bills play Miami next week. The line has opened at Miami -1. That is what we have fallen to. The 2-7 Miami Dolphins are favored over the Bills with Matt Moore as their quarterback. I think realistically if the Bills can finish 8-8 it would be an accomplishment at this point. They do have home games against the Broncos and Titans along with Miami in December. They probably will need to win all of those games to finish .500.

Well...there's always 2012.