Come on now. I know you're frustrated and disappointed, but that's just ridiculous. That would be a fireable offense. NOTHING that Bowles has said or done suggests that he's lazy, doesn't care, lackadaisical or whatever. The game plan may have been flawed, but the team was prepared. You can bet your bottom dollar on that. I think the players were just spent after the emotional season and last week's win over NE, or they, like some posters here, thought the Bills would just lay down for them and all they had to do was show up and they'd win. Bowles can't get on the field and play for them.
I think you both are right. The D was supposed to carry the team this season, and I think that more often than not, it was the offense that carried the D. Yesterday, the D couldn't stop anything, allowing one long, sustained drive after another. I think they are the primary reason we lost yesterday. OTOH, abyzmul has a point. The game did highlight Fitz's shortcomings. He just doesn't have a strong enough arm to get it done in windy NE weather in December and January. He also has the penchant for starting slowly, and eventually throwing a momentum killing and backbreaking interception. I'm not killing Fitz. He gave us an exciting season and his best. He made it a fun year and kept things interesting and exciting, but when the chips are down, I just don't think he has what it takes to help us over the hump. I want him back for a year or two to compete for the starting position, start if Petty, Geno or whomever can't beat him out, or if one of them beats him out, to be a solid backup and mentor. I'm just hoping that sooner rather than later, the Jets will find a young franchise QB to replace him.
C'mon guys, the Jets didn't lose this game, we just let the Steelers back into the playoffs so we could mess with BB and Brady. Comment based on all the posts last week about how BB blew it so he wouldn't have to face the Steelers in the playoffs. If that were true, (it most certainly is not) Bowles just completely turned the tables the Pats by 1) letting them lose to the hated Jets, 2) allowing the Steelers back into the playoffs, and 3) opening the door for the Broncos to have home field in the AFCCG. Maybe this coaching staff can't adjust coverage to contain Sammy Watkins, or MAYBE they're playing the long game to keep the Patsies out of the Super Bowl.......
We knew about Fitz's shortcomings. He played beyond expectations before reverting the the mean against Buffalo. Fitz having a bad game was bound to happen. This game is on our all star defense filled to the brim with first round draft picks and expensive free agents. That is what got exposed on Sunday. Our defense was not supposed to let Buffalo convert those third and fourth downs. No one says Fitz has to be Joe Namath. He is doing just fine as our hold the fort guy.
I'm sorry if this has been covered, but can anyone PLEASE explain why Ivory get 6 carries when he was trampling the Bills defense on each and every carry? Please give me a reason.
Not sure but he had 6 carrys for 81 yards which is incredible......He broke 1000 yards for the first time in his carrer another milestone ,So many carrer years for players on offense.The decision to use Ridley in this game was mind numbing to me ,Bowles didn't give a direct answer to why
Ivory's knee was bothering him during the week, so he didn't practice much at all. i think Bowles was sticking to some stubborn notion that if you don't practice, you don't play. he's got to get over that, especially with veterans. once you see he's got an explosive step going, get him out there. especially in the last game. was bad judgement to limit his snaps to 6.
Knee. They were saving him for Cinci? Trouble is...Ivory on 1 & 1/2 knees is better than a three knee'd Ridley.
A couple years ago a game like this was a given. Better team wins almost every time. Now they are scheduling the last couple games within the divisions...the bills were out for blood. Just look what happened last year in the fins win or in.
If that is true (which I doubt), then Bowles deserves to not make the postseason. It's not like Ivory would have docked practice on purpose if his knee was bothering him.
Losing to Rex Ryan and the Bills just hurts the most Cman. Not much else to say. We can only hope that this makes them angry and hungry to have a great off season and destroy the NFL next year.
IMO it would depend upon why he holds that belief. Is it out of concern for the player? If so, it's hard to beat him up for that. Most coaches use players up and in the end don't really care for their players that much. They care more about winning. If it's because the player wouldn't have had the reps to learn the new plays installed for that game, then again, that makes sense, and one can't kill him for that. After all, he wants players that are prepared to play and hopefully, that he can be confident that they will execute the plays and game plan well. If it's just out of some old-fashioned mind set, that one of his former coaches had, that he just blindly accepted, then yeah, he deserves some heat over that and should change.
yeah i am just speculating, so take it with a grain of salt... i remembered that no player who missed the full week of practice played on Sunday all season. Ivory was also very limited in practice, and then had very limited snaps in the game. the reasons why i don't know, as Bowles hasn't commented on it. i don't think it's punitive to the player. would guess it has more to do with being comfortable in preparation. either way though, i'd prefer he be a little more flexible than that, especially with veterans.
2 huge spots in the game that hurt bad was the INT deep in the red zone and when we got a much needed turnover in the Bulls end and ended up with a FG
That's a great take! I just thought we sucked on Sunday. But maybe ... Just maybe ... We sucked "like a fox"
