Ryan talks good game, but has no answers
Bills head coach Rex Ryan displayed little of the swagger and confidence that has come to define him after a 34-21 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
James P. McCoy/Buffalo News
By Bucky Gleason
Updated 12:50 PM
October 19, 2015
If you didn’t know any better, you would have thought Rex Ryan had just returned from the schoolyard with his shirt torn and lip bloodied Sunday. Suddenly gone was the swagger and confidence that extended across Bills Nation and the bravado that had come to define him.
Ryan looked and sounded like a humbled man after watching the Bengals deliver a convincing smack down in a 34-21 victory over the Bills in Ralph Wilson Stadium.
He rode the injury excuse for all he could in a shallow attempt to make Buffalo’s shoddy performance easier to swallow than overall failure.
The same man who refused to kiss Bill Belichick’s rings practically gushed over a Cincinnati team that hasn’t won a playoff game in a quarter century. He moaned about his players taking dumb penalties, of course, and accepted blame for not effectively using all four members of his Quarter Billion Club.
Mistakes?
“I can’t count right now how many real mistakes we made,” Ryan said. “Maybe one or two on defense.”
Only one or two? Did he mean one or two dozen? The Bills gave up 34 points and allowed the Bengals to score four touchdowns on four trips to the red zone. Imagine the unsightliness if they made three or four against the Bengals. They might have lost by 50.
It was just Rex being Rex, of course, unfiltered as usual. He wasn’t kidding anyone but himself. He certainly didn’t fool the 69,593 watching from the stands and across Western New York and beyond.
How about we cut through the nonsense and face the cold and simple truth: For all his bluster, the Bills are no better under Ryan through six weeks than they were last season while finishing 9-7 under Doug Marrone. And they might actually be worse when all the variables are considered.
Look at the results.
It was as if somebody pulled back the curtain on the wizard Sunday, revealing that Ryan is like many coaches who rolled through Buffalo and ultimately failed over the last 15 seasons. Ryan talks a good game, but he hasn’t come up with any real answers to turn this team into a playoff team.
Buffalo is fortunate to be 3-3 going into the Jacksonville game in London, which is no gimme. Tyrod Taylor came to the rescue in the fourth quarter last week against Tennessee.
The Titans were blown out Sunday by the Dolphins, who were an utter mess and fired their coach shortly after the Bills beat them. It’s much harder to find seven wins than it was a week ago.
Ryan pressed all the right buttons when he was hired. He had a pulse of the community and Bills fans in the palm of his hand. People gave him the benefit of doubt because they desperately wanted to believe in him. Bills fans are a hearty and forgiving bunch, but they don’t take kindly to getting snowed.
Rex doesn’t understand the idea that the very people who embraced him two months ago will turn on him in a heartbeat. You have to wonder how many are running out of patience with Rex and nearing their breaking point. The Bills’ performance Sunday unveiled a team far from playoff contention no matter their record.
To be clear, the Bills’ loss to the undefeated Bengals wasn’t shocking. It was expected. It wasn’t that they lost but how they lost that served as a swift kick to the stomach.
Their vaunted defense failed to produce a sack. Andy Dalton had enough time to drop back and take a nap on several passing plays.
The truth about Rex is starting to emerge.
Mario Williams and Jerry Hughes made it abundantly clear that they’re not thrilled with the defensive scheme. Williams delivered the message Sunday while reiterating how players can only execute the defenses called from the sidelines. They should be frustrated. They know good defense. The Bills had an elite unit last season.
And that falls on Rex. He’s the head coach. He has been hailed as a defensive whiz. He practically screamed from the rooftops that the Bills would be better on defense than they were last year. It’s laughable, along with the idea that the Bills would be committed to running the ball.
Ryan claimed he never used the term “ground and pound” but the implication was obvious. The Bills were making a concerted effort to play smash-mouth football.
So far, there has been too much mouth and not enough smash. Looking back, it all sounds like senseless blather.
The offense still isn’t good enough to become a playoff team, and the defense doesn’t compare to last year’s unit. The special teams are among the worst in the league. The Bills can’t get through a game without somebody taking a mind-blowing penalty on one of their coverage teams.
Ron Brooks had the honors Sunday when he was flagged for taunting Adam Jones after making a tackle on punt coverage. What, did little Ronnie forget to wear his “yes sir” reminder bracelet? It was unnecessary, unintelligent and unprofessional. And it has become typical.
The Bills might as well use a picture of Brooks standing over Jones in their marketing campaign. After all, it’s a reflection of what they have become under Ryan and his coaching staff, which is either unwilling or incapable of instilling the discipline required to win consistently in this league.
If players can’t control their emotions after getting juvenile reminders such as bracelets and pushups, maybe they don’t belong in the NFL.
Then again, if the Bills cut everyone who committed a ridiculous penalty, they would play shorthanded. The Bills took three penalties on one kickoff in a loss to the Patriots. Last week, they had a fumble recovery on the opening kickoff wiped out when Marcus Easley was called for offside.
And then there’s Denarius Moore, who called a fair catch at his own 4-yard line in another embarrassing moment Sunday. Let me guess, he wanted to spare the Bills the indignity of the Bengals downing the ball at the 3. Mindless mistakes like that make you wonder if the players are getting the proper guidance.
It starts with Ryan, who was humbled Sunday in defeat.
And he looked the part.
http://bills.buffalonews.com/2015/10/18/ryan-talks-good-game-but-has-no-answers/
