Buffalo Bills defense talked the talk, shows it is not ready to walk the walk
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – They looked at each other and pointed at the man one of them needed to cover, but it was too late.
By the time Bills linebacker Nigel Bradham and safety Duke Williams turned their heads, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had already flung an easy dart to tight end Rob Gronkowski for an uncontested touchdown.
A Gronk Spike punctuated the feeling coursing through Ralph Wilson Stadium: The Buffalo Bills weren’t ready for this. Though that score came in the opening minutes of the second quarter of New England’s 40-32 victory Sunday, it summed up the look of a team that struggled to keep up, but just couldn’t.
Simply put, Buffalo fell short of all its talk this week.
“First off, this loss is squarely on one man’s shoulders,” coach Rex Ryan said in his postgame press conference. “It’s on my shoulders. Yeah, we’ve got to get better as a team, there’s no question. But I have to get better. (Patriots coach Bill) Belichick outcoached me. No question about it. That’s how it ended up and it’s unfortunate.
“The plan has to be better on defense. Can’t give up 500 yards and beat anybody. And then we turn it over three times. We did a horse---- job and it’s my responsibility.”
The number was actually 507 total yards, but you get the point. All week long, the talk coming from the team’s facility here at 1 Bills Drive forecasted a squad that knew what it was going to see in Brady, Gronkowski and the Patriots (2-0). They said they knew about Brady’s quick release passes, about needing to be physical with Gronkowski at the line of scrimmage, about New England’s different formations and looks.
Brady proceeded to respond with 38 completions on 59 passes for 466 yards – the most given up by the Bills (1-1) in franchise history – and three touchdowns.
The most concerning part is that it’s not like Brady hadn’t done this before.
His 38 completions were third-most in franchise history behind Dan Marino’s 39 in 1986 – and yes – Brady’s 39 in 2009.
The Bills knew what to expect, and yet they still looked lost.
“It really was a reality check,” linebacker Preston Brown said. “It showed that we’re not the best. We act like we are, but we aren’t right now. We have a lot to work on.”
Added running back LeSean McCoy: “I think guys were really confident. It felt like we could get the job done today. With the kind of matchups, we felt good about our approach today. It’s just that I think we got overly hyped, and it backfired.”
There’s no sign that more embodies a team not ready for a hyped matchup than careless penalties and turnovers. The Bills were flagged 14 times for 140 yards and quarterback Tyrod Taylor threw three interceptions.
“There’s a difference between coming out ready to go, fired up ready to play and coming out and being totally without poise, without focus and a lot of stupid, idiotic stuff,” defensive tackle Kyle Williams said. “That plays right into their hands. If you have no poise, no focus, you get caught up in all the BS. That’s what they do.”
“We killed ourselves,” Taylor added.
There was an undeniable buzz circulating through Buffalo in the lead up to this game. The fan base had been energized with Ryan’s enthusiasm and brash confidence. And though the Bills have a roster loaded with talent on paper, they proved Sunday that they’re still not ready.
The Patriots are still the team to beat in the AFC East, and no amount of talk out of Ryan or Buffalo’s players will change that.
“Guys will say whatever they want,” Brown said of the press conference fodder from earlier this week. “They have a right to their own opinion, so if they want to talk, they can talk.
“But we have to go out there and back it up.”
Follow Lorenzo Reyes on Twitter@LorenzoGReyes