By Ron Bullard
Well I’m sorry to say so but the show’s over everyone. The final nail in the proverbial coffin was officially added today in Ralph Wilson Stadium in the form of a 23-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans. The loss knocks the Bills out of playoff contention and forces their fans to look forward to next Aprils NFL Draft. Yes once again exactly as it has since the 1999 season the curtain has fallen on the Buffalo Bills. Now it should be noted that this is not without reason, when you look at the teams that are in prime playoff position you can’t find one that has not only the number of injuries but the number of key injuries the Bills have suffered this season. This isn’t in any way an attempt to make excuses but at the same time this is a glaring fact that needs to be noted whenever anyone assess the Bills 2011 season. I mean just look at the weapons they’ve lost on both sides of the ball and on special teams and you tell me how they were supposed to be successful! Imagine taking Wes Welker away from Tom Brady for an extended portion of the season and see how many games the Patriots end up winning. That’s just one of many examples, I could easily give more but you get the idea.
What I saw today was a team of wounded warriors making their last stand on it’s home front. It was a valiant effort on the part of the Bills albeit one that came up short, one that makes you wonder what could have been this year had the (key) injuries not mounted like they did as the season progressed. Unfortunately the injuries did mount, and the curtain has fallen, the fat lady’s not only singing but she’s booking her date for the 2012 season if certain steps aren’t taken. That’s right Chan Gailey, and Buddy Nix if you want the curtain to be up past the month of December next season then I got two words for you going into the weekend of the upcoming NFL Draft “PASS RUSHERS”!! Please for the sake of the sanity of your fan base draft some guys who can bring pressure off the edge!! Is it too much to ask guys? Look at what having rookie Von Miller has done for the Denver Broncos pass rush, you’ve got to account for that young mans where abouts on each and every snap. When you have a player on the field that commands that kind of attention it changes the entire complection of your defense. It takes pressure off of your secondary by reducing the length of time they’ll have to cover wideouts from the (abnormal) 5 to 6 seconds that we’re now experiencing to 3 or 4 seconds which is more the league average. The proof”s in the pudding as they say, every team that’s in the playoff hunt (New England the only difference) has at least one person on their defenssive front seven that’s considered a pass rushing threat or a studd at their respective position. I do believe a healthy Kyle Williams would’ve made a signifigant difference, his presence would’ve given the Bills constant penetrating pressure straight up the middle of opposing offensive lines but even with that being the case we still need that added pressure off the edge.
I can go on and on about what needs to be done but it wouldn’t change the issue at hand which is the curtain being closed on a season that started out with so much promise. The next couple of weeks will seem like another long, sad, goodbye to our beloved Buffalo Bills and we as fans and supporters can only watch in deep disappointment. The dissappointment of knowing yet again we can’t root for our team in the month of January, that no matter if they caught fire and averaged 40 points a game for the remainder of the season it would mean absolutely nothing as far as a playoff birth for this year! The curtain has no remorse, it doesn’t care who it closes on and it does so at some point to everyone. But knowing that it falls on everyone doesn’t make it okay for it to keep falling on the Bills. With that being said let me make this suggestion to Mr. Gailey and Mr. Nix, this teams most pressing needs are quite obvious and the two of you need to show your upper management as well as your fans you’re at least trying to fix them. This is a definite must guys because you never know when that curtain has fallen for the last time!