Rex Ryan's Bills Proving to Be Exactly What We Expected

The Buffalo Bills have become the team Rex Ryan wants them to be. Whether or not that is a good thing remains to be seen.

In four games, the Bills have been all over the map, earning a surprise victory over the Indianapolis Colts only to fall short against the New England Patriots. The bandwagon got a little fuller after blowing out the Miami Dolphins, but the squad was shut down in a Week 4 loss to the New York Giants.

At 2-2, many are left wondering what type of team this will be at the end of the year. What we do know is it will be tough, aggressive, wild and overly emotional...just how the head coach likes it.

The latest 24-10 loss could feature a number of excuses, including the absence of injured stars LeSean McCoy and Sammy Watkins. However, the biggest story in the game was the 17 penalties totaling 135 yards. Many of them came at key moments and even took touchdowns off the board. 

Alan Hahn of MSG Network explained the lack of surprise from this type of performance:

Ryan's New York Jets teams had a reputation for hard-nosed play that often toed the line of undisciplined. According to NFLPenalties.com, the team finished 2014 with eight calls for unnecessary roughness and four for unsportsmanlike conduct, both of which were above league average and were just one away from the NFL lead.

It is so bad Giants coach Tom Coughlin virtually worked it into the game plan, per ESPN's Dan Graziano:

While most coaches would bemoan the penalties and explain how it is something that needs to change, Ryan had no issues with what he saw on the field. According to Joe Buscaglia of WKBW, he explained to reporters after the game:

It's clear the coaching staff has instilled a specific type of personality into the team: Play hard with hatred of your enemy. If the officials call something, just go harder.

The mindset was apparent in the Week 2 game against the Patriots, which was hyped by fans as one of the biggest games Buffalo has seen in years. The players created their own bulletin-board material of hatred, starting with Ryan and trickling down to Aaron Williams, Marcell Dareus and others. 

"I hate New England," Williams said, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "It’s definitely personal for me."

Even after the loss, Ryan made sure his team wouldn't forget the game by calling out the Patriots for trying to embarrass them, per Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News. He's making sure the Bills don't stop thinking about the defeat as the season progresses.

Of course, the over-emotion also leads to less disciplined play. Besides the penalties, Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News explained the shortcomings defensively:

Combined with a number of miscues throughout the day, this helped lead to just a 10-point outing and a loss to the Giants. With the Jets winning in London, the Bills drop to third place in a suddenly competitive division.

Despite all the negatives, however, Buffalo still has a team that could be tough to beat throughout the season. The defense failed to put pressure on Eli Manning and gave up three touchdowns through the air, but it also shut down the run (3.3 yards per carry) while holding Odell Beckham Jr. completely in check (5 REC, 38 YDS). The Giants also only converted three of 15 third-down attempts.

Ryan has taken a talented group of defensive players and helped transform them into what could be an elite unit on that side of the field. Considering in six seasons the Jets defense never ranked lower than 11th in yards allowed, it's clear the coach knows what he's doing on that side of the field.

Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

If the offensive playmakers can get healthy and quarterback Tyrod Taylor can get more consistent, the Bills could be playoff bound for the first time since 1999.

Still, it all comes back to the head coach. Ryan went just 26-38 with no playoff appearances in his last four years in New York, so it's clear a great defense with an angry attitude doesn't always lead to success.

The Bills have become exactly what we thought they would be and exactly what was expected of them, but only time will tell if that is a good thing.

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