State Of The Herd: Address To All Buffalo Bills Fans

A must-read for all Buffalo Bills fans. Whether your a pessimist, or an optimist. This article lays out everything for the 2008 Buffalo Bills, as they move into their bye week with a 4-1 record.

Yes, I have been writing recaps on each of the first four Buffalo Bills games and as a Bills fan, it's been great. But, Week Five showed all of us how unpredictable the NFL can be.

This past Sunday, the sheer pain that I suffered watching the Bills loss to the Cardinals has made it too torturous for me to type out the game's recap. I feel the need instead, to tackle all areas of the Buffalo Bills as they head into their bye week.

To slowly begin, Sunday's loss hurt. Bills optimist or pessimist, it still stung. The blow that jolted the entire Western New York region as well as Trent Edward's noggin was followed by a missed-blocking assignment, that lead to a fumble. Things were not looking up.

Sure, JP Losman's high-arcing bomb to Lee Evans kept our hopes alive, but the Cardinals had a firm grasp on the game's momentum throughout, leading to a blowout loss for Buffalo. That's about all the torturous recap I can handle.  I could have thrown in the missed blocks, Arizona's ability to convert on third down, and the countless miscues that plagued the Bills throughout the game. But you watched it, you know.

I want to get a few things straight about Western New York's Bills, as I will comment on the different "types" of Bills fans out there, along with my own final thoughts.

To Bills Optimists

Your team is atop the AFC East at 4-1, much better than everyone envisioned going into the Bye. Although you limped in, both literally and figuratively, you couldn't be happier.

But, in the last four games, many weaknesses have been exposed. The Bills need Trent Edwards, regardless of what you read about how everything wasn't JP's fault, and it wasn't, Edwards' mind is light years ahead of Losmans. Too bad that's whats hurting Trent now-a-days.

Secondly, the Bills dominating both lines has become few and far between, post-Seattle drubbing. Schobel hasn't resurrected '06 yet, and Stroud, although dominant at times, isn't controlling games as advertised.

The O-line is where the real mystery lies. After giving up the least sacks in franchise history last year (some of that was due to Trent's ability to get rid of the ball quickly ) this year's bunch, made up of the same guys hasn't performed nearly as well. Just ask Trent Edwards.

In order for this Bills team to continue their winning ways of the start of the season, improvements need to be made on all these fronts.

To Bills Pessimists

Though you're a fan, this Cardinal game was exactly what you're used to, and you have two weeks to utter your reasons why the Bills will collapse instead of just seven days. How great.

Read above where I state that Buffalo is 4-1. This is very important because it hasn't been since the glory days where the Bills have gotten off to such a masterful start. Although they suffered their loss most recently, in blow-out fashion, you have to consider this scenario.

If Trent Edwards doesn't get injured this game could quite possibly have been entirely different. He leads the Bills down the field, in turn controlling the clock, and keeping the defense off the field. Your answer to that statement: he did get hurt, and they didn't control the clock. Agreed.

But, all signs, especially with the extended rest time, are pointing to Ko Simpson, and most importantly Trent Edwards being back for the San Diego game. What reason is there for the Bills, with Edwards under center, to not continue their surprising offense, which was showcased in the first four games?

Roscoe and Terrence will be nearing return, as the Bills will again be at full strength. The schedule, seems not nearly as difficult. San Fran, and Cleveland at home do not pose major threats though AFC East battles will happen seemingly every other week.

FINAL THOUGHTS

As I'm sure everyone does, I try to fit perfectly between being a Bills optimist and pessimist. I will try my best to look outside the box regarding the remainder of the 2008 season for the Bills.

As I used the 4-1 statement in both paragraphs, it is obviously important, and although the ESPN's and SI's will jump off the Bills bandwagon here's a quick thought; the Bills share their record with the Cowboys, Redskins, Broncos, Panthers, and Steelers. Take that however you may, but if you ask anyone on those teams, 4-1 is a good place to be after five games.

Also, each one of those teams has suffered a somewhat embarrassing, "devastating" loss (Cowboys vs. Redskins, Broncos vs. Chiefs, Steelers vs. Eagles, Panthers vs. Minnesota, Redskins vs. Giants ).

I'm sure local media outlets in all these cities were ready to tear apart these teams after their losses, but they have all proved that one bad loss in the NFL is not the end of the world.

Then, look at teams like New Orleans, Tampa, Green Bay, and Baltimore that have suffered losses in games they "should have won". The Bills finally don't fall into that category, and ask any of those teams if they'd take 4-1 heading into the bye with one bad loss, and they'd quickly reply with a resounding, "YES!"

Every week the fickle media seems to change who they believe are the best teams in football; those destined for the Super Bowl. When the Bills started off 4-0, some analysts were even picking them to play in Tampa this year, and when the Cowboys win big it's the boys from Big D who are named NFC favorites.

This week the Redskins/Giants get to wear the ever-changing crown. My point here is, how often do Week Five predictions turn out to hold true? Let's just say predictions in Week 16 are often incorrect, so guesses by "experts" in Week 5 definitely aren't a sure thing. Don't let the media sway you in a certain direction.

Yes, the Bills do need to improve in certain areas if they want to compete late in the season, and, more importantly, in the playoffs. The run game/blocking needs to start rolling, Trent obviously needs to be protected and the defense needs to start making more plays.

These things are obvious.

When focused on one team, I believe many lose sight of the fact that all teams have their own issues, whether it be in the run,pass, or defensive part of the game. The Bills aren't the only team with flaws. They actually have fewer weaknesses than most NFL teams.

Injuries also seem to be a concern for both Bills' pessimists and optimists. But again, every team has injuries; ask Pittsburgh or Seattle about their whole team, ask Philly about Brian Westbrook, ask Zona about Anquan Boldin, ask Cleveland about Donte Stallworth, or even ask San Diego/New England about Shawn Merrimen and Tom Brady. Everyone's got injuries.

It's unfortunate as we all wish teams could play entire seasons with their opening day starters to ensure fairness. But life isn't fair and the NFL sure isn't either. Parity in the NFL refers not only to talent and coaching but is definitely apparent on the injury front.

To finish my rant, why does this bye week seem to be a bad thing? Yes, every single article is reitterating the fact that the Bills need this bye to recover, as they do, but the Cardinal loss seems to be looming over Buffalo like a massive snowstorm.

I haven't heard much about the game Oct. 19th against the Chargers. Whatever happened to "teams are better coming off the bye?" Any other time, teams are given 'an advantage' playing any team off their bye week, and for whatever reason (more time to prepare, heal, practice) the advantage cannot be dismissed.

Teams have a great winning percentage, in the first game after their bye week. There is at least a universal perception of an advantage here.There should be talk about the Bills healing, but shouldn't there be talk of how they get two weeks to prepare and gain the usual advantage for a home game against the 2-3 San Diego Chargers?

Everything will play out, as it was destined to, and in two weeks the Chargers' game will be a great barometer for Buffalo. Snow is not predicted for a long time, folks. The magnitude of the San Diego game is probably the only thing we all can agree on at this point. Right? Only time will tell.