By Ron Baskin

How many times will the Buffalo Bills coaching staff cost the young, spirited team games? I posed this question after the foolish decision to go for a first down on fourth-and-one instead of taking three points which would have given the Bills a 13-point lead over the Patriots in New England. The Pats, of course, went on to win that game, 19-17. Sunday, leading the befuddled New York Jets, 7-0, in the first quarter the Bills’ on-field braintrust decided to try a fake field goal/shovel pass instead of trying a 52-yarder with a stiff wind at their backs. The result was a failure, allowing the Jets to regroup and hammer out a 28-20 win. Suddenly, instead of being a surprising 3-0, Buffalo’s record is 1-2.

Talk to folks in western New York and they’ll tell you the New England blunder was welcomed because it showed an aggressive attitude and confidence in the team. The feeling now is a little different, but it entirely misses the point. Coaches are supposed to put their players in the best position to win games. Twice in the early season head coach Dick Jauron and offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild have failed to do that.

In the National Football League a 10-point lead or better causes an opponent to scrap game plans and begin filling the sky with footballs. This, of course, plays right into the hands of a Buffalo defense which is pretty good at putting pressure on quarterbacks and forcing mistakes. It also allows the Bills offense to run more often, taking pressure off young quarterback J.P. Losman. Suddenly, you find yourself able to take time off the clock and settle for field goals if you can’t punch the ball into the end zone. In short, you change the nature and tempo of the game.

I don’t believe the Patriots could have overcome that 13-point deficit, even with Losman’s boneheaded attempt to make a play which resulted in him taking a safety. I know the Jets would never have overcome a 10-point lead by the Bills. Let’s face facts. This offense isn’t good enough to give away points at any time.

Sure, you can argue turnovers cost the Bills Sunday’s game. But the offense—at least statistically—played one of its better games since 2002. Losman threw for a career-best 328 yards. Willis McGahee ran for a career-best 150 yards. Clearly, the Bills should have won this game. Even though they lost by 8, a 10-point lead would have resulted in a different game and, most importantly, a different outcome.

The coaches will tell you players—particularly Losman—must make better decisions. Well, it’s hard to argue players aren’t making sound football decisions when coaches call bonehead plays. The Bills aren’t a playoff team yet, but they are a scrappy, spirited bunch who deserved better from the guys on the sidelines wearing the headsets. They could have a 3-0 record, forcing me to think about how to season the crow I’d have to eat for my preseason prognostications.

Right now, thanks to Jauron and Company, I’m reasonably assured the crow can remain in the freezer.

© Ron Baskin, 2006