"he with his horrid crew/ lay vanquished, rolling in the fiery gulf/ confounded though immortal: but now his doom/ reserved him to more wrath; for now the thought/ both of lost happiness and lasting pain/ torments him; round he throws his baleful eyes/ that witnessed huge affliction and dismay/ mixed with obdurate pride and steadfast hate"
-Paradise Lost, John Milton
The above passage describes Satan himself, in the aftermath of his expulsion from heaven, waking up in hell. But you know what? It perfectly describes the pain of this Bills season so far. Stick with me here as I get extremely English-Nerdy.
See, the Bills season started off unbelievably. There was the drubbing of the Chiefs in Week 1, the come from behind, thrill a minute shootout with the Raiders, and then, finally, the Patriots game. The Bills hadn't beat the Patriots in 15 tries. 15! That's about eight seasons of being the punching bag for the Patriots. Yet here were the Bills, going down 18 points in the first half, then storming back to win on a last second field goal. Heavenly. The Bills lost the next game, but only by three, hung on to beat the Eagles, barely lost to the Giants, and then convincingly beat the Redskins.
It all seemed so good. The offense was prodigious, seemingly able to score at will. Fred Jackson made the engine purr, was capable of busting off 10+ yard runs at will, he ambling down the field, changing direction subtly, like water. Ryan Fitzpatrick was accurate, made good decisions, and the quick passing game seemed good for at least seven yards every time. Also, they were deadly efficient in the Red Zone. The defense had a better run defense than last year and were creating turnovers at key times by either undercutting routes or pouncing on tipped balls. Chan Gailey was making perfect half time adjustments.
But now they have fallen precipitously. As Jets running back LaDanian Tomlinson said, "Same Old Bills." The offense has suddenly stalled, scoring 11, 7 and 8 in their last three, all blowout losses. The short route spread offense is no longer working-teams are simply playing the receivers tight at the line, meaning that the quick routes aren't open. The Bills don't have a deep threat at receiver, so there's no need to play off at the line of scrimmage. Without the threat of the pass, Fred Jackson has been severely limited, although he's still the best player by far on the offense. (In addition, Chan Gailey seems to abandon the run on some drives, which is infuriating.) Fitzpatrick has shown that he's too inconsistent to be a franchise QB, and has made his big new contract look like a huge mistake. Chan Gailey has lost his touch play calling, sticking to an offensive plan that has been figured out. The already thin wide receiver core and offensive line have been hit by injuries, along with every level of the defense. The defense isn't creating turnovers anymore, which means it's the same defense as last year- awful. There's a receiver open on every play and the run defense wears down. It's a total breakdown. A fresh hell.
The pain of this fall comes from the fact that we, the fans, have seen the flash of potential that this team has shown. They looked to have the talent and resolve to make a playoff run, to end the playoff drought that's plagued Buffalo since 1999. Last year's 0-8 start was less painful than this, because they were always bad- there's no sense of loss there. But this, this is cruel. It's like the flash off a disposable camera- it hits, it hurts your eyes with its strength, and the mark remains burned in your eyes. When you close your eyes, you can still see that mark, the remnant of the bright flash that once was, and now it's fading. "lost happiness and lasting pain." There's the mix.
Yet, despite this, hope springs eternal. The Bills are still only one game out of the playoffs, due to the bungling by other teams in the NFL. It will take a drastic turnaround by the Bills to make the playoffs, and they'll probably have to go at least 4-2 (with some help) to make the playoffs. The way they've been playing recently, I don't see them winning another game on the schedule. But there's always the chance they can reinvent themselves into winners for the final stretch of the season. It starts with this week's game against the Jets. The Jets are certainly not an elite team; one simply has to watch their game against the Broncos to prove that. The Jets defense was the first team to really shut down the Bills; if the Bills somehow can make the adjustments necessary to win, it would probably be the monumental win needed to turn it around. I don't see it happening, frankly, but it could. We've seen the peak this team can hit, we've seen its' low point, and now it's left to see if they will ascend again. The pain is worse, the cut deeper, and yet, I'll probably keep watching, and keep hoping. What else can we do, anyway? Give up? No, not until the bitter end. I'll let the Devil provide the rallying cry:
"We may with more successful hope resolve/ to wage by force or guile eternal war/ Irreconcilable, to our grand foe/who now triumphs..."
-Paradise Lost, John Milton
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