Many Buffalo Bills going into this season knew head coach Chan Gailey was a straight shooter when he answered questions to the media.
After what Gailey said to SI’s Peter King one can add to having a set of brass balls to the list.
For the first time Gailey gave his thoughts on to the type of season that quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has been having since taking over for quarterback Trent Edwards in week three.
Gailey said of Fitzpatrick: “There’s no question he’s got a chance [to be the long-term quarterback]. Don’t ask me to put a percentage on it,” and, “You’ve got to be an idiot to have watched him this season and say he can’t play. We’ve got plenty of areas we need to improve to be a strong team, and that is not one of them.”
The fact of the matter is when you cannot stop the run your not going to win many football games and right now the Bills defense is ranked dead last when it comes to run defense. For evidence of this Bills fans have to look no farther than the four straight Superbowls the Bills went to. In Superbowl XXV the New York Giants rushed for 172 yards total, the Washington Redskins rushed for 128 yards, the Dallas Cowboys in Superbowl XXVII rushed for 139 yards and in Superbowl XXVIII the Cowboys rushed for 141 yards.
Former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms in his book “Sunday Morning Quarterback” stated when a team is ahead and runs the football it limits the number of chances that the opposing offense will have. So, every time a drive fails the opposition is one step closer to hanging themselves.
This year the Bills offense is averaging 28:23 in time of possession while the opposition is averaging 34:15 in time of possession. Also, opposing offenses have executed 823 plays while the Bills have executed 725. That means the defense is spotting opposing offenses 8.2 more plays a game, which is essentially a whole drive more a game.
In the end, how about we try for once putting the blame for Bills losses where it is suppose to be and that is on the run defense.