Pain at the ‘pump’ is what has gotten to Bills fans
COMMENTARY
KANSAS CITY, Mo. –At a moment like this, with Buffalo Bills fans despairing and the season on the verge of collapse, I sought out a wise, reflective voice to put things into perspective. Who else but safety George Wilson?
Wilson sat at his locker, pondering for a good 20 seconds. “I’m trying to find the right thing to say,” Wilson said. “Because the fans definitely have a right to be disappointed. We kind of ‘Olajuwoned’ them, as we like to call it.”
Come again, Senator? What does basketball have to do with it?
“Hakeem Olajuwon was known for his pump fake,” Wilson said. “That’s what we’ve done so far, getting off to a good start, getting the city in an uproar.”
They got us off our feet, all right. The Bills started out 5-1 and most everyone was in the stratosphere. I got Olajuwoned, too. How could you not go for the fake? Bills fans had waited so long for a genuine playoff contender, it was easy to get carried away.
Weren’t you envious, hearing about the UB game Friday night? How long have Bills fans waited to experience that sort of moment again?
But after the big start, fans are coming to the grim realization that they got too high. People are angry. Fans swore not to get their hopes up again, but in true, optimistic Buffalo fashion, they went along for the ride, and they’re feeling burned again.
You should see my e-mails. They’re filled with resignation and loathing for Ralph Wilson, the players and above all, coach Dick Jauron.
Four weeks ago, they were the talk of the NFL. Trent Edwards was being touted as a possible MVP candidate. Now they’ve lost four in a row. They’re in free fall. Their playoff hopes, so promising a month ago, are a remote possibility now.
“It’s still out there,” said defensive end Chris Kelsay. “We’re going to work to get to the playoffs. Coming into the season, anything short of that would be a complete disaster for us. I still feel that sentiment. We have dug ourselves a hole. But we’re a hard-working bunch and we need to climb out of it one week at a time.”
We’ll see. This team has battled back before. They were 3-6 in 2006 and won four of five. They were 1-4 last season and won six of eight. But there were no real expectations for those teams. This team had big hopes and fell to pieces as soon as the world began to take notice.
We’ll find out about their character now. They haven’t quit on Jauron before. But if they don’t turn it around soon, they’ll be playing for the coach’s job. Signed contract or not, Jauron is almost surely safe if they finish .500. But if they melt down completely, it’ll be hard to sell him to the ticket-buying public in ’09.
Above all, they have to play for themselves, for self-respect and pride. Maybe they’re not as good as they seemed early, but they’re better than they’ve played in the last four. It starts with Edwards. He is in a major funk, but I still believe he’ll be a star. You can’t fake what he did in the comeback wins. But you can’t play scared, as he did Monday night, without raising issues about your courage.
But Edwards isn’t alone. There’s a collective crisis of confidence. They need to rush the passer better. The offensive line has to build on the Cleveland game. Jauron and his coaches have to set a less passive, befuddled tone. They need to play with a physical edge.
They’re 5-5. At the start of the year, it wouldn’t have looked so bad. It’s the way they got here that has some fans threatening to swear off the team for good.
“If they’re feeling bad, just think about the guys in the locker room,” Wilson said. “There’s six games left. I can’t emphasize that enough. All I’m asking the fans to do is bear with us. You’ve hung with us this long. There’s no need to jump ship and to throw the towel in now.
“This is a blue-collar city. This is just something that we’re going to have to get through together. In life, when you go through adversity, you’re not going to rejoice and appreciate it in the moment. You appreciate it after you’ve made it through.”
The question is, how far along are they? Are they a team on the rise, a contender, or an average team with too many shortcomings — personnel, scouting and coaching-wise — to make the playoffs any time soon?
That’s the troubling place we’re at now. The team raised everyone’s hopes. People went for the fake; now the Bills are tumbling and no one knows where it will end.
A win today against a bad Chiefs team puts them back on the fringes of the race and restores some hope. But we’re going on nine seasons without playoffs. Fans aren’t in the mood to be patient. A loss today and it really comes crashing to earth.
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