Bills lose preseason Super Bowl on devastating kneeldown
by pasaluki on Sep 4, 2009 5:41 AM EDT
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Print(AP) — BUFFALO, N.Y.
To the cry of "No Goal", "Wide Right" and "Forward Lateral" add "The Kevin O' Connell Kneeldown."
Named after the final play of the preseason Super Bowl, the kneeldown marks another tragic loss to befall the city of Buffalo, New York, as the Bills fell to the Detroit Lions, 17 to 6.
The Lions who were last year by record the worst NFL team of all time, in an emotional, heart throbbing effort overcame Buffalo's vaunted No-Huddle offense under Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Many of those gathered in Ralph Wilson Stadium were shocked by the outcome, while still others like this unnamed fan were furious:
It's the FINAL STRAW! Did you hear Dick Jauron didn't even GAMEPLAN for the Lions? Did he know how important this game was?! He didn't even start the first team! Where was T.O.? Where was Brett Farve? See if I were in charge I would have signed Favre and I would have drafted Sanchez or somebody with a Better last name than friggin Edwards! So let me get this straight. We have Marshawn Lynch and we run Dominic Rhodes. What a freakin joke this has become. What a joke my team is, I gotta hand it to the Bills, this season ended before it even began. Do we start T.O. or Justin Jenkins against the Lions I mean REALLY. Three and outs up the ass, couldn't get off the field, couldn't even kick a field goal right, might as well move the team to Zimbabwe.
The man then burned his season tickets in a mock effigy of Jim Kelly who according to the man "Couldn't win a preseason super bowl to save his life either!"
Jauron, in his defense said:
You know I didn't get a chance to see really any of the game. I was really just focused on just the overall natural balance and flow of the game and didn't get a chance to actually pay attention to a specific play and so I'll have to watch the film. But ya know we got some good football players and I thought we played well, the punting as usual was stellar not that I saw any of that as you know.
But apparently Jauron will have more time to go over that tape because according to eye witnesses owner Ralph C. Wilson flew into a blind rage and suspended Jauron for the rest of the preseason. Interim preseason head coach Bobby April will retain Jauron's job until the regular season.
The game has had a profound effect on players around the league:
Craig Nall, a former Bills Quarterback was moved to tears watching the game, and has vowed to come back.
"If I can in some way do something for this brave team that I just saw put it all on the line out there, then I'm ready."
Drew Bledsoe, and Kelly Holcomb also expressed their desire to make a comeback with the team.
Longtime Division foe, Tom Brady also offered these words of encouragement.
"Yeah I mean you could tell that they really represented the AFC well. I only wish the Patriots could hope to achieve a preseason Super Bowl."
But despite hope for the future, the Bills players are still dealing with the emotional pain that losing a preseason Super Bowl entails.
Players like Jonathan Stupar.
Stupar, a Bills player who through breaking his foot in college, miracously discovered a deadly illness that was able to be contained in time to save his life, said that the preseason Super Bowl had personal meaning to him.
"The Tedy Bruschi Trophy that we fight for in the preseason Super Bowl, isn't just a trophy to me. To me it is a symbol... A symbol of a man who was able to overcome all the obstacles that stood in his way. A symbol of a hero. And now that I don't have that, then maybe I'm not a hero. Maybe I don't have that link with Bruschi. Maybe I never broke my foot and I died of that disease and so none of this is even real."
Aaron Schobel, who was at Dave and Buster's with Marshawn Lynch and didn't play in the game, offered his thoughts as well as obscene gestures: "We didn't have a [expletive] chance, not that I give a rip about that crap anyway. Now go take a hike....OH YEAH I FORGOT, 'IT'S THE [expletive] PRESEASON YOU MORONS."
But was it just a meaningless preseason game?....Or was it so...so much more?
A couple dozen fans gathered in an abandoned Lafayette Square to hold a candlelight vigil and show support for the crestfallen Bills late Thursday Night.
Among them a lonely woman clutching a candle and crying softly:
"They told me.... they said...they said *sniff* what was wrong with Trent?....What was wrong with the Offensive line?....What was wrong with the running game?.... Why are all our starters resting and healthy? Don't they love us? Don't they want to play hard for us in the preseason? We said what was wrong with them?.....but we never stopped to think until it was too late...
What was wrong with us?"
Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.
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Helllllloooooo Sarcasm!
Well done Pasaluki! Rec’d!
And to everyone that thinks that it is the end of the world that we lost to the Lions in the preseason, It’s the PRE-season. This means NOTHING!!!!! ANd may I remind you that last year, before they went 0-16, the Lions had a perfect pre-season.
I think it was a well played move by Jauron to sit the starters, there was nothing to gain by playing them in a meaningless game against a horrible teams.
On to the Season!
Captain of the "Promote Bob Sanders to Deffensive Coordinator" band wagon.
by CanadianBillsFan on Sep 4, 2009 6:25 AM EDT reply actions
Right, don’t get overworked about a bad preseason, but let’s hope the team is prepared for the long haul.
My biggest issue stems from the feeling that the team never appears to be prepared at the same level as other teams. They wear down too easily.
I hope Neil Young’s Like a Hurricane becomes the allegory for Trent Edwards (though not in the exact way he uses it, obviously) – “You are like a hurricane / there’s calm, in your eye.”
Twitter: helping to make anti-social people anti-socially social.
by TheAfghanTwilight on Sep 4, 2009 9:14 AM EDT up reply actions
One aspect that I don’t see talked about much but that I hope goes away for the Bills (but on the bright side has a history of going away) is dumb penalties. In my opinion the 4 x-factors in football are: Turnovers, Time of Possession, Penalty Yardage, and Field Position.
Turnovers are talked about the most and they are the most important, but the types of penalties the Bills are committing are pretty bad. Namely return penalties, and holding. Return penalties heavily influence starting field position and when teams are backed up inside their own goalline they have to change the plays and their approach. In the Pittsburgh game the Bills had alot of drives start in very uncomfortable spots, although the Steelers could have easily won that game in a number of ways but controlling time of possession and field position was what they were content with.
The problem with Holding and I’m not trying to get Madden level obvious here is it’s a grade A cold blooded drive killer, same with false starts especially for teams that aren’t used to getting big chunks of yards. With a young inexperienced line like we have the chances for these penalties being called increases, that’s why I think Jauron has had them together even after other starters are gone because he’s aware of this and he has always had low penalized teams so I think I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt but it’s a concern I suppose
And to everyone that thinks that it is the end of the world that we lost to the Lions in the preseason, It’s the PRE-season.
CBF, I don’t think anyone has said anything remotely close to that.
~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."
Now that was funny… Rec’d.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
I almost voted Farve,but
you should never underestimate the power of Zubazs
"When troops flee, are insubordinate, collapse, or are routed in battle, it is the fault of the general." – Sun Tzu. Yes Jauron, I am talking to you.
I had some Zuba sweat pants for the longest time
They literally disintegrated before I finally threw them out, much to my wife’s unbridled jubilation :-)
"When troops flee, are insubordinate, collapse, or are routed in battle, it is the fault of the general." – Sun Tzu. Yes Jauron, I am talking to you.
i had to get new ones
i got the ones on ebay someone posted here
"Hold ya chin up...nuh nuh nuh...gone"
-Marshawn Lynch-
wreck'd
So good. I love the news reporting style. I believe Jerry Sullivan could have been quoted as well.
Delightfully Ignoring The Truth since 1995.
by NeverendingOptimism on Sep 4, 2009 10:22 AM EDT reply actions
When asked what might have made the difference, Jerry Sullivan responded:
“If Gale Gilbert was available, I think they get 2 more TDs and win the game. Someone should have called Mark Kelso down from the booth, too.”
Twitter: helping to make anti-social people anti-socially social.
by TheAfghanTwilight on Sep 4, 2009 11:09 AM EDT reply actions
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