While Rex Ryan has always been very unlikely to be a one-and-done coach in Buffalo, there was talk around the league last week that Bills ownership was “none too pleased” with the team’s recent play, says Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports. As such, the team’s Sunday win over Houston likely has Ryan breathing a little easier.
If the Bills miss the playoffs this year, I expect Ryan to get at least one more shot in 2016 at making the postseason. As Garafolo notes though, the team’s owners are in win-now mode, having OK’d big-money maneuvers such as the trade and extension for LeSean McCoy, as well as lucrative contracts for Charles Clay, Jerry Hughes, and Marcell Dareus, among others.
Here’s more out of Buffalo:
- Kicker Dan Carpenter missed a field goal and an extra point during Sunday’s win over the Texans, and has now missed four of each for the season. However, his job isn’t in danger, according to Ryan, who declared that “we’re not getting rid of” Carpenter (link via Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News). “Moving that [extra point] back, there’s a lot of people who miss kicks,” Ryan said. “Look, we’ve got a veteran kicker. You guys know he can kick in the conditions, and not everybody can do that.”
- Safety Aaron Williams, who is on injured reserve with the designation to return, has a 50/50 chance of returning to the field for the Bills this season, per Ryan (Twitter link via Skurski).
- The injury sustained by cornerback Stephon Gilmore on Sunday isn’t expected to be a season-ender, according to Ryan (Twitter link via Skurski). There has yet to be an official diagnosis or recovery timeline announced for Gilmore.
Barring an 0-4 collapse, which won’t happen with the Bills’ remaining schedule, there’s no way Ryan is getting fired. His first year in Buffalo hasn’t been successful so far, though. The record is about what you’d expect, but he’s a defensive guru and the Bills’ D – which was stellar the previous two years – is now mediocre. Their big-money, formerly pressure-happy D-line has declined significantly on his watch. If they were performing even close to as well under Ryan as they were projected to, the Bills would be playoff front-runners. Instead, the team is probably going to finish on the outside of the playoffs, thus squandering vastly improved quarterback play and a top-tier running game.
As a bills fan, I hate to admit that, but you nailed it, i wouldn’t go as far to say the defense is mediocre, but it has definitely declined. That being said we can only go up as there is too much talent there to not pick it up.
The GM Whaley is the one they should fire. The trade up for Wadkins when they could have gotten Beckham where they were was atrocious. That 1st rounder they lost, could have been used on OL help they need. They also gotten 1st round value by taking Le’al Collins in the last round last year. He is good enough to start on the much better Dallas
OL. Bring in a new GM this year, give Rex one more year, if he can’t make the playoffs, then you fire him and let the new GM pick his own guy.
@3tavgreg
Many teams wanted to take a chance on Collins but the risk of his run in with the law was too high to take the chance
Hindsight is always 20 20 give me a break.
EXACTLY mbgutt…. Everyone is an expert after the fact