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Week 2 Patriots vs Bills Social Commentary: Big Bad Bill

The Bills came out with a lot of pomp and circumstance, even though they were thoroughly demolished by the Patriots.

By Rich Hill
Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

We should've realized that the Bills weren't going to win in their regular season Super Bowl.

Ouch. Welcome back for another edition of Social Commentary.

The Bills were out in full force for the occasion, treating their fans to a movie production to hype up the crowd and an airshow prior to the game. Buffalo had a person parachute down to the field from an airplan and Rex Ryan is willing to sign off on anything with 10,000 feet.

This isn't how a rivalry works, Buffalo. The feelings have to be mutual. You can't just say oh, we're rivals! and then expect it to happen. You're the UConn of the NFL and the Patriots are UCF. The Patriots have a habit of beating the Bills in heartbreaking fashion and now that Rex Ryan is puffing up the franchise, it's going to turn the Bills from lovable losers to obnoxious blowhards.

And once the players no longer buy into Rex Ryan's bluster, the locker room deteriorates. A head coach can't tell their players to be bullies on the field and then act surprised when they are flagged for dumb penalties. The Rex Effect already had a short shelf life and it's getting even shorter.

The Bills might rebound and have a great season, but they're not going to do it on the back of Rex...or their offense.

The Patriots were absolutely dominant on defense after that opening drive. The defensive front was containing quarterback Tyrod Taylor in the pocket and the back seven did a great job of taking away Taylor's first read and his outlet receiver. They stifled the run and were much better than against the Steelers. That is the defense that will take this New England team deep into the playoffs, and they have enough depth to make it last.

Oh, and Jonathan Freeney saw time on the field for the Patriots defense. That's like seeing Tracy White or Larry Izzo suit up. It's not ideal. But, hey, he wasn't a liability and he picked up valuable experience. But not all rotations are smart.

The Patriots are playing with fire as they rotate their offensive line. While Tom Brady's quick passes helped negate some of the Bills pass rush, it seemed like the Patriots best offensive line was Nate Solder, Josh Kline, David Andrews, Tre Jackson, and Sebastian Vollmer. Solder struggled with the rotation at guard last season and only settled down once Dan Connolly became a permanent fixture at left guard.

While getting Shaq Mason valuable snaps against top defensive talent is a great concept for his development, the offensive line needs more time to gel, or else miscommunications will lead to penalties and missed plays.

The Patriots and the Bills combined for 25 penalties. Buffalo has 25 penalties over two games. The officials made the game painful to watch with a penalty on seemingly every play. There were bad calls and non-calls against both sides- Jerry Hughes totally interfered with Rob Gronkowski up the seam, but officials will never call contact on Gronk down the field, and Malcolm Butler totally slipped.

I understand the need to set the tone early in the season, but that was ridiculous. No one wants to see the refs. Itchy flag fingers aren't appreciated.

Another quality Rex Ryan production. See the sequel next week!

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