The art of a rebound: Why the Buffalo Bills are preaching consistency this week
As the Buffalo Bills gear up for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they are attempting to rebound from a gnarly loss last Sunday to the Miami Dolphins.
The cliches come easily for any team looking to rebound from a loss.
Twenty-four-hour rule. Week-to-week league. Any given Sunday.
As the Buffalo Bills gear up for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they are attempting to rebound from a gnarly loss last Sunday to the Miami Dolphins.
It wasn’t just the result, but the way the team looked that raised alarm bells outside the building. But inside One Bills Drive, the coaches and players are preaching consistency, consistency, consistency. They want their process to look as close to any other week as possible as they move forward.
Left guard David Edwards believes they’re on the right track to balance making corrections from the recent loss, while not overhauling what has worked.
“When you lose games, if you have the right people, it re-centers you,” Edwards said on Friday. “I feel like we had a great week of practice. We attack things the right way, do things the right way. We got great coaches that put us in great position.
“So, let's not dwell on the past of last week. Let's move forward in a way that's constructive and positive, and then when Sunday, 1 o'clock rolls around, let's put the ball down and go play and have fun.”
Edwards sees that at a granular level, with every play and every drill during practice. It’s all part of the bigger journey.
“How can we stay as consistent as we can be doing that?” Edwards said. “And I think that will just continue to ascend. This is what football is about. You have bumps in the road, and if you have the right people to overcome that stuff – which I think we do – then it's OK, like, we'll learn from it, we'll move forward, and we'll be OK.”
Bills right guard O'Cyrus Torrence, left, pass blocks for quarterback Josh Allen against the Dolphins on Nov. 9 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Harry Scull, Buffalo News
From the coaches ...
The consistency around the building starts with the coaching staff.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott looks at a defensive play sheet against the Dolphins on Nov. 9 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Harry Scull, Buffalo News
Head coach Sean McDermott learned his ways under Andy Reid with the Philadelphia Eagles.
“Growing up around Philadelphia, Coach Reid for those 12 years – (he was) very consistent, his approach, all the while making adjustments: somewhat in front, but also somewhat behind, kind of one-off conversations and whatnot,” McDermott said. “But the consistency is what's needed in this league, because it's so hard week to week staying consistent with your process, with your approach.”
To do so, McDermott remembers the ultimate goal.
“Well, you have a vision for where you want to go as a team,” McDermott said. “You have a vision that, in this case, leader, head coach, of where you want and where you need to go, and so you work towards that vision week to week. And, in particular, when you're coming off of a loss or game that didn't go the way you wanted to.”
McDermott compared it to the Bills coming off their bye week this season, when they had lost the previous two games to New England and Atlanta. The coaching staff had a list of things they wanted to get done.
“No different this week,” McDermott said.
That mindset then filters down to the coordinators. Defensive coordinator Bobby Babich says no, you don’t treat the week after a loss any differently. Now, that’s not the same as complacency, of course.
“I think the biggest thing is to make sure you don't lose sight of where you went wrong, right?” Babich said Monday. “You got to make sure you get those things corrected. Make sure the emphasis is on the things that we need to get better at fundamentally.”
Still, Babich wants to keep his players from overreacting, even while being realistic about the standings.
“And at the same time you can't … it's not the end of the season,” Babich said. “It's not the end of the season. We're 6-3, and our guys need to have an intentionality and urgency and understanding: ‘OK, this is where we're at. This is what we need to do to get to where we want to go. And this is where we're at right now, right now, and this is what we got to get fixed.’
“So, I know the guys will be rocking and rolling, champing at the bit to get back at it. And get those things corrected.”
For offensive coordinator Joe Brady, there is a slight change in his schedule, but only at night, away from the facility.
Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady said it's important to be consistent. "If I’m changing week to week, how can I expect them to be consistent now?" he said.
Harry Scull, Buffalo News
“You don’t sleep because you evaluate everything,” Brady said Monday. “But I also think it’s so important also being consistent. And if I’m changing week to week, how can I expect them to be consistent now? With that said, for us to come out like that, we can’t ride the wave.”
Brady says there’s a fine line between consistency and insanity. So how can he – starting with himself – make sure players are getting the same message? It helps that the next game is on the horizon.
“After a win, you got to do everything you can to get opportunity to go do it again; and when you lose, all you want is the opportunity to do it again,” Brady said. “And so, getting our guys in the right framework and mindset ready to go this week because we have a huge opportunity for us and then the next week is going to be the exact same.
“As long as we can continue our approach each week’s the same, good things will happen.”
… To the players
With the Bills coaching staff all on the same page, next the message goes through player leaders on the team.
Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
Left tackle Dion Dawkins knows there can be a difference in external perception, and the Bills can’t let that noise sway them.
“I don't think that we really need to change a bunch of stuff,” Dawkins said. “Like, a lot of people panic, right? A lot of people panic. A lot of people that aren't in house will panic and be like, ‘Oh no, what's going on?’ But realistically, we have all the answers to the test, right?”
Like Edwards, Dawkins noted that a loss can help players refocus. He likened this week to training camp as each individual masters their routines.
Quarterback Josh Allen said he washed away the Miami loss “really quickly.” And he senses the turning-of-the-page mentality permeating throughout the team.
“I think with the vets in this locker room and the leadership that we have, just making sure that, ‘Hey, let's wash it. Let's get back on track. Let's have a good week of practice. This is a really good Buccaneers team that we're playing on Sunday, and we need to understand that,’” Allen said Wednesday.
“And again, every week is hard in the NFL. It's going to take everything that we've got each and every given week. And no different this week. This is the biggest game that we've got all season.”