{"id":8840,"date":"2015-12-21T05:26:05","date_gmt":"2015-12-21T09:26:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thehogs.net\/blogs\/?p=8840"},"modified":"2025-06-02T00:25:56","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T04:25:56","slug":"the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/2015\/12\/21\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\/","title":{"rendered":"The Loser Papers 2015 – Edition VII"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, the Redskins won their first road game of the year. This week, they checked off another box by winning a second, consecutive game for the first time. Next week, they can clinch the division title with their first sweep of a divisional opponent. But, before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s celebrate this latest milestone with some light reading from The Buffalo News<\/span>:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Flat effort leaves Bills divided and conquered<\/h1>\n

Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor lies on the turf at FedEx Field after being sacked by Redskins linebacker Preston Smith during the fourth quarter.<\/em>
\nJames P. McCoy\/Buffalo News
\nBy Vic Carucci<\/p>\n

Updated 11:01 PM
\nDecember 20, 2015
\nLANDOVER, Md. \u2013 Now it\u2019s starting to get ugly. The we\u2019re-going-to-get-this-right-next-year talk that began during the week has given way to more pointed words from the head coach and the players.<\/p>\n

Job security, from top to bottom, was a recurring topic before and after the Buffalo Bills\u2019 35-25 loss against the Washington Redskins on Sunday.<\/p>\n

The Bills saw their playoff hopes essentially die with last week\u2019s defeat at Philadelphia. But on the way to officially killing them Sunday, they slid right into the abyss and are beginning to sound like an organization potentially headed for a second major overhaul in as many years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have two games to prove that we belong here,\u201d Rex Ryan said after his team fell to 6-8 in his first year at the Bills\u2019 helm, assuring him of a worse record than his predecessor, Doug Marrone, had in 2014. \u201cThat\u2019s every coach, every player, everybody. And that\u2019s just the reality of the business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryan was answering a question about the way ownership might respond to the team falling short of his lofty expectations of the Bills finally ending a postseason drought that now extends to 16 seasons and their having a better defense than last year\u2019s fourth-ranked unit.<\/p>\n

Before the game, a report surfaced from CBS NFL insider Jason La Canfora about a growing rift between General Manager Doug Whaley and the coaching staff. Ryan was asked about that, too, and promptly shot it down.<\/p>\n

However, according to a league source, Bills owner Terry Pegula has listened to outside NFL advice on player-personnel matters. A year ago, Pegula nearly hired Bill Polian to be the team\u2019s \u201cfootball czar,\u201d but the Bills\u2019 former GM and Pro Football Hall of Famer turned down the job. La Canfora reported and The News confirmed that Pegula is again open to the idea of finding someone to oversee the football operation. Whaley has a year left on his contract, and his long-term future with the franchise appears uncertain.<\/p>\n

It looks as if he might very well have some company.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the NFL, it happens, everybody\u2019s evaluated in this league,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cYou can read between the lines \u2026 I think any time you don\u2019t reach your expectations or whatever, you got to look deep into why things happen. It\u2019s easy to point to injuries. A lot of teams go through it. It\u2019s ridiculous the amount of injuries we\u2019ve had. Is that a contributing factor? Of course, and it would be ridiculous if you don\u2019t think it is.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, we\u2019ve got to look at other things as well and everything has to be looked at.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other things, such as players saying after the game that other players, as wide receiver Sammy Watkins put it, \u201cneed to forget about anybody\u2019s feelings\u201d and \u201ccall people out.\u201d Or defensive end Mario Williams blaming \u201cinsurgents\u201d within One Bills Drive for dispensing rumors to the media that he wasn\u2019t really sick when he didn\u2019t show up for work Wednesday. Or the Bills\u2019 defense being an utter embarrassment. The Bills came out flat in all phases, and the game was, for all intents and purposes, over after they fell into a 28-3 hole near the middle of the third quarter. Although Ryan insisted \u201cthere was no quit in anybody\u201d on his team, the effort mostly indicated the contrary.<\/p>\n

And never was that more apparent than on the Bills\u2019 defense, extending the dialogue that Ryan\u2019s renowned scheme, which allowed him to build the name and reputation that landed him the richest coaching contract in Bills history, has been an abject failure.<\/p>\n

That was Kirk Cousins and the Redskins who shredded Buffalo\u2019s \u201cD\u201d from start to finish, not Tom Brady and the Patriots or Aaron Rodgers and the Packers or Cam Newton and the Panthers. Cousins is good, but he shouldn\u2019t have been allowed to throw for 319 yards and four touchdowns, and run 13 yards for another score. The Redskins scored on each of their first three possessions to take a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter.<\/p>\n

Asked if he thought it would ever get this bad for the Buffalo defense, linebacker Manny Lawson said, \u201cNot this bad. We let this one get away, we let the season get away. It\u2019s a tough bullet to swallow.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Cousins\u2019 TD run, which gave the Redskins a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter, defensive end Jerry Hughes went ballistic on the Bills\u2019 sidelines. He threw down his helmet and knocked over a training table.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really know Kirk Cousins\u2019 history or his stats, but I felt like that might have been his first rushing TD in this NFL season, so I think that\u2019s why I was upset,\u201d Hughes said. The scoring run was actually Cousins\u2019 fifth of the year.<\/p>\n

The Bills\u2019 offense was far from spectacular, especially in the first half. The offensive line consistently lost battles with the big and powerful Redskins\u2019 D-line, which mostly used a four-man rush to put consistent pressure on quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Taylor was sacked five times and hit six times. He frequently was forced to scramble, and finished with nine runs for 79 yards as part of a 240-yard rushing effort built mainly in second-half garbage time.<\/p>\n

Taylor did throw for 235 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Watkins, but the scores and 208 of his passing yards came in the final two quarters with the Redskins firmly in control.<\/p>\n

The No. 1 problem for the Bills was exactly what it has been all season: terrible defense.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

http:\/\/bills.buffalonews.com\/2015\/12\/20\/flat-effort-leaves-bills-divided-and-conquered\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, the Redskins won their first road game of the year. This week, they checked off another box by winning a second, consecutive game for the first time. Next week, they can clinch the division title with their first sweep of a divisional opponent. But, before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s celebrate this … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-washington-redskins"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Loser Papers 2015 - Edition VII | The-Hogs.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/2015\/12\/21\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Loser Papers 2015 - Edition VII | The-Hogs.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last week, the Redskins won their first road game of the year. This week, they checked off another box by winning a second, consecutive game for the first time. Next week, they can clinch the division title with their first sweep of a divisional opponent. But, before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s celebrate this ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/2015\/12\/21\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The-Hogs.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/the-hogs.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-12-21T09:26:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-02T04:25:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/washington-commanders-helmet.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Deadskins\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@TheHogsdotNetv2\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@TheHogsdotNetv2\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Deadskins\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/21\\\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/21\\\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Deadskins\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/663ceeef9f4ebc36912d1447b0e24a5e\"},\"headline\":\"The Loser Papers 2015 – Edition VII\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-21T09:26:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-02T04:25:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/21\\\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1051,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Washington Redskins\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/21\\\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/21\\\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Loser Papers 2015 - Edition VII | The-Hogs.net\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-21T09:26:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-02T04:25:56+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/21\\\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/21\\\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/21\\\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blogs Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Washington Redskins\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/category\\\/washington-redskins\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The Loser Papers 2015 – Edition VII\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/\",\"name\":\"The-Hogs.net\",\"description\":\"Washington Football: From The Hogs to the Commanders \u2013 News, History, and Legacy\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"THN\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The-Hogs\",\"alternateName\":\"THN\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/ralphie2021.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/ralphie2021.png\",\"width\":400,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"The-Hogs\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/the-hogs.net\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/TheHogsdotNetv2\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/663ceeef9f4ebc36912d1447b0e24a5e\",\"name\":\"Deadskins\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.the-hogs.net\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/the-hogs.net\\\/blogs\\\/author\\\/deadskins\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Loser Papers 2015 - Edition VII | The-Hogs.net","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/2015\/12\/21\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Loser Papers 2015 - Edition VII | The-Hogs.net","og_description":"Last week, the Redskins won their first road game of the year. This week, they checked off another box by winning a second, consecutive game for the first time. Next week, they can clinch the division title with their first sweep of a divisional opponent. But, before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s celebrate this ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/2015\/12\/21\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\/","og_site_name":"The-Hogs.net","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/the-hogs.net","article_published_time":"2015-12-21T09:26:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-02T04:25:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/washington-commanders-helmet.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Deadskins","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@TheHogsdotNetv2","twitter_site":"@TheHogsdotNetv2","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Deadskins","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/2015\/12\/21\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/2015\/12\/21\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\/"},"author":{"name":"Deadskins","@id":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/#\/schema\/person\/663ceeef9f4ebc36912d1447b0e24a5e"},"headline":"The Loser Papers 2015 – Edition VII","datePublished":"2015-12-21T09:26:05+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-02T04:25:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/2015\/12\/21\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\/"},"wordCount":1051,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Washington Redskins"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/2015\/12\/21\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\/","url":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/2015\/12\/21\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\/","name":"The Loser Papers 2015 - Edition VII | The-Hogs.net","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-12-21T09:26:05+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-02T04:25:56+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/2015\/12\/21\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/2015\/12\/21\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/2015\/12\/21\/the-loser-papers-2015-edition-vii\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blogs Home","item":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Washington Redskins","item":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/category\/washington-redskins\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The Loser Papers 2015 – Edition VII"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/#website","url":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/","name":"The-Hogs.net","description":"Washington Football: From The Hogs to the Commanders \u2013 News, History, and Legacy","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/#organization"},"alternateName":"THN","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/#organization","name":"The-Hogs","alternateName":"THN","url":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ralphie2021.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ralphie2021.png","width":400,"height":300,"caption":"The-Hogs"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/the-hogs.net","https:\/\/x.com\/TheHogsdotNetv2"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/#\/schema\/person\/663ceeef9f4ebc36912d1447b0e24a5e","name":"Deadskins","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.the-hogs.net"],"url":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/author\/deadskins\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8840"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":586747,"href":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8840\/revisions\/586747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}