The Bills have some big-picture problems at the moment, that are hard for politicians to swallow.
But in the micro-view world on the field, they have issues of more immediate concern to Bills coach Chan Gailey.
He mentioned his distaste for the five false start penalties his team committed in Thursday’s 7-6 loss to the Redskins.
“It looked ugly. It felt ugly. It was ugly,” Gailey said.
Then Tim Graham of the Buffalo News just had to go and tell him it was actually eight.
“Is that how many it was?” Gailey replied. “Gol-ly, . . . It’s awful.”
They actually had three during a four-play span in the second quarter, but Gailey didn’t blame young players or replacement refs.
“That penalty is my fault,” Gailey said. “I’ve got to get them disciplined. That’s just lack of discipline. That’s my responsibility, the discipline on this football team.”
On the night, they committed 14 penalties for 134 yards, with three more declined. One took a touchdown off the board.
The Bills have a chance to be exceptional on defense this year, and that will keep them in games regardless what they do with the ball. But if they keep moving backward, they have no shot.