ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The question gave Rex Ryan pause.
It was in the Bills’ coach’s postgame press conference, as he offered his frustrated reflections on Buffalo’s 41-25 loss to the Patriots on Sunday afternoon at New Era Field.
New England quarterback Tom Brady had just carved up the Bills’ pass defense, going 22-of-33 for 315 yards and four touchdowns while leading the Pats to seven scores on their first nine possessions.
And, well into the post mortem, Ryan was asked whether Brady’s performance underscored how far Bills’ QB Tyrod Taylor is from being the franchise quarterback Buffalo needs.
The second-year coach paused, then allowed, “I disagree (with that assessment). I think Tyrod is exactly what we need. We just have to catch the ball better (Buffalo had four key drops Sunday, including two potential TDs). We have to protect a little bit better. I think he’s a great quarterback.
“I’m not saying he’s Tom Brady … there’s only one of those. But I’m saying he’s a great quarterback (or) he has a chance to be.”
He added, “It might be fair to judge him when you have everything out there. It’ll be nice one day to sit back and have a full roster. You talk about the talent of your team … we’ve got to get them all healthy. Then we’ll probably be able to evaluate this team a little bit better.”
And, in fairness, Ryan wasn’t making excuses.
The Bills’ offensive skill position situation, outside of quarterback, is an unhealthy mess.
Against the Patriots, Taylor didn’t have Pro Bowl running back LeSean McCoy, who was second in the NFL in rushing yards until tweaking his hamstring in the win over San Francisco.
He played sparingly in the loss at Miami, aggravated the injury, then sat out Sunday.
His replacement, Mike Gillislee, played well against the Pats, rushing 85 yards on 12 carries, over seven per try, but he’s not McCoy. And Taylor, probably the NFL’s most mobile QB, did his part on the ground, rushing 48 yards on five attempts — nearly 10 per carry — including a 26-yard touchdown.
Indeed, as a team, the Bills rushed for 167 yards, over six per try.
The problem against the Pats was clearly the passing game as Taylor was 19-of-38 for a modest 183 yards. But there were those drops, two by tight end Charles Clay and one apiece by wideouts Brandon Tate and Walter Powell.
And that illustrates the issue.
Clay is supposed to be an elite tight end — he’s certainly being paid like one — but in the first seven games he had 24 catches and no touchdowns. Against the Pats, he caught two balls for six yards and had that pair of drops, one a TD.
But where Buffalo is really hurting is at wide receiver.
It started when No. 1 wideout Sammy Watkins had off-season foot surgery and missed virtually all of training camp. Then big, speedy and talented Percy Harvin, weary of endless injuries, retired.
Draft choice Kolby Listenbee, in the Marquise Goodwin track-speed mode, is on the non-football injury list, special teams star Marcus Easley is listed physically unable to perform, Greg Salas is out for the season on injured reserve and Watkins aggravated his foot problem in the loss to the Jets. is on in-season injured reserve and can’t return until Game 10 at Cincinnati.
And Sunday, Goodwin was inactive while still in the concussion protocol.
Thus the Bills receiving corps Sunday was former No. 2 wideout, Robert Woods, who played on an injured foot, Powell, Tate and Justin Hunter. The last three are free agents who clearly didn’t impress the teams which cut them.
To Taylor’s credit, he didn’t blame his dearth of weapons on Sunday.
“That (lack of players) doesn’t go through my mind,” he said. “I’m confident in the guys we have out there. I’ve gotta give them chances to make plays and we’ve gotta go out there and make (them).
“To be on this team you understand it’s for a reason … so when you’re out there on the field the other guys are definitely depending on you to make plays. And that’s something we can be better at.”
Ryan sounded a similar theme.
“Some guys have to understand that you might he a backup, but your role can drastically change,” he said. “If you’re the fourth guy up, you might have to play and that kind of happened to us a little bit today. It can’t be an excuse, you’ve got to be ready. Unfortunately, we made some mistakes.”
Still, that didn’t preclude a question about Taylor’s accuracy … or lack of it.
“I think Tyrod will be fine,” Ryan maintained. “The day might look a little different if you take away the drops. It seems like each week I’m defending him … I don’t understand it.”
Better that we’re asking him how the receiving corps slipped to this level.
(Chuck Pollock, the Times Herald sports editor, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com
