Bills' Kelsay, "Not everybody was playing hard every snap"

Orchard Park, NY (WGR 550) -- Many have seen it, but one of the Bills is willing to come out and say it. Chris Kelsay was in the film room Monday morning and he was furious with what he saw, “Some way somehow, we need to understand what accountability means across the board, playing hard every play because you watch the film and not everybody was playing hard every play, and that’s unacceptable.”

Kelsay went on to say, “There's no excuse for it. We put in way too much time and effort during the week. I thought we practiced really well throughout the week, but if you don't play on Sunday, if you can't translate to the game field then it's all for not. Coaches put in a ton of time, a lot of effort, we're all away from our families, we make this what it is. It’s important to our livelihood. It’s a blessing to be in this league and then to go out there and lay an egg, there’s no excuse for it.”

One of the best motivators in a professional locker-room is peer pressure. Kelsay said that’s something else that’s going to change, “Absolutely and I think you're going to see it from a lot of the guys. Maybe as leaders, some of us have let certain things slide, can't do that. No, we're not going to allow it. At the end of the day, that's who's on the field. coaches coach, players play, we might have to grab guys by the shirt collar and tell them to get to moving, it's nothing personal, I mean, we're relying on you. Myself included. If I’m not doing my job, I expect Kyle to grab me by the neck and tell me to get going. That's what it's going to take. We’ve got a lot of young guys. We’re going to get everybody on the same page.”

Kelsay claims something like this has never been a problem before, “No, I don't believe so. Coaches call you out, we grade loafs, we grade hard when guys aren't playing hard. Coaches point it out, but maybe it'll mean more coming from the players.”

I think the biggest thing people may be asking is how can this still be happening after seven games? Kelsay said, “Like I said, it's inexcusable. It comes back to your preparation and getting ready for a game. and I think we did that throughout the week. We practiced well and set ourselves up to perform well. They didn't do anything that we weren't ready for. We get paid for Sunday. We get paid to win ballgames and if you aren't doing it on Sunday, it doesn't matter what you do during the week and it's evident.”

So what conclusions should be drawn from this? The defensive end said, “If you're not going to, you shouldn't play. I don't care who you are. Obviously, I’m not the one to make those decisions, and I’m in that mix. I’m not pointing the finger. I’m looking in the mirror myself first and foremost, but if you aren't going to give us everything you've got, you shouldn't be on the field.”

The first player that comes to my mind when it comes to not giving a full effort is Mario Williams. Williams has been playing injured. Kelsay said it’s not his place to talk about Mario’s injury, “It's obviously bothering him. He’s come out and said that. Guys play with injuries all the time, especially you get into the middle portion of the season and as the season wears on, you get bumps and bruises, just the wear and tear of the season, you've got to fight through that. You've got to take care of guys during the week through preparation and being smart but ... um ... Mario knows what's going on. I’m not questioning whether or not his wrist is bothering him. It’s obviously bothering him. He says that, but we've got to find a way to get that healthy and this is a good time for him maybe? Getting a week off and letting that thing settle down a little bit, but it's not my place to speak on other peoples' injuries.”

Just to be clear, Kelsay says he wasn’t pinning this on Mario Williams. Kelsay said, “No, it's not Mario, it’s not Marcell, it's not Kyle, it's all of us, each and every one of us at times throughout the game. You see like a change of speed on the field chasing the football. There shouldn't be change of speed. You should be 110 miles an hour from whistle to whistle. I’m not singling out anybody. If I’m going to single somebody out, I’ll single myself out. This is a team game. It’s what makes this league so special. It takes all 11 guys on the football field every play, and we're not doing that. You're only as good as the effort that you put forth and I don't care who it is. I’d take Mario Williams at full health and full speed over probably anybody else in the league, but at the same time, I’d take Sean Ferguson, who we cut, over a guy who's playing 50 percent and I think our coaches would, too.”

Chan Gailey is never going to call out his players and even said during his press conference that he would not talk about if Williams looks like a franchise player. Gailey’s take on the whole thing is different than Kelsay’s, “Well we all fall into that category. Is there more everybody can do? Yes. And that’s the challenge for each of us, to do the very best that we can every time we walk out there. Everybody can do a little bit better. You say you’re doing your best, but you’ve got to find a little bit more because we’re not where we want to be. And I think we can be where we want to be still, but we’re not there yet.” The head coach continued, “Well, I think we’re playing hard. It’s not that I don’t think we’re playing hard. I do. I think we play hard. Can we play better? That’s the key. Being consistent, that’s the term I used with the players this morning is being consistent. Everybody being where they’re supposed to be when they’re supposed to be there and being more consistent, that’s the key to the whole thing. You walk out on our practice field, guys are working hard. To me, I watch the film everybody’s playing hard. Can we play harder every snap? Yeah, we can. But most everybody falls in that category a little bit. But you’ve gotta do more. When you’re losing you’ve got to do more.”