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The standard line all teams use about the beginning of every new NFL season is – don’t pay attention to anything that happens in the preseason, because it never translates into the regular games. However, the Buffalo Bills’ opening game of the 2012 season against the New York Jets looked as bad as any of the 4 eggs they laid in the exhibitions, maybe worse when you consider that Sunday’s clunker was achieved with the starters playing the entire game. Here are some observations from the game, both negative and positive, about the Bills, starting with the negatives:

* Ryan Fitzpatrick hasn’t looked sharp at all this year, actually since the first 7 games of last season. The problem is the excuse that he had injured ribs doesn’t hold water anymore. I think it’s very telling that the television analyst for the game, former NFL QB Rich Gannon, continually criticized Fitz’s decision-making in the game. Gannon’s NFL career was similar to Fitzpatrick’s – he was considered a career backup until getting his chance to start with the Raiders, and his strength was his heady play, his weakness that he lacked the strong arm of other QBs. So Gannon knows what he’s talking about. It’s alarming that a QB who is a Harvard grad and whose game is predicated on reading defenses and making smart decisions has looked so clueless.

* Speaking of clueless, what was the Bills’ defensive secondary doing all game long? New D-coordinator Dave Wannstedt has installed a new, simplified 4-3 scheme that the players are supposed to thrive in. Jet receivers were running uncovered all day and the defensive backs looked totally befuddled, especially on third down, as the Jets converted 71% of their third down opportunities, and most of those conversions looked way too easy. Of course, there was no pass rush at all to help them out, as Mario Williams and Mark Anderson were invisible throughout the game, but that’s still no excuse for all the blown coverages that were going on all day. The expectation was that Wannstedt would have some wrinkles ready to try to get Jet QB Mark Sanchez off his game and disrupt the team’s passing game, but the defensive game plan looked just like the “vanilla” plan the Bills used in preseason. Also, on paper, the defense has some top-notch players, but when is this unit going to develop some backbone and start stopping somebody? The Jets didn’t punt until early in the 4th quarter, when the game was pretty much decided.

* The Bills had the top kick coverage teams in the NFL last year, so how do the special teams open the season? By allowing a long punt return for a touchdown. The fact that the game was a blowout and that all 3 phases – offense, defense and special teams – looked flat is an indictment of the entire coaching staff. The players looked unprepared, and typical of games like this when one team is physically manhandling the other,  Buffalo lost 2 key players to injury – star RB Fred Jackson and slot receiver David Nelson.

Here are the positives:

* If Jackson’s knee injury turns out to be serious, the Bills’ running game should at least still be competent as long as C.J. Spiller stays healthy. He was one player who looked motivated and played hard on Sunday, recording the best rushing day of his career.

* It’s a shame that the Bills’ pass defense was so lost and disorganized on Sunday. The team did a decent job stopping the run, which really is the strength of the Jets’ offense.

* There is some potential for success by the offense if Fitzpatrick can get his head out of the clouds. The line seems to be blocking well for both the run and pass, and guys like Stevie Johnson, Donald Jones, Scott Chandler, Spiller and Nelson have the potential to make plays. They just need their quarterback to get them the ball accurately and on time more often.

So now, the Bills’ coaches have to sort through the rubble from this opening day disaster and figure out how to right the ship before next week’s home opener against Kansas City. They’ll likely have to play without Jackson and Nelson, so the offense will be handicapped even more. It probably should have been expected that the Bills would struggle against the Jets, since Rex Ryan’s team has owned the Bills for a few years now. They’ve been able to beat Buffalo by dominating in the trenches on both sides of the ball. It’s unlikely the Chiefs will be able to accomplish that, but Buffalo won’t win this week either without picking up their game in all three phases.