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10/08/2012 09:13 PM

Hoping to improve in Arizona

By: Don Heins

Maybe a week in Arizona is what the Bills need. They'll be spending time together, away from home, away from distractions, in a sort of second training camp. The Bills will spend this week practicing at Arizona State, as they prepare for Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals. Maybe it will give them a chance to do some soul searching, and find out what it's going take to stop the melt-downs that we've seen over the last two weeks.

In Sunday's game, it all started with a turnover near the end of the second quarter. The Bills were hoping to chip away at what was just a seven point deficit, when Patrick Willis forced Scott Chandler's fumble. The Bills offense was paralyzed after that misstep. In the third quarter, they had only three first downs. Ryan Fitzpatrick's interception killed their only substantive drive. They did not get another first down in the game, paving the way for 21 San Francisco points in the fourth quarter.

"I don't think our team gives up," said head coach Chan Gailey. "I think they hurt. I think they get rattled. And that's part of my responsibility, to not let them get rattled.

"When things start going bad, you've got to be strong mentally. I've got to find a way to get our team to that point."

It's more than a blip in the radar right now. We've seen the Bills get thoroughly dominated, and more importantly outworked, in back to back weeks. And things don't get much easier playing a well-rested Arizona team on the road this week.

"It's tough, and this was a whole different game than last week," said quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. "Last week, we played well at times and had a nice lead that fell apart in the second half, as we all know. This week, they flat out dominated us from beginning to end. And again, really took it to us in the second half."

The Bills begin preparations for the Cardinals with a Wednesday practice at Arizona State. YNN will be making the trip with the team, so stick with YNN and YNN.com for coverage throughout the week.