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Among the things that went wrong for the Bills in last Sunday’s 40-32 loss to the Patriots was their inability to avoid penalties.

The Bills were flagged 14 times for 140 yards during the game, several of which were caused by a lack of composure that could be linked to comments from Bills players who said the team was too emotionally riled up for the game. One of those was an unsportsmanlike conduct call against the Bills bench, which suggests the coaching staff was also over-caffeinated for the contest.

Buffalo was the most penalized team in the league through the first two weeks of the season with 24 calls against them accepted by their opponents, so it wasn’t an issue exclusive to the Patriots game. Coach Rex Ryan vowed this week to do his part to avoid further issues on that front.

“I think if I have to do a better job of staying in control too and this team’s very much like me,” Ryan said, via ESPN.com. “I have to hold myself accountable just like I hold the team accountable, and so it starts with me. I’m gonna be not as animated or whatever if you will. You know I gotta control my language I think a little bit sometimes on the sideline. I think that’ll help, that’s gonna be the first thing and then our team as well.”

Those familar with Ryan’s tenure with the Jets will find plenty of familiar themes running through his comments after a loss to a division opponent that came after his team fell flat following a week of big talk. He said he was outcoached by Bill Belichick, that he recognized the need for controlling the emotional buildup to Sunday and now the comments about a different approach on the sideline.

Such issues never went away when Ryan was with the Jets and it’s hard to believe he’s going to become a significantly different kind of coach now that he’s in Buffalo regardless of what he says about finding new ways to run his team.