The defeat was the club's sixth in a row and dashed any faint hopes of a finals appearance for the Bombers, a free-fall few could have predicted after they sat second on the ladder after round nine.
Although the Tigers smashed the Bombers around the ground - Richmond had 71 inside-50 entries to Essendon's 40 - it was the team's shortage of risks that had Hird annoyed.
"I thought we didn't take the game on. If you're going to play AFL football and kick down the line and kick to a contest the whole time, it's too easy to work out," Hird said.??
"We didn't take the game on and that's probably the most disappointing part from my point of view."
Hird admitted the Bombers' poor run of form (they have lost nine of their past 12 games) had doubtless dented their confidence, but said form shouldn't necessarily dictate game plan.
"You can use that as an excuse, you can go into your shell because you haven't played well," he said.
"But I think we've got to be better as a team [so] that when things don't go well, we can still play with some sort of adventure and take the game on.
"Personally, I would have rather get beaten by 100 points and take the game on than get beaten by 50 points and try to play safe the whole night."
Hird expects to see a more daring unit take on Collingwood next Saturday night in what will be the Bombers' final game of the season, and said key forward duo Michael Hurley (ribs) and Stewart Crameri (shoulder) would be fit to play.
However, small forward Alwyn Davey will miss the Magpies game with a hamstring injury.
Although the defeat to the Tigers confirmed Hird's side would miss out on the finals, he maintained the club had not regressed this season after its 2011 improvements.
Last year, Hird's first as coach, the Bombers won 11 games and snuck into eighth position. If the Magpies win next week as expected, the Bombers could finish the season in 12th spot on the ladder.?
Callum Twomey is a reporter for the AFL website. Follow him on Twitter at @AFL_CalTwomey.
