Phantoms on the roster and some reminiscing about the Bills

[JSn]

The Pats are #2 in rushing first downs across the league.
The Pats are #7 in rushing yards across the league.
The Pats are #7 in rushing TD's across the league

Our high-draft back is on IR and contributed nothing this year. We've had to cobble together a running game. Our run game is a phantom. I think very few people realize how good it is, in spite of a combo of fragile RB's nearing the end and a UDFA.

And to another ghost, The Ghost:
So far this year he is responsible for 72 points, 95% FG accuracy and 100% PAT accuracy. This is a pro-bowl kicker, folks.

Slightly less well-hidden facts:
#1 Kick Return game across the league.
#7 Passer Rating from 3-wide sets (100.3) across the league, 4th in the AFC, 1st in the AFCE.

This team is poised to hang in the stretch after we pick up our defensive game. Time for some Cinderella stories in the backfield.


A Buffalo Story:
Last year I stopped in Buffalo on my way home from NYC. I was in a duty-free shop with NO newspapers and hadn't heard whether the Pats had beat the Bills or not (final game vs. Bills). I heard some guys talking football and wanted to avoid taking a beating, so I politely asked if Buffalo had won that weekend.

The response was "pffft - that team will always suck".

I tried to hide my enthusiasm with regard to my safety.

Anyway. just a timely story with no good spot to live. Here's to the Bills sucking!

 

[alamo]

Re: Phantoms on the Roster and some reminiscing about the Bills.

That site apparently doesn't allow external linking of their images, clear your cache and reload this page and all you will see is their logo. I needed to "View Image" each image and reload to see them.

As to "that team will always suck"... they made it to 4 SBs, that's the same sort of attitude we increasingly see around here, and it's sad.

 

[JSn]

Re: Phantoms on the Roster and some reminiscing about the Bills.

That site apparently doesn't allow external linking of their images, clear your cache and reload this page and all you will see is their logo. I needed to "View Image" each image and reload to see them.

As to "that team will always suck"... they made it to 4 SBs, that's the same sort of attitude we increasingly see around here, and it's sad.

Ok, that should fix it.

I have to say that back then my interaction with Football fans was minimal, so I had just assumed those guys weren't Bills fans. After the last year of observing and signing up here, maybe I should rethink that stance.

 

[MassPats38]

Re: Phantoms on the Roster and some reminiscing about the Bills.

My dealings with Bills fans have reflected more of the irrational team love, despite facts to the contrary, similar to the Washington area Redskins fans (radio shows always seem to have them driving for the perfect season, even when they finish 6-10).

My first weeks in El Paso, I actually got to watch the Bills-Patriots game with the Buffalo Bills fan club (yes, they actually have a fan club in El Paso, TX) at a local sports bar (I quickly got the NFL Sunday Ticket after that game). Unfortunately, that was September 2003, my identity as a Pats fan was disclosed, I got to sit with 20-30 Bills fans and get heckled (good-natured heckling, not malicious) while watching the Pats get mopped 31-0.

The Bills have not had many bright spots since the Jim Kelly years (after all, 2nd best is still second best in the NFL, and the NFC owned the AFC during those years), but they still showed up at Foxboro in numbers when tickets could be had and showed support for their team. The Bills may be a small market team, but my impression has been they have a fairly loyal fan base. I always respect that, especially when the team hasn't come close to sniffing a championship in more than 15 years.