Is anyone still worried about the Bills?

[Rob0729]

Nothing has to work in Buffalo’s favor.

No teams have to lose for the Bills to take the division.

Bills 100% hold their own destiny.

Bills own the division tiebreaker over the Patriots and there is nothing the Patriots can do about it between now and when the they play the Bills next.

Patriots just have to pray that Tampa beats the Bills.

Actually, the Pats and Bills are tied in the division tie breaker. Both have one loss in the division and are 3-1. The Pats actually own the head to head tie breaker which would supersede the division record in the tiebreaker process. The winner of the second game will then own division tie breaker at least until the Pats play the Dolphins and the Bills play the Jets on the final week.

 

[Rob0729]

There is actually plenty of evidence for it being PI.

He was stopping Knox from getting back to the ball BEFORE the defender ever tried making a play on it.

The defender was looking back for the ball. If he wasn't looking back for the ball, then you would have a stronger argument for PI. In fact, there could be a case for OPI based on the images you provided since the defender has equal right for the ball and if Knox grabbed him and didn't let him get his arms around to make a play on the catch, it would have been Knox who committed the foul.

 

[neckroll#14]

44 page thread... and the bildos still lost!

 

[Rob0729]

What happens when you take away:

- 5 dropped passes plus a dropped Bills TD?
- A fumble where no one touched the ball carrier?
- A missed field goal?
- The missed PI in the endzone

The Bills got 2 breaks - The punt fumble and a roughing call.

The Patriots got 8 breaks.

if we take away all the breaks that each team got in the game. The bills win by double digits.

You do realize you swap Diggs catching that pass in the end zone with Harry not muffing the punt and the final score is likely the same. In fact, the muffed punt could have been an either 10 point or 14 point swing since not only did it give the Bills an easy TD, but it also robbed the Patriots of a possession.

And I already stated how the "missed PI in the end zone" wasn't clear PI and could have even been OPI.

And the fumble by the Bills was pure execution. That Breida not looking the ball into his hands.



A missed field goal is also execution.

And dropped passes are also execution. Those aren't breaks. You are arguing the Bills' receivers weren't good enough.

And if the Bills actually scored more, the Pats wouldn't have just run all game. The Pats played to protect the lead all night. The strategy was to eat up clock and not give the Bills a lot of possessions and let the defense stop the Bills from getting into the end zone. If the Bills got up, the Pats would have revised their strategy and the game would have been different.

The difference in this game was that Belichick out coached McDermott and the Pats players out physicaled the Bills players. The Pats played like a team that plays in Orchard Park, NY and the Bills played like a team that plays in a dome.

 

[Rob0729]

That’s not what happened.

Belichick played that way because he knew that was the only way they could possibly win.

Not because it was a disadvantage.

He knows Mac doesn’t have the arm for that wind, nor for the Bills defense.

Belichick played that way because he knew McDermott was not smart enough to adjust his game plan until the fourth quarter when the Bills offense was driving into the wind. Belichick threw a curve ball at McDermott and McDermott melted under the pressure.

And they Pats didn't throw because Belichick knew that it was going to be a low scoring game, the Bills cannot defend the run, and there is an exponentially higher potential of turning over the ball passing in hurricane gust winds than running the ball. The Pats were going to come into this game to exploit a major weakness in the Bills' run defense - their smallish defense cannot stop big power backs. The wind just made Belichick lean into that far heavier.

 

[sb1]

Bills fans shouldn’t be too upset with the Patriots. We’re the team that ended Rob Johnson’s time in Buffalo lol. Can’t remember who it was maybe Tebucky? who sacked him and ended his season and Bills career with an injury.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

On Tuesday I was listening to NFL N on the radio and they were interviewing a retired OL coach (Alexander??) who coached the Bengals when they went to the Super Bowl and he ripped the Bills for not making any defensive adjustments when they knew the Pats were running again and again and again... Even the two 4th quarter stops when Milano shot the gap wasn't ( according to the coach) a great play by the Bils but rather a failure to pick him up off a double team by the PAts OL. He was praiseworthy for the Pats scheme but "Xs and Os" how the Bills ran the same defensive alignment the entire game.....

 

[goheels22002]

Typically, I hate bye weeks. This thread has great promise to keep us entertained until it's time to predict the score against the Indianapolis Colts inside a dome on artificial turf. My early prediction is something on the order of 31-24 Pats with Mac Jones going 28 for 35, 310 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT.

The media will say that Belichick doesn't trust his offensive line and running backs.

The defense will actually play better than the score indicates because the Colts will score on a muffed punt by N'Keal Harry.

Nothing like a run to the playoffs.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Their OL is pretty mediocre, but that’s not Josh Allen’s fault.

hes still never beaten mac jones. In his life

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Bills fans shouldn’t be too upset with the Patriots. We’re the team that ended Rob Johnson’s time in Buffalo lol. Can’t remember who it was maybe Tebucky? who sacked him and ended his season and Bills career with an injury.

Terrell Buckley (4 minutes left 4th quarter)
He did come back w Tampa for a cup of coffee the next year...
Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots - November 11th, 2001 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

 

[goheels22002]

On Tuesday I was listening to NFL N on the radio and they were interviewing a retired OL coach (Alexander??) who coached the Bengals when they went to the Super Bowl and he ripped the Bills for not making any defensive adjustments when they knew the Pats were running again and again and again... Even the two 4th quarter stops when Milano shot the gap wasn't ( according to the coach) a great play by the Bils but rather a failure to pick him up off a double team by the PAts OL. He was praiseworthy for the Pats scheme but "Xs and Os" how the Bills ran the same defensive alignment the entire game.....

You really cannot fault a defense for holding an opponent to 14 points at home. Actually, the Bills' run defense was pretty good and only allowed the one TD. They were successful in stopping the Patriots on third down. The Patriots basically ran clock, avoided turnovers, and stuck with what kept them in the lead. It was the Bills' offense that sucked.

If the Bills had gotten the lead, the Patriots offense would have been forced to adapt and get more aggressive - probably with lots of short passes and screen plays, but since Buffalo came up small at home offensively, the Pats could just keep running clock and taking care of the ball.

If N'Keal Harry hadn't turned over that punt, the score would have been 14-3.

 

[sb1]

Terrell Buckley (4 minutes left 4th quarter)
He did come back w Tampa for a cup of coffee the next year...
Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots - November 11th, 2001 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Thanks.

He was also Washington's backup. LOL the fans in Buffalo didn't like him all that much and loved seeing him get sacked

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

You really cannot fault a defense for holding an opponent to 14 points at home. Actually, the Bills' run defense was pretty good and only allowed the one TD. They were successful in stopping the Patriots on third down. The Patriots basically ran clock, avoided turnovers, and stuck with what kept them in the lead. It was the Bills' offense that sucked.

If the Bills had gotten the lead, the Patriots offense would have been forced to adapt and get more aggressive - probably with lots of short passes and screen plays, but since Buffalo came up small at home offensively, the Pats could just keep running clock and taking care of the ball.

If N'Keal Harry hadn't turned over that punt, the score would have been 14-3.

True but you could argue that if Harris doesn't pull up with the hammy issue on the second long run, he might have gone to the house on that one as well....

 

[cmasspatsfan]

True but you could argue that if Harris doesn't pull up with the hammy issue on the second long run, he might have gone to the house on that one as well....

Green cow has been playing the what if game the whole thread, I get it all fans do but what ifs dont count, only the score does.

 

[BTTA]

I put Green Cow on ignore and the first 40 pages of the thread turned in to Pats fans arguing with the wind. Glad the thread has returned to some form of intelligent analysis.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Titans never go to the Super Bowl in 1999 had Bills Ownership not started Rob Johnson over Flutie who made them relevant. Morons. Or if the Bills could’ve just made a routine special teams tackle.

Jacksonville or Indy most likely goes who most people wanted to see the Rams take on.

 

[amfootball]

I agree that Bill was not married to that game plan of running that much but once it was 8-0 and the Pats never trailed, he was never pressured to change. I mean that is football 101. No reason to alter anything unless forced to.

 

[NormZauchin]

Typically, I hate bye weeks. This thread has great promise to keep us entertained until it's time to predict the score against the Indianapolis Colts inside a dome on artificial turf. My early prediction is something on the order of 31-24 Pats with Mac Jones going 28 for 35, 310 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT.

The media will say that Belichick doesn't trust his offensive line and running backs.

The defense will actually play better than the score indicates because the Colts will score on a muffed punt by N'Keal Harry.

Nothing like a run to the playoffs.

If Henry is not used to field punts, the Pats defense does not give up 24 points. If the Colts score 17, they'll be doing good.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Green cow has been playing the what if game the whole thread, I get it all fans do but what ifs dont count, only the score does.

The immediate post game visceral reaction is understandable. Playing the dreaded 'if only this would have happened' will be part of a defeat lamenting process. The 'if only this would have happened', for some, sometimes, grows to an all encompassing singular importance, all critical thinking dismissed in favor of this generic rationale. This poster has taken it to the Nth degree.

 

[BTTA]

The immediate post game visceral reaction is understandable. Playing the dreaded 'if only this would have happened' will be part of a defeat lamenting process. The 'if only this would have happened', for some, sometimes, grows to an all encompassing singular importance, all critical thinking dismissed in favor of this generic rationale. This poster has taken it to the Nth degree.

I'm still doing it about the last 3 SB losses.