All_Pro_Bills

In criticizing the play calling we're always given the benefit of knowing the result in these kinds of situations. If they scored the go-ahead TD we'd all be singing a different tune so to speak. But that didn't happen and the problem is not this one particular failed scoring attempt but the red zone performance problem all season. This particular series of play calls repeating the pattern of past failures, the defintion of insanity as the saying goes. In this case, once the Bills got the ball down to the 15 they should have worked the clock as close as possible to a one possession game. Maybe you score and take the lead, maybe not, but you leave the Chiefs with as little time as possible assuming you go up 20-17. With about 2 1/2 minutes left, the 2-minute warning, and KC having a couple time outs the Bills had a potential total of 8 plays to run (assuming no penalties) from that point on the field to get the go-ahead TD. So abandoning the option to run didn't seem prudent. And watching the sequence of plays it appeared they were playing it like there was 30 seconds left with no timeouts. The play sequence to me looked like panic rather than some well thought out series of calls. A screen, a draw, maybe a Watkins reverse, something they hadn't shown yet, might have been considered.

The call on Chandler was very weak for sure (we see a lot worse on 100's of plays during the course of NFL play on any Sunday), the Bills seem to get these 'soft' calls at the most critical times of the games, and you wonder if the ref's were just looking to call something there but they lost to the Chiefs because they had 4 red zone trips and came away with 3 points and had two critical fumbles that led to 7 points for KC and cost the BIlls a sure TD that would have put them up 17-3. That would have changed the entire dynamic of the game. This team simply continues to make too many costly blunders to be a serious playoff contender.

After reading the posts I can't argue with any. There are many 'goat's we've identified but while the names may change the actors in the show continue to play the same parts. For the most part, the Bills continue to lose games like this, against 'good' teams, because they alway commit some major blunders while not taking advantage of the opportunities they have during the course of the game. 3 points in 4 red zone trips I believe? Convert those 4 trips into 28 points and McKelvin's fumble is a minor inconvenience. And Lawsons missed plays are no big deal too. And if Chandler recovers Brown's fumble? These things happen to other teams but for some reason not the Bills. But the offense sputters to the finish and then the defense which plays so well and reliable all game finally caves in the crucial 4th quarter and gives up the big score to seal the loss. We've seen it so many times its become expected. And that's the frustrating part. You root and root and hope again and again only to end up with disappointment you know is coming at the end.

I thought the same right after the game but you have to ask yourself why he was out there in the first place given the situation in both instances? I'm sure the answer will be it was his turn in the precious rotation. That said, I have to question the rationale for not having your best 11 out on defense in critical situations. Why was Hughes on the bench? Was he hurt? In this game the Bills beat themselves in the usual fashion. Untimely penalties, dropped passes, a couple of not unexpected gaffes by way of two fumbles. As soon as Brown got striped at the 2 and that ball went out of the back of the endzone I knew they were going to lose. And of course Chandler counldn't get control because that would have ruined the Bills blundering script.

As the first order of business, in order to deal with late night munchies while in session, Congress has authorized the placement of a Might Taco next to the Capitol building.

I believe the Bills were favored in only 1 (against Minn) game of 8 all season so whether they are favored or not by the oddsmakers hasn't meant anything all season unless you gamble on the games. Against Chicago, Miami, Detroit, and New York they were underdogs by somehow 'beat' the odds. Official lines on the Bills games this year picked the winner correctly 50% of the time, the same as a coin flip and based on the odds makers and the money flow the Bills should be 1-7 this season.

I recall a few plays that he under-threw the receiver and the commentators stated that he doesn't have the arm strength to get the ball deep down field. So so-called big strong-armed QB is just big QB. Not worthy of consideration..

The underdog role suits the Bills well. KC's won 3 in a row, edged the Chargers by a FG, pummelled the Rams and beat the Jets yesterday. The Chiefs don't turn the ball over much. To win the Bills need to do the same. Turnovers equal and with home field and a weeks rest, I see the Bills taking this one by 10 points..

NFL players should be smart enough to stay off Twitter and Facebook. More often than not, the less said the better. Especially when you're losing..

Coach Bill gets to make an 'example' out of a good player at absolutely no cost. Revis gets an extra days rest and the coach comes off as cutting no slack for anybody, even the big money players. This week they play the Bears, a team with an offense where the wheels are coming off and Revis will likely match-up with Marshall and follow him around the field all day. So what's there to practice anyway?

Not to worry. The Jets will only be kicking off once.

The way the Bills won was simply incredible and so out of recent character. The Bills winning drive against the Vikings was a sequence of many unbelievable and unlikely plays rather than a single 'random' event. Converting a 4th and 20, Hogan's catch near the goal line with no time outs, along with Orton's last second pass to Watkins with a catch with control and 2 feet in bounds. An 80 yard drive overcoming a false start and intentional grounding penalty with a 10 second run off, and two sacks plus the drop by Chandler before his amazing catch. I can't imagine what the odds are of all those things breaking your way but it must be close to infinity. I was still thinking about this yesterday and it brought me back to the Ravens inconceivably converting 4th and around 24 a few years back with a Flacco screen pass to Rice which lead to a 1st down and a win on their way to the SB. Not saying this propels the Bills to the big game but without such a 'lucky' play the Ravens don't win that game and don't win the championship.

If the Bills they take care of the football and the offensive line gives Orton enough time to take advantage of WR/CB matchups the Bills will win.

Like Vince Lombardi said 'winning isn't everything, its the only thing'. At the end of the season what's important is 'how many' not 'how'.

http://work.chron.com/long-average-career-nfl-player-12643.html "According to a study by the American College of Sports Medicine, long snappers, kickers and punters have the longest NFL careers. These players are on special teams, taking the field only occasionally. Their roles rarely involve direct hits from other players."

This is the core of the entire issue. The ref's are supposed be a neutral party that enforces the rules of the game. Not active particpants in the play and alter the outcome of that particular play and perhaps the game. The argument of whether NE gets preferential treatment is another story but one which has a lot of merit. So exactly what is the scope of their authority here? Should the officials inform a team or player when any procedural rule will be violated on a play? Inform a WR that he is covering an eligible receiver? Let the defense know they have 12 men on the field before the play? Tell the QB his offense is in an illegal formation so they can shift out of it? Tell a DE he's lined up offsides and to take a step back? From where I sit the NFL's response is more damage control than clarification of the rules. The ref exceeded the definition of his role and should have kept out of the play.

Not sure if this was discussed but this was in USA Today. Did official give NE some help in avoiding a penalty call on the Jets final FG attempt? I don't recall the Bills ever getting 'tips' from the ref's to avoid a potential call like illegal formation. http://ftw.usatoday....ew-england-york

The Bills had 3 pro bowlers along with Hughes against a re-worked interior offensive line yet they could not sustain any consistent pressure on Brady. Assuming its not a lack of effort, which I don't believe, this is simply unacceptable for the coaching staff not to develop a gameplan to utilize your area of strength against what is expected to be your opponents area of weakness. Yet against the Patriots the Bills, regardless of the names and faces on the coaching staff, continue to use the 'groundhog day' gameplan twice a year.

It's gotten frustrating to even watch. They've been stealing your lunch money for over a decade now. Beat you up a couple times a year behind the school parking lot . Pretty much following the same script each time. You've won a couple battles over the years but that just seems to be the law of averages at work. The Bills have no answer on defense for the 2-TE formations. They play 10 yards off receivers that you know are going to run 5 yard crossing patterns. They don't make a commitment to getting in his face and give Brady all day to throw when everybody and his brother knows he'll pick you apart given enough time in his comfort zone. Which he seems to do every time. They make a living beating you by winning the turnover battle but your offense always makes the critical mistake at the wrong time and they don't take care of the ball against them. And so on.. Yet this team has made incremental progress at best in over 10 years of facing the exact same opponent with the exact same strategy each and every time they've played the Patriots. Its no secret what they are going to do. They don't need to do anything different until you put up a legitimate fight and beat the crap out them 2 times in a season.

My wife and I watched the 1st half last night and when I saw that play I looked at my wife and she told me 'don't say it'. I said 'Well, you know what I'm thinking'. 'I guess the ref's thought the Bills were playing tonight.'

I think that's the wrong question to ask for a couple reasons, the first being that I suspect none of us has any knowledge of the inner workings of the NFL officials formal or informal organization and the second is such a question diverts the issue. I think what you are trying to say is that because we are Bills fans, we perceive a bias against our team that in reality does not exist. And you make a fair point. But by re-watching the game and evaluating calls that were made and not made on Sunday I observe a lack of consistency between the calls against each team. The Bills getting called for offensive PI for example, and the Pats getting away with in some cases, more blatant acts. Specifically when the score was 23-14 and the Bills were driving and you could sense the momentum of the game was swinging our way. Those PI calls against Woods and Watkins killed the drive (and Orton took a sack to knock them out of FG range) and killed the momentum. Gronkowski had an obvious push off on McKelvin at the goal line that should have been called but was ignored by the offical (this was called back on an O line hold). That said, the Bills had so many other blunders they probably didn't deserve to win the game anyway. But my observations go beyond the Bills. I see calls against teams like the Rams, the Vikings, the Browns, and others. Last night for example there was a phantom offensive PI call against the Rams when they were driving with a 14-3 lead. Go up 21-3 and that game changes. Maybe they win, maybe not. But I am not a fan of the Rams or those teams. I have no bias or rooting interest in the outcome of these games. And yet I observe the same type of official bias and I see these bad calls that seem to go against the same teams from game to game and week to week. I think there's absolutely no question the official favor certain players and certain teams. Do you believe they protect certain quarterbacks more than others? Or certain CB's can mug and hold a receiver and not get called while others get PI? Its' like in the NBA where Michael Jordan never got called for traveling or charging.

Run out the clock? That's a big fat zero on that hunch. Good teams have a different mentality, they go for the knockout. As for resting, they get six days to rest after the game is over and I'm not taking two of my best defensive players off the field unless they are physically or mentally unable to perform. That wasn't the case here. When you hear things like this in losing efforts like this is a series of blunders, some small, some bigger, that by themselves aren't enough to lose the game but combined and put together doom you to losing. I liked the Marrone hire but am starting to reconsider my view and wonder if he's got a grip on the job.

This is the core of the problem. In baseball the umpires strike zone might not be 100% consistent from umpire to umpire but each umpire's strike zone is pretty close to 100% consistent from across games, innings, batters, and pitchers. If it was the same as football the strike zone would change depending on who is pitching or batting along with what inning it was and which teams were playing. The Hughes unsportsmanlike call was riduculous. The offensive PI on Watkins and Woods on were 'soft' and killed the momentum the Bills had wrestled back. The game pretty much ended there. On similar plays the Pats got away with the same. Even the announcers saw it. You watch Richard Sherman in coverage. Tell me if he was wearing a Bills uniform and a different name on his back that he'd get away with it. You watch the other games. Its the same thing. Somebody mentioned Romo getting drilled 2-3 steps after he released the ball. No call. The Bills hit Brady that way you'll get a flag for sure and maybe an ejection. They protect certain guys and not others. I have absolutely no doubt the officials favor certain teams and certain players. I don't see how anyone watching the games on Sunday can draw a different conclusion. Whether its a matter of league policy or just human nature is unclear. But its as obvious as it gets so far this season and the league needs to clean it up.

After watching Brady pick apart the Bills defense for the entire 21st century everybody here knows the only way to knock him off his game is to put pressure in his face consistently. Heck, even the family dog knows this! But our DC sticks to his comfort zone even after watching tape of KC drubbing the Pats with consistent pressure and the Bengals getting throttled using the same approach he dials up. And the HC is okay with that? Baffling. The 3-man rush. Raise your hand if you were 100% certain they were going to get a first down when you saw the Bills defense line up in that formation. Those 3 turnovers and sub-par offensive line play didn't help either. But Sully is right, in the big moment of truth the Bills came up empty, offense, defense, coaching. That's all there is to it.

Those two offensive PI calls on Watkins and Woods were really soft and I hate pointing out the ref's because the Bills did more than enough to lose the game on their own. But those calls were momentum killers when the Bills were driving to make the game interesting. Later, Gronk clearly pushed the defender off to catch the TD that was called back but for offensive line holding not PI. No consistency in the game and watching the muggings they let go in other games around the league yesterday (like Dallas/Seattle) the consistency is terrible. I've had enough of Spiller. He'll make an occasional great play but that fumble was unacceptable. The one thing you can't do there. Rather than do what he typically does, which is run out of bounds to stop the clock (especially when they are trying to kill the clock) he stays in bounds to get a few more yards rather than doing the smart thing and go out of bounds to stop the clock and save a timeout. Not resigning him will be addition by subtraction. Shwartz not bringing any pressure, and going to a 3 man rush in certain situations was the wrong approach. Bill in NY is right here on his OP. Pettine knows the Pats and would have come up with a better plan. Brady had too much time and that isn't what you want to do with him. With a bum ankle they should have brought more pressure. The Bills o-line needs to step it up. What I thought would be a strength this season is so far a disappointment and the weakest link. We're always blaming the lack of quality guard play Wood is at fault too.