ChasBB

Well, there's a silver lining -- depth on the o-line will improve as his backup gets more reps. Peters will likely return at some point during the first 4 games and resume his dominance at the position and his backup will also be better prepared to help the team going forward. Always good to develop depth on o-line.

That's the way to think. That's the only way to go into any season -- with the Super Bowl in mind. Remember how Thurman Thomas inspired his teammates before their first Super Bowl appearance by writing Super Bowl XXV on his shoes I think it was. This is a very talented team. There will be those who say "one more year", but why not THIS year?! Remember how Buffalo almost made it past Cleveland in '89 were it not for a dropped pass in the endzone?! This could be the year for sure.

Perhaps you are correct, but it seems like the physical evidence alone would be enough to question him.

Why does anyone care what someone like Madden thinks about Edwards or the Bills? I don't.

Why hasn't he been arrested yet? The physical evidence is present (damaged vehicle, damaged human being). There are eyewitnesses. What's the hang up here? I don't care who he is -- he needs to be brought into custody and questioned -- no more of this BS of waiting for him to step forward.

Obviously, talent at tight end is important and I won't argue against that. However, equally important, I think, is the ability of the coaching staff to be creative and utilize the tight end to a better degree. When you consider Keith McKeller, you must also consider that the mind of Ted Marchibroda was also in command of the offense. I think Buffalo HAS had talent at the TE position (maybe not Kellen Winslow level talent, but nevertheless talented players) in past years, but that the coaching staff has not utilized the position well. Maybe things will improve now with a change in OC.

The big plus is at O-line and that's the biggest plus that matters. For that alone, I say we are better off this year than last -- it all starts with the O-line -- that's where you start to build your team and Marv took a giant step with that. The other pieces will come together in time -- hopefully sooner rather than later.

You are probably correct, but I still wouldn't mind seeing Buffalo's defenders give Willis a game he'll never forget this year at the Ralph.

I was a supporter -- not so much that he did that much, but mainly because I wanted to at least give the guy a chance. There were lots of people who wanted to trade the guy as soon as his knee healed and before he ran a single down and I didn't understand this -- I wanted to at least see what he could do before shipping him off -- who really could have known it would all happen like this? In any event, I'm glad to see him go now.

\ I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you, but do you really think only one team was partying in those 4 SB years? I agree, though, that it is sad that 53 guys cannot stay focused for 2 stinking weeks (1 week in case of SB XXV).

Correct. Bills would have made the playoffs as the 6th seed had they won last 2 games. Buffalo would have won conference tie-breaker with KC. While it was one of the less likely scenarios (most of the best scenarios had Jets losing to Miami), the less likely scenario actaully did play out for Buffalo, but unfortunatley Buffalo couldn't take care of their own business. Maybe next year -- SIGH

Buf defeats Pit in tie-breaker -- conf win percentage

Wow -- this will need some clarification from the NFL!

Great work Ozy -- I like it!

Yes, just caught that one. thx.

Edit -- Never mind -- Cincy loses 2 of 3 they end up 7-5 like us. Sorry 'bout that.

I think you are correct. I also realized this when I read Ozymandius' Week 16 post. More good news for Buffalo! I've again edited my original post with this info. Thx.

I've edited my original post with the correct info so as to keep this lean.

I stand corrected -- good for Buffalo in this case!

You are correct!

Here's the relevant information ... Current win-loss records are (Overall/Division/Conference) Week #15: Cincy (8-5/4-1/6-3) @ Indy Week #16: KC (7-7/3-2/3-7) at Oak Balt at Pit (7-7/2-2/4-6) NE at Jax (8-6/2-4/5-5) Tenn (7-7/4-2/4-6) at Buf (7-7/3-3/5-5) Cincy at Den (8-6/3-3/7-4) NYJ (8-6/3-2/5-5) at Mia Week #17: Buf at Balt Jax at KC NE at Tenn Oak at NYJ Pit at Cincy SF at Den Buf with KC, Pit, Cincy or Den (no head-to-head games) Buf with Jax, Tenn, & NYJ (head-to-head considered) TO BREAK A TIE WITHIN A DIVISION If, at the end of the regular season, two or more clubs in the same division finish with identical won-lost-tied percentages, the following steps will be taken until a champion is determined. Two Clubs 1. Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games between the clubs). 2. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division. 3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games. 4. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference. 5. Strength of victory. 6. Strength of schedule. 7. Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed. 8. Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed. 9. Best net points in common games. 10. Best net points in all games. 11. Best net touchdowns in all games. Three or More Clubs (Note: If two clubs remain tied after third or other clubs are eliminated during any step, tie breaker reverts to step 1 of the two-club format). 1. Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games among the clubs). 2. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division. 3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games. 4. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference. 5. Strength of victory. 6. Strength of schedule. 7. Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed. 8. Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed. 9. Best net points in common games. 10. Best net points in all games. 11. Best net touchdowns in all games. TO BREAK A TIE FOR THE WILD-CARD TEAM If it is necessary to break ties to determine the two Wild-Card clubs from each conference, the following steps will be taken. 1. If the tied clubs are from the same division, apply division tie breaker. 2. If the tied clubs are from different divisions, apply the following steps. Two Clubs 1. Head-to-head, if applicable. 2. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference. 3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four. 4. Strength of victory. 5. Strength of schedule. 6. Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed. 7. Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed. 8. Best net points in conference games. 9. Best net points in all games. 10. Best net touchdowns in all games. 11. Coin toss. Three or More Clubs (Note: If two clubs remain tied after third or other clubs are eliminated, tie breaker reverts to step 1 of applicable two-club format.) 1. Apply division tie breaker to eliminate all but the highest ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to step 2. The original seeding within a division upon application of the division tie breaker remains the same for all subsequent applications of the procedure that are necessary to identify the two Wild-Card participants. 2. Head-to-head sweep. (Applicable only if one club has defeated each of the others or if one club has lost to each of the others.) 3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference. 4. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four. 5. Strength of victory. 6. Strength of schedule. 7. Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed. 8. Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed. 9. Best net points in conference games. 10. Best net points in all games. 11. Best net touchdowns in all games. 12. Coin toss Buf must defeat Tenn & Balt to finish 9-7 NYJ must lose to Mia if Buf is to finish above NYJ Cincy must lose 2 of 3 Buf is to finish above Cincy Den must lose to Cincy & SF if Buf is to finish above Den Den wins tiebreaker with Buffalo based on common games Both Buf & Den would be 9-7/3-3/7-5, but in common opponents: Den & Buf both played NE, Balt, Indy & SD: Den over NE (Buf lost to NE twice) Den over Balt (TBD) Indy over Den (Buf lost to Indy) SD over Den (twice) (Buf lost to SD) Den is 2-3 in common games while Buf would be 1-4 (assuming Buf win over Balt) Jax Must lose 1 of 2 to either NE or KC if Buf is to finish above Jax Really doesn't matter to Buffalo which one they lose. Even if Pit defeats both Balt & Cincy, Buf still finishes above Pit base on conf. %) Even if KC defeats both Oak & Jax, Buf still finishes above KC based on conf. %) Therefore, these are the possible scenarios for a Buf playoff berth (with help from Ozymandius & Koufax): 1. Buf defeats Tenn & Balt NYJ lose to Mia Jax loses 1 of 2 Cincy loses to Indy, Den, & Pit (Den 5th, Buf 6th) 2. Buf defeats Tenn & Balt NYJ lose to Mia Jax loses 1 of 2 Den loses to Cincy & SF (Cincy 5th, Buf 6th) 3. Buf defeats Tenn & Balt NYJ lose to Mia Jax loses 1 of 2 Cincy loses to Indy, Den, & Pit (Den 5th, Buf 6th) 3b. Same as above exceptg Cincy beats Pit. Buf might take Cincy on Strength of Victory tiebreaker (see Oxymandius post). 4. Buf defeats Tenn & Balt NYJ lose to Mia KC defeats Oak & Jax Den loses to Cincy (Cincy 5th, Buf 6th) KC takes Denver in Division tie-breaker, Buf takes KC in Conf. tie-breaker Here's two ways Buffalo picks up 5th seed! ... 5. Buf defeats Tenn & Balt NYJ lose to Mia Cincy loses to Indy, defeats Den, loses to Pit Den loses to SF (& loses to Cincy as described above) Jax loses 1 of 2) (Buf 5th!) 6. Buf defeats Tenn & Balt NYJ lose to Mia Cincy loses to Indy, defeats Den, loses to Pit Den defeats SF KC defeats Oak & Jax (Buf 5th!) KC takes Denver in Division tie-breaker, Buf takes KC in Conf. tie-breaker. Buf likely wins Strength of Victory tie-breaker against Cincy (see Oxymandius post). There may be some other scenarios that would involve games ending in ties, but I think these are the most likely scenarios.

Let's see -- last time we traded a quarterback to Oakland that went well -- for Oakland! (I realize the article is about a street in Buffalo -- just a commentary on my part)

Nice to see that Marv had all of the "what if" scenarios handled so well! "Who needs a stinkin' Plan B, our guy will be there!" Here's hoping Marv knows something we don't -- that's all I can say about that.

I say we just become a dirty team -- load up with Conrad Dobler types and take out all of the "power" franchises top players and level the playing field!

Well, I think that the writer makes some valid points. As I said in another posting, maybe Buffalo wouldn't be such a small market if it wasn't for greedy, small-minded politicians being up to their eyeballs in corruption and creating misguided taxes to drive both businesses and individuals out of the area. Sure, a lot of folks cannot take the weather, but that's not the only reason people leave. Many leave because there just aren't great numbers of good paying jobs and New York has heavy income taxes and our local "leaders" stuff their pockets with cash while local governments go broke. Buffalo would be a text-book case in a course called "How to create a small market 101". Drive everyone away and you have a small market. Let's attract people and business back to Buffalo and dump all of the needless misguided taxes and move back to at least a middle-market city that CAN support a NFL franchise WITHOUT revenue sharing!