Do the Patriots have a bye before the play us EVERY YEAR?

[MattM]

It's actually pretty easy--division games are the most valuable games (divisional tie breakers, for ex.), so you'd just about always want a bye against one, preferably your closest competitor if you're division frontrunner. Perhaps that's why the Cheats(must never forget the asterisk)* broke their Bills post-bye streak with the Fins a few years ago the year after Miami won the division.....

[Optometric Insight]

It's actually pretty easy--division games are the most valuable games (divisional tie breakers, for ex.), so you'd just about always want a bye against one, preferably your closest competitor if you're division frontrunner. Perhaps that's why the Cheats(must never forget the asterisk)* broke their Bills post-bye streak with the Fins a few years ago the year after Miami won the division.....

 

I'm new to the board so I must ask, why do you guys put the asterisk after the Pats (or other synonym)?

[uncle flap]

I'm new to the board so I must ask, why do you guys put the asterisk after the Pats (or other synonym)?

 

because of spygate

[NoSaint]

Perhaps it helps them? Or they feel it helps? I don't know, but it's far from coincidental that 5 out of the past 9 seasons they've had one.

 

If anything, putting a team your already familiar with and likely to beat anyway hurts the pats.

[Optometric Insight]

because of spygate

 

Oh, that makes sense. Thanks

[MattM]

If anything, putting a team your already familiar with and likely to beat anyway hurts the pats.

 

 

That's part of the point--like this year, when many have us as a rising team, quite possibly 2nd in the AFCE, that's exactly who the frontrunner would want after the bye. (Us or the Nyets, and no way that happens since the NY media would rip it apart.). Remember my example above of them getting the Fish after the bye, too, the year after the Fish took the division. This stinks to high heaven, as most things involving the Cheats* does.....

[NoSaint]

That's part of the point--like this year, when many have us as a rising team, quite possibly 2nd in the AFCE, that's exactly who the frontrunner would want after the bye. (Us or the Nyets, and no way that happens since the NY media would rip it apart.). Remember my example above of them getting the Fish after the bye, too, the year after the Fish took the division. This stinks to high heaven, as most things involving the Cheats* does.....

 

I didn't realize we were pegged as that good so many recent years. The nfl actually builds the schedules around us playing the pats after their bye to protect then from us, eh?

 

Interesting, and I don't mean that in a good way.

Edited April 18, 2012 by NoSaint

[jimmy10]

Put it this way, it probably pisses them off more than it does us, it's not like they usually need it.

 

Exactly. That's the typical chowderhead response.

[Mr. WEO]

That's part of the point--like this year, when many have us as a rising team, quite possibly 2nd in the AFCE, that's exactly who the frontrunner would want after the bye. (Us or the Nyets, and no way that happens since the NY media would rip it apart.). Remember my example above of them getting the Fish after the bye, too, the year after the Fish took the division. This stinks to high heaven, as most things involving the Cheats* does.....

 

You think the league views the Bills as the likely 2nd rated team in the AFCE right now (when they made the schedule)?? And this is why they gave the pats 2 weeks to prepare?

[NoSaint]

You think the league views the Bills as the likely 2nd rated team in the AFCE right now (when they made the schedule)?? And this is why they gave the pats 2 weeks to prepare?

 

In fact he's asserting that for the last decade they've felt that way about half the time. Maybe even more, but you wouldn't want to make it tooooo obvious.

[Mr. WEO]

In fact he's asserting that for the last decade they've felt that way about half the time. Maybe even more, but you wouldn't want to make it tooooo obvious.

And he's not alone!

 

 

This stuff is always funny, So detached form reality.

[Captain Hindsight]

3 out of 4 games Gailey has coached against Belicheat, He has put on an offensive clinic. The pats are still a good team but they don't scare me anymore. Especially with our pash rush and NE's* aging Oline

[nodnarb]

This just seems unreal. This happens every year. Simply amazing.

 

 

The number of times they've had a bye before meeting us has to be statistically significant. I see no other pairing so consistently handed to any team. Someone in that schedule office likes this arrangement. It's happened enough times to warrant suspicion.

[OCinBuffalo]

Perhaps you haven't considered the less nefarious causes behind this?

 

Every year the same people do the schedule. This means that after so many years of doing this, they are bound to find ways to make it easier, and, to also account for things like what to do with a team who just played Monday Night on the road, across the country, etc. Like everything else, I am sure that patterns have formed, shortcuts, etc., and that these people have seen how to use them to make the job go faster.

 

One of those patterns, since the Pats have had to have their bye week later than everybody else in the division, for literally all 9 years we are talking about here, is probably to bye them before they play all of their division opponents the second time...or, at least try to.

 

Meanwhile, since the Bills have more often than not had to have their bye early....they are the most eligible team for the Pats** to play after the bye....as were the Dolfags last year.*

 

It might be as simple as that.

 

 

*I have a "every 3rd time I refer to a team in our division, I modify their name appropriately", rule. Hey, it's not every time. It's every 3rd time.

Edited April 18, 2012 by OCinBuffalo

[Doc]

The number of times they've had a bye before meeting us has to be statistically significant. I see no other pairing so consistently handed to any team. Someone in that schedule office likes this arrangement. It's happened enough times to warrant suspicion.

Yep, 5 times out of 9 seasons is obviously anything but "coincidence." Looks more like a coin flip on the question "should we give a by to the Pats before playing the Bills this year?"

[Kelly the Dog]

Are people actually thinking the league conspires to help the New England Patriots each year beat the Buffalo Bills by intentionally sticking the bye week for the Patriots just before they play the Bills?

 

Really?

 

Seriously?

 

With a straight face?

 

Did crayonz put you guys up to this?

[BuffaloFan68]

The pats need the extra week to tape the Bills practices.

[MattM]

You think the league views the Bills as the likely 2nd rated team in the AFCE right now (when they made the schedule)?? And this is why they gave the pats 2 weeks to prepare?

 

Yes--more importantly for the way this "arrangement" probably works, I think that the Cheats* do. Hey, smart guy, do the math on the odds of this happening randomly 4 years in a row. It's an easy calculation--1 over (8*8*8*8), or roughly 1 in 4000. That's not even throwing in it happening again to us this year (after we beat them once last year and had them down 21-0 at home) and them also getting the Fins after a bye the year after Miami won the AFCE. If, bearing in mind this team's recent history, you don't think that's all kind of funny, I don't really know what to tell you, other than to wonder whether you still believe in Santa Claus, too.....

 

Perhaps you haven't considered the less nefarious causes behind this?

 

Every year the same people do the schedule. This means that after so many years of doing this, they are bound to find ways to make it easier, and, to also account for things like what to do with a team who just played Monday Night on the road, across the country, etc. Like everything else, I am sure that patterns have formed, shortcuts, etc., and that these people have seen how to use them to make the job go faster.

 

One of those patterns, since the Pats have had to have their bye week later than everybody else in the division, for literally all 9 years we are talking about here, is probably to bye them before they play all of their division opponents the second time...or, at least try to.

 

Meanwhile, since the Bills have more often than not had to have their bye early....they are the most eligible team for the Pats** to play after the bye....as were the Dolfags last year.*

 

It might be as simple as that.

 

 

*I have a "every 3rd time I refer to a team in our division, I modify their name appropriately", rule. Hey, it's not every time. It's every 3rd time.

 

Personally I doubt it--I also wonder why the Pats* "had" to have a later bye week each year, while the Bills "had" to have an early one. Isn't that also an advantage to the Cheats*, as I'd personally like my bye week as late into the season as possible?

Edited April 18, 2012 by MattM

[Mr. WEO]

Yes--more importantly for the way this "arrangement" probably works, I think that the Cheats* do. Hey, smart guy, do the math on the odds of this happening randomly 4 years in a row. It's an easy calculation--1 over (8*8*8*8), or roughly 1 in 4000. That's not even throwing in it happening again to us this year (after we beat them once last year and had them down 21-0 at home) and them also getting the Fins after a bye the year after they won the AFCE. If, bearing in mind this team's recent history, you don't think that's all kind of funny, I don't really know what to tell you, other than to wonder whether you still believe in Santa Claus, too.....

 

Why did the NFL do it those previous 4 times> Did they think the Bills were the 2nd best team in the AFCE every year??

[MattM]

Are people actually thinking the league conspires to help the New England Patriots each year beat the Buffalo Bills by intentionally sticking the bye week for the Patriots just before they play the Bills?

 

Really?

 

Seriously?

 

With a straight face?

 

Did crayonz put you guys up to this?

 

 

Yes, when something involving a known cheating team happens that's less statistically likely than Homer Simpson going a whole episode without saying "D'oh", I'd say yes.....

 

Why did the NFL do it those previous 4 times> Did they think the Bills were the 2nd best team in the AFCE every year??

 

Never said that for all 4 years, but you may recall that the 2004 team was one of the early Spikes/Fletcher/Bledsoe teams (what a disappointment that turned out to be) and one of the relevant years in question we were 9-7 and apparently on the upswing. Also recall that the rest of the division was putrid during that stretch....