BuffaloBillyG Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Last year will, at least in my mind go down as one of the most exciting and peculiar seasons. Now that the excitement has worn down I have to ask...how the heck does a playoff run happen with that team? I know the simplest answer is "Well, Andy Dalton". But he didn't win 9 games for us or get us in position to get in. To wit last year we had... -Tyrod Taylor and Peterman as QBs. Neither set the world on fire. -The right side of the oline was Vlad and Mills for the majority of the year. Horrible. -We trade our "#1" receiver. Our big name vet retired. We draft a WR that can't catch a ball. We trade for 2 WRs that have experience and some talent...and they spend the season banged up and unproductive. -We had no true #2 RB to spell Shady. -Our LT was hurt almost all season causing a rookie to fill in (and play well) -Juan Castillo. Rick Dennison. Dave Culley. And that's all just on offense. Add in a rookie HC, a defense that couldn't get pressure or stop the run for a chunk of the season and our 2nd best CB being banged up and or out all year...and seriously I could list at least 15 more things that should have prevented a winning season. So, how did it happen? Shouldn't this team have been closer to 3-13? Yes Shady was great. Haushka was a great signing and White/Hyde/Poyer were great additions. Adding McDermott over the Ryan Bros Circus definitely helped too. Today, looking at the Bills roster, not much is different. We still have nothing at WR. As of today (and yes it will change) we have very little at QB, Ivory is the backup RB, but is he enough? Doesn't matter...this coaching staff can appearently make chicken salad out of chicken excrement. Can't wait to see what they do with this roster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Short answer: the math finally worked in our favor. You keep rolling the dice, eventually you'll hit your number. The 2017 Bills werent the best team of the drought era, but they did the exact minimum of what they needed to do, and got a bunch of help from other teams. They ended the drought and I'll always give them credit for that, but we have a long way to go to be a "winning team" who controls their own destiny and drives themselves into the playoffs. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jr1 Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 if you don't throw interceptions you can at least get to wild card level 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 When I was on the crew team in high school, I once drew four aces at four card burn during a bus trip to Poughkeepsie. So it happens. 2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epstein's Mother Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Simple math: Andy Dalton + Miracle = Playoffs 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoTom Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Defense. Many of the early wins were the result of favorable turnover ratios. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthNYfan Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 34 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said: Short answer: the math finally worked in our favor. You keep rolling the dice, eventually you'll hit your number. The 2017 Bills werent the best team of the drought era, but they did the exact minimum of what they needed to do, and got a bunch of help from other teams. They ended the drought and I'll always give them credit for that, but we have a long way to go to be a "winning team" who controls their own destiny and drives themselves into the playoffs. Yep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dma0034 Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 1. AFC was weak this year. 2. Bills took care of the games they should have won for the most part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dayman Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Just shows how ridiculous the drought was. Average/bad teams make a wildcard almost every year. This year, we finally got to be that team! It was awesome. We went to Jax and kicked a FG! 6 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epstein's Mother Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 (edited) 7 minutes ago, dma0034 said: 1. AFC was weak this year. 2. Bills took care of the games they should have won for the most part. This is true. From 2000-2016 only six teams made the playoffs in the AFC as a wildcard with 9 or fewer wins (some teams won their division with 9 or fewer wins however). Edited April 7, 2018 by Epstein's Mother Added AFC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aceman_16 Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 The bigger question should be "how did we NOT make it the previous 17 years? " 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDIGGZ Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mango Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Good topic. Lately John Murphy keeps saying “well how are we worse than last year.” It’s driving me crazy, because I don’t think we were good, and pretty flawed. If we played that season over again, the odds of us finishing worse than 9-7 are pretty high. I expect a step back to reality next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Firebaugh Kid Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 By playing solid defense, special teams, and protecting the football. Its a recipe for "ok"...but its not good enough to win a SB. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBillsFanSince1973 Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 credit the team 9 wins. that set them up for an opportunity at a wildcard. then it came down to this team must lose and that team must win. totally out of the hands of the buffalo bills and no longer in their control. so it came down to the 4th and 12 play that will go down in bills lore as the play that broke the drought! thank andy dalton for making the throw and tyler boyd for making the catch and run in to the endzone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punching Bag Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 By having an attitude of "those who think we are tanking are idiots" and proving it. Everyone should have a DC Tom bot response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoTier Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 34 minutes ago, aceman_16 said: The bigger question should be "how did we NOT make it the previous 17 years? " This. My answer is that the Bills spent the previous 17 years more interested in putting butts in the seats than in winning football games. The previous FO and HCs simply weren't good enough, except perhaps for Marrone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan130 Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 1. Great turnover differential 2. Luck 3. Amazing secondary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 1 hour ago, DrDawkinstein said: Short answer: the math finally worked in our favor. You keep rolling the dice, eventually you'll hit your number. The 2017 Bills werent the best team of the drought era, but they did the exact minimum of what they needed to do, and got a bunch of help from other teams. They ended the drought and I'll always give them credit for that, but we have a long way to go to be a "winning team" who controls their own destiny and drives themselves into the playoffs. And they believed in their coach. Don't discount the role that played. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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