The Bills did not "luck" into the playoffs

[H2o]

We had to win games to be in that position and we did that. If we had won the Carolina game we wouldn't have needed the Bengals. They didn't. Dalton and Boyd came through for us in our time of need. It wasn't all luck, but someone definitely smiled down on the Bills and all of us faithful that day. 

[The Red King]

11 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

Nobody should read this the wrong way, but the drought would’ve been a whole lot shorter if the Bills didn’t have to play the Patriots twice a year. I’m not whining but the NE run over the past decade plus has been unprecedented and while I know you have to beat who they put on your schedule, I think you’d get the same reaction from Jets and Dolphin fans.

 

Only two ways to beat the Pats, outgun them (Eagles) or knock Brady around like a pinball (Giants, Broncos).  Since we've had meh offense and zero pass rush during the drought, it's understandable that NE has been routinely thrashing us.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

2 minutes ago, The Red King said:

 

Only two ways to beat the Pats, outgun them (Eagles) or knock Brady around like a pinball (Giants, Broncos).  Since we've had meh offense and zero pass rush during the drought, it's understandable that NE has been routinely thrashing us.

Lets not forget the “just give it to them” moments

 

the bending aka “cheating” the rule book.  

 

Mysterious communication equipment failures. 

 

Mysterious extra time on tbe clock or missing time on the clock depending on who had the ball with under 2 minutes

 

Gronk not getting ejected AND penalizing the Bills on that play!!!

 

[The Red King]

3 minutes ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

Lets not forget the “just give it to them” moments

 

the bending aka “cheating” the rule book.  

 

Mysterious communication equipment failures. 

 

Mysterious extra time on tbe clock or missing time on the clock depending on who had the ball with under 2 minutes

 

Gronk not getting ejected AND penalizing the Bills on that play!!!

 

 

Yeah, but at the same time we had moments like fumbling the kickoff with the lead and two minutes left in regulation on MNF.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

1 minute ago, The Red King said:

 

Yeah, but at the same time we had moments like fumbling the kickoff with the lead and two minutes left in regulation on MNF.

Yes those moments sucked.    

3 or 4 WTF moments compared to a decade of cheating.  

 

Lets not forget 3 seasons of the worst passing offense in the AFC against one of the best.   

 

[BADOLBILZ]

On 5/24/2018 at 1:33 PM, SoCal Deek said:

The Bills did not 'luck' into the playoffs.  I'm not sure who's been using that term.  They did however 'slide', or often more often used "back" into the playoffs, when the Bengals won on New Year's Eve.  This is a fact. When the Bills left the field in Miami, they were not in the playoffs.  Their celebration occurred in the locker room, only after the Andy Dalton's touchdown toss over 1,000 miles north of Miami.

 

That doesn't make the Bills playoff birth more or less important ...or 'luckier'...than any other team that's ever gotten in via a Tie Breaker.

 

 

Correct.

 

And it doesn't take a lot of luck to make the playoffs.

 

The math is simple.......on average every team should make an appearance once every few years.

 

Some top QB'd teams at the top skew that % but in general those last playoff spots are often in flux and it's not uncommon for the 8th or 9th best team to get in ahead of better teams that had a tougher schedule or got a bad bounce here or there.

 

 Being the last team in is the minimum amount of success needed.    It's not a truly special accomplishment and it's not a travesty if by chance you didn't get in because of a tiebreaker.     You barely belonged as it was.

[Thurman#1]

3 hours ago, The Red King said:

 

The Titans were also 9-7 last season.  I don't hear anyone saying they were lucky.  9-7 is frequently good enough for a Wild Card.  And again, it was a weak schedule that cost Baltimore a spot, we beat them out through strength of victory.  Did you even read my OP?

 

 

You're right, I missed the Titans. Point still stands, though. Seven teams go 9-7 and only two get lucky enough to get in the playoffs. Both of those not particularly good teams were lucky enough to come from the AFC.

 

We were 9-7 in 2014 too but weren't lucky enough to have a weak enough AFC that year.

 

And if you didn't hear anyone saying the Titans were lucky it's probably because nobody in Buffalo gives a crap about Tennessee. They were lucky. Pretty much any team that's 9-7 and makes the playoffs is by definition lucky. They were either in a very weak division or a very weak conference.

 

And it's beside the point that Baltimore was another team not really good enough to make the playoffs and we happened to fulfill the conditions to make the playoffs better than them. If they'd made the playoffs, they'd have been lucky. The Bills weren't lucky to beat the Ravens. They were lucky there wasn't another good team in the weak AFC.

 

Did you even read my post? We weren't just lucky to have a very weak schedule. We also got lucky even within that. Atlanta lost Julio in our game, they're 10-6 and three of their losses come in a row right when they have to play us and one of those losses is to us and another to the Dolphins. We got spectacularly lucky to get them right at their weakest. Same with the Chiefs, exactly, a 10-6 team that we caught during their only a three-game losing streak when they also lost to the Jets and the Giants, and again we get them right at their weakest.

 

It wasn't a little lucky, we got very lucky. But pretty much any team that makes the playoffs at 9-7 is getting lucky.

Edited May 27, 2018 by Thurman#1

[Lfod]

Besides a 3 game meltdown the defense played well enough to get us into the playoffs and even advance past the Jaguars. I'm so glad we moved on from that offense last season. So terrible. 

Edited May 27, 2018 by Lfod

[SteveFreeman22]

They lucked in because they never should have punted in ot in the Indy game. They had to win, tie was just as bad as a lost, so, yes, they did get lucky.

[Dopey]

"You are what your record says you are."

 

Bill Parcels

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

34 minutes ago, SteveFreeman22 said:

They lucked in because they never should have punted in ot in the Indy game. They had to win, tie was just as bad as a lost, so, yes, they did get lucky.

They won the snow game.

 

What you are referencing has no bearing unless you say luck won that game.  

[DriveFor1Outta5]

On 5/25/2018 at 7:23 PM, Teddy KGB said:

 

4th and 14    

 

 

They should have executed more and made the playoffs themselves 

That Jets loss on Thursday Night was ugly. Playoff teams need to win those type of games. This team lost me at that point, before winning me back later in the season. With that said, it always takes some “luck” to get a wild card playoff berth. 

Edited May 27, 2018 by DriveFor1Outta5

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

24 minutes ago, Dopey said:

"You are what your record says you are."

 

Bill Parcels

They’re what we thought they were.  

 

- Dennis Green 

 

[Bangarang]

Who cares if they did or didn’t? They ended the drought. 

[The Red King]

31 minutes ago, DriveFor1Outta5 said:

That Jets loss on Thursday Night was ugly. Playoff teams need to win those type of games. This team lost me at that point, before winning me back later in the season. With that said, it always takes some “luck” to get a wild card playoff berth. 

 

Agreed.  But saying it took some luck to get in is different to saying they were lucky to make it.  Some people seem insistant on throwing out the efforts and accomplishments of that team, handwaving it away and crediting the playoff birth soley to luck...implying (or even saying) the Bills didn't deserve it.

[BarleyNY]

The Bills were lucky to have made the playoffs last season.  They were in a pool of teams in the mediocre to slightly above average range.  One or two of those teams have to make the playoffs along with the dominant ones.  This year we got lucky and did enough to make it.  Of course over the length of the playoff drought we had more than our share of bad luck in this regard.  Statistically we should’ve made the playoffs 2 or 3 times over that span.  The Bills certainly fielded more talented teams over that stretch.

 

The best aspect of breaking the drought is that it’s going to give this regime some capital with the fans.  They can take a step back and build this team they way they want it.

[8-8 Forever?]

On 5/24/2018 at 2:36 PM, no name said:

no, but the bengals sure got lucky beating the ravens, no?

 

 

had that not happened, this thread would never exist.

snow game win (luckiest win I've ever seen) and bengals loss (most inconceivable loss I've ever seen) inconceivable in the same season.  but hey they had some bad breaks during the season (i think?)

[row_33]

On 5/27/2018 at 9:09 AM, SoCal Deek said:

Nobody should read this the wrong way, but the drought would’ve been a whole lot shorter if the Bills didn’t have to play the Patriots twice a year. I’m not whining but the NE run over the past decade plus has been unprecedented and while I know you have to beat who they put on your schedule, I think you’d get the same reaction from Jets and Dolphin fans.

 

be grateful the Colts left the division or it would have been 0-4 against Brady and Peyton

 

[The Red King]

1 hour ago, 8-8 Forever? said:

snow game win (luckiest win I've ever seen) and bengals loss (most inconceivable loss I've ever seen) inconceivable in the same season.  but hey they had some bad breaks during the season (i think?)

 

I disagree strongly.  Snow game was heart.  Looked like it was going to be a tie until Shady said "Oh, hell no!", tapped every reserve, and ripped off a game-winning run.  That wasn't luck, that was determination and one player wanting it more then an entire defense.

[row_33]

it had to happen eventually

 

 

[Peter]

If the the Bengals/Ravens play were repeated 100 times, how many of the 100 times would 4th and 12 from the 49 result in a TD? One of 100?  Two of 100?

 

If the refs had not thrown the controversial late flag on the Colts on the two point conversion (on a play the Patriots never get a penalty), would the Bills have made the playoffs?

 

It is great that the Bills made the playoffs, but if you think that there was not some luck involved, we disagree. I am actually happy that we had a bit of luck given that we have not seemed to have had any luck for so long.

 

The 2018 version of the Buffalo Bills (at least on paper) is not as talented as the 2017 version (which actually performed worse than the 2016 version in point differential and relative offensive and defensive rankings).  As a result, I am going into this season not expecting the team to be in the playoffs so that I will be pleasantly surprised if they do and not overly dissapointed if they do not.

[Jaywrizzo]

I guess you can convince yourself of anything you want......Everyone knows they lucked into the playoffs....I don't even think their coach was looking to make it. But hey....Bill's fans are Bill's fans!

[The Red King]

26 minutes ago, Peter said:

If the the Bengals/Ravens play were repeated 100 times, how many of the 100 times would 4th and 12 from the 49 result in a TD? One of 100?  Two of 100?

 

If the refs had not thrown the controversial late flag on the Colts on the two point conversion (on a play the Patriots never get a penalty), would the Bills have made the playoffs?

 

It is great that the Bills made the playoffs, but if you think that there was not some luck involved, we disagree. I am actually happy that we had a bit of luck given that we have not seemed to have had any luck for so long.

 

The 2018 version of the Buffalo Bills (at least on paper) is not as talented as the 2017 version (which actually performed worse than the 2016 version in point differential and relative offensive and defensive rankings).  As a result, I am going into this season not expecting the team to be in the playoffs so that I will be pleasantly surprised if they do and not overly dissapointed if they do not.

 

Getting some luck is not the same as them lucking in.  I've said this multiple times.  My gripe is people that attribute it all to luck, belittling the effort and accomplishment of the team.  As for your earlier example...end of the Carolina game, replay it 100 times, how many times does Buffalo make that play, go 10-6 and make the playoffs while Carolina doesn't?  Luck was in play, yes, but it was not the main reason the Bills made it, as some claim.

 

I also disagree about this year, but that comes down to opinion.  Thanks to offseason moves I see our defense (the main reason the Bills made it, and main reason the JAX game was close) as being even better.  I think the O-line is weaker, but our new starting QB will stretch the field better then TT preventing opponents from stacking the box shutting down Shady and the short passing game.  I think the Bills defense will be better then last year and the offense will at least be on-par with last season resulting in a slightly better team overall.  I still predict another 9-7 season with a week 17 Wild Card birth, this time without help this time...but that's my opinion, we'll see what happens.

[Punching Bag]

On 5/25/2018 at 4:43 AM, formerlyofCtown said:

It's pretty sad to see fans tear down their own teams accomplishment with weak and illegitimate arguments.  We sure are lucky the rest of the league didn't go 16-0.

 

Bills are lucky. Lucky to be around with so many "fans" they have to "support" them.

[Norcalbillsfan]

The only reason I say we did get a little lucky was because after the travesty that took place on prime time against the jets. That team had no business even talking about playoffs.  After that game I said we will miss the playoffs because of that loss. I kinda look at it as Dalton came in and wiped away that terrible game with a hail Mary.

[Lfod]

The only reason we can even have this conversation is because the offense last season had a potential to stall to a complete stop. In my opinion it was the weak link in the chain. 

 

I understand why it had to be that way being a team in transition and all. Tyrod and Dennison are gone so I'm assuming McDermott found the fault with them. I want to see what this next season brings but I'm fully expecting that if the defense is a monster we have a more opportunistic offence on the field. 

 

The offense was so bad the game plan was to hold any lead and ride the defense. The game plan should of been to capitalize on every turn over and score as many points as possible even if you have a commanding. At least move the chains and grind the clock. 

 

I have higher expectations of the offense this season because I feel last seasons offense was unacceptable. Jaguars and Panthers games are the only exhibit A and B I need. You can talk up Tyrod all day and he does have flashes but it also was a flash in the pan. 

Edited May 29, 2018 by Lfod

[Doc Brown]

3 minutes ago, Lfod said:

The only reason we can even have this conversation is because the offense last season had a potential to stall to a complete stop. In my opinion it was the weak link in the chain. 

 

I understand why it had to be that way being a team in transition and all. Tyrod and Dennison are gone so I'm assuming McDermott found the fault with them. I want to see what this next season brings but I'm fully expecting that if the defense is a monster we have a more opportunistic offence on the field. 

American or Canadian?  Make up your mind. 

[Lfod]

4 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:

American or Canadian?  Make up your mind. 

I don't know. I just type and let the auto fill work it's magic. It is funny you caught that. 

Edited May 29, 2018 by Lfod

[Doc Brown]

3 minutes ago, Lfod said:

I don't know. I just type and let the auto fill work it's magic. It is funny you caught that. 

I don't care about grammar, but it was just funny to me you spelled the same word differently in the same post.

[Aussie Joe]

2 hours ago, Lfod said:

I don't know. I just type and let the auto fill work it's magic. It is funny you caught that. 

 

Dont take offense with that post..

[formerlyofCtown]

7 hours ago, Limeaid said:

 

Bills are lucky. Lucky to be around with so many "fans" they have to "support" them.

It's amazing the fan base and support for the Bills with how long they have been bad and mediocre.  We are everywhere.  If the Pats had a 5 year bad stretch their stadium would be empty I believe.  I know that's the case for the Panthers.

[The Red King]

1 hour ago, formerlyofCtown said:

It's amazing the fan base and support for the Bills with how long they have been bad and mediocre.  We are everywhere.  If the Pats had a 5 year bad stretch their stadium would be empty I believe.  I know that's the case for the Panthers.

 

Don't forget, during the Super Bowl years the Pats were us.  I remember being at the stadium for those games.  I felt truly bad for one Pats fan who was drunk out of his mind by the second half.  The Bills were crushing the Pats and scored yet again.  During the 'Fight!' song this poor guy barely managed to slur out..."The Bills make me wanna puke!" in rythem to the song.  I couldn't hate him, just...pitied him.  Some Pats fans need longer memories I think, remember their franchise history pre-Brady.  Might make 'em a lil more humble.

[formerlyofCtown]

4 hours ago, The Red King said:

 

Don't forget, during the Super Bowl years the Pats were us.  I remember being at the stadium for those games.  I felt truly bad for one Pats fan who was drunk out of his mind by the second half.  The Bills were crushing the Pats and scored yet again.  During the 'Fight!' song this poor guy barely managed to slur out..."The Bills make me wanna puke!" in rythem to the song.  I couldn't hate him, just...pitied him.  Some Pats fans need longer memories I think, remember their franchise history pre-Brady.  Might make 'em a lil more humble.

How full was the stadium.

[The Red King]

29 minutes ago, formerlyofCtown said:

How full was the stadium.

 

Honestly, no idea.  I think packed, but not every seat taken...typical for the '90s Bills when playing a team of NE's (at the time) calibur.  BUF/NE games back then weren't exciting draws to Bills fans then...much like the same is currently true to NE fans.  Definately through a mirror darkly there.

[Thurman#1]

On 5/29/2018 at 3:49 AM, The Red King said:

 

Getting some luck is not the same as them lucking in.  I've said this multiple times.  My gripe is people that attribute it all to luck, belittling the effort and accomplishment of the team.  As for your earlier example...end of the Carolina game, replay it 100 times, how many times does Buffalo make that play, go 10-6 and make the playoffs while Carolina doesn't?  Luck was in play, yes, but it was not the main reason the Bills made it, as some claim.

 

I also disagree about this year, but that comes down to opinion.  Thanks to offseason moves I see our defense (the main reason the Bills made it, and main reason the JAX game was close) as being even better.  I think the O-line is weaker, but our new starting QB will stretch the field better then TT preventing opponents from stacking the box shutting down Shady and the short passing game.  I think the Bills defense will be better then last year and the offense will at least be on-par with last season resulting in a slightly better team overall.  I still predict another 9-7 season with a week 17 Wild Card birth, this time without help this time...but that's my opinion, we'll see what happens.

 

 

Please.

 

Nobody's saying effort and accomplishment weren't used or important. We didn't see any players falling asleep on the field. But that's not what it means to luck into something. The Ravens also tried as hard as they could and accomplished as much as we did, 9 wins.

 

Luck absolutely was the main factor in us getting in. Yeah, we worked hard and accomplished a lot. So did the Ravens. So did all the 9-7 teams. But none of those 9-7 teams were good enough to got 10-6 or 11-5 or 12-4. So whoever squeezed in with a 9-7 would have to rely on luck.

 

Without that luck we don't get in. That's lucking in.

 

Any 9-7 team that makes the playoffs is lucking in. Making it with that record means you are very lucky ... very lucky that your division sucks if you win the division with a 9-7 record, or very lucky that your conference sucks if you make it in as a wild card with a 9-7 record.

Edited May 30, 2018 by Thurman#1

[transplantbillsfan]

Luck always plays a role in the #6 seed getting in the playoffs, to a large degree.

 

Hell, it always plays a role in at least a win or two (probably more) to a significant degree.

 

That's why the NFL is so damn fun to watch.

 

 

Yeah, we lucked into the playoffs a bit, but really not any more than the #6 seed does in any given year, it's just the timing of our luck that makes everyone believe we lucked into the playoffs so much more than other teams when, in reality, we didn't.

[Punching Bag]

11 hours ago, Thurman#1 said:

Luck absolutely was the main factor in us getting in.

Absolutely. If Luck was health last year it would have affected entire playoff picture.  

 

The rest? BS.

[John from Riverside]

On 5/28/2018 at 11:24 AM, Jaywrizzo said:

I guess you can convince yourself of anything you want......Everyone knows they lucked into the playoffs....I don't even think their coach was looking to make it. But hey....Bill's fans are Bill's fans!

There was some luck involved on certain plays

Just like every other team in the league

They still won the games they needed to to give themselves a chance at the playoffs

Not you nor anyone else is going to take that away from the team

If you mean bills fans are the best fans in the world then I agree with you

[Bookie Man]

Yeah I compare it to Maverick and Goose getting into Top Gun academy. The Ravens are like Cougar, with the choke job, but Buffalo put themselves in the spot to seize the opportunity. 

[Da webster guy]

If we don't have Haushka there's no way we get in.  He won us two games with long range bombs most kickers miss if they even attempt at all.

 

We got lucky in the snow game with the missed kick at point blank range, the deonte bomb, interference call etc.  

 

Dude we lucked out a lot.  But so what