Ok This Dolphins talk is getting out of hand.

[teef]

1 minute ago, High Football IQ said:

New from ESPN, more Dolphins winning the division talk:

 

How the overachieving Miami Dolphins can win the AFC East

 

 

remember when you had the bills losing to the pats and going into a 4 game losing streak?  i do.  

[LeGOATski]

1 minute ago, teef said:

remember when you had the bills losing to the pats and going into a 4 game losing streak?  i do.  

Two Bills Drive remembers.

[teef]

1 minute ago, LeGOATski said:

Two Bills Drive remembers.

[GunnerBill]

Just now, dave mcbride said:

I have been chalking up the Broncos game as a win, but Denver was in fact 5-3 last season at home but really 6-2 if not for a terrible, terrible roughing the passer call vs. Chicago that cost them a game that they had won. That said, they are 1-3 at home this year and were totally lucky to beat SD 31-30 in the game that they did win (i.e., a really shaky PI call on fourth down in the end zone that gave them one more play). 

 

 I was high on the Broncos coming into the year but man have they been brutalised by opt outs and injuries. Ja'Wuan James is their best OL and opted out for covid reasons, then they have lost the likes of Jurrell Casey, Von Miller and Courtland Sutton for the year (their best d-lineman, their best edge rusher and their best receiver) their rookie tight end (the Mizzou kid whose name I will not attempt) went down for the year and their starting nose tackle Purcell and they have missed AJ Bouye and Noah Fant and Drew Lock for multiple games too. To me that is a team that could still be a take the leap candidate but maybe in 2021 rather than 2020. Although they need Lock to get better. He has been too inconsistent this year.

[dave mcbride]

3 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

 I was high on the Broncos coming into the year but man have they been brutalised by opt outs and injuries. Ja'Wuan James is their best OL and opted out for covid reasons, then they have lost the likes of Jurrell Casey, Von Miller and Courtland Sutton for the year (their best d-lineman, their best edge rusher and their best receiver) their rookie tight end (the Mizzou kid whose name I will not attempt) went down for the year and their starting nose tackle Purcell and they have missed AJ Bouye and Noah Fant and Drew Lock for multiple games too. To me that is a team that could still be a take the leap candidate but maybe in 2021 rather than 2020. Although they need Lock to get better. He has been too inconsistent this year.

I wouldn't say inconsistent; I'd say terrible. 66.5 rating; 55 percent completion rate; and 7 Tds to 10 INTs. 5 fumbles too.  The only positive is his sack rate (4.4 percent), which is decent. 

 

PS - the Broncos passer rating differential is an abysmal -24.6. That is awful. It explains why they've suffered three blowout losses. 

5 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

 I was high on the Broncos coming into the year but man have they been brutalised by opt outs and injuries. Ja'Wuan James is their best OL and opted out for covid reasons, then they have lost the likes of Jurrell Casey, Von Miller and Courtland Sutton for the year (their best d-lineman, their best edge rusher and their best receiver) their rookie tight end (the Mizzou kid whose name I will not attempt) went down for the year and their starting nose tackle Purcell and they have missed AJ Bouye and Noah Fant and Drew Lock for multiple games too. To me that is a team that could still be a take the leap candidate but maybe in 2021 rather than 2020. Although they need Lock to get better. He has been too inconsistent this year.

Just look at the line reading "league rank offense" - https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/den/2020.htm. That is really, really bad. 

Edited November 17, 2020 by dave mcbride

[GunnerBill]

2 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

I wouldn't say inconsistent; I'd say terrible. 66.5 rating; 55 percent completion rate; and 7 Tds to 10 INTs. 5 fumbles too.  The only positive is his sack rate (4.4 percent), which is decent. 

 

PS - the Broncos passer rating differential is an abysmal -24.6. That is awful. It explains why they've suffered three blowout losses. 

 

Yes - he has been pretty terrible. I suppose I went for inconsistent in that he has played a couple of really good 4th Quarters to bring them back to win games.... but overall he has regressed from his promising end to 2019.

 

They need better play out of the Quarterback position as well as getting their guys healthy next year.

[dave mcbride]

Just now, GunnerBill said:

 

Yes - he has been pretty terrible. I suppose I went for inconsistent in that he has played a couple of really good 4th Quarters to bring them back to win games.... but overall he has regressed from his promising end to 2019.

 

They need better play out of the Quarterback position as well as getting their guys healthy next year.

Every QB plays well against the Chargers in the fourth quarter!

[BananaB]

I gotta say, I’m getting sick of it too. My buddy messaged me last night and said the Phins are legit! 
 

I just laughed, no one called the Bills legit when we beat a couple teams with our defense over the past couple years. Beating two teams with above .500 record is not legit.  I think any team left on their schedule still has a chance of beating them. Jmo

[teef]

Just now, High Football IQ said:

 

Thankfully I was wrong teef, one of the few times my gut instinct led me astray.

 

But for all this Dolphins hype...quietly up in Foxboro the Hoodie has his team flying under the radar in the midst of a run and will be back to .500 and right in the thick of the playoff picture this week.

deep breaths.  you'll be ok.

[Royale with Cheese]

5 minutes ago, High Football IQ said:

 

Thankfully I was wrong teef, one of the few times my gut instinct led me astray.

 

But for all this Dolphins hype...quietly up in Foxboro the Hoodie has his team flying under the radar in the midst of a run and will be back to .500 and right in the thick of the playoff picture this week.

 

You basically said when the Bills struggled against the Jets, it proves they aren't a good team.

Then the Jets hang 27 on the Pats struggled to beat them.....but the Pats are flying under the radar lol.

[LeGOATski]

5 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

You basically said when the Bills struggled against the Jets, it proves they aren't a good team.

Then the Jets hang 27 on the Pats struggled to beat them.....but the Pats are flying under the radar lol.

Right now, I bet he's thinking about responding with something like "Belichick has earned the benefit of the doubt as the GOAT and McDermott has proved nothing except that he can lose big games..."

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

1 hour ago, teef said:

remember when you had the bills losing to the pats and going into a 4 game losing streak?  i do.  

 

1 hour ago, LeGOATski said:

Two Bills Drive remembers.

 

memories like elephants 

 

We never forget. 

[CheshireCT]

With the fins current winning streak, I won't dispute that they're a dangerous team or that they're on the rise. That said, I would be surprised if they threatened us for the AFC East. 

 

We've all seen this before, a talented rookie QB comes in and shocks the NFL, going on a hot-streak. However, experience has taught me that after a number of a games, NFL coaches will find weaknesses in his game and challenge him (usually leading to a slump until he can overcome said weaknesses). Although nothing is ever certain, I expect that we will see this soon with Tagovailoa. Even if he's a future hall-of-famer, he will hit his bumps in the road.

 

Our young QB is a step ahead in this development process, and even if JA isn't "Tom Brady consistent," he's on his way. I expect that by the time we hit week 17, coaches will have the fins figured out a lot more and we will have the upper hand. Not to mention it's a tough road for them to overtake our now 4-0 division record. It would be a nice statement from this Bills team to close out the division 6-0 and say who's boss.

[ogham26]

if we lose the division to them and end up going to miami to play them were probably better off.  josh and the offense clearly play better in good weather.  also if the steelers end up with the 1 seed it would set up a second round matchup with them instead of the chiefs.  im perfectly fine with this scenario since fans cant attend a home playoff game anyways

[Bubba Gump]

Nothing I've seen so far from Tungavailoa scares me. Their D is good, but they are also Allen's B word.

[Plano]

Tua is doing a whole lot of nothing. I'd be more afraid of Fitz. 

[H2o]

Miami beat one team we lost against, which we should have beaten, in Arizona. Their three losses are against two teams we have beaten and against us. They are in a weak part of their schedule and should run off another 3 victories, should being the key word. Then comes their gauntlet last 4 weeks of the season. KC, NE, LV, and then us week 17. I expect we will already have the division locked up by week 17. 11-5, first division title in 25 years, and a home playoff game for the Bills. 

[Figster]

30 minutes ago, Plano said:

Tua is doing a whole lot of nothing. I'd be more afraid of Fitz. 

You can generally rely on Fitzpatrick to make a few errant throws, Tua, not so much IMO. Throwing velocity is probably somewhat similar. I feel like with a stout D you have put Tua in the same position as he was in with Alabama. I hesitate to call him a good game manager, but he is, and perhaps a little more.

 

With Fitz as a mentor, Chan Gailey as OC and Tua pulling the trigger.  Buffalo needs to be loaded for bear. The bread and butter of the Bills D is the secondary. Regardless of how accurate Tua is a healthy Bills secondary can give Tua problems IMO. 

Edited November 18, 2020 by Figster

[2003Contenders]

In a weird way, the Dolphins remind me of our team from LAST year.

 

That includes drawing a number of easy match-ups as well as fortuitous ones. Take the version of the Cardinals that they faced 2 weeks ago, versus the version we played on Sunday. The team that Miami played had a depleted secondary and was without Drake. The team we played had their secondary en tact and had a relatively healthy Drake on hand (109 rushing yards against us).

 

One thing I found interesting was a reported quote from Tua, saying that he did not believe that the NFL is as tough as he thought it would be. It will be interesting to see what his tune looks like in a few weeks when the competition gets tougher and defenses have more game film on him.

[blacklabel]

This is all just clickbait garbage. Dolphins are doing better than expected and their fancy rookie QB is playing, people are talking so writers get to writing. 

[njbuff]

Back to the title of this thread.

 

The Dolphins talk isn't out of hand when they are a half game out of being tied for the division lead with three cupcakes coming up on their schedule.

 

Plus, Lady Luck is NOT with the Bills right now.

 

The Dolphins beat the Cardinals the week prior to last because Murray couldn't hit an open receiver on a simple 3rd and 1, and consequently, the Cardinals FG K came up short on a 49 yard FG attempt...... IN-FREAKING-DOORS. And then we all know what happened Sunday. Just bad luck for the Bills.

 

Dolphins have the momentum and the schedule in their favor for the short term.

 

The Bills have the talent and the heart to STILL leave the Dolphins in the dust, but the arrow certainly isn't pointing up for the Bills as we speak.

[Scott7975]

On 11/17/2020 at 10:48 AM, High Football IQ said:

 

Thankfully I was wrong teef, one of the few times my gut instinct led me astray.

 

But for all this Dolphins hype...quietly up in Foxboro the Hoodie has his team flying under the radar in the midst of a run and will be back to .500 and right in the thick of the playoff picture this week.

 

Oh jesus I knew this Pats crap was coming.  Everyones in the race except for the Bills that currently lead the division.

[mjt328]

On 11/18/2020 at 10:09 AM, CheshireCT said:

With the fins current winning streak, I won't dispute that they're a dangerous team or that they're on the rise. That said, I would be surprised if they threatened us for the AFC East. 

 

We've all seen this before, a talented rookie QB comes in and shocks the NFL, going on a hot-streak. However, experience has taught me that after a number of a games, NFL coaches will find weaknesses in his game and challenge him (usually leading to a slump until he can overcome said weaknesses). Although nothing is ever certain, I expect that we will see this soon with Tagovailoa. Even if he's a future hall-of-famer, he will hit his bumps in the road.

 

Our young QB is a step ahead in this development process, and even if JA isn't "Tom Brady consistent," he's on his way. I expect that by the time we hit week 17, coaches will have the fins figured out a lot more and we will have the upper hand. Not to mention it's a tough road for them to overtake our now 4-0 division record. It would be a nice statement from this Bills team to close out the division 6-0 and say who's boss.

 

I've been breaking down our remaining schedules, and the AFC East definitely has the potential to come down to our Week 17 matchup.

 

If the Dolphins beat the Broncos (who are likely to start Brett Rypien) this Sunday, they will be tied with the Bills with a 7-3 record.

 

They finish up the third quarter of the season against the Jets and Bengals.  It's hard to imagine them losing either of those.

Meanwhile, we get the Chargers and banged-up 49ers, which should both be wins for us. 

That leaves both Miami and Buffalo likely sitting at 9-3 heading into the home-stretch.

 

Week 14 is rough for both teams.  We get the Steelers.  They get the Chiefs.  

They get the Patriots in Week 15.  We get the Patriots in Week 16.

We both have one more AFC West game.  They still need to play the Raiders.  We still need to play the Broncos.

 

 

Of course, there is always the possibility that Miami hits a slump (they are starting a rookie QB after all) and drops a game they shouldn't.  If that happens, I think we clinch the AFC East before Week 17.  But based on the way the season has played out so far, I certainly wouldn't count on that happening.  The good news is that we currently hold the edge in tiebreakers.  We already beat Miami once head-to-head, and we are 4-0 in the division.  But we also cannot afford a slip-up.  

 

[Putin]

5 minutes ago, mjt328 said:

 

I've been breaking down our remaining schedules, and the AFC East definitely has the potential to come down to our Week 17 matchup.

 

If the Dolphins beat the Broncos (who are likely to start Brett Rypien) this Sunday, they will be tied with the Bills with a 7-3 record.

 

They finish up the third quarter of the season against the Jets and Bengals.  It's hard to imagine them losing either of those.

Meanwhile, we get the Chargers and banged-up 49ers, which should both be wins for us. 

That leaves both Miami and Buffalo likely sitting at 9-3 heading into the home-stretch.

 

Week 14 is rough for both teams.  We get the Steelers.  They get the Chiefs.  

They get the Patriots in Week 15.  We get the Patriots in Week 16.

We both have one more AFC West game.  They still need to play the Raiders.  We still need to play the Broncos.

 

 

Of course, there is always the possibility that Miami hits a slump (they are starting a rookie QB after all) and drops a game they shouldn't.  If that happens, I think we clinch the AFC East before Week 17.  But based on the way the season has played out so far, I certainly wouldn't count on that happening.  The good news is that we currently hold the edge in tiebreakers.  We already beat Miami once head-to-head, and we are 4-0 in the division.  But we also cannot afford a slip-up.  

 

So what Is the verdict here ???

[Figster]

27 minutes ago, Putin said:

So what Is the verdict here ???

The Jury is still out...

[Putin]

21 minutes ago, Figster said:

The Jury is still out...

17 pages for this ^^^ 

[Figster]

7 minutes ago, Putin said:

17 pages for this ^^^ 

People are looking for guarantees. At this point there are none. Buffalo just needs to continue making strides to become a better football team.

 

Good competition helps the process in my humble opinion.

 

 

[CheshireCT]

17 hours ago, mjt328 said:

 

I've been breaking down our remaining schedules, and the AFC East definitely has the potential to come down to our Week 17 matchup.

 

If the Dolphins beat the Broncos (who are likely to start Brett Rypien) this Sunday, they will be tied with the Bills with a 7-3 record.

 

They finish up the third quarter of the season against the Jets and Bengals.  It's hard to imagine them losing either of those.

Meanwhile, we get the Chargers and banged-up 49ers, which should both be wins for us. 

That leaves both Miami and Buffalo likely sitting at 9-3 heading into the home-stretch.

 

Week 14 is rough for both teams.  We get the Steelers.  They get the Chiefs.  

They get the Patriots in Week 15.  We get the Patriots in Week 16.

We both have one more AFC West game.  They still need to play the Raiders.  We still need to play the Broncos.

 

 

Of course, there is always the possibility that Miami hits a slump (they are starting a rookie QB after all) and drops a game they shouldn't.  If that happens, I think we clinch the AFC East before Week 17.  But based on the way the season has played out so far, I certainly wouldn't count on that happening.  The good news is that we currently hold the edge in tiebreakers.  We already beat Miami once head-to-head, and we are 4-0 in the division.  But we also cannot afford a slip-up.  

 

 

all good points.

16 hours ago, Figster said:

People are looking for guarantees. At this point there are none. Buffalo just needs to continue making strides to become a better football team.

 

Good competition helps the process in my humble opinion.

 

 

 

definitely, gotta play against the best to be the best.

[BuffaloButt]

IMHO I can sum up all this Dolphins talk...The Dolphins are like the Bills from last year, Good Defense, Easy Schedule and QB making some good plays to help the team win.  Bills/Dolphins rivalry is being reborn and this is going to be the battle for the division for the next decade. Bills will prevail and we have the better QB in JA.

 

Go Bills!!!

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

20 hours ago, mjt328 said:

 

I've been breaking down our remaining schedules, and the AFC East definitely has the potential to come down to our Week 17 matchup.

 

If the Dolphins beat the Broncos (who are likely to start Brett Rypien) this Sunday, they will be tied with the Bills with a 7-3 record.

 

They finish up the third quarter of the season against the Jets and Bengals.  It's hard to imagine them losing either of those.

Meanwhile, we get the Chargers and banged-up 49ers, which should both be wins for us. 

That leaves both Miami and Buffalo likely sitting at 9-3 heading into the home-stretch.

 

Week 14 is rough for both teams.  We get the Steelers.  They get the Chiefs.  

They get the Patriots in Week 15.  We get the Patriots in Week 16.

We both have one more AFC West game.  They still need to play the Raiders.  We still need to play the Broncos.

 

 

Of course, there is always the possibility that Miami hits a slump (they are starting a rookie QB after all) and drops a game they shouldn't.  If that happens, I think we clinch the AFC East before Week 17.  But based on the way the season has played out so far, I certainly wouldn't count on that happening.  The good news is that we currently hold the edge in tiebreakers.  We already beat Miami once head-to-head, and we are 4-0 in the division.  But we also cannot afford a slip-up.  

 

 

I know they just had a similar covid thing to what happened with norman, but being in florida - and players likely being out in miami... I'm totally waiting for them to be the team that ends up with like an outbreak.

[BillsFan619]

51 minutes ago, BuffaloButt said:

IMHO I can sum up all this Dolphins talk...The Dolphins are like the Bills from last year, Good Defense, Easy Schedule and QB making some good plays to help the team win.  Bills/Dolphins rivalry is being reborn and this is going to be the battle for the division for the next decade. Bills will prevail and we have the better QB in JA.

 

Go Bills!!!

I agree with your assessment except for the easy schedule part. They play the same teams that Buffalo does except for two.

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

1 hour ago, BillsFan619 said:

I agree with your assessment except for the easy schedule part. They play the same teams that Buffalo does except for two.

 

Bengals and jags or titans and steelers... thats a pretty big difference. Its like a 12 win swing on strength of schedule.

Edited November 20, 2020 by dneveu

[mjt328]

22 hours ago, Putin said:

So what Is the verdict here ???

 

The verdict is, the AFC East is still most definitely up for grabs.

 

At the end of the day, I still think the Bills have a slight advantage.

We already beat Miami once.  We have a 4-0 record in the division, while the Dolphins are 1-2 in the division.  So at the moment, we have the edge in tiebreakers.

I'll also say our remaining schedule is a little bit easier (Steelers/Broncos vs. Chiefs/Raiders).

 

I guess we'll see what happens.

 

[Putin]

2 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

Except they've beat some pretty good teams. There is nothing easy about their schedule... 

well they’ve played Jacksonville and are playing Cincinnati and we played the Titans and have to play Pittsburgh I’d say it’s a LITTLE EASIER 

[BillsFan619]

1 hour ago, dneveu said:

 

Bengals and jags or titans and steelers... thats a pretty big difference. Its like a 12 win swing on strength of schedule.

I get that those two games are different when it comes to opponents. That said, in the end it’s only two games. The rest of the schedule is identical.

 

Yes, Buffalo’s schedule is a little harder but the Dolphins schedule isn’t easy either.

[TBBills]

LETS GO BRONCOS!!!!

[Putin]

1 minute ago, BillsFan619 said:

I get that those two games are different when it comes to opponents. That said, in the end it’s only two games. The rest of the schedule is identical.

 

Yes, Buffalo’s schedule is a little harder but the Dolphins schedule isn’t easy either.

Two games in a close race make a huge difference 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

15 minutes ago, BillsFan619 said:

I get that those two games are different when it comes to opponents. That said, in the end it’s only two games. The rest of the schedule is identical.

 

Yes, Buffalo’s schedule is a little harder but the Dolphins schedule isn’t easy either.

 

Figure they split and win the same (or buffalo wins 1 more even) common games.  Who's more likely to come out ahead at the end?  2 games can make a big difference.  

[jkeerie]

3 hours ago, BillsFan619 said:

I agree with your assessment except for the easy schedule part. They play the same teams that Buffalo does except for two.

They did catch Arizona at the right time.  Most of Arizona's starting backfield was out when they played them and were back when we played them last week.  Also we went into that game missing a few starters.  Miami is playing well...no argument.  They've also been relatively healthy while the Bills have been very beat up.  I'd also much prefer playing the Bengals and Jags versus the Titans and Steelers.  Bottom line, though, the Bills just need to take care of business in the games they play.  That's the only thing they can control.

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

34 minutes ago, BillsFan619 said:

I get that those two games are different when it comes to opponents. That said, in the end it’s only two games. The rest of the schedule is identical.

 

Yes, Buffalo’s schedule is a little harder but the Dolphins schedule isn’t easy either.

 

Figure it this way assuming teams split

Both beat jets twice (would be amazing for buffalo if gase were to pull a rabbit here and beat them... i honestly wouldn't be that surprised - they've playedbetter as the seasons gone along)

Both go 3-1 in the NFC

 

so now both teams are 5-2.  if they both split NE - thats 6-3 -- (This is a game buffalo can't afford to drop.  If NE beats miami and loses to buffalo that'd be the ideal scenario for separating the teams in the division)

 

Both lose to KC - 6-4.  Say Miami goes 2-2 in the AFC west (loses to KC and LV) and buffalo goes 3-1. 

 

Miami would be 8-6 with games against Jax/Cincy and buffalo 9-5 with games against Pitt and Tenn.  

 

Essentially - performing better against common opponents might still not be enough - as Miami's 2 non-common games are that much easier.