For as bad as some think the Bills are...they lead the NFL in point differential by quite a bit

[Big Turk]

Many think the team isn't good and yet we lead the NFL with a +151 point differential, 11 more than the second place Patriots and 47 more than the 3rd place Cowboys.

 

It's hard to reconcile these two things.

 

 

[John from Riverside]

I don't know if it's so much that they think the bills are bad or they are just upset that just upset that the bills don't look like a Super Bowl caliber team right now just remember when you get to the playoffs anything can happen

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

9 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

Many think the team isn't good and yet we lead the NFL with a +151 point differential, 11 more than the second place Patriots and 47 more than the 3rd place Cowboys.

 

It's hard to reconcile these two things.

 

 

 

I don't think they're bad. I just think they're inconsistent and unlucky at times. When they put it all together they're among the best in the league. It's just you never know what team you're getting. If they get in the playoffs I don't think anyone will want to face them.

[Ray Stonada]

It is weird. But they've crushed a lot of teams and then lost four heartbreakers (Titans, Jags, Pats, Bucs). If the Bills were 3-1 in those games, like last year, it would all make sense.

 

They haven't been able to execute with the O line woes, but more than that, they've been one-dimensional. If Daboll mixes in outside run, screens, and plays based on a defense thinking downfield pass, it opens up easy plays like the TD to Gabe Davis yesterday. Not enough easy plays for the Bills this year. Still time to clean it up though!

[MJS]

I think it illustrates that the team is probably better than what we have seen from them this year. They have gotten no lucky breaks in their favor, no lucky bounces of the ball (like Cam's fumble that bounced right to his receiver), and have been on the wrong side of a lot of bad officiating.

 

Last year I think it was the opposite. The pendulum swung the opposite way. The truth is probably somewhere in-between last year's and this year's team.

 

Things can click for them at any time, though. That's what is exciting about this team. The offense can be struggling in a game, but you know they have it in them to turn it on and start putting up TD after TD.

[Punching Bag]

It is directly related to health of team.  One of the most important things is availability and how many players besides Allen and kickers can be depended upon to be available every day and practice?  When the players are available for when game is planned, practiced and played there are better results.

 

 

[CircleTheWagons99]

Better oline and better OC and this team is unstoppable. 

[Utah John]

I think what's bothering people is that the Bills haven't yet played a complete game.  Early in the year some of the teams they beat were playing really bad, and the Bills crushed them with a B- effort.  Every now and then the office gets it in gear for a quarter or so, and we see what they're capable of, and then the wheels come off a little bit.

 

Aside from the Oline Raliroad Trainwreck, there have been new areas of concern.  Josh has been missing receivers this year, open guys, that I don't remember him missing last year.  Those mistakes stop drives.  

[CSBill]

Not sure anyone thinks the Bills are "bad." And that is the problem, at time they can look great, and at other times, not-so-much. What the Bills are, and this is the frustration, is wildly inconsistent.

[Real McClappy]

Perception will shift if we win against the Pats next weekend.

[HOUSE]

If the Bills resign Trumaine Edmunds, they're crazy, he is invisible

 

Edited December 20, 2021 by HOUSE

[Utah John]

3 minutes ago, HOUSE said:

If the Bills resign Trumaine Edmunds, they're crazy, he is invisible

 

If the Bills used three LBs most of the time, Edmunds would make a fine WILL.  He's so long, moves well, and has great speed.  What he's never figured out is filling a hold and smashing a RB on the RB's way through the hole. 

[Thurman#1]

17 minutes ago, HOUSE said:

If the Bills resign Trumaine Edmunds, they're crazy, he is invisible

 

 

 

House, you're better than this.
 

They're very likely to re-sign him, and he's a major part of why this defense is very very good.

 

The problem has been inconsistency, on both sides, but more the offense.

 

46 minutes ago, Utah John said:

I think what's bothering people is that the Bills haven't yet played a complete game.  Early in the year some of the teams they beat were playing really bad, and the Bills crushed them with a B- effort.  Every now and then the office gets it in gear for a quarter or so, and we see what they're capable of, and then the wheels come off a little bit.

 

Aside from the Oline Raliroad Trainwreck, there have been new areas of concern.  Josh has been missing receivers this year, open guys, that I don't remember him missing last year.  Those mistakes stop drives.  

 

 

Penalties too. The stats show we had a lot last year too, but last year they seemed to convert 1st and 20s without breaking a sweat. This year not so much.

 

Agreed, about a complete game. They've only had one or two, against tomato cans.

[HOUSE]

22 minutes ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

House, you're better than this.
 

They're very likely to re-sign him, and he's a major part of why this defense is very very good.

 

The problem has been inconsistency, on both sides, but more the offense.

 

 

 

Penalties too. The stats show we had a lot last year too, but last year they seemed to convert 1st and 20s without breaking a sweat. This year not so much.

 

Agreed, about a complete game. They've only had one or two, against tomato cans.

 

You took me seriously ?  No you didn't, your punking me right ?

 

Lets face it, I gotcha   😁

 

 

..

Edited December 20, 2021 by HOUSE

[Max Fischer]

I think differential matters to a point. It clearly indicates good and bad teams, but it’s harder to analyze without closer examination.  For example, each game, an extra late touchdown scored or given up could substantially change a team’s ranking, but not a game’s outcome. 
 

IMO, the NFL is as close to parity as it’s ever been (in my lifetime). Bills lose to Jags, Bucs get shutout at home to the Saints, Cardinals lose to Lions, Chiefs looked terrible and now good, Titans are difficult to figure out, Packers almost lose to a backup QB and his hurting defense. Abundant examples every week. 

[cwater10]

6 hours ago, Big Turk said:

Many think the team isn't good and yet we lead the NFL with a +151 point differential, 11 more than the second place Patriots and 47 more than the 3rd place Cowboys.

 

It's hard to reconcile these two things.

 

 

So as we are driving down the road every week and our OL keeps grabbing the wheel and steering us toward a tree, and then we look in the point differential rearview mirror and see that right behind us are two scary monsters that have a history of murdering us in our sleep, we should pretend that Steven King didn't write this season just to mess with us?  My hope is that King collaborated on the screenplay with Walt Disney.  It kind of feels like some of Walt's magic is the only thing that is going to fix this OL this year.

[Buftex]

6 hours ago, Big Turk said:

Many think the team isn't good and yet we lead the NFL with a +151 point differential, 11 more than the second place Patriots and 47 more than the 3rd place Cowboys.

 

It's hard to reconcile these two things.

 

 

Not really...it indicates that the Bills have blown out bad teams, of which there have been many on their schedule.  The Bills are clearly a "good team", but are they a "great" team?  

[auburnbillsbacker]

7 hours ago, Big Turk said:

Many think the team isn't good and yet we lead the NFL with a +151 point differential, 11 more than the second place Patriots and 47 more than the 3rd place Cowboys.

 

It's hard to reconcile these two things.

 

 

Some analytics suggest the Bills are the best team in football.  I have no idea if that is true, but there is a lot of variance in the NFL due to the 17 game schedule (compared to 162 in baseball) and officiating.  Having an unlucky season can really cost a team.  Just like getting lucky can really help.  Look at the Cardinals.  They have the most fumbles in football but have only lost 3 of them.  They are on the good side of variance.  

[Big Turk]

7 hours ago, MJS said:

I think it illustrates that the team is probably better than what we have seen from them this year. They have gotten no lucky breaks in their favor, no lucky bounces of the ball (like Cam's fumble that bounced right to his receiver), and have been on the wrong side of a lot of bad officiating.

 

Last year I think it was the opposite. The pendulum swung the opposite way. The truth is probably somewhere in-between last year's and this year's team.

 

Things can click for them at any time, though. That's what is exciting about this team. The offense can be struggling in a game, but you know they have it in them to turn it on and start putting up TD after TD.

 

I find it amazing how the offense can struggle but then still end up with 30+ points. It's like they just are a threat to go on a blitzkrieg of points at any time.

2 hours ago, Utah John said:

I think what's bothering people is that the Bills haven't yet played a complete game.  Early in the year some of the teams they beat were playing really bad, and the Bills crushed them with a B- effort.  Every now and then the office gets it in gear for a quarter or so, and we see what they're capable of, and then the wheels come off a little bit.

 

Aside from the Oline Raliroad Trainwreck, there have been new areas of concern.  Josh has been missing receivers this year, open guys, that I don't remember him missing last year.  Those mistakes stop drives.  

 

Washington was a pretty complete game and so was KC I thought. Probably Houston also.

2 hours ago, CSBill said:

Not sure anyone thinks the Bills are "bad." And that is the problem, at time they can look great, and at other times, not-so-much. What the Bills are, and this is the frustration, is wildly inconsistent.

 

I mean that is true...according to Pro Football Outsiders, this year's Bills are the most inconsistent team they have ever tracked going back to 1983

1 hour ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

House, you're better than this.
 

They're very likely to re-sign him, and he's a major part of why this defense is very very good.

 

The problem has been inconsistency, on both sides, but more the offense.

 

 

 

Penalties too. The stats show we had a lot last year too, but last year they seemed to convert 1st and 20s without breaking a sweat. This year not so much.

 

Agreed, about a complete game. They've only had one or two, against tomato cans.

 

I mean, we have the number one defense in the NFL and people are still complaining about things like we are at the bottom. Every team has flaws on both sides of the ball and on balance, I would rather have a team built to stop the pass.

[Big Turk]

1 hour ago, Max Fischer said:

I think differential matters to a point. It clearly indicates good and bad teams, but it’s harder to analyze without closer examination.  For example, each game, an extra late touchdown scored or given up could substantially change a team’s ranking, but not a game’s outcome. 
 

IMO, the NFL is as close to parity as it’s ever been (in my lifetime). Bills lose to Jags, Bucs get shutout at home to the Saints, Cardinals lose to Lions, Chiefs looked terrible and now good, Titans are difficult to figure out, Packers almost lose to a backup QB and his hurting defense. Abundant examples every week. 

 

Bucs got shutout last night by the Saints and we're absolutely destroyed in their earlier meeting in New Orleans. Saints clearly have their number and they Bucs could be in trouble if those injuries last night are serious.

 

Godwin, Evans and Fournette all went down in that game and didn't return.

 

Tampa Bay was the best offense in football...imagine what they would be saying if the Bills got shutout at home by a bottom feeder team.

Edited December 20, 2021 by Big Turk

[Bermuda Triangle]

7 hours ago, John from Riverside said:

I don't know if it's so much that they think the bills are bad or they are just upset that just upset that the bills don't look like a Super Bowl caliber team right now just remember when you get to the playoffs anything can happen

I think the concern is that, while the Bills can beat up on bad and overmatched teams, they seem to come up short in close games against above average teams (or even average teams, like the Steelers, or horrible teams like Jax).  So, I guess, crapping the bed in close games is a concern.

[hondo in seattle]

Yeah, the point differential doesn't match up with our W-L record.

 

Neither do our yardage stats.  We're #1 in defense and #8 in offense.  That sounds like the rankings of one of the best teams in the NFL.  Yet if the season ended today, we wouldn't be in the playoffs.

 

If we won just half of the close games we've been in, our W-L record would better align with some of these other numbers.  

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

Don't let a punt get blocked

Don't slip at goal line

Someone, anyone make one damn play against Urban Meyer

Moss, run to the right

Refs, call PI against Diggs

 

The Bills could so so easily be 13-1, which would make a lot of sense with that point differential

 

As it is, they have to fight and claw for their playoff lives in the biggest game imaginable this Sunday, as underdogs. If they don't win, they'll be roughly 50-50 to make the playoffs as a Wild Card and we'll 100% be scoreboard-watching despite league-leading point differential. It's crazy

 

Win just one of those five games we should have won and everything would be different.

[Big Turk]

11 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

Yeah, the point differential doesn't match up with our W-L record.

 

Neither do our yardage stats.  We're #1 in defense and #8 in offense.  That sounds like the rankings of one of the best teams in the NFL.  Yet if the season ended today, we wouldn't be in the playoffs.

 

If we won just half of the close games we've been in, our W-L record would better align with some of these other numbers.  

 

That's not true.  We are still the 7 seed. Currently the Ravens are out of the playoffs due to a worse record in common games.  We are 3-2 and they are 2-2(we played the Fins twice and won, they lost to them)

Edited December 20, 2021 by Big Turk

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

1 minute ago, Big Turk said:

 

That's not true.  We are still the 7 seed.

If CLE wins tonight, we'll slip out (not that it's relevant at all at this point)

[Big Turk]

3 minutes ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:

If CLE wins tonight, we'll slip out (not that it's relevant at all at this point)

If Cleveland wins tonight it would be a minor miracle while fielding a team of replacement players. Plus their remaining schedule after tonight  is brutal and they might not win another game...Packers, Ravens, Bengals.

Edited December 20, 2021 by Big Turk

[Bermuda Triangle]

Just now, Big Turk said:

If Cleveland wins tonight it would be a minor miracle while fielding a team of replacement players

I guess we'll see how many Browns clear protocol today.

 

I'm not in favor of the NFL moving or rescheduling games to accommodate individual teams (and yes, I'd say the same thing if Allen tested positive next weekend).  The NFL should apply its rules and regulations to all teams, equally....but, looking at the officiating, we know that's a pipe dream.

[Big Turk]

2 minutes ago, Bermuda Triangle said:

I guess we'll see how many Browns clear protocol today.

 

I'm not in favor of the NFL moving or rescheduling games to accommodate individual teams (and yes, I'd say the same thing if Allen tested positive next weekend).  The NFL should apply its rules and regulations to all teams, equally....but, looking at the officiating, we know that's a pipe dream.

 

Probably not that many. Agreed....I mean they made the Broncos play a game last year with no QB.  It just pisses me off that the teams that have done nothing wrong are the ones who get punished in these situations. The other team gets a chance to have some players back that wouldn't have been eligible and then they are forced to play again on a short week against an opponent coming off a normal week.

Edited December 20, 2021 by Big Turk

[Mr. WEO]

2 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

Probably not that many. Agreed....I mean they made the Broncos play a game last year with no QB.  It just pisses me off that the teams that have done nothing wrong are the ones who get punished in these situations.

 

how are the Browns being punished?

[Big Turk]

6 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

how are the Browns being punished?

 

The Raiders are...not their fault the other team had an outbreak. Like the Bills did last year against Tennessee and didn't even know who they would be playing next for a few days.

Edited December 20, 2021 by Big Turk

[thurst44]

2 hours ago, HOUSE said:

If the Bills resign Trumaine Edmunds, they're crazy, he is invisible

 

Funny how the defense is precipitously worse when he does not play or is playing with a serious injury. We have the number one defense (and it's been a top 3 D all the time he is healthy), but, yes, let's run its captain out of town b/c stats.

15 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

If Cleveland wins tonight it would be a minor miracle while fielding a team of replacement players. Plus their remaining schedule after tonight  is brutal and they might not win another game...Packers, Ravens, Bengals.

If Cleveland wins, it's probably because the Raiders are really that bad and in that much of a spiral that they could even lose against Fresno State at this point, but who knows.

 

It's a game that epitomizes the mess that the 2021 season has been. 

Edited December 20, 2021 by thurst44

[Mr. WEO]

2 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

The Raiders are...not their fault the other team had an outbreak. Like the Bills did last year against Tennessee and didn't even know who they would be playing next for a few days.

 

The Browns Raiders was rescheduled a few days ago, no?  Plus the Raiders are gifted a JV Browns roster.

[Big Turk]

4 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

The Browns Raiders was rescheduled a few days ago, no?  Plus the Raiders are gifted a JV Browns roster.

 

Yes...but Cleveland may get some players back for the game they wouldn't have had Saturday, and now the Raiders  are playing on a short week the next game against a team who had a normal week.

[BarleyNY]

31 minutes ago, Bermuda Triangle said:

I think the concern is that, while the Bills can beat up on bad and overmatched teams, they seem to come up short in close games against above average teams (or even average teams, like the Steelers, or horrible teams like Jax).  So, I guess, crapping the bed in close games is a concern.

This is where I am.  It’s like this Bills team was built to destroy bad teams at the expense of being able to win competitive games against quality opponents.  I think it was a strategic mistake to go all in on the passing game and pass rush.  The bad news is that I think it will cost us a chance at a run in the playoffs this season (though I definitely think we make it in).  The good news is that I think it will be rectified going forward.

[Big Turk]

8 minutes ago, thurst44 said:

Funny how the defense is precipitously worse when he does not play or is playing with a serious injury. We have the number one defense (and it's been a top 3 D all the time he is healthy), but, yes, let's run its captain out of town b/c stats.

If Cleveland wins, it's probably because the Raiders are really that bad and in that much of a spiral that they could even lose against Fresno State at this point, but who knows.

 

It's a game that epitomizes the mess that the 2021 season has been. 

 

The full impact won't be seen unless Edmunds is gone for an extended period or entire season...like the impact was seen when Star was out last year. Sometimes you don't realize what you have until it isn't there anymore and you have to deal with the fallout from it

[Mr. WEO]

Just now, Big Turk said:

 

Yes...but Cleveland may get some players back for the game they wouldn't have had Saturday, and now the Raiders  are playing on a short week the next game against a team who had a normal week.

 

if the Raiders have such an outbreak,  they will be happy to have their game delayed.  They won't volunteer to play with a decimated roster on that Sunday....

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

7 hours ago, MJS said:

I think it illustrates that the team is probably better than what we have seen from them this year. They have gotten no lucky breaks in their favor, no lucky bounces of the ball (like Cam's fumble that bounced right to his receiver), and have been on the wrong side of a lot of bad officiating.

 

Last year I think it was the opposite. The pendulum swung the opposite way. The truth is probably somewhere in-between last year's and this year's team.

 

Things can click for them at any time, though. That's what is exciting about this team. The offense can be struggling in a game, but you know they have it in them to turn it on and start putting up TD after TD.

It really is getting pretty ridiculous how unlucky we are.  I watched about half of the game from yesterday so far and the panthers couldve turned the ball over 6 times already lol

[Big Turk]

3 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

if the Raiders have such an outbreak,  they will be happy to have their game delayed.  They won't volunteer to play with a decimated roster on that Sunday....

 

I'm not saying they wouldn't. But the team who has no outbreak shouldn't be put at a disadvantage for the team who does.  The wrong teams get punished.

1 minute ago, Generic_Bills_Fan said:

It really is getting pretty ridiculous how unlucky we are.  I watched about half of the game from yesterday so far and the panthers couldve turned the ball over 6 times already lol

 

I liked how Cam fumbled and the ball literally took one bounce perfectly to Moore and he ran for a few more yards.

[Mr. WEO]

10 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

I'm not saying they wouldn't. But the team who has no outbreak shouldn't be put at a disadvantage for the team who does.  The wrong teams get punished.

 

I liked how Cam fumbled and the ball literally took one bounce perfectly to Moore and he ran for a few more yards.

 

what would be your remedy?

[Big Turk]

6 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

what would be your remedy?

 

One would be that anyone not cleared by the original start time for the game would be ineligible to play.