smokinandjokin Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 I know there are a few others out there like myself who thought we had a chance to steal a win on Sunday in Chicago. We should've known better. It's happened so many times over the past three, four, five years where the Bills have gone into a game against a good team, and in the build up, we've said, "Well, this is definitely going to be a tough one...But if they can do X, and limit Y, they have a shot..." In all of those games (typically on the road against playoff-caliber teams) not only have the Bills not stolen a win, they've practically given the game away, and, to make matters worse, seemingly didn't even get off the bus. The games that immediately come to mind as those where we said, "Wow, this will be a tough game, but the Bills have a chance..." and then they laid an egg- This year Buried @ Chicago, 40-7 2005 Lost @ Tampa, 19-3 Score does not indicate the level of domination Lost @ San Diego, 48-10 Score DOES indicate the level of domination 2004 Lost @ Baltimore, 20-6 Didn't show up Lost @ New England, 29-6 on national TV. Never in the game. 2003 Lost @ Miami, 17-7 on national TV. Points and yards in garbage time covered up total domination by Phins defense. Lost @ KC, 38-5 on national TV. Bills blew a 2-0 lead in this one. 2002 Lost @ home to New England, 38-7. Crushing defeat. Bills' very real playoff chances took a major setback. So, whenever I see one of those "This one will be tough" games on the schedule, should I just chalk it up as a loss right now? To be fair, the games they've won include '02 @ Vikings, '04 @ Seattle, and '04 & '05 @ Cincy. But the vast majority of the time, not only have they lost, they've done so in spectacular fashion. I wasn't necessarily looking for a win in Chicago, I was just looking for a competitive game. Apparently, that is still too much to ask of these Bills. Just when they do enough to convince you they have a chance, just when you want to believe, they get tossed around by a superior team, further entrenching themselves as a 2nd-tier team for yet another year. FRUSTRATING! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daquixers_is_back Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 Bills blew a 2-0 lead in this one? We had a safety? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortured Soul Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 I think you're cherry-picking a bit here. No one was saying the TB game last year was a tough game. In hindsight, TB was a division champ, but we were 2 1/2 point favorites going in. What about this season's opener? That was a tough game. We were 9-10 point underdogs, and we lost by two. You only have to go back four games to find the Bills winning as a touchdown underdog on the road. You only have to go back seven games to find the Bills winning as a two touchdown underdog on the road. I don't think that's bad at all. The fact is, you usually lose those games. Just to use a definition of "tough game" as anytime we are 5+ point dogs on the road, here is our record ATS. 2006: 2-1 (1-2 outright) 2005: 3-2 (1-4) 2004: 1-1 (0-2) 2003: 1-2 (0-3) 2002: 2-1 (1-2) I think, overall, we've come to play. The fact is there was a reason those were tough games, and I don't think we've done worse than the league average in those games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradobillsfan Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 Bills blew a 2-0 lead in this one? We had a safety? 800988[/snapback] that, and dante hall streaking across the field for a receiving TD, are all i remember from being at that game... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 Bills blew a 2-0 lead in this one? We had a safety? 800988[/snapback] Pierson Prioleau's shining moment in a Bills uniform. Blocked a punt out of the end zone on KC's first possession. The beatdown commenced shortly thereafter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinandjokin Posted October 10, 2006 Author Share Posted October 10, 2006 I think you're cherry-picking a bit here. No one was saying the TB game last year was a tough game. In hindsight, TB was a division champ, but we were 2 1/2 point favorites going in. What about this season's opener? That was a tough game. We were 9-10 point underdogs, and we lost by two. You only have to go back four games to find the Bills winning as a touchdown underdog on the road. You only have to go back seven games to find the Bills winning as a two touchdown underdog on the road. I don't think that's bad at all. The fact is, you usually lose those games. Just to use a definition of "tough game" as anytime we are 5+ point dogs on the road, here is our record ATS. 2006: 2-1 (1-2 outright) 2005: 3-2 (1-4) 2004: 1-1 (0-2) 2003: 1-2 (0-3) 2002: 2-1 (1-2) I think, overall, we've come to play. The fact is there was a reason those were tough games, and I don't think we've done worse than the league average in those games. 801002[/snapback] I probably am cherry-picking. However, it seems that anytime this team has had a chance to make a statement or put themselves on the NFL map, they have failed miserably in this department. And I don't mean just losing. I mean losing to the point of embarrassing themselves, and giving a 'run-for-the-bus' effort. I like your use of a figure (point spread) to test this theory. I just went back and looked at the schedules, and recalled games where I said on Wednesday, "Boy, it will be tough this week...They will really have to play well, but I think they can do it." In the majority of those games, it's not like it was a 6-point spread and the Bills are losing 27-20. They are getting absolutely massacred. As for looking back, I assume you are referring to the Dolphins game as a game we recently won on the road as a TD underdog. The numbers don't lie, but let's be real here. That Dolphins team is horrendous. Vegas just didn't know it yet after one game. And I mentioned the Cincy game as one of the times they did show up. But again, they were playing loose and had nothing to win or lose. Something tells me if they were 9-5 going into that Cincy game last year, and the playoffs were riding on a win, Cincy would've covered the two TD spread, and then some. (Obviously we'll never know...It just feels that way.) As for the Tampa game, no one was saying that would be tough??? JP's first road start, against THAT defense? The fact that the Bills were favored was similar to the Phins game this year- week 2 Vegas line is meaningless. Perhaps I shouldn't expect the Bills to win these tough, statement games. I should lump them in where they have been the last five years- with Detroit, Houston, Arizona, and Tennessee. Before this year, according to your stats, they were 2-11 in these games straight up. I just keep waiting for them to be better than also-rans, and they haven't produced yet. At least if they were on the verge, it would be promising. But the blowouts are getting old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortured Soul Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 It just feels that way. 801143[/snapback] Ain't that the truth. Looking back on 3rd and 1's, it feels like they blow all the big ones. I don't know if that's true, or if they have been any better or worse than you'd expect from a team with their record. It's just that if you let your hopes turn into expectations, then you remember the instances where your expectations are not met much more than when they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffOrange Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 I think you're cherry-picking a bit here. No one was saying the TB game last year was a tough game. In hindsight, TB was a division champ, but we were 2 1/2 point favorites going in. What about this season's opener? That was a tough game. We were 9-10 point underdogs, and we lost by two. You only have to go back four games to find the Bills winning as a touchdown underdog on the road. You only have to go back seven games to find the Bills winning as a two touchdown underdog on the road. I don't think that's bad at all. The fact is, you usually lose those games. Just to use a definition of "tough game" as anytime we are 5+ point dogs on the road, here is our record ATS. 2006: 2-1 (1-2 outright) 2005: 3-2 (1-4) 2004: 1-1 (0-2) 2003: 1-2 (0-3) 2002: 2-1 (1-2) I think, overall, we've come to play. The fact is there was a reason those were tough games, and I don't think we've done worse than the league average in those games. 801002[/snapback] I think you're right that he's cherrypicking, but he still has a point. It's kind of a subjective thing to chose what our "tough games" have been, since we've rarely been solid 4+ point favorites over the years and thus rarely not had a "tough game". The 2002 home NE game was IMO, our biggest game of the last 5 years. We were 5-3, NE was struggling, we had a chance to bury them, and got killed. Again, this is a subjective thing, as I realize most people would say Pittsburgh 2004 was our biggest game recently, but that was really only a big game if we lost, since it should've been such an easy win. The 2003 Miami game people have bad memories of, but we came to play. Our offense just sucked, which it did pretty much all season after Week 2, so it's not like they played below their capabilities. Also FWIW our TD did not come in "garbage time", although it was scored by Clements. In any case, that loss to me wasn't a disaster since we were 2-0 on the road and you can overcome a loss like that - the following week vs. Philly was really what killed us IMO. I think @Seattle 2004 was probably our biggest win in this timespan. Last year in Cincy, who cares really. Just ramblin.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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