KD in CA Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 The most important game is always your next one, but in looking at the whole season in terms of importance of victories, obviously Division > Conference > Non-conference. Tell that to the Raiders of 2010. So the Raiders would have been better off losing a few division games and winning some out of confernce games?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bladiebla Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 It is an important game but for a different reason then stated, the team has shown how to handle being an underdog, play through to the last second no matter what and shown they dont stop giving all untill the final whistle. Now is the time to see if they can handle being the favorite and still bring the focus to take out the underdog (Bengals). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondo in seattle Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 From here forward, every game is more important than the last. We need to beat Cinci, we need to be 4-0. This years schedule is not filled with many easy games. We need to win the "easy" ones. The Chiefs game turned out to be an "easy" win. But I don't think the Bills are good enough yet (particularly not the defense) to count on "easy" wins. I think we need to fight hard every game. Even the early 90s Bills fell flat some games. This team has less talent. They can't afford flat efforts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSBill Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Hard to think that a team whose best players are undrafted free agents, 7th round picks, and multi-cut pick-ups from other teams, will take anyone or any team for granted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkington Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 The Chiefs game turned out to be an "easy" win. But I don't think the Bills are good enough yet (particularly not the defense) to count on "easy" wins. I think we need to fight hard every game. Even the early 90s Bills fell flat some games. This team has less talent. They can't afford flat efforts. Bingo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 The most important game is always your next one, but in looking at the whole season in terms of importance of victories, obviously Division > Conference > Non-conference. So the Raiders would have been better off losing a few division games and winning some out of confernce games?? The bottom line is you need to focus on every game as being important. Yes, division games are crucial, but the 2010 Raiders dominated their division (6-0) yet failed to make the playoffs because they were 2-8 against everyone else. Everyone likes to speak in absolutes but it's not always cut and dried. I tend to agree (and began a post about this last week) that this week's game may be the most important game of the season for the Bills. Lose, and all of the momentum from an amazing start dissipates. They must seize the opportunity and beat a team they "should" beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phlegm Alley Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jfk40UYLPo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Just so u know, football outsiders did a large study and found there are no such things as "trap games". Teams that are expected to win, win at roughly the same rate as any other week... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDS Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 The bottom line is you need to focus on every game as being important. Yes, division games are crucial, but the 2010 Raiders dominated their division (6-0) yet failed to make the playoffs because they were 2-8 against everyone else. Everyone likes to speak in absolutes but it's not always cut and dried. I tend to agree (and began a post about this last week) that this week's game may be the most important game of the season for the Bills. Lose, and all of the momentum from an amazing start dissipates. They must seize the opportunity and beat a team they "should" beat. Are you suggesting the Raiders would have been more likely to make the playoffs at 0-6 in the division and 8-2 outside of it? I think not. other than the chance of a wild card tie-breaker against a non-divisional team - divisional games are more important. It is indeed an absolute. It is written in the rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 The New England game was the biggest win by the Bills in a decade. It's a division game against one of the best teams in the league with a seemingly unstoppable offense that we stopped (by getting 4 INT including a score). It gave us more confidence that could not be generated by beating a Cinci team we have beaten 10 times in a row. It made the Ralph a horrifying place to play again. It put the city in a ridiculous frenzy. It made the players and the fans really start to believe this is a serious team and contender for the first time. It made coming back by 2-3 TDs not an aberration but a trend. It put faith in our coach and GM. It will put a ton of butts in the seats for the next few games which may make the team pay our three guys that need to be paid. It kicked a monkey off our back that was holding us back. It's nonsense, IMO, to think the Bengal game is more important, and I fully understand what you mean and what you're talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Are you suggesting the Raiders would have been more likely to make the playoffs at 0-6 in the division and 8-2 outside of it? I think not. other than the chance of a wild card tie-breaker against a non-divisional team - divisional games are more important. It is indeed an absolute. It is written in the rules. Are you trying to pick a fight? If you don't win enough OVERALL games, period, it really doesn't matter what your divisional record is. Simple enough for ya? The New England game was the biggest win by the Bills in a decade. It's a division game against one of the best teams in the league with a seemingly unstoppable offense that we stopped (by getting 4 INT including a score). It gave us more confidence that could not be generated by beating a Cinci team we have beaten 10 times in a row. It made the Ralph a horrifying place to play again. It put the city in a ridiculous frenzy. It made the players and the fans really start to believe this is a serious team and contender for the first time. It made coming back by 2-3 TDs not an aberration but a trend. It put faith in our coach and GM. It will put a ton of butts in the seats for the next few games which may make the team pay our three guys that need to be paid. It kicked a monkey off our back that was holding us back. It's nonsense, IMO, to think the Bengal game is more important, and I fully understand what you mean and what you're talking about. All excellent and valid points. I won't speak for the OP, but perhaps this week's game against Cinci is more important from a fan's perspective than from how it would impact the team. As fans, we have seen a lot of crap over the past decade, and a loss to Cinci would allow the "here we go again" thoughts to come back to the forefront. The team itself is likely not burdened by the same mentality. At the end of the day, though, it's a conference game and an opportunity to remain at least a full game ahead of the Jets and Pats* -- which should be enough motivation for anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Tell that to the Raiders of 2010. Exactly. Sorry SDS, that's an old arguement that's lost it's luster. When there were 5 teams in the Div, yes, you had to win those. Now, it's Conference wins that carry the most weight.* Win in Cincy and we're 4-0 in the most important tie-breaker. * unless you play in the NFC West and you're tied with a Div. opponent -both with losing records. Someone HAS to win and it will be best Div. record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metzelaars_lives Posted September 27, 2011 Author Share Posted September 27, 2011 (edited) Are you suggesting the Raiders would have been more likely to make the playoffs at 0-6 in the division and 8-2 outside of it? I think not. other than the chance of a wild card tie-breaker against a non-divisional team - divisional games are more important. It is indeed an absolute. It is written in the rules. Why have you been so condescending on this thread? Do you not understand that if the Bills would've lost a tough one vs. NE and then came in and whipped up on Cinci they'd be 3-1. If they come into Cinci all hungover and lose a sloppy one, they're 3-1. Yes, when it comes to tiebreakers, I guess a divisional win means more, but bottom line is the Bills need to get to 10-6 and they will not do so unless they win their cream puff games. This, after Denver and Miami at home, as of now, looks to be our easiest game on the schedule. We absolutely have to win. Exactly. Sorry SDS, that's an old arguement that's lost it's luster. When there were 5 teams in the Div, yes, you had to win those. Now, it's Conference wins that carry the most weight.* Win in Cincy and we're 4-0 in the most important tie-breaker. * unless you play in the NFC West and you're tied with a Div. opponent -both with losing records. Someone HAS to win and it will be best Div. record. Amazing point. Tie-breaker vs. the Ravens or the Steelers or the Chargers or the Raiders would be CONFERENCE record anyway, so it is every bit as important as the New England game, unless we finish with the same record as the Jets. Newsflash: the Patriots will win the AFC East. Edited September 27, 2011 by metzelaars_lives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsBackersChicago Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 It is an important game but for a different reason then stated, the team has shown how to handle being an underdog, play through to the last second no matter what and shown they dont stop giving all untill the final whistle. Now is the time to see if they can handle being the favorite and still bring the focus to take out the underdog (Bengals). Well said, it took me 4 paragraphs to make the same sentiment on a previous thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bladiebla Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Well said, it took me 4 paragraphs to make the same sentiment on a previous thread. Chan said it best, "now it's time to proof we can handle prosperity as well" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsBackersChicago Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Just so u know, football outsiders did a large study and found there are no such things as "trap games". Teams that are expected to win, win at roughly the same rate as any other week... Interesting, do you have a link? Would love to read it and see how they worked out that analysis. Wouldn't that mean that they beat bad teams at the same rate as they beat good teams? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in San Diego Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I heard Fred Jackson in a radio interview on ESPN. He was saying they are taking everything one game at a time. They dont want to get enamored with the Pats win and go to Cincinati and lay an egg. They are taking the Cinci game serious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metzelaars_lives Posted September 27, 2011 Author Share Posted September 27, 2011 Interesting, do you have a link? Would love to read it and see how they worked out that analysis. Wouldn't that mean that they beat bad teams at the same rate as they beat good teams? ...in which case there is credence to trap games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsBackersChicago Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 ...in which case there is credence to trap games. exactly! If there's no such thing as a trap game, teams that are expected to win should win at a higher rate than they do during other weeks where they are either evenly matched or underdogs. I think I am thinking about this right, but maybe I will go try and find the article before I call BS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Senator Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 (edited) I am getting a little dizzy trying to figure out which is the most important tie-breaker, or if there is really any such thing as a 'trap game' Best, I think, to just go... 19 and 0 baby!!! Buffalo Bills 72 Cincinnati BungHoles - 0 GO BILLSSS!!!! "I expect to be undefeated." - Chan Gailey Edited September 27, 2011 by The Senator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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