Bills scheduling woes

[Ralph W.]

 

ESPN hates the Bills.

Most important ESPN question that is asked of every Bills player is always about the snow and cold. Horrible interviews.

Edited June 19, 2013 by EJ3

[The Wiz]

Most important ESPN question that is asked of every Bills player is always about the snow and cold. Horrible interviews.

At least we got the other question off the table now "What's it like playing with a Harvard grad?"

[McD]

While I don't buy that anyone in the NFL scheduling dept is trying to "stick it" to the Bills, I can see where there is a disadvantage to playing a team that is coming off of 13 days of rest and preparation. The Bills players/coaches already have a disadvantage in playing a home game in Toronto (yes, the front office brings in the $$, but it sucks for the team and its fanbase), and as a football coach and scout I can completely agree that those extra days of rest and preparation can greatly influence the outcome of a game. However, I will say that as far as preparation goes, that's up to the coaching staff to adequately utilize that time. If they're competent, I feel there's a HUGE advantage. If they're not, then the bye most likely won't matter. The extra time after a bye is more likely helpful to players that are banged up and have the additional time to rest and heal themselves before the next game. This applies to both the physical and mental side of recuperating. I also don't think it's right to call people "whiner's" for simply asking for a schedule to be fair, but to each their own.

[eme123]

this is pure and unadulterated whining. the Bills have no reason to complain about a schedule that meets numerous franchise needs, particularly one that's back-loaded with games played away from Ralph Wilson Stadium. they spent the past two seasons complaining about how difficult it is to sellout games after Thanksgiving. now that the NFL meets that request, the Bills find another reason to complain.

this is the definition of having gall.

to get what you wanted and then complain about it.

 

poor, Bills. this does not fly.

 

jw

 

ADD: odd, too, that when it comes to scheduling, the Eastern-based teams/fans' complaints also usually fail to take into account travel and time. take for example this year's Bills' schedule: they travel outside of the Eastern Time Zone twice by my count. their longest road trip is New Orleans, if i'm not mistaken. ... but "oh, the schedule is unfair." gimme a break. the schedule is what it is, providing most each and every team its advantages and disadvantages.

 

What is with Buffalo journalists and the Bills? It seems to me that you guys as a group have no respect for Chris Brown. I enjoy reading his pieces more than all of the local sports journalists!

 

Yes, he works for the Bills. However, the Bills seem to let Brown free lance his stories with no special treatments. I highly doubt the Bills as an organization wanted Brown to write this piece. From a business perspective it makes terrible sense to come off as full of excuses before the season even starts.

 

Tim Graham was all fired up about it on Twitter and your all fired up about here. Covering the Bills the past 13 years hasn't been all that great. I get that. For once, I would love to read something locally about the Bills that doesn't make me feel like krap.

[Luxy312]

This is almost pure unadulterated whining. Let's start with some simple facts and work from there. Fact #1 - The NFL is in business to make a profit. If I'm in business to actually make money and I have to schedule teams on Sunday or Monday night, I'm picking teams right now that I expect to be contenders down the road, and that have a decent draw from a fan perspective. Do fans want to see playoff teams from last year or watch the Bills take on Cleveland? Pretty simple there. Some aspect of scheduling is about money, no doubt. Fact #2 - Every teams' schedule in terms of who they're playing at home and on the road is known before they decide who is playing and in what week. Making an NFL schedule that now accommodates more games being played that are not on Sunday than ever is extremely complicated. To make it work, some teams are going to get a little schedule advantage over others. It's not any different than evaluating strength of schedule and crying about that too. Fact #3 - The article completely ignores the late bye week advantage. Early BYE weeks are hardly an advantage when teams have barely suffered injuries of note. A week 12 BYE is a good spot. The Jets and Patriots are week 10, which is also decent, but the fish have theirs in week 6. None the less, the writer suggests an intentional "slight" that really can't be proven at all. Fact #4 - The Bills essentially gave themselves and EXTRA road game in having one in Toronto every year. That was by choice. How much does that come into play? See our record there so far for the answer.

 

The simple conclusion I come to as a fan is that we need to get over it. If this team starts winning, we're not going to care all that much. It's almost as if we're looking for excuses as fans of why this season won't provide us with any excitement or won't be fun to watch. Hey, has anyone looked at the weather forecast for December? It's not going to be good news for football, and we should probably consider canceling the season right now before it's too late. LOL.

[CodeMonkey]

Fact #3 - The article completely ignores the late bye week advantage. Early BYE weeks are hardly an advantage when teams have barely suffered injuries of note. A week 12 BYE is a good spot. The Jets and Patriots are week 10, which is also decent, but the fish have theirs in week 6. None the less, the writer suggests an intentional "slight" that really can't be proven at all. Fact #4 - The Bills essentially gave themselves and EXTRA road game in having one in Toronto every year. That was by choice. How much does that come into play? See our record there so far for the answer.

Neither of these two things help the reporters argument, so ...

[Doc]

This is almost pure unadulterated whining. Let's start with some simple facts and work from there. Fact #1 - The NFL is in business to make a profit. If I'm in business to actually make money and I have to schedule teams on Sunday or Monday night, I'm picking teams right now that I expect to be contenders down the road, and that have a decent draw from a fan perspective. Do fans want to see playoff teams from last year or watch the Bills take on Cleveland? Pretty simple there. Some aspect of scheduling is about money, no doubt. Fact #2 - Every teams' schedule in terms of who they're playing at home and on the road is known before they decide who is playing and in what week. Making an NFL schedule that now accommodates more games being played that are not on Sunday than ever is extremely complicated. To make it work, some teams are going to get a little schedule advantage over others. It's not any different than evaluating strength of schedule and crying about that too. Fact #3 - The article completely ignores the late bye week advantage. Early BYE weeks are hardly an advantage when teams have barely suffered injuries of note. A week 12 BYE is a good spot. The Jets and Patriots are week 10, which is also decent, but the fish have theirs in week 6. None the less, the writer suggests an intentional "slight" that really can't be proven at all. Fact #4 - The Bills essentially gave themselves and EXTRA road game in having one in Toronto every year. That was by choice. How much does that come into play? See our record there so far for the answer.

 

The simple conclusion I come to as a fan is that we need to get over it. If this team starts winning, we're not going to care all that much. It's almost as if we're looking for excuses as fans of why this season won't provide us with any excitement or won't be fun to watch. Hey, has anyone looked at the weather forecast for December? It's not going to be good news for football, and we should probably consider canceling the season right now before it's too late. LOL.

So by that logic, when, say, African Americans were "whining" about equal rights, they should have been told to shut up because they were the minority +/- not pulling their share of wealth generation? And since the Bills will never be able to change being a small market, they should just live with being screwed? Screw that.

[Luxy312]

Neither of these two things help the reporters argument, so ...

 

Exactly. Are you old enough to remember all the late bye's the 90's superbowl teams had? They were dinged up and got an extra week to heal and make a playoff push. How can that not be good for a Buffalo team that sends half their guys to the emergency room every season? LOL.

 

So by that logic, when, say, African Americans were "whining" about equal rights, they should have been told to shut up because they were the minority +/- not pulling their share of wealth generation? And since the Bills will never be able to change being a small market, they should just live with being screwed? Screw that.

 

Not the same thing. There is NO SUCH THING as an equal schedule in the NFL. It doesn't and will never exist. So whining about your schedule and trying to equate it to racial rights is pretty ridiculous. PS - the 90's Bills teams had multiple MNF games when they were winning football games and generally a TV friendly schedule.

[bigK14094]

the Bills complaints laid out in the article also conveniently neglect to mention the Bills play a home game in Toronto, in which they prefer to have it played against an NFC opponent.

that's all well and good, but had the NFL schedule-maker scheduled, say, New England, to play in Toronto, then the Bills would have one fewer game against a more-rested opponent, no?

 

jw

Well, multiple venues are not uncommon in football. The Packers used to do that, don't know anymore. IN college football, Alabama goes to Biringham sometimes, and stays in Tuscalossa sometimes, I think. Does anybody else in the NFL today use multiple stadiums? (Yeh, Vikes when their roof caves in )

[Delete This Account]

What is with Buffalo journalists and the Bills? It seems to me that you guys as a group have no respect for Chris Brown. I enjoy reading his pieces more than all of the local sports journalists!

 

Yes, he works for the Bills. However, the Bills seem to let Brown free lance his stories with no special treatments. I highly doubt the Bills as an organization wanted Brown to write this piece. From a business perspective it makes terrible sense to come off as full of excuses before the season even starts.

 

Tim Graham was all fired up about it on Twitter and your all fired up about here. Covering the Bills the past 13 years hasn't been all that great. I get that. For once, I would love to read something locally about the Bills that doesn't make me feel like krap.

 

what is it about posters who deal in sweeping generalities, accusing local media of not writing positive stories about the Bills? it seems to me, some of you posters as a group have no respect for objective reporting. i enjoy reading various well-written pieces that bring in perspective than i do some of the people who post here.

 

yes, you're a fan. however, you've convinced yourself in believing team-employed members of the "media" are allowed to write stories without "special treatments." i don't know if the Bills wanted anyone to write the piece complaining about the schedule, but it fails to raise several points which i've discussed in my posts.

 

i know, being a fan of the Bills for the past 13 years hasn't been all that great. i get that. for once, and actually on numerous occasions, we in the local media have written numerous positive stories on the team that shouldn't make anyone feel like "krap."

 

but when it comes to writing stories and failing to point out the many stumbles, questionable moves, embarrassing losses that have, and to quote Russ Brandon, have left the franchise with a "tarnished reputation," then i'm suggesting you stick with reading the team's website.

 

jw

[Doc]

Not the same thing. There is NO SUCH THING as an equal schedule in the NFL. It doesn't and will never exist. So whining about your schedule and trying to equate it to racial rights is pretty ridiculous. PS - the 90's Bills teams had multiple MNF games when they were winning football games and generally a TV friendly schedule.

The point is, fair is fair. If the Bills have a more favorable schedule, or more precisely, a less unfavorable one, it theoretically helps them win more games. And a more fair schedule can most certainly be attained. There are far more complicated programs in existence than one that would need to make an NFL schedule.

[McD]

the Bills complaints laid out in the article also conveniently neglect to mention the Bills play a home game in Toronto, in which they prefer to have it played against an NFC opponent.

that's all well and good, but had the NFL schedule-maker scheduled, say, New England, to play in Toronto, then the Bills would have one fewer game against a more-rested opponent, no?

 

jw

 

Your mixing big business with game outcomes. The Toronto game helps the BIlls front office and the NFL, but the city of Buffalo feels the loss of revenue, and fans the loss of a great home game atmosphere. The argument that the NFL is "appeasing" the Bills isn't as factual as you make it out to be because the NFL is making out $$ wise with this arrangement or else they wouldn't allow it. Also, scheduling fewer games in Buffalo on the back end only helps the Bills front office and NFL because chances are (and have been) that less people would attend these games, thus negating income ("front loading" home games while the Bills aren't already eliminated would generate more income than later games in inclement weather). Not having more home games on the back end hurts the players/coaches who would get more help with home field advantge/less travel/sleeping in their own beds, etc. Of course winning eliminates the need for that, but realistically the NFL doesn't lose out on it's $$ on either situation so how are they going out of their way to help us out in any fashion?

 

The game played in Toronto already hurts the Bills players/coaches. Having it played against an NFC team only reduces that hurt. There's no reason to play a Division game in Toronto, but I can see how you can throw that in there to "support" your argument. Buffalo (due to it's own front office) is already at a disadvantage by playing only 7 home games, and now it's ok to give other teams (including Div rivals) even more of a break by allowing them to rest/heal/recuperate and prepare for a game that ultimately means 2 games in the standings?

 

So explain why it's "so difficult" to create a schedule without all of these problematic scheduling issues? I'm sure there are some people getting paid some pretty decent $$ to create that thing and it could be done without the bye week discrepancies.

[Luxy312]

The point is, fair is fair. If the Bills have a more favorable schedule, or more precisely, a less unfavorable one, it theoretically helps them win more games. And a more fair schedule can most certainly be attained. There are far more complicated programs in existence than one that would need to make an NFL schedule.

 

What's the name of the program? As far as I've read, the NFL does take into account revenue, viewership expectations, advertising revenue, etc., when making these considerations. It is not simply a "how fair of a schedule can we make" question. Nor should it be. Business is business. The Bills put a **** product on the field for the last 13 years. Why shouldn't they be relegated to less attractive play times? They need to earn their way out of it.

[Delete This Account]

Well, multiple venues are not uncommon in football. The Packers used to do that, don't know anymore. IN college football, Alabama goes to Biringham sometimes, and stays in Tuscalossa sometimes, I think. Does anybody else in the NFL today use multiple stadiums? (Yeh, Vikes when their roof caves in )

 

not sure this warrants a response, but if you don't know if the Packers continue to play at multiple stadiums, and are unsure as to whether any other NFL team play in different home venues, well ... geez ... i don't know who would have an answer to these mysteries of life.

 

jw

[Doc]

What's the name of the program? As far as I've read, the NFL does take into account revenue, viewership expectations, advertising revenue, etc., when making these considerations. It is not simply a "how fair of a schedule can we make" question. Nor should it be. Business is business. The Bills put a **** product on the field for the last 13 years. Why shouldn't they be relegated to less attractive play times? They need to earn their way out of it.

Less attractive play times like fewer non-prime time games? Sure. Allowing other teams to get more time to rest and prepare for the Bills? Pure crap.

[Cash]

What is with Buffalo journalists and the Bills? It seems to me that you guys as a group have no respect for Chris Brown. I enjoy reading his pieces more than all of the local sports journalists!

 

Yes, he works for the Bills. However, the Bills seem to let Brown free lance his stories with no special treatments. I highly doubt the Bills as an organization wanted Brown to write this piece. From a business perspective it makes terrible sense to come off as full of excuses before the season even starts.

 

Tim Graham was all fired up about it on Twitter and your all fired up about here. Covering the Bills the past 13 years hasn't been all that great. I get that. For once, I would love to read something locally about the Bills that doesn't make me feel like krap.

 

Re: the bolded -- I expect that for the most part, they do let him decide on his own angles and content. But they don't need to tell him what to write or, more importantly, what not to write. He knows who pays his salary. How often do you publicly bash your boss or your company? If you answered anything other than "never", you are in a tiny minority. Whether consciously or unconsciously, Chris Brown isn't going to be distributing any content that puts the Bills in a negative light. Maybe if there was a legitimate news story that was negative -- a Bill getting arrested, e.g. -- he might cover it, but he's never going to write a general coverage article that's impartial.

 

Similar thing with the NFL Network. I've heard Rich Eisen say that he's never gotten anything from the NFL in terms of what they can and can't say, and I believe him. But I've also never seen anything but positive coverage on the NFL Network, because no one who works there is stupid enough to bite the hand that feeds them.

[Luxy312]

Less attractive play times like fewer non-prime time games? Sure. Allowing other teams to get more time to rest and prepare for the Bills? Pure crap.

 

Believe what you want. Done trying to convince you that it's not some conspiracy theory against just one team. There's plenty of reasons why and it's not going to change because fans or one writer gets their panties in a bunch over it. Speaking of conspiracy theories, are you still looking for Jimmy Hoffa too? Time to put it to rest.

[McD]

Exactly. Are you old enough to remember all the late bye's the 90's superbowl teams had? They were dinged up and got an extra week to heal and make a playoff push. How can that not be good for a Buffalo team that sends half their guys to the emergency room every season? LOL.

 

 

Not the same thing. There is NO SUCH THING as an equal schedule in the NFL. It doesn't and will never exist. So whining about your schedule and trying to equate it to racial rights is pretty ridiculous. PS - the 90's Bills teams had multiple MNF games when they were winning football games and generally a TV friendly schedule.

 

I'm not sure why you're equating a "late bye" (one game) to a schedule filled with having to play 5 teams (5 games) with an extra week to rest/heal/prepare for a game against the Bills.

 

I'd also like to know how a MNF game is beneficial to a team other than from a national spotlight/money generating standpoint? I'd rather play all of my games on Sunday and have a full week to recover, than play a Monday night game and basically have 5 days to rest for the next game on the following Sunday.

[Luxy312]

I'm not sure why you're equating a "late bye" (one game) to a schedule filled with having to play 5 teams (5 games) with an extra week to rest/heal/prepare for a game against the Bills.

 

I'd also like to know how a MNF game is beneficial to a team other than from a national spotlight/money generating standpoint? I'd rather play all of my games on Sunday and have a full week to recover, than play a Monday night game and basically have 5 days to rest for the next game on the following Sunday.

 

That wasn't the point. The point is that teams get more or less favorable schedules for a number of reasons. The goal of the NFL is NOT to make the schedules equal. It's impossible and stupid to argue about. Open to ANYONE that wants to answer, how do you equalize strength of schedule differences, which can be massive? You can't. Too many factors, just like the NFL scheduling team games.

[Delete This Account]

Your mixing big business with game outcomes. The Toronto game helps the BIlls front office and the NFL, but the city of Buffalo feels the loss of revenue, and fans the loss of a great home game atmosphere. The argument that the NFL is "appeasing" the Bills isn't as factual as you make it out to be because the NFL is making out $$ wise with this arrangement or else they wouldn't allow it. Also, scheduling fewer games in Buffalo on the back end only helps the Bills front office and NFL because chances are (and have been) that less people would attend these games, thus negating income ("front loading" home games while the Bills aren't already eliminated would generate more income than later games in inclement weather). Not having more home games on the back end hurts the players/coaches who would get more help with home field advantge/less travel/sleeping in their own beds, etc. Of course winning eliminates the need for that, but realistically the NFL doesn't lose out on it's $$ on either situation so how are they going out of their way to help us out in any fashion?

 

The game played in Toronto already hurts the Bills players/coaches. Having it played against an NFC team only reduces that hurt. There's no reason to play a Division game in Toronto, but I can see how you can throw that in there to "support" your argument. Buffalo (due to it's own front office) is already at a disadvantage by playing only 7 home games, and now it's ok to give other teams (including Div rivals) even more of a break by allowing them to rest/heal/recuperate and prepare for a game that ultimately means 2 games in the standings?

 

So explain why it's "so difficult" to create a schedule without all of these problematic scheduling issues? I'm sure there are some people getting paid some pretty decent $$ to create that thing and it could be done without the bye week discrepancies.

 

yes, because the Bills are the only team in the history of the NFL ever -- since the days of Adam and Eve and they played football with lambskin because pigs were not considered kosher -- that have ever complained about the schedule as being unfair. it happens to just one team, and that team happens to always be in Buffalo. and it happens to this one team because the NFL has a long-standing agenda to screw Bills fans and its franchise and Roger Goodell himself monitors this board on an average 15.2 hours per day getting his kicks in seeing how one poster after another expresses their conniptions over how "unfair" the league is to the Bills.

 

Goodell, in fact, has weekly gatherings in his office, during which guests wet themselves with unfiltered glee over the hand-wringing that takes place on this site.

 

but, of course, i digress.

to your point, the Bills are a business and have complained they have difficulty selling out games late in the season.

the NFL has met that desire.

now in terms of NFL parlance, money usually trumps winning, and the two don't always go hand in hand.

the fans might see that differently, but they're not the ones negotiating with Jairus Byrd.

 

... ah, forget it. if you can't appreciate how difficult it must be for a schedule-maker to put together a schedule for 32 teams, taking into account travel, Toronto games, warm vs. cold-weather teams, division play and all that ... then well ... continue on ... i won't stop you.

 

jw

 

and i got work to do.

Edited June 19, 2013 by john wawrow