Raiders Game did not matter

[RuntheDamnBall]

You can only control what you do -- not what anyone else does -- and they came out and laid an egg with the playoffs still within reach.

 

It doesn't absolve them of anything.

[DrDawkinstein]

Exactly. In hindsight, none of the individual games mattered. If you fail to make the playoffs, your season is a failure and irrelevant. It will be hard to watch about next years' draft when about 45 of the nation's best players are selected before Buffalo gets a pick.

 

Our biggest draftable needs are OG and TE. The 2nd and 3rd rounds should be fine to find some of those.

[ganesh]

I meant relative to making the playoffs it did not matter. Sure all games are important, and I believe they spanked the Packers and 1st team Pats and Broncos offense for 8-9 quarters altogether. Marrone had them ready to go. Did not see much of the Raiders game so cant say much on that game. In the past, the Bills would have run for the bus from a meaningless game 16 at the Pats. I don't see that.

 

The game they had to have was the Chiefs game. That was the turning point, the Bryce Brown absolutely unforgivable fumble turned the season. There's a reason he played little thereafter. He holds onto that ball, we win and are 6-3, a competitive conference record, with momentum going into Miami. No other way to look at the season, IMO. The season pivoted on that game. The McKelvin fumble later, also unforgivable given the late game situation where ball security was critical, was equally devastating. That's not coaching, that's players screwing up big time and having zero situational awareness.

 

This season is not on the coaches. Players played crappy and stupid in critical situations and that wiped out a great second half defensive and special teams performance.

 

You are correct that the players screwed up at critical times. But I can't give a pass to the Offensive side of coaching. The OL was horrible. We had the worst rushing season in the team history. Our RBs each had something like 2TDs each, while CJ Anderson has multiple games with 3TDs each. There was very little imaginative play calling. The QB position definitely did not help, but at least was stable unlike last year. The coaching staff on the O-side has definitely regressed.

[The Dean]

It mattered. They all matter. The Bills wouldn't have made the playoffs had they beaten the Raiders, but it still mattered.

 

Just like today's game mattered to the Pats*. Think it didn't? Why start Brady? Why play him for the entire 1st half against one of the NFL's best defensive lines? For the experience? For fun?

 

Winning is a culture. Accepting losing, whether or not anything is on the line other than the game, is unacceptable. Do you think Belicheat was happy at halftime today? Was he handing out high-fives and chatting up the boys. (OK I admit there is probably never a time Belicheat does that.) Why did NE challenge Jackson's fumble in the 4th quarter when he clearly was down? I'll tell you why, because they wanted to win.

 

BTW, I heard two different recaps on the radio today. One stated Brady played "for about a quarter". The other suggested NE rested many of their starters. Sure, they may have decided to make a few questionable players inactive, but those who were active played. But let's not pretend this was treated as a preseason game by the Pats*. That is rubbish.

[Freddie's Dead]

The Raiders game was huge. It taught us that Maroon cannot get the team ready for the big game. When your team shows no intensity in any phase of the game, that's on the coach. Unfortunately, he won enough games to ensure his continued employment.

[RealityCheck]

The Raiders game was huge. It taught us that Maroon cannot get the team ready for the big game. When your team shows no intensity in any phase of the game, that's on the coach. Unfortunately, he won enough games to ensure his continued employment.

Which additional games would you have preferred the Bills lose if it would mean Marrone's dismissal?