So does anyone BELIEVE we will make the Playoffs?

[Royale with Cheese]

1 hour ago, Stank_Nasty said:

right.... becuz the fins are so good..... so good, in fact, that earlier in the year you said they would probably beat us with their 2nd stringers in week 17 becuz they would be sitting their starters for the playoffs!

 

After he made the statement the Dolphins were a lock for the playoffs, they lost 5 in a row.

[iinii]

8 hours ago, LittleJoeCartwright said:

Well, in another point of view, if the Ravens held on to beat the Steelers, the Pats win vs Miami on Mon, and the Pats beat the Steelers next week, the Week 16 game wouldn’t mean much for the Pats

The Patriots go out to win every week however meaningless everyone else deems particular games to be. 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

18 minutes ago, iinii said:

The Patriots go out to win every week however meaningless everyone else deems particular games to be. 

This is very true.   

 

However, if they stand alone atop the AFC they will pull Brady in the 2nd half of the week 17 game. 

[BigDingus]

18 minutes ago, MJS said:

Even if they miss the playoffs, going 8-8 or 9-7 in the first year of a major rebuild, with all new coaches, GM, and staff, plus most of the roster different, I'd say that's a huge sign of better days to come.

 

I said at the beginning of the season that if the Bills get to 8 wins it would be remarkable. I still feel that way.

 

We need a QB, though, and some other pieces.

 

This is the idea I'm struggling with. I can't decide if there's anything to be said for a moral victory in finishing 8-8 or 9-7, yet still missing the playoffs. It might feel good now that we finish with a better record than the previous year, or that we have a winning record, but come draft day I'll be pretty ticked off seeing franchise QB's go to teams other than the Bills because we won some meaningless games down the stretch (unless we can secure a deal with San Fran to move up somehow).

Again, mathematically it's possible we make the playoffs, but we've seen this show before... A lot actually. Even last year we were 7-7 and still in contention, with only the Dolphins & the Jets left. We lost to both...

 

In 2015 we were 6-6 with 4 very winnable games left and a great shot at a WC spot. We had the 5-7 Eagles (at that point), the 6-7 Redskins, the 4-10 Cowboys (without Romo), and the 10-5 Jets to beat. We went 2-2 in that stretch....

 

In 2014 we were 8-6, in control of our own destiny...only having to beat the lowly 2-12 Raiders & the Patriots in week 17 who were going to rest their starters (having once again clinched their spot at 12-3 going) going into their final game. We choked...and lost to the Raiders of course. We finished 9-7, had a stacked roster and a top 3 defense, and all credible outlets said we were 1 player away from being a long-term threat in the AFC...Problem was that player was a QB. Then our HC left, we hired Rex Ryan, and the rest is history.

All I know is that the Bills ALWAYS are "close" to making the playoffs at this point in the season, but something stupid always happens & they choke. Last year the Dolphins ended our hope in OT. Assuming we'll beat them twice is quite a lot for the Bills, so it's hard to imagine them actually doing it.

[BeginnersMind]

4 hours ago, billsredneck1 said:

not really...i just think that kid can get a passing game going and tt just can't . that is going to cost us at least one game. i also think nate is the only one who can go to the pats and maybe .....

 

Right--what I said. You don't think TT can get a serious passing game going and I agree. 

 

But Peterman hasn't shown us anything to give any hope at all, except that he's not Tyrod. 

 

Given the choice, and it's not a great one, I vote Tyrod. And the moment they are eliminated, give the ball to Peterman to see if he can stop making stupid decisions. Even yesterday he was rushing his throws when he didn't have to. There's quick release and stupid release. He needs to retain the former and lose the later.  

[LABILLBACKER]

I'm just not convinced we'll beat the fish down there. The NE game is a loss so I guess we can all enjoy 8-6 because that will be the high point of the season (If you include 5-2)...

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Just now, LABILLBACKER said:

I'm just not convinced we'll beat the fish down there. The NE game is a loss so I guess we can all enjoy 8-6 because that will be the high point of the season (If you include 5-2)...

 

I concede nothing to the Paytoilets. For all you know, Brady could go down in a sniveling heap tonight.

 

 

[billsredneck1]

well tyrod playing in ne = 1 loss.  i don't believe he can sweep the fish.=2 losses...= suck and done.

i'm sorry i would rather hedge my bets on the kid and he either gets us in...which i think this offense would benefit from.....or we draft where we would with tyrod's losses anyway.

 

i get the idea that tt may be our only choice this week and thank God it's at home but he won't win 2 weeks later in miami. we are goi ng to need a passing attack at some point and we know we won't get it from him.

[Success]

This is probably as hopeful as I’ve felt since Bledsoe at this time of year.

 

I think it comes down to the Mighty Pats.  What better way to end the drought than to beat our nemesis on their turf, on Xmas eve?

[Jay_Fixit]

I don’t ever expect anything good to happen to them Bills.

[Royale with Cheese]

2 minutes ago, Jay_Fixit said:

I don’t ever expect anything good to happen to them Bills.

 

I don't expect Clark Griswold to get his Christmas Lights to work.

[SaviorPeterman]

3 hours ago, Stank_Nasty said:

right.... becuz the fins are so good..... so good, in fact, that earlier in the year you said they would probably beat us with their 2nd stringers in week 17 becuz they would be sitting their starters for the playoffs!

 

If the Dolphins beat the Pats tonight (without dirty hit Gronkowski suspended) don't be surprised if they run the table and make the playoffs.

 

It could happen and I'm petrified of going up against Gase and the Dolphins twice in three weeks after what Hoodie and Todd Bowles did to this team. Gase is a very bright mind and McD still seems in over his head.

Edited December 11, 2017 by SaviorPeterman

[Jay_Fixit]

7 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

I don't expect Clark Griswold to get his Christmas Lights to work.

But he always does.

 

Always.

3 minutes ago, SaviorPeterman said:

 

If the Dolphins beat the Pats tonight (without dirty hit Gronkowski suspended) don't be surprised if they run the table and make the playoffs.

 

It could happen and I'm petrified of going up against Gase and the Dolphins twice in three weeks after what Hoodie and Todd Bowles did to this team. Gase is a very bright mind and McD still seems in over his head.

Didn’t you used to write for Bleacherreport back in the day? When it was terrible?

[Albwan]

I just don't see the bills sweeping miami, the teams are pretty even.

8-8. virtually no chance vs pats, pats backups would clobber the bills.

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

...need a PhD to figure it all out.......just win..........

Complex tie-breaker has Bills in playoffs, for now

By Spectrum News Staff  |  December 11, 2017 @1:51 PM

 

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Despite a worse conference record than the Baltimore Ravens and a head-to-head loss against the San Diego Charges, the Buffalo Bills are currently holding the cards in a 3-way tie for the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoffs.

 

The Ravens held the sixth seed coming into Sunday, but dropped their Sunday night game to the Pittsburgh Steelers, bringing their record to 7-6. Earlier Sunday, the Bills improved to 7-6 with a frosty 13-7 overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts. Meanwhile, the Chargers also improved to 7-6 with their 30-13 win over the Washington Redskins, the Bolts’ fourth win a row.

 

With the three teams holding identical records, the Bills get the nod through an obscure, seldom-used tie-breaker called “Strength of Victory” or SOV — the combined records of the teams a squad has defeated throughout a season.

 

The Bills boast an SOV of .407 which leads the Ravens and Chargers, .378 and .341, respectively.

 

The tie-breaker negates the Chargers head-to-head victory over the Bills because there are currently three teams tied.

 

[BigDingus]

10 minutes ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

...need a PhD to figure it all out.......just win..........

Complex tie-breaker has Bills in playoffs, for now

By Spectrum News Staff  |  December 11, 2017 @1:51 PM

 

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Despite a worse conference record than the Baltimore Ravens and a head-to-head loss against the San Diego Charges, the Buffalo Bills are currently holding the cards in a 3-way tie for the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoffs.

 

The Ravens held the sixth seed coming into Sunday, but dropped their Sunday night game to the Pittsburgh Steelers, bringing their record to 7-6. Earlier Sunday, the Bills improved to 7-6 with a frosty 13-7 overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts. Meanwhile, the Chargers also improved to 7-6 with their 30-13 win over the Washington Redskins, the Bolts’ fourth win a row.

 

With the three teams holding identical records, the Bills get the nod through an obscure, seldom-used tie-breaker called “Strength of Victory” or SOV — the combined records of the teams a squad has defeated throughout a season.

 

The Bills boast an SOV of .407 which leads the Ravens and Chargers, .378 and .341, respectively.

 

The tie-breaker negates the Chargers head-to-head victory over the Bills because there are currently three teams tied.

 

 

Ok, so ESPN was wrong then. That's good to know. Too bad we didn't play the Pats once at the beginning of the season when their defense was garbage & they were playing only average-pretty good overall. Right now, Brady smells playoffs and is hungry again. Even though he already has the record for most SB's won by a QB, getting a 6th is probably more important to him than all the others. The impact that would have on his legacy can't be understated.

Right now, you still have people trying to make arguments for other QB's as the GOAT, but to get freaking SIX wins would make all but the craziest, locked-in-denial haters have to shut up and accept him. To do that all in this in the Free Agency era just blows any counterargument out the window. Getting a win in NE against Brady & this team would be nothing short of a miracle.

[BeginnersMind]

18 minutes ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

...need a PhD to figure it all out.......just win..........

Complex tie-breaker has Bills in playoffs, for now

By Spectrum News Staff  |  December 11, 2017 @1:51 PM

 

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Despite a worse conference record than the Baltimore Ravens and a head-to-head loss against the San Diego Charges, the Buffalo Bills are currently holding the cards in a 3-way tie for the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoffs.

 

The Ravens held the sixth seed coming into Sunday, but dropped their Sunday night game to the Pittsburgh Steelers, bringing their record to 7-6. Earlier Sunday, the Bills improved to 7-6 with a frosty 13-7 overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts. Meanwhile, the Chargers also improved to 7-6 with their 30-13 win over the Washington Redskins, the Bolts’ fourth win a row.

 

With the three teams holding identical records, the Bills get the nod through an obscure, seldom-used tie-breaker called “Strength of Victory” or SOV — the combined records of the teams a squad has defeated throughout a season.

 

The Bills boast an SOV of .407 which leads the Ravens and Chargers, .378 and .341, respectively.

 

The tie-breaker negates the Chargers head-to-head victory over the Bills because there are currently three teams tied.

 

 

Pretty sure common opponents will kick in once the Ravens play the Colts, so the Bills are only in right this second. 

[Young34]

52 minutes ago, billsredneck1 said:

well tyrod playing in ne = 1 loss.  i don't believe he can sweep the fish.=2 losses...= suck and done.

i'm sorry i would rather hedge my bets on the kid and he either gets us in...which i think this offense would benefit from.....or we draft where we would with tyrod's losses anyway.

 

i get the idea that tt may be our only choice this week and thank God it's at home but he won't win 2 weeks later in miami. we are goi ng to need a passing attack at some point and we know we won't get it from him.

Which passing attack is that exactly? The one with a 49% completion rate, 2 TD, 5 INT's, 2 Fumbles, and a QBR of 12.1 on the year?

 

Tyrod is our only choice moving forward, until it's clear we are mathematically eliminated. Peterman was a mistake to put in, especially when we are neck deep in a playoff race. He clearly wasn't ready, and isn't ready. Tyrod has at least proven to be reliable, limits mistakes, and is elusive in the pocket. He's a known entity.

[SF Bills Fan]

Focus on beating the Dolphins. there are many favorable scenarios to getting in if this happens. I think that the odds of the Bills getting in if they beat the dolphns twice is something like 65% as it stands now. 

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

2 hours ago, BigDingus said:

 

This is the idea I'm struggling with. I can't decide if there's anything to be said for a moral victory in finishing 8-8 or 9-7, yet still missing the playoffs. It might feel good now that we finish with a better record than the previous year, or that we have a winning record, but come draft day I'll be pretty ticked off seeing franchise QB's go to teams other than the Bills because we won some meaningless games down the stretch (unless we can secure a deal with San Fran to move up somehow).

Again, mathematically it's possible we make the playoffs, but we've seen this show before... A lot actually. Even last year we were 7-7 and still in contention, with only the Dolphins & the Jets left. We lost to both...

 

In 2015 we were 6-6 with 4 very winnable games left and a great shot at a WC spot. We had the 5-7 Eagles (at that point), the 6-7 Redskins, the 4-10 Cowboys (without Romo), and the 10-5 Jets to beat. We went 2-2 in that stretch....

 

In 2014 we were 8-6, in control of our own destiny...only having to beat the lowly 2-12 Raiders & the Patriots in week 17 who were going to rest their starters (having once again clinched their spot at 12-3 going) going into their final game. We choked...and lost to the Raiders of course. We finished 9-7, had a stacked roster and a top 3 defense, and all credible outlets said we were 1 player away from being a long-term threat in the AFC...Problem was that player was a QB. Then our HC left, we hired Rex Ryan, and the rest is history.

All I know is that the Bills ALWAYS are "close" to making the playoffs at this point in the season, but something stupid always happens & they choke. Last year the Dolphins ended our hope in OT. Assuming we'll beat them twice is quite a lot for the Bills, so it's hard to imagine them actually doing it.

 

......but not this close at this juncture without needing a PhD in mathematics.......usually it's 38 different permutations & computations, who must lose and who must win, saying THREE Hail Marys nightly and six sets of Rosary beads followed by an extra 20 bucks in the Sunday basket to get the "Big Dawg upstairs" to pull some divine intervention.....oops.....times the square root of your first born's shoe size.....simple............

Edited December 11, 2017 by OldTimeAFLGuy