njbuff Posted November 18, 2020 Posted November 18, 2020 Back to the title of this thread. The Dolphins talk isn't out of hand when they are a half game out of being tied for the division lead with three cupcakes coming up on their schedule. Plus, Lady Luck is NOT with the Bills right now. The Dolphins beat the Cardinals the week prior to last because Murray couldn't hit an open receiver on a simple 3rd and 1, and consequently, the Cardinals FG K came up short on a 49 yard FG attempt...... IN-FREAKING-DOORS. And then we all know what happened Sunday. Just bad luck for the Bills. Dolphins have the momentum and the schedule in their favor for the short term. The Bills have the talent and the heart to STILL leave the Dolphins in the dust, but the arrow certainly isn't pointing up for the Bills as we speak.
Scott7975 Posted November 18, 2020 Posted November 18, 2020 On 11/17/2020 at 10:48 AM, High Football IQ said: Thankfully I was wrong teef, one of the few times my gut instinct led me astray. But for all this Dolphins hype...quietly up in Foxboro the Hoodie has his team flying under the radar in the midst of a run and will be back to .500 and right in the thick of the playoff picture this week. Oh jesus I knew this Pats crap was coming. Everyones in the race except for the Bills that currently lead the division. 1 3
mjt328 Posted November 19, 2020 Posted November 19, 2020 On 11/18/2020 at 10:09 AM, CheshireCT said: With the fins current winning streak, I won't dispute that they're a dangerous team or that they're on the rise. That said, I would be surprised if they threatened us for the AFC East. We've all seen this before, a talented rookie QB comes in and shocks the NFL, going on a hot-streak. However, experience has taught me that after a number of a games, NFL coaches will find weaknesses in his game and challenge him (usually leading to a slump until he can overcome said weaknesses). Although nothing is ever certain, I expect that we will see this soon with Tagovailoa. Even if he's a future hall-of-famer, he will hit his bumps in the road. Our young QB is a step ahead in this development process, and even if JA isn't "Tom Brady consistent," he's on his way. I expect that by the time we hit week 17, coaches will have the fins figured out a lot more and we will have the upper hand. Not to mention it's a tough road for them to overtake our now 4-0 division record. It would be a nice statement from this Bills team to close out the division 6-0 and say who's boss. I've been breaking down our remaining schedules, and the AFC East definitely has the potential to come down to our Week 17 matchup. If the Dolphins beat the Broncos (who are likely to start Brett Rypien) this Sunday, they will be tied with the Bills with a 7-3 record. They finish up the third quarter of the season against the Jets and Bengals. It's hard to imagine them losing either of those. Meanwhile, we get the Chargers and banged-up 49ers, which should both be wins for us. That leaves both Miami and Buffalo likely sitting at 9-3 heading into the home-stretch. Week 14 is rough for both teams. We get the Steelers. They get the Chiefs. They get the Patriots in Week 15. We get the Patriots in Week 16. We both have one more AFC West game. They still need to play the Raiders. We still need to play the Broncos. Of course, there is always the possibility that Miami hits a slump (they are starting a rookie QB after all) and drops a game they shouldn't. If that happens, I think we clinch the AFC East before Week 17. But based on the way the season has played out so far, I certainly wouldn't count on that happening. The good news is that we currently hold the edge in tiebreakers. We already beat Miami once head-to-head, and we are 4-0 in the division. But we also cannot afford a slip-up.
Putin Posted November 19, 2020 Posted November 19, 2020 5 minutes ago, mjt328 said: I've been breaking down our remaining schedules, and the AFC East definitely has the potential to come down to our Week 17 matchup. If the Dolphins beat the Broncos (who are likely to start Brett Rypien) this Sunday, they will be tied with the Bills with a 7-3 record. They finish up the third quarter of the season against the Jets and Bengals. It's hard to imagine them losing either of those. Meanwhile, we get the Chargers and banged-up 49ers, which should both be wins for us. That leaves both Miami and Buffalo likely sitting at 9-3 heading into the home-stretch. Week 14 is rough for both teams. We get the Steelers. They get the Chiefs. They get the Patriots in Week 15. We get the Patriots in Week 16. We both have one more AFC West game. They still need to play the Raiders. We still need to play the Broncos. Of course, there is always the possibility that Miami hits a slump (they are starting a rookie QB after all) and drops a game they shouldn't. If that happens, I think we clinch the AFC East before Week 17. But based on the way the season has played out so far, I certainly wouldn't count on that happening. The good news is that we currently hold the edge in tiebreakers. We already beat Miami once head-to-head, and we are 4-0 in the division. But we also cannot afford a slip-up. So what Is the verdict here ???
Figster Posted November 19, 2020 Posted November 19, 2020 27 minutes ago, Putin said: So what Is the verdict here ??? The Jury is still out...
Putin Posted November 19, 2020 Posted November 19, 2020 21 minutes ago, Figster said: The Jury is still out... 17 pages for this ^^^ 2
Figster Posted November 19, 2020 Posted November 19, 2020 7 minutes ago, Putin said: 17 pages for this ^^^ People are looking for guarantees. At this point there are none. Buffalo just needs to continue making strides to become a better football team. Good competition helps the process in my humble opinion. 3
CheshireCT Posted November 20, 2020 Posted November 20, 2020 17 hours ago, mjt328 said: I've been breaking down our remaining schedules, and the AFC East definitely has the potential to come down to our Week 17 matchup. If the Dolphins beat the Broncos (who are likely to start Brett Rypien) this Sunday, they will be tied with the Bills with a 7-3 record. They finish up the third quarter of the season against the Jets and Bengals. It's hard to imagine them losing either of those. Meanwhile, we get the Chargers and banged-up 49ers, which should both be wins for us. That leaves both Miami and Buffalo likely sitting at 9-3 heading into the home-stretch. Week 14 is rough for both teams. We get the Steelers. They get the Chiefs. They get the Patriots in Week 15. We get the Patriots in Week 16. We both have one more AFC West game. They still need to play the Raiders. We still need to play the Broncos. Of course, there is always the possibility that Miami hits a slump (they are starting a rookie QB after all) and drops a game they shouldn't. If that happens, I think we clinch the AFC East before Week 17. But based on the way the season has played out so far, I certainly wouldn't count on that happening. The good news is that we currently hold the edge in tiebreakers. We already beat Miami once head-to-head, and we are 4-0 in the division. But we also cannot afford a slip-up. all good points. 16 hours ago, Figster said: People are looking for guarantees. At this point there are none. Buffalo just needs to continue making strides to become a better football team. Good competition helps the process in my humble opinion. definitely, gotta play against the best to be the best.
BuffaloButt Posted November 20, 2020 Posted November 20, 2020 IMHO I can sum up all this Dolphins talk...The Dolphins are like the Bills from last year, Good Defense, Easy Schedule and QB making some good plays to help the team win. Bills/Dolphins rivalry is being reborn and this is going to be the battle for the division for the next decade. Bills will prevail and we have the better QB in JA. Go Bills!!!
Bleeding Bills Blue Posted November 20, 2020 Posted November 20, 2020 20 hours ago, mjt328 said: I've been breaking down our remaining schedules, and the AFC East definitely has the potential to come down to our Week 17 matchup. If the Dolphins beat the Broncos (who are likely to start Brett Rypien) this Sunday, they will be tied with the Bills with a 7-3 record. They finish up the third quarter of the season against the Jets and Bengals. It's hard to imagine them losing either of those. Meanwhile, we get the Chargers and banged-up 49ers, which should both be wins for us. That leaves both Miami and Buffalo likely sitting at 9-3 heading into the home-stretch. Week 14 is rough for both teams. We get the Steelers. They get the Chiefs. They get the Patriots in Week 15. We get the Patriots in Week 16. We both have one more AFC West game. They still need to play the Raiders. We still need to play the Broncos. Of course, there is always the possibility that Miami hits a slump (they are starting a rookie QB after all) and drops a game they shouldn't. If that happens, I think we clinch the AFC East before Week 17. But based on the way the season has played out so far, I certainly wouldn't count on that happening. The good news is that we currently hold the edge in tiebreakers. We already beat Miami once head-to-head, and we are 4-0 in the division. But we also cannot afford a slip-up. I know they just had a similar covid thing to what happened with norman, but being in florida - and players likely being out in miami... I'm totally waiting for them to be the team that ends up with like an outbreak.
BillsFan619 Posted November 20, 2020 Posted November 20, 2020 51 minutes ago, BuffaloButt said: IMHO I can sum up all this Dolphins talk...The Dolphins are like the Bills from last year, Good Defense, Easy Schedule and QB making some good plays to help the team win. Bills/Dolphins rivalry is being reborn and this is going to be the battle for the division for the next decade. Bills will prevail and we have the better QB in JA. Go Bills!!! I agree with your assessment except for the easy schedule part. They play the same teams that Buffalo does except for two.
Bleeding Bills Blue Posted November 20, 2020 Posted November 20, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, BillsFan619 said: I agree with your assessment except for the easy schedule part. They play the same teams that Buffalo does except for two. Bengals and jags or titans and steelers... thats a pretty big difference. Its like a 12 win swing on strength of schedule. Edited November 20, 2020 by dneveu 2 1
mjt328 Posted November 20, 2020 Posted November 20, 2020 22 hours ago, Putin said: So what Is the verdict here ??? The verdict is, the AFC East is still most definitely up for grabs. At the end of the day, I still think the Bills have a slight advantage. We already beat Miami once. We have a 4-0 record in the division, while the Dolphins are 1-2 in the division. So at the moment, we have the edge in tiebreakers. I'll also say our remaining schedule is a little bit easier (Steelers/Broncos vs. Chiefs/Raiders). I guess we'll see what happens.
Putin Posted November 20, 2020 Posted November 20, 2020 2 hours ago, ScottLaw said: Except they've beat some pretty good teams. There is nothing easy about their schedule... well they’ve played Jacksonville and are playing Cincinnati and we played the Titans and have to play Pittsburgh I’d say it’s a LITTLE EASIER 2
BillsFan619 Posted November 20, 2020 Posted November 20, 2020 1 hour ago, dneveu said: Bengals and jags or titans and steelers... thats a pretty big difference. Its like a 12 win swing on strength of schedule. I get that those two games are different when it comes to opponents. That said, in the end it’s only two games. The rest of the schedule is identical. Yes, Buffalo’s schedule is a little harder but the Dolphins schedule isn’t easy either.
Putin Posted November 20, 2020 Posted November 20, 2020 1 minute ago, BillsFan619 said: I get that those two games are different when it comes to opponents. That said, in the end it’s only two games. The rest of the schedule is identical. Yes, Buffalo’s schedule is a little harder but the Dolphins schedule isn’t easy either. Two games in a close race make a huge difference
Bleeding Bills Blue Posted November 20, 2020 Posted November 20, 2020 15 minutes ago, BillsFan619 said: I get that those two games are different when it comes to opponents. That said, in the end it’s only two games. The rest of the schedule is identical. Yes, Buffalo’s schedule is a little harder but the Dolphins schedule isn’t easy either. Figure they split and win the same (or buffalo wins 1 more even) common games. Who's more likely to come out ahead at the end? 2 games can make a big difference.
jkeerie Posted November 20, 2020 Posted November 20, 2020 3 hours ago, BillsFan619 said: I agree with your assessment except for the easy schedule part. They play the same teams that Buffalo does except for two. They did catch Arizona at the right time. Most of Arizona's starting backfield was out when they played them and were back when we played them last week. Also we went into that game missing a few starters. Miami is playing well...no argument. They've also been relatively healthy while the Bills have been very beat up. I'd also much prefer playing the Bengals and Jags versus the Titans and Steelers. Bottom line, though, the Bills just need to take care of business in the games they play. That's the only thing they can control. 2
Bleeding Bills Blue Posted November 20, 2020 Posted November 20, 2020 34 minutes ago, BillsFan619 said: I get that those two games are different when it comes to opponents. That said, in the end it’s only two games. The rest of the schedule is identical. Yes, Buffalo’s schedule is a little harder but the Dolphins schedule isn’t easy either. Figure it this way assuming teams split Both beat jets twice (would be amazing for buffalo if gase were to pull a rabbit here and beat them... i honestly wouldn't be that surprised - they've playedbetter as the seasons gone along) Both go 3-1 in the NFC so now both teams are 5-2. if they both split NE - thats 6-3 -- (This is a game buffalo can't afford to drop. If NE beats miami and loses to buffalo that'd be the ideal scenario for separating the teams in the division) Both lose to KC - 6-4. Say Miami goes 2-2 in the AFC west (loses to KC and LV) and buffalo goes 3-1. Miami would be 8-6 with games against Jax/Cincy and buffalo 9-5 with games against Pitt and Tenn. Essentially - performing better against common opponents might still not be enough - as Miami's 2 non-common games are that much easier.
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