KtD Nails It: No Moral Losses

[Hapless Bills Fan]

 

KtD Voice of the Fan on Pats game:

"Bills Mafia have suffered so long from PTSD that it seems we can never be happy. Countless times since the Kelly years, Bills fans have debated moral victories – their worth or futility. Yeah, we might have lost against the Patriots, but we played well and should have won, or without that Leodis fumble, or we were robbed!

But we didn’t win, detractors would scream, to their credit. A loss is a loss! You’re only as good as your record!

 

Well, now the worm has turned. The Bills are the good team. Not consistently great but quite good if not very good. So now I am here to discuss the opposite of moral victories: Moral losses.

Get over it. You can’t look at it bad, both times and ways."

(....)

"If there are no moral victories, there must be no moral losses."

 

Right on! @Kelly the Dog

 

 

[C.Biscuit97]

So this is where fans have a disconnect.  The Bills and this regime have raised the bar.  The expectations should be higher.  Last Sunday, it was a win but it was a disappointing win.  It would have be nice to destroy a banged up and bad NE team.  But they did win and know have a chance to beat a legit good team (with a very suspect defense).  
 

That said, if we did lose a guy 38-35, I actually would feel better about it than the NE game. But I’m a weirdo. 

[Don Otreply]

The truth is, “you are who your record says you are” 

 

we don’t suck 6-2 

 

the patriots suck, there record says they suck

 

sure hope this pans out over the season 

 

😁

 

Go Bills!!!

[Logic]

This post put into words what I was thinking after the Pats game.

For years and years, Bills fans would indeed talk about the "moral victories" after losing squeakers to the Pats again and again. Meanwhile, do you think Pats fans cared much that their team "barely" beat the awful Bills? I doubt it. 

Honestly, after two decades of losing football, I think Bills fans have forgotten how to behave when the Bills win.

It's always either "we're going to the Super Bowl!" or "fire everyone!". There's no middle ground. For many, it has become a lost art to be able to say "the team has some things to clean up and improve upon, but winning is what matters most, and we won". If the win isn't stylish enough, or achieved in just the right way, these fans feel as badly after the game as if they would if the Bills had lost. It's crazy-town.

[MJS]

4 minutes ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

So this is where fans have a disconnect.  The Bills and this regime have raised the bar.  The expectations should be higher.  Last Sunday, it was a win but it was a disappointing win.  It would have be nice to destroy a banged up and bad NE team.  But they did win and know have a chance to beat a legit good team (with a very suspect defense).  
 

That said, if we did lose a guy 38-35, I actually would feel better about it than the NE game. But I’m a weirdo. 

If only there was a barf reaction...

[DaggersEOD]

12 minutes ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

So this is where fans have a disconnect.  The Bills and this regime have raised the bar.  The expectations should be higher.  Last Sunday, it was a win but it was a disappointing win.  It would have be nice to destroy a banged up and bad NE team.  But they did win and know have a chance to beat a legit good team (with a very suspect defense).  
 

That said, if we did lose a guy 38-35, I actually would feel better about it than the NE game. But I’m a weirdo. 

How about we put together an entire season of success before we start arbitrarily raising the bar. 
 

Raising the bar mid season sounds an awful lot like moving the goal posts. 
 

My 2020 goals were (are) to win the division and win AT LEAST one playoff game. How we get there is literally irrelevant IMO

[Just Joshin']

13 minutes ago, Don Otreply said:

The truth is, “you are who your record says you are” 

 

we don’t suck 6-2 

 

the patriots suck, there record says they suck

 

sure hope this pans out over the season 

 

😁

 

Go Bills!!!

I am not sure you have read all the posts.  There is a subset of posters here who think the Bills do suck.  There is always a next hill to climb for those folks.  They don't stop and enjoy a win.

 

I am not in that camp but they exist.

[Nihilarian]

I wasn't disappointed in that Bills victory over the New England Patriots 24-21 as both teams looked so similar in a hard fought division game. Buffalo FINALLY had the ball bounce their way after so many years of it going against them, game after game after game. Regardless of the rosters as these two teams hate each other and perhaps the Bills burn a bit more. 

 

What is Bill Belichick's record against Buffalo, like 35-5? ...3-15 in Foxboro, 2-20 in Buffalo.

 

Turn the page! 

[Seasons1992]

27 minutes ago, Logic said:

Honestly, after two decades of losing football, I think Bills fans have forgotten how to behave when the Bills win.

 

I don't think the behavior matters anymore.........doing this pre game, post game, April weekends, etc.

 

[K-9]

Another good piece by KtD. And he’s right, quibbling about style points is absurd. Perhaps that’s a reflection of how this team has improved because nobody would be quibbling if far worse Bills teams beat the Pats*** in the same fashion previously. 
 

One thing I can’t ever agree with is the notion that a single play has ever won or lost any game. But that’s another discussion entirely.

[Seasons1992]

This is what I'm banking on:

 

2 minutes ago, K-9 said:

One thing I can’t ever agree with is the notion that a single play has ever won or lost any game. But that’s another discussion entirely.

 

Justin Zimmer is on line 4 for you.........

[Hapless Bills Fan]

38 minutes ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

So this is where fans have a disconnect.  The Bills and this regime have raised the bar.  The expectations should be higher.  Last Sunday, it was a win but it was a disappointing win.  It would have be nice to destroy a banged up and bad NE team.  But they did win and know have a chance to beat a legit good team (with a very suspect defense).  
 

That said, if we did lose a guy 38-35, I actually would feel better about it than the NE game. But I’m a weirdo. 

 

Truth

[K-9]

2 minutes ago, Seasons1992 said:

This is what I'm banking on:

 

 

Justin Zimmer is on line 4 for you.........

I suspect Zimmer would agree with me. 

[msw2112]

3 hours ago, Nihilarian said:

I wasn't disappointed in that Bills victory over the New England Patriots 24-21 as both teams looked so similar in a hard fought division game. Buffalo FINALLY had the ball bounce their way after so many years of it going against them, game after game after game. Regardless of the rosters as these two teams hate each other and perhaps the Bills burn a bit more. 

 

What is Bill Belichick's record against Buffalo, like 35-5? ...3-15 in Foxboro, 2-20 in Buffalo.

 

Turn the page! 

 

I agree with this, but want to clarify one comment.  Yes, the ball bounced the Bills' way, in that once the fumble was on the ground, either team could have recovered it.  But, it wasn't just a lucky bounce.  Zimmer was BEHIND Newton and could have given up on the play, but instead, chased Newtown down, hustled, and made an intentional swipe at the ball, jarring it loose.  So it was more than just a bounce the Bills' way, it was a great play by a Bills player that ultimately sealed the victory, which we should all enjoy.

 

Could the Bills be playing better or winning by higher margins?  Sure.  But plenty of top teams win close games against "lesser" opponents.  Not every win by a better team is a blowout.  And not every game has the "better" team winning - see Bengals over Titans last weekend.  Enjoy the win!

Edited November 5, 2020 by msw2112

[maddenboy]

52 minutes ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

That said, if we did lose a guy game 38-35, I actually would feel better about it than the NE game. But I’m a weirdo. 

This has some resonance to it for me, too.  I think that, deep down, we know its an offensive league, and especially a passing league.  So if we are able to score 35 consistently, we will feel like we have finally arrived as a team that can contend for it all.

Edited November 5, 2020 by maddenboy

[Reader]

I think it is worth noting that we all remember Zimmer's play at the end, but I would counter with Allen-Diggs miscom is another play that stands out. Both teams had a play that should have ended differently and had Allen and Diggs not miscommunicated the Bills would have more points and the Pats less.

 

I don't know if this was mentioned anywhere, but did anyone else notice Jackson and Allen hug after the game. It's nice to see that what happened last year truly was an accient and that there is no bad blood between the two.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

5 minutes ago, maddenboy said:

This has some resonance to it for me, too.  I think that, deep down, we know its an offensive league, and especially a passing league.  So if we are able to score 35 consistently, we will feel like we have finally arrived as a team that can contend for it all.

 

I couldn't disagree more.  All that matters is the letter.  If we're giving up 38 points, it either means our D sucks worse or we're handing the ball over (like Tenn)

 

 

[Einstein's Dog]

24 minutes ago, DaggersEOD said:

How about we put together an entire season of success before we start arbitrarily raising the bar. 
 

Raising the bar mid season sounds an awful lot like moving the goal posts. 
 

My 2020 goals were (are) to win the division and win AT LEAST one playoff game. How we get there is literally irrelevant IMO

I agree you shouldn't revise expectations mid-season.  And at the end of the season the win will stand out more than the closeness of the game and not winning by a lot.

My hopes/expectations for the season were for the playoffs.  Hope to take the division.  More important to my hopes though were the progression of Josh and having a franchise  QB.

Seeing that the franchise hopes were answered so quickly I can see how some might reset their hopes/expectations.  But to me the joy of taking down NE and making them irrelevant for this season in game 8, far outweighs the lack of style points.

[Bill from NYC]

1 hour ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

  

That said, if we did lose a guy 38-35, I actually would feel better about it than the NE game. But I’m a weirdo. 

Yeah, I guess, but your recent post on quarterbacks was well done and thought provoking. 

[K-9]

2 minutes ago, Reader said:

I think it is worth noting that we all remember Zimmer's play at the end, but I would counter with Allen-Diggs miscom is another play that stands out. Both teams had a play that should have ended differently and had Allen and Diggs not miscommunicated the Bills would have more points and the Pats less.

 

I don't know if this was mentioned anywhere, but did anyone else notice Jackson and Allen hug after the game. It's nice to see that what happened last year truly was an accient and that there is no bad blood between the two.

The Gabe Davis TD drop in the endzone is another example of a play that would have changed the circumstances.

 

Per the bold text, examples of good sportsmanship never get old, so thanks for bringing that up. 

 

On another note, I must be living in some alternate reality when I read that scoring 35 points and losing is a better outcome than scoring 20 points and winning.