So tired of reading the same nonsense about how the Bills "found a way to win". They didn't...they won the game handily.

[wjag]

2 minutes ago, Muppy said:

 But ultimately it was the defense and the stands they took to stop the Charger offense and keep them from scoring which resulted in the Win and of course the Bills points

 

 

 

 

I agree with you.  I do wonder though if the Chargers weren't 3-7 at the time would they have gone for it on 4th and 1?  Those three points they left on the field made a big difference in the final outcome.  Especially considering the last minute of play.

[muppy]

4 minutes ago, Jrb1979 said:

I honestly think the reason is like that has to with the fact there is sets of fans on this board. On one side you have the fans that have been Bills fans since the AFL days. On the other side you have the fans that just recently started following the team. 

 

The older fan base has seen it all and just want to win. They don't care what it looks like. 

 

The newer fan base sees teams around the league blow out teams and can't understand why the Bills seem to not so it often. 

 

I will say the one thing I will happy to never hear again is how its hard to win in this league. 

Im curious why does that expression rankle you? I guess you wouldn't like the statement "On any given Sunday" either haha. I actually think they are bot truth statements somewhat general platitudes but whatever *shrugs*

 

I thought the age factor you mentioned was interesting. Im of the "older than dirt" Bills fan category lol and I do fit your "dont care how just get the W" just get it done and keep it moving mentality. You dpont hear Super Bowl champions lament "oh but we won an ugly game 4 this past season" heck no never. Because in the end it is only the W stats that really matter.

[Big Turk]

5 minutes ago, wjag said:

 

I agree with you.  I do wonder though if the Chargers weren't 3-7 at the time would they have gone for it on 4th and 1?  Those three points they left on the field made a big difference in the final outcome.  Especially considering the last minute of play.

 

Based on their kicker, that was no gimme from there...dude has struggled much of the year

[Dan]

11 minutes ago, Jrb1979 said:

I honestly think the reason is like that has to with the fact there is sets of fans on this board. On one side you have the fans that have been Bills fans since the AFL days. On the other side you have the fans that just recently started following the team. 

 

The older fan base has seen it all and just want to win. They don't care what it looks like. 

 

The newer fan base sees teams around the league blow out teams and can't understand why the Bills seem to not so it often. 

 

I will say the one thing I will happy to never hear again is how its hard to win in this league. 

I think “newer” fans have all grown up I no the fantasy football era.  And as such, they look at point totals, stats, and such as an indicator of being good.   300 yd passer..is good.  150yd passer is bad.  Doesn’t matter that the team wins or loses.  
 

So yeah they won, but where’s all the amazing stats to show they dominated?  Because you can’t just win you have to dominate and every other hyperbole you can think of. 
 

 

I think the league has some doing in all the come backs and so many of the close games.  I don’t want to get too conspiratorial, but it seems we always get rash of ..really.. bad calls to tighten the game up and make it a lot closer on the score board than it really was.  Yesterday was no exception.  It’s almost as if the Refs decided they needed to get it to a one score game and made sure the Bills didn’t run away with it. 
 

The notion that you have to beat the Refs and the other team is as true now as it has ever been. 
 

8-3 is feeling pretty sweet!  

[Shaw66]

20 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

This gets thrown around way too much on this board. "Finding a way to win".

 

This denotes the team overall played poorly, was outplayed by the other team, was losing for much of the game, but made a key play or got some luck somehow at the end and pulled it out.

 

That wasn't what happened yesterday. Not even close. 

 

1) The Bills never trailed and led for 57 minutes of the game.

2) Up 24-6, the 18 point deficit was the largest the Chargers have faced all year.

3) The Bills snapped the longest streak in the NFL of 12 consecutive 1 score games the Chargers have played.

 

Now...if you want to say they didn't play their best, then yes I would agree. But they sure didn't play poorly. They made Herbert look very average to below average much of the game. They took away Allen and Williams from the passing game most of the day. They ran the ball exceptionally well. They stopped the run very well except for 1 long run. Special teams played well.

 

They had a series of 7 plays that they probably want back that resulted in 3 turnovers. It happens. The Bills are not especially turnover prone usually.

 

Can they play better? Yeah.

Do the Bills "let other teams back into games" more than most good teams? No not really. Look around the NFL...teams that are up big ens up holding on for dear life at the end of games more often than not.

Is it realistic to think they will play their best every game? No. No team in the NFL does. If you think they do, you simply don't watch much football other than the Bills games apparently.

 

Does this mean they "found a way to win"? No. They kind of dominated the game and cruised to victory even though they hit a few potholes on the way. The game was never really in doubt at any point.

 

Some people really need to get some perspective with their over the top dramatics.

I think you misstate the proposition a bit, but you're generally correct about this.  I for one haven't said they "found a way to win," I just said it was kind of ugly.  

 

I think you're correct, however, by encouraging we fans to look at the game for a minute and ignore the stretch from about 4 minutes left in the third quarter to until about 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter.  That's about 9 minutes of clock time, or about 15% of the game.  During that time, the Bills had a four-and-out and three turnovers - that was ugly.  But if we ignore that for minute and look at the rest of the game, you're absolutely right - the Bills were solidly in control, outplaying the Chargers.  Maybe not explosive or dominant, but the Bills won those 51 minutes, easily. 

 

Even in the nine-minute stretch, which featured not only the turnovers but several of the penalties, the defense (1) stopped the Chargers with a nice stand in Bills' territory (when the Chargers should have kicked a field goal), (2) held the Chargers to a field goal after the Bills lost a fumble, (3) forced a three-and-out after a second Bills fumble, and (4) intercepted after a Bills interception.  Visually, that stretch of the game definitely was ugly offensively, but the defense held onto control of the game.   It was what McDermott calls "complementary football."  When one of your units is struggling, you need another unit to pick them up.  In that stretch, the defense said to the offense, "we got your back," in the same way Allen and the offense have sometimes covered weak stretches the defense has had this season.  

 

I'm really glad you pointed this out.   The Bills were better yesterday than I thought.  

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

12 minutes ago, nucci said:

why does this matter? 

 

Because the OP's screen name is matter2003!!

[Rochesterfan]

9 minutes ago, wjag said:

 

I agree with you.  I do wonder though if the Chargers weren't 3-7 at the time would they have gone for it on 4th and 1?  Those three points they left on the field made a big difference in the final outcome.  Especially considering the last minute of play.

 

I don’t think so - their kicker has struggled and I don’t think they felt comfortable with any of their kicks today.

[muppy]

as a side note I happen to live in san diego and even though they have a rat baastid owner who moved the team up the I-5 to that beautiful but empty of charger fans crib (dont get me started on how much I dislike the Chargers ownership)  anyway the sports radio here is as you might expected...folks are NOT happy with Lynn and Ive got to say Im enjoying their bitterness LOL

[Shaw66]

7 minutes ago, wjag said:

I do wonder though if the Chargers weren't 3-7 at the time would they have gone for it on 4th and 1?  Those three points they left on the field made a big difference in the final outcome.  Especially considering the last minute of play.

That was just plain stupid, and I don't see that their record had anything to do with it.  There was a ton of time left in the game, and the Bills weren't throwing points up on the board in big chunks.  A field goal makes it a one-score game.   At multiple times during the rest of the game I thought, "I'm glad they didn't kick the field goal."

 

My rule is this:  Take the points the game is giving you, unless there's an actual reason you need to risk giving up those points.  The game was giving Lynn three points, and he essentially said to the game "I don't need your points."   Then the game proceeded to slap him in the face, saying "here's what you get for not taking what I was giving you." 

[Patrick Duffy]

 

I didn't care too much for the TO's that happened in I think a 3 minute span, but I'm sure that will get worked out. Other than that and a couple missed tackles (which happen sometimes), I thought the Bills had control of the game for a large majority of the time.

[Jrb1979]

1 minute ago, Dan said:

I think “newer” fans have all grown up I no the fantasy football era.  And as such, they look at point totals, stats, and such as an indicator of being good.   300 yd passer..is good.  150yd passer is bad.  Doesn’t matter that the team wins or loses.  
 

So yeah they won, but where’s all the amazing stats to show they dominated?  Because you can’t just win you have to dominate and every other hyperbole you can think of. 
 

 

I think the league has some doing in all the come backs and so many of the close games.  I don’t want to get too conspiratorial, but it seems we always get rash of ..really.. bad calls to tighten the game up and make it a lot closer on the score board than it really was.  Yesterday was no exception.  It’s almost as if the Refs decided they needed to get it to a one score game and made sure the Bills didn’t run away with it. 
 

The notion that you have to beat the Refs and the other team is as true now as it has ever been. 
 

8-3 is feeling pretty sweet!  

Too add on to your point about the refs keeping the games right, it happens in all leagues. The NHL is notorious for it. I believe it comes for the league offices as they love parity and games being close. I hate it. I hate artificial parity that sports have become. Either by refs told to be game managers or as in the case of the NHL, giving teams points for losing in OT to keep the standing close. I'm sorry but all leagues are much better when they have dominant teams. I personally want to see greatness and hate seeing teams run out the clock to end the game. I wish more teams were like the Pat teams of old where they never too their foot of the gas. 

[Shaw66]

3 minutes ago, Rochesterfan said:

 

I don’t think so - their kicker has struggled and I don’t think they felt comfortable with any of their kicks today.

Oh, that's interesting.  I didn't know that, but he did miss the PAT early in the game.  But still, it was a 43-yard kick.  McDermott's approach is to expect your players to do the job they've been asked to do.   What is the kicker on the team for if you aren't going to use him to kick field goals?   

 

Even if Lynn has doubts about his kicker, he also has to be thinking (because he's watched the film from this season and earlier) that the Bills are particularly tough on goal-line stand type running plays.  The Bills have stopped a lot of them.  Lynn should have been asking himself "What's easier, getting a yard against this defense or kicking the field goal?"  Given the Bills defense, I'd say that even with a struggling kicker, the field goal looks good me.   After all, getting the first down doesn't mean you're going to get the touchdown.  It wasn't fourth and goal from the one.   

[teef]

Just now, Jrb1979 said:

Too add on to your point about the refs keeping the games right, it happens in all leagues. The NHL is notorious for it. I believe it comes for the league offices as they love parity and games being close. I hate it. I hate artificial parity that sports have become. Either by refs told to be game managers or as in the case of the NHL, giving teams points for losing in OT to keep the standing close. I'm sorry but all leagues are much better when they have dominant teams. I personally want to see greatness and hate seeing teams run out the clock to end the game. I wish more teams were like the Pat teams of old where they never too their foot of the gas. 

you mean like some of the best teams in nfl history?  don't we all...

 

so, if we don't blow everyone out, certain posters won't be happy.  do you know @Billsfan1972?

[Big Turk]

11 minutes ago, Muppy said:

as a side note I happen to live in san diego and even though they have a rat baastid owner who moved the team up the I-5 to that beautiful but empty of charger fans crib (dont get me started on how much I dislike the Chargers ownership)  anyway the sports radio here is as you might expected...folks are NOT happy with Lynn and Ive got to say Im enjoying their bitterness LOL

 

Imagine what we would be saying if he was the coach here leading us to 1 more win than the Jets have since the beginning of last year.

[Jrb1979]

1 minute ago, teef said:

you mean like some of the best teams in nfl history?  don't we all...

 

so, if we don't blow everyone out, certain posters won't be happy.  do you know @Billsfan1972?

I was talking the league as a whole not just the Bills. I was responding to the previous poster talking about the refs being game managers to keep games close. 

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

When did the Chargers go away from the powder blue jerseys or do they still wear that color for home games (not that they really have a home anymore) Most people always thought they were one of the sharpest looking uniforms,these new ones looked pretty ugly.

[Shaw66]

10 minutes ago, Muppy said:

as a side note I happen to live in san diego and even though they have a rat baastid owner who moved the team up the I-5 to that beautiful but empty of charger fans crib (dont get me started on how much I dislike the Chargers ownership)  anyway the sports radio here is as you might expected...folks are NOT happy with Lynn and Ive got to say Im enjoying their bitterness LOL

Muppy -

 

I've kind of been rooting for Lynn, because of *****-storm he went through in Buffalo when the Bills asked him to step in for Rex at the end of the season.  I've wanted him to have some success.  

 

As I said in my write, I think the Chargers are one of the better 3-7 teams you'll see in the NFL.  Now that he has a QB, I kind of hope Lynn survives.  

 

Still, I have a general dislike for owners who abandon their fan-base, so I don't mind having piled onto the Chargers' crappola of a season. 

[Big Turk]

6 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Oh, that's interesting.  I didn't know that, but he did miss the PAT early in the game.  But still, it was a 43-yard kick.  McDermott's approach is to expect your players to do the job they've been asked to do.   What is the kicker on the team for if you aren't going to use him to kick field goals?   

 

Even if Lynn has doubts about his kicker, he also has to be thinking (because he's watched the film from this season and earlier) that the Bills are particularly tough on goal-line stand type running plays.  The Bills have stopped a lot of them.  Lynn should have been asking himself "What's easier, getting a yard against this defense or kicking the field goal?"  Given the Bills defense, I'd say that even with a struggling kicker, the field goal looks good me.   After all, getting the first down doesn't mean you're going to get the touchdown.  It wasn't fourth and goal from the one.   

 

Umm...did you not watch last year as the Bills led the NFL in punts from the opponents side of the field because Hauschka couldn't get enough distance on even 50 yard field goals? It is why Bass pretty much would have had to be brutal in training camp to not win the job...you can't go into games with one leg tied behind your back and put yourself at a huge disadvantage right off the bat before the ball is even kicked off.

Edited November 30, 2020 by matter2003

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

59 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

This gets thrown around way too much on this board. "Finding a way to win".

 

This denotes the team overall played poorly, was outplayed by the other team, was losing for much of the game, but made a key play or got some luck somehow at the end and pulled it out.

 

That wasn't what happened yesterday. Not even close. 

 

1) The Bills never trailed and led for 57 minutes of the game.

2) Up 24-6, the 18 point deficit was the largest the Chargers have faced all year.

3) The Bills snapped the longest streak in the NFL of 12 consecutive 1 score games the Chargers have played.

 

Now...if you want to say they didn't play their best, then yes I would agree. But they sure didn't play poorly. They made Herbert look very average to below average much of the game. They took away Allen and Williams from the passing game most of the day. They ran the ball exceptionally well. They stopped the run very well except for 1 long run. Special teams played well.

 

They had a series of 7 plays that they probably want back that resulted in 3 turnovers. It happens. The Bills are not especially turnover prone usually.

 

Can they play better? Yeah.

Do the Bills "let other teams back into games" more than most good teams? No not really. Look around the NFL...teams that are up big ens up holding on for dear life at the end of games more often than not.

Is it realistic to think they will play their best every game? No. No team in the NFL does. If you think they do, you simply don't watch much football other than the Bills games apparently.

 

Does this mean they "found a way to win"? No. They kind of dominated the game and cruised to victory even though they hit a few potholes on the way. The game was never really in doubt at any point.

 

Some people really need to get some perspective with their over the top dramatics.

 

The big thing that bothered me was that people claim they "blew the lead".  How?  They were winning the entire game, then they won.  LA made it a 1 score game, buffalo turned around and made it a 2 score game, and that was the final.  They even got hosed by the refs multiple times while making it a 2 score game.

[muppy]

1 minute ago, Shaw66 said:

Muppy -

 

I've kind of been rooting for Lynn, because of *****-storm he went through in Buffalo when the Bills asked him to step in for Rex at the end of the season.  I've wanted him to have some success.  

 

As I said in my write, I think the Chargers are one of the better 3-7 teams you'll see in the NFL.  Now that he has a QB, I kind of hope Lynn survives.  

 

Still, I have a general dislike for owners who abandon their fan-base, so I don't mind having piled onto the Chargers' crappola of a season. 

Thanks Shaw I hear you regarding Lynn I am not rooting against Him perse but moreso his team and that organization in general. Ive lived here for over 30 years and I empathize in as much as it could have happened for we fans but for the Pegulas.Im GRATEFUL it wasnt my team #understatement