NFL Scheduler Really Hated the Bills this Year

[Lost]

7 hours ago, transplantbillsfan said:

One could also argue we got a bit of a break with a mini bye before Cincinnati and a full bye before Kansas City 

 

We played like dog poo after our bye last year

[SoCal Deek]

There two sides to this coin. While you can say we’re hurt by playing the better teams on the road, you could also say we benefit by piling up wins against lesser teams at home. So…I don’t buy the victimhood narrative. 

[Dr. K]

They just need to win the games. They easily could have beaten the Jags, the Jets, the Pats. Despite whatever injuries or drawbacks they've had, they ought to be 7-1 or 6-2 at the worst right now. 

[babulator]

Scheduling is now done by AI. I'm sure the league makes some adjustments or vetoes different outcomes, but my understanding is that AI Models all of the scheduling now.

[Matt_In_NH]

1 hour ago, Lost said:

 

We played like dog poo after our bye last year

If KC was coming off their bye to play the Bills there would be multiple threads on that one topic.

[nuiwek]

15 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

They hate the Bills. That's why they are on like half the national games.

If were not in at least 77.34% of national games, are we really liked?

[Drew21PA]

No excuses go WIN

[Never NEVER Give-up]

Bills have only themselves to blame for poor showings against the Jets and Patriots.  Even if you forgive them for London, they should still be at 1 loss, not 3!

[MikePJ76]

15 hours ago, Matt_In_NH said:

Does the NFL make all teams play a home game overseas over time?  NE is 'home" Sunday in Germany vs the Chiefs but I dont think the Cowboys have played a home team overseas....any other teams?

 

The schedule is predetermined in terms of who you play and where based on rotations and records from last year.  It turned out the schedule for the AFC East was difficult because of the nature of how they rotate divisions, it happens.  I dont agree the "scheduler" screwed the Bills in any way.  And there is no scheduler, it uses human input and a computer to optimize it for revenues but it is a highly complex undertaking where many factors are considered.  Teams can provide inputs they want, for instance play Miami earlier in the season in Buffalo but there are not guarantees.  They have to randomize home and away games...cant have a team with 6 stright home games for instance, they have to plan around blackouts at stadiums, shared stadiums and a myriad of other issues.   People love to B word is the bottom line, there is no way you can make people happy.   I have seen people complain they want Miami in Buffalo late in the season.  

what is wrong with the late bye?

Jerry once declared Dallas will never play a home game in london.  He said a bunch of stuff basically he was saying do u know who i am?

 

they have played over their once I believe vs jax in 2014.   Pretty sure they have never lost a home game to europe.  Not sure ny or philly have either.

[Ya Digg?]

18 minutes ago, MikePJ76 said:

Jerry once declared Dallas will never play a home game in london.  He said a bunch of stuff basically he was saying do u know who i am?

 

they have played over their once I believe vs jax in 2014.   Pretty sure they have never lost a home game to europe.  Not sure ny or philly have either.

I believe every team has to play at least 1 home game in Europe every 8 years or something like that. Jerry is powerful, but the other owners aren’t going to let him not have to give up a home game while everyone else does 

[BillsFan692]

15 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

That isn't as fix it is the way if works. I can tell ypu 14 of the Bills 17 games in 2028 right here right now and while I can't tell you exact opponents in the other 3 I can tell you home or road games. 

 

Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't in terms of catching the two divisions you play in good or bad years.

The "3 you cant tell" could be Philly, KC, Bengals lol 

Edited November 4, 2023 by BillsFan692

[Chandler#81]

On the other hand, the Bills -and Josh Allen I particular- are considered must watch tv. Nationally and globally! They’re incredibly entertaining. 
Face it, these are the Best of times. Deal with it. It will likely be another terrible drought when Josh retires.

[Don Otreply]

I’m tellin ya, its the smoking man, the guy has it in for us, I’ve seen the video evidence…,

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, BillsFan692 said:

The "3 you cant tell" could be Philly, KC, Bengals lol 

 

If you are a good team your 3 non-common games are tougher. Life in the NFL.

[bigK14094]

There has always been an anti Buffalo fan bias in the NFL...look back 30 years and see how mnay home games the locals got in Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec.  On average, it is biased to home games in cold weather.  Level would be 2 home in each, but it doesn't happen that way in my experience. 

[Big Blitz]

Should have beat the Jets and NE and we’d be 7-1 and not care.  

[BigDingus]

I actually think the schedule turned out a bit better than it originally appeared before the season. 

 

The Bills had the 7th toughest strength of schedule going into the season (Dolphins had #2), but that's based off the previous year's results. While some teams are outpacing their last year's results, others are worse than expected.

 

9-7 Giants (currently 2-6)

8-9 Patriots x 2 (currently 2-6)

10-7 Chargers (currently 3-4)

 

You also have teams that are better than last year (like the Dolphins & even the Jets), so it mostly balances out. But yes, playing the Bengals, Chiefs & Eagles on the road sucks! 

 

Unfortunately, the Bills have the 3rd most difficult strength of schedule remaining (based on current win% of opponents), so this will show us how legit this team truly is.

[4merper4mer]

Watch these clowns give us the shaft again next year.  They’ll probably make us travel to Seattle or somewhere far away like that.

[Thurman#1]

A late bye is helpful. Means you're fresher going into the playoffs. That's a plus, I think. I was happy when I saw that.

[Utah John]

There are a couple of issues at play.  Which teams the Bills play in a given year is predetermined, as far as the ranking of each team in their own division the previous year.  There's no favoritism going on.  Same thing for which team is at home and which is away for a given game.  The NFL's goal was to eliminate the perception of unfairness.

 

But, there's nothing in those procedures that says when teams will play each other.  There have been years when the Bills started the season mostly against top-ranked opponents, making it hard to avoid a losing record at the halfway point.  In other years the Bills play a softer schedule early with the hard games later -- like this year, except the Bills screwed the pooch by losing games they should have won easily.  

1 hour ago, BigDingus said:

I actually think the schedule turned out a bit better than it originally appeared before the season. 

 

The Bills had the 7th toughest strength of schedule going into the season (Dolphins had #2), but that's based off the previous year's results. While some teams are outpacing their last year's results, others are worse than expected.

 

9-7 Giants (currently 2-6)

8-9 Patriots x 2 (currently 2-6)

10-7 Chargers (currently 3-4)

 

You also have teams that are better than last year (like the Dolphins & even the Jets), so it mostly balances out. But yes, playing the Bengals, Chiefs & Eagles on the road sucks! 

 

Unfortunately, the Bills have the 3rd most difficult strength of schedule remaining (based on current win% of opponents), so this will show us how legit this team truly is.

Agreed.  If the Bills are truly SB contenders, they should do OK against the best teams in the league. Maybe not win them all, but win their share.