HailMary Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Like most Bills fans, I was pretty pumped after the first 6 games of the season looking back at a 5-1 start. The AFC East title looked almost in reach and I was already looking forward to the first Bills playoff game in years. How quickly things changed and when I look back now I realize this team was never really that good after the 5 and 1 start when you look at their opponents. After the firsrt 6 games, the combined winning percentage at the end of the season the teams the Bills played was .343. The only loss came from Arizona, a team that finished above .500 and the only win against a playoff bound team was against San Diego who came out of the gatets slow but finished 8-8. When you take a look at the complete season and the combined winning percentage of the 7 teams the Bills beat was only .354. The 9 losses came against good teams that combined for a winning percentage of .531. So what does this mean. Good teams in this league have the ability to beat other good teams on any given Sunday. Unfortunately in 2008, the Bills didn't get the job done on most Sundays, in fact any. The truth of the matter is this team failed to execute week in and week out at a level of a playoff contender, they lacked any identity and most important had little inspiration or motivation from an inept sideline staff lead by Dick Jauron. If this team is going to make any progress next year, it should start with a leadership change on the sidelines who has the ability to get the most out the 47 players we get up each Sunday to watch 16 weeks a year. Let's all hope we get to see a game or two in early January 2010. And by the way, of the 7 teams the Bills beat this year, 2 of the coaches have been fired, 1 is stepping away from football and 1 is in the hot seat right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHOUTBOX MONSTER! Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 And by the way, of the 7 teams the Bills beat this year, 2 of the coaches have been fired, 1 is stepping away from football and 1 is in the hot seat right now. And there's still 3 of our losses (2-NYJ and 1-CLE) to teams that fired their coaches! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostsOfTheRockpile Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 I disagree. While your facts are obviously right, it simply doesn't matter what the record of the Bills' opponents is/was. You don't have to consistently beat playoff bound teams to make the playoffs. You just have to beat your schedule, and the Bills had an easy one. The Broncos almost made the playoffs, the Chargers and Cardinals are weak teams and DID make the playoffs... there's no reason the Bills couldn't have made a playoff push being a similarly mediocre squad. Beat the Browns. Beat the 49ers. Close out both games against the Jets and the first Miami game. SHOW UP in Toronto. A playoff push should not have been out of the question, which brings us to your overall theme (leadership change) which I agree with (coupled with significant roster improvements and quality quarterbacking). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Yo tannins...welcome to the board. Please send wine to mead, you do have an appropriate nickname. He prefers reds, nothing sweet. Yeah...the start hid problems that surfaced once we played mediocre & good teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdnlng Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Like most Bills fans, I was pretty pumped after the first 6 games of the season looking back at a 5-1 start. The AFC East title looked almost in reach and I was already looking forward to the first Bills playoff game in years. How quickly things changed and when I look back now I realize this team was never really that good after the 5 and 1 start when you look at their opponents. After the firsrt 6 games, the combined winning percentage at the end of the season the teams the Bills played was .343. The only loss came from Arizona, a team that finished above .500 and the only win against a playoff bound team was against San Diego who came out of the gatets slow but finished 8-8. When you take a look at the complete season and the combined winning percentage of the 7 teams the Bills beat was only .354. The 11 losses came against good teams that combined for a winning percentage of .531. So what does this mean. Good teams in this league have the ability to beat other good teams on any given Sunday. Unfortunately in 2008, the Bills didn't get the job done on most Sundays, in fact any. The truth of the matter is this team failed to execute week in and week out at a level of a playoff contender, they lacked any identity and most important had little inspiration or motivation from an inept sideline staff lead by Dick Jauron. If this team is going to make any progress next year, it should start with a leadership change on the sidelines who has the ability to get the most out the 47 players we get up each Sunday to watch 16 weeks a year. Let's all hope we get to see a game or two in early January 2010. And by the way, of the 7 teams the Bills beat this year, 2 of the coaches have been fired, 1 is stepping away from football and 1 is in the hot seat right now. Did I miss some games? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Yo tannins...welcome to the board. Please send wine to mead, you do have an appropriate nickname. He prefers reds, nothing sweet. No wine for mead 'til I get more stromboli. Yeah...the start hid problems that surfaced once we played mediocre & good teams. Yeah, but it sure made the road trip fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofton80 Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Ghost of Rockpile nailed it. Losing to SF and Cleveland at home? The Jet nightmare. Team should have had 10 wins at least. This season was an opportunity lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extrahammer Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 The problem is even though we played sub-par teams starting off, we were carrying some momentum for the first time in a long time. It's up to the coaches to keep players focused and keep the momentum going. Confidence can do a lot for a team. It can also do a lot of bad if you're not coaching your players. BTW, were there ANY rb screen passes after week 6? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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