Week 17 Bills @ Ravens

Tomorrow marks the season finale for the Bills. This is a meaningless game for Buffalo but a huge game for Baltimore. Baltimore is 12-3 and among the elite teams in the NFL. Not only do they need to win to secure a first round bye, but a win and a Charger loss (as unlikely as it seems), will secure the Ravens home field advantage. In my opinion, this is a huge game for the Bills. Buffalo has a young team that is on the rise. If the Bills can go on the road and defeat a playoff team in a playoff like atmosphere when they have nothing to gain, it will do wonders for Buffalo in the off season. If the Bills can get themselves up for this game after a devastating loss last week it will be a testament to the character of the team and coaches.

Tidbits

• McGahee needs 33 yards to get to 1,000 on the year. It isn't anything special in today's league for a runner to get to 1,000 yards. All the talk around here this week was about Willis and the contract extension talks that were brought up by his agent Drew Rosenhaus. People are saying that McGahee doesn't deserve much money, that he hasn't done anything to warrant an extension, etc. People have said the Travis Henry is better and we should never have gotten rid of him and other similar nonsense. When McGahee and Henry were on the same team every single person agreed that Willis was easily the better running back. Willis is on the verge of 3 straight 1,000 yard seasons and no Bills runner has done this since Thurman Thomas. This season's yardage and TD total is not anything spectacular but he missed 2 games entirely and a 3rd game all but 1 drive. Those 3 opponents were the Packers, Colts, and Texans. All three of these defenses are bad and had he played against the Colts with the game plan Jauron drew up, Willis could have ran for 150 at least. Assuming Willis gets 300 yards in those 3 games, which isn't unlikely at all, he would be at 1267 right now. That would put him at 7th in the league and people would have a much different perspective on this guy. Also, if Willis gets 3 tds in these games that would put him at 9, tied for 10th. I am just sick of this anti-Willis talk and I think it is unwarranted. He is easily the best back on our team and better than anyone we would be able to pick up. Don't forget, Buffalo has faced 7 of the leagues 8 best defensive units this season. Give me another runner that has had to go up against that stiff of competition. Only 5 guys have had 1,000 yard seasons in 04, 05 and 06. They are Rudi, Edg, LT, Tiki, and Warrick Dunn. That is some company. Those guys also have played for much better football teams.
  
• Ogden is probably not going to play. That is big for Schobel and the Bills pass rush.
• JP Losman needs 186 yards to surpass 3,000 for the season. I doubt anyone would have predicted Losman to pass for 3,000 yards, way more TD's than INT's (18 and 12) and top 10 in quarterback rating. He has improved as much as any player in the league has this season and deserves more recognition for it.
• Lee Evans is 5 catches away from 80 and is 6th in the NFL with 1147 yards. The best Bills reciever of all time, Andre Reed, only caught for more yards twice in his 16 year NFL career. Evans, only in his 3rd season, is becoming one of the great receivers in this league. Reed also caught over 75 balls only 3 times and Evans is already there in year 3.

In the end on Sunday, the same nagging problem will hold true for the Bills. They won't be able to stop Jamal Lewis. Baltimore needs this one bad and I don't have enough faith in Dick Jauron to get his boys ready for this meaningless game after the immense let down last week. The Ravens will win this one 17-10 but the game won't seem as close as the score indicates.

Expert Pick Results From Week 16

1. Joe 7-9
2. Mike 7-9
3. J Rod 7-9
4. Janis 4-12
5. T Wreck 0-16
6. AJ 0-16

Standings

1. Joe 74-38
2. Mike 73-39
3. Janis 65-47
4. J Rod 65-47
5. T Wreck 47-66
6. AJ 42-70

Titans 30 Bills 29

It's over. I am at a lost for words to describe the feeling of this game. The coaching in the fourth quarter was bad. On third and one, who comes out in the shotgun with an empty backfield. Isn't the point of a pass on 3rd and 1 to surprise the other team. There is no element of surprise when you line up with an empty backfield. Show some confidence in your running back to get 1 yard. These are plays that win games. If Buffalo could drive down and score on this drive then they could ice the game. There was no killer instinct. A TD on that drive ices it and they didn't even try.

Robert Royal needs to be cut. I say this with the utmost sincerity. This guys stupid plays cost the Buffalo Bills the season. It can be argued that his block on the back cost the Bills the opener. Today, Robert Royal took a block in the back at the 5 yard line. It was a pointless play for him to make and instead of 2nd and goal inside the 5 it was 1st and goal from the 17. On the very next play, Lee Evans hit Robert Royal in the end zone on a beautifully designed trick play. Royal caught the ball about 2 yards inside the back of the end zone and in complete laziness took a HUGE step with his left foot and it landed out of bounds. This was the single worst play I have ever seen in my life.

The Bills coaches and players cannot make important split second decision. I do not fault Jauron for going for it at the end of the game. They were out of Lindell's range. The major point is that the Bills were not aware of this fact and looked absolutely confused about what they wanted to do on that 4th down play. On the preceding 3rd and 5, Losman easily could have run for at least 3 yards. Instead he throws it out of bounds stopping the clock and gaining no yardage. He needs to know the situation and run it getting more yards towards a possible field goal and using up some time. Similarly, at the end of the first half, Losman called a timeout with 1:10 left. This was absolutely stupid. All this did was give Vince Young enough time to drive down and score a touchdown. Losman saves that timeout and uses another 30 seconds of clock, the Titans may have been in kneel down mode when they got the ball.

The Bills defense was bad. Henry ripped them for over 5 per carry. Vince Young had over 60 on the ground. Not only that, but Young was having success through the air. Nobody on the Bills defense played well today except maybe Clements and he will be gone next year. The Bills front 7 was terrible and needs some serious work. When was the last time you saw a 36 yard qb scramble on 4th down when there is 10 seconds left in the first half. I don't think anything like that has ever happened before.

Jeff Fisher just straight up out coached Dick Jauron. There is no way you can convince me that the Titans were the more talented team. Were they more prepared? Yes. Did they make fewer stupid decisions? Yes. Were they better with clock management? Yes. The Titans did what they have been doing, letting their opponents lose the football game. The Bills made a decent run but what does that get you? They lost a home game that they should have won. The Bills should have won sounds like a broken record but it is true. That doesn't get you anything however and Tennessee is the team that is right in the middle of the playoff hunt come week 17 and Jeff Fisher deserves coach of the year consideration. It would be a joke if Mangini got it. As far as I am concerned, Jeff Fisher is the best coach in the NFL.

Week 16 Titans @ Bills

Who would have thought that this Christmas Eve game would have playoff implications for both teams. With the Bills leading all the 7-7 teams and having tie breakers over 2 of the 4 8-6 teams as of right now, a win and a little help could put Buffalo in the drivers seat. That's right, a Bills win coupled with a Jacksonville loss to the Patriots, a Bengal loss to Denver and a Jet loss in Miami allows Buffalo to control their own destiny. Is that too much to ask? New England still needs to clinch the division, Cincinnati needs to go into Mile High and the Jets just aren't good.

What should we think about the 7-7 Tennessee Titans? They have rolled off 5 straight versus some pretty good teams. They have beaten Jacksonville, Indianapolis, New York Giants, Philadelphia, and Houston. The first 4 teams named are all current playoff teams. It has been an unbelievable run. Vince Young is straight up winning football games. BUT let's face it people. The Tennessee Titans have been the luckiest team in football over this stretch. They go into Philadelphia and are fortunate enough that Donovan McNabb gets hurt which crushed the entire team and city. The Giants completely blew a 21-0 lead in one of the biggest self destructions since the Titan franchise blew a 32 point lead in 93. Tennessee didn't come back and win this game, the Giants and Eli Manning gave it to them. The beat Indy by playing a great defensive game and they got a 60 yard field goal to win it. Last week versus Jacksonville they had 5 first downs the entire game, 98 yards of offense, and they had the ball for less than 20 minutes. Yet David Garrard forgot what team he was on twice in throwing 2 balls right to Titan defenders and then he carelessly fumbled the ball inside the 10 leading to another touchdown. How lucky can you be to get 3 return TD's on defense of over 60 yards in one game.

Everyone needs to calm down a little bit about Vince Young. I keep hearing this talk about how Vince Young is a "winner." I guess he had control over Eli Manning's self destruction and David Garrard's turnover barrage. I am sure Vince had a part in tearing McNabb's ACL and Rob Bironas' 60 yarder. Give me a break NFL media. Vince Young has a 65.9 QB rating. Take it for what it is worth, but the only man he is better than is Andrew Walter. His completion percentage is 51.8%, again only better than Andrew Walter. He has also thrown more TD's than picks. Even worse, this guy is a pro bowl alternate. You have got to be kidding me. a pro bowl alternate? That is the biggest disgrace in the history of the NFL and I have lost nearly all respect for the NFL with that one. Everyone around the league is talking up Vince Young but take a look at his opposing quarterback. JP Losman is quietly putting together a very good year. He is completing over 63% of his passes and is the 9th highest rated quarterback in the NFL at 88.5. He has 17 tds and 10 picks and is closing in on 3000 yards. Where is all the credit due to him, why isn't he a pro bowl alternate? Maybe it has something to do with Losman not getting as lucky as Young. I mean, Bironas hit a 60 yarder vs the Colts, Lindell missed a 40 yarder, inside a dome from the dead center of the field. Too bad LT didn't tear his ACL when we played the chargers or too bad the Bears didn't completely blow their 20-0 halftime lead. Maybe we would be talking about the 11-3 Bills and homefield advantage...who knows?

Alright, keys to victory

1. The Titans defense is terrible. They are dead last in yards allowed at 366.6 ypg. They are 29th in the league against the run and 26th against the pass. Buffalo's improving offense should have no major problems especially on the ground with Willis McGahee who I am sure is pumped to face his former teammate. If Buffalo does not turn the football over in this game they should win.
2. Keep Vince Young in the pocket. If Buffalo can keep this guy between the tackles and make him throw the football the Titans offense has no chance to succeed. Young needs to depend on his legs because he cannot pass the ball effectively. Tennessee's offense isn't much better than their defense. They are ranked 27th overall and are 30th against the pass. However, the Titans do run the ball well, averaging 133 per game. Without a passing threat or a real threat at wide receiver, the Bills can stack the line to stop Henry and keep a guy spying Young at all times.

Stop the run and no turnovers and the Bills will win this football game. Last time I checked, it is supposed to be 40 and sunny. This is balmy weather for this time of year and it will still be the coldest game Young possibly has ever played in. The 60,000 strong that show up Sunday will be rowdy since they will be the true Bills fans, not the joke fair weather fans who don't even know what is going on with this football team right now. Vince Young gets rudely welcomed to the NFL in this one as the Titans are brought back down to earth big time. Buffalo wins it 27-6 and moves to 8-7. Go Dolphins.

Week 16 Expert Picks

Joe

green bay
kansas city
cleveland
buffalo
atlanta
st louis
pittsburgh
new orleans
new england
indianapolis
chicago
san francisco
san diego
denver
dallas
miami

Mike

Green Bay
Kansas City
Chicago
Buffalo
Atlanta
Indianapolis
Cleveland
Pittsburgh
New England
New Orleans
St. Louis
San Francisco
San Diego
Denver
Dallas
Miami

Janis

green bay
kansas city
Pittsburgh
atlanta
chicago
Indianapolis
jacksonville
N.Y. Giants
Cleveland
buffalo
washington
San Francisco
denver
Seattle
Philadelphia
miami

J Rod

Packers over Vikings
Chiefs over Raiders
Falcons over Panthers
Bills over Titans
Bucs over Browns
Browns over Lions
Redskins over Rams
Saints over Giants
Steelers over Ravens
Patriots over Jaguars
Colts over Texans
Niners over Cardinals
Broncos over Bengals
Chargers over Seahawks
Eagles over Cowboys
Dolphins over Jets

Up to the minute playoff scenarios

Broncos, Bengals, Jags, Jets are 8-6
Bills, Steelers, Titans, Chiefs are 7-7

Bills hold tie breaker over all 7-7 teams

How Bills can be eliminated this weekend
Bills loss OR Bills win coupled with a Jets, Cinci win and a Chief loss

How Bills can make playoffs with a win and a Jets win
If the Jets win, the Bills will need Cinci to beat Denver, Jacksonville to lose 1 of 2, KC to win out and Denver to win or lose to San Fran in week 17. Buffalo also would need the Jets to beat Oakland in week 17 and the Steelers to beat the Bengals. This would leave Buffalo, Cinci, Denver, KC at 9-7. Denver would be eliminated by the Chiefs based on divisional record and then Buffalo would get in over Cinci and KC based on strength of victory and conference record.

How Bills can control their own destiny
If the Bills win and Jacksonville, Cinci, Jets all lose, then the Bills would take over the 6 seed in the conference. hey have a better conference record than the Jets, head to head over Jacksonville, and a better strength of victory over the Bengals. Bills would only need to beat the Ravens to get in.

Other scenarios
If the Bills win and Jets lose and Jags lose to Patriots along with Cinci beating the Broncos. Buffalo would be in with a win over Baltimore and a Cinci loss in week 17 to the Steelers. I would say this is the most likely scenario.

If the Bills win and Jets lose, and Jags beat the Patriots, and Cinci loses to Denver, then Buffalo would be in with a win over Baltimore and a Jacksonville loss to Kansas City.

If the Bills lose and Jets lose, and Jags beat the Pats and Cinci beats Denver, then Buffalo would need a Pittsburgh win over the Bengals and a Chief win over the Jags.

I think this is accurate, however if you read this and find some errors, leave a comment and let me know, but their are numerous possibilities for the Bills. Of course, most of this is contingent on the Jets losing to Miami. THERE ARE OVER 17,000 seats left for Sunday's game. If you consider yourself a Bills fan, BUY TICKETS AND BE AT THE STADIUM. This is the biggest football game in Buffalo since 04-05 and the 2nd biggest since the turn of the century. BILLS BABY

Week 15 Expert Picks Standings

Joe 12-4
Mike 11-5
Janis 11-5
J Rod 10-6
T Wreck 6-10
AJ 0-16

Through Week 15

Joe 67-29
Mike 66-30
Janis 61-35
J Rod 58-38
T Wreck 47-49
AJ 42-54

Bills 21 Dolphins 0

Wow. Ralph Wilson Stadium in December was like Ralph Wilson Stadium in December today. We saw it all, from Bills fans burning and blowing up a huge fish to a 2 car full out brawl after the game. The atmosphere was how it should be in a game of this magnitude. Ladies and gentlemen, the Buffalo Bills are alive for post-season play in week 16. Who would have thunk it? Well, if you read my blog from November 17, 2006-the last paragraph, I know one person who would have thunk it. December 24th, Christmas Eve, Titans Bills, both teams with playoff aspirations. This is as close to a playoff game as there has been here since 1996 when Jim Kelly played his final game. Both teams need to win or they are eliminated. Does it get any bigger?

Reactions

• The 12th man brought it. They were alive big time today. On Miami's last drive when half the stadium had left, the crowd was still loud on Miami's last play. The Bills defense fed off that and preserved the shutout. What can you see about the defense? Joey Harrington, 7-17 20 yards 2 picks, a QB rating of 0.0. The Bills defense was dominant. Nate Clements was dominant. Chambers had 0 catches for 0 yards and Clements had a great interception. This felt like the Bills defense of 2004 when they shut teams down at home down the stretch.
• JP Losman is turning into not just an adequate NFL quarterback, but a good NFL quarterback and he has shown signs that he can be a great NFL quarterback. Today he was 13-19 for 200 yards and 3 tds. This is a QB rating over 140.2 and over the last 5 games he has a QB rating of over 101. He made smart decisions today and made the big plays than enabled us to win.
• Josh Reed is a beast. Apparently we all need to take back all of our negative comments about Marv Levy because he gave this guy a 10 million dollar contract. Reed can play. When he catches the football, he is as good of a slot guy as I have seen on this team in a while. His touchdown today was a thing of beauty. He plowed through 3 Dolphin defenders on his way to the endzone.
• McGahee ran hard today. He didn't average many yards per carry, but Miami has a tough D. He had 28 carries despite being injured early on top of his other injuries he had coming into the game. I am happy with Willis' play since he came back from his rib injury.
• Lee Evans is a top 5 reciever in the NFL. I really mean that. He is fast, has great hands, and runs good routs. What more can you ask for? Him and JP are developing a knack for the big play and it is exciting to watch.
• Parrish had the most exciting -20 yard punt return I ever saw. He made up for it with a 25 yard return on the next punt. We just need to get him the ball more on offense.
• Dick Jauron, Jauron, Jauron...Dick Jauron, Jauron, Jauron is growing on me. He has turned this team around and the Bills are playing as a team. They aren't a divided mess like they were last year and that is a credit to the head coach. I would just like him to have a bigger sack at the end of the first half. Running out the clock there was a pussy move and I am sure he knows it.
• BILLS BABY, MEANINGFUL GAME WEEK 16 AT HOME VERSE A TEAM THAT NEEDS TO WIN. BILLS TITANS BUY TICKETS THERE ARE SOME LEFT IF YOU AREN'T AT THE RALPH SUNDAY I HAVE NO RESPECT FOR YOU. THIS PLACE WILL BE CRAZY ON CHRISTMAS EVE. VINCE YOUNG IS ABOUT TO BE WELCOMED TO THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE.

Step 5 in my November 17th 7 step plan is complete. 2 more steps to go and the Bills have a shot.

One thing I need to lash out about. I FUCKING HATE THE NATIONAL NFL MEDIA. The NBC halftime show was a fucking joke. They showed highlights of all the teams in the playoff hunt EXCEPT the bills. They didn't even mention the word Buffalo or Bills in discussing the playoffs. They did however talk about the Titans and Steelers...both teams we are ahead of in the standings and have no shot of making the playoffs if we win out. They even put the Steelers ahead of us in the standings when we have a better conference record. Fuck that shit. That is bullshit.

OK, here is the long awaited playoff scenario (With help from Kippy Lexner). First of all, Buffalo owns the tiebreakers over all the 7-7 teams, so for right now I will ignore the Titans, Steelers, and Chiefs.

Step 1.

• Cincinnati loses to Indianapolis.
• This Cinci, Denver, Jets at 8-6.
• Buffalo is 7-7 and owns tiebreakers over the rest of the 7-7 teams.
  

Step 2.

• Bills beat Titans.
• New England beats Jacksonville.
• Cincinnati beats Denver.
• DOLPHINS BEAT JETS: This game is essential, the Bills essentially have no chance of making the playoffs if the Jets win. New York would have the interdivision tiebreaker over Buffalo with a 4-2 division record. The chances of the Jets and Bills making the playoffs is probably 0 and if there is a chance it is way too complicated for me to think about.
• This puts Buffalo, Jets, Jacksonville, Denver at 8-7. Cincinnati would be 9-6. Buffalo would own tiebreakers over the Jets (conference record) and Jags (head to head win), Denver would own the tiebreaker over Buffalo(conference record).
  

Step 3

• Bills over Ravens.
• San Francisco over Denver.
• Pittsburgh over Cincinnati.
• Assume Jets beat Oakland
• Assume Jacksonville beats KC
  
• This puts Buffalo, Cincinnati, Jets (possibly KC if they win their last 2 (including vs. Jacksonville and possibly Pittsburgh also) all at 9-7. Buffalo, based on a better strength of victory percentage would have a tiebreaker over the Bengals. Buffalo would own tiebreakers over the Chiefs and Jets based on a better conference record and over Jacksonville based on a head to head victory.
• This would put the Bills at the 5 seed believe it or not, and most likely would be traveling to Foxboro or staying in Baltimore for a week 17 rematch.

Playoff scenario Number 2

• I need to cut this one down a little just because I am confusing myself.
• Assume the Bills finish the season at 9-7, tied with Denver, KC, Jacksonville and the Jets (assuming the Jets lose to Miami of course). Assume the Bengals finish 10-6 and are the 5 seed.
• Buffalo would pass the Jets based on a better conference record.
• The Chiefs would beat the Broncos based on a better division record. Buffalo and KC would win the inter divisional tiebreakers.
• This would leave the Bills to not have to contend with the Broncos even if they finished 9-7 and had a better conference record because they did not win their inter divisional tiebreaker. This would leave Buffalo, Jacksonville and KC contending with the final playoff spot.
• KC and Buffalo own head to head wins over Jacksonville and Buffalo has a better conference record than KC which puts the Bills in as a 6 seed.

There are more scenarios, but here are 2 that are all contingent on the Jets losing to Miami. So we all need to be Dolphin fans for the next 8 days.

BILLS BABY

Week 15 Dolphins @ Bills

After the Bills began the season 2-5, I wrote them off. I would have never imagined that they would have a meaningful football game in week 15 at home versus their biggest rivals. I can't remember the last time Buffalo and Miami squared off this late in the season when neither team was eliminated from playoff contention. This leads my to another point, BILLS NATION WHERE ARE YOU. 3 straight non sell outs. Bills vs. Dolphins game a non sell out. You have got to be kidding me. Your team is improving the way it should be and a lot of you assholes are wasting your money buying tickets to go watch hockey games when their are 82 games in the season and one individual game doesn't matter. To all you assholes who are substituting Sabres tickets for Bills tickets I have no respect for you and you should never be allowed to make your way back to the Ralph. It's funny, these assholes don't go to Bills games right now but go to sabres games, but in a few years when the Bills are good and the Sabres suck they will be going to Bills games and not sabres games. It is a joke.

Another interesting take from Suzie K this week. She said to start Artose Pinner in fantasy football because they are playing the Jets defense. Artose Pinner is a backup running back for the Vikes in case you were wondering. So let me get this straight. Last week, Suze said that people should start the Jets D against Buffalo knowing full well that the Bills are an improving team and that McGahee runs all over the Jets every time he plays them. So this week, he says to start a much inferior running back against the same defense, especially when Pinner plyas for a worse team and a worse offense than Buffalo's. This just doesn't make any sense and further proves why women should not be allowed to announce/analyze/talk about sports in general.

As for the game, 6 of 8 dudes on espn.com thus far have picked Miami to win. That isn't surprising though. This season out of 117 possible Bills game picks, the espn clowns picked the Bills a grand total of 24 times. That is worse than the 28 times the Cardinals were picked. The Bills are 6-7 and playing at home vs. Miami in December and still noone thinks the Bills will win. I love it.

KEYS

1. Miami's defenese is good, we all know that. We can't turn the ball over versus them because their offense is not very potent so the only way they will be able to burn the Bills is by getting the ball with a short field.
2. Losman to Evans needs to be clicking. If Buffalo can spread out the defense a little, it will make it easier for McGahee, who needs to have a big game in this one.
3. Make Joey Harrington beat you. Is anyone else not really scared of Joey Harrington/ex Bills special teamer Sammie Morris? I sure as hell am not (knock on wood). I have seen the Bills get run on by Wally Lundy so they still need to be careful.
4. Get Roscoe the ball. He is dangerous.

That is all I got as far as the Phins go. I think the Bills will win this football game. I think they are the better team even though Miami has won 5 of 6. They also haven't played the Colts and Chargers. (Yes I know they beat the Bears, but the Bears suck and so does Grossman).

Playoffs???? That's right, the Bills are still breating. If the Bills win they still have a shot- Cinci plays at Indy, Jacksonville plays at Tenn., Denver plays at Zona, Jets @ Vikings, Chiefs at Chargers. All of these teams could potentially lose, especially with how the Broncos are playing and how bad Jacksonville can be on the road.

What it boils down it is Bills need to win out, Jets need to lose to Miami, and Broncos need to finish 8-8. If all this happens, Buffalo can snag the 6 spot.

Prediction: Bills 23 Dolphins 10, McGahee 125 plus on the ground.

Bills get to 7-7 and keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

EH EH EH EH
Go Bills.

Week 15 Expert Picks

It is down to a 4 man race. Two competitors opted out for the remainder or the season because of anger towards me because of the way I run the league or because they have no shot of winning. Well regardless, here are the picks for week 15. It is getting tight and down to the wire. Interesting note, the leaders who are currently tied only have 1 game differing on the schedule this week, Vikings vs Jets.

Joe

seattle
dallas
baltimore
buffalo
pittsburgh
chicago
green bay
jets
new england
new orleans
jacksonville
denver
giants
st louis
san diego
indianapolis

Mike

Seattle
Dallas
Baltimore
Green Bay
New England
Jacksonville
Buffalo
Minnesota
Pittsburgh
Chicago
New Orleans
Denver
NY Giants
St Louis
San Diego
Indianapolis

Janis

Seattle
Atlanta
Baltimore
Green Bay
New England
Tennessee
Buffalo
Minnesota
Pittsburgh
Chicago
New Orleans
Denver
NY Giants
St. Louis
San Diego
Indianapolis

J Rod

Seahawks over Niners
Cowboys over Falcons
Bills over Dolphins
Bears over Bucs
Packers over Lions
Jags over Titans
Vikings over Jets
Pats over Texans
Saints over Skins
Steelers over Panthers
Ravens over Browns
Cards over Broncos
Rams over Raidas
Eagles over Giants
Chargers over Chiefs
Bengals over Colts

Week 14 Power Rankings

1. San Diego Chargers- Tomlinson is on pace for 34 touchdowns. He has 29 so far for 174 points. This is more points than the Bucs and Raiders have on the season.
2. Chicago Bears- I am not sold on Rex. He had a decent game against a terrible defense. Also, the Bears defense got moved on at will at times vs the Rams. Devin Hester is the most impressive part of their team.
3. Baltimore Ravens- This team is quietly 10-3. Their defense is playing typical Raven defense. They have allowed the fewest points in the league so far.
4. New Orleans Saints- Drew Brees is the MVP of the league hands down in my opinion. Without him, the Saints would no nowhere. Bush is turning into the scary player everyone thought he would be.
5. New England Patriots- Good news, they don't have to play Miami in the playoffs most likely. They just don't play that bad against any other team.
6. Dallas Cowboys- Everything snowballed against them vs. the Saints. Games like that happen and people forget that Romo has only started 6 games in his life.
7. Jacksonville Jaguars- When this team shows up they can beat anyone. Jones Drew is a beast and could be a rookie of the year candidate. The rushing clinic they put on against the Colts was incredible.
8. Indianapolis Colts- 375 yards rushing allowed? This team will have to wait till next year again. They have lost 3 of 4 and it won't get easier this Monday night.
9. Cincinnati Bengals- They have won 4 in a row and are on fire. People are comparing them to the 05 Steelers and the similarities are definitely there.
10. Seattle Seahawks- They are 8-5 by default. Their divison is bad. They have a negative point differential and they have only 4 rushing td's all season. I knew Hutchinson was good, but I didn't know he was that good.
11. Atlanta Falcons- Talent wise, they are the best NFC wild card contender except maybe the Giants. Winning 2 straight has got them back on track, however without Dunn or Norwood, their offense may need to depend more on Vicks arm.
12. New York Giants- They have been struggling lately but their conference record and tie breakers over Philly, Atlanta and Carolina make them the wild card favorites.
13. Kansas City Chiefs- Trent Green hasn't done much since he has come back. This team is struggling and their schedule doesn't help. They still need to play the Jags and Chargers.
14. Philadelphia Eagles- They are right in the middle of the wild card race in the NFC. Jeff Garcia is playing with 8 tds and 0 ints thus far this year.
15. Buffalo Bills- They have won 4 of 6 and lost to the Colts and Chargers by a combined 4 points. They are quietly in the wild card race in the AFC and with 2 home games back to back against Miami and Tennessee, they could be right in the thick of things come week 17.
16. Miami Dolphins- They have won 5 of 6 and their defense just manhandled Brady, even though they arguable cheated. Jason Taylor is the best DE in the league this season. Their defense ranks 2nd in the NFL only to the Ravens.
17. Denver Broncos- Cutler is struggling as expected. The problem is, their defense isn't playing nearly as well as they were in the beginning of the season. This team is playing itself out of the wild card race.
18. New York Jets- This team is lucky to be 18th. They haven't beaten anyone good besides New England and that was a fluke. The Bills showed the NFL that the Jets are not a legit playoff contender.
19. Tennessee Titans- Vince Young is electrifying. The Titans have won 3 straight late exciting games and they could only imagine what their record would be if Young has played the whole season.
20. Pittsburgh Steelers- Pittsburgh has won 2 in a row and if they win out, you never know. The only negative is they still have to play the Ravens and Bengals.
21. Minnesota Vikings- Their run defense is among the best. Kevin and Pat Williams are beasts. Their offense needs to show up for them to stay in the race. Brad Johnson needs to hang em up.
22. Carolina Panthers- This team is so talented, why have they struggled so much this year? Maybe it has something to do with the 5 fourth quarter leads they have blown.
23. Green Bay Packers- at 5-8 in the NFC, you aren't out of it. That is pathetic.
24. St Louis Rams- their offense is good, but their defense can't stop anyone or anything. Their special teams is a debacle. 2 returning tds in one game is bad.
25. San Francisco 49ers- They teased everyone when they were 5-5 but when it comes down to it, they just aren't good. Frank Gore is a beast though.
26. Houston Texans- They continue to just lose games in the last few minutes. They need to get david Carr a supporting cast. Way to pass up on Reggie Bush.
27. Cleveland Browns- I will give them the benefit of the doubt that they are better than the NFC's 4-9 teams. Troy Smithe possible starter in 07?
28. Ariznona Cardinals- Leinart is progressing and this team has won 3 of 4 including a huge win over the Seahawks.
29. Washington Redskins- Learning curve with Jason Campbell. Gibbs needs to stop punting in the 4th quarter when his team is losing or maybe just retire.
30. Tampa Bay Bucs- Bruce Gradkowski is not the answer. They are in the Brady Quinn sweepstakes.
31. Oakland Raiders- Joke of a franchise. Get a QB and some wideouts that care and a new coach. Art Shell was a good coach 20 years ago.
32. Detroit Lions- Matt Millen=peace

Week 14 "Expert Pick" Results

Mike

• 11-5

Janis

• 10-6

J Rod

• 10-6

Joe

• 9-7

AJ

• 7-9

T Wreck

• 7-9

STANDINGS THROUGH WEEK 14

1. JOE 55-25
2. Mike 55-25
3. Janis 50-30
4. J Rod 48-32
5. AJ 42-38
6. T Wreck 41-39

BILLS BABY
DA BILLS
EH EH EH EH

BILLS 31 J E T S 13

Are you kidding me with this game? The Jets a playoff contender? Wowwwwww. All the commentators/media type can say all they want that the Jets just played a bad game. Well guess what...The Jets were manhandled by a better football team who is playing better football right now than a lot of people are giving them credit for. The Bills are 4-2 since the bye week. They have wins of Jacksonville and the Jets. Their two losses are by a combined 4 points to 2 teams whose combined record is 21-5. Give this team some respect. Everyone is s'ing Mangina's D about being coach of the year, well Mangina was just rolled up my Dicky J and I love it. Hey Suze Kulber...you proved why women are lost when it comes to sports, nice call picking the Jets D against B'lo. The allowed the most of John Paul's career and another benj plus to willis. Nice life. The streak is now at 6 this season where every Bills win is accredited to their opponents playing bad. I can't remember the last time the media actually gave Buffalo some credit with being the reason why they won.

REACTIONS

• Willis is just nasty when he wants to be. Vilma is just owned. McGahee talked shit all week then came out and just racked up 125 on 16 carries. Thats over 7 a pop if you do the math. Willis was puking and has a bad ankle and needs to wear a flap jacket also. Who questions this guys desire. Hes playing through injuries and he came back from the devastating knee injury.
• Losman is figuring it out. He might be a top 10 rated QB after this ball game. 66% completion percentage, 2 tds no picks=over 100 rating I think.
• Evans has over 1000 yards for the first time in his career. For some reason I think this may be 1 of many many more.
• Three headed monster. I am scared just thinking about putting myself in Bill Beliwreck's position for the next 5 years thinking about these 3 guys just rolling up his joke squad who just got rolled up by the Phins. Same to you Mangina, you suck too. Wow, I never thought the Miami Dolphins would move to 3rd on my hate list in the division. I actually hate the Jets and Pats more.
• Voters, London wants to go to the pro bowl, he said it on TV...Hook him up, same with number 94. Allegedly he leads the league in sacks. We need to see the official statistics for that one but even so he forced a huge fumble that put the game away.
• Evans is fast and that move he put on the J E T S corner was nasty.
• Paul Peck said that the Bills were feeding McGahee rice crispy treats on the sideline. This guy comes in runs for 75 and a td, pukes, drinks some water has some ham and cheese and some rice crispy treats and then comes back in the 2nd half and gets like 10 per carry. what a beast.
• Robert Royal needs to give it up with the high stepping and td dances. He isn't good. He wishes he was Butch Rolle (in like 92 this dude caught td passes in like 8 straight games but i think he only had 8 catches on the season)
• Why doesn't anyone give JP Losman any credit for his improvements this season. This guy has been improving big time over the past few weeks. Everyone is all over Vince Young and how much he is improving, can JP get some pub...he is managing football games well and not turning it over. Yeah he had a shaky game vs the Chargas but who hasn't...he almost led us to a come back win.
• What a job by Perry Fewell and the Bills D today. No Whitner, no Crowell, no McGee, no Spikes for 1/2 the game. Jim Leonhard (didn't make the roster before the season) started at strong safety. Keith Ellison made some plays. Kyle Williams looks like a marshmellow out there and looks like he shouldn't be in the league but even played a pretty solid game. Ashton Youboty was on the field.
• It took Clements 25 games to realize he was in a contract season, but over the past 4 or so weeks this guy is solidifying himself as the best free agent corner in the NFL. Only problem is Ralph probably won't open his pocket book, although the Bills will need/want to keep this guy. Franchise him again or something.

BILLS V DOLHPHINS

DECEMBER 17, 2006

MEANINGFUL GAME

RALPH WILSON STADIUM

does it get any bigger? Lets see, when was the last time the Bills played Miami in December in a somewhat meaningful game? No idea. Bills win coupled with a Cinci Loss at Indy and the BILLS ARE ONE GAME OUT. WHO KNOWS? you gotta Billieve. ESPN-no more fantasy insight from Susie K.

BILLS IN 07

AND 06

Week 14 "Expert Picks"

Joe

pittsburgh
detroit
cincinatti
giants
philly
atlanta
kansas city
new england
indi
tennessee
san fran
seattle
san diego
buffalo
dallas
chicago

Mike

pittsburgh
atlanta
philly
ny giants
indy
new england
minnesota
baltimore
tennesee
cinci
seattle
san fran
san diego
buffalo
dallas
chicago

Janis

Pittsburgh
Atlanta
Baltimore
Indianapolis
Detroit
Miami
N.Y. Giants
Cincinnati
Philadelphia
Tennessee
San Francisco
Seattle
NY Jets
San Diego
New Orleans
St. Louis

J Rod

Steelers
Bengals
Lions
Ravens
Patriots
Falcons
Eagles
Giants
Colts
Titans
Seahawks
Niners
Bills
Chargers
Cowboys
Bears

AJ

Pittsburgh
Cincinatti
Kansas City
Detroit
New England
Tampa Bay
Philadelphia
New York Giants
Indianapolis
Tennessee
Seattle
San Fran
New York Jets
San Diego
Dallas
Chicago

T Wreck

browns
bills
ravens
falcons
lions
texans
g- men aka giants
saints
colts
eagles
the oakland raiders- just win baby
patriots
packers
seahawks
broncos
rams

Suzie Kulber just said to take the Jets defense versus the Bills this Sunday. This is another perfect example of why women sportscasters never have, don't have and never will have any idea what they are talking about. McGahee is averaging 135 in the past 4 games vs the East Rutherford Jets. Losman torched their secondary for over 300 in their first meeting and the Bills offense is improving. Yeah the Jets are 7-5, but who have they beaten? Besides a fluke win at New England, their best win so far might be the Bills. The Jets other wins were against the Titans, Bills, Dolphins, Lions, Texans and Packers. Wow let us crown this team. Give me a break. The Bills at 5-7 have the best record of these teams. This schedule is a complete joke. This lost to Jacksonville by a whopping 41-0. People think this team is legit? Give me a break.

BILLS VS JETS, WEEK 14

The Bills still have an outside shot at the playoffs. Very outside shot. However, they do have a shot. Denver plays San Diego, KC plays Baltimore, and Jacksonville plays Indy. All 3 of these teams can easily lose and if the Bills win they will be 6-7 and 1 game out with 3 to play.

The trends of late are going against Buffalo however. The Bills haven't won in the Meadowlands vs the Jets since 2001, a year the Bills were 3-13. Schobel and Clements were rookies and Price was in his 1st tenure with the team. That is a long time ago. Since then Buffalo has experienced 4 straight losses and many of them convincingly. in 2002, the infamous Pennington juke on E Rob but the Bills away. In 2003 the Bills lost 30-3. in 2004, Buffalo got beat on a late field goal and last year Holcomb threw 4 picks. Whatever way you want to put it, New Jersey is not good to Buffalo.

How come the East Rutherford Jets/Giants can't even afford to have their stadium in their own state? They are in the biggest market in the United States and are in the biggest city yet they need to leave their state boundaries to play home games. That is retarded.

Keys to victory for the Bills:

• Feed Willis. He owns the Jets/Vilma and should have no problems torching this overrated football team. McGahee ran for 150 in their first meeting and should have ran for more had he gotten the football more, rather than running fake field goals and dropping back to pass and fumbling. The guy looked like he couldn't be stopped just as he has verse this team over the past few years.]
• Losman should be able to throw the ball around a little. He had no problem shredding this defense in week 3. He just needs to not turn the ball over. Losman's 3 turnovers in the Bills week 3 lost cost them the game. The J E T S fuck the jets defense is ranked 27th in the NFL overall. According to Kulber though you should start their defense...??? Against the run they are ranked 27th. Against the pass they are ranked 20th. Those are good numbers I guess. The Bills are ranked 20th overall, 29th vs the run and 11th vs the pass. So why shouldn't you start the Bills D? O yeah, because the jets record is inflated because they have THE EASIEST SCHEDULE IN NFL HISTORY.
• What about the Jets offense? They are ranked 24th in yards, 17th running, 20th through the air. Their rushing attack is led by Cedric Houston....who?? Who is Cedric Houston? Oh well, the Bills can't stop a 1000 pound man that can't move so I am sure Cedric will run for over 100. The Bills need an early lead so they can make Chad rubber shoulder Pennington throw more than 25 balls. His shoulder will be sore, tired by the 4th quarter.
• McGee needs to outplay Justin Miller. Someone is going to have a huge return in this game and if it's Miller the Bills are in trouble. With the Bills steller offense they can't afford to allow a defensive/special teams touchdown.
• At least the Bills have their own stadium. The Jets pretty much borrow the Meadowlands. It is called Giants stadium.
• If Dick Jauron burns 3 timouts before the 11 minute mark in the 4th quarter I am throwing my TV out the window. Yes, a Bills game is on TV. It is a miracle. The Bills need to be playing at least 400 miles away for a game to be televised in Buffalo now apparenly. Bills nation LETS GO. I also want to see Dick J get in someone's face. This guy is way too nice to be in the NFL. If our D is getting ripped for 7 yds a carry by Cedric Houston I want to see Jauron in our D line's face. He seems like he doesn't care out there. Last week after his challenge wasn't won and he lost his 2nd timeout on the same play, he just calmly put his headphones on. DOES HE REALIZE HE JUST LOST 3 TIMEOUTS IN 2 PLAYS IN THE 4TH QUARTER OF A 3 POINT GAME. GET IN SOMEONES FACE FOR GOD SAKE. How many nice coaches have rings?
• GET Roscoe Parrish the football for the love of God. He has the game of his career vs the Jags and pretty much wins the Bills the game. What does he get in return? Definitely not the football.

I can't think of how the Bills can win this game. Whenever Buffalo plays in New Jersey or Foxboro, it just seems like they have no chance to win before they even step on the plane. McGahee will have a good game like he always does but Buffalo will be outcoached and run out of time at the end because of a lack of timeouts. Jets win this one 20-17. I picked the Bills but realistically i can't see them winning this football game. They need a miracle like a McGee performance similar to that of 12/24/05 when he scored 2 tds himself.

Week 13 "Expert Picks" Results

Mike

• 10-6

Janis

• 10-6

T Wreck

• 10-6

Joe

• 9-7

J Rod

• 9-7

AJ

• 9-7

OVERALL STANDINGS AFTER WEEK 13

Joe

• 46-18

Mike

• 44-20

Janis

• 40-24

J Rod

• 38-26

AJ

• 35-29

T Wreck

• 34-30

Chargers 24 Bills 21

The season is over, Denver and KC lost...if the Bills would have won they would have more than a glimmer of hope...but they didn't and they don't.

Reactions

1. How bad is the Bills run D? I predicted under 80 yards and 0 tds from LDT...I was wrong. Tim Anderson, send your resume to the Rhine Fire or Toronto Argonauts please.
2. Ed Hoculi and his crew were absolutely lost. There were so many head scratching calls. The "in the grass" or "in the grasp" (?) call on Losman when he hit Cieslak for 15 yards in the first half was ridiculous. Losman was moving forward when he threw it. The non pass interference call in the 2nd half on Josh Reed...Reed got drilled like a second before the ball got there. How is that call missed? Price was forced out on the infamous 2 timeout play, they missed that. Steroids are getting to Hoculi's head or something.
3. The Bills coaching staff/players have no clue how to manage the clock. No comment on the 3 timeouts in 2 plays situation in the beginning of the 4th. If you are a head coach and you call a timeout before challenging a play and then lose the challenge to lose another timeout the next thing you should be losing is your job right after your team loses that game because of you being completely lost. I don't know who decides when to snap the football on a punt but when you are trying to kill the clock you think you would let the clock tick down to hmm 1 second before snapping, not 20 like the Bills. Of course the Chargers scored a TD.
4. Apparently Dicky J didn't watch the Jags game. I thought Roscoe Parrish proved he can make game changing plays. I think he might have had 1 catch for 2 yards or something and they showed no effort to get him the ball. Where is the end around?
5. Takeo Spikes finally showed up. He led the team in tackles and made some good plays on LT. He strung out a stretch play and forced LT to the sideline for a loss which showed Takeo maybe is getting his speed back a little.
6. Clements was good again. He made 2 great pass breakups early.
7. Angelo Crowell is out for the season. That is good news. Now we have Keith Ellison out there. This should help our run stopping. When I see Ellison, I see the 2nd coming of Derrick Brooks circa 2002. Seriously, if our run D could get worse, it did.
8. Coy Wire was on the field for more than punts.
9. Moorman hasn't had a good punt since Indy.
10. McGahee...you aren't an elite back.
11. Anthony Thomas, you aren't a good backup.
12. Losman had some nice 3rd down scrambles. All in all I wasn't too upset with JP. He made some good plays against a pretty good defense. He didn't get help at all from the run or the refs. He looked to me like he had more talent than Rivers but Rivers was very efficient.
13. The Bills are 2-31 this season in stopping 3rd and 1 (this is an exaggerated stat, 2-31 is not accurate, it is being used here to overemphasize how bad the Bills and their playcalling are on 3rd and short so go F urself Janis).
14. Merriman is a joke. How can you respect a guy that cheats. Your team was 4-0 without you buddy, you are a joke.
15. I think i touched on Jauron, but I hate him.
16. The decision to run the ball 3 times at the end of the half and not even really try to get a first down accomplished a lot. It showed you have no confidence in your quarterback and it let San Diego get the ball back with a minute left from our 42 yard line. I guess by running out the clock you mean allow the Chargers to tack on 7 then nice job.
17. Bills nation is a joke. Back to back blackouts is embarassing. We don't deserve a franchise. Keep buying Sabres tickets bandwagon fans, they aren't winning the cup because they can't win enough games 5 on 5. No shootouts in the post season.
18. O line has been better since it has been revamped. Nice signing with Reyes. He doesn't even dress. That gives us 2 great guard signings in 2 straight years.
19. The small fast defense strategy hasn't, doesn't and will not ever work.

The Bills need to win out and hope the Jets lose to a bad team and the Chiefs and Broncos fall apart. This could happen but it won't. Soon we will be discussing the draft before the first day of January for the 7th straight season.

Week 13 Chargers @ Bills

The weather for Sunday in Orchard Park is a high of 35 and possible snow. Philip Rivers has never played in cold weather like this in his career I don't think. He plays a minimum of 9 games per year in ideal conditions, and since the weather is just starting to turn, he hasn't faced any cold weather as of yet. Also, by playing in the ACC in college, I don't think he ever experienced a cold weather football game. He attended high school in Alabama and I don't think they face many cold days. The weather can play a huge factor and it might effect Rivers ability to perform.

Keys to Victory

• Make Philip Rivers beat you. I know it sounds impossible, but the Bills need to somehow, someway, neutralize Tomlinson and make Rivers beat them. Rivers has had the luxury of every defense he plays being so scared of Tomlinson that he often faces man coverage in the secondary. I also like the bills chances with Clements vs. McCardell and McGee vs. Parker.
• Losman needs to play with a chip on his shoulder. He knows he was the 4th quarterback drafted in 2004. He felt then that he was the best one of the bunch and now he has his first chance to prove it. This marks JP's 1st head to head matchup vs. Rivers, Manning, or Big Ben so is definitely JP's biggest football game of his career in my opinion.
• McGahee needs to be the better #21 on this day. He needs more carries, more yards and more touchdowns. McGahee is going to have a chip on his shoulder for this one too. Willis thinks he is among the best backs in the NFL and he has a chance to prove it against a back who everyone is starting to say may be one of the best of all time. If the Bills can get a lead early it will help McGahee get more touches and Tomlinson less. I think last week showed that Willis is about to bust out big time.
• Get Roscoe Parrish the football on offense 5 times this game at least. Run some reverses. Throw some wide reciever screens to him and not to Peerless Price. Hit Parrish on quick slants. All he has done this season when given a chance is make big plays. Against the Jets he took a 4 yard slant like 60 yds to the house and of course last week where he made 2 game winning plays for the Bills.
• Finally, can we get a Takeo Spikes siting? I have been waiting for this guy to come around and if it doesn't happen soon we might have to get rid of this guy come the offseason. I wish he would come back and be Takeo Spikes circa 2004 but that isn't going to happen. I'll take Auburn Takeo Spikes circa 1996 right now. Even if he can be half of what he was he could provide a boost for our defense.

This is the biggest Buffalo Bills home football game since 1/2/05. The 65,000 people at the Ralph will be and need to be ready. Last weekend it was loud as hell for the 63,000 that showed. This is even a bigger game and will be even louder. I am going out on a limb here but Tomlinson is going to have less than 80 yards and not have a rushing touchdown. McGahee is going to have a huge day as is Losman and the Bills are going to pull the upset to get it to .500. No last second comeback game winning drive needed on this day, Buffalo 24 Chargers 13 officially marking the arrival of the new Buffalo Bills.