Jerry Sullivan of the Buffalo News put it best in his post-game column: "I can't blame Bills fans who are conditioned to expect calamity when things seem most promising". Over the course of what is known throughout the fan base as the "Drought" (as in, not making the NFL playoffs since 1999 - the longest current streak of non-playoff seasons in the league), Sullivan ominously observed that, over the course of the last 17 years, the team often hits the wall after 5 wins. And, after citing several examples, I'm afraid that he's right.
The Thursday night game 4 days ago was forgettable from the start. The Bills first offensive play from scrimmage was a 12 yard sack of Taylor after the right side of the line allowed a full Jets jailbreak. They never recovered on either side of the ball. Josh McCown, the journeyman quarterback now playing for his eighth NFL team looked like the second coming of YA Tittle (for you, Scott B) as the Jets built a 31-7 lead before I turned off the TV and went to sleep. I gather that the Bills managed to score a couple of touchdowns late in the game to make the score look more reasonable.
I wonder about the future of the the NFL's full slate of Thursday night games. Don Banks, the long-time NFL writer and weekly commentator on Bob McCown's Prime Time Sports said last week that he sees the Thursday night schedule as a prime target for the league to address the problem of over-saturation if it chooses to do so - which it should. The old adage seems to have been turned around for many sports fans as the NFL Thursday night games have left many of them wanting less. The Bills and Jets have faced each other on TNF for 4 straight years now and while the idea of promoting a divisional rivalry year after year would appear to make sense, neither of the two teams has not been particularly compelling to watch in recent years. Many of the Thursday night match-ups since the league expanded to a full season schedule in 2012 have been similarly uninteresting and I think that the combination of over-saturation and games that don't generate much interest regardless of when they are played has presented the league with a clear jumping off point if they are serious about stopping the TV ratings decline.
Thursday Night Football actually dates back to 2006 when the NFL presented 8 late-season games on Thursday and Saturday nights. I recommend that they return to such a format whereby Thursday games are limited to the first regular season game every year, the Thanksgiving Day games (of which there are now three) and perhaps one or two others in the second half of the year which feature teams in the playoff hunt (under NFL Flex Scheduling, this is certainly possible, although a logistical challenge to be sure). Having attended two Thursday night home games in Buffalo, I can say that while night games are an interesting novelty, I am not a fan of getting home at 3am. Scrap the full slate of Thursday games next season, I say.
I am looking forward to a trip to Orchard Park this coming Sunday. The weather forecast is looking decidedly cold and I'm happy about that not only because I have all the right clothing but because the New Orleans Saints may not be entirely comfortable breaking out their own cold weather gear. The Bills will need all the cold and wind they can get as the Saints come in on a 6 game winning streak. After losing their first two games, the Saints have built their record to 6-2 and they have done it like a cold weather team usually does - by running the ball and playing strong defence. The Bills will need their running game to shine again if they are to break the Saints winning streak.
Bills fans who read the Buffalo News have been critical of sports columnist Jerry Sullivan who has pulled no punches in trashing the team over the course of the Drought. I hope that he has a positive angle to his story next Monday. As he likes to say in response to readers who don't like what he writes, "I column as I see 'em".
No comments:
Post a Comment