The play which ended the Bills season was an interception thrown by Nathan Peterman and one which, with application of a strict interpretation of the meaning of a catch by the league officials in New York, could have been ruled incomplete on review. A fitting last play on both counts. I still held on to the fantasy that Peterman would be given another shot which would be a touchdown pass to Zay Jones to tie the game. But I also thought that if the Bills had won yesterday, they would have carried that momentum to Foxborough and dethroned the Patriots. Then the Steelers. Then the Vikings. They just fell a few steps short is all.
This was an infuriating game to watch for fans of both teams and probably only those with large wagers on the under found any satisfaction in it. Although the defences looked competent yesterday - if not quite good at times - the anemic performances by both offences made for generally excruciating playoff football viewing for those who made it all the way through. With the exception of a fourth down strike for the game's only touchdown, Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles looked like a recent call-up from the practice squad until he realized that running was really his best option. Tyrod Taylor looked a bit more polished for his part but with a receiving corps which is barely NFL worthy, he was unable to engineer the kind of scoring threat that wins NFL games. I wonder if his last play in a Buffalo uniform will turn out to be the one which knocked him from the game after his head was slammed backwards into the turf, and making way for Peterman who did what he has shown that he does best.
The Bills have a load of draft picks over the next two years, including picks 21 and 22 in the first round of this April's draft. I expect that one of those will be a quarterback. If Taylor does leave the team this off-season, I will remember him as someone who comported himself with dignity and professionalism in a Bills uniform - sometimes in the face of intense criticism. When he was benched in Los Angeles a few weeks ago, he handled it like a pro and went on to play well for the rest of the season. And - I will say this quite possibly for the final time - he always protected the ball and I always loved him for that. Speaking of professionalism, yesterday was probably the last game for Kyle Williams who wanted to retire a year ago. He has been the anchor of the defensive line since 2003 and will be missed.
Now that it's done, the 2017 Bills season has to be rated as a success with a drought-breaking trip to the playoffs even after appearing to opt early on for a rebuild strategy by jettisoning top players for draft picks. The current coaching staff and general manager have changed the culture for the better and Bills fans will be looking for more progress next year. I for one will want to see evidence that a division title (and the home playoff game that goes with it) is within reach.
A note on television advertising: I watch on an HD antenna so during NFL football games, I get the US network commercials, many of which are not carried on Canadian simulcasts that most viewers see (but most Canadian sports fans will have seen the ads on other broadcasts). Without using any proper methodology but based on ads I have seen broadcast during this NFL season, I have concluded that the most competitive industry in America has to be property and casualty insurance. Nationwide has a series of spots this season with Peyton Manning and Brad Paisley; State Farm uses Aaron Rodgers and Clay Mathews; Progressive doesn't use football players but has featured "Flo" since 2008 and everyone knows that no US insurance company has a larger advertising budget than GEICO. The combined annual network television spending of these four firms alone is obviously massive and I wonder if one of them might consider unilaterally disarming from some of its television spending and actually offering lower insurance rates instead. If 15 minutes can save you 15% or more on car insurance, imagine how much you could save with a company that you've never heard of and that doesn't spend many tens of millions (or more) on television advertising.
Look for one more post this season: the Superbowl edition on February 5th.
Monday, 8 January 2018
Monday, 1 January 2018
Bengals 31, Ravens 27
Our New Year's Eve dinner at the cottage was literally being served with the guests seated and hungry after I had prolonged the sit-down time through the end of the Bills game in Miami and the last few excruciating minutes of what looked like a Ravens come-back against a Cincinnati team which was motivated by playing a spoiler role and by winning what was likely to be the last game for their popular and long-tenured coach Marvin Lewis. "This is the last play right here" I said as the Bengals lined up for a desperate and probably game-ending fourth down and 12 at mid-field, trailing the Ravens by three points. Then Andy Dalton hit a wide open Tyler Boyd who raced to the endzone for the Bengal touchdown. It was amazing. But it wasn't the last meaningful play of the game as the Bengal defence had to hold the Ravens who needed a touchdown to win. And the Bengal defence held indeed. Incredibly, they defeated the Ravens in Baltimore and by so doing eliminated them while sending the Buffalo Bills to the NFL playoffs for the first time since the Music City Miracle in Nashville in January, 2000.
I spent a bit of time on this New Year's Day morning trying to figure out why the Los Angeles Chargers did not earn the sixth and final seed in the AFC playoff picture but could not find the answer. They ended the season with the same 9-7 record as the Bills but held the head-to-head tie-breaker against them by virtue of their win in LA on November 19th in what Bills fans have come to know as the Nathan Peterman debacle. Maybe the tie-breaker works differently when multiple teams are tied - as they were with the Bills, Chargers, Ravens and Titans (who earned the fifth seed) all finishing the season tied at 9-7. Whatever. They're in and there is a Bills playoff game to be played on Sunday in Jacksonville. The Jaguars are early seven point favourites.
Before the Dalton to Boyd touchdown, the Bills had taken care of business in Miami with a strong game which was not as close as the final score of 22-16 would indicate. Tyrod Taylor continued his improved passing and the defence bent but didn't break. LeSean McCoy went down with an ankle injury which looked bad enough to keep him out for at least the next week but I am confident (pure speculation here) that he will be back for the Superbowl - if not the AFC Championship Game. McCoy or not, I like the Bills chances going into Jacksonville as the Jaguars are new to the idea of having a home playoff game and all of the pressure and fan expectations which go along with it. The Bills will be loose and irreverent as they look to extend their season with a win next week and earn a trip to either Foxborough or Pittsburgh the following week. I have virtually no confidence that they can win in either of those places but it would be fun to have a shot.
The NFL has had a very difficult season on a number of fronts as we all know. The commissioner recently pointed out that television ratings for NFL games this season are only down 1% from last year but he did not address the fact that there has been a much larger drop in actual in-stadium game attendance across the league. The Bills had good crowds for almost all of their eight home games this year but I was quite surprised to notice that most of the upper deck at M & T Bank Stadium in Baltimore was empty yesterday. Yes it was very cold by normal Maryland standards and it was late start which meant that most of the game was played after dark but this was a game where the home team simply had to win to get in to the playoffs and I would have expected much better fan support in Baltimore. Most NFL revenue is generated from its massive television audiences with stadium gate receipts well down the list of revenue line items but the in-stadium experience is one of the most appealing parts of the sport of football and the NFL. I don't like seeing swaths of empty seats any time but especially not for critically important later-season games with playoff births at stake.
It's been cold here in Muskoka. And I mean really cold. I arrived at 7.45am on Thursday morning with the outside temperature sitting at minus 33. Yesterday's high was minus 24. The skiing is squeaky and slow with little glide. The dog usually wants in after only a few minutes. One more sauna and cold plunge today before we leave tomorrow. Happy New Year.
I spent a bit of time on this New Year's Day morning trying to figure out why the Los Angeles Chargers did not earn the sixth and final seed in the AFC playoff picture but could not find the answer. They ended the season with the same 9-7 record as the Bills but held the head-to-head tie-breaker against them by virtue of their win in LA on November 19th in what Bills fans have come to know as the Nathan Peterman debacle. Maybe the tie-breaker works differently when multiple teams are tied - as they were with the Bills, Chargers, Ravens and Titans (who earned the fifth seed) all finishing the season tied at 9-7. Whatever. They're in and there is a Bills playoff game to be played on Sunday in Jacksonville. The Jaguars are early seven point favourites.
Before the Dalton to Boyd touchdown, the Bills had taken care of business in Miami with a strong game which was not as close as the final score of 22-16 would indicate. Tyrod Taylor continued his improved passing and the defence bent but didn't break. LeSean McCoy went down with an ankle injury which looked bad enough to keep him out for at least the next week but I am confident (pure speculation here) that he will be back for the Superbowl - if not the AFC Championship Game. McCoy or not, I like the Bills chances going into Jacksonville as the Jaguars are new to the idea of having a home playoff game and all of the pressure and fan expectations which go along with it. The Bills will be loose and irreverent as they look to extend their season with a win next week and earn a trip to either Foxborough or Pittsburgh the following week. I have virtually no confidence that they can win in either of those places but it would be fun to have a shot.
The NFL has had a very difficult season on a number of fronts as we all know. The commissioner recently pointed out that television ratings for NFL games this season are only down 1% from last year but he did not address the fact that there has been a much larger drop in actual in-stadium game attendance across the league. The Bills had good crowds for almost all of their eight home games this year but I was quite surprised to notice that most of the upper deck at M & T Bank Stadium in Baltimore was empty yesterday. Yes it was very cold by normal Maryland standards and it was late start which meant that most of the game was played after dark but this was a game where the home team simply had to win to get in to the playoffs and I would have expected much better fan support in Baltimore. Most NFL revenue is generated from its massive television audiences with stadium gate receipts well down the list of revenue line items but the in-stadium experience is one of the most appealing parts of the sport of football and the NFL. I don't like seeing swaths of empty seats any time but especially not for critically important later-season games with playoff births at stake.
It's been cold here in Muskoka. And I mean really cold. I arrived at 7.45am on Thursday morning with the outside temperature sitting at minus 33. Yesterday's high was minus 24. The skiing is squeaky and slow with little glide. The dog usually wants in after only a few minutes. One more sauna and cold plunge today before we leave tomorrow. Happy New Year.
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