There is only one scenario where an NFL team can play a home playoff game without winning their division. And its about as unlikely as the Miami Dolphins winning a game this season. It involves the fifth and sixth seeded teams playing in a conference championship game which would take place at the home of the fifth seeded team. Win your division - and there are eight of them - and you will have a home playoff game. Make the playoffs as a wild card team and you will be on the road for all of your playoff games (except as mentioned above). The New England Patriots have enjoyed what seems like a perpetual stranglehold on the AFC East since Tom Brady began his career as their quarterback in 2001. Over that almost 20 year period, the Patriots have won the division every season except for two. The Buffalo Bills last home playoff game was in December, 1996, back when fewer teams made the playoffs and each conference's two wild card teams met in the first round. The Bills lost that game, the last of Jim Kelly's career, to Jacksonville.
Yesterday in Orchard Park, the Bills had their best opportunity in more than 20 years to lay the foundation for their first division title since 1995. But they couldn't quite get it done. A blocked punt which was returned for a touchdown was the difference in the game which saw the Bills in position to steal the game as they drove for the winning touchdown before the Patriots ended the game with their fourth interception late in the fourth quarter. The loss came despite the Bills defence holding the Patriots to 11 first downs and 224 total yards and the offence managing to the score the first and only touchdown against the Patriots through a full quarter of the season. In a game dominated by defence, the Bills went toe-to toe with the Patriots but fell short again, sending their fans home disappointed but perhaps not as disillusioned as they have been after previous blow-out losses to the Patriots in Orchard Park over the last 20 years.
Micah Hyde said after the game that if one of his teammates had hit Tom Brady the way that Jonathan Jones hit Josh Allen early in the fourth quarter (sending him into the league's concussion protocol where he would remain for the rest of the game) they would have been ejected from the game. Head Coach Sean McDermott said after the game that "there is no room in football for a hit like that" and also suggested that Jones should have been ejected for the hit. The NFL's senior vice-president of officiating Al Riveron, reached by Buffalo News reporter Vic Carucci after the game, disagreed. He said "we looked at it and in this situation, we didn't feel that contact rose to the level of ejection.......we have standards for ejection and this did not rise to that standard". Jones, for his part explained that "there is never intent to hurt anyone. We were running around playing football." And maybe that's the problem.
During the CBS broadcast, Dan Fouts commented after Allen's injury that they are trying to coach helmet-to-helmet hits out of football. Well, I'm skeptical. It just might not be possible to remove these hits from tackle football, regardless of instructional changes in junior football or the severity of penalties handed out to the offenders at the college or NFL level. It's part of football and always has been. Legendary ABC college football play-by-play broadcaster Keith Jackson used to look forward to teams "cracking some heads" when previewing an important rivalry game. If Josh Allen had been playing in the NFL 20 or 30 years ago, he probably would have missed one play after the hit he took yesterday. "You had your bell rung; get back out there" the coaches might have said to him. After the play which laid him out, Allen jogged to the locker room after being evaluated under the blue tent by an independent neurologist and was seen walking around and talking with team officials after the game. It is too early to say but I predict that he will play next week.
Rob Gronkowski retired from the NFL in March and is now promoting his new CBD product line which he says has helped him become pain free for the first time in many years. At a promotional press conference earlier this month, Gronkowski explained (presumably to give context to the efficacy of his CBD products) that in his football career he had nine surgeries and 20 concussions, including five black-out incidents. He also suggested that any injury, including CTE, the affliction which can result from repeated head trauma, can be fixed and that the CBD product which he now promotes (as an investor and a consumer) has cured his headaches and "fixed" his issues with head trauma. After Gronkowski made this claim, a prominent behavioural neurologist publicly called him out, saying that neurodegenerative diseases like CTE or Alzheimers can not be fixed and will eventually win.
I like throwing and catching a football but I never played the sport in an organized setting. I do enjoy the game as a spectator and the fact that it is dangerous for those who play has not changed that, even as we learn more about just how dangerous it might be in the long term. For now anyway. So, on to next week where the Bills travel to Nashville, the scene of Homerun Throwback, one of the most infamous and devastating plays in Bills playoff history.
Monday, 30 September 2019
Monday, 23 September 2019
Bills 21, Bengals 17
The Knox family name has been prominent in Buffalo, NY for well over a century. Seymour Horace Knox made his fortune in five-and-dime stores which were eventually merged with similar stores owned by Frank Winfield Woolworth. Knox was an early board member of the Marine Trust Co. which became Marine Midland Bank. His grandson, Seymour H. Knox III, along with brother Northrup Knox and attorney Robert Swados, successfully applied for an NHL franchise for Buffalo which began play as the Sabres in 1970. Buffalo sports fans are now getting to know the latest Knox to arrive in town - one Dawson Knox - and they are liking what they see so far.
Dawson Knox hails from Brentwood, TN, where he played quarterback and wide receiver for Brentwood Academy. He suffered an ankle injury in his senior year and was overlooked by major college recruiters. He made the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) team as a walk-on, converted to the position of tight end and "red-shirted" for the 2015 season. Despite his impressive physical attributes (6 ft 4 in and 237 pounds), in three seasons with the Rebels, he caught an uninspiring 39 passes for just over 600 yards. After his junior season, Knox declared for the 2019 NFL draft and was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the 3rd round as the 96th overall pick. He had not scored a touchdown at any level of football since his junior year at Brentwood Academy. Until yesterday in Orchard Park.
Knox caught a one yard pass from Josh Allen in the first quarter yesterday afternoon - one of three catches he made - but his 49 yard reception late in the 4th quarter is what Bills fans will remember this morning. After giving up a 14-0 lead and now trailing 17-14 to the winless and desperate Cincinnati Bengals, Allen hit a wide open Knox near the left sideline. Knox proceeded to bowl over defenders and break tackles, taking the ball all the way to the Bengals 22 yard line. A few plays later, Frank Gore dived into the endzone with the winning score, sending 70,000 sun-baked Bills fans home happy.
Effective tight end play can benefit an NFL offence in may ways - some of them more noticeable than others. The recently retired Rob Gronkowski was the most prolific pass-catching tight end in recent history but he wasn't exactly known for his run blocking. Dawson Knox now has three NFL games under his belt and it seems clear that he can run routes, catch the ball and break tackles. Based on what the rookie tight end has shown so far and in particular his performance before the home fans yesterday, the story of the Knox name, well-known in Buffalo for business success, philanthropy and professional sports, has the beginnings of an exciting new chapter being written by Dawson Knox.
I have been to plenty of early season games in Orchard Park but none hotter than yesterday's. Without the breeze which provided some relief from time to time, the visitor side of the stadium would have been unbearable as it baked in the late summer sun all afternoon. As did the parking lot beforehand. The spectacular weather (and the Bills 2-0 start to the season) meant an early arriving crowd and an absolutely full stadium with no empty seats to be seen. My new seats at the 44 yard line, 23 rows above the visitor bench were everything I expected in terms of sight lines and the civility with which older, long-standing season ticket holders enjoy their afternoon of football. No drunk or disorderly behaviour in section 111, that's for sure. Both teams scored touchdowns at each end of the field and we had an excellent vantage point for every snap of the game.
Next Sunday's game will present a monumentally larger challenge for the Bills than any of their opponents have through the first three games. Amazingly, the Patriots seem to have an even stronger team this season and could easily go 16-0. I know that my seats are highly desireable - particularly for fans of the visiting team. With both the Bills and Patriots at 3-0, interest in Sunday's game is as high as it could be for any week 4 game. So high in fact that within a couple of hours of the end of the game yesterday, my tickets which have been listed on NFL TicketExchange for a few weeks now, sold for almost $800 CAD for the pair. I hope that the Bills make me wish I had gone to the game.
Dawson Knox hails from Brentwood, TN, where he played quarterback and wide receiver for Brentwood Academy. He suffered an ankle injury in his senior year and was overlooked by major college recruiters. He made the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) team as a walk-on, converted to the position of tight end and "red-shirted" for the 2015 season. Despite his impressive physical attributes (6 ft 4 in and 237 pounds), in three seasons with the Rebels, he caught an uninspiring 39 passes for just over 600 yards. After his junior season, Knox declared for the 2019 NFL draft and was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the 3rd round as the 96th overall pick. He had not scored a touchdown at any level of football since his junior year at Brentwood Academy. Until yesterday in Orchard Park.
Knox caught a one yard pass from Josh Allen in the first quarter yesterday afternoon - one of three catches he made - but his 49 yard reception late in the 4th quarter is what Bills fans will remember this morning. After giving up a 14-0 lead and now trailing 17-14 to the winless and desperate Cincinnati Bengals, Allen hit a wide open Knox near the left sideline. Knox proceeded to bowl over defenders and break tackles, taking the ball all the way to the Bengals 22 yard line. A few plays later, Frank Gore dived into the endzone with the winning score, sending 70,000 sun-baked Bills fans home happy.
Effective tight end play can benefit an NFL offence in may ways - some of them more noticeable than others. The recently retired Rob Gronkowski was the most prolific pass-catching tight end in recent history but he wasn't exactly known for his run blocking. Dawson Knox now has three NFL games under his belt and it seems clear that he can run routes, catch the ball and break tackles. Based on what the rookie tight end has shown so far and in particular his performance before the home fans yesterday, the story of the Knox name, well-known in Buffalo for business success, philanthropy and professional sports, has the beginnings of an exciting new chapter being written by Dawson Knox.
I have been to plenty of early season games in Orchard Park but none hotter than yesterday's. Without the breeze which provided some relief from time to time, the visitor side of the stadium would have been unbearable as it baked in the late summer sun all afternoon. As did the parking lot beforehand. The spectacular weather (and the Bills 2-0 start to the season) meant an early arriving crowd and an absolutely full stadium with no empty seats to be seen. My new seats at the 44 yard line, 23 rows above the visitor bench were everything I expected in terms of sight lines and the civility with which older, long-standing season ticket holders enjoy their afternoon of football. No drunk or disorderly behaviour in section 111, that's for sure. Both teams scored touchdowns at each end of the field and we had an excellent vantage point for every snap of the game.
Next Sunday's game will present a monumentally larger challenge for the Bills than any of their opponents have through the first three games. Amazingly, the Patriots seem to have an even stronger team this season and could easily go 16-0. I know that my seats are highly desireable - particularly for fans of the visiting team. With both the Bills and Patriots at 3-0, interest in Sunday's game is as high as it could be for any week 4 game. So high in fact that within a couple of hours of the end of the game yesterday, my tickets which have been listed on NFL TicketExchange for a few weeks now, sold for almost $800 CAD for the pair. I hope that the Bills make me wish I had gone to the game.
Monday, 16 September 2019
Bills 28, Giants 14
The Buffalo Bills began play in the AFL in 1960 and, until yesterday, the team has never posted two consecutive road wins to begin a season. In a quirky scheduling anomaly, both wins took place in the same stadium in New Jersey, meaning that the Bills may well finish the season with more wins in the Meadowlands than the New York Giants will be able to register through their seven remaining home games. Let's hope that the Bills can replicate their winning ways in New York state with five of their next six games in Orchard Park.
It felt that the Bills were in complete control of the game, even as they gave up an opening drive touchdown to Saquon Barkley whose five carries took the Giants 75 yards to the endzone. With efficient play on both sides of the ball for the remainder of the first half, the Bills posted three touchdowns and took a lead which they would not relinquish. Perhaps channeling a bit of Tyrod Taylor, Josh Allen reduced his turnovers from four last week to zero yesterday. Along with his ball protection instincts, his passing accuracy was likely the best we've seen in any of his starts. With some decent receivers to throw to and with Brian Daboll's creative play calling, he is really showing what the team's brain trust saw when they drafted him last year.
The game produced a couple of notable injuries. Of concern to Bills fans will be the state of Devin Singletary's hamstring. The rookie running back clearly pulled it on a fourth quarter play as he ran toward the left sideline. Head coach Sean McDermott had no update after the game. Hamstring injuries can range from a mild strain to something which could keep Singletary out for a while.
The injury which concerned me the most as a football fan was the apparent concussion suffered by Giants receiver Cody Latimer. Latimer caught a pass in the redzone and was hit by Bills safety Jordan Poyer a half nanosecond after the ball reached his hands. The league has been trying to rid the game of helmet-to-helmet hits but not only did Poyer's helmet connect directly with Latimer's on the hit, no penalty was called on the play. I know that even if a defender leads with his shoulder in initiating contact (the "right" technique and the one that is being emphasized in high school and college football), if the intended target turns or lowers his head before contact, helmets can and often do collide - sometimes with devastating consequences. Poyer (and his teammate Micah Hyde) is a talented and hard-hitting safety for the Bills and his ability to deliver punishing hits keeps opposing receivers honest on certain kinds of passing routes but the kind of hit he put on Latimer yesterday is one of a few glaring elements of tackle football which makes North American parents register their kids in soccer rather than in junior football.
At least Latimer was removed from the game and, after being subjected to what the NFL calls its "concussion protocol", was ruled out for the rest of the afternoon. Last week, the Giants top receiver Sterling Shepard wasn't so lucky. After taking a hit to the head, he appeared woozy but waved off the team's training staff, stayed in the game and ended up on the field for all but one of the team's 69 offensive snaps. Only after the game was he subjected to the "protocol" and then eventually ruled out for yesterday's game.
After two successful trips to New Jersey, the Bills return to western New York for their home opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bills are an early six point favourite and should find themselves at 3-0 a week from now. With the Patriots home to the Jets next week, the schedule sets up a likely week four showdown in Orchard Park between two undefeated teams for the outright lead in the AFC East.
To mark the new Ken Burns 18 hour film on country music, a friend reminded me of a great Bob Newhart line: "I don't like country music but I also don't want to denigrate those who do. For those who like country music, denigrate means to put down."
It felt that the Bills were in complete control of the game, even as they gave up an opening drive touchdown to Saquon Barkley whose five carries took the Giants 75 yards to the endzone. With efficient play on both sides of the ball for the remainder of the first half, the Bills posted three touchdowns and took a lead which they would not relinquish. Perhaps channeling a bit of Tyrod Taylor, Josh Allen reduced his turnovers from four last week to zero yesterday. Along with his ball protection instincts, his passing accuracy was likely the best we've seen in any of his starts. With some decent receivers to throw to and with Brian Daboll's creative play calling, he is really showing what the team's brain trust saw when they drafted him last year.
The game produced a couple of notable injuries. Of concern to Bills fans will be the state of Devin Singletary's hamstring. The rookie running back clearly pulled it on a fourth quarter play as he ran toward the left sideline. Head coach Sean McDermott had no update after the game. Hamstring injuries can range from a mild strain to something which could keep Singletary out for a while.
The injury which concerned me the most as a football fan was the apparent concussion suffered by Giants receiver Cody Latimer. Latimer caught a pass in the redzone and was hit by Bills safety Jordan Poyer a half nanosecond after the ball reached his hands. The league has been trying to rid the game of helmet-to-helmet hits but not only did Poyer's helmet connect directly with Latimer's on the hit, no penalty was called on the play. I know that even if a defender leads with his shoulder in initiating contact (the "right" technique and the one that is being emphasized in high school and college football), if the intended target turns or lowers his head before contact, helmets can and often do collide - sometimes with devastating consequences. Poyer (and his teammate Micah Hyde) is a talented and hard-hitting safety for the Bills and his ability to deliver punishing hits keeps opposing receivers honest on certain kinds of passing routes but the kind of hit he put on Latimer yesterday is one of a few glaring elements of tackle football which makes North American parents register their kids in soccer rather than in junior football.
At least Latimer was removed from the game and, after being subjected to what the NFL calls its "concussion protocol", was ruled out for the rest of the afternoon. Last week, the Giants top receiver Sterling Shepard wasn't so lucky. After taking a hit to the head, he appeared woozy but waved off the team's training staff, stayed in the game and ended up on the field for all but one of the team's 69 offensive snaps. Only after the game was he subjected to the "protocol" and then eventually ruled out for yesterday's game.
After two successful trips to New Jersey, the Bills return to western New York for their home opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bills are an early six point favourite and should find themselves at 3-0 a week from now. With the Patriots home to the Jets next week, the schedule sets up a likely week four showdown in Orchard Park between two undefeated teams for the outright lead in the AFC East.
To mark the new Ken Burns 18 hour film on country music, a friend reminded me of a great Bob Newhart line: "I don't like country music but I also don't want to denigrate those who do. For those who like country music, denigrate means to put down."
Monday, 9 September 2019
Bills 17, Jets 16
For the first 10 or so years of my tenure as a Bills season ticket holder, each August I received from team, by way of an inconvenient trip to the FedEx pick-up depot in a nondescript industrial area near York Mills and Don Mills, a new ball cap, a t-shirt, a pin, a bumper sticker, a flag or some other piece of Bills branded gear. A few years ago, the pre-selected and directly shipped swag changed to a gift card which is redeemable at the Bills online store or at the stadium concession stands. Since I don't usually buy anything in the stadium, I pick and order items from the Bills online store and then pay a somewhat mysterious customs brokerage fee to FedEx when I pick up my package. Inconvenience aside, after all these years, I am certainly quite well equipped with Bills gear including shirts, jackets, shorts, a collection of ball caps, winter hats, scarfs, mugs, neoprene beer coolers, shot glasses and towels so this year, I chose a few small and more eccentric items, including licence plate holders and a pair of Bills branded socks.
As the excruciating first half of the NFL season opening game in the Meadowlands of New Jersey came to and end yesterday afternoon, I realized that I had somehow managed to sit down to watch the game without wearing a single piece of Bills branded clothing - something I rarely, if ever, do. So, realizing that the team really needed a re-start on offense as they entered the second half, I decided to don the socks at halftime. They ended up doing the job in the end but not before the Bills had dug themselves into a much larger hole - a 16-0 deficit - after giving up a safety (I still think Frank Gore made it out of the endzone on the first down play), a touchdown and a two point convert to the Jets in the third quarter.
Near the end of the game, CBS colour analyst Rich Gannon pulled out a stat which caught my attention: he said that, statistically, if a road team gives up 4 turnovers while the home team registers none, the chances of the road team winning the game are less than 1%. I have not independently verified this data point but it seems credible enough to me. As unlikely as the the Bills eventual victory was, and even though Josh Allen led the team to two 4th quarter touchdowns to steal the one point win, the Bills defence was the reason why the team finds itself at 1-0 this morning.
As bad as the Bills offense was in the first half, the defence was fantastic all day, holding the Jets to 223 total yards. Le'Veon Bell, who hadn't taken a hand-off in a year and a half, carried the ball 17 times for the Jets but only for 60 yards - an average of 3.5 yards per carry. Contrast that with the performance of Bills rookie Devin Singletary who rode the pines for the entire first half and then made the most of his 4 second half carries, earning 70 yards for an average of 17.5 yards. If he can maintain that per carry average throughout his career (and carry the ball 20 or more times every week), the Bills can trade all of their receivers away and run the ball on every down like teams did 100 years ago when the NFL began play. LeSean who?
The Bills could just stay in New Jersey this week if they wanted to. Next up is another game at the Meadowlands, this time against the Giants who were beaten soundly in Dallas yesterday and whose prospects for this season are not looking good. The Bills therefore have a good chance of starting the season with two road wins before coming home in two weeks to face the Bengals. I may order more socks.
As the excruciating first half of the NFL season opening game in the Meadowlands of New Jersey came to and end yesterday afternoon, I realized that I had somehow managed to sit down to watch the game without wearing a single piece of Bills branded clothing - something I rarely, if ever, do. So, realizing that the team really needed a re-start on offense as they entered the second half, I decided to don the socks at halftime. They ended up doing the job in the end but not before the Bills had dug themselves into a much larger hole - a 16-0 deficit - after giving up a safety (I still think Frank Gore made it out of the endzone on the first down play), a touchdown and a two point convert to the Jets in the third quarter.
Near the end of the game, CBS colour analyst Rich Gannon pulled out a stat which caught my attention: he said that, statistically, if a road team gives up 4 turnovers while the home team registers none, the chances of the road team winning the game are less than 1%. I have not independently verified this data point but it seems credible enough to me. As unlikely as the the Bills eventual victory was, and even though Josh Allen led the team to two 4th quarter touchdowns to steal the one point win, the Bills defence was the reason why the team finds itself at 1-0 this morning.
As bad as the Bills offense was in the first half, the defence was fantastic all day, holding the Jets to 223 total yards. Le'Veon Bell, who hadn't taken a hand-off in a year and a half, carried the ball 17 times for the Jets but only for 60 yards - an average of 3.5 yards per carry. Contrast that with the performance of Bills rookie Devin Singletary who rode the pines for the entire first half and then made the most of his 4 second half carries, earning 70 yards for an average of 17.5 yards. If he can maintain that per carry average throughout his career (and carry the ball 20 or more times every week), the Bills can trade all of their receivers away and run the ball on every down like teams did 100 years ago when the NFL began play. LeSean who?
The Bills could just stay in New Jersey this week if they wanted to. Next up is another game at the Meadowlands, this time against the Giants who were beaten soundly in Dallas yesterday and whose prospects for this season are not looking good. The Bills therefore have a good chance of starting the season with two road wins before coming home in two weeks to face the Bengals. I may order more socks.
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