In the United States, Thanksgiving and football enjoy a long history together. Before professional football became by far the most watched television sport in America, Thanksgiving Day featured a slate of college football games. Some of those have now been relegated to the following day - Friday - when the sport of choice for most Americans is now contact shopping. Black Friday now features afternoon hockey and basketball games along with a handful of lower tier college football games.As for the fourth Thursday in November, make no mistake; the NFL rules the airwaves on Thanksgiving Day.
In 1934, the owner of the Detroit Lions saw an opportunity to raise the profile of his team and successfully lobbied the league to allow the Lions to play a game on the national holiday. Attendance was strong and the Lions have played a home game every year since. In 1966, Tex Schramm, the General Manager of the fledgling Dallas Cowboys sought the same opportunity from the NFL in order to boost interest and in-stadium attendance. The Cowboys inaugural Thanksgiving Day game drew more than 80,000 to the Cotton Bowl and another holiday tradition was born. NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle decreed that the St. Loiuis Cardinals would play Thanksgiving home games in place of the Cowboys in 1975 and in 1977 but, other than those two years, the Cowboys have had a home game, in the later afternoon time slot, on Thanksgiving Day every year since 1966. In 2006, a third prime time game was added to the holiday football viewing schedule.
Thursday's game at AT&T Stadium (the House that Jerry Built) was the first Thanksgiving game for the Buffalo Bills since they played in Detroit in 1994. As seven point underdogs, the Bills were facing a talented Cowboys team which was reeling from a tough loss to the Patriots four days earlier. Head coach Jason Garret was under pressure from owner / General Manager Jerry Jones and from an impatient fan base. The Cowboys needed to right their listing ship and their annual Thanksgiving game would be a perfect setting to do so. They took the opening kick-off and marched easily to the end zone for an early 7-0 lead, leaving Bills fans feeling that they were in for a long afternoon.
But those would be the only points the Cowboys scored until the game was essentially out of reach as the Bills chose the ideal time to dial up their best and most complete effort of the season. The defence looked fierce and Josh Allen got his wish of posting a win in Dallas followed by biting into a turkey leg which was handed to him by CBS field reporter Tracy Wolfson. For me, when receiver John Brown hit a wide open Devin Singletary for a touchdown on a gadget play late in the first half, I began believing that the Bills just might be able to pull off their biggest win in 20 years.
I was quite surprised over the weekend to read that Thursday's Cowboys v. Bills match-up generated huge television ratings. According to the CBS website, it was the most watched Thanksgiving Day game in 27 years and the most watched regular season game in the last three years. Average viewership was 32.5 million, surpassing the Academy Awards in February and making it the most watched television program in the US since the Superbowl. For context, the Superbowl attracts about 100 million viewers in the US every year, making it the gold standard in television viewership. My prediction would have been that the Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game ratings would see their highest levels in games against one of their division rivals (Giants, Eagles or Washington), not for a game against a small market AFC team which has struggled for national relevance for more than two decades. But I sense now that the Buffalo Bills have somehow generated an almost cult-like following among NFL watchers. In other words, it is now officially cool to be a fan of the Buffalo Bills. I've always know that of course. The NFL appears to agree, announcing yesterday that the Bills v. Steelers game on Sunday December 15th has been "flexed" from its original 1pm start time to the prime time Sunday Night Football game with an 8.20pm kick-off.
Michigan and Ohio State have played their annual rivalry game on the last Saturday in November since 1918. "The Game", as it is known was ranked by ESPN in 2000 as the greatest rivalry in North American sports. Twenty years later, its importance has diminished slightly but remains the biggest regular season game in the Big Ten. For Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, he probably wishes that it would disappear from the calendar as he is now a perfect 0-5 in these games, including an 0-3 record at the Big House which packed in more than 112,000 for Saturday's game. Ohio State scored two touchdowns in each quarter and sealed their entry to the four-team college football playoff. Harbaugh and the Wolverines will settle for a lower tier bowl game. Again.
As for the Bills, for now, they have found their way into the top three teams in the AFC (by record; they still occupy the fifth playoff seed) with a record of 9-3. After last night's Patriots loss in Houston, the current holder of the top seed in the AFC is the Baltimore Ravens who come to Orchard Park on Sunday. The Bills find themselves one game behind the Patriots with a head-to-head game with them in Foxborough on Saturday December 21st. The games just bigger and bigger from here.
Commentary on the Buffalo Bills, politics and whatever else is on my mind
Monday, 2 December 2019
Monday, 25 November 2019
Bills 20, Broncos 3
Sometimes when I drive on Allen Road, I think of William R. Allen and the lengthy discussions in the 1970s surrounding the "Spadina Extension" to the road which now bears his name (and which was never built). The road's southernmost portion ends abruptly at Eglinton Avenue and this intersection is now quite often the scene of some of the worst traffic congestion in the City of Toronto. On the rare occasion when I find myself on Allen Road inching southbound toward Eglinton Avenue (and I'm done with pondering William R. Allen), I often think of the legendary NFL coach George Allen who coached the Rams and Washington from 1966 to 1977. Allen was known for his eccentricity, his paranoia and for being the first coach to put in 16 hour days - something that all NFL coaches now do regularly. Allen hired security guards to patrol the perimeter of his practice facilities for fear that his practices were being secretly observed and filmed. He also gave an up-and-coming coach named Marv Levy an NFL job as special teams coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams in 1970. Those are the first two Allens to be discussed here, with three more to come.
2019 will be known, among Allens worldwide, as their year in the NFL as no less than three Allens were under centre yesterday as NFL starting quarterbacks. One had a successful day, one had a decent game but came up short and the third has a long way to go if he wants to have a long career in the league. Let's start with Kyle Allen, the Texas A&M product, who almost quarterbacked the Carolina Panthers to a win in New Orleans but a missed field goal cost his team the game. He is now starting for the Panthers in place of the injured Cam Newton.
Allens two and three faced each other yesterday in Orchard Park. As the CBS graphic pointed out, it was only the fourth meeting in modern NFL history between teams whose starting quarterbacks bear the same sir name. Brandon Allen, who played his college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks, started the game for the Denver Broncos, replacing the injured Joe Flacco. He struggled for most of the day against the swirling winds of New Era Field and against the Bills defence which had a big game. The Broncos ended the day with only 9 first downs and a paltry total of 134 yards of offence. Allen looked overwhelmed at times against the Bills pass rush but threw only one interception on a route mix-up between quarterback and receiver.
Last but certainly not least, we turn to Bills quarterback Josh Allen. The good news is that he finally hit on a deep ball attempt - this time to John Brown on a play which was incomprehensibly called incomplete on the field but was ruled a touchdown after replay review. That sealed the game for Buffalo. Earlier on, Allen threw his first interception in 173 attempts and had another errant throw which should have been picked off but wasn't. His reversion to accuracy problems possibly had more to do with the wind than anything else as he threw the ball well for most of the day.
Congratulations this morning go to Bills running back Frank Gore who passed Barry Sanders for third place on the NFL's all-time rushing list. With 15,289 rushing yards in his career, Gore now stands behind only Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton. For his part, Devin Singletary carried 21 times for 106 yards to add to Gore's 65 yards.
Canadian football had a good final weekend with the Calgary Dinos winning the Vanier Cup before a decent crowd of more than 8,000 in Quebec City and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers capturing their first Grey Cup since 1990. A near 30 year championship drought is something that's not easy to maintain in a nine team league. And as critical as I was of Calgary football fans who boycotted the Mitchell Bowl last weekend, more than 35,000 attended the game at McMahon Stadium yesterday. As for how many paid full price for their tickets, well, whatever.
The Bills have their only scheduled nationally televised game of the regular season coming up on Thursday afternoon in Dallas (the flex schedule has created another one on Saturday December 21st in New England). The Cowboys lost a close one in New England yesterday in a monsoon and will present the biggest challenge of the season for the Bills since their week four loss to the Patriots. They will then have 10 days to prepare for the high-flying Baltimore Ravens who come to Orchard Park after playing the Rams tonight in Los Angeles and the 49ers at home next week. At 8-3, the Bills are finally embarking on a slate of important games in December.
2019 will be known, among Allens worldwide, as their year in the NFL as no less than three Allens were under centre yesterday as NFL starting quarterbacks. One had a successful day, one had a decent game but came up short and the third has a long way to go if he wants to have a long career in the league. Let's start with Kyle Allen, the Texas A&M product, who almost quarterbacked the Carolina Panthers to a win in New Orleans but a missed field goal cost his team the game. He is now starting for the Panthers in place of the injured Cam Newton.
Allens two and three faced each other yesterday in Orchard Park. As the CBS graphic pointed out, it was only the fourth meeting in modern NFL history between teams whose starting quarterbacks bear the same sir name. Brandon Allen, who played his college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks, started the game for the Denver Broncos, replacing the injured Joe Flacco. He struggled for most of the day against the swirling winds of New Era Field and against the Bills defence which had a big game. The Broncos ended the day with only 9 first downs and a paltry total of 134 yards of offence. Allen looked overwhelmed at times against the Bills pass rush but threw only one interception on a route mix-up between quarterback and receiver.
Last but certainly not least, we turn to Bills quarterback Josh Allen. The good news is that he finally hit on a deep ball attempt - this time to John Brown on a play which was incomprehensibly called incomplete on the field but was ruled a touchdown after replay review. That sealed the game for Buffalo. Earlier on, Allen threw his first interception in 173 attempts and had another errant throw which should have been picked off but wasn't. His reversion to accuracy problems possibly had more to do with the wind than anything else as he threw the ball well for most of the day.
Congratulations this morning go to Bills running back Frank Gore who passed Barry Sanders for third place on the NFL's all-time rushing list. With 15,289 rushing yards in his career, Gore now stands behind only Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton. For his part, Devin Singletary carried 21 times for 106 yards to add to Gore's 65 yards.
Canadian football had a good final weekend with the Calgary Dinos winning the Vanier Cup before a decent crowd of more than 8,000 in Quebec City and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers capturing their first Grey Cup since 1990. A near 30 year championship drought is something that's not easy to maintain in a nine team league. And as critical as I was of Calgary football fans who boycotted the Mitchell Bowl last weekend, more than 35,000 attended the game at McMahon Stadium yesterday. As for how many paid full price for their tickets, well, whatever.
The Bills have their only scheduled nationally televised game of the regular season coming up on Thursday afternoon in Dallas (the flex schedule has created another one on Saturday December 21st in New England). The Cowboys lost a close one in New England yesterday in a monsoon and will present the biggest challenge of the season for the Bills since their week four loss to the Patriots. They will then have 10 days to prepare for the high-flying Baltimore Ravens who come to Orchard Park after playing the Rams tonight in Los Angeles and the 49ers at home next week. At 8-3, the Bills are finally embarking on a slate of important games in December.
Sunday, 17 November 2019
Bills 37, Dolphins 20
As Jerry Sullivan tweeted yesterday, it really is too bad that Josh Allen can't play the Miami Dolphins every week. With Allen under centre, the Bills have put up 30 points three times, all of them against Miami - and his three highest passer ratings have also come against the Dolphins. Sure, their pass defence isn't very good but yesterday in south Florida, Allen had what looked to me to be his best game as a pro which should silence the small group of Bills fans who've been ever-so-quietly beating the drums about how he isn't progressing quickly enough - and calling WGR 550 to make their case against him and, believe it or not, as one caller yesterday morning did, to make the case for switching to Matt Barkley. But I'm quite pleased with Josh Allen's overall development and with how confidently and effectively he's playing this season and I'm positively giddy about him when I compare him to two of his 2018 draft class-mates: Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield. Not to mention how he stacks up against Nathan Peterman, EJ Manuel, JP Losman, Trent Edwards, Jeff Tuel....need I continue? Allen was not sacked yesterday, did not turn the ball over and he has now thrown 163 passes without an interception. He showed his prowess in the running game again with a 36 yard scamper and a touchdown.
Possibly my favourite Marv Levy quote was one from the week leading up to one of the Superbowls. Replying to a reporter's question, Levy said "This is not a must-win; World War II was a must-win". Holding a Master's degree in British military history, Levy actually downplayed comparisons of football to war, explaining that he had fought in a war and that he thought war metaphors were not properly applicable to football. Levy was born in 1925 and served in the United States Army Air Forces (the predecessor to the USAF) from 1943 to 1946. He began coaching football in 1951. As a Jewish American who served in WW II, there is no question that a man like Marv Levy appreciates the sacrifices that were made. Ok now please stay with me here as I transition to Don Cherry (for the last time).
Cherry was born in 1934 and was 11 years old when the war ended - plenty old enough to remember it and to have a sense of how important it was. Whatever efforts he has made in his life to remind us of the significance of the contributions of Canadians (and others) to the war efforts of the first half of the 20th century are entirely understandable, if not commendable. His strong desire for the continued honouring of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in these wars is admirable too. But last weekend, he went too far and he knew it. Everyone involved apologized the following day except for him. Ron MacLean told us on Saturday night that, in the end, Don was not willing to take the steps which he was asked to take - which presumably included making a clear and sincere apology - in order to keep his job with Sportsnet. So, his long run is over. I generally appreciated his hockey analysis without always agreeing with it. Even some of the groups he insulted from time to time would tune in to hear him on Saturday nights. I recall a story told by Mark Hebscher who had attended a game at the Montreal Forum in a private box and watched in amazement as all of the televisions in all of the boxes changed to English CBC after the first period and then back to French when Cherry was done.
In three-down football, Hamilton and Winnipeg earned births to the 107th Grey Cup to be played on Sunday at McMahon Stadium in Calgary. The Montreal Carabins and the Calgary Dinosaurs will meet in the 55th Vanier Cup in Quebec City on Saturday. I tuned in a bit of the Mitchell Bowl on Saturday, won by Calgary over McMaster, and by my rough count from seeing shots of the stands, there could not have been more than 200 people in the stadium, other than the teams, coaches and trainers. For the Dinos, this was a home game and with a birth in the Championship at stake, the turnout was pathetic. I know that Canadian university football has pretty limited appeal but honestly Calgary.....I guess there is a chance to have a better showing for the Grey Cup but I am not optimistic that the stands will be full. The Grey Cup game should be played every year at Mosaic Stadium in Regina until further notice.
Up next for the Bills, after two road games, they return home to face the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The Broncos last won in Orchard Park in September, 2007 - a 15-14 win on a last second field goal in a game marred by a spinal injury to Bills receiver Kevin Everett. At 7-3, the Bills currently hold the fifth seed in the AFC. The schedule becomes much tougher over the final six games but I predict that Josh Allen and the rest of the team will rise to the level of their opponents and finish the season no worse than 10-6.
Possibly my favourite Marv Levy quote was one from the week leading up to one of the Superbowls. Replying to a reporter's question, Levy said "This is not a must-win; World War II was a must-win". Holding a Master's degree in British military history, Levy actually downplayed comparisons of football to war, explaining that he had fought in a war and that he thought war metaphors were not properly applicable to football. Levy was born in 1925 and served in the United States Army Air Forces (the predecessor to the USAF) from 1943 to 1946. He began coaching football in 1951. As a Jewish American who served in WW II, there is no question that a man like Marv Levy appreciates the sacrifices that were made. Ok now please stay with me here as I transition to Don Cherry (for the last time).
Cherry was born in 1934 and was 11 years old when the war ended - plenty old enough to remember it and to have a sense of how important it was. Whatever efforts he has made in his life to remind us of the significance of the contributions of Canadians (and others) to the war efforts of the first half of the 20th century are entirely understandable, if not commendable. His strong desire for the continued honouring of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in these wars is admirable too. But last weekend, he went too far and he knew it. Everyone involved apologized the following day except for him. Ron MacLean told us on Saturday night that, in the end, Don was not willing to take the steps which he was asked to take - which presumably included making a clear and sincere apology - in order to keep his job with Sportsnet. So, his long run is over. I generally appreciated his hockey analysis without always agreeing with it. Even some of the groups he insulted from time to time would tune in to hear him on Saturday nights. I recall a story told by Mark Hebscher who had attended a game at the Montreal Forum in a private box and watched in amazement as all of the televisions in all of the boxes changed to English CBC after the first period and then back to French when Cherry was done.
In three-down football, Hamilton and Winnipeg earned births to the 107th Grey Cup to be played on Sunday at McMahon Stadium in Calgary. The Montreal Carabins and the Calgary Dinosaurs will meet in the 55th Vanier Cup in Quebec City on Saturday. I tuned in a bit of the Mitchell Bowl on Saturday, won by Calgary over McMaster, and by my rough count from seeing shots of the stands, there could not have been more than 200 people in the stadium, other than the teams, coaches and trainers. For the Dinos, this was a home game and with a birth in the Championship at stake, the turnout was pathetic. I know that Canadian university football has pretty limited appeal but honestly Calgary.....I guess there is a chance to have a better showing for the Grey Cup but I am not optimistic that the stands will be full. The Grey Cup game should be played every year at Mosaic Stadium in Regina until further notice.
Up next for the Bills, after two road games, they return home to face the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The Broncos last won in Orchard Park in September, 2007 - a 15-14 win on a last second field goal in a game marred by a spinal injury to Bills receiver Kevin Everett. At 7-3, the Bills currently hold the fifth seed in the AFC. The schedule becomes much tougher over the final six games but I predict that Josh Allen and the rest of the team will rise to the level of their opponents and finish the season no worse than 10-6.
Monday, 11 November 2019
Browns 19, Bills 16
When Sean McDermott makes his list of things for his football team to work on going into its next game in south Florida, goal line defence will not likely be on it. The Bills amazingly stopped the Cleveland Browns on no less than 12 plays from inside the three yard line, on two separate series yesterday on the south shore of Lake Erie. Browns coach Fred Kitchens was prepared to roll a lucky 13 on a fourth down play but chose to kick a field goal when one of his offensive linemen was flagged for a false start. That field goal gave the Browns a 9-7 lead before halftime.
In a game which was frustrating to watch for fans of either team, the Bills took a four point lead with just over five minutes remaining on Josh Allen's second rushing touchdown of the game. Just before that, Allen fumbled the ball - yet again - on the four yard line but the ball was knocked forward to Jose Feliciano, whose ability to find just the right balance between his music and football careers, showed that he really does have a keen sense of smell for the ball by recovering it on the one yard line to not only preserve possession and extend the drive, but for a first down as well. After the touchdown, leading 16-12, the Bills appeared to seal the win as Jerry Hughes recovered a botched "hand-off" attempt by Baker Mayfield and scampered to the endzone for an apparent touchdown and a 22-12 Bills lead. But as soon as CBS rules analyst Gene Seratore, a long time NFL referee, said that in his opinion Mayfield's unsuccessful short vertical toss amounted to an incomplete pass, I knew that the Bills lead had been reduced again to four.
When kickers miss field goal attempts, headlines in the sports press often declare that "there is plenty of blame to go around". Well, yes there is for a Bills team which continued again yesterday to struggle on offence but kicker Stephen Hauschka not only missed on a 53 yard attempt to tie the game in perfectly decent weather conditions, but he also missed a 34 yard try earlier on. We can all count, as Andy Reid once said, and by my count, the missed field goals really made the difference in the game. The Bills have generally been solid in the place-kicking department over many years - think of names like Steve Christie and Ryan Lindell - and Hauschka had success in Baltimore, Denver and Seattle before coming to Buffalo in 2017. He has been quite consistent over the past three seasons with the Bills and in August signed a two-year contract extension which pays him $4 million per season.
The Bills remain on the road in week 11, travelling to Miami to face the red-hot Dolphins, winners of two straight games, including an upset road win in Indianapolis yesterday over the heavily favoured Colts. At 6-3, the Bills are still well positioned for a playoff spot in the relatively weak AFC.
Elsewhere in the football world, the CFL's Division Championship games are set with Hamilton hosting Edmonton and Winnipeg playing the Riders in Regina next Sunday. The Grey Cup is set for November 24th in Calgary whose Stampeders lost at home yesterday to the Bombers. Since the game at McMahon Stadium drew only 24,000 yesterday in Calgary, Grey Cup tickets, I presume, will be easy to come by.
There is something about Alabama coach Nick Saban which I don't like so I was happy to see his Crimson Tide (and the 100,000+ fans in Tuscoloosa who cheered Donald Trump) lose to LSU whose coach, Ed Orgeron, looks and talks like a mobster.
My neighbourhood high school football team in north Toronto is the Lawrence Park Panthers. The Panthers play on Thursday in the Tier 1 semi-finals against Richview CI at Esther Shiner stadium. I know one of the players who I expect will be able to get me a good seat for the 2pm kick.
Finally, to the good people of Canada - and I guess to you too Don Cherry - today is Remembrance Day so please take a moment at 11am to pay your respects. Maybe its time to remove Mr. Cherry from the public airwaves since he has failed or refused to apologize for his baffling comments on Saturday night - leaving that to his employer, Sportsnet and to his broadcast partner Ron McLean.
In a game which was frustrating to watch for fans of either team, the Bills took a four point lead with just over five minutes remaining on Josh Allen's second rushing touchdown of the game. Just before that, Allen fumbled the ball - yet again - on the four yard line but the ball was knocked forward to Jose Feliciano, whose ability to find just the right balance between his music and football careers, showed that he really does have a keen sense of smell for the ball by recovering it on the one yard line to not only preserve possession and extend the drive, but for a first down as well. After the touchdown, leading 16-12, the Bills appeared to seal the win as Jerry Hughes recovered a botched "hand-off" attempt by Baker Mayfield and scampered to the endzone for an apparent touchdown and a 22-12 Bills lead. But as soon as CBS rules analyst Gene Seratore, a long time NFL referee, said that in his opinion Mayfield's unsuccessful short vertical toss amounted to an incomplete pass, I knew that the Bills lead had been reduced again to four.
When kickers miss field goal attempts, headlines in the sports press often declare that "there is plenty of blame to go around". Well, yes there is for a Bills team which continued again yesterday to struggle on offence but kicker Stephen Hauschka not only missed on a 53 yard attempt to tie the game in perfectly decent weather conditions, but he also missed a 34 yard try earlier on. We can all count, as Andy Reid once said, and by my count, the missed field goals really made the difference in the game. The Bills have generally been solid in the place-kicking department over many years - think of names like Steve Christie and Ryan Lindell - and Hauschka had success in Baltimore, Denver and Seattle before coming to Buffalo in 2017. He has been quite consistent over the past three seasons with the Bills and in August signed a two-year contract extension which pays him $4 million per season.
The Bills remain on the road in week 11, travelling to Miami to face the red-hot Dolphins, winners of two straight games, including an upset road win in Indianapolis yesterday over the heavily favoured Colts. At 6-3, the Bills are still well positioned for a playoff spot in the relatively weak AFC.
Elsewhere in the football world, the CFL's Division Championship games are set with Hamilton hosting Edmonton and Winnipeg playing the Riders in Regina next Sunday. The Grey Cup is set for November 24th in Calgary whose Stampeders lost at home yesterday to the Bombers. Since the game at McMahon Stadium drew only 24,000 yesterday in Calgary, Grey Cup tickets, I presume, will be easy to come by.
There is something about Alabama coach Nick Saban which I don't like so I was happy to see his Crimson Tide (and the 100,000+ fans in Tuscoloosa who cheered Donald Trump) lose to LSU whose coach, Ed Orgeron, looks and talks like a mobster.
My neighbourhood high school football team in north Toronto is the Lawrence Park Panthers. The Panthers play on Thursday in the Tier 1 semi-finals against Richview CI at Esther Shiner stadium. I know one of the players who I expect will be able to get me a good seat for the 2pm kick.
Finally, to the good people of Canada - and I guess to you too Don Cherry - today is Remembrance Day so please take a moment at 11am to pay your respects. Maybe its time to remove Mr. Cherry from the public airwaves since he has failed or refused to apologize for his baffling comments on Saturday night - leaving that to his employer, Sportsnet and to his broadcast partner Ron McLean.
Monday, 4 November 2019
Bills 24, Washington 9
When Jerry Sullivan was relieved of his duties as a featured sports columnist for the Buffalo News a couple of years ago, he was widely considered to be the opposite of a "homer" sports journalist. Always seeming to find a dark cloud in any story, despite the silver lining of eternal optimism shared by fans of the Buffalo Bills, Sullivan was the subject of a petition which gained enough momentum for the western New York daily to move on from him, saying that he was just too negative for their readers. In a larger market, Sullivan's "glass half empty" approach to covering losing teams (remember the Bills missed the playoffs from 1999 to 2017) would have been considered appropriate in my view. But enough fans in Buffalo had read enough of his doom and gloom columns - even if they were pretty much accurate most of the time.
A couple of days before the Bills fell to the Eagles last Sunday, Sullivan shared with his Twitter followers another of his dire tidbits which was sure to rile up those (like me) who are still interested in what he has to say about the Bills. Sullivan dug up the fact that since 2000, including last week's game against the Eagles, the Bills have had 17 chances to record their sixth win in a season before the 11th game (in other words, to get to a record of 6-4 or better). Over the course of those 17 games, the Bills were a perfect 0-17. In the 2011 season, the Bills started 5-1 (as they did this year) and went 0-5 in trying to get to 6 wins before game 11. Many Buffalo sports fans will see this data point as typical Sullivan - trying to find the most depressing angle from which to evaluate the team and anticipate more Bills losses. Maybe he's disappointed this morning that the team finally broke the streak of 0-17 yesterday against Washington but I'm sure that he will find another equally dire trend to infuriate his readers as the Bills take their 6-2 record to Cleveland next week. Either way, I'll be reading what he has to say. This is the best start to a season for the Bills since their last Superbowl year in 1993 but Sullivan probably won't mention that.
I heard something that Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said the other day: with so many close games every week in the NFL, most games come down to which team is able to step up and execute in the last 10 minutes of the 4th quarter. The Bills allowed Washington, a team which had already fired its head coach earlier this season and was starting a rookie third-string quarterback yesterday, to hang around within one score in a 17-9 game. Then, as those critical final minutes began ticking down, the team stepped up on both sides of the ball and put the game out of reach. The defence stiffened and a Tre'davious White sack pinned Washington inside their five yard line, having to punt from their endzone. Josh Allen then led the team to the game-sealing touchdown - a two yard run by Devin Singletary.
Speaking of Singletary, the Bills rookie running back, only now appearing to be fully recovered from his early season hamstring injury, had a big day with 140 total yards. He had 20 carries for 95 yards on the ground and took a screen pass 49 yards for the game's biggest offensive play. As the featured running back yesterday, Singletary took the time to find running lanes and looked elusive and deceptively quick. On the other hand, Frank Gore, the highly respected veteran, seemed like he was banging his head against a brick wall with multiple unsuccessful straight ahead attempts in short yardage situations. He has been quite effective for the Bills this year but not yesterday. I predict that the combination of the two backs with very different styles will continue to work well with at least one of them finding running room each week. Adrian Peterson looked like the hardest player in the league to tackle in the first half yesterday as he repeatedly shed defenders who should have been able to bring him to the ground and was able to pile up 101 yards before the break but ended the game with only 7 more in the second half.
Going into yesterday, Washington had not played a game in Orchard Park since 2003. The 2011 game, won by the Bills 23-0, was played before a subdued crowd at the Rogers Centre in Toronto (I know it was subdued because I was there). The team from Washington is scheduled to play in Buffalo next in 2027.
Up next for the Bills is a short drive along the south shore of Lake Erie to visit their cousins, the Cleveland Browns. The Browns are coming off a loss at Denver yesterday and are now at 2-6 - quite disappointing for a team which was hoping to contend with Baker Mayfield in his second year and the signing of Odell Beckham Jr for him to throw to. I expect a large contingent of Bills Nation to make the drive to Cleveland for a chance to see the Bills improve to 7-2.
A couple of days before the Bills fell to the Eagles last Sunday, Sullivan shared with his Twitter followers another of his dire tidbits which was sure to rile up those (like me) who are still interested in what he has to say about the Bills. Sullivan dug up the fact that since 2000, including last week's game against the Eagles, the Bills have had 17 chances to record their sixth win in a season before the 11th game (in other words, to get to a record of 6-4 or better). Over the course of those 17 games, the Bills were a perfect 0-17. In the 2011 season, the Bills started 5-1 (as they did this year) and went 0-5 in trying to get to 6 wins before game 11. Many Buffalo sports fans will see this data point as typical Sullivan - trying to find the most depressing angle from which to evaluate the team and anticipate more Bills losses. Maybe he's disappointed this morning that the team finally broke the streak of 0-17 yesterday against Washington but I'm sure that he will find another equally dire trend to infuriate his readers as the Bills take their 6-2 record to Cleveland next week. Either way, I'll be reading what he has to say. This is the best start to a season for the Bills since their last Superbowl year in 1993 but Sullivan probably won't mention that.
I heard something that Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said the other day: with so many close games every week in the NFL, most games come down to which team is able to step up and execute in the last 10 minutes of the 4th quarter. The Bills allowed Washington, a team which had already fired its head coach earlier this season and was starting a rookie third-string quarterback yesterday, to hang around within one score in a 17-9 game. Then, as those critical final minutes began ticking down, the team stepped up on both sides of the ball and put the game out of reach. The defence stiffened and a Tre'davious White sack pinned Washington inside their five yard line, having to punt from their endzone. Josh Allen then led the team to the game-sealing touchdown - a two yard run by Devin Singletary.
Speaking of Singletary, the Bills rookie running back, only now appearing to be fully recovered from his early season hamstring injury, had a big day with 140 total yards. He had 20 carries for 95 yards on the ground and took a screen pass 49 yards for the game's biggest offensive play. As the featured running back yesterday, Singletary took the time to find running lanes and looked elusive and deceptively quick. On the other hand, Frank Gore, the highly respected veteran, seemed like he was banging his head against a brick wall with multiple unsuccessful straight ahead attempts in short yardage situations. He has been quite effective for the Bills this year but not yesterday. I predict that the combination of the two backs with very different styles will continue to work well with at least one of them finding running room each week. Adrian Peterson looked like the hardest player in the league to tackle in the first half yesterday as he repeatedly shed defenders who should have been able to bring him to the ground and was able to pile up 101 yards before the break but ended the game with only 7 more in the second half.
Going into yesterday, Washington had not played a game in Orchard Park since 2003. The 2011 game, won by the Bills 23-0, was played before a subdued crowd at the Rogers Centre in Toronto (I know it was subdued because I was there). The team from Washington is scheduled to play in Buffalo next in 2027.
Up next for the Bills is a short drive along the south shore of Lake Erie to visit their cousins, the Cleveland Browns. The Browns are coming off a loss at Denver yesterday and are now at 2-6 - quite disappointing for a team which was hoping to contend with Baker Mayfield in his second year and the signing of Odell Beckham Jr for him to throw to. I expect a large contingent of Bills Nation to make the drive to Cleveland for a chance to see the Bills improve to 7-2.
Monday, 28 October 2019
Eagles 31, Bills 13
On Saturday morning in my car, just after 8.30am, I checked WGR 550, the Buffalo sports radio station where there is usually plenty of Bills talk to be heard, especially this season with the Bills off to a 5-1 start and Bills Nation thinking about the possibility of the team's second playoff berth in three seasons under head coach Sean McDermott. The programming carried by the station at that moment was an infomercial for a sport betting tout service, thinly disguised as a football talk show. The sell line for these services go something like this: "I have access to critical game-deciding information which will help you have a winning weekend in college football and the NFL....subscribe to my service and I will give you my guaranteed locks for this weekend..." I was about to turn to another station when the tout said that his red-hot NFL "lock" this week was his pick for the Eagles v. Bills game on Sunday: "A guaranteed cover and outright winner for this game is available free if you subscribe for the next three weeks", he said. He then promised that he was so certain about this that he would refund subscription fees if his guaranteed Eagles v. Bills result failed to deliver. Across the various sports books, the Bills were somewhere between a one and a three point favourite in the days leading up to yesterday's game but by kick-off, most books had moved the line to a pick 'em. I did not subscribe to the tout service who offered a guaranteed winner for the game for two reasons: first, because I would never subscribe to such a service anyway (I prefer to spend $20 every week on a long-shot Pro-line ticket) and, second, I knew that all indicators pointed to the service advising punters to take the Eagles plus one or two. The "sharp" money late last week and leading up to kick-off was clearly with the Eagles. I'm sure that the tout I heard on Saturday morning is issuing no refunds today.
I had a bad feeling going into the game. The Eagles, at 3-4 and a Superbowl winner two seasons ago, were in a desperate situation - or at least they were highly motivated to improve their record to 4-4, rather than let it slip to 3-5, especially after being blown out by the Cowboys last Sunday. The Bills were coasting with a 5-1 record, having enjoyed a easy schedule and still in search of anything close to a "signature win" to establish themselves as a credible threat in the AFC. With the mostly soft schedule they face for the rest of the season, the Bills appear to have two remaining opportunities to record this elusive signature win: the first will come on Thanksgiving Day at Dallas and the second will be in week 16 at New England.
This is my 16th season as a Bills season ticket holder. Yesterday's visit to Orchard Park by the Philadelphia Eagles was only the second in all of those years. The NFL schedule is constructed so that out-of-conference divisions are matched against each other every four years, switching from to home to away, which means that an NFC team will visit a particular AFC team only once every eight years. The Eagles played in Buffalo in 2003, 2011 and yesterday with their next visit scheduled for 2027. The Eagles won easily in 2003 with Donovan McNabb under centre (and Drew Bledsoe at quarterback for the Bills) but the Bills managed to win in the 2011 game which featured a key Ryan Fitzpatrick hard count which drew the Eagles offside giving the Bills a first down at a critical point late in the game which was played on Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. The Eagles lead the all-time series 8-6. The other relevant connection between the two teams is that Sean McDermott began his NFL coaching career in Philadelphia under Andy Reid who remains a close friend and mentor to McDermott.
The Bills face Washington next week in their third consecutive home game. I have decided to stop using the name of the Washington football team for the same reason that long-time Blue Jays play-by-play broadcaster Jerry Howarth stopped using the name of Cleveland's baseball team. Daniel Snyder, the Washington team owner, responding to pressure from Native American groups demanding a name change, declared that the team's name will never be changed as long as he remains the owner. The team's name is particularly offensive - as is the logo which is similar to that of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Speaking of the BIackhawks, I recently saw an artist's rendering of a suggested culturally appropriate change to the Blackhawks logo which features a bird rather than a human head but with a similar design style and the same coloured feathers. I really like the image and if I were Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz, I would change the team's logo to something like this. Easy for me to say but the change would not only leave the team's name in place but I suggest that it would generate significant positive public relations - and not just among Native Americans. Not to mention the potential sales revenue from an entire new line of Blackhawks branded jerseys and other clothing and swag.
I had a bad feeling going into the game. The Eagles, at 3-4 and a Superbowl winner two seasons ago, were in a desperate situation - or at least they were highly motivated to improve their record to 4-4, rather than let it slip to 3-5, especially after being blown out by the Cowboys last Sunday. The Bills were coasting with a 5-1 record, having enjoyed a easy schedule and still in search of anything close to a "signature win" to establish themselves as a credible threat in the AFC. With the mostly soft schedule they face for the rest of the season, the Bills appear to have two remaining opportunities to record this elusive signature win: the first will come on Thanksgiving Day at Dallas and the second will be in week 16 at New England.
This is my 16th season as a Bills season ticket holder. Yesterday's visit to Orchard Park by the Philadelphia Eagles was only the second in all of those years. The NFL schedule is constructed so that out-of-conference divisions are matched against each other every four years, switching from to home to away, which means that an NFC team will visit a particular AFC team only once every eight years. The Eagles played in Buffalo in 2003, 2011 and yesterday with their next visit scheduled for 2027. The Eagles won easily in 2003 with Donovan McNabb under centre (and Drew Bledsoe at quarterback for the Bills) but the Bills managed to win in the 2011 game which featured a key Ryan Fitzpatrick hard count which drew the Eagles offside giving the Bills a first down at a critical point late in the game which was played on Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. The Eagles lead the all-time series 8-6. The other relevant connection between the two teams is that Sean McDermott began his NFL coaching career in Philadelphia under Andy Reid who remains a close friend and mentor to McDermott.
The Bills face Washington next week in their third consecutive home game. I have decided to stop using the name of the Washington football team for the same reason that long-time Blue Jays play-by-play broadcaster Jerry Howarth stopped using the name of Cleveland's baseball team. Daniel Snyder, the Washington team owner, responding to pressure from Native American groups demanding a name change, declared that the team's name will never be changed as long as he remains the owner. The team's name is particularly offensive - as is the logo which is similar to that of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Speaking of the BIackhawks, I recently saw an artist's rendering of a suggested culturally appropriate change to the Blackhawks logo which features a bird rather than a human head but with a similar design style and the same coloured feathers. I really like the image and if I were Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz, I would change the team's logo to something like this. Easy for me to say but the change would not only leave the team's name in place but I suggest that it would generate significant positive public relations - and not just among Native Americans. Not to mention the potential sales revenue from an entire new line of Blackhawks branded jerseys and other clothing and swag.
Monday, 21 October 2019
Bills 31, Dolphins 21
Of the roughly 25,000 men who have ever suited up for an NFL game, for many reasons, few are more fascinating than one Ryan Joseph Fitzpatrick. Born and raised in Arizona, Fitzpatrick studied economics at Harvard and also quarterbacked the school's Ivy League football team. In the 2004 season, he led the Crimson to a 10-0 record and and Ivy League championship. He scored 48 on the Wonderlic Personnel Test and that score is the highest ever recorded for an NFL quarterback. By comparison, current Bills quarterback Josh Allen scored a 37.
Fitzpatrick was drafted in the 7th round of the 2005 NFL draft as the 250th overall pick by the St. Louis Rams. Including his current team, the Miami Dolphins, he has played for eight NFL teams over his 15 year career. This included four seasons with the Buffalo Bills - from 2009 through 2012 - where he started all 16 regular season games in both the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Known in good times as "Fitzmagic" and in bad times as "Fitztragic", his play has swung wildly between brilliant and horrific - from season to season, game to game and within games, from series to series. Known as a risk-taking gunslinger of a quarterback, over his career he has been a paradox - often showing flashes of brilliance in an individual game only to eventually throw a critical interception at the most inopportune time to seal a loss. He is the only quarterback in NFL history to throw four touchdown passes in a single game with five different teams (including the Bills). He has never played in an NFL playoff game as he seems to bounce around the league's bottom feeders as a capable back-up who always seems to have a notable impact on the fortunes of whatever team he finds himself on - usually a positive impact in the short term and negative one later on.
It was clear to me that Fitzpatrick and the Dolphins were motivated and well prepared going into yesterday's game in Orchard Park. For a team widely expected to complete the 2019 season without a win, the Dolphins played hard and at times played well. Fitzpatrick looked solid in the first half before fizzling out later in the game. For a 17 point underdog widely believed to be in "tank" mode this season, the Dolphins looked like a team which was long on effort and short on talent. This is a testament to the Dolphins coaching staff and probably to Fitzpatrick himself whose play yesterday replicated a common pattern he has shown over 15 years - strong play early on with his team well-positioned to pull off the biggest upset of the NFL season so far, then a crucial interception as his team was on the verge of another score. He even engineered a late touchdown, taking the ball to the endzone himself, to bring the Dolphins to within three points and a chance at recovering an onside kick.
Looking at the score this morning, a casual NFL fan might think that the Bills had built a comfortable lead before softening and allowing the Dolphins to rack up some garbage time points and earn a back-door cover. But the game was uncomfortably close for Bills fans until Micah Hyde sealed the win by returning an onside kick for a touchdown to restore a ten point margin. Good teams win close games and bad teams lose them.
The Bills play a much better Philadelphia Eagles team next week in the second of three consecutive home games in Orchard Park. The Eagles lost badly last night in Dallas and will present the Bills with the their second-biggest challenge of the season so far.
Canadians will elect a new government today in our 43rd general election. I'm glad that the campaign is over as it seemed to be far longer than needed with few interesting or relevant developments along the way. I predict the following: The Conservatives will not fair quite as well as expected and the Liberals will win the most seats but will fall short of the 170 needed for a majority. The NDP will win enough seats to hold the balance of power in a minority parliament and they will demand from the Liberals in exchange for their support, among other things, that the Trans-Mountain pipeline project be scrapped. How the Liberals decide to deal with this demand will be a large question - one with critical national unity and environmental implications.
Fitzpatrick was drafted in the 7th round of the 2005 NFL draft as the 250th overall pick by the St. Louis Rams. Including his current team, the Miami Dolphins, he has played for eight NFL teams over his 15 year career. This included four seasons with the Buffalo Bills - from 2009 through 2012 - where he started all 16 regular season games in both the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Known in good times as "Fitzmagic" and in bad times as "Fitztragic", his play has swung wildly between brilliant and horrific - from season to season, game to game and within games, from series to series. Known as a risk-taking gunslinger of a quarterback, over his career he has been a paradox - often showing flashes of brilliance in an individual game only to eventually throw a critical interception at the most inopportune time to seal a loss. He is the only quarterback in NFL history to throw four touchdown passes in a single game with five different teams (including the Bills). He has never played in an NFL playoff game as he seems to bounce around the league's bottom feeders as a capable back-up who always seems to have a notable impact on the fortunes of whatever team he finds himself on - usually a positive impact in the short term and negative one later on.
It was clear to me that Fitzpatrick and the Dolphins were motivated and well prepared going into yesterday's game in Orchard Park. For a team widely expected to complete the 2019 season without a win, the Dolphins played hard and at times played well. Fitzpatrick looked solid in the first half before fizzling out later in the game. For a 17 point underdog widely believed to be in "tank" mode this season, the Dolphins looked like a team which was long on effort and short on talent. This is a testament to the Dolphins coaching staff and probably to Fitzpatrick himself whose play yesterday replicated a common pattern he has shown over 15 years - strong play early on with his team well-positioned to pull off the biggest upset of the NFL season so far, then a crucial interception as his team was on the verge of another score. He even engineered a late touchdown, taking the ball to the endzone himself, to bring the Dolphins to within three points and a chance at recovering an onside kick.
Looking at the score this morning, a casual NFL fan might think that the Bills had built a comfortable lead before softening and allowing the Dolphins to rack up some garbage time points and earn a back-door cover. But the game was uncomfortably close for Bills fans until Micah Hyde sealed the win by returning an onside kick for a touchdown to restore a ten point margin. Good teams win close games and bad teams lose them.
The Bills play a much better Philadelphia Eagles team next week in the second of three consecutive home games in Orchard Park. The Eagles lost badly last night in Dallas and will present the Bills with the their second-biggest challenge of the season so far.
Canadians will elect a new government today in our 43rd general election. I'm glad that the campaign is over as it seemed to be far longer than needed with few interesting or relevant developments along the way. I predict the following: The Conservatives will not fair quite as well as expected and the Liberals will win the most seats but will fall short of the 170 needed for a majority. The NDP will win enough seats to hold the balance of power in a minority parliament and they will demand from the Liberals in exchange for their support, among other things, that the Trans-Mountain pipeline project be scrapped. How the Liberals decide to deal with this demand will be a large question - one with critical national unity and environmental implications.
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