Bills 38, Jets 3

Terry Pegula's first choice for the relocation of last night's game was, apparently, Beaver Stadium at University Park which is in State College, Pennsylvania in an area also known as Happy Valley. It's where the Penn State Nittany Lions play their home games on Saturdays and where Jerry Sandusky perpetrated his evil deeds against young boys, under the not-so-watchful eye of Joe Paterno. PSU is Pegula's Alma Mater and Happy Valley is about a 2 hour drive from Orchard Park. It seemed like a good choice but the league would not approve it because the stadium lacks the communication and video infrastructure for NFL coaching staffs and CBS broadcast requirements. The Rogers Centre was also considered but it was in mid-preparation mode for a music and dance event called "Sensation: Into the Wild". The Carrier Dome in Syracuse was hosting several indoor hockey games over the weekend and logistical considerations would have made it impossible to host the game before today, Tuesday, at the earliest. So, the league settled on Ford Field in Detroit, an modern indoor facility which was available and able to accommodate the Bills requirements for the usual video review and analysis which is part of any team's weekly game preparation. The team and its 53 players, coaches and staff extricated themselves from the snow in Buffalo and flew to Detroit on Friday. Roger Goodell looked a bit nervous in a sideline interview with Steve Tasker as he emphasized that the league did not want a football game to interfere with the needs of western New York citizens.

I liked Scott Chandler's touchdown celebration which was a snow shoveling motion, after he spiked the ball. Then, the disaster that is the New York Jets did the rest as the Bills cruised to their easy win in their first, albeit unscheduled, appearance on a Monday night since 2009. Robert Woods had by far the best game of his career with 9 catches, including a spectacular one-handed grab along the sidelines which wasn't quite as impressive as Odell Beckham Jr.'s catch on Sunday night but was still worthy of inclusion in this season's Bills highlight reel. The defence was solid once again and the Bills had their first blocked punt for a touchdown since 2004. EJ Manuel even came in and performed three successful hand-offs on the last offensive series.

Around 9.30pm, CBS scrolled the result of the Ferguson, MO grand jury deliberations which were that no charges would be laid against the white police officer who shot an un-armed black teenager in August. Overnight riots would ensue in the St. Louis suburb as they would in other US cities. Race relations still have a long way to go in the US, regardless of the specific facts in this case.  

The next challenge for Ralph Wilson Stadium and for Erie County is to get the stadium and surrounding area in condition to host a game five days from now. Temperatures reached 65F in the Buffalo area yesterday and there is just no way that the satellite parking lots (most of which are grass fields) can be in any condition to have cars parking on them on Sunday after seven feet of snow has melted on them. The stadium will probably be fine as will the paved lots directly surrounding it but for those going to the game (which I'm hoping will not include me), I would suggest that parking will be limited and extra time should be allowed.

The Bills are now 6-5 and were certainly hoping that the Saints could knock off the Ravens last night, one of the many four loss teams in the AFC playoff hunt. The Ravens won and remain a four loss team. The Bills chances at a playoff spot remain slim but still alive as their Lake Erie cousins, the Cleveland Browns come to Orchard Park on Sunday. The Browns, coached by former Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, are another one of those four loss teams and obviously have a lot to play for.
 

Dolphins 22, Bills 9

November is often a bleak month with little daylight and miserable weather. Its a shoulder season in Muskoka where biking is usually wet and muddy and skiing is still down the road. It is also the only season where we get significant snowfall before the lake freezes, making for often stunning photography - especially when the sun shines on the fresh snow. The photo above was taken this past Friday morning after about 20cm of snow fell on Wednesday overnight and during the day Thursday. The reflections of the snow laden trees on the water makes for memorable late season paddling.

Since CBS decided to carry only the first half of this season's Thursday night games, I was forced to go north for the game. There was no snow on the ground until Gravenhurst on Thursday morning and then I got one of the last bike rides of the season in later in the afternoon in a heavy squall. Then a sauna, dinner and some Thursday night Bills football. This game was going to determine if the Bills long run of non-playoff appearances would continue or if they could make a statement in south Florida and preserve their post-season chances at 6-4. I was not feeling at all confident but through the first half, the offence was decent but was still unable to convert red zone opportunities. The season came apart in the second half which was bleak for Bills fans as Kyle Orton and the Bills offence had no solution for Miami's pass rush. He played his worst game of the six he has started, prompting calls for a return to EJ Manuel. I turned it off when Miami went up 19-9.

Now, the question I have is, once again, how in the world am I going to find anyone interested in seeing the Bills play either the Jets on Sunday or the Cleveland Browns the following week? The Green Bay Packers, one of the league's elite teams, make their once every eight years trip to Orchard Park in week 15 in mid-December and I'm a little less concerned about moving tickets for that game. But, the Jets on Sunday? Really, I ask, who is going to want to go? And, how many more years will I be willing to eat these tickets for late season games after all (or almost all) hope is lost? They would have to go 5-1 over the remaining six games to have a chance at a wildcard and that's just not going to happen.

I saw bits of the games yesterday and the first half of the Patriots game in Indianapolis. I am now really hoping that the Patriots can get to another Superbowl as I just think it would be a good story. After all, its now been 10 years since they won a championship, having lost the big game twice to the New York Giants since then. A New England vs. Green Bay Superbowl is what I would be betting on now and the Bills can help with that as they play each of the those teams in the final six weeks. I'm also hoping that the Browns can grab a playoff spot and the Bills can help with that too.

So, the J-E-T-S come to Orchard Park this weekend. Don't look for CBS to assign its top crew to this one. The game will probably be blacked out and I will listen to a bit of it on the radio in Muskoka. At least, with no paper tickets this year, I won't have to burn them.  

Chiefs 17, Bills 13

I was feeling a little down yesterday before the game. Despite my best efforts at working my network, reducing the list price on NFL TicketExchange every day since Monday and even dropping by a couple of sports bars in my neighbourhood to canvass interest, I was unable to sell my tickets to yesterday's game. And it wasn't a December game against Jacksonville where both teams were 2-12 either; this was a big conference game between two 5-3 AFC teams played in perfectly good weather and not on a holiday weekend on either side of the border. So, in the end, I emailed my tickets to my fine Buffalo friend and fellow season ticket holder, Joe, who tried to sell them at the stadium but with no luck. Why? One reason, I honestly believe, is that this year we received no printed tickets - just 2 credit cards with the games loaded on them and the ability to email individual "tickets"to third parties who would then print them on their own paper and take the paper to the stadium gate. I had one guy interested on Saturday evening at Gabby's on Yonge Street but when I said that I would have to email him the tickets, he remembered that he had to change the oil in his car on Sunday. Joe tells me that he had the same kind of problem yesterday. A piece of 20lb paper from a home printer, purported to be "tickets" to the game, just doesn't carry the same weight or look nearly as legitimate as printed tickets on card stock with professional imagery - ie, actual tickets. I think I'll call my account rep today to share the feedback. It's not really the $200 value which I forfeited but the idea that seats at the 30 yard line, 19 rows above the Chiefs bench for a sold out game went unused.

On the opening drive of the second half, leading the Chiefs 10-3, the Bills drove down the field and, just as they were about to score to take two touchdown lead, Bills quarterback Jeff Tuell threw an interception at the goal line which was returned for a touchdown and they then went on to lose the game. That was in early November last year. Yesterday's game was eerily similar, except that the Chiefs, rather than intercepting a pass, made Bryce Brown fumble as he was about to rumble into the endzone to put his team up 17-3. After the fumble, Brown's momentum sent the ball bouncing into the endzone where it flipped up and right into Scott Chandler's sure hands. But he dropped it and it bounced out of the endzone for a touchback. The Chiefs would themselves score two touchdowns which would be all they would need.

The problem with these big games is that one team has to lose. And lose the Bills did. I blame myself in a sense as the Bills record with me in the stands is 2-0 and, without me, it's 0-3. Or, maybe it's the dark home uniforms - also 0-3 while with the home white uniforms, their record is 2-0. The Bills dominated the game statistically and could have and should have won. But, as Bill Parcells used to say, you are what your record says you are. And they lost the game to go to 5-4 while the Chiefs capitalized on two fumbles to go to 6-3 and now obviously hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with Buffalo. Now, the Bills have a short week and trip to south Florida to face the Dolphins on Thursday night. Miami also lost yesterday and also stands at 5-4. They will be motivated not to let the Bills sweep the season series from them and seriously jeopardize their playoff aspirations.

There was an Andy Reid lookalike sitting somewhere in the first row yesterday. The similarity was uncanny as he had a red Chiefs jacket, headset, glasses, moustache, clipboard and the perfect body shape. CBS showed him several times on their broadcast. His name is Chris Wilhelm and he's from Lancaster PA. He has been a Chiefs fan for many years and drove 5 hours to the game. He must have been ecstatic when Reid was named Chiefs coach before last season because, although the body shape would still work well, he would have had a hard time looking much like Romeo Crennel.

Bills 43, Jets 23

When the Bills were scoring multiple touchdowns yesterday in the Meadowlands, they were messing up my ballot count. I have more than 1,000 ballots in my possession for today's election in Ward 18 and yesterday I had to count them and initial the top of of half of them before I take them to Wallace Emerson Community Centre on Dufferin Street, just south of Dupont this morning, where I will be working as a Managing Deputy Returning Officer, responsible for 10 staff and serving up to 2,000 voters today. The never-ending mayoralty campaign has now ended and, this evening, we will have elected a new mayor. I will hold off on any predictions in order to maintain my impartiality as I sit here at my desk early on election day morning.

I watched the Thursday night game between the Jets and the Patriots 11 days ago and, since the Jets played well enough to win the game and lost it by 2 points after a blocked potentially game winning field goal, I was worried about playing a dangerous looking 1-6 team the following week. Then the Jets traded for malcontent speedster wide wide receiver Percy Harvin during the week and I really thought that it could be a long day for the Bills. But the Jets and their starting quarterback Geno Smith were about as bad as they could have possibly been yesterday before switching to Michael Vick who was at least able to generate some semblance of an offense. Riding no less than 6 Jets turnovers, the Bills racked up more points yesterday than they have in 4 years on their way to pre-bye week win to bring them to 5-3 at the mid-point of the season.

I have been very impressed with Bills rookie receiver Sammy Watkins who had another strong game yesterday. Since the Bills scored a touchdown on the drive and won the game easily, the mental error Watkins made on a long first half pass can easily be forgotten but I don't he will soon forget it. Thinking that he was cruising easily into the endzone on a long pass from Kyle Orton, Watkins eased up and raised his arms in touchdown celebration mode just before Jets defender Saalim Hakim caught up and tackled him at about the 4 yard line. He was lucky not to have dropped the ball on the play as others in that position have done while being chopped from behind. Bills coach Doug Marrone said afterward that "we don't have time for that". Watkins scored a touchdown in the second half but he will likely have a more lasting memory of the one he didn't score yesterday.

I'm rather stunned by the Jian Ghomeshi developments over the weekend and I'm really not sure what to think about it. He will apparently file a $50 million lawsuit against the CBC today (after he votes, I presume) and seek reinstatement of his position as host of the very popular weekday morning program "Q" under the collective bargaining agreement. The CBC fired him after learning of certain details relating to his sex life. He claims that a jilted lover, with whom he engaged in consensual "rough sex", is now trying to advance a claim that aspects of the sex were not consensual and generally expose his private sexual preferences. The CBC says that they deliberated thoroughly before deciding to end its relationship with him. There is likely more to this story than what the CBC has said in a brief press release and what Ghomeshi posted on Facebook yesterday but, at this point, I'm not sure than I really want to know anything more about it.

Bills 17, Vikings 16

With the clock winding down in the fourth quarter and his team trailing 16-10, the Bills quarterback was calm and focused in the huddle as the game's final drive was about to begin. He encouraged his teammates to bear down, execute their assignments and move the ball down the field to win the game. And that's exactly what happened. After a rather sloppy effort against a pesky underdog, the game winning touchdown came in the dying seconds and Bills fans celebrated a key victory, went home happy and probably felt a little more confident in their starting quarterback. After all, he was signed to be a back-up - an insurance policy really - in case the anointed starter was injured or floundered. The date was October 18, 1998 and the quarterback's name was Doug Flutie.

I had seats in the upper deck to watch Flutie's first start as a Buffalo Bill on that October day 16 years ago. On a 4th down play from inside the Jacksonville Jaguars five yard line, Flutie, alone in the backfield, took the snap in shotgun formation and moved to his right, along with the entire offensive line all of his receivers. As intended, all 11 Jaguar defenders also moved to that side of the field. Then, he quickly spun around, turned the other way and carried the naked bootleg into the wide open left side of the endzone to tie the game. Steve Christie's convert would give them the one point lead with only a few seconds left. A thrilling 17-16 win for Flutie and the Bills. Flutie Flakes went into production the next week and the diminutive Boston College graduate and CFL star went on to lead his team to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth.

Yesterday at Orchard Park, Purdue graduate and 10 year NFL journeyman Kyle Orton, signed just before the season began as insurance in the event that EJ Manuel could not progress enough in his second season as the Bills franchise quarterback, repeated a very similar feat. Trailing 16-10, the final drive began with just over 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter. After completing a 4th down and 20 to tight end Scott Chandler (who had uncharacteristically dropped a pass earlier in the drive), he found Chris Hogan who made an acrobatic catch at the Vikings 2 yard line. The offence rushed to the line of scrimmage and Orton spiked the ball with 5 seconds remaining on the game clock. The Vikings called a time-out and the Bills drew up a play to Sammy Watkins which both he and Orton executed perfectly to the front left corner of the endzone. Sammy got both feet down for the touchdown and Dan Carpenter sealed the win with the convert. Bills fans went home happy - just as they had exactly 16 years earlier.

My friend Greg had a long day yesterday, He awoke at 4.30am in Ottawa, boarded a 6am flight to Pearson where I picked him up and then took him to see my friend at the Lewiston US Border entry point. I was disappointed not to be able to introduce the two. Either he was recently arrested or perhaps it was his day off but his replacement was quite pleasant and we were parked in Drive 5 at the stadium just before 10am. My pals Paul and Rodger and their respective young sons found us there and the boys got some nice woolen Bills hats at the new Bills gear store at the front of the stadium as they prepared for their first live NFL game. I hope they remember it for what it was - a thrilling finish and much needed win for the home team.

On to the Meadowlands next week to face the 1-6 Jets who will have had 10 days to prepare after a strong game against the Patriots which they lost by only two points. With both Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller out, it's time for Boobie Dixon to step and establish himself before the Bills have their bye week.

Patriots 37, Bills 22

It's clouding over here in Muskoka on this Thanksgiving Monday. I don't mind because today is the day when many cottagers leave, not to return until May. The shoulder season officially starts today so I can look forward to peace and quiet, perhaps more wildlife to see and a cold lake which provides generally perfect sauna conditions for the next few weeks and beyond.

I spent the first quarter of yesterday's game preparing the Thanksgiving turkey. I tried a new brine solution with a bit of soy included and it was particularly good. I stuffed the turkey, catching a play after each handful and also between bodkin stitches on the two turkey cavities. The game looked to be a defensive struggle through the early going which I thought boded well for the Bills with their ball control offence and I thought their pass rush might keep Tom Brady off balance enough to generate a turnover or two at some point as the Bills were likely to need at least one to post a win in the first game of the Pegula era.

Terry and Kim Pegula were introduced to the crowd at the Ralph before the game and, based on the short clip I saw, were well received. The letter they penned to the fans after the Governors approval on Wednesday and the closing of the sale on Friday sent a positive message and Pegula's comment about never wanting to finish second in anything - except for being the second Bills owner after Ralph Wilson - was a good message too. When he joined the Fox broadcasters in the booth during the game, it was clear to me that Pegula is a man who thinks before he speaks and doesn't say too much. Apparently, he and his wife choose to lead quite private lives and do not circulate much in high level social scenes. I presume that they usually stay home and count their money so I guess they can look forward to having a bit more free time after dropping $1.4 billion on a football team. It has been reported that Kim Pegula will be the CEO under the new ownership structure so if I were Russ Brandon, I'd make sure I was in early every day, at least for this week. The Bills ownership situation has clearly resolved itself in what looks to be just about the best possible way. I was worried that a Toronto ownership group would outbid Pegula and create a lingering sense of uncertainty which could potentially sour the fan base and cause permanent resentment no matter what they did or didn't say about the Bills staying in Buffalo. So, on with the Pegula era which may or may not include more fracking. Either way, I'm happy about it.

I did watch the second half of the game closely. I think that the Patriots are simply very well coached and their game planning against the Bills, year in and year out, is well conceived and well executed. We just can't stop them when we need to and it feels like that has been the case for so long that I can't remember when it wasn't. Although I'm a Bills fan, I do find the Patriots impressive and I usually root for them in the post season too. I don't hate them. I don't think I hate anybody really when it comes to sports teams and rivalries. I just wish we could beat them a little more often.

So, at 3-3, The Bills get ready to play the Minnesota Vikings in Orchard Park - something they do only every 8 years. The Bills need to win and I think they will. I'm looking forward to seeing my buddy at the US Border station in Lewiston. I've managed to avoid arrest since I saw him and I can't wait to share the good news with him. Happy Thanksgiving and to my American friends, Happy Columbus Day.

Bills 17, Lions 14

Meet Alex Henery. An honourable young man, by all accounts, Alex is from Omaha, NE and he attended the University of Nebraska where he earned a degree in Construction Management. He also earned a Community Service Award while in university for his work volunteering at local hospitals. As the Cornhuskers place-kicker, he ended his college career as the most accurate place-kicker in NCAA history. This was presumably one of the reasons why the Philadelphia Eagles drafted him 120th overall in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL draft. The Eagles obviously changed their mind about Alex as they released him on August 30th, near the end of this year's training camp. The Detroit Lions signed him on September 22nd, three full weeks into the regular season.

Alex Henery missed all three field goals which he attempted in yesterday's game against the Bills. He hit the goal post on one of them and hooked the other two badly to his left. The attempts were long by NFL standards (47, 50 and 50 yards) but in the indoor confines of Ford Field, the Lions home field where the game was played, an NFL kicker would be expected to make at least one of those. It must have been particularly painful for him to watch his counterpart, Bills kicker Dan Carpenter, win the game for Buffalo on a 58 yard kick in the game's final seconds, his third successful kick of four attempts yesterday. Carpenter himself, also from Omaha, NE, was released by the Miami Dolphins in 2013 after five seasons with them and was signed by the Bills just before the start of last season as an injury replacement for Dustin Hopkins. He has been one of the best kickers in the league over the course of last season and the first five games this year. As for Alex Henery, he may be about to pursue a career in construction management a little sooner than he expected.

The other compelling story from yesterday's game was the play of Bills quarterback Kyle Orton. Orton, a late pre-season signing, had never taken a snap for the Bills and his rustiness showed early on. His errant pass in the second quarter was intercepted and run back for a Detroit touchdown to give the Lions a 14-0 lead and, at that point, I wondered if we might see EJ Manuel in the second half. But Orton kept improving as the game went on and, when he hit Marquise Goodwin for a long gain to the Detroit two yard line to set up what was the tying touchdown, I thought at that moment that Bills coach Doug Marrone had made the right call in giving him the start yesterday.

Jim Schwartz must have enjoyed being carried off the field on the shoulders of his defensive players after yesterday's game. After serving as the Lions head coach for five years before being fired after the 2013 season, the Bills defense made his homecoming a sweet one by playing extremely well for him, holding the Lions to one offensive touchdown. And Sammy Watkins made a couple of acrobatic catches which made a huge difference.

A strange note from yesterday's game: The Bills have filed a complaint with the league about laser pointers being shined in some of their players eyes during the game. Up Next: The Patriots come to Orchard Park. I will put our Thanksgiving turkey in the oven at halftime.