Matthews: Don't count on Bills as 'surprise team'

[Meathead]

(August 30, 2007) — When you watch the Buffalo Bills in their final preseason game tonight in Detroit, give them the benefit of the doubt in every department and ask yourself, "Can the Bills be the NFL's surprise team this season?"

I can't see it.

The Bills were 7-9 last year and probably overachieved.

In order to go 10-6 or better this season against a difficult schedule, Buffalo probably would need quarterback J.P. Losman to be consistently good, a Rookie-of-the-Year performance from running back Marshawn Lynch, the emergence of a few big-play defensive players, continued great work on special teams, relatively few injuries and more than their share of fortunate bounces and zebra calls.

Playing in the same division as the New England Patriots — nearly everyone's pick to win Super Bowl XLII — is another obstacle.

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070830/SPORTS0101/708300354/tbd/

i like bob matthews but hes historically usually been the 'anti-predictor' when it comes to the bills so this is actually a good sign

note he doesnt say it wont happen, hes just saying lots of things have to line up to make the playoffs. thats less aggressive than he usually is in his predictions so take it for what its worth

and i for one love that the pats are such hugh favorites. thats usually the kiss of death for a professional franchises season. its a superbowl every week for their opponents and a pressure cooker for the favorite. when things go wrong it can unravel quickly (randy moss anyone?). im seeing a redskins type implosion for the unbeatable team

so rules judge meathead. so it shall be

[YardRat]

Re: Matthews: Don't count on Bills as 'surprise team'

[YardRat]

Re: Matthews: Don't count on Bills as 'surprise team'

I'm holding out hope that the team can put together a decent year, but I'm not counting on it.

The offensive line is going to take time to gel, and Fowler's injury isn't helping any.

JP needs to start strong for the first month, month and a half for the first time in his career.

Lynch and Poz are going to have to acclimate to game days at this level very quickly.

The entire defensive unit is going to have to step up and over-achieve every week.

[Meathead]

Re: Matthews: Don't count on Bills as 'surprise team'

i dont know about every week but they certainly are going to have to do better than they have so far. turnovers and redzone stops have been excellent, which is good, but even a bend dont break approach cant hemorrhage yards that way

game planning makes a big difference. true the opponents will be game planning too, but remember jauron and his staff specialize in game planning and showed last year that they were very capable at making adjustments as the game went on. they are going to give up chunks of yards but with so much speed should be able to create tos and make big game turning plays, hopefully enough to offset giving up field position

the ol does need some time and thats a concern for the early season, but barring a rash of injuries should end up a strength. furthermore, jp is a preparation addict and should be able to start the season at the level he finished up last year, which was quite good. 2-2 is all they need the first quarter to be in pretty good shape entering the middle of the schedule

the biggest issue to a run to the playoffs are the big name rookies. both guys have got to make contributions right away and keep making them all year. thats a tall order and im not sure it can be done. im actually less concerned about the dt position than i was going into the preseason as mccargo has looked ready to contribute the way he needs to help that unit and anderson has been much less sucky so far with his added bulk. thats two rotation guys that could make the center of the dline less of a sieve than last year

lets ignore the corners for now as i dont want to piss my pants this early in the day. hopefully the c2 will do what its supposed to and the corners wont be as key a factor as they have been recently

[jamze132]

Re: Matthews: Don't count on Bills as 'surprise team'

game planning makes a big difference. true the opponents will be game planning too, but remember jauron and his staff specialize in game planning and showed last year that they were very capable at making adjustments as the game went on.

Are you serious? If we didn't score on our first possesion, we usually didn't do too much the rest of the way.

The way I remember it, Buffalo usually came out strong but after halftime, the other team seemed to make adjustments while we did the same thing which didn't produce many points. Hence the reason so many teams beat us in the 4th Qtr to win the game.

[OpIv37]

Re: Matthews: Don't count on Bills as 'surprise team'

Bob Matthews is worse than me. He used to whine about how bad the Bills were during the Super Bowl days. But I do agree with him here- far too many things would have to go right for the Bills to be competitive this year.

[Meathead]

Re: Matthews: Don't count on Bills as 'surprise team'

[justasportsfan]

Re: Matthews: Don't count on Bills as 'surprise team'

far too many things would have to go right for the Bills to be competitive this year.

just like last year when we were competitive.

[OpIv37]

Re: Matthews: Don't count on Bills as 'surprise team'

just like last year when we were competitive.

how is a losing record competitive?

[justasportsfan]

Re: Matthews: Don't count on Bills as 'surprise team'

how is a losing record competitive?

we competed for a playoff spot all the way towards the end of the season.Not bad for a rebuilding team . That's a fact. Spin the facts all you want.

[OpIv37]

Re: Matthews: Don't count on Bills as 'surprise team'

we competed for a playoff spot all the way towards the end of the season.Not bad for a rebuilding team . That's a fact. Spin the facts all you want.

apparently you have a different definition of competitive. I don't see how any losing team can be defined as competitive. "Almost" only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades and Canadian football.

[justasportsfan]

Re: Matthews: Don't count on Bills as 'surprise team'

apparently you have a different definition of competitive. I don't see how any losing team can be defined as competitive. "Almost" only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades and Canadian football.

the question was not about our record. It was about whether or not we were competitive. We were AND THAT"S A FACT!!! Then again facts don't count in your world.

[OpIv37]

Re: Matthews: Don't count on Bills as 'surprise team'

the question was not about our record. It was about whether or not we were competitive. We were AND THAT"S A FACT!!! Then again facts don't count in your world.

depends how you define competitive. I dont consider any team that loses more games than it wins to be competitive. And I dont know why you think record has nothing to do with how competitive a team is- in fact, its the main factor, but it's a fact that you're just ignoring because it doesn't prove your point.

[justasportsfan]

Re: Matthews: Don't count on Bills as 'surprise team'

Anwer this simple question : Did we compete for a playoffs spot towards the end of the season? Yes or no?

[OpIv37]

Re: Matthews: Don't count on Bills as 'surprise team'

define end. We were out of it for the last two games, and we would have needed a lot to happen from other teams. I think when you're defining how competitive a team is, record has to come into play and is a major factor, if not the main factor. But, since it doesn't prove your point, you just pretend it's irrelevant.