Season DEFINING Game Today.

[Mahdi]

The way I see it, this game will make or break the season. Its the game before the bye week and a lot will be established and discovered about this team by this game alone.

1. Are we a playoff team? If we lose this game and fall to 3-5 you can pretty much forget about playoffs. 5 losses before making it to 10 games is season ending IMO.

2. Are we a true ball-hawking defence? OR Did we just capitalize on bad QB play. If we can show that we can pressure a good QB and make plays on the ball this week as we have the last few weeks then we can actually label our defense as one of the best pass Ds in the league.

3. If we win again with Fitzpatrick, and he has a performance that exceeds/equals the last 2 weeks then we will have a change at QB going into the bye. If he stinks it up, were back to the Project (ie. finding a starting QB for the Buffalo Bills, Trent or whoever).

4. Can our OTs hold up in the NFL and become future stars or are we drafting OL again next year. Mario Williams and Antonio Smith will reveal that.

Feel free to add to the list what you believe this game will reveal/define.

[k-oneputt]

You pretty much covered it. This is a must win for any hope for the play-offs.

[BillsWin]

You got it covered Mahdi. It is a huge game for the 2009 Buffalo Bills.

I don't think this team can go to the playoffs with this bad of an offense, but I would love nothing better than for them to surprise me.

If they have any chance, the road to the playoffs begins or ends for Buffalo today.

[jamze132]

Even if we win this game and we are at .500 going into the bye, we still have yet to prove that we can finish a season the right way. I had no playoff asperations going into the season and thus far, my mind has not been changed.

I think our recent win streak has more to do with our opponents sucking worse than we do.

[BillsWin]

Even if we win this game and we are at .500 going into the bye, we still have yet to prove that we can finish a season the right way. I had no playoff asperations going into the season and thus far, my mind has not been changed.

I think our recent win streak has more to do with our opponents sucking worse than we do.

Agreed. I have been very negative lately and I haven't changed my outlook. However at the beginning of the season I said I would predict 10-6 until our seventh loss, so I got to have some sort of hope.

You never know, this could be the underdog story of all time. A defense riddled in injury carries a hapless offense to glory. :clap:

:roflmao:

[DynaPaul]

I think we need more from the passing offense too. We have two top notch receivers and neither of them are having awesome games on the field. Either Evans or Owens is going to have have a 100+ yard game today.

[BillsWin]

I think we need more from the passing offense too. We have two top notch receivers and neither of them are having awesome games on the field. Either Evans or Owens is going to have have a 100+ yard game today.

I am starting Evans on my fantasy team today. I sat him week one. Played him week two and sat him until this week. So I am hoping for a good game from him today.

I'm not a big fantasy fan. If more Buffalo Bills were playmakers I would probably enjoy it more.

[Buddo]

The way I see it, this game will make or break the season. Its the game before the bye week and a lot will be established and discovered about this team by this game alone.

1. Are we a playoff team? If we lose this game and fall to 3-5 you can pretty much forget about playoffs. 5 losses before making it to 10 games is season ending IMO.

2. Are we a true ball-hawking defence? OR Did we just capitalize on bad QB play. If we can show that we can pressure a good QB and make plays on the ball this week as we have the last few weeks then we can actually label our defense as one of the best pass Ds in the league.

3. If we win again with Fitzpatrick, and he has a performance that exceeds/equals the last 2 weeks then we will have a change at QB going into the bye. If he stinks it up, were back to the Project (ie. finding a starting QB for the Buffalo Bills, Trent or whoever).

4. Can our OTs hold up in the NFL and become future stars or are we drafting OL again next year. Mario Williams and Antonio Smith will reveal that.

Feel free to add to the list what you believe this game will reveal/define.

Item 3 - Fitzpatrick needs a performance that exceeds greatly what he has done so far imho, irrespective of winning. It's ok to win ugly sometimes, you aren't going to be able to keep that up.
Item 2 I feel is a bit of a conundrum. I think our secondary is, generally, good, with Byrd in there. Being in the right place at the right time, is an ability that is underrated. Byrd has that. Some of his picks were easy, and also those that others got, but you still have to be in the position. The pass D as a whole, seems to working well as a package - enough pressure to keep the QB hurrying, so throws aren't quite as accurate.
As things stand, we aren't a playoff team. We may manage to scrape in there, but we will do nothing without serious improvement on offence.

[BillsWin]

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n292/ila71191/haterade/2718264786_06bed5901a.jpg

[jamze132]

Agreed. I have been very negative lately and I haven't changed my outlook. However at the beginning of the season I said I would predict 10-6 until our seventh loss, so I got to have some sort of hope.

You never know, this could be the underdog story of all time. A defense riddled in injury carries a hapless offense to glory. :clap:

:roflmao:
Yeah, a defense that might allow 3,000 yards rushing... That would be hilarious!

[Meathead]

yeah right

win or lose this team has no chance at the playoffs. and im not saying that due to injuries or the preschool oline or the coaching not to lose

after watching bills football for decades i can honestly say this team commits as many unforced errors as those miserable 2-12 teams run by stephenson and bullough - which is incredible considering that the talent this team has is far superior to what they had back then

sure, theyve kept that in check the last couple of weeks but those recent performances dont erase the three and a half year pattern, including earlier this season. there is absolutely no reason to believe that theyve suddenly stopped shooting themselves in the ass just because theyve manage to avoid mortally wounding themselves the last couple games

im convinced dick just flat out doesnt know how to manage a team to not sabotage itself. if he did he would have done it by now because its happened over and over and over again. as long as he stays we will get exactly the same thing - just enough unforced mistakes to barely lose and miss the playoffs

fire dick

[Meathead]

well ok, maybe not AS many mistakes as those horrible teams, cuz they were total bumbling idiots, but certainly way more than they should for a team thats in its fourth season with the same hc

i am honestly still furious that mkmelonhead fumbled that kickoff. how in the hell do you fumble a kickoff in that situation? after everything this team has been though its just astonishing to me that a coach doesnt go up to him and give him instruction to fall like hes hit in the forehead with a shotgun blast if a defender gets within two yards

so if they dont make enough mistakes throughout the game to just lose, then make sure you let the rick primadonna make the catastrophic mistake that loses it in spectacular fashion

teams win mainly (not solely but mainly) because they make fewer mistakes than their opponent. can you honestly say that when it comes to self inflicted mistakes that dicks teams are better than their opponents? haha yeah right

fire dick

[Luisito23]

In order for us to have any chance at the postseason we need to win 7 out of the last 9 games...Who realistically thinks that can happen?

[cpearl]

Do any of you really think we have a chance to win this game or go to the playoffs?

Did you watch the game last week? It was given to us. We had less than 200 yards of offense. We are terrible.

What really has changed on this team since the Cleveland game? Nothing. Let's lose out, get a stud qb or LT, get rid of Dick and make a run with the foundation we have next year.

[Yasgur's Farm]

Gotta win this one if we wanna dream about playoffs.

On the other hand, a loss today will make a very interesting bye week concerning Dick... Going into this season, the bye is when I predicted Dick will lose his job.

[SABURZFAN]

In order for us to have any chance at the postseason we need to win 7 out of the last 9 games...Who realistically thinks that can happen?


i don't. i don't think this team is talented enough to do that. blowing an 11 point lead with 5 minutes left and a loss to Cleveland is enough to convince me of that. not to mention that the Bills don't have a HC who is capable of leading this team to do that.

[SABURZFAN]

Do any of you really think we have a chance to win this game or go to the playoffs?

Did you watch the game last week? It was given to us. We had less than 200 yards of offense. We are terrible.

What really has changed on this team since the Cleveland game? Nothing. Let's lose out, get a stud qb or LT, get rid of Dick and make a run with the foundation we have next year.


no

you get no argument here.

nothing has changed but i will not root for the Bills to lose out.

[Griff]

The way I see it, this game will make or break the season. Its the game before the bye week and a lot will be established and discovered about this team by this game alone.

1. Are we a playoff team? If we lose this game and fall to 3-5 you can pretty much forget about playoffs. 5 losses before making it to 10 games is season ending IMO.

2. Are we a true ball-hawking defence? OR Did we just capitalize on bad QB play. If we can show that we can pressure a good QB and make plays on the ball this week as we have the last few weeks then we can actually label our defense as one of the best pass Ds in the league.

3. If we win again with Fitzpatrick, and he has a performance that exceeds/equals the last 2 weeks then we will have a change at QB going into the bye. If he stinks it up, were back to the Project (ie. finding a starting QB for the Buffalo Bills, Trent or whoever).

4. Can our OTs hold up in the NFL and become future stars or are we drafting OL again next year. Mario Williams and Antonio Smith will reveal that.

Feel free to add to the list what you believe this game will reveal/define.

1. The only chance we have of making the playoffs is in the wildcard and it looks like both wildcards will becoming out of the AFC North

2. We shut down Brees already

3. Wrong, Fitz needs to play like an NFL QB, his best play came in a game where our defense forced 6 turnovers, and even then it wasn't good.

4. We already know the answer, wish our front office did.

[cpearl]

Does that make you dreamers happy? If it wasn't for Byrd we wouldn't score the past 2 weeks. Think about that. Our offense is the worst I've seen in my years of watching this team.

[Typ0]

Our season was broke when we fumbled away the PATS game.

[Mahdi]

Well I guess everything is clear now.

[Yasgur's Farm]

Well I guess everything is clear now.LMFAO... Yup! :fishy:

[Buddo]

Personally speaking, I'm starting to blame the strength and conditioning guys. Why they can't get the Defense prepared properly, to be on the field for 60 minutes, escapes me.
We must have the worst offense in the league atm, unless the Browns have overtaken us.