Does anyone think we have a better chance beating the pats this Sunday?

[Bone]

We beat them last year, call it luck or whatever you want but I think we are way better on defense and the offense is putting up good numbers this year too. If we can have cj or Fred play this week I like our odds to win this year compared to last years victory.

[OpIv37]

Our chances of beating the Pats are better, but "better" is a relative term.

The chances have gone from "infinitesimally small" to "extremely unlikely."

This has been the problem with the Bills for the last 12 years or so. They have started at such a low point that it's possible to improve and, yet, still completely suck even after the improvement.

[Ed]

If Fred and CJ were healthy I'd like are chances a lot better than last year. Like Jaworski said earlier this week, there's nothing special about the Pats D. We should be able to make plays against them and score points. I don't know if Fred is really going to be able to make an impact though.

[Philagape]

The thing about last year ... The Bills can beat the Pats maybe one out of 10 times, and that was the one.
Back to your regularly scheduled program.
With both top RBs fragile or out, Fitz will have to carry the team on his back. Anyone relish that thought?

[justasportsfan]

the regular refs are back. We're screwed.

Fitz is down to his last safety net. Chandler. Would have felt better with Nelson, Freddie and Spiller in there. The pats only have to keep Stevie and Chandler in check and Fitz is done.

On the defensive side of the ball, if the DL can't put pressure better than they did vs. KC and Browns, Brady will carve up our inexperienced back field.

[The King]

Last year has zero bearing on this game. Sure, we're better but they are too, and we're going to get their best football. Which they didn't bring to the table the last two weeks, nor when played them last year. We're also not sneaking up on them, they'll be ready for us.

This is a game they're destined to win, to beat them we have to capitalize on any mistakes they make. And protect the ball ourselves. Like any game against the Patriots, I believe we can win, but until we do it consistently, I expect to lose.

[BuffaloWingEater]

i think we are toast against the pats.....unfortunately :(

[Night Train]

I, for one, welcome the oppotunity to kick their @ss and bury the " Glory Of The Pats " crowd.

If they beat us, so be it but many see it basically as a " no chance " game. Come on.

:rolleyes:

[OpIv37]

You know, I used to look at the Pats games as virtually guaranteed losses. It's mathematically impossible to have zero chance, but our chances of winning were as close to zero as they could possibly get.

But we beat them last year, and we seem to be improving. Conversely, while the Pats are still a damn good team and should still be favored on paper, they are not looking like the juggernaut they once were. If we had Spiller and or Freddie, I'd say our chances of winning would still be low, but would be much better than previous years.

Without them, though, it's not gonna happen. I'd love to see Choice run for 150 yards and 2 TD's, but getting beat by another team's back-ups is what happens to us, not for us. I think the last time it happened in our favor was when Darick Holmes had back-to-back 100 yard games filling in for Thurman before fading into oblivion.

[justasportsfan]

I, for one, welcome the oppotunity to kick their @ss and bury the " Glory Of The Pats " crowd.

If they beat us, so be it but many see it basically as a " no chance " game. Come on.

:rolleyes:

If our D gets fired up by the crowd, we have a chance. We have to keep hitting Brady but he'll just cry to the regular refs and get his way.

[OpIv37]

If our D gets fired up by the crowd, we have a chance. We have to keep hitting Brady but he'll just cry to the regular refs and get his way.

Don't forget that they hung 30 on the Ravens last week, in Baltimore. Their D is leagues ahead of ours even with Suggs out and Reed and Lewis getting their AARP cards in the mail.

[Philagape]

Last year the Bills collapsed after a good start .... "Last year doesn't matter!"

Playing the Pats ... "We beat them last year!"

[Generalissimus Gibby]

We can keep it close, but we need luck to beat them. Fortunately luck is something we can help ourselves create. On D, Marcell Dareus and Kyle need to become intimately acquainted with Brady all afternoon and pay him a visit 4 to 5 times early and keep applying the pressure all afternoon long. Get inside Brady's head, he won't hear footsteps like Cassel but he will become average if we get in his face. Also, we don't need to make their WRs and TEs look any better than they already do. Don't give up the big play, and also we need to get off the field on third down. In the past two weeks we got off the field after third down and stopped Chiefs and Browns drives. We need to do that this week too. On the O we need to have Fitz do what he did last week and a week before, namely be asked not to lose games. We under no circumstances should ask Fitz to shoulder the load. Choice looked decent last week, and so we should trust him with the rock, but we should should do to the Pats what the Giants did to us in SB XXV, namely control the clock, tire out their D, and keep Brady off the field. We must also play intelligent football aka no ******ed penalties, no blown assignments, and we must win or draw in the turnover battle.

[Historian]

I wonder if Pat fans used to say this stuff about the Bills when we were dominating the league, and their players were flashing their weiners at female reporters?

:scratch:

[YardRat]

Big game for both teams. I'm not very confident, especially with our key injuries, but if we happened to pull the upset it would definitely signal a change in the balance of power in the AFC East. I don't mean that the Bills would become the cream of the crop, but NE's descent would be undeniable.

[Ingtar33]

Our chances of beating the Pats are better, but "better" is a relative term.

The chances have gone from "infinitesimally small" to "extremely unlikely."

This has been the problem with the Bills for the last 12 years or so. They have started at such a low point that it's possible to improve and, yet, still completely suck even after the improvement.

sums it up nicely.

[imbondz]

anythings possible. buuuut...

[Beebe]

We can take down TOMS PAnTieS.:gobills:

[THRILLHO]

The Patriots will win by getting pressure to Fitzpatrick.

[Cali512]

Our O is better than the Cards. Our D definitely can play to the par of them. They have the skill and if they can be on there game well be ok. Byrd, Wilson, Barnett, our DL, and Gilmore/McGee, if there on there game well be good. We should start Bradham, hes making so many amazing hits

[ublinkwescore]

Last year has zero bearing this game. Sure, we're better but they are too, and we're going to get their best football. Which they didn't bring to the table the last two weeks, nor when played them last year. We're also not sneaking up on them, they'll be ready for us.

This is a game they're destined to win, to beat them we have to capitalize on any mistakes they make. And protect the ball ourselves. Like any game against the Patriots, I believe we can win, but until we do it consistently, I expect to lose.
How exactly is new England better this year?

[Dr. Lecter]

Don't forget that they hung 30 on the Ravens last week, in Baltimore. Their D is leagues ahead of ours even with Suggs out and Reed and Lewis getting their AARP cards in the mail.

Now the Ravens (at home) just struggled against the Browns.

I am not sure using comparisons like that always work. There are too many week to week variables and this league is a lot more even than people think (The Vikings are 2-1 while the Packers are 1-2?).

The entire league does not make a ton of sense this year. From KC beating the Saints in NO or the 49ers stumbling against the Vikings. The NFL is a cluster this year.

[kishoph]

Parity in the NFL is getting a lot closer, on any given Sunday any team can win. When statements like the Bills only won because they beat 2 bad teams are made, I think it's BS, look what the Chiefs did last week and the Browns gave the Ravens a fight last night. I think the Bills have been a better team than the Pats the last 2 weeks. The Bills seem to be clicking on all cylinders, while the Pats seem to be trying to find themselves. With CJ Spiller, I would of liked the Bills odds of winning the game much more, but I think this game is going to see a lot of passing, while the Pats definitely have the edge there, Fitz can get hot and help the Bills to victory. The Bills have the edge in the rushing game, and the offensive and defensive lines. The Bills also have the home field advantage, but the Pats have the calls of the officials. It will be a close one, but the Bills will come out on top 31-27.

[RedEyE]

I think this game could tell the story about the direction these two teams are headed.

A Bills win could mean positive things for Chan and this group for years to come. Are the Patriots truly on the precipice of decline?

[OpIv37]

Now the Ravens (at home) just struggled against the Browns.

I am not sure using comparisons like that always work. There are too many week to week variables and this league is a lot more even than people think (The Vikings are 2-1 while the Packers are 1-2?).

The entire league does not make a ton of sense this year. From KC beating the Saints in NO or the 49ers stumbling against the Vikings. The NFL is a cluster this year.

They struggled offensively, not defensively. The D held them to 16 points, and 9 of those points came on 50+ yard FG's. If the Patriots can score 30 on that D, imagine what they're going to do to ours.

And we all know the Packers should be 2-1.

[The King]

How exactly is new England better this year?

They've made major upgrades on defense and added Lloyd, they've yet to pull it all together but they have more talent this season.

[Extremebillsfan247]

We beat them last year, call it luck or whatever you want but I think we are way better on defense and the offense is putting up good numbers this year too. If we can have cj or Fred play this week I like our odds to win this year compared to last years victory. The Bills will have to throw the ball to win this one. The Patriots are 24th in the league against the pass but are 7th against the run. Passing is not one of the Bills strong suits this year, hovering around the bottom of the league in YPG. The Bills are going to have a tough time winning this one, it's possible, but will be tougher than last year. Hopefully we can get Brady off his game. If that doesn't happen, I don't see the Bills winning here. JMO

[GingerP]

The entire league does not make a ton of sense this year. From KC beating the Saints in NO or the 49ers stumbling against the Vikings. The NFL is a cluster this year.

I think it is that way early on every year. As the year goes on things make more sense. Teams adjust, as some teams are figured out and others get better. Injuries play a big role as well.

In the end, this is an important division game. I don't think either team is dead and buried one way or the other, though. It is too early. Last year, Buffalo, Tampa Bay and Tennessee all started 3-1 and missed the playoffs. Denver started 1-3 and made it. Granted, it is better to have a good record, but really it comes down to keeping in the mix and winning games in December and January.

[GingerP]

The Bills will have to throw the ball to win this one. The Patriots are 24th in the league against the pass but are 7th against the run. Passing is not one of the Bills strong suits this year, hovering around the bottom of the league in YPG. The Bills are going to have a tough time winning this one, it's possible, but will be tougher than last year. Hopefully we can get Brady off his game. If that doesn't happen, I don't see the Bills winning here. JMO

I think the Bills need some big plays, whether in the passing game or running game. The Ravens were able to get chunk plays, with 9 plays that went for more than 20 yards.

The Pats defense usually plays a pretty conservative style, not blitzing much and trying to stop the big play. They want to make teams execute. Tennessee was only able to get 3 plays of 20 or more yards. Arizona had 2 plays of 20 or more yards. Baltimore was able to get almost double the 20+ yard plays the Pats gave up in their first 2 games combined.

Last year, the Pats were worst in the NFL, giving up 89 plays of 20+ yards (79 passing, 10 rushing). The Bills, for comparison, gave up 66 (21st). They were terrible defending the pass, giving up big pass plays at a rate of 5 a game. They looked much better in that area the first two weeks of the season, but looked like last year all over again against the Ravens.

When Buffalo beat NE a year ago, they had 9 plays of 20+ yards. When they met in NE later in the year, the Bills only had 3 plays of 20+ yards, all coming in the first half.

[TigerJ]

Odds are somewhat better this year because the Bills have raised their talent level considerably on the defensive side of the ball. I'll disagree with Op. I don't think the odds were infinitesimally small last year simpley because the Bills did beat the Patriots. The Patriots have also improved thei defense, though to a lesser degree, and they upgraded their receivers corps.

I think Fred Jackson's injury (he'll be less than 100%) and Aaron Hernandez being out is probably a wash. The biggest concern I have is that compared with a year ago at this time Fitzpatrick is considerably less effective. He was riding a hot streak a year ago, while now, even though he's quarterbacked the Bills to a couple wins, he's acting more like a game manager rather than a guy who can put the team on his shoulders and carry it. Against a Patriots defense that has been pretty good against the run, Fitzpatrick is going to have to play a lot better than he has thus far this season.

[imbondz]

we're 2-17 vs Brady. If anyone watched the NE / Baltimore game, NE is still tough. They're down Hernandez, and lost by a field goal that barely made it. Welker looked more like last year than the 1st two games. I think we can absolutely win, but only if Spiller or Freddy are healthy.