Bills Reach Out to League About Unfair Scheduling.

[ServoBillieves]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000281153/article/buffalo-bills-contact-nfl-about-fairness-in-scheduling

And Rosenthol downgrades the whole thing without even taking a look at the fact this ALWAYS happens.

[stuckincincy]

I'm sure scheduling is a matter of discussion at the owner's meetings. I'd say that is the time to complain, but I assume that schedules are difficult things to work out, having to consider time slots, potential viewership, etc.

I suspect the bottom line with scheduling is...the bottom line. Whatever promises to maximize the $ coming into the league is what goes.

[pmoon6]

I'm glad the Bills' brought this up. I thought the same with us playing teams coming off the bye.

[Historian]

Grasping at straws.

Put a good team on the field.

[trapezeus]

if it's not a big deal, why does it keep happening?

also, its not why we suck, but for teams that miss out on 1 or 2 games to make the playoffs, the fact they have 6 games that are not on equal footing makes a world of difference.

[The King]

Anytime a team has 2 weeks to prep it's going to make a difference, that being said, the Steelers did not have two weeks.

[stuckincincy]

if it's not a big deal, why does it keep happening?

Because the NFL is a business first and foremost. BUF hasn't been in the playoffs for years. They just aren't a market draw.

In 2007, CLE went 10 -6. The following season, they had numerous prime time games. Rah, rah Brownies. Turned the corner, 'twas said. And promptly fell on their faces with a 4 - 12 record.

End of those juicy time slots and wide distribution...

Aside: I dislike the Thursday games. Not enough rest and time to heal.

[coastal]

Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft and Dan Snyder can be heard laughing from here.

[gebobs]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000281153/article/buffalo-bills-contact-nfl-about-fairness-in-scheduling

And Rosenthol downgrades the whole thing without even taking a look at the fact this ALWAYS happens.
He did look at it. Teams coming off the bye have a slight advantage. The Bills are at the short end of the stick this year. It's a quirk of the schedule and indirectly a result of being a crappy team with few primetime games themselves. The Bills will probably finish the year with 5 wins, give or take. Does anyone think these bums would or could do much better?

[feldspar]

Grasping at straws.

Put a good team on the field.

NO, they HAD to speak up. This is a real issue.

Last year, 4 of the Bills' opponents in a 5-week span were either coming off their bye week or a Thursday Night game. On top of that, their own bye-week was compromised last year as well. The Bills played the Patriots after their bye-week FOUR YEARS IN A ROW.

SIX games this year against teams getting extra time, three of which are division games...Jets coming off their bye this week. ONE team has this problem 4 times this year, and SIX teams has this problem 3 times. MOST teams have this problem 2 times or fewer, which means 24 teams face this problem AT LEAST ONE-THIRD fewer times than the Bills do this year. Every team save the Falcons have this problem at least HALF as much as the Bills. I could go on, but I won't...enough is enough here.

Somebody had to say something, and it had to be the Bills. The odds of these things happening to one team repeatedly are astronomical. Those fckers should pay extra added attention to this next year, especially when it comes to the Bills, because this is now in the public realm.

Giving other teams more time to prepare, rest, and get healthy THAT often is ridiculous. It's not an excuse, either...it's an issue that needs to be addressed and not happen again.

[ServoBillieves]

He did look at it. Teams coming off the bye have a slight advantage. The Bills are at the short end of the stick this year. It's a quirk of the schedule and indirectly a result of being a crappy team with few primetime games themselves. The Bills will probably finish the year with 5 wins, give or take. Does anyone think these bums would or could do much better?

So him saying that there's a small advantage means he took a look? Ok. And the league didn't take a look at this team and say "Well, let's see how these other storylines play out, let's put this team as an opponent." It's a billionaire business and you think that's not a possibility? Kudos to the Bills for finally taking a stand.

[ServoBillieves]

NO, they HAD to speak up. This is a real issue.

Last year, 4 of the Bills' opponents in a 5-week span were either coming off their bye week or a Thursday Night game. On top of that, their own bye-week was compromised last year as well. The Bills played the Patriots after their bye-week FOUR YEARS IN A ROW.

SIX games this year against teams getting extra time, three of which are division games...Jets coming off their bye this week. ONE team has this problem 4 times this year, and SIX teams has this problem 3 times. MOST teams have this problem 2 times or fewer, which means 24 teams face this problem AT LEAST ONE-THIRD fewer times than the Bills do this year. Every team save the Falcons have this problem at least HALF as much as the Bills. I could go on, but I won't...enough is enough here.

Somebody had to say something, and it had to be the Bills. The odds of these things happening to one team repeatedly are astronomical. Those fckers should pay extra added attention to this next year, especially when it comes to the Bills, because this is now in the public realm.

Giving other teams more time to prepare, rest, and get healthy THAT often is ridiculous. It's not an excuse, either...it's an issue that needs to be addressed and not happen again.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. It doesn't matter what ******* team is on the field, it's an issue. If the Bills are a scapegoat, at least tell the fans so we can move on.

[feldspar]

NO, they HAD to speak up. This is a real issue.

Last year, 4 of the Bills' opponents in a 5-week span were either coming off their bye week or a Thursday Night game. On top of that, their own bye-week was compromised last year as well. The Bills played the Patriots after their bye-week FOUR YEARS IN A ROW.

SIX games this year against teams getting extra time, three of which are division games...Jets coming off their bye this week. ONE team has this problem 4 times this year, and SIX teams has this problem 3 times. MOST teams have this problem 2 times or fewer, which means 24 teams face this problem AT LEAST ONE-THIRD fewer times than the Bills do this year. Every team save the Falcons have this problem at least HALF as much as the Bills. I could go on, but I won't...enough is enough here.

Somebody had to say something, and it had to be the Bills. The odds of these things happening to one team repeatedly are astronomical. Those fckers should pay extra added attention to this next year, especially when it comes to the Bills, because this is now in the public realm.

Giving other teams more time to prepare, rest, and get healthy THAT often is ridiculous. It's not an excuse, either...it's an issue that needs to be addressed and not happen again.

Sorry, I meant that 24 teams face this problem AT LEAST TWO-THIRDS fewer times than the Bills do this year. Every team save the Falcons have this problem at least HALF as much as the Bills.

And, again, this is no anomaly for the Bills either. It has happened repeatedly.

[Thurmal]

Anyone who thinks stuff like this and officiating is random or completely on the level is naive. Hell, New England having to play the Panthers in Charlotte this week is the first time in a while I can remember them playing a difficult non-division game on the road. And that's because no one thought Carolina would be any good. The big-money teams get preferential treatment; just the way it is.

[stuckincincy]

So him saying that there's a small advantage means he took a look? Ok. And the league didn't take a look at this team and say "Well, let's see how these other storylines play out, let's put this team as an opponent." It's a billionaire business and you think that's not a possibility? Kudos to the Bills for finally taking a stand.

The league is probably tired of the Bills' organization not picking up their end of the bargain. In the 90's, the other owners threatened skinflint CIN owner Brown if he didn't clean up his act, fix the lousy field in his free stadium, and pay for a halfway competitive team. It made the newspapers, rare...considering how much the NFL keeps their dealings close to the vest.

When you are on the outs for 13 years, you are a problem child that won't fix things. If I were a CEO of a business and had to suffer for some reason, a division of the business that I couldn't dump, I sure wouldn't go out of my way to kiss your bottom line. All I can do is keep you out of sight of my customer base, and give you as little as possible.

[Thurmal]

The league is probably tired of the Bills' organization not picking up their end of the bargain. In the 90's, the other owners threatened skinflint CIN owner Brown if he didn't clean up his act, fix the lousy field in his free stadium, and pay for a halfway competitive team. It made the newspapers, rare...considering how much the NFL keeps their dealings close to the vest.

When you are on the outs for 13 years, you are a problem child that won't fix things. If I were a CEO of a business and had to suffer for some reason, a division of the business that I couldn't dump, I sure wouldn't go out of my way to kiss your bottom line.
Would you go out of your way to see that division of your company fail as much as possible so they would fold or justifiable be contracted?

[feldspar]

The league is probably tired of the Bills' organization not picking up their end of the bargain. In the 90's, the other owners threatened skinflint CIN owner Brown if he didn't clean up his act, fix the lousy field in his free stadium, and pay for a halfway competitive team. It made the newspapers, rare...considering how much the NFL keeps their dealings close to the vest.

When you are on the outs for 13 years, you are a problem child that won't fix things. If I were a CEO of a business and had to suffer for some reason, a division of the business that I couldn't dump, I sure wouldn't go out of my way to kiss your bottom line. All I can do is keep you out of sight of my customer base, and give you as little as possible.

So, in effect, what you are saying is that it's perfectly understandable and justified to kick a guy when he's down?

Sure.....................

[feldspar]

He did look at it. Teams coming off the bye have a slight advantage. The Bills are at the short end of the stick this year. It's a quirk of the schedule and indirectly a result of being a crappy team with few primetime games themselves. The Bills will probably finish the year with 5 wins, give or take. Does anyone think these bums would or could do much better?

You are wrong all over the place here.

If you wanna bet trends, go ahead and make a million dollars. Having extra time to prepare, rest, and get healthy IS an advantage. You don't blindly bet trends, do you? I'm a gambler, by the way. If you wanna talk about trends, see how much of a DISADVANTAGE it is for a team to get SIX opponents with extra time to prepare, rest, and get healthy. See what the trend is in say the sixth time this happens in a single season...can you even find another time this happened? The Bills were victims of this last year, too. Explain the Pats getting the Bills FOUR years in a row after their bye.

This is no "quirk in the schedule" because of less primetime games than other teams either. Bye-weeks are always bye-weeks regardless, and everybody has got a Thursday Night game now. That has absolutely nothing to do with this. A primetime game can give a team ONE fewer day to prepare tops...not 3 or 13, which is what we are talking about in Buffalo's case. Not one instance of these teams getting extra time to prepare has ANYTHING to do with primetime games or lack thereof.

Also what matters not at all is how good or bad of a team the Bills are. The scheduling procedure is fcked up and needs to be monitored in this respect. It's not a matter of whining or crying about it either, as others seem to want to project. Again, it's an issue that needs to be addressed. Period. End of sentence.

[cookie G]

Grasping at straws.

Put a good team on the field.

I'll leave no whine unspoken

~Russ Brandon.

[feldspar]

I'll leave no whine unspoken

~Russ Brandon.

This is some old-school tough-guy BS talk here. It's bull****.

Would it be more manly to shut your trap when somebody steps on your toes? How about never throwing a challenge flag, because after all they made the call, so therefore you should "man up," bend over, and take it up the retnal.

How about not contesting ANY rule the league sees fit to dish out, such as the tuck rule, for example. It's reality, so we're man enough to take it...or stupid enough to not speak up about it. That's the ticket.

This is simply an issue that needs to be addressed. The Eagles were a major victim of it last year too. I don't hear anybody whining or crying about it (or making excuses), just drawing attention to it. The scheduling needs to be more balanced, and that's the ONLY topic of conversation here.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Anyone who thinks stuff like this and officiating is random or completely on the level is naive. Hell, New England having to play the Panthers in Charlotte this week is the first time in a while I can remember them playing a difficult non-division game on the road. And that's because no one thought Carolina would be any good. The big-money teams get preferential treatment; just the way it is.

Come on now. New England played @ Cincinnati and@ Atlanta this year. Yeah Atlanta was garbage but nobody knew that when the schedule came out. Last year they played @ Baltimore and @ Seattle

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Anyone who thinks stuff like this and officiating is random or completely on the level is naive. Hell, New England having to play the Panthers in Charlotte this week is the first time in a while I can remember them playing a difficult non-division game on the road. And that's because no one thought Carolina would be any good. The big-money teams get preferential treatment; just the way it is.

On further reflection, this is even more ridiculous because the home/away schedule is fixed years in advance. Next year New England plays @ Kansas City, @ Green Bay, and likely @ Indy (depending on where the two end up)

[MikeInRoch]

Is it significant? A little. But it shouldn't be this out of whack.

[TigerJ]

It is the job of the team's management to look for any advantage the team can get, and remove any disadvantage they can. Yes, the Bills need to work at fielding a better team, but it doesn't take away from that effort when you contact the league office and ask them to look at scheduling issues. Looking back over time, I think that there have been more years than not when the number of teams Buffalo has had on the schedule that have had extra rest is more than the league average.

[JoeMama]

So now evil NFL scheduling is to blame for our woes?

God, the people who run this franchise are completely without shame.

OMG other teams had a couple extra days to prep for us!!! How can we be expected to compete???

As if a little extra prep time is what separated all those other teams from victory against the mighty Buffalo Bills... Give me a break. You could give the Bills a month to prepare for every single game and they'd still find new and creative ways to lose.

The only thing that's unfair here is how warped their excuse-making has gotten.

As if scheduling is responsible for 14 years of their incompetent bufoonery. Nice try, Bills management.

[BertSquirtgum]

So now evil NFL scheduling is to blame for our woes?

God, the people who run this franchise are completely without shame.

OMG other teams had a couple extra days to prep for us!!! How can we be expected to compete???

As if a little extra prep time is what separated all those other teams from victory against the mighty Buffalo Bills... Give me a break. You could give the Bills a month to prepare for every single game and they'd still find new and creative ways to lose.

The only thing that's unfair here is how warped their excuse-making has gotten.

As if scheduling is responsible for 14 years of their incompetent bufoonery. Nice try, Bills management.

Why am I seeing so many of these dumb posts on Bills' boards? Do you not get it? Did you even read what Brandon said? They are not using it as an excuse. There is no excuse for playing badly. The Bills and I'm sure the fans want the Bills to be on level playing grounds as much as possible. When teams have an extra week to prepare for the Bills do you consider that even playing field? I don't.

[Jry44]

I'll leave no whine unspoken

~Russ Brandon.

Yet.... if this were pointed out and the Bills said nothing, this same crowd would be calling the Bills push over pussies that refuse to do enough to field a winning product.

It's an issue and a huge advantage for other teams. Especially considering how banged up this team has been. The Jets TWICE this year have had extra time to scheme, get healthy, and pick other coaches brains ( like Rex reportedly did last week with his brother) against us. For example...If Thad Lewis had the extra 3-7 days to rest (like the Jets have twice had against us) and get healthy prior to the Chiefs game those *****s aren't undefeated today.

[JoeMama]

Why am I seeing so many of these dumb posts on Bills' boards? Do you not get it? Did you even read what Brandon said? They are not using it as an excuse. There is no excuse for playing badly. The Bills and I'm sure the fans want the Bills to be on level playing grounds as much as possible. When teams have an extra week to prepare for the Bills do you consider that even playing field? I don't.


"We certainly have talked to the league about this because it's been disappointing where teams are coming off a bye or a long week," Bills president and CEO Russ Brandon told WGR-AM. "This (Sunday) is the second time we're playing the Jets coming off a Thursday night game and now we're playing them coming off a bye.

It certainly sounds like an excuse to me. And frankly, I can't recall any other franchise moaning about this publicly. And how convenient that they bring it up after the shameful performance they put forth last week.

Here's the way I see it.

The Bills got dealt a hand they didn't like. They face 5 teams coming off a short week out of 16 games JUST THIS ONE SEASON.

A tough break? Sure.

But is it some monstrous injustice against humanity? No.

It's a piddling 54% advantage for teams coming off a bye. So even if the schedule is adjusted for "fairness" it's not enough of a bias to ensure the Bills improve their record even by so much as one game.

This is a joke.

[BertSquirtgum]

Did anybody make a claim that it was an injustice to humanity? The Bills are making it public so maybe someone thinks about it the next time schedules are made. So that this doesn't happen to the Bills or any other team again. 5 games playing teams coming off of a bye is a joke.

[JoeMama]

Did anybody make a claim that it was an injustice to humanity? The Bills are making it public so maybe someone thinks about it the next time schedules are made. So that this doesn't happen to the Bills or any other team again. 5 games playing teams coming off of a bye is a joke.

It's a 32 team league that spreads its match-ups between MNF, TNF, and bye weeks. There are always going to be winners and losers where timing is concerned.

That's not me talking. That's the math.

This year we weren't a winner. It's stupid to complain about it because no doubt we'll be on the winning side of the equation soon enough.

At that point, will Russ Brandon publicly point out that the schedule was too friendly and ask the league to be harder on us?

If you want to be outraged by something that's mathematically impossible to remedy with perfect judiciousness, and equivocate on behalf of a glorified used car salesmen like Brandon who clearly is making excuses to save his own hide, that's your prerogative.

But you may want to cut back on how often you call other people dumb.

At this point the generous way you throw that word around has become sadly ironic.

[cookie G]

This is some old-school tough-guy BS talk here. It's bull****.

Would it be more manly to shut your trap when somebody steps on your toes? How about never throwing a challenge flag, because after all they made the call, so therefore you should "man up," bend over, and take it up the retnal.

How about not contesting ANY rule the league sees fit to dish out, such as the tuck rule, for example. It's reality, so we're man enough to take it...or stupid enough to not speak up about it. That's the ticket.

This is simply an issue that needs to be addressed. The Eagles were a major victim of it last year too. I don't hear anybody whining or crying about it (or making excuses), just drawing attention to it. The scheduling needs to be more balanced, and that's the ONLY topic of conversation here.

1...A team that puts Russ Brandon as CEO of their franchise isn't going to be taken seriously. Accept that or don't.

2. Whether you want admit it or not, the NFL just DID address the issue. They pointed out that a team playing after the bye week or a Thursday night game wins 54% of the time...as opposed to the control figure of 50% of the time. Maybe someone from the Bills analytics department should have looked into the issue.

3. Screaming "THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED" doesn't change no. 2 above.

4. If the NFL chose to get into bona-fide issues that need to be addressed, they might look into how a team with 13 year playoff drought name a guy like Russ Brandon its CEO. When you lose that long...and so often...and promote a guy with less football knowledge than Cameron Diaz as head honcho...maybe the NFL should question their commitment to excellence.

[BertSquirtgum]

It's a 32 team league that spreads its match-ups between MNF, TNF, and bye weeks. There are always going to be winners and losers where timing is concerned.

That's not me talking. That's the math.

This year we weren't a winner. It's stupid to complain about it because no doubt we'll be on the winning side of the equation soon enough.

At that point, will Russ Brandon publicly point out that the schedule was too friendly and ask the league to be harder on us?

If you want to be outraged by something that's mathematically impossible to remedy with perfect judiciousness, and equivocate on behalf of a glorified used car salesmen like Brandon who clearly is making excuses to save his own hide, that's your prerogative.

But you may want to cut back on how often you call other people dumb.

At this point the generous way you throw that word around has become sadly ironic.

Dumb is you not being able to comprehend what I write. Pretty sure I said "why am I reading so many dumb posts"

[feldspar]

1...A team that puts Russ Brandon as CEO of their franchise isn't going to be taken seriously. Accept that or don't.

2. Whether you want admit it or not, the NFL just DID address the issue. They pointed out that a team playing after the bye week or a Thursday night game wins 54% of the time...as opposed to the control figure of 50% of the time. Maybe someone from the Bills analytics department should have looked into the issue.

3. Screaming "THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED" doesn't change no. 2 above.

4. If the NFL chose to get into bona-fide issues that need to be addressed, they might look into how a team with 13 year playoff drought name a guy like Russ Brandon its CEO. When you lose that long...and so often...and promote a guy with less football knowledge than Cameron Diaz as head honcho...maybe the NFL should question their commitment to excellence.

Russ Brandon has nothing to do with this. We aren't talking about him.

Gregg Rosenthal quoting a stat on a website is not the same as the NFL addressing an issue. The guy does not represent the NFL in any way about this. Let's not be stupid about it.

You want to blindly quote a few more stats as if it explains all the dynamics in a nutshell? A home team is only 3% more likely to win a game in their own stadium than a team coming off their bye week. So maybe they shouldn't worry too much about giving teams an equal amount of home and away games anymore, huh? The Bills are already ahead of the curve there too, but maybe one team should play in London 5 times per year or something. Won't be too much worse than playing teams after bye-weeks, right?

Again, what's the stat on winning percentages of teams facing their fifth or SIXTH opponent after their bye or with more time to regroup and recuperate? How do you quantify repeatedly facing teams that have fresher bodies? Does that wear you down more? Are there more injuries? I'd like to know. The stat that Greg Rosenthal (a reporter, basically) brings up DOES indicate an advantage as well, but there is more to it than just that stat. Lot's of other things to consider about it. You can never just look at the stat sheet and tell what happened in a game.

It's unfair on a lot of levels to face that many teams with extra time to prepare.

This isn't the first time the Bills have been singled out this way, either.

[JoeMama]

Dumb is you not being able to comprehend what I write. Pretty sure I said "why am I reading so many dumb posts"

Insipid nattering.

Not impressed with your track record on what constitutes a stupid post.

Especially after your Kevin Kolb man crush.

[stuckincincy]

Would you go out of your way to see that division of your company fail as much as possible so they would fold or justifiable be contracted?

Since they can't be removed - no. but I wouldn't be handing out favors. For years, they've been handed choice "capital" assets (higher draft picks in the NFL). They have not done much with those assets.

They benefit from the performance of other company divisions (tv and trinket revenue sharing, brand awarness).

They have the power to set the local price of their product (choosing lower ticket prices than others in the biz).

They have the power to spend their yearly budget to newly-acquire performing assets (free agents) and also to retain current assets (those decent players who bolt are let go). Rather than doing such to aid the company (the league) as a whole, they decide not to invest a sizable portion (cap room), pocketing the loot.

I can't see the Bills organization surviving in a normal business environment - but they persist in the NFL, which may be viewed as a collective of 32 fiefdoms.

[kishoph]

I'm glad the Bills' brought this up. I thought the same with us playing teams coming off the bye.

The Jets will be the third team we've had to play coming off their bye and we still have to play the Jags who will have 10 days off before they play the Bills. That's 1/4 of our schedule where we've had to play against teams that have extra time to prepare and rest. I think I'm pretty safe in assuming that no other team has had to endure that.

[X-Era]

I'm glad they brought it up. The league has been gift wrapping games for the Pats with them playing us in season openers. Add in the games after the byes, the Thursday night turn arounds...

Problem is, this is what happens when you suck. Be a good team and this won't happen and more importantly won't matter.

[stuckincincy]

It's the malaise of our times - blame somebody or something else. :air:

We wouldn't be hearing a peep out of OBD if they were something better than 3 and 7.


I put little stock in strength of schedule, but I recall the fan's cries of "unfair!!!" in 2011 when their strength of schedule was #2. No such cries when the s.o.s. was #29 in '12 and #26 this season.

[Raptor]

Good for Russ showing he has some balls and tells the NFL they ****ed up. He should have and now its in the public and I doubt the same thing happens again to the Bills for awhile

I'm assuming those of you who are somehow against the Bills actions in this case are the same people who take it on the chin every day and never be a man and stand up for yourself...."Go Fetch your Crumbs from your masters"

[pmoon6]

So now evil NFL scheduling is to blame for our woes?

God, the people who run this franchise are completely without shame.

OMG other teams had a couple extra days to prep for us!!! How can we be expected to compete???

As if a little extra prep time is what separated all those other teams from victory against the mighty Buffalo Bills... Give me a break. You could give the Bills a month to prepare for every single game and they'd still find new and creative ways to lose.

The only thing that's unfair here is how warped their excuse-making has gotten.

As if scheduling is responsible for 14 years of their incompetent bufoonery. Nice try, Bills management.You miss the point. The NFL is relatively even regardless of a reactionary fanbase. A few days more rest and prep allow for a competitive advantage. It's not an excuse, but an interesting sidebar of conversation and something that the league should be made aware of.

Maybe something like this just gets in the way of the typical Bills' Fans pastime. Crying about the team and how much they suck even when they have been competitive for most of the games this year.

Who are the real whiners? The Bills' organization or the large percentage of buffoons that follow the team?

[JoeMama]

You miss the point. The NFL is relatively even regardless of a reactionary fanbase. A few days more rest and prep allow for a competitive advantage. It's not an excuse, but an interesting sidebar of conversation and something that the league should be made aware of.

Maybe something like this just gets in the way of the typical Bills' Fans pastime. Crying about the team and how much they suck even when they have been competitive for most of the games this year.

Who are the real whiners? The Bills' organization or the large percentage of buffoons that follow the team?

Our snake-oil salesman president & CEO vocalizes a grievance with the NFL over a one-year anomaly in scheduling that frankly couldn't be administered with perfect equality even in some egalitarian utopia.

We drew the short end of the stick this season.

We should suck it up and deal with the cards we've been dealt.

You're defensively standing up for Brandon's whining. And for a decade plus you've whined and awful lot about whiners. An ironic approach as predictable as the sunrise.

[pmoon6]

Our snake-oil salesman president & CEO vocalizes a grievance with the NFL over a one-year anomaly in scheduling that frankly couldn't be administered with perfect equality even in some egalitarian utopia.

We drew the short end of the stick this season.

We should suck it up and deal with the cards we've been dealt.

You're defensively standing up for Brandon's whining. And for a decade plus you've whined and awful lot about whiners. An ironic approach as predictable as the sunrise.OK, but I haven't whined about whiners, I've just pointed them out.

Of course, you being a liberal you would see it that way. When somebody says "STFU, you douchebag ccksucker" you say it's whining.

Oh, and I'm sorry I'm predictable, but the past decade or so of reading crybaby twentysomethings and their rants has dictated that. Too bad they won't take my advice and **** off and follow the Atlanta Falcons or SF '49ers.

[DraftBoy]

Our team sucks this badly and this is what we waste time on. Teams coming off a bye aren't the reason we are losing games.

[JoeMama]

OK, but I haven't whined about whiners, I've just pointed them out.

Of course, you being a liberal you would see it that way. When somebody says "STFU, you douchebag ccksucker" you say it's whining.

Oh, and I'm sorry I'm predictable, but the past decade or so of reading crybaby twentysomethings and their rants has dictated that. Too bad they won't take my advice and **** off and follow the Atlanta Falcons or SF '49ers.

The Bills HAVE been bad. I've just pointed it out. Like many others.

Russ Brandon DOES seem to have a lot more excuses than solutions. I've just pointed that out too. Like many others.

You're quick to assign "whining" to other people when it suits you, but bristle at the notion you deserve the same treatment. You go with the euphemism "I point things out!" Come on, let's be judicious in how we label things. I don't actually think you're a whiner but the way you describe everything under the sun even remotely critical toward this team as whining is just moonie-hyperbole and I think you know.

As for me being a liberal, call me what you will. I tend to be all over the place when when you break it down by issues. But I suppose that's not worth getting into in the fan zone.

[pmoon6]

I like that. Maybe we can shorten it to "Moonperbole"

[cookie G]

Russ Brandon has nothing to do with this. We aren't talking about him.

Gregg Rosenthal quoting a stat on a website is not the same as the NFL addressing an issue. The guy does not represent the NFL in any way about this. Let's not be stupid about it.

You want to blindly quote a few more stats as if it explains all the dynamics in a nutshell? A home team is only 3% more likely to win a game in their own stadium than a team coming off their bye week. So maybe they shouldn't worry too much about giving teams an equal amount of home and away games anymore, huh? The Bills are already ahead of the curve there too, but maybe one team should play in London 5 times per year or something. Won't be too much worse than playing teams after bye-weeks, right?

Again, what's the stat on winning percentages of teams facing their fifth or SIXTH opponent after their bye or with more time to regroup and recuperate? How do you quantify repeatedly facing teams that have fresher bodies? Does that wear you down more? Are there more injuries? I'd like to know. The stat that Greg Rosenthal (a reporter, basically) brings up DOES indicate an advantage as well, but there is more to it than just that stat. Lot's of other things to consider about it. You can never just look at the stat sheet and tell what happened in a game.

It's unfair on a lot of levels to face that many teams with extra time to prepare.

This isn't the first time the Bills have been singled out this way, either.

Fair is foul, and foul is fair
Hover through the fog and filthy air.

So you really don't have anything except these unfounded claims of how unfair this supposedly is?

The burden of proof on someone whining about "unfairness" is on the claimant.

Let me know when the research is finished.

[Dr. Lecter]

This is almost as annoying as listening to people whining about how the officiating is costing the Bills games.

Make the team better. Worry about that Russ.

[better days]

This is almost as annoying as listening to people whining about how the officiating is costing the Bills games.

Make the team better. Worry about that Russ.

Well, that may annoy you. What annoys me is people blaming past mistakes & failures on people that were not in Buffalo at the time & had nothing to do with it.

[pmoon6]

This is almost as annoying as listening to people whining about how the officiating is costing the Bills games.

Make the team better. Worry about that Russ.Yeah, just say "We suck" and be done with it.

[JoeMama]

Yeah, just say "We suck" and be done with it.

Yeah but imagine how boring this place would be if everyone was as insipid and laconic as JLB with their opinions. One-liners aren't without their charms, but sometimes detailed explanations push the conversations along.

[pmoon6]

Yeah but imagine how boring this place would be if everyone was as insipid and laconic as JLB with their opinions. One-liners aren't without their charms, but sometimes detailed explanations push the conversations along.Of course, you know my MO. I'm anti-boring.

JLB was only one of two people I ever put on ignore.

[MikeInRoch]

First off, this is not a "one year anomaly". This happens nearly every year. How many years in a row was it that we played New England coming off their bye? 4? 5?

It's not the rest that I think is as big an issue. And I don't think teams spend the entire two weeks thinking about "How can we beat the Bills?" But teams often install new systems and new plays during the bye week for which there is no film. It is unfair.

Is it unfair enough to have been the cause of the Bills woes? Heck no. But it wouldn't shock me if it cost them an average of a half win per season. (Not nearly enough to make the playoffs...)

I have no issue with the GM raising the concern to the NFL - but he shouldn't have complained publicly about it.

[DraftBoy]

First off, this is not a "one year anomaly". This happens nearly every year. How many years in a row was it that we played New England coming off their bye? 4? 5?

It's not the rest that I think is as big an issue. And I don't think teams spend the entire two weeks thinking about "How can we beat the Bills?" But teams often install new systems and new plays during the bye week for which there is no film. It is unfair.

Is it unfair enough to have been the cause of the Bills woes? Heck no. But it wouldn't shock me if it cost them an average of a half win per season. (Not nearly enough to make the playoffs...)

I have no issue with the GM raising the concern to the NFL - but he shouldn't have complained publicly about it.

Maybe one or two new plays (they absolutely do no install new systems) but those one or two plays don't necessarily even get called during the following game. They are more inserted for special circumstances where the game calls for it. There is this misnomer that you can make massive changes during the bye week for the most part the bye week is used to get guys healthy, review more film than normal, and to see if you want to make a tweak here or there. There isn't enough time in a week to make wholesale changes.

[Mr. Pink]

So now we're complaining teams have extra rest before facing us? Really?

Manuel had a month of rest, how did that work out?

Extra rest for the opposition can be just as much of a positive as a negative. Seeing the Bills would still be in rhythm and the opposition wouldn't. I remember many times people called into question Indy's approach the final week of the regular season under Dungy when he'd rest his starters and then they'd come out flat in the playoffs.

I guess the argument gets twisted whichever way fits best at the time of the conversation.

I actually see not resting as being an advantage, tbh.

[Historian]

It's the malaise of our times - blame somebody or something else. :air:

We wouldn't be hearing a peep out of OBD if they were something better than 3 and 7.


I put little stock in strength of schedule, but I recall the fan's cries of "unfair!!!" in 2011 when their strength of schedule was #2. No such cries when the s.o.s. was #29 in '12 and #26 this season.

How about the ADVANTAGES the Bills routinely get:

Since the merger, we have opened the season at home 39 times in the last 44 years!

I don't see the Pats or anybody else *****ing about that.

The Bills routinely get to play the bulk of their home games in Sept and Oct, giving them a head start on those who have to start on the road.

The league hasn't given them a short week in YEARS, by forcing them on MNF.

What's Brandon and company going to ***** about next....playing in cold weather?

[Mr. Pink]

What's Brandon and company going to ***** about next....playing in cold weather?

Didn't they do that already which is why the home games are early in the year?

Something about it's hard to sell meaningless football games in Buffalo December?

[BillsFever21]

This is almost as annoying as listening to people whining about how the officiating is costing the Bills games.

Make the team better. Worry about that Russ.

It's always the same crowd finding reasons why we suck every season. If we lose the game then it's because of the refs. We're 3-7 because the NFL is out to screw us with the schedule. It's never the Bills fault. There are higher ups in the NFL that sit around a table and their only goal is to find ways to screw the Bills. That's seriously how some people think. I'm sure the base the entire NFL schedule around the Bills.

At least the Bills know all but once or twice a year they will be playing on Sunday at 1PM EST. For a game where the players are a creature of habit that should be a big advantage for them. Maybe we should cry to the NFL to make sure we play more games at 4pm to make it fair for many other teams that don't every week.

[BillsFever21]

Didn't they do that already which is why the home games are early in the year?

Something about it's hard to sell meaningless football games in Buffalo December?

Yeah I believe they did so the NFL started giving us more games earlier in the season. That was their excuse for us having so many blackouts so the NFL tried to get rid of late season games in Buffalo to try and sellout more games. When that happens then you probably have the same group upset that we don't get our home field advantage in the cold that much anymore.

The NFL should go through the schedule and make sure that the schedule is completely even. You play two games at home and then two games on the road, etc. At least that's what many think.

[TacklingDummy]

Something about it's hard to sell meaningless football games in Buffalo December?

They wouldn't be meaningless if they were 7-5 or 8-4.

[coastal]

This is almost as annoying as listening to people whining about how the officiating is costing the Bills games.

Make the team better. Worry about that Russ.pay Levitre and Byrd?

[coastal]

Yeah, just say "We suck" and be done with it.
Your fanboy fetish is so at odds with your street rat turned mountain man persona.

it just adds to the complexity that is pmoon6

[pmoon6]

Your fanboy fetish is so at odds with your street rat turned mountain man persona.

it just adds to the complexity that is pmoon6No it isn't. I just don't cry like a little girl like so many here. Take heart though, ya'll are a perfect reflection of modern day society. You fit in well.

[Albany,n.y.]

The most unfair part of the schedule is that game in Toronto.

[better days]

The most unfair part of the schedule is that game in Toronto.

Not really. That is the Bills doing, not the NFL's.

But, people that don't think the Bills are at a disadvantage playing all those teams with extra time to prepare are CRAZY.

In the real world, it would be like your boss giving your coworker 2 weeks to get a project done while he gave you 5 days to do the same project.

[coastal]

No it isn't. I just don't cry like a little girl like so many here. Take heart though, ya'll are a perfect reflection of modern day society. You fit in well.
Who knew this was the real moonie?

http://galforallseasons.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/thank_you_sir.gif

[pmoon6]

Who knew this was the real moonie?

http://galforallseasons.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/thank_you_sir.gif Too bad they stuck the end of the paddle up your ass.....and you liked it.

Now, it's your lifelong sexual preference.

[coastal]

Too bad they stuck the end of the paddle up your ass.....and you liked it.

Now, it's your lifelong sexual preference.
Lol... Weak sauce paddle boy.

[pmoon6]

Lol... Weak sauce paddle boy.Hmmm. You think yours was "strong"?

[coastal]

Hmmm. You think yours was "strong"?
I lol'd.

[pmoon6]

I lol'd.Easily amused then.

[Historian]

"Let the unacceptable candidates worry about that!"

[JoeMama]

Not really. That is the Bills doing, not the NFL's.

But, people that don't think the Bills are at a disadvantage playing all those teams with extra time to prepare are CRAZY.

In the real world, it would be like your boss giving your coworker 2 weeks to get a project done while he gave you 5 days to do the same project.

No, it's not at all like that. Teams coming off a bye only win 54% of the time. It's barely an advantage. And look at the playoffs. Some teams with a first round bye come out completely flat, and the time off actually works against them by disrupting their rhythm.

The primary disadvantage the Bills have is not being a very good team. We don't need to chirp over peripheral stuff like scheduling. The team and the coaching need to be better, that's the heart of it. Everything else is ancillary.

[better days]

No, it's not at all like that. Teams coming off a bye only win 54% of the time. It's barely an advantage. And look at the playoffs. Some teams with a first round bye come out completely flat, and the time off actually works against them by disrupting their rhythm.

The primary disadvantage the Bills have is not being a very good team. We don't need to chirp over peripheral stuff like scheduling. The team and the coaching need to be better, that's the heart of it. Everything else is ancillary.

Here is a CLUE for you 54% is a WINNING percentage. STUPID stat. It does not take into account WEAK/ BAD teams having extra time off playing a MUCH BETTER team.

[Dr. Lecter]

Here is a CLUE for you 54% is a WINNING percentage. STUPID stat. It does not take into account WEAK/ BAD teams having extra time off playing a MUCH BETTER team.

Or the opposite.

It is not a stupid stat, unless it runs couter to your point

[better days]

Or the opposite.

It is not a stupid stat, unless it runs couter to your point

What a BS post.

As I said, that stat does not take into consideration WEAK/BAD teams having extra time off & then facing a MUCH better team.

You could give the Jags a month off & they would likely lose the game after that time off.

It is a STUPID stat.

[better days]

And at 54%, teams with the extra time off do have a winning percentage & that includes BAD teams having extra time off.

Proof positive, extra time off is an ADVANTAGE.

[Dr. Lecter]

What a BS post.

As I said, that stat does not take into consideration WEAK/BAD teams having extra time off & then facing a MUCH better team.

You could give the Jags a month off & they would likely lose the game after that time off.

It is a STUPID stat.

No, no, not.

It also does not take into account the fact you could give the Saints a day off and then play the Jags and they would still win. It does not matter if the Saints have a day or 2 weeks.

Fact is, if this bye was so important the winning 5 would be well above 500.

So the stat is NOT meaningless.

A completely random selection would, in theory, end up at 50%. This is pretty damn close

[JoeMama]

Here is a CLUE for you 54% is a WINNING percentage. STUPID stat. It does not take into account WEAK/ BAD teams having extra time off playing a MUCH BETTER team.

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q263/JoeMama025/053ca482887a2f733_zpsb6235042.gif (http://s138.photobucket.com/user/JoeMama025/media/053ca482887a2f733_zpsb6235042.gif.html)

So it's a stupid stat because you don't like its implications, but it's a good stat because 54% is a big-time winning % worthy of big-time capital letters!

Never a dull moment with you.

[pmoon6]

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q263/JoeMama025/053ca482887a2f733_zpsb6235042.gif (http://s138.photobucket.com/user/JoeMama025/media/053ca482887a2f733_zpsb6235042.gif.html)

So it's a stupid stat because you don't like its implications, but it's a good stat because 54% is a big-time winning % worthy of big-time capital letters!

Never a dull moment with you.The stat is only meaningful if it's put in context which is what Better Days was pointing out. A team like the Saints comes off the bye and plays the Bills. Certainly a bigger advantage than they already had. Buffalo comes off the bye and plays the Broncos. Not really much of an advantage. Buffalo is a weaker team, therefore the schedule gives them more of an obstacle than they already had.

Some players complain that Tom Brady and the elite QBs are overprotected. Are they excuse makers or are they just calling it like they see it?

[better days]

No, no, not.

It also does not take into account the fact you could give the Saints a day off and then play the Jags and they would still win. It does not matter if the Saints have a day or 2 weeks.

Fact is, if this bye was so important the winning 5 would be well above 500.

So the stat is NOT meaningless.

A completely random selection would, in theory, end up at 50%. This is pretty damn close

Go to Vegas, if you win 54% of the time you won't have to work again.

54% is a WINNING percentage.

Where extra time off matters is when two teams are more evenly matched, like the Jets & Bills rather when one team is MUCH better like the Saints & Jags.

[JoeMama]

The stat is only meaningful if it's put in context which is what Better Days was pointing out. A team like the Saints comes off the bye and plays the Bills. Certainly a bigger advantage than they already had. Buffalo comes off the bye and plays the Broncos. Not really much of an advantage. Buffalo is a weaker team, therefore the schedule gives them more of an obstacle than they already had.

Some players complain that Tom Brady and the elite QBs are overprotected. Are they excuse makers or are they just calling it like they see it?

And not very well.

He's running with this assumption that quantity equals quantity here.

More time doesn't mean better time spent.

A guy like Bill Belichick is going to out-coach Greg Shiano whether Shiano has 5 days to prepare or 5 years to prepare.

You can't replace quality. You can hope maybe guys have more time to heal. But there really isn't some massive advantage here.

And on top of that, no one seems willing to address how the bye week can have such perverse implications in the playoffs.

More prep time doesn't mean better prep.

[Dr. Lecter]

Go to Vegas, if you win 54% of the time you won't have to work again.

54% is a WINNING percentage.

Where extra time off matters is when two teams are more evenly matched, like the Jets & Bills rather when one team is MUCH better like the Saints & Jags.

We are not in Vegas.

We are talking about the NFL.

Win 54% of your games in the NFL and you are not doing all that well. Not poorly. But not that well.

The Vegas comparison is a very bad one.

[pmoon6]

And not very well.

He's running with this assumption that quantity equals quantity here.

More time doesn't mean better time spent.

A guy like Bill Belichick is going to out-coach Greg Shiano whether Shiano has 5 days to prepare or 5 years to prepare.

You can't replace quality. You can hope maybe guys have more time to heal. But there really isn't some massive advantage here.

And on top of that, no one seems willing to address how the bye week can have such perverse implications in the playoffs.

More prep time doesn't mean better prep.Belichick had the whole preseason to prepare for opening day and he came away with a two point win in the waning seconds.

But, we don't have any quality.

As far as the playoffs, how many Wild Card teams have made it to the Super Bowl? I'd have to look it up, but I'm almost positive it's less than 10.

[JoeMama]

Belichick had the whole preseason to prepare for opening day and he came away with a two point win in the waning seconds.

But, we don't have any quality.

As far as the playoffs, how many Wild Card teams have made it to the Super Bowl? I'd have to look it up, but I'm almost positive it's less than 10

I've been saying quality is what matters this entire thread.

The other stuff is superfluous.

If we're a good team, a well coached team, timing and scheduling won't be this massive source of outrage because we'll be the ones snaking wins instead of blowing them and cooking up wild excuses.

[pmoon6]

I've been saying quality is what matters this entire thread.

The other stuff is superfluous.

If we're a good team, a well coached team, timing and scheduling won't be this massive source of outrage because we'll be the ones snaking wins instead of blowing them and cooking up wild excuses.I was being sarcastic. You and other Fans continue to think we aren't well coached, don't have any quality because we haven't been successful, thus far.

This is a team in transition with mostly a staff that is trying to figure out the pro game. What did Belichick do in Cleveland? He only had one winning season in 5 years. Now, he's a God.

We only took a bad beating twice this year and now injuries are taking their toll. I'm sure we'll hear the same bull**** with our two best receivers out if we lose on Sunday, when the Jets stack the box to stop the running game.

[JoeMama]

I was being sarcastic. You and other Fans continue to think we aren't well coached, don't have any quality because we haven't been successful, thus far.

This is a team in transition with mostly a staff that is trying to figure out the pro game. What did Belichick do in Cleveland? He only had one winning season in 5 years. Now, he's a God.

We only took a bad beating twice this year and now injuries are taking their toll. I'm sure we'll hear the same bull**** with our two best receivers out if we lose on Sunday, when the Jets stack the box to stop the running game.

It's not that I think we're poorly coached.

Doug Marrone has shown to be a much more competent guy than his predecessors. I know that's not the world's biggest compliment, but he's made this team competitive outside of Sunday's shameful display of disheartening football.

But he has been out-coached in key moments. There's a learning curve here. I'm not saying the guy's bad. Just that other coaches have gotten the better of him thus far.

[better days]

And not very well.

He's running with this assumption that quantity equals quantity here.

More time doesn't mean better time spent.

A guy like Bill Belichick is going to out-coach Greg Shiano whether Shiano has 5 days to prepare or 5 years to prepare.

You can't replace quality. You can hope maybe guys have more time to heal. But there really isn't some massive advantage here.

And on top of that, no one seems willing to address how the bye week can have such perverse implications in the playoffs.

More prep time doesn't mean better prep.

More time off is not just time to prep, it is time to HEAL.

It allows INJURED players time to RECOVER from injuries.

Even players that don't have injuries, extra time off allows the time to feel better, the aches & pains that come with playing in the NFL disappear.

Anyone that has done strenuous exercise knows you feel much better after a weeks rest than you do the next day.

And for even a mediocre HC, the extra time off can do nothing but help.

When you face a team that has had extra time off, you face a team at its BEST.

I can not believe there are so many dense people on this board that do not get that.

[JoeMama]

More time off is not just time to prep, it is time to HEAL.

It allows INJURED players time to RECOVER from injuries.

Even players that don't have injuries, extra time off allows the time to feel better, the aches & pains that come with playing in the NFL disappear.

Anyone that has done strenuous exercise knows you feel much better after a weeks rest than you do the next day.

And for even a mediocre HC, the extra time off can do nothing but help.

When you face a team that has had extra time off, you face a team at its BEST.

I can not believe there are so many dense people on this board that do not get that.

Yeah, I said that already.

Keep up.

[better days]

I was being sarcastic. You and other Fans continue to think we aren't well coached, don't have any quality because we haven't been successful, thus far.

This is a team in transition with mostly a staff that is trying to figure out the pro game. What did Belichick do in Cleveland? He only had one winning season in 5 years. Now, he's a God.

We only took a bad beating twice this year and now injuries are taking their toll. I'm sure we'll hear the same bull**** with our two best receivers out if we lose on Sunday, when the Jets stack the box to stop the running game.

Belichick became a GENIUS after he PERFECTED CHEATING & LUCKED into Brady.

[better days]

Yeah, I said that already.

Keep up.

But you dismissed that as not important.

Like I said when you face a team that has had extra time off, you are facing a team at it's BEST.

Again, I can't believe the number of people on this board too dense to understand that FACT.

[JoeMama]

But you dismissed that as not important.

Like I said when you face a team that has had extra time off, you are facing a team at it's BEST.

Again, I can't believe the number of people on this board too dense to understand that FACT.

No, better days, I dismissed your wild mooning about what a huge advantage few extra days off helps in the way of game-planning. There's just not anything there to support it. Lane Kiffin doesn't become Vince Lombardi because his opponent played the previous Monday night instead of Sunday.

Time to heal was never in dispute.

[stuckincincy]

But you dismissed that as not important.

Like I said when you face a team that has had extra time off, you are facing a team at it's BEST.

Again, I can't believe the number of people on this board too dense to understand that FACT.


If you are 100% right, then admit that the league is nothing but a billion dollar, rigged con game. Why bother caring about it? Why watch? :rain:

[better days]

If you are 100% right, then admit that the league is nothing but a billion dollar, rigged con game. Why bother caring about it? Why watch? :rain:

What the hell are you talking about?

I am not saying the NFL purposely put the Bills at a disadvantage with the schedule.

I think it was just a case of the NFL schedule maker not being aware of it, I'm pretty sure computers are heavily involved in making the schedule.

IMO, Brandon just let the NFL know about what happened this year so it can be avoided in the future.

[better days]

No, better days, I dismissed your wild mooning about what a huge advantage few extra days off helps in the way of game-planning. There's just not anything there to support it. Lane Kiffin doesn't become Vince Lombardi because his opponent played the previous Monday night instead of Sunday.

Time to heal was never in dispute.

I did not say it ONLY helps with game planning.

I think time to heal may be even more important than the extra time to game plan.

[better days]

We are not in Vegas.

We are talking about the NFL.

Win 54% of your games in the NFL and you are not doing all that well. Not poorly. But not that well.

The Vegas comparison is a very bad one.

Agreed, a 54% winning percentage is not great in the NFL, BUT I would bet teams have made the playoffs with that winning percentage.

And as I said it is a STUPID stat because it leaves out too many other variables such as bad teams coming off a bye facing good teams.

But I AM NOT a stats guy & I think everyone on this board should know that by now.

[BillsFever21]

More time off is not just time to prep, it is time to HEAL.

It allows INJURED players time to RECOVER from injuries.

Even players that don't have injuries, extra time off allows the time to feel better, the aches & pains that come with playing in the NFL disappear.

Anyone that has done strenuous exercise knows you feel much better after a weeks rest than you do the next day.

And for even a mediocre HC, the extra time off can do nothing but help.

When you face a team that has had extra time off, you face a team at its BEST.

I can not believe there are so many dense people on this board that do not get that.

Not many is disputing that there is a slight advantage with the extra time off. They're disputing the assumptions that it's the reason why we're a losing team once again this season.

Out of the four games so far this season when playing teams coming off extra rest the Bills beat the Dolphins and lost to the Jets, Saints and Bengals. The Bills were also coming off extra rest against the Bengals so lets call that game a wash.

So out of the 3 games where the other teams had extra rest and the Bills didn't the Bills are 1-2 in them games. Take away them games and we're still 2-5 on the season. What is the excuse for the other games?

And if you want to break down the 54% win percentage how much of a difference is that going to make out of 6 games? That means the odds are you will win 4 more games out of every 100 played which breaks down to 1 wins out of every 12.5 games. Which would mean you are looking at 1/2 of a game out of 6 games played. Even if you give that a full game it's not going to make an impact on our season.

It's also pretty safe to say we're not beating the Saints in New Orleans whether they had a bye week or not. The other ones are debatable. I would also like to see the stats of how many teams win their following game after a Thursday night game and not just the bye weeks. They are getting a few days of extra rest but they also need the few days of extra rest to recover from playing a game so early in the week. Will be a stat that will have to figure out.

[better days]

Not many is disputing that there is a slight advantage with the extra time off. They're disputing the assumptions that it's the reason why we're a losing team once again this season.

Out of the four games so far this season when playing teams coming off extra rest the Bills beat the Dolphins and lost to the Jets, Saints and Bengals. The Bills were also coming off extra rest against the Bengals so lets call that game a wash.

So out of the 3 games where the other teams had extra rest and the Bills didn't the Bills are 1-2 in them games. Take away them games and we're still 2-5 on the season. What is the excuse for the other games?

And if you want to break down the 54% win percentage how much of a difference is that going to make out of 6 games? That means the odds are you will win 4 more games out of every 100 played which breaks down to 1 wins out of every 12.5 games. Which would mean you are looking at 1/2 of a game out of 6 games played. Even if you give that a full game it's not going to make an impact on our season.

It's also pretty safe to say we're not beating the Saints in New Orleans whether they had a bye week or not. The other ones are debatable. I would also like to see the stats of how many teams win their following game after a Thursday night game and not just the bye weeks. They are getting a few days of extra rest but they also need the few days of extra rest to recover from playing a game so early in the week. Will be a stat that will have to figure out.

Well, personally, I am not using the schedule as an excuse for the Bills record. It is what it is.

I think injuries, a new Coaching staff, new systems played a much bigger role in the record than the schedule.

BUT if faced with a similar schedule next year, it could be the difference between making the playoffs & missing out by one game.

I think that is the reason the Bills made the NFL aware the Bills got shafted this year with the schedule, so that does not happen again next year.

[feldspar]

Here is how it breaks down after Buffalo. Notice that the Patriots are one of a few teams that faces NO teams coming off extra rest. Also notice that literally half the league only has to face a team coming off extra rest once or not at all. Whether you want to argue having extra time is an advantage or not, I see the reason no reason for this disparity in scheduling. It happened WAY inordinately for the Bills last year, too. Facing the Pats after their bye four years in a row defies probability.

I haven't heard ONE person use this as an excuse, and that includes anybody from the Buffalo Bills organization. Check out how it breaks down:

Teams that play against 4 teams with extra rest
Atlanta

Teams that play against 3 teams with extra rest
Arizona, Carolina, NY Giants, Oakland, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay

Teams that play against 2 teams with extra rest
Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Houston, NY Jets, San Diego

Teams that play one team with extra rest
Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dallas, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Miami, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tennessee, Washington

Teams that play no teams with extra rest
Kansas City, New England and technically New Orleans

(New Orleans plays Seattle off their bye week, but the Saints are coming off a Thursday night game that same week giving Seattle only three more days to prepare than New Orleans instead of a week)

Teams whose bye weeks were nullified or compromised
Buffalo, Houston, Indianapolis, Seattle – Houston and Indy have same bye week then play the following week.

Buffalo’s bye compromised by Atlanta getting 10-day break same week due to Thursday night game.
Same with Seattle prior to their aforementioned meeting with New Orleans.

[ServoBillieves]

So theres advantages and disadvantages to both sides? **** no way!

[feldspar]

And look at this week alone.

The Jets are getting back Santonio Holmes, Jeff Cumberland and Kellen Winslow after their bye...guys to throw the ball to. They also picked up Ed Reed. I'd say the bye-week helped that team out quite a bit, whether they win or lose. Otherwise, they'd have to play a game without some or all of these guys last week.

Watch Robert Woods and Stevie Johnson return to the field after the Bills bye next week, too. Will that not help us? If our bye week was this week, we wouldn't be likely to have to play a game with neither of these guys.

This is just one aspect of it. The timing here is just good for the Jets, and bad for the Bills. Like better days said, there are too many variables to it. Bye weeks can help teams get healthy and regroup.

[BillsFever21]

If only you could choose your bye week then that would be credible. I guess the NFL had their crystal ball and knew we would be missing Johnson and Woods for this game so they made sure to hold off our bye for another week.

[BillsFever21]

I would like to see a stat over say a 5 year period with the same criteria. Any team can get the short end of the stick for a year or two in that respect. I'm sure you will find other teams that had the same issues during the long haul. Using one year or two as the criteria for the weekly/annually "NFL is screwing the Bills" case isn't a long-term trend.

As far as playing the Patriots after their bye for several years I'm sure the Patriots lobbied the NFL to make that happen. They were petrified of having to play us without having their bye week to prepare for us :rolleyes:. If anything they would rather have that opponent be a stronger team that has playoff implications then the annual cellar dweller Bills for the past several years.

[feldspar]

If only you could choose your bye week then that would be credible. I guess the NFL had their crystal ball and knew we would be missing Johnson and Woods for this game so they made sure to hold off our bye for another week.

Let's not be imbeciles about this, shall we?

I'm talking about teams getting healthy during their byes or with more time off between games. It happened with the Jets this time, and it will happen for the Bills during their bye. I thought my point was pretty clear. We are talking about getting difference-makers back healthy for games.

That particular aspect of this is seemingly random, but teams that encounter SIX teams that are coming off extra rest are MUCH more likely to face teams where these difference makers having a chance to get healthy enough to suit up against them, wouldn't you say? Guys don't have to play injured, either, which happens each and every week. They can recuperate.

All I'm saying is that Jets' bye week is beneficial to them, and the Bills bye week will be beneficial to them as well...if only for these reason alone, and there is more to it. Bye weeks often mean quite a bit in this regard alone.

[feldspar]

I would like to see a stat over say a 5 year period with the same criteria. Any team can get the short end of the stick for a year or two in that respect. I'm sure you will find other teams that had the same issues during the long haul. Using one year or two as the criteria for the weekly/annually "NFL is screwing the Bills" case isn't a long-term trend.


The disparity between schedules in this regard shouldn't be happening to ANYBODY, and that's the only point. And yeah, the Bills got the short end of the stick two years in a row.

[feldspar]

Nobody gets injured during a bye-week, either.

[BillsFever21]

The Thursday night games isn't as big as playing teams following their bye weeks. Sure the team on Thursday gets a few days of extra rest but they need it after playing the game on only a few days of rest. They're probably not in and practicing until Monday for the following game anyway. It's still a slight advantage but it's almost a wash after playing the early game to begin with.

On the flipside there also isn't any stats of teams playing other guys on short rest. Top teams who play a ton of Sunday and Monday night games will be at a disadvantage the following week when they're playing their game on short rest. I don't see any stats listed for them teams. Or the teams on West who are traveling to different timezones throughout the year. There is nothing that can be done about that but that really makes for a huge disadvantage.

At least the Bills are always playing at 1PM on Sunday outside of their Thursday game and maybe one or two 4pm games during the year at the most. Football players are a creature of habit when it comes to preparation on gameday. They want to wake up at the same time, eat, stretch, etc at the same time. At least Buffalo has that advantage almost every single week. You can't take that too lightly. They're not always playing at different times of the day(s) which lets the players keep a normal routine during the year. They also don't have long travel distances in most of their games.

[feldspar]

The Thursday night games isn't as big as playing teams following their bye weeks. Sure the team on Thursday gets a few days of extra rest but they need it after playing the game on only a few days of rest. They're probably not in and practicing until Monday for the following game anyway. It's still a slight advantage but it's almost a wash after playing the early game to begin with.

On the flipside there also isn't any stats of teams playing other guys on short rest. Top teams who play a ton of Sunday and Monday night games will be at a disadvantage the following week when they're playing their game on short rest. I don't see any stats listed for them teams. Or the teams on West who are traveling to different timezones throughout the year. There is nothing that can be done about that but that really makes for a huge disadvantage.

At least the Bills are always playing at 1PM on Sunday outside of their Thursday game and maybe one or two 4pm games during the year at the most. Football players are a creature of habit when it comes to preparation on gameday. They want to wake up at the same time, eat, stretch, etc at the same time. At least Buffalo has that advantage almost every single week. You can't take that too lightly. They're not always playing at different times of the day(s) which lets the players keep a normal routine during the year. They also don't have long travel distances in most of their games.

C'mon now, if teams coming off Sunday and Monday Night games are at a disadvantage, and teams out West traveling to different timezones is a HUGE disadvantage like you say, how can you downplay the disadvantages of playing teams coming off of byes and yes, even Thursday Night games? That's worse than any of the scenarios you bring up...a lot worse, I think. They are completely different things anyway. Teams have extra time on the other end.

Everybody plays a Thursday Night game, so that equals itself out. There is no problem with that itself, other than having to face an inordinate amount of teams coming off the other side of that. Who needs stats to tell you that teams coming off a Thursday Night game have more time to prepare for you? Again, everybody has to play a Thursday Night game, but nobody has to face a team coming OFF OF a Thursday Night game THREE times except for the Bills. Likewise, everyone has a bye, but not everybody has to face THREE teams coming off of their bye...TWO of them being division games. There are only 9 weeks where teams have byes.

I agree with you about routine having meaning.

Look, why belabor the point. Nobody is going to bring in a team of experts to show graphs and analysis about all the ins-and-outs of all this. It's pretty clear that there is absolutely no need to have ANY team have to face that many more teams coming off extra rest than anybody else. It's a very simple point. Don't you think the NFL is capable of doing that? Of course they are.

31% of the Bills opponents have extra time to prepare for them this year. And it's not just this year...it's happened to them before.

The only question is this: LOTS of people have a problem with this type of scheduling. Is there any reason at all why the NFL cannot equalize the disparity?

[BillsFever21]

C'mon now, if teams coming off Sunday and Monday Night games are at a disadvantage, and teams out West traveling to different timezones is a HUGE disadvantage like you say, how can you downplay the disadvantages of playing teams coming off of byes and yes, even Thursday Night games? That's worse than any of the scenarios you bring up...a lot worse, I think. They are completely different things anyway.

Everybody plays a Thursday Night game, so that equals itself out. There is no problem with that itself, other than having to face an inordinate amount of teams coming off the other side of that. Who needs stats to tell you that teams coming off a Thursday Night game have more time to prepare for you? Again, everybody has to play a Thursday Night game, but nobody has to face a team coming OFF OF a Thursday Night game THREE times except for the Bills. Likewise, everyone has a bye, but not everybody has to face THREE teams coming off of their bye...TWO of them being division games. There are only 9 weeks where teams have byes.

I agree with you about routine having meaning.

Look, why belabor the point. Nobody is going to bring in a team of experts to show graphs and analysis about all the ins-and-outs of all this. It's pretty clear that there is absolutely no need to have ANY team have to face that many more teams coming off extra rest than anybody else. It's a very simple point. Don't you think the NFL is capable of doing that? Of course they are.

31% of the Bills opponents have extra time to prepare for them this year. And it's not just this year...it's happened to them before.

The only question is this: LOTS of people have a problem with this type of scheduling. Is there any reason at all why the NFL cannot equalize the disparity?

I never said there isn't any disadvantage of it. Teams with them types of schedules are also playing at a disadvantage that the Bills aren't going up against though. You can't claim one disadvantage in the Bills schedule this season while dismissing any other disadvantages any other teams are also having. The biggest problem are people using it as an excuse for us sucking again. Many other teams also have disadvantages in their schedule with them types of games. I agree it could be closer to even but it never will be with a 256 game schedule where certain matchups are set aside for primetime games, etc.

I bet any amount of money that if the Bills played a bunch of Sunday/Monday night games and/or their schedule was filled with road games on the West Coast then the same people would be using the "NFL is screwing the Bills" label about them games too.

I would rather play a team on a few days of extra rest after they already played a game on few days rest and their body needs it rather then flying across the country and playing teams in different time zones. Especially if that time zone difference meant you are basically playing a game at 10am in your time zone. At least with the other way around both teams are on an equal playing field during game day and not coming off huge jet lag in a time zone 2-3 hours before theirs while playing a 1PM game. I would rather have my team doing that then the teams on the West Coast traveling to the East Coast multiple times a year to play early games.

[feldspar]

I never said there isn't any disadvantage of it. Teams with them types of schedules are also playing at a disadvantage that the Bills aren't going up against though. You can't claim one disadvantage in the Bills schedule this season while dismissing any other disadvantages any other teams are also having. The biggest problem are people using it as an excuse for us sucking again. Many other teams also have disadvantages in their schedule with them types of games. I agree it could be closer to even but it never will be with a 256 game schedule where certain matchups are set aside for primetime games, etc.

I bet any amount of money that if the Bills played a bunch of Sunday/Monday night games and/or their schedule was filled with road games on the West Coast then the same people would be using the "NFL is screwing the Bills" label about them games too.

I would rather play a team on a few days of extra rest after they already played a game on few days rest and their body needs it rather then flying across the country and playing teams in different time zones. Especially if that time zone difference meant you are basically playing a game at 10am in your time zone. At least with the other way around both teams are on an equal playing field during game day and not coming off huge jet lag in a time zone 2-3 hours before theirs while playing a 1PM game. I would rather have my team doing that then the teams on the West Coast traveling to the East Coast multiple times a year to play early games.

First of all, and again, NOBODY is using it an excuse for the Bills sucking again. People need to get that out of their minds. I haven't heard one single person make that claim. Certain people are assuming that other people are making excuses because they have a problem with the scheduling. Nobody said that we'd have a winning record had it not been for the scheduling or anything of the sort.

Here is the thing: teams in the same division are generally in the same boat. They play all of the same teams except for two. The match-ups rotate and are set. In other words, if the NFC West has to play all the teams in the AFC East, that means that everybody in that division has to do that. They generally have to face the same travel schedule, or close to it. There is no changing that, anyway. Like I say, these things rotate and equal themselves out the best way possible. There is no other way around it.

Personally, I'd like the Bills to have MORE Sunday or Monday Night games. Teams have slightly more time to prepare for those equally, so it's a give-and-take on both ends (with a disruption of routine, granted). But teams have to travel across the country in certain years regardless. Again, there is no way around that, and everyone is in the same boat, generally.

Again, why compare apples to oranges? Some things cannot be helped, but this one CAN be helped. You just make a larger effort to ensure that there is no huge disparity between teams facing teams coming off bye-weeks and Thursday Night games. Why does that make you want to argue so much? It's not a difficult thing to understand or for the NFL to consider, is it?

[feldspar]

There hasn't been the same amount of weeks where bye weeks happen each year either, ever since bye weeks started in 1990. They've changed their structure quite a bit of times.

Last year, the league had this to say:

“Beginning in 2010, we began to focus specifically on ROAD games vs teams coming off their byes as that had proven to be a competitive disadvantage (.388 win pct in 2003-2009 as opposed to .426 for all road teams in those years), and have limited each team to a maximum of 2 road games per season vs a team coming off their bye,” the league said.

Of course, the Bills received the maximum amount of road games vs. teams coming off their byes TWO YEARS IN A ROW ever since this policy has been in place for only three years. Only two other teams had that last year...not sure about this year, but I wouldn't doubt it if the Bills were the only ones.

A .388 winning percentage is pretty bad no? This year, the Bills had to face two CONSECUTIVE road games vs. teams coming off their byes. The first one a division game, and the second one being against a team that is a monster at home anyway.

[better days]

I would like to see a stat over say a 5 year period with the same criteria. Any team can get the short end of the stick for a year or two in that respect. I'm sure you will find other teams that had the same issues during the long haul. Using one year or two as the criteria for the weekly/annually "NFL is screwing the Bills" case isn't a long-term trend.

As far as playing the Patriots after their bye for several years I'm sure the Patriots lobbied the NFL to make that happen. They were petrified of having to play us without having their bye week to prepare for us :rolleyes:. If anything they would rather have that opponent be a stronger team that has playoff implications then the annual cellar dweller Bills for the past several years.

I am pretty sure if this happened to a team before now that I would have read about it on profootballtalk.com.

And the key to the Pats* making the playoffs is to win the division.

It is a greater benefit to them to beat the Bills than it is to beat a stronger out of division team.

[chris66]

I am pretty sure if this happened to a team before now that I would have read about it on profootballtalk.com.

And the key to the Pats* making the playoffs is to win the division.

It is a greater benefit to them to beat the Bills than it is to beat a stronger out of division team.
no its not. bills get lucky once every 6-7 years. Im sure the pats would much rather face the bronco's after the bye week.

[better days]

no its not. bills get lucky once every 6-7 years. Im sure the pats would much rather face the bronco's after the bye week.

The Pats* beat the Bills by TWO points in the LAST minute, after having all preseason to prepare.

It is MUCH MORE to the Pats* benefit to beat the Bills, an AFC East Rival than the Broncos.

And Belichick likes every advantage he can get, even when they are NOT legal.

[Mr. Pink]

The Pats* beat the Bills by TWO points in the LAST minute, after having all preseason to prepare.

It is MUCH MORE to the Pats* benefit to beat the Bills, an AFC East Rival than the Broncos.

And Belichick likes every advantage he can get, even when they are NOT legal.

It's more beneficial for the Pats to beat the Broncos as they are in competition for playoff seeding with them.

[pmoon6]

It's more beneficial for the Pats to beat the Broncos as they are in competition for playoff seeding with them.Not if Kansas City wins the West. Then it comes down to record on what division winner plays on wild card weekend.

If the playoffs started today, NE would have a first round bye and if Denver won on wild card weekend, they still wouldn't host a playoff game unless the other Wild Card won and both advanced to the conference championship. Any division winner gets the home game regardless of record. So, beneficial depends on many factors.

That's why every team's first goal is to win their division.

[Mr. Pink]

Not if Kansas City wins the West. Then it comes down to record on what division winner plays on wild card weekend.

If the playoffs started today, NE would have a first round bye and if Denver won on wild card weekend, they still wouldn't host a playoff game unless the other Wild Card won and both advanced to the conference championship. Any division winner gets the home game regardless of record. So, beneficial depends on many factors.

That's why every team's first goal is to win their division.

If, and they should, take care of business against the Chiefs...the Broncos will be in the drivers seat in the West and AFC.

Losing one game to a team who's inevitably gonna finish > 5 games worse than you is mostly meaningless in terms of the division.

Losing against a team who you're gonna be fighting for playoff seeding is more important.

[pmoon6]

If, and they should, take care of business against the Chiefs...the Broncos will be in the drivers seat in the West and AFC.

Losing one game to a team who's inevitably gonna finish > 5 games worse than you is mostly meaningless in terms of the division.

Losing against a team who you're gonna be fighting for playoff seeding is more important.This is really a moot argument because I believe Denver will crush KC. I'm just presenting the possibilities and the fact that you are wrong given that scenario.

That said, NE would also get a psychological lift from knocking off Denver where beating Buffalo, not so much. I'm sure NE will have locked up the division title by the time we play again, so the only question is if a win in the last game will improve their conference seeding. If not, Belichick may rest his starters after halftime.

[better days]

It's more beneficial for the Pats to beat the Broncos as they are in competition for playoff seeding with them.

WRONG. It does not matter what the Broncos do.

The Pats* are not in Competition with them to make the playoffs.

Would the Pats* like to beat the Broncos? Of course they would.

BUT it won't do them any good to beat the Broncos if they do not win the Division.

What MATTERS is if the Pats* WIN the AFC EAST or not.

That is MUCH higher up on the list for the Pats* making the playoffs or not.

[better days]

If, and they should, take care of business against the Chiefs...the Broncos will be in the drivers seat in the West and AFC.

Losing one game to a team who's inevitably gonna finish > 5 games worse than you is mostly meaningless in terms of the division.

Losing against a team who you're gonna be fighting for playoff seeding is more important.


WRONG, WINNING the Division is MUCH MORE important.

And you are looking at this with 20/20 HINDSIGHT.

When the schedule was made NOBODY knew the Bills would be 5 games behind the Pats*.

Look at the Chiefs. NOBODY predicted them to be 9-0.

[ServoBillieves]

RAWR!

[Mr. Pink]

WRONG, WINNING the Division is MUCH MORE important.

And you are looking at this with 20/20 HINDSIGHT.

When the schedule was made NOBODY knew the Bills would be 5 games behind the Pats*.

Look at the Chiefs. NOBODY predicted them to be 9-0.

You're delusional if you didn't think the Pats would be > 5 games better than the Bills for the season.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.

The Broncos are more of a competitor to the Pats than the Bills are.

Even if you thought the Bills would win 6 games - your benchmark, there's no way you could have thought the Pats would have been any less than 11-5.

[pmoon6]

You're delusional if you didn't think the Pats would be > 5 games better than the Bills for the season.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.

The Broncos are more of a competitor to the Pats than the Bills are.

Even if you thought the Bills would win 6 games - your benchmark, there's no way you could have thought the Pats would have been any less than 11-5.Yeah, I pretty much thought that the Pats would run away with the East yet again this year because of the strength of the other three teams.

BTW, I thought you were a rocket scientist.

[Raptor]

Good for Russ showing he has some balls and tells the NFL they ****ed up. He should have and now its in the public and I doubt the same thing happens again to the Bills for awhile

I'm assuming those of you who are somehow against the Bills actions in this case are the same people who take it on the chin every day and never be a man and stand up for yourself...."Go Fetch your Crumbs from your masters"


Thank You Russ Brandon for showing some balls and not folding like a chair as some wanted you to do in this thread

[DraftBoy]

Thank You Russ Brandon for showing some balls and not folding like a chair as some wanted you to do in this thread

You really think the complaint had anything to do with our current schedule?

[BertSquirtgum]

You really think the complaint had anything to do with our current schedule?

It sure as **** didn't

[OpIv37]

Thank You Russ Brandon for showing some balls and not folding like a chair as some wanted you to do in this thread

Do you have any proof that what Russ did had anything to do with the schedule this year?

We've been **** on for so long- we were bound to get lucky sooner or later by law of averages.

I can't say for sure that this was pure luck, but you can't say for sure that Russ had something to do with this.

I don't know why people are so quick to give credit to the asshats who have repeatedly failed this team.

[Raptor]

You really think the complaint had anything to do with our current schedule?

100% Absolutely

[Raptor]

Do you have any proof that what Russ did had anything to do with the schedule this year?

We've been **** on for so long- we were bound to get lucky sooner or later by law of averages.

I can't say for sure that this was pure luck, but you can't say for sure that Russ had something to do with this.

I don't know why people are so quick to give credit to the asshats who have repeatedly failed this team.


Have any proof it didn't?

We got screwed last year and he stood up and said something and now we don't have that problem

[Raptor]

Again I know the ones last year that said Russ should just have sat back and taken that BS, but I realize you are also likely the person in life who takes it on the chin everyday and never have the balls to stand up say something when you are getting screwed

Let this be a lessen, be a man and speak up for yourself

[Skooby]

We're set up to start above .500 after the first month.

[gebobs]

We're set up to start above .500 after the first month.

Big effing deal.

[Pinkerton Security]

Big effing deal.

yeah! Wins and losses dont mean anyth...oh wait.

It might not mean anything at all but I'd rather be over .500 to start the year then under it. If someone gave you the option somehow, what would you choose?

[OpIv37]

Again I know the ones last year that said Russ should just have sat back and taken that BS, but I realize you are also likely the person in life who takes it on the chin everyday and never have the balls to stand up say something when you are getting screwed

Let this be a lessen, be a man and speak up for yourself
That's one hell of an assumption to make about me simply because I called you out for making an assertion without proof.

[gebobs]

yeah! Wins and losses dont mean anyth...oh wait.

It might not mean anything at all but I'd rather be over .500 to start the year then under it. If someone gave you the option somehow, what would you choose?

I'd rather not go hungry, but I'm not going to be too excited if meatloaf is the only thing on the menu...for the 15th straight year.

[mightysimi]

Listening to NFL radio this morning they had a guy who was involved with the schedule on. He went on to say things about adjusting the schedule for say Cin to ensure they have a home Thursday night game as the last 2 were on the road and not playing Thursday and Monday Night games at the new stadium in SF because of a parking issue. It seems that every team offers some sort of input to the league on the schedule. I bet Buffalo complaining about the schedule would have at least some impact.