Categories
Sports

It’s An Interesting Time To Be A Buffalo Sports Fan

Mario Williams

If you follow sports, you know that Buffalo is more often the butt of a joke rather than a real “player” in whichever sport is being discussed.

Whether that’s deserved, or not, that’s usually how it goes.

They do bring it on themselves. Neither the Buffalo Bills, nor the Buffalo Sabres have won the championships for their leagues. (Note: The Buffalo Bills were two-time, back-to-back AFL Champs in ’64 & ’65, before the league merged with the NFL. But usually that doesn’t “count”.)

Year after year they seem to lose the good players they already have (Drury & Briere?, Most every Buffalo Bill?), allow potential “big name” free agents and draft choices to slip through their fingers, and then of course there’s the matter of wins and losses; playoff appearances and lack thereof.

Somehow Buffalo fans endure the endless hardships, and continue to support their teams more than most pro sports fans around the country.

But last year, something changed.

I wrote about the apparent change, even though it was still developing at that point. It all started with the Sabres being purchased by not just a billionaire with deep pockets, they were purchased by a Sabres’ fan. The way he began to run the team, on and off the ice, really started to change the way people felt about at least one of the Buffalo sports teams.

Could we finally have a real chance at a championship?

In the first season of free agency, the Sabres went out and pursued the most coveted player (Brad Richards), and though they came up just short there, they managed to sign Christian Erhoff, who was the top defenseman available. And not only did they sign him, they made him quite wealthy, to boot!

Very unlike a Buffalo sports team…

So, expectations were very high at the beginning of the season.

Then came the 2011 Buffalo Bills. In their second year of the most recent rebuild, they got off to a nice 2-0 start, and really got on everyone’s radar with a stunning 21-point comeback win over the despised New England Patriots! Heads turned, and wins even kept coming. After two losses by just 3 points each, the Bills were at 6-2, coming off a dominant, shut-out victory over the Redskins. But, unknown at the time, their QB was injured (broken ribs), and that injury was just adding to a somewhat unbelievable steadily growing list.

The Bills were not just injured (ridiculous number of players out for the year on IR), they were dealing with injuries to really key players: starting center (and most of the rest of the offensive line, actually), Pro Bowl DT Kyle Williams (the heart of the defense), and Fred Jackson, who was having an MVP-type season through seven games or so. The players try to minimize the impact injuries have on wins and losses, but it’s really undeniable that the 2011 season was greatly impacted by the amount and significance of the players lost, as well as the length of time they were out.

Strangely, the Sabres—despite the high pre-season hopes—have dealt with very similar issues. Nearly every player on the team has missed many games this season. Even the coach missed a few games due to injury! And as a result, the Sabres are fighting to make the playoffs, despite a roster loaded with “potential”.

Typical Buffalo sports.

But this week, there’s been another apparent change in the direction and attitude of the Buffalo sports teams.

You’ve probably heard that Mario Williams was flown into Buffalo at the very start of free agency (4pm Tuesday March 13th). He is a former number one overall draft pick. He’s the most sought after free agent, at least as defensive players go. (Peyton Manning is also a free agent this year!) And he was going to cost BY FAR the most money of any free agent signing.

And the Bills not only brought him in… they kept him here. For three days!

Today at 1:45pm, the Bills will announce that they have signed him to a mega-huge contract.

What?! The Buffalo Bills???

Yep.

Not sure what’s going on, but the scene has changed here somewhat. The Sabres have deep (bottomless) pockets with their new owner, and they’re not afraid to use them. And so, they are contenders. (At least on paper?) And apparently, thanks to cap room, and building through the draft the previous two years, the Bills are willing to go out and hire the now highest paid player in the league. Yes! The BILLS!

This is crazy!

Who knows what else will happen this offseason, but so far, the Bills are different. They managed to re-sign a bunch of guys that they could have lost to free agency, Stevie Johnson being the biggest name on that list. Now they signed Mario Williams, who could be the best pass rusher we’ve seen here since Bruce Smith. They are still going to bring in one or two more free agents, likely with at least somewhat recognizable names, and then there’s the draft. (In which the Bills pick 10th, and have multiple picks in some rounds.)

If the beginning of last year (when we had our full roster of players) is any indication, the additions they are making seem to put the Bills into real contention for that ever-elusive league championship!

Perhaps that’s a bit of a jump… but perhaps not!

It is indeed a very interesting time to be a Buffalo sports fan!

Categories
Sports

The Bills Win! The Bills Win!!

What if the Bills won the Super Bowl??Since today is Super Bowl Sunday, I thought it might be an appropriate day to “talk football”.

Mind you, I am still quite loyally a Bills fan. (In truth, I’m really only a Bills fan, not actually a fan of football or the NFL in general. I know… weird, right?)

So, if you’re a Bills fan, too, or a general football/NFL fan, you’ll likely enjoy this post. If you’re not (and likely there are many of you) … I’d recommend drilling down through all the related links and category tabs here for something else to read today.

But really, how can you escape football on the first Sunday in February? It’s really quite crazy how much this day has become one of the major US—and even global?—holidays. Everyone has a party they are hosting or attending. Big food plans… friends, family, and even lots of non-football fans. (I’m the one at the Super Bowl parties enjoying the food and conversation.)

Today is football day.

So, in light of that reality: WHAT is the deal with the Buffalo Bills?!

The Big Story

Folks are tempted to say that the Bills are just either horribly managed, or under-whelmingly under-talented. (Or would that be overwhelmingly?) And a quick look at their draft pick success rate over the now twelve seasons in which they have failed to qualify for the post season would lead most astute fans of the game to that easy conclusion.

But the Great Collapse of 2011 was actually a result of more than just a lack of talent, or a poorly managed organization.

Throughout the season, the Bills were “playing hurt”. Whether their guys were actually on the sidelines (or not even in the stadium) or if they were in the game but not fully healthy, the Bills were one of the teams hardest hit by injuries this year.

You might say, “But every team has injuries! Man up!” And, actually, most of the players said that throughout the season. It was frustrating me a great deal to not hear the coaches, the GM, or the players saying anything about the insane amount of injuries that this team was having to deal with.

In 2007, the Bills had 17 players on IR. That was just ridiculous. That was the year that Kevin Everett suffered a spinal injury in the very first game of the year. (A game we were privileged to attend.) In 2011, the Bills ended the year with 15 players on IR. Interestingly, an article near the end of the season similarly pointed out what I was seeing and saying… losing key players matters! I have sadly lost my reference to that article, but the gist was that the worst teams had the most injuries and the best had the fewest. Seems obvious, but it’s often overlooked, or downplayed as an “excuse”.

These weren’t just a bunch of players. They were the core. Kyle Williams went down early in the year. Most people say he’s our best player on defense, and he’s definitely a leader on the team in his play and “in the locker room” as they say. Then we lost Fred Jackson, likely our best player on offense. (Oh, and don’t forget that the offensive line lost Eric Wood, it’s best player—and leader—fairly early in the season, and really never fielded the same five guys. A few games featured third and fourth options at center, playing a position they’d never played before!)

And it doesn’t stop there. Just yesterday the Bills published news that QB Ryan Fitzpatrick played the last ten games of the season with cracked ribs. This is something that can affect your throwing accuracy. And a ton of guys never were injured “enough” to be put on IR, but they were less of the players they could be each week… it was just a mess.

Starters were out for many games, or most or even all of the season. Promising rookies were injured for games or the season. Even the kicker was hit with a season-ending injury!

There’s more that could be said here, and it’s certainly not the only reason the Bills finished with such a horrible record after such a promising start. But I contend unequivocally that it was the major reason.

But… Who Are Their Players?

A fine question if you’re not an avid Bills fans. Even casual Bills fans would likely have a hard time naming anyone on this current roster.

That was one of their strengths out of the gate in 2011. They were a team of “cast-offs” and otherwise overlooked players. Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Ivy League perennial backup QB was right at the top of the QB stats while the Bills soared to a 5-2 start. Undrafted-free-agent-from-Division-III-Coe-College RB Fred Jackson was on a torrid pace to perhaps rival Thurman Thomas’ best seasons as a Bill, leading the league in rushing and overall yards from scrimmage on several occasions. Seventh-round pick Stevie Johnson finished the year with over 1,000 yards receiving, becoming the only Buffalo Bill ever to have back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. (Yes, really!) And no-name TE Scott Chandler took the league by surprise with his “unstoppable” production in the red zone, leading the league in TDs by a tight end when the Bills had their early success.

Add to that some equally unknown, but pretty talented young players from the Nix/Gailey regime’s first two drafts and this team felt they had something to prove. And they were doing it.

(Until the injuries caught up with them… see “The Big Story” above…)

One thing many of the players have said, looking back at last season, is that they were not ready to handle success. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but it has some ring of truth to it. They are all young. They have very little experience in meaningful games (and even less as the division leaders that they were at week eight). It could be that. And if so, that’s something they’re going to have to figure out this offseason. Because, if they’re not injured… there’s not much reason this team of “nobodies” can’t get out to the same great start they had last season.

Looking Ahead

One thing that could really hold the 2012 Buffalo Bills back is the amount of potential turnover this team faces. Stevie Johnson leads a long list of fairly “high-profile” players (for the Bills, at least… again, see above re: how there really are no high-profile players in Buffalo) who might be free agents come March 13th. The Bills and he both say they are attempting to negotiate a contract, but no agreement has been reached just yet.

If the Bills let a lot of players go, and bring in a lot of new players via the draft and free agency, that will be at least a moderate challenge. They are already going to be working with a new defensive coordinator as Dave Wanndstedt took over that role right after the close of the 2011 season. There has been a little bit of shuffling in the coaching staff as a whole as some guys were let go, some left, and new coaches have been hired.

There are still some needs on this team (and no, it’s not starting quarterback…) that will definitely be addressed. Here’s a short list:

  • DEPTH. That’s easy. Hardly any team could have withstood the freakish injury list Buffalo dealt with last season, but they clearly need to have talented and/or experienced depth at many positions going into next season, maybe especially offensive line.

  • SECOND WIDEOUT (AND FIRST??) If Stevie stays, then we need a second wideout. If he goes, we’ll need two. Three of the guys Buffalo was counting on this year were out for most or all of the year (Donald Jones, Marcus Easley, and Roscoe Parrish). There’s no guarantee any of those guys are even the player they want anyway. The Bills will almost definitely go after a free agent WR, or address that position in the draft.

  • PASS RUSH. With Shawne Merriman still a BIG question mark, the Bills need to figure something out re: their putrid pass rush. When you take away their 10-sack game against the Redskins—which turned out to be a bit of a mirage, I suppose—they really produced almost no pressure at all on the opposing QBs. Marcell Dareus looks to be a good player, and we know Kyle Williams is, but they need more here (DL, LBs) so this spot will likely be addressed, too.

  • BACKUP QB. With the revelation this week that Fitzpatrick played the last ten games with cracked ribs, you have to think that was at least partially because the coached didn’t/don’t trust their backups. Tyler Thigpen and Brad Smith (whom they were forced to use as a WR for much of the last half of the season, again, due to injuries) are not the answer. Plus, a little competition never hurts. Expect the Bills to add at least one quality QB option. (But again, NOT to start.)

What the Bills most need to do is figure out why they can’t stay healthy! If it’s not a curse, I really don’t know what it is! 🙂

Early Predictions

Yeah… right!

With so many options in front of them, there’s really no way to predict what will happen with the Bills in 2012. But I will say this… they are not as far away as some think. Really.

Of course, most will say, “Ahhh, he’s just a Bills fan! AND an optimist! Don’t listen to a word he says!” But, if you say that, it’s rather odd that you’re ~1,600 words into something you shouldn’t listen to…

That aside, I must say the core of the young guys on this team really do show signs of life (and longevity?) that the Bills haven’t had for a while. The amount of free agents to sign seems a foreboding task, and certainly some of these guys are still hoping to fully recover from some devastating injuries in 2011. But still… the Bills are at least going in the right direction.

Poor Mr. Wilson (who is rapidly nearing his turn at joining the centenarian club) must be so tired of hearing that phrase though. He needs them to “go” a bit more quickly in the “right direction”.

Better still, he needs them to reach the right destination.

Could 2013 be the February we hear or read the words, “The Bills Win! The Bills Win!!! Buffalo has WON the SUPER BOWL!!!”

Probably not. But this Bills fan can dream …

Categories
Sports

Tim Tebow: The Power of Belief

Tim Tebow is really not that good. At quarterback. Have you noticed?

Before his 80-yard TD pass on the first play of overtime in his first NFL playoff game, Tebow was a “magical” 9 for 20 for 236 yards and 1 TD. (That yardage total is actually pretty impressive on only 9 completions!) The best part about his 300-yard, two-touchdown game was that there were no turnovers. When he played against my Buffalo Bills he was nearly the sole reason that Denver was blown out by the Bills second and third string replacement players. (Yes, it was that kind of a season for Bills fans… but we did celebrate a win that game!)

To be fair, I only watched maybe 10 game-minutes of the game, but what I saw was Denver’s defense making it almost impossible for a hobbled Ben Roethlisberger to do anything on nearly every down, and I saw Tim Tebow throwing the ball off-target, or even in the dirt more times than not.

So what gives with this Tebowmania?

Now, don’t get me wrong. I really do think he’s a great kid. And if you listen to anything he says in interviews, it’s top-notch. He’s not some crazy cliche-spouting Christian who just likes to say, “Thank you, Jesus!” and “Praise the Lord!” any chance he gets. Yes, he might say stuff about Jesus a bit too much for the liking of some, but he’s really not obnoxious about it.

AND, the best part is, he never gives Jesus the “credit” for the win. Nor does he imply that God wanted him and his team to win more than the other. I believe he’s said the opposite. (That God doesn’t really care who wins the game.)

He’s a super team player, always crediting his teammates, and you can tell he just loves playing football.

But why the Tebowmania?

The one thing that Tim Tebow brings to his NFL team is… no, it’s not just “winning”. If we’re crediting just him—one player—with wins and losses, he did lose some games this year. (Again, to be fair, he was actually 7-2 this season, after taking over full time for whoever Denver had starting ahead of him at the beginning of the season. So he did win many more times than he lost. Except against the Bills.)

What he brings is his attitude. Not only a never-say-die, competitive attitude. It’s a positive attitude. And the part that matters is, it doesn’t just affect him and his play. His teammates believe in him, and somehow, his positive attitude—his belief in himself—is so infectious that they believe more in themselves.

The Denver Broncos players believe that they have a better chance to win games because Tim Tebow is their QB. Not necessarily because he’s going to Drew Brees someone with a 500-yard, 6 TD game. (They probably know that is not going to happen.) And not just because they know his will to win never quits. No matter the score, they’re never out of it. (Except in that game in Buffalo! Ha!) 🙂

Tim Tebow is a positive person. He gets his strength from his belief and trust that Jesus is who he said he is, and that that is the most important thing in life. So from his core, he exudes a confidence and a positive, others-oriented attitude. That is something that his teammates pick up on, and start to think inside themselves.

When 53 guys are thinking that way on game day … a win is a very likely outcome.

So it’s really not what Tebow does on the field. (Though you can’t deny that he usually doesn’t hurt their chances… except against Buffalo! Sorry… that was the last time.) 😉

It very much is who he is off the field. Good for you, Mr. Tebow. My boys definitely look up to him (as aspiring football players themselves) and I’d say he’s certainly worth looking up to.

Even if he is a pretty awful NFL quarterback. 🙂

Categories
Entertainment Family Sports

Unpredictable

Life is full of unpredictability. We can often live under the illusion that we know what’s coming, that we are in control, but really… life throws you a curveball more often than not.

And that includes the NFL. 😉

As you may know, if you’ve frequented this blog, the Campbell family enjoy a weekly seasonal tradition of tracking whom we think will win each of the NFL games every fall. It’s a fun thing to do together that we all enjoy, but the best part for me is watching the youngest choose the team they think will win. They are usually pretty sure they know, with a good measure of certainty!

And so am I… but this week, not so much!!

All year I’ve been doing pretty well. I had begun to think, “Hmm… I have this thing all figured out!” Going into this weekend, through nine weeks, 130 games, I had gotten ninety of them correct. 90-40. That was several (or many) games better than many so-called “experts”. Nice!

But then what happened? Who knew Seattle could actually beat Baltimore? And, who in the world could have predicted the John Skelton-led, 2-6 Arizona Cardinals could fly all the way across the country to Philadelphia and beat a much more talented Eagles team???

Not me.

So, I have fallen from my perch atop our family league’s standings (at least, I think I was previously atop it…) and I’ve also slipped into second place in another league of NFL pick making.

What is this world coming to??? 🙂

For now, I think it’s a good reminder that you never really know what’s coming. No, life is not one big NFL game. (Or even a collegiate level or otherwise lesser game.) However, it does seem to throw just as many curve balls as some crazy NFL weeks, like this one!

Speaking of unpredictable and the world of NFL football… how about those Buffalo Bills?!

Good thing we at least know there is Onewe can always count on in this crazy unpredictable world. 🙂

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Entertainment Sports

So Cliché

It’s football season, and this year’s campaign is no different than any other. Each team is going to be taking it one game at a time, giving 110%, and leaving it all on the field, hoping to come away with a victory.

When the game begins, when the chips are down, if you’ve put in your time in the film room, studied your opponents tendencies so you know what they’re going to throw at you, and you’ve got your game face on, even though the outcome is always up in the air, chances are you’ll have the upper hand. Plus, if you’re playing in your own back yard, you’ll have the aid of the 12th man!

Once the game is underway, you’ll have to keep your head in the game. Stick to your gameplan. Your best defense is a good offense. Let your backs pound the rock, or your QB air it out, and get a jump on your opponent by getting on the board early. Then get ready for the ensuing kickoff.

On the other side of the ball, you’ll need to just pin your ears back, step up, and play a full sixty minutes. Make sure you cash in on your takeaways, and whenever possible flip the field on special teams. You have to win in all three phases of the game.

At the end of the day, when the final whistle blows, the better team always wins the game.

And that’s why we love this game.

Note: I didn’t “scratch the surface” of the breadth of terms employed by football players, coaches, and especially media personnel “week in and week out” in the world of NFL football. So, if you have some to add, “throw your hat in the ring” in the comments below. (What does that really mean, anyway?)

Categories
Sports

A Buffalo Team With Money?

Sabres defenseman, Christian EhrhoffI’ve been a fan of Buffalo sports teams for almost 25 years now. That’s a good long time. Many players, many coaches, many GMs, and—at least for the Sabres—a few different owners. (I’m thinking right now that maybe the Bills could use a different owner…)

Near the mid-way point of last year, the Sabres were purchased by a guy who has made his fortune in the business world, who also happens to be a Sabres’ fan. Terry Pegula sat in the stands as a season ticket holder for a couple decades, watching his favorite team do well, but never well enough to bring home the Stanley Cup. When the Sabres were up for sale, he did what probably most every avid fan would love to do … he bought his favorite team.

The crazy thing is, though he is certainly not wanting to lose money from the business side of his new sports franchise, as a fan of this team (and hockey in general) and as a man with apparently abundant supplies of cash, he doesn’t only want to make the Sabres competitive. He has repeatedly stated that his only goal is to win a Stanley Cup in Buffalo. Many Stanley Cups.

As soon as he came to town, his infectious enthusiasm really did seem to spur the Sabres to play much better hockey. They finished the season on a strong run to end up in 7th place in the Eastern Conference, and played almost well enough to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers, who were a powerhouse in 2010-2011. The talk from the team and all over the region (among fans, media… everyone!) was that this guy might just have the magic touch. (And… the cash to back that up!)

Pegula has been personally visiting the players that the team is targeting to bolster their roster. That is clearly important to him. The players, the management, and nearly everyone in the organization is impressed by how personally involved (and involved passionately) he has been. It could be a reason that the Sabres have signed a couple players already, even before free agency starts at noon today.

The Sabres have already shown a commitment to improving their ‘D’. Trading a couple young guys (including defenseman Chris Butler, whom I was hoping they’d somehow move…) to the Calgary Flames for D Robyn Regher, a tough, veteran D-man. (They also got former Sabre forward, Ales Kotalik in the deal, but not sure where they are going with that.) And just yesterday, the Sabres signed soon-to-be free agent D Christian Ehrhoff (likely one of the top free agent defensemen) to a multi-year deal after acquiring his negotiating rights from the Islanders (who were apparently unsuccessful in their attempt to sign him).

The Sabres—at Pegula’s direction—are on the move.

And I don’t think they are done.

They have been signing a few players that are currently on the roster. After signing Regher and Ehrhoff, they also traded D Steve Montador to Chicago for a conditional draft pick. And then today at noon, free agency begins.

The name everyone is throwing around is Brad Richards. If the Sabres want him, I would expect that they will be a player in the quest to acquire him. (How strange is it, Buffalo fans, to have an owner that has money and wants to spend it!?) It’s conceivable the Sabres would pursue him as they really don’t have a #1 center (even though Derek Roy had a very productive season last year, despite missing about half of it due to injury) and they also lack “star power”, which this veteran forward would bring.

There still is a salary cap, but expect the Sabres, with their new deep-pocketed and fairly aggressive ownership to pursue the best available players. It wouldn’t surprise me if they make another trade or two here this offseason as well.

Hopes are high here in the Buffalo sports region. The Sabres have not been as frustrating as the Bills have been recently, but there has perhaps not been as much hope as there seems to be now. And with apparently good reason. Regher and Ehrhoff make the Sabres better. And the team is not done.

When the clock strikes noon today, the Sabres will be looking to further increase their chances of bringing home the Cup. That is, of course, everyone’s goal. But right now, it looks like more of a real possibility for Buffalo than it ever has.

Now if only Terry could buy the Bills…

Categories
Entertainment Family Sports

Family Football Fun: Wrapping Up the 2010 Season

Well, it’s official. If you’re a fan of the NFL, you know that when the playoffs start next week, they will include for the first time ever a team with a losing record. That’s right. A losing record. Something about that fascinated me and I found myself watching nearly all of the game that just finished. (That’s rare… I usually only watch the Bills games and then hardly any of the rest of the games on NFL weekends.)

If you are not a fan of the NFL, you may have figured out that a team with a losing record is not a very good team. You’re right. Both teams tonight, while they had their moments, also showed repeatedly why they finished the year 7-9.

The football season has ended (in a way) and that means that our Campbell Family Football Fun has ended as well. I think I have posted here before that we make picks as a family each week, and tally all the results. Every game, every week. It’s a blast! I believe this was at least the third season we’ve done it, perhaps the fourth.

This year was the second for “The Girls” (Kirsten and Julia, our 6 and 4-year-old girls as a team) to make their picks. Right out of the gate they had a sizable lead, and they kept it most of the year! It was so fun to see them picking crazy picks… and getting them right!!! But besides pure innocent luck, even better were all the times that these two tiny girls pondered their selections, weighing the pros and cons for each team including who’s playing and who’s not, where the game is being held, current trends for both teams… they were great!

Sadly, though they were tied with Dad going into the final week, Dad pulled off an incredible 12-4 record for the week, while the girls—perhaps paying homage to the first losing-record team to make the post season—finished 7-9.

However, don’t feel too sad for them. Mom and Ian finished tied for at a distant third. They still had quite a great year!

And, Kirsten was the champion of our family fantasy football league, too, beating out Uncle Scott by .54 points in the league’s championship game! (Way to go Dark Pink Pony Pigs! Yes… Kirstie’s very creative team name…) 🙂

We love football Sundays, but honestly, I think we love all the family fun even more than the NFL or the games themselves!

Now we can’t wait till next year!

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Entertainment Sports

NHL GameCenter – Free!

NHL GameCenter - Free Preview Oct 11

The NHL is once again offering a one-day only free preview of their NHL GameCenter package. For $19.95/mo or $159 for the whole season you can watch every NHL game, several at once, and they even have classic games and an archive of past games that you can peruse. It’s a pretty great deal if you’re a huge NHL fan, or if you are not in your favorite team’s market.

And for today… it’s completely free!

So head on over and sign up and watch some hockey today! There are games all day, since it’s Colombus Day. Early games have the Rangers and Islanders playing at 1pm ET, then Ducks/Blues at 2pm ET, Penguins/Devils at 4pm ET. At 7pm ET there are three more games (including my Buffalo Sabres!): Blackhawks/Sabres, Avalanche/Flyers, and Sens/Caps. Then, finish of the hockey day with the Panthers visiting the Canucks at 10pm ET. Nice!

Hoping I get to see some of those games today… And I hope you do too!

Categories
Personal Sports

Lessons in Futility (from the Buffalo Bills)

We all know the numbers. 10 years with no playoffs. 4 games with no wins. 1 starting quarterback benched after two weeks, then just dumped on the street after three weeks. And of course, the biggest number of all is, 50 years, 0 Lombardi trophies*.

There are only 8 teams out of 32 in the NFL that have a losing record. Four of those teams are 0-4, including the Buffalo Bills. But when you look at this list of teams that either haven’t won a game, or have only won one, you tell me if you see any team that has looked more hopeless than the Bills through four games:

Cleveland: 1-3
Oakland: 1-3
Dallas: 1-2
Minnesota: 1-2
Carolina: 0-4
Detroit: 0-4
San Francisco: 0-4

You can’t, can you. Only perhaps the Carolina Panthers have managed to be quite as toothless and inept as the Bills. The one game where we had a fairly decent showing, we lost to our nemesis, the New England Patriots… maybe just because we are trying for a perfect season? No wins?!

Certainly Dallas and Minnesota do not belong on this list, and I’m sure they will remedy that. As for the other 0-4 teams, Detroit has literally been in every single game right down to the end, and had at least one (the opening weekend game) practically stolen from them when the refs decided to call a play by the book rather than by their eyes. (That was a TD!) San Francisco has been almost as inept, but yesterday they lost a game they were leading most of the way on a last-second, long FG.

And, if you look at the net points for each team (meaning, points against subtracted from points for) the Bills rank dead last at -64. Ouch. (The other 0-4 teams are San Fran -51, Carolina -41, and Detroit -24.)

I think it’s fairly obvious that the Bills are “on the clock”.

(Though perhaps Carolina and San Fran might be able to wrestle that position away from them…)

So what accounts for this meteoric … drop? I mean, for the last four seasons the Bills have at least gotten 6 or 7 wins. We were loving our mediocrity here in Buffalo. But now, we are quite possibly the worst team in the NFL! What has changed?

The only real “excuse” I have for the Bills is the new defensive scheme. It’s well known that the Bills shifted to a 3-4 defense this offseason, and it’s also quite obvious that they have not quite fully “shifted” as yet. Last season the Bills’ defense was one of the top takeaway teams (especially interceptions), and the #2 overall pass defense. This season, they are the #28 defense overall (thanks to still being #12 against the pass) and they have not only 0 INTs, but only 1 takeaway. ONE. In four games!

And the only reason that they are #12 in passing yards allowed per game is that they are dead last in rush defense, allowing teams an average of 174 yards per game on the ground. When you can get 174 yards rushing, you don’t really need to pass! (And, more evidence of their defensive futility, the Bills rank second-to-last in sacks with 4 for the entire season so far. Only the Cincinnati Bengals are worse.)

My family moved to Buffalo in 1986. The same year Marv Levy was hired by the Bills. The year after they drafted Bruce Smith and Andre Reed. The year Jim Kelly decided to join the team. (He was drafted in 1983, but didn’t play for them till 1986.) Then we met some friends who were big fans of the team. None of our family were football fans (or even any sport fans) … but one day in 1988 we were offered the chance to join those friends at a live NFL football game, and that endeared us to the football club from Buffalo from that moment on.

(The game? It was a 9-6 OT win over the New York Jets by which the Bills claimed the division title as a result of their then 11-1 record! It was exciting, electrifying—very wet… rained all day—and as I said, endeared us to this team from then on.)

Then came the Super Bowls, and a few more years of good players and fun wins…

Then came the last decade. Bad GMs, bad coaches, bad players, bad decisions by management, bad teams, bad records… mad fans.

But we had never hit such a bottom as this. This year, it seems to me, we could very possibly not win a single game. 0-16. Only the second team to ever accomplish such a feat. Wow.

So the Bills press on in their quest for ultimate futility. This week, the Jacksonville Jaguars (and former starting QB, Trent Edwards**) come to town. Surprisingly, there is no favorite in this game. The Bills have been very big underdogs in all the games so far, but in this one, the game is a “pick” game. I’m guessing that will change by the time they play the game this Sunday!

For the Bills and Bills fans, we now focus our attention on the 2011 draft. With the #1 pick overall, we can hope to finally have a great player in Buffalo again? Will it be one of the highly-touted QBs? Likely. Or perhaps a hall-of-fame caliber left tackle? Perhaps. The last time the Bills had the #1 overall pick was in 1985, and that was used to select Bruce Smith. One can only hope…

Until then… we still watch. And groan. And hide our eyes at times. But cheer for the few moments of good plays. CJ Spiller is fun to watch. Sometimes Roscoe Parrish. And, we do have a good punter… 🙂

But really, the 2010 season is all about planning for 2011.

“The Buffalo Bills are on the clock.”

* These numbers are slightly unfair as the Lombardi trophy has not been awarded 50 times, and the Bills technically were champions of their league before the Super Bowl years. In 1964 and 1965 they were the AFL champions… and they were one game away from being the AFL’s first Super Bowl representative in 1966, but lost to the KC Chiefs.

** By “former”, we mean of course, only two weeks ago. That’s a very recent “former”.

Categories
Entertainment Family Sports

Good (Competitive) Family Fun!

NFL LogoFor the last two, or maybe three years we Campbells have been having some more interactive fun with the weekly NFL games. Not only do we enjoy watching as much of them as we can on weekends, we also try to predict the outcome of each, and we have quite the “set up” to track our results!

Before the season begins we print out all the NFL logos on card stock (6 total sets) and then we set to work cutting each one out. That’s a pretty fun part, too, as the kids enjoy cutting out the shapes of the logos. (And Alex enjoys making the shapes even more interesting!) Then we put them all in little ziploc baggies that bear our names and we’re ready to go.

Then each week, I print out the schedule of games and one of us sets up the bulletin board with the week’s games. Everybody then pins up the logo of the team they expect to win and we have a nice little pick’s board hanging on our dining room wall. On Sundays we put up big colorful thumbtacks next to the choices that were correct.

There are five columns of predictions next to the game list. Dad, Ian, Alex (the original three participants), Mom & “The Girls” (our six- and four-year-old girls who work as a team). So far Emma and Cameron are not participating. But I’m sure they will!

Now, the best part this year is the current standings. The first year, I finished as the winner, but only by a narrow margin over our then 6-year-old son. Last year I believe Ian won, by a good amount of games (Dad finishing second) and this year? I know it’s only two weeks, but… the girls are SIX games ahead of the rest of us!!!

The Girls: 23-9
Dad: 18-14
Mom: 17-15
Alex: 16-16
Ian: 14-18

Too funny! I mean… those little girls probably have the best record of any prognosticators anywhere. And the best part is, they’re not just completely guessing! They actually know the teams, which ones tend to win more or less, and that home teams generally have the advantage over road teams. Incredible!

Family Fantasy SportsSo, along with our own family fantasy football league (hosted at FamilyFantasySports.com we have quite a bit of fun here in the Campbell household during football season!

(Fun except when Ian steals all of the free agent running backs that I am trying to pick up!!!)

🙂