Buffalo Bills
2011 PFF All-AFC East Team
The postseason is still ongoing, and it’s too soon to really get into free agency. So how are we to amuse ourselves until we can get back to talking about ongoing games or discussing the moves to be made?
Well, in the first of eight installments to be released over the next two weeks, we’re going to be naming our All-Division Teams, and today we start with the AFC East. Now, as with all these teams, we’re being liberal in what type of personnel we use on offense or defense to create a lineup that involves the most talented players from each division where possible.
Will that disclaimer go down well? Does it matter? Here’s PFF’s All-AFC East Team for 2011:
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Re-Focused: Bills @ Patriots, Week 17
A win is a win, but sometimes it can raise more questions than you’d like.
Sure the New England Patriots are rolling into the playoffs as the number one seeds in the AFC, but after another slow start, and an at times disjointed display, they’re not exactly creating the same widespread fear as they did 12 months ago.
Perhaps that will stand them in good stead, because if they’re going to be ready for the Baltimore and Pittsburgh’s of this world there’s plenty of work to be done. That shouldn’t take away from a good come-from-behind victory against a Buffalo Bills team that made progress this year, but is too short on talent or depth to overcome injuries to key players and a collection of mistakes (a seemingly weekly occurrence).
Here’s some of the key performers from Week 17 when Buffalo faced New England.
Three to Focus on: Bills @ Patriots, Week 17
With Week 17 upon us, it’s time to reflect on the 2011 season. It started out promising for the Buffalo Bills as they began 5-2, including a win over this week’s opponent, the New England Patriots. However, as soon as the media started praising this year’s Cinderella Bills, they went on to lose their next seven games, finally pulling out a win last week against the Denver Broncos. Injuries to key players were partially to blame as defensive tackle Kyle Williams went down in Week 5, while running back Fred Jackson didn’t make it past Week 11. Despite the disappointing finish, there is plenty to build on, including improved offensive line play. Overall, 2011 has been a step in the right direction for the Bills.
On the other side, the Patriots have a lot to play for as a win will clinch the top seed in the AFC. With no leeway to rest starters for the playoffs, the Patriots are expected to play their key players, including seven of their eight Pro Bowlers. The one man missing is left guard Logan Mankins who hopes to return from his knee injury in time for the postseason. The Patriots will look to wrap up home field advantage while avoiding any other major injuries.
Here’s what I’ll be focusing on in this game:
Re-Focused: Broncos @ Bills, Week 16
It’s becoming almost a cliché in the NFL these days; at season’s end a team with nothing to play for coming out and handing a spanking to a team with playoff aspirations. Perhaps in this case “spanking” is more hyperbole than anything else because it wasn’t until there was 8:03 left in the final quarter that Buffalo pulled two scores in front and even by games end Denver had still scored more offensive touchdowns than the Bills.
The naysayers may have waited a long time to look right about Tim Tebow, but eventually here he was; looking out of his depth and throwing some horrible stuff in a desperate attempt to bring his team from a long way back. That said how many quarterbacks have never been in the position of seeing a comeback attempt fall on stony ground? He’ll have next week to find the magic again and if he does then the show starts all over again.
Three to Focus on: Broncos @ Bills, Week 16
Earlier in the season, this game would have had a much different feel. The Bills were the team with playoff aspirations while Denver was closer to contending for worst team in the league honors. Since Week 8, they’ve gone in opposite directions. The Broncos have lost only to the Patriots since being blown out by Detroit that week and are 5-0 on the road with Tim Tebow starting. The Bills blanked the Redskins that week to move their record to 5-2, but seven consecutive losses have removed Buffalo from playoff contention. Every Buffalo opponent has scored at least 23 points during the streak while the reeling Bills have reached that plateau only twice.
So while Denver looks like the superior team, it’s worth remembering that the Bills would have been picked to win this game only a few months ago. The NFL is constantly evolving and just as Week 8 was a turning point for both of these teams, perhaps this game could be as well. While Buffalo has to be disappointed to miss the postseason after such a hot start, it’s important, for the sake of momentum, that they don’t go into 2012 with a nine-game losing streak.
Re-Focused: Dolphins @ Bills, Week 15
A matchup between one team in a free fall and one team playing their first game since their head coach was fired–two teams nursing disappointing seasons. This game promised and delivered little in terms of quality as both sides were guilty of sloppy football in some inclement weather in Buffalo. When the Miami Dolphins established a three-score lead with less than six minutes remaining, this game appeared to be over. The Dolphins came out on the ensuing drive believing that to be the case as well and consequently the game sprung into life as the Bills mounted three scoring drives but came up a touchdown short of halting their losing skid.
On each side, players played hero and villain in the same game, at the same time pulling off great plays and great drives then a few drives later making catastrophic mistakes to nuke their team’s momentum. For Miami, Reggie Bush rebounded well from an early fumble (that came from lax ball handling and gifted the Bills possession for their first scoring drive), by rounding-off his performance with a 76-yard strike to seemingly put the game away before the Dolphins took their foot off of the gas. This marks the Dolphins’ fifth win in seven games, a streak as good as any in the league. Can they maintain this momentum into next season? Can they spoil the party for division rivals New England and New York in the final two weeks and disrupt their playoff preparations? Read the rest of this entry »
Three to Focus on: Dolphins @ Bills, Week 15
This divisional rematch finds two teams who are used to playing for nothing more than pride and a paycheck at this point in the season, once again doing just that.
The 5-8 Buffalo Bills looked like contenders early with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick piling up yards and points while the defense generated plenty of turnovers. Since a Week 8 shutout win over the John Beck-led Washington Redskins they haven’t won a game though, including three divisional losses, the worst being an 8-35 loss in Miami to these Dolphins. Last week’s blowout loss to the San Diego Chargers makes their early-season triumphs look like a distant memory.
The 4-9 Miami Dolphins were once contenders for next year’s first overall pick, starting 0-7, but seemed to right the ship after that, rattling off dominating wins and playing the Dallas Cowboys close on Thanksgiving. Read the rest of this entry »
Re-Focused: Bills @ Chargers, Week 14
How times change. In Week 5, this matchup would have been a top-of-the-bill game between two division leaders boasting 4-1 records, a game to mark out early supremacy in the AFC. Nine weeks later and those same two teams sat at 5-7, in third place in their respective divisions, and were looking to keep their mathematical playoff hopes alive. In only two months, this game became an afterthought of a late kickoff. As the game played out, one team reminded us why they were division front-runners while the other left their fans scratching their heads looking for the drain that their early season form has run down.
For the second straight week, the San Diego Chargers took care of business in a clinical manner against a floundering opponent demonstrating the offensive prowess that eluded them for the middle two months of the season. But for Matt Prater’s heroics in Denver they would have been only one game out of first place in the AFC West right now. For the Buffalo Bills, this marked their seventh loss in eight games since that 4-1 start and a season of such promise has unraveled before them. The same problems of a defense lacking a playmaking ability and an offense only too willing to offer big plays to the opposition reared their ugly heads again and there is a sense that the Bills are back at square one right now. Read the rest of this entry »
Three to Focus on: Bills @ Chargers, Week 14
Two months ago, the Bills and Chargers looked like they would be playoff teams; both franchises sitting at 4-1. Since then, they’ve each lost six of their last seven games and are two games out of the playoffs with four games to go. It was injuries that doomed Buffalo’s season (14 players on injured reserve) and a supposed injury to Philip Rivers along with a few other starters lost (11 players total on injured reserve) that plagued San Diego to mediocrity.
Neither team can go back and change where their record is at now, but running the table from here on out for either team would result in a winning season. After what these teams have gone through, that sounds highly unlikely, but somebody has to win this game. Here are the matchups that will decide who gets to hold on to their dim playoff hopes and who will have to wait for 2012 for another chance.
Re-Focused: Titans @ Bills, Week 13
When the Tennessee Titans travelled to Buffalo to face off with the Bills, something had to give. Both teams were clinging onto hopes of a playoff spot, with defeat almost certain to end those hopes. So it proved for a Buffalo team that not only had to deal with defeat, but walked into a changing room full of the knowledge that both the Patriots and Jets had picked up priceless victories.
A season where so little was expected at the start, and yet managed to promise so much after a Week 3 win against New England, has fizzled into something of an afterthought. Instead attention should turn to 2012, where with some key acquisitions maybe they won’t lose games like this one to a Titans team, that did enough without ever really excelling.
That has often been the case of this Tennessee team. Good enough to slow you down and put some points up, but lacking that cutting edge to put you away for good. They walked out with a victory but after looking in control for so long, and forcing key turnovers, it shouldn’t have taken a last minute stand from the defense to wrap up the win. Let’s look at some of the key performances from each team.
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