Gameday Prep: Bills vs. Dolphins

by Ryan


He could... go... all... the...

Announcers and Game Maps: Kevin Harlan, Rich Gannon (Courtesy of Awful Announcing)

Depth Charts: Dolphins, Bills

Stats: NFL.com, ESPN, or Yahoo Sports all do a good job. If you have fantasy teams through Yahoo, you're better off paying the ten bucks for "stattracker", it's a lifesaver. (Especially when you have three fantasy leagues with Yahoo...)

Things They've Been Saying:
- Vic Carucci with a Dolphins story that you're going to hate.

- The AP's John Warrow sets the stage nicely.

- Warrow also has a summary of that other angle we all know and love.

- HOLY CRAP

Pump-Up Song that Will Melt Your Face Off: Alexisonfire, "This Could Be Anywhere in the World"



Angry one today, but a Canadian band talking about a ghosts and cities sounds perfect to me.

Fun Facts:

- Dick still has the same expression north of the border:


- Here's the Playoff Picture, in case you need an excuse to stab yourself in the face.

- Here it is, the rumor we've all been waiting for!

- This is going to be terrible. The game will probably be a clunker, and all that extra garbage will loom in my head until my brain stem shuts down and I pass out. I'm going to miss the roar of an Orchard Park crowd. I'm going to miss the snow. I'm going to miss the way our FieldTurf looks. And when it finally happens, I'm going to miss this team.




This is going to suck.

Pelted

by Ryan



Well that certainly was disappointing. A 16-7 lead after the opening second half drive turned into a big AFC East loss. If you want to stomp your feet and get upset about the big loss, come back in a few hours and talk to us. This is football, and this Bills team isn't going to win every game this year. The AFC East is a better division than most people think, and every divisional game is going to be tough. Take a look at what Tim Graham said about the East last week.

I do not see the Bills heading into their Monday night game 8-1. That's not to say they can't win each of those games against the Dolphins, Jets and Patriots. The Bills very well might sweep their first tour of the AFC East. But that's a difficult proposition just because everybody is so competitive.

Of course you don't want to see that loss come against Miami in your first divisional game, but it was bound to happen. The Bills made some huge mistakes, their defensive injuries were exposed, and their second year quarterback looked like a second year quarterback. These things will happen, and for them to first hurt you in Week Eight doesn't seem so terrible when you consider the situation.

If I'm "stupid" for being okay with a 5-2 record, then I enjoy being an idiot. One bad loss doesn't nullify five good wins, and if you have any faith in your football team you have to trust they will improve upon their mistakes. McGee will get healthier, as will Schobel, Youboty, and Butler. Peters has been playing better. Royal had an awful game, but if they didn't cut Michael Gaines last year for his suckitude I doubt he's going anywhere.

The Bills fell apart today, plain and simple. So it goes. It's frustrating, it sucks, and it shouldn't happen. But the sun is going to come up again. This is not the end of days. This is a loss on the road in October, and there's plenty of time to get things right for the playoffs. Yeah, I said it, this team is making the playoffs. Isn't that exciting? Aren't you positively jazzed that there will be playoff football in Buffalo this year?

It's okay do get down on your team after a big loss. Fine, whatever. However, if you think this season is over because they were soft in one game you really are in trouble. Football teams lose games, and so far we've won a lot more than we've lost. We've said it before and we'll say it again: if you thought the Bills would be 5-2 heading back home to play the Jets you are quite the prognosticator.

The 5-2 Bills are still in good shape, and no matter how they got that record it counts in the standings. Hopefully the run game gets more involved. Hopefully Trent shakes off the bad game. Hopefully, we get some guys healthy on defense and they refocus on Brett Favre.

Yeah that's a lot of hope going on, but if you don't have any hope in a 5-2 season, boy are you fucked.

Doing Things Different

by Ryan

Ronnie Brown.

If you said his name a month ago your first thought would be his surgery and questions about the Dolphins offensive line. Brown was a potential keeper in my fantasy league, and I wasn't going to waste a first round pick to keep all that uncertainty. Who knows how well the Dolphins will play, so why not let him go and get a guy you trust, right?

Ask someone about Ronnie Brown these days and you will get one response: the Wildcat Offense.

You have to admit, it's pretty brilliant. A few weeks ago Rich and I were out watching the USC/Ohio State game and we started talking about the differences between the pro and college game. One of the things I noticed was the different punt formations college teams use. They seem to spread the players out a bit more and have three people back blocking in the backfield. It may not make a difference in effectiveness, but it is... different.

During the process of the conversation I offhandedly asked why teams don't try "different" things more often. I wasn't asking for a play calling revolution, but just lamenting the lack of originality in the league. It is such a copycat sport, but very rarely do teams go out on a limb and try something completely new.

My theory was that if you have a distinct disadvantage with regards to talent, coaching, or otherwise; why not take a chance? If you are being set up to fail, why not try something new? I understand people on bad teams have their jobs to fear, but already we have had two coaches fired this year, and the only thing out of the ordinary they did was attempt a 76 yard field goal. Okay, so that's pretty crazy, but when you are working for Al Davis it's pretty hard to stay sane.

St. Louis has a franchise running back that isn't getting touches while his quarterback gets yanked week by week. Why not develop a scheme or two and try getting your back more involved? If it costs you a loss you finish 2-14, and if you win a few more, well, you win a few more. Maybe it's the fan in me dying to see something original, but if you're going down, why not go out with a bang?

This isn't a rallying call for a Texas Tech-style offense to show up in the Pro game. In fact, I don't know if there is any room for more floral shirts in the league, the Pro Bowl is enough. However, I do appreciate the balls it takes to throw that play at the defending AFC champions, and I like the fact that they refuse to stop doing it when they see it works.

But if they run it against us, Donte better bash his facemask in.

Hey, at Least the Dolphins are Still...

Oh.

Wow, yesterday sucked.

7-6 and Looking Towards Cleveland

by Ryan

If you wanted a summary of the game, it's best you get it in pictures:

Beck=Balls

Beast

The Return of Beast Mode

1-2 Punch

Trentgasm!


"I coulda done that..."

We are the first team listed as "In the Hunt" with the MSM. Next Sunday is officially the new biggest game of the year.

Whether you think we have a shot or not, this thing is far from over.

Penny for Your Thoughts?

by Ryan

The Dolphins scare no one in Buffalo. Pick their starting quarterback out of the jumble of words below:

SageBeckLemonJayDanteFeeleyJohnRosenfelsCleoCulpepper

See? It's harder than you thought, isn't it?

The point is that if the Bills lose tomorrow they have no business in the playoffs, and it's probably for the best. That said, they better freaking win tomorrow.

The run game will be key on both sides, and hopefully we will see this come 1PM tomorrow:



In case you can't tell, that's Marshawn Lynch coming out of the inflatable Buffalo. (My seats weren't exactly 50 yard line that game...)

If Money is in, we may have a fun go of it. If not, look for Fred Jackson to see a lot of carries and Trent going 20+ downfield a few times more then once with the game on the line.

A special thanks goes out to Frey Electric, who made the majority of us viewing the game possible. (Ralph, I wanted to go today really bad, but things just got in the way. My bad, man.)

On an completely fantastic note, tomorrow may be the last time I ever watch a football game in SD, as I have a brand spanking new HDTV on the way from Best Buy. The console television that has endured so many years of abuse will get a proper ulugy in this space sometime this week. Until then...

Dolphins @ Bills.
1 PM.

The quest for perfection continues.

'Nuff $aid

The defense stepped up, Marshawn Lynch got all the yards he needed and the Bills postseason hopes are still alive. Look out, New England.

Death of a Rivalry

By Jon

0-for-the-70's. Marino vs. Kelly. Shula vs. Levy. All great memories from the storied Bills/Dolphins rivalry. And that's just what they are- memories. Gone are the days where a game against the Dolphins carried a bit of extra buzz, as mediocrity has caused the Bills biggest rivalry to effectively die.

The first Bills game I ever attended was a 1997 tilt that slowly progressed from a Marino/Collins showdown into a Craig Erickson/Alex Van Pelt tilt in the rain. Final score: Bills 9, Dolphins 6. Needless to say, it was a terrible game. The rain made two inept offenses with backup QB's even worse, but the energy in the building was unrivaled to any Bills game I have ever been to. It was incredible. It was the most uneventful football game, but the crowd was on the edge of their seat the whole game, driven by a hatred of the visitors from the South.

Fast forward to last December's Miami game, and there were empty seats in the Ralph. It used to be a successful season if the Bills squished the fish twice, now I'm not so sure. A decade later, and both teams have yet to find a successor to their franchise QB. I mean, look at some of the starting QB's for the Dolphins since Marino retired: Jay Fiedler, Ray Lucas, Brian Griese, AJ Feely, Daunte Culpepper, Trent Green, and now Cleo Lemon. Did the Miami front office really believe that any of those guys could lead a somewhat potent office? Hell no. No need to rehash the Bills QB situation, as we are all aware of the incompetent play that they have received at the position.

No one wants to pay to see two marginal offenses duke it out, as Bills fans made it loud and clear last December. Will the game sell out this year? It seems as if it will, but for no other reason that the Bills have found themselves in the thick of the Wild Card race.

I hate the Dolphins. I really do. But I hate the Patriots. And the Jets. And any other team that is on the opposite sideline on Sunday. The Dolphins have become just like every other team (in my book, at least.)

The intensity of the rivalry was never matched down South. Unfortunately, it seems to have fizzled in WNY as well.

Playoffs? Yes, Playoffs.

By Chris

On Monday I sat down with two buddies of mine and, as usual, the discussion quickly turned to sports. Before we knew it we were thumbing through the NFL schedule, figuring out what it would take for the Buffalo Bills to make the playoffs.

Crazy? Maybe. The team is only 4-4, after all. But that's how crazy the league is nowadays. Even a .500 team that looked dead in the water after its second game suddenly has a legitimate shot at the post season.

Part of this is due to the NFL being so mediocre as a whole. Outside of New England and Indianapolis, no team is a sure-fire lock to win week in and week out. While it's a good thing from a competitive standpoint, it can make watching the games tedious and, sometimes downright boring. But that's just the nature of the league. A few very rich teams and then the majority is in the lower middle class.

So sit back and enjoy the ride, Buffalo because there's no telling how long it's going to last. Looking at the teams ahead of the Bills on the schedule, New England is a lock to win the AFC East, the Colts are going to win the South, the Chargers should grab a hold of the West and the Titans should clinch one of the Wild Card berths with their 6-2 record.

Cleveland is the favorite to be the other Wild Card but the Bills have a chance to change that. They play Cleveland in Week 15. There are a lot of things that have to happen before then, but hopefully the wheels will have fallen off for the Browns by then.

The Bills need to start this week. If they lose against Miami, then all bets are off and you might as well throw Edwards back onto the field. The Bills stand at 4-4 now and absolutely need a division win on the road against the Dolphins. They can make it into the playoffs at 10-6 with the right tie breakers but it's nearly impossible to do that if they finish 9-7.

Wins on the road against Jacksonville, Washington and Cleveland are very possible and the conference wins would allow them to jump ahead of thre Jaguars and the Browns. Kansas City will be out of the picture soon with games against Indy, San Diego, Tennessee and Detroit you can optimistically predict as losses.

Two sure-wins against Miami plus those three road victories brings the team up to 9-4. Add in a loss to New England (a win would be the greatest thing ever, but I'm just playing the odds right now, playing them very generously). Then you're just looking at one win against either the Giants at home in Week 16 or in Philly during the last week of the regular season. With the wins against Jacksonville and Cleveland in hand, one more win should lock up the Wild Card.

It's crazy and a little early, sure. But we're already half way through the season so we're going to have to start talking about this sometime, right? Might as well be now, when our dreams haven't been spoiled yet (you'd think one day the Buffalo pessimism would wear off, wouldn't you?).

Brownout

by Ryan


Cleo Lemon is the starting quarterback of the Miami Dolphins.

If that statement isn't funny enough, things got downright hysterical today.

Now I know the fantasy owners who have Brown are quite upset, but any Bills fan that hates the idea of an 0-7 Dolphins team is just insane. Every year the mantra around here is that if you aren't a playoff team, at least finish better than Miami. So far so good.

The great thing about the Dolphins being absolute garbage this year is that they have to suck on the International stage. Next week the Fins take on the Giants at the new Wembly Stadium. The way the G-Men are playing I doubt the Cam Cameron Sucktown Express have any chance next week.

Hopefully the score is something absurdly lopsided and London will forever remember the Dolphins as the suckiest team in England since Derby.

My hope is that they go the distance and fail to win a game at all this year. That way we all could celebrate just like the '72 Dolphins. Yes, after each team finally gets that first win, we can all crack champagne bottles open and remember just how bad that '07 team was. Could anything really top that?

You know, other than Dan Marino in those NutriSystem commercials...