Funny Pats/Bills article on yahoo


    Funny Pats/Bills article on yahoo

     How ridiculous is this?  

     Since the beginning of the 2001 NFL season, the Buffalo Bills have defeated the New England Patriots only twice.

    It would be one thing if the teams played only once every four or five years, but, as AFC East foes, there are two matchups every season. There is no way to sugarcoat it: The Patriotshave owned the Bills this millennium.

    However, 2013 is shaping up to be a season that could serve as the turning point in the rivalry. Both the Bills and Patriots have made important changes heading into the year, and the balance of power is noticeably shifting. When the two teams meet in Week 1, it will be a chance for the Bills to reassert themselves and come out from under the burden of Patriots domination.


     Here are the five main reasons why they are going to do just that and knock off New Englandto start the season:

    1. Element of Surprise

     The Bills have a completely new coaching staff, with new offensive and defensive schemes. Although there is footage of the Doug Marrone-Nathaniel Hackett offense from their time with the Syracuse Orange, and of the Mike Pettinedefense from his time with the New York Jets, Patriots coach Bill Belichick will not have the luxury of footage showing these schemes employed by the current Bills personnel.

     At the same time, the Bills will have a new quarterback implementing that scheme. Due to the injuries to E.J. Manuel and Kevin Kolb, the Patriots may not be entirely sure who the quarterback will be until game time. It is presumed that Manuel will start if he is healthy enough after his minor knee procedure. If not, the start will likely be given to undrafted rookie Jeff Tuel, for whom there is almost no tape for the Patriots to study. 


    New England's problems are compounded further by the fact that preparing for Manuel's duel-threat attack will be completely different than what would be needed to prepare for Tuel's more traditional skill set.

    2. Pressure on Tom Brady

     Speaking of the new schemes being implemented in Buffalo in 2013, the Bills' new defense is shaping up to be the type that will give Tom Brady and the Patriots' offense a lot of trouble. Newdefensive coordinator Pettine is known for schemes that focus on putting consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and the Bills have enough speed up front to pull it off.

     Brady thrives on having the time to spread the ball around to his various weapons. If defensive ends Mario Williams and Alex Carrington can open up paths for blitzing linebackers such as Manny Lawson and Kiko Alonso, it is easy to see Brady being rushed into mistakes. This is the formula that led to Brady throwing four key interceptions against the Bills in Buffalo's last win in the series in 2011. If Brady turns in a similar performance, it should be smooth sailing for the Bills in Week 1.

    3. Uncertainty in Patriots' Receiving Corps

    Along similar lines, Brady may need the extra time to throw that the Bills' defense will not give him. This is because all of Brady's favorite targets from years past will not be available to him in Week 1, leaving the Patriots with big questions as to who will be catching passes.

     Rob Gronkowski appears unlikely play due to injury, which would leave the Patriots with injury-prone Danny Amendola and unproven targets Zach Sudfeld and Kenbrell Thompkins. This should put a damper on the Patriots' pass-heavy attack, especially considering the fact that Kyle Williams and Marcell Dareus should be clogging the middle to prevent any attempt to establish a rushing attack.

    4. C.J. Spiller

     On the other side of the ball, the Patriots' defense does not have an answer for C.J. Spiller, one of the elite playmakers in the NFL. Buffalo's coaching staff has made clear that Spiller will be the focal point of the offense, and it should be apparent in Week 1. Expect Spiller to get the ball early and often, in both running and passing plays.

    Although the Patriots can clog the middle with Vince Wilfork, it is unclear whether they can chase Spiller down on the outside and when he makes his trademark cuts. Chandler Jones and the Patriots' linebackers do have impressive speed, but Spiller is one of the fastest backs in the NFL and should be able to wear down New England's defenders over four quarters.

    5. Expectations

     Finally, notwithstanding all of the factors in Buffalo's favor, the Patriots are generally considered the overwhelming favorite heading into the game. While the Patriots do have history on their side, Marrone and the new coaching staff have the Bills hungry to make a statement. The fact that no one expects Buffalo to make that statement takes all of the pressure off heading into the game, and it will allow the team to play loose.

     The Patriots are always expected to compete for a Super Bowl. Things not going right for them early in the Week 1 game should cause things to snowball as the Bills gain more confidence playing in front of their home crowd. It is this early momentum, plus the facts above, that should lead Buffalo to the huge Week 1 upset, setting the tone for a bounce-back season in Buffalo.

  2. You have chosen to ignore posts from raptor64d. Show raptor64d's posts

    Re: Funny Pats/Bills article on yahoo

    Pretty rediculous, but at least we know Bill and Tom take nobody for granted and will be ready.

    One shot one kill! The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other guy die for his.

    George S Patton Jr

  3. You have chosen to ignore posts from Inokea4coolaid. Show Inokea4coolaid's posts

    Re: Funny Pats/Bills article on yahoo

    what's wrong with the article? Not sure what issue is.

  4. You have chosen to ignore posts from natesubs. Show natesubs's posts

    Re: Funny Pats/Bills article on yahoo

    no answer for CJ spiller? really? wilfork? Kelly? Hightower? Spikes......

    this writer is obviously biased and does as much research as the bills WR Johnson who thought pat chung was still on the team.

    with enough thrust, pigs fly just fine!

  5. You have chosen to ignore posts from scash2013. Show scash2013's posts

    Re: Funny Pats/Bills article on yahoo

    My thoughts:


    1) Element of Surprise-
    The Bills are not going to reinvent the wheel with a rookie QB behind center. And if they do, it will probably have disastrous results for them. The Patriots probably have a rough idea of what the Bills are going to do and will adjust to any wrinkles accordingly. Last time I checked, they had one of the best coaches in the history of the game.

    The idea that a rookie QB is going to give the Bills some sort of advantage is laughable. The Patriots have faced running QBs with far more impressive pedigrees and have done quite well against all of them.

    2) Pressure on Tom Brady-
    This is pure fantasy. Every team in the league want to pressure Brady without leaving their secondary exposed. Few can do it. Look up the stats: Brady's passing numbers are actually much better when the opposition attacks him and sends a true blitz- 4 or more players. The teams that succeed against Brady are the ones that can presure him without sending extra guys.

    As a matter of fact, we heard the same thing last year when the Bills signed Mario Williams and ex Pat Mark Anderson. That they were shaping up to be exactly the kind of defense that would pressure Tom Brady and give the Patriots offense fits.

    The Patriots then proceeded to score 89 points in two games against Buffalo that season.

    3) Uncertainty in Patriots' Receiving Corps-

    Just because you haven't heard of them doesn't mean they can't play. Dobson, Thompkins, Sudfeld and Simms have all looked incredible this preseason. The Patriots haven't had a rookie draft class of receivers like this since Branch and Givens were drafted ten years ago. And Gronk might be back in week 1.

    The Patriots won 12 games last year, outscored every team in the league and came within 32 points of tying their record setting offense in 2007 for most points ever scored in a season,

    And they did this with just Welker and Gronk. You could argue that this will be the deepest receiving corp they have had in the Brady era.

    4. C.J. Spiller-

    So the Patriots defense which ranked 9th in the league last year is incapable stopping CJ Spiller? Seriously? Spiller gained just 103 yards against the Patriots last year in 2 games. And if it weren't for a 25 yard gain in game two where the Patriots defense broke down and missed a bunch of tackles, he would have had 78 yards in two games. That's the guy I'm supposed to be afraid of? Like he's the second coming of Barry Sanders?

    I can almost guarantee you that Belichick will stack the box and force the Bills shitty rookie QB to beat them through the air.

    5. Expectations

    This is just crazy talk. You think the Titans weren't pumped up last year against the Pats? New England was coming of a Superbowl appearance. And Tennessee had a chance to knock of the defending AFC Champs at home. The Titans lost by three touchdowns.

    Every team is jacked in week one.

    And the first meeting between the Pats and Bill last year was in week 4, The Bills were 2-1 coming into that game. That was a huge chance for them to prove themselves and establish themselves as a contender in the AFC East. They lost by three touchdowns and a field goal.

    Football players play football. The team with the most talent and the team that makes the fewest mistake will win the game. Anything else is just the author trying to talk himself into believing his team has a chance. Because it doesn't matter.

  6. You have chosen to ignore posts from Paul_K. Show Paul_K's posts

    Re: Funny Pats/Bills article on yahoo

    Buffalo will print each quarterback's name, "Manuel" and "Tuel", on the backs of their jerseys.  This identification tool will be of immense help to the other first-string Buffalo offensive players, who haven't actually played much at all with either one of them.  In particular, the Bills' leading receiver and only known passing weapon, the self-proclaimed unstoppable Earvin "Magic" Johnson, (not even Bird can stop him!) has never caught a pass in an actual game from the likes of either of them, Johnson being out with a broken ankle all summer.  Buffalo will either start a total rookie quarterback who couldn't practice with the first stringers until this week because his injury set him back, or else the fuzzfaced rookie's backup will get the call, another total rookie UFA quarterback who wasn't even drafted. 

    Johnson will need to knock the rust off.  I would expect a slow game from him after eight weeks off the field. 

    Buffalo's star cornerback is out.  Buffalo's star safety is out.  Buffalo's ability to replace not one but two major backfield guys in a short period of time, possibly with rank rookies at this time of year, is doubted.  Tom Brady eats those holes up for breakfast.  Brady has the NFL's quickest average release time, so a good sacking team doesn't work well against the Patriots, especially if receivers are wide open.    

    Most of the national press has a serious problem imagining that New England has a receiving corps.  That's not at all what we locals see.  Yahoo's Shutdown Corner (obviously several different people write for the Shutdown Corner) recently moved New England from fifth up to third in their power rankings because, in the writer's words, Tom Brady was perfect against Tampa Bay.

    Buffalo just threw out their whole offense and defense after throwing out their entire coaching staff.  It typically takes time in the NFL to get the new team up to speed.  The "Element of Surprise" is a hallucination under these circumstances, especially with a brand new rookie quarterback in swaddling clothes.  It's the Patriots that have the experience necessary to pull surprises. 

    That leaves C. J. Spiller.  Expect the Patriots to put a run-heavy 4-3 or even a 5-2 defense on the field, to rotate defensive line players and to crowd the box.  BB will try to take Buffalo's only offensive weapon, the running game, away.  Buffalo can possibly wear down the Patriot defense if they can slow Tom Brady down, get the ball back frequently and then create lots of first downs themselves.  Not likely on even one of these counts, but proper line rotations will also snuff out that hope. 

    I expect a fast start for the Pats and a plodding start for the Bills, ending in a smear. 


  7. You have chosen to ignore posts from mrmojo1120. Show mrmojo1120's posts

    Re: Funny Pats/Bills article on yahoo

    The only Bill winning Sunday is Belichick.

  8. You have chosen to ignore posts from csylvia79. Show csylvia79's posts

    Re: Funny Pats/Bills article on yahoo

    In response to mrmojo1120's comment:

    The only Bill winning Sunday is Belichick.

    Rofl.... good one




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