Reality check
Yesterday was brutal.
Not because of fantasy football. Forget fantasy football. Fantasy
football is dumb. Yesterday was brutal because the Bills played TERRIBLY.
Hold that thought.
The Bills offense
played TERRIBLY. The defense was stellar and the special teams rocked it. But
when the Bills had possession, it was awful.
Now, back to fantasy.
Prior to the season, I planned to save my recaps until all of my opponent's players had played, but it seems pretty
pointless to wait until Wednesday to vent when I can join the crowd today.
Besides, there’s no way possible way for Odell Beckham to record 60 negative
fantasy points if he played the Lions all by himself, even if he played on his
bad ankle. And even if OBJ doesn’t play tonight and Richers Ravens takes a zero
next to his name, there’s no way for the Clowns to recover.
--- Quoth the Raven, “Let me score.”
---
Not much to say here, except credit
where credit is due. The guy left 52 points on the bench because everyone (with
the exception of Deshaun Watson) still outscored their possible replacement.
There’s a chance Brandon Marshall tops Larry Fitzgerald’s 2.1 tonight, but it’s
irrelevant. As I predicted on Wednesday, Hunt had another huge game for the
Chiefs, tallying two touchdowns and posting 81 yards rushing.
--- Clownin’ around ---
Clownin’ indeed. That was arguably
the most frustrating Bills game I’ve ever seen. The offense was inept, and I
don’t believe there is a better adjective I can use.
The defense was alone out
there yesterday, and they earned me a bonus point (on top of the standard 10)
by keeping the Panthers out of the end zone. Normally I’d be thrilled that we
held the opponent to a trio of field goals, but when you still can’t outscore
them, it just hurts even more.
Tyrod threw for 125 with no
turnovers. Could’ve padded the stats and redeemed himself if only he hadn’t
overthrown Zay Jones as the clock expired. If that ball is six inches lower,
Jones scores and the Bills walk off with a win.
That being said, it’s not all on
Tyrod. As I said after last week’s game, it’s hard to fault a guy when the pass
is high, but I’ve always been a believer in the whole “if it hits your hands,
you catch it” mantra. Ergo, Jones needs to haul that in. And his postgame
interview showed that he knew that, which is good.
It was apparent early that the run
game would be ineffective, and yet for some reason, the Bills still tried leaning on LeSean McCoy deep
into the game. His final totals were nine yards on 12 carries. Nine on 12. Nine.
On. 12. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, but if it is broke, don’t keep trying
to force it. Dammit, Gretchen!
 |
| Everyone talking about the running game in the third quarter. |
Everyone else was invisible, but because of the leadership roles Taylor and McCoy hold, and the unfortunate weight of the play Jones found himself in, I won’t mention anyone else’s names.
Less upsetting than what actually
happened is knowing that I’d take an L for the Clowns every day if only the
Bills pull it out. If the final drive had ended with a TD and not an
incompletion, it wouldn’t have been nearly enough to close the gap, but the
tone of this would be much more pleasant.
--- Reaction in a gif ---
--- Next time out ---
The Bills will be hosting the
Broncos, who demolished the Cowboys definitively yesterday. If the same Bills
show up, it’ll be a long day for fans at New Era Field.
The Clowns will be taking on ALB Men
of Mayhem. Cam Newton and Kirk Cousins are the team quarterbacks. Le’Veon Bell,
Bilal Powell, and Carlos Hyde will be manning the backfield. Demaryius Thomas
will be a double threat at wideout because he’ll actually playing against both the
Bills and the Clowns. It’s just looking rough.
--- Prediction ---
ALB Men of Mayhem, 110. Southtowns
Clowns, 25. Straight up.
Editor's Note: Matt Birt is a former Buffalo Bills employee and possibly a future one as well.
