| 05 September 2012
LOL.
Before I fart out my season preview tomorrow night, here is our annual, bi-weekly Jets-Bills preview with Buffalo Wins.
Q: What are your expectations for the season? I've heard Bills fans say they can win the division, and I've heard some say they'll be battling it out for second place with the Jets. Where do you stand?
A: I think the Bills can finish 10-6 and make the wild card. They have a real easy schedule, playing only 3 playoff teams from last year. They also have games against 7 rookies/2nd year QBs. I actually do think they match up well against the Pats because they have a front 4 now that can get after the QB without blitzing, which was a big part of the reason the Giants won the SB twice against them. The key for the Bills IMO is pretty much what the Jets did the first two years of Ryan's reign. Play great defense, have a sound running game and don't have the QB fuck up. I think the biggest wild card is Fitzpatrick. If he can play like he did at the start of last season (14TDs in first 7 games), the Bills will be walking into the playoffs. However, I have my doubts (More on that later).
Q: Unrelated to this weekend, but how annoying is it to keep losing December home dates---the time of year the Bills actually have a home-field advantage---to that lifeless stadium and crowd in Toronto? Does anyone in Toronto even care about the Bills?
A: Yeah, it pisses us off. It is nothing more than a cash grab for the organization. They get like double the gate in Toronto than at Ralph Wilson Stadium because the Rogers people (they are like the Dolans of Canada and own their version of Cable Vision) paid 78-million for 8 games (3 preseason and 5 regular season games) to have the games in Toronto. Of course, the problem has been that they decided to sell tickets for 100-250 bucks. That’s not going to fly with a football team as bad as the Bills have been over the last decade. From what I gathered, the Rogers people decided to drop ticket prices but are still having problems selling seats. I will say the Bills do have a contingent of fans who come down from Canada to watch the team play. The Bills have said that like 13,000 of their gameday tickets are purchased in Canada. Buffalo is only like a 15-20 minute drive to Canada and about 75 minutes to Toronto. Still, it sucks because the Rogers Center is fucken dead. No atmosphere. No crowd noise. It worries me that the Bills will lose a game there because they didn’t have the homefield advantage and it will cost them the playoffs.
Q: Ryan Fitzpatrick. Go.
A: In a span of 21 games, dating back to the end of the 2009 season, Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 38 touchdowns. Not bad, right? However, for his last 9 games last year, the guy was a fricken tire fire. He threw 16 picks and had just 10 TDs. His QB rating went from a 97.3 to 77.6 for the season. He sucked. Some Bills fans think it had to do with him playing with injured ribs or because the team lost Fred Jackson and Eric Wood. I’m sure that had something to do with it, but I also think defenses started to catch up on him. In order to beat the Bills passing game, you have to jam the WRs at the line of scrimmage and take away the short passes. Fitz can’t go deep IMO because he’s just to erratic and the WRs aren’t known to stretch the field. Also, I think the Bills are too pass happy to begin with. Last year, the Bills attempted the 10th most passes in the league while they ranked 27th in rushing attempts. That doesn’t make any sense as Fred Jackson is the team’s best player. Don’t live and die by Fitz and the team should be alright. If he has to throw the ball 40 times a game, cover your eyes.
Q: For such a big signing, I feel like there's been very little talk about Mario Williams' potential effect on the Bills defense. Where do you stand on the former 1st overall pick?
A: I’m sure it doesn’t get talked about enough because Tim Tebow has taken over ESPN, but that’s another story. The Williams signing does wonders for the Bills defense. They team ranked near the bottom of the NFL over the last five years in sacks. They had no pass rush from the outside because we tried having a 3-4 defense when everyone and their mother knew we didn’t have the LBs for it. At some points last year we had Spencer Johnson and Arthur Moats rushing on the outside. Pathetic. I think the Bills have a top 5 DL now with the addition of Mario Williams. Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams are beasts at the DT position. Dareus had 5.5 sacks last year, which was a miracle because he played with no one. Kyle Williams is coming back after missing most of last year with an ankle injury. He’s looked great in preseason. This will be the best DL that Mario Williams has played on. They also added Mark Anderson from the Pats, who had 10 sacks last season. I hate to be an offensive line trying to block these four guys. I mean, who are you going to double team? (Editor's Note: R.I.P. Mark Sanchez)
Q: The biggest strength and weakness of the Bills defense?
A: Strength: Defensive Line. I think they can get 40 sacks with the front four. Weakness: Linebacker. This is probably the weakest link on the team. Very undersized and unproven, low round draft picks. If I’m the Jets, I run as many short passes as possible and watch the Bills’ LBs miss tackles.
Q: The biggest strength and weakness of the Bills offense?
A: Strength: Fred Jackson. Before he went down with a season ending injury last year, he accounted for almost 40% of the Bills offense. He’s that good. Weakness: Wide receivers. Next to Stevie Johnson, the unit is kind of blah. A lot of inexperienced guys who can only run 8-10 yard routes. I could have also went with Fitz, but I think WRs tend to be a bigger question mark.
Q: You said you're attending Sunday's game as I'm sure many Bills fans are thanks to Woody Johnson and the Jets being desperate to have a sellout crowd. I went to a pair of Rangers-Sabres game last year and the female Buffalo fans (all of whom were bunk as fuck), were far more loud and annoying than the guys. Have you ever noticed that? And should I expect the same Sunday?
A: It’s funny, but the Jets actually reached out to the Bills backers of NYC to see if we wanted to buy a boatload of tickets. (Editor's Note: This is true. I loathe Woody Johnson.) Last I checked, the backers are in the hundreds as far as I know. That’s how I got my tickets. Yes, we are annoying as shit because we are pissed off people. It is Buffalo and yes, I’ll be the first to say don’t fuck with our city, but I’ll also be the first to say we have issues. I find myself to be obnoxious because I hate NYC fans for the most part. I’ve been here for 10 years and whenever I say I’m from Buffalo, a fucken Norwood joke comes out soon after. (Editor's Note: I love New Yorkers.) Fuck you! So, we decide to come to these games and just vent out our frustration. We are dicks. Sorry.
Q: Final score and why?
A: I got the Jets in this one. 17-16. I think a part of the reason why I’m picking them is because everyone thinks you guys suck ass. We all know that NYC teams either get too much love or too much shit in regards to their teams. This is still the same team that went to two AFC Title games. I think both defenses are stout as can be, but my issue is that I think the Bills will try and pass too much, like they always do. I think that will play into the Jets hands as Fitz will probably turn the ball over a few times. Plus, the Jets have owned the Bills over the years. Besides last year’s 28-24 loss in Jersey, the Bills have scored like five offensive touchdowns in the previous five meetings. That worries me.
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