THE COLD, HARD TRUTH: THESE BILLS ARE NOT A PLAYOFF TEAM BUT STILL AN OK STORY
Some Buffalo fans thought the 34-21 prime-time loss to the New York Jets was a fluke. A bump on the road to the playoffs.
Sunday’s 47-10 loss to New Orleans was not a fluke. The Bills plunged into the Grand Canyon. Playoffs!?!
More than ever, it looks like the 5-2 record these Bills once had was the fluke.
Which was worse on Sunday – Buffalo’s passing game or Buffalo’s rush defense? Both were non-existent.
The Bills “held” Drew Brees to 185 yards passing and 0 TD passes. The Saints were having so much fun running the football –like a mind-boggling 24 straight times --hat they didn’t need to throw it.
I’d like to say something nice about what we saw from the Bills on Sunday. But there wasn’t anything positive – unless Nathan Peterman’s first NFL career TD pass and Nick O’Leary’s first career TD catch made your day.
Can the Bills recover their mojo and remain a factor in the race for a wild-card playoffs berth? I’m not optimistic. Are you?
UPDATED STATS TELL THE GORY STORY
The Bills were playing above their stats when they started 5-2. The numbers are getting worse.
Through Week 10 (and entering Miami at Carolina Monday Night Football), Buffalo ranks 28th in the 32-team NFL in total offense (292.0 yards per game) and 25th in total defense (359.9 yards allowed per game). That’s minus-67.9 yards per game.
The Bills rank 30th in passing (180.4 YPG) and 14th in rushing (111.6 YPG). 3.8 yards per rush ranks 23rd.
Outsacked 28-14.
68 penalties for 574 yards. Opponents have 56 penalties for 509 yards.
152 first downs. Opponents have 197 first downs.
Averaging 20.4 points (19th).
Buffalo led the NFL in scoring defense for much of the early season. The Bills now rank 15th in scoring defense (21.8 per game).
It isn’t all bad.
Buffalo still is No. 1 on the turnover table at +11. Kansas City is second-best at +9.
The Bills have thrown the third-fewest INTs (3), partly because they’ve attempted the second-fewest passes (264).
Tied for 3rd with 11 INTs and sixth-best in opposing passer rating (77.8).
The Bills have won time of possession in only three of their nine games and are 3-0 when they did.
BILLS ARE EARLY-LINE 4-POINT UNDERDOGS AT THE CHARGERS
The bloom is off the Las Vegas betting rose for the Buffalo Bills. A few weeks ago, the Bills were an NFL-best 5-1-1 in the NFL Point Spread Standings. Now they’re 5-3-1 and sinking fast. They’re 4-point underdogs Sunday at the Los Angeles Chargers, a 3-6 team that is 1-3 at home.
Here’s the NFL Week 11 early odds: Thursday, Tennessee at Pittsburgh (-7)...Sunday, Detroit (-3) at Chicago...(-11 ½) Kansas City at New York Giants...Tampa Bay at Miami (-3)... Baltimore (-2 ½) at Green Bay...Los Angeles Rams at Minnesota (-1 ½)...Arizona (-1 ½) at Houston...Jacksonville (-7 ½) at Cleveland...Washington at New Orleans (-7 ½)...Buffalo at Los Angeles Chargers (-4; over/under 43 ½)...Cincinnati at Denver (-3)...New England (-5 ½) at Oakland...Philadelphia (-3 ½) at Dallas...Monday night, Atlanta at Seattle (-3).
PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS: BILLS DRAFT NEEDS QB AND EDGE RUSHER
Pro Football Focus last week posted the primary needs for every team in the 2018 college draft. Here’s what it said for the Buffalo Bills:
Quarterback – “The Bills have QB Tyrod Taylor locked up (?), but they’ll still be able to dabble with the quarterback class during the draft.”
Edge – “Jerry Hughes is still productive but Shaq Lawson has yet to prove that he’s a long-term option at the position, so Buffalo needs another playmaker up front to get after the quarterback.”
DEFENSELESS ORANGE GET LAMAR JACKSON NEXT
Syracuse U.’s football team. Coming off a 64-43 home loss and giving up 734 yards to Wake Forest, visits Louisville and defending Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson Saturday.
Syracuse has a 4-6 record with two games remaining in the regular season: at Louisville (the Cardinals are early 13 ½-point favorites) and home against no-pushover Boston College November 25.
Two wins would clinch a bowl invitation. There is an outside chance that SU could sneak into a bowl with a 5-7 record. There will be 39 bowl games and the Orange are the only team to beat Clemson this season.
Jackson paced Louisville to a 62-28 victory at Syracuse September 9, 2016. He ran 21 times for 209 yards and 4 TDs and passed for 411 yards and 1 TD.
Out of the 129 FBS teams, SU ranks 28th in total offense (455.9 yards per game) and SU receivers rank 2nd and 3rd in the nation in catches per game: Steve Ishmael 8.7 and Ervin Philips 8.1.
WILL AARON JUDGE BE THE UNANIMOUS AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR?
Of course he should be. The Yankees slugger had one of the best-ever rookie seasons. And Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Cody Bellinger could the unanimous winner in the National League.
We’ll find out Monday, 6 p.m., on the MLB Network, when the American League (Judge, Andrew Benintendi or Trey Mancini) and NL (Bellinger, Josh Bell or Paul DeJong) Rookies of the Year are announced.
The Managers of the Year will be announced Tuesday, 6 p.m., on the MLB Network. My picks are A.J. Hinch (Houston) over Terry Francona (Cleveland) and Paul Molitor (Minnesota) in the AL, and Torey Lovullo (Arizona) over Bud Blasck (Colorado) and Dave Roberts (LA Dodgers) in the NL.
THE NEXT YOUNG RED WINGS SLUGGER COULD BE BRENT ROOKER
Here’s a name to remember Red Wings fans: Brent Rooker, who could be the next young slugger for Rochester.
Rooker, 23, was selected No. 35 overall by Minnesota in the 2017 June entry draft. He’s 6-foot-3, 215 pounds and a right-handed hitter and thrower. He plays OF/1B/DH.
He was the 2017 Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Year at Mississippi State. He won the SEC Triple Crown: .387, 23 HRs, 82 RBI in 67 games. He also had 18 stolen bases in 23 attempts and committed one error.
He spent his 2017 rookie pro season at Elizabethton (Rookie) and Fort Myers (Single-A Advanced). In 62 games, he batted .281 (64-for-228), with 11 doubles, 18 HRs, 52 RBI, 27 walks and 68 strikeouts.
Rooker could start the 2018 season at Double-A Chattanooga. Hopefully, somewhere along the developmental line, he’ll spend at least a half-season with Rochester en route to Minnesota.
AL RICHTER DIES, ONE OF THE OLDEST EX-RED WINGS
Al Richter, the regular shortstop for the 1954 and 1955 Rochester Red Wings in the final two seasons of his pro career, died October 29 in Virginia Beach, Va. He was 90 years old.
He played in six games with the Boston Red Sox in 1951 and 1953. He had one hit – a single – in 11 at-bats.
Richter was a good fielder and a contact hitter with no power. In 278 games with Rochester, he batted .267, with 38 doubles, 4 triples, 0 HRs and 86 RBI. He had 150 walks and only 56 strikeouts.
He was a popular player and fans in two cities presented him with automobiles – including a new Oldsmobile in Rochester in 1955. He retired after that season when he realized he’d never again reach the majors. He’d also lost some arm zip.
He became a very successful businessman and community leader. There is a plaque in his honor at Harbor Park in Norfolk, Va.
...FOR THE RECORD: SURVIVING FORMER RED WINGS 90 YEARS AND OLDER
Catcher Neal Watlington 94 years old...pitcher Bill Greason 93...manager Billy DerMars 92...pitcher Jack Crimian 91...shortstop Dick Cole 91...first baseman Ed Mickelson 91...pitcher Dick Bockelmann 91...pitcher Cloyd Boyer 90.
Greason was the first black pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals (three games in 1954) and one of the first black pitchers for Rochester from 1956 through 1959 (16-18 record in assorted roles), his final pro seasons. With the Red Wings, he was a mentor to future Hall of Famer Bob Gibson.
NASL COULD BE IN TROUBLE; USL ADDING TEAMS AND GAMES
The expansion San Francisco Deltas beat the visiting New York Cosmos 2-0 Sunday night in the North American Soccer League championship game. It might have been the final game in the league’s history (1967 through 2017?...including the Rochester Lancers from 1970 through 1980).
The NASL played with eight teams this season and is having financial and legal problems. It is battling the U.S. Soccer Federation in court in an effort to stay alive. There is speculation that a few current NASL teams could move to the United Soccer League to form one huge Division II league in North America.
The USL had 30 teams this year and will add at least Fresno and Nashville for the 2018 season. I assume the Rochester Rhinos will be returning. The USL regular-season schedule will increase to 34 games (up from 32 this season) and will open March 16-18 and end October 12-14. What do I know? I think the season is too long – they make it longer.
The USL 2017 championship match will be Monday night: Swope Park at Louisville FC at Louisville Slugger Field. Louisville FC eliminated Rochester 1-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
SHORT SHOTS
Free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick is GQ Magazine’s “Citizen of the Year” for his ongoing efforts to fight against police brutality and racial injustice. I hope good cops were in the running.
All due respect to Army/Duke Coach K. – and no respect for the NCAA bozos – but Jim Boeheim of Syracuse was the first major-college basketball coach to win 1,000 games at one school. And his alma mater, no less.
The Buffalo Sabres will have 14 expiring contracts after this season. Is that good or bad?
It isn’t the Bills or the Sabres, but Buffalo will take it. The Buffalo Beauts of the National Women’s Hockey League raised their championship banner for the 2016-17 season before last Saturday’s home opener against the Boston Pride. The Beauts upset Boston 3-2 in last season’s title game.
Pro Football Focus last week ranked the 32 NFL team in special teams. The Bills were 6th. That was nice.
The formula for the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Awards was traditional defensive stats plus metrics. The overall Defensive Player of the Year is Minnesota center fielder Byron Buxton. The Defensive Team of the Year is the Los Angeles Dodgers.
John Gotti III recently made his mixed-martial arts debut and scored an impressive first-round knockout. I’d like his championship hopes better if his grandfather were still alive to maybe pull some strings.
Correction (my bad): Syracuse and St. Bonaventure will meet in basketball this season: December 22 at the Carrier Dome. SU won the most recent meeting, 7 9-66 on November 17, 2015. It was SU’s 14th straight win in the series and SU leads 24-3 overall.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Monday, November 13
Shabazz Muhammad (25)...Chris Devenski (27)...Asdrubel Cabrera (32)...Ron Artest/Metta World Peace (38)...Pat Hentgen (49)...Steve Christie (50)...Vinny Testasverde (54)...former Amerk Gates Orlando (55)...Rosie Jones (58)...Former Red Wing Larry Harlow (66)...Gilbert Perreault (67)...Former Amerk Rene Drolet (73). Jimmy Kimmel (50) and Whoopi Goldberg (62) are invited to the birthday party.
Tuesday, November 14
Francisco Lindor (24)...Taylor Hall (26)...Yasmany Tomas (27)...T.Y. Hilton (28)...Kyle Orton (35)...Lawyer Milloy (44)...David Wesley (47)...Lionel Simmons (49)...Curt Schilling (51)...Aaron Broten (57)...Willie Hernandez (62)...Jack Sikma (62)...Rod Seiling (73).