COMMENTARY
Reality check puts playoffs out of reach
Updated: 11/26/08 9:12 AM
Three months ago, when prognosticators were lining up to unleash their expertise, Bills fans would have been satisfied with a 10-6 record. Ten wins usually means playoffs. In case anyone forgot, “playoffs” is a word to describe extra games in which the better teams perform against one another until a champion is decided.
Yeah, I know, people don’t need me firing off sophomoric wisecracks three days after a convincing win. Warning: This column will be difficult to digest if you have a weak stomach or remember the Bills’ glory days.
If the past decade or so was difficult for you, imagine the effect it had on our poor, helpless, hopeless children. Kids are being conditioned to temper their emotions, just like the generations before them. Their idea of good football is the University at Buffalo, which was laughable when the Bills were at the height of their existence.
Quick, who was the last quarterback to start for the Bills in a home playoff game? Why, it was Jim Kelly, who was carted off the field against Jacksonville. The game was played a few days after my son celebrated his first Christmas. Now he’s in seventh grade.
The Bills haven’t won 10 games since 1999, when Wade Phillips was the coach and they finished 11-5. It marked the last time they reached the postseason, which ended with Home Run Throwback, which eventually threw back the Bills to the pre-Kelly days of Kay Stephenson and Hank Bullough, which made fans want to throw up.
The Bills are an ugly 6-5 and aren’t going to be much prettier at 7-5, assuming they beat San Francisco on Sunday. Last Sunday’s 54-31 victory over Kansas City did little to restore hope so much as postpone misery.
By now, you understand there is much work ahead for the Bills to make the playoffs. How much? After Sunday, running the table would mean beating Miami in Toronto, the Jets at Giants Stadium, the Broncos in Denver and the Patriots in Orchard Park. It would get the Bills to 11-5, possibly just short.
Sorry, but that’s the reality. And there I was, just last week, trying to soften the blow after a four-game slide.
You could go bonkers trying to figure out all the possibilities, but things look particularly brutal for Buffalo from virtually every angle. The Bills are exactly where they belong when you take an honest look at how they’ve played.
The Bills’ biggest problem, other than how they’ve played and coached, is that the teams ahead of them in the standings don’t face each other enough times to give the Bills much assistance. They’ll need help from weak teams in the other conference just to make it interesting.
Buffalo is chasing the New York Jets, New England and Miami in their own division and plays each of them. Denver has a commanding lead in the AFC West and Baltimore and Indianapolis are in the running for wild-card berths. Of the seven teams, the Bills have the most difficult schedule. Their remaining opponents have a 30-25 record combined. Of course, the Bills have yet to beat any team this season with a winning record.
New England plays Pittsburgh this week. Even if the Pats lose, their 7-5 would be more attractive than the Bills’ 7-5. The combined record of the Patriots’ final four opponents is 18-26. Miami’s next four opponents are 12-32. The Dolphins have the Jets in the season finale, but that game could be meaningless.
The Jets have three teams with winning records remaining on their schedule, but New York (8-3) has a better record than each of them. Indianapolis should coast into a wild-card berth if the Colts don’t catch first-place Tennessee. Indy’s next four opponents are 9-34-1 before the finale with the Titans.
Ah, what the heck. At least the Sabres are playing well.
