Well, what happened in Cleveland yesterday must hurt if you are an ardent Bills fan like I am.
I got to my TV set during the beginning of the second half and have to take my hat off to both those teams yesterday. Honestly, if I was a player, I would have begged my coach to leave out of it.
On the edge of my seat -as a I always am when the team is
playing- I knew that in those conditions, the Bills would have to excel in the running game. From the recaps I saw during the live game, I loved how Marshawn started off but was upset at him not getting any yards in the crucial fourth quarter. His counterpart Jamal Lewis, on the other hand, played the perfect ground game tallying a good 160+ rushing yards - no wonder the guy loves that kind of weather.
I got to my TV set during the beginning of the second half and have to take my hat off to both those teams yesterday. Honestly, if I was a player, I would have begged my coach to leave out of it.
On the edge of my seat -as a I always am when the team is
playing- I knew that in those conditions, the Bills would have to excel in the running game. From the recaps I saw during the live game, I loved how Marshawn started off but was upset at him not getting any yards in the crucial fourth quarter. His counterpart Jamal Lewis, on the other hand, played the perfect ground game tallying a good 160+ rushing yards - no wonder the guy loves that kind of weather.Unfortunately for Buffalo, neither Marshawn nor Fred Jackson had the effective bulldozing abilities of Jamal Lewis and their lethal speed could and would not play a part in the slippery game.
The accumulation of snow and strong wind naturally affected the Buffalo aerial game, especially after they were down by eight by the first few minutes of the second quarter. Many players, like Trent Edwards and Marshawn had never played in such weather yet found themselves in situations where they had to make plays. The Stanford kid was forced to play with both gloves throughout the full competition and his usual consistency failed him on fairly easy passes. Yet, the finger SHOULD not be pointed at him as the receivers found great difficulty in mobilizing themselves on the field and were late on many run routes.
It has been a good season for the Bills this year when you take into consideration their woeful 0-3 and 1-4 starts. Twice above .500 this year, they sure have proved that they are a team to reckon with next year. Coach Dick Jauron has built a solid team which I hope will win its upcoming two games and finish the season on a winning record; they need the confidence for the off-season in order to come out strong in 08-09.
I had great confidence in this year's playoff run but it's apparent that the weather thought otherwise. The last playoff appearance dates back to the late 90's: Buffalo has the 2nd longest playoff drought in the NFL. Just how long do we have to wait for a post-season participation from the Bills, only time will tell!!!
