Quick Takes Edition 6
Buffalo Bills (4-2)
Has everyone caught their breathe by now? The Sunday Night Football Bills/Giants was easiest the most exciting game of the weekend after Notre Dame’s dominance of Southern Cal. No one gave the Giants a chance, but their defense came up big. Similar to what the Jaguars did in London. Similar to what the Jets did Week 1. There’s a trend line there and the excuses are becoming thin. Last week most people, me included, had attributed the travel to the sluggish offensive performance. However, with all the injuries the defense endured they had a strong performance all things considered. The game against the Jets there had been some [valid] mutterings about Allen being too pumped up and too reckless. Based on the continued offensive struggles, being shut out in the first half against a Giants team everyone thought you were going to steamroll, perhaps there are a little more issues than just the travel schedule and the standard grind of a NFL season?
It is becoming increasingly apparent that opposing defenses have now identified the choke points to the Bills’ offense. Spy Allen and Diggs – they’re going to get their big gains, but try and minimize them as much as possible. Guard Davis – another favorite target of Allen’s, and the rest is left up to the mechanics of the secondary. Knox, for example, should have caught that critical third down conversion that would have put the game on ice at the end of the game. Kelce would have. Gronk too. The pass might have been low, but it still should have been captured. Teams will take their chances on Knox and others so long as the bigger names don’t beat them. The Jets were the initial team the Bills struggled offensively against, but you can now see that blueprint being used by more teams. Even the Washington Commanders held the Bills offense in check through three quarters of play – that 16-0 lead felt like it should have been more until the dam did break in the fourth quarter. Suffice to say the offensive side of the ball needs to be looked at, and there are six more games on the schedule until the bye week – with the final two against the Jets (whom the Bills struggle against), and the Eagles (who ironically lost their bid for an undefeated season against the Jets yesterday). Six are too many games to play before a re-evaluation can be done on the bye week. The time is now, or the Bills could see themselves floating near the .500 mark (worse case scenario below) by Week 13.
That being said, defense wins championships – there’s no way to avoid that cliche, and in spite of the significant injuries I have to concede the Bills defense has remained strong. The goal line stand and the un-timed down final play were indications of that. Was there interference on the play? Yes on the first play, and debatable on the un-timed one. It was very reminiscent of the goal line stand Notre Dame placed on Southern Cal in 2012.
If one play is going to defeat you – tackle the receiver. You only need to stop them once – which makes for an interesting defensive strategy. Giants’ fans really have no beef, however, given the tripping that had occurred on Bills’ receivers in the first quarter, and the gaffe by Tyrod Taylor on the goal line at the end of the first half.
Notre Dame #15 (6-2).
The Irish playoff hopes were dashed with the uninspired effort against Louisville last week. So anything that happens from here on out has a sour taste, but at the end of the day that’s college football, and that’s the way it should be. Major League Baseball has ruined their playoff format as a result of greed, and apparently a desire to play in November. With all the questionable football decisions by humans, particularly the College Football Playoff Committee, it’s nice to see that the regular season matters.[1] As a Notre Dame fan I’d rather have the loss to Louisville to keep the integrity of college football than a diluted regular season.
All this being said there’s something satisfying with defeating USC – and defeating them soundly. Especially when they were ranked 10th and had playoff dreams of their own. The loss dropped Southern Cal to 18th, and bumped Notre Dame up to 15. Like the Bills’ defense who I’ve criticized getting off the field on third down, the Fighting Irish have had similar problems over the years. That didn’t happen on Saturday night in South Bend – quite the opposite in fact. When USC closed to 31-20 I had made mention that it was important to keep the pressure on. As I mentioned this Jadarian Price took the ensuing kickoff 99-yards for a back-breaking touchdown. It was proof that Marcus Freeman’s version of the Fighting Irish are capable to be in the national championship discussion in future seasons. It’s important also to keep the perspective that as head coach this only remains his second year. The challenge for the coaching staff now is sustainability over an entire season.
Buffalo Sabres (0-2)
The Sabres dropped their second game of the season on Saturday night on Long Island in what has become standard protocol. Late out of the gate and trying to come back at the end which falls short. That has been the mantra of this club for close to fifteen years now. We’ve been told by the team and the local media this season will be different, but the first two games of the season haven’t shown that. They are 0-2, and facing Tampa Bay tomorrow night. Fans are still waiting to be shown what’s different. Am I pressing the panic button at 0-2 in October? Of course not. I actually haven’t a panic button at all. After more than a decade now I’ve learned, as have many others, it is best to operate under the notion that we assume the Sabres are not a playoff team until they prove otherwise. Two games in they have not.
Chicago Bears (1-5)
The team is a professional sports franchise in disaster. The 19-13 loss to the Vikings was never that close. Fields left the game with a hand injury, and Bagent like all Chicago quarterbacks (Fields included) had his highs and lows, and the lows were quite steep. The good will and promise manifested by the win over the Commanders evaporated, and quite quickly, in the first half.I do not know where the Bears go from here. The front office has been turned over more often than a pancake grill. It has become increasingly clear they are not just a bad football franchise, but a bad franchise in any sport in terms of organizational management – how it’s structured; how it is administered. They have more in common with the Sabres from that stand point than either team would care to admit, and there is no end in site. Will Matt Eberflus be fired? Most certainly, and probably should be, but it still won’t fix the problem. There will only be another Marc Trestman, John Fox, and Matt Nagy to replace him. The same goes for the general manager. I really don’t have an additional comment except it’s probably going to get worse, and that’s saying something considering where the Bears are at already.
Take note MLB – baseball was better off when there was the AL/NLCS only, but we know you sold out to greed a long time ago.