Quick Takes Edition 12

Buffalo Bills (10-6)

Of course it would come down to the final week. It was predictable – even when they were 6-6. Should the Bills fail to make the playoffs I believe Sean McDermott will regret not having making a change at offensive coordinator sooner. The tea leaves were there for several weeks prior, and while it is no small and excruciating act to inform someone they are losing their job, in the end, the performance had spoken for itself. As a former quarterback Dorsey wanted to throw the ball. All quarterbacks do, and while people need to be evaluated on a case by case basis this was an indictment of having any former QBs in the OC position. Yes, Allen has a cannon for an arm, but he also is superior with his size and legs. It wasn’t immediate, but over the course of time Dorsey eroded away from Allen’s strengths and became too reliant on that arm. A one dimension team might be good enough for playoff rounds in any sport, but they rarely capture championships. In the end the lack of balance cost them, and that’s what we saw with the Bills. This isn’t exalting Joe Brady as a brilliant coordinator, but rather and indictment upon Dorsey. All Brady has done, and I’m sure under the direction of McDermott, is restore a sense of balance to the force of the offense.

Having the Bills’ playoffs hang on a win in Miami was predictable. What I didn’t expect was for it to be so much feast or famine. Win and get in, and win the division. Second seed in the conference. Lose and you’re out of the playoffs. Talk about two ends of the spectrum.

Many are citing the Dolphins’ injuries, and the Bills’ healthy roster going into the final week. The Bills’ are the odds on favorite in this game, but I caution everyone that divisional games are rarely that simple. Divisional games are rival games. They are hard fought contests between teams that know each other very well. I expect a tight game. Another nail biter. It would be great if my feeling on this is wrong, but I’ve learned over the years Buffalo Sports rarely makes anything straightforward and easy.

Notre Dame #15 (10-3)

The Irish had a strong showing against what appeared an over-matched Oregon State in the Sun Bowl. The 40-8 score wasn’t even that close – a late score by the Beavers at the end averted the shutout.

The landscape in college football will drastically change in 2024. An expanded playoff field to 12 teams. Personally I think that is excessive. I would have been more in favor of an Elite Eight, but I also concede it is all about the money. Too few of the changes in college football have been positive and for the growth of the game itself, but rather of bank accounts. When money is involved there’s always corruption. Who will be selecting the top twelve teams? The same questionable committee? Again I advocate a return to the BCS computerized rankings, and taking the Top 12 out of it. Computerized A.I. analytics aren’t going to be wrong twelve times. Also, it only pushes the same level of discourse back down the list. Instead of the fifth ranked team angry about being shut out of the playoff it’ll be team thirteen. Every team thinks, If they only had one more chance the outcome would be different. Like a compulsive gambler in front of the slots. However, I remain steadfast in my belief that I’d prefer A.I. to make that cold decision rather than a corrupt human. It’ll be really interesting how bad the 2024 college football controversy will be?

Buffalo Sabres (16-19-4).

Then there are the Sabres. Their sub five-hundred record hasn’t been the least surprising to me – I’ve mentioned that many times. I said as far back as September or August that I expected nothing different – even when high expectations were erroneously spread by various news outlets. How can lofty expectations be set when it was mostly the same roster. Over the last decade we’ve seen time and time again where this roster lacks emotion when they hit the ice. Two steps forward, four steps back. That is the team’s mantra.

The Sabres really bounced the Canadiens on Thursday night after laying an egg in Ottawa on New Year’s Eve. At the time of this writing they will play in Pittsburgh tonight, and again I have my doubts they can put two games like that together. When it comes to the Sabres I’ve become very much a Missourian – show me. Really, don’t tell me about your expectations for the remainder of the season. Don’t tell me how close you are to becoming a playoff team. Only consistent W’s matter to me anymore when it comes to this team. Consistent. You cannot be sitting on January 6 and be below five hundred. You cannot tell me Rasmus Dahlin isn’t a first overall bust. Is he an very good defenseman? Yes. If I had to give a grade it would be B+, but first overall picks can’t be graded in the B’s – they have to be A+ players. Difference makers; so on that count yes, he’s a bust and a disappointment, and certainly someone I would trade if the right offer came along. Kyle Okposo is a likable player whose time in Buffalo has been marred by injuries and disappointment. He has been here for several years now, and quite frankly he shouldn’t be on this roster. He probably should be moved into some sort of coaching level position, and if the cliche argument is to be made that he brings more to the rink then the offensive skills he once had, I counter that it hasn’t produced a playoff team over the last decade. It hasn’t gotten them a winning record this season. On an inconsistent roster that at times trouble scoring there isn’t room for error – and being able to absorb a player at the end of his career is included in that. No disrespect to Okposo personally, but the Sabres are not a good team and have a weak inconsistent roster. He is part of that.

So, again, when it comes to the ongoing disappointment that is the Sabres over the past decade only W’s, and consistent W’s, can really bring me back at this point, and there is no indication that will happen in 2024.