Buffalo Bills - Initial Schedule Reactions

My initial reaction when seeing the newly released 2014-2015 Bills schedule was pure disappointment. Were my expectations high? Yes and no. Normally, my expectations would be tempered however, leading up to the schedule release, I heard rumors. These weren't any rumors, these were source confirmed leaks. I couldn't withhold my excitement. A Monday Night Football game at home? The source was actually from the opposing team, the Green Bay Packers, which made me think, this isn't just a ploy by the Bills to drum up ticket sales. This may actually be true!

Hold on, there were more leaks (rumors) and this one was another nationally televised game, on Thanksgiving! You're telling me, I get to sit down and enjoy a nationally televised game between the storied holiday centerpiece Detroit Lions and our beloved Bills? I could be eating turkey, mashed potatoes and corn while watching Marcus Easley be awarded a big turkey leg for getting the games MVP for his 120 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns and 4 special teams tackles? What a dream come true!

This leak (rumor) made sense. Ralph Wilson's has ties to the Detroit Lions. We play them every preseason, it's a fairly reasonable drive for families who want to make a family trip out of it. Buffalo and Detroit are two similar cities (yuck, I can't believe I just said that), in terms of both being blue collar cities. Ralph Wilson passed away and it even made more sense. It would be a great opportunity to bring two franchises together on a national state to honor someone who did so much for the league. I became sure that this was going to happen. The group texts started with my buddies who I share season tickets with. Myself, Pat Cahill, Jimmy Abbott and John Haberman are talking about how pumped we are, who's driving, what time we're going to get out of work, I mean we were jacked up, feeding off of each others energy. And then the schedule came out, the cloud I was floating on evaporated, I was awoken from my dream, proverbially pinched back to reality.

Tweet of the Day: Pat Cahill (@PatCahill5) "Was hoping for a great schedule... But the Bills havne't made the playoffs in 14 years, we didn't deserve a home MNF and thanksgiving game"

Now Pat is much different than myself. I react pretty quickly to news and usually in an emotional manner without thinking it through. I find out we didn't get those rumored games and I voiced my displeasure. Pat will get his information, let it sink in, think rationally and respond accordingly. I respect this about him and this tweet sums that up. Teams that were granted a SNF or MNF game: GB x5, DEN x4, SEA, NE, NYG, PHI, IND, CHI, SF, PIT, DAL, NO, DEN. Teams that were not granted a SNF or MNF game: BUF, OAK, CLE, JAX, MIN and TB. I think we were appropriately categorized after I had some time to really think about it.

You can find the schedule above. I'm sure you've seen it already. If you were a dreamer, an optimist like myself, you were crushed. If you were a pessimist, or dare I say, realist, you weren't surprised. Here are the teams we play at home, in order of appearance:

Week 2 - Miami Dolphins
Week 3 - San Diego Chargers
Week 6 - New England Patriots
Week 7 - Minnesota Vikings
Week 10 - Kansas City Chiefs
Week 12 - New York Jets
Week 13 - Cleveland Browns
Week 15 - Green Bay Packers

Here are the teams we play on the road, in order of appearance:

Week 1 - Chicago Bears
Week 4 - Houston Texans
Week 5 - Detroit Lions
Week 8 - New York Jets
Week 11 - Miami Dolphins (Thursday Night Football)
Week 14 - Denver Broncos
Week 16 - Oakland Raiders
Week 17 - New England Patriots

The Bills play 16 games against 13 teams. The Bills play 3 repeat opponents from their division, like every year, the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots.

Of the 13 teams the Bills play, 5 of them made the playoffs last year. Those teams are the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego Chargers, Green Bay Packers and the Denver Broncos.

Of the 16 games the Bills play, 6 of them will be against last years playoffs teams; the 5 teams above plus another game against our division rivals, the New England Patriots. I think we look at them as more of a rival than they look at us. Actually, I consider all three teams our rivals, as we should and as they should.

Of the 13 teams the Bills play, 5 teams finished above .500 last year. Those teams are the New England Patriots 12-4, Kansas City Chiefs 11-5, San Diego Chargers 9-7, Green Bay Packers 8-7-1 and the Denver Broncos 13-3.

Of the 13 teams the Bills play, 3 teams finished at exactly .500 last year. Those teams are the Miami Dolphins 8-8. New York Jets 8-8 and the Chicago Bears 8-8.

Of the 13 teams the Bills play, 5 teams finished below .500 last year. Those teams, which the Bills would fall under, are the Minnesota Vikings 5-10-1, Cleveland Browns 4-12, Oakland Raiders 4-12, Detroit Lions 7-9 and the Houston Texans 2-14.

Every year, each NFL team plays their division, one full division from the their conference, one full division from the other conference and the two teams from their conference, excluding their division and the division they're set to play, that finished in the same spot they finished to end last years season. Confusing? Let me clear it up.

The Bills play their division which includes the Dolphins, Jets and Patriots, home and away for a total of 6 games. The AFC division they're playing this year is the AFC West which is made up of the Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs and Raiders. The NFC division they're playing this year is the NFC North which is made up of the Bears, Lions, Packers and Vikings. This leaves two teams from the divisions within their conference that they aren't set to play. These divisions are the AFC North and the AFC South. The Bills finished 4th in their division last year so they'll play the 4th place team from these two divisions which are the Houston Texans from the AFC South and the Cleveland Browns from the AFC North. That is how their opponents were chosen. The divisions they play each year in the AFC & NFC are cyclical, playing each division three years.

Wow, that information was pretty dry. Hopefully you stuck around but I was always told, when you write, write as if your audience has no previous knowledge of the topic you're presenting and it's safe to say, I did that. Pretty basic stuff. Let's move on to some more opinionated feelings regarding the schedule!

Things I Love About This Schedule

• What caught my eye initially was the Bye Week which makes an appearance in Week 9 of the regular season. It's smack dab in the middle of the season. It's an ideal time for any team. It essentially breaks up the teams season into two parts. Two, eight game seasons, can do wonders for a team physically and mentally. Some teams get bye weeks pretty early and can kill a teams momentum if they start strong and can lead to a team wearing down late in the season because they bye came so early. A late bye week could lead to a team limping into it with little left in the tank. The bye week could be refreshing for a late season push but getting there presents serious challenges. A mid-season bye week is perfect. You have plenty in the tank to get their and it allows you to charge up for a late season push knowing that you can play 8 straight games because you've just done it.
• I like the balance of the schedule. Not only is the bye week right in the middle of the season, but it has the Bills playing 4 home games and 4 away games before their bye week and 4 home games and 4 games after their bye week. An imbalanced schedule of too many early home games could lead to a tough late season push having to play so many road games. An imbalanced schedule of too many early road games could lead to a rough start to the season and possibly a hole that a team can't quite get out of as the start to get more home games on their schedule towards the back end. The balance on the Bills schedule is nice, never playing more than two games home or two games on the road in a row.
• This brings me to my next point. This is something that was brought up by my friend Amanda Eichinger during a texting conversation last night where we were chatting about the Bills schedule (and the movie Frozen and HGTV amongst other things) where she mentioned probably the thing I loved most about the schedule that I didn't think of. There's no Toronto game this year! Now I knew that for months and I celebrated it when the news broke but I kind of stored it away and got back to the normality of our home team not having to play a home game in a different country. It was frustrating seeing two road games and then the Bills return "home" to play in Toronto. This won't be an issue this season and we can enjoy all 8 home games at the Ralph, getting our moneys worth for our season tickets for the first time in a while. Good call Eichinger.
• One more thing I like is that our short week, due to the Thursday night game, comes just two weeks after our bye week and immediately after a home game. The Bills have their bye week, stay home to play the Chiefs and then head to Miami to play the Dolphins with plenty of rest and minimal travel leading up to the game. That's an underrated perk of the schedule in my opinion.

Things I Loathe About This Schedule

• Well let's just state the obvious. The rumors weren't true. No Monday Night Football game at home vs. the Packers. No Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions. I was truly bummed. Shame on me for getting my hopes up.
• Every team is guaranteed one "prime time game" with some games being more lustful than others, those being Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football however Thursday Night Football games are also considered prime time games. The Bills aren't quite SNF or MNF material so it was no surprise we were destined for a TNF game so we hold out for hope that we could at least get it at home. Nope. It's on the road vs. the Miami Dolphins. We played the Dolphins at home on TNF last year and it was electric. Prime time games are special and the fans really show out, so the home team gets a little extra motivation with the crowd being loud, trying to impress the national audience. It sucks that a division rival gets that motivation, but the Dolphins fans suck so it's really not something to worry about too much.
• I don't like that we get warm weather teams, the Miami Dolphins and the San Diego Chargers so early in the season. I was hoping to get them late, in snow games where we would have a distinct advantage. Instead, our December home game is against the Green Bay Packers who are quite accustomed to playing in the snow.
• One thing that could have really made my night when seeing the schedule was the season opener being at home in Orchard Park. There's nothing like the season opener and home opener being the same week. We weren't so lucky, getting sent on the road, vs. a pretty good Chicago Bears team. If we went on the road to start the season, it would have been nice to go against a team like Houston or Oakland where the chances at starting the season with a win were a bit higher. Oh well, let's steal one from Chicago!
• I don't like that 3 of the last 4 games are on the road. If the Bills are in the hunt, this will be a tough stretch. These games are Week 14 at Denver, Week 16 at Oakland and Week 17 at New England.
• I don't like how tough 3 of the last 4 games are going to be. If the Bills are in the hunt, this will be a tough stretch. These games are Week 14 at Denver, Week 15 vs. Green Bay and Week 17 at New England.

Quarterbacks are the centerpiece of any team. Usually if you want to make the playoffs, you need a good signal caller. Here is the list of Quarterbacks the Bills are set to play, broken into categories of guys that scare me (Aaahh!!! Real Monsters), guys that I'm indifferent on (Meh) and guys that I'm happy are on our schedule because I think they suck (Blowjobs).

Aaahh!!! Real Monsters

• Jay Cutler (Week 1) - It's not so much that I'm scared of him because he could throw 6 interceptions but come on now, how can you not be efficient with Brandon Marshall & Alshon Jeffrey?
• Matt Stafford (Week 5) - I was going to include him in the 'Meh' category for reasons similar to Philip Rivers but I included him in this category for reasons similar to Jay Cutler. If the Lions trade up and get Sammy Watkins or draft Mike Evans, these NFL ready options would look mighty nice next to Megatron, Calvin Johnson. Calvin Johnson. That guy is scary. I can't throw a football more than 7 yards because of my past shoulder injuries and I would still put myself in this category if I had Calvin Johnson to throw to.
• Tom Brady (Week 6 & Week 17) - He will scare me until he's in a wheelchair and still then, in that wheelchair, he will worry me. I know we're supposed to hate him and I mean, I do because he stands in our way of happiness and success but man is he good. Some QB's made this list because of their WR's. If I made a list of WR's that scare me, several Patriots WR's would make that list and it's purely because of Tom Brady. The guy is a surgeon.
• Peyton Manning (Week 14) - Yeah, this could get ugly. We can only hope the Broncos are 13-0 by this point and are resting Peyton in this game. He is one of the best in the game, if not the best in the game. I don't need to talk him up. Everyone knows Peyton and everyone fears Peyton, as they should. We know what's going to happen this game and it's best we just accept it as early as possible.
• Aaron Rodgers (Week 15) - Similar to Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers is a guy you don't want to see late in the season when games become even more meaningful. If this is a game that means something for the Bills, this isn't a QB you want to see on the other sideline.

Meh

• Philip Rivers (Week 3) - Rivers is solid but which Rivers are you going to get? I don't know. Rivers doesn't know. No one knows. He's an enigma. He can throw for 500 yards or 5 picks. He's the Marc-Andre Fleury of NFL Quarterbacks. A true headcase.
• Alex Smith (Week 10) - Alex Smith is efficient. He doesn't scare me but I don't think he sucks. I think his line will have trouble this year after losing Branden Albert, Geoff Schwartz and Jon Asamoah in free agency. I think the Chiefs are in for a down year and won't make the playoffs but Smith is good for 45 completions on 50 attempts for like 200 yards.
• Brian Hoyer (Week 13) - I wanted to put him in the 'Blowjob' category but he played real well before his injury last year. The Browns could get a rookie QB and while I expect them too, I don't think it will be at 4th overall. I think they wait until their later 1st round pick or their early 2nd round pick. This pick would most likely be Derek Carr. I think Hoyer can hold Carr off if he's healthy. What gets Hoyer in this category is the combination of Josh Gordon and Sammy Watkins who I expect the Browns to take at 4. That's pretty scary and the Browns just give us trouble. Shout out to my buddy Keith from Cleveland who is a die-hard Browns fan and has gone through similar heartbreak as us Bills fans over the last decade.

Blowjobs

• Ryan Tannehill (Week 2 & Week 11) - I mean he's solid and has a smoking hot girlfriend but unless she's on on the line, snapping him the ball and then flashing the whole Bills DL to keep them at bay, he's going to have trouble against a solid Bills DL. The Dolphins struggled against the Bills in this regard last year and I think history repeats itself, moreso in Week 2 than Week 11 because their new OL will need time to mesh and the Week 2 game will be the home opener for Buffalo. Ouch!
• Ryan Fitzpatrick or Rookie QB (Week 4) - Ryan Fitzpatrick plays for the Houston Texans in case you had to look that up after seeing his name on the list. It could be Fitzpatrick, Blake Bortles or Johnny Manziel. Since it will be early on in the season, none of those options scare me.
• Christian Ponder or Rookie QB (Week 7) - If my good friend Pat Browne had any say in this list, CP7 would be in the 'Aaahh!!! Real Monsters' category. That guy loves Christian Ponder. I think Christian Ponder sucks. Hell, I don't even know if he'll be the QB by Week 7. They could have a rookie QB. They could have Matt Cassel. They could have Sam Cassell. They could have Leon Sandcastle. They could actually build a sand castle, hike the ball on top of it and have Adrian Peterson grab the ball from atop the sand castle and run it every time with success. Adrian Peterson from the Wildcat scares me more than Christian Ponder does. I predict the Vikings will be starting 2nd round pick Zach Mettenberger in this game. Mark it down.
• Geno Smith or Michael Vick (Week 8 & Week 12) - I hate Geno Smith. I think he sucks. He doesn't scare me unless the Bills re-sign and start Justin Rogers at CB. Mike Vick could be scary but I think it's Geno's spot to lose and Vick will probably get hurt at some point well before Week 8 anyway.
• Matt Schaub (Week 16) - Matt Schaub used to be good. He proved this past season that he is no longer good. If he couldn't have success with Andre Johnson, getting unseated by Case Keenum, he isn't going to have success in Oakland throwing the ball to Rod Streater.

In a follow up article, I will do a brief breakdown on each game with a bit more information on whether or not that team has a new coach, what happened the last time we played them, if that team happens to be a former team of any current Bills, if any former Bills currently play for them, what draft position they'll be picking from in this draft, etc. but for now, I think I gave you enough to read about. I hope you enjoyed and keep your eyes peeled for my follow up article. Don't forget to subscribe at the bottom of the page! Go Bills!