Turnovers and Penalties by the Numbers

by Squirmin' Thurman on Oct 26, 2009 11:43 AM EDT

Is winning football games really as easy winning the turnover and penalty battle? For the Bills, the answer is a pretty easy yes.

Here are the Bills seven games this season by turnover and penalty differential. "+" means the bills outperformed their opponent, "-" means the Bills lagged their opponent:

Penalty Yards Turnover Differential

Game 1: -16 0

Game 2: +57 0

Game 3: +19 -1

Game 4: +26 -2

Game 5: -46 -2

Game 6: +32 +4

Game 7: +45 +4

The Bills have won all of the games in which they won the turnover battle and the game where they tied in turnovers but won in penalties. Throw in the first game with the +0 TO differential, where the Bills had a real chance to win it and a not so surprising trend emerges. When the Bills aren't giving themselves a handicap, they are actually a competitive team.

Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.

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Comments

Part of the Back to the Basics Scenerio.

Football 101. Fewer to no Penalties, protect the ball and trust in your teammates to make plays. A win this coming Sunday at Home against Houston. Along with an offense that can sustain more than a couple drives and we could be on to something.

Excuses are a sign of weakness!!!!!!

by VanScottM on Oct 26, 2009 12:20 PM EDT reply actions

The current team seems to be the kind of football team Jauron can win with (see his 13-3 Bears squad) – below average offense with a questionable at best QB, opportunistic defense, penalty-free play with a lot of castaways, rookies, and second-stringers.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the answer for long-term success, and that is (and will be) Jauron’s downfall, IMO.

Establishing this attitude among those solid young players we have does bode well, I think, for whoever comes next. Lovie Smith had a nice group to build around when he took over (the Lions, of course, were an unmitigated disaster, but that was more Millen’s fault than anyone else’s) and that could set up well for whoever comes in next.

Let’s hope so!

by T McGee on Oct 26, 2009 2:59 PM EDT reply actions

Last year the Bills won every game that they had a + turnover ratio, and lost all but one game where it was 0 or negative. The lone exception was the Raiders game; winning despite a -2 turnover ratio; Trent Edwards did not have much trouble out-dueling JaMarcus Russell.

On the other hand, in 2007, the Bills lost four games in which they had a positive T/O ratio: +1, +2 (twice), and a +5 ratio. That’s how you finish 7-9 with the 6th best ratio in the league…

by Krenn on Oct 26, 2009 5:58 PM EDT reply actions