FanPost

First Game with New England: Better to Play Earlier or Later (Updated 9/20 0945 EST)



To be or not to be ......

I never liked Hamlet, mostly because I do not understand existentialism. Football makes more sense to me, so I here I am. Anyway, as usual, the first New England game lies before us and along with it the inevitable " the Bills will see how good they really are against the Patriots" comments.

This brings me to the point of this post: Is it better to play the first game against New England earlier in the season or later? Here are some thoughts either way:

For Earlier

1. Does not allow possible expectations to get out of hand. Remember that recent 4-0 start? Going to kick butt in the playoffs that year .....

2. Gets the pain of losing to New England out of the way early. Think just about any Jauron, Mike Mularky, or Greg Williams coached Bills team.

3. Helps the Bills stay out of the national spotlight. Better to be invisible or a laughingstock?

4. The youngsters have not played enough to understand how good New England really is.

For Later

1. Hope, Hope, and more Hope!!!! Remember the that recent 4-0 start? Tis' better to love and lost, than to .....

2. Helps to build momentum, so that team's confidence is not shattered after being humiliated by the Belicheck, Brady, and Co.

3. Putting off the pain of seeing how outclassed the coaching staff and players really are. Think just about any Jauron, Mike Mularky, or Greg Williams coached Bills team.

4. Allows the offense and defense to "gel", before the big test.

Those are a few thoughts, some admittedly negative, but then again 15 straight losses could have something to do with that. Hopefully, this Sunday, the Patriots will overlook the Bills, or Brady will twist ankle, or food poisoning, or freak snowstorm or ......

UPDATE 9/20: I intended to include a paragraph about my preference for when is best to play the first game against New England (earlier), but did not. A rookie mistake, not to be repeated. Here are some additional thoughts:

1. Bflogrl is correct in that this is a Gailey coached team and not one of the others. This makes a big difference as I do not think Gailey is outclassed by Belicheck, which is why he was not mentioned with the others.

3. I hope Buffalo wins this weekend. I think that they have a better chance to win than at any time during the streak. I EXPECT Buffalo to play their best and if they win I will be thrilled.

4. I like an earlier fist game because the teams confidence is usually higher and the younger players (Buffalo always seems to have many of them) have not really played enough to realize how good or bad they really are compared to the rest of the league. As Buffalo identifies, develops and retains it's "core", this reason will no longer apply.

5. Also, New England is the yardstick by which AFC East teams, specifically, and the rest of the NFL generally are measured. As a commenter pointed out, correctly in my opinion, that to be the best you have to play the best. Seen in the light, playing the first New England game earlier is more helpful.

6. Thank you for your comments. They are all appreciated.

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