It's the holiday season, and most everyone has better things to do than spend too much time worrying about the final weekend of the National Football League season.
Take the Buffalo Bills, for instance. They've been officially out of playoff contention for two weeks now, and realistically finished two months ago.
But before they head for the warmer climes where most of them reside during the offseason to ponder who might be coaching them next year and devise even more annoying end-zone celebrations, there's the little matter of facing the New England Patriots on Saturday.
You thought the Bills looked like they were already on vacation last week against Miami? Then please, by all means, do not tune your television to your local CBS affiliate on Saturday. It's not going to be pretty.
The thorough, unmitigated disaster that was Buffalo's offense this year finally dragged the rest of the team into the muck against Miami. Defensive players yelling at offensive players, offensive players yelling at each other, Drew Bledsoe looking like he never quite got over that last concussion - the most amazing thing was that nobody made like Buddy Ryan and took a swing at offensive uncoordinator Kevin Gilbride. It's a pretty safe bet that someone thought about it, though.
Gilbride doomed the Bills season and secured the unplanned, undesired free agency of his boss and the rest of the coaching staff by refusing to adjust his philosophy, whatever that might be, to Buffalo's available talent.
The Patriots, meanwhile, could seemingly take seven guys off the street, put them on either side of the ball, and have them playing at a Pro Bowl level in a month.
It was easy to see Buffalo's 31-0 win as a seismic shift in the AFC East standings, particularly coming a few days after the Bills' signing of ex-Patriot safety Lawyer Milloy. But as it turns out, that game was a barely perceptible blip on the chart of the 2003 season. New England has won 13 of 14 since, while the Bills have lost nine times in the same span.
The reason for that is simple. The Bills spent the offseason and preseason talking about the opener against New England. Gregg Williams, who at this writing is roughly 72 hours away from unemployment, seemed to build his entire program with that one September Sunday in mind.
Williams' counterpart, Bill Belichick -- who will keep his job in New England for as long as he wants it -- constructed his team for the long haul.
You can look at both rosters and still, even at this late date, argue that Buffalo possesses more talent. But with things as equal as they are in today's NFL, coaching matters more than ever. The Patriots, an eight-point favorite, have one of the league's best.
The Bills start looking for a new one on Monday.
Patriots, 30-9.
Seattle at San Francisco (-1): Teams that don't deserve to make the playoffs usually don't. 49ers, 31-21.
Philadelphia (-6 ½) at Washington: Eagles need this to clinch the NFC East. Eagles, 27-7.
St. Louis (-10) at Detroit: If Matt Millen lasts another season, there should be an investigation. Rams, 40-13.
Cleveland at Cincinnati (-7 ½): Too bad Marvin Lewis wasn't organized enough to suit Tom Donahoe. Bengals, 24-12.
Tampa Bay at Tennessee (-7): McNair for MVP. Titans, 26-16. Jacksonville at Atlanta (-3): Wade goes out in style. Falcons, 23-19.
N.Y. Jets at Miami (-4): A fitting end to the Wannstedt/Fiedler era. Jets, 30-28.
Dallas (-2) at New Orleans: Parcells for Coach of the Year. Cowboys, 30-13.
Chicago at Kansas City (-10): The game could be meaningless for Kansas City, but that won't help the Bears. Chiefs, 43-17.
Indianapolis (-7) at Houston: The Texans don't look so much like an expansion team these days. Colts, 24-20.
Carolina (-6) at N.Y. Giants: Can't they just give the Panthers a forfeit? Panthers, 23-0.
Minnesota (-6) at Arizona: A late Christmas gift for the Vikes. Vikings, 37-6.
Denver at Green Bay (-7): Go ahead. Bet against Brett Favre. Packers, 30-20.
Oakland at San Diego (-4): The Raiders should be ashamed. Chargers. 13-3.
Pittsburgh at Baltimore (-7): Ravens win, but not by that many points. Ravens, 20-17.
(Last week: 11-5 overall, 7-9 against the spread. Season: 154-87 overall, 125-104-9 against the spread.)
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Updated December 26 2003 |