Welcome to week 14 Bills fans in what is turning out to be a pretty normal Buffalo Bills football year. We’ve went through the typical 4 stages of Bills football: pre-season Super Bowl anxiety, mid-season insecurity, Thanksgiving hope, and now December exasperation. With the Bills all but eliminated from Week 18 football, we’ve begun the annual ritual of turning our focus to the NFL Draft, which is not for another five months. However, although this season has played out like so many others, there is reason to believe that change is taking place in the organization, and they are headed in the right direction. I will conclude this season with a post on all the reasons Buffalo is improving, to illustrate how the season was for not for naught. Keeping this in mind, we will have a chance today to see what this team is made of. Playing 4 games for a little more than pride, it will be interesting to see how coach Doug Marrone rallies his troops. Here is what to expect in today’s game:
Fred Jackson will show up. If there has ever been a Buffalo Bill that personified exactly what the perfect team member would be, it’s Fred. When the rest of the team has seemed to mentally throw in the towel, Fred takes it to another level. Maybe it’s his experience playing in meaningless games, but Fred Jackson will give 110% today, with a demeanor that cannot be matched. This is why he belongs on the wall. Or maybe even the hall.
Tampa Bay will be playing their hearts out. In yet another game where Buffalo should dominate and win, I don’t expect this to be an encore of the Jets game. Not due to Buffalo’s lack of effort, but the Bucs will step it up in a meaningless game in front of a home crowd. It should be a high-scoring, close but fun game to watch that turns more heads than a Victoria’s Secret fashion show.
Coach Marrone will begin to cycle in newer players. Just as Falcons’ coach Mike Smith reportedly began doing last week in their statement win, Doug Marrone will begin to reach into his bag of depth and see just what kind of players he has when they’re in the spotlight. This is an excellent idea, for the more players with NFL experience he can provide the better. This is one of the reasons for hope as I mentioned above, as the Bills are one of the few teams (Green Bay, Philadelphia) with all three Quarterbacks receiving significant playing time, in preparation for the future. Doing this will help him find the Fred Jacksons of the future.