Thanks to the Cincinnati Bengals and their Monday night victory against the Denver Broncos, the Patriots game against the Buffalo Bills will not have any effect on this year's playoff picture. Regardless of what happens in today's game the Patriots will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs and the Bills will be left with another offseason of trying to get back into the postseason. Since the game doesn't matter much to either team and it is likely that the game will look similar to a preseason matchup, I won't waste anyone's time by analyzing how this game should go. Instead I'll just give you my two cents and a link to a pretty awesome rundown of bonus and salary cap implications.
If you were to ask Patriots' fans what the most important thing about today's game is for the Patriots, you would undoubtedly get a unanimous response of ,"Don't get hurt." Obviously, that really is the most important thing at this point in the season. Of course, this is football and there is really no way of guaranteeing the team as a whole makes their way into the playoffs without being scathed. Yes, Belichick can do his best to rest players like, Tom Brady, Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, but to guarantee they are healthy for the playoffs is really out of his hands.
While staying healthy would be the unanimous number one important thing for Patriots' fans, what would be number two? Many people would like to see the offense look good for a few possessions before the starters get their rest. While this sounds good in theory, I really don't think it matters a whole lot at this point in the season. These are professional athletes who know what they are capable of. I really don't think any of them are needing a confidence booster. While this may be have been useful early in the season when Brady was trying to gain trust in his new receivers, it is pretty futile in week 17. Keep in mind these are the Patriots and not the freakin Bruins.
While staying healthy would be the unanimous number one important thing for Patriots' fans, what would be number two? Many people would like to see the offense look good for a few possessions before the starters get their rest. While this sounds good in theory, I really don't think it matters a whole lot at this point in the season. These are professional athletes who know what they are capable of. I really don't think any of them are needing a confidence booster. While this may be have been useful early in the season when Brady was trying to gain trust in his new receivers, it is pretty futile in week 17. Keep in mind these are the Patriots and not the freakin Bruins.
Today will likely be the first time I don't care much about the play-calling of Josh McDaniels. While I have thought for the past two seasons that he needs to stick with the running game and play action, I'd be cool with a decent amount of obvious passing plays. While I do not want to see either Brady or Jimmy Garoppolo on their backs today, I would like to see the offensive line practice blocking in this situation in case it is needed in the playoffs. Considering that the Bills are #1 in the NFL with 50 sacks and an 8.7 sack percentage, it should be a good test. If you haven't been paying attention and thought that the Bills weren't a very good team, you might look at the graphic comparing the defenses to each other and the rest of the NFL.
Screen shot from Sporting Charts. Click image for link.
Looking into the incentives Vince Wilfork agreed to as part of his salary negotiations, I really have to hand it to the big man on his season. Personally, I think Robert Kraft should guarantee him his final incentive regardless of what happens in today's game. If you want to see what I'm talking about check out Miguel Benzan's breakdown of Patriots' incentives.
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