Good fortune is something those in Buffalo know little about. Especially when it comes to scheduling. Because for some reason, after the Patriots have their bye week, they very often face the Bills. Who will come to Gillette Stadium a week from Sunday.
In the 13 years Bill Belichick has been the head coach in New England, the Bills have been the post-bye-week opponent 6 times. In that same span of time, no other team has faced the Patriots after their bye more than once. And as far as the other AFC East teams go, the Dolphins were the opponent in 2009. The Patriots have not faced the Jets after a bye since Belichick has been here.
It's just bad luck for Buffalo.
The Patriots under Belichick are 9-3 after their bye, 9-2 since the Super Bowl year in 2001. It makes sense. An extra week to rest, more time to prepare for an opponent, more time away from the grind of practice and preparation.
So the poor Bills, who are 12.5% of the Patriots schedule every year are 46.2% of their bye week opponents. The poor Bills get to face a rested Patriots team that's had 2 weeks of film study and practice.
Life isn't fair, is it?
No comments:
Post a Comment