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Forums :: Blog World :: Michael Pachla: That winning feeling
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jcragcrumple
Buffalo Sabres
Location: Reluctant bridge jumper; 6th round OHL draft pick, YT
Joined: 04.04.2016

Oct 28 @ 11:27 AM ET
You do. And they kinda did last week.

The defense gave up a 9 minute 17 play drive from Miami, made the stop and our offense took it 98 yards the other way.

They’ve shown they’re capable of putting great drives together

I’m optimistic long term on the offense when some playmakers show up.

I watched James White take a screen 65 yards on 3rd and 10 yesterday.

We don’t have that YAC player yet

- sbroads24


Singletary, but they dont give him the ball
buffalofan19
Buffalo Sabres
Location: Wonderful things can happen when you sow seeds of distrust in a garden full of (bum)holes
Joined: 07.01.2007

Oct 28 @ 11:27 AM ET
You do. And they kinda did last week.

The defense gave up a 9 minute 17 play drive from Miami, made the stop and our offense took it 98 yards the other way.

They’ve shown they’re capable of putting great drives together

I’m optimistic long term on the offense when some playmakers show up.

I watched James White take a screen 65 yards on 3rd and 10 yesterday.

We don’t have that YAC player yet

- sbroads24


Agreed on that front, though Singletary could be that.
Buff36
Buffalo Sabres
Joined: 10.13.2019

Oct 28 @ 11:28 AM ET
You do. And they kinda did last week.

The defense gave up a 9 minute 17 play drive from Miami, made the stop and our offense took it 98 yards the other way.

They’ve shown they’re capable of putting great drives together

I’m optimistic long term on the offense when some playmakers show up.

I watched James White take a screen 65 yards on 3rd and 10 yesterday.

We don’t have that YAC player yet

- sbroads24

Yes we do Singletary, but you have to use him. For as much money as they spent on the O-line, they aren't playing very well.
hubie
Buffalo Sabres
Location: Matt Ellis is my patronus, NY
Joined: 06.28.2011

Oct 28 @ 11:28 AM ET
Agreed on that front, though Singletary could be that.
- buffalofan19


Wasnt that what John Brown was for?

I almost feel like they are trying to limit his touches as he was used very aggressive at FAU, so they are trying to limit his use now to "recover" a bit
buffalofan19
Buffalo Sabres
Location: Wonderful things can happen when you sow seeds of distrust in a garden full of (bum)holes
Joined: 07.01.2007

Oct 28 @ 11:29 AM ET
Singletary, but they dont give him the ball
- jcragcrumple


Jinx.

This loss looks worse than it really is. Sure, the "measuring stick" would have been nice, but losing to an NFC team barely hurts you in the standings. It does nothing for tiebreakers. The game in two weeks against Cleveland is far more important.
Buff36
Buffalo Sabres
Joined: 10.13.2019

Oct 28 @ 11:30 AM ET
I agree, I feel like with the other 2 you know whats happening but with Singletary could run / could pass
- hubie

That's it, I don't see what the hesitation is to give him the ball at least 20 times a game.
buffalofan19
Buffalo Sabres
Location: Wonderful things can happen when you sow seeds of distrust in a garden full of (bum)holes
Joined: 07.01.2007

Oct 28 @ 11:31 AM ET
Wasnt that what John Brown was for?

I almost feel like they are trying to limit his touches as he was used very aggressive at FAU, so they are trying to limit his use now to "recover" a bit

- hubie



Brown isn't a huge YAC player, though. He can get open, and, if Josh Allen ever figures out the deep ball, he could be a threat there, but he's not a guy that's going to catch the ball 5-10 yards down field and then run it another 60.

I'm thinking they're also being cautious with Singletary's hamstring injury was well. They haven't even played half the season yet.
sbroads24
Buffalo Sabres
Location: We are in 30th place. It's 2017 , NY
Joined: 02.12.2012

Oct 28 @ 11:32 AM ET
Wasnt that what John Brown was for?

I almost feel like they are trying to limit his touches as he was used very aggressive at FAU, so they are trying to limit his use now to "recover" a bit

- hubie

He’s a good route runner/depth threat

Beasley is a 3rd down great route runner.

They need a WR who’s either going to allow Brown to get great matchups against CB2’s or a guy who’s a great YAC player who can turn 5 into 15 and more.

Singletary can be that guy but they don’t want to use him for whatever reason
buffalofan19
Buffalo Sabres
Location: Wonderful things can happen when you sow seeds of distrust in a garden full of (bum)holes
Joined: 07.01.2007

Oct 28 @ 11:32 AM ET
That's it, I don't see what the hesitation is to give him the ball at least 20 times a game.
- Buff36



My guess is the injury, but who knows. If he starts getting more touches in Weeks 10-17, I think that will be a good indication.
Sabretooth9
Buffalo Sabres
Joined: 05.24.2019

Oct 28 @ 11:32 AM ET
DL help / a pass rusher is definitely needed

Then

WR and offensive line help.
MEBSabresFAN
Buffalo Sabres
Location: Lancaster, NY
Joined: 07.17.2006

Oct 28 @ 11:34 AM ET
Not ranked: Buffalo Sabres – Another week, another top five that doesn’t include the team that’s sitting in first place overall. What gives?

First of all, the Sabres are only tied for first overall, with the Caps. They’re ahead of Washington by points percentage, but if you look at it that way then they’re also behind the Bruins. Still, that’s pretty impressive, and they have a chance to take sole possession of top spot tonight. The Caps and Bruins are in the top five. Why not Buffalo?

If you’ve been reading this column each week, you know the drill by now: These rankings are meant as a long-term play, one where we’re trying to figure out who’s going to win the Stanley Cup in June, not who’s playing well right now. Think of it this way: If someone offered you a million dollars if you could correctly pick this season’s champion and gave you five choices – no odds or longshots to consider, just the five teams you think have the best shot – who would you take? Would the Sabres really be one of your five teams? Probably not, even after a strong start. They wouldn’t be one of mine. That’s what these rankings are about.

So that’s the logic. But maybe the logic is wrong, and the Sabres really should be one of those five picks. There’s a case to be made. Their record is a big part of that. So is the eye test – this really does look like a different team under Ralph Krueger. Jack Eichel looks like he’s on the way to the sort of breakout year that was always a requirement for the Sabres taking the next step. The goaltending isn’t killing them anymore. They can actually hold a lead. It’s all coming together.

The counterargument would start with some of the underlying numbers. The Sabres are on a significant PDO heater, thanks to 11.2 percent all-situations shooting and excellent .923 goaltending. The powerplay is clicking at nearly 30 percent. In terms of possession and expected goals, they’ve been merely average, maybe even a bit less than that. That’s a lot of blinking warning lights on the regression dashboard.

You could argue that this is a talented young team that should put up strong shooting and powerplay numbers. But then you also have to ask if two goalies who’ve been merely leaguewide average starters (at best) their entire career suddenly got way better. Maybe they did – it happened to the Islanders last year. The Sabres hired Mike Bales away from the Hurricanes this summer, so maybe he’s gone and Mitch Korn’ed the position into one of strength. That’s possible. But you’d be forgiven if you wanted to see it play out for more than a few weeks.

Then there’s the elephant in the room when you talk about the Sabres being red hot: We did this last year. The Sabres won ten straight last November, driving them to first place overall two months into the season. Then it all fell apart, and anyone who had them ranked as a top-five Cup contender ended up looking silly. This year isn’t last year, and our own John Vogl has explained why. But this is still a team that’s varied between bad and distressingly awful for eight seasons now. Overreacting to one good month – especially when it featured a schedule packed with struggling teams – feels like asking for trouble.

And maybe it is. History does tell us something, especially when we’re dealing with such a small sample size. We can’t rely on it too much; the Blues won the Cup last year after missing the playoffs in 2018, and the Knights went to the Cup final when they didn’t even have any history. But it matters.

Add it all up, and Buffalo isn’t a top-five team quite yet, at least to my eyes. But if not now, when? The Sabres go into Washington on Friday; if they smoke the Caps on their own ice, does that move the needle? They’ve got that European back-to-back with my precious Lightning the weekend after that; surely a sweep there would have to be enough? We’re almost into November; what’s the cutoff between a hot streak and something more?

The answer: I’m not sure. This isn’t an exact science, as you might have guessed. The Sabres aren’t there yet, but they’re getting close. Stayed tuned, and we’ll see if they can kick down the door.

From The Athletic re The Top 5 NHL Teams.

- Der Kaiser



Keiser Your a Beast !

Litmus Test will be the next 5 Games

Washington 8-2-3
Islanders 8-3-0
Tampa Bay 5-3-2
Tampa Bay 5-3-2
Carolina 7-3-1

That's some Top Eastern Competition there! If we come out 3-2 or even 2-3

I'll be impressed.
Angler
Buffalo Sabres
Location: City of No Illusions, NY
Joined: 01.10.2017

Oct 28 @ 11:37 AM ET
where will Montour slot in. Hamilton saying he's days away. Maybe we see him Friday?

One of our D is going to have to play on the right. It is going to have to be Miller, Montour or Joker.

My guess is you simply see Montour slot in where Scandella was.
Buff36
Buffalo Sabres
Joined: 10.13.2019

Oct 28 @ 11:38 AM ET
He’s a good route runner/depth threat

Beasley is a 3rd down great route runner.

They need a WR who’s either going to allow Brown to get great matchups against CB2’s or a guy who’s a great YAC player who can turn 5 into 15 and more.

Singletary can be that guy but they don’t want to use him for whatever reason

- sbroads24

I think if they can become more creative with there routes they run, Brown or Foster could be that guy. Some of those routes are slow developing, and are O-line doesn't hold very well sometimes
ImThatGuy
Buffalo Sabres
Location: I AM MY OWN DAMN SOURCE!, NY
Joined: 11.04.2010

Oct 28 @ 11:39 AM ET
Go get AJ Green, please.
Buff36
Buffalo Sabres
Joined: 10.13.2019

Oct 28 @ 11:39 AM ET
My guess is the injury, but who knows. If he starts getting more touches in Weeks 10-17, I think that will be a good indication.
- buffalofan19

Could be, looked pretty healthy on that TD pass
buffalofan19
Buffalo Sabres
Location: Wonderful things can happen when you sow seeds of distrust in a garden full of (bum)holes
Joined: 07.01.2007

Oct 28 @ 11:42 AM ET
Could be, looked pretty healthy on that TD pass
- Buff36



Hopefully, it's enough of an indicator for the coaching staff to say "okay, he's fine".
Buff36
Buffalo Sabres
Joined: 10.13.2019

Oct 28 @ 11:47 AM ET
Hopefully, it's enough of an indicator for the coaching staff to say "okay, he's fine".
- buffalofan19

Hope so
Sabretooth9
Buffalo Sabres
Joined: 05.24.2019

Oct 28 @ 1:01 PM ET
Go get AJ Green, please.
- ImThatGuy


I think realistically the bills stay put .... they know they have a weak schedule coming home and can win some games.

We also aren’t a contender yet based on Allen.

My guess is they wait a year before going all in
jdfitz77
Buffalo Sabres
Location: buffalo, NY
Joined: 05.21.2007

Oct 28 @ 2:11 PM ET
You mean one of the best albums of most of our lifetimes? Absolutely
- hubie



❤️❤️❤️
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