I’m reflecting on the
Bills’ 29-24 season-finale home loss to Pittsburgh, which kept Buffalo from the
playoffs, and no song is more appropriate than The Hives’ Hate to Say I Told You So. Incidentally, this column coincides with
The Hives’ song, just as Pink Floyd’s Dark
Side of the Moon allegedly coincides with TheWizard of Oz. I
believe I’m the only writer in history to have ever tried this, and I’m like so
outside the outside of the box right now.

On December 22, I wrote these prophetic sentences: “The day when the special teams and defense stumble
and the Bills are playing a high-quality defense — not the 24th-ranked Rams,
the 26th-ranked Seahawks, the 19th-ranked Browns, or the 19th-ranked Bengals
— is when we’ll see whether Bledsoe is any good… I doubt Bledsoe can win
against a high-quality defense.”

“Hate to say I told
you sooo, alright… duh-duh… duh-da-da…
duh-da-da … duh-da-da-da.”

Against Pittsburgh — the NFL’s No. 1 defense — Bledsoe
was 16-for-30 for 189 yards, zero touchdowns, one interception, and a fumble
that the Steelers returned for a touchdown. He had a QB rating of 58.9.
Pittsburgh sacked him three times. It wasn’t a totally disastrous performance,
as if he passed for 98-yards and four interceptions. It was just entirely
sub-ordinary, when the Bills needed him to step in and command.

Bledsoe is terrible
at facing teams that excel at rushing the passer. He must have more time, if he
plans to start next season. The arm still looks good. The problem is that in
the pocket, he’s aloof and unresponsive like I was on New Year’s Day. The reality
is that Bledsoe needs a Pope-mobile so pass rushers bounce off the vehicle and
allow him to adequately survey the field and complete passes.

As for Bills President and General Manager Tom Donahoe, he
must be hurt that the Steelers beat the Bills with reserves that the former
Pittsburgh director of football operations can’t even take credit for drafting
or signing on Pittsburgh’s behalf. Donahoe’s replacement, Kevin Colbert, has
generally been able to maintain a high-level of performance the last five years
without the benefit of Donahoe’s ingenious player moves. The Steelers finished
an NFL-best 15-1 this season.

I’m beginning to
conclude that longtime Steelers coach Bill Cowher really molded the team, and
Donahoe could just about play Yahtzee to best determine whom to acquire.

Sport is such a fickle and
delicate pursuit. We’ve been convinced winning has everything to do with talent
and preparation, but it might have just as much to do with dumb luck, which no
NFL coach or general manager making millions of dollars would ever want you to
believe.

If Buffalo recovers
the onside kick and somehow punches in another touchdown, we’re not having this
conversation and I’m not playing Hate to
Say I Told You So. Take away the Rian Lindell miss in the third quarter and
the Bills would have led 20-16, with the team and home crowd fired up beyond
belief. Take away Josh Reed’s interference penalty two snaps prior, when
Bledsoe completed a pass to the Pittsburgh 4 for a first down, and Buffalo
might have scored a touchdown for a 24-16 lead. And, of course, take away
Bledsoe’s fumble for a touchdown — which the Pope-mobile certainly would have
prevented — and Buffalo wins for sure.

Take away the
last-second Jacksonville loss in Week 1 and Buffalo makes the playoffs. Take
away home-run throwback and Rob Johnson’s a hero who might even have led the
Bills to a Super Bowl win. Or take away Scott Norwood’s missed 47-yarder in
Super Bowl XXV and perhaps the franchise feels no more pressure and goes out
and wins a few more Super Bowls just for the heck of it.

See, sport is chance.
Don’t ever feel bad, because game results are just about out of everyone’s
control. Just accept that someday, fortunes will change. In the meantime, you
should watch The Wizard of Oz with Dark Side of the Moon blasting on your
stereo.

This article appears in Jan 5-11, 2005.