By CHUCK POLLOCK, Sun Senior Sports Columnist
Full disclosure, other than the five Sundays when the Bills aren’t playing, the 13 others are my favorite days of the year.
Those are the days when I can hop in the recliner, grab a beer, and turn on the Red Zone Channel for nearly eight straight hours of NFL TV.
The jumping from game-to-game drives my wife crazy, but I’m in my glory mostly because it plays right into my avocation, Fantasy Football.
This is the 44th year of the Times Herald Fantasy Football League, though it’s a misnomer these days. Only five former OTH employees remain of the pool’s 16 members: Pete Dougherty, a semi-retired sports writer for the Albany Times-Union, two former interns, Olean’s Francis Tommasino, vice president of communications at Newport News’ Christopher Newport University and Hinsdale’s John Hower, a computer engineer in North Carolina, former publisher Roy Biondi, a consultant in Ohio, and Yours Truly who writes for the Wellsville Sun, mostly about the Bills and Bonnies.
Thanks to the Internet, besides New York, members are also in Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia.
I’ve met nobody who’s had a league longer than ours except the Boston Globe writers who taught me the game in 1981 in the press box at Schaefer Stadium after they learned it in Seattle.
Pete and I started the THFFL the next season.
Eventually, My Fantasy Leagues — founded by late Wellsville native Kevin Austin –took care of all of our scoring and bookwork and, in 2009, Red Zone debuted and gave a whole new perspective to fantasy football.
But that’s not the only reason I’m locked into the Red Zone on the Sundays when the Bills aren’t playing.
YOU ALSO get a quick snapshot of the league and, take it from me, the most recent one was beau coup blurry.
— In those 13 games, there were nine (9) non-offensive touchdowns: four interception returns, one fumble return, two blocked field goal returns and two punt returns.
It was a nightmare for defensive coordinators and special teams coaches.
— But that wasn’t all.
From the time kids join misget football, the coaches’ unending mantra is fundamentals, “It’s a game of blocking and tackling.”
These days too many NFLers haven’t gotten the message. On Sunday, the lack of skilled tackling was embarrassing with players escaping multiple hits for touchdowns.
— Happily, this week the Bills escaped most of such gaffes and, indeed, in the season opener, Ravens bulldozing running back Derrick Henry made the fumble that handed Buffalo the game.
Then, Monday night, a similar giveaway by Henry kept Baltimore from rallying past Detroit,
— Suddenly the AFC standings have a new and encouraging look for the 3-0 Bills. Baltimore, which Buffalo has already beaten, and Kansas City, are 1-2. And, currently, the main conference challenger is the 3-0 Chargers though Indianapolis, behind maligned quarterback Daniel Jones, is also unbeaten.
–Meanwhile, Buffalo hasn’t turned the ball over in three games and its +3 in the giveaway/takeaway rankings is tied for second-best in the league.
— It’s uncertain how long the Bills will be without outside linebacker Matt Milano (pectoral) but they’ve gotten outstanding work from middle backer Terrel Bernard who, in the last 20 games, has three interceptions and four fumble recoveries.
— If you’re looking for a negative Buffalo statistic, coordinator Bobby Babich’s defense is second-worst in the league in rushing the quarterback from its base defense.
— The one troubling offensive stat for the Bills is that QB Josh Allen has had only nine passes of over 20 yards in the first three games.
— Running back James Cook has 232 yards after contact in three games, second in the league to only the Colts’ Jonathan Taylor.
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.)
