Hank Balling: On Heartbreak and the Sabres

We'd all love a Sabre game that mattered. Well said, Hank.

13 seconds

Lotto. Balls. Matter. Hank!

Lotto. Balls. Matter.
- Gr8daygo

For some teams. For Buffalo and Edmonton....well at least Edmonton has been in the playoffs.

Hank Balling: On Heartbreak and the Sabres
- Hank Balling

Remember watching Wide Right on the Armed Forces Network. Being home on Leave for the Music City miracle and now 13 seconds. I might have to get rid of my Wife. Think she might be bad luck.😁😁😇

Remember watching Wide Right on the Armed Forces Network. Being home on Leave for for Music City miracle and now 13 seconds. I might have to get rid of my Wife. Think she might be bad luck.😁😁😇
- Buff36

I watched sabres - hurricans on AFN.

Mittelstadt back tomorrow?

We need to stop some of the talented players or we wont be picking top 5


EDIT: Scratch that, Quinn out 4-6 weeks

It very well might be the best NFL playoff game ever (with the exception of the impact of the overtime format which I expect the NFL to fix in the coming offseason).
- Hank Balling

I have no issue with the OT format. If you don't wanna lose in OT, be better in regulation. Goes for all teams, not just the Bills.

We'd all love a Sabre game that mattered. Well said, Hank.
- lacaprup

Someday, hopefully

I have no issue with the OT format. If you don't wanna lose in OT, be better in regulation. Goes for all teams, not just the Bills.
- jmatchett383

Imagine if extra innings in baseball ended at the top 10th if a run scored. That's NFL OT

I'm not blaming the Bills loss on that, I just think it's a dumb set-up. That epic game deserved better.

Someday, hopefully
- Hank Balling

https://youtu.be/T411ZQlJ_PA

Remember watching Wide Right on the Armed Forces Network. Being home on Leave for the Music City miracle and now 13 seconds. I might have to get rid of my Wife. Think she might be bad luck.😁😁😇
- Buff36

I'm glad I was too young for wide right.

Honestly I was just gutted for Allen and Davis who left it all out on the field. Those guys were incredible.

That was an all-time performance and the coaching and defense couldn't hold up their end of the bargain.

I'm glad I was too young for wide right.

Honestly I was just gutted for Allen and Davis who left it all out on the field. Those guys were incredible.

That was an all-time performance and the coaching and defense couldn't hold up their end of the bargain.
- Hank Balling

Think it was the best football game I have ever watched. I still can't believe Frazier hasn't been fired yet.

Think it was the best football game I have ever watched. I still can't believe Frazier hasn't been fired yet.
- Buff36

Safe to say he's not getting a HC gig

Safe to say he's not getting a HC gig
- Hank Balling

Definitely doesn't look good on the resume

Safe to say he's not getting a HC gig
- Hank Balling

Frazier was already a head coach once, and was fired. In a league where every team is looking for the "next big thing", those guys rarely get second opportunities, with a few exceptions. Look at Jim Schwartz. He coached a really good defense in Buffalo in 2014, and then won a Super Bowl as a defensive coordinator with the Eagles a few years later. He's barely got another sniff of a head coaching job since his firing in Detroit. That, more than last night, is a bigger factor as to why he won't get one.

Frazier was already a head coach once, and was fired. In a league where every team is looking for the "next big thing", those guys rarely get second opportunities, with a few exceptions. Look at Jim Schwartz. He coached a really good defense in Buffalo in 2014, and then won a Super Bowl as a defensive coordinator with the Eagles a few years later. He's barely got another sniff of a head coaching job since his firing in Detroit. That, more than last night, is a bigger factor as to why he won't get one.
- buffalofan19

Do you think he should be fired?

#1 defense this year but epic, unbridled collapse against KC. I'm torn but also 99% sure his job is completely safe

Do you think he should be fired?

#1 defense this year but epic, unbridled collapse against KC. I'm torn but also 99% sure his job is completely safe
- Hank Balling

I don't think he will be either, so it's probably irrelevant. Could they do better? Possibly. However, as with Daboll, the entire body of work has mostly been pretty good, and you have to factor that in. Either way, I don't want to see them make the decision now when the emotions are still high. That being said, come up short against the likes of Kansas City again next year and beyond, you almost have to let him go.

Do you think he should be fired?

#1 defense this year but epic, unbridled collapse against KC. I'm torn but also 99% sure his job is completely safe
- Hank Balling

If it’s for flores or fangio, sorry Frazier. You can’t close the deal….

Promote Dorsey when daboll heads to the giants.

Flores or fangio to replace Frazier.

I don't think he will be either, so it's probably irrelevant. Could they do better? Possibly. However, as with Daboll, the entire body of work has mostly been pretty good, and you have to factor that in. Either way, I don't want to see them make the decision now when the emotions are still high. That being said, come up short against the likes of Kansas City again next year and beyond, you almost have to let him go.
- buffalofan19

With Josh Allen’s emergence as a bona fide stud and undisputed top-5 QB, I'd think all the coaching jobs are on the line next year if they underperform. You can't waste the prime of a guy like this

With Josh Allen’s emergence as a bona fide stud and undisputed top-5 QB, I'd think all the coaching jobs are on the line next year if they underperform. You can't waste the prime of a guy like this
- Hank Balling

I think if Allen's prime is wasted, it will be by the front office more than the coaching staff. They brought back everybody in order to make another run this year, and it fell short. They won't be able to do that this year. There will be some tough decisions to make, and they could easily be the wrong ones.

Or maybe the Sabres' summer of 2007 is still just lingering somewhere in the pit of my stomach.

I think if Allen's prime is wasted, it will be by the front office more than the coaching staff. They brought back everybody in order to make another run this year, and it fell short. They won't be able to do that this year. There will be some tough decisions to make, and they could easily be the wrong ones.

Or maybe the Sabres' summer of 2007 is still just lingering somewhere in the pit of my stomach.
- buffalofan19

Mike Grier... the sneaky bad loss of '06. 8 pts in 18 games in the playoffs that year and the heart and soul of the bottom 6

Could be McKenzie if they don't retain him

Hank Balling: On Heartbreak and the Sabres
- Hank Balling

A great blog even without the Vonnegut reference, which in and of itself took hockeybuzz to another level.

Nice job Hank
Well said

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joU4gcARxe4

My nuts still hurt