ComradeKayAdams

Maybe? Probably? But find me another Tre White and another Jerry Hughes to start on this defense, and I don't think that would be the case. I'm looking forward to seeing what Beane and McDermott can do this off-season to make that happen. And of course, no one is doubting the importance of building an offense that is much better than the worst in modern NFL history. We will need to score more than 10 points a game in order to win games.

Sorry, but the K-gun offense was not this franchise's most important contribution to the history of the NFL. The mid-60's AFL champions deserve that honor for helping to establish credibility to the AFL and the modern game. And how did they go about doing that? By using a dominant defense and a run-oriented offense to counter all of the flashy, "gimmicky" AFL offenses. Every once in a while, it's fun to have a game like last night. Just like every once in a while, it's fun to have a game like last year's Snow Bowl against the Colts. But as a regular thing? Nah. The Greatest Show on Turf was exciting. But so were the 1985 Bears. The league does appear to be intent on diminishing the importance of defense, special teams, the running game, and the overall violent nature of the sport. What we will soon have is a glorified flag football league with only one way to achieve success: find a franchise QB and keep him healthy.

It certainly wasn't part of the plan. But the incompetence from the past two seasons allowed us to draft Mitts and Dahlin. So in the end, maybe it will work out? The Penguins and Blackhawks dynasties, for example, happened because those teams were awful before drafting their superstars. Yes, for me a single Stanley Cup will definitely make the awfulness of the past 7 years worth it. If you polled every Sabres fan on the planet, I'm willing to bet that 99% of them will agree with me. If anything, the past 7 years will have made a future Stanley Cup even more delicious. Ideally, an NHL team wouldn't have to tank and suck for a while in order to build a Cup-contending roster. But the nature of drafting talent in the NHL (drafting 18-years olds vs 22-year olds in the NFL) makes it a lot more difficult to do it the "noble" way. If you look back at the history of the Buffalo Sabres, they have never really bottomed out for any real length of time before now.

A rebuild's success will ultimately be measured in championships won, not the speed from which the team went from terrible to competitive. Also, who gives a flying ***** about the Rangers!? Take that ***** to a NJ Jets or NJ Giants message board. ***** downstaters.....

No, dropped to #2 because Baltimore had a great game. Our remaining schedule is very favorable, however, for reclaiming the title.

So he's obviously not going to become a Buffalo Bill. But just for fun...imagine what you could do schematically on defense with Ramsey and White as your two shut-down corners? We would probably end up making one of those "greatest defenses of all time" rankings.

Currently a 5-way tie at 5-5 for the final wildcard spot....Dolphins, Titans, Colts, Bengals, Ravens. For the scoreboard watchers in a Buffalo Bills 9-7 scenario: 1. Ravens can't finish better than 3-3 (most likely losses: at Atlanta, at KC, at LAC) 2. Bengals can't finish better than 3-3 (most likely losses: at LAC, at Cleveland, at Pitt) 3. Colts can't finish better than 3-3 (most likely losses: at Jax, at Houston, Dallas) 4. Titans can't finish better than 4-2 (most likely losses: at Houston, Indy) 5. Browns need to lose 1 more. 6. Broncos need to lose 1 more AFC game....possibly in another hour. All of these scenarios should happen, with the notable exception of the Colts. They are on a hot streak right now, have an elite QB, and have a very easy schedule.

Interesting take. I remember him as an overachieving 7th round draft pick in a Buffalo Bills era where high-round draft busts were the routine. I remember him as a three-straight 1k yard receiver who developed great chemistry with Fitz in Gailey's offense and often got the best of Revis Island. I remember him as a guy who loved his teammates, the city of Buffalo, the fans, and the game of football despite the NO FUN LEAGUE's best efforts to quash his on-field enthusiasm. I'm glad he was a part of this franchise's history.

I believe it will. The NY Times playoff simulator gives the Bills a 55% chance straight-up of making the playoffs if they finish 9-7. The easiest road to the playoffs assumes the Pats, Steelers, Texans, Chiefs, and Chargers make the playoffs. The Raiders are already behind us. We don't need to worry about the Jets or Dolphins if we win out. The Browns only need to lose 1 more game. The Broncos only need to lose 1 of their 6 remaining AFC games. The Jags only need to lose one more non-Bills game, just to be safe in terms of more complex tiebreaker scenarios. So now looking more closely at the 4 teams that will essentially determine our 9-7 playoff fate: 1. Titans finish no better than 4-3: L at Colts, L at Texans, L Redskins 2. Colts finish no better than 4-3: L at Texans, L Cowboys, L at Titans 3. Ravens finish no better than 4-3: L at Falcons, L at Chiefs, L at Chargers 4. Bengals finish no better than 3-4: L at Ravens, L at Chargers, L at Browns, L at Steelers EDIT: I've been analyzing these playoff scenarios since the very beginning of The Great Drought in 2000. Every. Single. Effing. Time. The games outside our control have played out in our favor. The problem has always been that the Bills haven't done their part of winning out in December.

If you're wanting a miracle playoff run, you should be rooting for none of the following teams to go on a hot streak: the Colts, Titans, Ravens, and Bengals. By hot streak, I mean not winning 5+ of their remaining 7 games. Even 4 wins might be pushing it for the Titans and Bengals, depending on the tiebreaker scenarios for the teams finishing 9-7. Looking at their schedules, I personally think all 4 teams I mentioned WILL fall short and that the Bills WILL make the playoffs if they were to somehow magically finish 9-7.

No, actually 8-6 is out of the question. But I like your optimism. Though I'm not sure how the Ravens, Bengals, Colts, and Titans will shake out. We have no margin of error with any of these 4 getting hot. And we've already lost to the Ravens and Colts.

13-7, actually. I don't think we'd clinch a first-round bye.

Just to clarify my post: if the Dolphins lose in another hour to GB, next week the Ravens beat the Bengals at home, and next week the Colts beat the Titans at home, then there will be a 5-team tie at 5-5 for the final wildcard spot by the start of week 12. So to answer the original question of whether 9-7 gets the Bills into the playoffs: probably a coin toss of a chance, since our 7-5 AFC record is competitive, wins over the Dolphins and Titans would help, but losses to the Ravens and Colts doesn't.

The 2nd wild card spot could easily be at 5-5 (Bengals, Dolphins, and Titans; maybe also Ravens and Colts) when we begin play vs the Jags in 2 weeks. Of course, I don't understand how we are going to beat NE in week 16. Someone explain that one to me.

Paging Harvey Johnson...

1987: strike year....Kelly and then 3 scrubs starting 1 game each at QB due to the strike. 1960, 1961: first two years of the AFL...completely different expectations in terms of how to secure quality QB's on the market as well as how the position was played/scouted etc... 1968: longstanding franchise QB suddenly goes down in practice, 2 weeks before the season begins...3 more QB's (Flores, Darragh, and Stephenson) get injured....4 in total. 2018: epic mismanagement of the QB situation beyond the injuries to Allen and Anderson. Getting rid of Taylor without a suitable replacement, trading McCarron, forcing Allen into a starting role a full year before he's ready, throwing Anderson and Barkely onto the field days after picking them off the streets....all of these bad decisions stem from the singular fact that McDermott completely overestimated Peterman's abilities as an NFL QB. My speculation is that there was some favoritism going on because they both believe in the same invisible space God.

My best summary of Nate Peterman is that he has the arm of Chad Pennington and the self-confidence of Brett Favre. This combination leads to a lot of turnovers and bad decisions with the ball.

This is the 5th time in franchise history that 4 or more players started the season at QB: 1960 and 1961 before they found Kemp, 1968 when Kemp was injured in preseason and out for the year, 1987 during the strike year, and now 2018. The other four seasons had better excuses. This one is just sad and is due to McDermott's hard-on for fellow Jesus freak, Nate Peterman.

You've seen the 1993 movie, Rookie of the Year, right? Josh will be fine...maybe even better.

Then that makes me the Brett Favre of BillsMafia.

Bilal Chaudhry of Schenectady, NY? Not a very bright guy. All of his contact info can be easily found online. Facebook, phone number, home address, etc...

Easy there, buddy. That was my magnum opus. Let me have this one.

Other than the Super Bowl years and Chan Gailey's time here, I don't think we have ever had a passing game that could be described as "lethal" or "innovative." This has been a common theme for almost the entire existence of this wretched franchise: attempt to build a strong defense, have a great running game, control the clock, and don't worry so much about the passing game because the WNY weather - for some not-quite-so-sensical reason - is too cold/windy/snowy/rainy for that... This theme began on day 1 with Buster Ramsey under Ralph's directive, continued twice with Lou Saban, again with Ground Chuck, took a hiatus because of Kelly, and then continued through The Great Drought with a long string of former DC's-turned-HC's like Phillips, Williams, Jauron, Ryan, and now McDermott. Even Mularkey and Marrone focused on run-oriented offenses and solid defenses first despite having backgrounds on offense. An innovative offensive mind at HC and OC would certainly be able to do a lot more with this current squad than McDermott and Daboll. For example, how about using McCoy and Ivory at the same time? More 2-TE formations? Screens? Etc.?

I knew this thread would be worth clicking on....

Come on, BillsMafia. This is pretty childish behavior, even by my standards.