If This Is A Learning Year For Bills (which is fine)

[BuffaloBaumer]

Jets - can they handle the pressure

Bengals - the O will be very fun to watch

Cowboys - Super Bowl in Dallas

Patriots - love to hate

Vikings - Favre

Washington - McNabb

Baltimore - may be the NFLs most complete team...

Saints - repeat?

 

 

should be some entertaining football this year

[playman]

Bills - will they show some promise?

 

really, im exited about the upcoming season. just because its a new start. cant wait to see how the youngsters perform. to me thats far more interesting than whos going to the SB.

[tennesseeboy]

Bills-WTF?

[Dorkington]

I fully expect a poor record, but some rebuilding promise. I don't know if that makes any sense though...

[Fingon]

I think it's more like:

 

Jets: Will Mark Sanchez continue to suck?

[BuffaloBaumer]

Bills - will they show some promise?

 

really, im exited about the upcoming season. just because its a new start. cant wait to see how the youngsters perform. to me thats far more interesting than whos going to the SB.

 

That always goes without saying....The point is there are a lot of interesting teams this year

[yungmack]

After closely following the Bills throughout the off-season and paying as much attention as I can to the rest of the division, here's what I think:

 

The Bills will be much improved against the run. And against the pass, they will be crazy good. They will dominate the Dolphins offense in both games, and unravel Sanchez. And with the Pats seeming to be in disarray/decline, the AFCE is wide open.

 

The Big Question for the Bills then is, Can the offense produce enough to take advantage of this situation? Right now I just don't know. They certainly have several excellent pieces (a couple of really good linemen, three to six really good RBs, what looks like a strong receiving corps, and maybe two good TEs, and a head coach with a record of offensive innovation and success). However, the rest of the line and the QBs remain large question marks. Really, really large question marks.

 

IF Chan can prepare a solid 1-2 tandem with the QBs, and IF he can coach up the line to at least the mid-range of performance overall and IF the key offensive players can remain healthy, then there's a very good chance the Bills will be in the thick of the AFCE all season long. And with a break here or there, there's no reason they can't win it outright. There is certainly no reason to write them off as sure losers, as Tim Graham just did.

[Wing Man]

the AFCE is wide open.

Just not for us this year.

[yungmack]

Just not for us this year.

Why not?

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Why not?

 

- Trent Edwards

- Demetrius Bell

- New Defense

- New Coach

 

Want more?

[yungmack]

- Trent Edwards

- Demetrius Bell

- New Defense

- New Coach

 

Want more?

I dealt with all of those factors in my original post. So here again: the new defense and the new coach are pluses. And if Gailey can coach up two QBs and get his line to moderate success, then the Bills will be in the fight all season long. Big Ifs of course. But I also said that already.

 

So...to reiterate, if the D and the Coach are improvements over last season, and the offense is at least decent, I see no reason whatsoever to think the Bills will come in at the bottom of the AFCE nor 31st in the league. And at this moment, there is no reason to think they can't win the AFCE. Maybe they won't. But I for one see nothing spectacular about the other three teams in the AFCE, not this year.

[tennesseeboy]

Why not?

new coach and gm

inaction in free agency, trade and draft to fill gaping holes at the offensive tackle positions and qb

No other reason. The team they inherited was better than the record last year. It was lucky to have the record it did with horrendous injuries, bizarre coaching changes, and poor qb play.

 

There is no other reason we can't field a playoff team this year.

[Fingon]

- Trent Edwards

- Demetrius Bell

- New Defense

- New Coach

 

Want more?

 

 

Trent Edwards: unknown what he will do

 

Bell: unknown what he will do

 

New Defense: teams historically do well in their first year switching to the 3-4

 

New Coach: a far better coach than our last one, this only helps.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

I dealt with all of those factors in my original post. So here again: the new defense and the new coach are pluses. And if Gailey can coach up two QBs and get his line to moderate success, then the Bills will be in the fight all season long. Big Ifs of course. But I also said that already.

 

So...to reiterate, if the D and the Coach are improvements over last season, and the offense is at least decent, I see no reason whatsoever to think the Bills will come in at the bottom of the AFCE nor 31st in the league. And at this moment, there is no reason to think they can't win the AFCE. Maybe they won't. But I for one see nothing spectacular about the other three teams in the AFCE, not this year.

 

 

Hold on there, boss. The Jets D is the real deal. Their O, not so much. The Patriot O is the real deal. Their D, not so much. The Fins? Who knows, but I think they're a better team overall. It's a very real possibility the Bills are in last place. If they are, I'd like it to be by such a margin that real talent can be acquired whenever the next draft happens.

[BillsVet]

I don't think serious NFL fans are fine with their team rebuilding, but they'd admit it needs to happen when players get older and the core groups fade. Some rebuilds aren't as hard or last as long, but it's clear the Bills are entering their third rebuild in a decade. And this season reminds me a lot of 2001, though there are some differences.

 

But the Bills are very different than a lot of teams that have rebuilt. There's a decade long playoff drought, they haven't won a playoff game since 1995, have a nonagenarian owner that will not discuss the team's future, and struggle with difficult player situations. Their PR department has a disconnect and information is tightly guarded for fear of anything bad coming out. And now, they can't release the total season ticket sales because they're probably far down from 2008 and 2009.

 

Buffalo is very different than the other 31 NFL teams. They draft differently, make front office decisions differently, and have been able to remain merely mediocre over a long period of time. We've learned an awful lot about them just in this off-season, and not much of it is good. What we need to learn is how committed they are to winnning.

[tennesseeboy]

I don't think serious NFL fans are fine with their team rebuilding, but they'd admit it needs to happen when players get older and the core groups fade. Some rebuilds aren't as hard or last as long, but it's clear the Bills are entering their third rebuild in a decade. And this season reminds me a lot of 2001, though there are some differences.

 

But the Bills are very different than a lot of teams that have rebuilt. There's a decade long playoff drought, they haven't won a playoff game since 1995, have a nonagenarian owner that will not discuss the team's future, and struggle with difficult player situations. Their PR department has a disconnect and information is tightly guarded for fear of anything bad coming out. And now, they can't release the total season ticket sales because they're probably far down from 2008 and 2009.

 

Buffalo is very different than the other 31 NFL teams. They draft differently, make front office decisions differently, and have been able to remain merely mediocre over a long period of time. We've learned an awful lot about them just in this off-season, and not much of it is good. What we need to learn is how committed they are to winnning.

what he said.

[Green Lightning]

Hold on there, boss. The Jets D is the real deal. Their O, not so much. The Patriot O is the real deal. Their D, not so much. The Fins? Who knows, but I think they're a better team overall. It's a very real possibility the Bills are in last place. If they are, I'd like it to be by such a margin that real talent can be acquired whenever the next draft happens.

 

 

I think you don't get your wish. We may be in last place, but I don't think it will be by much.....we somehow won six games with that nightmare of a OL and putrid couching. It's hard to think we can finish worse than last year. Still a top 10 or 12 draft pick is likely.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

I think you don't get your wish. We may be in last place, but I don't think it will be by much.....we somehow won six games with that nightmare of a OL and putrid couching. It's hard to think we can finish worse than last year. Still a top 10 or 12 draft pick is likely.

 

We're like the football version of the Sargasso Sea. Hopelessly listless in the doldrums of mediocrity going on twelve years running. Just ONCE in the next decade I'd like to see 10+ wins or 11+ losses. Anything's better than 6-10 up to 9-7.

[agardin]

I don't think serious NFL fans are fine with their team rebuilding, but they'd admit it needs to happen when players get older and the core groups fade. Some rebuilds aren't as hard or last as long, but it's clear the Bills are entering their third rebuild in a decade. And this season reminds me a lot of 2001, though there are some differences.

 

But the Bills are very different than a lot of teams that have rebuilt. There's a decade long playoff drought, they haven't won a playoff game since 1995, have a nonagenarian owner that will not discuss the team's future, and struggle with difficult player situations. Their PR department has a disconnect and information is tightly guarded for fear of anything bad coming out. And now, they can't release the total season ticket sales because they're probably far down from 2008 and 2009.

 

Buffalo is very different than the other 31 NFL teams. They draft differently, make front office decisions differently, and have been able to remain merely mediocre over a long period of time. We've learned an awful lot about them just in this off-season, and not much of it is good. What we need to learn is how committed they are to winnning.

 

 

I purchased seasons tickets last week and asked the sales guy how it was going, he said pretty good but the numbers will likely be down from last couple of years. The last couple of years I think were near records for season tickets sales so, this team, poor economy and corportations slashing sales budgets will all have a negative effect.

[BillsVet]

I purchased seasons tickets last week and asked the sales guy how it was going, he said pretty good but the numbers will likely be down from last couple of years. The last couple of years I think were near records for season tickets sales so, this team, poor economy and corportations slashing sales budgets will all have a negative effect.

 

I'm not trying to be a smart aleck, but did you expect them to say sales were poor? Most of the stories are anecdotal, but indications from people I work with and on this board are that sales are low. The economy was very bad last year and yet they sold 55k season tickets. I don't buy that as a reason sales are down and merely a distraction from the obvious: people are no longer buying the hype from OBD.

 

If the NFL is wildly popular and the Bills aren't selling 50k season tickets a year, something's wrong. I dare say that the NFL is a much more popular sport than it was when Buffalo was having their best ticket selling years during the SB years.