Jerry Jabber Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 (edited) While all the NFL prognosticators are saying the Bills improved in the offseason, most are saying the Bills could make it in the playoffs as a Wild card, while the rest are saying the Bills will miss the playoffs. Well, for all of those naysayers, watch this video from the NFL network: http://www.nfl.com/qs/top20games/2011/New-England-Patriots-at-Buffalo-Bills.jsp?module=HP11_hot_topics In the offseason, the Bills did the following: -Promoted Dave Wannstedt to Defensive Coordinator, (who is an A+ as an DC) -Signed an elite DE in Mario Williams -Signed a good pass rushing DE in Mark Anderson -Drafted Stephon Gilmore in the first round of the draft -Hired renowned QB coach David Lee to help Ryan Fitzpatrick work on the mechanics of his game Other notables: -Kyle Williams is healthy for the first time since his collegiate days -Shawne Merriman appears to be healthy for the first time in years The Giants showed in the Superbowl that a great pass rush is key to shutting down Tom Brady. I think the Bills copied that blueprint in the offseason, and the Bills D-line could possibly be better than the Giants (only time will tell on that). When you add all of that up, is there any doubt that the Bills can compete with the Patriots for the AFC East title this season? Edited July 18, 2012 by Jerry Jabber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ko12010 Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I don't have any doubt that the Bills can and will compete for the AFC East crown this year. As painful as last season was, and it hurt really bad for all of us, it was a huge positive in that it helped develop the depth that we lacked last year. Now our whole roster has more significant gametime experience. The huge advantage the Pats have over us is that they have so much experience with winning and have a confidence that can only be developed through that. It will be hard to break their death grip on this division, but we will be competitive longer into the season this year for sure. I think the Bills are positioning themselves to take over as division leaders in the coming years. Every season that Brady goes through brings him one closer to fading as a superstar and his retirement. The Pats are such a well run organization that they will be competitive every year. However, the Bills are building into a good football team...finally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodeMonkey Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Those NFL prognosticators you speak of are well aware of the offseason moves by the Bills. But unlike hardcore Bills fans, they tend not to see the world through red and blue colored glasses. The Bills have sucked for more than a decade. Most impartial observers would tend to believe it will take more than 1 or 2 good offseasons to contend in a conference that contains the mighty Pats*. That's why they have doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Jabber Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 Up until the AFC Championship game, the Patriots did not beat a team with a winning record. A couple of gaffe's by the Ravens cost them their chance at the Superbowl. While the Pats offense was great last season, their defense, especially their secondary was terrible. I'm not taking the Pats lightly, but the Bills are catching up to them, and could surpass them in the AFC East this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I have us as the second best team in the division at 7-9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Those NFL prognosticators you speak of are well aware of the offseason moves by the Bills. But unlike hardcore Bills fans, they tend not to see the world through red and blue colored glasses. The Bills have sucked for more than a decade. Most impartial observers would tend to believe it will take more than 1 or 2 good offseasons to contend in a conference that contains the mighty Pats*. That's why they have doubt. We have had 2 good off seasons. This team is significantly more prepared to play 16 games then it was 3 years ago. Chan Gailey has done a nice job of changing the "hard to win" culture to an "expect to win" culture. That alone I think makes us contenders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sllib olaffub Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 There is just so much that could and will happen that no one can predict - but, if all the teams stay mostly healthy, I think the Bills are looking at having to have 11 wins to guarantee a wildcard. New England will most likely be a 12 or 13 win team again. Can we win 13 games? And, as I've said before, there are a bunch of teams in the AFC that will probably be close to 11 wins this year (Pittsburgh, Ravens, Cincy, N.E., Buffalo, Houston, Denver, SanDiego). It is doable - this season is open wide, but it'll take a lot of consistency, good coaching, players playing to their highest potential, health, and luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Jabber Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 We have had 2 good off seasons. This team is significantly more prepared to play 16 games then it was 3 years ago. Chan Gailey has done a nice job of changing the "hard to win" culture to an "expect to win" culture. That alone I think makes us contenders Great points!! I gringed when I heard Jauron say "It's hard to win in the NFL". I love the attitude Buddy & Chan has in that they both expect to win, not hope to win. I think Buddy has done a good job at getting good players, plus adding depth this offseason. There is just so much that could and will happen that no one can predict - but, if all the teams stay mostly healthy, I think the Bills are looking at having to have 11 wins to guarantee a wildcard. New England will most likely be a 12 or 13 win team again. Can we win 13 games? And, as I've said before, there are a bunch of teams in the AFC that will probably be close to 11 wins this year (Pittsburgh, Ravens, Cincy, N.E., Buffalo, Houston, Denver, SanDiego). It is doable - this season is open wide, but it'll take a lot of consistency, good coaching, players playing to their highest potential, health, and luck. Another thing that works in our favor, is since we finished last in our division in 2011, we play the other last place teams this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yungmack Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 There is just so much that could and will happen that no one can predict - but, if all the teams stay mostly healthy, I think the Bills are looking at having to have 11 wins to guarantee a wildcard. New England will most likely be a 12 or 13 win team again. Can we win 13 games? And, as I've said before, there are a bunch of teams in the AFC that will probably be close to 11 wins this year (Pittsburgh, Ravens, Cincy, N.E., Buffalo, Houston, Denver, SanDiego). It is doable - this season is open wide, but it'll take a lot of consistency, good coaching, players playing to their highest potential, health, and luck. I think you're 100% correct. I could see the Bills winning 11 -- which would put the fans over the moon -- and not making the post-season -- which would depress us all. HOWEVER, looking at the schedule, I don't see a single game where they're so overmatched that they have no chance of winning. That's a big change from recent years. Realistically, I don't believe any of us expect they'll go undefeated but with a little bit of overdue Bills luck, they do have a shot at winning the AFCE (i.e., they sweep the Pats and wind up with the same record, & the Jets and Dolphins have fewer wins) with 11 or 12 victories. And I think 12, and even 11, wins could win it this year. I actually think they have a better chance of winning the East than making it as a wildcard team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swnybillsfan Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 i think another element being overlooked is the overall team character. this combined with the new infusion of overall talent could be the element that takes the team over the top. because it seems to me that there are some real beasts on this team that are hungry for a championship that are being told by all the experts that there is no way in hell. and i think they will bring that with them every sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewEra Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 1342644198[/url]' post='2507592']I think you're 100% correct. I could see the Bills winning 11 -- which would put the fans over the moon -- and not making the post-season -- which would depress us all. HOWEVER, looking at the schedule, I don't see a single game where they're so overmatched that they have no chance of winning. That's a big change from recent years. Realistically, I don't believe any of us expect they'll go undefeated but with a little bit of overdue Bills luck, they do have a shot at winning the AFCE (i.e., they sweep the Pats and wind up with the same record, & the Jets and Dolphins have fewer wins) with 11 or 12 victories. And I think 12, and even 11, wins could win it this year. I actually think they have a better chance of winning the East than making it as a wildcard team. Looking at our schedule, I agreed. Then I looked at the patriots schedule. I frowned. We have a chance to win the east, but it'll take some help from some bad teams. The pats schedule is a joke (similar to ours) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sllib olaffub Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Looking at our schedule, I agreed. Then I looked at the patriots schedule. I frowned. We have a chance to win the east, but it'll take some help from some bad teams. The pats schedule is a joke (similar to ours) Yeah - that is what makes the AFC East so tough to take home; we could sweep the Patriots and they could still end up with 12, or even 13 wins. It's not like we haven't seen them play great for whole seasons before, especially since they'll be playing with something to prove. I think the Bills will really have to stay healthy, and all the other points mentioned above, PLUS I'd say we have to play, and remain so throughout the entire season, with a real attitude, a real prove the world wrong attitude. I believe our guys would be tempted to get complacent if we started out 7-2, or some such start, and although the Vets and coaches would all be saying, "look at last year", I just haven't seen this team play with the kind of ATTITUDE we've seen teams like the Ravens and Patriots play with before. I mean, I've seen the Patriots go into a game with a record of 12-2, or something close, and act as if the whole world doubted them, and take it to the team the entire game - relentlessly. That is what the Bills must be like this year - RELENTLESS. Otherwise, I just think they'll have to settle for a shot at a wildcard berth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reks Ryan Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Looking at our schedule, I agreed. Then I looked at the patriots schedule. I frowned. We have a chance to win the east, but it'll take some help from some bad teams. The pats schedule is a joke (similar to ours) When you look at games 3 - 9 I looks pretty brutal. Play NE twice @ Houston @ SF with 2 west coast games and a stretch of 4 out of 5 games on the road. Realistically, if the Bills get through week 9 at least 5 - 4 and healthy it would be a huge accomplishment for thi team. The back part of the schedule seems to set-up nicely, but by then they could be out of contention playing in front of many empty seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincec Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 We have had 2 good off seasons. This team is significantly more prepared to play 16 games then it was 3 years ago. Chan Gailey has done a nice job of changing the "hard to win" culture to an "expect to win" culture. That alone I think makes us contenders I don't see how the team can "expect to win" when they haven't made the playoffs in 12 years, have only had one winning season in that time (9-7) and lost 8 of their last 9 games. The Bills still need a season where they learn that they can compete with the top teams on an even footing over the course of an entire season before they take the next step to believing that they should beat them every week. I hope that this is the season that the Bills can finally turn the corner and go 9-7, or at least a very competitive 8-8. Then next season take the jump to a championship contender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swnybillsfan Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I don't see how the team can "expect to win" when they haven't made the playoffs in 12 years, have only had one winning season in that time (9-7) and lost 8 of their last 9 games. The Bills still need a season where they learn that they can compete with the top teams on an even footing over the course of an entire season before they take the next step to believing that they should beat them every week. I hope that this is the season that the Bills can finally turn the corner and go 9-7, or at least a very competitive 8-8. Then next season take the jump to a championship contender. all you have to do is look at last season when the team was healthy. get those guys back, look at the additions, add in a full off season and go kick the sh!! out of new england and take their crown. no need to win 8-9 games. just win the whole freakin' thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockinon Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) I actually enjoyed that Elliot Harrison write up. The national media will remain skeptical, which is cool. I think the AFCE will be interesting. I am in no way shape or form predicting that the Patriots go 13 or more wins this year. They had way to many close calls last year and I'm surprised they managed to make it to the Superbowl with that god awful defense of theirs. This could very well be the year that the Brady led Patriots slide and a new team rises to the top. 2-3 divisional losses and some help from other divisions and the Patriots will look pretty ordinary. Whats more, I don't think the Bills are the only team that can smell a win against them. They are fading to the point where teams can see right through them. They have some very serious weaknesses. Look how Buffalo's pass defense made Brady look very ordinary in that first game. A better pass rush, and Brady could find himself in a real pickle. Now take a team like Buffalo, that has played tough against them twice in a row, made some major off season moves and they are looking pretty good. Guys are coming back healthy. They even had the Giants against the ropes for a while last year. If this team gets some momentum going, things could play out much better than anticipated. Am I wearing homer glasses? Maybe, but I smell something brewing. Don't tell me you can't smell it too. Edited July 19, 2012 by Rockinon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincec Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 all you have to do is look at last season when the team was healthy. get those guys back, look at the additions, add in a full off season and go kick the sh!! out of new england and take their crown. no need to win 8-9 games. just win the whole freakin' thing. I think the confidence that they built up going 5-2 got beat out of them during the 1-8 finish. Gailey said as much after the season. I'm all for "the future is now", "if not now then when", etc. but the realist in me says it is a process that takes time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26TrapDraw Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I have us as the second best team in the division at 7-9 "US" huh?...you won't be staying on the team with that attitude pal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdand12 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 look this whole run at winning the trophy is supposed to be a surprise present to Mr. Wilson as a going away gift. So keep the chatter down please. And the pleasant surprise is very possible very soon folks. He did take notice about the 96 million but after a good nap all was well. go Bills!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harveyj001 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I don't have any doubt that the Bills can and will compete for the AFC East crown this year. As painful as last season was, and it hurt really bad for all of us, it was a huge positive in that it helped develop the depth that we lacked last year. Now our whole roster has more significant gametime experience. The huge advantage the Pats have over us is that they have so much experience with winning and have a confidence that can only be developed through that. It will be hard to break their death grip on this division, but we will be competitive longer into the season this year for sure. I think the Bills are positioning themselves to take over as division leaders in the coming years. Every season that Brady goes through brings him one closer to fading as a superstar and his retirement. The Pats are such a well run organization that they will be competitive every year. However, the Bills are building into a good football team...finally. +1 We are definitely heading in the right direction. With Brady getting up in years, the jets being confused at Quarterback, and the Dolphins seemingly going no where we seem poised to be the ones to take over the mantle in the AFC East. There are many factors that affect that including career ending injuries that can set a team back, but I am truly hopefull for the first time since the Bledsoe signing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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