What are you're expectations for this season?

[ganesh]

For those who say Marrone and Co cant be any worse than Gailey, I present Exhibit A Gregg Williams, Mike Mularkey & DIck Jauron.

 

Actually I disagree...I think the only coach who comes close to (similarity) to Doug is Mularkey...

 

Greg Williams was arrogant from day one and never could put the team together. Mularkey on the other hand is the only HC with a winning season in the whole decade. Mularkey got a lot out of his players with his no-nonsense yet quiet approach.

 

Dick Jauron was simply a bad HC with bad coordinators....He had no chance to succeed and in spite of that made three straight 7-9 seasons. It is hard to win in the NFL...and old Dickie won 21 games...

 

Doug is intense but at the same time has not come out as arrogant even once in the past three months since he has been hired, I really think Doug gives us the best chance to win since Mike Mularkey.

[Chandler#81]

My primary expectation is that people posting on a message board understand the difference between your -- meaning possession -- and you're -- meaning "you are."

 

Go Bill's!!

 

 

Pie in the sky expectation, if YOUR asking me..

[simpleman]

I see the team winning 4-8 games. 4 games on the pessimistic side and 8 on the optimistic side. Probably a 6-10 season.

 

Probable losses:

 

Falcons

Saints

Steelers

NE

NE

Miami

Miami

Jets

Ravens

 

Possible wins:

 

Jets

Panthers

Chiefs

Bengals

Browns

Bucs

Jags

 

I see us splitting with the Jets, Loosing twice to NE and an improved Miami. I think there is a possibility we could sneak one win out of the Probable Losses column. And loose a couple out of the Possible wins columns. That makes the spread between 4 and 8 wins. How the team grows and gels determines our record this year. We just did not add enough talent in the draft to win this year. Rookies take time to develop. And we just did not add much in FA to counter our loses (especially on the OL, and our questions at TE). I just hope that unlike last year we are at least competitive in our loses, instead of pathetic and embarrassing.

[8-8 Forever?]

So now that the draft is over I just wanted to see what everyone's expecting for this upcoming season. I see us either competing with the Pats for the division if things go well or finishing 7-9, 8-8 if not.

Utter rebuilding year. New QB, probably a raw rookie, college coaches, completely new offense, limited practice time to learn it due to new CBA, probably no better on defense unless Dareus, Anderson and Mario all come to play, O LIne worse than last year, LBs all new, this is the NFL, cohesiveness and consistency win games. 4 -12, maybe 5 - 11 or 6 -10 if they come on late. Very difficult schedule. Total rebuild year. Sorry , the truth hurts in the NFL.

[ganesh]

I see the team winning 4-8 games. 4 games on the pessimistic side and 8 on the optimistic side. Probably a 6-10 season.

 

I see us splitting with the Jets, Loosing twice to NE and an improved Miami. I think there is a possibility we could sneak one win out of the Probable Losses column. And loose a couple out of the Possible wins columns. That makes the spread between 4 and 8 wins. How the team grows and gels determines our record this year. We just did not add enough talent in the draft to win this year. Rookies take time to develop. And we just did not add much in FA to counter our loses (especially on the OL, and our questions at TE). I just hope that unlike last year we are at least competitive in our loses, instead of pathetic and embarrassing.

 

The colts were supposed to win 3-4 games last season as they broke in a rookie QB and a whole bunch of unheralded players...All the colts did was win 11 games and into the playoffs. If you ask anyone or everyone the difference between the Bills team and the Colts team and it was simply QB (and very good coaching). Of course this is a new year and if the ball bounces our way a couple of times like it did for the colts last season, we definitely can make the playoffs.

[simpleman]

The colts were supposed to win 3-4 games last season as they broke in a rookie QB and a whole bunch of unheralded players...All the colts did was win 11 games and into the playoffs. If you ask anyone or everyone the difference between the Bills team and the Colts team and it was simply QB (and very good coaching). Of course this is a new year and if the ball bounces our way a couple of times like it did for the colts last season, we definitely can make the playoffs.

 

Comparing Luck, probably the best sure bet at Franchise QB since the Colts drafted Manning, to Manuel is like comparing a Lexus to a Kia.

[YoloinOhio]

At first glance of our schedule based on the performance of the opponents last year, and a rookie QB, I don't see us winning the div but could come closer to making the playoffs because I think the Defense will be much improved.

[hondo in seattle]

8-8

 

There are so many personnel and coaching changes that it's hard to evaluate 2013. You have to, for example, project whether or not Kolb or EJ will be better running Marrone's offense than Fitz was running Gailey's? Will Manny Lawson and Alonso be more effective linebackers in Pettine's system than last year's LBs were in Wanny's? With a bunch of new WRs running plays we haven't seen before, will our QB - whoever it may be - have legitimate targets?

 

I have a ton more faith in Pettine than Wanny. And I think Marrone/Hackett will be an upgrade over Gailey. I expect Kolb to start on opening day and I think he'll do better than Fitz played last year. Overall, I think the changes are more positive than negative so I predict a slightly improved record.

 

 

Edited April 30, 2013 by hondo in seattle

[xsoldier54]

I am ecstatic about this season. No Pickspatrick, more speed on offense, some attitude on defense. I haven't felt this great about us for a long time.

This. No way to predict how many wins, but I really like the direction that this new coaching staff wants to take this team. I believe they will be a pleasure to watch and not so frustrating as in the past few years.

 

Pie in the sky expectation, if YOUR asking me..

[JPS]

Hope for 10-6. Expect 7-9. Disappointed in 6-10.

[Dr. K]

I am amused by all the people who think the offense is going to be better. Kolb is not a better QB than Fitzpatrick. Fitz threw over 70 TD passes in the last three seasons. The Bills scored lots of points under Gailey's leadership. They didn't lose because they could not score. They lost because they couldn't stop anybody from scoring.

 

All those who say the Bills "never ran the ball" or "ran shotgun on every play" or that the coaches "didn't want to be here" or a hundred other distortions and outright misrepresentations of facts, are suffering from amnesia. The Bills were sixth in the league in rushing yards per game last season. Spiller alone had over 1200 yards. Fitzpatrick passed for 3400 yards. They scored 28 or more points seven times last season. They averaged 22 points per game, not in the top half of the league but a respectable number, far more than they did under Jauron.

 

They are likely to be fielding at least two rookie receivers. They lost their most reliable offense lineman. The o-line looked as good as it did in pass protection the last few years because Fitz, whatever his flaws as a QB, made quick and accurate reads and got he ball out in about two seconds on every play. Fred Jackson is getting old and coming off a knee injury.

 

Do you expect them, with a new offense, a retread or rookie QB, and rookie receiving corps, to average over three touchdowns per game?

 

The area where the Bills utterly stank last season was defense, and everything people have to say about how bad they and Wanstadt were in that area is true. So yes, I expect Pettine's defense to be better than Wanstadt's. It could hardly be worse.

 

But I expect the offense to take a large step backward, no matter who is playing QB. Considering the likely improved defense and the likely worse offense, I expect about the same results next season.

 

I have high hopes for EJ Manuel in the future, but I am not banking on better QB performance this season by the team as a whole. If they Bills win six as they did last season, they will be about where I expect them.

 

I could be completely wrong about this, and if I so will be overjoyed. But the misrepresentation on the board of what went wrong last season is astonishing.

[KeisterHollow]

The colts were supposed to win 3-4 games last season as they broke in a rookie QB and a whole bunch of unheralded players...All the colts did was win 11 games and into the playoffs. If you ask anyone or everyone the difference between the Bills team and the Colts team and it was simply QB (and very good coaching). Of course this is a new year and if the ball bounces our way a couple of times like it did for the colts last season, we definitely can make the playoffs.

 

I like your thinking - and, IMO, there's more than just good coaching and a QB that separates the Bills this year and the colts last year. We have a very good running game, perhaps one of the most dynamic RB's in the league. We have, IMO, more promising WR corp, and a good O-line. And, I think our Defense is much better looking than theirs was going into last year. Luck carried that team, and good coaching. If Kolb or Manuel plays good this year, and our coaches step it up, there's no reason we can't be a playoff team - as you said.

 

Of course, I think Indy had a much easier schedule last year, as well - but, in todays NFL, most seasons are going to be tough, schedule wise. I don't think most of the AFC teams are as tough as they once were - NE, Pittsburgh, Baltimore - those teams are beatable. Denver and Houston are still very tough, IMO - but we could play with anyone on any given Sunday as long as our QB plays good and our coaches coach!

[RCOHEN13]

I don't want to rain on the pessimism tread-- but the thing you really have to consider is the addition of Pettine.

 

We poured a ton of money and talent into our defense last offseason, but it was squandered by Wanny's lame defensive schemes.

 

I think Pettine can take that same, frankly top-10, talent, and turn the defense into a top-10 unit.

 

With a good defense, all they need to do on offense is run the ball and not turn it over, and this team has the potential to turn out 10 wins.

 

100% agree. That D SHOULD be top 10 just by having Pettine over Wanny. Frankly, i'd take most posters on here over WANNY! On O, we will prob be very inconsistent cuz of all the youth expected being on the field. But u cant teach speed, and we do not lack speed! Spiller alone is capable of scoring from anywhere on the field. Im very hopeful that 1-2 of our WR outside of SJ13 "catch on" fast. I think Woods will be very consistent. The guy catches everything thrown his way, great after catch and was the Reggie Wayne to Marvin Harrsion last yr with Lee there and STILL caught 85 balls in a pro style offense. Not one of these gadget offenses that throw 60 times a game. We was a monster yr b4 and over 100 catches as the #1 guy. I think we will be in contention for offensive rookie of year catching 60 for 900 and 6 td's and possibly being over 1000 as i see him breaking a few long ones after the catch and being a 1B next to Stevie by mid year.

 

Hopefully TJ improves from year 1 and seizes chance they are giving him. I dont think he beats out Woods for starting WR but we will be running so many 3 WR sets, it wont matter and Goodwin is WAY too raw to be a #3, especially as a rook. He will be a gadget guy on a bubble screen or throw him a bomb here and there. He is not a great route runner and does not have greatest set of hands. He Roscoe, but faster and less elusive. Roscoe had decent hands though, he just couldnt stay on field, and i have same worry about Goodwin. I really think think Rodgers will not only make team, but be on field a fair ammount by mid year. If he can stay out of trouble, he has more upside than Woods! Whether he ever comes to realize it.... who knows...

 

I can easily see us winning 9-10 games if we START EJ and let him run a wide open system. We will make mistakes, but the games will be exciting, and with the speed we have now at WR to go along with Ej's speed and most important CJ.. He will find ways to have some highlight reel td;s from 50+ yards.

 

Here's to optimism!!!

 

GO BILLS!

[ProbablyWrong]

Where have we gotten worse than last year? Other than the Oline losing levitre, every position is the same or better.

 

I'll take Kolb (or EJ) over Fitz.

I'll take these rookie WRs over Jones & Nelson.

I'll take Alonso and Lawson over Barnett and Shep.

DBs and DL are about the same (Losing Wilson will not hurt us after drafting two safeties)

RB and TE are unchanged assuming Chandler heals.

 

Assuming our new coaches are an improvement (not much of a stretch to expect), we are a much improved team, even considering a large number of rookies/new scheme growing pains. I expect at least 7-8 wins, with 9 likely and 10 possible.

[mattsox]

So now that the draft is over I just wanted to see what everyone's expecting for this upcoming season. I see us either competing with the Pats for the division if things go well or finishing 7-9, 8-8 if not.

 

LOL, High Hopes. I hope they go 16-0, but let's be realistic. I think this is gonna be a hard year for the Bills. Lots of growing pains and not enough Pro Bowl talent on the roster means anywhere from 2-5 wins imho...

Edited April 30, 2013 by mattsox

[RyanC883]

I don't want to rain on the pessimism tread-- but the thing you really have to consider is the addition of Pettine.

 

We poured a ton of money and talent into our defense last offseason, but it was squandered by Wanny's lame defensive schemes.

 

I think Pettine can take that same, frankly top-10, talent, and turn the defense into a top-10 unit.

 

With a good defense, all they need to do on offense is run the ball and not turn it over, and this team has the potential to turn out 10 wins.

 

This. And the offense will be more than capable of running w/ Spiller. The Syracuse team last year had a good D, and would run and occassionally pass all over the opposition during its winning streak to end the year. This team seems to be built with a similar goal in mind.

 

I am amused by all the people who think the offense is going to be better. Kolb is not a better QB than Fitzpatrick. Fitz threw over 70 TD passes in the last three seasons. The Bills scored lots of points under Gailey's leadership. They didn't lose because they could not score. They lost because they couldn't stop anybody from scoring.

 

All those who say the Bills "never ran the ball" or "ran shotgun on every play" or that the coaches "didn't want to be here" or a hundred other distortions and outright misrepresentations of facts, are suffering from amnesia. The Bills were sixth in the league in rushing yards per game last season. Spiller alone had over 1200 yards. Fitzpatrick passed for 3400 yards. They scored 28 or more points seven times last season. They averaged 22 points per game, not in the top half of the league but a respectable number, far more than they did under Jauron.

 

They are likely to be fielding at least two rookie receivers. They lost their most reliable offense lineman. The o-line looked as good as it did in pass protection the last few years because Fitz, whatever his flaws as a QB, made quick and accurate reads and got he ball out in about two seconds on every play. Fred Jackson is getting old and coming off a knee injury.

 

Do you expect them, with a new offense, a retread or rookie QB, and rookie receiving corps, to average over three touchdowns per game?

 

The area where the Bills utterly stank last season was defense, and everything people have to say about how bad they and Wanstadt were in that area is true. So yes, I expect Pettine's defense to be better than Wanstadt's. It could hardly be worse.

 

But I expect the offense to take a large step backward, no matter who is playing QB. Considering the likely improved defense and the likely worse offense, I expect about the same results next season.

 

I have high hopes for EJ Manuel in the future, but I am not banking on better QB performance this season by the team as a whole. If they Bills win six as they did last season, they will be about where I expect them.

 

I could be completely wrong about this, and if I so will be overjoyed. But the misrepresentation on the board of what went wrong last season is astonishing.

 

how many running attempts did the Bills have last year? Given their success in running the ball, they should have done it more. And the notion that Fitz is better than Kolb is incredibly false.

[Prickly Pete]

I am amused by all the people who think the offense is going to be better. Kolb is not a better QB than Fitzpatrick. Fitz threw over 70 TD passes in the last three seasons. The Bills scored lots of points under Gailey's leadership. They didn't lose because they could not score. They lost because they couldn't stop anybody from scoring.

 

 

Ridiculous! But not worth arguing (again)

Not turning the ball over at critical times, scoring when it matters, etc., are all important when measuring an offense. Last years offense.... FAIL!

Edited April 30, 2013 by Marauder'sMicro

[Like A Mofo]

5-11 and another 7th overall pick that will get us nowhere

[DE Bills Fan]

P-A-I-N

[Bronc24]

I am amused by all the people who think the offense is going to be better. Kolb is not a better QB than Fitzpatrick. Fitz threw over 70 TD passes in the last three seasons. The Bills scored lots of points under Gailey's leadership. They didn't lose because they could not score. They lost because they couldn't stop anybody from scoring.

 

All those who say the Bills "never ran the ball" or "ran shotgun on every play" or that the coaches "didn't want to be here" or a hundred other distortions and outright misrepresentations of facts, are suffering from amnesia. The Bills were sixth in the league in rushing yards per game last season. Spiller alone had over 1200 yards. Fitzpatrick passed for 3400 yards. They scored 28 or more points seven times last season. They averaged 22 points per game, not in the top half of the league but a respectable number, far more than they did under Jauron.

 

They are likely to be fielding at least two rookie receivers. They lost their most reliable offense lineman. The o-line looked as good as it did in pass protection the last few years because Fitz, whatever his flaws as a QB, made quick and accurate reads and got he ball out in about two seconds on every play. Fred Jackson is getting old and coming off a knee injury.

 

Do you expect them, with a new offense, a retread or rookie QB, and rookie receiving corps, to average over three touchdowns per game?

 

The area where the Bills utterly stank last season was defense, and everything people have to say about how bad they and Wanstadt were in that area is true. So yes, I expect Pettine's defense to be better than Wanstadt's. It could hardly be worse.

 

But I expect the offense to take a large step backward, no matter who is playing QB. Considering the likely improved defense and the likely worse offense, I expect about the same results next season.

 

I have high hopes for EJ Manuel in the future, but I am not banking on better QB performance this season by the team as a whole. If they Bills win six as they did last season, they will be about where I expect them.

 

I could be completely wrong about this, and if I so will be overjoyed. But the misrepresentation on the board of what went wrong last season is astonishing.

 

The fact you think Fitzpatrick was a good QB for the team pretty much voids any other point that you make, but I will reply to the highlighted areas above.

 

Fitz was not a good QB for us as everyone outside of a few Buffalo Bills' fans knows. I won't dispute your TD numbers, however I will point out that when the game was + / - 7 points in the fourth quarter, Fitzpatrick threw one TD and 4 picks and had a passer rating of 55.5. (By comparison, Kolb's rating was 103.4 in the same situation) People throw out 3400 yards like it's a fantastic feat in today's NFL. Reality check: this is not 1995. Fitz's 3400 yards were 18th in the league. 18th! How is that a stat to brag about?

 

One of the biggest issues with Fitzpatrick is his consistent inconsistency in the 4th quarter. He simply could not be counted on to win games when it mattered. His INT vs the Titans is symbolic of Fitz with the game on the line. I'm not even going to mention his lack of a deep ball. Oh wait, I just did. I'm ecstatic to see him gone.

 

Second point: Yes, I do. We were 6th in rushing last season but 13th in rushing attempts. If you have a QB who is an innacurate, turnover machine and a very good running game, logic dictates you run the ball more. The Vikings understood this and made a playoff appearance. Chan did not and won 6 games. Again. Marrone loves to run the ball. We can run the ball. Running the ball effectively opens up so much of your playbook in terms of play action, etc. So yes, I expect our offense will score points.

 

I always take "average" points per game with a grain of salt. We scored garbage time points vs. the Jets. We scored 3, 9, 12, 13, 17 and 10 points in losses during the season. So saying we "averaged" over three TD's a game does not tell the total story of the season and our offense.

 

Point 3: To what do you attribute the huge step backward? The fact we might actually run the ball on 3rd and 1? The fact that we have exponentially increased our athleticism and speed on offense? Or perhaps the fact we just might have a QB who can complete a pass over 20 yards and defenses might just have to respect it? I don't know, maybe we will digress because this coach will realize the special player he has in Spiller and will strive to get him the ball as much as possible.

 

Pardon me for the sarcasm, but I finally see some FO moves that absolutely get me excited about this team. Check my history and you will see that I have been one of the most critical members of Fitzpatrick on this board. Ridding ourselves of him makes us a better team already. Adding the young talent we have is a reason for optimism.

 

If the defense improves, Lord knows they cannot be worse, and if Marrone uses a ball control, run oriented offense (which, by the way, actually reduces 3 and outs and runs time off the clock to rest the defense), I think we will have a competitive team. Regardless, this is the most excited I have been about the Bills in years.

[SoulMan]

2 - 14 We do not have the talent.

[RevWarRifleman]

I am ecstatic about this season. No Pickspatrick, more speed on offense, some attitude on defense. I haven't felt this great about us for a long time.

All right, Marauder24. I like the enthusiasm.

[mjt328]

Post-draft is always a time of very high optimism.

 

But realistically, we all know this team will not succeed until it gets a high level of play from the QB position.

 

Drafting EJ Manuel was (hopefully) a big step in the right direction. But even if he is destined for a great NFL career, it could take some time for him to get there. Most likely, we will start the season with Kevin Kolb and get the same level of play as we did with Fitzpatrick. There is a good chance that Manuel will break the starting lineup before the season is over - which will likely mean some growing pains.

[truth on hold]

Have to look at it relative to competition. Just within the division jets are a mess and we should sweep, pats will have their act together from the get go and should sweep us (at least we get by any fantasy of perfect season with opening day loss), and Miami I see as similar to us with reasons to be optimistic but still in the process of putting it together. So I see a split with miami. This gets us to at least .500 in the division.

 

Pre season will be especially important this year with all the changes and open competition at qb

[12Kachy]

2-14. We have to win two games somewhere. This team is going to implode. status quo. Nix is still here. He will probably trade spiller week 3 for a 5th round pick.

[bobblehead]

Speed needs to be the identity. I want to see the bills become identifiable to that.

[SRQ_BillsFan]

>= 4 wins. Draft was nice but new coach and too young.

[Dorkington]

Before the draft, I was in the 2-3 win camp. Post draft, I think we are in the 5-7 win camp. I think we still have a lot of holes on our team, but we also have a lot of young talent. As long as we KEEP our solid-good players, and fill holes/weak spots with more next off season, we will be moving in the right direction. The problem is, we tend to lose solid-good players, and not replace them.

[Dr. K]

The fact you think Fitzpatrick was a good QB for the team pretty much voids any other point that you make, but I will reply to the highlighted areas above.

 

Fitz was not a good QB for us as everyone outside of a few Buffalo Bills' fans knows. I won't dispute your TD numbers, however I will point out that when the game was + / - 7 points in the fourth quarter, Fitzpatrick threw one TD and 4 picks and had a passer rating of 55.5. (By comparison, Kolb's rating was 103.4 in the same situation) People throw out 3400 yards like it's a fantastic feat in today's NFL. Reality check: this is not 1995. Fitz's 3400 yards were 18th in the league. 18th! How is that a stat to brag about?

 

One of the biggest issues with Fitzpatrick is his consistent inconsistency in the 4th quarter. He simply could not be counted on to win games when it mattered. His INT vs the Titans is symbolic of Fitz with the game on the line. I'm not even going to mention his lack of a deep ball. Oh wait, I just did. I'm ecstatic to see him gone.

 

Second point: Yes, I do. We were 6th in rushing last season but 13th in rushing attempts. If you have a QB who is an innacurate, turnover machine and a very good running game, logic dictates you run the ball more. The Vikings understood this and made a playoff appearance. Chan did not and won 6 games. Again. Marrone loves to run the ball. We can run the ball. Running the ball effectively opens up so much of your playbook in terms of play action, etc. So yes, I expect our offense will score points.

 

I always take "average" points per game with a grain of salt. We scored garbage time points vs. the Jets. We scored 3, 9, 12, 13, 17 and 10 points in losses during the season. So saying we "averaged" over three TD's a game does not tell the total story of the season and our offense.

 

Point 3: To what do you attribute the huge step backward? The fact we might actually run the ball on 3rd and 1? The fact that we have exponentially increased our athleticism and speed on offense? Or perhaps the fact we just might have a QB who can complete a pass over 20 yards and defenses might just have to respect it? I don't know, maybe we will digress because this coach will realize the special player he has in Spiller and will strive to get him the ball as much as possible.

 

Pardon me for the sarcasm, but I finally see some FO moves that absolutely get me excited about this team. Check my history and you will see that I have been one of the most critical members of Fitzpatrick on this board. Ridding ourselves of him makes us a better team already. Adding the young talent we have is a reason for optimism.

 

If the defense improves, Lord knows they cannot be worse, and if Marrone uses a ball control, run oriented offense (which, by the way, actually reduces 3 and outs and runs time off the clock to rest the defense), I think we will have a competitive team. Regardless, this is the most excited I have been about the Bills in years.

 

I am absolutely aware of Fitzpatrick's limitations. But I do not see (unless Manuel takes off from Day One the way Wilson and Luck and RG and Cam did in the last couple of years, which I am not expecting) that Kolb is going to give better overall QB play than Fitz, or that the new offensive system is not going to have equivalent difficulties to the ones Gailey's had (if not necessarily the same ones), or that the rookie receivers are suddenly going to be a quantum leap above the ones we got rid of. At the very least I think there is going to be a learning curve. And we obviously have different opinions the comparable abilities of Fitz vs. Kolb (do you really see that Kolb is that superior? Based on what, ,exactly?). And I don't think if you give Spiller the ball ten more times a game he is going to maintain his 6.0 yard average per carry. Etc.

 

I think we can agree that the defense has to be better--or at least I would be surprised if it isn't.

 

I guess we'll just have to disagree for now. The camp and pre-season may change my mind about the offense. We'll just see what happens. As I say, I'll be happy to be proven wrong about this.

 

Before the draft, I was in the 2-3 win camp. Post draft, I think we are in the 5-7 win camp. I think we still have a lot of holes on our team, but we also have a lot of young talent. As long as we KEEP our solid-good players, and fill holes/weak spots with more next off season, we will be moving in the right direction. The problem is, we tend to lose solid-good players, and not replace them.

 

This

[Bills Fan888]

LOL, High Hopes. I hope they go 16-0, but let's be realistic. I think this is gonna be a hard year for the Bills. Lots of growing pains and not enough Pro Bowl talent on the roster means anywhere from 2-5 wins imho...

If we only got 2-5 I would be shocked. I just don't see this team regressing with a coaching staff that looks like it completely blows our old coaching staff out of the water. Combine that with a moderate upgrade in talent and I can't see any reasons for us to do worse than we did last year.

[ColdBlueNorth]

My expectations are a steadily improving team that can find enough continuity to perhaps get a Wild Card spot or at least compete for one.

 

I am rarely a rose-colored glasses kind of guy, but I think we have a lot of talent on the defensive side of the ball that has never-ever been used properly. Add to that mess the defensive talent was gathered around misguided attempts to align personnel to a moving target of defensive philosophies brought in by the bargain basement parade of lack-luster defensive coordinators that did not have a proven track record of building great defenses in the first place. The net result was a defense that spends each of the last several seasons kissing the cellar floor. That fragmented approach to personnel and philosophies left us with a lot of pieces that simply did not fit together well and the new regime has jettisoned many of the misfit toys.

 

Letting go of the players that did not fit what they are trying to run does not mean the Bills lack talent. Pettine said when he took the job - the cupboard is not bare when it comes to the talent-level of our defensive players and I think he is a good judge of the talent needed on that side of the ball.

 

Pettine has the pedigree and the proven ability to use a variety of fronts and pressure packages to field a successful defensive unit. I believe that he will help this team match up against the NE spread offense, but unlike Wannestedt who seemed to totally unravel when teams adjusted to his game plan he will not sit by like a deer in the head lights if a team like NE shifts in the second half to a run package and starts pulling and trapping and running off tackle. I simply cannot envision him sitting baffled, unable to adjust personnel or strategy while a team like NE rushes for a zillion yards in the second half of a game.

 

So yes, I do think the defense will be competitive pretty early on. That leaves the offense.

 

The offense will have a lot of growing pains, but actually may get out of the gate faster than folks think simply because teams are not that familiar with the kind of offense Marrone and Hackett will run and how they will use the many offensive weapons at their disposal. NFL defenses (the good ones) catch on fast though and I think they will have some games where they just cannot get out of their own way. For those games I am hopeful that field position and solid defense will give the offensive unit enough opportunities for one of the many play makers on offense to catch a break.

[Trader]

Too early for my prediction. I need to see the QB's, receivers and the offense and the new D. I will make a prediction after the last pre season game.

[Corp000085]

Away too early. Hard not to be optimistic, but I'll reserve my thoughts till preseason game 3 at the earliest. The whole "it's just preseason" is an excuse for failure. If this team shows a spark during preseason, then we can talk.

 

 

Oh screw it, 19-0 baby!!!!

[Prickly Pete]

I am absolutely aware of Fitzpatrick's limitations. But I do not see (unless Manuel takes off from Day One the way Wilson and Luck and RG and Cam did in the last couple of years, which I am not expecting) that Kolb is going to give better overall QB play than Fitz, or that the new offensive system is not going to have equivalent difficulties to the ones Gailey's had (if not necessarily the same ones), or that the rookie receivers are suddenly going to be a quantum leap above the ones we got rid of. At the very least I think there is going to be a learning curve. And we obviously have different opinions the comparable abilities of Fitz vs. Kolb (do you really see that Kolb is that superior? Based on what, ,exactly?). And I don't think if you give Spiller the ball ten more times a game he is going to maintain his 6.0 yard average per carry. Etc.

 

 

 

This

 

The problem I had with your post is "They didn't lose because they could not score. They lost because they couldn't stop anybody from scoring."

 

Misleading at best. Kolb might suck, and the offense might not get better, but they definitely lost games because the offense was crap (of course the defense sucked too). All that window dressing for Fitz is just disingenuous.

 

Go ahead and say the team still sucks, but don't try to paint Fitz as a good QB. Unforgivable.

[Dr. K]

The problem I had with your post is "They didn't lose because they could not score. They lost because they couldn't stop anybody from scoring."

 

Misleading at best. Kolb might suck, and the offense might not get better, but they definitely lost games because the offense was crap (of course the defense sucked too). All that window dressing for Fitz is just disingenuous.

 

Go ahead and say the team still sucks, but don't try to paint Fitz as a good QB. Unforgivable.

 

 

Where did I say Fitz was a good QB? I said Kolb is no improvement.

 

I gently suggest that you may have a Fitz fixation that is making it hard for you to see Kolb (or the rest of the offense) accurately. What I was saying is that I do not at this point expect the offense to play better than it did last season. I expect a step back before there is a step forward. Not that last year's offense was sterling, or that Fitz was a superior QB.

 

And I stand by (and elaborate on) my statement that if the defense were even adequate, instead of the worst in Bills history, the team would have won at least three more games in 2012.

[Peace Frog]

19-0 baby!

[catskillbill]

I have been a fan of this team for 50 years and I still go into every game expecting to win. So I have to agree with The Senator.

19-0 Baby!

[3rdand12]

Playoffs

how the hell would you know!!!

[jethro_tull]

how about improved with a chance to surprise?

 

fundamentals trending in the positive direction-

 

*A credible second wideout target. You cannot underestimate how fundamentally important this is and will be.

*A quarterback who can hit first down targets. Moving the chains will be the best defense.

*A fresh, imaginative book of offensive plays. Hackett has been a scholar of the game since his youth.

*A proven defensive coordinator and a head coach who will not settle for mediocrity. The defense grossly underachieved with respect to their collecive talent level.

Edited May 1, 2013 by jethro_tull

[3rdand12]

Expectations??.... I have none. I am in pure wait and see mode. After last year this is how I roll.

a zen thing ? not a bad perspective at all.