SI NFL season predictions

[Success]

I'm one of those that always thinks we need to "earn" the respect on the field, so this stuff doesn't bother me.

 

But it speaks to the punditry. They've become terrified to abandon past patterns when making predictions.  Most will stick w/ the tried & true. I saw one power ranking that still had the Pats in the top 3.  

 

[Rubes]

That's what you get when you go from an easy schedule to a playoff team schedule. Lots of tough teams instead of bottom dwellers. Many teams on the rise benefit from easy schedules only to see them get exposed by a rough schedule the following year.

 

I don't think we're that, but there are plenty of people who do.

 

[billsfan89]

22 minutes ago, SF Bills Fan said:

Hate to say it, but we could easily end up at 7-9. We could also 12 wins and be in AFC Championship. I think there is enough talent on the roster to give us at least 9 wins no matter the schedule. 

 

Injuries would have to be catastrophic for this team to not get to 9 wins in my opinion. The Bears won 8 games last year with Mitch severely regressing and the defense mildly regressing. I think this team which is well coached, strong at all three phases of the game and deep can have a winning record at worst if they sustain a relatively normal amount of injuries. 

Edited September 3, 2020 by billsfan89

[billsbackto81]

I don't know whether to get upset over that prediction or laugh uncontrollably about the Chargers going 9-7 led by Tyrod Taylor😆

[Lurker]

"At the time, an ignorant 31-year-old Orr was blinded by potential pageviews and quote tweets..."

 

So, still ignorant at 33.  Go figure...

[HappyDays]

I see 2 realistic avenues to a losing season, aside from injuries:

 

1) Allen regresses.

2) We end up in a bunch of close games and lose too many because Bass is inconsistent.

 

And I'm inclined to think the 2nd avenue is more probable than people give it credit for. Anything is possible but I'm still sticking with 10-6, or 9-7 if we end up resting starters.

[Augie]

6 hours ago, iinii said:

You know what they say about opinions.....

 

SI has a more ignorant opinion than virtually anyone else? 

 

I won’t click on their stuff. I didn’t even go thru their swimsuit edition.

 

 

Much. 

 

[CEN-CAL17]

Put it on the board!!!! Fire up the troops!!!

[without a drought]

The same guy who predicted the Bills to go 10-6 less than 2 weeks ago.

 

He's laughing at your anger.

[Orlando Tim]

I can not remember the last time I looked at an SI or the SI website. There are too many better information sources.

[RobbRiddick]

I can see why some 'experts' would predict the Bills to have a disappointing season. They're the media darlings this year to a certain extent, and every year there's a few teams everyone expects to take that next step but end up falling back into the pile. The Jags did it last year after getting a lot of prediction to reach the super bowl. I haven't read the article but I'm guessing they say we're a talented team with an average QB who doesn't have what it takes to play conistently well enough. 

[NoSaint]

7 hours ago, Kwai San said:

 

Very well put.  Those are some tough stretches for sure that will test the Bills beyond belief.

At Las Vegas and against a Tannehill lead Tennessee team shouldn’t be terribly intimidating. You might not win them all but games like that should be expected wins most of the time for a contender 

[CommonCents]

1 hour ago, billsbackto81 said:

I don't know whether to get upset over that prediction or laugh uncontrollably about the Chargers going 9-7 led by Tyrod Taylor😆

Rivers was so bad that TT might be a slight improvement. That’s the sad truth. 

 

If Brissett isn’t starter by Halloween I will be surprised at Indy.

[Turk71]

They're a swimsuit magazine, wtf do they know about football?

[Mat68]

Last year they lost every meaningful game by a play.  Defense, offense or teams.  More often than not I think it came down to offense.  Buffalo is too deep and talented to lose every "close" game.  With Diggs and Moss the offense will be more productive.  I think they could go 10-6 and be well improved.   7-9 is Allen is trash and they are back in the Qb market.  Allen vaults in the top 10 and haters will hate.

[billsbackto81]

4 hours ago, CommonCents said:

Rivers was so bad that TT might be a slight improvement. That’s the sad truth. 

 

If Brissett isn’t starter by Halloween I will be surprised at Indy.

Rivers has nearly 60k yards, 400TDs and 8 Pro Bowls in his career. Yes, Father Time may have caught up to him but there is no way in this universe or any other is Tyrod Taylor an improvement or better option over him. I don't dislike Tyrod but that playoff game against the Jags showed me everything I need to know and forget about Taylor.

[Richard Noggin]

11 hours ago, Kwai San said:

 

Very well put.  Those are some tough stretches for sure that will test the Bills beyond belief.

Rams, at Raiders, at Titans, at Chiefs?!?!

 

First three are essentially average NFL competition (teams that likely go between 7-9 and 9-7). Slightly above-ish average QBs on teams not trending upward (unless maybe Nashville is somehow for real with Tanny...although I just can't see it). Similar to Bills in terms of W/L projections, but different trajectories. 

 

That bit in the reporting seems effing bonkers to me.

 

Of course the Chiefs are nasty. 

[billsbackto81]

11 minutes ago, Mat68 said:

Last year they lost every meaningful game by a play.  Defense, offense or teams.  More often than not I think it came down to offense.  Buffalo is too deep and talented to lose every "close" game.  With Diggs and Moss the offense will be more productive.  I think they could go 10-6 and be well improved.   7-9 is Allen is trash and they are back in the Qb market.  Allen vaults in the top 10 and haters will hate.

This is a decent point. Even with the upgrades on offense I totally expect McD and Daboll to still follow the same game plan of acquiring a lead, play solid D and kill the clock with the run game.  We just need to generate more points when going into a clock killing conservative offense.

 

Also, even if Josh does go 7-9 there is no way this regime is giving up on a QB they drafted and got them a 10 win season in his first full year as a starter and continues to show improvement. Josh is still a pup that hasn't reached his potential, at worst maybe look into a starting caliber back up as insurance.

[GreggTX]

The truth is that there is so much riding on Josh Allen's shoulders. If he turns out to be as good as most Bills fans think he already is, we'll win 12 games. If his improvement from year 2 to year 3 only mirrors the progress he made from year 1 to year 2 which has been greatly exaggerated, 7-9 is very likely. Our OL and TE's could be better, but we are set up very well at WR and RB.

[ProcessTruster]

Every season stands on its own.  They were incredibly healthy last year and played against many lower tier QBs.   This year could be the opposite.   Or they could have a better, more talented team than last year and overcome a normal injury load.  Barring a rash of injuries to key players, they should compete very well in every game this year.  That should be good enough for 10 wins IMO.   This season will be wild once people start getting infected.   Who knows what the H is going to happen,.