Just how far off are the Bills from being a playoff contender?

[sllib olaffub]

You could argue that 75% of nfl teams are four to six players short of contention. What separates teams, I think, are coaching - fitting the style to the team, making the identity match the talent and building and maintaining that until a system emerges like in Indy where they are almost entirely built from the draft and are contenders every year. The right coach can make a mediocre team good, and the wrong coach can make a good team bad. You need a QB. And, you need to have the General Manager know how to keep bringing in talent.

Hopefully we've got the last one resolved. Buddy will prove that this year and next. Chan seems to acknowledge the mentality needs to change - and he's making it a tough, business first, committed environment. They brought in a lot of coaches - the two strength coaches I think will pay dividends and will be the beginning of a trend.

If we don't have a QB after this year then I'd bet they do whatever they need to for one next year. So... my thinking is that this year will be spreading talented youth around at most of the positions, seeing what we have with the youth, and then really fixing the problems next offseason. Next year or the year after before we can duke it out with the big guys...

Unless we get lucky this year and the right players fall to us in the draft.

[Jerry Jabber]

You could argue that 75% of nfl teams are four to six players short of contention. What separates teams, I think, are coaching - fitting the style to the team, making the identity match the talent and building and maintaining that until a system emerges like in Indy where they are almost entirely built from the draft and are contenders every year. The right coach can make a mediocre team good, and the wrong coach can make a good team bad. You need a QB. And, you need to have the General Manager know how to keep bringing in talent.

Hopefully we've got the last one resolved. Buddy will prove that this year and next. Chan seems to acknowledge the mentality needs to change - and he's making it a tough, business first, committed environment. They brought in a lot of coaches - the two strength coaches I think will pay dividends and will be the beginning of a trend.

If we don't have a QB after this year then I'd bet they do whatever they need to for one next year. So... my thinking is that this year will be spreading talented youth around at most of the positions, seeing what we have with the youth, and then really fixing the problems next offseason. Next year or the year after before we can duke it out with the big guys...

Unless we get lucky this year and the right players fall to us in the draft.

 

[billsfreak]

Just how far off are the Bills from being a playoff contender?

 

Answer: About as far as a team can get, and in the process of getting even farther away from being a contender, when you consider the positive moves the rest of the division is making and the lack of significant (none) moves the Bills have made.

[The Avenger]

Honestly, I think it depends on the future labor agreement between the league and the players.

 

Buffalo has been moving towards running the Bills more like a baseball team like the Pirates. The Pirates don't have a huge payroll and really aren't ever in contention to win the pennant, but they are run as a business - keep enogh of a product on the field for people to come and see them , make a little money and don't get involved with huge payrolls and winning championships. If the NFL ever moves to a similar sort of model where teams are able to be put into "tiers" you'll soon see that there will be organizations that shell out big bucks to be contenders (NE, Dallas) and teams who operate to keep costs down (Buffalo, Cinci, Cleveland, Jax).

 

If that's the way things shake out it could easily be a decade or more before the Bills get lucky and pull together some sort of magical season that sends them to the playoffs. I really see this as the direction of the Bills.

[Jerry Jabber]

Nix & Whaley are following the mold of the Chargers & Steelers, improve through the draft and pick up mid-range FA's.

[Whites Bay]

This is precisely why I think the Bills pretty much need to turn a blind eye to "need" and take the best player available for the next couple of years.

 

And listen to this board B word about everything for the next couple of years. Include me out.

[tennesseeboy]

I see us going through four phases,

first being a winning team (9 wins) next year

Second getting to the playoffs (10 or more wins generally) 2012

Winning the division (lots of luck this year...3 years of improvement)

Serious playoff contender 2013.

 

Some people seem to think goal 1 is "lofty" right now. If they are right we are probably looking at five years.

 

I think we can follow the plan above and get a serious playoff team by 2013.

[BADOLBILZ]

Eh. Jauron would have been a good coach for a veteran team. He could coached the Colts to the Super Bowl last year. However, we had a young team that needed to be pushed more. Jauron, obviously, isn't that type of coach.

 

I guess after we win a Super Bowl and have arguably the greatest QB to ever play the game then Jauron will be a good fit.

 

It's going to be amusing watching you gradually backpedal out of your ardent support of Jauron. That article painted Jauron as completely incompetent. If it were posted here a year ago you would have burst into a rage with your rants about how Jauron was as good as Belichick. It's got to be killing you to be stuck in the middle ground now because your opinions are always presented in black or white.

[billsfreak]

Depends. Lets see what they have when the season starts. I'm expecting that they should get nine or possibly more wins, although I have not been impressed with any of the personnel moves or the decision to go 3-4 given our existing defensive personnel.

Tell us what language that is so we can understand. The team won 6 games last year, you don't like any of the personnel moves, you don't like the switch to the 3-4, any of the existing personnel but they will win 3 more games than last year, even though the division is much tougher?

[C.Biscuit97]

I guess after we win a Super Bowl and have arguably the greatest QB to ever play the game then Jauron will be a good fit.

 

It's going to be amusing watching you gradually backpedal out of your ardent support of Jauron. That article painted Jauron as completely incompetent. If it were posted here a year ago you would have burst into a rage with your rants about how Jauron was as good as Belichick. It's got to be killing you to be stuck in the middle ground now because your opinions are always presented in black or white.

 

 

1) You're a complete loser who thinks you win life points for being right on a message board. I'm sure there a ton of things you have been wrong on but personally I don't care enough to check.

 

2) You also demonstrated that you can't read. For last time, I said at the start of last year, Jauron had a better record than Belichick prior to have Brady and it is 100% fact. Get a life.

[Rico]

1) You're a complete loser who thinks you win life points for being right on a message board. I'm sure there a ton of things you have been wrong on but personally I don't care enough to check.

 

2) You also demonstrated that you can't read. For last time, I said at the start of last year, Jauron had a better record than Belichick prior to have Brady and it is 100% fact. Get a life.

Actually, Badol is far & away the most knowledgeable and accurate poster on this board. He may have been wrong once or twice, but no one's perfect. You on the other hand may have been right once or twice, maybe about JP, I don't remember. Now I'd much rather read Badol for solid info & analysis, but he doesn't post as often as you... so sometimes it's just easier to read your take & figure the opposite will happen, either way it works out in the end.

[BillsVet]

Actually, Badol is far & away the most knowledgeable and accurate poster on this board. He may have been wrong once or twice, but no one's perfect. You on the other hand may have been right once or twice, maybe about JP, I don't remember. Now I'd much rather read Badol for solid info & analysis, but he doesn't post as often as you... so sometimes it's just easier to read your take & figure the opposite will happen, either way it works out in the end.

 

The best part of this post is that you didn't resort to personal insults to make your point.

[texas]

The Bills are a talented QB, LT, NT, and possibly 1 WR away. Not really that far. The draft will be key...

ya buts its not like we have any superstars at any other positions. Even when filling in holes we are mediocre

[C.Biscuit97]

Actually, Badol is far & away the most knowledgeable and accurate poster on this board. He may have been wrong once or twice, but no one's perfect. You on the other hand may have been right once or twice, maybe about JP, I don't remember. Now I'd much rather read Badol for solid info & analysis, but he doesn't post as often as you... so sometimes it's just easier to read your take & figure the opposite will happen, either way it works out in the end.

 

What your favorite author had to say about Aaron Rodgers: http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/index.php?...mp;#entry316056

 

Miami would have probably taken him at #2. I'm not a TD apologist by any means, but Losman is a legitimate prospect. Rodgers is a slouch by comparison and I've been somewhat dumbfounded by his popularity during the draft process. The Pac-10 is a pitch and catch league and you almost have to look at what the guy does when plays break down to judge arm strength, athleticism and plain football ability.

 

That is flat out an idiotic statement. However, this is a message board. Everyone makes mistakes. But if someone is going to call you out about a statement (which is a 100% true), then they should be called out.

 

I don't apologize for being positive. It works well if my life. If i just wanted to say the Bills suck like you, I'd been right for a decade. But if I really did believe they sucked as bad as you do, I won't have wasted 12,000 posts on a fan board for them.

[Bob in STL]

How long does it take to find and develop a QB? Until we do that the best we can be is a marginal playoff contender.

[Bills_fan#2]

I agree with you about the article. I've never put any stock into that source, personally. I do think with a different coaching staff (even the Wade Phillips coaching staff) Buffalo would've made the playoffs at least 5 of the last 10 years. I think psyche and mentality are underrated. The Bills have become a team that doesn't know how to win. How to seal the deal. They need confidence and arrogance (which is why I like Rex Ryan, and why the Jets were so successful last year). I don't think they're that many players from being a playoff contender - which is different than a Super Bowl favorite. I think, with good coaching and a draft that gives us a couple immediate starters, the team could be playoff ready next year.

The Bills are so close,,They say we need superstars on a team to make them win,,Well it takes WINS to make Superstars,,And that all starts at the top,,So Lets go Buffalo,, Email me @ bills_fan2010@yahoo.com

[a player to be named later]

Beating the patriots would be a start. home, away, it doesn't matter.

[John Cocktosten]

The Bills are the 4th best team in the AFC East.

[LGB]

Hope springs eternal - right? The reality is near last in the league in many areas = much improvement needed in many areas. yep, it is that simple and one thing is for sure...the other teams in the AFC will not be sitting on their hands.