Would You Take 8-8 or 3-13 and the #1 Pick in '12?

[dpberr]

Coffee is for closers only. If you want 3-13, you put. that coffee. down.

[It's in My Blood]

Despite getting good reviews on their draft, I have heard or read at least a couple of places (SI, Kiper) that expect the Bills to have the #1 pick next year. So, as a Bills fan, what would you rather see happen in 2011:

 

A. The Bills show good progress and finish 8-8 or a Jauron-esque 7-9, showing solid progress on both sides of the ball.

 

B. They go 3-13 and end up with the #1 pick in the draft.

 

There are a couple of other interesting scenarios that could develop. A year ago, Jake Locker seemed like a lock for the #1 overall pick (and Ryan Mallett was talked about being right there with him). So now Andrew Luck loses his head coach, what if he has a down year and talk about him being a "system QB" surfaces?

 

The other thing is that people are already talking about Luck, Matt Barkley and Landry Jones as top 10 picks. Does that bode well for the Bills?

 

I know there's free agency and a small detail called a labor agreement to get ironed out but what should we be hoping for?

 

Miami will pick number 1 overall, IMO

[tonyjustbcuz]

Despite getting good reviews on their draft, I have heard or read at least a couple of places (SI, Kiper) that expect the Bills to have the #1 pick next year. So, as a Bills fan, what would you rather see happen in 2011:

 

A. The Bills show good progress and finish 8-8 or a Jauron-esque 7-9, showing solid progress on both sides of the ball.

 

B. They go 3-13 and end up with the #1 pick in the draft.

 

There are a couple of other interesting scenarios that could develop. A year ago, Jake Locker seemed like a lock for the #1 overall pick (and Ryan Mallett was talked about being right there with him). So now Andrew Luck loses his head coach, what if he has a down year and talk about him being a "system QB" surfaces?

 

The other thing is that people are already talking about Luck, Matt Barkley and Landry Jones as top 10 picks. Does that bode well for the Bills?

 

I know there's free agency and a small detail called a labor agreement to get ironed out but what should we be hoping for?

 

 

I think the Bills are just good enough to avoid the top 5 picks next year..but I could see them coming in about 7th-9th position on the draft board. I'm thinking about 5 or 6 wins next year..and optimistically maybe 7 tops! I think the Bills schedule is very hard next year and believe it's ranked as the 2nd hardest schedule.

 

If that is the case and the Bills are going to be sub-marginal then I'd rather them lose some close games and get a high draft pick! I know it is tough to root for them to lose and I'm sure I won't be thinking that way until I know that it's too late to salvage the season as playoff hopes are fun, but probably unrealistic at this point.

 

Of course I'm hoping to get Andrew Luck, but I would think the odds of us actually having that opportunity are somewhat low. I think that it helps that most of the teams that had QB needs in the draft selected one in the early rounds, but it didn't stop Carolina from drafting a QB early back to back seasons.

 

I think the Bills are possibly heading in the right direction, and I said prior to the draft.."If the Bills end up selecting Marcell Dareus in the draft we are heading in the right direction, and if they end up taking the 237 lb Von Miller I still have some doubt." I am so glad that they went in this direction and only time will tell if we made

a good selection or not! Here's to hoping we end up with Andrew Luck in 2012!

[RyanC883]

To me a real fan never wants to watch his team lose. No contest

 

 

True. I'd like to see some progress, and if we have significant defensive progress I think we make a run for a wildcard in the playoffs. If that's the case, we can still get a QB or trade up if we really like one of the top three, or continue to build up the D and O-line, and pick a QB the following year. Oh, and sweet avitar! Puz!!!

[jwhit34]

Great to see so many responses. I intentionally had left mine off when I started the topic.

 

While a franchise QB is a must at some point, I agree winning is a habit and going 8-8 would show that this management group has made some good decisions and started to acquired the talent needed to turn this around. I vote for that.

 

If they go 3-13 it probably will be a result of the D being awful again, the O-line not coming together and guys like Stevie Johnson regressing and Spiller being a bad pick. The franchise QB would help a lot but it would be an indication that Nix/Gailey are not the answer.

 

Put me in the 8-8 column.

[thewildrabbit]

The real question is ...did this team hit rock bottom yet?

 

I hate to break it to all the homies out there... but this team regressed last year instead of improving... special teams got worse.... hard to believe but the defense got worse then Jaurons Tampon 2. The running game regressed with basically the same players in Lynch and Jackson, plus the 9th overall pick in a RB that was supposed to make the O line block better. The only area the team improved was the passing offense, and I think that Fitz had a lot to do with that, and lets not forget that Fitz played well the year before after Perry Fewell benched Edwards.

 

I dunno, maybe I expect to much out of a new coaching staff & GM, but when I see other teams change staffs and start winning right away, Atlanta-Miami-Baltimore-St Louis.I also look back in Buffalo Bills history when the team changed staffs and started to win, it was right away. Both Levy and Knox had the team improved their first years and It seemed like every player they drafted early not only started but made a huge impact.

 

http://www.pro-footb.../1979_draft.htm

 

 

 

It remains to be seen what the team does this year in free agency and with the un-drafted players, but if we go by what they did last year... it won't be good...considering last year their answer at RT was Cornell Green. So many fans seem to be so optimistic about the up coming year, and I all think about is how Chan Gailey made Tyler Thigpin look good on a 2-14 team in KC in 08. Its about wins, not making the QB look good.

[Orton's Arm]

Despite getting good reviews on their draft, I have heard or read at least a couple of places (SI, Kiper) that expect the Bills to have the #1 pick next year. So, as a Bills fan, what would you rather see happen in 2011:

 

A. The Bills show good progress and finish 8-8 or a Jauron-esque 7-9, showing solid progress on both sides of the ball.

 

B. They go 3-13 and end up with the #1 pick in the draft.

 

There are a couple of other interesting scenarios that could develop. A year ago, Jake Locker seemed like a lock for the #1 overall pick (and Ryan Mallett was talked about being right there with him). So now Andrew Luck loses his head coach, what if he has a down year and talk about him being a "system QB" surfaces?

 

The other thing is that people are already talking about Luck, Matt Barkley and Landry Jones as top 10 picks. Does that bode well for the Bills?

 

I know there's free agency and a small detail called a labor agreement to get ironed out but what should we be hoping for?

This one's easy. The Bills don't have a franchise QB. Without a franchise QB their odds of winning the Super Bowl are close to nil. Teams which have franchise QBs almost never let them hit free agency. (Drew Brees being the rare exception.) Andrew Luck is the closest thing to a guaranteed franchise QB that Bills fans are likely to see in a long time.

 

Seven or eight years from now, no one will care about how well or badly the Bills did in 2011. But it will matter, greatly, whether the Bills came away from the 2012 draft with a franchise QB. Just as Tom Brady changes the equation for the Patriots, a player like Andrew Luck could change the equation for the Bills, for many years to come.

[Kent H Jr]

If there is no football this year, (lets hope there is) but lets say there isn't going to be any football this year. Isn't the draft order the same as 2011? If so I wouldn't mind that because, Carolina already has there QB of the future, Denver would probably want some more D and they still have Tebow (and even if they didn't want Tebow) we would have Barkley or Luck sitting right there for us. But I say lets play some football. I am always for showing improvement. You play to win the game..

This itself could be the explanation why the Bills passed in a QB after Cam was gone! great analysis!

[Bangarang]

This one's easy. The Bills don't have a franchise QB. Without a franchise QB their odds of winning the Super Bowl are close to nil. Teams which have franchise QBs almost never let them hit free agency. (Drew Brees being the rare exception.) Andrew Luck is the closest thing to a guaranteed franchise QB that Bills fans are likely to see in a long time.

 

Seven or eight years from now, no one will care about how well or badly the Bills did in 2011. But it will matter, greatly, whether the Bills came away from the 2012 draft with a franchise QB. Just as Tom Brady changes the equation for the Patriots, a player like Andrew Luck could change the equation for the Bills, for many years to come.

 

I hate all this Andrew Luck talk. I am willing to guarantee that next season another QB or two will come out and light it up and people will be wetting themselves over them. You can still get a franchise QB without being the worst team in the league. The Packers or Buccaneers didn't need #1 picks to get their respective franchise QBs.

[2020 Our Year For Sure]

I see other teams change staffs and start winning right away, Atlanta-Miami-Baltimore-St Louis.

Which St. Louis staff are we talking, surely not Spags? (RIP Leslie Nielsen)

 

That hasn't worked out very well for Sparano either.

Edited May 8, 2011 by Big Bad Boone

[thewildrabbit]

Which St. Louis staff are we talking, surely not Spags? (RIP Leslie Nielsen)

 

That hasn't worked out very well for Sparano either.

St Louis went 7-9 last season with new QB Sam Bradford and just barely missed the playoffs as Seattle took the division with a 7-9 record, their new OC is ex Bronco HC Josh McDaniel's. If the Rams can protect Bradford and find some WR;s they will win the division next year

 

Miami did better then Buffalo at 7-9 also, the Dolphin team I was thinking of was the one that went 1-15 and changes the entire staff like Buffalo did last year, that team went to the playoffs the very next year with an 11-5 record and took the division from the Patriots.

 

 

 

Instead of getting better then 6-10 with Jauron / Fewell in 09, last year the Bills went 4-12, exactly what improvements were made to the offense to make anyone think that Fitz won't be running for his life again this year?

[simpleman]

As others have said, considering how bad a couple of teams are out there, you would really have to stink to beat them for #1. Unless it is because of a lot of major injuries, playing that bad means the players you have now are worthless. And I don't care who you have at QB with that little talent behind them, even a Brady or a Manning would be losers. Win WIn WIN!

Edited May 8, 2011 by simpleman

[Keukasmallies]

I can't even think about some preconceived win - loss record for the coming year in order to position the team for draft choices. That's nuts!

 

Play the games at full tempo, leave it all on the field every week, take whatever draft choice falls to us when the dust settles.

[2020 Our Year For Sure]

St Louis went 7-9 last season with new QB Sam Bradford and just barely missed the playoffs as Seattle took the division with a 7-9 record, their new OC is ex Bronco HC Josh McDaniel's. If the Rams can protect Bradford and find some WR;s they will win the division next year

I know its nitpicking but I'm a sucker for saying what you mean. Again, your original post: "I see other teams change staffs and start winning right away, Atlanta-Miami-Baltimore-St. Louis." Still waiting to hear which St. Louis staff we're talking about because I'm positive you don't mean the one led by Steve Spagnuolo that went 1-15 their first season. If Gailey doesn't progress to something in the neighborhood of 7-9 in his second season just like Spaggs, then you've got the formations of a legit beef.

 

And my point re: Miami is that they had one random good season at 11-5, pissed out of the playoffs and now went 7-9 twice in a row. That isn't the kind of "re-building" we're after in Orchard Park-- surely we'd like to see one that results in a bit more sustained success.

 

Your examples of immediate turnarounds in Baltimore and Atlanta are legit! Baltimore, though, started from 5-11 but with a roster far more ready to win than the one Nix & Gailey inherited. Time will tell

Edited May 8, 2011 by Big Bad Boone

[Tcali]

Despite getting good reviews on their draft, I have heard or read at least a couple of places (SI, Kiper) that expect the Bills to have the #1 pick next year. So, as a Bills fan, what would you rather see happen in 2011:

 

A. The Bills show good progress and finish 8-8 or a Jauron-esque 7-9, showing solid progress on both sides of the ball.

 

B. They go 3-13 and end up with the #1 pick in the draft.

 

There are a couple of other interesting scenarios that could develop. A year ago, Jake Locker seemed like a lock for the #1 overall pick (and Ryan Mallett was talked about being right there with him). So now Andrew Luck loses his head coach, what if he has a down year and talk about him being a "system QB" surfaces?

 

The other thing is that people are already talking about Luck, Matt Barkley and Landry Jones as top 10 picks. Does that bode well for the Bills?

 

I know there's free agency and a small detail called a labor agreement to get ironed out but what should we be hoping for?

its better if we are 8-8.if we aren't then this years draft has been a bust and #1 next year won't mean much.-UNLESS we lose tons of games by 1 point after outplaying the opponent.

[Bills!Win!]

8 and 8 is fine with me, as long as they are starting to show progress and are able to put Brady on his ass a couple of times during the season.

 

Our expectations of this team have become so low that "sacking Brady" is now our goal and not winning. I feel the same way.

[Captain Hindsight]

its better if we are 8-8.if we aren't then this years draft has been a bust and #1 next year won't mean much.-UNLESS we lose tons of games by 1 point after outplaying the opponent.

You are not out playing your opponent if you lose

[The Cincinnati Kid]

The goal is not to get to the next NFL Draft. Every team gets to play in that event. The goal is improve each season and make the playoffs and Super Bowl. Not every team gets to play in that event. A 4 game improvement this year is huge, the following season it would be great to see a 2 game improvement to 10 wins, after that you hope to sustain success and compete for 11-14 wins each season. Thats what we are hoping for. Not to get to draft a guy in 2012. Thats stupid. We'll draft guys in 2012 regardless.

[BillsFan74]

No contest Andrew Luck.

[Bangarang]

No contest Andrew Luck.

 

How is it no contest? Andrew Luck came out of nowhere last season and put up huge numbers. Who's to say somebody else doesn't do the same? Some of you guys are too busy falling in love with Luck and not looking at the other potential franchise QBs possibly declaring next season.

 

Last season there were more people in love with Mallett before the season started. People thought he was going to be a top 3 pick. Then Luck came out of the woodwork and started getting recognition. Next year, Luck will be the guy that everyone has a hard on for and someone will come out and emerge.

Edited May 8, 2011 by Bangarang