A lot of people think the Bills stink

[K-No]

It's very simple. In the last ten years the Bills have had one winning season. Until that changes the media and rest of the country rightfully should think the Bills suck.

 

Agreed....'nuff said.

[PromoTheRobot]

The pundits, including the folks at ESPN who everyone here loves to hate, picked the Bills to be among the worst teams in the NFL last year.

 

They were right.

 

I hope they will be wrong this year - it happens every once in a while. But literally every person who follows the NFL that isn't a Bills fan thinks the Bills are again going to compete for the title of Supreme Failure.

 

There is a reason for this. The reason isn't because they are somehow prejudiced against the city of Buffalo. It is because the Bills have limited talent, and year after year fail to make their team better in meaningful ways.

 

We can still catch lightning in a bottle and win some games, but people here could stand to lose the persecution complex. Everyone isn't out to get us - we just stink and have for a decade.

And it will never get better unless we sign every free agent in the NFL. After all players you draft or never heard of can't be any good.

 

Here's something to ponder. Every look at websites or magazines that predict the upcoming season? They post their predicted standings for the new season, and it ALWAYS looks EXACTLY like the season before? Is that coincidence, or is that these experts base everything on what already happened. Which means no one ever predicts crap. No one pays enough attention to know who is going to really get better.

 

PTR

Edited August 9, 2011 by PromoTheRobot

[Dirtbag]

And it will never get better unless we sign every free agent in the NFL. After all players you draft or never heard of can't be any good.

 

Here's something to ponder. Every look at websites or magazines that predict the upcoming season? They post their predicted standings for the new season, and it ALWAYS looks EXACTLY like the season before? Is that coincidence, or is that these experts base everything on what already happened. Which means no one ever predicts crap. No one pays enough attention to know who is going to really get better.

 

PTR

 

no, it will never get better until the bills start winning, as the way it should be. this is no conspiracy -- the bills have been mired in futility for well over a decade and two teams within the east are among the best of the conference. the bills deserve to be considered among the worst in the nfl until they prove otherwise.

 

and i do think that the experts pay attention. in fact, they over analyze practically everything to the point where you wanna puke. it's not like we're suffering from a dearth of nfl news.

 

if the bills actually won on a regular basis and posed a real challenge to the like of ryan and belichick, they would be embraced by the media. it's the definition of a cinderella story.

[BillsFanM.D.]

If anyone here is old enough to remember the 1988 season, no one saw the Bills getting within one game of the Super Bowl. In fact I vividly recall every publication and TV show picking us for last place. Fact is no one sees the freight train coming until it runs them over. Gailey must be dancing a jig over the Bills being overlooked. We want that. No better place for us to be.

 

FYI:

1986 Bills 4-12

1987 Bills 7-8

1988 Bills 12-4

 

PTR

Remember it well....though I think we had a bit more respect heading into the 88 season than you recall. After the Bennett deal in 10/87 we had collected a load of talent on both sides of the ball and had a shot at the playoffs in December that year. We lost our last two at the end and blew it..... but for the first time in a while we had a 'dog' in the race. With the addition of Thurman in the 88 draft (risks acknowledged) we had a an outstanding young team....and some national attention as I recall. Regardless your point is still valid. We can make a leap this year. Maybe not to 12-4..but we can 'surprise' people.

 

 

That was the '89 season. We lost the first round playoff game to Cleveland. In '88 we went all the way to the AFC title game and lost to Cincinnati. Hard to believe at one time the Bills and Bengals were the class of the AFC.

 

PTR

Bills and Bengals. That is hard to believe. If I remember correctly, a fairly dumb penalty by Derrick Burroughs sealed our fate in that AFC Championship game.

[skibum]

Shocking development there.

[JESSEFEFFER]

If anyone here is old enough to remember the 1988 season, no one saw the Bills getting within one game of the Super Bowl. In fact I vividly recall every publication and TV show picking us for last place. Fact is no one sees the freight train coming until it runs them over. Gailey must be dancing a jig over the Bills being overlooked. We want that. No better place for us to be.

 

FYI:

1986 Bills 4-12

1987 Bills 7-8

1988 Bills 12-4

 

PTR

 

A 4 and 12 season characterized by a new starting QB, a new head coach, with many losses in high scoring games where the offense failed in the clutch and had problems with TO's. Three of the games they did win were of the low scoring , Jauronesque type that we have come to know all too well. They averaged scoring just under 18 points/game and were dead last in the league in turnover differential. This was followed by a defensive heavy draft heading into an NFL season which was to be tainted by an interruption in league operations due to management/labor strife.

 

Everything here describes both the 2010 and 1986 seasons. Many are inclined to deny the analogy and can't get beyond "Fitzpatrick is no Jim Kelly." It's as if it might casue them brain injury to consider the point.

 

Remember it well....though I think we had a bit more respect heading into the 88 season than you recall. After the Bennett deal in 10/87 we had collected a load of talent on both sides of the ball and had a shot at the playoffs in December that year. We lost our last two at the end and blew it..... but for the first time in a while we had a 'dog' in the race. With the addition of Thurman in the 88 draft (risks acknowledged) we had a an outstanding young team....and some national attention as I recall. Regardless your point is still valid. We can make a leap this year. Maybe not to 12-4..but we can 'surprise' people.

 

 

 

Bills and Bengals. That is hard to believe. If I remember correctly, a fairly dumb penalty by Derrick Burroughs sealed our fate in that AFC Championship game.

 

As I recall, he was baited by that punk Chris Collinsworth. I think Bruce got hit with a bogus face mask penalty on Esiason that was actually a grab of his collar which ended up extending a drive that resulted in points. Don't know where to go to confirm the latter.

Edited August 9, 2011 by JESSEFEFFER

[BillsFanM.D.]

A 4 and 12 season characterized by a new starting QB, a new head coach, with many losses in high scoring games where the offense failed in the clutch and had problems with TO's. Three of the games they did win were of the low scoring , Jauronesque type that we have come to know all too well. They averaged scoring just under 18 points/game and were dead last in the league in turnover differential. This was followed by a defensive heavy draft heading into an NFL season which was to be tainted by an interruption in league operations due to management/labor strife.

 

Everything here describes both the 2010 and 1986 seasons. Many are inclined to deny the analogy and can't get beyond "Fitzpatrick is no Jim Kelly." It's as if it might casue them brain injury to consider the point.

 

As I recall, he was baited by that punk Chris Collinsworth. I think Bruce got hit with a bogus face mask penalty on Esiason that was actually a grab of his collar which ended up extending a drive that resulted in points. Don't know where to go to confirm the latter.

No brain injury here. I also see a lot of similarities and Fitz' performance last year was Kelly-esque in terms of numbers. Anyone can look up the stats for themselves (and I understand it was only one year and I realize Jim Kelly had a decade of excellence etc). My point was simply that I 'recall' us having some attention as being a possible playoff team prior to the 88 season.....this year I think it is fair to say we are a true 'darkhorse.' Surprise is not, however, out of the question.

 

Re: Bruce.......Now that you mention that I do have a vague recollection of the 'horse collar' tackle (called a facemask)....which, of course, was not illegal back then. I can't even be sure though. Burroughs personal foul penalty was certainly in that game and was, unfortunately, the nail in the coffin.

[BillsFanM.D.]

 

As I recall, he was baited by that punk Chris Collinsworth. I think Bruce got hit with a bogus face mask penalty on Esiason that was actually a grab of his collar which ended up extending a drive that resulted in points. Don't know where to go to confirm the latter.

 

found this and although 'blogish' I think you remembered it correctly. see the fifth comment down the page.....

 

http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2009/7/5/930389/history-of-the-bills-1984-1988

[Billsguy]

The Bills aren't even close to the worst team in the NFL. Any talk that they are is stupid.

 

You're right - they had the third pick in the draft. The top two picks were from the real loser teams.

[NewEra]

You know as a Bill fan I think "hey if that guy can get and stay healthy" "and that guy got a little experience so he should be better now" "and player x put on some weight so he'll be better" and "they'll know the system now" "and what are the odds of getting 15+ players injured for the 3rd straight year"

 

 

or to sum it up " lets see Dareus our first round pick will make our DL better and a better DL will make our LBs better and better LBs will make our DBs better so we will have a better defense and that will give our offense more chances which will tire out the opposing defense which will make Spiller more effective which will open things up for Fitzy which will bring Evans back to form which will open things up for Johnson which will clear things out for Chandler which will make the offense explosive and run up the score which will let the DLine pin back it's ears which will make Kyle Williams a super star which will help Dareus."

 

Strangely enough I don't make these logic chains for the Jags or Panthers or the Bengals

Nice post. It's all about "team". Each unit has the ability to make the other units better. It usually starts with the lines. It looks like our DL is much improved, which should make our Lbs and DBS better. Offensively, we still need work up front IMO. I'm praying bell can be our LT of the future, but I'm extremely skeptical or that happening. If urbik or rinehart can fillets void at RG and pears or Hairston can play a solid RT, our QB, RBs and Wrs/tEs will improve. Those are big IFs though. Let's hope our current LBs can prove they can be a solid unit so we can concentrate on drafting OL with our first couple picks next year. If Fitzy can do the job, maybe he's our QB. If not, I think chan (if he's still the hc) may five thigpen a shot next year at being the "man". I don't know how you guys feel about him, but I like him a lot, mainly because of the system.

 

That's a whole lot of "ifs" and "hopes", but if a few of them come to fruition, we may be one offseason away from becoming contenders.

 

I think we are better than the bengals, panthers, broncos, browns, redskins, 49ers, cards, seahawks, jags, fins and raiders. Whille being on par or almost on par with the cowboys, rams, bucs, lions, Chiefs, texans, giants, and Vikings. Looking at the teams NOT listed, the only thing that really sets us behind are having good/great qbs or dominating defenses. We have neither ATM, sure hope fitz and the D can make significant progress this year. I'm sure many disagree, but that's just my take.

 

Go Bills!!!!

Edited August 9, 2011 by NewEra

[Buffalo Barbarian]

I follow ESPN NFL countdown on Facebook and I am pretty blown away at how many people think the Bills are going to be the worst team in the NFL this year. I am hopeful that we could challenge for a wild card spot but realistically I think this team is still growing and probably will win about 7 games. Do people think the Bills stink because of an anti-Buffalo bias or is it the multiple cheap shots from lazy NFL punditry? Who is the worst team in the league this year? I don't think any of the AFC east teams are in the bottom 5. I personally think that the 49ers, Bengals, and Carolina will be the bottom three.

 

https://www.facebook.com/ESPNCountdown/posts/116229525142090

 

Don't forget Cleveland and Miami.

 

These clowns are stupid, we won four games last year and could have one 8. We got more talent now and more experience in the system and somehow we got worse? Just shows that people listen too much to the pundits and not watching the league themselves

Edited August 9, 2011 by Buffalo Barbarian

[Keukasmallies]

Probably the only reasons people think the bills stink is that they've watched Bills games for the past decade, followed the Bills' draft moves, and seen what the coaches have produced over that period of time. Other than those things, the team seems fine to me....

[ETD66SS]

Guess what? A lot of people are right, the Bills do stink.

 

Why is it so hard for many Bills fans to accept that the team will always suck with Ralph at the helm?

 

They will NEVER legitimately challenge for a SB title with that idiot in charge, get used to it.

 

And when he dies, I imagine he'll give WNY the big finger and have no succession plan in place that even remotely tries to keep the team here.

 

The Bills will NOT make the playoffs, and when they do, they will no longer be the Buffalo Bills. Just a gut feeling...

[gumby]

It's becoming a Buffalo tradition. The annual "let's hate on the analysts thread". Like last year when Marshall Faulk had the nerve to say the Bills were the worse team in the NFL. The teeth gnashing and hand wringing was something to observe. But I guess Bills Nation showed him since the Bills were the third worst team in the NFL and NOT the worst. Ha! Suck on that Faulk.

 

Personally I think the Bills are good for 6 or 7 wins this season. It looks like they are finally heading in the right direction. But to complain about the analysts is stupid. Sure the Bills "could've" won 3 more games last year. It's just as plausible to say that they "could've" lost 3 more games as several of those wins were by the skin of their teeth. It's football and arguments can be made for just about any stance you want to take. There's no way to prove or disprove anything until the games are played.

 

I would love to see the Bills in the playoffs again. I don't think they're quite there yet.

[DreReed83]

Yea....and a lot of people think the Pittsburgh Pirates suck. THE NERVE !!!!!!

[dave mcbride]

The big problem that the Bills have that everyone here is ignoring is the near-complete lack of elite talent (Kyle Williams excluded). That is the main reason why they won't be any good again. It's also foolish to compare them with the 1986-87-88 teams because it was pretty darn clear by 87 that the Bills had some elite talent at key positions. That said, they're not a dysfunctional team (they're reasonbly well coached and have a decent qb) which typically means that they won't be the worst team. They'll win a few because of that - maybe 5 or 6, I'm guessing.

[thewildrabbit]

Nice post. It's all about "team". Each unit has the ability to make the other units better. It usually starts with the lines. It looks like our DL is much improved, which should make our Lbs and DBS better. Offensively, we still need work up front IMO. I'm praying bell can be our LT of the future, but I'm extremely skeptical or that happening. If urbik or rinehart can fillets void at RG and pears or Hairston can play a solid RT, our QB, RBs and Wrs/tEs will improve. Those are big IFs though. Let's hope our current LBs can prove they can be a solid unit so we can concentrate on drafting OL with our first couple picks next year. If Fitzy can do the job, maybe he's our QB. If not, I think chan (if he's still the hc) may five thigpen a shot next year at being the "man". I don't know how you guys feel about him, but I like him a lot, mainly because of the system.

 

That's a whole lot of "ifs" and "hopes", but if a few of them come to fruition, we may be one offseason away from becoming contenders.

 

I think we are better than the bengals, panthers, broncos, browns, redskins, 49ers, cards, seahawks, jags, fins and raiders. Whille being on par or almost on par with the cowboys, rams, bucs, lions, Chiefs, texans, giants, and Vikings. Looking at the teams NOT listed, the only thing that really sets us behind are having good/great qbs or dominating defenses. We have neither ATM, sure hope fitz and the D can make significant progress this year. I'm sure many disagree, but that's just my take.

 

Go Bills!!!!

I think the Bills are better also In regards to the QB position, and could win more games then all of the teams you mentioned.

 

 

BUT! The problem is, and has been at LT since they traded away Jason Peters, and then didn't replace him in the draft with another top LT. Now, since Jauron cut Langston Walker at RT the Bills haven't had a solid top performer at either tackle position, and they still don't.

 

So i can understand why the bookmakers and NFL analysts are saying the Bills will be bad regardless of the QB or other talent on the team. The odds of Buffalo making it to the SB are 150 to1, which is the worst they can be. When it comes down to cold hard cash on the line for the bookmakers, they tend to be right a lot of the time.

 

 

The Bills coaching staff and GM must feel confident that they can win with the current players on the roster, so lets give them a chance to see if they can.

[tennesseeboy]

Look... 4 win team stinks by definition. It isn't enough to say that are two or three teams worse than us and because of that we are fine. There are 12 "good team" spots and they prove themselves by getting to the playoffs. There are 12 "mediocre team slots" and you get there by having between 7 and 10 wins. The rest of the teams stink, barring an incredible run of bad injuries, suspensions, or other uncontrollable behavior. We have studiously been in the "stink" category at least since DJ (who was a lousy coach) left. Chan and Buddy need to prove that they can move from "stink" to "mediocre" pretty darn soon.

[Beerball]

And it will never get better unless we sign every free agent in the NFL. After all players you draft or never heard of can't be any good.

PTR

You know that has nothing to do with it so why type those words?

 

Respect & higher expectations come with winning. That's been in very short supply around this team.

 

Win=praise

Lose=overlooked & derided

[mattsox]

I follow ESPN NFL countdown on Facebook and I am pretty blown away at how many people think the Bills are going to be the worst team in the NFL this year. I am hopeful that we could challenge for a wild card spot but realistically I think this team is still growing and probably will win about 7 games. Do people think the Bills stink because of an anti-Buffalo bias or is it the multiple cheap shots from lazy NFL punditry? Who is the worst team in the league this year? I don't think any of the AFC east teams are in the bottom 5. I personally think that the 49ers, Bengals, and Carolina will be the bottom three.

 

https://www.facebook.com/ESPNCountdown/posts/116229525142090

 

That's because the Bills are a bad football team, WAKE UP ALREADY!!!

 

We haven't done nothing to prove we can beat the top tier teams in the league yet. So far from what I hear in training camp, it looks like our offensive went back to the Drew Bledsoe era, in that their bad. We have no real depth there. That's a major concern. If Fitz can't set up plays, we're done.

 

I hope the Best for the Bills. But until proven otherwise their definately a bottom feeder. We'll definately be in the forfront for the services of Andrew Luck.