How tough is our schedule this year?

[Gary M]

there is almost no talent on this team. 

716046[/snapback]

 

While I still question the effort put into building an OL, I don't believe you can say that.

 

If the OL can give the QB 3-4 seconds to throw, I think they can win more than 3 games.

[richNjoisy]

While I still question the effort put into building an OL, I don't believe you can say that.

 

If the OL can give the QB 3-4 seconds to throw, I think they can win more than 3 games.

716127[/snapback]

 

 

Ah-Ha!! My point exactly.

 

And, based on what I saw last year, 3-4 seconds would be twice as much time as JP usually had. I seem to recall a lot of, "Hike" (one step back) "Yaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"

 

Now, we still can't be SURE JP can complete a pass if he's given time to throw and I can't PROVE that he will until he IS given time to throw.

 

I have heard many claim he is an inaccurate tosser but I just didn;t see it. THAT could be my own selective memory I grant ya but I only keep Bills wins.....not losses (on tape).

 

Give him 3,4 or (dare I say it) FIVE seconds, let's see what he does. I think he'll be fine.

 

-RnJ

[apuszczalowski]

Buffalo will lose to Houston?????

 

What makes them so much better? Adding Moulds? Maybe if Daivd Carr practices his throws to Moulds while lying on his back since thats where he spends most games. They are an improved team, but not thats not saying much seeing as how bad they were building off of.

 

Lose to GreenBay????

 

And they have done what to improve more? Finally got a decission from Favre is going to improve them that much?

 

Buffalo has a good chance to have a good year if things start falling into place for them. THey are younger and have most of the dead weight from last year removed and replaced with players wanting to play and show they can still play.

 

Oh wait, I forgot, they didn't sign Hutch and bentley and Marv and Ralph are too senile, and Jauron is a loser who can't coach, and they didn't draft Ngata or linemen with all their picks. I forgot about those factors, I guess I will change my opinion, Buffalo is going to go winless this season and be thrown out of the league for embarrassing the NFL. Every other team has improved while Buffalo has gotten worse.

 

Buffalo has the same chance of going 0-16 as they do of going 16-0 this year. I think I will wait to see what kind of team DJ and marv have assembled this year before I doom them to failure just because of their past records

[richNjoisy]

Buffalo will lose to Houston?????

 

What makes them so much better? Adding Moulds? Maybe if Daivd Carr practices his throws to Moulds while lying on his back since thats where he spends most games. They are an improved team, but not thats not saying much seeing as how bad they were building off of.

 

Lose to GreenBay????

 

And they have done what to improve more? Finally got a decission from Favre is going to improve them that much?

 

Buffalo has a good chance to have a good year if things start falling into place for them. THey are younger and have most of the dead weight from last year removed and replaced with players wanting to play and show they can still play.

 

Oh wait, I forgot, they didn't sign Hutch and bentley and Marv and Ralph are too senile, and Jauron is a loser who can't coach, and they didn't draft Ngata or linemen with all their picks. I forgot about those factors, I guess I will change my opinion, Buffalo is going to go winless this season and be thrown out of the league for embarrassing the NFL. Every other team has improved while Buffalo has gotten worse.

 

Buffalo has the same chance of going 0-16 as they do of going 16-0 this year. I think I will wait to see what kind of team DJ and marv have assembled this year before I doom them to failure just because of their past records

716143[/snapback]

 

I hear ya - Like I said in my first post in this thread, there is a plethora of negative views (such as the Coach's) which although he has not made any outlandish statements, he has not clearly outlined WHY teams such as Green Bay will beat us at home and why Detroit and Houston are better teams GUARANTEED to defeat us. I also think a number of people have jumped on the "Wow Miami is SOOO good" bandwagon. I correctly predicted last year the downfall of the jets (big deal yeh yeh) but I also think Miami is WAY overrated. Their QB situation is still questionable (Culpepper was playing stinko before his injury last year, he IS coming back from a MAJOR knee injury suffered at late October AND he is not surrounded by great WR's nor does he have a good offensive line...where DID FAT Bennie Anderson go by the way??).

 

Now, I don't see the Bills beating the Patriots in NE but I CAN see the Bills winning in Miami and then coming home to beat the Jets. 2 - 1 out of the gate. It COULD happen.

 

-RnJ

[Chilly]

9/10 - @ New England - loss 0-1

9/17 - @ Miami - loss, maybe 0-2

9/24 - New York Jets - win 1-2

10/1 - Minnesota - loss 1-3

10/8 - @ Chicago - loss 1-4

10/15 - @ Detroit - win 2-4

10/22 - New England - loss 2-5

11/5 - Green Bay - win 3-5

11/12 - @ Indianapolis - loss 3-6

11/19 - @ Houston - win 4-6

11/26 - Jacksonville - loss 4-7

12/3 - San Diego - loss 4-8

12/10 - @ New York Jets - loss 4-9

12/17 - Miami - win 5-9

12/24 - Tennessee - win 6-9

12/31 - @ Baltimore - loss 6-10

 

715798[/snapback]

 

Thats what I see.

[Gary M]

I have heard many claim he is an inaccurate tosser but I just didn;t see it. THAT could be my own selective memory I grant ya but I only keep Bills wins.....not losses (on tape).

 

716141[/snapback]

 

I have heard that too, but I don't recall balls be thrown at WR feet or into the crowd. I did see a rookie QB that was having trouble getting his timing down.

 

And that is tough with a DE on your back.

[Ramius]

Who on the offense will make plays? Will our rookie secondary make plays?

716039[/snapback]

 

Ever hear of Lee Evans or Willis McGahee?

 

Also, since when do we consider a 5 year vet (clements), a 3 year vet (McGee), and a 15 year vet (vincent) rookies?

 

I apologize for letting my facts get in the way of your crying.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Ever hear of Lee Evans or Willis McGahee?

 

Also, since when do we consider a 5 year vet (clements), a 3 year vet (McGee), and a 15 year vet (vincent) rookies?

 

I apologize for letting my facts get in the way of your crying.

716282[/snapback]

 

Really, now. You want Troy Vincent back there?

 

The guy couldn't cover ME for crying out loud. Marv cut the wrong old guy.

 

Thanks for playing.

[Pyrite Gal]

No offense, but as is often the case I can't figure out the point you're making.

 

Just curious, what record did you predict last year before the season, if any?

716122[/snapback]

 

I tend not to mak predictions actually because the game interests me because I'm not really sure what will happen next. I think folks likfe game of chance because of the uncertainty which is involved.

 

I can think of few games more boring than one which I know it so well I can predict what will happen.

 

As far as cliffnoting my post in response to your prediction.

 

IMHO, the measure of a real fan comes not from them always predicting victory, but in always hoping for victory even when it is irrational to do this.

 

To me a fake fan is one who hopes for or predicrts defeat even when it is irrational to do so.

 

I can certainly see true fans seeing DOOM for the Bills. However, I don't think a true fan predicts doom for reasons that are not in touch with rationality.

 

Certainly the Bills sucked last year and there are a lot of rational reasons to expect them to suck again in this rebuilding year.

 

However, it does strike me as irrational to predict we are going to be 0-16, 1-15 or even 3-13 unless one not only thinks we will suck for rational reasons, but also believe our opponents that we are going to lose 13 games to (or 15 or 16) for some reason are not going to suck as bad (or worse for those predicting DOOM) than we will.

 

I simply haver seen no rational showing from those who predict 3-13 or worse that:

 

NYJ

NYJ

Det

GB

Hou

TN

are not going to suck as bad (or in fact worse) than we will and all 6 of these games strike me as eminently winnable and we likely will be favored when we are home against these teams.

 

Further

 

MI

MI

MN

Jax

SD

Balt

 

are all teams that were better than us at the end of last season, but there is not an unreasonable chance that when we face them they will suck and we will likely be favored against them when we are home.

 

Finally,

 

I expect we will be beaten by

 

CHI- a 13-3 team oddly with substantial questions because the O sucks, but their D was so good and we play them on the road that it looks bad for us.

 

IND- a seemingly top quality team which was heavily impacted last year by clincing so early and then its HC suffering a devastating crisis that questions do reign. However, on the road I doubt we will be competitive against them.

 

NE- I expect NE to beat us on the road, but actually after a lousy draft amd some of the talent which brought them 3 SB victories in the last 5 season cashing in on new jobs or simply enjoying the fruits of their win, i actually expect we will split with them this season.

 

One can be a fan and still predict a lot of losses. However, to predict a loss based simply on the likely true assessment we will suck without also making some assessment of whether our opponent will be great, suck or suck worse than us strikes me as irrational.

 

Predicting we will lose or expecting we will lose for irrational reasons does no strike me as being a good fan.

 

Hoping (or even expecting for some true diehards) that we will win even when there is no rational reason to do this is what I think being a good fan is all about.

[KD in CA]

Considering the Bills are ranked about 29th in all categories by ESPN, I'd say that playing the Big East would be a tough schedule!

[richNjoisy]

Considering the Bills are ranked about 29th in all categories by ESPN, I'd say that playing the Big East would be a tough schedule!

716317[/snapback]

 

 

KD - rank the Bills yourself. Look at the players on our squad and then at our opponents.

 

It is a foregone conclusion that the "expert prognosticators" consistently predict "persistence" (the continuation of last year's results). Thus, the 5-11 Bills of 2005 MUST SUCK. Period. These same experts were predicting...surprise! - a 9-7 finish for the Bills last year. Now, included in their blather is continual love for dallas and miami - the experts can't seem to stop worshipping these two teams. BOTH - and I mean both - will be under the experts predicted wins in 2006. Drew and TO will implode in Dallas and Miami is simply nowhere as good as many people are predicting.

 

I don't give a tickers damn how ESPN ranks the Bills. Why do you? Now, if after you evaluate them yourself, you come up with 28 teams better than the Bills, then FINE - then that's YOUR prediction. Oh - you can't use ESPN to rank the other teams either

 

-RnJ

[KD in CA]

KD - rank the Bills yourself. Look at the players on our squad and then at our opponents.

 

It is a foregone conclusion that the "expert prognosticators" consistently predict "persistence" (the continuation of last year's results). Thus, the 5-11 Bills of 2005 MUST SUCK. Period. These same experts were predicting...surprise! - a 9-7 finish for the Bills last year. Now, included in their blather is continual love for dallas and miami - the experts can't seem to stop worshipping these two teams. BOTH - and I mean both - will be under the experts predicted wins in 2006. Drew and TO will implode in Dallas and Miami is simply nowhere as good as many people are predicting.

 

I don't give a tickers damn how ESPN ranks the Bills. Why do you? Now, if after you evaluate them yourself, you come up with 28 teams better than the Bills, then FINE - then that's YOUR prediction. Oh - you can't use ESPN to rank the other teams either 

 

-RnJ

716321[/snapback]

 

 

Um....actually I was being derisive in response to the endless threads of "Bills are ranked XXX by ESPN". I thought that mocking ESPN and their rankings was a given here on the board. No I do not take them seriously.

 

 

And for the record, I correctly picked the Bills to have a losing record last year.

[Dibs]

.....Certainly the Bills sucked last year and there are a lot of rational reasons to expect them to suck again in this rebuilding year.

 

However, it does strike me as irrational to predict we are going to be 0-16, 1-15 or even 3-13 unless one not only thinks we will suck for rational reasons, but also believe our opponents that we are going to lose 13 games to (or 15 or 16) for some reason are not going to suck as bad (or worse for those predicting DOOM) than we will.

 

I simply haver seen no rational showing from those who predict 3-13 or worse that:

 

NYJ

NYJ

Det

GB

Hou

TN

are not going to suck as bad (or in fact worse) than we will and all 6 of these games strike me as eminently winnable and we likely will be favored when we are home against these teams.

 

Further

 

MI

MI

MN

Jax

SD

Balt

 

are all teams that were better than us at the end of last season, but there is not an unreasonable chance that when we face them they will suck and we will likely be favored against them when we are home.

 

Finally,

 

I expect we will be beaten by

 

CHI- a 13-3 team oddly with substantial questions because the O sucks, but their D was so good and we play them on the road that it looks bad for us.

 

IND- a seemingly top quality team which was heavily impacted last year by clincing so early and then its HC suffering a devastating crisis that questions do reign. However, on the road I doubt we will be competitive against them.

 

NE- I expect NE to beat us on the road, but actually after a lousy draft amd some of the talent which brought them 3 SB victories in the last 5 season cashing in on new jobs or simply enjoying the fruits of their win, i actually expect we will split with them this season.

 

One can be a fan and still predict a lot of losses.  However, to predict a loss based simply on the likely true assessment we will suck without also making some assessment of whether our opponent will be great, suck or suck worse than us strikes me as irrational.

 

Predicting we will lose or expecting we will lose for irrational reasons does no strike me as being a good fan.

 

Hoping (or even expecting for some true diehards) that we will win even when there is no rational reason to do this is what I think being a good fan is all about.

716302[/snapback]

If you don't mind me adding another point to your impressive list....not that you have much choice.

On top of PGs points, I have not seen one person on this board say they were happy with the coaching, play-calling or general team effort on the field last year. In fact, even the biggest 'doom'sayers seem to make the point that those above factors cost us wins last year.

With those factors (potentially) gone, improvement to the O-Line(if only by subtraction), TKO back & a few other (arguable) improvements, I cannot see how one can rationally assume we will have a worse record than last year. Especially considering the number of easy opponents we face.

I would think 10 wins is obviously a bit optimistic.....however 0-4 wins is certainly a bit pessimistic. To be put on record, I am expecting 7 or 8 wins this year though I would not be surprised at fewer wins....& slightly surprised at more wins.

[apuszczalowski]

Looking at most of the teams Buffalo plays, I don't see how they are so much better a win is guaranteed.

 

With a new coach, new schemes and some new players/deadweight removed, A win in NE in the first week is possible just because the Bills will be hard to plan for with too many new variables. (not guaranting a win, just saying its possible)

 

Houston was an even bigger mess then Buffalo and yet a new coach, Eric Moulds and drafting Williams, all of the sudden they are so much better? They will be improved, but not that much

 

Green Bay brought Favre back and didn't do much to fix the mess that was last years team

 

The jets bring in a rookie head coach, (oh wait, he worked under BB in NE for a couple years so he is a future HOFer) and drafted D'Brick, yeah playing the Bills is a gimmie game for them

 

Detroit is still Detroit, they may have improved slightly and improved their QB situation (not by much but still improved) but they still have alot of questions so its not a given they will beat Buffalo

 

TN lost their starting QB and will go with Vince or Volek to start the year. I still don't see how they improved this offseason and believe that even if they had improved slightly, the QB situation may negate the improvements for atleast a year

 

Minneosota is a decent team that couldbeat Buffalo, but could the loss of Culpepper make them lose a step or 2

 

Miami is also a decent team, but they did just sign Bennie to actually be an upgrade to their offensive line and signed MM to run the offence, and they are being considered such a better team? Did they not see any Buffalo games last year?

 

Jax is also a good team and it will be a fight for Buffalo to win if they can, this one I can see Buffalo losing

 

SD lost Brees and are giving the team, which wasn't even a playoff team last year, over to Rivers, a player who hasn't even had a full season as a starter. Unless his name is Roethlesburger, I think the Chargers are a beatable team

 

Baltimore is another pretty good team, and if McNair can finish the season with them, they could be a playoff team, so I can see this just like the Jax game where Buffalo could lose.

 

There really is no way to say a team is guaranteed a win over Buffalo until we see what Buffalo and the other team puts on the field on Sunday.

[C.Biscuit97]

Really, now. You want Troy Vincent back there?

 

The guy couldn't cover ME for crying out loud. Marv cut the wrong old guy.

 

Thanks for playing.

716294[/snapback]

 

I'm willing to bet all my possessions in the world you coldn't get 4 INTs and 3 fumble recoveries in the NFL. Quote me, Troy Vincent will have at least five picks in this defense. And yes, I'm drunk.

[BuffOrange]

It doesn't matter because everyone in the same division plays basically the same schedule. Unfortunately the Bills don't get to play the Bills twice though.

[Nostradamus]

You do realize that every other team on the schedule is sure that they're gonna beat the Bills, don't you?  And by the way, we're not gonna beat Houston, Baltimore, Green Bay, Detroit, Minnesota, or San Diego.

 

This team will be lucky to win 3 games.  I'm sorry, go ahead and call me a horrible fan (Why even watch the games then, Coach Tuesday?), I don't care - there is almost no talent on this team.  They are completely rebuilding and heading in the right direction, but this year is going to be brutal.

716046[/snapback]

 

The expectations are so diminished this season, that one almost thinks we're going to be have to be pleasantly surprised. As young as we are, I will be happy with a team that plays their best football at the end of the season and improved performances by this years draft class. Without going into prediciting won loss records in the beginning of July–that's more of a August thing– I do predict we will be lauding the Bills draft class by the end of the season. Further, I think it might take a while, but either Nall or Losman will prove themselves as solid NFL starting QB's by the end of the season. Their are weaknesses– we're still a little weak in the trenches; but it will be apparent by the end of the year that we will be a legitimate playoff contender, for next season.