Wilson said he'll leave with Jauron

[Koufax]

We are not that bad. We are just stuck in average-slightly below average and don't really seem to have the ability to get out of it.

 

Since the 3-13 2001 and the move to four divisions, we have won between 5 and 9 games each year, never one of the leagues worst teams (1-4 wins) never double digit wins and a playoff spot.

 

Now you all knew that part already, but do you know that in that time:

 

The only teams not to have at least one 10 win season:

(5) BILLS, Texans, Vikings, Lions, Cardinals

(Vikings and Cardinals could get there this year)

The Vikings won a playoff game at 8-8 in 2004. The Cardinals end their longer drought this year, and the Lions and Texans are the two most pathetic teams in football this decade.

 

AND the only teams to not have at least one 12 loss season:

(13) BILLS, Pats, Steelers, Ravens, Indy, Denver, Jags, Eagles, Redskins, Cowboys, Vikings, Panthers, Seahawks

(Jags and Seahawks could get there this season)

 

8 of the 13 have appeared in a super bowl in the last 10 years (expanded slightly for Denver and Baltimore).

 

That leaves BILLS, Jags, Redskins, Cowboys, Vikings as the only five to not appear in a recent super bowl despite not having a 12 loss season.

 

So the two most mediocre teams over the last seven years are the Bills and Vikings. No other team failed both to win 10 games and avoided every losing 12 games. We win the tie-breaker because they won a playoff game (albeit with an embarassing 8-8 to get there), so we are not terrible. We are consistently mediocre, and that tends to feel worse because it keeps you believing at times.

 

This is a league of turnover, the ability for 1-15 teams to compete for the division the next year, and vice versa, but we are built to plug along winning just enough to keep from cleaning house, but not enough to actually feel good about it.

 

So next time you think we are terrible, realize that at least we could hang our hat on that...we are mediocre, and need to shake things this off season and find a way off that track.

[bdelma]

His getting ready to sell.

[Sisyphean Bills]

Why is it win 10 and lose 12? In a zero sum game, that seems like a nice little skew to 7-9. Fitting and all, but the Bills have had a 5-11 season not so long ago and haven't been above .500. So, they are mired on the losing side as is this analysis is skewed to the losing side.

 

On the bright side, if they run the table, they can still have a winning season. Their first in a long time. Maybe then we have some ammo to argue that they are average.

 

We are not that bad. We are just stuck in average-slightly below average and don't really seem to have the ability to get out of it.

 

Since the 3-13 2001 and the move to four divisions, we have won between 5 and 9 games each year, never one of the leagues worst teams (1-4 wins) never double digit wins and a playoff spot.

 

Now you all knew that part already, but do you know that in that time:

 

The only teams not to have at least one 10 win season:

(5) BILLS, Texans, Vikings, Lions, Cardinals

(Vikings and Cardinals could get there this year)

The Vikings won a playoff game at 8-8 in 2004. The Cardinals end their longer drought this year, and the Lions and Texans are the two most pathetic teams in football this decade.

 

AND the only teams to not have at least one 12 loss season:

(13) BILLS, Pats, Steelers, Ravens, Indy, Denver, Jags, Eagles, Redskins, Cowboys, Vikings, Panthers, Seahawks

(Jags and Seahawks could get there this season)

 

8 of the 13 have appeared in a super bowl in the last 10 years (expanded slightly for Denver and Baltimore).

 

That leaves BILLS, Jags, Redskins, Cowboys, Vikings as the only five to not appear in a recent super bowl despite not having a 12 loss season.

 

So the two most mediocre teams over the last seven years are the Bills and Vikings. No other team failed both to win 10 games and avoided every losing 12 games. We win the tie-breaker because they won a playoff game (albeit with an embarassing 8-8 to get there), so we are not terrible. We are consistently mediocre, and that tends to feel worse because it keeps you believing at times.

 

This is a league of turnover, the ability for 1-15 teams to compete for the division the next year, and vice versa, but we are built to plug along winning just enough to keep from cleaning house, but not enough to actually feel good about it.

 

So next time you think we are terrible, realize that at least we could hang our hat on that...we are mediocre, and need to shake things this off season and find a way off that track.

[Koufax]

Why is it win 10 and lose 12? In a zero sum game, that seems like a nice little skew to 7-9. Fitting and all, but the Bills have had a 5-11 season not so long ago and haven't been above .500. So, they are mired on the losing side as is this analysis is skewed to the losing side.

 

On the bright side, if they run the table, they can still have a winning season. Their first in a long time. Maybe then we have some ammo to argue that they are average.

 

It is win 10 since that is what the Bills haven't done in that period, and it is lose 12 because that is what the Bills hadn't done. So if they had been 6-10 instead of 5-11 I would have done this differently. I do not consider 5-11 fine and 4-12 not so, they both suck. But I wanted to see based on the Bills not having a top pick since Mike Williams in this range, what other teams had stayed in that range. So other than the fact that five wins keeps you out of top five picks and 10 wins are needed for the playoffs (with some exceptions), the range was just taking the Bills range.

 

But yes, this analysis was showing how the Bills have been unusually consistent pretty bad team, while most teams in a similar period experience highs and lows. I am certainly not saying that is a good thing, and in fact I think it is pretty rotten, and likely represents some organizational flaws which are again pretty obvious to us all. Just as I line up for "7-9 again, if we can pull an upset somewhere" I realize how that is probably more frustrating to me as a Bills fan than a 3-13 season building into a 10-6 season down to a 7-9 season up to an 11-5 season or whatever...the runs most other teams have had in this period.

[Sisyphean Bills]

It is win 10 since that is what the Bills haven't done in that period, and it is lose 12 because that is what the Bills hadn't done. So if they had been 6-10 instead of 5-11 I would have done this differently. I do not consider 5-11 fine and 4-12 not so, they both suck. But I wanted to see based on the Bills not having a top pick since Mike Williams in this range, what other teams had stayed in that range. So other than the fact that five wins keeps you out of top five picks and 10 wins are needed for the playoffs (with some exceptions), the range was just taking the Bills range.

 

But yes, this analysis was showing how the Bills have been unusually consistent pretty bad team, while most teams in a similar period experience highs and lows. I am certainly not saying that is a good thing, and in fact I think it is pretty rotten, and likely represents some organizational flaws which are again pretty obvious to us all. Just as I line up for "7-9 again, if we can pull an upset somewhere" I realize how that is probably more frustrating to me as a Bills fan than a 3-13 season building into a 10-6 season down to a 7-9 season up to an 11-5 season or whatever...the runs most other teams have had in this period.

Gotcha. Thanks for taking the time to explain.

 

Really, you could say the Bills haven't improved at all since the frontal lobotomy action of losing Phillips, Butler, Smith, and (effectively) Adams in 2000 for Donahoe, Modrak, and cash-to-cap. Butler gave Wilson a going-away present of a flaming bag of poo, but who's to say if he hadn't been set on leaving if those guys wouldn't have turned it around. San Diego was a steaming pile and they built up a pretty good roster there. Which reminds me, Norv Turner needs a few more years and a couple more players and things will be fine again for the Super Chargers.