Faster D, near perfect special teams, Willis in shape / JP looking sharp

[Mitchy moo]

Why are we picked to be **it on the bottom of the league's shoe? It really makes no sense to me, nor can I comprehend why we as Bills fans have any reason to look anywhere but up. We have no one currently going to jail, busting their own heads open, beating their wife, shooting anyone or getting DUI's. We have had in relative terms a criminal free / good behavior offseason.

I am coming home for the home opener against the Jets, be ready.

[ddaryl]

we haven't had an offense since Kelly retired. We had a 1/2 a season of O the 1st year Db was here, but that's as close as we have come in over a decade.

that's why, and until we have proof of a pulse on the O side of the ball we very much deserve the lack of faith analysts lay upon us.

[jamze132]

If any established media agency picks us to finish dead last, I guess we have to finish dead last. We wouldn't want to make all the so-called "experts" look bad. If good teams that are expected to finish first and don't, they make every excuse in the world for them. It's mind boggleling!

[Mitchy moo]

we haven't had an offense since Kelly retired. We had a 1/2 a season of O the 1st year Db was here, but that's as close as we have come in over a decade.

that's why, and until we have proof of a pulse on the O side of the ball we very much deserve the lack of faith analysts lay upon us.

Shouldn't they go by what team they field?

[Goobylal]

It was easy for the "experts" to pick the Bills to finish last. Took no thought whatsoever on their parts. Literally.

[Jan Reimers]

Skoob, haven't you read here that JP is looking terrible, the D is too young, we have too many new things to learn and - with Whitner missing all of these practices - the key to our D is gone. Plus, Willis still has to prove himself and Coy Wire and Sam Aiken, our best ST guys, will probably get cut.

How can you be so optimistic when you know, after 3 days of camp, that we're going to be terrible this year?

(Sarcasm on, for those that can't tell.)

[Mitchy moo]

Skoob, haven't you read here that JP is looking terrible, the D is too young, we have too many new things to learn and - with Whitner missing all of these practices - the key to our D is gone. Plus, Willis still has to prove himself and Coy Wire and Sam Aiken, our best ST guys, will probably get cut.

How can you be so optimistic when you know, after 3 days of camp, that we're going to be terrible this year?

(Sarcasm on, for those that can't tell.)

All the teams start with similiar problems, it's the one's who work things out over the next few months that win. Marv has a great crew and Dick J. is going to really help our team Gel. The key to this is "the team" and we have to get all member's to buy in, Marv will sell them.

[OpIv37]

Shouldn't they go by what team they field?

so, you're saying people should look at our team with no named starter at QB, a #1 WR who has never been a #1 before, a bunch of #3 WR's competing to see if any of them are good enough to be #2, a shaky OL, an RB who has motivation problems, only one starting caliber DT, a new starter at S, a star LB coming off a very serious injury, new coaches and new systems on both sides of the ball and rank us highly?

These analysts aren't Bills fans. They're not looking at the team and trying to find reasons why the team might be good like you do. They see a team that has a lot of question marks, and if you look around the league, few if any teams have as many question marks as we do this year.

Now, these are predictions and no one predicts anything perfectly. There is a chance, however miniscule, that all this stuff could come together and the Bills could do well. But an objective analyst looking at this team on paper has every reason to believe this team will struggle. A fan can say "We have Donte Whitner- now our 28th ranked pass defense will be smothering!". A guy who makes a living discussing football can't do that if he wants to be taken seriously and continue getting paychecks.

[Mitchy moo]

so, you're saying people should look at our team with no named starter at QB, a #1 WR who has never been a #1 before, a bunch of #3 WR's competing to see if any of them are good enough to be #2, a shaky OL, an RB who has motivation problems, only one starting caliber DT, a new starter at S, a star LB coming off a very serious injury, new coaches and new systems on both sides of the ball and rank us highly?

These analysts aren't Bills fans. They're not looking at the team and trying to find reasons why the team might be good like you do. They see a team that has a lot of question marks, and if you look around the league, few if any teams have as many question marks as we do this year.

Now, these are predictions and no one predicts anything perfectly. There is a chance, however miniscule, that all this stuff could come together and the Bills could do well. But an objective analyst looking at this team on paper has every reason to believe this team will struggle. A fan can say "We have Donte Whitner- now our 28th ranked pass defense will be smothering!". A guy who makes a living discussing football can't do that if he wants to be taken seriously and continue getting paychecks.

You have brought up excellent points but up to this point I cannot see how anyone can predict how the season is going to turn out 40 days before it starts. Philly was supposed to be awesome last year, how did they do? Terrible.

OP, it's not that you are wrong in your negative assessments, it's just that you leave no room for hope. Hope is actually something that keeps people alive looking forward to the next day, for you it's a fools dream.

[OpIv37]

You have brought up excellent points but up to this point I cannot see how anyone can predict how the season is going to turn out 40 days before it starts. Philly was supposed to be awesome last year, how did they do? Terrible.

OP, it's not that you are wrong in your negative assessments, it's just that you leave no room for hope. Hope is actually something that keeps people alive looking forward to the next day, for you it's a fools dream.

you weren't talking about me- you were talking about analysts who picked this team to be in the bottom of the league. Again, they're PREDICTIONS- no one is going to be 100% accurate. But people who know about football can see what teams did last year, the strengths and weaknesses they had, and who they gained/lost in the off-season and come up with a reasonable assessment for how teams might fare. How many people picked the Patriots to be good last year, and the Pats made it within 2 games of the Super Bowl? How many people picked SF to suck last year, and SF ended up picking 4th in the draft?

Hope becomes ignorant optimism all too quickly. Hope that this team is on the right track and might develop a little is one thing. Hope that this team is going to win the SB- like you have said on multiple ocassions- is just completely ignorant. It ignores the reality of the NFL and the true state of this team.

[Mitchy moo]

Hope becomes ignorant optimism all too quickly. Hope that this team is on the right track and might develop a little is one thing. Hope that this team is going to win the SB- like you have said on multiple ocassions- is just completely ignorant. It ignores the reality of the NFL and the true state of this team.

Sounds like what they said about the Sabres last year. They are bottom dweller's and last is their best hope. They played as a team and for each other to succeed. Did the Sabres have the most talent in the league? No where near. Did they play the best as a team? You bet yah.

OP, the problem with your reality is it doesn't take into account variables. The Bills had one of the Best Defenses until last season and the best special teams. We're we picked to have the worst Defense last year or one of the best? It changes year to year and you really don't know what you are going to get. We are installing a completely new system and if played properly, it is quite effective.

So let's use a normal scenario here, Moorman punts the ball and our opponent starts at the 35 yard line. If we swarm to every play and make teams go 3 and out, can Moorman out punt the other teams punter? My point is, our special teams will help us set up field position and a good D will keep them pinned deep. Willis running like a bat out of Heck will keep the clock running and we do have a few good receivers. I think this scenario is going to set up all year long. That leaves us better than the dead the press is predicting. Plan on hearing the suprising Buffalo Bills and Chris Berman saying "nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills".

[OpIv37]

Sounds like what they said about the Sabres last year. They are bottom dweller's and last is their best hope. They played as a team and for each other to succeed. Did the Sabres have the most talent in the league? No where near. Did they play the best as a team? You bet yah.

OP, the problem with your reality is it doesn't take into account variables. The Bills had one of the Best Defenses until last season and the best special teams. We're we picked to have the worst Defense last year or one of the best? It changes year to year and you really don't know what you are going to get. We are installing a completely new system and if played properly, it is quite effective.

So let's use a normal scenario here, Moorman punts the ball and our opponent starts at the 35 yard line. If we swarm to every play and make teams go 3 and out, can Moorman out punt the other teams punter? My point is, our special teams will help us set up field position and a good D will keep them pinned deep. Willis running like a bat out of Heck will keep the clock running and we do have a few good receivers. I think this scenario is going to set up all year long. That leaves us better than the dead the press is predicting. Plan on hearing the suprising Buffalo Bills and Chris Berman saying "nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills".

With our DL and the fact that we're learning a new system on D, there won't be many 3 and out's this year. Willis has never been able to keep the clock running before so your faith in his ability to do this is baseless. Any system is effective if played properly, but you're completely discounting the fact that it takes TIME (meaning regular-season games) to be able to play it properly. We start the season with 3 division games, two on the road. That means we could end up 0-3 with three division/conference losses while the team is learning. If that happens, the playoffs are pretty much out of the question.

The Sabres played a different sport with a different team in a different year. All it proves is that the experts arent' right every time. But if you look at this team, people like me who think it will struggle aren't basing it on what any media people say. We're basing it on the fact that this team was 5-11 last year and did not improve in a lot of areas, combined with the learning curve of new offense and defensive systems.

[Goobylal]

How many people picked the Patriots to be good last year, and the Pats made it within 2 games of the Super Bowl? How many people picked SF to suck last year, and SF ended up picking 4th in the draft?
Those were probably 2 of the easiest predictions out there, and one that almost anyone could have made. It's the rest of the picks that are a little tougher.

Basically the "experts" are no better than any of us at predicting the future. It means nothing and means even less when these guys are proven mostly wrong at the end of the season. Don't let it get to you.

[OpIv37]

Those were probably 2 of the easiest predictions out there, and one that almost anyone could have made. It's the rest of the picks that are a little tougher.

Basically the "experts" are no better than any of us at predicting the future. It means nothing and means even less when these guys are proven mostly wrong at the end of the season. Don't let it get to you.

the so-called "experts" don't get to me. I think I've only looked at 2 or 3 of those predictions things all off-season, and they didn't affect my view of this team at all. I don't know why everyone thinks that I'm down on this team just because someone in a magazine said they're 28th in the NFL.

The point is that we were 5-11 last year. There are new systems on both sides of the ball. There are significant holes at several positions, and question marks at best at some others. Regardless of what the so-called experts say, anyone who followed this team last year and followed the off-season they had has legitimate reason for concern.

And why is everyone so willing to dismiss the "experts" picks when they're right but so quick to criticize when they're wrong? If these guys were picking the Bills to be 4th in the league and 2nd in the AFC, somehow I doubt we'd be seeing so many posts about how bad these experts are on this board.

[Mitchy moo]

And why is everyone so willing to dismiss the "experts" picks when they're right but so quick to criticize when they're wrong? If these guys were picking the Bills to be 4th in the league and 2nd in the AFC, somehow I doubt we'd be seeing so many posts about how bad these experts are on this board.

We are going to end up there or better, so then the experts would be right. The mess was created by the coaching staffs bickering and lack of leadership. Now between Marv, Dick, and TKO there will be plenty of leaders.

Please remember we we're one score or less away from winning like 7 games we lost last year. Those can have been pulled out with the right play calls.

[OpIv37]

We are going to end up there or better, so then the experts would be right. The mess was created by the coaching staffs bickering and lack of leadership. Now between Marv, Dick, and TKO there will be plenty of leaders.

Please remember we we're one score or less away from winning like 7 games we lost last year. Those can have been pulled out with the right play calls.

Good teams win close games- bad teams don't. We were a bad team last year.

Leadership only gets you so far. Then you need talent. We don't have it, particularly on the DL, the OL, QB, WR.

There is no way in hell we'll be 4th in the league. We'll be lucky to be 24th in the league.