Marcala12
09-02-2012, 01:36 AM
I've been on the record (in the other board) for having the Bills finish way outside of the playoffs for the last 6 seasons straight.
I want to go on the record saying that the streak of not making the playoffs ends here. Here's my logic:
1) schedule - this is the easiest schedule we've had since we went 9-7 and lost to the Steelers 3rd stringers to miss the playoffs way back when. It can't be better. If you wanted to pick the best division to play in the AFC, you'd pick the South (Jags, Titans, Colts) and we play that division...and in the NFC you'd pick the West (seahawks, rams, cardinals) and we play that division too. The good teams in that division we catch on the road (Houston and SF), and I'm loving that..we'd have a tough time beating those teams at home anyway. Our two extra games this year are home against KC and @Cle. In all of the NFL I can't find another team who has a better set of extra games.
If we drop 2 against NE, and the two @Hou and @SF, consider that 7 of the remaining 12 games are at home against: NYJ, MIA, KC, Ten, Jax, Stl, and SEa. The toughest game outside of the 4 against elite teams would be @NYJ, a team that is headed for 6-7 wins. The other 4 road games are @Cle, @Mia, @Ari, and @Indy. That's 3 rookie QB's with terrible teams + Arz who isn't exactly a Juggernaut.
So to recap, our division is weaker than normal with Mia starting over this year, and with the Jets imploding. WE play the two worst divisions in football by a mile and our two extra games are the easiest set in the NFL. A bad team could go 7-9 with this schedule, a decent team should be no worse than 9-7 and we all know it.
2) The strength of our team is on the lines. The o-line was good last year, should be good this year. The d-line is one of the best in football. Outside of having a HOF QB, having good lines is the surest way to have a successful team. We're finally that team that has question marks in the secondary but has the beefed up pass rushing, run stuffing line. FINALLY!
3) The QB situation should be good enough. Whether or not Fitz was hurt when he s--- the bed is irrelevant. Once it was clear that he wasn't playing well enough to start we had nobody else to turn to. Jackson is 10X better than Thigpen, he's a decent backup QB in this league and if Fitz is banged up I don't think we're in such bad shape having JAckson come in and manage a couple of games against bad teams on our schedule. JAckson actually went 7-8 last year with a bad team, had more td's than int's, and had the same QB rating as Fitz (.1 better actually). The point is just that Jackson gives us an option just in case, where as last year we had none. Have to figure that Fitz cuts down in the int's this year and that he plays at a decent level which is all we need. Both of these qb's are good enough where teams can't sell out against the run on every play.
4) We have a scary running game. Our blocking scheme worked magic last year and should be at least as good this year with two very talented home run hitting rb's. I still like Fred to be the glue for the entire team, and I think we ride him until the wheels fall off. But CJ will add a wrinkle to the offense when he's in there and when he splits wide. Stevie and Fitz are good enough to keep things honest while our running game can potential be dominant. This should be by far the best running team we've had since Thurman was in his prime.
So this is it; no excuses, no BS...this has to be the year we finally crack into the playoffs. WE can stop the run, we can rush the passer, we can run the hell out of the ball, and we have the easiest schedule in the league - if not now then never.
I want to go on the record saying that the streak of not making the playoffs ends here. Here's my logic:
1) schedule - this is the easiest schedule we've had since we went 9-7 and lost to the Steelers 3rd stringers to miss the playoffs way back when. It can't be better. If you wanted to pick the best division to play in the AFC, you'd pick the South (Jags, Titans, Colts) and we play that division...and in the NFC you'd pick the West (seahawks, rams, cardinals) and we play that division too. The good teams in that division we catch on the road (Houston and SF), and I'm loving that..we'd have a tough time beating those teams at home anyway. Our two extra games this year are home against KC and @Cle. In all of the NFL I can't find another team who has a better set of extra games.
If we drop 2 against NE, and the two @Hou and @SF, consider that 7 of the remaining 12 games are at home against: NYJ, MIA, KC, Ten, Jax, Stl, and SEa. The toughest game outside of the 4 against elite teams would be @NYJ, a team that is headed for 6-7 wins. The other 4 road games are @Cle, @Mia, @Ari, and @Indy. That's 3 rookie QB's with terrible teams + Arz who isn't exactly a Juggernaut.
So to recap, our division is weaker than normal with Mia starting over this year, and with the Jets imploding. WE play the two worst divisions in football by a mile and our two extra games are the easiest set in the NFL. A bad team could go 7-9 with this schedule, a decent team should be no worse than 9-7 and we all know it.
2) The strength of our team is on the lines. The o-line was good last year, should be good this year. The d-line is one of the best in football. Outside of having a HOF QB, having good lines is the surest way to have a successful team. We're finally that team that has question marks in the secondary but has the beefed up pass rushing, run stuffing line. FINALLY!
3) The QB situation should be good enough. Whether or not Fitz was hurt when he s--- the bed is irrelevant. Once it was clear that he wasn't playing well enough to start we had nobody else to turn to. Jackson is 10X better than Thigpen, he's a decent backup QB in this league and if Fitz is banged up I don't think we're in such bad shape having JAckson come in and manage a couple of games against bad teams on our schedule. JAckson actually went 7-8 last year with a bad team, had more td's than int's, and had the same QB rating as Fitz (.1 better actually). The point is just that Jackson gives us an option just in case, where as last year we had none. Have to figure that Fitz cuts down in the int's this year and that he plays at a decent level which is all we need. Both of these qb's are good enough where teams can't sell out against the run on every play.
4) We have a scary running game. Our blocking scheme worked magic last year and should be at least as good this year with two very talented home run hitting rb's. I still like Fred to be the glue for the entire team, and I think we ride him until the wheels fall off. But CJ will add a wrinkle to the offense when he's in there and when he splits wide. Stevie and Fitz are good enough to keep things honest while our running game can potential be dominant. This should be by far the best running team we've had since Thurman was in his prime.
So this is it; no excuses, no BS...this has to be the year we finally crack into the playoffs. WE can stop the run, we can rush the passer, we can run the hell out of the ball, and we have the easiest schedule in the league - if not now then never.