We SUCK. (But has anyone looked at the standings?)

[JohnnyGold]

EJ looked terrible this past weekend, and it's certainly disheartening to be a Bills fan right now.

In fact, it looks like the season is over--I think I even said as much myself after that loss.

But...

And I'm willing to accept that this is going to go over about as well as the Hindenburg...

Have you looked at the AFC standings?

The Jets are 2 games up on us (and obviously we play them this weekend).

After them, we are one game (or less) behind 7 teams.

IM NOT SAYING THE BILLS ARE GOING TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.

But IF we beat the Jets, we go into our bye week 1 game back from the playoffs, with a week off, and 5 games to go.

IM NOT SAYING THE BILLS ARE GOING TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.

But 8-8 could be good for the 6 seed in the AFC this year... the conference is that bad.

IM NOT SAYING THE BILLS ARE GOING TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.

But have you looked at the teams ahead of the Bills?

The Jets--if we beat them, that takes care of itself.
Miami--imploding, and one more win than us, currently owns the 7 seed. We've beaten them, and play them again at home.
Tennessee, Cleveland, Baltimore, San Diego, Oakland, Pittsburgh--all ahead of us, by 1 or .5 games.

IM NOT SAYING THE BILLS ARE GOING TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.

This is likely just me rationalizing to myself why I'm going to watch the game this weekend. But the season isn't over. Not by a long shot. Odds are--one of the 8 teams above us separates themselves from the pack, and Buffalo finishes 6-10.

But what if finishing 5-1 (8-8) with games against Miami, the Jets, Jacksonville, Tampa, and stealing one from New England/Atlanta gets us to 8-8 and that's good enough for a 6 seed?

Crazier things have happened.




OK---on with the discussions of which QB to take in the first round this spring. :mbb:

[stuckincincy]

I wouldn't trust them drafting in the middle of the pack.

When they draft in the top ten, there is plenty of outside guidance to nudge them. Whether or not they act on it is another question.

[OpIv37]

8-8 won't get us the 6 seed. If nothing else, we'd lose on tiebreakers cuz of all the conf losses.

Even if we win out, I doubt 9-7 gets us in. Not that it matters because that'll never happen.

[Uncle Jesse]

So your'e saying the Bills are going to make the playoffs?

[jimmifli]

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/s2R2sH2ScBM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[stuckincincy]

8-8 won't get us the 6 seed. If nothing else, we'd lose on tiebreakers cuz of all the conf losses.

Even if we win out, I doubt 9-7 gets us in. Not that it matters because that'll never happen.


Wouldn't they gain in position, and win the tie breakers with all the conference losses? I think you misspoke, Opi.

[OpIv37]

Wouldn't they gain in position, and win the tie breakers with all the conference losses? I think you misspoke, Opi.

Huh? I'm saying we already have too many conf losses regardless of what happens in the last 6 games.

[Generalissimus Gibby]

Awww, how precious the annual Bills can blunder into the playoffs Thread and its right on schedule. You know I used to love these threads, and before that I loved this team but after fourteen years all I can say is who you kidding?

[better days]

Reminds me of Jim Cary in Dumb & Dumber.

"So you're saying there's a CHANCE"

Sure why not.

[JohnnyGold]

Awww, how precious the annual Bills can blunder into the playoffs Thread and its right on schedule. You know I used to love these threads, and before that I loved this team but after fourteen years all I can say is who you kidding?


HAHA!!

Agreed! (Embarrassed that I'm the one that made this thread, actually. Because it literally servers no purpose.)

We all know they won't make the playoffs-which renders this thread meaningless.

But let's say they go on an amazing run--it's not like I predicted it in this thread. In fact, I'm predicting the exact opposite--making this thread even more meaningless.

I guess my motivation for making it, is just to point out that this game this weekend still carries some meaning, mathematically.
Our season isn't TECHNICALLY over.
In fact, when ESPN.com puts up their "playoff calculator" after this weekend, should we win, I think there are going to be a number of interesting ways to get the Bills to the playoffs.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/machine

In fact, just to make this thread have SOME predictive validity, let me throw a bone here:

If the Bills win this weekend, I think that we will be able to devise scenarios in ESPN's NFL playoff calculator that have the Bills in the playoffs with a 7-9 record!

[stuckincincy]

Huh? I'm saying we already have too many conf losses regardless of what happens in the last 6 games.

Oops - I misread.

[imbondz]

EJ looked terrible this past weekend, and it's certainly disheartening to be a Bills fan right now.

In fact, it looks like the season is over--I think I even said as much myself after that loss.

But...

And I'm willing to accept that this is going to go over about as well as the Hindenburg...

Have you looked at the AFC standings?

The Jets are 2 games up on us (and obviously we play them this weekend).

After them, we are one game (or less) behind 7 teams.

IM NOT SAYING THE BILLS ARE GOING TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.

But IF we beat the Jets, we go into our bye week 1 game back from the playoffs, with a week off, and 5 games to go.

IM NOT SAYING THE BILLS ARE GOING TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.

But 8-8 could be good for the 6 seed in the AFC this year... the conference is that bad.

IM NOT SAYING THE BILLS ARE GOING TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.

But have you looked at the teams ahead of the Bills?

The Jets--if we beat them, that takes care of itself.
Miami--imploding, and one more win than us, currently owns the 7 seed. We've beaten them, and play them again at home.
Tennessee, Cleveland, Baltimore, San Diego, Oakland, Pittsburgh--all ahead of us, by 1 or .5 games.

IM NOT SAYING THE BILLS ARE GOING TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.

This is likely just me rationalizing to myself why I'm going to watch the game this weekend. But the season isn't over. Not by a long shot. Odds are--one of the 8 teams above us separates themselves from the pack, and Buffalo finishes 6-10.

But what if finishing 5-1 (8-8) with games against Miami, the Jets, Jacksonville, Tampa, and stealing one from New England/Atlanta gets us to 8-8 and that's good enough for a 6 seed?

Crazier things have happened.




OK---on with the discussions of which QB to take in the first round this spring. :mbb:



we could find this exact same thread at this same time for the past 12 years

[coastal]

I went through this version of mania last year.

the crash isn't fun.

[ServoBillieves]

We will lose to Jacksonville, and a few people will commit suicide. That will be the pen-ultimate dagger. Poz will smile and feel some sense of accomplishment after he left and thought he would get ANYTHING in Jacksonville. We could win out and still lose to that awful team. And we will.

There are no playoffs this year, and this team doesn't want to win this year. The stupidity of the coaches has proved that.

[Thurmal]

This team hasn't won even won two games in a row yet.

[Skooby]

If you gave me +29 on the Colts last week, I'd bet a plenty & lost it all. Anything is possible but this is Buffalo & if we do make a run NE will still find a way to crush our dreams.

[JohnnyGold]

If you gave me +29 on the Colts last week, I'd bet a plenty & lost it all. Anything is possible but this is Buffalo & if we do make a run NE will still find a way to crush our dreams.

Agreed!

Don't get me wrong, we're not making the playoffs.

But 8-8 could get a 6 seed, that's my only point.

The AFC is TERRIBLE right now.

And as bad as we are (we suck), the 7 teams ahead of us aren't sitting around at 4-6 thinking they have the magic formula figured out.

One of these squads is getting a 6 seed.

If we beat the jets, we're very much alive for it.

It just makes sunday a little more meaningful this week.

(let me have something at least...)

[Mr. Pink]

Reminds me of Jim Cary in Dumb & Dumber.

"So you're saying there's a CHANCE"

Sure why not.

There is NO chance.

[OLDSRIP]

All this proves is that there is a lot of bad football being played this season.

[Generalissimus Gibby]

This team hasn't won even won two games in a row yet.

and it hasn't lost two game . . . oh wait . . .

[GvilleBills]

Hey we can go on a run, look like world beaters...then lose convincingly to NE 4th string.
2004 still stings...not falling for it again.

[sudzy]

Yeah I've looked at the standings. We lose to Jax and TB and we are one game out of drafting Bridgewater.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Sportsclubstats says finishing 6-0 gives us a 55% chance of making the playoffs. http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NFL/AFC/AFCEast/Buffalo.html

That's right, 9-7 is slightly above a coin flip to make the playoffs. 8-7-1 is about a 1 in 3 chance, 8-8 is basically eliminated.

Sooooooo, no we're not making January plans.

[CuseJetsFan83]

actually both conferences are "terrible"

nfc east it realistically is just philly and dallas at 5-5... yes i know the giants and skins are 3-6 and probably winner of this division will be 8-8/9-7
nfc north - is just one huge clusterFunk...... detroit in the clubhouse lead with GB and chicago right behind. if GB loses 2 out of their next 3 games they are toast, with or without AR#12
nfc south - new orleans and carolina - almost booked for the playoffs
nfc west - seattle SHOULD be safely in, but their not that strong on the road, so can't slip up... SF took a huge hit losing to carolina and now arizona and the rams have some life.... albeit who knows how long that lasts

my predictions as of now would be:
philly, chicago, new orleans, carolina, seattle and sf

in the afc the bills would need to a> win out as well as hope that other teams stumble... the biggest detractor is that the bills have 6 conference losses
of teams that are alive the dolphins, browns and titans would have the tiebreaker on that (yes i know the dolphins it would be division record, but they still have 4 divisional games left)

afc east - patriots will lose a few more games but probably will win the division unless the jets go on a tear (won't happen) but a saving grace for gangreen is they have one of the easiest schedules on paper.
couple that with the fish tanking.... and well buffalo just keeps digging that hole
afc north - just.... ugly ...... cincy's division to lose kinda like that baltimore game
afc south - indy solely because the titans WILL not win the division with fitzy at qb... and jax/houston are toast
afc west - KC/Denver enough said.. SD will keep the wild card close, buttttt the post norv jinx continues.. oakland.. yeah poor oakland

afc:
New england, cincy, indy, Denver with wildcards of KC and nyj

[stuckincincy]

All this proves is that there is a lot of bad football being played this season.

There sure are a bunch of injuries this season - including numerous starters. One of the local sports columnists here noted that as of a week or so ago, there are over 170 players on IR.

[better days]

actually both conferences are "terrible"

nfc east it realistically is just philly and dallas at 5-5... yes i know the giants and skins are 3-6 and probably winner of this division will be 8-8/9-7
nfc north - is just one huge clusterFunk...... detroit in the clubhouse lead with GB and chicago right behind. if GB loses 2 out of their next 3 games they are toast, with or without AR#12
nfc south - new orleans and carolina - almost booked for the playoffs
nfc west - seattle SHOULD be safely in, but their not that strong on the road, so can't slip up... SF took a huge hit losing to carolina and now arizona and the rams have some life.... albeit who knows how long that lasts

my predictions as of now would be:
philly, chicago, new orleans, carolina, seattle and sf

in the afc the bills would need to a> win out as well as hope that other teams stumble... the biggest detractor is that the bills have 6 conference losses
of teams that are alive the dolphins, browns and titans would have the tiebreaker on that (yes i know the dolphins it would be division record, but they still have 4 divisional games left)

afc east - patriots will lose a few more games but probably will win the division unless the jets go on a tear (won't happen) but a saving grace for gangreen is they have one of the easiest schedules on paper.
couple that with the fish tanking.... and well buffalo just keeps digging that hole
afc north - just.... ugly ...... cincy's division to lose kinda like that baltimore game
afc south - indy solely because the titans WILL not win the division with fitzy at qb... and jax/houston are toast
afc west - KC/Denver enough said.. SD will keep the wild card close, buttttt the post norv jinx continues.. oakland.. yeah poor oakland

afc:
New england, cincy, indy, Denver with wildcards of KC and nyj

The Steelers have dug themselves a deep hole & have a tough schedule, but with Big Ben at QB, I would not count them out just yet.

And the Jets schedule is NOT that easy on paper.

At the Bills

At the Ravens

Fins at home

Raiders at home

At the Panthers

Browns at home

At the Fins

I think the Jets could easily lose every road game on their schedule. If they win out at home that would put them at 8-8

And now that we are in November & the weather has turned, we will find out about Geno.

He did not look very impressive in the pinstripe bowl.

[trapezeus]

i personally see the bills losing this week and that we have a lot of boo birds out.

then we'll get a text saying russ brandon is fired and enter Darcy.

at some point, someone will figur eout its not coaching...it's just the front office. Russ brandon would never get a gig anywhere else. and as a result, no one worth while would ever want to work under him.

So that's why they keep cranking out these useless seasons over and over. There may be some hope with this incarnation of the team, but russ and co will find a way to snuff out that hope.

[better days]

i personally see the bills losing this week and that we have a lot of boo birds out.

then we'll get a text saying russ brandon is fired and enter Darcy.

at some point, someone will figur eout its not coaching...it's just the front office. Russ brandon would never get a gig anywhere else. and as a result, no one worth while would ever want to work under him.

So that's why they keep cranking out these useless seasons over and over. There may be some hope with this incarnation of the team, but russ and co will find a way to snuff out that hope.

About time Darcy was fired. I know this is a Bills board, but I'm surprised there is no thread about the Sabres shake up, it is such BIG news.

GREAT news for Sabres fans.

[Ed]

If you look at the remaining schedules of the teams in front of the Bills, it's really not that unrealistic to win the 6 seed with an 8-8 record. I have no expectations of the Bills actually putting any kind of win streak together, I don't even think they're going to beat the Jets, but if they can get a win this weekend they're pretty much right back in it. I think it would really just come down to finishing ahead of the Jets.

Miami and San Diego are both 4-5, play each other this weekend and then have tough schedules after that. I like San Diego, but I don't see anything better than 8-8 for either team.

Tennessee is 4-5, lost their qb for the rest of the year and have to still play two games against the Colts and @Denver. Fitzy isn't leading them to anything better than 8-8.

Baltimore at 4-5 has at least a few more tough games and we hold the tie-breaker against them. I don't see them finishing any better than 8-8.

Cleveland has the tie-breaker over the Bills, but I think they're only going to win 1 or 2 more games this year. Expect them to finish below .500.

That leaves Oakland and Pitt who are both 3-6 and look to have at least a couple more losses on their schedules.

I just don't think the Bills are good enough to put together any kind of winning streak, but they've got the schedule to make a run if they can find a way to beat the Jets. They'll have the bye to get healthy and extra prep time for 3 very winnable games in a row after that. I'm not holding my breath, but there's still a sliver of hope. No chance if they lose this weekend.

[Jry44]

EJ looked terrible this past weekend, and it's certainly disheartening to be a Bills fan right now.

In fact, it looks like the season is over--I think I even said as much myself after that loss.

But...

And I'm willing to accept that this is going to go over about as well as the Hindenburg...

Have you looked at the AFC standings?

The Jets are 2 games up on us (and obviously we play them this weekend).

After them, we are one game (or less) behind 7 teams.

IM NOT SAYING THE BILLS ARE GOING TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.

But IF we beat the Jets, we go into our bye week 1 game back from the playoffs, with a week off, and 5 games to go.

IM NOT SAYING THE BILLS ARE GOING TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.

But 8-8 could be good for the 6 seed in the AFC this year... the conference is that bad.

IM NOT SAYING THE BILLS ARE GOING TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.

But have you looked at the teams ahead of the Bills?

The Jets--if we beat them, that takes care of itself.
Miami--imploding, and one more win than us, currently owns the 7 seed. We've beaten them, and play them again at home.
Tennessee, Cleveland, Baltimore, San Diego, Oakland, Pittsburgh--all ahead of us, by 1 or .5 games.

IM NOT SAYING THE BILLS ARE GOING TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.

This is likely just me rationalizing to myself why I'm going to watch the game this weekend. But the season isn't over. Not by a long shot. Odds are--one of the 8 teams above us separates themselves from the pack, and Buffalo finishes 6-10.

But what if finishing 5-1 (8-8) with games against Miami, the Jets, Jacksonville, Tampa, and stealing one from New England/Atlanta gets us to 8-8 and that's good enough for a 6 seed?

Crazier things have happened.




OK---on with the discussions of which QB to take in the first round this spring. :mbb:


8-8 would be a nice way to finish the season. It would carry some optimism over into next season. However, after seeing this team win only 3 of their first 10 I can't find any way to convince myself that this team suddenly figures it out and wins 5 of their next 6.

[Jry44]

Yeah I've looked at the standings. We lose to Jax and TB and we are one game out of drafting Bridgewater.

We're not drafting Bridgewater. Even if we do end up with the first pick. And not one year removed from taking a QB in the 1st round.

[Mr. Pink]

We're not drafting Bridgewater. Even if we do end up with the first pick. And not one year removed from taking a QB in the 1st round.

If the Bills somehow end up with the first pick of the draft and they don't take Bridgewater, they deserve every losing season EJ will bring them.

Of course it would take losing out and the Jags and Bucs to win another game and still have to have SOS be lower than both of them. I can see the Jags winning twice more if we lose out, victory against us and then beating Miami. But I don't know how Tampa wins an extra game on top of beating us if we lose out.

[trapezeus]

if the bills were to look good and go 8-8 and EJ looked like he was getting it and passes were accurate, etc, fine, let's do this thing and shock the world.

but if hte bills are going to squeak in with erratic play only to play NE on national television and get slaughted by a QB who is timid and not taking shots, i'd rather suck the rest of the way and get more sure bet players.

[better days]

If the Bills somehow end up with the first pick of the draft and they don't take Bridgewater, they deserve every losing season EJ will bring them.

Of course it would take losing out and the Jags and Bucs to win another game and still have to have SOS be lower than both of them. I can see the Jags winning twice more if we lose out, victory against us and then beating Miami. But I don't know how Tampa wins an extra game on top of beating us if we lose out.

I have not heard anyone talk about Bridgewater the way Andrew Luck was talked about.

[Bill Cody]

It really doesn't matter how we finish. This season is a weekly referendum on Marrone and Manuel, always has been. We could finish 8-8 and I'd be ready to dump EJ if he's not showing progress. On the other hand we could finish 3-13 and I'd be fully on board with seeing another year if he shows signs of getting it. It's all about the coach and the QB. This is a first year coach, he's going to have growing pains. To me it's not at all surprising EJ is struggling, I predicted it. The light is either going to turn on for him at some point or it's not, right now I have no opinion on whether it will. But it sure would be fun to beat Geno and the Jets this week. Go Bills!

[better days]

It really doesn't matter how we finish. This season is a weekly referendum on Marrone and Manuel, always has been. We could finish 8-8 and I'd be ready to dump EJ if he's not showing progress. On the other hand we could finish 3-13 and I'd be fully on board with seeing another year if he shows signs of getting it. It's all about the coach and the QB. This is a first year coach, he's going to have growing pains. To me it's not at all surprising EJ is struggling, I predicted it. The light is either going to turn on for him at some point or it's not, right now I have no opinion on whether it will. But it sure would be fun to beat Geno and the Jets this week. Go Bills!

I question how the Bills would finish 3-13 if EJ shows signs of getting it.

IMO if EJ shows signs of getting it, it is more likely they win every game left rather than lose every game left.

I expect somewhere between 6-10 & 8-8 myself.

[BillsFever21]

Even if the Bills win this weekend we would still be two losses behind the Jets and the other teams vying for the last WC spot unless they also lost. We also currently have two more conference losses then anyone in the AFC except for the Jaguars.

Sure the Bills are still mathematically alive but if you really think we have a shot then please give me whatever you're taking. Even though we're still mathematically alive we currently are tied for the 2nd MOST LOSSES in the AFC. To put that into perspective the Jaguars only have one more loss then we do. We would need to leapfrog a bunch of teams along with about 6 teams with either 4 or 5 losses going in the tank along with it.