Knowing what we know - August 8

[trapezeus]

after the draft I saw this as a 6 to 7 win team based on the talent, schedule and rex ryan as our game day coach. now with the injuries piling up and what seems to be a clear lack of depth, I think they are a 5 win team at best and more likely a 3 win team.

we never got to see shaq Lawson,
ragland is now hurt,
Brandon spikes is back despite being out of football for a year,
Watkins is still slowly working his way back to the field,
cordy glenn was hobbled,
we have two backup qbs who seem to like hitting the friend and family tent more than their receivers,
I still don't buy that the WR is upgraded (seems like a lot of journeymen)
RB rotation that deteriorated to signing reggie bush as a punt returner. I half expect us to sign ray rice to keep the rex ryan circus going full steam.

[Topas]

you are dreaming.
3 wins would get us too good a draft pick, so we will win 7 to 8 games.

[trapezeus]

maybe they will look good in preseason and we can start the regular season without much worry, but it's looking unlikely.

[Skooby]

The 3 wins would put us behind the 5-6 win season expected, take the under on win/losses today.

[GreedoII]

8-8

[Barb]

richie incognito just went into the locker room with an apparent upper body injury

[justasportsfan]

The Circus lives on. Whats the problem?

[swiper]

Ritchie scraped a tat

[Mace]

I can admit things haven't gone that well, but I think it's too early to make much of it.

I'm still thinking anywhere from 6-10 to 9-7. We find out if the coaching staff is all that, after all.

[Luisito23]

7-9...Mediocrity at it's best...:earpoke:

[trapezeus]

the thing we know for certain is the coaching staff. rex may be great with the players, but game day he finds a way to do vexing things. not challenging the Hogan catch comes to mind immediately. having a substitution that allows the opposing team run a td play with no contest is another. if the bills had a decent d and ok offense last year, I would say, these injuries are a nuisance, but only a few look long term. since we weren't very good last year, our expected starters need to be practicing to believe that we are going to improve. Just my two cents.

[Mr. Miyagi]

So tired of the gloom-and-doomers. Every year someone will say we're a 3-13 win team, yet it's really really hard in this league to be really that bad. This team is nowhere as bad as the Cleveland team last year. Really we have far too much talent to be that bad.

I'd be absolutely stunned if we didn't get to at least 8-8, realistically.

[trapezeus]

care to make it interesting? they may not be a 3 win team, but they are no where close to sniffing 8 wins. they barely got to 8 wins last year by winning to meaningless games at the end last year.

[OpIv37]

So tired of the gloom-and-doomers. Every year someone will say we're a 3-13 win team, yet it's really really hard in this league to be really that bad. This team is nowhere as bad as the Cleveland team last year. Really we have far too much talent to be that bad.

I'd be absolutely stunned if we didn't get to at least 8-8, realistically.

3 wins is a bit ridiculous unless the injuries pile up, but 8-8 is the ceiling for this team. The only real talent added were rookies (several of whom are already injured), the team lacks depth and already has injury issues, Rex is still the coach and the schedule is more challenging.

[trapezeus]

3 wins is absurd? the injuries on the d are piling up and we haven't had a preseason game. the linebacker position is the most important for a rex defense and he simply doesn't have a true stud of a lb like he's had at other places where they've been successful. the defense is more likely to go backwards than forward. and its early in camp and we have no idea if TT can read the middle of the field and our run game is impacted with injuries and suspensions. our line isn't particularly deep to the fact we can keep a crohn's sufferer on the team after losing significant weight. tough schedule combined with weak game day coaching and 3-5 wins is very likely at this point.

[feldspar]

care to make it interesting? they may not be a 3 win team, but they are no where close to sniffing 8 wins. they barely got to 8 wins last year by winning to meaningless games at the end last year.

How was the Jets game meaningless? It was basically a playoff game to them, and we beat them, knocking them the **** out. That was a real ball-game, fella.

Also, how do say that we "barely" made it to 8 wins? What's that supposed to mean? Did you watch the Jacksonville game, for example? Without that horrendous call at the end, the Bills easily win that game and are 9-7 IMO...even with the unbelievable 3-consecutive-series meltdown by EJ. A couple more bounces go our way in a different game, and the Bills are 10-6 and make the playoffs instead of Pittsburgh. If you put a different, less homoish slant on it, you can just as easily say that the Bills "barely" missed the playoffs last year, son.

Yeah, this year' schedule looks harder than last year's on paper, but the game isn't played on paper.

Dunno why some of you asswipes want to rain on your own parade so close to the beginning of the season, especially if you think about the Bills often enough to constantly post here, even when nothing is going on. Defense mechanism?

Anything could happen, and probably will. That's why they play the game, and that's what makes it fun to watch. And if anybody doesn't plan on having fun watching, I can't see why they'd bother watching. I certainly wouldn't want to watch games with some of you creeps.

[trapezeus]

feldspar, most people have a desire to anticipate what they expect to see. if I see them to be a bad team, it doesn't detract my love of my hometown or my team.

for jags game that we could have beaten one of the worst teams in the last 5 years in a close game (so I don't take a great deal of comfort that we needed a great comeback where most teams beat them handily), we could have easily lost the titans game, another bad team.

if you think anticipating this team is a 7-9 win team, so be it. but if that's the optimistic view point this is the 5th coaching change we've been asked to be patient on and 7-9 wins is a good turnout. remember that isn't good enough to be a serious playoff threat.

Other teams change coaches and see results immediately. the fact that hasn't happened once in 5changes, makes a reasonable person think the teams issues are much deeper than we are even analyzing. so is the asswipe the person who sees it as it is, or he person who has predicted repeatedly that we've made strides forward when we never do?

[Night Train]

I'll wait and see through the pre-season that has yet to commence. Message board predictions mean nothing. Every other team has improved and is better than the Bills. Got it. What tripe...

I'll arrive at the Kelly Club 90 minutes before kickoff this Saturday to talk to my usual group of football friends and completely enjoy myself.

Sorry Debbie Downers but it's mind over matter. I don't mind and you don't matter.

[YardRat]

I know feldspooge is getting nervous about our bet already.

[feldspar]

I know feldspooge is getting nervous about our bet already.

Kiss my slit, LardFat.

You're lucky I'm a nice guy. There was no bet at first. Originally, I challenged you to sport a big gay avatar if the Bills had a winning record. Because all your gay "Wrecks" this and "Wrecks" that I found annoying. So you took me up on that proposition, and then stupidly found out later that it didn't swing both ways...I never said that anything would happen to me if the Bills had a losing record at that point. Then, since I'm a fantastic fella, I turned it into the famous bet we know of today. I sensed that you were about to cry, and also collapse with your sense of confusion and chagrin.

Just so you remember how that went down, LardFat.

I still have made no prediction, so it's not really a bet per se...like I said the Bills would have a winning record. although, I think it's entirely possible the Bills have a winning record. But I'll hold up my end if the Bills have a losing record and have a big gay avatar for a week. Don't worry LardFat. You're looking at a month

I would never bet real money on the Bills record this season. If I'm not willing to bet real money on sports, I don't generally post crap about those things on the interwebs. I'd put my money where my mouth is.

[mdcas22]

feldspar, most people have a desire to anticipate what they expect to see. if I see them to be a bad team, it doesn't detract my love of my hometown or my team.

for jags game that we could have beaten one of the worst teams in the last 5 years in a close game (so I don't take a great deal of comfort that we needed a great comeback where most teams beat them handily), we could have easily lost the titans game, another bad team.

if you think anticipating this team is a 7-9 win team, so be it. but if that's the optimistic view point this is the 5th coaching change we've been asked to be patient on and 7-9 wins is a good turnout. remember that isn't good enough to be a serious playoff threat.

Other teams change coaches and see results immediately. the fact that hasn't happened once in 5changes, makes a reasonable person think the teams issues are much deeper than we are even analyzing. so is the asswipe the person who sees it as it is, or he person who has predicted repeatedly that we've made strides forward when we never do?


85% of all winning franchise lie's good talent evaluation something the Bills have lacked since the Polion era. I don't care who the coach is knowing talent and knowing how to get the best out of the talent = wining.

[feldspar]

85% of all winning franchise lie's good talent evaluation something the Bills have lacked since the Polion era. I don't care who the coach is knowing talent and knowing how to get the best out of the talent = wining.

Meh, it's all about the QB more than anything.

The Bills have enough talent across the board. How Tyrod plays will have more to do with it than anything else, I says.

Then if he plays well, he's bound to get a nice sponsorship deal with T-mobile. You know that.

[stuckincincy]

How was the Jets game meaningless? It was basically a playoff game to them, and we beat them, knocking them the **** out. That was a real ball-game, fella.

And I found it to be quite meaningful because it cost the club six spots in this year's draft. Sure, ya never know about this or that pick will turn out, but but having those six spots lets you - round after round - select from a bigger population on your draft board.

Teams play shenanigans. IND is a good example - the "Suck for Luck" thing, their dogging it so much in the Manning years to the point that the league began scheduling divisional match-ups later in the schedule. I remember the race to the bottom between BUF and PHI to get Simpson years ago. Folks threw rocks at the Sabres a while back in a race for the top pick - fans were tracking it, cheering losses.

Lifting your foot off the throttle for strategic reasons, be it for draft position or damaging the chances of a potential playoff rival is a pretty old concept. Yes, it slaps the face of sportsmanship, but that's how the pro game is.

[YardRat]

Oh, it's a bet all right. No need to be overly sensitive that I had to shame you into putting something on the line.

[trapezeus]

I just don't get why this constantly devolves into "you must not be a fan". I would gladly be wrong about yet another losing season. I would love for it to be December and have feldspar say, "you're an idiot. look at us and our 11-5 record." I'd love it even more if he was more vicious after a superbowl victory. I also don't watch each game hoping to be right. but having realistic expectations makes the games easier to watch. last year, I had higher expectations. coming out of a 9-7 year with a bad coach and zero offensive production, I thought a defensive coach with a respected OC would make it a legit push to the playoffs, and by the jags game, you saw that it was the same old bills and it was so frustrating.

[swiper]

I just don't get why this constantly devolves into "you must not be a fan". I would gladly be wrong about yet another losing season. I would love for it to be December and have feldspar say, "you're an idiot. look at us and our 11-5 record." I'd love it even more if he was more vicious after a superbowl victory. I also don't watch each game hoping to be right. but having realistic expectations makes the games easier to watch. last year, I had higher expectations. coming out of a 9-7 year with a bad coach and zero offensive production, I thought a defensive coach with a respected OC would make it a legit push to the playoffs, and by the jags game, you saw that it was the same old bills and it was so frustrating.

Only homers would look at this mess and accuse any one who spends time here of not being a real fan. Some people refuse to see it for what it is. The Bills will take the field soon. At that point there will be no denying it. We all knew Ryan was a loose cannon. The nail in the coffin was OBD letting him hire his brother, who's defenses have been absolutely awful practically everywhere he's been.

At this point in a typical camp we're usually all talking about this guy or that guy doing well in practices. This year we're cheering Dareus, Kyle Williams and Clay getting back to practice? I mean it's nice to hear Gilmore has 3 INTs, but we all know that doesn't necessarily mean too much.