Are the playoffs a legit hope?

[Bling]

When was the last time a team rode on a newbie QB to the playoffs in the last 5 years? Newbie Qb being a 1st or 2nd year QB with little experience.


Michael Vick, Ben Roethlisbeger, and Tom Brady are the only ones that come to mind. Are you really expecting JP Losman to be in the same league? If you do, you're saying Michael Vick, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisbeger, JP Losman?



Combine that with 6 playoff spots for:
Steelers
Patriots
Colts
Denver
Chargers
Jaguars
Ravens
Jets
Bills
9
MAYBE:
Chiefs
Raiders
Bengals
Texans
4
TEAMS NOT GOING 99% SURE:
Dolphins
Titans
Browns
3



Facts aren't looking too good for the Bills..

[Drive 4 Five]

When was the last time a team rode on a newbie QB to the playoffs in the last 5 years? Newbie Qb being a 1st or 2nd year QB with little experience.


Michael Vick, Ben Roethlisbeger, and Tom Brady are the only ones that come to mind. Are you really expecting JP Losman to be in the same league? If you do, you're saying Michael Vick, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisbeger, JP Losman?



Combine that with 6 playoff spots for:
Steelers
Patriots
Colts
Denver
Chargers
Jaguars
Ravens
Jets
Bills
9
MAYBE:
Chiefs
Raiders
Bengals
Texans
4
TEAMS NOT GOING 99% SURE:
Dolphins
Titans
Browns
3



Facts aren't looking too good for the Bills..

Why not? Here is the thing about rookie QB's. Generally when a team has to start one, they are in the position of 2006 49'ers. Right? Drafting a QB that high usually indicates that the team is in serious rebuild mode. The reason the QB's you just mentioned were so successful is because they were on teams that were not rebuilding. The Bills have talented players on offense, we're solid on defense and special teams. So it is not just that those players you mentioned are special, they are, but they were also on good teams and I feel Losman is in the exact same position.

[Drive 4 Five]

Now I am not saying that we are in the same league with the Patriots, Steelers, and Colts, that remains to be seen. We have a hell of alot to prove to be considered with the best in the NFL. As for the rest of the league, it is wide ass open. Can you seriously sit here and say that we cannot compete with the likes of the Ravens, Jets, Broncos, and Jaguars? You're dead wrong if you do and you know it.

I can tell you have some football smarts about you. The reason people talk smack to you is because of idiots like FTP. Only a smart and sensible fan would admit that his own team has no chance to make the playoffs. I love football and I know the game, if I didn't think we honestly had a chance I wouldn't even open my mouth. The fact is that we do have a solid chance. We'll see what happens but I disagree that things look bleak for the Bills.

[Night Train]

1. Jets QB coming off arm surgery and still is barely throwing. OL,DL is weaker. RB coming of career year and is now 33. May be the biggest hype job in the NFL.
2. Jags - good team but Fred Taylor is broken glass. Like the DL . Secondary and OL is OK. Leftwich has moments but can be inconsistent. Could win 10 but also could win 7.
3. Ravens - QB has to put up or step aside. J.Lewis is entire Offense. Great D is playing too many minutes. Another team who may be a bit overrated.
4. Denver - Weak division. They can run the ball but Plummer is terrible when he's off, which is all too often. D is OK.
5. SD - One year wonder ? Great RB but lets see Brees do it again. D is decent. They will probably keep winning but a step back is possible.

I'll take it one week at a time with our team. Still, it seems the less we know of other teams, the greater we imagine they are. Multiple contenders have questions.

[Drive 4 Five]

1. Jets QB coming off arm surgery and still is barely throwing. OL,DL is weaker. RB coming of career year and is now 33. May be the biggest hype job in the NFL.
2. Jags - good team but Fred Taylor is broken glass. Like the DL . Secondary and OL is OK. Leftwich has moments but can be inconsistent. Could win 10 but also could win 7.
3. Ravens - QB has to put up or step aside. J.Lewis is entire Offense. Great D is playing too many minutes. Another team who may be a bit overrated.
4. Denver - Weak division. They can run the ball but Plummer is terrible when he's off, which is all too often. D is OK.
5. SD - One year wonder ? Great RB but lets see Brees do it again. D is decent. They will probably keep winning but a step back is possible.

I'll take it one week at a time with our team. Still, it seems the less we know of other teams, the greater we imagine they are. Multiple contenders have questions.

I'm sorry my friend but I have to disagree that the Ravens are overrated and that the AFC West is a weak division. San Diego a one year wonder? How can you say that about a team built by two former Bill architects in Butler & Smith?

The point here is that other than the top three teams, the rest is anyone's guess. Also, I know what the Steelers did last year, but I am going to go out on a limb here, when I really think about it, and say that the Ravens take their spot among the elite three. I say the Steeler's QB struggles a little bit this year (the clinic the Patriots put on him will not help his case), and I do not see Bettis having the kind of season as he did before. Also, you can't forget the loss of Burress. I think last year was a unique opportunity for Pittsburgh and they blew it.

Now I know I mentioned the Steelers with the top three among the AFC's elite, but that is simply going by last year's standards. Just like the Patriots, I really do not think they are as strong as last year, but you have to give them the benefit of the doubt. They are the champions until proven different.

[Kenny]

I dont see why not. If the defense can keep playing well, and McGahee does his thing, -then why not?

People everywhere have been talking down about Losman. That he's just a rookie, and that he doesnt have experience. But anyone and everyone whose watched a Bills game last season can easily see that you really cant get any worse than Bledsoe. I mean my God... Im even surprised we won that many games the way Bledsoe was playing.
Dont get me wrong, Im not saying that Losman will play like Ben did last year (though it's not impossible that it might happen), -it's just that when you had crap to begin with, it cant get any worse.

The way I see it, the Bills are much more improved over last year, in every aspect of the game. The defense is still strong (yes we did lose Fat Pat, but we gained an experienced McGee for this year, plus Vincent will be one hell of a FS). This unit is still a top3 defense despite whatever naysayers in the league think.
Our running game will be stronger, and I've already said my peace about our QB position.

[Drive 4 Five]

I agree Kenny. You truly cannot do worse than Drew Blesdoe and I too am surprised we won as many games as we did last year with that loser at QB. You can thank a much improved special teams, a defense that finally learned how to cause turnovers, and Willis McGahee for that.

[ParanoidAndroid]

Why not? Here is the thing about rookie QB's. Generally when a team has to start one, they are in the position of 2006 49'ers. Right? Drafting a QB that high usually indicates that the team is in serious rebuild mode. The reason the QB's you just mentioned were so successful is because they were on teams that were not rebuilding. The Bills have talented players on offense, we're solid on defense and special teams. So it is not just that those players you mentioned are special, they are, but they were also on good teams and I feel Losman is in the exact same position.

Very nice! :posrep:
(wish i had more to give)

[footballhottie]

1. Jets QB coming off arm surgery and still is barely throwing. OL,DL is weaker. RB coming of career year and is now 33. May be the biggest hype job in the NFL.
2. Jags - good team but Fred Taylor is broken glass. Like the DL . Secondary and OL is OK. Leftwich has moments but can be inconsistent. Could win 10 but also could win 7.
3. Ravens - QB has to put up or step aside. J.Lewis is entire Offense. Great D is playing too many minutes. Another team who may be a bit overrated.
4. Denver - Weak division. They can run the ball but Plummer is terrible when he's off, which is all too often. D is OK.
5. SD - One year wonder ? Great RB but lets see Brees do it again. D is decent. They will probably keep winning but a step back is possible.

I'll take it one week at a time with our team. Still, it seems the less we know of other teams, the greater we imagine they are. Multiple contenders have questions.great post! your very right about the jets, they seem so hyped but in reality their not looking so hot.
I agree Kenny. You truly cannot do worse than Drew Blesdoe and I too am surprised we won as many games as we did last year with that loser at QB. You can thank a much improved special teams, a defense that finally learned how to cause turnovers, and Willis McGahee for that. i was even more surprised that he didnt get hurt.....he got sacked almost everytime by guys bigger then him....how he didn't get killed i duhno

[LifetimeBillsFan]

Why not? Here is the thing about rookie QB's. Generally when a team has to start one, they are in the position of 2006 49'ers. Right? Drafting a QB that high usually indicates that the team is in serious rebuild mode. The reason the QB's you just mentioned were so successful is because they were on teams that were not rebuilding. The Bills have talented players on offense, we're solid on defense and special teams. So it is not just that those players you mentioned are special, they are, but they were also on good teams and I feel Losman is in the exact same position.
Excellent point! Another QB who took over a solid team as a first year starter and did a credible job was C.Palmer whose team finished with the same record as it had the previous season. Losman will have an all-around better team surrounding him than Palmer did and will be succeeding a veteran QB who had a worse season than the veteran QB that Palmer replaced. Palmer struggled at times last season and I expect JP to struggle at times, too, but, if Losman can have the same kind of season that Palmer did (which is not unreasonable), the Bills will be at least as good, if not better, than they were last season (see below).


1. Jets QB coming off arm surgery and still is barely throwing. OL,DL is weaker. RB coming of career year and is now 33. May be the biggest hype job in the NFL.
2. Jags - good team but Fred Taylor is broken glass. Like the DL . Secondary and OL is OK. Leftwich has moments but can be inconsistent. Could win 10 but also could win 7.
3. Ravens - QB has to put up or step aside. J.Lewis is entire Offense. Great D is playing too many minutes. Another team who may be a bit overrated.
4. Denver - Weak division. They can run the ball but Plummer is terrible when he's off, which is all too often. D is OK.
5. SD - One year wonder ? Great RB but lets see Brees do it again. D is decent. They will probably keep winning but a step back is possible.

I'll take it one week at a time with our team. Still, it seems the less we know of other teams, the greater we imagine they are. Multiple contenders have questions.
If the Jets do not sign a healthy T.Law, they will be weaker at DT and CB, with an unhappy DE. Their defense will not be quite as good as last season. There are a lot of questions about Pennington's arm as he will be on a "pitch count" until the last week of TC. Also, while L.Coles was Pennington's favorite target before going to Washington, there have been reports that he has a chronic problem with one of his big toes that could sideline him again at almost any time. The Jets will be strong, but they are not significantly better than the Bills.

The Jags have a real problem if F.Taylor's knee is not fully healed and he misses any time. Also, as we saw with McGahee last year, Taylor is likely to be less than 100% following his knee surgery even if he does play. Unless one of their young WRs has a breakout season, the Jags will have to rely on their running game again and may struggle as they did at the end of last season.

The Ravens have the same questions about Boller that the Bills have about Losman--only Boller is a veteran starter now who should be better than he has shown. If he finally steps it up, the Ravens will make the playoffs, but, if he doesn't, they may not.

Denver has perhaps more questions than the Bills. Will Plummer be consistent? Can T.Bell stay healthy and, if he doesn't, who will replace him? With all of the D-linemen they have, can they put together a group that will be able to actually get the job done? Will C.Bailey bounce back and who will start at the other CB position? If defense wins championships, there should be a lot of concerns in Denver.

I expect SD to be solid, if only because they have L.Tomlinson and a solid defense, but it remains to be seen if Brees can repeat his performance of last season. Oakland and KC are capable of upsetting SD and Denver on any given Sunday which could produce the kind of outcomes that we have seen in the past in the AFCE where all four teams finish close together and only one has a good enough overall record to make the playoffs.

I also agree with bills_fan_atic's comments about the Steelers not necessarily having as good a season as they had last year. Roethlisberger really wasn't called on to win many games with his arm last season because they ran the ball so well, but that could change this season. J.Bettis is a year older and the Steelers lost two starting O-linemen to free agency. They won a lot of close games last season and beat NE without C.Dillon during the regular season. With Cleveland in the division, Pitt and Balt will have two automatic wins on their schedules that Buffalo won't, but Cincy should be much improved and should be capable of stealing a couple of wins from them in their own division.

The race for the wild cards will undoubtedly be tight, but none of the teams in this group is that much of a lock for a playoff berth that it's not unreasonable to think that the Bills can grab one.



....People everywhere have been talking down about Losman. That he's just a rookie, and that he doesnt have experience. But anyone and everyone whose watched a Bills game last season can easily see that you really cant get any worse than Bledsoe. I mean my God... Im even surprised we won that many games the way Bledsoe was playing.

Dont get me wrong, Im not saying that Losman will play like Ben did last year (though it's not impossible that it might happen), -it's just that when you had crap to begin with, it cant get any worse....
Precisely! Because Bledsoe has such a recognizable name, people don't realize how bad he was last season. The Bills ranked 26th overall in passing offense and dead last in red zone passing offense and overall red zone conversions at just over 45%. With W.McGahee starting every game and being such a threat in the red zone and Losman's foot-speed, the Bills should be more effective and efficient in the red zone this season, even if Losman struggles at times and they do not get into the red zone quite as often. While Losman is going to make his mistakes and probably will struggle at times, Bledsoe set the bar so low last season that it will be hard for Losman not to match Bledsoe's performance this season. Anyone who saw the Bills first four games (and the Baltimore and second NE games) knows that Bledsoe didn't play any better than an untried rookie in those games. Losman, being a first year starter, may struggle, but so did Bledsoe last season and he was an experienced vet.

So, yes, the Bills do have a reasonable chance to make the playoffs this season even though they will be starting a first year starter at QB. It won't be easy and it's possible that they might fall short, but they should be in the hunt right down to the last game of the regular season.

[ublinkwescore]

The Jets are not significantly better then us?

I see us being a little bit better then them.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

I do, too. The way that the original post is worded, it implies that the Bills will have difficulty making the playoffs because there are so many good teams that the Bills are competing against that are, perhaps, more likely to make the playoffs, including the Jets.

While one could argue that the Jets were better than the Bills last year because they made the playoffs and the Bills didn't, I think both teams were very even last season and that, even though Losman may have his struggles at times this year, with the losses that the Jets have suffered in the off-season, the Bills will be even better or at least still even with the Jets this year. What I was trying to say was that I do not think that the fact that the Bills are starting a first year starter at QB this season makes the Jets, with their losses, significantly better or better overall than the Bills--so why should the fact that the Jets may be competing for a playoff spot make the Bills chances any less. I don't think the Jets are going to be as good as they were last season. Good, but not as good, while the Bills will be as good or better.

[Jan Reimers]

I believe that JP will be better than Vick and Roethlisberger - he'll be far more accurate than Vick and more athletic than Big Ben.

As for the playoffs, our running game, defense and special teams will be key. JP will just have to run the offense efficiently, make the occasional big play, and avoid killer mistakes. Just like Roethlisberger last year.

[Typ0]

people are not sure about JP because they haven't seen him play...but we have heard about his skills and his work ethic and I have a lot of confidence our offense is going to be lethal at times this season and the other times we are going to have the defensive and special teams play to be in the games. People quickly forget, because they haven't seen JP perform, that this is also an ace in the hole for us...because other teams will have so little film on him he's going to be hard to game plan against the first half of the season. This alone gives him the opportunity to get off to a good start despite not being a starter in the NFL in the past. We'll make the playoffs this season...I guarantee it. People seem to think the playoffs are the objective...the objective of the regular season is to secure homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. I'm looking forward to having some playoff games in BFLO come january.

[ublinkwescore]

that's very possible - I could honestly see us going 12-4 this season.

I see our only losses coming at San Diego, one at Gillette stadium, one against either Tampa Bay or Carolina, and the chiefs.

I think we've got enough to take out the patriots at the ralph this year.

[TigerJ]

I'm not predicting a Rothlisberger like first season for Losman, but with a few breaks early, the Bills have a chance to sneak into the playoffs as a wild card. I don't think Buffalo has to make into the playoffs to have a successful season. I could feel pretty good about the season if Losman looks like a starter in the second half. The playoffs would be nice though, and not out of the question.

[FlyingDutchman]

Always...every year we have a shot... last year I wouldn't have been sitting in a parking lot tailgating to go see an 0-4 team if I didnt think they still had a shot then....or watching the the Bills play the Arizona F'n Cardinals while getting sleet in the face if I didnt think so...They showed what they are really capable of last year by blowing teams out on that run they made....With D and ST the same, and an offense which I think is better...Why the F not?..In fact, I EXPECT IT!

[justasportsfan]

The bills should've been in the playoffs if the refs didn't blow the TD that Henry scored against the Raiders w/ a qb who was below average. Jp only needs to be decent and not blow like the other qb and we'll be fine.

Drew also limits Mularkey in terms of creative offensive calling. We need suprise plays calling to keep coaches like BB and Saban on their toes. With Drew, BB knew what to expect and knew Drews limits.

If Willis is 100% and JP has instant chemistry w/ Moulds, Evans and Parrish/Reed, teams will have to pick their poison.

There are a lot of if's that need to happen but they aren't far fetched.

[ublinkwescore]

The worlds coming to an end - I just posrepped Justa.