There's NO reason to not contend in 2006

[patmoran2006]

* New England has been absolutely decimated by Free Agency and Cuts: They've lost Adam V, Willie McGinest, Tom Ashworth, Stephen Neal, David Givens, Poole among others. They also lost another coach to the Jets.

* Miami has a new QB to break into the system, one that has to overcome a knee injury still. They also have a deplorable secondary and they're old in the front seven. Their good on paper but have a lot of holes.

* The Jets are still.. the Jets

There is absolutely no reason anybody can sell me on that the Buffalo Bills can't and SHOULDN't be contenders to win the AFC East in 2006.

Even with our rash of "under the radar" signings (and that's putting it mildly) we are still in better cap shape than any of these teams. We also have more money coming to us when Moulds gets traded/cut, and we also have that fat slob Bennie Anderson's salary, as well as Mike Gandy's if we sign a tackle. NOt too mention, if Milloy was such a lousy "fit" in the cover two, why the hell is Posey on this team? Thats $1.75 million right there.

Point being? We started with a center (who may be good, but if why the hell does every photo on the net still have him in a Browns uniform?)..

Sign another guard and vet tackle like Runyan or Hopkins.. Have a real good draft with two starters coming out (DT and S) have a tackle to develop and this team can contend now.

This division is weaker than a Puma sneaker.

One last thing. Does Jauron ENJOY the Quarterbacking circus? I know he had it in Chicago.. What the hell is going on here? I"ll reserve judgement for now, but Losman is starting and Nall is #2 with Holcomb packing.. Regardless, its the one thing I"m worried about that's going to become a mess.

The bottom line is this division sucks and there's NO reason to not contend immediately.. NE's days of dominance are over.

[TacklingDummy]

The once powerful AFC East, is now a joke. Bills sucked last year, Jets sucked last year, Miami for the most part sucked last year, and even the Patroits weren't as good as prevouis years.

[TacklingDummy]

[QUOTE=patmoran2006
One last thing. Does Jauron ENJOY the Quarterbacking circus? I know he had it in Chicago.. What the hell is going on here? I"ll reserve judgement for now, but Losman is starting and Nall is #2 with Holcomb packing.. Regardless, its the one thing I"m worried about that's going to become a mess.
[/QUOTE]

Chicago hasn't had a QB since Jim McManhon, the Bills havent had a QB since Jim Kelly.

The Bills QB situation is not going to become a mess, it is a mess. I have no faith in any of them. But Holcomb isn't going anywhere and will most likey be starter.

[OpIv37]

I agree that NE's dominance is over, and the Jets are still a mess. But Miami has made some huge FA moves to address holes after vastly improving last season, and the Bills still have big holes to fill in both lines. And NE is still good enough to be competitive in the division.

If the season started today, I'd put the Bills as 3rd in the division. There's still some time left in FA and the draft, but I'm not holding out too much hope at this point.

[Patrick76777]

The once powerful AFC East, is now a joke. Bills sucked last year, Jets sucked last year, Miami for the most part sucked last year, and even the Patroits weren't as good as prevouis years.
The East will never be a joke again. Think about it. You’ve got 3 of the biggest cities in the league in the division. 4 teams that want to win very bad and spend wildly every year to reach those goals. No team in the division is ever down for too long. (sure we haven’t been to the playoffs in a long time, but we were close twice in the last 4 years. 2 years ago, Miami was terrible, now they’re the favorites. And they don’t even have a QB.

[patmoran2006]

I agree that NE's dominance is over, and the Jets are still a mess. But Miami has made some huge FA moves to address holes after vastly improving last season, and the Bills still have big holes to fill in both lines. And NE is still good enough to be competitive in the division.

If the season started today, I'd put the Bills as 3rd in the division. There's still some time left in FA and the draft, but I'm not holding out too much hope at this point.

I agree.. What Im trying to say is we are a couple of key FA away (and IM talking LINEMEN FA's) from closing that gap from 3rd towards the top.

Miami is the best team in this division now IMO.. NE cant possibly continue to lose guys and coaches everywhere and not have them slip.. NOt too mention they're LB's are really old and the secondary is not good, and thats BEFORE these loses.

I'm just kinda disgusted that Buffalo hasnt done more to address the OL other than FOWLER; though I'm also aware that Marv seems to be settling into whatever it is his OL plan is.. I do know Marv is smart enough to know Bennie Anderson aint gonna cut it and probably not Gandy either..

[Mski]

Miami was terrible, now they’re the favorites. And they don’t even have a QB.
are you forgetting about that dante guy who threw for 39td's two years ago?

[Patrick76777]

are you forgetting about that dante guy who threw for 39td's two years ago?



From what I heard, he might not be cleared to play until Halloween.

[Gunzlingr]

are you forgetting about that dante guy who threw for 39td's two years ago?

I think he is remembering the guy that more recently had 6 tds, 12 Ints, and had numerous fumbles on his way to a 2-5 record

[Patrick76777]

I think he is remembering the guy that more recently had 6 tds, 12 Ints, and had numerous fumbles on his way to a 2-5 record


Yeah, that dude. The dude with the attitude problem.

[tat2dmike77]

Everyone remembers dautae with moss and how he lit it up with moss. Everyone is giving him a free pass cause last year he hurt his little knee. Then he cried about playing in minn wanting more money blah blah blah. We have all heard it.

So what miami got cullpepper whippppeeee. Everyone is saying how great miami is cause of thier win streak last season. Hey for those of you who don't know they only beat 1 team with a winning record and even that doesn't count since it was against thier backups. Does this sound familar to anyone well except for the part of beating back ups.

Saban a first year coach starts off crappy then finishes strong. MM did the same thing now thier together. I guess MM is gonna give him some pointers on how to handle the 2nd year pressure. By just being a bonehead or something.

Anyway is the division weaker yeah most likely. Well does that mean the bills can contend yes but i always look at it like everyone can. Remember at the start of the season all teams are 0-0. Until someone knocks NE off thier throne then they still have to be the favorite. As much as it pains me to say it but until the king is dead he's still the king. I think in the divisions case the king is very very very ill right now and possibly on life support.

Who knows for all we know the jets couls be a surprise :lol: hey it happens sometimes and while it may be unlikely it could happen. If the bills want to contend they need to learn to win on the road. You take this team away from OP and they suck. Yes we need certain players in here to make things work but there is still time to get those players. The fact is this team needs to be able to win atleast half thier road games. Not just one or two but atleast four. Then they could be a serious contender for the division.

[BleedinGreenNC]

i am so sick and tired of hearing the fins fans saying that Daunte coming to them is the second coming of Marino!

[patmoran2006]

My point is that this division is FAR from stacked like the NFC East where every team is a legitimate Super Bowl contender..

This division is one of; if not the weakest overall division in football and there's no reason Marv is going to sell me on (not that he has ) that this team should not REALISTICALLY be approaching 2006 with a chance to win the AFC East.

[OpIv37]

i am so sick and tired of hearing the fins fans saying that Daunte coming to them is the second coming of Marino!

It is pretty annoying, but I liken it to the way Bills fans felt when we got Drew Bledsoe: he had issues, but compared to the garbage that had been playing under center, he WAS the second coming of Joe Namath.

[Mr. Pink]

Daunte is a bum because the Dolphins have him now! I love it.

Go over each teams roster in our division and how they played last year....Don't forget the Jets are also only one year removed from a playoff team and they aren't that much different of a team now other than Chad Penningtons' spaghetti arm. The Dolphins are a team on the rise and the Patsies, well they're the Patsies. If anyone has any delusions of grandeur that this is the year the Bills can contend in this division they're far offbase.

What we're at right now is a few year rebuilding process in which we'll hopefully win 5-6 games this year, might be a stretch, flirt around .500 next year, then in 2008 we can have a team that can make a serious run at a division title.

That's literally where we're at now unfortunately we've all had to put up with a subpar organization for the past 6 years. So many of us sit here and bash "mid tier" free agent signings, laugh at the direction of the franchise and quite frankly question which direction this franchise is heading in. I myself admit that I am one of those people. But based upon what we've seen the past 6 seasons can you really blame or any of the other "sky is falling" people?

It just irks me when a fan, which yes we're fans of the Bills, but more importantly we're fans of the NFL, sit there and blast teams like the Fish for bringing in Culpepper. Culpepper brings the Dolphins their first legitimate QB since Marino. And we all sit here and applaud Marv for bringing in third string
QB Craig Nall. And treat him like he's the second coming of Kurt Warner, Jake Delhomme etc.

I'm done now.

[HAMMER]

* New England has been absolutely decimated by Free Agency and Cuts: They've lost Adam V, Willie McGinest, Tom Ashworth, Stephen Neal, David Givens, Poole among others. They also lost another coach to the Jets.

* Miami has a new QB to break into the system, one that has to overcome a knee injury still. They also have a deplorable secondary and they're old in the front seven. Their good on paper but have a lot of holes.

* The Jets are still.. the Jets

There is absolutely no reason anybody can sell me on that the Buffalo Bills can't and SHOULDN't be contenders to win the AFC East in 2006.

Even with our rash of "under the radar" signings (and that's putting it mildly) we are still in better cap shape than any of these teams. We also have more money coming to us when Moulds gets traded/cut, and we also have that fat slob Bennie Anderson's salary, as well as Mike Gandy's if we sign a tackle. NOt too mention, if Milloy was such a lousy "fit" in the cover two, why the hell is Posey on this team? Thats $1.75 million right there.

Point being? We started with a center (who may be good, but if why the hell does every photo on the net still have him in a Browns uniform?)..

Sign another guard and vet tackle like Runyan or Hopkins.. Have a real good draft with two starters coming out (DT and S) have a tackle to develop and this team can contend now.

This division is weaker than a Puma sneaker.

One last thing. Does Jauron ENJOY the Quarterbacking circus? I know he had it in Chicago.. What the hell is going on here? I"ll reserve judgement for now, but Losman is starting and Nall is #2 with Holcomb packing.. Regardless, its the one thing I"m worried about that's going to become a mess.

The bottom line is this division sucks and there's NO reason to not contend immediately.. NE's days of dominance are over.

We may contend for our division, but certainly have next to no shot at the conference.

[BigGabes23]

Pat, I love your spirit, but on paper the bills are at the bottom 2-3 teams in the NFL.

reason one - O Line. Bigbub just posted our starting O-line. It is worse then last year. We need a solid LT and we need to move Gandy to LG, or to the Bench if we sign Neal (who is no gaurentee). I don't think eiter of those things happen. Gandy is our LT, and he is not very good.

reason two - D Line. worse then last year. Drafting buckley and signing Israel Idonije would be awesome...we'll see if it happens.

reason three - Secondary. Vincent will be some combination of ineffective/hurt all year. one of three back-ups to start at the FS spot for Milloy.

Reason four - QB -- I am a Losman guy, but who the heck has a three person QB race? I have never heard of it. Marv needs to pick a guy.

I agree with you about the other teams....they are not good. but to think we have a chance to win the East this year may be a bit optamistic. I will be routeing for them though!!!

[patmoran2006]

Pat, I love your spirit, but on paper the bills are at the bottom 2-3 teams in the NFL.

reason one - O Line. Bigbub just posted our starting O-line. It is worse then last year. We need a solid LT and we need to move Gandy to LG, or to the Bench if we sign Neal (who is no gaurentee). I don't think eiter of those things happen. Gandy is our LT, and he is not very good.

reason two - D Line. worse then last year. Drafting buckley and signing Israel Idonije would be awesome...we'll see if it happens.

reason three - Secondary. Vincent will be some combination of ineffective/hurt all year. one of three back-ups to start at the FS spot for Milloy.

Reason four - QB -- I am a Losman guy, but who the heck has a three person QB race? I have never heard of it. Marv needs to pick a guy.

I agree with you about the other teams....they are not good. but to think we have a chance to win the East this year may be a bit optamistic. I will be routeing for them though!!!

Good points.. However, I am not suggesting the Bills WILL compete for the divsion. my point was this division is VERY weak and this post (surprise surprise) is frustration towards LEvy for NOT bringing in the few impact players on the O Line that CAN turn around this team sooner than later.

As you said.
reason 1- Runyan and Neal solve the OL problem.. done deal

reason 2- Idonije and Bunkley with the draft, I agree. Problem solved

reason 3- secondary. I hate Bowens starting. I hate Baker but I hate Bowens more. Round 2 of draf pick the best safety.. McGee is becoming a GREAT corner, in my eyes almost as good as Nate.. Our secondary will be fine with a REAL safety.

reason 4- I totally agree with you.. Jauron better pick his guy early and not mismanage and let that circus happen like he did with his QB's in Chicago.

I dont suggest the Bills WILL win this division, not with these young, CHEAP and "for the future" moves we're making.. But you get a couple of SOLID linemen in NOW (and they still are out there), draft Bunkley and a safety and figure out what the hell is going on with QB, and they have every chance to compete in the AFC Least.

[Meathead]

despite all the wailing and gnashing of teeth the bills are only two or three starting linemen from being definite division contenders right now and i have no doubt those guys will be there opening day

trust the marv

ohm

[BigGabes23]

I think the other area's look promising, but I am still not sold on the line. Without the line, we have no chance. The Line is the most important positions in all of football. I will reserve judgement for a while, but additional signings on the oline seam unlikly, especially for Runyan, probablly for Neal. This line looks MUCH better, but will it happen?

LT - Runyan
LG - neal
C - new guy
RG - verelli/gandy
RT - Peters

[patmoran2006]

I think the other area's look promising, but I am still not sold on the line. Without the line, we have no chance. The Line is the most important positions in all of football. I will reserve judgement for a while, but additional signings on the oline seam unlikly, especially for Runyan, probablly for Neal. This line looks MUCH better, but will it happen?

LT - Runyan
LG - neal
C - new guy
RG - verelli/gandy
RT - Peters

thats an OL thats capable of contending.. NOW

[patmoran2006]

Even though Peters would have to move to the left side (which he originally started working at anyway) and Runyan would have to move right.

Or for a short term, you get Brad Hopkins in and leave Peters alone.. Either way, a good tackle and Neal would make this line a hell of a lot better.

[Bufftp]

One reason might be our current front office and the moves/non moves we are making. We should be a "High Character" 4-12 next year.

[Mr. Cynical]

One reason might be our current front office and the moves/non moves we are making. We should be a "High Character" 4-12 next year.

:rofl:

[BigGabes23]

Well, (Idonije) there is one peice missing from our puzzle pat....what now?