Here is a FACT for you OpIv, EVERY year, 5 teams make the playoffs that did not make the playoffs the year before.
NFL.com has the Bills as the #2 team expected to make the playoffs that did not make it the year before.
OpIv, can you name 5 teams that did not make the playoffs last year that are unquestionably BETTER than the Bills?
That's a fact? Prove it.
But we aren't competing for playoff spots with all 32 teams- only with the 16 in the AFC. If 3 or 4 of those 5 are from the NFC, Thant means only one or two teams that didn't make the playoffs this past year would need to be better than the Bills to keep us out of the AFC playoffs.
Additionally, teams don't necessarily have to be better to keep us out of the playoffs. Carolina made it at 7-8-1. Does anyone think they were better than 10-6 Philly or even the 9-7 Bills?
So, your question is fundamentally flawed.
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OpIv37 (04-01-2015)
I think they will - they were touted for their "D" last season, the touting continues. They will become a "chic" pick. They have a new owner who is pouring out tons of guaranteed $. The breaks will be made for them.
Last edited by stuckincincy; 04-01-2015 at 01:21 PM.
Fiat justitia ruat caelum. Noli timere. Laus Deo.
Is there anything more useless than the "strength of schedule"? What any team did last year is meaningless come Sept.
Yeah it doesn't matter.
Even though the same teams consistently make the playoffs. New England, Denver, Indy all will be just as good this year as they were last year as they were the year before that. And the same bottom feeders are the same bottom feeders. Jacksonville is gonna suck this year, just like they did last year and as they did the year before that.
Yeah the lack of travel for the Bills certainly is a plus, it's one of the things that stood out to me also (other than London, obviously). But, the biggest point is bolded...unless somebody believes the team has progressed above the middle of the pack, there is no validity to the contention that we drew a 'weak schedule of opponents'...many of them are in the same boat as us, certainly not weaker.
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As far as the question, Illumy, I would trade schedules with any of the teams in the AFC South, I'd much rather be looking at the NFC South on the schedule than the NFC East.
I do, in the short term. While I think that McCoy is likely to fade off quickly, I don't that happens this year. Similarly, we did improve several other elements of our team in the short term. My problem with this offseason is that these are potentially hindering our future, but for 2015 I think we can see a marked improvement.
I disagree (see above).there is no validity to the contention that we drew a 'weak schedule of opponents'...many of them are in the same boat as us, certainly not weaker.
Why? To me the NFC South (aside from Tampa Bay) looks like a division where the teams all went through crap seasons at the same time. That's still the same division that produced 11, 12, and 13 win teams in the two prior years. I personally think the NFC South is primed for a rebound much moreso than the AFC South.
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I wasn't comparing the NFC South (who the AFCS plays)to the AFC South, I was comparing them to the NFC East (who Buffalo plays). To me, the East is stronger by far, and playing the NFCS would = a weaker schedule.