Shattering Realities

The Football Outsiders crew have posted their DVOA projections for this season, and they have the Bills as a decidedly mediocre team. I'm not happy about this.

You see, I had already accepted the Bills' fate. I knew they had a tough schedule (as they seem to every year), and I also knew they didn't have any exceptional talent. Their offensive line looks like crap (again), so I expected another year of middling offence, with the odd moment of pistol formation excitement thrown in. I was all aboard the Andrew Luck train, going so far to realize that if Carolina is terrible as well, the Bills have double the chance of getting Luck.

And now, Football Outsiders have burst my bubble by giving the Bills ranking of 19th, along with giving them more wins than any team in the NFC West. They're saying the Bills are better than the ENTIRE NFC WEST! And on the playoff odds, the Bills have a 15.7% chance of making the playoffs. They have a better chance of winning their division than they do getting the first pick overall! They have a 1% chance of getting the number 1 seed in the AFC for crying out loud!

I don't need this optimism. I'm perfectly content to go through this season and consider it a building season. I've already begun to wait until next year. Now I'm thinking that there is a chance they could make the playoffs if things break right.

I guess I'll have to stick with Bill Barnwell.

The last time the Bills played a meaningful game was on January 2, 2005, when they were denied a playoff spot in Week 17 at home by the Steelers' second-stringers. Since that game, the Bills have gone 36-60. And barring a miracle, things aren't about to change.

Ah, that's the stuff.