Buffalo Bills: Low expectations in SI’s NFL season preview
The Buffalo Bills aren’t getting much love outside the city before the season begins, although that is nothing new for Bills fans.
The NFL season is approaching which means it is time for those outside of Buffalo to offer up low expectations on the Buffalo Bills.
The latest example comes via a MMQB story written by Andy Benoit in which he offers up his record and playoff predictions for the upcoming season.
Benoit doesn’t offer up an explanation, but has the Bills going 4-12.
I’m curious to know what the predictions would be if Tyrod Taylor was still on the team. Most of the low win predictions are due to the fact the team has uncertainty at the quarterback position. But if Taylor was deemed to be replaceable, slotting in someone new and getting similar production shouldn’t lead to a major dropoff.
The truth is a team like the Bills is never going to get national love until they rack up several winning seasons in a row and land a franchise quarterback. The same goes for any team in a similar situation. But the difference is the Bills went to the postseason last year, as opposed to teams like the Browns and the Jets whose fans are excited simply based on preseason hype.
I don’t put much stock into preseason record predictions. There are countless cases of worst-to-first teams and other surprises that come up every year, just like the Bills in 2017. All a prediction like this does is serve as bulletin board material for the team, if that is still a thing and not just a cliché.
Next. The potential for a Khalil Mack trade remains. dark
It may not even be fair to make a prediction until a starting quarterback is named and we know the entire makeup of the 53-man roster. But what I do know is that most Bills fans aren’t preparing for a 4-12 or 5-11 season.