I will cop to being a true Bills fanatic. Part of being a fanatic (in my eyes) is undying and at times blind love for your team. I believed Rob Johnson could turn himself around. I believed Drew Bledsoe had plenty left in the tank. I liked players who I would probably want nothing to do with in day to day life.
Every season since since our Super Bowl run I have had some unrealistic expectations of the franchise. I felt we could overcome our below average roster with a system. Of course those systems were as awful as having Leif Larsen on your defensive line and they didn’t serve the faithful very well.
This year feels different. I believe last year could have been the year to make the step, but the shortened off season hurt teams like the Bills more than established power houses. We were building off a solid 2010 season under then first year head coach Chan Gailey. They started 2011 having me believing the playoffs were written in stone. If not for the birth of my second child I probably would have taken the collapse a lot harder.
This past off season saw us corral the best defensive free agent on the market and a complementary end. The players we drafted also look very promising. They did the right thing in retaining Stevie Johnson and Scott Chandler. They gave Freddy Jackson the contract extension he wanted. I am not sure how I feel about a malcontent like Vince Young coming to town, but with what he has done so far this year in Buddy Nix I trust.
Anything short of a 10-6 finish is a failure in my eyes. No injury or rise of unexpected teams on our schedule should stand in our way. I won’t go so far as to put my season prediction out there yet, but I feel like every game with be a joy to attend. The walk up the stadium always leaves me with goose bumps on Opening Day. The promise of a clean slate. The hope that the 12th man is back in voice.
Let’s go Bills!
