Buffalo Bills 2012 NFL Preview: Another Year of Tempered Expectations

The Bills depress me. I lived with Buffalo Bills fans over the last decade. In that time, there was a lot of excitement over football, followed by “Welp” and a lot of head-shaking. The Bills have fans that love them like an ugly old dog. Fans watch and soak in the misery between sips (gulps) of beer.

The Bills haven’t been a .500 team since 2004. Even then, they missed the playoffs at 9-7. They haven’t made the playoffs since 1999. You might recall what happened that year.

Last year Buffalo started 5-2, including a win over the Patriots. The Bills were back! Then they lost 7 games in a row and 8 of their last 9. In 2010, they started 0-8. The worst part of all this is that they are constantly competing – or trying to compete  – for second place in the AFC  East. No matter how healthy or improved the Bills are in any season, they’re still fighting the Dolphins and Jets to finish behind the Patriots.

This year is no different. The Bills are a “sleeper” and most people like them to finish second and even compete for a wild card spot. Those are high expectations for the Bills – maybe making the wild card round.

Again, it would be the first time since the Music City Miracle.

Buffalo has Mario Williams, but they had to give him a huge contract. Ryan Fitzpatrick is healthy, but he’s still Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fred Jackson is coming off his best season, but he was also hurt. You can see why being a Bills fan sucks. Its not even fun to watch the Bills lose. Their fans understand the reality of the situation. The older ones lived through 4 straight Super Bowl losses. This is a base that knows how to temper its expectations. They aren’t mouthy enough and their team is never good enough to even root against.