Season Recap - 2010 Buffalo Bills

Final Record: 4-12

Finished: 4^th place in the AFC East

2011 Draft Position: 3^rd

Preseason Ranking:  21

Preseason Letter of Misfortune:

Finally the Bills show some emotion and open training camp with a chip on their shoulder. Granted, having an underachieving defensive lineman take a cheap shot at your overachieving starting running back may not be the best way to bring emotion back to your game, but any emotion after the Dick Jauron years has to be appreciated.

Not since the opening of the 2003 season, when Buffalo, then led by Drew Bledsoe, pasted the New England Patriots 31-0, has Buffalo been a team to get excited about. Since that game you have managed only a 46-65 record. Not terrible. Not great. Merely a lukewarm, average, why-should-we-care record. In a division where you are clearly the doormats, you better scrap together every bit of motivation and emotion you have, because you will need every ounce of it to achieve anything more than a 6-10 record this season.

New England is on the prowl, Miami is suddenly relevant, even if they faltered last year, and the New York Jets proved they won’t shy away from anybody. In a stacked division with three legitimate playoff contenders, you have to play with emotion. You need to kick, scratch and claw for every yard you can get this season. And when it’s fourth down around your opponent’s 40 yard line, don’t punt! Don’t quiver and give the ball away. Stand up, fight for that first down and go for it!

Bold failures are easily forgiven. No team ever became great playing afraid to lose. Not only have you played afraid to lose, but you have also played to contain the margin of defeat. A loss is a loss, whether it’s by one point or fifty.

You may fall short and fail once again this year, but you can certainly fail better than you have in the past. With the quarterback position unsettled, the running game and defense will have to step up in order for you to regain the dominance you once had in the 90’s.

Since you open the season with three division games and one game at Lambeau, you have an immediate chance to send a clear message to the rest of the league. But what message will you send?

Will you emerge from those opening games brilliant and bold or 0-for-4 and buffaloed?

Week 1: Lost to Miami Dolphins, 15-10

Ranked – 28

A safety gains you what in that situation, exactly? You know it's legal to fair catch kick-offs, right? Even for the Bills this was a head scratcher.

Week 2: Lost at Green Bay Packers, 34-7

Ranked - 29

            You were expected to be 0-2, Buffalo. Now that you are here, what are you going to do about it?

Week 3: Lost at New England Patriots, 38-30

Ranked - 30

            Playing valiant in defeat means you still lost. And how misguided was your coaching staff if up until the start of the regular season you believed Trent Edwards was the guy only to cut him last week for Ryan Fitzpatrick? Your decision making skills have always been suspect, so this move comes as no surprise to anybody. If only Brad Childress had the same courage to swallow his pride and admit he was wrong about T-Jack...

Week 4: Lost to New York Jets, 38-14

Ranked - 31

            The Bills looked so promising after scoring 30 against the Patriots, but then the Jets reminded us all why the Bills are, well, the Bills. Usually it is not a good sign when a quarterback from Harvard leads your team in rushing.

Week 5: Lost to Jacksonville Jaguars, 36-26

Ranked - 31

            Despite leading early, the Bills blow another game at home and extend their woeful streak of allowing teams to score 30 or more points against them to four straight.

Week 6: BYE WEEK

Ranked - 31

            The Bills had a week off to think about how bad they are.

Week 7: Lost at Baltimore Ravens, 37-34

Ranked – 30

Solid offensive play on the road against a tough defense, but the Bills are still overmatched by almost all other teams.

Week 8: Lost at Kansas City, 13-10

Ranked – 30

This is probably the best 0-7 team in the history of the league. Yep, they're still terrible, though.

Week 9: Lost to Chicago Bears, 22-19

Ranked – 30

The Bills left the friendly confines of America hoping for a change, but whether in Canada or the U.S. they remain winless.

Week 10: Defeated the Detroit Lions, 14-12

Ranked – 30

Congratulations! You ruined Christmas for Lions fans everywhere by reminding them, once again, that they are, and will remain, the only team to ever finish a season a perfect 0-16.

Week 11: Defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, 49-31

Ranked – 28

            Offensive juggernauts! Even scoring all those points against Cincinnati can't tarnish the outcome. Just think, only three weeks ago the Bills hadn't even won a game. Now look at them. They're all growed up.

Week 12: Lost to Pittsburgh Steelers, 19-16

Ranked – 27

Far and away the best of the two-win teams, Buffalo has an excellent opportunity to hit win #3 with a trip to Minnesota this weekend.

Week 13: Lost at Minnesota Vikings, 38-14

Ranked – 30 (ROCKY WEEK!)

Reporter: Harvard quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick. Any advice to kids out there?

Ryan Fitzpatrick: Stay in school and use your brain. Be a doctor, be a lawyer, carry a leather briefcase. Forget about sports as a profession. Sports make ya grunt and smell. Be a thinker, not a stinker.

Week 14: Defeated the Cleveland Browns, 13-6

Ranked – 29

A solid, defensive win at home following the defensive debacle in Minnesota. You might think the Bills have something going for next season... until you remember that they are, well, the Bills.

Week 15: Defeated the Miami Dolphins, 17-14

Ranked – 28

It's no big deal beating the Dolphins in Miami. Anybody can do that. Beat them in Buffalo. That's how the Bills can make an impression.

Week 16: Lost to the New England Patriots, 34-3

Ranked – 30

Just when you think the Bills might be on to something, they throw out a colossal stink-bomb. Sure, it is difficult to beat New England, but you should be able to score more than three points against a division rival.

Week 17: Lost at the New York Jets, 38-7

Final Rank - 28

Next Monday, the 2010 Cincinnati Bengals...