Jets, Bills still won’t make NFL playoffs

You may have missed it, but the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets were extremely active this offseason. In fact, one could argue that outside of the Philadelphia Eagles, they were the two busiest teams. However, like much of the first 15 years of this century, neither team appears to be a legitimate contender for anything more than false hope.

Let’s run down the 10 reasons why the Jets and Bills won’t make the postseason, from smallest to biggest:

10. AFC is tough

While the NFC is probably the better conference overall, there are some quality teams with big names lurking in the AFC. The Indianapolis Colts are a favorite to win the Super Bowl, while the defending-champion New England Patriots appear primed for another solid run, despite Tom Brady’s four-game suspension (more on the Pats later).

The AFC West could viably get three teams in with the Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos, while the AFC North can say the same with the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. Buffalo and New York are going to have to likely win 10 games to make the playoffs. It’s hard to see a team sneaking in with nine wins due to so much competition.

9. Coaches

Todd Bowles checks off all the boxes of a very good NFL coach. He’s smart, aggressive, played in the league and has years of experience as a coordinator under his belt. Still, Bowles has never run the entire show before. It’s tough taking over a team full of veterans and molding them into a winner right off the bat. Expect this to be a process.

For Rex Ryan, the story remains the same, only seven hours to the northwest. Ryan is a great defensive coach and will get plenty of mileage out of that group. The problem is his inability to get anything from his offenses. Buffalo hired Greg Roman to be the offensive coordinator, but his track record suggests mediocrity despite having had players like Frank Gore, Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree in tow.

Next: More reasons to mull over...