Seasons a team had....

[7DnBrnc53]

that they should have had another year (within a few years).

For example, I think that the Bills should have had the year that they had in 1994 (7-9) a year earlier.

Also, I think that the Broncos should have been 13-3 with a deep playoff run (at minimum) in 2003, not 2005.

[Bryan]

Chuck Noll and Tom Landry thought their teams should have "turned the corner" a year before they actually did. Noll thought the 1971 Steelers should have made the postseason (they had a decent chance of winning their division that year), while Landry was upset his 1965 team didn't have a winning record (7-7, good enough for 2nd place in the weaker Eastern Conference).

[BD Sullivan]

Chuck Noll and Tom Landry thought their teams should have "turned the corner" a year before they actually did. Noll thought the 1971 Steelers should have made the postseason (they had a decent chance of winning their division that year), while Landry was upset his 1965 team didn't have a winning record (7-7, good enough for 2nd place in the weaker Eastern Conference).

The 1979 Browns had a chance to reach the playoffs before dropping their last two games--stymied by the Steelers' final (of that era) Super Bowl run and the Campbell-led Oilers. One year later, they won the division, but got knocked out by Red Right 88.

[conace21]

that they should have had another year (within a few years).

For example, I think that the Bills should have had the year that they had in 1994 (7-9) a year earlier.

Also, I think that the Broncos should have been 13-3 with a deep playoff run (at minimum) in 2003, not 2005.

I don't think the 1993 Bills were a 7-9 team, but I agree that they were probably not a Super Bowl-caliber team. Thurman Thomas's game fell off a cliff in 1993. His YPC dropped by a full yard; he never reached 4.0 ypc (or 10.0 yards per reception) again as a full-time back. (He did have the finest playoff game of his career against KC in the AFC Championship Game.) The 1994 Bills lost two key free agents to Seattle in Howard Ballard and Nate Odomes, and their pass protection and pass defense suffered in 1994. The 1993 defense was actually 27th in the league, worse than the 1994 team, but they led the NFL with 47 takeaways. Odomes had 9 interceptions, and the CB's drafted in 1993 and 1994, Thomas Smith and Jeff Burris, really weren't ready to start until 1995. Kelly, Reed, and Bruce Smith all had better years in 1994 than in 1993, but their supporting cast suffered. Players like Darryl Talley, Cornelius Bennett, and Jeff Wright were a year older and slower, and the turnovers forced fell dramatically. Add in injuries to the offensive line and a struggle to replace Ballard, and Jim Kelly took a beating, and Thurman Thomas didn't have the same holes to run through.

[7DnBrnc53]

I don't think the 1993 Bills were a 7-9 team, but I agree that they were probably not a Super Bowl-caliber team.

They won five games by three points or less. Against the Cowboys and Eagles, both teams were missing key players (Emmitt, Randall Cunningham). Against the Giants, Aaron Pierce inexplicably fumbles in the red zone. Against the Jets at home, Blanchard misses a short FG that would have put the Jets up one late in the game. And, the Pats came very close to beating them at home before losing in OT.

They also got the Oilers at home early in the year when they weren't playing well, and they got the Dolphins in Miami without Marino.

[conace21]

The Jets game truly was a gift, courtesy of Blanchard. However, the Pierce fumble wasn't inexplicable; a Bills defender knocked the ball out.
And I always felt that facing Dallas without Emmitt was poetic justice for the second half of the Super Bowl. Buffalo was without Kelly, Thomas, and Kent Hull.

Smith's contract situation is often labeled a holdout, but I don't think it's accurate. Smith was a restricted free agent. No other team offered him a contract, apparently because Dallas has sent word that they would match any offer. Jerry Jones offered Smith a $10 million contract over 4 years, but Smith held firm and demanded to be the highest paid RB in the game. After an 0-2 start, Jones caved.

[7DnBrnc53]

However, the Pierce fumble wasn't inexplicable; a Bills defender knocked the ball out.
And I always felt that facing Dallas without Emmitt was poetic justice for the second half of the Super Bowl. Buffalo was without Kelly, Thomas, and Kent Hull.

I saw that highlight on You Tube (on a Bills' fan's channel), and I don't think that a Buffalo player knocked the ball out of Aaron's hand. Also, Phil Simms threw a dumb INT early in the game in Buffalo territory that was returned for a TD by Henry Jones. The Giants gave that game away.

And, maybe it was poetic justice to a point, but with Kelly and Thomas playing in that SB, the Bills weren't exactly setting the world on fire.