While Bills head coach Rex Ryan has been known to engage in hyperbole from time to time, his comments on the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-8) on Monday got us thinking.
"That's the best two-win team I've ever seen," Ryan said, via The Buffalo News. "That's the truth. I don't get it. Statistically, they're the seventh-rated defense in the league. They're ranked higher than we are on defense. Their offense is 21st in the league, but now they're healthy outside and they got three guys that can really play.
"They had way more Top 100 players than we did last year (Jacksonville had five on the NFL Network Top 100, while Buffalo had three). Looking at all that stuff, I thought it was the Jacksonville show. But you got a franchise quarterback, that's what they all tell me. You got Chris Ivory at running back, who's a great back -- I had him with the Jets, I know all about him; he's a handful -- and you got (Allen) Hurns, (Allen) Robinson and (Marqise) Lee is really playing well. ... So if you think we're going to overlook them, there's no chance."
While there is a small chance Ryan is facetious and taking a shot at the Top 100, he is more than likely being honest. The Bills coach got in the habit of engaging in long, complementary monologues about opponents early in the week early in his career. Along with the occasional bluster and endless antics, it is the staple of a Ryan press conference.
But is he right?
We spent the preseason noting how loaded the Jaguars were. They did everything by the book, shopping at the top end of the free agent market and nabbing two of the most talented defensive players in the NFL draft. An inexplicable regression from quarterback Blake Bortles seems to be the only thing standing in the way of Jacksonville contending for the division.
Jalen Ramsey is developing into one of the better cover corners in the league, and when second-round pick Myles Jack gets on the field (120 snaps so far this season) he's proven to be an adept coverage linebacker at the next level -- a good sign for years to come. Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns did not become poor receivers overnight.
They are the most obvious worst-to-first candidate in the NFL right now, should they shore up their biggest problems in the offseason. Ryan just hopes they don't begin that turnaround Sunday in Orchard Park. He is still teetering on playoff contention.
