Are we really that far off from the top….

Exactly. People are making an error when associating “5-12” with this team; that 5-12 is fake and based off a team that had injuries across the board, and one of the worst head coaches to ever grace a NFL sideline.

We are an average at worst team, and all average teams are a couple of lucky breaks (off-season and/or in-game) from being in the thick of things.

Hit a homerun on the coaching front, get healthy, sign a few good contributor-type free agents, have a good draft, and we are right back in the mix for a potential 10-7/11-6 type season.
To that end, Loomis was right when he suggested that he did not favor firing Allen mid-season due to the issues being more injury-related than coaching-related.