The King article is a perfect example of misusing statistics to suit your argument. We only won 1 game in 9 against the top 8 with an average losing margin of 6 goals (however only lost 3 games by more than 6 goals). You take out the aberration against Port when we were cooked, and one bad quarter against the Swans and the average margin is one hell of a lot closer.
We've lost our top 3 goal kickers of the last 5 years, whom combined kicked us a total of 41 goals in 2014.
We're not that far away, especially with (fingers crossed) a more complete pre-season. If we can get some confidence to win those close games that we should (Cats x2, Freo, Scum) and actually rock up against Melbourne and GWS we'll be well entrenched in the 8. That might be a big if, but given the resolve we had over the last 6 weeks if the season, and the general vibe around the Club, we should be able to.