mjt328

Seems like it switches back and forth. Just a few years back, the AFC side was still being dominated by old guys like Brady, Big Ben and Rivers, while the top young QBs were Jarod Goff and Carson Wentz. I imagine within the next couple seasons, some of these NFC teams are going to bottom-out and rise up the draft board. Teams like the Redskins, Giants and Bears recently drafted QBs that don't really seem to be working out. There are rumblings that Detroit is looking to move-on from Matthew Stafford. The Panthers are currently stuck in purgatory. Brady and Brees could be retiring pretty much anytime. Etc.

Names like Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski were HUGE just 2-3 years ago. But much has changed, and both of those guys are totally washed up. It's not just Tom Brady's inability to push the ball downfield with consistency. Gronk looks like an old man. Brown has made zero impact since joining the Bucs. In my opinion: Stephon Diggs > Mike Evans as the #1 receiver Cole Beasley > Chris Godwin as the slot receiver John Brown > 2020 Antonio Brown as the #2 outside receiver Gabe Davis > Anyone else on their roster as a #4 That's without even getting into Andre Roberts (possibly the league's best returner) or Isaiah McKenzie (who is a fantastic gadget player). The Bills have the best, deepest and most versatile WR group in the NFL.

Any person who plays sports will tell you that focus is an important part of how well you play. There are times you are dialed in. There are times when it's just not there. And even for professionals, it's extremely hard to stay where you need to be mentally for 4 full quarters every week, 16 games per year. NFL players are also very aware which teams are easier than others. A player on Seattle was quoted prior to the Jets game, saying they "needed an easy game" after suffering a tough loss. The Bills had a lot of pressure against the 49ers and Steelers in primetime. They are heavy favorites against the Broncos, and everyone is now talking about how great they are. The idea of a trap game is these two concepts coming together. Teams becoming overconfident against an inferior opponent, and losing focus just long enough to either keep the game close or lose the game outright. I absolutely do believe this can happen, although it's hard to successfully predict. People predicting this as a trap game for the Bills are pointing out: a) The team just came off two huge primetime wins, and may be due for a mental letdown. b) They have a 99% chance of making the playoffs regardless of whether they win or lose. They also only need to win one more game (or have Miami lose one more game) the rest of the season to win the AFC East. With no fans, there may be less value in seeding. All of this may decrease their urgency.

Thinking the same. The Ravens winning last night was absolutely huge for their playoff chances. Their last three games (Jacksonville, New York Giants and Cincinnati) are pushovers. It's very likely they now finish 11-5. Looking at the Titans, Colts and Browns, it's also hard to picture any of them going worse than 2-1 down the stretch. That would put all of them at 11-5 as well. At this point, 10-6 very likely won't be enough to squeeze into the AFC playoffs. The Raiders will need to hope for a total collapse from one of the above teams, or even a 3-0 finish simply won't be enough to get them in. That also means that Miami will need a 3-0 finish to get in. That could be very tough with games against New England, Las Vegas and Buffalo. On a side note, I'm curious how much value the Bills coaching staff puts on seeding this year (with no fans in the stands). They can clinch the AFC East with a victory on Saturday against the Broncos. And if Kansas City beats the Taysom Hill-led Saints, we cannot realistically get to the #1 seed. Which means the Pats/Dolphins games only have value if they want higher seeding in the playoffs. I've played around with the ESPN Playoff Machine, and came up with the Bills getting the #2 seed and playing the Browns.

See the other thread, which goes over our Free Agents in 2021. I would much rather keep those guys on the roster (Milano, Williams, Feliciano) than add yet another running back. And that isn't even getting into his legal past.

1. Matt Milano - I know people think he's injury-prone, but this defense is so much better when he's in the lineup. 2. Daryl Williams - It was hard to choose between the two O-Line starters, but it seems tougher to find tackles than guards. 3. Jon Feliciano - See above, although I would really hate to see him go. 4. Andre Roberts - He has shown his value as a returner this year. 5. Isaiah McKenzie - Fun gadget guy that I would like to keep around. Draft Priorities (assuming we can sign the guys above): 1. CB2 2. Edge Rusher 3. Tight End 4. Linebacker Depth 5. Running Back (speed guy)

Honestly, none of the AFC teams are going to be pushovers this year. Best case scenario would probably be the Raiders, but they are clearly on the outside looking in now. Next best case would probably be the Dolphins. And they gave the Chiefs all they could handle on Sunday. Very likely the Bills will be playing the Browns, Colts/Titans or Ravens on Wild Card weekend. All of those matchups could be brutal.

We spent the first half of the season very one-dimensional, which is always bad news for the postseason. The Defense finally coming around is going to be key, if we do end up going on a playoff run. I think it comes down to a few things: - Sean McDermott's scheme is heavily dependent on the linebackers playing well. Over the last month, our LBs have either gotten healthier (Edmunds, Milano) or simply upped their game (Klein). This has made a huge difference. - The secondary seems to be playing more aggressive. They aren't leaving the huge cushions we saw early in the season, and they are getting turnovers. I don't see Taron Johnson jumping that route back in September or October. - We seem to be getting better play from the interior line. I'm noticing Ed Oliver getting some penetration, along with some very good play from Vernon Butler.

Saw this on Colin Cowherd this morning. He truly believes Bill Belichick hates the Jets enough to do something like this. It's also not a bad long-term strategy, so that he doesn't need to play Trevor Lawrence twice per year going forward.

Weak schedule? Didn't the Bills have one of the toughest schedules in the NFL? Rams, Dolphins, Raiders, Titans, Chiefs, Seahawks, Cardinals and Steelers all have winning records. Their opponents under .500 have also included the Patriots, Chargers and 49ers, who aren't exactly push-overs.

Total yards is not a good way to compare teams. The Browns are a middle-of-the-pack passing team.

Personally, I think coaching is only a small piece of a QBs development. From what I've seen of Josh Allen over the last 3 years, I think he would have developed into a pretty good NFL QB regardless of what team he went to. The physical talent and the mental drive would be present in him, even if you put him in the worst situation in the league. Maybe he wouldn't be an MVP-candidate on a team like the Jets. But I also don't believe Allen would be struggling like Sam Darnold has been. He would still be flashing as a solid NFL starter. The fact that Buffalo has surrounded him with a very good team and excellent weapons only pushes him to the next level. Guys like JP Losman, Trent Edwards and EJ Manuel simply didn't have what it took. If they did, we would have at least shown SOME real promise (outside of maybe a handful of games). It wasn't about poor development. All of them went to other teams after the Bills, and didn't find success there either. Looking at the vets on your list... I would say that Drew Bledsoe probably would have won more games here, if we gave him better surrounding pieces like a decent O-Line and tight end. We could have probably made the playoffs as a wild card with Ryan Fitzpatrick with a better defense supporting him. Tyrod Taylor was average/below average, and probably maxed out here. He had a lot of good players surrounding him. If you want to look at someone who took a significant leap by moving to a different situation, I think Ryan Tannehill is probably the best example. But even in his case, he actually showed lots of promise/potential during his years in Miami. We are talking about a guy who had a few 4000+ yard seasons, usually had over 20 touchdowns and 60-65% completion percentage. He really hasn't become a superior player in Tennessee. He just has a better supporting cast that lets him be a game manager.

I don't know why everyone is whining. Variety is nice and I like getting the red uniforms once in awhile. If I had a request, it would be to get the 90s red helmets as a throwback once per year.

I'm almost 42. I started watching football around 1988 when I was only 9 years old. Which just happens to be when the Kelly/Thomas/Reed/Smith squad came together. For the first decade of my football life, I had no idea what it was like to miss the playoffs or watch my team struggle to win double-digit games. Back then, I always felt like we had a contender capable of going all the way. Seeing the Bills (finally) playing well again is certainly exciting. The things they are accomplishing now under Brandon Beane, Sean McDermott and Josh Allen... they haven't done in 20 years or more. It's absolutely crazy how long we've been waiting. At the same time, for a lot of the older guys like me, it's hard to be satisfied with little milestones like beating the Patriots or notching a victory on Monday night. I want MORE, and I refuse to be content with these small accomplishments. As soon as the 49ers game was decided, I was immediately thinking about how badly we need to defeat Pittsburgh and how well we truly matchup against Kansas City. Don't get me wrong. It feels great to be a winner again. But strangely, I still have a sense of "unfinished business" from back in the 1990s. We never completed the job back then. And trust me when I say that ultimately, nothing will be satisfying until we win a Super Bowl.

Kansas City holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over us. Which means even if we win-out, they would need to lose at least three games for us to pass them for the #1 seed. Their upcoming games are Miami, New Orleans, Atlanta and San Diego. I have a very tough time seeing them lose two of those games, much less three. Miami is still a big threat. They are only 1-game back, have a similarly difficult schedule left as we do, and of course play us in Week 17.

That's how I'm feeling this season. If we don't get the #1 seed in the conference, the other spots don't really matter much. Yes, I understand that seeding helps determine whether the team is playing at home or on the road. But in New York, the Bills haven't had fans all season (which takes away our 12th man advantage). And as a passing team, it may actually be better for us to play in a dome or somewhere with better weather in January.

My observation is that our run game problems start with the O-Line. Until our RBs can (at least) get to the line of scrimmage without needing to dodge a defender, I don't want to hear about using money/draft picks upgrading that position.

The Dallas and Pittsburgh games last year were great wins for an emerging Wild Card level team. But they mean very little for a team trying to win the AFC East and establish themselves as a championship contender. Don't forget that both of those teams ultimately missed the playoffs last year. Regardless of the original scheduling, primetime is primetime. Night games and playoff matchups get another level of fans, most of whom never watch the Bills on Sunday afternoons. The whole NFL world was watching against the Titans and Chiefs. And instead of establishing themselves as the class of the league, the Bills embarrassed themselves in back-to-back weeks. I know that it's not a popular opinion on this message board, but the 2020 Bills (on a team level) have been very disappointing to me. Sitting at 8-3 is nice. The improvement from Josh Allen has been great. But outside of the passing offense and the return game, this team has regressed from last season. My standard for a "successful" year has always been winning double-digit games, winning the AFC East and winning at least one playoff game. Falling short in any of those areas is just not OK with me. And when I see this team play (regardless of record), I see the division being way too close for comfort and I just don't see them beating anyone in the playoffs.

San Francisco was easily considered one of the best teams in the NFL going into the season, but were absolutely destroyed by injuries. They have also had a brutally tough schedule. They finally got back some key players last week, and they responded by beating the Rams. I think there is a growing expectation that the 49ers are much better than their record and can make a late-season/desperation push for the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Bills are a team that (unfortunately) screams overrated. They often struggle against mediocre/bad opponents, and only have 3 victories of more than one-score. They consistently blow first-half leads, looking sloppy and unfocused for long stretches of time. And in both primetime matchups this season, they looked totally unprepared and played absolutely terrible. My question is why you think the Bills should be strongly favored, when they can't soundly beat anyone (including the Jets) and always seem to tank in primetime?

The AFC playoff race is looking absolutely brutal this year. Buffalo may have an 8-3 record at the moment, but they cannot afford a slip-up to close out this season. There is a chance that someone ends 10-6 and doesn't make the postseason.

The 49ers running game is actually the weakest point on their team this year. They are averaging 4.1 yards per rush, which is tied with us for 20th in the NFL (and we all know the Bills are struggling to run the ball). It's a half-yard less than the Niners averaged last season, when they were Top 10 in rushing. And even with with Raheem Mostert back against the Rams last week, they only averaged 3.4 yards per rush. Bottom line, the Bills are playing against a team missing their starting Quarterback (Jimmy G), and one of their most explosive weapons (George Kittle). Overall, the 49ers are in the bottom half of the league in scoring. At the same time, the 49ers are Top 10-12 in virtually every defensive statistical category - even without Nick Bosa. The Bills have done a good job stopping the run over the last few weeks. They absolutely cannot go back to old habits and start struggling with it again. This is probably not a week for us to count on scoring 30+ points and throwing all over the field. This is probably a game where our offense is going to struggle a bit, and the final score may look like something from our 2019 schedule.

I feel like you are overrating Fuller by quite a bit. He wasn't even the #1 wide receiver on his own team until this year, after DeAndre Hopkins was traded. He has never played a full season in 5 years, and just got suspended for the remainder of 2020. I'm not necessarily a stat guy. But this is the first season Fuller has ever caught more than 50 balls. He's never had more than 1000 yards. He's never had double-digit touchdowns. As the top (and pretty much only target) on the Houston offense, his projected stats (before the suspension) would have looked remarkably similar to what John Brown put up on our pathetic offense in 2019. Fuller's per game stats over the first five years of his career are as follows... 3.9 catches per game, 58.6 yards per game, 0.45 touchdowns per game. So again, my question is... Why do we dump John Brown, who has already proven to be a key piece in THIS offense (not Houston's), so we can spend MORE money on a guy who has put up similar numbers through his career, can't stay healthy and is already on the NFL's substance abuse watch list?

Is there a reason we would be cutting John Brown? I don't see Will Fuller as a huge upgrade over what we already have. Every offense also reaches a point of oversaturation, where you just don't have enough balls to go around. We already have Diggs, Brown, Beasley and Davis. And you want to use our 1st Round Pick on yet another receiving weapon? AND then use a Day 2 Pick (for the third year in a row) on upgrading a run-game? I just don't see how we can possibly utilize all those pieces effectively. At this point, it really comes down to playcalling, blocking, the QB making the correct reads/throws and overall execution. In other words, we need to get our O-Line set. We need Brian Daboll to make good calls throughout the game. And we need continued improvement from Josh Allen. I'm not saying we never try to add offensive players or upgrade. But our resources in free agency and the draft need to go towards weak spots. We shouldn't be spending a #1 pick on a guy who may get 2-3 balls thrown his way each week. I also disagree completely with the idea that "nobody in the NFL really plays defense anymore." Even if scoring is higher than ever, offenses around the league are NOT scoring TDs on every single drive. Winning games comes down to having more points than your opponent. Look at the stats below and tell me where we have the most room for improvement... - Our defense is currently allowing 25.6 points per game (18th in the league). We are allowing 8.5 more points than the league's top unit. - Our offense is scoring 27.2 points per game (10th in the league). That is 4.5 points less than the league's top unit. Breaking things down further, our defense is: - 26th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per attempt (4.7) - 29th in the NFL in rushing touchdowns allowed (16) - 23rd in the NFL in completion percentage allowed (66.8) - 20th in the NFL in passing yards allowed per attempt (7.4) - 19th in the NFL in interceptions (8)

At some point, this team needs to find an answer for the second-half collapses. Consider that it was less than 12 months ago that we boasted a 16-point lead over the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. What could have been our first playoff victory in well over 20 years, was spoiled by a total mental breakdown on both sides of the ball. Missed tackles. Penalties. Sacks. Instead of learning from that comedy of errors, and improving in 2020, the Bills seem to have embraced the Texans game as our identity. A team that starts out of the gate strong, but struggles to close out opponents. Sorry if I can't get excited about 8-3. We had the same record last year, and even improved to 9-3 after our exciting Thanksgiving victory. It didn't stop us from ending the season 1-4, with the bitterly disappointing finish listed above. Eleven games in, I have seen ZERO improvement from this team as a whole. My last hope was that we could get some things right at the bye. But we didn't. Rest assured, the 2020 Bills are headed for the same kind of heartbreaking finish as 2019. The Dolphins continue to bite at our heels in the division, and I'm not 100% sure this thing ends with us a top the AFC East. If we somehow manage to scrape out 1st Place, I'm horrified at the prospect of a first-round exit courtesy of the Browns, Dolphins or Raiders.

Just looked it up, and John Elway won the MVP in 1987.