eball

And, you have an issue with them at WR. And, you have an issue with them at OL. And...

OP, I'm not sure you understand the meaning of the word "crash."

None of which I disagree with. The premise was about how he is perceived, in general, nationally.

Ugh. It seems this "BPA vs. Need" argument comes up every year -- the truth is it's not ALL one or the other. Beane says so himself -- if you have two players ranked similarly on your board, you then look to which one better fills a need on the roster (or has a better chance to stick). The problem is when a team reaches for a lesser-ranked player because they have a need at the position (see: NY Giants 2019).

I didn't answer your question about Drew Lock because his situation is not similar to Allen's -- he has literally no NFL resume to speak of while Allen now has 28 games and has shown a modicum of success already. Yes, it is reasonable to say that the success of an NFL team rests largely upon its QB. In the specific case of Josh Allen, more often than not the presumption is that he will not take the next step and he is rarely given the benefit of the doubt that his development and performance will improve. Is that hard to understand? Edit: Case in point: what do experts say about Mayfield/Darnold? They are expecting them to move forward and progress in their third seasons. Absolutely night and day from when they talk about Allen.

The criticism of Josh is over the top. If he plays exactly how he played last season the Bills are a playoff team. Didn't he sustain the highest rate of drops last year? It is VERY fair to say that Josh needs to continue to develop and improve, but (correct me if I'm wrong) there are still far too many "critiques" out there that presume he will flop.

You have a poor memory. None of the QBs mentioned were top 10 draft picks, and all were justifiably critiqued for their play on the field. Most were "propped up" or at least given the benefit of the doubt before reality could not be ignored. Allen, by contrast, has been bashed incessantly since he was drafted -- before he took one step on an NFL field many labeled him a certain bust. Then, despite huge improvements in key areas last season, nearly every write up about the 2020 Bills lists Allen as the biggest question mark and/or reason the Bills won't advance farther. It's like night and day.

Great topic! I’m a “Bills first” guy and will always remain that way, but I love CFB too and agree with some of the sentiment that I’d rather watch a CFB game between teams I don’t know than an NFL game between two bottom feeders. I went to a big school (Carolina) and even though our football program was never “great” the atmosphere was awesome.

Nah, that's what he wants. Just ignore.

There are a few who are overly protective of the Bills but generally speaking I think if any opinion is presented in a reasonable way there is good discussion back and forth. Umm, wrong, and wrong. I react on occasion to posters who consistently take a negative viewpoint even in the face of evidence to the contrary.

That's an exaggeration. Those who encounter the behavior you cite are those who have rightfully earned it by being the ones who fail to find anything positive in anything the team does. Far too many pessimists try to cloak themselves with labels of "realism" or "objectivity" when in truth, they're just pissed off about everything.

So in other words, you can see the Bills doing better than that if a certain set of your own conditions are met? Hmm...

Chad Pennington on Eddie Robinson. Got him with the old "dead leg."

Unless you open your eyes and mind.

I think the correct answer is 1999. I absolutely believed that if the Bills had beaten the Titans they were headed to the Super Bowl. That defense was nasty, and even though Flutie was in decline they had a very good running game and Eric Moulds. These are exciting times to be a Bills fan, particularly if you also believe Josh Allen's best football is ahead of him.

It is absolutely NOTHING like the Browns of last year. Making a statement like proves you simply have an agenda to "tamp down" any Bills enthusiasm. Get real.

I hope when the Bills beat the Pats*** twice next year you dig deep and find some way to enjoy it. I know it's hard when a chick dumps you, but you really can find a way to love again.

Yeah, I watched half of it and had seen enough. Championship.

I'm guessing your popularity profile will not be enhanced with a post like this.

Dude what the hell are you talking about? ?

So The Athletic killed local non-sports news? Interesting.

Then I'd say you have bigger issues than deciding whether or not to pay for sports coverage.

LOL -- I honestly don't know. Maybe $60/year or something like that? I think there are deals also.

I know some people just don't want to pay for their internet sports content but if there's one site you should consider subscribing to it's The Athletic. They really have had the best Bills content by far since their inception, and there's a heluva lot more than that on the site.