Rocky Landing

Of course not. Neither does Josh.

Are you suggesting that Allan would only be willing to play for the Chargers, or Rams, and that he would go out of his way to engineer a deal in one of those franchises? Seems like a stretch. He doesn't have a home in LA now. And there really isn't a reason for Hailee to live there full time, either. Motion picture production is way down in LA, but even if it were booming, it's a part time gig for someone like her, and a lot of the productions she would be involved with wouldn't shoot in LA anyway. Even animation voice work is largely done remotely these days. There's no reason to live in LA full time. Plus, the city is a sh!thole. Trust me-- I live here.

Especially now that there are three wildcard teams, and only one playoff bye per conference, getting the #1 seed is huge. It's not unreasonable to say that it was one of the largest factors that got KC into the Super Bowl.

40 is the new 30. And 50 is the new 40. And by the time Josh is 40, that 40 will be the new 30 from the previous 30, which will be the new 20. Probably by the time Josh hits Social Security age (which will have been raised to at least 70 by then) That 70 will be the new 60, at least three times removed, meaning that Josh should be a dominant NFL quarterback well into his "Golden Years," which by then will be "the new 80" which will, of course, be around 90 years old. Math.

Boobs.

I would be happy if you're right.

In year-two of his career, I don't believe his draft position matters at all. If he's ready to start, he will. But, frankly, he looked like a liability on Sunday, and he was targeted often. And, honestly, I don't really feel like Hamlin is starting quality, either. IMO, Rapp is the only starting quality safety on the roster. Safety is definitely a position in dire need of upgrades to my mind.

I don't picture him starting the season, unless he really improves in the offseason. Him starting in the AFCCG was a clear function of our lack of depth at the position. But, I certainly don't think he'll be cut. Do you?

Just my opinion On Offense: I think on offense we need one, speedy boundary receiver who can consistently get separation.. and that's it. The Bills have an opportunity to enter the '25 season with almost the same offense they finished with, and that's not a bad thing. The familiarity, consistency, and culture on that side of the ball shouldn't be underestimated. Maybe Cooper can be that boundary WR? But, we sure didn't see it this season. But, I wouldn't be surprised if they re-signed him (although, I suspect most would disagree with that...). But certainly, our O-line, RB, and TE, and QB rooms should, as much as possible, stay the same. Maybe Zack Davidson for Q Morris. Maybe sneak Tyrell Shavers on there-- minor tweaks. On Defense: Quite the opposite. The only players I would feel strongly about holding onto are, Groot, Oliver, Benford, Bernard, Milano, Taron Johnson, Rapp (that's right, I said it), and maybe Epenesa, and Dorian Williams. I would imagine we hold onto Cam Lewis (who is important for depth, and ST), Carter, Solomon... keep kicking the tires on Cole Bishop, I suppose... Maybe not a complete overhaul, but a minimum of four new starters, and a lot more depth.

That ignores a lot of factors, including the concept that McDermott can improve as a coach from season to season. I think we probably both agree that the defensive roster in '22 was far better than in '24.

I don't have to look forward, no. I choose to.

I'm probably in the minority on this, but I am looking forward to what McDermott, Brady, and Babich can achieve with a significantly upgraded roster, especially on defense, which I fully expect the Bills to have next season.

I've been watching this scenario oddly taking place on high-speed here in LA (where I've lived since '91). When the Rams first moved back here, I went to the first Bills game they hosted in 2016, and sat in the third row, at the 20yl for a couple hundred bucks a ticket. There were plenty of empty seats, and it sounded like a Bills home game. There really weren't any Rams fans to speak of, in the way we define fandom in Western NY. Just some folks going to a football game and rootin' for their team. It had more in common with Medieval Times dinner theatre and they were sat in the Blue and Gold section, so that's who they cheered for. But in '22, when they won their Super Bowl, you would have thought these "Rams fans" had been bleeding blue and gold their whole lives. Since then? Rams fans have been peeling away like old paint in the sun.

IMO, there is one WR missing from this team.

I remember at draft time last season, numerous posters (some of whose opinions I actually respect) say things like, “ every pick should go towards offense…” or, “the first two picks, at least, should be for a WR…” But anyone going into this season not understanding how thin this defense was, simply wasn’t paying attention. I recall Beane at a press conference in the offseason defending the roster by saying, “we’re not giving up on the season. We still intend to win games.” And win we did. We were one score away from the Super Bowl, and if Kincaid had caught that pass, we would have been in a position to take the lead. I have no doubt the defense will be overhauled this offseason. I believe that was always the plan.

Just what do people think the NFL actually is??? it’s not some cabal, or secret society. It’s not even a corporation. It’s a trade association run by 31 billionaire owners, and Green Bay Packer inc. I haven’t read its charter, but I would have a hard time believing that it doesn’t prohibit giving one team a competitive advantage over another, and I have an even harder time believing that 30 billionaire owners would all agree to give up their chances at a Super Bowl. And if their hired representative, Roger Goodell, decided to secretly hatch a plan to promote one team over all others, it would be a far-ranging criminal undertaking, that would include fraud, conspiracy, antitrust violations, and interstate commerce laws. And to what end? To promote some feel-good narrative? To pull in Swifty viewership? As much as fans want to believe that the cards are stacked against them (ALL fanbases feel this way— even Chiefs fans), at its core, it just doesn’t make sense.

Or maybe some really bad s-h-I-t? I don’t smoke very often, but when I do, it has to be pure Sativa. Any hint of Indica, and I turn into a depressed, paranoid, miserable mess — kinda like the OP here…

It has already started.

I appreciate this thread, especially in contrast to several other threads that are advocating for the Pegula's to blow the whole thing up. It is in this light that I'm going to add to the list of outstanding performances the coaching staff that during a "soft-rebuild" year, that was flushing over $60M in dead cap, and started the season with the thinnest roster of the McDermott era (with the obvious exception of JA17), managed to bring us to within one score of the Super Bowl. Anyone who doesn't think this team far exceeded expectations is wearing some heavy blinders.

At the beginning of the season, a majority of media analysts didn't believe the Bills would win the AFCE. There's a 170 page thread (and multiple others) on this site debating how bad the WR room was, with the departure of Diggs, Davis, and every other WR other than Shakir. We lost multiple defensive players, and started the season with the thinnest defense of the McDermott era. With limited draft picks, and over $60M in dead cap (half of that from Diggs alone), Beane had very few resources to field a competitive team. And yet they made it to the AFCCG, and one score away from the Super Bowl. Sean McDermott, and Brandon Beane's jobs are safe.

It was a helluva fun season-- one that most people did not expect. What I don't expect many people to acknowledge is that just getting to this game in the first place far exceeded the expectations of the vast majority of analysts, and exceeded the expectations of most of the Bills fans who post on this forum. Beane and company have a lot to work with in the offseason, and it's reasonable to expect that the Bills will field a deeper, and more complete team (especially on defense) in the '25/26 season.

Rapp being injured is a problem. He is our best safety. I'll have to re-watch the game, and really key onto Bishop, but my initial impression was that he wasn't bad, but still pretty unpolished. Had at least one decent tackle, and was in on some others. It makes me wish they has given him more playing time during the regular season. The notion of Hamlin/Bishop as our starting safeties vs. KC is concerning.

If two point conversions were easy, teams would do it every time.

Babich 👏