Success

It's been said already - but if Allen never ran another yard, he'd still be a top 5 QB in the league. That's a real differentiator w/ the historical stats.

We're all expecting it to be the toughest division in football - that's the national narrative, and I think most of us have felt that way. But I'm starting to get 2022 AFC West vibes. 1) The Jets won 7 games last year. The conventional wisdom is that they were "just a quarterback away" from contending. But 7 wins is 7 wins. They added a 40-year-old QB, who - though great - will be behind the worst line in the division. 2) Miami gave us a tough time last year - but we win the 1st one if it wasn't played in extreme heat, with the visitor sideline getting the brunt of it. We were up 17-0 in the playoff game and really beat ourselves to make it close. The only other good team they beat in 2022 was the Ravens. They ended up w/ 9 wins. 3) As for the Pats, they were bad last year. There is a media narrative that's starting to take hold that they're being overlooked & underestimated - but they have 2 elite players in Judon and Stevenson, and added very little in the offseason to move the needle. I'm not seeing a team that will break .500 this year. Maybe this is all just homer rationalization - but I still think the Bills are king in this division, and that it won't be a particularly close race as we get into December.

Of course, this won't get reported on or talked about outside of Buffalo. You can't go to a national Bills article or hear them talked about on TV or podcasts without hearing about how the "Diggs issue" is going to set the Bills back this year.

I just feel bad for HInes. This doesn't hurt the team in any significant way. I agree w/ a few others that Hines was probably on the fringe of the roster as it is.

No trade. It's likely he breaks the record.

I'm going to say the thing that everyone keeps saying incorrectly about the Bills: KC is taking a step back this year.

This team was 3 plays from being undefeated last year. In a year characterized by injury & crisis. I think Buffalo is being comically underestimated by many pundits and fans. We had an incredible offseason, and we'll have key players like Hyde & Miller back (as well as Tre hopefully rounding back into form). We're better able to run the ball and protect Allen this season. I think we win the East, AND get the 1 seed in the AFC. I get that it's a "tough" schedule, but the only 2 teams out there that we shouldn't be favored against are the Chiefs and Bengals.

It's actually pretty thrilling it's not the Chiefs. It's almost as thrilling that it's not in the division.

I'd actually play for the money, in any other position but QB. If you're a top QB, you can dictate games more, and also get more endorsement money if the team does well. Every other position gets paid much less, and you never know how long your career will last. In the NFL, you have to cash in.

This, exactly. I never expected the Bills to get him. Going to the Titans is the next best thing to going to the NFC.

The article exaggerates the "problem." Late 20's is prime for a lot of positions. I think we have a great mix of young guys & older vets. The Bills have the best team on paper heading into this season. I'm not going to complain until we don't.

No one is going to think the offense is only Diggs & Allen after this season - regardless of what happens with Hopkins. I think fans are underestimating the quality of our new additions - as well as how much better the line & running game will be, which will open things up for everyone.

Fan involvement is integral to the experience of sports. I get what you're saying. I can just watch the sport and appreciate what I'm seeing. But that doesn't exist in a vacuum. I mean, I don't really hate ANY team. But once you add fans to the equation...

If you watch long enough, you end up hating most other teams. The ones you don't hate are the ones who haven't won anything. Then, if they win something, you're kind of happy for them, but it's brief. If they have continued success after that, you start to hate them too. And as for your own team, you hope for a day when they can be hated too. A lot of opposing fans liked the Bills until fairly recently, but are starting to hate them now because they win, even though they haven't won it all. If they win it all, they'll definitely be hated. It's kind of a negative experience if you really think about it. And that's not even covering the idea that you spend endless hours over decades experiencing heartbreak, frustration and even anger, all so you can POSSIBLY have a moment of joy, or maybe a few. Sports are weird.

I think by the end of the season, quite a few people will be like, "Ohhhh.....it wasn't the receivers. It was more about Allen not having time." We're gonna love Sherfield and Harty in a few months.

I doubt the Pats will end up in 4th place while Belichick is there. They have a 4th place roster, but the coaching makes such a big difference. If they get Hopkins, I think fans here underestimate how good they might be. They could legit challenge for the division. The Bills should prevail over all 3 teams, but it's close enough where if there are a couple of weird breaks, any of the other teams could win it.

Man, is that a hard question.

Opposing fans were really hoping on this one....

Brown is absolutely the key to this line. I think every other position on that line is set for 2023, and can be an elite unit. But a line is only as good as its weakest link. Brown has to take that next step that we have all thought he is capable of.

Which is cool, of course. My response didn't really address that - it was more that I want to see other areas of the team rise to the level he is setting (which I'm sure isn't too controversial). I understand why opposing fans and pundits have Mahomes as the best right now. But it's really just the titles. I think Allen probably has the same success if he had been w/ the Chiefs this whole time. That's just last season. He has that skillset. The elbow injury affected those intermediate throws the most.

I read through it. I just disagreed w/ a lot of it, which is fine. It's sports, so opinions will vary.

I keep reading that the Pats are the most likely to get him. Wouldn't love that. But better than Chiefs, Ravens or anyone else in the AFC.

That is way too young. R.I.P. And I do remember wanting him to be a Bill.

Allen doesn't need to improve. No QB is perfect. The rest of the team & coaching have to catch up to his level of play. Then we win a SB.

I don't have an issue w/ the premise. Having top wideouts is enticing as a fan. But I look at those Pats teams - the only time they really invested in WR was Moss, and that actually ended up not working out. It's about the lines and protecting Allen. Give Allen time, and he can get the ball to anyone.