Success

I have also seen that more pundits and fans that I'd imagine barely have JA in their top 5 now. Some don't even put him in that group. It's all kind of funny. Choosing a hot take over objective information has become ingrained at this point. The Cincy game is now what people think JA is capable of. Sometimes, I get a little annoyed. But then I remember how it is when either Allen or the Bills are overhyped. I'll take the alternative. Better to be underestimated.

This staff is always cautious, imo. I'd be surprised if they let him play until they were 100% on it - I'd guess sometime in October at the earliest.

"NFL coach admits he doesn't watch Bills games"

He practiced yesterday...right? So yeah - he's healthy.

Okay. But that's not really what the 1st 5 pages of this thread are about. The comments were over the top.

I mean, could the 1st 5 or so pages of this thread be more hot takey and overreactive?

So, we have a guy tweaking his back yesterday, and we're not sure what the status is or if it's serious at all - but suddenly, the season is compromised, it's another example of how bad Beane is w/ the OL, and we have no answer at RT. Makes sense.

Pretty anxious for the season to start, so some of the speculating can come to a halt. I'm getting AFC West 2022 vibes about the 2023 AFC East. I don't think that many - even a lot of fans here - understand how challenging it will be to stop the Bills offense this year, with an improved line, improved running game and better weapons straight down the line after Diggs. The D may be more of a question mark, but with Von, Hyde & Poyer coming back healthy, other additions, and Tre hopefully rounding back into form - as well as McD calling what one would expect to be a more aggressive philosophy overall - I think this team should be favored to win the division title by a wide margin.

Sports are pretty high stakes - especially for an NFL team that is still searching for its first title. There won't be any sentimentality or emotion in whatever decision they make. I think he makes the team - he's a great tackler, and good depth. But his skills and how he fits will dictate whether he makes it or not. It would certainly get a headline if he was cut, but it wouldn't be some scandal or outrage.

Judge signed a long contract - but he's on the wrong side of 30, and those contracts don't typically age well. He's an amazing player but I don't expect the last years of his contract to be anything like the 1st years of his contract. So, the Yankees have to figure something out NOW, or they are going to waste not only his best years, but Cole's. They're not a team that can do a firesale and start a 2-4 year rebuild.

Judge's next 2-3 years are going to be his best years - at least if sports history holds true. You can't waste that time rebuilding. They have to figure something out.

I truly believe that there is a significant gap between the Bills, and all 3 teams in the division. Miami represents the biggest competition, but they're not at our level. That doesn't mean games w/ them won't be tough. They are division games, after all. But in the close ones we had w/ them last year, it was more poor play by the Bills than good play by Miami that was a factor.

We're good at guard, Morse & Dawkins are solid. As just about everyone has stated - Brown is key to this line. And the potential is there. Really, if he can make a leap - we could have a top 10 or even top 5 line. What a difference that would be.

I used to think that's true - but not anymore. It sounds like there is real tension between him & Kraft. And Kraft is tired of not winning playoff games. If the Pats miss the playoffs this year, a change would not be shocking.

This is very biased - but I grew up in the '70s, and it was glorious. Post war, great vibe, classic music. I even appreciate disco now. But more than anything, it was the future outlook. My vision of things to come was based on "The Jetsons." A really clean future, where everyone was prosperous, and things like racism & poverty didn't exist. It's obviously veered from that since that time. I think kids growing up now are probably much more pessimistic about where we're headed, but for that decade, everything was all out in front of us.

100%. The only comment I've ever heard about the 2023 playoffs is "The Bills choked again." I don't wish injury on anyone, I don't celebrate it - but I also don't care if other teams are set back by it.

Our line has been a weak link - but I'm more bullish on the offseason moves. I think we made 2 very big upgrades, and I have confidence that Brown can get to the potential he has w/ a full offseason of work.

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.