Success

With the draft coming up, I'm also reminded that Belichick almost always ruined draft weekend for Pats fans by trading down, and quite often. He was really the master at amassing draft picks, either through trades or comp picks. The more swings you can take, the more hits you'll get.

I trust Beane to maximize this draft. I wouldn't be surprised at all if we trade down a few times and end up w/ 8 picks total, or something like that. You can get starting O-linemen in the middle rounds. They can probably also get the WR they need in the 2nd.

Shakir for sure. But I'd also keep Beasley. He's such a gamer - he brings a toughness that we need.

2020 was great. I remember feeling so low after the Hail Murray. It felt like a "make or break" moment for the season - and it made it. They just went on a tear after that.

I hope they can have more fun. When we went on that run in '20, the team was having a blast & playing loose. We lost that this year. It was totally gone by the end (for some obvious reasons), but they need to forget about the disappointments and the pressure of "the window," and just play w/ some joy for the game.

That, to me, is the biggest part of their blueprint. We shouldn't try to re-invent the wheel. When you have a top QB, you invest in the line. Allen won't need elite wideouts if he has time in the pocket (not that I don't want elite wideouts, but O-line comes first).

It's possible that we could have our best secondary of the "Allen era" this coming season, even w/ losing Poyer. Tre White was rounding slightly back into form at the end. An offseason & full training camp will hopefully get him back to the player he was before the injury. Meanwhile, Elam was coming on strong, and could take a big 2nd year leap. Johnson in the slot, Hyde back from injury, and hopefully Benford making a successful transition to safety could really turn the secondary into one of the league's best.

When healthy, he's a fantastic player. If he's available, a lot of teams will want him - and teams w/ more cap space than we have.

The QB situation in the AFC is WAY better now. Brady basically had to get past Manning to get to the SB. Rivers never had the teams to compete, and wasn't close to Brady/Manning level. Big Ben was never in the top tier, imo. The AFC is completely stacked right now. Maybe there are only 3 at the "elite" level, but there are 3-4 more knocking on that door. The QB play is so much better today than it was 10 years ago.

I think Benford will move into the safety role, and be good there. Does Bernard see a lot of time on special teams? It's too bad they can't find a role for him. I do think Brown will be better next year, and at minimum provide quality depth. But he could be the starter we all hoped he'd be. The injury set him back last year. Signing Edmunds would be a magic trick, but Beane has worked some magic in the past. Who knows. Would be great to keep him. I'd be surprised if we didn't pick at least 2 O linemen in the draft, and probably 3.

These aren't bad points. The defense was hit particularly hard this year, and we didn't have peak Tre White back. But I do see our defensive ranking as a mirage. I think it has been assisted greatly the past few years by how good the offense is. Our offense rarely has 3 & outs, they generally stay on the field, and they also tend to score early & often - forcing opposing offenses to become more one-dimensional.

That is very true. The Pats always played great defense during that run. Over 17 years, that's kind of amazing. I have to wonder how much of that was coaching over personnel.

Man, the bolded really says it all. When you have a top QB - you have to have a good line. I think Beane fully understands that, but he has his work cut out for him to just get our line in the top half of the league.

I thought it might be interesting to put our loathing aside and really analyze how they pulled it off. What they did is what I want the Bills to do - dominate for many years, and as long as they have Allen at QB. They didn't have the ebb & flow that a team normally has, even w/ a top QB. Their window was wide open for most of those 17 years. They made 9 SB's, and probably should have made 1-2 more. My own thoughts: 1) Obviously, Brady took less pay so the team could afford better players. I still don't see that being as impactful as it's made out to be - he was still paid a lot. 2) Aging vet stars took pay cuts just to play w/ Brady. Will we see that w/ Allen? 3) The Patriots made very few investments in bigtime skill players. Moss was the exception, not the rule. 4) One of the hallmarks of Belichick was letting players walk before they started to decline. Almost exactly what we're looking at w/ Poyer. 5) Their biggest priority, year after year, was making sure the O-line was strong. That's just what you do when you have a top QB. Still, the run is somewhat mystifying. Belichick was not a great drafter, which is usually needed once a QB gets past the rookie contract. Superior coaching clearly played a part. I think BB got the best out of his players (which is something we aren't doing right now - we see players leave the Bills and perform better than they did here). Thoughts?

Not too much affects my enthusiasm. The Bills are my team, and things like coaching hires & fires are out of my control entirely. I just ride w/ whatever we have, and I'm always 100% stoked when the season starts - especially now w/ JA at QB. I'll be just as all in next year, even if Frazier is back at DC.

He has the skills to be a great #2 on this team. For a bit there in the playoffs, it looked like he was "back," and making some big plays. The future looks a lot brighter if some of our players who underachieved this past year get back to form in the upcoming season. There are young guys on both offense & defense who just fell short this year.

It's not a priority - but it would be amazing.

Thanks - this was an interesting read. I wouldn't mind a trade back from where we are this year. This is the 1st year in ages where I have felt like we have to hit it out of the park in terms of drafting. With our cap situation, other teams will move past us soon unless we can infuse young & inexpensive talent onto the team. I know I'm stating the obvious w/ that, but I'm much more focused on this year's draft than any other I can remember. I don't want this to be the end of our window - it would be way too much to deal w/, given the potential we've had the past few years.

It's not a "moral victory." Mahomes didn't BEAT Allen. KC beat the Bills. It's a team game. The quarterbacks don't play each other, at any point.

Not a bad list, really. It has become more the "pop" HOF than "rock" HOF, which makes sense, since rock is really over. I'd go Maiden, Zevon, White Stripes, Rage & Soundgarden. That's a rockin' list.

We got Von Miller to put the team over the top - and he got hurt. Teams have to overcome injuries - but when you lose the "missing piece" guy, it makes it hard to judge the season. I think we'd be playing next week if he was still healthy.

We're going to be a little more under the radar this year - no way we get the opener, imo. And that's just fine w/ me.

Allen hasn't beaten Mahomes in meaningful games? This isn't tennis. Allen played better than Mahomes last year, and drove the Bills to what should have been a win, IN Kansas City.

I think the OP is doing a parody of some sentiments that are out there. I hope that's it. Speaking to that sentiment - fans do it way too much. Allen is Allen. Mahomes is Mahomes. Using the same logic, Burrow is Burrow. Fans & pundits can't resist comparisons and "this guy is the next that guy." No one is.

KC's run of home AFCCG's reminds me a bit of how things were earlier in the Pats run. They always got Manning at their place. He finally broke through - barely - when the Colts were able to host the Pats in '06, and Manning got the better of that rivalry from that point on. A lot of things have to go right to get to a Super Bowl, especially these days in the AFC. They didn't for us this year. All we can do is saddle up and hope it works out better next season. At least we have Allen, and still one of the best teams in the league.