Success

I'm sad about Coleman, excited to see Gabe & Hardman, nervous that it's too much change too fast, angry that we even got to this point, and happy that Allen is still our QB. So - sad, excited, nervous, angry & happy. The life of a Bills fan, eh? How about it?

I wish I knew why we seem to miss on so many high round picks. Bad scouting? Are we just guessing wrong? It's frustrating. Especially when the cap is becoming a real issue, we have to get more hits than misses.

It makes no sense to me. This is a young player's chance to prove himself in the NFL - the decisions he makes could mean millions, or even 10's of millions.

One thing about this team - they have consistently put together very good home stretch runs starting around November/ December. I think our December record in particular has been incredible in the Allen era. I just have this feeling we start another run tomorrow. There isn't a team on the schedule that this team can't handle if they're motivated & relatively healthy.

I have a hard time getting upset about this one. And I hope the team doesn't. I want a team that sees something like this & laughs at the idea that it could hold them back in any way.

I meant better than the Bills. I'd agree that they are clearly better than they've been. And anyone is right to say they're better than Buffalo to this point in the season. But it's December & January that separate the contenders from the pretenders.

I have to admit - I don't know anything. But I can't escape the feeling that this regime would much rather go w/ the mediocrity that they know & trust rather than take even the smallest leap to try to improve things.

It's not an apples-to-apples comparison. We're a proven team that is struggling w/ a sort of repetitive futility, and has a "morale" issue. When the Bills get up for games, they most likely win. We have a sort of malaise going on. The Pats are a team that has morale to spare - they remind me of us 5 years ago - but they're not proven, and they're navigating one of the easiest schedules of all time (not an exaggeration). Maybe they are "better," or even the same. But I have my doubts.

For the 1st time in awhile, we're the healthier team. Absolutely no excuses. Feeling good about Sunday. I don't think it will be that close.

I don't think they were "dumb." They're just a counter to the current narrative, and I see the current narrative as being fairly circumstantial. As I've stated a few times - if the Pats had an average schedule this year, they'd probably have at least 4 losses, and most would be talking more about how they're climbing into contention than the "Pats are back! A new dynasty!" chatter that most nationally are preaching. 2 things can be true on this one: the Pats are greatly improved and show a lot of PROMISE, and they are also being wildly overhyped and anointed way too early. To me, they have proven very little so far. They could just as easily end up .500 next year as they could challenge for the division.

I never thought that the word "full" would mean so much to me outside of dinner situations.

Nothing he said was wrong. He said Vrabel was a good coach, and I agree he's a great leader & culture guy. He's not the football mind that a guy like Belichick was, though. I think he had his flaws in TN, and his most successful years there were also a product of having great coordinators. McDaniels is more responsible for the success right now, imo. The offensive schemes are really helping Maye succeed. I would love, love, love to see a team like the Giants hire him as HC. And DC's are likely to adjust better to Maye as time goes on. As that poster said, history has more examples of QB's that looked poised to climb to the top regress, because eventually some of their tendencies were exposed and defenses adjusted. I'm impressed w/ what the Pats have done this year, but it wouldn't shock me a bit if they have a worse record next year. The hype they're getting right now is largely due to the easy schedule. Still, there are plenty of posts on this board - a Bills board - praising the Patriots and dooming about the future of the Bills, if that's what you're looking for.

I'm irrationally excited about seeing a different grouping w/ the WR corps on Sunday. Getting Palmer back - maybe seeing Davis or Hardman or both. It's one of those things where it literally can't be worse than what we've seen, and is likely to be better. Maybe significantly better. And that could change our fortunes this season. Getting some semblance of a passing game back, and staying healthier the rest of the way - both could go a long way toward giving us a shot to still win the division, get the 1 seed and make a strong run in the playoffs.

That's one thing that really struck me last night - at least half of his completions were to guys that were wide open. Like, wide open. It's wild watching a game like that, because we never see the same w/ the Bills. Josh is lucky to get a few plays where receivers are that open, and usually it's because of a broken coverage.

Man, we got healthy pretty quick. All in all, the worst of it is Hoecht - we barely got to see him, but man did he make a difference. Obviously, losing Oliver also hurts, but I feel some confidence that he is back for the playoffs. No excuses this weekend. Coming off a brutal loss, at home, pretty healthy - gotta hope that we can show the world we're still in the mix for the AFCE and 1 seed.

I agree w/ those who say that the record they have is impressive and that they're obviously a good team. But I also agree w/ those who say it's a product of the easy schedule. If they had a "normal" schedule, they'd have at least 3-4 losses right now, and the story would be more about how they've turned it around and seem to be climbing back in contention - as opposed to "the dynasty is back! Another 20 years....deal w/ it, league!" Maye looks great, but so have a lot of other guys. Honestly, the best thing that could happen in the division is McDaniel becoming HC of the Giants next year. Watching that offense, he has set the table for Maye to succeed and look amazing. They'd still have Vrabel - who I see as more of a "culture" kind of coach than a great football mind.

I'm not giving it up yet. I think they're certainly favored right now. But we have a history of going on late season runs. I can see the Bengals or Ravens beating them (or both), us beating them, and maybe Miami has a good one in them to end the season. They could lose 2-3 more. Of course, we'd have to basically run the table - maybe 1 loss.

Irving playing would be a challenge. But - we should embrace that. We need this team to really show us something - not just beat up on a banged up team.

What great news this report is. Probably the best shape we've been in for months. Also good w/ the quick turnaround for the Thursday game.

The pessimism here is a little over the top. This team hasn't really passed the eye test so far this year - but we were riding pretty high last week after beating what we know is a very good KC team, despite their record. We absolutely didn't show up against Miami, but it's not like we have skated through previous seasons without having a few ugly games. I'm feeling pretty confident about Sunday. Many here & nationally are ready to write the Bills off this season and will be looking at this game as confirmation. I think the team & coaching staff hear all of that chatter & will show up in a big way.

For sure. But it's 2 entirely different situations, imo. Would you say that the Pats are a better team right now? I think we gave that game away.

I saw it the other day - on a Pats board. If it's not for any reason, it's pretty close. The only reason they're in 1st is the schedule. Even the Bucs were down some of their best players (who are of course back at practice for this week's Bills game). I don't care about proving it. It's an easy schedule. Everyone knows that. The Pats have improved but they're not the team being hyped right now.

I don't care that they don't share my thoughts. I'm not buying into the Pats big resurgence while they're running through the easiest schedule any team has seen in a half century. Is that okay & all? Do you just come here looking for Bills fans to praise your team, and talk in glowing terms about how awesome it is that they're in 1st place?

"Really not close?" The 1st game was, even though the refs favored the Pats all game and the Bills had 3 turnovers. Even that last non-call against Shakir would have swung the game the Bills way. The Pats are skating on the lightest schedule a team has had for 50+ years. They have been squeaking by the past couple of weeks - couldn't believe that the Bucs didn't run on that last 3rd & 3 - and they will absolutely be exposed. Not as a bad team, because they're not that - but insanely overhyped and overrated. And for sure, you're trolling. Look at your responses on this thread.

We were way too banged up by the end in 2020. Beasley was playing on a broken leg. Diggs had an oblique, Davis & Brown were both injured. It was amazing that we were even able to hang in that game for awhile.