corta765

Plus side for Taron is while he misses this week he gets more time to recover for the following week on MNF. In a sense if he was 50/50 for a week 2 sunday game if he is out now maybe it lets him recover more instead.

1. I have wondered if teams are switching back (A BIT) to a more ball control lower number of position style of game approach. If you do not have an alien at QB like Allen/Mahomes/Lamar the best way to keep pace is keeping the ball and limiting positions. Additionally I saw a stat on twitter that TDs thrown was in the mid 30s yesterday total league wide and in the past 5-6 years it had been 50-60 a week until 2023. I really think the next evolution of defense from the 2 shell look people jumped on is now limiting the game itself in terms of possessions and time. 3. I fully expected the Bills to blow it at the end when up by 6. I told my buddies it was the worst 34 pt performance I have seen lol. Playing for the FG when a 1st down wins the game OR then the other team is playing to tie not win made zero sense to me. 5. Give me 9-10 more games at that level and his contract isn't a complete disaster. Best I can view it is like that. He did look productive and fresher then he has since injury. 8. YES IT IS OUR WAY OF LIFE 10. He seems the most poised and controlled at QB that he has been since 2020. Maybe the offseason hype of training and work is really at the max we have hoped. Moving On- If the defense starts like this most weeks we are going 9-8. They did tighten up in the 2nd half big time and shut the door... BUT teams are better then ARZ and will not let you back in like that either. CBs were good though and D-line, need the middle to tighten up more.

lol you get older and realize the stupidity although there are plenty of stupid old people also

Aight here is who I am high on and not based off months of doing season simulators: High: AFC Jets- I get peoples questions given the history of the franchise and injury Rodgers has had, valid and real. To me though they finished 31st in points scored and have been bottom 5 in QB play forever. The defense is great and the skill pieces are there where if Rodgers is just like middle of the road which isn't a tall ask and plays 15 games they win 10-11 games. Middle of the road offenses in terms of ppg included KC/JAX/HOU/GB/IND. The schedule also is very friendly this year. I do not think they make the SB, but I think they take the division off tie breaker and win a game which still is a pretty good year Texans- Could care less about Diggs addition, the rest of the team is just very solid and building really well. The schedule is favorable and they seemed poised to make a run. NFC Rams- They are actually my super bowl pick, they reloaded back to back offseasons with a ton of great young talent with the best NFC coach IMO and a great QB who is healthy. I think the 49ers win 11 but break early in the post season as the Rams beat them for the division and the stress/pressure of years being oh so close finally takes it toll. *Lions- Not really sure how people can be high on them when they were great last year but I do think they match the hype and take the 1 seed. Just don't ask me who I think knocks them out come conference title game otherwise the cowardly lion will cry Low AFC Miami- Despite the fact I have defended them in terms of max potential on this board, I think the reality is Tua just had a great season with Hill healthy throughout who is another year older. They still lost the division and flamed out when it mattered. Now the team has lost some great players like Hunt and Wilkins, injuries already exist for Ramsey and ODB and your having a tougher schedule. Additionally while the offense still may hum, asking it to do last year again feels like a tall order. An 8-9 finish missing the playoffs with a loss to the Jets week 18 just seems poetic at this point. Cleveland- They were 6-2 in one score games with a great defense and nice (lucky though) QB play which went pumpkin in the playoffs. CIN gets Burrow back BAL is solid, so at best their 3rd in division. I think the floor drops and they go 7-10 never really being a serious playoff team as the QB play is too much for another year of coaching/solid D and fortune to favor them again. Irony of Irony is this team keeping Baker with this roster. *Cincy- Playoff team yes, but Burrow does return again from injury and he is now down to Chase/Higgins with Boyd gone. The cheapness of ownership is showing again with the handling of the WR contracts which sure they will say isn't a distraction to the team, but it rarely goes well internally when the 2nd best player on the team feels slighted on what he is owed. To me they have an up and down year just making it in before losing in the wildcard with what feels like the last year of the group they've had as the cap and ownership especially artificially lower a widow for a team which should be wider.

Trubisky does in backup action with Josh out lol

I have been doing this for years to this level. At this point is it bad mojo to not get this specific lol

Bills 23 Cards 17 Cards get an early 7-0 lead but Buffalo goes into half up 13-7 on the back of an Allen TD to Knox and a Gilliam TD run from the goal line (Bass misses the extra point). The Bills get the ball out of half and get a TD on a 6:30 min drive which Shakir does his thing on a nice 30 yard TD, but the Cards come down field and get a FG to make it 20-10 heading into the fourth. The offense again gets a lengthy drive but it stalls and Bass hits a 41 yard FG to make it 23-10 with 9 mins to go. The Cards hang around as they score on a McBride TE on 4th down with 5mins left to close the gap to 23-17. The offense is able to run the clock out and the Bills win a close game that has the locals feeling a little nervous after. Allen 303 yds 24-34 2 TDs 15 yards rush Cook 72 yards 14 att Shakir 91 yards 8 rec 1 TD Groot 2 sacks

I would expect at some point a different alternate then the red to change it and a throwback either standing Buffalo or finally the red. I have thought for a while do they change unis a little for the new stadium... BUT the Pegulas have been pretty steadfast that they like the consistent identity and switching uniforms messes with that something they learned the hardway for a bit with the Sabres. I can see them maybe dabbling with a different alternate once the new stadium opens, but realistically I think it is more likely you get the Red helmet 90s look twice a year & either red uni or throwback whites and that is it.

EPA Dabolls last year was like 13 + Dorsey was -2 has last year Brady was +8

The division is interesting because I see it like this: Best QB Bills Most Complete Roster Jets Best Offense Dolphins Best Defense Jets Best Coach Bills Buffalo has the highest floor given track record and QB at this point, but I honestly get those betting on the Jets as long as Rodgers is healthy to take the division. Miami is complete wildcard because when they are healthy and hot their offense truly is dynamic... but they come up short routinely against top competition, their QB seems to fail in big moments, and the defense is very shaky despite few big names. At this moment because of the Bills schedule I see it like this: Jets 11-6 Bills 10-7 or 11-6 lose tiebreaker Miami 9-8 Pats who cares BUT my caveat is I really think by seasons end the team is in a different place (healthy fingers crossed) and makes a better run the the other two.

Hell the first four weeks really do not say much. Patriots had that blow out loss to KC the one year week 4, KC lost to IND the year they went like 4-13, tons of examples of bad teams pulling upsets and good teams doing weird or bad things lol. But yea week 1 especially is overreaction central and expectations can get weird. I have been consistent saying anything less then a multi score win and I think a lot of the fans are mad.

I really try not to think about that much anymore as last year looked bad and then injuries hit other teams. As long as 17 is healthy the floor is relatively high and what may look like a hard stretch now could be easy and vise versa. With that said the number of games that feel like they should win no questions is def lower then prior yearsa as I have just ARZ TEN & NE at home and at NE & maybe at IND (worst secondary in NFL).

I have felt this way for a bit that the NFL is nearing a cliff where the fans will start saying enough either out of frustration or cost or both. Ever since the NFL approved the Rams to move out of St Louis specifically the priorities of the league v fanbase were crystal clear that $ over anything. To recap the Rams fanbase in St Louis did everything required, the city did also, and the city approved a new stadium that the Rams had signed off on. The league allowed Kroenke to get off on a technicality regards to the improvement of the Dome, but league bi-laws state that a franchise must work in good faith with the city they are in before exploring moving and only if the city is not working with a true option to stay can you leave. There is a reason the courts keep hammering the NFL/Rams in court and awarding money back to St. Louis in a settlement of $519 million, the league broke its own rules to get the Rams to LA. The Raiders actually had a joint stadium with the Chargers set to go, but Kroenkes stadium was too much to miss and the league did what it did. To me this jaded me in the sense of no team really ever was outside of the grasp of moving if the $ was that great. The NFL would move Green Bay if they could history and fans be damned. This has continued in all avenues across the board where SB tickets are impossible for casual fans, the stadiums themselves are becoming corporate love fests, and streaming wise they are now working to monetize that. Prior league commissioners understood that they were stewards to the game and long term health of the league and the fans had to come first in some regard. I cannot see how a private equity firm which sole goal is more money will do anything but make the experience worse and more expensive.

Yep why I stopped following this and deadspin

I have them at 11 but I think the Jets somehow get the division in a weird tiebreaker where week 18 doesn't matter so they could even be 10 wins. That said I think by the end of the season fans are in love with the offenses evolution and ready for the playoffs home or away kind of like Bradys Bucs in 2020 when they were a WC.

Doesn't mean anything. NYC big market and in the end if they make the playoffs or better no one cares. If they miss it'll just be this maximized.

On paper last years team was better and more proven, it also ended up being hit with injuries depleting depth and showing the age of veterans AND also require the firing of the OC to get the offense back on track to what is expected. But healthy team end of year last year with Brady at OC vs this current team I would take last years squad. I think this years offense could be actually far better by seasons ends I just need to see it happen, the defense I just can't stop seeing a regression to middle of the pack and a transition year coming.

Hell if the Bills only win week 1 24-20 or something close the locals will be restless

100%. The other one I always laugh at is fanbases expectations when they draft a QB 1st overall. Every fanbase thinks they are getting Manning 2.0, but realistically the bench mark should be Drew Bledsoe. 4x Pro Bowler, led Pats to a SB as the starter, made the playoffs 4 times as the starter (didn't play in 98' injury), won the division, won playoff games etc.. like realistically in 8 years as the dude that is standard that any fanbase would love. Expectations are just so skewed for team success or QB play that the actual benchmarks for what really good is never are considered.

Agreed. BB really altered peoples minds on success for coaches. Most good coaches have well prepared teams and good culture, but they have their follies from time to time. Tomlin has a ring and two appearances yet some of his decisions and running of the ship have been questionable at points, Pete Carroll did a tremendous job in Seattle but has a huge blemish from the SB, Mike Shanahan did great in DEN and has been lukewarm since, etc.. The greats are the greats and their is a reason you get maybe one per decade. Andy Reid until KC won a SB was forever laughed at for his time mgmt skills in PHI and inability to breakthrough and now is probably a top 5 coach ever. I do have a time coming where soon if McD doesn't break through they need to replace him and give Josh a different guy in his prime, but it isn't there yet. ALSO everyone who mentions replacing Sean I always ask who is your replacement and are they an actual upgrade? That usually doesn't go as swimmingly in response haha.

Agreed. Since 2017 every time at least regular season wise when they seemed counted out on the year in some capacity (2017 3 game losing streak 5-5 Peterman game, 2019 post Pats game 1, 2021 TB loss 7-6, and last year after PHI loss) they do comeback pretty strong and answer the bell. This is the first time where entering the season they really seem to be counted out by the fans so I am interested in how it plays out, but the track record is there that they finish the year playing good football and as a playoff team. Like you said we all go back and forth a lot from feeling high to low and this year seems to be entering on low so watch them go 6-1 or something stupid to shut us all up lol.

Oh it was awesome. KC game on the season was a blast One thing I have considered is Beane is seeing if Shakir/Coleman/Samuels all have solid years and then Knox/Kincaid bookend really well. IF so the need for the other WR is far less important, but if not next draft and FA I honestly think he adds a truly proven vet and goes WR in the draft in round 1/2 again to double up insurance. They also have enough cap room to make a move come deadline and picks to add with it. Beane has said he moved to quick from players drafted before so I do think he is trying to let things play out a bit before making a change. With all of that said I would've drafted two WRs this year.

To add on since the 98' NFC title loss they got blown out by the Giants when their offense was still humming in 2000, absolutely pure heartbreak in 2009 NFC title when Farve threw that awful INT when they were near FG range to win, and then in 2017 they score the first TD in the NFC title game only to get routed. Since their last SB appearance they are 0-6 in the NFC title game rotating heartbreak with blow out, given they were blown out in 2017 they are due for heartbreak in the next 2-3 years. Legit they are as cursed and traumatized as we are.

I have constantly said if Aaron Rodgers career was reversed for when he won a SB and the inability to get back after he would've been deemed a massive choker until that date and the success they had wouldn't have been appreciated until the ring came. I legitimately get angry with fanbases like PIT, DEN, NYG complain about down years or stretches. All of them have basically been in SBs once a decade since the late 70s on, had various levels of playoff success regularly, and made at least a conference title literally every decade since the 70s. Sports is cyclical in nature yet they have managed to excel for very long stretches. I am frustrated like everyone else at the inability to break through yet, but I have had more fun the last 7-8 years then I did the two decades prior and I don't take that for granted. Getting to the start of DEC and playing the "in the hunt game" is not fun or enjoyable.

Sooo my general theory on this is for the mass majority of Bills fans the 2022 season was there make it or break it piece mentally. Coming off 13 seconds virtually everyone league wide was predicting the Bills to be in the SB and break through. Peter King, NBC, ESPN, etc.. they were the pick that year and with Von added the hype train was as max as it gets. It is the only time as a Bills fan I can honestly remember (I was too young for 90s SB days) that league wide we were the team people thought was the top dog. And realistically they proved it going 13-3 and rolling through the season that year regardless of the Dorsey critiques or injuries that happened. But the loss to CIN was a back breaker for the fanbases mentality. That was when for real the positivity and belief that had been built for years with McBeane seem to evaporate, the Diggs v Allen sideline thing did nothing to help that either, and some real honest questions started being asked about many things. Ever since then there is an element of pessimism that has come back into the minds of fans at this point which I understand and can't say I disagree with. Last year losing at home to KC in such a close fashion only added more to this fire. Now this offseason you lost a lot of core players who were good and you could trust (Poyer, Hyde, Morse, Diggs etc) and there are no answers yet as the season hasn't started (the offense feels like a big question mark given the WR corp). For basically 5 years now Allen has been playing at a high level and we haven't broken through. Now mentally for fans it really feels like regression when you see this offseason which only compounds into the mentality that came into view once they lost to CIN. I have held the belief that the franchise is haunted forever by the four SB losses and that the pressure on the good teams that come after will be enormous until a ring is won. Bills fans have been through a lot with maybe only the Viking fanbase being equivalent in pain (Sorry CLE/DET fans but SB losses are far more painful then what you have went through). You mix that history in with the inability to break through now for 5 years running and there is due to be some backlash and regression in the mind.