BigDingus

So I've waited until the new week to start any threads. Didn't want to come on and say "told you so," as I've been posting about our line, QB group, and glaring issues all off season but was dismissed time & time again as just being negative. But there's one thing I've been optimistic about, that I knew in the back of my head was just the homer in me...Our organization's ability to develop a QB. I believed this coaching staff would finally do right, and end our ineptitiude since Jim Kelly. Evidence points to the contrary however, and it's definitely a huge concern. This staff just last week was confident & had faith in Peterman as the starter. They watched him for a full NFL season, and another off season, and believed this guy was a worthy NFL QB. Half way through game 1, they already pulled him and threw the rookie in who they clearly didn't want to start. Now he's the starter going in to game 2 because it's "what's best for the franchise" (he only made that point clear a million times). But how can we have faith he has any idea what's best for the franchise? Not even 5 days ago Peterman was what he thought was best for the franchise. Last season he thought benching Taylor, then yanking his replacement (again in 1 half) & throwing Taylor back in was what was best! He thought signing McCarron, then trading him & running with 2 inexperienced QB's as our group was what was best for the franchise. Yeah, why would we ever need McCarron when we got these 2 studs here locking down the fort? You already exhausted & killed any hope one of your 2 options was ever going to succeed, and with 15 games left you're already down to your last hope....the raw, project, "potential," QB who fights to hit 50% of his passes in high school & college, against Mountain West competition, and hasn't done anything in his football career, and now is asked to suddenly do things he's NEVER been able to do but against the best competition in the world!!? I like McDermott. I think he's a good coach. I think he's a good leader. But he's already thrown up too many red flags to say he knows how to develop a QB properly, or even knows how to identify a good QB in the first place. Having a veteran on the team for the rookie to learn from & to lead your young group would've been the most obvious, easy thing to do to at least help learn the ropes & to mentor these guys, but we didn't even do that! All this while setting these 2 guys up with what's likely to be the worst offense in the NFL... A line that fans wanted to pretend would somehow just become good with the loss of its best players (great logic), and by having one of the most mediocre WR corps around...these 2 QB's are setup to fail no matter what they do. And with this schedule? Ravens, Chargers, Vikings to start the season? Yeah, don't worry...those defenses will surely be nice warmups for these guys And yes, a QB getting smashed to oblivion can ruin their career & shot at ever becoming decent. David Carr was shell shocked, and took a record amount of sacks his rookie year. Allen isn't going to fare much better, and it's not his fault. The guy can't help but do what the coaches tell him, and he can't develop in conditions that aren't conducive to his success. He wasn't close to pro ready, and now he's being thrown to the wolves. Way to go McBeane... I didn't expect a winning season. I didn't expect a playoff repeat. But I DID expect you to handle this situation with respect to the position & process, rather than attempting to systematically make every bad decision that has historically ruined QB's careers.

I called it...It would take next to no time for people to start blaming the OC. Can't wait until we get yet ANOTHER OC in here, even though our roster is crap & can't execute for s***. Need a scapegoat to blame!

Not surprised. But I'm sure someone would love to chime in on how it's just the bias media giving us no respect, and not that our team isn't very good at the moment.

Well Peterman had the only TD pass in the blizzard game until he left due to injury, so looks like we got the right guy starting

Unlikely. The problem with stuff like this is the defenses learn pretty quick what situations you're using these guys for, and it telegraphs your intent a mile away. Remember how we used to use EJ for hard counts? Yeah, worked a couple times, then it was pointless. Everyone knew we were only trying to draw them off sides, so it became useless quick.

Just don't hate him if we lose. Having optimism is a good thing, but too many people flip out much worse afterwards if their expectations aren't met.

I wasn't optimistic going into the preseason, but surprisingly more optimistic now. I'm a realist, and I try to remain objective as much as possible. Going into the preseason, a few things were obvious on paper. 1a) We had one of the worst QB groups in the league, with a combined 4 games of pro experience between 3 people. b) We had no veteran QB to mentor our young & inexperienced group, something that fans were severely downplaying as an insignificant issue while players & experts underlined as one of the most important aspects of proper QB development. 2) Our O-line lost our 2 best players from 2017, and our 3 best overall. We had a good group with high production in 2016 with Woods, Glenn & Incognito, and already took a step back in 2017 just losing Glenn. Without all 3, our unit becomes a patchwork group of journeymen, backups, and undersized, undeveloped guys just happy to be on a team. 3) The WR corps is also one of the weakest in the league, and if Benjamin goes down, likely will be by a large margin. Our #1 WR has size & athleticism, but isn't known for his route running, separation skills, speed or elusiveness. He's a great red-zone threat, but requires a QB who has exceptional ball placement skills to get it in the right area where only Benjamin can come down with it, or at least give him a chance to fight for it. We have journeymen, ST players, long-shot rookies, & some unreliable question marks filling out the rest of the ranks. Zay Jones could help turn this around, or he could bomb worse than Corey Coleman with a repeat of last year. 4) Run Defense was awful last year, and although we tried to address that with Harrison Phillips & Star Lotulelei (as well as shoring up the MLB spot with a 1st round pick), the scheme & those players have yet to prove they're worth the investment. It's not nearly as concerning as the offense, but it's still a concern nonetheless. Sadly, I still expect the defense to get a lot of the blame for losses, even though the high point totals Yet here I am, still more optimistic than I was before. A lot of that has to do with fan perception and reality sinking in, but there's more to it than that. Now that most of the fans realize the media wasn't just being big ol' meanies with their Bills discussion, I feel it'll take some of the pressure off McDermott & Beane and to focus primarily on development. Fans clamoring to rush the rookie QB out, or call for the OC to be fired because we look pathetic on the field, can potentially lead to ownership trying to rush the process. Seeing that we're indeed letting Allen sit & learn, along with fans finally remembering "oh yeah, we knew this guy was the most raw 1st round QB in the draft & was picked on POTENTIAL, not how great he's been on the field!" and being ok with him sitting for now, proves for once that maybe we're going to try & develop a QB right for once! To top it off, I think the defense has a lot of talent in place, and unlike the O-line, will get better when they start to gel. People like to say "the O-line will improve when they start to gel!" but fail to acknowledge there's only so much they can do without proper talent. The defense however, has a ton of talented players, and when they start figuring out the ins & outs of the scheme and working with each other, they'll begin to thrive. Unfortunately, if our offense continues to go 3 & out like last year, we can still expect 2nd half break downs & high point totals against us, simply due to the exhaustion of the defense being on the field for 75% of the game. But the final thing I'm feeling optimistic about is the likelihood we'll be able to keep the same Offensive Coordinator around for more than a season. Whether it was Roman, Hackett, Dennison, etc. fans blamed the OC & play calling for all the pitiful performances, even though execution was the more obvious issue. People also fail to realize that personnel directly affects the plays called, as coordinators know the limitations of their players. "Why did we run on ____ play?!" or "Why didn't we run more play action!?" etc. are cried after each loss. But when you fail to execute, cant build momentum, find yourselves in 3rd & long situations time & time again, it impacts the play calling options available. And if your QB can't throw out routes or comeback routes without huge risk of throwing an INT due to weak arm strength, you lose those options as viable calls. Coaches and fans finally seem to agree for once, allowing this year to give us a pass & expect greater results for our future. Anyway, I think this year will playout rough, but will ultimately prove to be the turning point & foundation on which future successful seasons were built. As long as the coaches stick to their guns, actively pursue talent, and put a greater emphasis on the lines this offseason, we could be in for great next decade.

So...the final score was 30-23 Bills? I'm assuming that's how it was, didn't really see it anywhere specifically mentioned. And the Bills have only scored 20 or more points twice against the Ravens. Once in 2010 when we lost 34 to 37 in OT, and another in 2013 when we won 23 to 20. I have a feeling if we could break 20 against this Ravens defense, we'd have a pretty great shot at winning. On the flip side, if Flacco throws for 381 yards & 3 TD's, I highly doubt we could overcome that. I can't see the game playing out anything like this, but I'd be happy with the result.

Ha ha, I was right, you were all wrong, nah nee nah nee boo boo, stick your head in wood chipper (I think that's how it goes).

LOL! But... nvm, I still chuckled.

People forget he started the blizzard game, had a TD pass, & left the game with the Bills in the lead. It's not like the one & only starting attempt was the Chargers game, and we're all sitting here wondering if he's ALWAYS going to do that. If he didn't throw a pick in the blizzard conditions, he's capable of doing that without the awful weather.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/24578139/2018-bill-barnwell-nfl-preview-how-all-32-teams-get-super-bowl-liii An excerpt: 31. Buffalo Bills Projected Super Bowl odds: 0.1 percent "Another team with a new quarterback. The Bills traded Tyrod Taylor and already both acquired and traded AJ McCarron, leaving them with just Nathan Peterman and Josh Allen on the roster. The most plausible scenario for a return to the playoffs is that the Bills get an effective running game while Allen steps in and harnesses his elite physical traits as a deep passer on play-action. The ideal offense here is probably something like the 2008 Ravens, who had Joe Flacco throw the ball only 26.8 times per game." At least our odds aren't "less than 0.1 percent" like the Browns And even though I think a lot of fans got too carried away early on with their projections & expectations for Josh Allen, getting back to the playoffs, W/L records, etc., it seems most have come back down to earth a bit & recognize this is definitely a rebuilding year. Playoffs are far-fetched enough, forget Super Bowl...and that's ok! I'd rather have an abysmal season & kick off the next decade with a fantastic franchise QB (hopefully) than to tread water in mediocrity for a few more years , never good enough to make the playoffs but not bad enough to grab the best talent in the draft.

Hopefully they go: Week 1: Start Allen, pull him after 1st half, regardless of performance. Give confusing, mixed-message presser afterwards. Week 2: Start Peterman, if he plays well, pull him immediately. Also, pull starting O-line. All of em. Then put Allen in. Week 3: Start them both, running the Wildcat with Allen out wide and Peterman taking handoffs from Shady. Week 4: Start them both again, with the stipulation they can only run Statue of Liberty plays between each other. Bench them both, insert Logan Thomas. Week 5: Promote both to captain, trot them to center field prior to coin toss, and have them do their own coin toss before the real one to see who gets to be starter for the day. Run out & publicly rip the "C" label off loser's jersey to humiliate them further. Week 6: Ask how you're not fired yet, then quit. At least you entertained yourself.

I doubt there's much of a market for McCoy, considering his age, mileage, position, and potential legal charges. Looking back at all the trades McBeane have done, it's hard to really determine how many were good, or even necessary. There are definitely some nice ones in there, but at some point you really have to conserve talent instead of always cutting down. We got a 6th round pick (turned into 5th; Wyatt Teller) for a young, pro-bowl DT in Dareus. We got a 2nd round pick (#24 in the 2nd Rd- traded to Bucs in Josh Allen trade) & EJ Gaines (1-year & gone) for Sammy Watkins & a 6th round pick. We got a 3rd round pick (#32 in the 3rd Rd - Harrison Phillips) & Jordan Matthews (1-year & gone) for Ronald Darby. We got the #12 overall pick in Rd 1 (traded to Bucs in Allen trade) for our #21st pick in Rd 1 & Cordy Glenn. (They also swapped 5th & 6th Rd picks) We got the #7 overall pick in Rd 1 (Josh Allen) for our #12th overall, and two 2nd round picks (#53 & #56) We got a 3rd round pick (#1 in the 3rd Rd - traded to Baltimore to move up for Edmunds) for Tyrod Taylor We got the #16 overall pick in Rd 1 (Tremaine Edmunds) for our #22nd pick in Rd 1 & the first pick of Rd 3 (#65 overall) We got Kelvin Benjamin for a 3rd Rd pick (#85 overall) and a 7th Rd pick (#234 overall) We got a 4th round pick in 2019 for our 2016 2nd Rd pick Reggie Ragland. Sooo essentially we added & lost: Wyatt Teller < Marcell Dareus Josh Allen & EJ Gaines < Cordy Glenn, the 21st overall pick, two 2nd Round Picks, Sammy Watkins, and a 6th Round Pick 2019 4th Round Pick < Reggie Ragland Harrison Phillips & Jordan Matthews < Ronald Darby Tremaine Edmunds < The 22nd Overall Pick & Tyrod Taylor Kelvin Benjamin < 3rd Round Pick (#85 overall) & a 7th Round Pick (#234 overall) Anyway, I can't really tell how much I like, and how much I don't. Some seem pretty solid, while others scare the hell out of me. For the record, I didn't include the 2017 draft trades, as Whaley presided over that one before McDermott & Beane were here. Anyway, I think any trade at this point would have to be for marginal picks. He doesn't have anyone of real note left to trade. He's all-in on Allen, and we don't have any highly coveted players that would command any significant draft picks (unless he wanted to get rid of Tre White lol)

O'Leary wasn't spectacular, but he's reliable in actual games... Who cares who looked better in preseason....Rather have someone as consistent and steady as Nick on the team than a bunch of unknowns who looked nice in camp & preseason.

I feel like people are just trying to get under your skin... If anyone made even half those jokes about Buffalo, they'd flip out.

I think it's a lock Peterman is the starter. There's no way I see Allen starting the season.

Has it actually stopped though? I've never lived in Buffalo, but man I love the city. I've been waiting patiently for the news to come one day that Buffalo has actually grown year over year. That would be true sign the city is on the rebound & would make me thrilled! Even if the population only grew by 4 total people, that would be insanely good news

I don't see anything wrong with this thread. It's just his opinion, and it may turn out to be true. All that needs to happen now is Allen to become starter, get injured after a few poor showings, and Peterman to come in & lead us to a winning record. If that happens, it will surely split the board in half.

Bill Belichick doesn't hate the Bills. He probably sees us as an unofficial bye week if anything. However, he definitely hates the Jets. There's a pretty bitter history there, from Spygate & Eric Mangini to those Rex Ryan lead Jet's teams. Hell, he even got hired there & quit just 4 hours after his first press conference being anointed the successor to Parcells.

No surprise there. He was one of the most talented & pro-ready QB's already, and someone I think the Bills would've snatched up had the Jets not pulled off that trade to move ahead of us to #3. Let's just hope he has a typical rough rookie year, as the following season & beyond he could turn into a beast.

That's preferrable to needing 3+ seconds to analyze and read the field, especially when you're going to get 2 at best on most snaps.

*David But yes, let's avoid that.

If that's the case, then the Bills are screwed. We always go for the "run-first" approach, coupled with a stout defense. Every offensive coordinator & HC that has come here the past decade+ has stated that was going to be their philosophy.

This is where I'm at too. Yes, neglecting the WR corps & O-line this offseason was a terrible mistake, especially considering we all knew they had been prepping for a new QB since day 1. You'd think they'd want to surround him with talent & have his protection be the #1 priority, but oh well, maybe next year. Regardless, they do have a plan in place, and next season we have our draft picks & more cap space, so Beane & McDermott should keep their job regardless of our W/L record.