SCBills

If you poll every talking head at ESPN, sure. If you ask actual GM’s, I’m pretty confident you’d get a different answer. Youre talking down to posters, some of whom (like myself) have had very real criticisms of this team and are not homers, like we’re incapable of separating our fandom from reality … when you’re out here giving us narratives from First Take and Get Up.

I honestly do not agree with this at all. Your rebuttal is team accomplishments vs Allen's very real elite postseason performances. Again, Allen cannot control 13 seconds, and we aren't having this conversation if he could. I'd be willing to bet quite a bit that if you took Mahomes out of the equation, and polled all 32 GM's, more would choose Allen than Burrow. I'll reframe it this way.. If you put Allen on the Bengals last year, and Burrow on the Bills, how do you think they fare? Both had OL issues, although I'd argue they got their act together until injuries hit, while ours was a bottom rung OL all year. Burrow had Chase, Higgins, Boyd, Mixon, Perine, Hurst. Allen had, Diggs, bum ankle Davis, McKenzie, Singletary, Cook, Knox. Allen has, year after year, had less to work with than Mahomes and Burrow. That's a fact. Burrow is elite, but in my estimation, there's a gap (as of now) between Mahomes and Allen, a gap between Allen and Burrow, and a gap between Burrow and the next tier of QB's.

Gotta agree with some here on the age thing. I understand the temptation of wanting to run it back with Hyde & Poyer this year given the Edmunds departure, and hopefully they have one more top tier year left in them, but we can't be shocked if injuries are a thing again this year when we're so dependent on defense upon aging players/players coming back off injury.

Please, tell me more about Burrow's postseason "it" factor.... Give me specific examples. Because he hasn't had an Allen vs NE game or an Allen vs KC game. And this narrative is pure bs based on something completely out of JA's control in 13 seconds... we are NOT having this discussion if our coaching staff/defense don't choke that game away. Regardless of whether we go on to win the SB that year, that playoff game should be in Allen's back pocket as out-dueling Mahomes in Arrowhead to advance to the AFC CG. Yet here we are, with you giving Burrow credit for being carried by his defense.

I truly hope the Bills have finally given Allen the offensive help required to put his supporting cast on par with what Mahomes and Burrow have had, because I'm beyond sick of these takes.

They should very much want to get Chase locked up before Jefferson. I think Jefferson might become a 30M per WR.

I think I read that Burrow's agent is the same one that Bosa and Jones have. Going to be interesting to see if their owner can alleviate the financial concerns surrounding him. Burrow and Chase will get paid, but that isn't the issue... the issue becomes if he's willing to pay the huge signing bonuses needed to play cap gymnastics with everyone else.

The point he’s making is that (typically) teams have 3 superstars. We’re not talking about commercial endorsements… it’s something you just feel. Nobody feels like we have any superstars outside of Allen and Diggs. …because we don’t coming into the season. Tre could be if he’s 100% healthy. Von could be if he’s 100% healthy. Rousseau could be if he makes the jump. Kincaid could be if he breaks the rookie expectation rule for Tight Ends. Cook could become a Kamara type but we have to see it. Milano, Hyde, Poyer, Oliver, Floyd, Knox etc., are all good players. They aren’t superstars. Milano is close, but positionally just doesn’t affect games in a way that moves the needle in the way a superstar does .. I don’t think any LB does… not Roquan Smith, not Fred Warner, not Matt Milano. When you think 49ers, you think Deebo, Kittle, McCaffrey, Bosa etc. I won’t to hold out hope on Oliver, but at some point you are what you are.

I’ve never seen Milano have the impact on a game of a Chris Jones or Aaron Donald/Von Miller. Some of it may be his position. I can’t put him in the conversation. I’m not sure that there’s any non-pass rushing LB that I would.

You’re certainly not wrong. Aside from Tom Brady led teams.. Chiefs ‘20 Mahomes, Kelce, Hill, Jones Rams ‘22 Donald, Ramsey, Von, Kupp Chiefs ‘23 Mahomes, Kelce, Jones

Their best O-Lineman is coming back off injury in AVT. Dawkins, whatever we think of him, is better than anything they have at Tackle and I don't think you'd find too many people taking their IOL over our IOL, albeit projection given McGovern as a new addition and Torrence as a rookie.

I really need to see this team man up and play like dawgs. Bengals last year. Steelers pre-season (I know, I know). Now here come the Jets .. talking their talk. I know they have dawgs... Q, Sauce, Reed etc. Who are ours? Will we step up in the trenches and give Allen time / get after Rodgers ... or is this another game where Allen is under siege and our DL (minus Von) is getting clowned by an inferior OL protecting for a QB who can get the ball out quick as we play off coverage? I know we have talent. I know we have athleticism. I really hope to see aggression and intimidation from this team on Monday, because that's been the missing piece too often during this run. A bunch of "good guys" who are easy to root for, but are sus when they match up against talented teams who have an edge/physicality. That needs to change this season.

Jets Defense throttled us last year because their DL overpowered our OL and we had two healthy weapons that anyone would be concerned about.. Diggs and Knox. And Knox needed to be a blocker, which he'll probably have to do a lot of Monday Night as well. Our slot situation was a joke. Our TE2 was meh. Our running game with Singletary as lead back didn't scare anyone. Gabe Davis was trying to beat their secondary on a bum ankle. Jets Defense is likely elite again this year. They added more speed off the edge in McDonald, to go with Johnson etc. That said, the Bills revamped IOL should hold up better against Q and co., and we have a healthy Gabe Davis, a new addition in Dalton Kincaid, along with James Cook/Damien Harris being a far scarier backfield than Singletary primarily. Will be interesting to see if Harty/Sherfield are noticeable upgrades in the slot come the regular season... I believe they will be. Suffice it to say, this Bills Offense is much improved from the porous OL and one-trick pony Offense that was out there in our matchups against the Jets last year. Will that translate?... We'll see... It really all comes down to our OL and if they can give Allen time. For the the weapons, for all the talk of Sauce/Reed.. IMO, that's the game. Our OL vs their DL. Can they hold up? If they can, I think we win.. and I think we look good doing it. If they can't.. Our defense better show up, because it's going to be a grind.

Love that they did this necessary cap move with two young guys expected to be on the team for the foreseeable future. Not that Dion and Tre for sure won’t be, but I am glad we’re keeping future options open if worst case scenario happens with either of them and play falls off. At least, so far… we’ll see if any other moves happen.

Top of this draft certainly looks like 1-2 are Mahomes-Herbert comps.

Old and slow now .. next year might be young and inexperienced .. there’s always a reason to keep the status quo. It’s time to change, and I really hope we see Carolina McDermott in this Defense. Perhaps, but we have quotes from our players that make it sound like it will be different.

Reading between the lines, it sounds like a lot of our players felt the same way.

I think people are operating under the assumption that 1) Rodgers may have been injured last year 2) Wilson and co. are better weapons than he had in GB and 3) Jets likely aren’t worried about our Offense being on the field based on past success. It certainly should be noted that his OL in Green Bay is likely better than what the Jets are protecting him with. Interesting thought experiment though. Everyone seems to just think the Jets of ‘23 will be the Jets of ‘22 but with Rodgers at QB.. which is certainly a formidable team. Every year is different though…

Using our offensive ranking from last year is incredibly misleading. Anyone can tell there was a difference between the first half and last half of the season once teams started noticing tendencies, strengths and weaknesses. Now, it also needs to be emphasized that Allen played the last half of the season with an injury to his throwing elbow, the OL was a disaster and we had one of the worst WR rooms ever assembled for a contender when factoring in Gabe Davis being hobbled most of the season. I expect this offense to be elite this year and with the ability to hit teams in different ways via the passing game, with a run game that they can reasonably turn to. The OL should be, at least, adequate in Year 2 of Kromer and with the additions to our IOL. Allen has recovered from the UCL injury. The weapons are vastly improved with Davis now healthy, the addition of Kincaid and non-McKenzie WR3’s.

An educated guess before we’ve played any games.. Cook is RB1 and the main option until we get around the opponents 5 yard line. Provided he can be adequate in pass pro, he could become a breakout 3-down player with a healthy YPC and more usage in the passing game as we hammer home more easy button plays for Allen. (Whether Allen can consistently force himself to push those buttons is anyone’s guess) Harris spells Cook and is our goal line back. Murray is Harris insurance.

They still have to play under the same cap rules as everyone else.. For every Cowboys/Browns, there’s a Chiefs/Niners playing hardball with their best defensive player.

This is a great point and without Von, I agree completely. The Jets DL, on paper, is better than our DL. However, our OL should be better than theirs. I think we’re going to lean on the completeness of our DL in hoping our DT’s can push back their interior, while we play games with the EDGE rushers as Floyd, Rousseau and Epenesa are all extremely long and athletic and can drop if we send a CB or LB in their place. I’m optimistic that our IOL can hold up against Q and company, but I really need to see Dawkins and Brown show out against their speed off the edge. Expect to see Knox paired up on the end of the line quite a bit to help out in pass pro before releasing into routes.

Hard to say, because I’m not sure what our defense is under McDermott.. I’m sure he had to be somewhat in lockstep with Frazier for the past few years, but McD’s defense as a coordinator were not at all like Frazier’s. Im not sure if we’ll blitz a ton - wouldn’t rule it out, but I think the pass rush will be more creative.. overloads, dropping DE’s and sending LB’s/DB’s etc.. At least, I hope that’s the case. One thing is for sure, this matchup is incredibly intriguing because our defense has been elite against mediocre/bad QB’s and Lamar Jackson, but has been exposed in big moments by the top QB’s. I thought they were good against Mahomes last year, but they also had Von for that game… and he clearly made a difference. Im sure McDermott is going to want to make a statement in his first game as HC/DC.

Same with our division. Bills/Bengals Dolphins/Ravens Jets/Browns Patriots/Steelers -Bills/Bengals are the top teams on paper. -Can Lamar & Tua stay healthy? -How does it look for Rodgers & Watson?.. both on talented rosters. -Can Jones & Pickett make a jump? I have more faith in Rodgers than I do Watson, but conversely, I have more faith in Pickett than Jones.. and that Steelers roster is much better than the Patriots.

At Tackle, correct. Best bet there is probably what we’re doing.. drafting toolsy guys to try and develop - or go the Bengals/Chiefs route and drop a bag on a guy in FA. On the interior, it’s incredibly frustrating due to the fact so many fans wanted Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith. That’s not me second guessing.. the overwhelming portion of the fanbase were begging Beane to draft them, only for KC to do so and form the best IOL in the NFL with Thuney. Hopefully we learned our lesson, because I do think we may have a very good IOL going into the season.