jahnyc

The reality is that the team is 11-3 and we need to look at the overall picture. There are a number of areas that need improvement, but overall, the team has strengths and a top QB with a shot for home field advantage for the AFC playoffs. For sure, there are things to be critical about, but the team currently is in a good place. All of the top teams in the NFL have deficiencies at this point in the season. The free agents acquired for the o-line were low budget types, and they are playing at that level. I think the team expected more from Gabe and Crowder this season, and that has not happened. Agree that the our RB situation is curious at best, but Beane clearly was interested in McCaffrey, and Singletary will be a free agent after this season, so I expect Cook will be the guy going forward, for good or for bad. I think we all wanted more from our draft picks in 2022, but we do need to give them time before making judgements about their long term prospects with the Bills. I do feel confident that Beane and the coaching staff know where we need to improve going forward and I trust that they will continue to make moves to make that happen.

Some quick observations. 1. The Bills have won 11 games and are on their way to the playoffs again and another division crown. The team is well coached, has a strong front office, and is blessed with an amazing QB, who also is a fit in terms of personality and demeanor for the franchise. 2. We lack speed at WR and RB. Cook seems to have some quickness, but he does not seem to play fast. Miami has skill players on offense that play fast and are fast (Hill, Waddle and Mostert). The Bills need a WR that will stretch the field. 3. Our reserves/back-ups have been somewhat disappointing, except on the DL. It may be unfair to be critical about this since very few (if any) NFL teams have adequate depth at this point of the season, or have players that can step-in and play at a quality starter level, but the play of back-ups in our secondary and o-line has not been good. Jaquan Johnson has played poorly, Hamlin's play has been inconsistent, and Terell Bernard isn't ready at this point at LB (which required us to sign Klein). On the o-line, I have a feeling that Q, our top reserve, has been playing through injuries, which has impacted his overall play. 4. Our rookies have not had the impact that we were expecting after a strong pre-season. Elam has deficiencies in tackling ability, Shakir has disappeared for some reason, Cook seems to be improving after a slow start to the season and Bernard does not seem ready for a significant role on defense at this point. I think this draft class will turn out to be an above average group, but it will take time. 5. Agree with posters who think the o-line needs to be upgraded. 6. Kind of nice that former players want to come back and play for the Bills. Shows the team culture and appeal of the Buffalo area is strong. 7. Josh is awesome and makes this team a top contender.

Did not make the playoffs because Kyler Murray got hurt early on Monday night. Only needed a relatively small number of points to get in the playoffs. Overall, Murray was a big disappointment this year, even before the knee injury (of course I feel badly that he tore his ACL). I had a lot of player injuries this year. JK Dobbins and E. Mitchell both missed most of the season. CeeDee Lamb has been better recently, but he was not getting points when Dak was out. Chase has been good, but he also missed a bunch of games.

I would have checked in with Larry Fitzgerald. I know that he is old now, but I think he would be an upgrade in the slot compared to what we have now.

Our offense would be awful without Allen. His ability to run, make difficult passes and improvise is why we have any offense success at all. Watching the Chargers yesterday was interesting. Herbert had a great game playing behind an awful o-line, but he had some really good skill players that made plays when it mattered. We really only have Diggs, and our skill positions (and o-line) do need an upgrade. Cook has been a disappointment because he seems to lack the outside speed that I thought was one of the reasons we were drafting him in the second round. He just doesn't look fast when he plays. McKenzie needs to be replaced as the starting slot receiver. He is too inconsistent and his drops yesterday hurt the team.

I know the home field advantage is important, but given the reliance of our offense on the passing game, would it potentially be a better result to play in a dome (i.e., Detroit) with no adverse weather conditions (i.e., wind and snow)?

I get it that many posters may think they have the answers to everything, but the one thing that is clearly true is that we have very few (maybe no) posters that have real insider information. What this board does have is a large number of users that are very loyal and passionate fans of the Buffalo Bills. That is what almost all of us that post and read the posts on this board have in common. For this reason, I would encourage Mr. Wawrow to continue with his posting on this forum rather than Twitter, where the audience is not necessarily made up of dedicated fans of the Bills. I do understand that there are posters that are uncivil towards you and other posters, and I do not condone or personally have any control over that, but what we do need is real insight, and even tidbits, about what may be going on with the Bills, the players, the coaches, the front office and the owners. Please do not penalize the majority of posters on this board that appreciate any information regarding the team that is shared by posters with real knowledge.

I can't remember a Bills home game ever being moved to another location because of snow. Has it happened (and can it happen)?

Why was Duke elevated? Do we have an injury to one of our RBs that was not previously listed?

Even if this is a relatively minor UCL injury, I would not be surprised if the Bills did not play JA for at least a few games, particularly if there was any chance that playing could cause further injury or aggravation in this situation. The Bills have a long-term investment in JA, so they do have to look at not only this season, but seasons after as well.

Losing to two division rivals (Jets and Dolphins) is really awful, but what is worse is the hope and confidence that we have provided to both of these teams. They know they can beat us now, and all of the pressure will be on the Bills to beat them when we see them in Buffalo. The way that we lost yesterday also hurts. There is nothing more demoralizing as a fan than having your team battered by long rushes by average running backs and seeing huge holes opened up on your defense on a constant basis. Even worse, the Jets were playing back up players on their o-line because of injuries.

Kamara would be a significant upgrade as a running back and and as a receiver, but he doesn't seem to want to leave NO based on a now deleted twitter post. Even if this was not the case, given his compensation next season and his pending criminal case, I don't think the Bills would do this. I agree that Akers makes no sense and that it is weird that the Bills may be pursuing RBs after drafting Cook.

My fantasy team has been ravage by injuries and other misfortune. Chase, Mitchell (San Fran), Metcalf, Dobbins, Akers and Lazard are all out. I will have my first losing fantasy football season in years, but it is okay because the Bills will have a great season.

Have there been any updates on the injury to Spencer Brown and how long he potentially will be out?

Have to say he gives off a very positive vibe at all times, with a mix of words of encouragement and a message to continue to work hard. Interesting.

The Ben R. reference is misplaced, but I otherwise agree with Cowherd. Bills need to figure out the run game, both in the short and long term to take pressure off of Allen and prolong his career. I have no idea if the issues are with the o-line, the play calling, the scheme or the running backs. I am still surprised we drafted Cook in the second round. If he can't be an every down back, then we did not get good value for that pick. We will see.

In my view, it would depend on Hyde's injury. If the Bills know it is unlikely that he will be able to play again, then I would be all in favor of trying to get some safety help for this season and after.

I think we need more information on both Poyer and Hyde before trying to guess what the Bills will do with Poyer and others after this season. Is Poyer's foot injury a short or long term injury? Will Hyde be recovered for next season at full strength? How do Johnson and Hamlin play today and during the season in place of Poyer and Hyde, respectively? I think there are a lot of questions to be answered before we see how the Bills will proceed with extending or not extending Poyer after this season.

Would think that Fitzy could have a bright future in coaching, potentially starting as a QB coach and then becoming a quality OC.

I do not disagree. If Benford does develop and Elam does not, it does mitigate the overall situation, but we can't miss on first round picks, and there is a significant opportunity cost if that does happen.

If one of the two of Benford and Elam end up being a starting caliber corner, it all will be okay. I seem to recall that there were negatives noted for Elam in the pre-draft reviews, and he did seem to experience a significant rise up draft boards as the draft approached. I also read recently (can't remember where) a review of recent first round CB picks, and it was kind of shocking the number that were already out of the league, on teams other than the teams that drafted them, or performing poorly.

He seems to have good instincts and potential leadership skills. He looked good playing the run, but isn't the question at this point whether he can be effective pass defending?

I think we are all hoping that Brown shows improvement from his first year, but given his recovery from back surgery and lack of reps in camp, I am not sure that we count on that, particularly in the beginning part of the season.

Agree with you. RT on the o-line is a concern.

I guess we will see with Elam. Is converting from press to zone coverage a difficult thing for a corner? Would think going the other way (zone to press) could be difficult if the corner does not have the physical ability needed. If Elam is not a starter at CB in the first game or early in the season (or plays poorly if he does), it will be a big disappointment. We have had some high round draft picks at CB play well in their first season (Winfield, Clements and Tre). Others, not so much (McKelvin). Elam seems to have the desire and athleticism to succeed, but if he does not play well in his first season, I will be concerned about his long-term prospects, since there are a lot of examples of first round drafted CBs contributing immediately. I get it that there is a learning curve for first year players, particularly at certain positions (such as QB), but we really need Elam to be a player this year.