FilthyBeast

No team is ever going undefeated again especially with another game on the schedule now which would mean hitting 17-0 and then 20-0. There's a reason why one of the most dominant teams in NFL history ultimately lost in the only game that matter back in 2007 after racking up an 18-0 record heading into the SB, they were simply due for a loss. Somehow I'm not surprised though that people are betting on the Bills to do this, going to be a lot of money flushed down the toilet if they lose right away on opening night against the defending SB champs or certainly within the first 5 or 6 weeks given the schedule.

I'm sure there will be a contender that could use him especially as injuries start to happen in training camps around the league but unless we're one of them he wouldn't be of any use here.

It's not really a bad case scenario as much as reality with this defense probably not being nearly as good as they were last year for the simple fact the quality of QB's they are going to be playing this year vs last year when it was one rookie/backup/etc after another. In fact I could see this being the worst 'statistical' season for this defense even if healthy and with a better pash rush in additions to reasons you mention and giving up a lot of garbage time stuff like we saw in 2020. If the Bills do manage to field a top 5 - 10 defense again this year (statistically) it will be very impressive all things considered.

Good post and agree for most part. Bills aside, I think with the Dolphins if they can ever figure out the JA17 puzzle and at least split with the Bills they'll certainly have a real chance at the division and much more. Patriots are really an enigma to me because their offseason wasn't nothing special on paper but if Mac Jones takes a big step they could be very good and truly resemble the Pats teams of years past and still think a lot of folks are discounting just how good Jones was last year as a rookie. Jets I think are really the wildcard because they definitely added some potential big time talent in the draft, but probably still way too young to make any real noise even if they overachieve.

I don't think any of us really know what the Pegula's are thinking. Maybe they don't care what happened last year and don't care what happens in the near term like some speculate. Or privately they care very much and have already sent subtle messages throughout the organization in terms of what needs to happen this year. The main issue is are Beane and McD seen as a package deal in that if there were any rumblings of dumping McD, would Beane be on board or stay loyal to McD since many believe he's the reason he came from Carolina to be the GM here. The bottom line is success in the NFL is fleeting as all older Bills fans should know given the grim 17 year period between the 90's teams and the current one. And right now this team's window is open as wide as it may get since the 90's and you have to seize that opportunity even if it means rolling the dice with your HC and trying to find even a marginal upgrade to get over the hump. Maybe it never comes down to this which is best case scenario.

Marvin lewis was also an outlier example but that was also a dumpster fire organization for years before he came there. But again, my point is that McD has what many NFL experts and fans believe is a top 3 QB, maybe QB1 overall and you're right the Bengals didn't. So that's really the main reason why you have to find a coach that can do something different assuming McD can't win a championship with Allen. Never forget that JA17 had one of the best playoff performances in NFL history over a 2 game stretch and is one of the top rated postseason QB's of all time as of today heading into the 2022 campaign. At some point fans just need to separate JA17 from McDermott, thank the latter for his contributions here and being key in turning things around and accept it's time to move on if that's what eventually needs to happen.

For me it's really just Flutie and Bledsoe since the rest were pretty much journeyman/backup types including some of the idol worship ones like Fitzpatrick. Had Orton stayed beyond 2014, Taylor probably never happens and he likely would be in the conversation.

The hype is real and at a level not seen nationally in nearly 30 years in Buffalo. Just hope this team can turn out all the noise and focus on the task at hand or all the ingredients are there for a very disappointing season especially if this team were to get hit hard by the injury bug like Baltimore last year.

He was honestly just another guy on a very long list of QB's that came through here from 2000 - 2017. Not among the most terrible of the lot, but I think some fans give him too much credit just because he's associated with the team that broke the drought in 2017 (which yes like some fans still point out had a lot more to do with Andy Dalton than McD and that team). In the end though it's proven that Tyrod is another glorified backup who has proven he's not up to snuff as a full time NFL starter.

Like I've said before, the 'continuity' argument here is that all these HC's in Pitt all won a SB which granted them a longer leash. Cowher was the only exception and it took him many years to win a SB although he did get to one a lot earlier in his tenure but lost. I think overall the Steelers organization is a bit of an outlier compared to others in the NFL. The main crux of my argument though is how long can you give McDermott if he proves the same failures over and over again in big games and can't win with JA17 entering his prime and performing at an elite level? At some point you have to realize it's time for a change if that scenario plays out as I suspect it may.

If Payton decides to come back next year there will likely be a bidding war for his services and many contenders that would dump their current HC in a heartbeat barring a SB win to get him (i.e. Cowboys/Mike McCarthy). If McDermott flounders this year and proves he can't get this team over the top in the playoffs again then it makes too much sense to not want to upgrade and I've said many times this isn't the Bills of years past in which top tier candidates wouldn't even consider an interview with Buffalo, let alone the actual job. They would be lining up begging for it this time with a QB like Allen and the Pegulas know this.

I agree that JA17 is likely still in ascent, but I don't agree that Mahomes is necessarily a finished product. I think we'll find out the answer to both questions this year though as KC's offense is going to look very different with Hill gone and Kelce likely being taken out of the gameplan by opposing teams (not too mention he's getting up there in years to begin with) and Mahomes will need to find other guys more.

The point is the guy won a SB with a franchise and fanbase that was once in the Bills shoes in terms of wanting to get over that hump. McD isn't going to get special treatment because he doesn't have a conflictive type personality, if anything his more reserved demeanor will be one of the reasons he's ultimately fired.

I'm taking Indy as the obvious choice because I think Matt Ryan with have somewhat of a resurgence and probably play similar to what Rivers did with them a few years ago and be more than enough to win that division and get back to the playoffs. Ten will still be solid and people will continue to doubt them but I definitely could see them falling off this year. Jags are a true dark horse though IMO and I really believe Doug Peterson is going to make a world of difference there and have them around .500 at worse or even this years Bengals type of team if Laurence reaches his potential.

I believe this team could still add a veteran WR at some point soon but don't think it will be for big money and pretty sure OBJ is looking for that or he likely already would have resigned with the Rams.

If the JA17 we saw in the playoffs carries over into this season than there's no disputing this. But I think there are probably still doubts he can play at that level consistently and why many NFL insiders still believe Mahomes is truly QB1 with a more steady hand over his career.

I agree with how difficult it is to win a championship and have pointed this out many times in light of the unprecedented hype in Western NY this offseason. But I think the point is you have to at least win SB before you give the proverbial benefit of the doubt and dismiss calls for a regime/coaching change. Believe it or not there devout KC fans that believe Andy Reid should be fired/on the hot seat for only winning one championship the last four years with a superstar QB that may not even have peaked yet. Doug Pederson was forced out of Philly despite leading the Eagles to their first SB win not too long ago with a backup QB. But getting back to the issue at hand with McDermott/Allen, it's more on McD right now to prove he's in the same category as these other HC's and he has to get to/win a SB or it's more than legitimate to argue he doesn't deserve to nor should remain the Bills HC long term. But unfortunately his body of work says he probably isn't going to be the guy hear long term and may have to follow his mentors career path in terms of leading another franchise to the promised land.

Based on their careers thus far yes Big Ben is better by default because of said accolades. But I actually don't agree with the comparisons, I think JA is definitely more talented overall but his career will be cut short unless he moves away from the reckless plays and running so much. Also you bring up the point I've been critical about for some time and especially after the Chiefs debacle in the playoffs, at some point coaching has to be addressed especially if McDermott is unable to go any further this year with a QB who may not even have hit his ceiling yet but already has one of the better playoff metrics in NFL history.

This is what concerns me as well. They will no doubt probably offer some package promotion the first year to get new users on board but long term have a suspicion they will charge a fortune for Sunday ticket and not be keen to offer discounts since their base service is so inexpensive compared to DTV.

To McDermott's credit, this team has played their best football down the stretch when it mattered most in recent years and I agree with that and definitlely not a fluke. But again, if other teams in the division ever catch up it's a perilous position to rely on turning the switch on so to speak because there are no guarantees in this league.

What I'm saying is there are no guarantees that we would have won the division last year if not for the Patriots peaking in late Nov/early Dec and falling off. Obviously we hit our stride around that same time but there were a full two games ahead in the standings after the TB OT loss. Either way in hindsight I will say that I'm confident the Bills would have beat NE in the playoffs with a similar result even if that game was held in Foxboro and we didn't win the division. Not disputing this but again, in 2020 despite being the best team record wise under JA17/McD there was a point in the season when Miami was only trailing by one game. Obviously they faltered down the stretch and Bills pulled away. Last year the Pats were a 2 full game up on the Bills at one point when we were 7-6 and they were 9-4, and I can find many receipts on this forum where even die hard homers thought the Pats were going to win the division at that point. I still believe this team is the prohibitive favorite to win a 3rd straight division title this year but the road is likely going to be more perilous again especially if this team doesn't show up every week and is inconsistent like like year.

Same here, even with said discounts I'm still paying well over $100 bucks and only reason we keep the package we have is for kids channels and some misc crap my wife insists on watching. It seems like there is some random process DTV uses when selecting people like myself and others that have received this free Sunday Ticket offer without having to haggle further, my only guess it's all the years I've done strategic haggling in the past so they must feel its easier just to give it away without the back and forth negotiation which I'm certainly not complaining about.

Maybe I'm in the minority but I'd actually prefer no bye weeks. Even a lot of players have said they don't like the time off especially if they have momentum going and it's also why historically a lot of top seeds have been upset and lost in the playoffs during divisional round because of getting rusty and out of rhythm during the first round bye.

That's the thing about the NFL though, even if this team comes out like gangbusters and starts 7-1 or 8-0 are we really going to believe they are the real deal? The Cardinals did this last year and we all know how their season played out and many other teams in years past have fizzled down the stretch. And even despite the Steelers gaffe in week one last year, this team dominated the next month and looked the part before going 3-5 over the next two months and then ultimately getting it together again. Like I've said for a while now, this team simply needs to play consistent football for the entire season similar to 2020 (even though they had a bit of a midseason swoon then too) and secure the top seed in the AFC and then show up all over again in the postseason and defend their dirt to truly take the next step.

Remember when you guys call don't waste time with the regular customer service type of people. There should be automated prompts on the main number that ask why you are calling and all you have to do is say 'cancel service' and they will take you right to the loyalty/cancellation department. I think the automated system might ask if you are cancelling because you are moving and you just say no to bypass anything else. Really interesting though how some people seem to get randomly selected for the free Sunday ticket and others don't especially as this is apparently the last year DTV will have this service so they have no real incentive to give it away for free or discount to anyone...