FilthyBeast

I think if you get that one true stud pass rusher, by default everyone else gets better because of the attention both he and Oliver will command. Same reason why the Rams went all in and went after Von Miller because Aaron Donald was essentially getting double and tripled team every down and now all of a sudden you can't do that and their pass rush was transformed midseason and been on a tear especially in the playoffs and big reason they are on the verge of a championship.

Panthers were apparently in the Watson sweepstakes last year so wouldn't be surprised if that materializes again this offseason and actually gets done. The have some decent talent and Rhule is pretty much in a win or get fired situation heading into 2022 so it makes too much sense.

Schoen and Daboll likely don't have any delusions about the 2022 season, it's going to look a lot like the 2018 Bills season and getting 6 wins will be an accomplishment. However if there was ever an opportunity to unload Edmunds this may be the best trade partner and option, either in terms of getting a quality veteran starter in return or decent draft pick.

Regarding the DL futility, I think it's a combination of scheme and poor talent evaluation, both in FA signings and draft picks. And unfortunately this team is in somewhat of a difficult spot in the offseason because of all the recent high draft picks they've made on dline because they are not going to move on from Rousseau and Basham after one season and nor should they. Therefore the bigger questions revolve around what to do with a guy like Epensa who has shown very little in his first two NFL seasons, and if they should resign Phillips based on his 2nd half season surge. Personally I still think this team needs to swing a big trade for a DE that can truly wreak havoc and help enable Oliver in middle. And even if you resign Philips I think you need a 3rd guy who can be a force next to Oliver.

It's still way to early to assume things 'on paper', and I won't be surprised if one of these teams in the NFC North or South swings a big trade (i.e. Deshawn Watson) to try take advantage of the situation. From the Bills perspective, everyone looked at playing the AFC South this year and assumed a minimum of 3 wins and we all know that turned out (1-3 against them). So probably not smart to look at the NFC North and make a similar assumption for 2022.

Allen pretty much had the textbook definition of a 'bumpy' season in 2021 in that he was wildly inconsistent right up until the end of the season when he struggled mightily at times against the Falcons and Jets in the final two regular season games. This is why his historic playoff run this year was pretty much out of nowhere and not expected based on his regular season body of work. But it's probably too early to say whether or not all these new expected roster/coaching changes are going to make things worse for him, or better for that matter.

Congrats to the GOAT. Going to be very weird not seeing Brady play anymore next year but at least the Bills (and rest of NFL) don't have to be tormented by him ever again. The Bucs game is another one we should have won this year if not for questionable coaching decisions.

If Brady is truly retiring I don't think there is anything that would ever entice him to come back including the aforementioned scenario in this thread. From the Bills perspective though, it will be interesting to see who the backup is here next year because I would be willing to bet Trubisky is long gone even if it's not with Daboll and the Giants.

I don't think this would be as big a loss as some folks think. Also if he had anything to do with letting Beane trade Wyatt Teller than good riddance.

I'm not sure you can go wrong with hiring any head coach that has previously led a team to a superbowl win. And it's not like it was 10 or 15 years ago either, just 5 years ago. And as bad as the situation in Jacksonville may be currently perceived, if anything the Bengals are showing the blueprint for a quick turnaround especially if Laurence takes a big step in his 2nd year and Pederson has the pedigree to make him realize what potential he has.

Nothing is a fluke in this league and you don't win 3 straight PO games (including 2 on the road against teams that were heavily favored) by accident. I do agree that though that next year the Bengals will face tougher sledding and have a target on their backs similar to the Chiefs and Bills the last few years because they aren't going to sneak up on anybody and everyone will be gunning for them. This is also why you have to take advantage of the situation at hand in a few weeks and try and win it all if you are the Bengals. Don't assume there's some wide open window the next 5 - 10 years because you have a good young QB and nucleus because it may never come again.

Regarding last year in the playoffs, Allen was certainly part of the problem in the loss to KC. But this year I agree 100% in that you can't put any of the blame on his shoulders. This defensive scheme is very bad and McDermott and Beane are essentially putting their long term future in Buffalo on the line if they stay with the status quo and don't make big time changes on that side of the ball once and for all this offseason starting with purging this roster of Carolina castoffs in addition to making coaching changes.

One scenario I considered after the game last week is that the Chiefs beating the Bills was their SB, and in hindsight that very well may be the case because despite the fumes carrying over for a dominant 1st half against the Bengals they essentially ran out of gas on both sides of the ball in the 2nd half. In reality though I think this was a matchup were coaching truly made a difference, in additional to the Bengals having real difference makers on the defensive side of the ball.

I still don't understand the argument that Allen is better than other QB's that have been to/won SB's unless it's direct indictment of this GM and coaching staff. If that's your argument fine but I still think he needs to climb to the top of the mountain at least once before making this claim.

I'm glad that Mahomes or Brady isn't going to be playing but other than that there's not much to be excited about. Also no matter who wins this game, there will be a narrative that contradicts this current regime and their approach here. If the Rams win - it proves that going all in and mortgaging your longer term future for short range success works. If the Bengals win - it proves that quick turnarounds are possible and it's not some long, drawn out 'process' that needs 5+ years to bear fruit.

I've said all along that this team can do much worse than McDermott....they have for 17 years before he go here. But at the same time through 5 years and an established body of work there is nothing wrong with asking if the Bills can do better....because the evidence is there that they can especially given the latest failures that aren't going anyway anytime soon and will be continued to be magnified all offseason. At the end of the day though, the idea that McDermott deserves some sort of entitlement just because he's the guy that ended the 17 year playoff drought is a loser mentality that Buffalo fans/media/etc need to move past. 2022 is year 6 for McDermott and if he can't take this team further than they made it the last two years it will definitely be time to consider replacing him with someone that can and that's the harsh reality of this business whether fans here think that's on the table or not, what matters if the Pegula's do.

If you truly have great depth across the board the rotation thing has merits. But it's been proven time and time again that outside of Oliver, this dline has pretty much nothing other than Carolina Panther castoffs and questionable draft picks by Beane. So if this team is truly serious about taking the next step in 2022 outside of Oliver and Rousseau (and probably Basham) you can essentially build from scratch and still think DT is a monster need even if Phillips is brought back.

Beane has to go out an get a truly dynamic pass rusher in the offseason. Whether than means giving up just this year's 1st rounder or a combination of something else the time to strike is now. That move combined with a solid draft and other complimentary FA pieces should be more than enough to have this team in the position the want to be next year.

Regardless of what you think of the Bengals, they are on the verge of winning a SB and have defied traditional 'rebuilding' norms and expectations. And in just one year of the playoffs Zac Taylor has just as many postseason wins as Sean McDermott. He also has 2 road wins in the playoffs compared to zero for McDermott and is the first coach to beat Andy Reid in both the regular and postseason. In other words, this is another direct indictment on our own head coach and his failures and why remaining time in Buffalo is going to be much shorter than some fans think unless he delivers a championship next year.

Given both teams current momentum and other various circumstances, this is going to be one of the tougher SB games in recent memory to accurately predict. My gut feeling tells me the Bengals win by another razor slim margin but certainly can't discount the Rams and being the 2nd straight team to host the SB on their home field. If I was a betting man certainly wouldn't touch this one with a 10 foot pole so to speak.

Still makes no sense they rushed to dump Culley unless they had a specific person in mind to replace him with. If it was Flores or someone else obviously they already said no thanks.

I think realistically they are the only team that can beat KC that is left because they have a similar formula the Bucs used last year against Mahomes. And as good as Creed Humphrey and the rest of KC's new look oline has played this year Aaron Donald is the type of player that will truly expose the situation especially with Miller on the outside to compliment. Ed Oliver is not Aaron Donald but he's as close as we are going to get to him and that's why Beane must make a power move to land an elite pass rusher on the edge to exploit the situation.

31 years later this is still the closet this franchise has ever come to winning a championship. Last week sucks and so did the music city miracle crap but nothing truly compares to that game especially after making it to the SB again 3 straight years after and pretty much being out of the game by early in the 2nd half. In some ways we probably shouldn't take the last few years for granted because you really don't know how close this team will ever come again. Nothing in the NFL world is guaranteed these days except what is happening in KC ironically.

I think if you look at McDermott's postseason record, if anything homefield matters because the defense has played much better in home playoff games vs the road. And while I agree against the Chiefs you really don't know until the day comes where they come to Buffalo for a postseason game, the fact remains is Mahomes has never had to leave the comfortable confinese of Arrowhead for a conference playoff game. And it's a major factor in why they are on the verge of potentially reaching a 3rd straight SB. The bigger issue is still consistency and not essentially taking Oct/Nov off and only only playing well at the beginning and end of the season. That's still the real reason this team is home right now IMO.

I don't like any of the teams left but just like last year hoping the Chiefs don't win it all. In fact it's still somewhat gut wrenching to admit how much I was rooting for the Bucs and Brady in the SB last year but luckily they made it real easy because of that being a lopsided game that was over pretty much at halftime.