Five reasons why the Bills will make the 2018 NFL playoffs

[teef]

1 hour ago, SoTier said:

 

I was actually far more optimistic last season than I'd been in a while.  I thought they'd win at least 7 games, and if the D stepped up, 8 or 9.  I didn't think they were good enough to win 10 games, which is what I believed it would take to make the playoffs but I didn't count on Miami losing Tannehill for the season or Denver going down the toilet or Baltimore giving a remarkable imitation of the Bills under Rex Ryan in the last game of the season.

 

The offense last season was barely functional, and it wasn't all Tyrod Taylor's fault.  McDermott's hiring of Dennison forced Taylor into a system that simply didn't fit him, and Castillo's shift to a new blocking scheme handicapped the OL for most of the season.  McDermott and Beane also stripped Taylor of all his viable targets except for Charles Clay.  Even the greatest QBs can't shine when they're running for their lives and have no reliable receivers to bail them out.

 

Aside from signing Bodine, there's been nothing added to the Bills offense in 2018.  Maybe Zay Jones will prove he's not a bust.  Maybe AJ McCarron will prove he's not a career backup.  Maybe Vlad Ducasse will have an epiphany in his ninth or ten year in the league and play like a competent RG, something he's never been able to do (that's despite the glowing ratings from the statboys).

 

I didn't mention Josh Allen because I think the best thing that could happen to him is that he doesn't play this year unless it's parts of games late in the season.  He doesn't need to get mangled, mauled, and then raked over the coals for poor performances playing with the hot mess that's the Bills offense.

 

 

i completely agree with everything in the bolded.  there's too many variables to think this team will be successful this year, and to be honest, i don't mind the step back.  this is about the development of a qb and creating some depth.  i wouldn't place money on the bills to win more than 8 games, but with this staff, i wouldn't be shocked if they exceeded our expectations again.  if zay develops, shady doesn't miss time, benjamin is healed, average qb play, etc this team could be solid.  i don't expect it, but as fans were due for something good to happen.  on a side note, i'm not sure ducasse is as awful as most made him out to be.  

[Luxy312]

Just now, teef said:

i completely agree with everything in the bolded.  there's too many variables to think this team will be successful this year, and to be honest, i don't mind the step back.  this is about the development of a qb and creating some depth.  i wouldn't place money on the bills to win more than 8 games, but with this staff, i wouldn't be shocked if they exceeded our expectations again.  if zay develops, shady doesn't miss time, benjamin is healed, average qb play, etc this team could be solid.  i don't expect it, but as fans were due for something good to happen.  on a side note, i'm not sure ducasse is as awful as most made him out to be.  

 

Some of this has to do with just how long (far too long) TT held onto the football.  I'm guessing we'll know pretty quickly into the preseason if that's the case or not.

[teef]

1 minute ago, Luxy312 said:

 

Some of this has to do with just how long (far too long) TT held onto the football.  I'm guessing we'll know pretty quickly into the preseason if that's the case or not.

i'm more excited for this preseason than i have been in a long time.  i'm sure it's mostly from wanting the see the qbs play, but there's a lot we'll learn in those 4 games.

[John from Riverside]

2 hours ago, Fadingpain said:

So they've provided 5 reasons why every team in the league will make the playoffs.

 

I suppose this is the long way of saying "No one knows what will happen but anything is possible at this time of year."

 

1) Sean McDermott: consistently made critical/tactical mistakes in calling games last year; don't look to him to make a winning difference in a close game. 

This team played above its talent level and you can point right to the coaches for that......prepared every week.....you are way off base here

2 hours ago, Fadingpain said:

 

2) Power up front on ? D Line personnel a lot different and not what it used to be; Kyle Williams now too old

Your right...its not what it used to be its actually BETTER.   Supposidly overpaid Star is there to take on the double teams....Kyle gets to work off that.......we drafted a fire hydrant with moving skills......anything that keeps Adolphus Washington off the field is BETTER

2 hours ago, Fadingpain said:

 

3) Talent in the secondary: agreed; it's the strong point of the team

 

4) Winnable games inside AFC East: not likely; we may be the 4th strongest team in the division; also suffer from 2 automatic losses to NE.

Seeing as how we beat all the teams except the patriots last year with new systems, coaches, and less talent.....why would you even say this

2 hours ago, Fadingpain said:

 

5) Mysterious Golden Nugget:  Didn't click the article to find out what that is. 

Stay away from the punchbowl sir

[MJS]

2 hours ago, SoTier said:

 

"If the offense is average ...." ???  In what alternative universe do you reside? 

 

The Bills don't have a starting QB, and one of their QB is a career backup, another one sucked monkey balls in his limited stints as a rookie, and the third is a rookie who is not considered particularly pro ready.  They have a top notch RB who's under a cloud and may miss part or all of the year.  They have a decent starting TE, 1 NFL caliber LT, and 1 NFL caliber WR.  The supposed "battle" for starting center is between a journeyman starter and a career backup.  They have a highly touted sophomore WR who had a horrendous rookie season.  The rest of the offense is manned by players who would only see the field as backups and/or STers on most teams in the NFL.

 

The Bills will be lucky to make it into the Red Zone more than once a game ... in other words, the Bills offense will be lucky if it's not the worst O in the league by a significant margin. 

 

What did you have to say about the secondary last off-season? Probably nothing good. Everyone thought it was a huge problem. Now we consider it to be one of the best secondaries in the league.

 

In other words, shut up and watch the games. Nobody knows how it will turn out.

[mrags]

1 hour ago, Luxy312 said:

We simply do not know what we have in terms of the offense.  Overall, the offense was 29th in the NFL last year, and that was made better by the fact that they had the 6th best rushing attack.  They mustered a whopping 176.6 YPG passing, which was 2nd worst only to the Bears.  I can't fathom being worse than that.

That’s the big thing that nobody is giving credit for or knows enough about football to realize. The subtraction of Taylor throwing for 150 yards a game and 1 TD is an addition. I don’t care who put QB is. They are better than taylor. He was absolutely terrible. The plays he made with his feet that gave people hope were mostly plays that he could have made with his arm but he was too scared to make the play, or too dumb to realize a WR was wide open downfield. 

[SoCal Deek]

2 hours ago, Green Lightning said:

This front office chose not to make any significant investments in the offense, this year. And I think we'll pay the price for it now. They focused entirely on defense except for moving up for a quarterback, who if works out - a big if,  won't play for a while. Yes Wood, Incognito and possibly Shady were things they didn't expect, but that's what a good front office plans for - the unexpected. So this is the offense that the FO decided was suitable and we're just going to have to live with it. There's still time to make a few tweaks, but I'm not optimistic.

The Front Office decided that until you have a legitimate QB, just about all other offensive expenditures are a waste of money and talent. I happen to believe they’re right. An additional ‘weapon’ or two might get you an extra win or two but they’re NOT going to make you into a playoff contender. 

[eball]

3 hours ago, Luxy312 said:

We simply do not know what we have in terms of the offense.  Overall, the offense was 29th in the NFL last year, and that was made better by the fact that they had the 6th best rushing attack.  They mustered a whopping 176.6 YPG passing, which was 2nd worst only to the Bears.  I can't fathom being worse than that.

 

This.  A thousand times over.  Everyone is predicting horrible offense, but the truth is nobody knows because nobody out there with the exception of Shady McCoy, Charles Clay, and Kelvin Benjamin has a resume you can really examine.  You think you know what sort of a player Zay Jones is because of his rookie year?  You're wrong.  You think you know how the OL is going to play after replacing Incognito and Wood?  You're wrong.  You think you know that neither McCarron, Peterman, or Allen are going to provide competent QB play?  You're wrong.  You think you know that no other WR on the roster is capable of being productive?  You're wrong.

 

All of the things mentioned above might happen but nobody knows right now, no matter how many times they repeat themselves.  These are NFL athletes with an NFL coaching staff that took a roster predicted to go 3-13 last season and led them to the playoffs.

 

The Bills' offense last year was atrocious.  The only thing they did well was not turn the ball over.  I, for one, will not be surprised in the slightest if this year's offense is markedly more productive.

[NewEraBills]

11 minutes ago, eball said:

 

This.  A thousand times over.  Everyone is predicting horrible offense, but the truth is nobody knows because nobody out there with the exception of Shady McCoy, Charles Clay, and Kelvin Benjamin has a resume you can really examine.  You think you know what sort of a player Zay Jones is because of his rookie year?  You're wrong.  You think you know how the OL is going to play after replacing Incognito and Wood?  You're wrong.  You think you know that neither McCarron, Peterman, or Allen are going to provide competent QB play?  You're wrong.  You think you know that no other WR on the roster is capable of being productive?  You're wrong.

 

All of the things mentioned above might happen but nobody knows right now, no matter how many times they repeat themselves.  These are NFL athletes with an NFL coaching staff that took a roster predicted to go 3-13 last season and led them to the playoffs.

 

The Bills' offense last year was atrocious.  The only thing they did well was not turn the ball over.  I, for one, will not be surprised in the slightest if this year's offense is markedly more productive.

1

 

But don't you understand that's the reason why people are skeptical?  When looking at NFL teams, the ones with so many question marks are the ones where people lean toward the downside, not the upside.  This says nothing about how guys MIGHT perform but more of when comparing this team to other teams where there is an established cast of characters, there really is no comparison.  Games are certainly won on the field.  But predictions are made based off of established consistency and reputation, which the offense lacks pretty much all around.  So I don't get mad when people say the Bills of 2018 are going to be bad.  I understand why we are predicted to be bad.

Edited July 17, 2018 by NewEraBills

[eball]

3 minutes ago, NewEraBills said:

 

But don't you understand that's the reason why people are skeptical?  When looking at NFL teams, the ones with so many question marks are the ones where people lean toward the downside, not the upside.  This says nothing about how guys MIGHT perform but more of when comparing this team to other teams where there is an established cast of characters, there really is no comparison.  Games are certainly won on the field.  But predictions are made based off of established consistency and reputation, which the offense lacks pretty much all around.  So I don't get mad when people say the Bills of 2018 are going to be bad.  I understand why we are predicted to be bad.

 

I'm not "mad" -- I'm just tired of reading the same crap over and over again when nobody knows a damn thing.  Our #1 RB, TE, and WR are actually pretty good.  God forbid we get a QB who will actually throw the ball, and a play-caller who doesn't think running Mike Tolbert wide is a sound decision.  I'm excited about watching the offense, not mired in misery thinking they will stink.  There are a ton of opportunities out there.

[teef]

15 minutes ago, NewEraBills said:

 

But don't you understand that's the reason why people are skeptical?  When looking at NFL teams, the ones with so many question marks are the ones where people lean toward the downside, not the upside.  This says nothing about how guys MIGHT perform but more of when comparing this team to other teams where there is an established cast of characters, there really is no comparison.  Games are certainly won on the field.  But predictions are made based off of established consistency and reputation, which the offense lacks pretty much all around.  So I don't get mad when people say the Bills of 2018 are going to be bad.  I understand why we are predicted to be bad.

i don't think anyone is mad about it.  it's a reasonable possibility.  the annoying thing is people are just stating it as fact.  we stated it as fact last year, and were completely wrong.  after being bad for so many years it's certainly understandable, but some just don't seem happy unless they're unhappy about the bills.  we don't know what we have as a team yet, and that's ok.  i just choose not to think of the worst possible scenario.

[ChevyVanMiller]

6 hours ago, iccrewman112 said:

The title of this article is 5 reasons and I'm only seeing 4?

The fifth reason is a plane crash in Foxboro.

[Doc Brown]

ESPN:  We're going to make a column about the best offensive arsenals and leave out the quarterback, o-line, and system they run.  Nobody can make a more pointless column.

 

NFL Network:  Hold my beer.

Edited July 17, 2018 by Doc Brown

[billsredneck1]

4 hours ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

I dont think anyone can realistically look at this offense, each and every position and say there is one, just one position which we dont have to worry about and is  is "solid" and at least to the NFL average.  Maybe Dawkins?

i don't get...we lost richie...to whatever, retirement, brain fart who knows.  we lost wood due to beyond our control. we lost the irreplaceable deonte thompson and lastly preston brown...while the league's leading tackler, everyone here thought he was worthless. anywho point being offense....

 

we lost 2 aging lineman (one of which was average) a journeyman receiver, tyrod and lastly tolbert, not to mention rico.....OMG WE ARE GONNA SUCK!!!!!!BAWAAAHHHHH!!!....i don't get it.....

[Kemp]

5 hours ago, SoTier said:

 

They have a decent starting TE, 1 NFL caliber LT, and 1 NFL caliber WR. 

 

 

 

Clay has been below decent for quite a while, now.

[BuffaloMatt]

I hate this time of year.

[Green Lightning]

3 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

The Front Office decided that until you have a legitimate QB, just about all other offensive expenditures are a waste of money and talent. I happen to believe they’re right. An additional ‘weapon’ or two might get you an extra win or two but they’re NOT going to make you into a playoff contender. 

Not buying it. You still put pieces in place so when your quarterback does evolve he will have some talent on offense to work with ant not a bunch of Jags. Sorry I'm not buying it. A good FO doesn't completely ignore one side of the ball.

[SoCal Deek]

3 minutes ago, Green Lightning said:

Not buying it. You still put pieces in place so when your quarterback does evolve he will have some talent on offense to work with ant not a bunch of Jags. Sorry I'm not buying it. A good FO doesn't completely ignore one side of the ball.

Well I'm guessing that type of investment will come next year when they have more Cap Space and after they have a better idea on what they've got at QB.  These things take time....but I wouldn't hold your breath for a return to the Playoffs this year.

[Green Lightning]

4 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

Well I'm guessing that type of investment will come next year when they have more Cap Space and after they have a better idea on what they've got at QB.  These things take time....but I wouldn't hold your breath for a return to the Playoffs this year.

 I'm thinking playoffs may be a few years away at this point. I see our defense peaking and our offense in the rearview mirror.  Both sides of the ball are not in sync.

[SoCal Deek]

2 hours ago, Green Lightning said:

 I'm thinking playoffs may be a few years away at this point. I see our defense peaking and our offense in the rearview mirror.  Both sides of the ball are not in sync.

You’re probably right but what’s even more scary is that it’s quite possible that we may learn nothing about Josh Allen in 2018. If the season turns ugly early the coaching staff might be hesitant to throw him to the wolves. Which means they’ll enter 2019 with the big question left unanswered.