MJS Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 The national media accused the Bills of tanking last year, thinking the Bills would be among the worst teams in the league and fighting for the top pick in the draft. The national media does not follow the Bills. They get things wrong all the time. They thought Tyrod was a good QB who was just misunderstood, for instance. Heck, fans who do nothing but follow the Bills still get stuff wrong. 4 minutes ago, Trogdor said: We have no idea if QB or MLB is set. MLB looks more promising at this point. The secondary is very thin, the RB's are old, and the WR group is terrible. Poyer and Hyde were the previous GM and Dawkins still has a lot to prove. Everyone is selling these possibilities as though they already happened. It might be that they work well together and we will see it in the next couple years, or this could be one of the worst Bills teams and we wasted our chance to get a good QB. Only time will tell, but the state of the team right now is terrible. McDermott brought in Poyer and Hyde. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 1 minute ago, MJS said: McDermott brought in Poyer and Hyde. You mean the rookie head coach did it and not the GM with a history of picking up great pro players? I think that is wishful thinking. Especially when you consider the drop off in talent acquisition since he was fired. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HT02 Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 8 hours ago, mykidsdad said: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2792785-are-the-buffalo-bills-already-the-nfls-worst-team?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial We are continuing to see some very negative predictions about the Bills 2018 season. The consensus seems to be that the team is bad, because the personel decisions have been bad. Do we trust the process here, or are these guys right? I was feeling good before Cincy, but now I'm feeling like maybe there is real reason to doubt. Will we really be the worst in the league? Is our trajectory downward or middling again? Someone please give me reasons not to believe what these guys are saying. I've heard this a few times myself and I begin to wonder the same thing, are we looking at this through rose colored glasses? But when I listen to them explain why (and I try to listen with as open a mind as I can as a Bills fans) the reasons they cite are usually one's you'd expect from a "fly by". It starts with Tyrod Taylor and how the young QB's will be a drop-off from where he played last year. (I strongly disagree with that). The O Line is next and although they will miss Incognito, Groy played pretty well for Woods when he was hurt previously and Glenn was hurt a lot last year. It will be a problem but I think the line will get better as the season goes along. I think they will be as good as last year and I am hoping they will be a little better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 Just now, Trogdor said: You mean the rookie head coach did it and not the GM with a history of picking up great pro players? I think that is wishful thinking. Especially when you consider the drop off in talent acquisition since he was fired. Yes. I do. Whaley was a lame duck and made no decisions. I'm sure he helped out with the leg work and the evaluation and everything, but McDermott made the decisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatonka68 Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 Would take a lot to overtake the Cleveland Browns as the worst in the league. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 Just now, MJS said: Yes. I do. Whaley was a lame duck and made no decisions. I'm sure he helped out with the leg work and the evaluation and everything, but McDermott made the decisions. If that's the case, he struck gold with those two and has been striking out since. I'm not really sure how you discount Whaley's history of grabbing these great players from the scrap heap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv's Neighbor Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 Gee, they've been right about so ,many other things, why not believe this?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoTier Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 (edited) 44 minutes ago, RyanC883 said: Yes. We arguably have the two most important positions on the team set going forward: QB (Allen eventually with Peterman as backup) and MLB. You can build around those guys. Just need to get competent O-line and D-line play. The secondary is solid, RB's are solid, and WR's will be okay if the line can give anyone time to pass. The building blocks are there. We also have a OT in Dawkins. Another important piece. Just need to keep building. Will take another draft and FA period, but I think we get it done. We are not chasing "star" players who provide little game winning value like TO. We have gone after guys who come in and make the team better both in FA and the Draft (Poyer, Hyde, Allen, Edmunds, Phillips, Dawkins, White, etc.) I think pass rush will have to be fixed with roster cuts and next year in the draft and FA. Finally cap space. How do we know that Dawkins in a quality LT? He was decent as a rookie last season but he was playing besides a Pro Bowl LG last season, so he wasn't on his own. Since the Bills replaced Incognito with a body masquerading as a LG, he's sure on his own this season. He sucked against Cleveland, and didn't play against Cinci. John Miller, RG, looked good as a rookie in 2016, but crashed and burned last season and hasn't recovered. A good rookie season doesn't mean that a player is a good one long term, and that's as true for an OLer as it is for a QB or a LB or a DB. I thought 2019 was supposed to be the year when the Bills went out and got Allen some protection and targets so the Bills could win the Super Bowl? Are you saying that the McDermott/Beane timetable for reaching Nirvana has been extended? Edited August 30, 2018 by SoTier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 7 minutes ago, Trogdor said: If that's the case, he struck gold with those two and has been striking out since. I'm not really sure how you discount Whaley's history of grabbing these great players from the scrap heap. Because nobody in their right mind would allow someone who they planned to fire in the near future make decisions on anything. It has been one season. How has McDermott "struck out" on anyone? They haven't played a single regular season game yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden*Wheels Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 The click bait title of the article really isn't even addressed IN the article. Who's really the worst. IMO the worst team from recent history is the worst until proven otherwise (sorry Cleveland, but your track record is hard to argue with, as Tatonka pointed out) OTOH, the final summation of the article, is this really an outrageous statement? "The Bills are lacking in too many areas, and those shortcomings will sack the season." Because it seems very possible to me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 12 minutes ago, MJS said: Because nobody in their right mind would allow someone who they planned to fire in the near future make decisions on anything. It has been one season. How has McDermott "struck out" on anyone? They haven't played a single regular season game yet. i've sat around cheering for 43 years and good to see the futility streak ended this is what we have and it's not a bad thing and I can sit around 2 more years with hope in my heart for McDermott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoTier Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 1 minute ago, MJS said: Because nobody in their right mind would allow someone who they planned to fire in the near future make decisions on anything. It has been one season. How has McDermott "struck out" on anyone? They haven't played a single regular season game yet. Obviously you forgot about the scintillating play of Ducasse, Tolbert, and Zay Jones in 2017. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. K Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 (edited) 26 minutes ago, Trogdor said: If that's the case, he struck gold with those two and has been striking out since. I'm not really sure how you discount Whaley's history of grabbing these great players from the scrap heap. Very few people around here are willing to give Whaley credit for the talented players he acquired. All they want to talk about are EJ Manuel and Sammy Watkins. They act as if all the players Beane has gotten rid of were trash when two of them started on a Super Bowl winning defense and many others are starting and playing well on other teams right now. I saw an article that everybody praised on the board yesterday that crowed about how "only five players from the previoius regime" were still on the Bills. Well, I think the team's talent level now would be higher if players like Robert Woods and Nigel Bradham and Preston Brown and Marcel Dareus and Ron Darby and Cordy Glenn were still on the squad, to say nothing of the street free agents and players Whaley plucked from other teams' backups who proved to be quality players. You can argue and maybe the point should be made that Beane has cleaned up the cap situation and dumped all those players so that he could draft a long-time solution at QB, which the Bills have been looking for for two decades, and if he hits on that the losses are justified. You could argue that some of these players had attitude and consistency and injury issues. But you can't deny that a lot of starting-quality, even pro bowl level talent, went out the door since Beane came in it. I guess it's water under the bridge to talk about this stuff now. The Bills are committed to a plan and "The Process" (cue choir of heavenly angels) and for better or worse we will see what happens. Allen looks like he may pan out, and that will make a huge difference. Like it or not we're in the middle of a rebuild. It may pay off and I will be as happy and excited as anyone when it does. But I wish people could avoid the Whaley bashing, or at least acknowledge that he was a decent GM and might have been a better one if he had been able to choose his own head coaches. I expect this with be the beginning of a series of responses bashing Whaley. Whatever. Edited August 30, 2018 by Dr. K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeF Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 (edited) Last year we saw this coaching staff can game plan and adjust. I am not willing at this point to write off the season. Here are the Bills major roster losses since the start of last year's regular season.. Tyrod Taylor - a read and react thrower who did a lot with his feet but less with his arm. Benched (1 game) and Injured (1 game) last year and we likely had the same record we would have had if he played in both these games. Cordy Glenn-injured 2/3rds of the season and the coaching staff coached up and found a replacement Richie Incognito - showed signs last year of deterioration particularly the later half of the year Eric Wood-The most impactful loss from both a leadership and performance perspective Marcel Dareus - Was not nearly performing to contract -- Bills managed to develop game plans without him that still ended in the playoffs but the run defense was porous EJ Gaines-Injured a lot but the team was better when he was on the field Preston Brown-Made tackles but did not make impact plays. Still a loss. I think there are 5 high impact losses - Incognito because our alternatives suck (this is a Beane miss); Wood because of leadership and our alternatives suck; EJ Gaines - not yet replaced; Preston Brown - Edmunds lacks the steadiness right now but adds big play ability, Taylor-Bills lack anyone who can improvise like he could but this system is about rhythm, not improvisation. So bottom line-The Bills start the season in appreciably worse shape than the end of last year from a talent perspective. I predict the Bills will be a majority run team on O the first part of the year. This is rare in the NFL -- but I actually like our 3 headed monster (Shady, Ivory and Murphy). We will coach to a lot of 16-13 type games (see last year's Atlanta game for reference) and likely go something like 2-6. The second half of the year to me is key...its when we will see Allen on the field and Edmunds maturing...we will open it up more. If we go 4-4 or better the last 8 games--watch out for 2019....we will all feel like the 49ers are feeling going into this year. Flame away... Edited August 30, 2018 by JoeF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elite Poster Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 9 hours ago, BuffaloButt said: I find it hard to believe that a McDermott coached team is going to finish last. I think he's got the makings of being a very good coach and getting the most out of his players. While last week 1's was a train wreck, it's preseason so you can't take much stock in what we're seeing with no game planning and all the experimenting they were doing which is the right time to do it in the preseason. I'm not expecting much from this team this season maybe 7-9 but I better see better QB play and improving defense this year. The plan should be spend in FA next year, draft OL help, and make another playoff run next year. That's what Philly did and so can we. Go Bills!!! Why? Is he playing QB? Is he pass blocking? Is he catching the ball? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatdrinks Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 (edited) Believe whatvever opinions you choose, because these prognostications are exactly that. However, from a Bills fan perspective there is much to be concerned about. There is a serious lack of top end talent on this roster. The OL is a shambles , depth is nonexistent. The skill positions are weak aside from McCoy. The D line got no pass rush last season and doesn’t appear to have improved in that area. The LBs are subpar overall and the rookie MLB has failed to impress thus far. The secondary looks decent on paper. This could very well end up the worst team in the NFL this year. Many like to point to CLE, but that lineup has talent. They’ve had a turnover machine at QB for awhile and appear to have shored up that weakness. The Browns look ripe for substantial improvement. Edited August 30, 2018 by Boatdrinks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloHokie13 Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 Last year the Jets were supposed to be the worst team in football and were not projected to win a single game. They ended up 5-11 and were tied for the 4th worst team with 2 others. I doubt we will be the worst team in football, but I don't think we'll be very good either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoBills Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 2 hours ago, SoCoBills said: No but we should believe our eyes when we see that we are struggling to get pressure on the quarterback or keep our own QBs off their backs. Can Hughes, Murphy, Lawson, Alexander etc get some pass rush going? Can we find a way to protect whoever is under center? These are the questions I’m struggling with right now. Roster cuts and potential upgrades becoming available could change the outlook somewhat. This is is a less sexy concern but this is honestly way higher on my concern list than who is actually under center week 1. I agree SoCo. If the DL and OL struggle it will also be a lot tougher to evaluate the rest of the team. I know it's only a preseason stat but if the Defensive Sacks (3) and offensive sacks (11) ratio continues into the season it will make for a long year. Let's all hope something happens to change that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, SoTier said: Obviously you forgot about the scintillating play of Ducasse, Tolbert, and Zay Jones in 2017. Those were last off-season. If we are crediting Whaley for Hyde and Poyer, we have to credit those guys to Whaley as well. And the OC got fired for a reason. Part of that was misusing Tolbert. He literally didn't even know when Tolbert was on the field. Edited August 30, 2018 by MJS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLTbills Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 3 hours ago, CountDorkula said: Unless they are talking good, about the Bills, then we can say how smart they are. Not really. Because as a general rule, the people writing for bleacher report are fans that just do not know the ins and outs. That's why it's called "bleacher report" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipster19 Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 Yikes, we just might be! After that Cincy game my confidence in this team was shook pretty good. If it’s not us it might be someone in our division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreggTX Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 We may not be the 32nd best team in the NFL in 2018. Maybe. Sorry, but that's the best I can do. I think 3 or4 wins is our ceiling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 Absolutely. The national media is never wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 Not worst but I bet we pick in the top 10. The D will get it figured out at some point and will keep us in a lot of games some of which we will win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Success Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 Some of the articles are ridiculous - basing it in a preseason game or 3. I’m concerned about the o line, and that’s not a small thing. But otherwise, I think we’re an improved team. I don’t expect us to regress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddogblitz Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 Just curious. What did they say about us last year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Process Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 7 hours ago, Kemp said: I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will have Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words. Touche..... 7 hours ago, zonabb said: And I believe Bleacher Report has more credibility than anything that steamy pile of orange excrement squatting in the White House says. If you want to play "Which president is the biggest liar" you shouldn't let your red side show by going to the Clinton card, that's a weak deflection from the current state of deception, lying, and treachery we're currently staying with. But then again, with an avatar of one of the least educated state in America, I expect such normative nonsense. And yes, Clinton lied. They all do. Litmus test: My 401K.......but yea, they all do lie. LOL at steamy pile or orange excrement....that's funny! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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