Officially one quarter into the season what are your composed thoughts?

[billsfan89]

Everyone here (and pretty much anywhere NFL related) loves to overreact to everything positively or negatively. After the bad losses the Bills should fire everyone and trade Allen for a 7th if we could be so lucky. After the Vikings game to quote Rodney Dangerfield from the end of Caddy Shack "We're all going to get laid."

 

Coaches will often say they look at seasons in quarters so after 4 games what are you composed thoughts and impressions about the team thus far? 

 

Positives 

1- The defensive turn around. 

After 6 God awful defensive quarters the team has been pretty good and consistent defensively. If this team has any hope of trying to win games and develop Josh Allen they will need a consistent defensive effort 

2- Josh Allen. 

Josh Allen has not looked good in 2 out of his 3 starts. But he has flashed athletic ability and he has put together some really nice throws. I think that considering how raw a prospect Allen was coming out of college it isn't surprising to see Allen come out and look very uneven. 

3- Young defenders. 

Phillips, Johnson, Milano, Edumonds, White, and the continued development of a young core of defensive players emerging gives hope that this strong defensive play can be sustained beyond this season. Hopefully Shaq gets added to that list of good young players. 

4- Zay Jones.

Zay hasn't light the world on fire but he is competently putting together a decent season, after Zay's mental breakdown and injury issues it is good to see him not only playing but probably becoming the teams best WR out of an abysmal core. I could honestly see Zay developing into a quality slot receiver. 

 

Negatives. 

1- Peterman. 

The fact that Peterman is one snap away from playing is unforgivable. The fact that this staff got fooled by per-season Peterman twice is horrendous. I don't mind having Peterman as a third string QB but why on Earth have they not explored a veteran backup option? 

2- The O-line

The Bills might have the worst O-line in football. I know the All-22 has been a bit kinder to the O-line esp in the LA loss (no word on the Green Bay loss as I type this) but watching this team you can see they are losing the battle in the trenches rather consistently in every game but the Vikings game. Playing a rookie behind this O-line is something that could seriously stunt Allen's footwork development. 

3- The skill position core. 

The WR core in particular is outright bad and might be the worst unit in the league certainly bottom 5. KB isn't doing much and Zay Jones putting together a decent season is probably the best thing going which says a lot. The rest of the team is Andre Holmes a JAG veteran and a bunch of young players not doing a whole lot. Clay and the tight ends are decent if you had good receivers but they have limited impact since the receiving core is awful. 

4- Shady might be done. 

Shady was/is a dynamic offensive weapon, one of the things that could have made the skill position core's relative weakness palpable is if Shady was still an elite weapon out of the backfield. With his injury and at his age/miles it isn't looking to good for him early. Granted this is only 25% into the season so there is still plenty of time for him to turn it around but it is sad to see him get off to such a bad start. 

 

Overall the Bills are who we thought they were a team that mortgaged veteran players to get out from under contracts and accrue draft capital. They then spent that draft capital on two trade ups to acquire Allen and Edumonds (Cordy Glenn and picks 21, 22, 53, 56, and 65 for Allen, Edumonds, and a 5th round pick.) Those trade ups and the massive dead cap really crippled the teams ability to build a more complete roster. If you trade away a lot of productive veteran players for draft capital (Which also incurs short term dead cap) and then do two big trade ups with that draft capital then there are going to be massive holes on parts of the roster. 

 

The Bills are looking to be who we thought they probably were.  A team that has some key pieces in place but will have to wait until the dead cap clears in order to build up other parts of their roster. 

[DrDawkinstein]

Just about where I thought we'd be. On track to go 4-12.

 

Allen is the silver lining. He still has a long way to go, but has shown he's on the good side of where I thought a raw, project prospect would be. Thats all that really mattered this year anyways. Get him a Line, and some WRs who want to catch, and keep him on his development plan, and we are on the right track.

[26CornerBlitz]

Close to what I expected with the defense being the best unit on the team that will hopefully congeal into a top ten unit as the season progresses.

 

The offense I knew would struggle given the supporting personnel that is very poor (OL and WR in particular) with a very raw rookie QB.

[Soda Popinski]

I thought this was a 7-9 team going into the season at best.   Thinking 4-12 now, good teams are going to exploit weaknesses and we have a bunch of holes.  You send pressure up the middle and flush Allen early, and he'll bail on a clean pocket later on.   We don't have any wrs who get open.   or who can catch a pass if it hits them in the hands either.   Run blocking is bad, pass blocking is worse.  

 

Defense is not terrible, but sketchy at times.  As much as everyone loves Milano, he gets washed out of plays a lot and at the point of attack he loses more than he wins.    We are still looking for LBs.   Edmunds is green but growing, he's going to be insane in 2 years and this defense will be at it's peak with a few tweaks to it like a better corner, and a little more pass rush.   

 

It's a growing pains year, and if we win vs Tennessee, that's not going to change my mind.  Hell if we win vs Houston the week after, still not changing my mind.   

[billsfan5121]

This season is pretty much what I expected.  Maybe a little worse.  I was hopeful Allen would start the majority of the season and I fully expected good games and bad games.  Anyone who expected him to have a Roethlisberger or Russell Wilson type of rookie year were probably setting the bar way too high.  There’s not enough offensive talent to help him.  

 

As Allen developes, I hope we get to a point where he makes the talent around him better, but to expect that this year is asking too much.  I agree with most others who think the management did a poor job in building a roster to take some burden off of Allen.  He is essentially getting thrown into a mess of a roster, and is trying to carry this poor talent on his shoulders, which he can’t do yet.  

 

As for the record now and what I expect the final win/loss record to be, I was one who didn’t really care.  I just wanted this season to be one that showed good signs moving forward, and gave the younger pieces experience.  If they do not add quality talent on offense next season, I will begin to worry whether they are right for the job.  I do not believe that you need to be an NFL GM to see we severely lack talent on offense.  So this year was a wash for me anyways, with all eyes on next year and beyond. 

[bmur66]

I will say again (for this year) that any game Josh Allen finishes healthy is a good game

[TheElectricCompany]

I'm disappointed that we have been blown out in 3 of 4 games. 

I thought this team would have more fire than what we've seen. 

 

 

[entropyrules]

I worry that we may have seen this movie before when they hired Greg Williams as coach..strip the roster,  acquire draft capital and free agents and then never do anything with it vis-a-vis the QB. 

 

Not ready (year 2 is my panic contingency plan) to panic yet but after going back and watching Allen's performance I couldn't help but think of Losman's first game (I believe he got thrown in against the Pats) and he just looked lost; gun for an arm, great athleticism but just couldn't process the field. Hope i am wrong because I have at best ten years before I return to the mud and an tired of waiting (like I have a choice) for these guys getting their act together. To make matter's worse I am in Pats Land forced to listen to all the bandwagon fans and sports announcers.

[US Egg]

Composed thoughts ?.....

 

McDermott and Beane gutted this team without a solid plan.

 

 

[row_33]

same old same old

 

[Philo]

I agree with almost all of your points except the one regarding Shady. I think he has yet to be given enough carries in a game to find a rhythm and get going this year. Not ready to call him done just yet. 

 

And yes I am in the minority camp that thinks Zay can still be a decent WR. Probably not worth his draft position at this point, but I think he can be a quality WR in real WR corps.

[hondo in seattle]

The Bills have the lowest paid roster in the league.  And they play like it.  Our coaches would have to be miracle workers to get this team to be competitive.  They're not miracle workers.

 

Next year, with a bunch of draft picks and roughly $80 mil in cap space, Beane might give McD a good roster to work with.  But nobody truly knows how  talented Beane is at drafting college kids or signing quality FAs.   The sample size of his previous efforts is too small to say anything definitive.  

 

I'm really hoping the young players - especially Allen and Edmunds - play like budding superstars by the end of the season not like the raw rookies they are now.   2018 is the 2019 preseason and I'm hoping we find some gems.  

[US Egg]

Just now, bmur66 said:

I will say again (for this year) that any game Josh Allen finishes healthy is a good game

 

 ....at this rate that be a minor miracle. 

 

But maybe through McDermott's faith and his counting on divine intervention it won't happen.  

[Jerome007]

Except for the Oline and WRs, which are clearly among the bottom of the league, it seems the strengths and weaknesses have been all over the place. Hard to recall a more uneven start to a season. The 2nd halves of Chargers & Packers games, and of course the Viking one, is so different then the rest we'll need  4 more games to know the "identity" of this team!

 

As for Allen, I can't believe all the doom'n gloomers burying him already. We need a lot more games to know. Man I hate these negative hacks that just want to either troll or simply spreed their miserable outlook and hope  they are "right".  

[1st Ammendment NoMas]

Honestly, the team is a lot worse than I thought it would be. Especially the crippling offense. I bought in during training camp and expected to see this team compete in close games that would win or lose based on the defense and a few lucky breaks. 

 

So far, we've been destroyed in 3 of 4 games. The other game was the polar opposite, which makes expectations even more confusing.

I knew going in that the offense would be a work in progress, but the level of incompetence across the board is mind-numbing considering the personnel decisions, starting with

 

QB. Trading McCarron was not wise. We could have done this later, after seeing what developed. That last roster spot has already been shuffled more than a deck of cards in Vegas.I get that Peterman showed some pre-season promise, but to completely forget about the San Diego devastation of 2017 is not being responsible. We know the future rides on Allen, but it would have been nice to give the kid some time to get up to speed and not throw him into a dumpster fire.  Look at Big Ben last night. Everyone makes bad throws, especially when under intense pressure. 

OL- We've got 700 threads devoted to this topic 80 pages each. No words describe the horror here. 

WR- Ditto, but we had the chance to get some competent bodies in here and failed. At least we've tried to shuffle up the OL and find FA's. KB is playing the worst football of his career. Zay can not get separation. Who expected Holmes to contribute and Foster and McCloud are not ready to be on NFL rosters. 

RB. Pleasantly surprised by Ivory and Murphy. No verdict on Shady, but so far he is under-performing.

 

Coaches:  DaBoll has not come close to putting his players in position to succeed. Game plans and execution by the OL/WR's are pathetic. Bad coaching plays a role in it.

 

The defense is where we expected. If they can keep up the pressure and stay healthy, they may win us a few games. 

 

ST.  I'm happy with the kicking game. House Money and the Bork are just fine. Coverage and return units are suspect, especially punt returns. We need to get this right if we are going to give the offense any decent field position.

[Bangarang]

The offense is as bad as expected. Not sure why Peterman is still on the team. I’d also prefer if McD took over the defense full time. It’s pretty clear this team has little to no talent and I’m not sure I trust the ones who tore it down to build it back up.

Edited October 1, 2018 by Bangarang

[blacklabel]

First off, if you're a fan that thinks or expects this team to contend this season (or next), you're gonna put yourself through some misery. If you think this is the "same old Bills" you're wrong. If you think there's no solid, long term plan in effect right now, you're also wrong. 

 

Defense is McDermott's bread and butter so it makes sense to build the defense first and then work on the offense. The defense has some great veteran leadership (Kyle and Lorax) as well as a tier of players with 4-6 years under their belts yet still under 30 years old, combined with a bunch of youngins in their first or second year. That's how you do a rebuild. Hang on to some decent longtime vets, sign some moderately experienced vets, and then fill out your high priority spots with draft picks. 

 

Not everything can be addressed in one season which is why the offense is lagging. They have who they think is their QB and left tackle. They have a kid who may blossom into a solid receiver once the team finds its offensive identify. Again, as with the D, there are some longtime vets hanging around providing leadership. I don't think they've dug in much with the offense just yet as they don't have the same type of younger vets like the defense does but I think they'll go after some guys like that this off-season. 

 

But as for yesterday's game, there are gonna be total duds like this during this project. Allen has to go through the lowest lows as well as the highs as he gains experience. All of this season is about experience and growth of the young foundation. Win big together and lose big together, they'll find out a lot about one another and what it's gonna take from each one of them to become a team of brothers that plays for each other. 

 

There's a plan. It's in action. It just takes time. I'm all in. Can't wait to see where this team is at come 2020.

[teef]

17 minutes ago, TheElectricCompany said:

I'm disappointed that we have been blown out in 3 of 4 games. 

I thought this team would have more fire than what we've seen. 

 

 

this is more my complaint as well.  i expected to see losses, but at least put up a fight.

[NewEra]

We are who we thought we were.  Bad OL.  Bad WRs.  Qb that needs time.  Lacking a #2 CB. 

[4_kidd_4]

Gonna be a loooooong December with three home games.

[row_33]

9 minutes ago, 4_kidd_4 said:

Gonna be a loooooong December with three home games.

 

at least they can't be blackouts if i want to watch in this era....

 

[DrDawkinstein]

Just now, 4_kidd_4 said:

Gonna be a loooooong December with three home games.

 

 

 

[row_33]

25 minutes ago, blacklabel said:

First off, if you're a fan that thinks or expects this team to contend this season (or next), you're gonna put yourself through some misery. If you think this is the "same old Bills" you're wrong. If you think there's no solid, long term plan in effect right now, you're also wrong. 

 

Defense is McDermott's bread and butter so it makes sense to build the defense first and then work on the offense. The defense has some great veteran leadership (Kyle and Lorax) as well as a tier of players with 4-6 years under their belts yet still under 30 years old, combined with a bunch of youngins in their first or second year. That's how you do a rebuild. Hang on to some decent longtime vets, sign some moderately experienced vets, and then fill out your high priority spots with draft picks. 

 

Not everything can be addressed in one season which is why the offense is lagging. They have who they think is their QB and left tackle. They have a kid who may blossom into a solid receiver once the team finds its offensive identify. Again, as with the D, there are some longtime vets hanging around providing leadership. I don't think they've dug in much with the offense just yet as they don't have the same type of younger vets like the defense does but I think they'll go after some guys like that this off-season. 

 

But as for yesterday's game, there are gonna be total duds like this during this project. Allen has to go through the lowest lows as well as the highs as he gains experience. All of this season is about experience and growth of the young foundation. Win big together and lose big together, they'll find out a lot about one another and what it's gonna take from each one of them to become a team of brothers that plays for each other. 

 

There's a plan. It's in action. It just takes time. I'm all in. Can't wait to see where this team is at come 2020.

 

of course it's same old for 2 decades now, a lot has to do with the Pats kind of owning 1st place for more years than you can shake a stick at

 

 

[blacklabel]

2 minutes ago, row_33 said:

 

of course it's same old for 2 decades now, a lot has to do with the Pats kind of owning 1st place for more years than you can shake a stick at

 

 

 

Well, not everyone can have a Tim Brody and a Bob Bulisticks.

[Philo]

16 minutes ago, NewEra said:

We are who we thought we were.  Bad OL.  Bad WRs.  Qb that needs time.  Lacking a #2 CB. 

 

I think Ryan Lewis has shown some flashes and should be the starting #2. I certainly like him more than Phillip Gaines. 

[NewEra]

4 minutes ago, Philo Beddoe said:

 

I think Ryan Lewis has shown some flashes and should be the starting #2. I certainly like him more than Phillip Gaines. 

I think we have to upgrade from both of them next year.  Johnson looks like our nickel corner for the next 3 years. 

[SCBills]

If the goal was to draft a Franchise QB and build a strong Defense, while accumulating cap space and a full draft to address Offense in 2019, I think they accomplished that. 

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[Philo]

1 minute ago, NewEra said:

I think we have to upgrade from both of them next year.  Johnson looks like our nickel corner for the next 3 years. 

 

Absolutely agree on Johnson. Hopefully he is here longer if he continues to play well and develop. 

 

I am of the opinion that you should draft at least one CB every year and I think McBean agrees. Probably going to be a mid rounder again, so who knows if the pick will be an immediate upgrade to those guys, but maybe they surprise us this year and end up being solid.

[billsfan_34]

We suck

[Tcali]

lets remember how schizo this team and coaching staff are. I expect a 7-9 season. expect a great game soon.

Lets also remember how bad the jets and dolphins are.2 wins right there.

[Mark Vader]

I didn't really know what to expect these first four games. I am shocked at how many points we gave up in the first two games, but thankfully the defense has gotten better since then.

 

It's obvious that the defense is the strength of the team, and they will get better. Tremaine Edmunds is progressing steadily and Taron Johnson has been solid as the nickel back. Star Lotuleilei probably got more money than he deserved, but I don't think he has been as big a liability as others have said. Trent Murphy is doing alright, but I think he will make plays. Lorenzo Alexander has played much better than I thought he would and Matt Milano has been all over the field and has become one of our better players. Then of course there is Jerry Hughes, who is still our best DE and gives his all on the field. The secondary has taken a step back from last year. Micah Hyde & Jordan Poyer got off to slow starts, but are doing better. Tre'Davious White has played great. Then there's the spot at Right Corner Back. Vontae Davis dumped on us all and retired leaving a huge hole to fill. Phillip Gaines is average and Ryan Lewis has potential but is inexperienced.

 

Despite the rough start, the defense has rebounded and done all it can to to keep the Bills in the games this season.

 

Now the offense, and here is where it gets ugly. I know I am stating the obvious, but our WR group & our O-Line is a mess. I really  thought that Kelvin Benjamin would be a good player for us, but that is not the case. He's a big target and that's it, and he is not reliable. Sadly, he is the best we have. Zay Jones has done nothing to stand out, Andre Holmes is a glorified special teams player and Robert Foster & Ray Ray McCloud are rookies. It is not easy to watch.

 

Now the offensive line. Ryan Groy is not a Center. We saw that in the first game. Matthew Bodine isn't much better, but he's better than Groy. I was hoping for a rebound season for John Miller and those hopes have been shattered. Vladimir Ducasse is still the same player, as is Jordan Mills. Dion Dawkins is having a rough second year, but is the only bright spot. The line has done a fair job in pass protection, but they have been putrid in run blocking. None of our running backs can get any space. Our line is pitiful when they get blitzed.

 

The Tight End situation is adequate, but I still don't know why Nick O'Leary was the expendable player. Charles Clay is fine and Jason Croom looks like a natural, but Logan Thomas & Khari Lee are not really there.

 

Running back is a bright spot. LeSean McCoy is still our best player, and Chris Ivory has been a pleasant surprise. Marcus Murphy has done well too.

 

Finally there is Josh Allen. I did not want to see him thrown to the wolves like this, but we were put in this position. Honestly, Josh Allen looks like a rookie. He has his ups and downs. I admire his tenacity and his willingness to keep a drive going and trying to fit passes into tight windows, but he does things that also results in bad outcomes. He's a rookie and he has a daredevil mentality, which is something that he will have to reign in, if he wants to survive out there. I really like Allen, the potential is there, even though he's been put in a bad spot. I think that Allen will be able to succeed as he plays more throughout the season. He's a competitor and he has a swagger and he looks like a leader out there. We haven't seen this type of quarterback on the Bills for a long time. He has the ability to become something special for the Bills, now it's the coaches job to make sure that he doesn't get killed behind this line, and to get him better weapons at wideout.

 

To sum up, we are 1-3. Nobody expected us to get blasted the way we did in Baltimore and nobody saw us taking the Vikings to the woodshed. The Bills are a strange team to figure out. Clearly there are rebuilding and they do have some very good players on the team, but they also have some very pedestrian players too. I'm not going to dump on McDermott & Beane and call for their heads, because that's just silly. I do believe in the process, even when it is ugly. The Bills are building a foundation. Unfortunately we have  to wait for next offseason to see where it will take us. For now we just have to watch this season play out. 

[Captain Hindsight]

We played murderers row to start the year. Minnesota was fun, but it looks like an aberration more than anything

 

What I like:

 

The defense plays hard and fast. No quit on that unit (sans Vontae). They dropped two INTs yesterday that could have made it a different game. I think that unit is close to being a good unit. They have some things to clean up, but mostly have just been on the field too much. Offense has to help them out.

 

Punter and kicker seem pretty set. The new left footed guy seems to have a powerful leg. Considering we stole him from Pats* makes me like him even more

 

Uniforms are still the best in the league

 

Josh Allen has flashed some serious potential. I like his fire and I definitely see plenty to like about him. He's erratic right now and I think he is trying to do to much. When he plays within the system( see vs Vikings) he looks like a top QB. When he tries to score 22 points on one play, he throws a terrible INT right at halftime. IF he figures out how to be consistent and play within the scheme on every down, we may have something special. If he tries to do too much, well back to the drawing board I guess

 

What I dont like:

 

Offensive line. - What a train wreck this has been. I'd fire the o-line coach. His message just doesn't seem to be working. far too many free rushers

 

Wrs - Holmes dropped a perfect pass from Allen yesterday on the sideline. Why is he running 60% of the routes? Holmes is a replacement level WR. Its unbelievable to me that they are trying to develop a rookie QB when his most reliable target is Jason Croom. Its criminal and they should be turning over every rock to find someone, anyone to play WR. They could cut them all, start from scratch and it might be an improvement 

[row_33]

18 minutes ago, Captain Hindsight said:

We played murderers row to start the year. Minnesota was fun, but it looks like an aberration more than anything

 

What I like:

 

The defense plays hard and fast. No quit on that unit (sans Vontae). They dropped two INTs yesterday that could have made it a different game. I think that unit is close to being a good unit. They have some things to clean up, but mostly have just been on the field too much. Offense has to help them out.

 

Punter and kicker seem pretty set. The new left footed guy seems to have a powerful leg. Considering we stole him from Pats* makes me like him even more

 

Uniforms are still the best in the league

 

Josh Allen has flashed some serious potential. I like his fire and I definitely see plenty to like about him. He's erratic right now and I think he is trying to do to much. When he plays within the system( see vs Vikings) he looks like a top QB. When he tries to score 22 points on one play, he throws a terrible INT right at halftime. IF he figures out how to be consistent and play within the scheme on every down, we may have something special. If he tries to do too much, well back to the drawing board I guess

 

What I dont like:

 

Offensive line. - What a train wreck this has been. I'd fire the o-line coach. His message just doesn't seem to be working. far too many free rushers

 

Wrs - Holmes dropped a perfect pass from Allen yesterday on the sideline. Why is he running 60% of the routes? Holmes is a replacement level WR. Its unbelievable to me that they are trying to develop a rookie QB when his most reliable target is Jason Croom. Its criminal and they should be turning over every rock to find someone, anyone to play WR. They could cut them all, start from scratch and it might be an improvement 

 

a few experts had the Bills starting 0-8, so they are totally owned if the Bills go 1-7, right?

 

 

[Kirby Jackson]

About what I expected with the pleasant surprise in Minnesota. They are a very bad football team. This year was about developing Allen. Let’s hope that happens.

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

Defense will look very good by mid season if we don't get a rash of injuries. Coaching staff gave no chance to any QB to start with this putrid O-Line and clear lack of offensive talent. Allen has very little chance to succeed under these circumstances and I would like to see him watch a few games and maybe start again at the end of the season. He's going to get injured playing with the group that he has right now.

[Big C]

Simply not enough talent on the offensive side of the ball to win without some trickery. OL and WR look like the top priorities going into next year. 

 

Defense got gashed badly the first two weeks, reminiscent of the NYJ/New Orleans/LAC collapse last year, but responded nicely against good offenses. Any offense at all would have made the Green Bay game competitive. I like the pieces we have there, although we will likely need to add another pass rusher one way or another next year. 

 

All I want to see are the young guys - especially Allen and Edmunds - grow week to week. So far we've seen a mix with Allen, of course he's in a much worse situation, but Edmunds appears to be steadily moving in the right direction.

[chaccof]

I'm encouraged that they won a game and the defense appears to be playing better.  I am hoping Allen doesn't get killed between next Sunday and the end of the season....seems to spend a lot of time on his back so far.....

[Captain_Quint]

They're about where they need to be. The goal should be to lose gracefully, while Allen/Edmunds get their feet wet. Strong draft/FA next year will help alot. 

[John from Riverside]

I am thinking I still dont know what the final record is gonna look like.....

 

The team is not good on offense......the defense is better then being given credit......and we have completed the "murderers row" of our schedule and are 1-3.   Which is about where I expected to be at this point of the season.

 

Now we start facing teams that we "should" be more competative against....what I dont want is another 8 and 8 season.......not in the blue chip draft picks and not in the playoffs....I really do NOT want that this year.

 

If we are gonna suck.....lets suck out loud and make this next draft count along with our 90 million cap space and rebiuld the OL of the Jim Kelly era around this kid.....and find some Andre Reed type receivers for him to throw to.