2018 is in the Books - what are the initial thoughts?

[jethro_tull]

3 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I would argue slightly worse. I feel better about Josh than I did about Mitch this time last year but in terms if what the two teams needed I'd say slightlt worse. The Bears needs a year ago were:

 

- a top end pass rusher (we also need);

- a rangy playmaking MLB (hopefully we already have);

- a tight end (we also need);

- wide receivers (we also need).

 

In addition we also need (and the Bears already had in place):

 

- some youth and dynamism at running back;

- an offensive line.

 

So I think we have a little further to go than they did. 

Agreed but the Bills have coaching and system continuity going into next season,  The Bears fired John Fox last season.  

Still i like where the Bills are and they have enough picks and cap space to accomplish their roster goals.  

Also- I trust McBeane to get it done- the Josh Allen pick alone shows they have the capability to pick talent.  

Edited December 31, 2018 by jethro_tull

[GunnerBill]

Just now, jethro_tull said:

Agreed but the Bills have coaching and system continuity going into next season,  The Bears fired John Fox last season.  

 

Yep that is also true. I think it might take us an extra year to win a division. I can see us back the right side of .500 next year and in wildcard contention. I just think the work still needed on our roster might mean we are a step behind where the Bears were. 

[jethro_tull]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yep that is also true. I think it might take us an extra year to win a division. I can see us back the right side of .500 next year and in wildcard contention. I just think the work still needed on our roster might mean we are a step behind where the Bears were. 

see edit about cap space and draft picks!  

[BillsSbSoon]

My initial thoughts are we could be REALLY good next year. Like kc type of good but with a better defense than they have.

The biggest thing is that allen got better, and it looks like we really have something here. We have our cam newton and hopefully better. Big, flamethrower arm qb with the guts to put it in a tight window and get it downfield. Like we should all be pretty giddy right now guys imo. He is so buffalo its insane.

And then we have a top ten pick with loads of cap space? I mean lets go.

Edited December 31, 2018 by BillsSbSoon

[GunnerBill]

2 minutes ago, jethro_tull said:

see edit about cap space and draft picks!  

 

I know we have cap space and draft picks. I think the Bills will be sensible though. I don't think Beane is going to throw it all in on 2019. Doesn't seem his style. 

Edited December 31, 2018 by GunnerBill

[Logic]

I am quite happy with how the season played out.

McDermott and Beane came in and it was pretty clear that a full tear-down and rebuild was going to happen. Somehow, by providence, the Bills managed to make the playoffs last year, which was awesome. It doesn't change the fact that 2018 was year two of a complete rebuild, though. 

With that being said, 2018 saw the team break in a rookie QB who, by getting 10 starts in his first season, is ahead of where he would've been had he sat on the bench all year. McDermott even said this. It also saw the Bills defense finish 2nd in the league. That's no small feat. The season ALSO provided lots of meaningful snaps for what is becoming a very young roster. Tons of first, second, and third year players all got experience. Last but not least, the Bills have probably (not definitely, but probably) found the long term quarterback of their defense. All of this was done while clearing dead cap space off the books and accumulating 3 extra 2019 draft picks.

So, to recap: Identified and gave meaningful snaps to potential franchise QB and MLB, established a dominant defense, took our cap medicine, added a lot of young talent.

And now? 10 draft picks and $90 million in the bank, and we already (hopefully, potentially) have cornerstones at the most important positions in football (QB, LT, CB, ILB). The future is bright. I won't go into team needs now. There are plenty of them, and there is a long offseason to get into that. 

2018 was as productive as a non-playoff, non-championship season can be in football, if you ask me.

[Wayne Cubed]

For me 2018 was as expected considering how the Bills went into the season talent/depth wise. I expected the defense to be good enough to keep them in a fair few games and give the team a chance to win. The talent on the defensive side of the ball far outweighs what the Bills have on offense so not a surprise. 

 

I think the problem with 2018 is/was it all necessary? Yes they shed unwanted contracts, I get that but could the season have been more productive for Allen had they done a better job on the offensive side of the ball? Unfortunately we will never know. I have a little concern over McBeane's ability to identify, evaluate and coach up offensive players.

 

Anyways 2018 season is over, for McBeane the time is now and we see what they can really.

[Big C]

16 minutes ago, jethro_tull said:

Agreed but the Bills have coaching and system continuity going into next season,  The Bears fired John Fox last season.  

Still i like where the Bills are and they have enough picks and cap space to accomplish their roster goals.  

Also- I trust McBeane to get it done- the Josh Allen pick alone shows they have the capability to pick talent.  

 

Not for nothing, Nagy did retain their previous DC.

[Bing Bong]

5 hours ago, nucci said:

They really messed up the beginning of the season with tearing the offense down to nothing and thinking Peterman could play QB

Don't blow the beginning of the season and take it for granted or else we will be eliminated from the playoffs as fast as humanly possible. We got our pathetic act together way too late.. Don't mess up at the beginning next year coach. This season could have gone much differently.

[BuffaloBillsGospel]

17 hours ago, dubs said:

All in all, this season was about what I expected and realistically hoped for at the same time. Most importantly, IMO, I think Josh Allen outperformed most expectations and showed some real promise and tons of talent.  Obviously a long way to go but I think reason for real optimism. That was was always my hope for this year. 

 

Outside of that, clearly this team lacks talent and depth, but not too surprising given the strategy of cleaning house and cap space. Some nice young potential guys in Foster and McKitrick and maybe even Croom. 

 

Defense was solid but not spectacular. Run D needs massive improvement, need Milano back, but the secondary was excellent. Edmunds shows promise but also inexperience. 

 

Special teams was a disaster. Can’t sugar coat it at all. 

 

With lots of cap space, draft picks, and some key pieces in place, I am expecting a fun and exciting offseason and a 2019 that the Bills really compete for the playoffs and take a big step forward. 

 

 

 

For me my initial thought is that we have to by all means necessary get another pass rusher, we now lose another guy in Meatball that can get to the QB and Jerry Hughes (sorry i keep beating this dead horse) hasn't had double digit sacks since Mario Williams was a Bill, His 7 sacks is not good enough, he needs help either in the form of a disruptive interior DL, a pass rushing defensive end or an ILB like White or Bush that will allow Edmunds to tee off on QB's on the outside. It's important that we address this issue and it just so happens the top 10 picks should be filled with whatever direction we need to go in order to create said pass rush.

 

The OL has to be upgraded, we all know this.... I forsee at least 2 veteran OL in FA whether that is  in the form of C/T, C/G, T/G, T/T it doesn't really matter and although the OL improved down the stretch giving Josh Allen time to find targets is first and foremost. 

 

Getting Josh Allen targets, I know some will probably say we need at least 2 WR, a TE, 2 RB, I don't think it's as extreme as that. A solid veteran presence would be ideal, I don't think we have a legit shot at Golden Tate or Tyrell Williams ( I think both are going to want to play with upper echelon established QB's but I may be wrong) but John Brown or one of my favorite free agent WR Donte Moncrief would be a solid choice imo. I really like TE Jason Croom, I think he can be a legit threat down the stretch but that being said I would still like for them to add another TE preferably through the draft, Croom has been a nice security blanket for Allen at times and the emergence of undrafted rookie FA Robert Foster is awesome to see and just goes to show how good Allen really can be turning a once cut undrafted rookie FA and turning him into a threat to score on any play. I'd also like a young RB behind McCoy but with better blocking we add another threat with both his legs and hands in McCoy.

 

Another Corner aside from Tre White and Johnson is a must also. This team has some work to do no doubt but they have a good amount of resources to turn this around really quickly.

[McNubbins]

My thoughts are, with all those draft picks and all that cap space they better make the moves required to get us back into the playoffs next year.

[Simon Says]

On 12/31/2018 at 1:46 AM, DBilz2500 said:

 Castillo ranks mid pack in what? 

OLine coach report  rates the OLine  coaches considering elements like OLine talent level & experience ,, injuries,depth,Offensive scheme,etc. Murphy shared the report,, dont remember who compiled it. Castillo was 13th. In other words: how effective was the coach considering what he had to work with?

[Big Turk]

Allen showed real promise and an ability to take over games...thats impressive for a rookie QB.

 

I thought 6 wins was probably the high point for what the team could reasonably be expected to achieve so they were pretty much right where expected on the high side.

 

Excited to see what happens in the offseson and the draft and how they retool the offense...

[May Day 10]

They exceeded my expectations by a win, and allen is further along than i could have hoped.

 

They are on track imo, but will need to take a step up next season.

[Best Williams Available]

I hope the first half of the Phins game was the ghost of Bills’ Past; and the second half, the ghost of Bills’ Future. No taking the foot off the opponents’ throats, “kick the puppy when it’s down”, etc. 

[Another Fan]

Well after Game 2 against the Chargers I thought they were only winning 2 games so 6 doesn’t seem bad!  Before the season though I thought 6 or 7 wins,

 

I like what I saw out of Allen overall and his toughness/athleticism although the accuracy issue is still there to an extent.   I think you still have to give him another year to develop. Let’s face it he is the future

[Punching Bag]

On 12/31/2018 at 1:46 AM, DBilz2500 said:

 Castillo ranks mid pack in what? 

In available OL coaches.

[Punching Bag]

 

Bills need to get some work with zebras in off-season to let them know what is and what is not legal.  The penalties were terrible and while some can be attributed to players outmatched grabbing and many rookies on team not knowing details of NFL rules that is not all it is. I'd like to see the offense, defense and special teams leaders come up with some sort of competition where every time a player gets penalized, whether called back or offset, they donate money to a fund for a charity.  Would like to see Pegulas match it.

 

The Pegulas need to talk to league also for penalties were uneven being called on one side but not other.  The Pegulas have a studio and they need to hire a good video editor to show league this kind of thing, post it on their website and have the video editor cut film for each scrimmage and game showing players mistakes they made.  In the 90's the Bills had such an editor although he was a coach (I cannot remember his name) and he lasted between coaching staffs.