Watching the playoffs and this team was closer to a superbowl than we think

[Big Gun]

1 hour ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

Hard to say that when the only playoff team they beat was the Titans with Mariota.  We’re solid and getting there but KC would murder us. 

Like New England was supposed to twice and the Cowboys were supposed to and the Ravens were supposed to, ok whatever.

[Junyto]

We should've beaten Houston. We had'em so many times and it was the defense that cost us the game. 

Just lookin forward to next year. 

[Boatdrinks]

54 minutes ago, MAJBobby said:

Keep getting weapons on offense. 

This ^*It’s really as simple as this. Their strategy worked for the offensive talent they had this year. I fully expect them to add offensive talent this offseason. 

[tumaro02]

2 hours ago, Boatdrinks said:

Won’t need 30 with the Bills defense. But 17 won’t get it done. Score 24-27 and Bills can win it all. Need a few more pieces . 

True. And yet if the Bills hold the Pats at 13 like the Titans did or the Ravens to 12 like the Titans did we win both those games.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

3 hours ago, Hebert19 said:

AFC is terrible. Bills could beat any of these teams.   Any give Sunday in AFC this year. Hope it's just the start for us and we didnt miss an opportunity 

 

Totally agree but people have been drinking too much today to remember we had the Texans beat last week. Change one of 20 plays last week and we are playing against the chiefs today. I wouldn't guarantee a win today but i think we could beat them.

 

 

 

[chongli]

2 hours ago, BuffaloBill963 said:

This year was a huge missed opportunity. Favorable schedule and much aligned for us. Had great energy and momentum as a team. No telling how the stars will align next year and at least at first glance a tougher schedule.

 

As long as Allen is our QB, we will be in the playoffs each year, just like the Seahawks with Wilson.

[Boatdrinks]

2 minutes ago, tumaro02 said:

True. And yet if the Bills hold the Pats at 13 like the Titans did or the Ravens to 12 like the Titans did we win both those games.

Can’t bank on those types of games, though. It’s easier said than done. The Titans averaged 30 ppg with Tanny at QB. Their ground game is punishing, and that limits the opposing teams offensive opportunities. The Titans can win more than one kind of football game, whereas the Bills need a certain formula. 

[tumaro02]

58 minutes ago, Elite Poster said:

Once we can score more than 20 pts a game, sure. 

Does anyone think that if our HC was named Reid or Payton that we would only average the 19+ ppg? If you think it would nearer 30 with the same personnel then look inward to our coaching philosophy and ask why? If you don't think we would score many more ppg even with Reid or Payton then we need more weapons.

[Scott7975]

You are probably going to take some flack and so are some others including myself, but I also believe this team is closer than some want to admit.  A couple more pieces on offense and another step from Allen.  This defense was have been one of the best in the playoffs already.  Just need our offense to get their too and I don't think that is too far away.

[JoshAllin]

Yeah I honestly felt bills could reach the sb if someone knocked out kc for them.

[Boatdrinks]

2 minutes ago, tumaro02 said:

Does anyone think that if our HC was named Reid or Payton that we would only average the 19+ ppg? If you think it would nearer 30 with the same personnel then look inward to our coaching philosophy and ask why? If you don't think we would score many more ppg even with Reid or Payton then we need more weapons.

I think it would be closer to 30 if the players could execute the plays that are called more consistently. That tells me they need some better players. They’d score some more with Reid or Payton due to their ability and they’d probably construct the roster a bit differently. So that’s a bit of both. 

2 minutes ago, motorj said:

Yeah I honestly felt bills could reach the sb if someone knocked out kc for them.

This never looked like a SB caliber offense to me. 

[IronyAbounds]

3 hours ago, Chicken Boo said:

I disagree.  The offense isn't good enough...yet.  Not far off though.

Not to say Allen won't get there eventually, but if the Bills had had any of the 4 QBs from today's games they are in the Super Bowl and very likely could win it.

[Boatdrinks]

Just now, IronyAbounds said:

Not to say Allen won't get there eventually, but if the Bills had had any of the 4 QBs from today's games they are in the Super Bowl and very likely could win it.

But....they don’t so add more talent. They also had less of that than any of today’s teams, and a QB that played college ball in the mountain west. Tanny awakened after many years as starter. 

[Chaos]

This year the Bills beat only a couple of teams with winning records. To win the Super Bowl you need to win 3 or 4 games in a row against other playoff caliber football teams.  Bills really haven't shown an propensity to be able to that yet.  Its hard to tell how close they are.  Will be surprising if the opening line for the Bills to win the 2021 Super Bowl will be shorter than 32-1. 
 

Edited January 13, 2020 by Chaos

[Ethan in Cleveland]

Confirms what many of us thought. 7-9 roster that played a soft schedule including the worst NFC division equals a 10-6 record.  The roster can get better without significant changes.  Allen, Oliver, Ford, Knox, Kroft, Singletary, Edmunds, and H. Phillips can all get better and it won't cost them anything.  The core is solid but they need a true #1, probably a RT, and multiple pass rushers.  

[uticaclub]

3 hours ago, NoSaint said:

no, we missed an opportunity but we will see how many more we might have. Should’ve pushed harder last offseason 

Couldn’t agree more, the future is never guaranteed and this year was an opportunity that might take another 20 years to present itself. Too bad we couldn’t score

[Boatdrinks]

5 minutes ago, Ethan in Portland said:

Confirms what many of us thought. 7-9 roster that played a soft schedule including the worst NFC division equals a 10-6 record.  The roster can get better without significant changes.  Allen, Oliver, Ford, Knox, Kroft, Singletary, Edmunds, and H. Phillips can all get better and it won't cost them anything.  The core is solid but they need a true #1, probably a RT, and multiple pass rushers.  

They don’t need multiple pass rushers. . They need a WR or 2, an RB 2 and maybe a reliable TE. 

2 minutes ago, uticaclub said:

Couldn’t agree more, the future is never guaranteed and this year was an opportunity that might take another 20 years to present itself. Too bad we couldn’t score

If a WC berth is an opportunity that takes another 20 years to materialize this franchise is really doing something wrong. It won’t. The Pats* and Brady are coming to a close. Look at the NFC SB representation over the last 20 years vs the AFC. That hasn’t happened in the NFL before and likely won’t again. 

[NoSaint]

4 minutes ago, Boatdrinks said:

They don’t need multiple pass rushers. . They need a WR or 2, an RB 2 and maybe a reliable TE. 

If a WC berth is an opportunity that takes another 20 years to materialize this franchise is really doing something wrong. It won’t. The Pats* and Brady are coming to a close. Look at the NFC SB representation over the last 20 years vs the AFC. That hasn’t happened in the NFL before and likely won’t again. 

the opportunity was if we made more moves maybe we are a 3 or even 2 seed this year and in a position to make an easier run.

 

surely we will get another WC shot but we had a pretty wide open path and didn’t give our best possible shot at it.

Edited January 13, 2020 by NoSaint

[Boatdrinks]

13 minutes ago, Chaos said:

This year the Bills beat only a couple of teams with winning records. To win the Super Bowl you need to win 3 or 4 games in a row against other playoff caliber football teams.  Bills really haven't shown an propensity to be able to that yet.  Its hard to tell how close they are.  Will be surprising if the opening line for the Bills to win the 2021 Super Bowl will be shorter than 32-1. 
 

What you do in the regular season is erased once you’re in the playoffs. That’s been shown many times already. WC teams have won Super Bowls and so have other teams that didn’t have the #1 seed. You do need to have some offense to go with the defense in most cases, and the Bills are not quite built up on that side of the ball. They went from garbage to respectable , with another round of talent needed. 

[Chaos]

2 minutes ago, Boatdrinks said:

What you do in the regular season is erased once you’re in the playoffs. That’s been shown many times already. WC teams have won Super Bowls and so have other teams that didn’t have the #1 seed. You do need to have some offense to go with the defense in most cases, and the Bills are not quite built up on that side of the ball. They went from garbage to respectable , with another round of talent needed. 

Where do you think odds will be placed by the people that do that for a living ? 

[Mango]

3 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Eh.

 

You could also argue it the other way around.

 

Cleveland game, and 2nd Jets game.

 I agree.
 

I am probably 60/40ish in agreeing with that post. Meaning I would be more surprised at 12-4 than 8-8 (2 gam swing) FWIW.  But ultimately you are what your record says you are. 
 

I have some concerns on both sides of the ball I think the defense will take a small step back. They’ve had difficulty against the run and at getting off the field. I don’t think it will be huge, but the offense will need an major step to make up for it. 

[Boatdrinks]

2 minutes ago, NoSaint said:

the opportunity was if we made more moves maybe we are a 3 or even 2 seed this year and in a position to make an easier run.

 

surely we will get another WC shot but we had a pretty wide open path and didn’t give our best possible shot at it.

I don’t think there were a lot more moves they could have made, maybe another WR. To get better than a WC.I don’t think they would have gotten by New England with that though, because JA is still young. Not many young QBs get by Belichick early in their careers ( heck Mahomes is just 1-2 with his arsenal of weapons) and Josh needs to get better at beating the blitz. He’s not there yet, and I think he struggles vs BB defense until he improves. 

2 minutes ago, Chaos said:

Where do you think odds will be placed by the people that do that for a living ? 

Not sure , and I don’t care. We will see what they add in the offseason. At one point, Brady and BB were underdogs in the Super Bowl Vs Rams. It didn’t matter. 

[Chaos]

3 minutes ago, Boatdrinks said:

I don’t think there were a lot more moves they could have made, maybe another WR. To get better than a WC.I don’t think they would have gotten by New England with that though, because JA is still young. Not many young QBs get by Belichick early in their careers ( heck Mahomes is just 1-2 with his arsenal of weapons) and Josh needs to get better at beating the blitz. He’s not there yet, and I think he struggles vs BB defense until he improves. 

Not sure , and I don’t care. We will see what they add in the offseason. At one point, Brady and BB were underdogs in the Super Bowl Vs Rams. It didn’t matter. 

If you want to make the case "we are close", you ought to have the cojones to quantify what "close" is. 

[mjt328]

I prefer to look at the NFL in tiers.  Teams generally play 50/50 ball against teams in the same tier, struggle against those above them, and  take care of business against those below them.

 

In my opinion, the only clear Tier 1 teams in the AFC were the Ravens and Chiefs.  The Patriots started the season there, but regressed badly in the final month.  The Titans have played extremely well the last two weeks, but I think they get destroyed in the Championship game.

 

The Bills were clearly a Tier 2 team this year.  They split wins-losses against the other similar teams, such as the Titans, Steelers, Texans, Cowboys and Eagles.  They were almost perfect against the NFL's average/below average teams.  But they couldn't quite get over the hump against the teams on the next level - Ravens, Patriots.  So unfortunately, I don't think the Bills would have been able to pull off 3 straight wins in the postseason.

 

To get to the next level, the Bills need their offense to step up.  That starts with Josh Allen progressing from a bottom quarter QB into the top half of the NFL.  It will require more weapons in the passing and running game, and more consistent play from the offensive line.

[Boatdrinks]

1 minute ago, Chaos said:

If you want to make the case "we are close", you ought to have the cojones to quantify what "close" is. 

Who’s saying they’re “ closer than we think” ? The OP, maybe not me. I think they need offensive talent added. A top WR, physical RB2, and a reliable TE would be nice. That may be close , considering they didn’t have them this year. But it’s not closer than I think. It’s just about as far away as I think, and that’s not quite close enough. 

[BillsFanSD]

2 hours ago, Buffalo619 said:

Confidence in the hyper conservative approach? Playing not to lose? Never beating the Pats? 
 

What exactly are our coaches doing correctly?

We consistently seem to win about two games more than our roster suggests every season.  For three seasons.  Some of the in-game decision-making is off IMO (it is for most teams), but the W-L results are there, and they've obviously done a great job in turning the culture around.

[Buffalo Boy]

6 minutes ago, Mango said:

 I agree.
 

I am probably 60/40ish in agreeing with that post. Meaning I would be more surprised at 12-4 than 8-8 (2 gam swing) FWIW.  But ultimately you are what your record says you are. 
 

I have some concerns on both sides of the ball I think the defense will take a small step back. They’ve had difficulty against the run and at getting off the field. I don’t think it will be huge, but the offense will need an major step to make up for it. 

   Our Defense never got to play with a comfortable lead because our O never gave them one. Including last week.

    If our O takes a decent step forward our D gets better because of it. We do need to figure out the run D problem though.

[LSHMEAB]

19 minutes ago, uticaclub said:

Couldn’t agree more, the future is never guaranteed and this year was an opportunity that might take another 20 years to present itself. Too bad we couldn’t score

I thought heading into the season that they should have LANDED either Clowney or Clark. Beane was interested, but it didn't happen. 

 

It was apparent that the offense wasn't going to be particularly good, and the defense could potentially be the kind of dominant unit that WINS football games.

 

We don't lose that 16 point lead against Houston OR give up that game winning drive at Cleveland with a better pass rush. Just wouldn't happen.

 

They're building for their long haul and that's their prerogative. Results have been better than what we've had around these parts in a LONG time. But I would have gone a different route and made that one big move for a pass rusher.

Just now, BillsFanSD said:

We consistently seem to win about two games more than our roster suggests every season.  For three seasons.  Some of the in-game decision-making is off IMO (it is for most teams), but the W-L results are there, and they've obviously done a great job in turning the culture around.

McDermott.

[McBean]

My takeaway is our offense stinks and is no where near the level of the remaining teams that played this weekend.

 

 

[Penfield45]

no we weren't 

 

our offense is nowhere near good enough to compete right now. we literally can't score more than 2 TD's per game unless we play the dolphins. not to mention Allen can't string together multiple quarters of good football. 

 

did you see how many poor defenses we played this season and how bad our offense was in these games? Going forward the AFC is open as long as Brady doesn't have a career revival, but Allen needs to make that jump to a top 10 QB or we aren't going anywhere. 

Edited January 13, 2020 by Penfield45

[Jerome007]

6 hours ago, Mango said:

Inversely it means that this team is a few plays away from 8-8 because on any given Sunday in the AFC...

 

2 examples:

 

1. 1st jets game. It’s the only game we won where we lost the QB differential. Darnold also had mono. 

 

2. TEN. They missed 4 field goals and had 2 TDS called back. Mariota was benched shortly after. We won 14-7. 

I've always said many games are won or lost by minuscule edges, a few plays here and there, refs, whatever. And it's true this year the ball seem to bounce the Bills way quite a few times, easy schedule too. Just like THE Dalton play in 2017 to get in... and many bad lucks to NOT making the playing a couple of those years during the drought. Add injuries and flukes, and yes this team could be 8-8 or 11-5. BUT, the point of this thread remains true. It's clear the Bills were legit and had a shot this year, for sure. Yeah that loss hurt but it was in OT!  Anyway, let have Beane and the Process keep putting this team forward and up, even with the coming tough schedule.

[iinii]

Is there a metric to quantify this perceived proximity?

[unclepete]

15 hours ago, Hebert19 said:

AFC is terrible. Bills could beat any of these teams.   Any give Sunday in AFC this year. Hope it's just the start for us and we didnt miss an opportunity 

The Bills could not beat the Chiefs. Lost to the struggling Pats twice. Barely beat the Titans with Mariotta and lost to Houston given every opportunity to win in the first half. If the offense improves next year we have a shot.

[Wayne Arnold]

 

[Cripple Creek]

Just now, Wayne Arnold said:

 

I’m firm in my belief that the Bills D would have held KC to no more than 49 yesterday.

[dayman]

Offense is garbage

 

If it can somehow become average we'll be ok

[BarleyNY]

16 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

Should’ve pushed harder at the trade deadline...

Asking prices for players were insane at last season’s deadline.  Glad we passed on that nonsense.  

[HOUSE]

History will show......Wasted opportunity

[BarleyNY]

2 minutes ago, HOUSE said:

History will show......Wasted opportunity

Our offense wasn’t ready.  

[123719bwiqrb]

Talk like this is what gets fans injured.  As a fan, keep yo head down, keep grindin, play for the name on the back not the front of the jersey, 1/11 mentality, one play at a time.  Only then can we definitely, maybe do this.